For Mak

[There were butterflies in her stomach. That or she ate some bad chocolate, but she was pretty sure chocolate would never betray her, so it must just be the nerves. It was stupid to be nervous, though. Mak was...Mak. They had hit it off instantly, bonded over cooking and baking, made fun of each other. She considered him her best friend around this place.

And okay, the fact that he is smoking hot was fine, too.

But Jade does her best not to think about that. She's made some questionable choices in the past when it comes to who she develops feelings for. So maybe this time she can just...not. That's how it works, right? You just will yourself not to be attracted to someone.

Ugh, maybe this was a bad idea.

But she's dressed now, and looking pretty fantastic actually (disguise 17). Her blonde curls and dark blue eyes stand out just as much as the slinky black dress she had wiggled herself into. Dancing. She was going out dancing with Mak and she was totally trying to show off her...sparkling personality. Hopefully it wasn't too obvious. Slipping on a pair of heels that would barely make a dent in their height difference, she grabs a clutch purse and goes to head down the hall to his room. She knocks and pushes away the last of her nerves.]

No backing out now, big fella. [She calls out through the closed door between them.] I won, fair and square.

[She wonders if he let her win tbh]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ the response from mak's room is decidedly less human when jade's voice floats through. a chorus of barks and chirps answer her at first, and mak's grumbling can be heard like a bassline in the cacophony.

but it dies down quickly -- everyone's excited to see a friend. ]

All right, all right.

[ he opens the door, and it seems that the green of mak's room stretches out to try to pull jade in. the birds in mak's care fly freely. the little pack of older dogs wiggle as one as they all try to get pets from their new bestest friend in the whole wide world. ]

You sure you don't want to just-- hang here? Maybe get some of the other knights together and party Metallic style?

[The moment the door opens, Jade's face lights up. She loves all her new furred and feathered friends. She crouches immediately to give the pups some hugs, not at all bothered by the fact that she's in a nice dress. She looks up and whistles at the birds, not trying to leave them out.]

Uh uh. We made a deal. Tomorrow we can do the homebody thing. Tonight we're going out.

[With a last scratch behind one of the dogs' ears, she stands up and smooths the skirt of her dress down.]

You think I just pull out outfits like this for the hell of it?

[ he's not pouting, you're pouting!!!!! ]

I'm comin'...

[ the tiny pack retreats back to their various nap spots, the birds quiet down as mak turns down the lights. he steps into the hall, momentarily filling the doorway. when in the light of the hall, his pressed but baggy khakis and white shirt (disguise 9) become apparent, but it's probably the lei that grabs jade's attention. ]

C'mere.

[ the door closes behind him with a muffled thud, and he reaches up to his neck to pull the lei from himself. ]

[She waves goodbye to all of her animal buddies, and looks him over, not at all surprised that he looks like they're going out for pizza or something. It's fine. Guys can get away with it. Rude of them. She can't help but smirk as he starts taking the lei off.]

Yes? [He told her to come here and for once she's not giving him a hard time, just looking up at him, expecting more resistance.] What's that for?

[resists the urge to make jokes about getting laid. Be strong, Jade!! Be strong...]

[ his hands don't have to go all that far to drop the lei over jade's head, and settle it along her shoulders-- he even gently scoops his hands under her hair to pull it free from being flattened by the flowers. ]

I made it for you.

[ the blue orchids are mildly fragrant, and they speak volumes to anyone who can read such things. he smiles-- yes her self-restraint in this moment is very obvious. ]

C'mon, get it out of your system...

[As he places the lei around her neck and gently moves her hair out from under the string of flowers, she can't help but feel a little tingle at the base of her scalp that sends those butterflies in her stomach all a flutter.]

You..? [She reaches up with one hand, her fingetips gently brushing against the petals. She doesn't really know much about flower meanings but she's still blown away by how thoughtful he is. His comment about getting it out of her system brings her back, a small laugh escaping her and her hand dropping back to her side.]

You mean like mentioning that it's the first time I've been laid since I got here? Or it's the best lei I've ever had? Something like that?

[She reaches for his hand, wrapping her fingers around his larger hand and feeling the familiar taste of dark chocolate covered pineapple rush to her tongue. It was incredibly unfair that his magic tasted so good.]

Thank you. Is it okay if I wear it out? [The delicate flowers may not make it through the night, but she loves the gift and doesn't really want to take it off just yet.]

[ he's still grinning as his laughter trails off from her obvious but very cheesy enjoyment of the super typical jokes-- to be so clear the jokes are awful. just so awful!!!!! but her fun? that's infectious. ]

Hell yeah, you better. Those are a lot tougher than they look.

[ as they move down the hall, he can't help a little grumpy grampa behavior... ]

So-- where we headed? There's not gonna be any of that dubstep stuff, is there?

[She doesn't let go of his hand as they walk. It's fine. They're just holding hands in a friendly way. Totally cool. His question makes her laugh again, eyes rolling a bit as she looks up at him.]

You sound so old. There probably will be some dubstep. But I promise it won't kill you. It's all about feeling the beat.

[Jade doesn't care what the music is. She just likes to dance.]

You trust me, right?

Not a wink.

[ and he doesn't sound like that's a BAD thing...maybe it's because of the hand holding? also should he know that she tastes people's magic because if so? damn girl. such flattery! ]

And hey. You don't know how old I am. I could be 500...

[She stops in her tracks and gives him a look.]

Are you? [She's seen weirder shit okay.]

No!

[ woah boy that strong reaction means he'd like to reassure the shit out of her right now. wtg moron. ]

I'm only 40, I swear-- I was just kidding around.

