InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "wake me up before you go go"

J'aime Everleigh Cavanaugh | Meg Giry (ex_peepshows656) wrote in bellumlogs,
@ 2010-01-28 22:57:00

Entry tags:

big bad wolf, meg giry

Who: James & Shane.
What: A little chit chat.
Where: Stairwell.
When: Couple of days after the blackout?
Warnings: A little cursing for James, like always.

The wind was fierce enough to whip the flesh from one's bones by the time the sunflower taxi bounced two tires up on the curb and rescued the tangle-haloed brunette from her songbird perch on the back of the bus bench. And although the haute-blooded hellcat should have seemed downtrodden or discouraged because the pounding elements, she was sporting a flowerchild's grin when she slid into the backseat. After all, she was off of work.. and that was nothing but a mile long list of reasons to smile.

"Where to?" The driver peeled away from the swampy, polluted corner while he started his cruise down the street.. lifting his jaundiced eyes for a squint at her in the rearview. She gave him the address and the man went more than a little wide-eyed when James shucked the camel canvas of her trench coat, revealing a scant amount of fishnet and vinyl. Clipped stockings, stark suspenders, and a pair of shorts that amounted to almost nothing. It was a real fucking festive get-up.

"Damn, did you just come from a costume party?" He asked in alarm, watching starved when she crossed her knee lazily.

James just smiled. "Yeah, something like that.."

Fifteen minutes later and the cab was crashing to a halt before Bellum Letale. Cash was tossed at the driver with a muttered thanks before she braved the elements. Tightening her coat and hustling through the lobby on a pair of black vinyl boots that climbed so high on those thighs they should have had to of paid a toll. The stairwell seemed quiet and lonely when she graced it. But James knew all about illusions.

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wolfishane
2010-01-29 04:09 am UTC (link)

Shane was coming downstairs as James was climbing up. Unlike most New Yorkers, he was not in the habit of keeping his eyes down, too alert of his surroundings for that to be the case. He caught a flash of leg before he really registered who was walking up toward him, and he slowed. He considered, for a moment, walking past--but that would accomplish nothing.

"Evening," he said. It was getting on late, and he already had, as usual, a long list of imagined errands to draw from if she asked where he was headed. He didn't know where she'd come from, but by her expression and what little (and lack) of clothes she had on, it seemed like she'd had a good time.

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ex_peepshows656
2010-01-29 04:39 am UTC (link)

It was a strange thing about this building. How certain people she couldn't seem to escape from, and others eluded her. Not that she'd been scavenging on the lookout for Shane. But every now and then, when James passed the sixth floor hallway, she'd think of him. Aside from the anonymous post, there'd been no sign of him in any hall or corridor. Which probably accounted for her trueblue blink of surprise when she saw him now.

"Hey, stranger," the words were drawn and honest in their curiosity. Made into a set of purring syllables, engaging and unclipped. The hand she lifted was doctored up, bandage wrapped over steri-strips courtesy of one sweet mad scientist, but slim fingers all the same.

"On your way to a rescue mission?" The tone was dropped in playful conspiracy.

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wolfishane
2010-01-29 05:08 am UTC (link)

"Exactly that," he said, eyes catching on her hand. "What happened to your hand?"

He'd made a mistake with James, a lapse, an experiment he ought not to have indulged, and there was no way he wasn't going to associate her with it seeing her now. He would be lying if he said he didn't like her, however, and he wasn't going to turn and walk away just because they'd run across one another in the hallway. The steri strips, in particular, caught his interest. Hopefully there was a legitimate reason why she had a cut to her hand. If not...well, he was well equipped to investigate and deal with the sort of person who might do something like that to a woman.

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ex_peepshows656
2010-01-29 05:20 am UTC (link)

"Accident," she explained with an air of nonchalance, lowering her hand consciously. Coated shoulders rising in a gentle shrug that said it wasn't serious. Come on, she was a big tough girl. She shimmied down elevator shafts and everything. A couple of steri-strips weren't going to slow her down.

