DEF: Niel is pronounced as Nee-El, like the ending of Daniel, I forgot to say that last chapter, whoops. And what's this? A new chapter a week after the last one? Is she back on track and not going to abandon us again? Yes! I'm back on track with this story and I'll try my best not to leave you all again.
Jake, from Statefarm: As usual Darke Eco Freak doesn't own any of the characters mentioned within, also bonus points to anyone that figures out who the hell uncle Joey is. Here's a hint, he was mentioned before by his whole name and it connects to another one of her fandoms. Good Luck!
Sunday wasn't one of Dunbroch's busiest days but it was fairly packed by the time he got there, Merida didn't come in every day, didn't need to, and was nowhere to be seen when he pulled his apron over his clothes. He nodded to Dove as the other server clocked in, Marcus was coming for the night shift and Marie was only just leaving. Dunbroch's wasn't so large a place that it needed more than two waiters on a Sunday and if it did get too much for just him and Dove, then Steven, the bus boy would come out to help. They had two cooks, Raven and Sparrow, but only one was ever here at a time, today was Sparrow, and before anyone asked, yes Dove, Raven and Sparrow were related, two sisters and a brother.
As far as he knew, Raven had been the only cook when Merida first opened up Dunbrochs about four years ago, then his sisters Dove and Sparrow had come across from Romanian to live in Burgess. Of course the red head had snatched up the pair as soon as she could, the elder sister was just as good a chef as her brother and the younger one was pretty. You always wanted pretty people working for you, they made lasting impressions and encouraged people to come again, he'd been hired because of his looks after all.
"You've got the last few tables today," Sparrow called as he slipped out through the double doors to the restaurant, not jam packed but not a bad day overall. He smiled at a few customers as he made his way over to his section, Dove was talking with a couple of college kids when he passed by her. He nearly always got the 'Kiddie Section', the eight tables that were lined up along the glass front and looked out at Lockwood Park where young families, children never any older than ten, left the kids so mom and dad can get a bit of peace in another part of the restaurant. He was the only one that could handle them for long periods of time without wanting to strangle someone, Dove, Marcus and Marie were always more than happy to push the kids off on him.
Considering it all though, he got the better end of that deal, he loved kids and they loved him, not to mention their parents always tipped their servers well. He thinks it has something to do with someone else entertaining their precious bundles of joy long enough for them to enjoy their meal without worrying about someone poking their eye out with a plastic fork or ruining the table cloth with juice. Today there were about five tables with three kids each, must be a birthday party or something, and yup, there's already a fight over who gets to play grown up and order lunch.
"Hello, I'm Jack and I'll be your waiter today. Do you know what you'd like to order yet, sirs and madams?" he asked seriously, bringing up his notepad to take their orders. A little blonde girl giggled shrilly and poked the boy sitting next to her, obviously her older brother though neither one was anything more than six.
"Um, we want shepherd's pie and apple juice," the boy mumbled though there was a bright smile on his face still, he grinned at the kid and moved on to the other four tables. He gave the orders to Sparrow who was arguing with Dove over one of the orders that she supposedly messed up and went back to sing happy birthday to the birthday girl, who was seven and very proud of it. By the time he had finished serving everyone their dinner, cake and ice-cream, all the children were in love with him, begging him to stay and play with them. As much as he adored playing with kids though, he rarely got the chance to, he was still an employee here and he had work to do, that was the more mature part of his personality making a cameo there.
He helped them start a guessing game, then left to take the dishes back to the kitchen and take a break, taking care of a bunch of kids was exhausting all on its own, plus he'd missed out on sleep. His lunch whatever-the-hell-it-was had run until three, hours longer than he'd predicted, and by the time he'd gotten home, Pippa and Sophie were awake and ready to bombard him with questions. 'Who is he?' 'Did you kiss?' 'Where did you go?' 'Who paid for lunch?' 'Will you go out with him again?' 'Oh my God! I bet he's hot, is he hot? He's hot.' He'd answered three and three alone, 'I went to Avian Paradise, He paid, It's possible but we've both got things going on', before locking himself in his room to sleep for four hours as he had to get to Seasons by eight on Saturdays. He could barely remember dancing last night, he was so tired, but he knew he'd done well, he hadn't fallen off the pole at least and Sandy had been pleased.
