[Homeplot] Skinny and Maggie

[aintthatbad]

Web and Joe in a room yelling makes him twitchy. Skinny has kept mostly quiet, and he'd really like to stay that way. It's just better all around if he slips out of the house and stays on the little porch until the all clear's called

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[eudaimon]

When he gets going, there ain't a mouth on the planet like Maggie's brother. Whatever's going on here, him and his buddy don't sound super pleased with each other and Maggie's Ma hasn't stopped talking since they walked in, and, slowly, she feels like she's going out of her mind, so she hands Max to her Ma and she steps out onto the porch.

And there's the other one; Scrawny...Scooby...What the hell had Joe called him.

"Tell me you've got a cigarette out here," says Maggie.

[aintthatbad]

He's on his feet at once -- manners die hard, particularly with a mother like Skinny's -- and the tone is so like Joe he's still trying not to answer back with sass.

"And a lighter too, somewhere." He makes a show of patting down his too-many pockets, and tips his head back toward the house. "You go through a lot, hanging around with them."

The box of smokes is nearly empty, but hell, they're in civilization now. He holds out the box and flicks the lighter. "Anyway, it pays to be prepared, I know that much if I don't know anything else."

[eudaimon]

The cigarette slipped between her lips (and, yeah, she might have put lipstickc on because, hell, she doesn't now the last time they had male company she wasn't related to) Maggie cups her hand and bends her head to let him light it for her.

"Yeah, I can imagine," she says, glancing over her shoulder. "Nice to know Joe can be a goddamn handful for everyone else, too."

[aintthatbad]

Skinny snorts. "'Goddamn handful' doesn't begin to cover it. Bet you and I could share the same stories with the dates mixed up." He lights a stick for himself, shaking his head. "Probably shouldn't, though."

Before it vanishes, that quick, impish look says they definitely should.

He takes a moment, studying her face. Maggie, Joe's sister. You could see it. She looks a hell of a lot better in lipstick, though. A moment later, he realizes he's staring a bit too much and bends his neck. "I've seen worse handfuls. Than Joe, I mean."

[eudaimon]

"Oh, yeah, probably." Maggie grins and purses her lips and blows smoke up towards the sky. "Asshole's thirty years old and he never changes."

At what he says next, she grins and plucks the cigarette from between her lips, offering him her hand.

"I don't know if we've met. I'm Maggie Liebgott, and I can be a bigger ass than my brother knows how to be, believe me."

[aintthatbad]

Hand-shaking with women -- he's never quite gotten the hang of that. Her hands are real soft, though, and he likes that smile on her.

"We did, sorta, but we didn't talk exactly. I'm Skinny. Wayne," he catches himself. "Wayne Sisk. Sorry, been in the service too long. Lost the hang of introducing myself without a rank and serial number. Call me Skinny, though. Apparently I don't answer to anything else."

And damn if he's not grinning back himself. "If you don't mind, I'll choose to disbelieve you on that one."

[eudaimon]

"That's okay. You don't know any better, Skinny Wayne Sisk."

Maggie brushed her short hair back against her cheek and slipped the cigarette back between her lips.

[aintthatbad]

"Don't you take that as a challenge, now. I'm the youngest of eight, I know how siblings work. Sisters too, even."

His eyes stay on her hand. Goddamn Joe Liebgott and his pretty sister. Skinny has to behave himself.

"You, uh. You got a kid yourself, then?"

[eudaimon]

"Wow. And here's little ole me, just the second of six." She rolls her eyes and grins at him, sitting down on the step and tilting her head to look up at him.

"Yeah, I do. Max. He's just turned two."

[aintthatbad]

"You're gonna make me say something nice about oldests now. It won't work."

Some women never shake off that had-a-baby look: Maggie doesn't seem to be one of them. Skinny takes his seat again, leaning against the rails. "His dad around? Or should I not ask?"

[eudaimon]

"Hey, if you're tryin' to impress me by pretending there's somethin' nice to be said about Joey, you can stop right now."

She smiled, and she was still smiling when she looked up at him, but it didn't quite touch her eyes.

"You been at war and you don't know better than that, boy? My husband was Air Force. He ain't coming home."

[aintthatbad]

He holds up both his hands, the picture of innocence. "I was workin' up to saying something nice about you, but if you'd rather, I can back off."

He goes a little quieter at that last. "Sorry to hear that. Just thought I'd ask." Well, this is uncomfortable. He focuses on his smoke a moment before glancing back at her. "He's a cute kid."

[eudaimon]

"Flattery'll get you everywhere."

She looks down at her cigarette and, this time, the smile is smaller but warmer, more genuine.

"He's the best thing I ever did," she admits.

[aintthatbad]

"Learned that young too."

A particularly loud exclamation from inside distracts him for a moment.

"Where is he now?" he asks, settling back. "Not trying to sleep, I hope."

[eudaimon]

"Clever boy."

Maggie doesn't look in the direction of the raised voices but she does raise her eyebrows. She's known her brother for a long time, but, every so often, he can still surprise her.

"Max could sleep through bombs," she tells him. "But, no. He's having lunch with Ma."

[aintthatbad]

From any of the guys, that line would get a laugh. Maggie says it and Skinny's stomach churns a little.

"Sounds like a ball," he says instead, mustering up a smile. "There anything else to do for fun in this town? Not that I'm unhappy to be here, just, you know. I've never been to California."

Plus it's been ages since London. He hasn't seen the inside of a dance hall in about a million years.