𝐜𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝

Dunn’s second penalty of the night | STL @ VAN | Round 1, Game 4 August 17, 2020

+ bonus

keenan isn't under the illusion that any type of happy ending will come his way, he's made his bed and has accepted he'll have to lie in it, but peace was something he aches for. a solid nights sleep without nightmares squeezing his lungs and puncturing his heart. but jeanny wasn't like him, a little bit jaded and definitely dealt a bad hand but she could do whatever the hell she wanted — there were no bodies hiding in her yard ... literally. " i just think you shouldn't completely rule it out, y'know? 'cause if you do then you'll definitely never go. " with a loose shrug keenan refuses to push any further, to invade her life more than he already has. " i don't think you look crazy ", homme clarifies with a slight chuckle, " but i doubt you wanna be stuck in my clothes either. " if he can add the smallest bit of comfort to her time here then he'll do it, but with a notebook full of advice and sizes first. " but hey, if you manage to frighten the postman into doing a decent job then i'll take it ", tacks on with a playful grin, so unnatural for him yet feeling normal at the same time. he can't imagine jeanny ever looking anything other than perfect, the thought striking him so suddenly that his cheeks warm.

"have  you  not  ruled  it  out  for  yourself  then?"  jeanny  counters,  and  although  she  knows  her  words  might  be  confronting  —  there's  a  soft  edge  to  them.  "i  might  not  have  killed  people,  like  you.  but  we've  both  done  stuff  we  can't  come  back  from."  her  own  words  send  a  shiver  down  her  spine,  and  her  face  pales  at  the  memories  of  everything  that  happened  inside  the  club  she  works  at.  how  desperate  for  the  job  she  turned  out  to  be  because  of  her  dependency  on  the  lines  of  coke  her  bosses  had  even  put  her  onto  in  the  first  place,  just  so  she  could  dance  longer.  not  only  is  quick  money  addicting  enough  when  there's  no  one  else  to  rely  on,  her  body  has  also  started  to  literally  depend  on  it.  "the  only  reason  peter  let  me  stay  with  him  is  because  i  have  nothing  to  lose.  i  threatened  to  go  public  with  what  he's  done  to  my  mom  and  i  told  him  i  didn't  care  what  he  did  to  me  in  court.  i  knew  no  one  was  gonna  believe  a  fucking  drug  addicted  stripper  over  a  well-accomplished  businessman  —  but  that  kind  of  backlash?  no  one  wants  that."  her  muscles  tensed  and  as  uncomfortable  as  it  feels  to  open  up,  she  feels  like  this  is  a  now  or  never  moment.  again,  what  did  she  really  have  to  lose?  "but  just  because  he's  gone,  doesn't  mean  it's  over."  jeanny  brushes  a  lost,  wet  curl  from  her  face,  right  before  she  manages  a  soft  smile  as  he  assures  her  in  the  way  she's  dressed,  although  barely  so  with  only  her  towel.  "i  don't  mind  your  clothes.  they  seem  comfortable  enough  —  unless,  you  mind,  of  course."  her  words  are  careful,  like  the  entire  conversation  seems  to  be.  "hm,  maybe  you  should've  kidnapped  a  scarecrow  instead  of  a  stripper,  if  you  wanted  to  keep  the  mailman  off  of  your  lawn."  jeanny  softly  bites  her  lip,  feeling  like  it's  way  too  early  for  humor  to  settle  in,  but  she  can't  help  but  to  slightly  chuckle  when  her  gaze  meets  his.  that's  the  problem.  somehow,  his  comforting  presence  makes  her  forget  the  severity  of  the  situation  she's  in.  she'd  already  turned  back  to  him  when  he  spoke,  eyes  darting  from  the  foamy  fabric  hugging  her  frame  to  his  eyes  and  not  leaving.  reality  kicks  in  hard  when  he  describes  what's  going  to  happen  so  vividly,  and  it  makes  the  room  spin.  the  words  that  leave  him  echo  inside  of  her  and  cause  a  tornado  of  feelings  she  doesn't  know  where  to  place.  between  her  stepparent,  keenan's  intentions  and  her  own  emotions.  "i'm...  i'm  not  scared  to  be  trapped."  jeanny  responds  after  what  feels  like  an  eternity  of  silence,  and  hazel  hues  bore  right  into  him  as  she  inhales  sharply.  "i'm  not  scared  to  be  here,  even  though  i  probably  should  be.  i  feel  a  lot  safer  around  you  as  i  do  around  him.  —  did."  she's  still  not  used  to  talking  about  peter  in  past  tense.  a  soft  sigh  falls  from  her  lips  and  she  slightly  shakes  her  head.  "whether  you  found  me  there  tonight  or  not,  i'd  have  always  been  in  trouble.  i  mean,  who's  got  a  bigger  motive  than  me  to  let  something  like  that  happen  to  him?"  her  teeth  massage  her  own  bottom  lip  while  jeanny  tries  to  keep  her  tears  at  bay.  even  when  it  came  to  her  word  against  keenan's,  she  doesn't  like  her  chances.  "would  it  be  so  crazy  to  maybe  think  that  —"  for  a  moment  her  voice  clogs  in  her  throat,  feeling  like  what  she's  meant  to  say  is  so  unusual  that  her  radar  of  wrong  and  right  doesn't  even  know  where  to  put  it.  "that  —  i  don't  know,  me  being  here  might  just  what  needs  to  happen?" 

