underachievement | IC INBOX / the quiet place.

[ Jess forgets that she is sort of expecting company, or at least to be bothered, on account of exhaustion. She still can't sleep, so she nurses cup after cup of coffee to feel like she has some choice in the matter -- emptying them into the sink when they go cold. When she forgets about her mug for the third time, she stops wasting whiskey and drinks it black.

Even though she quickly puts together that the visitor has to be Frank, she opens the door warily. Letting him in, Jess leans out the entrance to scan up and down the street before ducking back in and locking it shut. She turns to him, hip cocked. ]

Just tell me.

[ the bottle is down nearly a quarter already and he hands it to her after he and max duck inside. he's nervous, has been since he accidentally grabbed kilgrave's arm on the way out of town hall. it doesn't really register to him until she's standing there how vivid everything looks today, with color seeping back into the world. and how she must have been nervous too, all day. it's just another grief he feels he's caused her with no way to truly make up for it.

his eyes dart away from hers, distracted briefly by the space. max shifts forward cautiously to try greeting jess with a cold nose against her knee. ] Jessica, I'm telling you. It worked. When he told me to let go, it was like any other asshole on the street telling me to do something. I could've decked him. Anything. [ homeboy seems a little manic, but that's not really different from usual. he catches her eye again and shrugs. ] It worked.

[ Jess drifts back towards the kitchen, out of the dining room which is visibly even less used than the barely-touched living room. Neither are lit nor have been since she moved in a month ago. Every doorway but two has the hinges missing, exposing splintered wood, or hanging brokenly by a single screw, and the floors have never seen a broom. Evidently, she doesn't spend much time at home.

She finds a bottle of whiskey on the kitchen counter, grabs the nearest cup and empties the cold contents into the sink. Resting her weight to the countertop, Jess pours herself a drink and places the bottle aside, concentrating on his words. There is nothing in the world she would rather listen to, regardless of the outcome, but this wrung out and wired, it takes all her focus. That's just absorbing, actually processing the information comes after and she's having trouble with it. Despite the mug hovering inches away from her mouth, she hasn't had a sip yet. ]

You're one hundred percent on this?

[ dog and man continue to follow her deeper into the house, and while frank takes in the broken doors he says nothing. his house is an open layout on purpose so he can assume why she did it. since she doesn't take the offered bottle, he suspends it between two giant hands instead, managing to look like a kid being called in for time-out rather than who he is. he still isn't sure if jess knows exactly who that is yet and he's afraid to breech that subject again.

he watches her carefully and max sits down directly next to frank, as if sensing that this woman isn't the warmest receiver of guests. is he 100% sure? no. but he didn't feel the way he did even that first day when kilgrave told him to piss off, mouthed it actually. he had suddenly Wanted to leave and had done so purposefully; and then later on when jessica killed him all he could do was hang back and watch. but yesterday he had had a choice, he wanted to let go of kilgrave because the man repulses him and not because he had told frank to. slowly, he nods, knowing how much hinges on his certainty. but he's been over it and back a million times -- there's no other explanation. ]

Has it ever not worked on someone who wasn't immune? [ because then maybe there's a margin of error. but frank had never seen it not work. he doesn't think she has either. ]

[ Dog. Right, the dog. Jess doesn't have any experience with dogs and since he isn't chewing on or pawing at anything, they don't really need to interact, do they? Licking her lips, her gaze drops to the whiskey in her hand before she has a gulp, finally. ]

No. [ And finding a clever work around for an order takes time and willpower, if Kilgrave leaves room for interpretation in the first place. He doesn't, and to be compelled is to pursue your instinctive understanding of his command. She has another sip, her head falling back as it sluices down her throat. Her chest heaves with a sigh. ] It's just hard to believe. [ Head lolling upright, she tries to straighten her brain out with a hard blink before clarifying, ] From a survival standpoint.

[ he makes a motion to the dog and max lays down while frank bursts forward another step, only to stop at the other side of the table. he sets his whiskey down on the surface since he definitely doesn't need any more right now, but seeing her drink is somehow comforting -- or at the very least familiar. this should be good, right? this means they have the upperhand whatever happens next. then her words slowly register and he swallows dryly. survival. that's the name of the game here, right? well, that's not good enough for frank. ] I know. [ he manages to say belatedly, shaking his head. ] I get that, I do. But... I need you to believe it. [ because without her there's no next step. ] This is real, Jess. You really did this.

