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 Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2023 7:13 am
Living with an alien roommate was…
Fine. It was fine.
Quinn had his quirks. He was cranky. He talked a lot about destroying Chaos and making the Negaverse wish they’d never been born. He asked questions about everything. He knew practically nothing about Earth despite Jack’s best efforts to teach him as much as he could in as short a time as possible, and he was working through a kind of trauma Jack would probably never understand. They were very different people. Jack often wondered if the contrast was too much for them to bridge. He was determined that it wouldn’t be.
Otherwise, it was kinda nice having company. Jack hadn’t even realized he might be a little lonely living by himself until there was another person making noise in the condo. Roxy was great; she was wonderful and perfect and the best dog ever, but the only talking she could do was the talking Jack did for her. With Quinn around, he had a sounding board for everything (even if that sounding board was a little… scathing).
It was just over a week into the arrangement, however, when they hit a roadblock.
“So…”
Jack began a lot of conversations with so. (Ended a lot of sentences with it, too.) If it was annoying, no one had told him yet. Jack didn’t even know if he could change his ways if anyone ever did.
“Do you remember how I told you my job is playing baseball?”
He forced himself to stop there. Jack had already tried to explain baseball to Quinn at some point between shopping for an Earth wardrobe and Quinn’s first taste of coffee, but the results had been a lot of confusion and a bit of blank staring, followed by a deepening scowl.
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Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2023 7:27 am
Living with Jack was…
Weird.
He was the least demanding benefactor Quinn had ever known, which he supposed was a good thing, but he was also waiting for the moment when Jack would say “By the way” and drop some big thing that he would want Quinn to do to make up for his hospitality.
But other than Jack talking a lot, he wasn’t bad. He wasn’t horrible to look at either. In fact, for someone with dark hair and facial hair, he was kind of attractive.
Not that Quinn was picking up on any interest that Jack had in him, so he supposed it was better if he just kept his distance. Metaphorically, since he was kind of living with him.
Quinn was sitting on the floor with Roxy when Jack started asking if he remembered about his job. He had been rolling a ball to her and watched as she crawled her way back with it, only to repeat the process, but paused to look up at Jack with a frown.
“The game with the pillows and sticks and there’s a ball that is thrown and caught,” he confirmed his knowledge.
He wasn’t sure how this was a job, but it wasn’t as though people wouldn’t say Quinn had never had a real job. Except being the Senshi of their world and all that it entailed.
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Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2023 7:33 am
“Pillows?!”
Jack sputtered. He gaped. He almost looked offended, maybe a tad hurt; how could anyone mistake his simple explanation of what a base was for a pillow? The bases were the easiest part!
His expression morphed quickly, shifting from one emotion to the other — horror, betrayal, sympathy — before he was able to control himself again. It was fine. Quinn was new. He was an alien. An actual alien. From space. He came from some moon of Saturn, which was weird because as far as Jack knew it shouldn’t be habitable even without Chaos, but… apparently everything he knew was wrong.
“I… okay… yes. The game with the—” He was not going to say pillows. “—yeah, the game. The greatest game that’s ever existed. America’s pastime. It’s as American as apple pie, except I don’t think apple pie is actually American...”
That wasn’t the point. Jack took a breath to settle his excitable nature, told himself Quinn was still learning, that he’d know, one day, what baseball was, that he didn’t have to know now.
“Uhh, yeah, anyway, so every year when my job starts back up, there’s a period of time where we have to go out of town for training. Which for me and Chris is, uhh, next week, because of our specific positions. Responsibilities, I mean. Well, no, I mean positions, but it’s probably easier if you just think of it as, like, our roles or something.”
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Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2023 7:33 am
Quinn tried very hard not to let his lip twitch into any show of amusement when Jack was clearly offended by his description. Sounded like he took this baseball more seriously than it sounded.
Especially when he was talking about specific positions and roles.
“Oh? You get singled out for your specific position? What kind of position is it?” he hummed, leaning back against the couch as he rolled the ball to Roxy again. He knew he should probably be nicer to Jack. Probably prove that he was paying attention to things and picking up on what things were faster than he was letting on. But it was amusing to listen to Jack explain things in multiple ways.
“What’s apple pie?” he asked, this time his brows knitted with sincere curiosity. “America is the… country? And there are a lot of different countries on Earth.”
Oh but he was supposed to be paying attention to his baseball thing.
“So we’re going out of town,” he concluded, because obviously Jack wouldn’t just leave him and Roxy there, right?
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Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2023 7:35 am
“Apple pie is just another kind of fruit pastry,” Jack explained distractedly. His brain was still on baseball — on pillows. Ugh. “Just, like… bigger. Crust and gooey fruit innards.