He smirked as his mind ran on his lunch whatever-the-hell-it-had-been, he wasn't going to call it a date, never, but it had been nice all the same. Pitch was actually fun to talk with, when he wasn't talking about Nightmare Productions, most of that conversation had gone right over his head. However, the brunet had told him all about his homeland of Poland and the various countries he'd visited, Niel had gone on about gymnastic tournaments and people he'd met at Seasons.
Briana had showed up with their food about ten minutes after the impromptu kiss with an utterly blank expression while the waiter she'd been talking with when they first entered looked utterly pissed. He guessed the man had made a bet with her on whether or not they would kiss and lost, he wasn't sure how he felt about that but neither one of them had said anything so he wasn't going to obsess over it. The food had been incredible, nothing he'd eaten before could compare with it but then, he'd never eaten food any more exotic than Chinese and he highly doubted that was as weird as it got in China. He'd never known you could have so many veggies in a food without it being salad, there'd been green peas, black eyed peas, carrots, corn, string beans, kidney beans and various seasonings all in addition to the rice and chicken.
The conversation had stayed away from personal topics, such as 'where do you live?', 'are you an escort?', 'can I fuck you?', little things like that which would have made him punch Pitch right in the mouth and walk out. He'd actually had a nice time with Pitch, much better than with Jamie but that was mostly because there wasn't any of the weird tension of 'I-know-you-like-me-but-I-don't-really-feel-that-w ay-but-can-we-at-least-try?'. He'd tried, he'd asked the other man out for drinks hadn't he? He'd also tried to start a conversation but somehow it always managed to come back to, 'so what do you do now?' 'are you free on Friday/Saturday, if not why?'.
He really thought the only reason things were working out between him and Pitch was because the man knew absolutely nothing about who he really was. He rested his chin in his palm as he thought about that, well, maybe not so much because the guy was clueless, but it was probably because all the guy knew was the elusive stripper with the nice ass. No he wasn't being vain, he'd always gotten complimented on his ass thank you very much.
He wondered vaguely whether or not Pitch would have the same interest in him as a waiter here or as the casher at Eb's, most likely not. There was nothing interesting about an everyday waiter or cashier, even if they were the same person, nothing special about the white shirt and black slacks, not one thing eye catching about bland brown hair that partially obscured blue eyes. He bet you could find a dozen other people with that physical description and if you dressed them the same, they would be interchangeable. Any interest Pitch would have in the 'Jack' wouldn't be anything more than polite concern for the person handling their food.
Niel was a sensual, enticing dancer, someone that you didn't meet in day to day life, something you had to actively search for otherwise you would never know it existed. A part of him loved that he was desirable to others, that he could put on scraps of cloth that barely held together and strut about on a stage for the entertainment of others. Niel adored the fact he could put on a show for them, a captivating, beguiling, sexual show that couldn't help but catch your attention, then, just like the moon, he disappeared as day broke. He became just another one of the populous, unknown to all but those who did the same as him, those who knew what to look for, the subtle differences that came with living this way.
"Ey Jack, can you help Dove? She's caught up with that group of college kids and some new people just came in," Sparrow called breaking him out of thought. He smiled and nodded, fixing his apron, grabbing his notepad and leaving to help Dove.
Pitch, heh he liked that, was leaning against the railing of the balcony outside of his room with a glass of gin in hand and a smile on his face. Yesterday had been amazing, and he didn't mean it in the 'we-had-sex-and-damn-was-it-good' way he meant it in the 'I-think-I-might-really-like-this-person' way. He already liked the younger man better than Vivian, not that that was saying much, but there was something about Niel that he really liked. And he was pretty sure it had nothing to do with how hard to get the man had been in the first place.
