i got this (fixedit) wrote in 2145ic, @ 2018-03-24 22:11:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | jayci, mazie |
cousin time
who: jayci and mazie
setting: underground eatery
Jayci had finished up a pretty intense morning of fixing people’s replaced limbs, half of which she understood were implanted because of cheap, botched back alley cybernetics. Sometimes she wished that she did more programming, or engineering, but it wasn’t her forte. She fixed shit that someone else fucked up the first time. Or that just got all borked because of intense use.
She was still stockpiling some parts for Mr. Morgan. She hadn’t gotten him to admit it yet but she was pretty positive that he wanted to be the first human to completely transition to machine. It hadn’t been done yet, but there was always buzz around in mechanical and engineering circles that people were working on it. That there was some breakthrough or another, whatever. She didn’t know why people would want that anyway.
She went through the box she had the parts put aside for Mr. Morgan in, mentally calculating how long it might take to get the rest. Her last symptom treatment had been a bit back now, and her symptoms were starting to creep back into her life once again. Usually it started with inability to sleep and fatigue. Awesome.
Shutting up her home/shop, she headed out, determined to do something with her day and not just try and nap unsuccessfully. It had been a while since she’d seen her cousin, so she opted to contact Mazie, see if she wanted to hit up one of the underground eateries. Sure no one asked about the ingredients, but they were tasty.
Mazie was working. Trying to take down an entire establishment, apparently single-handedly because she couldn’t trust any other hacker in her or any circle now, was exhausting, long work. So when she saw a notification pop up from her cousin, it took her a full five minutes to drag herself out of the code she was in and pull it up. Normally, she wouldn’t answer when she was in this state. Her fingers would just keep flying across the keys on her set up and she’d keep working, but something deep inside her pulled her focus away.
Her stomach. And it was enough that the notification popped its way into her head in more ways than one.
I can make time for you. Where?
Jayci was patiently waiting for Mazie's response, because she knew sometimes it didn't happen right away. Or sometimes at all, and it would be a week or so later before she got any kind of 'hey, was busy' or the like. It was pretty quick, this turnover. She shot her what passed for an address in the underground, which was basically the cross streets, then a direction to walk in til it was spotted. She headed there herself, knowing the place well enough and bringing spare bullshit with her to barter for their meal. It didn't take her long to get there, and she made the deal, but didn't order yet as she waited for Mazie.
As soon as she got the coordinates, Mazie’s stomach grumbled again and it felt like she was in the subway with a running train passing through her body. When was the last time she’d eaten? With a heavy sigh, she pulled herself up, grabbed a long ripped jacket from the floor, and pulled a knit cap with holes in it all the way down to cover her hair completely.
Then she walked out, in just that jacket, shoes, a thin tank top and her underwear, to meet Jayci at restaurant. She walked right by patrons lingering outside, pushing them with her shoulders to move until she saw Jayci and unceremoniously slumped into the seat across from her. “You order?”
While utterly unsurprised, Jayci still had to sigh and the sight of Mazie. “You realize that pants aren't usually an option in public, right?” she posed. “Next time you meet me, can you please dress like a big girl, and not a toddler whose parents don't care enough to put clothes back on their kid after a diaper change?” She was teasing, but there was truth there. Mazie was...a difficult person. Jayci vaguely remembered her not being like that when they were real little but it had all gone to hell after her aunt and uncle died. After that, Mazie's life took some hard left turns, Jayci still didn't even know the half of it. Just like Mazie didn't know the half of Jayci's life either. They'd only just found each other again more recently, and were still getting to know each other. She didn't even mention the part where Mazie was rude to everyone. That was a completely lost cause. “No, I haven't, figured I'd wait for you,” she said.
“My parents are dead,” Mazie deadpanned, looking up at Jayci in her own attempt at a joke as she slumped into the middle of the table and put her weight on her elbows. “And wouldn’t I be completely naked then?”
Exhaling, she rested her chin on her arms and glanced around the restaurant, restless. She felt like she was in a cage; her mind was pacing even though her body was here with her cousin. “I just need food. Don’t care what it is. Don’t wanna know what it is. Food and booze,” She said that last part louder, too loud to be considered polite and directly toward one of the servers.
Jayci winced a little. Yeah, she knew it was a joke, but still. Especially with her own health issues, she didn't need the reminder of something she never forgot in the first place. Though Mazie didn't know about her health. She'd kept it from her for a few reasons, and pretty much was holding out hope that Mr. Morgan would get her the cure and Mazie wouldn't have to deal with another family member being sick. She honestly didn't know how she'd react to the idea. For all she knew, Mazie would drop her, just to save herself that kind of trauma, and Jayci wouldn't blame her if she did.
