keep going,

     “ is that an excuse or an explanation? ” jackson wasn’t passing judgement, and they hoped that came across well enough in their tone, low though their voice was. they genuinely wanted to know. if was was all they knew, would there ever be an end? was there any hope at all? they were exhausted beyond measure, and couldn’t help but imagine what they were capable of if they really leaned into the idea that war was all anyone really understood. jax ducked their head down, partially out of hopelessness, but also out of the fear of being caught with a cobra.

like they’d been struck by a hot stove, jackson jolts, whipping their hand back. it wasn’t a foreign gesture, not entirely. with their current injuries, several people offered jax a hand for one reason or another. but this felt notably different. it begged only one question. “ what are you doing? ”

jackson watched somewhat absently as q’s hand got closer. when he straightened out their button down shirt, jax brightened into a smile. “ thanks, ” they said, beaming. it was a simple gesture, but more intimate than they expected. all the same, they appreciated it, glad q had their back. 

Piper was glad she could make them smile. It was good to know she wasn’t the only one that had a blast and from Jax’s expression, she knew she wasn’t alone. “Oh, good!  I don’t know who I’m kidding. I don’t drink coffee. I’m a hot chocolate gal.” She let out a soft laugh, biting her lip as she waited for Jax.  “Where do you want to go?”

     “ don’t bother. it tastes like crap and it’s not worth the money. ” jackson couldn’t remember the last time they’d had honest to goodness hot chocolate. it reminded them vividly of their childhood and playing outside in the snow, and piper’s statement made her that much more endearing to jackson. “ i haven’t been to the comfort diner in a while, ” they suggested, “ how about there? ” after it was posed, it didn’t take long for jackson’s stomach to rumble loudly. when was the last time they’d had a warm meal, again?

“i know i am. i think about being anywhere but here almost daily, though. i could be on a beach in hawaii right now. but instead i’m here where i’ll either freeze to death or get shot to death by the end of the month.” her tone ended up being more bitter than she’d intended and she finished off the sentence with a forced smile. “sorry. i should try to be more optimistic. i’m mariana, by the way. i don’t think we’ve met before, have we?”

“Good. Cause gang war aside, I had fun. At the movies.” Her eyes glossed over the other before finding their eyes again. “It would really suck if one of us died before we got to the really fun stuff. Ya know?” It was an attempt at flirting and cheering them both up.  “Do you wanna… grab coffee or food or… something?”

     jackson’s expression brightened notably at piper’s mention of the movies. the film was better than jax had expected in every conceivable way and they couldn’t remember the last time they got so excited during a movie. the brief moment the memory took hold was a welcome relief from the constant flashbacks from the previous sunday night. it was piper’s flirtatious comment that brought them back to the present. jackson raised a brow before nodding, their eyes locked onto hers. “ yeah, yeah, absolutely. food would be amazing--i’ve been drinking way too much coffee lately. ”

“ i was just offering some coffee, dear. ” eleanor reiterated with the same incantation of kindness in her voice, a warm recyclable cup in her hands outstretched for the other to take. the past few days were certainly the worst she’s ever seen in quite some time, if not, one of the worst ever. the death toll had finally reached it’s final numbers and the result was but a shocker to the older woman. for a moment, she was rather thankful work had come into the picture. that it had disrupted her social life and kept her drowned in a sea of paper rather than bullets. still, that didn’t mean she didn’t empathize with the people who survived the mayhem, whether it be with emotional or physical scars. making herself comfortable in a seat not too far from their own, eleanor simply offered a polite smile and took a sip out of her own beverage, eyes downcast as to not overwhelm them. “ i don’t mean to pry.. ” she began softly, looking a touch of embarrassed for bringing it up. leave it to eleanor to worry about the wellbeing of others. “ but have you been sleeping ? ” 

Violet smiled a little, tilting her head. “My place isn’t too far from here. Vodka is all I have if that’s alright.” Personally, she wouldn’t drink much. She had spent more then half her life surrounded every night by drunken strangers. That was more then enough to turn her off drinking. Well, getting drunk to be more specific. Things were bad right now. She might not have been there, but she didn’t have to be to know the impact the fight had. “How have you been holding up? And don’t think you can lie, love, I heard you were there.”