"So what kind of rescue mission is this? Kitten trapped in a tree? Orphanage on fire?" Her eyes lit up, colorful opium poppies and nuclear smoke. "Need a sidekick, Batman?"

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	wolfishane 2010-01-29 03:30 pm UTC (link)
	He filed that away nonetheless. He'd keep it in mind if he saw any other injuries on her later. "I work alone," he said, smiling a little. "Isn't that what Batman would say? But you can tag along on my entirely epic trip to pick up shaving cream and takeout." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

ex_peepshows656
2010-01-30 05:55 am UTC (link)

"Batman would say that, but his sidekicks weren't ones to listen. They knew better." The thrilled hitch of her eyebrows suggested that James too had difficulty in listening to orders. Such an admission was easy, because she found rebellion too endearing.

James gestured with a hand that she'd tag along. "It's not safe to wander out alone, even for superheroes." She tightened her coat with an amused wink, "I'll keep you safe."

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	wolfishane 2010-01-30 07:12 am UTC (link)
	"Better than Batman?" he protested, none too strongly. "Oh good. I could use a guard or two, these days. It's a dangerous world we live in." He continued down the stairs, amused at the idea of her willingly following him along on his 'errand run'--which was now a legitimate errand run, it seemed. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

ex_peepshows656
2010-01-30 07:20 am UTC (link)

"Of course! You don't think Batman's views on vengeance were a little skewed at times? Who else would set him straight?" James proposed all of this like she knew shit about Batman. When really, anything outside of Tim Burton and vinyl catsuit hotties was completely out of her realm.

James hadn't really believed that Shane was going out for shaving cream and takeout. Such an odd order for a chilly night. Especially when delivery was a call away, and he looked like he could safely withstand a couple days of stubble. But hey, she was willing to call his bluff as far as he was going to take it.

"Although, if you're dead set against this sidekick thing.." Her steps twisted faintly, comfortable in walking down the stairs without watching where she was going.

"I'll be Catwoman, you can stop me from terrorizing the city."

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	wolfishane 2010-01-30 03:17 pm UTC (link)
	Like Shane knew a whit about Batman except what he'd picked up from other people over the years. "I think Batman had the right idea," he said, smiling slightly. The smile widened a little at the Catwoman mention. Time to delve into his incredibly shallow pop culture knowledge. "Do you make it a habit to steal from others on a regular basis?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

ex_peepshows656
2010-01-30 11:21 pm UTC (link)

Reaching the base of the stairs, James tucked a couple rampant curls behind her ear. A gust from the distant lobby doors rustled the hem of her coat and sent dark bangs into her eyes all over again. James smelled the same, but different. That familiar smash of red berries and soft leather, but now it was tainted by an acrid note of hairspray, the lingering smog of cigars in her hair.

Did she steal something from strangers on a regular basis, though? Her bewitching eyes lifted to Shane when she answered, "Only their hearts." Mostly joking.

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wolfishane
2010-01-31 02:42 am UTC (link)

The combination of scents coming off her brought together with what he could see of the clothes under the coat jogged his memory. The anon post. They'd said that James was a stripper--and with that note of cigar smoke and hairspray plus her scantly clad body likely meant she'd been working.

"The greatest sport, some might say. Have you been stealing hearts tonight?"

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ex_peepshows656
2010-01-31 06:41 am UTC (link)

"Hardly," she laughed. "Those men have no such thing." There wasn't a trace of bitterness in her tone, but the words themselves seemed a little harsh. James wasn't an extremist feminist man-hater by any means. But after a few years of watching husbands pry wedding rings from their booze-swollen fingers before trying to leech phone numbers off of dancers.. she was admittedly a little jaded.

"So," she turned to him with a high sketch of sable brows, " where were you really going tonight?" Shaving cream run? Give her a break.

