Fighting [IRIS/OPEN]

[jasonwright]

 It's been a rough week, to say the least. After coming back from his weekend job on a fishing vessel catching crab, he returned to scour the town for the two missing homeless men, Wulfric and Eddie, aka Edbyrd. He first noticed their absence last Friday before he got onto the boat, usually chatting with both before he left shore for the day. Neither appeared at their usual breakfast spot, but Jason had shrugged it off, thinking the men simply moved on past the little daily routine they had settled in. But they were still missing when he returned on Sunday. He spent his entire day looking around town for them, asking a few of the other homeless people, but nothing. No one had seen anything. No one knew where the two men were.

A lot of the men and women can't work like he can, doing manual labor for less than minimum wages. So anytime he gets an extra penny, he's started looking out for their little community in Siren Cove. Today's no different as Jason heads into Quill, spending twenty bucks on two boxes of day old muffins and bagels. The person behind the register even throws in a few extra treats. He thanks them then heads over a few blocks, down two alleys, and into a small clearing just on the edge of town behind an old building. Here a few of Siren Cove's homeless have set up residence, blankets and makeshift shelters all over the clearing.

When he arrives though, there's someone yelling at a man Jason knows, Anthony. The man is shoving a finger in Anthony's chest, calling him all sorts of terrible names, and swearing at him left and right. Jason hands the boxes to a woman he knows as Candy, wandering up to the commotion. He interrupts politely, asking if he can help the other man with anything. 

"This bastard stole forty bucks from me!" the man yells, turning his anger onto Jason now. His face is beet red and Jason holds up his hands to show he doesn't mean to threaten the other man in any way.

"Are you sure, sir? I know Anthony and he's not that kind of guy." 

And that's when the man wheels around, gesturing at all the people in the clearing. He calls them scums who need to get jobs, turning back to Anthony to call him a name Jason just has an automatic response to. He reels back and punches the man in the face.

It's stupid. And he'll be the first to admit that he's on edge this week, worried and now overprotective of this little community since two of its own have gone missing. He shakes his fist, wincing, and starts to apologize when the other man gets up and takes at swing at Jason. Before he knows it, they're in a full on brawl. The guy can punch hard, but Jason's faster. He's rusty, but his old reflexes kick in. It's almost like he never left the ring. He's about to hit the guy again after he uses the same word as before when someone hauls him up by the back of his shirt, an impressive feat considering Jason's size.

"What the hell is going on here, Jesus Christ?" a voice growls from behind him. Jason quickly looks over his shoulder and curses himself. He sees a police uniform and the badge on the man's chest says Middleton. The other man tries to explain, growing angrier with every breath and Jason really, really wants to hit him again, but he's being held back by the officer. But the dumbass screws up and doesn't clean up his language. Office Middleton's scowl goes slack, his tension on Jason's arm loosening. 

"Aren't you going to press chargers?" the man yells at the officer. Middleton shrugs, letting go of Jason altogether. 

"Know what? I am." The officer steps around Jason, grabbing hold of the other man. "Disrupting the peace and being a real asshole," he says dryly, moving the man's arms behind his back. Jason's shocked as the officer pulls the man away from the clearing, shoving him very unceremoniously into the back of his cop car. And suddenly his body feels weak and exhausted. He's bleeding, his ribs are bruised, and his knuckles are busted. He doesn't look pretty, but neither does the other guy. Jason checks on Anthony, making sure the man is okay before he excuses himself, slowly making his way back to the cabin at the community garden where he's left Alfredo. He kneels down onto the steps of the cabin, nursing his right hand. What a great week.

Comments

[jasonwright]

He'd normally offer to help out, but Iris is moving swiftly, like she's on a mission and he's pretty confident she won't let a 'guest' help her clean up the dishes. So he doesn't even press the matter but gives her a heartfelt thank you.

Jason laughs when she comes in with an arm-full of blankets and takes a few from her, placing them on the couch. He lays down a few comfy blankets for Alfredo who happily plops his butt down and digs gently, positioning the blankets just right before he lays down. "Thanks, Iris. You thought of everything." He smiles and starts unbuttoning his shirt, pulling it off so he's in just his jeans and tank before he sits back down on the couch. He thinks he might take up her offer for a shower in the morning. Right now he's exhausted and his muscles ache from the fight.

