and as long as this feeble heart is still beating,

[rigging]

Who: Jesse Finch and Kenzi
What: TALKS talks talks talks
Where: House 20
When: Backdated to the evening of Day 76

When he figures out that Pinkman is gone, he draws. Pulls on his hoodie that smells like Galen, gets his pencil. He draws a lot. He curls up on the couch with his sketchbook and draws three pages of stupid things - superheroes with stupid names and powers, people in Kore with horns or fangs or cat eyes - anything to keep his mind off of how that's probably another friend gone.

He ends up falling asleep there, curled up on the couch, arm hanging off the side with his pencil dropped on the floor. Perfect for jumping on, really, perfect position.

Comments

[onteamdyson]

Wow, it's like you read her mind or something. Kenzi stumbles across the sleeping Jesse on her way upstairs. She stops, originally planning to just grab a blanket and cover him up, but when she sees he had his sketchbook and the way he's all curled up... hmmmm.

New plan.

She perches on the arm of the couch, staring at him for a few seconds. So cute when he's sleeping. And then, after determining the appropriate trajectory and so many other intricate details, she pounces!

"Jesse, wake up! Major emergency! Tiny, mutant alien-cyborgs took over the house and ate all the food! Guess we gotta resort to cannibalism. Who's first?" And in case that didn't wake him up, she's grabbing his wrist and flailing it around for good measure.

[rigging]

wAH. It's not the words that freak him out, because he's too groggy to register them - it's the pouncing and flailing about that wakes him up. Thankfully he realizes it's Kenzi before he a) has a heart attack or b) stabs her in the face with his pencil. When he does, he flops back down on the couch and groans, exaggerated, eyes closing again.

"Kenziii," He complains, sinking into the couch. "M'gonna throw y'off the roof, quit it. M'sleeping."

[onteamdyson]

"Oh, really? Go right ahead, because then you'd be up and not sleeping. Just like I'm pretty sure you're not sleeping right now because you're talking. Sleeptalking doesn't work that way, dude, nice try!"

She's pretty grateful for the lack of face-stabs, but she can't let a potentially unhappy Jesse just lie there. So she's not moving. Just gonna sit on his stomach, let go of his wrist, squish his face between her hands. "Hey. Hey, Jess. Hey. Are you awake now? How about now? Oooookaaaay.... now! Jesse? Hey, Jesse!"

[rigging]

Nope, she's not moving, and Jesse groans loudly for the second time, trying to squirm away from her hands. Sleep is going to be impossible, now, he's been jolted fully out of that in-between state. Yawning, Jesse opens his eyes and squints up at Kenzi.

"I'm awake, m'up," Jesse grumbles, grabbing at her hands and pressing them into her stomach. You've unlocked grumpy-butt mode, Keni, congrats. "Ain't you ever heard about sleeping dogs and letting 'em lie?"

[onteamdyson]

Heh. She looks pretty smug right about now, unfazed by the grumpiness. Actually, that just gets a little laugh out of her. "Woof. Just apologized in dogspeak. Now we're cool. Got it covered."

It's good intentions fueling her obnoxiousness for once. She means well. She shifts a little where she's sitting, fine, fine, she'll keep her hands to herself. Stretching with her arms up over her head before crossing them over her chest to stare him down.

"What's up, dorkbutt? What's with the sketch and sleep routine, huh? Are you lacking some significant iron? If we ever do go the cannibalism route, I'll save the livers for you."

[rigging]

He'd reach up and push her face if it wasn't so much effort. Instead, he watches her stretch with an interested expression (what, he's only human) before wrinkling his nose at her questions.

"Nothing," He mumbles, rubbing at his face. But he knows she won't stop asking, so he busies himself with trying to grab his pencil, just so he doesn't have to look at her. "Pinkman's gone."

[onteamdyson]

Hey! Don't think she didn't see that. Also don't think she wasn't totally, yet quietly, pleased about it.

The next part, she is very much not pleased about. Her face falls immediately, as do the arms across her chest. "... Balls." This is not good. This is a very bad, bad. Move over, Jesse. She's just going to swing her leg over and slide in sideways between him and the couch, kind of burrowing under his arm. Good thing she doesn't take up much room. She rests her head against his chest and drapes an arm over his stomach. No pencil, for you. You don't need it right now. Forced anti-sad cuddles are priority.

"He'll be back. Wanna know how I know?"

[rigging]

Jesse has no problem with this - in fact, he sort of squirms so that she can be more comfortable where she is. He even gets his arms around her, burying his face in her hair. She smells nice, and she's nice to curl up with, and she makes him feel better. Holding her a little tightly, like she's going to vanish next, Jesse takes a deep breath and exhales slowly.

"How?" He asks, quietly.

[onteamdyson]

"Because after they spend enough time with him and hear the word 'yo' for about the billionth time, they're just gonna send him back so you can deal with him instead." Obvi. It's flawless logic. She smirks, "That's why I came back. Only certain people can handle this advanced level of obnoxious."

