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 Posted: Sat Oct 17, 2020 8:12 pm
Jace's lips screwed up twisted to one side of his face. He wasn't sure what sort of conversation he'd prepared for, but he grumbled something under his breath and nodded.
"Ew, do you know what kind of people wind up in court? I wouldn't even let your hair eat them, I don't want you dragging any scraps of them back home. But--you're right. A good paralegal would prep a home office for me. But. You're my brother before everything else, so."
He grunted and then looked up, expression stubborn. "You really think I'd just vanish? It's not leaving me behind, anyway. You couldn't get rid of me if you tried, Xander. I'm not some ghost waiting for a gust of wind to blow me away. It's a calculated move. It's better than the alternative. We could just run away and live in the woods. But then, we'd have nowhere to charge our phones, and you'd never get Nelson's 'Good morning, good luck, have a good day!' texts. So, I'm just saying. Preparation. Doesn't have to be this week, or next week, or next month. But."
He huffed. "I'd rather be in a shitty apartment with you than spend all my time wondering if a pig ate you. Wherever you go, I can follow. Even if it means you have to go a few months before me. It's just a hypothetical, anyway. Mom's been stressed out about this case. If she wins, that'll buy us time. If she loses..."
He gave him a look. "...We'll have to take our tents and move in by the lake. At least until everyone else gets back in town. Then, we can move into Holden's closet. He's got enough space for two of us in there."
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Posted: Sun Oct 18, 2020 6:10 am
Xander laughed softly and glanced away. “See… this is proof you’re smarter than me and better at arguments. You know if we move into Holden’s closet, he’s going to turn us into fitting mannequins, right?” He grinned. “After all those threats about putting us in wrestling gear, we might be doomed. Would be a heck of a way to present in court, though.” he tapped his chin thoughtfully. “I know you won’t vanish, logically I know that, but sometimes that’s not what my brain says. Hmmm…” He tore free a bit of cake and ate it thoughtfully before sighing. “I’ll… make a budget, then I’ll look at escape apartments, how’s that? Q would threaten us with cookbooks, so It’s not like I could starve to death while I make you a home office. Because…yeah, we’re not letting you sleep in the office. Ultimate goals will still be some kind of house, though, because then we can like… paint your whole bedroom purple.” He teased.
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Posted: Sun Oct 18, 2020 6:46 am
"Why are you thinking about painting my bedroom?" he huffed. "You'll have to paint your own, too! Already thinking about how you can mess up my stuff," he grumbled, but there was no agitation or malice in his voice.
"Your brain works too hard to focus on bad things. I."
He fell quiet, and let out a low grumble of a 'hm'.
"I need you. So. There, there's that. So obviously I'm not going to disappear. Look," he sat up and turned his computer to face Xander.
"Does it look familiar? I think I've written two sentences since you were gone. I'm going to finish it tonight, though. Just to spite mom, so maybe she'll stop trying to send you away. I don't get how her brain is programmed for work all the time. I don't even know if she has any idea how to have fun. Or if it is fun for her to argue, and make people look stupid in front of a group of other people waiting to judge them."
He suddenly seemed less curious, as if he'd accidentally gotten his answer.
It would be fitting that his mother would enjoy the thrill of victory, of humiliating someone so much that it was all she thought about.
"I don't want to grow up to be like her. I don't want everyone to hate me," he finally muttered. Sometimes it was a compliment when they said he was just like her. Most of the time he thought it was an insult. "...And anyway. People like me more when you're around. So I can't let you get too far. But it doesn't do me any good if you're so far away I can't even reach you. I'd rather you be a phone call, or a quick jog away, than, you know. Lost in the woods."
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Posted: Sun Oct 18, 2020 7:11 am
“You won’t be like her; you’re already too different.” he poked Jace’s leg pointedly to make a point as irritatingly as he knew how. “And, I will add that your friends don’t like you any less without me there; they don’t need me to remind them how much better an option you are. Nelson aside, I’ve corrupted him beyond repair.” He grinned. “But I promise, I won’t go so far away I can’t be reached if I can help it. Farms notwithstanding, I still can’t say no to Mom when she says to do something.” He sighed. “She’s scary when she wants to be, but for all that she drives us crazy, she’s …, I don’t know. She wants the best for you. She’s just got a really turned around the way of trying to get you the best. Like, the only best that could exist is HER best, but you have your own best.” “At best, you only sort of look like her. Mostly when you do your hair up so dang tight, it looks like it’s gonna pull your eyebrows up.” He teased. “I think that's the ONLY reason she isn’t scowling all the time too.”
