Harley Bothwell (harley_b) wrote in freedomtownic, @ 2020-04-10 14:43:00 |
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Entry tags: | harley 'tj' bothwell (harley_b), jodi hanson (thebrainyone) |
Old Friends; Different Places
Who: Jodi, introducing Harley 'TJ' Bothwell
Where: Mar-Vell Park, Freedomtown
When: Sat. March 28th
Rating: PG - Some swears and sex talk
Harley Bothwell woke up early one morning thinking that her day would be like any other. The petite brunette dressed in her running gear (tiny running shorts, sports bra and muscle tee) before smooching her partner on the cheek (Gertie was still sound asleep) and going for her usual run. It was a cold morning, but she liked to think that just invigorated her more. Popping her earpods in, she did her warm up stretches outside on the lawn before starting at a slow jog to warm up. She loved running. At first she started to do it when she had something on her mind, but now she simply did it for the fun of it.
She stopped once she hit mile 3 and leaned over her legs to catch her breath, closing her eyes. When she opened them again, she frowned. She'd been looking at pavement before, right? So where the fuck did the grass come from? She slowly stood up to her full height and looked around in bewilderment. She didn't even know there was a park near her house, so... "What the fuck?"
Jodi had begun taking daily walks, every morning, just to clear her head and help prepare her for whatever the day might throw her way. Normally, she didn't actually go near the park on her walks, but as luck would have it she ended up distracted by an unexpected meeting and conversation with Stephanie Rogers, and ended up walking a different path. It had been quiet though, and she blinked when she heard that exclamation, as she knew that voice, even after all these years.
"Holy crap. TJ?"
She turned running towards where she'd heard the voice coming from, which wasn't comfortable considering she was wearing a miniskirt and heels.
Harley turned at the exclamation of her old nickname. No one had called her that in years. She blinked in surprise at the admittedly hot older woman running towards her and set her hands on her hips, still trying to catch her breath, chest heaving. "Did I... did I have a heart attack and die in the middle of the street? If so then I sure as fuck am in heaven."
"Oh. My. God." Jodi laughed, looking at her. Wow. No wonder she'd falled in love so hard with this girl as a kid. She was BEYOND gorgeous. "You get brought to a different reality and yet somehow immediately still have game."
Harley gave Jodi a puzzled smile. "I've always had game." Even though she'd been in a committed relationship for, wow, eight years, she still had it in her to flirt up a storm, apparently. "But... backing up. What's this about a different reality?" She was still trying to figure out why this woman was so familiar. She looked like... but no, surely not.
"Hooboy. Alright. I know you're familiar with Marvel comics. Well, essentially? You're in them now. The reality gem is all kinds of messed up, and it's shifting people from their home reality to ones that, in most realities, are fiction. Meaning? We got people here from our world, from Marvel, from Star Wars, from damn near everything you can imagine." Jodi said, trying to explain this in a way that wouldn't confuse Harley, while also trying not to gawk at her like a creep.
"Oooooookay crazy lady. I think someone's off their meds and it sure as shit isn't me." Well, so much for being charming. Still. She couldn't shake the feeling that she knew this woman. "How do you know me?"
Time to rip the band-aid off. THIS would convince her some fuckery was afoot. "I dated you once upon a time, dingbat. I'm Jodi Hanson."
Harley opened her mouth, closed it and opened it again before giving Jodi a very appreciative and obvious once-over. "Little Jodi Hanson filled the fuck out." Okay, so she was willing to hear this lady out. "Last time I saw you... you were still younger than me, though." The mention of Marvel comics helped though. Jodi was still a big nerd when she got older apparently. "So... you're not the Jodi that I know."
"Not entirely, no." Jodi told her, unable to help the silly little grin on her face. Apparently ANY version of Harley still had this effect on her. Good to know. "Wow. Even after all these years, you still just... knock me on my ass, you know that?"
Harley preened and gave Jodi a playful curtsy. "Thank you, thank you." She still couldn't wrap her head around this! What the fuck was happening!? "You have aged like a fine wine yourself." She wolf-whistled. "So... okay. Alternate reality. Check." Her eyes widened as something occurred to her. "No Gertie, though. That's bad."
"Not that I've seen, no. There's a bunch of people here from our world though. Most of them from the same timeline as you." Jodi explained, trying to be helpful. "Sin, Quinn, Gwen & Blake, Meredith, Ben & Skylar, Brayden & Talia.... god help us, Rachelle..."
"Yeah. It makes sense that her crazy ass would be here." Harley couldn't help it but laugh, shaking her head. "Okay, so." She exhaled and walked over to a nearby park bench to sit down. This was a lot to take in. "I may or may not be having a mild panic attack."
