thedifferencebetween

[There's another long pause on Manaka's end before she replies.]

You don't need any help? I can come over tomorrow instead, but... If there are little household things you need taken care of, I can do them!

Oh...uh...christ.

[He does need the help. It's not like he can rely on Rhys. But...]

[Well, it's not like tomorrow will make a difference.]

Look, kiddo, I'm gonna be honest with ya. I got the shit beaten out of me. I...I am not a pretty sight right now.

Don't worry. I'm tough!

[And she has almost certainly seen worse—or even caused it. She keeps that part to herself, though.]

I'll be over in a little while, okay? What's your address?

Edited 2016-10-18 03:59 (UTC)

Yeah, 'm sure ya are. But s'not about you, kiddo. 'bout me.

[But what the hell can he do? He's got no mask. He can't make a new one. He can't repair the one he'd come with, he doesn't even have what's left of it.]

'cause here's the thing. That bitch? She tore my friggin' mask off my face.

I'm not someone you need to impress with your dashing good looks, am I? [Frankly, she couldn't care less about his appearance. This is clearly a matter of pride for him, though, so she'll at least make a cursory effort to assure him that there's no need to worry.] And you still haven't told me where you live.

[Because she is coming over, obviously.]

Hey, everybody oughtta be impressed with my looks.

[Jack sighs. He's in ridiculous amounts of pain. He can barely see, his good eye is practically swollen shut. He needs the help. And...well, kids are less freaked out by this kind of stuff, right?]

Nah, s'not that, s'just...hell, you'll see. Friggin everybody will, now.

Residential district, beyond the big store. Yellow house, black trim. H on the box. S'on...Sudowoodo Way.

[The more he talks, the harder it is not to be a little bit curious about what the problem is. Still, she doesn't ask him to explain. She'll see when she gets there.]

Mm, okay! I'll be over as soon as I can be.

[...And, as it turns out, it doesn't take her long to find the place at all. The yellow certainly makes it stand out—which part of her suspects is how he likes it.

From the way things sounded over the phone, Jack isn't in much position to be moving about. So, Manaka rings the doorbell to let him know she's there, and then...promptly tries to let herself in.]

[The door's unlocked. The lights are on, but the shades are drawn. The television is on. There are a couple of Meowth slinking about, and as soon as Manaka opens the door, a very fat Houndour begins wailing and thumps off the couch onto the floor, ready to defend the house once more.]

Boner, Boner....chill. Chill. It's Manaka, you know Manaka. Sorry, sweetheart, he's...uh, he's all on edge, 'cause some crazy bitch broke in and beat me to death.

[Jack's on the couch. Sprawled on the couch, actually, a litter of wrappers and chip bags and empty cola cans spreading out from that central area. He's not wearing his usual collection of carefully chosen layers, he's in a Pokeball patterned sweatshirt and black sweatpants.]

[And most prominently, his trademark mask is missing. Instead his face bears the metal clips to hold it on, a single eye, and the bright blue almost shimmering brand that arcs from cheek to cheek over his nose.]

[As well as a number of fresh ugly bruises and cuts and swollen places.]

[When she's greeted by a lot of noise, Manaka freezes, holding her hands up to show Doom Boner she's unarmed and harmless. Even as she stands still in the doorway, though, her eyes don't stay fixed on one spot; in fact, she barely looks at Doom Boner at all, more concerned with giving the living room a once over.

It's a mess. Jack is a mess. But she had expected that, hadn't she?]

Oh, no! [She shakes her head, sliding her bag off her shoulder as she shuts the door behind her again.] It's fine. He's allowed to be, after what happened.

[With that said, she sets her bag down on the floor, then pads closer to Jack. Or, more specifically, the mess surrounding Jack. Crouching down to gather up some of the discarded wrappers, she glances up at him, brow furrowing just a little.]

Is this all you've been eating?

[The puppy does settle down, slinking back to his trainer and licking at the wrappers as he goes.]

Haven't been up to cooking.

[Or going out. Or doing much beyond moving between bed and couch and popping painkillers to try and numb the hellish misery that his face has become.]

[Obviously. It's so obvious, in fact, that she doesn't even reply. She just continues to gather the discarded trash into her arms, gaze still lingering his face as she gropes around for the remaining pieces. Her eyes are almost totally devoid of expression as she studies him.