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	wolfishane 2010-01-31 03:06 pm UTC (link)
	That made him smile. Good answer. "Really going?" he asked, looking over at her, pausing against the banister. "What do you mean?" It was a believable deflection, and he wondered idly if that would be enough to shake her off the line of questioning. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	ex_peepshows656 2010-01-31 04:46 pm UTC (link)
	Oh, the deflection was believable. So much so that James didn't believe it for a second. She watched him, and smiled faintly. "You can lie, I don't mind." She was used to it. She lived the lie. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	wolfishane 2010-01-31 04:56 pm UTC (link)
	A flash of amusement, honest, if only there for a second. "And if I am lying--telling you the truth would only take the mystery out of it." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	ex_peepshows656 2010-01-31 11:17 pm UTC (link)
	"So, you're trying to be mysterious, then?" Her amusement echoed his. The dark script of her eyebrows sliding into speculative arches when she turned toward him. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	wolfishane 2010-01-31 11:49 pm UTC (link)
	"Exactly that," he said. He began moving in the direction of the lobby, down the stairs. "Some errands just aren't meant to be discussed." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	ex_peepshows656 2010-02-01 12:55 am UTC (link)
	The soft click of James' heels gave pause. Black boots stalling on one of the steps, they shined like wet plastic beneath the stairwell lighting. "Sounds like something serious, maybe I shouldn't keep you from it." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	wolfishane 2010-02-01 01:44 am UTC (link)
	Serious. Shaving cream, takeout, and the casing of a house in which the father regularly assaulted his family. He didn't intend on killing anyone, just investigating, gathering facts. But none of that, of course, could he say out loud. "Not so much," he said. "Do you not have any secrets of your own?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	ex_peepshows656 2010-02-01 02:14 am UTC (link)
	"Doesn't everyone?" She asked quietly, watching him while an unspoken theory skirted her eyes. Whatever she was thinking about Shane, she didn't say it. After all, if she was going to compete in this building, she'd have to keep her own secrets close to the chest. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	wolfishane 2010-02-01 02:25 am UTC (link)
	He made a soft, amused sound. He caught the look in her eye but didn't comment on it. She could think what she wanted. He wondered how close she was to the truth. "Everyone in this building, at least." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	ex_peepshows656 2010-02-01 02:51 am UTC (link)
	"Everyone in this building has enough problems, they should mind their own business." James straightened admirably, remembering the rumor mill of the anonymous post. "But maybe it's these secret errands that lead people to believe you're screwing a stripper." A little less amused now. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	wolfishane 2010-02-01 02:54 am UTC (link)
	"I couldn't agree more," he said. He nodded slowly, smile going rueful. So she had read what people said. "Like you said--people should mind their own business." Sobering, "I'm sorry they said those things about you." That whole post had been ugly, insults and threats flying thick through the air. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

ex_peepshows656
2010-02-01 03:07 am UTC (link)

"Don't apologize for them," she frowned with that insistence. James had survived enough dressing room fights with backstabbing, meth'd up babydolls that a little anonymous post wasn't going to phase her. But she didn't assume that Shane was as impervious to catty gossip.

"Besides, they're idiots. You haven't looked at my tits once." A playful concession that said she plainly read his disinterest.

