Route 4 (Slumberland 4way or, “Tension in the tent”)

tyranitartestified:

tipsygardevoir:

giratinasterror:

gastlygumshoe:

Jane followed her compatriot into the tent, grateful that the wind had at least calmed down enough to provide a chance to shake the sand from clothing outside the tent, although she wasn’t quite sure she’d gotten all of it. At least now she wasn’t dripping sand from every pore of flesh. She curled up in the corner right next to Roxy, half wondering how on Earth Strider managed to carry this thing around for so long without a captcha system.

“I’m sorry, Roxy,” she apologized, awkwardly brushing some missed sand from her friend’s shoulder. “I’ve never been out here in a skirt before; I wasn’t aware it would be an issue. Do you need any help?”

She felt it only right to offer assistance. Really, she should have realized that skirts were impractical for this type of weather, but it hadn’t even occurred to her. And… actually, that sounded kind of odd, didn’t it?

With a great deal of mortification and a heavy blush besides, she added, “I mean, if you need someone to hold up a towel for you or anything along those lines! Anything that would aid in remedying your situation?”

Ugh, that didn’t sound quite right either! Jane should just shut up before she said anything else that sounded remotely compromising. That was a good idea. She was already starting to worry that Strider was getting annoyed, especially with how much she’d been bungling things up lately. Even if they had a rather healthy rivalry, it wouldn’t do any good to create conflict tonight and get Roxy and Jake tangled up in it.

It was really a good thing they’d all be sharing a tent together, considering how cold the desert got during the night. Being a particularly dry place, nearly devoid of all plant life and sparsely populated with Pokemon, the desert had an incredibly low specific heat, and could get surprisingly cold after dark! She wasn’t entirely certain how it happened, but she did know it was one of the main reasons the desert got less windy, one of the main factors in designing BCC’s go-goggles.

“I believe I have some bacon in my Fetch Modus,” Jane tried to supply helpfully. It wasn’t any good if an item-storing system for cooks and by cooks couldn’t keep food fresh. “I’m, er. not entirely certain how well the preservation system works, though. It’s still in alpha-testing stages.”

Sitting toward the back of the tent away from the ‘door’ flap he changed into one of his no sleeve shirts and vest jacket things before they went into the desert, his normal log sleeves obviously going to be too warm. Before going into the tent he turned out at least a pound of sand from his hood and can still feel it in between his toes and folds of his clothes. “This bloody desert… Roxy I understand how you feel about sand everywhere.” Nicsaw is sitting in his lap munching on a bit of poffin, the little Pokémon already able to use a few attacks despite being still just born.

“Still, there are ruins in this desert and I’m excited to find them!” grins thinking about the dusty ruins. “It’ll be a different experience since I’m used to wetter relics.” Hums, not thinking twice about the fact that what he said could be considered dirty in some way.

At Dirk’s mention of what he has to eat and Jane mentioning her own, Jake speaks up, “Well, with my Sylladex I can carry some pretty big things. I don’t think I have a cooler though. I didn’t think about that. I do have… Chips, fruit, fruit snacks, and an assortment of drinks, if anyone would like anything.”

Using her passive skill of ‘moirail roll’, Roxy rolls a perfect 20 and quickly picks up on Dirk’s concerns with the heat. Also the fact that he is pretty much IN heat. Lookit that fucker. Wanted to spell words out on Jake’s lower back. At night. “Well, at least it’s warm now. At night is gets cold a FUCK.” Without missing a beat, she turns to her best girl. “Aww Janey, you’re the best, if you don’t mind I got a bunch of sand stuck-“

Unable to keep a straight face and Jane’s backpedaling, she pats the poor girls shoulders. “It’s fine Janey, I don’t wanna be giving these healthy young men TOO much of a show! Gotta be playin hard to get. Tease it girl.” Nodding sagely to herself.

Brushing sand of herself, she looks to Jake and tilting her head. Looking to Jane. Then to Dirk. Nobody gonna…. snatch that one? Seriously? COME ON GUYS YOU SUCK. “How deep have you gotten into those caves Jakey? You musta explored EVERY nook and cranny by now.” Come on she even set it up for you shitheads. YOU CAN DO IT. You can- “ALL HAIL JAKE. I knew one of us brought non perishable shit. Spread the wealth!” Bouncing in place, eager to see what delicious treats Jake has been holding onto. He will eat it all. Everything. Yessss. 

Jane was bumbling everything lately. The blond couldn’t help but feel sorry for her - whenever she tried to correct herself over a simple statement that might possibly be misconstrued, she just dug herself deeper until she couldn’t possibly get out of it.

Unfortunately for her, he was feeling rather juvenile after a day of slogging through sand which he was certain had ingrained itself in his scalp.

“Try not to get too frisky in my tent, Crocker. I won’t have you sullying its virginal walls.” Oh no, he had other plans in lieu with that line of thought.

At Roxy’s pointed look, Dirk just shrugged. “I’ve already pitched one tent tonight, someone else can take a turn.” Taking the jerky out of his sylladex he put it in the middle of the tent as he sat down so they could eat in a close circle without risking crumbs in someone’s sleeping area. As he pondered over what, precisely, he wanted to eat, he pondered over the mysteries of the sylladex.

It was quite possible that the same process which allowed one to carry around so many items at once - in this case, in the form of data - put them in a form of stasis. He had no idea as to its effects on live organic matter, but it stood to reason that food stuffs would not decompose in such a form. He would have to discuss it further with Gran but he had a basic idea as to how the system functioned. From there he began pondering on corrupted data, wondering if it would be possible to use a modified sylladex as a form of garbage disposal or as an online store where a trainer could buy something in the field and have it transferred to them. The possibilities really were endless and it left him deep in thought as he ate his banana in silence, zoned out to everything more than a foot away from him.

Sputtering indignantly at Dirk’s insinuation that she intended on debauching his tent, Jane began to quite literally see red. That was reason for pause. She blinked the rims of vermillion from her eyes. Perhaps she’d been wearing her BCC goggles a little too tightly for too long. At the very least, they prevented sand from getting into her eyes, quite possibly averting a disaster. It was a shame the same couldn’t be said for the rest of her body.

Mood equally soured by long treks under the sun, Jane finally mustered up a retort, “Don’t worry; I don’t intend to engage in any sullying of your tent, though I’m sure it’s seen worse in terms of uncleanliness.”

That was a subtle dig at the irony of Dirk’s statement, one she doubted Jake would catch on to. She hadn’t any doubt he didn’t engage in one or two acts of hogmagundy with past companions in this tent. She seemed to have a vague recollection of Jake mentioning someone… no, perhaps there was only the fellow who’d sold them pizza. She’d been certain he’d mentioned a past girlfriend at one point or another, but it was either forgotten or imagined.

She smiled in Jake’s general direction and, understanding the words as he meant them, added, “Well, of course you’re more used to oceanside ruins, since that’s all there are near Undella. Since, as Roxy said, you’ve probably explored every nook and cranny like butter in an English muffin, I’m sure the desert ruins will be a nice, new place for you to explore!”

Deciding to forgo the bacon and other things that would require cooking, Jane decaptchalogued a two-tier round chocolate sponge cake, just lightly frosted with a thin coat of buttercream. Like her father always said, it was important to carry at least four baked goods on you at all times!

“I suppose there’s also that, if you don’t think it’ll make too much of a mess,” Jane suggested, giving Dirk a sideways glance that she thought he may not have noticed, too entranced by the banana he was eating. “I’m afraid most of what I have needs to be cooked except for baked things.”

