Apartment Above Needful Things; Tuesday Late Morning

[totalwildcard]

Harley had spent most of the weekend on the mainland. Not just Baltimore, either - she'd taken the kid out on a little road trip. Yanno, for life lessons! Most of them criminal, of course, but that was sort of how their mentorship worked, so someone else could handle the boring stuff. Anyway, they'd had fun!

So much of it, in fact, that Harley had only landed back on the island late on Monday evening. Technically probably Tuesday? Which meant that after she'd passed out and slept her fill, the day was already well on its way. She rolled groggily out of bed, shambled her way into the living room --

And groaned when she saw the glitter bomb still waiting on the coffee table, and not downstairs attached to the front door ready to explode on Frenchie if he showed up again this week. Whether he'd already shown up or not, Harley was not in a state to go set it up now.

She shuffled around some more, in search of her phone, which she found discarded on the kitchen counter. No calls, no messages apart from Cass informing her she'd ordered breakfast delivery on Harley's account. Harley looked at the phone for a long moment more anyway, tapping her thumb against the side of it in thought. Groggy, still sleepy, not yet caffeinated thought.

And pulled up a number she'd had for a while but never actually texted before.

(Successfully, anyway. There was that time on her birthday.)

You awake yet?

(expecting one but can be open for other stuff as well!)

Comments

[totalwildcard]

Harley sighed. It took some of the tension out, but also left her shoulders looking a little droopy.

"I was just trying to tell ya a... nice thing. Yanno, to begin with. Originally."

[hasaknightjob]

"Try again?" Marc suggested. "Both of us?"

[totalwildcard]

Harley's face went all scrunchy again.

"Dunno if I wanna try the same road again. What if it's just bumpy the second time around, too?"

[hasaknightjob]

"That's fine," Marc said. "Just - I'm trying."

[totalwildcard]

"So am I."

Why did that feel like admitting something, to her?

[hasaknightjob]

"Then we're shitty together I guess," Marc said. Sort of trying for a joke but at the same time it kinda wasn't not true. "Go team."

[totalwildcard]

Harley gave another dramatic sigh with a distinct undercurrent of a whine to it.

But she also peeled one of her hands off her thigh to hold it up like the weakest offer of a high five.

[hasaknightjob]

Marc returned the gesture. Then kept holding on to her hand if she let him.

[totalwildcard]

Harley had been about to do the same, so...

Yes.

She looked at their joined hands, too. Hers looking so dainty and particularly alabaster-like in his.

[hasaknightjob]

"I don't like fucking up with you," Marc said. He was watching her watch their hands.

[totalwildcard]

Harley was clearly trying to take in all the details. Or avoiding looking at his face, or both.

"Why not?"

[hasaknightjob]

"I don't like it when you're hurt," Marc said.

[totalwildcard]

"I'm not hurt," Harley claimed.

She gave his hand a little squeeze.

[hasaknightjob]

"Okay," Marc said. He squeezed back, rubbing his thumb against her hand.

[totalwildcard]

A little sigh came out through her nose.

"I just wanted to tell ya I... think about you when you're not there."

[hasaknightjob]

Marc didn't reply right away. But the hesitation was because he was thinking before he spoke. Which in and of itself said something about how he was trying.

"Me too."

[totalwildcard]

Harley held his hand a little tighter. Reflecting something in her chest upon hearing what he said.

"And it's not some other version," she added, hazarding a glance up at his face, finally. "It's just you."

[hasaknightjob]

There was tension there but it was the tension of wanting to say the right thing. There was warmth, too. It was in his eyes as he looked back at her.

"Thank you," he said. Like sorry it wasn't a well he went to often, but it was also one of those things Harley was an exception for. "It's you too. Whole package. Nothing else."

[totalwildcard]

"I wouldn't mind if it wasn't," Harley replied, because she had to. "But I'm gettin' it doesn't work the same for you."

And she was committing that to memory.

Which said something, too.

[hasaknightjob]

Marc gave a twitchy shake of his head. Depending on how good Harley's memory was of such things, she might recognize it as a similar gesture to ones Marc had made when the topic of birthdays had come up. One that said it wasn't necessarily a choice that he couldn't elaborate more he was about to.

"It - uh - doesn't. Nah."

[totalwildcard]

Whether Harley recognized it specifically was up for debate, but it definitely pinged her instincts in a real particular kind of way that told her not to push.

Not that she'd been about to. Weirdly enough.

So she just nodded, like that was that. And moved on - sort of: "Did Steven tell you he hugged me?"

[hasaknightjob]

That distracted Marc easily.

"No. Just said the stars thing. Were you okay?"

Marc knew Steven only had eyes for Watts so that left an offer of comfort as Marc's next best guess for motivation.

[totalwildcard]

"Unimportant." To what she was about to say, anyway! "Was just thinkin' about how weird that is, with the body. It doesn't feel the same."

[hasaknightjob]

"He hugs more," Marc said, as though that explained it.

[totalwildcard]

"No," Harley said, then immediately reconsidered. "Well, yes, probably but that's not the point! The point is, when you're driving this thing --"

And her other hand finally came off her leg again so she could prod him lightly in the chest.

"-- it feels like you. And it's not about who hugs more."