Hey guys…
Sorry for the late update. We were mourning the loss of the sweetest cinnamon roll we adore. And we didn't want to be tacky by posting a chapter...I'm not sure either of us have ever been so deeply affected by a celebrities passing away… Tears happened when we saw our newsfeed about it. Cameron Bryce was an amazing actor and person, and it kills us that he was taken so young. Our hearts go out to everyone he touched with his kind soul, not only to his friends and family, but to his fans as well. It's just painful to think about, and we're sorry for his loss.
One Wednesday after Mal's run in with T
Jay felt like an ass for trading places with Mal last week, not that he had a choice. Still, he hadn't seen T since he fell into his and Harry's meeting.
He was kind of worried T might not show up after a practice with Mal, her style was meant to be cruel and brutal. Visually showy as befitting their vicious leader. And he knew she hadn't held back. Mal, the 'cold hearted', didn't understand the concept.
He shakes his head. On the other hand, this was T he was talking about, and it was rare the kid was fazed by something so... Well, Mal.
It wasn't the first time he hadn't seen T for weeks. He kicks a piece of rubble out of his path. It was just hard not to worry about the kid since the well. He was fucking reckless as shit. Jay scowls. He still didn't know what to think about T taking full on Hyades' flames to the face when he tackled her down the well. Why the fuck would anyone do that?
And who the fuck was stupid enough to challenge Atilla alone, and to fucking save him for fuck-sake?
Just T. He rolls his eyes.
If T could face those two… Why was he worried the kid would shy away after tangling with Mal?
He frowns.
It probably had something to do with the fact Mal had been acting shady since then. Her responses snippier, her temper shorter than normal- Even with Evie. That itself was a dangerous sign. She hadn't acted like that with E since they were kids. Which meant there must have been some heavy shit weighing on her mind.
And he wasn't liking the timing.
He freezes when he sees someone in the distance where he and T usually met and frowns. The white and red shirt throws him off. What the hell was one of Cora's doing on this side of the isle?
He dips off the trail, his steps becoming silent as he crept up on the beach from a different direction than usual.
"Jay?" A voice suddenly questions from right behind him.
"Sonovabitch!" Jay nearly jumped out of his skin. He could have sworn his heart skipped a beat at the sudden surge of fear.
"Whatcha doin' in the brush?"
Jay laughs nonchalauntly, "Just, checking your reflexes."
"Did I pass?" T questions.
"Yup…" Jay nods as he claps T on the back, "Good job." He breathes out. Pretty sure if T ever did that to him again he might have a heart attack. Had he gotten even more quiet through the years? Or was it because of his and D's stupid game, where they wandered off pointlessly into the woods for days.
T nods, "Nice." He smiles, before he turns back to the beach and starts walking.
Jay's brow furrows as he watches T walk off. If T hadn't spoken, he wasn't sure he'd have realized it was him. T was normally shrouded in layers of blacks and grimmy browns. Layers. So many layers.
It had been T in the red and white. The blur he'd thought had been a spy or someone poorly waiting in ambush. What the hell was going on? "So uh…" Jay quickly catches up to T, falling in step with his pace, "What did you think of Mal's… Style?"
"She's a beast-" T shrugs, "But wasn't expecting anything less from the dragon." He adds. "She gave good pointers too."
"Huh… Glad to hear that." Jay frowns in speculation, "She's not usually one to offer advice. She's more of a bust your skull until you learn it kinda teacher." It wasn't always the case, but Mal did have a reputation to maintain. She usually reserved the less harsh methods for Evie and Carlos. Sometimes even Hyades.
"Well, yeah it was mostly that." T agrees, "But she also pointed out that my layers were getting in the way- Which sucks- But once I get better I figure it won't matter what I'm wearing." He finishes thoughtfully.
Jay shrugs, "I'd never pointed it out before because that's all I ever see you in. It is easier to learn the basics before you start adding in complications though."
"Ah." T nods, "Figured it was something like that when I improved so quickly."
"That sounds promising," Jay grins as he holds out a sword, "Care to show me what you've learned?"