Route 4 (Slumberland 4way or, “Tension in the tent”)

tyranitartestified:

tipsygardevoir:

Following the nights events, in which Jake english flashed the ass, Dirk sought the ass and Jane lusted hardcore over the aforementioned ass, Roxy was left without her surprise due to consistent interruptions for Dirk to join them in the viewing of Treasure planet. While not the orgy starter Roxy claimed this time, the night went of fairly well, with many questions answered like how big is Dirk’s broadsword, does Jake’s pistol occasionally misfire, Jane’s spooning career and more! Fun was had and it would be a dreadful shame if even a moment of it went unappreciated.

The following day included but was not limited to sisterly puking in a homesick fashion and Jake and Dirk polishing each other’s gun. Thing continued throughout the week in a similar fashion with a slowly decreasing amount of puking.

One week later after the events Jake discovered his blossoming panty fetish, the crew decided to head north to the sandy desert resort, stopping at route 4 as the sun sets and with the determination not to freeze to dead or swallow enough sand to become hourglasses, the victory crew set up their tents, rather, “Tent” for the night. 

Roxy constantly shifts awkwardly from side to side, trying to not focus on HOW the sand ended up in her knickers but with the more urgent task or removing the shit. “Ohmy GOD, Janey why did you let me skirt the desert.” Upon entering, Roxy quickly sets up a happy home for herself in the corner with Jane.

“What are we eating? Is Dirk bringing in the meat? Oh my god meat sounds so good right now.” She would rip into the jugular and shake if she could, but alas, she has to delay. They aren’t even sat down yet.

The week in Castelia City was over in a blur of laughter and good times. They stayed inside for the most part, keeping a low profile partially because of their impending trip and the necessary preparation leading up to it and partially because they risked being swarmed by overzealous fangirls whenever they so much as left the building. It only got worse as word spread and Dirk’s match at the Pokemon gym summoned a certifiable horde of them. Even Roxy’s valiant attempts to stave them off - namely by tossing her panties into the fray and yelling that they were Dirk’s but falling back on breaking a bottle and threatening people when this ruse inevitably failed - had not been successful.

Now displaying a new badge on his belt Dirk stopped in the lee of a hill with the rest of his friends where they would be setting up camp. Sand still drifted outside of the lee’s shelter, probably gearing up for a storm, but inside the area it was safe to shake the particles out of his hair and clothing without having to worry about them being immediately replaced. Ejecting the large tent out of his sylladex he worked with his friends to set it up, knowing the four of them could sleep in a square within the structure without touching each other or the sides of the tent. He had bought it when Jeff first evolved into a Charizard, so she could sleep half inside with the rest of the team; as such it was rather large. For obvious reasons he was more than grateful that he no longer had to haul it around on his back.

After they piled inside with as much sand left outside as humanly possible Dirk pulled off his jacket. It had been necessary in the whipping sand but stifling to say the least. Stripped down to a black muscle shirt and jeans, he then removed some food for their evening meal from his sylladex. After they ate he would let out his Pokemon so they could eat their own food and interact with each other; there would be more than enough room for them to stay out for the night as long as they didn’t get too rowdy. In fact - if it had just been himself and Jake they probably could have kept all their Pokemon out with some room to spare. But even if Roxy and Jane kept their teams in their balls that would not be feasible.

I guess I should just be happy to spend some more time with them. There’ll be more time for that when we split into two groups, the blond reasoned to himself. Glancing at the two young women from behind his shades he still couldn’t help but feel a bit annoyed especially since the tent would become very warm very fast. But there was only room enough for his own tent to be pitched.

“I have some jerky, but that’s about it,” he said in reply to Roxy’s question - as provocative as it was supposed to be. “Without a refrigerator or at least a cooler I don’t think slabs of flesh would have survived long in the weather out there.”

Jane followed her compatriot into the tent, grateful that the wind had at least calmed down enough to provide a chance to shake the sand from clothing outside the tent, although she wasn’t quite sure she’d gotten all of it. At least now she wasn’t dripping sand from every pore of flesh. She curled up in the corner right next to Roxy, half wondering how on Earth Strider managed to carry this thing around for so long without a captcha system.

“I’m sorry, Roxy,” she apologized, awkwardly brushing some missed sand from her friend’s shoulder. “I’ve never been out here in a skirt before; I wasn’t aware it would be an issue. Do you need any help?”

She felt it only right to offer assistance. Really, she should have realized that skirts were impractical for this type of weather, but it hadn’t even occurred to her. And… actually, that sounded kind of odd, didn’t it?

With a great deal of mortification and a heavy blush besides, she added, “I mean, if you need someone to hold up a towel for you or anything along those lines! Anything that would aid in remedying your situation?”

Ugh, that didn’t sound quite right either! Jane should just shut up before she said anything else that sounded remotely compromising. That was a good idea. She was already starting to worry that Strider was getting annoyed, especially with how much she’d been bungling things up lately. Even if they had a rather healthy rivalry, it wouldn’t do any good to create conflict tonight and get Roxy and Jake tangled up in it.

It was really a good thing they’d all be sharing a tent together, considering how cold the desert got during the night. Being a particularly dry place, nearly devoid of all plant life and sparsely populated with Pokemon, the desert had an incredibly low specific heat, and could get surprisingly cold after dark! She wasn’t entirely certain how it happened, but she did know it was one of the main reasons the desert got less windy, one of the main factors in designing BCC’s go-goggles.

“I believe I have some bacon in my Fetch Modus,” Jane tried to supply helpfully. It wasn’t any good if an item-storing system for cooks and by cooks couldn’t keep food fresh. “I’m, er. not entirely certain how well the preservation system works, though. It’s still in alpha-testing stages.”

Castelia City

tyranitartestified:

giratinasterror:

tipsygardevoir:

Roxy nods, deciding that the apology she just made will be the LAST ON THE SUBJECT. All is forgiven and there is no point wasting time on silly little things like that. She nearly bounces at the mention of an opportunity to play with the girls.

“You wanna take care of my while our babies gossip in the bathroom?” She beams, ever so eager to get this going. “I can probably keep em busy for a while. OH! I can show them the yo-yo and pineapple trick! omg”

Time of course is of the essence, thus Roxy decides to leave her bod in Dirk capable crotch grabbing hands. “You need my measurements or sumthin? Cop-on, cop-off? How’d you even learn this shit anyway. You go through sum karayte kid montage with a sowin machine?” Which now that she thinks about it further, is the only way she can see Dirk learning ANYTHING.

Unable to argue that he’ll need the room to figure out the skirt Jake nods softly and waits until Jane is well hidden before he starts to pull off his clothes. Starting with the shirt he unfolds it and holds it over himself in the mirror first as he speaks. “Well, it’s about Dirk… again. Sort of about what just happened. I’m not all together sure I can go through with Nimbasa.” He sighs as he pulls the shirt on. It fits rather well which in his head is a bit scary. “Just now when we were alone… He didn’t touch me inappropriately or anything but in my head I kinda… made it out like he did.” Face flushes as he removes his pants. Looking at the skirt he decides to roll up  his boxers before slipping into the skirt. It fits a bit snug around his waist and fabric of his boxers is making is hard to zip it up. “I’m having a bit of trouble here.” 

Dirk cringed as he took the box of sewing pins and his measuring tape from the coffee table.

“No. No pineapple and yo-yo trick, Rox. Considering the fact that it made me nauseated, I’m not sure how Jake or - Arceus forbid - Jane would react to it.” Tucking his pad of paper into his pocket and picking up the finished pair of panties, frilly finish and all, he walked past Roxy towards her bedroom. As he hung the underwear on the bathroom doorknob he explained to her, “I need you to wear it so I can pin it in place so I know where to sew. As for how I learned it, I can thank both Gran and traveling for that.”