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	wolfishane 2010-02-01 03:23 am UTC (link)
	"They're cowards, anyway," he said. James didn't seem like the sort of person to take what they said to heart, but still. He laughed, a rarity, quiet as it was. "Honestly I don't make a habit of staring with any woman. It's not exactly polite." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	ex_peepshows656 2010-02-01 03:30 am UTC (link)
	When Shane mentioned his admirable pursuit of politeness, James' expression brightened. Pleasantly surprised. "Well, that's good. I was almost going to take it personal." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	wolfishane 2010-02-01 03:40 am UTC (link)
	"Don't." Boyd would likely complain of the same thing, actually. Not enough staring. He'd have to work on that. "Do you have your eyes set on anyone?" he asked. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	ex_peepshows656 2010-02-01 03:47 am UTC (link)
	"No," she assured easily. Suspicious of what inspired the question in the first place, James gave Shane a skewing look. "Although, don't get any bright ideas about setting me up on a blind date." Shane wouldn't exactly know her type. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	wolfishane 2010-02-01 03:52 am UTC (link)
	"What a shame," he said. "And I was so hoping to set you up with one of the many fine, mentally balanced men in the building." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	ex_peepshows656 2010-02-01 03:56 am UTC (link)
	James laughed, a soft scoff of disbelief. "No such thing." Certainly not in this building. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	wolfishane 2010-02-01 04:02 am UTC (link)
	"Maybe not," he said, running a hand through his hair. "I guess you're out of luck unless you look outside, then. I'm pretty sure there must be a few sane ones somewhere." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	ex_peepshows656 2010-02-01 04:14 am UTC (link)
	"Do I strike you as the kind of woman that is incomplete without a man?" James questioned, honestly. Although the fact that she even asked, with that heated lilt on the gilded edge of her tongue, let him know that she wasn't. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	wolfishane 2010-02-01 04:32 am UTC (link)
	"Not at all," he said, without missing a beat. "I only thought you might want to give the speculating gossips something real to talk about." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	ex_peepshows656 2010-02-01 04:36 am UTC (link)
	James briefly considered the coincidence of Rick and Jude being in the same building as her. She wondered how many other flings of her's were here. "I'm sure they'll catch wind of my real exploits soon enough." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	wolfishane 2010-02-01 04:41 am UTC (link)
	He watched her expression shift. "Maybe not as good as they were made out to be?" he asked, quieter, a careful probe that he would let alone if she didn't respond to it. She looked as if her real exploits hadn't gone particularly well. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

ex_peepshows656
2010-02-01 04:52 am UTC (link)

The soft bow on her mouth drew to one side, contemplative. When her eyes lifted, they were a little dark with memory. She didn't mind talking with Shane. He seemed down to Earth, and that was a difficult quality for James to find in a person. The social circles of a stripper didn't really lend to that kind of mentality.

"Ever do something when you know it won't end well? But even knowing that isn't enough to stop you?" Her voice went a little soft with the question, looking to him expectantly.

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	wolfishane 2010-02-01 04:53 am UTC (link)
	She had no idea. "Yes," he said. "Absolutely." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	ex_peepshows656 2010-02-01 04:56 am UTC (link)
	"Then I guess you know what I mean." James smiled gently, even if the words hadn't been uplifting. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	wolfishane 2010-02-01 05:01 am UTC (link)
	He nodded. "I think I do," he said. "They can't all end that way, though." It was almost reckless optimism for him. He hoped not, for her sake. Whether she needed someone to make her feel complete or not, she deserved someone who would at least treat her well. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

ex_peepshows656
2010-02-01 05:20 am UTC (link)

"No," the smile widened into something a little more genuine, " some of them end pretty well." Rick and herself had remained friends, after all. Which was generally the case with James' flings. She was exceptionally picky -- when it came to men, anyway -- and therefore understood what she was getting herself into. There was no room for resentment or hurt feelings.

"Thanks, Shane." Even if he might not have been aware what she was thanking him for. Before he could stop her, James closed in. Up on her toes and planting a chaste kiss to his cheek. If he knew what was good for him, though, he'd wipe away the lipstick print she left behind.

"It's getting late. If you're going to run off and be mysterious, you should do it before it gets too cold." James winked with that matronly suggestion before gesturing that she'd continue up the stairs. He could have his vigilante Batman moments without her prying.

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	wolfishane 2010-02-01 05:29 am UTC (link)
	He watched her come up, smiling as he received his kiss on the cheek. "You're welcome," he said, though he still wasn't entirely sure what she'd thanked him for. "It's hard being a mystery in winter," he said, continuing down the stairs as she departed up. "Goodnight, James." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	ex_peepshows656 2010-02-01 05:38 am UTC (link)
	"Goodnight, Shane." The lean stretch of those vinyl boots vanished up the stairwell. (Reply to this) (Parent)