T grins as he takes the offered sword and steps back, "Waiting on you."
"Oh so cocky after a single lesson with the dragon." Jay taunts as he pulls his sword up.
"Can you fight a dragon without being cocky?" T quips back as he lowers into a sturdy stance.
"Fair." Jay chuckles. He narrows his eyes, focusing on the way T moves and dances about. It had taken a long time to learn to judge the kids movements through so many layers. And now he was going to have to relearn it all. His eyes slide along the lean muscles stretching under T's walnut skin as he readied the blade.
Without warning T launches at him, catching Jay by surprise.
Jay gets his blade up in time to deflect the attack, but he was impressed at the surprise. "Good job." T was faster without his layers, harder to disarm when there were no long baggy sleeves to catch and throw the kid off his balance. He sets his jaw as he turns and readies again, a half grin on his face revealing how much he was enjoying the new challenge. "Do it again."
T nods, his eyes gleaming delightfully at the praise as he begins circling Jay like a predator, looking for an opening.
Little things about T kept catching his attention. He'd never seen the kid's hair before. He knew it was black because of the wispies that occasionally escaped the hood. He just had no idea it was going to be longer than his own. Weird. Why keep his hair long when he was obviously trying to hide his gender?
Jay catches T's attack this time, the two clashing swords longer than normal before he finally cracks his sword over his back as the kid eats sand for the first time today.
T picks himself up with a grin before he drops back into his stance.
"Here, let's switch it up." Jay nods, his grin mischievous as he changes his stance from defensive to offensive.
"What's the new plan?" T questions curiously.
"You defend."
"Right." T nods as he shifts his stance and grip on his blade.
This time Jay lunges forward, tilting his hips to the side as he jukes and spins, winding up behind T. His eyes widen at the sight of the shirt hanging skewed off one shoulder revealing long, thin lash like cuts. They were healing, but… He blinks… There were so many! And he suddenly understood why he'd mistaken T for one of Cora's agents. The back of his white shirt was streaked with old blood. He manages to get his sword up in time to deflect T's return attack. He shakes his head and forces himself to focus on the duel.
T curses when he ends up on his back as he gets knocked down, sword to his throat. "I'm really starting to feel like you've been going easy on me…" He grumbles.
"I ain't been takin' it easy on you," Jay rolls his eyes as he pulls T up off his back, "I'm just starting to add layers now that you're getting better."
"Oh." T's suspicion instantly dissipates. "Guess hat makes sense." He grins as he steps back. "Bad ass."
Jay shrugs, "I've seen you with a dagger, been on the receiving end of it. You'll eventually be able to use that."
T nods as he drops into a defensive stance again.
"Speaking of your dagger moves." Jay grunts as he attacks again, "Think you can help me out in that department?"
T's eyes widen as he missteps and the sword clips across his shoulder and neck.
"Fuck." Jay drops the sword from his hand and rushes forward, clapping his hands around T's neck, "Shit Man, I didn't mean-" He was afraid to look.
T quickly jerks back in response to the touch, he bangs his fist against the shoulder where the sword had connected. "No big." He quickly blurts out.
"Dude, are you sure?" Jay looks down at his own hands, afraid to see blood welling between his fingers. He'd had fatal points drilled into him in his sword class, and he knew for sure he'd hit the whatever-the-hell artery in T's neck.
"Don't feel enough warmth for it to have been that much damage…" T swallows tightly, Jay's hands still wrapped around his throat.
Jay mirrors T's swallow, his heart beating far to fast as he slowly pulled his hands away from T's neck, revealing a small trickle of blood starting to well up in the thin scratch where the sharper tip had struck. "Thank fucking God." Jay closes his eyes as he lets out a heavy breath.
T quickly steps back, the minute he was free. "What about the dagger?"
Jay blinks, "Dude, I almost killed you." He freezes. He'd almost killed T. The blood drains from his face.
T's eyes widen in worry as he swiftly steps back to Jay. His hand instantly on his forehead, before he drops it. "You should sit down." He states traces of concern in his tone, before he pushes Jay down to the sand. He rushes to his pile of jackets and comes back, before he wraps one around Jay's shoulders. He plops to his knees next to him, "You look like crap." He observes after Jay's shaking seems to die down.