“Anyway, my position is catcher,” he continued, “so I’m behind home plate — not home pillow, sorry, I can’t believe—... I mean, if you ever watch a game, I’m the guy with a bunch of armor on who catches the balls thrown by the pitcher — that’s Chris, and some other guys, too, but Chris is the only one you know, so… — and I signal what kind of pitches to throw, so like a curveball or a fast ball or a changeup, plus I signal the other players sometimes and I defend home plate when an opposing player makes a run for it…”
That was a lot more than he intended to say. Jack trailed off and took a breath. He was going to confuse Quinn even more if he kept going. Not that he didn’t love talking about baseball, but it was probably going to take a while for Quinn to understand it, if he was even interested in the first place. It would be easier once he could show Quinn.
“Uhhh…”
He just… hadn’t intended to show him now.
“So… uhhh… I’m going out of town, yes, but… I mean, I guess I could figure out a way for you to come, too, but I thought… you know… You’re still learning, and I’ll be busy working so you’d be on your own down there. You might get lost or… find some trouble I can’t get you out of. So I thought it’d be better if you stayed here with Roxy where you sort of know things, and where Paris can help you out if you need it. Not that Paris doesn’t come down to Florida sometimes so she can take the kids to Disney. Florida’s another state, by the way, which is like a territory in the United States, which is also called America, which is a country, yeah, but also a continent? And there are—... You know what? I’m just going to stop talking.”
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Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2023 7:39 am
Quinn snorted softly at first, and then couldn’t stop the quiet trill of giggles that escaped when Jack continued to be so offended about him calling them pillows. He must really take baseball seriously. And yet, he couldn’t believe that Jack could take anything seriously, so Quinn must have really offended him.
Hopefully he wasn’t offending him more by laughing.
“Sorry, sorry,” he quickly said, covering his mouth in an attempt to stifle any continued giggles. “But, come on, they kind of look like pillows,” Quinn teased, hoping he wasn’t pushing his luck.
His amusement faded a bit when he learned that he would not be going with Jack to this baseball place. He chewed on his lip and focused on the ball that Roxy crawled back to him with.
He wasn’t upset. He wasn’t even scared. Except… well, Jack was right that he was still learning. It was just that he was getting used to Jack being around, so now he couldn’t stop his stomach from flipping with anxiety.
“Yeah, okay,” he agreed easily, because he was in no position to argue. He was at Jack’s mercy as it were. He could tell him he needed to get out -- which Quinn had come to realize wouldn’t happen. Or at least he didn’t think it would happen. But instead he was letting him stay there.
“So you want me to stay here with Roxy,” he nodded, fighting the urge to get up and pace anxiously around.
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Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2023 7:41 am
Jack was not going to get distracted by pillows again. Or by Quinn giggling, which, now that Jack thought about it… Was this the first time he’d heard Quinn laugh? Not that Quinn had a lot to laugh about, all things considered, but that didn’t mean Jack hadn’t tried.
It figures the thing that would get him laughing would be baseball, the second love of Jack’s life.
Obviously Roxy was the first.
“I, uhh… I mean…”
Jack winced before he could smile at Quinn’s laughter. He felt guilty. He’d offered Quinn a place to stay. As Quinn was now, part of giving him a place to stay meant taking care of him, in a way. Jack had to teach him how to live on Earth, how to fend for himself in a place where most things were unfamiliar.
And now he was just… leaving.
Well, not now, but soon.
“I board Roxy at a doggy hotel sometimes when I’m out of town, but she likes you and… I don’t know, you’re a lot more comfortable around her now than when you first got here, so I thought you’d like the company. And you’re always talking about how you need to repay me — which you don’t, by the way; I mean it — so… I thought, if you still feel like you need to help me with something or show your gratitude or whatever, taking care of Roxy for me would be a huge help. She can protect you— uhhh… I mean, you can protect each other.”
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Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2023 7:47 am
Quinn’s eyebrows had raised when Jack suggested Roxy protect him, but seemed mollified when he corrected his statement.
That was fine. He would be fine. He survived on his own for a few days before Jack found him. And this way he would be able to explore more. He hoped. As long as he didn’t get lost. Oh, but taking care of Roxy seemed important, so he wanted to make sure he did that right.
“How long will you be away?” he asked, because while he was still getting used to things on Earth, he wasn’t sure how long he was comfortable by himself.
Well, there was Alastor that Lucasta said she would get him in touch with, but it had been so long since he’d seen him that maybe he forgot who he was or something. Quinn wouldn’t blame him.
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Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2023 7:49 am
Jack winced again.
“A little over a month,” he said.
