![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Dec. 16th, 2023 at 5:56 PM
[Racing down the interstate as fast as they fucking can, Johnnie tugs Chrissy closer and ducks low over his bike. They're streamlined now, they'll pick up just a little bit more speed, and then they can outride this giant evil fucking wasp for sure -
His eyes blink slowly against the light in the room, and then he frowns and lifts his pillow from under his head and flings it at the alarm clock on the bedside table. That shouldn't work, except that it falls off the table and unplugs in the process, leaving the room blissfully silent.
And now he doesn't have a pillow. Shit.]
Ugh. Hey, you up?
[Like Chrissy could sleep through that.
Soon enough though, he rolls on out of bed, gets the water going, tugs fresh clean clothing out of his bag, then checks on that shower. Yep, nice and hot. Time to get clean and ready for the day.]
Whatcha think? Wanna check out the cafe for breakfast? Maybe we can make 'em do some eggs an' pancakes even though they're gonna say it's dinner only now. I hate when places do that, it's such fuckin' bullshit.
His eyes blink slowly against the light in the room, and then he frowns and lifts his pillow from under his head and flings it at the alarm clock on the bedside table. That shouldn't work, except that it falls off the table and unplugs in the process, leaving the room blissfully silent.
And now he doesn't have a pillow. Shit.]
Ugh. Hey, you up?
[Like Chrissy could sleep through that.
Soon enough though, he rolls on out of bed, gets the water going, tugs fresh clean clothing out of his bag, then checks on that shower. Yep, nice and hot. Time to get clean and ready for the day.]
Whatcha think? Wanna check out the cafe for breakfast? Maybe we can make 'em do some eggs an' pancakes even though they're gonna say it's dinner only now. I hate when places do that, it's such fuckin' bullshit.
Comments
After the plates are rinsed and set aside to dry, she heads over to the car to get it turned on. The headlights are switched to illuminate the area, and she has to sit in the seat while she fiddles with the radio until she finds a station playing some upbeat music.
Dinner is done, and now it's time for some dancing. She slips out of the car and heads over toward him, hand outstretched so he'll take hold of it.]
This music isn't too bad, right? It's got a good beat.
Once the music starts playing though, he's ready to get up and dance for sure, and so he gladly takes her hand and hops to his feet.]
Yeah! An' the beat, that's what really matters when it comes to dance.
[It's a little too fast to swing to but that doesn't mean they can't work something out. It's also not quite like what was going on in New York either, it's somewhere closer to rhythm and blues but not as he knows it. Good, though. Different, but different is great when it comes to music. New is fun. Trying to fit some of the moves he knows to this makes him laugh, but that's all part of the fun too.]
Hey, we always dance with me in the lead, but you never show me much about how you danced in the eighties, would that work better for this stuff?
[She laughs, charmed by his attempts to fit his moves into the rhythm. It's definitely not the kind of music they've been dancing to, which is fine. Now she can teach him a thing or two.]
Guys don't dance like that in the 80s though. At school dances they kind of just...well, come here. I'll show you.
[He'll probably remember dancing up on one another at that club in New York City. Or maybe he won't, drugs were involved that night. Either way, she pulls him in close to put her hands on his hips and they can sway and move close together to the music. And once she's sure he's got the beat she turns in his arms, backside pressed up against him as they rock and sway in time to the song.]
It's not real dancing. Not like we do all the time! But that's how guys do it, if you can even get them to dance at all. Jason never did, no matter how much I begged him to.
[He has extremely vague memories of this, though, and it's not totally foreign. Dancing with bodies all shoved up against each other in small spaces is common everywhere, especially in the little pop-up and underground clubs they run or join in with. But when he thinks dancing he doesn't think of this. Works, though. There isn't time in the beat for anything more with music like this, and that's fine. He's adaptable to all sorts of ways of having fun.
Besides, with Chrissy close, with them still really only half-dressed at best, it feels great. Skin on skin, dancing in the firelight to music, what could be better? He grins and dips his head to kiss at her ear and shoulder when he can, though it's not always easy until a slower song finally comes on.]
At school dances, though? They let you get away with this shit at school?