"No fucking shit." Jay rolls his eyes. He puts his head down between his raised knees. "Yeah... " He clears his throat, "Daggers… I was wondering if we could like, trade or something."
"Oh!" T's eyes widen, "Of course." He nods, "Least I can do after all the shit you've done for me." He adds as he leans back with his arms for support. "They're a lot easier than swords- Both to find and to use…" His eyes rest on the waves crashing against the sand. His hand coming up to wipe away a new trickle of blood absently.
"Wicked." Jay gives T a thumbs up. "I've always fucking complained about the busted ass swords we have…" He shakes his head as he looks up to T's neck, "But man, I'm glad that wasn't sharp."
T shrugs, "I thought it was just me." He agrees, "My daggers do seem a lot better quality."
"I think the Auradonians repair their swords instead of throwing them out." Jay suggests, glad to have something to talk about, anything… He wasn't sure why he was dizzy, or why his head was pounding in time with his heart, but he didn't like it, "My dad said something about it once." He shrugs, "I guess they don't revere daggers as much."
"Huh." T frowns as he leans further back to look at the sky, "Probably… I've found a fuck ton more daggers than swords." He admits.
"You've found swords?"
"A few." T shrugs.
The two sit in silence for a good ten minutes, T occasionally stealing glances at Jay as if to make sure he was okay.
Jay shakes his head, finally clearing away the strange headache, "Dude, I don't know what that was, but thanks for waiting." He lets out a heavy sigh, feeling like he was coming out of a cold room or something. He stands up and stretches wanting to erase all evidence and feeling from the experience, as he handed the jacket back to T.
"No big." T shrugs, he takes it back, before he looks Jay over carefully, "Ready to go again?" He finally asks as he stands to join him.
"Yeah." Jay turns to find his sword.
"Cool." T nods as he walks to the circle, his shirt shiny with fresh blood.
"Man… Are you sure you want to keep going?" Jay asks, unable to miss the bright red stains on the back of T's shirt.
"Uh… Yeah?" T nods, as he experiments with the collected sword absently.
Jay sighs, "You're bleeding."
T's eyes narrow as he puts his hand to his throat in confusion, before pulling it away to look at it. "Barely." He shrugs.
"Nah, you've got some fresh blood on the back of your shirt." Jay points out.
T's eyes widen in fear as he stares at Jay in something akin to horror, jaw slack. As he stood there frozen to the spot.
"Did that happen in the Atilla fight?" Jay asks, "I mean, I know it ain't my business, but you should probably ease up a bit until it's healed." He hated giving T an out like that, but he also couldn't stand the raw, naked fear in the kid's eyes. It told him all he really needed to know, though it also left him with more questions. Basically it was a typical T predicament.
T shifts under the weight of his gaze, "Uh-" He begins, his eyes narrowing. "No."
"Mal didn't cut you up did she?" The question pops out before he can stop himself.
"No!" T quickly shuts that down. "No." He shakes his head. "It was just an accident. Landed bad while roof hopping… I just didn't realize they'd opened. My bad man."
"Sorry." Jay holds his hands up, somewhere between a surrender gesture and a defenseless one, "I just got worried when I saw the blood, ya know. We all get dinged up, right."
"Right." T nods, his eyes full of regret as he glances to his pile of jackets.
"Man, you say you're fine to keep going, I believe you." Jay shrugs awkwardly, "We just, you know, we all gotta check in on each other. I mean if we don't, who will?"
"Fair." T turns back to Jay and nods his head. "Would you feel better if I showed you some basics for the dagger?" He offers. "Then we could attack each other with our off weapon?"
"That sounds promising." Jay grins eagerly, "I could be down for that."
T nods as he walks towards his pile of jackets, and drops the one in his hand to the top, and pulls out the one from the bottom to gather his daggers.
"Look, uh" Jay tilts his head to the side as he rubs the back of his neck, "Ya ain't mad about me asking are ya?"