there was no part of her that wants to change who travis is — to erase any aspect of him be like pouring soup on a masterpiece and it was this version of him that sloane fell for in the first place. but maybe a little more care over his own wellbeing would be good for him, selfishly both of them. "if you think about it logically, if you rest up for more than like three hours you'll be able to work more when you do go back ... isn't that smart?" femme suggests, putting all those painful years of braces to good use and flash him a wide and hopefully persuasive smile. that radiance dips slightly when he rebuffs her suggestion to be fully involved, even if she can see the sense in his choice being denied something was definitely an experience she needs to get familiar with. "but ... i don't want you hiding things from me anymore trav, okay? and i don't wanna hear that 'it's too violent' bullshit or whatever, i'm telling you that i want to know and especially if it involves your safety." she wasn't against owning a gun, or at the very least knowing how to shoot, if people were going to be keeping their eyes out for her then she needs to be ready. "so is this your way of saying we're hard launched?" a laugh escapes despite the somewhat morbid talk of gun training, but it was nice in a weird way — people knowing that they were together. his heat against her back sends a shiver up her spine, warm eyes rolling at his comment, "baby i think you need your head checked if you think i look good dressed like this." yet she accepts the compliment regardless, even if blood has dried into hard crusts on her clothes. contemplating his words she agrees with a nod, "you know them better than me so if you say we're staying away then i guess that's what we're doing. and for the record just because i wasn't raised the same way as you doesn't mean i can't try to understand", tossing him a scolding look she finds herself melting as he nears. his lips on her skin draw a quiet gasp from her mouth, body curving to the hard contours of his chest.

there's  things  he  can't  put  on  hold.  not  in  the  position  he's  in,  where  people  are  relying  on  him,  and  the  empire  he  built  could  crack  if  he's  out  of  the  running.  then  again,  he's  not  trying  to  make  her  understand  how  to  run  a  criminal  organisation.  as  much  as  he's  shared  with  her  over  the  past  twenty-four  hours,  some  things  should  remain  in  the  shadows.  "it's  not  that  simple,  babe."  travis  tells  her,  and  as  much  as  he  has  to  say  —  he  doesn't  try  to  prove  his  point  this  time.  after  all  this  time,  he  knows  what  he's  doing.  that's  not  what  he's  worried  about.  he's  more  concerned  about  this  new  territory  they  are  entering.  the  lock  on  his  jaw  is  tight  as  he  looks  at  her,  her  voice  echoing  in  his  head,  although  that  could  just  be  the  medication  in  his  system.  then  again,  whenever  he  looks  at  her,  the  world  seems  to  narrow.  like  she  anchored  him  to  the  only  thing  that's  really  important,  the  here  and  now.  he  becomes  a  softer  and  truer  version  of  himself,  that  not  even  his  siblings  got  to  see  a  sliver  of.  "don't  make  me  lie  to  you."  he  tells  her  with  his  face  stoic  on  the  surface.  however,  when  paying  closer  attention,  one  could  notice  the  vein  on  his  forehead  throb  and  his  nostrils  flare  just  the  slightest  amount.  it  bothered  him.  "information  isn't  necessarily  a  privilege  in  this  sort  of  life,  baby.  it  might  be,  but  lots  of  it  would  mostly  be  a  burden."  the  corners  of  his  mouth  spread,  although  there's  no  sign  of  joy  in  his  physique.  "i  don't  wanna  burden  you.  and  maybe  i  don't  want  you  looking  at  me  different  either."  looking  down  at  the  bullet  wound  currently  open  in  his  shoulder,  travis  couldn't  help  but  make  a  face.  "well,  not  any  more  than  this,  i  mean."  he's  the  last  person  she  needs  to  worry  about.  lips  caress  down  the  curve  of  her  neck  as  he  holds  her,  and  the  heat  of  her  body  makes  it  hard  for  him  to  think,  yet  he  fights  the  tendency  to  forget  everything  that's  important.  "i  literally  just  got  checked.  only  physical  damage,  but  if  you  wanna  be  sure  we  can  ask  rosa  if  i'm  in  the  right  mind  for  believing  that  you  right  now  is  the  sexiest  thing  i've  ever  seen."  a  mischievous  sparkle  reflects  in  his  eyes  as  his  tongue  slides  past  his  bottom  lip,  leaving  a  wet  trail  in  anticipation  of  her  touch.  "try?  the  only  thing  i  want  you  to  try,  is  to  make  forget  i  just  had  a  bullet  in  me.  —  i  know  it  might  sound  difficult,  but  i  think  you  can  do  it."  his  lips  tilt  upward  to  a  daring  smirk  that  sticks  to  far  beyond  where  she  gasps  over  his  touch.  the  mere  sound  of  it  ignites  a  raw  passion  inside  of  him.  his  hands  nearly  shake  from  the  eagerness  of  wanting  to  touch  every  curve  of  her  body,  but  he  forces  himself  to  remain  in  control.  even  when  she  feels  on  him.  "hey,  at  least  it's  my  blood."  like  that  was  any  better.  large  pupils  studied  the  features  of  her  gorgeous  face,  aiming  at  her  soft  lips  like  spring  water  after  a  long  trip  through  the  desert.  he  needs  her  in  ways  he's  never  experienced  before.  close  isn't  nearly  enough.  although,  the  heat  of  her  mouth  does  send  a  sensation  through  his  being  that  couldn't  be  matched  by  anyone  else.  eager  as  he  is,  travis  danced  against  the  sensitive  tip  of  her  tongue  with  his  before  deepening  the  kiss  and  holding  her  jaw  up  as  he  grips  her  face  tight.  their  bodies  are  separated  by  only  clothes,  and  he  longs  for  the  direct  touch  —  so  he  pulls  his  shirt  with  one  hand  off  his  back  and  over  his  head.  it's  so  fast  it  barely  interrupts  the  kiss.