[littleredsiren]

She can feel herself start to blush when he starts taking off his shirt and she angrily shoves it back, putting on a bright smile and fetching Alfredo his promised dog biscuit instead. "I'll probably be up for an hour or two more. I usually read a bit before bed," she explains. "Um... My room is down there. If you need anything, feel free to knock and let me know. And if you get hungry, go ahead and raid the fridge. Nothing in there needs to be saved or anything."

Iris starts bouncing slightly on the balls of her feet, trying to think if there's anything else he may need. She doesn't want to leave him out here without making sure he's taken care of, but she can't think of anything else. "So, uh... Night! Sleep tight, okay?"

[jasonwright]

He nods. She's thought of everything and honestly, he just needs a soft spot and a bathroom and he's fine. "Thanks, Iris. I'm sure I'll be great tonight." He gives her a wave as she heads back to her room. "Good night."

He falls asleep almost as soon as his head hits the pillow. Iris was right when she said the apartment gets warm and at some point in the night, he's kicked off half the blankets and removed his shirt. Alfredo keeps to his blankets though, sleeping through the whole night. Jason wakes up as soon as the sun starts to peek through the blinds. He sits up and stretches, pretty sure he hasn't had a night of good sleep like that in months. He remembers she offered him the shower and Jason gets up, folding the blankets into a nice pile on the couch, before disappearing into the bathroom.

[littleredsiren]

Iris had tossed and turned all night, anxious at the idea that he may not be comfortable. When she finally wakes up properly, she's groggy, her nightgown is rumpled, and all she wants is her damn coffee. Taking half a moment to rub the sleep out of her eyes and to run a brush through her hair, she heads out of her room finally. She can hear the shower running and is secretly glad he took her up on the offer, not because he stinks but because that shower is amazing.

She tosses a dog biscuit to Alfredo as she goes by, yawning as she starts preparing coffee. It's done quickly and she grabs a seat on the couch, half asleep as she drinks.

[jasonwright]

The shower is amazing. Jason spends extra time just enjoying the warm water, scrubbing himself down before he wraps a towel around his waist. He steps in front of the mirror and actually does a double-take. He looks different cleaned up. It's been awhile since he's seen himself without a speck of dirt.

He realizes he has a clean shirt in his bag, which he's left on the edge of the couch. He's pretty sure Iris is still asleep since he hasn't heard anything, and usually Alfredo would make a racket if someone else was around. Jason tucks the towel tightly and opens the bathroom door, stepping into the living room.



He stops short when he sees the girl sitting on the couch. "Shit. Sorry!"

[littleredsiren]

She's mostly awake by the time Jason comes out of the shower. Which probably accounts for her strong reaction. She hears his voice and looks up, blinking for a moment before choking on the mouthful of coffee she'd just taken.

"Oh my god!" she manages to choke out, turning red and trying desperately to cover her eyes. "I, um! Sorry?!"

Iris peeks out slightly between her fingers before shutting them again, so red she's fairly sure she's going to give herself a nosebleed. "I didn't think! I hadn't had my coffee yet! I didn't mean to violate your privacy!!"

[jasonwright]

He holds up his hands in protest. "No, no, it's your apartment. I just thought you were still asleep. Sorry, I didn't even think." Jason reaches out and grabs his bag from the edge of the couch, keeping a tight hold of his towel before he backs into the bathroom again.

"Just needed this. Sorry!"

[littleredsiren]

"It's okay!" she squeaks out. "You're- I mean. It's fine!"

"God!" she hisses quietly, mentally kicking herself. Iris moves out of the living room and into the kitchen, frantically taking things out of the fridge and cupboards to start anxiety cooking up some breakfast. Within minutes, she has bacon frying and omelettes started, with muffins in the oven. She grabs a seat at the counter, desperately getting down her second mug of coffee and praying her blush goes down significantly before he comes back out.