"I followed you and everyone else around for years out of simple curiosity." T responds dryly, not looking up from his jacket. "Can't be mad at you just for bein' more direct about it…"
Jay furrows his brow, "I just- if that's the kind of questions you don't like, I get it, but uh…" He grimaces, hating how unsure he knew he sounded. Thinking he'd killed T had really stunned him, and now seeing T injured and still fighting, it was overwhelming and he didn't know what to do with whatever it was making him feel shaky and hurting his chest, "I just, you know, I'm not uncaring. I do want you to be… Uninjured and like… Stuff… Ya know?"
T looks up in confusion, "Didn't think you would," He frowns, "I mean you could have killed me like a hundred times over if you felt like it…But, thank you I guess," He tilts his head to the side. "I don't wish injury on you either- And not just because I can't land a hit. There have been plenty of opportunities for me to take any of you out if I wanted to- It wouldn't be hard in the dark- It's just not a thought I have towards you guys, ya know?"
Jay blinks a few times at the implications. T was right. He could have shadowed his way into killing any of them. Even as aware of his surroundings as he was, T had still managed to surprise him a good handful of times. "Glad you're on our side." He chuckles.
T snorts as he walks over with his daggers, "I'm not really on a side… So much as on people."
"I meant that more in the sense of glad you're not an enemy." Jay points out.
"Oh." T hands over the daggers, "Same then." He grins at Jay.
Jay looks at the dagger in his hand, grips the hilt, checks the balance, moves his wrist around a bit to check the weight.
"I know it doesn't have the reach- But if you're quick enough it really doesn't matter." He shrugs.
Jay nods, "So what's a good stance?"
T frowns as he thinks about. "Um…" He narrows his eyes. "Might just be easier to attack me and let me see how you handle it, then work from there…" He admits.
"Cool." Jay nods as he makes a few swipes in the air, feeling out different stances until he settles on one, "Ready?"
T can't help his smile. "Waiting on you."
"Oh that's how it's gonna be huh?" Jay grins as he lunges forward, slashing at the sword in T's hand in an attempt to disarm him.
T jumps back, before he dodges and lunges forward. The two fight for a good minute before T manages to get Jay at sword point.
"Dude, this was an awesome idea." Jay smirks as he takes a step back, flipping the dagger back and forth between his hands.
"I have those sometimes." T grins as he mimics Jay, giving him some space.
Jay laughs, "Don't worry, I won't tell if you won't."
"Would be my preference." T admits, as he swings around the sword experimentally.
Jay's eyes linger for a moment on a fresh slash of blood blooming on the back of T's shirt. He shakes his head, but can't shake the notion that T and Carlos had more in common than he'd thought possible. The sheer terror on T's face was near identical to Carlos' face the night Jay stayed over and Cruella came home trashed. He and Carlos didn't talk about it, ever, but he still had nightmares about the sounds coming from Cruella's room, and the bruises and marks it has left on their sweet pup.
He'd never admit to him that he was the real reason Mal always kept him so busy on projects, and out of his house.
And that was what he couldn't shake. T was afraid of someone or something. A parent? A guardian? Something worse? His head was starting to hurt again.
T pouts when he notices the look on Jay's face, before he shakes the expression away. "Wanna call it?" He asks in concern.
"Probably for the best." Jay shrugs.
T nods in understanding as he walks over to switch the blade for the daggers.
"Why don't you hang on to the sword?" Jay offers when T turns with the sword in his hands, "I hear you practice with D and the rats sometimes."
T blinks, "Are you sure?" He asks in confusion.
"Yeah. It's better to always use the same blade." Jay furrows his brow, "Something like you build trust with it."
"Huh…" T wonders as he studies the blade. "I get that… I feel the same with several of my daggers."
"Mind keeping an eye out for a good one for me?"
T nods, "Like you weren't going to get one now."
Jay grins, "Never make assumptions right."
"You mean never be in someone else's debt, right?" T quips back dryly.
Jay shakes his head, "Dude, you don't… That's not why-"
"I was joking…" T responds dryly, "It's the tone, isn't it?" He questions with a small pout before he sighs, "What I mean is I don't think it would be fair if I got to practice swords without you being able to practice daggers. Your already on par with my sword play with them. Just don't want you to fall behind."
