i should've seen it glow but everybody knows

[waiting]

WHO: One (1) ex-Marine + Two (2) Godmode Teenagers.
WHERE: Terry & Bradbury's apartment
WHEN: March 21st, early morning
WARNINGS: WHO KNOWS
SUMMARY: Bradbury gets a rude awakening.
FORMAT: quick to start, whatever after!

[ bradbury isn't awake yet. that in itself isn't terribly unusual. it's early, after all, even for him. the sun isn't due to be up for another couple of hours, and he isn't planning on jogging today, so he's taking the opportunity to sleep in.

by now, he's somehow moved from sleeping on the couch and into abby's room, though the majority of her belongings have been packed into boxes and uncertainly put aside. he's considered taking them to a storage unit, but he hasn't quite found the time. or maybe he's just making excuses.

he's in his favored sleeping position, which is sprawled onto his back in his pajamas, one arm resting over his stomach. he's also snoring, relatively softly, occasionally interrupted by teeth gritting together. ]

Comments

[centurybaby]

Sit the fuck down and have some fucking waffles, Ward.

[ her tone is amicable enough, despite the choice of words. the last few pieces of bacon get tipped out of the skillet and onto a plate before she carries it-- manually, even, no snappity quantum powers-- over to the counter to keep the waffles company.

she eyes bradbury a minute, puffing away on her cigarette before she says casually: ]

What, you're not gonna check for poison first?

[demonspawn]

[ terry does what he's told -- mostly because it's easier this early in the morning to do what jenny says than to argue with her. besides, he's not going to argue with a proper breakfast. boy's all skin an bones as it is.

her question to bradbury only makes him raise a slightly eyebrow at her. he's never really sure when jenny's joking or not, but after a second, he seems to think that poison must not really be her style -- either that, or he figures he's immortal and it doesn't matter -- because he's grabbing a plate and some silverware, then forking himself a waffle.

in that same dry tone of voice: ]

Death by birthday breakfast. That's morbid, even for me.

[waiting]

[ bradbury pauses mid-chew, looking up. of course, he's tried not to notice it, and he's mostly done a good job ignoring it, but the fact that jenny's not using her powers -- does it mean she doesn't have them, still, or that she's faking it? or maybe, for once, she just wants to make something with her own hands.

he tries to stop the train of speculative thought there. he doesn't think about that right now. it doesn't fucking matter. ]

I can think of worse ways to go.

[ shit. ]

[centurybaby]

[ jenny huffs out a noise that might be entertained, reaching out to steal a piece of bacon. she leans to put her cigarette out in the sink before biting off a piece and chewing. it might be a tiny bit burnt, but it's not bad, considering how little cooking jenny q probably does. ]

Sure. I prefer unmaking people when they've got a full stomach anyway.

[demonspawn]

[ terry pauses, eying jenny again between mouthfuls of waffle. he likes to think he knows her better than most people, but even then, she's still a mystery most of the time. he figures she likes it that way. but he also figures if she meant to hurt anyone today, she would've done it already.

in all honesty, it's so domestic and normal that he's not really sure what to do with it. he pauses, then pinches his arm. ]

Huh. Not dreaming. [ dryly: ] We really are all sitting here having breakfast like normal people.

[waiting]

[ bradbury pauses even longer after that, then snorts, tipping his head. ]

No laugh track, either. Guess we aren't stuck in a sitcom.

[ but he doesn't really know what else to say, either. eating, at least, is something he can do, and at length he eyes jenny quantum over his stack of pancakes and bacon, like he's deciding what to say next. ]

Are you actually gonna eat breakfast, or keep stealin' from my plate the whole time?

[centurybaby]

Yeah, yeah, ungrateful assholes. I'm taking time out of my fucking busy career as a child terrorist to feed you fucks, you know.

[ there isn't any bite to her words though. she just steals another piece of crispy bacon, absently breaking it into two halves before starting to eat it. she wags the uneaten half at both of them. ]

Enjoy it. I'm not sticking around long.

