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[preseance]

@eugene.hicks | ■ ▲ ◌ ▼

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[reneger]

you know
you've been to my side of the block several times
but you've never invited me to yours

[preseance]

Would you like to come by?

I live above All That Jazz. It's a little dance studio on 49^th and Sundler. You're always welcome, ain't even gotta ask.

[reneger]

( invitation voiced, which means instead of a text response, he gets the rap of knuckles against the largest window to his apartment. )

[preseance]

( good lord, that was fast. gene comes outta the kitchen dryin' his hands off, an' then he comes over to the window an' pushes it open.

the place is small — a studio apartment at best. his bed is partitioned off by standing privacy screens, an' the area he lets jason in through is essentially the livin' room. most of the furniture seems scavenged or thrifted, mismatched but clean and well-repaired.

there's a little electric keyboard set up to one side that's probably the most 'modern' edition, an' there's somethin' like an old gramophone even though it's definitely a hipster's reimaginin' of such a thing. there's art on the walls. nothin' fancy. a couple tiny carvings sit out on the windowsill.

the apartment smells like fresh bread an' there's a blow of steam comin' outta a pressure cooker because he is absolutely cannin' somethin' over the stove. )

Damn near gave me a heart attack. Ain't you ever heard'a doors, Jason?

[reneger]

( he's got his leather jacket on. the actual leather jacket he'd gotten from home, with all the nicks and blemishes. a tank under it, combat pants below. inconspicuous in a crowd still but geared up enough for his own comfort even if it isn't his usual favored nighttime outfit.

jason wouldn't come into gene's place had he been decked out. but like this, he slips inside the window easy enough. tilts his head back and takes in a big whiff of the nice, bread-y scent. )

You'd make someone a nice housewife, y'know.

( playful, lips curling up at the corners.

and then he's moving to start checking out every corner of gene's studio. )

[preseance]

Hello to you too, Jay.

( wry, as he goes back to check the pressure cooker on the stove. he's wearing a silly apron that says, it's fine, i'm a combat medic. )

Ah... well. I don't know if I'm really the marryin' kind.

[reneger]

( not what he came here for, but since gene's inviting the small talk in regardless he may as well try and follow up with it. )

No?

( jason isn't, either. he'd assumed he was going to die long before this and stay dead. assumed no one would want him even if he did. he's definitely never having kids. they don't deserve the absolute crap of a life he'd provide them.

not that he's getting into any of that. )

But Genie, you look so swell in an apron.

( with a smarmy grin playing at his lips, )

[preseance]

Yeah, well, I live in the damn dark ages, so it ain't so easy as all that.

( it's said with a very faint edge underlyin' the rest, no matter how casually he says it. it ain't that he don't like women — he could see himself settlin' down with one just fine, maybe havin' some kids'a his own, but the way jason says it makes him think about alex, an' that's a sore spot still. )

[reneger]

( ah. right. there's that problem, isn't there. honestly it's one that hasn't disappeared well into jason's time which is fucking terrible but--that's not his story to tell, right? and there's no need to bring it up here.

he rounds the old gramophone, lifts it up to check under it. )

You're not in the dark ages anymore.

[preseance]

( he supposes they oughta know each other well enough by now that jason knows how to settle him down just how the reverse is true most days. gene exhales, a little shaky, an' then tightens one of the knobs on the old antique pressure cooker he fished outta some thrift store somewhere.

there's probably a remastered version of some josephine baker album or other, a dame he remembers from the twenties. )

No. Reckon not.

( he don't wanna speak on it, truthfully. but he an' jason are all about pullin' truths outta each other these days, ain't they? he sets to washin' somethin' in the sink so's he don't have to look at the man while he talks. )

I had a girl in New York before I shipped out. Anna. Pretty brunette. Real sweet. An' then we lost touch after Husky — first combat drop into Italy — an' then it... I just.

( a faint uptick of one shoulder, half a shrug as he scrubs a plate. )

[reneger]

( the gramophone gets left alone. it's not shady, he has no reason to stare it down. instead he moves over towards the 'bedroom', checks under pillows. he's not even looking for anything in particular it's just--he hasn't been inside here before, and clearly that means jason has to under every nook and cranny possible. he uses it to fill the empty space between words, too. gene stops talking, he drops the pillow. moves on to the privacy screens. )

You wanna talk about it?

[preseance]

( in faint exasperation, )

No. But I'm doin' it anyhow, because I get sometimes it's better that way. I hope you're payin' attention an' takin' lessons, Jason.