"I can live with that." Jay laughs, "And yeah, you might want to work on the tone," He claps T's shoulder, "You sound like Mal sometimes." He grumbles.
"So… How did training the tard go?" Mal asks with a raised brow as Jay slips into the hideout. She tilts her head to the side as she taps her nails against the table.
"Jesus Mal!"Jay jumps and claps a hand over his chest, "Fucking seriously man, I can't take any more of that shit today."
Mal rolls her eyes, "You think you'd be more used to it with your stray."
Jay pulls his lips taunt over his teeth, the look somewhere between a snarl and a grimace. "I'm not in the mood Mal."
"Oh calm down." She waves dismissively, before her eyes sweep over Jay again. "Training went that well, huh?"
"Mal… Seriously." Jay drops heavily into a patchwork cushion on the floor.
"I am being serious." Mal blinks, "I want answers."
"Good to know somethings never change." Jay rolls his eyes as he kicks his boots off. He rests his arms against his knees and sighs deeply before he slumps back.
Mal's smirk falls as she studies Jay carefully, her arms crossed over her chest as she leaned back in her chair as she stares at the ceiling. "So you saw his back too?"
"Yeah Mal, I fucking saw his back." Jay snaps, "Happy? Any more stupid fucking questions?"
Mal lifts her brow as she falls silent. It wasn't often Jay took that tone with her. And she'd apparently stepped on a land mine. She has the decency to turn away. The silence stretched between them for several long, painful moments before she clears her throat, "Probably not the best approach."
"No Mal, it wasn't." Jay responds, though thankfully his tone was also less harsh.
"Fair." Mal breathes out, as she runs her hand through her hair.
"I thought I'd killed him." Jay admits out of the blue
Mal's chair drops to all four legs loudly as she studies Jay. "The kid's a fucking freak Jay- I doubt a few whacks-"
"No Mal-" Jay shakes his head, "I, it was an accident, but I hit his neck." He mimics a sword with his hand, smacking it against his own in demonstration, "Kill shot."
Mal's eyes widen slightly, "But he's fine." She states for clarification. The last thing she needed to add to her to do list was hide a body- But she would for Jay. Even if it was T's.
"Yeah, I mean I freaked out." He closes his eyes, "Slapped my hands over it so fast I freaked him out. He must have twisted away perfectly, or our swords seriously suck that much, or both… But I only nicked him."
Mal lets out a heavy sigh, "Shit man, that fucking sucks."
"So yeah, not in the mood for attitude and games right now. You want something, just fucking ask like no one else is here…" Jay huffs as he turns to stare at Mal, "Please…"
"Huh." Mal holds up her hands. "Just wanted to know if you were able to figure out what the fuck happened to the tard's back…" She looks away sheepishly, "I didn't know how to address it..." She admits as she looks to her dirt under her nails.
"He fed me a line about getting hurt in a fall-"
"Bull-fucking-shit." Mal spits out at T's audacity.
"Not an idiot buying a bridge to Auradon Mal." Jay growls, "You wanna hear about the fear in his eyes or what?"
Mal shuts up, as she slumps back in her chair at the rebuke.
Jay sighs again, "You know how you keep Carlos busy, keep him away from his house?"
Mal nods, as she crosses her arms.
"T had the same eyes man, the same damn look of-" Jay shakes his head, "He's fucking scared of something. And I don't think it's another vk."
Mal lets out a sigh of annoyance. "Of course it isn't." She snarls, with a roll of her eyes. When was it ever something she could actually fix?
"I tried to see if it was Atilla," Jay rests his hands on his forehead as he continues to stare straight up at the ceiling, "he didn't even flinch."
Mal sighs as she looks down at the floor with a frown. "No. That would be too easy." She leans back slinging her arm over the back of the chair. "And the only time the kid tells the truth is when it benefits us personally." She hisses in annoyance.
Jay laughs humorlessly, "And when you put him in an awkward spot."
Mal's chair drops to the floor again, "Oh really?" Her eye brow lifts.