[ She drains the cup and sets it down behind her hip, knocking into the whiskey bottle with a little clink. Jess crosses her arms over her chest, staring at the floor between them, doing her best to let it sink in. It doesn't but she can't let that hold them up. ]

Is Micro ready to take it?

[ oh, okay. it isn't that he doesn't recognize a coping mechanism when he sees one. it's actually that he does and he hates seeing her employ one over what should be good news. but he nods, no real hesitation in it. ] Sure, yeah. I know Dorothy is too.

[ Jess glances at the front door, waiting for Robyn to come through with her mob and throw Hope throat-first into a handful of porcelain shards, or Simpson to toss a desk at her and set Frank on fire. At the cusp of triumph is when she's struck with the most detrimental setbacks and now she's terrified that it will be Trish this time. ]

No one else yet. [ If Kilgrave catches so much as a whiff, he'll find a way to invalidate her efforts before his arrest is up. He basically promised her that. ]

[ frank tracks her eyes back towards the door even though he knows he would have heard someone coming even through the rain. his senses are so fine-tuned by this place he feels nearly just about on par with daredevil, so good thing that asshole's here, huh? when he turns back to jessica and hears her voice, she sounds... defeated. he hates it. he stands by what he said: he thinks she's amazing. to have not only survived all of this torment but to also care what happens to anyone else in this place is a feat unto itself. he's grateful his brother will be protected, but what about her sister? he frowns, ducking his head even if he knows she has no reason to feel threatened by him -- brainwashed or otherwise. ]

What about Trish? [ if this really works, surely she should be the first one to get it. ]

[ Frank, Micro and Dorothy can keep a secret. The further they spread the vaccine, the less assurance she has of Kevin's ignorance to it. Trish wouldn't let on either. She can pull on those rusty B-rated acting skills if she needs to. Might be the only part of this she hasn't become suddenly wary about. Jess rubs at her cheek with her fingers but soon stuffs her fist back under her elbow when she sees they're shaking. ]

After they've made it through the fever. [ It's still risky as hell, shooting people up with her blood, and Jess can't stand to see Trish manic from drugs. Which is the best case scenario. ]

Okay. [ he's hesitant, but as accepting of her orders as always. he leans towards her across the table a fraction without noticing. ] This is your op, Jess. Whatever you say goes. [ so stop looking like you're about to defenestrate yourself any moment, basically. ]

[ Jess cringes at how cajoling he strategically doesn't sound. Like she's gonna get spooked and bolt. That was always an option, then Trish showed up. Now she's lost the comforting lie that she can abandon these people at any moment. ]

I'm not a soldier. [ Jess heaves herself away from the counter and comes to take a seat at the table, snatching her cup to come along with her. She extends a hand across the table's surface for the whiskey bottle. ] More like a backfiring sniper rifle.

Rifles don't backfire. [ wait this isn't nra class, frank, but he leaves it there. he knows what she meant, obviously. without thinking about it, he hands her the whiskey bottle she's reaching for and leans on the back of another chair. he's too wired to sit, and after a moment, max gives a little doggy-groan and flops over on his side. mom and dad are fighting again. ]

You know, I'm not a soldier anymore either. [ but old habits clearly are not dying any time soon. after shifting from foot to foot a few times, he pulls out the chair and sits adjacent to her. ] It's a good idea. Micro, Trish, Dorothy. When?

[ Well there you go. Pudding proof she ain't cut out for jackboots, as at home as she'd look in them. Pouring, Jess rolls her eyes at his weak renouncement of a military life. The addiction to risk is still flowing strong or else he would drop his obsession with "being there" for her. ]

As soon as possible. And I want you to test it again when his arrest is up. [ rather than chuck any of the others in the line of fire. Plus they don't know how long the inoculation will last. ]

[ he nods, he had been planning to test it again the next opportunity he got anyway. but as ever he'd almost prefer to hear it from jess. ] I will.

