* HELICOPTER, BITCH !

oh yeah, she remembers now, jimmy was ticked at her for mixing up some information with badger’s case. “ yeah… i should probably take full responsibility for that, ” she laughs, but jade does feel a little guilty, it probabaly wasn’t very funny for him at the time. “ sorry about that. i’m not exactly the worlds best paralegal. ” 

she takes another quick sip of her now lukewarm chocolate, grinning as their feet nudge together — it’s enough to make jade’s heart jump just a little. he’s cute, she thinks. 

“ it was mostly my dad but, you’re welcome, anyways. ” she looks down at her plate once more, a slight blush gracing her cheeks, “ well, i’m glad. i think you’re doing really great, with the sobriety and all, i mean. especially considering how sucky those meeting can be, ” jade looks back up toward him, her expression as soft as silk, “ they’re not sucky when you’re there, though. ”

a soft laugh, a hand lifts to subconsciously rub at the back of his neck, and then he lapses into a moment of quiet. he’s flattered, but there’s just a little hint of discomfort creeping in -- that part of him that still doesn’t particularly like acknowledging that he’d had any sort of real issue. it does feel pretty great, knowing that someone’s proud of him, though. it’s been a long time since he’s heard anything like that.

            “ --------- thanks. and hey, you’re for sure the hottest paralegal i’ve ever had.” a pause, and he stutters for a second. “ uh -- i mean, like, totally in a respectful way. like, i bet you’re really awesome at your job, and all. ”

jesse’s made it this far without a proper breakdown on adrenaline alone, it’d seem. now that he’s here, though, in the safety of badger’s home with that very friend near him, it’s hard for jesse to maintain his composure. his friend’s words get a small nod from jesse, his voice cracking when he speaks again.   “ yeah. of course i do. ”

oh, hell, here come the tears. jesse swallows a lump in his throat, blinking them away as they begin to blur his vision.   “ you and pete are, like — you’re the only people i got left, yo. i’d trust you with my life. ”   and he is now, quite literally trusting him with his life, by laying low with badger as he is now. running a hand down his face in attempts to dry his eyes, jesse feels almost guilty about getting so emotional around badger. he’s not even sure why, as he shouldn’t feel afraid to express feelings around his friend, though being exposed to that hyper-toxic masculinity in the compound surely didn’t help things.

“ christ, sorry i’m being all emotional and stuff. it’s been a hard — ”   day? jesse lets out a humorless, sad breath of a laugh.   “ uh, hard half year. damn. ”   the change of date, too, is hard to grasp. as jesse goes onto speak, he struggles to make eye contact, but his words are genuine, if not a bit shaky and sniffly.   “ thanks for being so good to me, man. it means everything. i really did miss you, like, a LOT. ”   feels like forever since he’s had a real FRIEND there for him — & todd did not count.

he keeps his mouth shut for a short while, just listening. over their years of friendship, he’s seen jesse get a little emotional from time to time, but nothing ever quite like this. it aches, how badly badger’s wishing they could just rewind, back to the way things used to be. back to before jesse had gotten roped in with heisenberg and . . . whatever had somehow all led to this point.

             “ --------- hey, we’re always gonna be here for you. that’s what friends are for, shit like that. ” it breaks the brief silence that had stretched out after jesse’s last sentence. badger has always hated seeing jesse upset. it’s heartbreaking. “ i missed you, too, jess. for real. you got no idea how happy i am that you’re back. ”

a sigh, and he levels a smile at jesse from where he’s still knelt in front of his chair. a big part of him wants to lean forward, pull jesse into a hug for the first time in what feels like a lifetime, but he holds back. jesse seems so shaken still -- it might be best to let him initiate any contact like that.

@lovesized​ wants to get totally, totally fucked. 

       ‘   did you know  that every cell in your body is destroyed and replaced every seven years   ?   ’     it’s probably the longest sentence she’s muttered around him  ,   but she’s feeling ….. some type of way  .     ‘    one day you’ll have a body that no one’s ever touched   .   ’    and wouldn’t that be something  ?    she is somehow always looking to run away .  even from herself  ,  mostly from herself   .

          “ --------- whoa, seriously ? ”

he lifts a hand, fingers splayed out as he stares at it, examining. as far as he can tell, it doesn’t look or feel any different than it had seven years ago -- but why would it ? gaze shifts back to her face, eyebrows arched slightly. his head’s too fuzzy to think about things like this right now.

“Tell me,” he begins calmly, burying the last bit of his cigarette into the concrete ground whilst standing before his seated, tied-up captive. “Who do you work for?”

@lovesized​  ♥’d 

he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t terrified. being a street dealer, he’d dealt with his fair share of sketchy situations, but nothing even came close to this. he’s in deep shit, it seems. fingers curl in towards his palms, wrists straining against the zip-ties secured just a bit too tightly for comfort around them.

            “ what ? yo, i have no idea who you are, man, but if my guy, like, owes you something, you’ll get it, i swear. ” it doesn’t even come close to answering the question, and badger knows it. “ seriously, i didn’t do shit. ‘specially not to you. why’d you have to tie me to the fuckin’ chair ? ”

he knows he’s been staring for an uncomfortably long time, and he’s pretty sure she’s noticed, but it’s hard not to look. she seems so out of place here in a fast-food fried chicken joint, so elegantly dressed and with an almost otherworldly air about her -- and badger’s pretty sure he just watched her swallow a bone. he should just look away, go back to working through his own meal, but he apparently just can’t help himself ; and the only thing he can think of to say is an awkward,