Studiously staring at a corner of the bathroom, Jane frowned as she listened to Jake talk. As she knew, he was a lot more intuitive than he appeared to be, and maybe he was subconsciously picking up on Dirk’s… well, actual intentions! But, then again, she was aware that he was also prone to letting his imagination run wild, and she could name one or two occasions where he’d mentally jumped to, ahem, the wrong conclusions. It was a toss-up, like anything involving Jake English was.

“I… see,” she said by way of postponing the conversation for just a few seconds, in order to collect her thoughts. “Well, it sounds to me like your feelings are definitely romantic… shucks, buster! I’m afraid you’ll have to explain it a bit more… Why, exactly, do you feel like it’s more difficult to go through with it?”

She stepped out from behind the curtain, and took note of the issue, before giving him her conjecture.

“I’m afraid you’ll have to remove those,” Jane finally said. “Let me go see if Dirk has your other undergarments done…”

She opened the bathroom door and poked her head out, seeing neither hide nor blonde hair of her other compatriots. The frilly article of clothing, however, was on the door knob, miraculously undisplaced by the door’s opening. Oh my. She hadn’t known quite what to expect from Strider, but it looked like he had, to say the least, really outdone himself. She plucked it from its perch, and turned around, shutting and locking the door behind her once again.

“Here, change into this,” she smiled weakly in Jake’s direction, handing him the lingerie.

Castelia City

tyranitartestified:

giratinasterror:

tipsygardevoir:

As Jane led Jake away Roxy couldn’t help but giggle at the thought of Jane sitting in the bath tub with a scream mask as Jake undressed. As perfect and gorgeous and….. amazing as she was, Roxy occasionally felt some serious serial killer vibes coming of her bbfsy. At least when man ass was concerned! In fact, Roxy was 200% sure that Jane loved ass more than anybody in the room. A jawbreaker of sexual tension. Quietly, she mosies on up close to Dirk with and let’s be honest here, the most stupidly glee filled expression on her face. The joy equal parts happiness and radiation.

“Soooo Dirky~” She practically PURRS the second Jane and Jake are gone. “Watcha think? I can totes pull it off right? Coz I mean, I’m no expert on this stuff… but I’m p sure Janey’s gonna love it!” She leans in, almost vibrating in glee as she looks over his workstation. The boy always had a way of perfecting nearly everything he tried. 

“Also, when’d you get so imtimate with Jakey’s naughty zone? Come on, gossip with momma Roxy, how’s the goods?” With that, she is winking and wonking, and nudging him slightly at the same time. “Thought you was all big into the dates and wooing though! Didn’t nobody ever tell you it’s bad luck to peek at presents?” Ok now she was just teasing, but she was happy for him though. Baby bird Dirk found himself a mate and is currently building a nest for the eggs.

“Bee-tee-dubs? I’m still totes sorry about our lil mishap though. Didn’t mean to get you in trouble.” Of course, it was almost expected of Roxy to do such things, she forgets it is a lot easier for Dirk to let people down. Probably because she expect more of him that her.

The thought leaves an awful taste in her mouth, so she decides to replace it with the beautiful image of scrote-nests.

Giving Dirk a short thumbs up at the comment of his “owning the outfit” Jake turns to Jane and gives a little nod as she mentions going to the bathroom to try on the clothes. “After you.” holds his arm out to motion her to go first. Moving to the bathroom he listens for Dirk and Roxy a moment before looking at Jane. “I could change behind the curtain or something if you’d come in here.” He nods his head for Jane to come inside as he carefully takes the outfit from her. “I… kind of need to talk so…” Gives the floor a troubled kind of look for a moment.

After the brunet duo absconded to the bathroom, Dirk turned to Roxy, who was all but draped over him. He honestly didn’t mind, however - it was just the way his fellow blond was.

“I know for a fact that you won’t just pull it off, Rox - you will rock it and Jane will be awed and amazed,” he reassured his friend with a slight quirk of his lips. “I’ll need you for about twenty minutes, and then you’ll have to distract them for a while. An hour, maybe - but that shouldn’t be too hard if there’s a movie or something involved. Or some battles. You’re creative so I doubt you’ll have problems with that.” Rolling his eyes at Roxy’s next comment, he gave a dismissive wave and began to clean up the table.

“We’ve practically been living in a sardine can, of course I’ve seen more of him than my chivalrous heart would normally allow for.” Even if she was teasing him, it was something he would rather brush over - just like the next topic she brought up.

Standing he gave a shrug and walked over to the trash can to dispose of the waste in his hands. “I should have known better. I think that we both know that us and alcohol don’t go well together.”

Jane shut the door behind her, looking concerned about Jake. Worried that he was about to confess to her some heinous act Dirk had committed, like his hand wandering in places where it needn’t go, or being “accidentally” groped at or breathing down his neck like a major creep or… well, there were a lot of possibilities! It could be an emergency situation. One that she needed to advise Jake on, even

“There’s no need for that, really,” Jane answered earnestly. “You’ll need the space to maneuver around the skirt. I’ll take the curtain, if you please.”

She caught the shower curtain in her fingers and stepped inside. It was, fortunately, quite dry, and Jane was pleasantly surprised that her socks were undampened by the shower.

“What did you need to talk about?” she inquired, settling into a conversational tone.

Castelia City

tyranitartestified:

Returning with the girls, Dirk makes a beeline for the kitchen, eager to eat. He was in the middle of unpacking the boxes of sushi when Jake’s surprised voice prompted him to look into the living room.

Sure enough, it was Gran on the television - along with a hand full of prominent trainers, gym leaders, and even Dean, she stood on stage in Black City. He watched in surprise as she spoke of a company which had apparently been in the works since before Jake was even born. At Jake’s look, the blond shook his head. “I never knew about it either,” he said. And then Dean began to speak.

“Alongside my personal sponsorship of SkaiaNet is the endorsement of several of my peers, both present and not. We truly believe that SkaiaNet is the future in the safety of trainers both old and new. If you have any questions I would be more than happy to answer them.”

The media swarmed him with questions varying from how long he had been investing in the company - “twelve years” - to questions about himself - “this is a press conference for SkaiaNet, not me” - to accusations of favouritism based on the fact that Jess practically raised his brothers.

“Believe me, if this was about paying her back I’d be giving her a Hell of a lot more than just money and support. Professor English has an honourable goal, a vision, that I want to see as well. All too often to we hear stories on the news of trainers who were hurt or even killed as they are unable to afford the necessities. SkaiaNet - which is non-profit - will cut down on unnecessary and tragic accidents. In short, it will save lives. And as someone with some shred of conscience, I think that I can honestly say that that is a goal I can easily support in any way possible.”

With that, the press conference came to a close. Sliding onto the couch with his plate of sushi Dirk couldn’t help but say with a smirk, “Looks like your company’s got some competition Crocker. With backing from half the professional Pokemon community, too.”

Jane assisted Roxy into the kitchen in spite of her disorientation. Roxy had been heading into the living room, where Jake was observing the television, but she was certain that Roxy really intended to arrive in the kitchen, where Dirk was unpacking boxes of sushi (Jane recognized the bags; she’d ordered from them many times to get through an evening of work).

She frowned as she heard the report on SkaiaNet. They’d grown slowly. So slowly, in fact, that they were virtually off CrockerCorp’s radar. She knew that she should be happy for her friends, but she couldn’t shake the feeling…

Perhaps it was sixteen years of brand loyalty (again). Perhaps it was her status as the Heiress, and her responsibility to defend her company. But Jane bit her lip.

((Warning: Shitload of business stuff. Truly a lot.))