...This is what he's been making a big deal about? The bruises are far uglier than the mark branded on his face. At worst, it makes her curious about the texture of his skin; it doesn't look like any kind of scarring she's seen before.

Finally, she rises back to her feet, announcing as she turns on her heel:]

Well, luckily for you, I'm a great cook.

[She's already at the outer edge of the room before she realizes she has...no idea where the kitchen actually is. Well, whatever. How hard can it be to find?]

I don't care if you're a shit cook, I'm desperate for anything that doesn't come out of a foil bag.

[Jack doesn't like to eat this way, but he hasn't had much choice. He'll eat whatever the hell she puts in front of him.]

Everything's stocked. Use whatever, I don't care.

[He shifts on the couch, half propping himself up. His head swims and he presses the heel of his hand against his forehead. Shit. He still feels awful.]

Hey, bring me a cola, would you, princess? Gotta take a pill. A cold one, not one of the ones in the cabinet.

[A minute or two later, she returns with a can of cola, just as asked. It reminds her of her original reason for coming by, but... Maybe it's better to leave the wine as a surprise for when he isn't on a high dosage of pain killers.

Once she has handed the can off to him, she continues to hover nearby, fingers twisting into the cloth of her skirt.]

Um... It's okay if you don't want to talk about it now, but when we talked on the phone, you weren't very clear about what happened.

Thanks.

[He pops the can and washes down his handful of pills with a large swig. The caffeine should do him some good. He's at least propped upright now.]

This psychotic chick who's got it in for me decided to use the first flimsy excuse she could sink her fingers into to break into my house and beat me to death.

[It's not like Manaka's a little kid, she can handle the truth about what happened. He doesn't see any reason to try and make it sound like anything it wasn't. Besides, he wants the sympathy.]

Stay away from a woman named Athena. She's...she's no good.

Mm, I gathered most of that, but...

[She purses her lips together for a moment, then offers him a sheepish smile.]

Sorry. I guess I'm just worried. [Nosy is more like it. She still isn't used to not knowing things.] Do you think there's a chance she'll come back, or...?

I dunno. She shouldn't have in the first place, this...this is not her fight. There shouldn't even be a fight, she's all pissed off 'cause of something that she's got nothing to do with.

[Number Two, Timothy L, whoever...he had sold Jack his life. Jack literally owned him, and had full control over his physical appearance. And if he had a problem with what had happened, that was his to deal with. Not Athena's.]

She hates me. She's hated me for years, apparently. Y'see, sweetheart, I'm the guy who not only has to make the hard choices, I can make'em. And she's never liked that, I guess. Thinks she's so much better than me, such a better person.

[Jack snorts.]

[She had been playing around, maintaining this relationship like a tool to be used. That reply strikes something in her, though, in a way she hadn't expected.

To be isolated by your vision. To have those who couldn't grasp it rage against you. She had only done what she had to, and yet...

When she answers, she can feel her heartbeat in her chest.]

Because she doesn't understand. [All at once, her tone is quiet, its childlike sweetness missing.] No matter how clear the truth may seem to you, she could never grasp it. After all... Rats are clever, but they're still just animals in the end.

[Well what do ya know. That's an answer that Jack's not expecting, but is damn pleased to hear. Now that...that is encouraging. He knew he liked this kid for a reason. He lifts a hand and clicks his fingers at Manaka, in the 'you got it' gesture.]

Rats can fetch, you know. Go and get something and bring it back to ya. Athena could fetch, too. Not as well, but.... hell, what did I expect? I knew she was a messed up chick when I hired her, I thought that would work in my favor.

But you...you've nailed it, princess. She doesn't understand, none of'em do. They'd rather wallow in shit and eat garbage on a festering pus hole of a planet than let me fix things! I try and help, I devote my god damned life to helping those ungrateful sons of taints, and this is what I get?

[Talk about skagshit. No. No, this is not gonna stand. None of it.]

Mm, and that's why you're more than they are. Even in a place like this, that hasn't changed.

[Just as quickly as that change came over her, though, it's gone again, a bright smile breaking over Manaka's face.]

—Ah, but I was going to make you something to eat, wasn't I? Rest up, I'll have things ready in just a bit!

[Maybe she'll slip the wine in the fridge on the way.]

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