Born to do Great Things

₊*⋆˚.❆｡┆ Send a '🎁' and I'll make an aesthetic moodboard of your muse ─── accepting !

" Jack ! "

The tall blonde woman spoke with a thrill of joy in her voice, catching sight of him with a smile instantly filling up her face. She kept both arms carefully behind her back as she trotted towards him, a whirl of silvery gilded hair, snowy brocaded silks and chestnut - colored furs. Only a moment would she pause before chiming melodiously,

" I'm glad I found you; I was hoping I would ! Here, I've got something for you ! "

It always prompted one of his own grins, as meager as it was.

Her excitement egged him on, and Jack pulled apart the packaging. Inside the box, there was a light blue scarf with a pattern of penguins bundled up in their own snow gear. He remembered seeing it in a store window weeks ago, countless cute animal patterns on display for the season. Jasmine must've noticed him looking at it and remembered to get it for him.

caretaker.

i'll  stay  until  you  fall  asleep.

you're  not  a  burden.  not  to  me.

you  don't  have  to  act  tough  with  me.

let  me  help.

if  you  need  to  cry,  i'll  look  the  other  way.

you  don't  have  to  talk.

let  me  handle  it,  just  for  a  minute.

rest,  i'll  watch  over  you.

i  don't  care  if  you  think  you're  fine.  i'm  staying.

deep  breaths.

just  lean  on  me.

you're  safe  now,  okay?  just  breathe.

i  know  it  hurts.  i'll  sit  here  as  long  as  it  takes.

i'm  not  leaving  until  i  know  you're  okay.

you  don't  need  to  hide.

let  me  take  care  of  you  this  time.

shh.  i'm  right  here.

you  don't  have  to  put  on  a  smile  for  me.

i  don't  think  less  of  you.

i'll  be  here  when  you  wake  up.

you're  allowed  to  lean  on  me.  that's  what  i'm  here  for.

you  don't  have  to  be  okay.

scoot  over,  i'm  not  letting  you  sleep  alone.

your  hair's  a  mess.  let  me  brush  it.

don't  apologize.

cared  for.

i'm  tired,  that's  all.

please  don't  go.

i  don't  know  what  i  need.

you  didn't  need  to  come.

you  shouldn't  have  to  see  me  like  this.

i  hate  feeling  like  this.

i  was  trying  to  push  through.  i  think  i  made  it  worse.

this  is  so  embarrassing.

can  you  just...  stay  a  little  longer?

i  didn't  think  anyone  would  notice...

i'm  not  safe  in  my  own  head  right  now.

why  are  you  being  so  gentle  with  me?

i  don't  want  you  to  fix  me.

today's  just...  one  of  the  harder  days.

i  didn't  know  i  needed  to  hear  that.

can  you  stay?  after  i  fall  asleep?

sorry.  i  didn't  mean  to  flinch.

i  don't  always  know  what's  going  to  help.

this  is  the  nicest  anyone’s  been  to  me  all  week.

i'm  sorry.  i  know  i'm  a  lot.

i  don't  even  know  why  i'm  crying...

i  think  i'm  broken.

you  didn't  have  to  do  all  this  for  me.

i  don't  want  to  be  a  burden.

The music swelled, crashed, and roared like an ecstatic shout, horns and strings and a twinkling piano that beckoned total abandon and tugged the heart. She felt a great happiness in bringing him out onto the floor, to see the tenseness melt away under a joyful tune that encouraged smiles, laughter, absolute glee as they danced.

He stole a glance at Jasmine, following her advice, to see her twirl effortlessly. Jack mimicked her, turning when Jasmine did, following her lead when she slid. But his movements were jerky, stiff and awkward, where she was confident and fluid. As he bumped into another stranger, Jack thought maybe dancing wasn't quite as easy as Jasmine made it out to be—and that he was rather bad at it.

A joyous, musical laugh rang from the beautiful, blonde woman who spun and kicked and tossed her head, arms out and reaching forward for a dance partner.

❝ You painted a naked woman because you enjoyed looking at her ──── then you put a mirror in her hand and you called the painting 'VANITY'. ❞

ind. pri. semi ─ sel. JASMINE JOLENE from the 2007 video game BioShock

The thought was bittersweet. Of course, Frank wanted nothing more than to watch his beloved son grow up, and regardless of who he would become, he'd be so incredibly proud. Always bragging about his boy's accomplishments. Always by his side to support him. Always loving him unconditionally. However, it did nothing to take away the sting of knowing that with growth came independence.

He dreaded it as much as he looked forward to it.

“We ain't gotta do nothin' you ain't wantin' to do, kid.” Frank reassured him, “You're the boss today.” He gently squeezed Jack's hand playfully before letting go, opting to pick the boy up in his arms instead, placing a kiss on his cheek once he was safely propped up on his father's hip. “What d'ya want for breakfast? You can have anythin' you want, even cake.” His smile widened into a grin as he carried Jack out of his room and towards the stairs.

The con man always wanted to stress the importance of choice. It's why he insisted on occasional days like this, allowing Jack to bend the rules however he wished. As much as routine was necessary, so was freedom. Not to mention, he didn't want to work the boy too hard. Those days were over. He needed to know that he could relax. That life wasn't just made up of tasks to complete. That life wasn't just work and no play.

A smile spread across his face. “Mama Tenenbaum says if you eat too much cake, you’ll get sick.” Mama Tenenbaum was still ranked as the smartest person Jack knew, and as yummy as cake was, if she said too much was bad, Jack would believe her. It just meant cake would last longer if he ate it one slice at a time.

“Can we have bacon and orange juice?”

Ever since coming to the penthouse, Jack was asked to make more and more choices. It was different from the labs—Jack had been raised to only ever take orders. But slowly, he was getting used to the change. With every little decision Jack made, there was never a consequence. He never got in trouble for making a choice.

With Mister Fontaine telling Jack he was the boss, he wasn’t scared of deciding what to do. Anything to avoid sitting in Mister Fontaine’s stuffy office all day.

Jack sifted through the few places he knew—Fontaine Futuristics was off the table, and while Jack did like staying home, he stayed in the apartment lot. He considered Arcadia; he loved the flowers and trees, but even that felt mundane.