Read More

[Future Event] ==> HomeSick

tipsygardevoir:

gastlygumshoe:

tipsygardevoir:

gastlygumshoe:

tipsygardevoir:

Roxy thought for a moment. Well, as much thinking as a super knonked out teen can do when being asked really personal questions by her sneaky best friend. “Lol jaeny ur so…. snoppy.” A giggle thrown in there of couse. “Dirk’s like, my homebro.  So cooool…. tha’s is though. I wouldn’t fukk him or nuthin. S’like, he’s gotta nice butt butt that’s it. He’s a totes enigmers.”

Drooling a little in her sleep she goes on to say. “He’d be bad for me romantically. Were moirails. S’like, we cover eachothers faults. He’d keep tryin ta change me too much…. I just want someone who love like, Roxy for Roxy. Like Janey does.”

She snorks again. “That’s all I want Janey.” Almost looks like she is about to say more before the topic somehow takes a turn. “What…..about you? Whats ur…type?” She seems to have a BIT of tact remaining in her sleeping form, avoiding the use of Jake’s name directly.

Snoppy? Jane frowned at the word. “Snop” sounded like a lousy sound effect from a low-budget webcomic. Like “snap”, but… derpier. What did snopping have to do with the current situation?

… or perhaps she’d just mispronounced “snoopy”. Jane felt a little bad about doing a modern-day equivalent of the Alternian Inquisition on an unconscious girl who could barely control what came out of her mouth, but she needed answers. And it wasn’t like Roxy would just give them to her while conscious— just earlier, she’d said that she told lies every day. If Jane wanted the truth, she’d have to garner it from Roxy’s unconscious babble.

The truth was, evidently, that Roxy and Dirk were something like humanoid moirails. While it was true that humans generally didn’t seem to grasp the concept of moirallegiance as well as trolls did (hence the sparse romantic contact between the two species) Jane figured that it sounded perfectly reasonable.

But, she wondered, biting her lip in confusion, when had Dirk ever done anything but encourage Roxy’s bad habits? He’d gone ahead and gotten drunk with her, for Arceus’ sake! Sighing, she decided to give that up— there was probably far more going on behind the scenes.

Ugh, she was overthinking this. The point was that Roxy and Dirk were just friends, or really, best friends. It was completely stupid of her, but she was jealous. She had no reason to be; Roxy even said that she liked that Jane loved her for who she was.

That made Jane smile. Even if she wasn’t Roxy’s moirail, she could still be her best galpal. Of course, they wouldn’t quite have the intimacy of moirallegiance, but Jane had always figured that human and troll romance didn’t have any true equivalents. It was completely possible for her to be important in Roxy’s life without necessarily filling one of Roxy’s “quadrants” (a silly concept in and of itself, humans didn’t have quadrants!), even if she kind of wanted to be considered the one that Roxy could feelings-jam with.

“That’s probably right,” Jane mused aloud, answering Roxy. “We’d probably be terrible moirails; I can’t imagine you changing. I like you just the way you are, drunkenness and conspiracy theories included. I suppose we’d better stick to bffsies, hoo hoo!”

Even if she thought that the alcoholism should stop, for the sake of Roxy’s health, she had real difficulty picturing a sober Roxy, not hopped up on cold medicine or ridiculous fevers or sugar, even.

“Although,” Jane postulated, “If you just want someone who loves you as you are, I’m sure you’ll have no problem finding a fellow. You’re a very lovable person.”

She punctuated that with a hug. Truly, Roxy was the best of friends.

But, of course, the best of friends were also the most inquisitive of friends, especially when it came to love lives.

“My… type?” Jane frowned. The first person to come to mind was, of course, Jake, but that was unattainable— and certainly, probably, not what Roxy was going for. “I— I’m not really sure?”

She thought for a while, trying to come up with what it was about Jake that she liked exactly.

“I suppose my type would be the one who’s as free as a bird,” Jane finally said. “The type of person who isn’t afraid to adventure, the type of person who seems like they never have a care in the world but to do whatever they want, even if it’s something silly and dangerous like exploring ruins or climbing mountains.”

Jane stopped right there, not sure why she was talking to an unconscious body. She was pretty sure Roxy was drooling on her by now; she couldn’t bring herself to care.

“I don’t know, Roxy,” she sighed, reaching one of her hands up to stroke Roxy’s hair. “You always tell me I’m the responsible one with their feet on the ground. Do you think I’d ever be able to catch someone as free as that?”

She frowned, disliking the train of thought she was following.

“Do you think it would be all right if I kept someone who’s that kind of free tied down?” Jane asked, forgetting that Roxy wasn’t even awake. “I’m always being called a wet blanket. Maybe I shouldn’t even try.”

She hadn’t meant to say that out loud, but Roxy was just so easy to talk to.

Roxy shakes her head in her sleep. “Janey no… ur just as special as Dirky is to me…. ur like… like, my best friend.” She giggles. “Dirky like, helps me out but it’s nothing like hanging out with my best fukkin girlbro.” She pets Janes face erratically, shushing her with the most erratic of face paps. Clearly, not having any of this self pity.

“Now…now u listen hear Janey. Ura… a beautiful gal and… totes not a wet blanket. You just gotta let people be dumb and stupid sometimes is all. Liek… ol’ Roxy here.” She shushes her. “You gotta love people cause their adventurous. You can still be lovin some fukker and not be breakin his balls over the danger. Yanno? You just gotta remember somethin…. an an I’ll tell you what it is…. right the fuck now.”

She moves her face in close, petting Janey still. “Poeple gotta love u four u. Flaws and junk and all. If u don’t find sumone imma fukkin friend marry your ass. Hells to the fucking yeahs.” She giggles a little. “Not gonna let my best fukkin babe depress herself and be alone and shit. Nuhuh.”

There is a little pause in which she slurrs her words and hiccups for some odd reason. She is pretty out of it! But there is an honesty in her tone. One that says she is deadly serious about marrying Jane if all else fails. Like she refuses to let her best friend stay alone forever.

Jane wrinkled her face as Roxy’s hand, still damp with sweat, seemed to molest her visage in what was clearly supposed to be a shoosh-pap. It made her let out a quiet giggle. She appreciated the sentiment that Roxy got across, though— it was, indeed, very nice to know that she was her… “girlbro”, whatever that meant.

It was reassuring. She could put to rest the very idea that Roxy considered Dirk a better friend than she; her worries and envy were completely unfounded. In fact, it would be a good idea to shoot the idea until it was dead, bury it, and place a garlic cross over it so that it didn’t come back as a zombie… or was it a vampire?

Jane shook that metaphor from her mind. Perhaps she should stop watching John’s paranormal films with him when he visited.

Jane sighed and nodded sleepily as Roxy continued to reassure her. It occurred to Jane that Roxy was great at giving advice, even when completely conked out on top of a sofa. She had no idea what she’d do without Roxy. She truly could not imagine going through life without her favorite blonde backing her every step of the way.

She was jolted from her light dozing by Roxy’s face nearing hers. It was admittedly creepy, the way sleeping Roxy could so closely imitate Roxy when awake. Jane wouldn’t have it any other way, though— just one more quirk to love.

“Roxy…” Jane breathed out loud, touched by the gesture. Roxy had offered to marry her if she couldn’t find anyone, and even though it was in her normal, joking manner, Jane could tell she was serious about it. “You really are the best. But, I couldn’t do that to you. You deserve to marry someone you really love. And I’ll be fine by myself; you don’t see Betty Crocker reliant on some chap’s support.”

She squeezed her best friend in an affectionate hug, “I really appreciate that you’ll be there for me, though. You’re truly the greatest.”