( he's hilarious.

also his place is absolutely immaculate, no dust anywhere, nothing out of place, it's honestly ridiculous. it's sparse, but homey in that 'i grew up with nothing' sort of way. he rinses the dishes, puts them in the rack an' then turns back to face jason directly, standin' hipshot against the counter. )

I had a fella in the war. Alex. We didn't — you know, it weren't ever official, but we liked each other. Had to slink around like beat dogs on account'a dishonorable discharges an' whatnot, though I think I'd'a been fine. ( his smile's a bit grim. ) Medics had one'a the highest rates of attrition on the front, I knew my worth back then. But he'd'a gotten it for sure. War ended, ain't seen him since. An' I guess after that I just... ain't had an interest, really, you know?

( he ain't pinin', exactly. he thinks that after alex hauled off an' punched jasper that one time he couldn't've felt real love for him no more anyhow, but he still... misses what it felt like just the same. )

[reneger]

You know that's shit, right? There's laws against that crap now. Not that they really do much of anything, but it's in writing somewhere. I mean. Not here, no one gives a fuck about any of that here. But back in my time.

( again, not his story. there are others who are probably better at conveying the current state of all that bullshit. jason hasn't even been legally alive in--years. none of that bullcrap matters when you're a large guy taking over underground drug rings, getting under roman sionis' skin, and causing havoc through gotham's underbelly.

then again, jason's never really had a person before ending up here anyway. )

But I get it. Relationships're hard. ( leaving the screen, his attention moves to the keyboard. ) Never really had one that lasted for shit, before here.

[preseance]

I've heard, yeah. An' don't get me wrong, it's nice to hear. But if'n we go back home when we're done here — an' I'd like to, believe me — I can't afford to get comfortable with it. Alabama ain't exactly... you know.

( a wave of one hand. he means — liberal in that way. he shakes his head, an' pushes his hair outta his face. )

You seem to do all right though, yeah? I can tell that fella of yours really cares about you.

[reneger]

( see the real question here is: why the fuck go back to a place full of assholes. why go back if they're just going to ruin everything. except jason also wants to go back to his own place, also full of assholes who ruin everything. albeit slightly. . differently. so he can't judge.

he can fantasize about beating up a bunch of hicks though. )

I keep trying to leave and Lo keeps refusing to let me. ( but there's a fondness to his tone that speaks a lot more than the words do. ) He's alright, most the time. Kind of a huge asshole, but who isn't.

[preseance]

( he laughs a little, goin' to get a couple beer outta the ice box. he chucks one to jason in an easy underhand. )

You ain't.

[reneger]

You'll take those words back eventually.

( fingers wrapping around the beer when he catches it in a hand, and jason finishes his inspection. sits down at the keyboard and pops open the beer. )

So, Anna and Alex.

[preseance]

I met Anna dancin'.

( he sees you dodgin' that compliment, but at least it weren't wholly graceless. while jason sits at the keyboard, he takes one of the large, overstuffed chairs by the window, bum leg restin' on the ottoman in front of it. )

She was a bit older than me. Cute dimples. Danced like a spitfire. An' Alex was one'a the replacements that came in after Italy. Just a normal infantry guy.

[reneger]

Is that what gets you going? A good dancer? Cute dimples?

( a safer topic. gene is cute, he's betting any romantic partners he's had in the past were just as if not cute. someone who loves so openly and wholly, whose as open as gene is despite his time--jason's guessing his partners must have been just as wholesome. )

[preseance]

( he drags his thumb through condensation on the bottle, an' then takes a draught. )

Why, you lookin' to set me up with someone? Trust me, Tabby's tried it. I'm prime eligible bachelor material down in Agathine, I think she's thrown half of Conecuh at me by now.

[reneger]

Maybe. Maybe I'm just adding it to my repertoire of Gene-isms.

( another name to add to it, too. tabby. whoever the hell that is. )

[preseance]

( a huff. )

Frankly, I don't know what I like. ( he rubs thoughtfully at his jaw. then, ) Folks I can be kind to, I guess. Ain't enough'a that in the world.

[reneger]

No? Most everyone has a preference. Red-heads, ( dick. ) brunettes, light eyes, darker eyes. Freckles. Soft smiles, snarky grins. Sass.

( beer bottle up to his lips to take a decent drink out of it. ) Nice legs, great ass. You know.

[preseance]

I don't much care about that stuff.

( he supposes he's mostly liked brunettes, but... well, there's also just more folks in the world with brown hair. didn't stop him from bein' sweet on clarke none. )

[reneger]

People you can be kind to is broad. You can be kind to anyone.

( doesn't mean they'll be kind back. )