[ frank hesitates over the next part - the part where he leaves is always the part he gets hung up on. ]

Jess... [ he trails off, knowing he should just quit while he's not even close to ahead. ] Are you okay? [ yep. even lamer than it had sounded in his head. he just barely holds back the grimace. ]

[ Jess stares into the ceramic basin of the cup, trying to hear herself answering that question. She's never okay but he's right to notice this is different. Kilgrave's actions against her, shunted off on unsuspecting strangers, have all been approximate jabs. Assumptions on how to disturb her and she could passively rebel against them by refusing to be caught giving a fuck. With Trish out in the open, her deepest weakness is exposed; he hasn't done anything but threaten her and Jess feels fucking vivisected.

To think, a couple days ago she was concerned about caring too much about a building. ]

She's the only one I can ever save. [ Her voice sounds as dry as if she'd been swishing sand around in her mouth. Murmuring bitterly as she raises her glass to drink, ] She shouldn't be here. [ Three guesses who feels irrationally responsible for even a portion of that. Use a lifeline if you need to. ]

[ he clasps his hands on the table top, his knee bouncing restlessly though he's hanging on her every word and cataloguing every change in her expression. he gets this. first with micro and now with matt. he nods like there's gravel in his head, slow and deliberate with understanding. ]

I know. [ people like himself and jessica -- they had nothing to lose. or they didn't until the one possible thing they did was dragged in with them. frank used to think there was a pattern to the bullshitness of it all, but random's somehow worse. ] I get it, but we will. We'll save them. My brother, your sister. [ there's a weird poetry to it, really. ]

[ She reflexively resists the "we", intends to chug through his audacity, like always, but stops halfway and lowers the cup. It's not the same "chin up, soldier" bullshit she's rebuffed until now. If he really is immune, then Jess isn't alone anymore. The full scope of that relief is daunting as hell, and that's if she'd had half a night's sleep. As she is now, it challenges comprehension. No wonder it won't sink in. ]

And then we'll all grab some fries and people watch in Washington Square. [ She scoffs listlessly then upends the second half of the whiskey into her mouth, getting it down in two huge gulps. The base thuds loudly on the table's surface, summarily abandoned now that its highest purpose has been served. ]

Yeah. [ he looks down at his hands as his lips turn up into a shallow, mirthless smile. ] It's a date.

[ frank watches her down her drink as he rises to his feet suddenly with a scrape of his chair. the sound startles max and gets up too, transitioning into a big yawn and stretch. ]

We're going back out to the Tower to see them. [ he doesn't think the 'them' really needs to be specified. besides, he knows she read his post even if she didn't comment. ] When we all come back I'll send Dorothy and Micro your way.

[ Might as well be. As far as intimacy goes, it'd be a step backwards from having her blood inside him. Jess watches him get up, sinking further into her slouch. ]

Bring me back a snowglobe. [ Sarcasm! Although, knowing him, there's a 60/40 shot he'll do it. Jess thought about going, for all of a minute. If she had another month before Kevin's release, she could summon the time and patience for a camping trip in the interest of gathering data, taking photos. That's not the case and she still doesn't have the luxury of making the Sound Eaters her first priority. Maybe next time. ]

[ he never expected her to go, though in that moment he considers asking her. deciding he's not up for the rejection, he nods haplessly along to her suggestion. ] Settle for a postcard? [ it's as close to an 'I'll miss you' as anyone's likely to get from him, so of course the woman who's always trying to drive him away would get something like it first. ]

Edited 2018-03-21 04:48 (UTC)

Nope. [ They're almost equally useless but a snowglobe she can shake around or toss at him when he oversteps his bounds. A postcard would just flitter around like an idiot. The subtle cadence of his sentimentality is lost on her as she pours her mug full again, passively resolved to passing out at the table instead of making the trek to her bed. ]

[ frank nods, more or less expecting that answer. joke's on her because he's going to find her that snowglobe if it's the last thing he does. and the way things are going around here, it just might be. ] I'll see what I can do. [ he matches her resolve with his own to let her get blackout drunk in peace. he motions to the dog to get up and get on his way, then throws a tired smile over his shoulder at her. see you on the flipside, jones. ]

IC INBOX / the quiet place.

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