“Yeah, and then instead of people having to stare for a second to see if your cootch is unkempt, they'd just know immediately,” Jayci said. She gave her cousin a look when she wasn't too nice to the servers. “You know, I come here a lot and they're nice,” she said to her. Then she shot an encrypted text to her cousin while she was at it. ...and for someone who wants to champion the people, you sure as hell don't treat them with respect. Dial it back a little. You can do better than this.
Mazie heard it in Jayci’s tone just a second before she got the text. Dammit. She never wanted to be that person. She fucking despised people like that, and she immediately felt the guilt wash over her.
I get it, okay? I’m in a bad fucking mood. I’ll apologize. Get off my case.
But just to keep their cover up, to ensure that no one thought they were having conversations like the ones in their texts, she spoke up and added, “Of course my cootch is unkempt.” When their server came over with a look that was more defeated than sour, Mazie’s cold heart wrenched a little. She gave him a small, apologetic look and sent an anonymous donation to him; an apology for acting like an asshole and a few credits.
“What have you been up to?” She asked, her attempt to change the subject.
She told the server what she wanted. “Thanks, Rafi,” Jayci said, smiling at him and dropping a little wink. Then she looked back to her cousin, glad to see that she'd gotten through to her. So she did drop it. “Y'know. This that and the other thing,” she said noncommittally. “Mostly just fixing other people's crappy work. You know how it is, they go in for something cheap and dirty, and then are completely humped when it collapses on them three months later.” She sat back in her chair. “You seem tense, what's up?” she asked, so they could have the conversation about her mood out loud naturally. Or as naturally as it could be when Mazie mostly talked in code. She didn’t know exactly what Mazie did, she just knew she was always picking up some crusade or another. She had no idea of the scope.
Mazie shrugged, rolling her head to look up at Jayci from where she was essentially just lying on the table. “Y’know, same old bullshit, different day. No one cares anymore. Everyone’s just so fucking complacent that nothing is ever going to change.” And even her extreme ego was starting to let her down because right now, she wasn’t even positive that she could change anything for the better. It was a heavy, serious chain she wore around her neck and she felt like right now it was just dragging her way down. Just on the edge of dragging her somewhere so dark she wasn’t sure she could come back up.
But she didn’t tell that to Jayci. “Fixed anything cool lately?”
“Pretty sure after so many people got slapped with bullshit after the celebration that it knocked the wind out of a lot of sails. I know at least two people who went down to serve and never came back,” she admitted. They'd been career criminals and had wracked up so much time that she was positive they'd been worked to death. Neither of them were any great loss to society, but still. That didn't mean they deserved what they got, either. “And eh. There was a little girl who had a leg replacement done, I got to fix that up for her so she was even, and I put in some cool designs on it too so it wasn't just blank steel for all the world to see.” She hadn't even had enough leg left to do an internal replacement, it was all bare bones. So she'd ensured that it was at least cool to look at.
That. That right there was the reason Mazie wanted to burn this place to the ground and just start over. “They can’t fucking do that to people,” She muttered, her mind still racing over possibilities of what her next move should be. It was usually a cycle she got stuck in, though whenever she felt this low it was hard for her to get out of it.
She had to actively pull herself back to her cousin, to actually remember that she was here in public with her family and she needed to keep her shit together even for just a little bit. So she let herself focus on Jayci’s story and a real, honest smile actually wound up on her face. “You did something really good there. You’re basically a hero.”
“I know. But what're they gonna do to people who decide to speak up? Bet there's a law on the books about that and if there ain't, then there will be soon,” Jayci said. It wasn't that she wanted to lie down and just take whatever was handed out, it was that she lived on the streets and always had. She knew her life, she knew everyone's life. And she even had the perspective of one of the richies lives too. There would have to be an uprising that couldn't be quelled, and everyone she knew was far too beaten down to take a chance. Or they had kids they needed to care for, or fill in the blank. She smiled. “I wouldn't say hero,” she said, cheeks going pink. “But she was real happy. I told her next time she has a growth spurt to just come see me right away.”
“They’ll try to silence them but all we need are a few strong people to take a chance. To lead the forces and we can take this city back.” She had to find a way to do that, to rally the troops and get them to mobilize. Otherwise, they’d all die as cogs in this machine.