[The memory is enough to make her laugh fondly now, and she turns about so she can face him again.]
And most guys just don't have the rhythm to dance like that. Most guys just do this.
[She puts his hands on her hips, and her hands go to his shoulders after taking a step back. They're not pressed together, no more skin to skin contact. And there's no more dancing either, because she starts stepping back and forth, barely moving to the music. It's difficult to keep a straight face, but she manages. This has to be killing him, because it's driving her crazy!]
This is how most guys dance. It's how all couples dance at school dances. You stand like this and barely move, and then you can look at each other and talk. Pretty lame, huh?
[It's very lame, and she's already over it.]
You have no idea how happy I am that you really know how to dance, baby. And you actually love to do it.
Man, for a second there I thought I was gonna say your time had somethin' figured out, but this is the funniest goddamn thing.
[And it needs to stop, so he tugs her against him, chest to chest, and laughs as he leans in for a quick kiss.]
Glad you found your way to a time an' place where people actually want to dance. Fuck, y'know, we learned in school. Always loved to watch American Bandstand when it came on, growin' up. Everyone wanted to be that cool. An' then you throw in the whole Mexican side of things where everyone's got dancing an' music an' parties for any occasion? Shit. Everyone dances. 'Course, they ain't all as good as we are.
[The song that's playing is a little more upbeat, but nothing what they need to really dance. She still leads him into a swing move or two, laughing as she pulls herself away and signals for him to wait. There's got to be better music to dance to playing somewhere.
She runs back to the car and practically dives into the drivers's seat to fiddle with the radio. Eventually she's able to find a station that's playing music in Spanish. Does she know the song? Absolutely not. But it's just the right sound and rhythm to really enjoy dancing, and she's grinning as she jogs back over and leaps into his arms so he can spin her a few times.
Once her feet are back on the ground, she sweeps him up and tries to lead in their cool dance moves without either of them getting confused by her doing it. It's too silly for her to do for too long, and soon enough she's laughing and tripping herself up.]
I'm so used to you leading! I keep messing up!
[He loves that she tried, and it was fun to try and follow, but yeah, neither of them are great at taking the opposite roles, obviously. It's not like he's doing much better than she is, what with him putting his own wrong foot first and stepping the wrong direction, and how the fuck do you follow through on some of those moves when you're not the one leading anyway?
But it's funny, and funny is great. He tugs her in close, then takes over leading, something they're both way more comfortable with.]
This one's a huapango but I dunno how to do that type of dance for real the way it's meant to! This works, though. We gotta go find some crazy traditional dance place sometime, really fuck up in front of people who know what they're doin' and see if they'll teach us. Maybe we can find a ghost who knows their shit, that'd be fun.
The fact that he thinks so too just shows how perfect he is for her.]
Well, we could always find a dance place to take lessons when we get back home. It would be a fun date night. Go out for dinner and dancing lessons.
[She thinks they move really well together without lessons, but it would be enjoyable to learn how to do things the right way. They can add more moves to their catalog and really show off.]
But you know, I still can't tell the different types of music apart. You'll have to give me lessons on how to do that so I don't look like an idiot when we learn the dances.
[Not meant to belittle her, certainly, it's just surprising to have to try and imagine it. And probably somewhere out there are people who don't know the difference between rock and jazz, too. Probably lots of them, now he thinks on it.
But he doesn't give that more than a few seconds, because it'll mess up his footwork. At least not until the song's over, and he finally has to take a breather.]
Hold on, I gotta get another coke. These cherry ones, they're all right, huh?
[Obviously, they're her favorite. It's a taste he's gotten used to quickly, even if at first he found it pretty weird. He goes to retrieve one, then stops as he spots the other drinks they have. There's that bottle of wine and yeah they could save it for her birthday, but that's days and days away. Why not have it now, instead? They can get more wine.]
Y'ever open a wine bottle with a knife?
[Hold on, this isn't elegant, but who needs the cork to stay in one piece? He stabs down into it with his blade, then tugs it out and flicks the cork into the fire. They're just going to drink this tonight, it's fine.
Grinning in victory, he takes a gulp right from the bottle, then holds it out toward her.]
