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 Posted: Sat Jan 18, 2014 1:17 am
Eva couldn't help but wonder if Jack thought she was crazy yet, what with her mood constantly shifting like a pendulum swinging between two sides. One moment she was smiling weakly, and the next, she wasn't smiling at all.
In fact, she really looked quite stricken at the topic that the man brought up, even if he had done so in a casual and welcoming manner. Reaching down, she grasped at the hem of her dress, fidgeting nervously with the fabric as she considered her options. Well, it wasn't like he wasn't giving her a choice to say no if she didn't want to talk about it--it was an offer, not a demand--and honestly? Maybe it would help some, talking to a stranger--or well, a new acquaintance--about it. At least he could potentially give her his unbiased opinion on what she should do.
Letting out a tired sigh, Eva rubbed at the back of her neck as she averted her gaze. "Sorry, Jack, I didn't mean to bring the mood down. I think I permanently ruined a relationship with a long time friend and boyfriend--um...ex now, I suppose--so I'm a little..."
She trailed off, though honestly, she probably didn't even need to finish that sentence anyways--the look on her face said it all.
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Posted: Sat Jan 18, 2014 1:56 am
If there had been any doubt he was getting deja vu over Eva's behavior, it was quickly dispelled. It was probably the reason why he was bothering in the first place. Dear God, sentimentality was disgusting.
(Though not as much as pity was.)
His grin faded. "Mm. I get it, believe me." It was the most earnest Jack had sounded since they started talking. Oddly, though, the familiar sight of the fidgety, nervous woman just made him uncomfortable; three weeks ago, it'd given him a thrill. Then again, that's what "Stormy" was good for.
(( Ah, I knew it! I knew it was over a boil! May I have an aurum asteroid for my brilliant deduction? ))
Sure, G-man. Three gold stars. Like that had taken any brain power to figure out. Women cried over two things: men and themselves.
"In that case, you need something stronger than coffee," Jack said as he slid his cup onto the counter and replaced it with what would soon be Eva's, hitting the button again. Without meaning to, he started frowning as he thought. "I've been meaning to make a booze run since portals came up anyway. Irish coffee doesn't sound half bad right about now . . ." Or whiskey, period.
When the machine was finished squeezing its last drops of coffee, he snatched the cup and offered it to her, brow raised. "Let me guess: he was being a little s**t."
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Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2014 12:00 am
Eva's expression shifted slightly at the mention of booze, her nose wrinkling a little at the memory of the last time she had had any sort of alcohol. It had ended in her nearly texting Caelius (to call him an a**) and then a horrible hangover the next day. Since then, she hadn't touched even a drop...not that she had had any time to go and buy any even if she wanted some.
"What's Irish coffee?" She found herself asking, accepting the offered mug with a quiet thank you. She took a small sip of the liquid, unaccustomed to the bitterness that spread through her mouth. Whenever she had any sort of coffee, it was usually just a little coffee, a whole lot of milk, and tons of sugar.
Though that didn't mean that this was bad. She found herself taking another sip, savouring the flavour for a moment before letting out a sigh.
"No," She murmured, absently glancing down at her mug, "It wasn't Otto's fault, it was mine. He tried--he did everything for our relationship--while I was kind of just..."
She set her mug down on the counter, letting out a soft groan as she propped her elbows up on the surface and buried her face in her hands. Her voice was muffled, through rather than sounding close to tears as she had the other day, she just sounded frustrated at herself now. "I was going to say that I was 'just there', but I couldn't even do that. First, I got sent away on patrol duty, and after that I was just...not around."
It definitely felt weird confessing all this to someone who she hardly knew.
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Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2014 12:20 pm
"Coffee, sugar, all topped off with thick cream and a shot of whiskey. Gives it a little kick in the morning~" Now he was definitely developing some cravings.
Jack plopped down across from her and sipped as he listened. Otto. Now that was funny: meddling with him in one world for kicks, and somehow still finding a way to get entangled in the next. "Still seemed like a little s**t to me," he commented, remembering the sassbucket who had visited Ripley in the infirmary. Birthday was a day before his, Halloween. Looked like they were in the same bracket; wouldn't be too big of a stretch, hmm . . .
"If you don't mind my saying, over here work comes first, then your personal health, and then someone else's. Stick distance in there and, well, something's got to give." Touch her or not? He remembered Lina liked contact even when she rebuked it, but then again Eva had flinched just as much as he had earlier. Probably not a good idea: safer to spill to a stranger anyway.
He sipped his coffee some more, already having drained half of it despite how hot and bitter it was. "Better you think about yourself than have to worry about anyone else," Jack said a little more gently. "No-one else will."