Jane just lay there and held Roxy for a little while. What kind of good thing had she done in a previous life to be able to have a friend like this now? There was only one question that she just had to ask before falling asleep herself.

“Roxy,” Jane began, pausing to yawn. “Are you really asleep?”

Jane already knew the answer, but she had to ask as a formality.

Even though it was improbable that anyone could possibly be this coherent in their sleep, Roxy had a way of making the impossible happen.

“No janey u the greatest…. lol we’ll be together fiveverrrrr” She cuddled up a little more, latching on like she does, seeking body heat. “if neither of us fine sumone gonna get you a big ol’ diamond ring.”

She mumbles a little, cuddling in as Jane gets cozy, smiling blissfully with her best girl bro at her side. Everything about Janey was comfortable. Even that cute way she flatters Roxy and then hugs her in defeat, knowing there is actually no possible way for her get out of the compliments.

There is a studdery mumbling noise as Roxy seems to be thinking on Jane’s question, is she asleep? Faking? How long? Roxy certainly does not seem to be reacting in any unreasonable way. For a sick and sleeping person, be it a highly active one.

“I don’t…. even KNOW Janey.” She cuddles up close, almost purring if not for the fact she is still speaking. “Soooo weird. Everything is Black… can’t see you noo more.” She mumbles. “They are whispering…. they say hellooooo.” She giggles, not understanding the words coming out of her mouth.

“Uh…. waitasec, wait a sec…. OHMYGOD they said…. they said, oh holy shit thats fukking dirty. I cunt say that guys! Don’t be assbutts. Janey’s bootyful. Check it.” She waits for what seems like an evaluation. Smirking. “Ur goddamn right….. nobody fukkin disses my Janey.”

Jane yawned, the last of her concerns being put to rest.

She was sure that the Squiddles or ice-cream monsters or teddy bears in Roxy’s head weren’t doing anything particularly important, even if they were talking about “dirty” things.

“Of course, Rox,” Jane would have snuggled up to Roxy were it not impossible for them to get any closer as it was. They were basically squooshed up against each other— it was rather late and Jane really couldn’t bring herself to care that she could hardly breathe.

She wondered briefly what Strider and Jake were doing out at almost midnight, but decided not to worry about it too much. Even if Dirk was a frustrating chap, she trusted that he’d be responsible enough to take care of Jake, even in the dark depths of Midnight Castelia.

What was relevant now was enjoying the warmth and intimacy provided by falling asleep with your best friend on a sofa. It was pleasantly warm, and Jane was pretty tired…

As she drifted off to sleep, Jane’s last coherent thoughts were of how Roxy made a really, really good blanket, even if she snored and salivated.

Castelia City

tyranitartestified:

giratinasterror:

When the movie starts Jake’s attention is just about completely fixed on the screen the move of the movie doesn’t seem very scary but then the ghost shows up. She’s pretty creepy looking and it’s enough to make Jake shuffle up close to Dirk and even cling to him when she starts killing people. Frowning slightly he keeps his position very close to Dirk and his eyes glued to the screen.

When Dirk starts bitching about the CG and polt Jake starts defending it though he doesn’t know why. He wasn’t really all that amused with the masses of blood and gore going on. Hell, Jake would have changed the movie a while ago if he didn’t think that somewhere deep down Dirk was enjoying it. He was enjoying it a little as well actually, because it gave him a reason to cling to Dirk without being obvious about anything. This was a good way to test the waters right? No. Jake had watched horror movies with Dirk like this for years! He always basically climbed into the blonde’s lap every time they watched a Saw movie or a Paranormal Activity movie. Paranormal Activity movies really DID get Jake up on top of Dirk. Ghosts. God no. And the thing about ghosts was Dirk couldn’t convince him that they weren’t real. No. There are ghosts! They are a thing that happen to be very real even if they aren’t always as violent as they are in movies. Still, ghosts; real.

 The movie is nearly over when the bell rings for their dinner. Jake’s got a bruising grip on Dirk when the bell goes off and flinches when the sound interrupts his concentration on cheering the group to fucking ESCAPE before the ghost woman kills them all. “Mother fuckers! That scared the hell out of me!”

With a snort of amusement, Dirk reluctantly pushed Jake from him and got up from the couch. Rubbing a hand over the area that the brunet had been clinging to dramatically, he jokingly complained, “Wow, you nearly broke my arm, English.” Retrieving his wallet from his back pocket - it had yet to leave his sight since Jane meddled with it, though he doubted she would be that repetitive - and pulled out some money for the delivery. With the bill and a generous tip he took the sushi and used his foot to close the door. Finding enough clean space for the bags was a bit of a hassle, but after stowing a few bottles away, he managed.

“Come and find some plates for us while I go get the girls, will you?” he called over his shoulder to his best friend. That said he walked down the hall and knocked on Roxy’s bedroom door. Cracking it open just enough to stick his head in, he announced, “Food’s here. You should probably come and eat before Jake starts at it.” He, of course, was much more likely to eat it all - it was a small wonder where he packed it all away and where it went to.

Jane watched as Roxy seemed to orient herself in the room, which must be spinning in her head. Now that she’d extracted her vengeance, she could only pity how miserable Roxy had made herself.

“You know as well as I do that you’ll probably pick up the bottle again regardless within a week,” Jane sighed exasperatedly, softly patting her shoulder. “Still, it’s the sentiment that counts, I suppose. I appreciate that you’re trying to make an effort not to inebriate yourself, at least for the time being.”

Jane frowned to herself. She hoped that Roxy would recover soon; she really did look miserable.

Her fretting was interrupted by Dirk’s intrusion into the room. She glanced up at Dirk before nodding at him, recognizing his presence.

“Of course, Mr. Strider,” she answered, vaguely dismissing him from the room. “As soon as Roxy manages to re-orient herself, we’ll be right out.”

When he left Jane and Roxy to their own devices, she turned to her best galpal and inquired, “How about it? Are you feeling up to having a little dinner?”

She wasn’t particularly hungry herself, so it wasn’t like there was a rush to get out for food. To be completely honest, she wasn’t entirely sure what they’d even ordered… or, at least, she assumed that they’d ordered something. The kitchen hadn’t been an incomprehensible mess fifteen minutes ago, that was for certain.

“Jake didn’t do any cooking,” Jane tried to tempt Roxy into coming out of the room. She could confirm that much at least. “And then afterwards, we can have that sleepover?”

[Future Event] ==> HomeSick

tipsygardevoir:

gastlygumshoe:

tipsygardevoir:

Roxy thought for a moment. Well, as much thinking as a super knonked out teen can do when being asked really personal questions by her sneaky best friend. “Lol jaeny ur so…. snoppy.” A giggle thrown in there of couse. “Dirk’s like, my homebro.  So cooool…. tha’s is though. I wouldn’t fukk him or nuthin. S’like, he’s gotta nice butt butt that’s it. He’s a totes enigmers.”

Drooling a little in her sleep she goes on to say. “He’d be bad for me romantically. Were moirails. S’like, we cover eachothers faults. He’d keep tryin ta change me too much…. I just want someone who love like, Roxy for Roxy. Like Janey does.”

She snorks again. “That’s all I want Janey.” Almost looks like she is about to say more before the topic somehow takes a turn. “What…..about you? Whats ur…type?” She seems to have a BIT of tact remaining in her sleeping form, avoiding the use of Jake’s name directly.

Snoppy? Jane frowned at the word. “Snop” sounded like a lousy sound effect from a low-budget webcomic. Like “snap”, but… derpier. What did snopping have to do with the current situation?

