#&jess

“ i just. needed to talk to you ‘cause. somehow you always know what to say. ” // @ sarah | from ‘ soft (ish) angst prompts ’

Sarah looks at Jessica over her tea cup. There is a pile of four thick books sitting on the chair next to her and Jess knows that the trip into town wasn’t exactly to just pick those up, but Sarah thinks their meeting was long over due anyway. 

“You know, I’m only good at giving advice because I don’t follow my own. Lots of wisdom to share.” she admits, setting the cup back down. "So tell me, what's on your mind?" 

“ call me, even if it’s the middle of the night. “ // @sarah  | from ‘ reassurance starters ’

“I might take you up on that offer if Bess gives me a break from all the crying. She’s awake all night anyway, might as well keep you up as well if you’re up for some nasty dark circles in the morning.”

Sam is staring intently at the empty white squares of the crossword puzzle when she startles him. He barely moves from his spot, but the leather squeaks slightly when he unintentionally sits straighter on the chair. “Yes, well, just catching up with what’s going on in the world, you know.” he says before closing the newspaper and folding it in half. He supposes he can think about that nine-letter word for ‘unscrupulous person’ later. 

“Yes, sure. Please sit. Would you care for a beverage?”

“ please tell me you didn’t cancel your plans for me… ” // @ max | from ‘so you had a bad day prompts’ 

Max is standing at the door with his arms open ready to ‘bear-hug’ Jess and while he maintains his ridiculously goofy pose, he adds a frown and a chuckle. “No! I’ve included you in my plans, silly! What mood are we in? frowny, downer, stare-at-the-ceiling or feels-like-the-world-might-be-ending-tomorrow? I need to know so I can adjust”

He has been dreading that question all along. It's not uncommon that he gets asked that, given the world and circumstances they live in, so he understands the uncertainty — but it's also not common for the answer to be 'no'. Sam takes his role very seriously, (maybe too seriously), everyone knows that, but they also trust him because of how he is and how he seems to think of any possible scenario and anticipate them. This time it's different. The answer is no, but he doesn't say it immediately. Instead, he takes a deep breath as if he's been deprived of air for days. His chest heaves, he straightens his shoulders and opens his mouth, but nothing comes out. He clears his throat. She knows. "No." he admits at last "And I know what you're thinking, but I have considered the risks and I'm okay with being the one taking them."