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Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2014 2:21 pm
She lifted her face out of her hands as she spoke, turning to peer at him from over her shoulder. Work, self, and then others, huh? If that was how his personal priorities were laid out, then maybe she had just learned a little bit about her new acquaintance. For someone like Eva, the thought of everyone only thinking of themselves over others seemed like a difficult concept to swallow. She thought of Wilson, who had been willing to sacrifice time and effort (and a shirt to her tears) the other day just to comfort her despite probably having his own issues to deal with. And then she thought of her others friends--of Saya, and Gale, and Reine, and--
"Are you speaking from experience?" She found herself blurting out, her tone soft and genuinely curious, "That you should worry about yourself because no one else will...?"
Eva picked her drink back up, not drinking but just warming her hands on the mug. "Otto was my first boyfriend," She confessed, ducking her head in embarrassment to be telling this to someone who she had just met, "And I just...didn't know what to do, or how to act. I was nervous of doing something wrong, so I was happy to let him make the first move for everything without having any idea of just how frustrated it must have made him."
Taking another sip of the bitter liquid, she let out a sigh, the corners of her lips pulling up slightly in a wry smile. "The irony here is that I could never bring myself to tell him of my insecurities, but here I am, unloading everything on you."
She offered him a faint smile and an apologetic look, even if he had been the one to ask her in the first place.
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Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2014 3:05 pm
Eva was given one of his odd half-smiles that might as well have said nice try. While she might be alright with unloading on a stranger, he was not; Jack barely did it with friends as it was.
"You remind me of my ex," he said as he draped his arm around the back of his chair and let it hang. Jack was so tall that he literally seemed able to wrap around the thing, top to bottom: like living, creeping moss. "Skittish, nervous about getting things right and, if I'm getting this right, way too compassionate about people."
Jack tipped his cup towards her. "Here's a question: Do you honestly believe anything wrong in a relationship--which by definition requires two people to work together--can be just one person's fault? Or did he say it was yours and you just went with it because you felt bad? Be honest with yourself."
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Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2014 4:47 pm
She did try, that much had to be given to her. Making no move to attempt to pry any further, she let that part of the conversation drop with one last inquisitive look. He hadn't pushed her into speaking--she had done so of her own free will--so it only seemed right that she allow him the same right.
A genuine smile twitched on her lips, followed by a little laugh. "Well, if we had met under slightly different circumstances you'd probably find that I'm usually anything but skittish and nervous--" On the contrary, she probably would have been hanging off of Jack's back because wow you're so tall and you have cool hair, "--But I suppose...I do have a soft spot for people."
What genuinely caught her off guard, however, were his next words. Blinking at him owlishly, Eva felt herself frown as she furrowed her brows in thought. "I...well, I suppose I..." She let out a frustrated breath, trying to sort out her thoughts, "It's not like Otto exactly outright blamed me for everything. He just...said some things, and then I took the fall myself. I'm just...having some trouble in trying to figure out how it couldn't all me my own fault."
And then she took a bigger swig of her coffee, almost treating it how others would treat alcohol.
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Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2014 5:22 pm
Jack made a musing noise and gave a wry smile. "Anything but, huh? Well, then. Here's a novel idea, Eva: stop trying to figure it out." He then tilted the cup to get the rest of his drink down and attempted to slap it on the table afterwards, which . . . probably would have been more effective if it hadn't been a Styrofoam cup.
(Inwardly, he liked to play things out like movie scenes.)
"It's over, no? Worrying about it is like picking at a scab," Jack continued. "And it adds more on your plate than you need for this already damn stressful job. But," and he shrugged, moving to get up and get more coffee, "that's just my two cents."
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Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2014 5:51 pm
Oh. Well...
"I...suppose," Eva admitted slowly, absently swirling her coffee her cup, "It's probably not healthy dwelling on something like this, that much I know." And that being said, she wasn't even sure what it was that she wanted right now. To get back together with him? To just talk? Probably the latter--even if they weren't dating anymore, the thought of losing Otto as even a friend hurt her more than she could say--but the very idea of seeing him again right now made her stomach twist with dread.
Honestly, she'd probably run the other way if she saw him right now.
Trying to shake the thought from her mind, she let out a long sigh and dropped down into a chair. "I guess we'll see," She murmured, before her lips twitched up in another smile, "And sorry for making you play therapist, Jack--I appreciate it, though."
It was nice to know that there were some good people among the new recruits. Even if, she noted with a hint of amusement as he got up, he seemed to be a bit of a coffee addict.
...Then again, she could probably get hooked on this stuff too. Draining the rest of her drink, she set her cup down, surprised to find that she was feeling a little better now.