[jasonwright]

Jason finishes drying himself off before changing into his clothes. He's never minded people seeing his body, kinda came with the territory where you just change where you can on boats and construction jobs, but he didn't like making Iris uncomfortable. He dries his hair, brushing it back with his hands, and steps back out into the living room.

He smells bacon cooking and finds Iris in the kitchen. Jason walks over to hang out with Alfredo, petting the dog kind of awkwardly. "Smells good," he offers.

[littleredsiren]

Iris lets out a high pitched 'mhmm!', trying to give him a bright smile without meeting his eyes. "It'll be ready in a few minutes if you wanna, um... Grab a seat somewhere, I guess."

"Did you... enjoy the shower?" she asks, trying to start a conversation and then realizing what a weird question that was. She glares into the pan of bacon, scales creeping up her arm in response to her emotions.

[jasonwright]

Jason sits down on the couch obediently, watching as Iris cooks rather frantically. "Yeah, uh, it was great." He scratches the back of his head.

[littleredsiren]

Finishing everything up, she plates it all, glaring at her arm until the scales retreat. She lays a plate completely filled with bacon down for Alfredo and puts another, heaped with omelette and bacon in front of Jason. "Enjoy!" she chirps, maybe a little overly cheerful.

Curling up in her favourite wicker chair, she anxiously picks her bacon into pieces instead of eating.

[jasonwright]

Jason takes the plate and awkwardly eats his food, watching as Iris picks at hers. She's still cheerful, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand the girl's still uncomfortable. "Are you not hungry?" he finally asks.

[littleredsiren]

"I'm, um. I'm fine! I just," she scrunches up her nose, feeling very awkward right now. "Want to apologize for kind of... oglingyou."

That last part comes out in a rushed half-whisper. She didn't want to admit it but the guilt was going to eat at her insides if she didn't apologize.

[jasonwright]

His brows furrow. "You didn't ogle me. You immediately covered your face which is kind of the opposite."

[littleredsiren]

She starts chewing at her nails. "That's practically ogling for me," she admits. "Plus, um. I kinda did yesterday too, sorry..."

[jasonwright]

"Oh." He hadn't even noticed she was. She seemed really intent on bandaging him up. "That's okay. It doesn't bug me or anything."

[littleredsiren]

"It bugs me," she explains, looking up at him. "It's rude, and I'm not normally rude. So I needed to apologize."

[jasonwright]

"Okay, well I accept your apology," he nods his head at her, finally understanding why she's so uncomfortable.

[littleredsiren]

She gives him a genuine smile this time, feeling a bit better about it all, even though she's fairly sure she'll never get that image of him in a towel out of her head. "Thank you. Like, a lot," she says, finally starting to eat properly. "Are you working at the docks today?"

[jasonwright]

He's happy to see her smile and actually eat this time. "Not the docks," he answers as he eats another strip of bacon. "Some construction work later though."

[littleredsiren]

"Darn," she says, taking a sip of her coffee. "I was gonna ask if you wanted to see me all sirened out after. Maybe another day then. By the way, I'm doing laundry later if you need anything done?"

[jasonwright]

"Well I'm back out there starting tomorrow, so pick a day and we can hang out?" He really does need laundry done and he hasn't really found a laundry mat or even time to wait around for his clothes to clean and dry. "Okay, but only if I do something for you in return. Fair trades. Or else I feel guilty."

[littleredsiren]

She chews at her lip, running through her schedule for the next few days. "Is Tuesday okay?" she asks. "I shouldn't have anything to do that day..."

Iris scrunches up her nose as she tries to think of something he could do for her. "I'm gonna be honest, I don't think I can think of anything I need done right now... You being my friend is a fair enough trade for me though."

[jasonwright]

"Tuesday's good," he nods. "I don't get back to the docks til after two."

It seems like such an Iris answer and he smiles. "Alright, but let me know if you need help with anything, okay?" Normally he'd negotiate a trade of some kind. But he's sure Iris really feels like his friendship is a trade and her need to help others probably outweighs his feeling of guilt. Honestly, letting her do a few things for him is probably the trade in and of itself.