I made friends with a vampire before I tripped through the Veil. [She offers as explanation before she keeps walking, dragging him by the hand.] So I know it's basically impossible to tell.

[Only 40. She tries not to think about the fact that he's 17 years older than her and that clearly means she shouldn't have such a crush on him but oh my god those biceps.

Get it together, Godfrey.]

Are you driving or am I?

[ with his free hand, mak pulls the keys from his pocket in a wordless offer to do the driving. he follows annoyingly easily, long strides making less noise than you might expect. ]

How old was this vampire? [ he's not judging. much... ]

Kett? I don't know. Like a hundred or something. Have I not told you this story? About how he stalked me and tried to break into my apartment?

[The start to any gr9 friendship, Jade...]

You were stalked by and then befriended a hundred-year-old vampire...

[ ok but wait for it because that's not the craziest part. ]

Named Kett?

I can't imagine how you'd react to Kandy the green haired werewolf. [She says with a teasing little smile.]

The Kett stuff was a misunderstanding. He was investigating some murders in town. And I guess my magic was...interesting to him. We ended up working together on the whole thing.

[She falls a little quiet after that. The murders that Kett was looking into are sort of a sensitive subject.]

[ mak gives her hand a gentle squeeze, and gambles on the trust that if jade really wants to talk about this, she'll continue. he knows when to shut up, when to grunt and nod-- when to nudge instead of throw a barrage of questions at someone. he's grateful as it is that she's sharing at all.

once outside, he steers her toward the truck. ]

[She's thankful for the silence, honestly. Thankful that he doesn't press for more information. There are days when he wants to tell him about Sienna, but it still hurts too much. Opening that wound again just isn't something she's ready to do.

Thankfully, she finds a new subject the moment that they get outside.]

You know Wynn has a million cars he lets people drive, right? Did you have this thing shipped here?

Woah, woah, woah.

[ now now lil mama. tread lightly. ]

You're about to ride in royalty. She's been kicking longer than the both of us. All her original parts-- what, I shoulda left her in the 'Burgh?

[His reaction draws a smile out of her almost immediately, her head tipping back as she lets out a laugh.]

My mistake. I didn't mean to insult the queen of all trucks. Any rules I should know about? [She leans in a little as her tone grows thick with teasing sarcasm.] Does she have a name? Am I supposed to curtsy before I get in?

[ JADE HOW DARE YOU!!!

quiet, and so grumpy: ]

Gracie.

[ can you hear his teeth grinding? ]

[She loves making him make those grumpy faces tbh. Probably more than she should.]

Uh huh... And is there a story behind that?

[ mak suddenly turns coy and grunts. he makes it work, ok. ]

If she likes you, maybe I'll tell you...

[ allow him to lumber to the passenger side to unlock it kids and their power locks these days... and also casually just nbd open the door for her also. the inside is IMMACULATE like no lie the girl shines. ]

[She gives him a slight surprised look when he holds the door open for her. Okay, it's not out of character or anything, but she's still not used to guys doing that for her. She touches his arm, using him as leverage to get herself into the car. It's an excuse to have another little taste of his magic, honestly. But she'll deny it (even to herself) to her grave.]

I guess we'll have to find out if I pass the test.

[She settles herself in her seat, her eyes dropping away from his for a moment, but almost immediately returning, her smile almost shy. But don't be silly. Jade isn't shy.]

[ in all endeavors, mak moves with determination and the knowledge that he belongs in his skin even if he doesn't belong in any particular place. in the kitchen, mak is a whirlwind of calm but urgent energy, mentally tracking timers and assessing recipes in the works.

here, he's slow and careful. the door on jade's side doesn't slam, but eases shut. he climbs into the driver's seat with a slow and purposeful precision. he has no problem taking his time to check his mirrors, to assess jade's comfort (and seatbelt) and to listen closely as gracie rumbles to life. ]

My pops, he loves machines. I always thought this was his baby, and he just let me help him with it.

[ mak's arm swings over jade's head to brace against the back of the bench seat so that he can get a good view behind him as they back up. ]

Until I graduated high school by the skin of my teeth and he handed the keys over.

[She soaks up stories about his family, about his past eagerly- like pancakes soaking up all the syrup on the plate.

Okay, maybe she's a little hungry.

But the point remains. She loves hearing him talk about this stuff. Family is just as important to him as it has always been to her. And maybe part of her is jealous that they're still reachable. Not trapped on the other side of the Veil. Or dead.]

So did you name her or did your dad? [She leans her head back against his wrist, head tilted to catch his eye as he backs up to get them moving on their adventure into the city.]

[ his face lightens as he recalls the kinds of memories that make him miss home and forget the more important things...

mak's arm remains on the back of the bench seat as they drive. ]

We both did. [ is that a smirk? ]

[She reaches up to idly toy with the lei around her neck, fingertips caressing the petals of the flowers as she looks over at him. She can't help the tug at the corners of her mouth that comes when he smirks at her like that.]

What's the story there?

You ever see Big Trouble in Little China?

[ yeah, yeah. ok. looks like jade unlocked some backstory, here... ]

I think once. Maybe. [Which is to say that she doesn't remember enough of it to count.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

For Mak

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

FOUND IT <3 thx for the poke

i may have a small problem and it's these two...

it's not a problem if it's wonderful though!!!!

ugh it really is wonderful tho

like SO GOOD and potentially so ouch and just everyone else go home we did it it's perfect

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

OOPS I DID IT AGAIN ... /offers cookies and chagrin?

i need you to know that i've sung britney every time i saw this tag for the last month