… or perhaps she’d just mispronounced “snoopy”. Jane felt a little bad about doing a modern-day equivalent of the Alternian Inquisition on an unconscious girl who could barely control what came out of her mouth, but she needed answers. And it wasn’t like Roxy would just give them to her while conscious— just earlier, she’d said that she told lies every day. If Jane wanted the truth, she’d have to garner it from Roxy’s unconscious babble.

The truth was, evidently, that Roxy and Dirk were something like humanoid moirails. While it was true that humans generally didn’t seem to grasp the concept of moirallegiance as well as trolls did (hence the sparse romantic contact between the two species) Jane figured that it sounded perfectly reasonable.

But, she wondered, biting her lip in confusion, when had Dirk ever done anything but encourage Roxy’s bad habits? He’d gone ahead and gotten drunk with her, for Arceus’ sake! Sighing, she decided to give that up— there was probably far more going on behind the scenes.

Ugh, she was overthinking this. The point was that Roxy and Dirk were just friends, or really, best friends. It was completely stupid of her, but she was jealous. She had no reason to be; Roxy even said that she liked that Jane loved her for who she was.

That made Jane smile. Even if she wasn’t Roxy’s moirail, she could still be her best galpal. Of course, they wouldn’t quite have the intimacy of moirallegiance, but Jane had always figured that human and troll romance didn’t have any true equivalents. It was completely possible for her to be important in Roxy’s life without necessarily filling one of Roxy’s “quadrants” (a silly concept in and of itself, humans didn’t have quadrants!), even if she kind of wanted to be considered the one that Roxy could feelings-jam with.

“That’s probably right,” Jane mused aloud, answering Roxy. “We’d probably be terrible moirails; I can’t imagine you changing. I like you just the way you are, drunkenness and conspiracy theories included. I suppose we’d better stick to bffsies, hoo hoo!”

Even if she thought that the alcoholism should stop, for the sake of Roxy’s health, she had real difficulty picturing a sober Roxy, not hopped up on cold medicine or ridiculous fevers or sugar, even.

“Although,” Jane postulated, “If you just want someone who loves you as you are, I’m sure you’ll have no problem finding a fellow. You’re a very lovable person.”

She punctuated that with a hug. Truly, Roxy was the best of friends.

But, of course, the best of friends were also the most inquisitive of friends, especially when it came to love lives.

“My… type?” Jane frowned. The first person to come to mind was, of course, Jake, but that was unattainable— and certainly, probably, not what Roxy was going for. “I— I’m not really sure?”

She thought for a while, trying to come up with what it was about Jake that she liked exactly.

“I suppose my type would be the one who’s as free as a bird,” Jane finally said. “The type of person who isn’t afraid to adventure, the type of person who seems like they never have a care in the world but to do whatever they want, even if it’s something silly and dangerous like exploring ruins or climbing mountains.”

Jane stopped right there, not sure why she was talking to an unconscious body. She was pretty sure Roxy was drooling on her by now; she couldn’t bring herself to care.

“I don’t know, Roxy,” she sighed, reaching one of her hands up to stroke Roxy’s hair. “You always tell me I’m the responsible one with their feet on the ground. Do you think I’d ever be able to catch someone as free as that?”

She frowned, disliking the train of thought she was following.

“Do you think it would be all right if I kept someone who’s that kind of free tied down?” Jane asked, forgetting that Roxy wasn’t even awake. “I’m always being called a wet blanket. Maybe I shouldn’t even try.”

She hadn’t meant to say that out loud, but Roxy was just so easy to talk to.

Roxy shakes her head in her sleep. “Janey no… ur just as special as Dirky is to me…. ur like… like, my best friend.” She giggles. “Dirky like, helps me out but it’s nothing like hanging out with my best fukkin girlbro.” She pets Janes face erratically, shushing her with the most erratic of face paps. Clearly, not having any of this self pity.

“Now…now u listen hear Janey. Ura… a beautiful gal and… totes not a wet blanket. You just gotta let people be dumb and stupid sometimes is all. Liek… ol’ Roxy here.” She shushes her. “You gotta love people cause their adventurous. You can still be lovin some fukker and not be breakin his balls over the danger. Yanno? You just gotta remember somethin…. an an I’ll tell you what it is…. right the fuck now.”

She moves her face in close, petting Janey still. “Poeple gotta love u four u. Flaws and junk and all. If u don’t find sumone imma fukkin friend marry your ass. Hells to the fucking yeahs.” She giggles a little. “Not gonna let my best fukkin babe depress herself and be alone and shit. Nuhuh.”

There is a little pause in which she slurrs her words and hiccups for some odd reason. She is pretty out of it! But there is an honesty in her tone. One that says she is deadly serious about marrying Jane if all else fails. Like she refuses to let her best friend stay alone forever.

Jane wrinkled her face as Roxy’s hand, still damp with sweat, seemed to molest her visage in what was clearly supposed to be a shoosh-pap. It made her let out a quiet giggle. She appreciated the sentiment that Roxy got across, though— it was, indeed, very nice to know that she was her… “girlbro”, whatever that meant.

It was reassuring. She could put to rest the very idea that Roxy considered Dirk a better friend than she; her worries and envy were completely unfounded. In fact, it would be a good idea to shoot the idea until it was dead, bury it, and place a garlic cross over it so that it didn’t come back as a zombie… or was it a vampire?

Jane shook that metaphor from her mind. Perhaps she should stop watching John’s paranormal films with him when he visited.

Jane sighed and nodded sleepily as Roxy continued to reassure her. It occurred to Jane that Roxy was great at giving advice, even when completely conked out on top of a sofa. She had no idea what she’d do without Roxy. She truly could not imagine going through life without her favorite blonde backing her every step of the way.

She was jolted from her light dozing by Roxy’s face nearing hers. It was admittedly creepy, the way sleeping Roxy could so closely imitate Roxy when awake. Jane wouldn’t have it any other way, though— just one more quirk to love.

“Roxy…” Jane breathed out loud, touched by the gesture. Roxy had offered to marry her if she couldn’t find anyone, and even though it was in her normal, joking manner, Jane could tell she was serious about it. “You really are the best. But, I couldn’t do that to you. You deserve to marry someone you really love. And I’ll be fine by myself; you don’t see Betty Crocker reliant on some chap’s support.”

She squeezed her best friend in an affectionate hug, “I really appreciate that you’ll be there for me, though. You’re truly the greatest.”

Jane just lay there and held Roxy for a little while. What kind of good thing had she done in a previous life to be able to have a friend like this now? There was only one question that she just had to ask before falling asleep herself.

“Roxy,” Jane began, pausing to yawn. “Are you really asleep?”

Jane already knew the answer, but she had to ask as a formality.

Even though it was improbable that anyone could possibly be this coherent in their sleep, Roxy had a way of making the impossible happen.

[Future Event] ==> HomeSick

tipsygardevoir:

Roxy thought for a moment. Well, as much thinking as a super knonked out teen can do when being asked really personal questions by her sneaky best friend. “Lol jaeny ur so…. snoppy.” A giggle thrown in there of couse. “Dirk’s like, my homebro.  So cooool…. tha’s is though. I wouldn’t fukk him or nuthin. S’like, he’s gotta nice butt butt that’s it. He’s a totes enigmers.”

Drooling a little in her sleep she goes on to say. “He’d be bad for me romantically. Were moirails. S’like, we cover eachothers faults. He’d keep tryin ta change me too much…. I just want someone who love like, Roxy for Roxy. Like Janey does.”

She snorks again. “That’s all I want Janey.” Almost looks like she is about to say more before the topic somehow takes a turn. “What…..about you? Whats ur…type?” She seems to have a BIT of tact remaining in her sleeping form, avoiding the use of Jake’s name directly.