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Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2014 6:12 pm
"Eh, don't mention it. My ex used to vent a lot."
He filled his cup, blew on it, and began drinking once again on his way back. "You know, there aren't a lot of people I know of that can drink coffee without adding something," Jack said with a little grin. "I'm impressed. This is medium roast, though. Maybe I should get you something darker as a challenge."
He didn't feel like pressing this ex-boyfriend issue further and, well, coffee. Keeping things casual was the key anyway.
"Irish coffee offer also still stands, too. Or does the lady want a refill~? I'll get you hooked yet."
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Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2014 7:41 pm
Meeting his grin with one of her own, she gave a casual little shrug of her shoulders. "Truth to be told, what little coffee I drank in the past was pretty much drowned in milk and sugar, but it's actually not bad like this. It's pretty bitter, but not entirely unpleas--...wait, so it gets even more bitter than this?"
She stared at him blankly for a moment, and then glanced down into her now-empty cup. Eva was quite obviously a coffee newbie, considering the fact she actually looked mildly horrified at the idea of something even darker than what she had just drank. The bitterness had been nice, but that being said, there was only so much that she could take before grimacing.
Considering his offer for a moment, she sheepishly ducked her head. "A refill would be nice, if it's not too much trouble. Honestly, I think you're going to be a bad influence on me with this coffee business."
There was a pause, and then after a moment of thought she smiled and added, "If there's anything I can do to help you in the future, feel free to let me know, okay? Consider it thanks for the coffee and pleasant company."
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Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2014 8:05 pm
He might or might not have snickered because she mentioned being a bad influence. Or maybe it was the fact that she felt this required a favor in return; not that he was going to turn it down. "Eh. I had a shitty day, you had a shitty week," Jack replied, trying to play down her thanks (as there was nothing to do with gratitude except to either deny it or use it, from what he had been taught). "Even I have enough decency to see you needed a pick-me-up."
Plucking her cup from the table, he went to refill it. "Plus, like I said: anything to make a new coffee lover here. Maybe we'd get some decent equipment for it if there were enough of us. The horror when there was no power, Eva, the sheer horror . . ." He shuddered for effect.
"Anyway, here's another free lesson: Boys? Boys are pretty stupid." With the last of the coffee strained, Jack grabbed her cup and offered it to Eva with a wink. "Next time, try a man."
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Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2014 9:15 pm
Eva lifted a hand to her face to hide the grin that had spread across her lips. "I worry to see what you're like when you're having coffee withdrawal," She teased, clearly starting to feel much more at ease in his presence since a hint of her usual nature was beginning to shine through, "And I imagine that those days when the power was out was not pretty at all."
Her expression became puzzled at the advice that followed though, and she didn't even look at the cup as she reached out and took it with a quiet thank you. Instead, she was staring at him with a curious expression, head slightly tilted to the side.
"And what do you mean by that...?" She asked slowly, her brows lifting and disappearing beneath her bangs, "Because if you're talking about the fact that I'm older than Otto..."
Things like that didn't matter, right? She hadn't--and still didn't--think so.
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Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2014 9:38 pm
"Fear me more like. I'm an a*****e normally and an a*****e with a vendetta if withdrawing," he replied jokingly, even though that was not a joke at all.
Alright, so that did not have the intended effect, but . . . interesting factoid nevertheless, he supposed. "Wasn't aware of that part. I meant level of maturity actually, considering you're pretty chill to me." Jack did his best not to snicker, however: he still remembered how the Otto on New Years had tried to declare himself a man, in spite of his more shy nature. Nineteen, he'd proclaimed. What a joke.
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Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2014 10:11 pm
"Is that so." She was clearly musing over the whole "a*****e" statement, but left it at that instead of asking any further. He didn't seem like an a** from what little time she had spent talking to him, after all. That, and she knew a couple of people who appeared to be jerks at first, but turned out to be pretty decent people deep down.
So she decided to take that with a grain of salt and a dismissive hum.
Shaking her head, a dry smile touched her lips as her gaze flickered off to the side. "Maybe a little too chill, considering what I did--or rather, didn't did--in my relationship," Eva replied, taking a moment to sip at her coffee before continuing, "But no, really. Otto is pretty mature. Maybe it's hard to see these things at first...but you start to realize it when you've known him for so long."
Leaning back, she propped her head up on the back of the chair and sighed. "If anything, I'm the immature one. You just happened to meet me while I'm feeling a little off, Jack...otherwise you'd probably be on the receiving end of a lot of dumb smiles and someone who is entirely too touchy-feely for her own good."
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