Maybe the revolution needed a physical face. Someone who people would rally around. Someone she could support from the sidelines. Someone like Jayci. “...People like you, right?”
“Yeah, and so far, they succeed. No one cares if people off anyone down here. People just disappear all the time. It would have to be a lot of strong people, not just a few,” she said, though her voice was thoughtful, not contradictory. When Mazie asked if people liked her, she looked surprised. “Yeah, for the most part, why?”
Mazie grinned, watching her cousin speak. People did like her. Rafi seemed to like her, she noted, as she watched him bring out extra alcohol for them and Mazie was sure it wasn’t because of her apology. “People would rally around you.”
“Um, yeah, some midtowners, and a few people who didn't have anything to lose,” Jayci said, leaning back from that glint in Mazie's eye. “Most people have a lot to lose, even if they don't have anything,” she said, knowing the statement didn't make sense, but Mazie would know what it meant. “No one else knows me, and half the people who like me wouldn't come near anything like that because they've got children...I'm not the woman for the job, Maze. You need someone who’s got a wicked awesome sob story and is super pretty or handsome and who...like...I don’t know, knows how to speak publicly with all kinds of passion ‘n shit.”
“You’ve got all that, Jayce,” Mazie said, eyes still ablaze. “And you wouldn’t be alone. I’d help you. Together, we could do this. We could make some serious change.” She leaned closer to her cousin when Jayci pulled back. “Sometimes, people have to do the uncomfortable to make room for what’s right. And I would never let them hurt you. You know that, right?” She asked, already planning out speeches and takeovers for Jayci to conduct. She could cloak her cousin just as much as she cloaked herself and she’d be untouchable. This whole time, Jayci was the answer and Mazie had been too blind to see it.
“Or we put me in the line of fire, I disappear, and Landon dies of a lonely, broken, weird heart,” she said. “You're not asking me to do something uncomfortable, you're asking me to be the face of a revolution, and people like that get stomped. Hard. I know you would do everything you could, but...” she trailed off, still seeing zeal there in her cousin. “Maze, I don't think this would work, with me as the face...”
“You don’t know what I can do to protect you, J. I’m serious. You’d be untouchable.” She didn’t mention Landon because honestly, she couldn’t care if he died of a broken, lonely heart. It wouldn’t happen, though, because nothing would happen to her cousin. She would make damn sure nothing hurt Jayci. “You are the perfect face. How many more people are we going to let them murder in cold blood before we rise up and do something about it?”
“I have a life, Maze!” Jayci insisted. “A life I like! I help people, I'm a part of the community – and you can do a lot but you can't stop bullets. And who knows if that would be what it came to. I...” she was starting to panic. She was someone who lived life to the fullest, especially due to her condition, but this was a lot to think about all at once. “Gimme some time. I need to think.”
“Okay, Okay,” Mazie said, putting her hands up a little to prove that she was backing off. Their food arrived and it smelled good and looked edible which was more than enough for Mazie right now. She took a big bite of whatever meat-like entree was featured and glanced at her cousin again. “But like...how much time?”
“I don't know, just give me time. I'm not on a deadline, and if I am, pick someone else,” Jayci said, not wanting the added pressure of Mazie breathing down her throat. She took a bite of her food and smiled, it helping ease her tension a little, and she threw a thumbs up to Rafi behind the counter. “Excellente!” she called to him. Then she re-focused on her cousin. “I know this is important to you. Important to everyone, if it actually works. But if I step up? We need a damn good plan. I need to know that I'm not just throwing everything away for something half assed. I need to see a whole rolled out plan. With contingencies.”
All of these were very good points. She gave Rafi a mirrored thumbs up, following her cousin’s example because look, she could be supportive too. Then she watched Jayci again and put her fork down. “Jayce. I know you don’t know this about me, not really, but I have the ability to keep you safe. And if you even think yes, even just a little bit, then we can talk about plans and contingencies and...I am willing to share some things with you that no one else knows. So consider this me, backing off, until you’ve done some thinking.”
Jayci wasn't sure what Mazie was talking about, but she was clearly serious. So in the end, she nodded. “Okay,” she said. And she was going to need to talk to Landon, because damn she needed a sounding board. Because it wasn't like she didn't care about the plight of the people. She did. It was just...well. Life altering. “For now...let's eat, and then maybe go for a walk or something?” she suggested. Mazie never got out enough, after all.
Mazie nodded a little, picking up her fork again to take another big bite. “Eat, then walk.” Then work, because there was absolutely no way she was going to be able to shut her brain off now.