Snoppy? Jane frowned at the word. “Snop” sounded like a lousy sound effect from a low-budget webcomic. Like “snap”, but… derpier. What did snopping have to do with the current situation?

… or perhaps she’d just mispronounced “snoopy”. Jane felt a little bad about doing a modern-day equivalent of the Alternian Inquisition on an unconscious girl who could barely control what came out of her mouth, but she needed answers. And it wasn’t like Roxy would just give them to her while conscious— just earlier, she’d said that she told lies every day. If Jane wanted the truth, she’d have to garner it from Roxy’s unconscious babble.

The truth was, evidently, that Roxy and Dirk were something like humanoid moirails. While it was true that humans generally didn’t seem to grasp the concept of moirallegiance as well as trolls did (hence the sparse romantic contact between the two species) Jane figured that it sounded perfectly reasonable.

But, she wondered, biting her lip in confusion, when had Dirk ever done anything but encourage Roxy’s bad habits? He’d gone ahead and gotten drunk with her, for Arceus’ sake! Sighing, she decided to give that up— there was probably far more going on behind the scenes.

Ugh, she was overthinking this. The point was that Roxy and Dirk were just friends, or really, best friends. It was completely stupid of her, but she was jealous. She had no reason to be; Roxy even said that she liked that Jane loved her for who she was.

That made Jane smile. Even if she wasn’t Roxy’s moirail, she could still be her best galpal. Of course, they wouldn’t quite have the intimacy of moirallegiance, but Jane had always figured that human and troll romance didn’t have any true equivalents. It was completely possible for her to be important in Roxy’s life without necessarily filling one of Roxy’s “quadrants” (a silly concept in and of itself, humans didn’t have quadrants!), even if she kind of wanted to be considered the one that Roxy could feelings-jam with.

“That’s probably right,” Jane mused aloud, answering Roxy. “We’d probably be terrible moirails; I can’t imagine you changing. I like you just the way you are, drunkenness and conspiracy theories included. I suppose we’d better stick to bffsies, hoo hoo!”

Even if she thought that the alcoholism should stop, for the sake of Roxy’s health, she had real difficulty picturing a sober Roxy, not hopped up on cold medicine or ridiculous fevers or sugar, even.

“Although,” Jane postulated, “If you just want someone who loves you as you are, I’m sure you’ll have no problem finding a fellow. You’re a very lovable person.”

She punctuated that with a hug. Truly, Roxy was the best of friends.

But, of course, the best of friends were also the most inquisitive of friends, especially when it came to love lives.

“My… type?” Jane frowned. The first person to come to mind was, of course, Jake, but that was unattainable— and certainly, probably, not what Roxy was going for. “I— I’m not really sure?”

She thought for a while, trying to come up with what it was about Jake that she liked exactly.

“I suppose my type would be the one who’s as free as a bird,” Jane finally said. “The type of person who isn’t afraid to adventure, the type of person who seems like they never have a care in the world but to do whatever they want, even if it’s something silly and dangerous like exploring ruins or climbing mountains.”

Jane stopped right there, not sure why she was talking to an unconscious body. She was pretty sure Roxy was drooling on her by now; she couldn’t bring herself to care.

“I don’t know, Roxy,” she sighed, reaching one of her hands up to stroke Roxy’s hair. “You always tell me I’m the responsible one with their feet on the ground. Do you think I’d ever be able to catch someone as free as that?”

She frowned, disliking the train of thought she was following.

“Do you think it would be all right if I kept someone who’s that kind of free tied down?” Jane asked, forgetting that Roxy wasn’t even awake. “I’m always being called a wet blanket. Maybe I shouldn’t even try.”

She hadn’t meant to say that out loud, but Roxy was just so easy to talk to.

(Source: gastlygumshoe)

[Future Event] ==>

tyranitartestified:

gastlygumshoe:

tyranitartestified:

gastlygumshoe:

tyranitartestified:

Jane was, as always, overthinking things. She got the same look of annoyed dismay whenever they spent time together. From the way she held herself with too much forced relaxation in an attempt to appear nonchalant, to the way she scrunched up her button nose and worried her bottom lip when she thought he couldn’t see - she was good at being in the boardroom. But nobody she’d sat down with to broker a deal had been a Strider.

And Striders were simply the best puppeteers.

For now though he shoved all the history between them into a corner. Breath deeply, tread carefully, and don’t fuck this up was steadily becoming his mantra this morning. No matter how slim the chances of Jake and Jane ending up together, he would be mature and keep them both in his life. Contingency plans were his specialty; he had learned long ago that banking all your cards on one outcome would usually prove disastrous.

“I’ve got it memorized,” he assured her as she pulled out the recipe card to offer him. It was Jake’s favourite, after all.

Turning back to the storage space in the kitchen he quickly located the waffle iron he had found during his first sweep of the place. He had been surprised to find it, still in its box, but considering the fact that Roxy was never even up for breakfast and that it had been a gift, he assumed it was from her mother. The place was littered with such items from both parties - the result of their silent feud.

At the mention of fruit he had already started mixing up the batter, having cleared a sizeable patch of the counter near a socket to plug it in. “You can call down if you want. Just hit zero.” It struck him as a little odd that Jane knew less about the place Roxy lived than he himself did. Apparently their schedules had been even more conflicting than Roxy had let on.

Jane tried to school her face into the variety she would use for playing poker, were she a gambler, but it was simply no use— not when she was dealing with the master of Poker Faces himself.

Normally, she was good at hiding her displeasure. However, something about Dirk made it difficult to hide her unease and discomfort. Perhaps it was, in part, because she wasn’t quite sure if she wanted to hide it at all.

But, by golly, she was determined to get along with Dirk, even if it killed her. She didn’t particularly understand why the hostility was still present, especially since she’d given into the fact that Jake was definitely not going to like her back. (Oh, Arceus, still her heart— it still hurt to say that.) They’d gotten along just swell as kids… aside from the whole Betty Crocker thing, but the idea that a company for baked goods and technology had a hand in his parents’ deaths was completely insane.

Then again, that was when Jane’s crush was small and easily ignored, as opposed to the completely smitten love she’d developed. She supposed that once you were rivals with Dirk Strider, there was no turning back.

She packed the card away, having predicted that Dirk would already know the recipe. But just because she’d forseen it didn’t mean it was a disappointment. Dirk would take good care of Jake. She knew he would. In fact, he was probably the only person in the world that she trusted to take care of Jake, aside from perhaps herself and Betty Crocker Grandma English. (Hmm, where had that stray thought come from?)

“Oh? I usually just head to the convenience store in the lobby,” Jane remarked curiously. She’d always picked up an apple or something there on her way out after a sleepover. It irked her that Dirk still somehow knew more about how Roxy lived than Jane did; was her building really one of the complexes that had room service? “After all, it’s only a few sets of stairs.”

She seemed to recall something about one of his brothers… perhaps was it the youngest one? Ah, she hadn’t spoken to him very often… Dane? No, Dave. It was Dave.

Dave, who was perpetually warning people about staircases. Just… telling them to be careful?

Something like that. She doubted it had any relevance to Dirk.

She turned around and headed out of the kitchen, fully intent on heading downstairs. It was a blow to her pride that she’d rather not admit to not know such a basic fact about Roxy’s apartment. She was almost at the door when she remembered that it would take her five minutes to get to the bottom floor in the elevator alone, much less the stairs, and who knows how long the line at the convenience was? And she was not going to cede her turf (i.e. the kitchen) to Dirk.

She swallowed her pride and picked up the phone.

After placing an order for some fruit, Jane returned to the kitchen.

“Thank you for informing me of the delivery service.”