"Oh yeah…" Jay rolls his eyes, "I don't think it's you're style though, and I figured it out by accident."
Mal's eyes narrow with curiosity, "Humor me… What gets that kid to talk? Cause I smacked him several times in his back to see if he would complain and I got shit for the effort."
Jay sits up with a heavy sigh before he trudges over to the table, "One, that was a bitch move. That shit needs to heal." He cringes as he sits on the edge of the table, taking a sudden interest in his hands, "And swear you won't be judgy or shit over this Mal, it's kinda personal."
Mal sobers up as she leans in closer, "I swear it won't leave the room." It was probably the best she could give him.
Jay turns to her and glares for a long moment, "It better not ever leave yer fucking mouth."
Mal blinks, right they were in the hideout. "It won't. I swear." She just wanted a fucking answer to to one of the hundreds of questions she had swimming around in her head.
"Good." Jay looks back down at his hands, fidgeting with them as he begins, "Something happened to me after I realized T was fine. Like I took a fucking second and realized I could have killed him and-" His voice fades as he struggles to explain.
Mal frowns as she looks away, giving Jay some reprieve- But she knew better than to interrupt him.
"I don't know, it was like I got dizzy and my head was pounding, I think I was sweating and everything got cold-"
Mal's eyes swing to him in concern. "Are you okay now?" She asks unable to keep the concern from her tone. Her eyes study him as she takes note of the bags under his eyes. "That sounds awful and you kinda look like shit… Not that I blame you- Sounds like you had a long fucking day."
Jay snorts as he turns to look at her, "T said the same damn thing, made me fucking sit," he drops his eyes and shakes his head slowly before he looks back up, "and get this, he stayed with me."
Mal pulls back in surprise. "What? Why?"
"I dunno… We just talked. Like he was worried or something," Jay rolls his eyes and his voice gets a little raspy, "I nearly kill him and he was worried about me."
Mal can't help her snort. "Well that checks out. Kids had a fuckin' deathwish since the day we met." She adds, "Or did you forget him tackling D down a well?"
"No…" Jay runs a hand over his face, "No I haven't forgotten that." He falls silent for a moment, "But seriously… Why do that? I mean, we were the ones that pushed her to that, so why the fuck do that?"
Mal falls silent, he was asking her questions she'd been asking herself for months. "I couldn't tell you…" She finally sighs. "It doesn't make any fucking sense." She adds as she runs her hand through her hair in frustration.
Jay shakes his head, "Anyway yeah, he sat and talked with me, waited until I could stand again… And then-" He shrugs, "I just kind of mentioned the blood on his shirt and asked if he was really okay to spar."
"Which he said yes too." Mal clicks her tongue. "Because he's a fucking tard."
"That's the thing, I really expected him too. But that's when he-" Jay tenses his jaw as he looks away.
Mal can't help it as she leans in closer. "When he…" She prompts after a tense moment of silence.
"He looked scared." Jay clenches his fists, "Like somehow me asking or noticing the lashes on his back terrified him as much as Cruella terrorizes Carlos. Like that kind of fear."
Mal slumps back into her seat, brow furrowed. That was interesting. "I'd be mortified too if that was my back and someone pointed it out."
Jay narrows his eyes as he slams one fist into the table, "Look, I don't delve deep in the feels, but I know the fucking difference between humiliated and terrified."
"Fair." Mal sighs, "But that still begs to question what the fuck would terrorize a kid that spends most days trying to get caught on fire? Or jumpin the twins, and whatever else fucking shit he does when we're not around..."
"Something worse than all those things?" Jay shrugs, "Look, you asked how I got him to talk, I think it was because of whatever made me sick. Like everything else, he kind of does like tit for tat."
"Does he?" Mal questions as she narrows her eyes. She hadn't spend much time around T- But Jay was rarely wrong in his observations.
"I gave him a sword, he's getting me a dagger. I taught him the sword, he gave me some type of balm-" He pauses as he stands up and walks over to his space before he pulls out a small container with the gross looking concoction. "And now he's gonna teach me how to use a dagger." Jay shrugs, as he hands the container to Mal and plops back down. "It's just a hunch or whatever, but I seriously think it's the only reason he didn't run away when I asked."
