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 Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2014 8:44 pm
The problem was that he didn't always believe he was doing his best. That was always the problem. He had slipped badly in the past few weeks, and while he had found stable ground again for now, it didn't mean he couldn't go looking for that darkness again. Peyton's DMs were a sign of that.
Jack winced reflexively at the back slap, but the bruise there was gone by now. Still, all the touching...In the moment he hadn't minded, but when caught in his own uncertainty he grew on edge. It didn't matter that Chel was open about everything, platonic or otherwise; if anything, sometimes it made it worse.
"What important person things?" he scoffed, eying the hug like it was an obvious trick.
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Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2014 8:46 pm
She sighed lowering her hands. "Fine, fine." There was a distinct roll of her eyes, something that had changed. She didn't feel sorry for not being able to push past his boundaries. She was defiant.
"Whatever it is you do up in those labs. I'm sure you're findin' the cure to cancer or whatever." She was distinctively more bitter than past encounters. Things had changed.
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Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2014 8:56 pm
He felt a twinge of something and was very glad his hands were stowed in his pockets. (Restraint, restraint.) "Paperwork," he said patiently. "Mostly paperwork. Triage. Occasionally a project involving minipets. Nothing really to say." And yet it was important for Chel to know.
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Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2014 9:00 pm
Chel approached him, eyeing him up. Her arms twisted in the wholes between his torso and his arms. She hugged him regardless of if he reciprocated or not. She was impatient and combined with destructive behaviors it was disastrous. "It's important stuff," was what she told him. "Now hug me so I can see you off proper-like."
Her chin rested on his chest (he was a ******** giant) and she looked up at him with all the expectancy of a tiny puppy. "Or else," she said with a grin. Or else what was a mystery. There was a ninety percent chance she was bluffing. But the 10% still remained.
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Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2014 9:21 pm
Jack was brought back to the moment he challenged Hanna to get used to physical contact and the way she had slid up to him with confidence and a cunning look in her eyes. The way Chel approached him was completely different, and yet the challenge he saw in it was still the same: how much control did he have over himself? With Hanna, it had been about not pulling her back in as she retreated. With Chel, he realized, it would be the opposite, just like everything about them was: it would be about making sure to let go. That is, if he even chose to go the easier route.
But when had he ever done that? When would he ever not want to push that boundary just a little bit more, even when his better instinct advised against it? She'd said the two magic words; he simply couldn't give in now.
Dear one--
He simultaneously lifted his head to put a few inches more distance between them and tucked his chin so he could look at her. "Or else what, Craft?" Jack challenged with a hint of a smirk.
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Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2014 9:30 pm
Chel laced her fingers behind his back, resting them on the small of his back. He hadn't shoved her or pushed her or (possibly) hit her. She was okay with that.
For a moment it occurred to her she had true leverage. Finn didn't know about Jack's shoe collection. She was sure the moon would just love that sort of information.
But all she did was sigh and said, "Else I'll call you dear one just like Owain. No matter where we at." It was gentle- kind almost. Her voice was then high pitched and obnoxious, "DEAR ONE~" followed by a snorting laugh.
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Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2014 9:34 pm
He wrinkled his nose and snorted at the impression. "Really? That's not a threat, that's just annoying, Craft. I still can't believe he betrayed me like that, telling you."
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Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2014 9:54 pm
Chel closed her eyes, looking at the ceiling and letting out a long breath before opening them again.
"You know I got worst threats." It was a tiny thought to plant in Jack's mind. "But annoying is my middle name."
She hesitantly let go of Jack and said, "He told me lots of other stuff too. BUT~ I have pod duty. So sorry Jackles."
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Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2014 10:15 pm
His immediate thought was, Who would she tell that matters? But that wasn't something he wanted to entertain, because Chel did have a way of doing things even he couldn't always predict. The second thought afterwards was a more assuring, At least she only knows about the shoes.
Sighing, he opted to reach out and ruffle her hair anyway once she let go; if Chel thought it was to convince her against talking, he wouldn't say otherwise. "And here I was about to start trusting you," Jack said dryly. "Go on, then, you've got boredom to look forward to."
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Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2014 10:24 pm
Chel leaned into the ruffle, only to have her hair messed up. She blew the brown strands out of her face, letting it flop wherever it pleased. That was pretty much how Chel styled her hair in the morning. Of course, Jack would know that.
"You don't trust little ol' me?" she wibbled in a fake way. "That hurts me right here." Her finger poked into her own chest, looking wounded and defeated. She laughed and turned to walk towards the pods, letting Jack leave her.
But then she spun, turning back to him. "Hey, come pick me up when my shift's done in like 3 hours. I'll make ya dinner or somethin' before my midnight shift."
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Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2014 10:30 pm
"I don't fully trust anyone," he stated, pocketing his hand once more. He was just turning to go himself when Chel piped up.
His heel swivel to her was deliberately overdone. "Craft, you're not making anyone anything between shifts," Jack said with some exasperation. "Take a nap."
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Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2014 10:39 pm
Chel looked somewhat disappointed, both because making Jack dinner would've lifted her spirits more than a nap, and because the nagging suspicion in the back of her mind that took form in a tiny voice that said he would have done it for Hanna. Such was life.
"Suit yerself." She shrugged, because it seemed to be all she could do. With clipboard in hand, she stretched upwards and yawned, making her way to the pod control room once more. "See ya 'round ..."
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Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2014 10:45 pm
At least she wasn't putting up resistance this time. Chel needed the sleep if she was pulling extra shifts, and he needed some space again to sort things out in his head. A dinner would just be...more confusing right now. Needless temptation.
"Have a good night," Jack told her and meant it. "Hope you sleep better."
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