Jesse's had enough shit happen to him and it just keeps happening to him and that just makes Kenzi more determined to do everything she possibly can to make him feel better. He's really important. One of two most important people. Seriously, if his name came up in some kind of random drawing for a battle to the death, she'd be standing up and shouting 'I volunteer' really loudly, preferably in someone's face. And just for the record? She still hasn't forgiven his face twin.

"... Sorry for waking you up. Just wanted to make sure you were okay."

[rigging]

Okay, okay, that makes him laugh. He huffs out a tiny laugh into Kenzi's hair, still holding her tightly. She's pretty tiny, but that makes it better - makes it easier for him to make sure she's not going anywhere, that she's safe and covered. Galen's told him - Galen talked to him. And he knows how he wants things to work, so he just... goes for it.

When she says she wanted to make sure he was okay, he reaches to lift her chin up so that he can kiss her, gently, with a small smile.

"M'okay," He says when he pulls away. "M'okay, I'll be fine. If he don't show, he don't show." His voice is quiet, because it hurts to think about, but. "You don't go, alright? You and songbird. Don't go."

[onteamdyson]

She's honestly never felt safer. And when he kisses her, it just feels natural. Because that nervous, fluttery, warm feeling with traces of guilt that she probably shouldn't be feeling but feels anyway is perfectly natural. Blushing is also natural, but mention it and she's going to kick your ass.

"Not planning a vacation anytime soon. I guess I could stick around the cape for a while. Just until we decide to peace out." All of them. Together. Or not at all. The scientists can go fuck themselves. Oh, for the love of chocolate biscuits, she can't even keep this smile off her face.

"Soooooo... is this a thing, now? Officially? 'Cause I gotta say, I feel totally cheated in the wooing department over here with all these sneaky feelings and this just kind of happening. You're just inherently amazing which is the opposite of fair." She smirks, moving her arm up just a bit so she can hold onto his sleeve. The lines are still kind of blurry and it's all kind of fuzzy, but all she knows is she loves these guys and that's pretty much all she cares about. Whatever happens happens, because SURPRISE it already happened. And she's okay with that. The pieces just fell into place and she wasn't expecting it. But it's good.

[rigging]

All of that makes him smile a little wider, really, from what she says to the blush. It's cute.

The lines are blurry, sure, but Jesse thinks he can get used to it. He's not used to being able to have everything he wants at once - so this, knowing that he can do this with Kenzi and not be afraid that Galen will be angry? Warms him right up. He kisses the side of her head and holds her close again. "Think so," He tells her, closing his eyes and resting his head against hers. "Ain't actually talked t'you about it. But me n' Galen did. Think we just wanna see how it goes, y'know?"

He reaches to absently run his fingers through her hair. "Wooing's still a thing, though, I can do that," Jesse teases.

[onteamdyson]

It's not cute! Okay, it's cute. But she can't help it! Jesse's just seriously amazing and she's pretty much just waiting for someone up there to realise that she doesn't deserve either of them.

"Galen talked. Okay, not much talking really happened after the initial anxiety attack, but he brought it up. Which, by the way, I thought I drunkenly told you not to say a damn word!" And she can't even punch him when he's playing with her hair. Seriously, it's her ultimate weakness. If her arch nemeses found out about that, all would be lost! "So you totally owe me for that, dammit. Make with the wooing, good sir. ...Future wooing. Don't actually move right now, I'm serious." Too freaking comfortable.

Let's be honest, she is already incredibly woo'd. The stupid laugh, the stupid face, the stupid tattoos, the stupid art, and the stupid way he stupidly calls her babydoll? Girl is smitten and perfectly content to just lay here for the next whenever, curling as close as she possibly can, which is pretty damn close.

[rigging]

He's laughing because she's so not even a little bit intimidating to him. He can stop her with his hand in her hair! He wins.

"Ay - ay, serious, though," Jesse murmurs, closing his eyes. "I know y'don't care that I got issues, and I know y'don't care that Galen does, neither. But - I didn't think I could have both of you without bein' punished, you know?" He holds her close, with a sigh. "So m'gonna try my best t'not think - that. Promise. Just gonna take a while to figure out I got you, and Galen."

At least he's aware of his issues. He tucks her head under his chin. "Three of us, we're gonna take care of each other. S'not gonna change much, I don't think. So don't freak, alright?"

[onteamdyson]

She was probably a lot more intimidating when she was smacking him around and not even close to dealing with his flirty bullshit. That didn't last long.

Ha. Wow. She definitely knows where he's coming from with the punishment part. Just gonna reach up to trace patterns on his neck and along his jaw and close her eyes and just stay there.

"I got a while. I like slow. And I'm not going anywhere. I mean... we already live together, so I didn't get a chance to freak about that. You both already know the shitty stuff and the big secrets, don't have to worry about that. And I already said the hideous L-word without cutely changing the pronunciation or anything. I think this is gona be fine." Not going to change much, he's right. She's not freaking. Not externally, anyway. There's a lot of 'what-ifs' but so far, it's okay. Not like it was with Nate. It's just so much... easier.

"Love your stupid issues. Shut up. It's fine." They already take care of each other. He let her drink his blood, for fuck's sake! "This just means I can actually make out with your face instead of just picturing making out with your face."