"Well that's difficult to recreate without being fucking dumb." Mal opens the container curiously, before she brings it to her nose to sniff, and immediately pulls back to sneeze at the pungent stench. "What the hell is this shit for? Knocking you out?"
Jay tilts his head to the side before he rolls up a pant leg, "Here-" He dips his fingers into the tin before Mal can react and rubs some on a large bruise on his calf.
Mal cringes as Jay puts the tincture on his skin. "Why?" She asks exasperated, "Would you trust that? It smells like shit."
Jay shrugs as he continues to rub the oily concoction into his purpled skin, "He said it was good for bruises and cuts and stuff."
"Huh." Mal tilts her head to the side, vaguely remembering a saying about medicine- And how the worse it tasted the better it works and wondered if it applied to smells too. "So just put it on a a bruise? We were just discussing this kids death wish and you put-" She shakes her head. Whatever, it was already done. "So ...What's it supposed to do?" She asks curiously, "Since you opted to play guinea pig anyways..."
"Well, so far it's just kinda cool, like laying it against ice or something." Jay frowns as he props his leg up on the table.
Mal frowns as she studies Jay's bruise suspiciously. "Huh." She murmurs, acting before Jay can stop her as she punches the bruise.
"Ow-Wait," Jay's face morphs from panic to concern, "Why didn't that hurt."
Mal's eye twitches. "Mother fucker..." She grumbles as she reaches for the container. "High pain tolerance my ass." She dips her own finger into the oily sludge, and rubs it between her two fingers before she turns to Jay.
Jay shrugs, "Still, that was a lot of open skin for him to not be able to feel any of it."
Mal opens her mouth to argue before she shuts it again. "I guess you're kinda right." She concedes. "It was a hell of a lotta blood and I doubt this shit blocks everything." But it certainly didn't hurt either. What the fuck had he used to create this shit?
Jay rolls his pant leg back down and swings off the table, testing the pain blocked bruise by putting weight on his leg, "Wow, that's… Huh… I can't feel it at all."
"Which explains why the kid didn't feel the fresh blood dripping through his shirt." Mal thinks out loud. Which was probably a good thing. She wasn't sure what she would have done if T had figured out she knew.
"You done interrogating me?" Jay asks suddenly as he walks back over to his beat up workout bench.
"For the moment." Mal teases lightly. "Want the place to yourself? I have to go home tonight anyways."
"Don't matter to me one way or the other." Jay shrugs before he starts pulling out weights.
Mal nods, collecting what she needed before she heads out, "Talk to you later man."
"Hey Mal…"
"Yeah?" She asks as she turns back to him.
"Sorry for the attitude." He says, still bent over and messing with the weights.
"Just don't make it a habit." Mal waves dismissively, "I get having a long, shitty days." She sighs, "It didn't help that I jumped straight into it. I know how to read you better than that." She admits with a frown.
Jay slowly nods as he stands back up and turns to her, his face serious as he crosses his arms over his chest, "I know you want to know everything there is to know about T, but maybe we should take it down a notch, give it a rest for a beat or two." He sinks down to sit on the end of his bench, "I don't know where you stand with him, but, I think I actually trust him."
Mal frowns as she studies Jay for a moment, "I suppose if you trust him I can drop it for a while." She didn't know what else to say. "I'm not there yet, but I don't think he's a threat anymore either." Just a puzzle she ached to solve.
So it feels really weird asking questions now…
But… Here it goes…
What did you guys think of this chapter. We know some of you were really looking forward to seeing Jay's reaction to T's back? Did we deliver? Or do you guys feel like we left you unsatisfied or disappointed? Did Mal's concern surprise you? Do you think we kept them in character? Are you guys as frustrated by the lack of straight answers from T as the other characters? Are you just over the intrigue at this point? Do any of you have some theories? Are we laying down good context clues? By now I'm sure some of you have some great guesses. Or if you've already read the first write through, how are you liking the rewritten version of T and D's back stories?