He admitted it might be because the man was a dancer, okay a stripper, and when was that not fucking sexy? But there was something more, there was a personality behind the looks, there was biting wit to be found just under that cool, composed surface, there was a life beyond Seasons of the Moon and for some obscure reason he felt as though he knew something about it. Yesterday had been so very strange, almost like déjà vu, he could have sworn he'd been at another restaurant with the man but just...not as a lunch date.
He swirled the alcohol in his glass ruefully, trust Autumne to make connections between the dancer and the waiter/cashier, he could have gone most of his life without that thanks. True he'd been waiting for the red headed Brit to ambush him as soon as he got home but he had no idea how she'd come to the conclusion Jack and Niel were alike, brothers maybe, or even cousins. Okay, even he would admit the pair were vaguely similar but not enough to be related in anyway, they were two different people and one or two shared physical characteristics did not family make.
Besides, it was just too strange. What sane person would take their cousin/brother's name and use it as their stripper moniker? Autumne was insane and he was just going to leave it at that, nothing more, nothing less. He'd also answered about a hundred questions about the date, ranging from 'Did you actually talk?' to 'So do you plan to fuck him anytime soon or are you waiting for a real relationship first?'. He'd thanked God above Seraphina was still at her friend's house for that one, the blush on his face could have created a colour palette fit for a Queen. Red was considered the royal colour, didn't you know?
However, he'd answered them all honestly, while threatening her life and questioning his sanity in ever striking up a conversation with the 'fairly nice woman in the waiting room' but answered them all the same. She was one of his best friends, one of the few he didn't put up pretences for and didn't spout all sorts of bullshittery to. Other than the occasional girlish squeal because 'a gay couple is so cute!', she was rather composed and offered her unbiased views on what she thought. Although no amount of professionalism could have stopped her from snorting hard enough to hurt her throat when he told her about the impromptu kiss and Briana winning her bet. He was still going to strangle that woman, but moving on.
He was nearly unsure of himself when he was around the blond, as though he wouldn't measure up to the man's standards or he would somehow disappoint which was strange in its own right. He was used to being in the spotlight, used to being under pressure and expected to act a certain way in order to get what he wanted but it was as though his aristocratic upbringing was shoved out a thirty storey window wherever Jack Frost was involved.
They were so different yet not at all, they were both just men and it was thinking like that which had made the lunch date, and he was using that word tentatively, so excellent. They'd both been nervous, he could tell that from the way the blond had zoned out once or twice during the initial conversation then came back with some off topic remarks. He hadn't held it against the dancer and it had gotten points with Autumne as the blond had suffered from something she called 'Verbal Diarrhoea', apparently just ignoring the slip-ups was the best thing to do and he'd done it.
The most embarrassing thing for him, personally as the kiss was a shared circumstance, was when the man finally noticed the gauze on his hand. He'd never felt more awkward in his life as he lied about accidentally cutting his hand the night before while preparing dinner. He swore the man could see the lie in his eyes and it took everything he had not to guiltily blurt out 'I lied! I accidentally snapped a bottle in a vain attempt not to cum in my pants because you're too much of a cock tease!'. Yeah, because that would go over so well and not get a restraining order put on his ass.
Honestly though, he'd had a good time yesterday, Niel had treated him like an actual person, a normal man that wasn't the CEO of a very successful company and probably made more money in a month than he would in a year. Autumne and Sandy had been right, not that he would ever tell them that, this was just one of those times when money wasn't the answer to life's problems. He idly wondered what his father would have to say about that, the man's personal philosophy was that there was nothing in the world money couldn't solve and sometimes he was inclined to think the same. Except in circumstances like this where money would get him nowhere, then he had to socialise...
Which he was horrible at.
Ask anyone, Kozmotis Pitchiner could not make small talk to save his life, if he chose to acknowledge you in any situation, you better feel damn special. Granted the people he saw as friends didn't give a shit what he thought, there was always entertainment and continual interest in something that provided a challenge. Niel was a challenge.