Drink up, baby girl. Might as well, we got a big day tomorrow!
Is that enough to get her drunk? Probably not, but she'll likely be tipsy in a few minutes. She needs to share though, so the bottle is passed back to him. Rather than letting him drink it right away, she leans in to give him a kiss, letting him taste the wine on her.]
If I get drunk, I won't be able to see if I have night vision.
[That's definitely not a problem, because she's already taking the bottle from him for another big drink before he's had time to grab another for himself.]
[Too much to carry, so enjoy it now, that's his philosophy. Not that he's particularly philosophical about it right now as he takes the bottle and takes a nice deep drink. Is it good wine? Who knows. It's alcohol, though.
With a satisfied sigh, he goes in for another kiss, then leads her in a lazy sort of dance with one hand while they pass the bottle back and forth.]
Babe, you an' me, we got shit figured out, you know that? Who else is havin' as good a night as we are right now? Nobody!
[She's giggly, even as she sighs contently. Because he's right. They've got everything figured out. And she knows what she needs to celebrate that. Another drink. The bottle's getting pretty low already, but that's okay. She's feeling nice and warm, without a care in the world.]
We're gonna see in the dark and learn how to do every dance ever, and then we're gonna get a little house, and I'll win car races and maybe even go to college, and then we'll get married and it will be the best party in the entire universe, and then we'll do whatever we want until it's time for everything to end and we can just go somewhere else and do whatever we want there!
[Fucking awesome. They're amazing.
The giggles slip back in, and she decides to sway a little in his arms, forehead resting against his shoulder.]
And you know what else? We have the best sex in the whole world. No one else does it as good as we do! Or as much. We've got all the shit figured out, baby. You and me.
He curls an arm around her to keep her close as he takes back the bottle. They're making quick work of it, that's for sure, so why not have more and help finish it off?]
Hell yeah, you got that right. I hear of people gettin' too tired out to do it more'n once or twice a day, but not us!
[The wine hasn't had time to hit yet, he just laughs because that's especially funny. He swings her side to side and kisses the side of her head.]
An' we got forever now, or longer than anyone else, anyway. All the time in the world for us an' everything we want.
What are some of the things that you want to do?
[Sure, she has hopes and dreams. But it's important that he has his too, and that she doesn't get so fixated on the things she wants that she forgets to make time to help him too.]
Real things, not jokes. I want to know!
[But fine, fine, she does know he tends to joke around as a first reaction to real questions. He'll give her some real answers, he just has to decide what he wants to say. There are lots of things he wants to do, probably, he just tends to decide he wants to do them when he's in the moment.]
Uh, well, I wanna... I wanna contribute more to the gang, I guess. Which isn't to say I don't wanna have fun an' do whatever I want, but I know we always need cash an' we always need to try an' expand our influence on the city. I wanna make sure the cops don't fuckin' catch the people I care about an' lock 'em away, you know? An' I wanna make sure people like Mateo's family, that those people get to do what they wanna do without cops roundin' 'em up an' draggin' them off to fuckin', wherever. Mexico, Honduras, wherever.
[See, he does care about people beyond himself. His family, his friends, his community. He knows he doesn't act like it sometimes, doesn't admit it out loud, but the wine is starting to dig its way in and here on this perfect night he can probably afford to be more honest than usual.]
Um, but also, I wanna do cool shit like... Build a big fuckin' bonfire an' jump my bike over it somehow! Like with ramps, maybe? That'd be fuckin' cool.
Of course, she's pretty well tipsy by this point, so her smile is definitely stupid and smitten.]
Let's protect all the people in the neighborhood, babe. And then we can make them all come to watch you put on a stunt show like Evel Knievel. And they'll all be so impressed they'll throw chocolate coins and roses at you.
[Yeah, she's slurring a little as she giggles, so maybe she's past tipsy and onto drunk. The way she stumbles when she tries to start up dancing again only makes her laugh more.]
[Oh yeah, the wine's hitting now. Makes him feel all extra-warm, which is almost too much here with the fire and the dancing, but it comes with a giddiness that makes it totally fine. Mostly now he just focuses on keeping him and Chrissy both upright, and not breaking the wine bottle. There's still a drop left in it, but also, he really doesn't want broken glass around the campfire, not if they're still going to be here a few days.]