She was rather proud of the lack of wavering in her voice.

“No problem.” Pouring the batter into the iron, Dirk began making a healthy number of waffles. While Jake wasn’t as bottomless a pit as the blond he had a large appetite. Reasoning that they could just pick at any leftovers for the next couple of days, he made more than strictly necessary. Jake would be happy at least.

Turning the talk to more neutral territory - and maybe helping the blonde’s cause along the way - Dirk broached the topic of what his two female friends would be up to later that day. “Do you two have any plans for tonight? I don’t know how long we’ll be gone but we might end up eating out since our block starts at four.” That would give both he and Roxy at least three hours alone with their respective crushes. “Just make sure to put a sock or something on the door if things get wild. I don’t want Jake having a heart attack.”

Jane was almost alarmed by the massive quantities of waffles Dirk was making. She almost called him out for it, but reasoned with herself that there were two (probably still-growing) boys in the house, plus Roxy, who wasn’t exactly a light eater herself. Whatever was left over, she supposed, could be packed away and snacked on later.

But that was a concern for later times. Right now, Dirk was steering the conversation into dangerous territory.

“Oh, that’s right! You and Jake are heading out to the shooting range later, aren’t you?” Jane answered.

She’d nearly forgotten about leaving them alone together for more than four hours— they’d have to stay at the range until it closed at eight if they wanted to have any hope of beating both the dinner rush and the post-dinner rush, when everyone thought it would be nice to go for a walk after their evening meal. Add to that the time it might take to get dinner, and…

“Yes, I do suppose you’ll be out for a while. Probably until nine, if you’re aiming to avoid the crowds for dinner,” Jane added, just to make sure Dirk knew that Castelia was really busy around that time. She hinted, “Everyone seems to think that walking the streets between the hours of six an eight is a good idea. I personally think that just creates massive evening traffic.”

There, that should be enough to help them avoid situations that made Jake uncomfortable. Hopefully, Dirk had the good sense to avoid going down dangerous-looking roads besides, so they ought to be pretty safe.

“Roxy and I haven’t made any plans yet; I was hoping to discuss them with her later,” Jane shrugged. “I’m pretty sure she may have been considering going to the range, too, but she was just there to practice with her rifle last week, I think. I can assure you, however, that there will be no tomfoolery of the sock-requiring kind. Hoo hoo!”

The very idea of it was ridiculous enough to make Jane laugh. It was, simply put, preposterous. It was such a silly notion that her cheeks were flushing pink just thinking about it.  She was flustered by the ludicrosity of it.

Yes. That was it.

It was upsetting to recall that Jake was going to spend so much time with Dirk this evening, all alone, just them and some guns. Knowing of Dirk’s feelings for Jake, and now becoming aware that they were reciprocated— a fresh wound from only the night before last— she felt just a little sad, watching him be with someone else. Being aware of the requited love she wouldn’t be able to have.

But if it was for Jake’s happiness, well, golly, she’d make it happen as smoothly as possible.

“I hope you both have a wonderful time, regardless.”

Dirk gave a nod to show he had heard her. “Yeah, I noticed that the first time I came through here,” Dirk replied, unplugging the waffle iron as the last of them finished baking. Stacking them on a plate, he set them to the side and began to clean up. Living alone, on the road and in Undella, had taught him self-sufficiency. It would definitely do to clean before the others woke up and they all started hanging out.

It would also be best to avoid crowds. While he put on a brave face for Jake, and to keep from seeming weak, he was possibly worse off in large groups than Jake. He much preferred being alone for reasons that extended far beyond the cool loner image. Three or four people seemed to be his limit when it came to gatherings; otherwise, he became overwhelmed by the noises and movement, caught up in keeping track of minute details that told him volumes more about someone than they would ever let on. It was disorienting and only practice had allowed him to cope as much as he did now.

Because of all of these reasons and more, he would never tell anyone about it. Instead he just packed away the discomfort behind his pointed shades.

Dirk shrugged when told that there was a guarantee nothing illicit would occur between the two girls. “Alright. Nothing above PG will be going on in here, so just walk right on in.” He paused briefly in washing up to rub one shoulder. He would likely have to go right-handed at the range. No problem, since it was practically law that Striders had to be ambidextrous, but he was looking forward to the shooting range even less now. There was no way he would back out however. He was sure that he was physically incapable of letting Jake down when it was only his own health on the line. Jane’s words brought him out of his thoughts just before he began to ruminate on how the same could be said of Jake.

“I know we will,” he said confidently. “Me, guns, and food - what’s not to love?” Finally finished with the bowls and measuring cups, he placed the ones that were Jane’s to the side and put away the rest. “You two - well, it’s Rox. She knows how to have a good time so I wouldn’t worry about it.”

“Just making sure,” Jane shrugged at him, her hands tensing just the smallest amount. It was almost threatening, the way he made it sound as if neither he nor Jake needed her ore her advice at all. But she digressed. “It has been quite a while since you were last here. It’s entirely possible for you to have forgotten.”

When Dirk had completed his waffles, Jane moved to re-captchalogue all of her ingredients. They wouldn’t need those anymore. As he began to clean up, Jane’s timer went off and she made to plate and cool the scones, returning to Dirk’s side at the sink. Dropping off the baking sheet for Dirk to clean, Jane took up station drying the dishes. She’d have to check with Dirk about putting them away; she had almost no clue how Roxy’s kitchen was supposed to be organized. Actually, she doubted that Roxy’s kitchen was organized at all. In any case, Dirk was the one who could better advise her on where to put the dishes they’d used… as much as she loathed to admit it. As soon as this journey business was over, she’d have to make sure to visit Roxy more frequently.

She couldn’t stand it that Dirk was so much closer to Roxy than she was. They were supposed to be bffsies, the closest of close friends, best gal pals. Perhaps the only person in the world who knew as much as Roxy did about Jane was maybe Jake, and he was a bit of a… special case. The fact that Dirk knew more about what went on in Roxy’s sopor-addled brain than she was almost more irritating than the fact that Roxy was perhaps the only person who knew even half of what was going on behind those gosh consarn shades.

But that wasn’t Dirk’s fault, she reminded herself. It wasn’t anyone’s fault but her own for getting so horribly caught up in work. But she had responsibilities that she couldn’t very well abandon, and, hopefully, she’d be able to catch up with her best friend later. It would be fine… eventually.

She cast an askance look at Dirk when he rubbed his shoulder— an innocent enough gesture, until one recalled the wounds dealt to him. And considering that this was Strider they were talking about here, it must be paining him horribly. She frowned at the perceived location of injury, disliking that her friend was hurt and it was making him weak. However, she said nothing about it. She trusted Dirk to take care of himself and know where his limits were.

Unless Jake was involved. In that case, Strider might try to push himself past what he ought to do for the sake of not disappointing him. Jane would know; Jake was just the type of fellow you didn’t want to let down. Especially not when you were in love with him. And, of course, he would be just dense enough to not realize that shooting may actually worsen Dirk’s injuries…

As Dirk set about replacing Roxy’s cooking materials, Jane captchalogued her own and answered him, “Of course. I’m sure we’ll both have an absolute blast this evening. Hoo hoo! I would recommend that you go easy on the shooting, however. Some of the rifles have a nasty kickback that may jostle your injuries. We wouldn’t want to further delay their healing, after all.”

There. By admitting that she, too, disliked the sharp backwards momentum that came with shooting some of their rifles (she’d take a spoon or culling fork over a gun any day), perhaps he’d see that it was okay to lighten up on the shooting, which would be sure to disturb his wounds. Dirk would need to be in tip-top shape to be her rival take care of Jake travel, after all.