Drinking the last of his gin, he should really cut down on how much he drank, he sauntered back inside the apartment, he had a lot of work to do in the coming months. His board had somehow approved the making of that damn porno and gotten it past rules and practices so it was a tentative sixteen and older. He couldn't wait to see what the general populace thought about that. Oh the sure most of the females that had read the accursed piece of 'literature' would be over the moon about its forthcoming movie adaptation but he was willing to bet most people in authority would bitch and complain about how it would no doubt corrupt the already tainted youth.
Well, at least there was next week's visit to Seasons to look forward to, joy.
"Hey Jack, do you ever miss mom and dad?"
Cue him just about choking on his ensure, yeah, solid food was still an if-y thing, sometimes he ate properly sometimes he didn't.
"This question is loaded, I can just tell," he groaned recapping his drink and dropping into one of their kitchen chairs, never mind that they didn't have a proper table, just one of those collapsible ones but that was beside the point. Sometimes he regretted the life he lived, no not the three jobs one of them being an exotic dancer thing, he meant how he lived, where he lived and most importantly how it affected his younger sister.
"Is not, okay maybe a bit, it's just, you're always so upbeat and cheerful, even when social services tried to send me to foster care. You told them straight up that you were a legal adult and could take care of me and if they didn't like it, they could go fuck themselves, all with a smile," she reminded him perching on the edge of the counter across from him. Social services, Jesus, that had been a nightmare he never wanted to repeat, ever. His parents' bodies had barely been covered properly when a couple of men in suits dropped in and tried to take Pippa away.
He'd cursed and shouted and argued for a week straight, he was an adult, he had graduated with good grades, he could get a job to support the two of them. When asked where they would live, he told them he would sell the property and find an apartment to rent, there was also the money his parents had saved and the money in his college fund that would support them until he found a good enough job. Someway, somehow he would support himself and his sister.
"Yeah because they were being assholes but North's lawyer called them on their bullshit, remember?" he reminded her with a half smile, forced but he was getting better at those. He could remember exactly when they had threatened to take him to court, to get a judge to legally take Pippa away from him and that was when he went to North.
North had been one of his father's old high school friends, the fact he owned a club/brothel was beside the point, the man had gotten a lawyer to stand up for them in court and gotten Jack custody of Pippa. After that, the man had helped him get a job as a dancer, then later an escort, making sure he stayed away from the wrong people. North was a good friend, insanely so, there was nothing he could do to repay the man, nothing. The guy had even found this apartment for them, on the other side of town from where they used to live so they didn't have to dwell on what they'd lost.
"Course I do, but how did you stay so upbeat? I've never seen you sad or depressed even once, not even when we had to decide what to bring with us and what to put in storage," she muttered and if that wasn't a happy memory. The fire had taken more than half the house which included their parents' master bedroom, the kitchen and their father's study. The fire had started in the kitchen, a faulty plug had sparked off and caught on the table cloth, the only reason it didn't spread was because the door to the living room had been locked which meant the fire didn't have anywhere to go.
His and Pippa's rooms were the only two that didn't suffer any fire damage though, them being on the other side of the house from the kitchen. Their father had always joked about that little design quirk, apparently the house was supposed to have only two bedrooms both with ensuite baths and a study, but the previous owners had converted the second study into an extra bedroom. However, even if they were on the other side of the house, they would have been caught in the blaze to if the living room door hadn't been locked.
Going through the charred remains of their home had just about sent him into a mindless panic, everyday objects had been warped and blackened until they were barely recognisable. The glass picture frames that held everything from his parents' wedding to his graduation had cracked under the intense heat, the silver ware his mother kept in the china cabinet had melted together in to an ugly lump of metal. It had hurt seeing his home like that, seeing the place he'd grown up like that, it was almost as bad as losing his parents all over again.
"Why are you asking all of this now?" he ventured, the words feeling foreign and out of place in his mouth, he always tried his best not to lie to Pippa, to always be truthful with her if only to lightened the guilt of his conscience. He didn't want to have to tell her the only reason he was perpetually happy was because it was all an act, sure he might be genuinely upbeat and joyful most of the time but that was just in his nature. However, there were times when all he felt was despair and desolation, when he felt so depressed he couldn't get out of bed to face the day, or night as the case might be, times when he wished he'd never been born.