It’d never felt like an especially long time when he’d been on his own, when he could get out of the cold of Destiny City for a while and hang out with his teammates, doing what he loved most. With Quinn around, a month seemed almost like an eternity. How could Jack just leave him there to fend for himself? Quinn was an alien. He barely knew about Earth.
Jack didn’t have much of a choice. He didn’t have a believable excuse to delay his arrival. (Somehow, he didn’t think claiming he got electrocuted the way Chris had would fly.)
“I’ll make sure you have plenty of food, and set up some grocery deliveries while I’m away. I can make it so you can use my credit card, too, so if you want to go out and pick something up—... you remember what a credit card is, right? It’s that small rectangular thing with the numbers on it. You put it in the machine and it pays for things for you. There’s usually pictures to show you what to do if you get confused. And you know how to call me on the phone, yeah? So if you or Roxy need anything, just let me know and I can have anything delivered.”
Roxy was staring between the two of them like she could tell they were having a Very Serious conversation.
“All you have to do for Roxy is make sure she has food and water, and take her for walks a couple of times a day. Just stick close to the park and use the leash.”
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Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2023 7:54 am
He was not going to panic. He did a quick calculation of what he thought he could remember what a month was in Earth terms, and that equated to maybe thirty or so days. That didn’t seem horrible. Maybe.
Quinn took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Jack clearly seemed like he was uncomfortable trying to explain to him how long he would be gone, or maybe thought that Quinn would protest. Or maybe it really was a long time and things could go wrong. He didn’t know what the weather would be like, or if there was seismic activity there.
And it wasn’t as though he could go anywhere else.
Besides, he had Roxy. Kinda. And Lucasta. Even less kinda. He would figure things out.
“Okay,” he said, because what else could he say? There wasn’t much of a choice that he had, and he did want to repay Jack for some of what he’d done for him, so watching Roxy seemed reasonable. And he’d gone with Jack on Roxy’s walks and saw what to do with her, so he was pretty sure he could repeat that. He didn’t like the idea of going out in the cold, but he knew how street signs worked now, at least.
“Yeah, don’t worry about us. I can use the phone to do the timefacing.”
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Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2023 7:56 am
“The timefa—... Yeah. Okay. Yes. You know how to do the—...”
The timefacing.
Jack was not going to laugh. He wasn’t. Laughing at Quinn for messing up Earth terms would be rude. It wasn’t Quinn’s fault. He was an alien.
Jack had an alien living in his condo.
Wild.
Jack failed at keeping the laughter back. It escaped as a snicker, hastily suppressed. He cleared his throat and tried to think of something else, something distracting, something that wasn’t at all funny. Quinn was new, and confused, but doing his best. He didn’t deserve to be laughed at.
“Right. Okay,” Jack said. He was considerate. He was thoughtful. He would not laugh. “Cool. Cool cool. It’ll be fine. You’ll have everything you need, and Paris can come check in on you, maybe keep you company or answer any questions if you have them. She’s been doing this way longer than me, so she’s probably better at explaining things anyway. And you’ve got that Alastor guy, right? You were gonna get in touch with him? So… you’ll have people who can help if you need it. All you have to do is ask.”
A month would fly by.
Totally.
Definitely.
Nothing terrible was going to happen at all.
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Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2023 7:57 am
That was absolutely right. He was an alien that knew very little about Earth and its strange things. But Jack had been so lighthearted this whole time, so making sure he was still in good spirits was worth being laughed at.
Quinn hid his own grin by turning his attention back to Roxy so he could lean over her and give her a whole body rub. She was warm. And soft. And he doubted he would be very lonely if she was with him.
Even if he didn’t really want Jack to leave.
“Yeah. Maybe. I don’t know, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen him,” Quinn admitted. And maybe something happened. Maybe it was a different Alastor. Quinn did age slower than others he’d met. Devyn was younger than him once, and then older later. At least in appearance.
“It’ll be fine,” he agreed and pressed his cheek against the top of Roxy’s head as he looked back up at Jack. “We’ll both be fine. It’s cute that you’re worried.”
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Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2023 7:58 am
Jack’s brow furrowed.
He wanted to insist that he wasn’t worried, in case Quinn thought he was being stupid or ridiculous or underestimating him, or all of the above. There was no underestimating going on as far as Jack was concerned, at least not on his part. He just knew Earth in a way Quinn did not. Jack had offered his help, and now he would be leaving; he couldn’t help feeling guilty.
The expression smoothed out quickly, once Quinn didn’t laugh or give him a scathing look. Quinn even called him cute.
Jack smiled and took it for a complement, even if he knew nothing about what being called cute meant in Quinn’s culture. It could be a hidden insult for all he knew.
“I’m always cute,” Jack countered good naturedly.
To prove this point, he strutted away in an exaggerated fashion.
Maybe he could get Quinn to laugh again.
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