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Posted: Sun Oct 18, 2020 7:56 am
"Maybe," he said, but it was hardly any sort of actual agreement; he reached up to massage his forehead and then he fumbled with his hair, untying it so he could muss it up and offer at least temporary relief. And maybe because he didn't want to look like her right now.
"I just need her to back off a little bit. I can do this," he said, gesturing towards the computer. "...It's just easier without her breathing down my neck. But. I guess she wouldn't want me taking the easy route."
He exhaled, resting his elbows on his knees to prop himself up. His hair fell, unkempt and too long, and framed a face that he didn't usually let anyone see. His face was twisted in a half scowl, more from muscle memory than any emotion.
"Anyway," he huffed, "You misunderstood what I was saying. I don't think I would have met my friends if it wasn't for you." He gestured to his face, his absolute, resting b***h face. "Doesn't exactly say, 'Hey, let's be friends'. You, though. You just scream it. Literally. --And don't even joke about corrupting Nelson. Q has a sixth sense for things like that, you know her little baby brother is perfect and pure."
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Posted: Sun Oct 18, 2020 8:14 am
“You’d have met them, look at Q! She’s like, the queen of R.B.F. Side by side you guys could be like. R.B.F. power couple, except like, you talk to them till they think it's in their best interest to let her stab them with needles, and then Nelson can put bandaids on after because no one said they’d be acupuncture needles.” He lifted a hand and in it was the red scrunch, a peace offering of sorts for misunderstanding. “I think without you around I couldn’t have kept them as friends, I’m already a handful, imagine if I didn’t feel like I should be careful huh? Q wouldn’t have let me within ten feet of Nelson, I might have pestered you into submission, and maybe, just maybe Holden and I would have gotten along okay. But most of that is you. He swept a hand out and flicked at the loose fall of hair. “WHEN we move out, we’ll figure out a style that’s all you that you’re comfortable with too.” He said firmly.
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Posted: Sun Oct 18, 2020 9:22 am
Once more, Jace grumbled something under his breath but he managed a quick, "I don't want your gross hair tie." Still, he reached over and snatched it, replacing it in Xander's hand with his own purple one that he'd just pulled from his hair.
"Take some credit, Xander. You don't get enough." Even from him, sometimes. But there was an unspoken, brotherly law that you could not be too nice at any given time, or something was wrong.
But, he suspected, he'd spent a week of getting, at best--ignored. Probably not so lucky, probably a week of getting berated and scolded and belittled. Or, at worst--
He bit his tongue and looked at his brother, only huffing and pulling his hair over one shoulder so Xander couldn't fuss with it so easily. "When I take over for Mom and Dad, whenever they retire, you can do whatever you want. You can be my assistant. Or my receptionist. Or we could be partners. If you want to put in the work for it. Or you can write your books, or--Xander. You could do whatever you wanted. You know that, right? I--I can do this."
It's what he was made for. He couldn't imagine himself doing anything else. He couldn't even begin to dream of doing anything else. He'd known for as long as he could remember that this is what he was made for. His mother had taken every effort to secure it, and she was so close. He was so close.
"But you can do anything. So. I'll support you in it. I just want you to have the chance. So. Planning is good. Working around financing and shopping around is good. Or you could just find someone and marry for money and get spoiled for the rest of your life. Or something. But we can watch marathons and eat junk food and I'll order everything for dinner. And that's good enough for now. I just. I don't know. Wanted you to know that you were good enough, too."
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Posted: Sun Oct 18, 2020 9:34 am
“Ewwww, Jace cooties.” He teased, but he still put the purple one in his hair, looking smug about it. “I’ll probably try the books, honestly. I know you feel like I don’t get enough credit, but let’s be honest. The second I was on the wrong side of a case, I’d lose my s**t and make a HUGE mess, but you? Yeah… you’re going to rock this, and you’ll take it… whole new places that will be just awesome. So… don’t cut yourself short either, you goober.” “As for dinner… since she’s probably had you eating things like… Kale.” He made a face. “What deliciously sinful thing will we order? Pizza? Tacos? Curry? Wings? Hell, when we move, I’m getting us an air fryer. We’re gonna make our own wings, and I’ll make like, the best hot sauce ever. We can name the heat grades after tempers in our family, be shunned forever but rich because people love hot sauce…. and kids' books. Maybe not together; that could go badly.” He let himself go off on a tangent, something to distract them both.