The only thing that got him up when he felt like that was the knowledge he had someone else to take care of, someone else to provide for and keep happy. So what if sometimes he felt numb, the suppressed emotion trying to get the better of him and his stubbornness killing his ability to feel anything but joy? Some might say he was emotionally stunted, that he was putting too much strain on his psyche and that he could make himself physically ill by doing so. Some might say that, although if they ever said it to his face, he would gladly tell them how they could go fuck themselves.
"I dunno, it's been bothering me for a while though and I'm leaving in a month and a half to get settled in Arizona. I've always wanted to know but I guess I never got the chance or had the guts to do it," she managed though it was awkward. He didn't answer immediately, just stared at his fingers and thought about what Pippa had said and then thought some more.
He and Pippa had always been close, they'd kept each other's deepest secrets, even the stupid ones about where they'd hidden cookies or who their crushes were, Jack had looked out for his little sister ever since she'd come home that first day. He had heard some kids at school talking about how horrible it was having a younger sibling, how they were nosey and stinky and never left you alone. At first he'd been a bit apprehensive about the new baby but when his father had explained to him that having a younger sibling was like being a parent, he didn't feel jealous or resentful, he had felt proud.
He knew being a parent was a lot of work and responsibility, that you had to make sure the person you took care of was healthy and safe and happy, but he was sure he could do it. He could be the best big brother in the world, no one would ever hurt his little sister and he would always make sure she was happy, make sure she didn't cry and took care of her when his parents couldn't. He loved her.
"I do miss them Pip, so much, and I'm not always happy, that'd be insane, I just like you to think that I am," he explained softly, tugging at the longer strands of the brunet wig. This damn thing, he had had to wear it to leave the house Saturday then wait until no one was looking to stuff in their mailbox, coming back he'd almost forgotten it and now he was wondering just how much trouble was it all worth? So what if Pip knew he'd bleached his hair? She was leaving in less than two months and would most likely never hear about Jack Frost so what was the point?
"Why though? I'm not a little kid anymore Jack, I might be your little sister but I'm not some china doll that'll break if you so much as touch me," she argued, folding her arms across her chest tightly and looking away. Oh, he knew what that meant, she was angry, he could always tell what she was thinking by looking her dead in the eye, she only hid her face when she wanted to hide her emotions from him. The only times she tried to do that were when she was either sad or angry and judging by her crossed arms, she was angry today.
"Pip, do you remember those first few weeks after mom and dad died? Do you remember how sad and angry you were that the fire had started and they'd died, that they'd left us?" he asked seriously, staring at her until she had no choice but to meet his gaze. Brown, deep chocolate brown, the brown of the mud children loved to play in until their parents dragged them out, the colour of comfort and simplicity and company. Brown, the colour of Pippa's eyes.
"I felt the same way, only worse. I was the older one, I was the one that stayed up till three in the morning on my computer, I was the one that got midnight snacks. Why didn't I realise something was wrong? Why didn't I smell the smoke or hear the alarm before the fire got too bad? You were my little sister, I shouldn't have waited for you to have an asthma attack because of the smoke, I should have known.
Then there was the funeral that uncle Joey took care of and before I could even think, there was social services coming to take you away. I was mad, I was angry and I was fucking pissed. How dare they take away the last person I cared about? But, then I had you and I realised you were still just a kid, fuck I was still just a kid, and kids weren't meant to think about the death of their parents and the what if's and why didn't I's. I knew the only way to make sure you didn't grow up to be a bitter, depressed teenager was to be happy, to show you that you're allowed to feel cheerful even though they weren't still there with us."
He'd never put all of that into words, never admitted just how scared, how angry and how much self-loathing he'd carried for so long. Maybe emotionally stunted wasn't the proper term, emotionally constipated perhaps? Yeah, that made more sense, he'd been holding it all back, pushing it into a dark corner of his mind and locking the door, beating his emotions into submission every time they reared their ugly head and then forgetting about them. Even talking about it now wasn't much of a help, he felt detached from the words and feelings that went along with them, probably for the best though. He really didn't want Pippa to deal with her older brother having a mental breakdown which she'd more than likely rationalise was because of her, even if it wasn't.
