last time she hung out with jayden, like, really hung out with jayden, it had been after talking him down from straight up murdering bax. so, understandably, she's a little on edge right before Chill Time. 

but then it's fine. he's fine. they're conversational and she can pretend, in the glow of the carnival and surrounded by screaming children, that they're normal people. 

"yeah. useda go with avery every year. she'd eat corn dogs and throw up on some poor bastard on the pendulum ride every year. without fail." she snubs her nose. "ain't gone the past couple though, since she got outta here."

a clown on stilts wobbles and walks by them. parker snorts. "but, like, never? you've never seen shit like that?" 

jayden cross

☉

[attr="class","jaytop"]

[attr="class","littlejay"]

speaking of corn dogs, they pass by a stand and jayden silently hands over cash in order to procure one for him and parker jones.

[break][break] without looking at her, he hands her one and waits on his own.

[break][break] "no."

[break][break] the admin blinks at the clown that wobbles by.

[break][break] "well. oldale had a festival years ago - the one that tapu bulu appeared at." a strange look crosses his face then at the memory, reminded of what had happened at that festival too. "Chu-e Choi and i held hands at that festival."

[break][break] he glanced at her.

[break][break] did she want to hold hands? was that what friends did at carnivals?

[break]

[attr="class","ooc"] [attr="class","fas fa-crow"] magnificent funtasia [break]
[attr="class","fas fa-crow"] parker jones [break]

Offer a carnival treat to someone else.

☉

oh, sick. she takes a bigass bite of it as soon as jayden hands it over to her. the breading is greasy, the hot dog inside piping hot, and she opens her mouth wide and pants - haugh, haugh, haugh -  a bit to cool down her burning tongue. teeth gnash to disperse more of the heat.

"careful, isshot," she says and grimaces as she swallows. 

"the fuck's a tapballa?" he says something about holding hands and then looks at her weird. she raises a brow. 

"uh, that's cool. do y'hold hands with them...not at festivals?" she'd like to hold hands with Naomi Sato at a festival. 

jayden cross

☉

[attr="class","jaytop"]

[attr="class","littlejay"]

"hot?"

[break][break] he watched as parker jones inhaled the hot dog as if she had not eaten anything in days.

[break][break] ah.

[break][break] learning from her mistakes, he waited a few minutes for the item to cool down. he blowed softly, only to pull his lips back in order to answer her question.

[break][break] "tapu bulu," he corrected. "the tapus are legendary pokemon in the league's possession."

[break][break] a flash of hurt and then a grimace crossed his face at their question.

[break][break] "no," he said curtly. "not anymore."

[break]

[attr="class","ooc"] [attr="class","fas fa-crow"] magnificent funtasia [break]
[attr="class","fas fa-crow"] parker jones

☉

tapu bulu, mapu schmupu. parker has, quite frankly, had enough of legendaries these days. in all honesty, the more league folks who have them, the less likely they are to be around nomi on the daily!!! she already has her creepy eepies and she's been studying the crazy electric bird in her spare time and there's something about an alien or whatever that popped out for the other head scientist??

she can't keep track of it all. 

"yo, the fuck'd i say?" she says around another bite of hot dog as jayden gets cross with her (HA!). 

"i'll hold your hand if it'll cheer ya'up." she says and grins wolfishly as she shoves her greasy hot dog hand into jayden's own.

jayden cross

☉

[attr="class","jaytop"]

[attr="class","littlejay"]

"no, it's -"

[break][break] embarrassment dusted his cheeks briefly, and he felt bad for blaming her. not that he blamed her to begin with. but how could he have expected parker jones to know something he barely knew himself.

[break][break] he blinked, startled, as she shoved her greasy hand into his own. discomfort wrinkled his face for a moment - for multiple reasons - before he relaxed.

[break][break] it felt... strange, holding someone's hand that wasn't fern delaney's.

[break][break] "i liked him," jayden confessed softly. "a little too much."

[break][break] 'i was in love with him.'

[break]

[attr="class","ooc"] [attr="class","fas fa-crow"] magnificent funtasia [break]
[attr="class","fas fa-crow"] parker jones

☉

parker jones is instantly and abruptly reminded of the fact that she is made up of 100% lesbian muscle. jayden's fingers are kind of dainty, for a man, but they are still decidedly Manly and Large and not at all cute and dainty and girlish like nomi's.

boys are icky. she realized that when she was eight and saw shego for the first time and she's never been able to move on.

but she'll hold jayden's hand anyway, germs and all, because he's looking a lot like she felt whenever skyler dross was around.

"eh, happens. nothin' to be ashamed about. fuck, i pined after a married woman for months just 'cause she punched me in the face and smiled. and also she was hot, but really it was the smiling."

that feeling of being seen. known. peeled apart and held aloft and declared, we are the same.

it wouldn't have lasted, that.

"i'll wingman if ya need. hell, i'm sure we can find some sorry sop worth your time who'll hold your hand. no offense."

jayden cross

☉

[attr="class","jaytop"]

[attr="class","littlejay"]

this was the first time that jayden had admitted it outloud. at least, as bluntly as he had.

[break][break] he'd confessed it to others before, but it was always hidden behind half-truths or spoken in the heat of the moment.

[break][break] who thought it would be parker jones of all people that he would say it too?

[break][break] and parker jones who understood?

[break][break] his fingers gripped around hers messily.

[break][break] "you know, they punched me too," he said, with a slightly self-deprecating laugh. once upon a time, he would've felt pain and resentment at being reminded of that past. that version of himself that had just allowed it all to happen. "but i didn't fall in love with them, not then."

[break][break] he takes a bite of the hot dog then, cooled by now, but the contents dribble down the side of his cheek. he wipes it away with his other thumb, only blinking in surprise.

[break][break] "wingman?" she didn't know? "oh, no. i don't - i don't need that."

[break][break] his expression grew into something incredibly soft.

[break][break] "i have someone already. their name is fern — have you met them?"

[attr="class","ooc"] [attr="class","fas fa-crow"] magnificent funtasia [break]
[attr="class","fas fa-crow"] parker jones

☉