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Posted: Sun Oct 18, 2020 9:59 am
Jace snorted, but it had been enough to draw a smile to his face. He tied his own hair back now, visibly more careful with his Xander's scrunchie than he was his own hair tie, and he even seemed to be more careful with his hair as he tied it up. It wasn't anything fancy, just something loose and out of the way.
"Let's order all of it. Get the taste of oatmeal out of your mind. We'll burn it out if we have to, I restocked on those hot sauce bottles you just," he gestured vaguely. "Guzzle."
He looked at the clock on his computer, all too eager for it to be dinner time. "...Seriously, no limits. If you want it, we'll get it."
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Posted: Sun Oct 18, 2020 11:12 am
“Mmmmm curry, the hot one, and some of the pizza we both like, that little hole in the wall. We can get the deep fried cheese cake.” He looked wistful even thought it would absolutely be something you’d both be eating for the rest of the night. “You pick something though, we both had a long week! If you don’t pick I’ll text in an order for like taro and cheese bubble tea. Even if you are my hero for hot sauce!”
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Posted: Sun Oct 18, 2020 11:44 am
The corner of his lip curled into a smile and he tossed the remote over to Xander so he could control the movie; it had loaded to the main menu a while ago but Jace hadn't been in any rush to see it, not while he was talking.
"I don't know, all of that sounds good to me. I want chicken wings from the pizza place. And their sweet bread." He had already pulled out his phone to open up their menu. "And coffee. Like a gallon of it. How tired are you, are you going to pass out in like half an hour?"
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Posted: Sun Oct 18, 2020 12:07 pm
“You... may want to make that like- two gallons and an energy drink if I’m gonna be honest. The joy of being home will only take me so far before I’m an inconveniently placed puddle on your floor.” He looked thoughtful and added. Sweet bread sounds -amazing. What are your thoughts on a small order of their garlic knots - the pesto or the Parmesan ones.”
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Posted: Sun Oct 18, 2020 12:54 pm
"I said we'll order everything," Jace reminded. "So I meant, everything. We'll get an order of both. And it's not like whatever we don't finish tonight will go bad. We'll just eat it tomorrow for breakfast." And lunch, if they had to. He didn't care, they'd have anything and everything tonight to remind Xander that he was home.
"I'll get extra coffee for you. And you can use the bed, fall asleep there, not the floor. I'll just shove you over when I'm ready to go to sleep. I told you, I brought extra blankets. So you won't steal mine. I'm prepared for a marathon. And if you fall asleep now, it just means we'll finish it tomorrow."
Or however long it took for things to go back to normal. For him to make sure that Xander was okay.
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Posted: Sun Oct 18, 2020 1:32 pm
“If I fall asleep on your floor it won’t be on purpose I promise. Also I’m not the one who turns himself into a burrito mister ice foot.” He stuck out his tongue but grinned all the same. “Gonna hit play though, we can get this party started while we wait for the delivery, and ... oh... man I gotta tell Nelson I’m alive too.” He laughed. “I brought him some straw. I had to fight two barn cats and a pig for it. The pig almost won mind you.”
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Posted: Sun Oct 18, 2020 2:31 pm
"Fall asleep on the bed like a normal person! Ugh," Jace muttered, "If you fall asleep on the floor I'll have to pick you up and put you in the bed, so don't make my life harder for me or you will wake up with my ice feet. On your face."
He leaned back in the chair, eyes torn between the movie and his computer, and then back to his brother's face. "...I can't believe you brought Nelson straw," he said after a few seconds. He lifted the rock, rolled it over in his hands, and then set it back down. "I clearly got the superior gift. But go on. Text him, call him if you need to. And when mom leaves, I'll help you with--you know, whatever. And then we'll eat so much that the next time you see a pig, you're strong enough to take it on without a challenge."
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