No, he needed to do what he did best, just smile and convince everyone else he was perfectly fine, just lie through his teeth and pretend that what he'd just said didn't bother the fuck out of him. Because technically it didn't, not the past actions but more the emotion he should feel but didn't, oh whatever.
"Pip, it's not that I'm not happy, it's just that I'm not always that way. Sometimes I'm sad, sometimes I'm angry but not all the time, and even if I am, I focus on something else until I'm not because it's not good to dwell on the past. You can't change it and no amount of guilt will do shit, except maybe make you feel even worse," he added thoughtfully. Pippa opened her mouth then closed it, opened, closed it again, she looked like a person that'd been slowly suffocating and was finally able to get a deep breath. She did that for about five minutes, eyes darting around the room with her arms still crossed, doing anything but looking at him.
He knew she'd react like this, he knew she'd start to question each and every time he'd moaned and groaned about staying in bed, was he really sleepy or was he killing his emotions? Girls thought about too many things, they were too philosophical for their own good.
"Alright, I asked and I got an answer. You've been doing this for six years now and it'll take a lot more than just me to change that, okay, I get that. But, do you-do you ever regret taking me? That maybe it would have been better to let me be adopted instead?"
Oh, so that's what she was after, smart little dummy. He knew the first question was loaded but that was just the way Pip paved the way up for bigger questions, or worse if you really thought about it. Ever since he'd gotten custody of her, he'd slowly changed from her teasing, always-have-time-to-play older brother Jack into still teasing but more mature, I-have-time-but-not-that-much guardian Jack. She wanted to know if he ever resented her for making him change, for making him grow up.
"What kind of stupid question is that Pippy Longstockings? You got an open scholarship and you can't figure out that your big brother loves you more than anything else in the world? Maybe we should call the scholarship people and tell them to recheck their files cause this can't be the same girl that aced their tests," he joked, smiling at her, actually grinning and not the lip service. And even if it had been, it would have been damn worth it to see the tentative smile on his sister's face, a complete one eighty from the troubled expression on her face.
He might not be the best role model, lying little shit that he was, and he might not spend as much time with her as he would like but he would do anything in the world to see his little sister smile. She was all he had, she was his responsibility, she'd been his responsibility ever since his parents brought her home and he saw her smile for the first time. She was his now and he would do his damnest to make sure she had a good life and that she was happy, the last thing he wanted was for her to turn out like him. No, she would go to college, she would pass her subjects and make something of herself because he was there to make sure she did.
"Thank you Jack, for always being there for me, and for being the bestest big brother in the world," she stated calmly, he rolled his eyes at her and threw a dish cloth at her face. She giggled and that started an all out war, the casualties of which were many dishrags being strewn across the kitchen table and floor. There was much laughter, a couple of shrieks and more than a few shouts, but it alleviated the tense atmosphere the brunette had created. He alleviated it by doing what he did best, playing the fool, making jokes, making people have fun. He was pretty sure in another life he was a jester or something, or a spirit of fun or something just as weird.
"No, Jack! Put down the bottle of water! Jack!"
Yup, he was good at playing the fool and getting other people to laugh, even if it meant soaking them with ice water.
DEF: I just realised we needed more Jack and Pippa bonding up in here, so there we go, a slightly emotional, angsty piece of what for you to enjoy. I also realised it was time I talked about the fire that took their parents' lives, aren't I wonderful? And don't worry, we'll have some Pitch/Seraphina bonding a bit later on. We've got lives to macco people!
Jake, from Statefarm: Yeah, whatever, so did you guys get the reference? If you did, review, or pm, whichever. Also, DEF's over the moon that A) She's slowly getting people to like Blackice and B) Isn't messing up this AU! Until next time, reviews are welcome and I'm still Jake...from Statefarm?