"There's a welcome center right outside the park." Jodi said, patting her old friend on the back for comfort. "They can... give you a better prep than I did. If you need someone to stay with until you adjust a little, Caiti and I have an extra room. Dany's living in Dragonstone now, so she really barely uses it."
"Hmph. Always knew that you guys were in it for the long haul." She gave Jodi a wry smile. Sweetly, Harley was more worried about Gertie being alone then being in an alternate universe. She'd adjust to this life quicker than most, but without Gertie with her it would feel like her whole heart was carved from her chest. "You don't think Caitlyn would mind having all of this," she made a gameshow hostess gesture to her body, "prancing around her house for a few days?"
"If anything it'll make us both in the mood a hell of a lot more." Jodi blurted out, blushing. "Sorry, sorry... I just can't see a situation where looking at you doesnt immediately get someone's motor running. But yeah, lemme text her real quick, just so I'm not taking her for granted." Jodi tapped a quick text out to Caitlyn, explaining what had happened. "And don't let yourself get too upset about Gertie yet... Rachelle, Skylar, Bray, and Gwen all showed up without their partners too, and they all showed up in time."
"In time," TJ repeated. Now that was something that she was going to struggle to deal with. She puffed out a breath.
Caitlyn texted back almost immediately saying that she'd put fresh linen's on the bed in the spare room straight away.
"Does that mean that you and Caitlyn showed up together then?" Harley couldn't help it but ask, raising her eyebrows. That wouldn't have surprised her at all, frankly. In her timeline Jodi and Caitlyn had seemed attached at the hip from the day that they'd met.
"We did. And thank goodness, because apparently that's pretty rare. As I said, Dany is here too. She showd up a good while before we did." Jodi said, laughing to herself as she realized TJ had a type... and dear lord DANY FIT THAT DESCRIPTION.
"Christ, with you two as parents I bet your kid has grown into a FOX too," Harley replied, hilariously on the same wavelength. Good to know that she and Jodi had that connection still, despite being from two different places. "So what's this place like? Tell me everything."
"Don't. You. Even. Think. About. It." Jodi said before bursting into a giggle, before digging into her purse for her favorite picture of Dany. "Believe it or not... she's now working for the woman she was named after."
"The Dragon lady?" Harley asked, knowing the story. Her eyes popped open comically as she looked at the photo. "Holy SHIT, dude. She's stunning." She'd ALMOST joked about borrowing the photo for reference later, but somehow managed to refrain. "Jesus Christ playing beach volleyball."
"She clearly took on more of Caiti's genetics than mine. She's got the same powers as Caiti, the same practicality, the same instant knack for becoming maternal when someone she cares about is hurting. All she got from me was being a spaz and a geek." Jodi smirked playfully. "And yeah. She's Hand of the Queen to Daenerys Targaryen."
"That is some CLOUT right there. And hey." She gave Jodi a shoulder-bump. "I bet she's got your smarts 'cause I already know that she has your good looks." Judging by the fact that Jodi mentioned just the one child Harley decided not to ask about any others. She knew that in her time and place Jodi physically couldn't give birth after their first child. She wondered what other things were the same. "Oh, hey. What am I like in your world?"
"Well..." Oh lord. Poor Harley. She was about to find out the hard way that, in ANY reality, Jodi loved to be snarky with her. "You were sweet, protective, fierce as hell, and until you met Gertie, you basically had more people inside you than a 24-hour Wal-Mart."
"... so some things do stay the same," Harley blurted out with a laugh. She couldn't help it but grin brightly at the mention of her longtime partner, though. "God, she really does complete me in every way."
"Most things have seemed the same." Jodi told her, tapping her chin as she thought. "One of the few differences is that Caiti's friend Amber, that died in our world, is like... the world's meekest vampire in yours."
"She is adorable as FUCK, though. I mean, we never got to hang or anything but just... so cute." Harley reached for Jodi's hand to give it a squeeze. This was all very real. "Did you ever do things to fuck with Quinn in your world?"
"If the words 'shapeshifter bukkake' mean anything to you, then the answer is an emphatic yes." Jodi said, a deep blush coming over her. "We really did enjoy messing with that girl. And being total exhibitionists."
Harley let out a squeal of delight and clapped her hands. "To be a fly on the wall THAT day." She let out a playful wistful sigh. Okay. So this was Jodi and also NOT Jodi. She could deal with that.
"Ok, you gotta stop being so sexy." Jodi grumbled, all those old crushy feeling coming back to her. "Good lord, poor Caiti's getting a very needy Jodi tonight..."
"You gotta PROMISE me that you'll be as loud as possible. I'm gonna have to live vicariously through you two until my girl gets here." Oh dear. This was gonna be a hilarious living situation for a little while, huh?