[demonspawn]

[ he's honestly not sure whether he should find it entertaining or exasperating. maybe it's too early to decide which one it is. either way, he hasn't had breakfast like this in a long time -- not since he left his family for camp hammond -- and it's weirdly nice. not, of course, that he'll say as much out loud.

wouldn't want to jinx it. ]

It's not like we're going to call the City Hall terrorist reporting hotline or something. [ he glances at bradbury. ] Right.

[waiting]

[ bradbury really wishes terry hadn't asked that. ]

City Hall doesn't even have a terrorist reporting hotline. [ he drops his gaze, stares at his waffles like his gaze might be able to drill a hole in them if he focuses on it long enough. finally, he looks up, lifts that goddamn mug at jenny in salute, and manages a wry smirk. ]

And even if it did hypothetically have one, I'd only be reporting to it if there was, y'know, anything to report. Which there isn't. So.

[ he takes a sip of coffee, decisively, feeling the burn all the way down. he'll never understand teenagers, he thinks, as long as he lives. not their motives, or their reasons for doing -- well, anything. ]

Thanks. For coming.

[centurybaby]

[ jenny watches him unreadably for a long second when he thanks her, letting her attention rest on him intently. like this, when she's still and not posturing, not swearing or smoking or anything, maybe it's obvious that she isn't fully herself yet-- that she hasn't entirely recovered in one way or another. there's something tired in her face, something ordinary that doesn't quite suit her.

she's supposed to be endless and powerful, but mostly right now, she just looks... sixteen and a little rough around the edges, even when she casually shrugs and responds with purposeful nonchalance: ]

Whatever. Maybe this is all part of my grand scheme. What the fuck do you know, right?

[demonspawn]

[ terry is the passive observer in that moment as it passes between bradbury and jenny. he's still not sure what it is between the two of them exactly -- if jenny sees bradbury as a rival, as a father, or something else entirely. but he knows she misses midnighter and she hasn't killed bradbury yet -- and it's possible the two things are related.

he goes for another waffle. it's not something he's likely to figure out any time soon, so he might as well keep eating breakfast. ]

Right, let's keep doing the posturing thing. Otherwise this would be way too creepily domestic.

[waiting]

[ that breaks the tension of the moment, or at least saves bradbury from having to respond to jenny directly, and it's an excuse he's happy to take, cutting an amused look over at him. ]

Hey. No comments from the peanut gallery.

[ he makes as if to flick a piece of bacon at Terry's head, then pops it into his mouth instead, chewing reflectively. he's not the most observant, but now that he's had time to look at her longer, he's sure: jenny quantum doesn't have her powers back yet. the thought makes something cold and uncomfortable twist in his gut. lingering guilt, maybe, though he still stands by what he said: he'd do it again, if he had to.

that doesn't mean it would be any easier.

he almost wants to say more, but he isn't sure what there is to say. he doesn't even know where to start. ]

[centurybaby]

[ jenny glances at terry, but she lets him have his smart-ass comment without biting back. in fact, she doesn't say anything at all for a few long moments, letting the sound of food and silverware and morning outside fill the silence. maybe she's just taking it all in-- the weird, comfortable feeling of something like family (maybe that's the real birthday present here)-- or maybe she's just tired, or biding her time, keeping everyone's guards down until her powers come back.

at length, she digs out another cigarette and a cheap gas station lighter, clicking it to life. she presses the cigarette between her lips, lifting the flame to the tip of it and inhales smoke deeply before she speaks again. ]

Alright, assholes. Family time's up. [ leisurely smoke curls from her mouth. she straightens out her jacket, like she's getting ready to leave. ] Try not to fuck up your own birthday, Rick.

[demonspawn]

[ it's still surreal, to see jenny light a cigarette like a normal person. it never stops seeming out of place to him. it always makes him think she's acting tougher than she really is -- and having known midnighter, it's hard not to think how much stronger she'd look right now, with his towering frame looming over her, his gloved hand on her shoulder.

at length, all he say is, simply: ]

See you around, I guess.