Oh! Oh an' I want more tattoos! I'm so jealous of some of the real cool ones I've seen, an' my brothers both have a bunch, I gotta keep up!
[She helpfully suggests, and tries her best to keep dancing. What ends up happening is her arms wrap around him and she just rests her face against his chest.]
Even your penis.
[Another helpful suggestion, and this time it's one that makes her laugh. She has to lean back so he can see her smile, big and toothy and full of energy despite the fact she's not making a ton of sense.]
But what about us? What do you want for us?
But the laughing simmers down as he holds her snugly to him and finishes off the wine, then tosses the bottle to the side on the ground where it rolls somewhere or other.]
For us? Just, whatever we want. But, if we're thinkin' extra-big, then...
[He has to think about this. And right now, that thinking means swaying a little as he looks upward like the stars hold the answers. They sure don't but he's not really looking at them anyway. Just up, as darkness settles around them.]
I want us to get to be the best destructive force the Ender ever knew. The one out there, I mean, the one that let me come back. Hell, whatever that thing wants I don't really care, I just think it'd be fuckin' cool if it saw how badass we are, 'cause we matter, y'know? Or we can, if we make us matter.
[She softly points out, pressing her cheek against his as they hold one another and shift back and forth like they're still dancing.]
We were chosen to come back. We matter.
[And they're making the most out of this second chance at being back, aren't they? Despite saying all that out loud, she feels a vague sense of disappointment. She isn't sure if his answer is what she was looking for, but she's glad to hear it all the same. It's a nice thought, to be the most destructive force when they're together. It means she's become really strong, and that he gets to be as powerful as he wants.]
You matter more than anyone to me. And I matter to you too, right?
[It's not exactly saying who cares what the Ender thinks, because she does. But she really needs him to know that he matters now, just how he is.]
[He waves a hand vaguely at the night sky. He knows that "up" isn't really a useful direction, that "the sky" is itself a limiting way to think about the greater universe, but it's what he has. He's only human.
She seems upset by that, but it's not like it's the first time he's said something of that nature. It's sort of that core thing they all understand, the Enders. It's a comfort, not a curse.]
In fact, I probably shouldn't want that shit's attention, y'know, you're better off without it, but since it's too late I guess I'd better make it worthwhile, right?
[The alcohol is making it even harder than usual to articulate what he means, unfortunately.]
I just want whatever is out there that decided we should come back to be afraid of us. Someday, I want to be strong enough that the strongest and darkest and scariest thing out there is afraid of me.
[Which is a nice dream, and it makes sense given how she was raised and how she died. She's so over being a victim, even to fate. It's hard to believe that something like that exists, but how else was he able to find her?]
I mean -
[Now it's her turn to gesture up toward that void of darkness up above them.]
I really think I was picked to come back to help you. But I want to be an Ender too. Like in my own right, you know?
[Gosh, she loves him though. So much that she just has to kiss him, nice and slow and sweet.]
Yeah, babe. I know. You deserve it, an' you've earned it already, you know that. Whether you were brought back specifically to help me or if you just came back an' you'll help me because you want to, that don't matter all that much. What matters is what you do with it.
[There's no point trying to guess the motivations of the things in the dark. They do what they do for their reasons. He's not even sure that his begging, his deal-making, actually had an impact. Maybe the thing out there just wanted him to stop making so much noise. Johnnie doesn't actually care that much, he just knows the end result of it all and that's that.]
So we'll be the darkest an' scariest things out there, an' we get to work together instead of separately to do it, an' isn't that the best part?
But there's a voice in the back of her head that sounds like a jagged, darker piece of herself. One that tells her that she'll do anything to keep Johnnie with her, darkness be damned. She thinks they can outlast the end. keep going until she's ready to be done.
That thought is shoved aside with a shake of her head. It's not any good to think like that, and she doesn't think Johnnie would like it. So she keeps the thoughts to herself and bites at her lip, before nuzzling her way back up against him.]
Let's go see if we can see in the dark, okay?