Girls become lovers, who turn into mothers...

[hexyoutotuesday]

Who: refrigeratormom and hexyoutotuesday
When: Midday Wednesday
Where: The Underground Mall
Summary: Girly shopping and mom-talk.
Warnings: Language.

Comments

[refrigeratormom]

At the startling sound of her name being called nearby, Mary whipped around in surprise-

-and promptly jumped back and almost tripped over her own feet with a strangled yelp of "Oh my g-"

She cut herself off there, remembering belatedly that oh god, that kind of thing happens here, doesn't it? It wasn't like home and it would be incredibly rude to stare at the gray person standing in front of her. Rude. Yes. Mary was pretty sure rudeness was bad. Staring, too. Right.

Oh, crap, she was still staring.

"H-hi," came the forcibly relaxed-sounding greeting, complete with requisite shame face (to go with the fish-out-of-water surprise eyes). The voice matched Jinx, and Jinx had been really nice to her. Mary reminded herself that this was a confused (gray-skinned, pink-haired, cat-eyed, obviously fourteen years old) kid stranded in her first pregnancy with issues to dwarf Time Magazine's extended archives. So she was expecting a 20-something princess in haut maternity wear and makeup. It wasn't far from the truth.

The truth was just gray with cat eyes.

"I'm really- sorry about that."

Cat eyes. No big deal.

[hexyoutotuesday]

It had been a while since the last time Jinx had gotten that reaction. So long, actually, that it was startling. Her left foot slid back, ready to put her in a stance and she had to remind herself that gripping her coffee that hard would not end well. After blinking a few times at Mary, she managed to relax, albeit awkwardly. Back in the day when people would freak in her presence frequently, she would play it up. Now, she wasn't sure what to do aside from give the woman an awkward smile and wow did Jinx have some sharp rows of teeth.

A hand moved to her hip and she held her coffee on top of her stomach. If she liked this woman less, there were a lot of horrible ways Jinx could respond. Hour long lectures about racism, offended stares, just rolling her eyes and walking away, or freaking her out even more. It took her a moment or two to actually decide which card to play.

"So, what got you first? The skin, the eyes, or the claws? Or were you just freaking because you thought I was dying my hair while I'm pregnant? FYI, that's real, too. Questions? Comments? Concerns?"

That was the best she'd handled it in a long time.

[refrigeratormom]

In the end, it was the coffee that did it. Seeing Jinx hold her drink on her stomach was so familiar, so universal, that after a long, awkward moment of staring Mary was able to find words, however halting.

"The hair dye." Oh good, Jinx had sharp teeth. That was normal. "It's bad for the baby. All those chemicals, especially in someone as small as you."

Okay, Winchester. Snap out of it. Stop staring and act like a civilized human being. She managed to be distantly impressed with herself for remembering a four-syllable word while her brain was pouting in the corner before pulling herself together, shaking slightly like a wet dog, and giving a nervous little laugh. "For concerns? I'm concerned about that coffee cup. It looks like it's about to fall."

[hexyoutotuesday]

Oh, it looked like this was going to be the best day ever. Mary had five minutes to get over it before Jinx gave her forty bucks and bailed. There, civic duty done. But for now, she could try to be civil and understanding. No need to chase the lady off.

"Hey, first? I'm not small. Second, this is my new balancing act. It's to make up for having to screw the theater over by dropping out of shows for the next seven fucking months. It starts with cups of coffee and gets into wedding cakes and fireworks. Really exciting."

Yes, make light of someone being freaked out about Jinx's very existence. At least she wasn't pointing fingers and shrieking. At least she didn't run. But there's only so long that she can crack jokes before something like this slips out:

"For the record? A soccer mom from the 1980's is way weirder than me. So you can relax, Mary. I don't bite." A pause. "Girls."

[refrigeratormom]

Mary was actually completely fine with Jinx's little mini-rant for the first 99% bit. There was nothing an angry gray teenager could say or do that would measure up to spirits, shapeshifters, werewolves, and demons screaming her down and throwing her and her parents around from a young age. Not to mention hunters, and her dad.

The last little add-on, though, made her eyes go wide and her whole body squirm uncomfortably in her Kansas sensibilities. Mary opened her mouth with a frown, ready to say... something, but something gave her pause. Remember the instincts: stop, think, assess. Jinx was gray, had frightening catlike features, and naturally pink hair. That was weird- freaky, even. She was not, however, shedding her skin or going black-eyed, which was enough to put Mary's automatically racist hunter instincts on hold for a moment. Jinx was visibly different, and by her defensive reaction it sounded like she was used to standing out.

Somehow, Mary found something sympathetic in the notion of being different. What was wrong with her? She was a hunter, not a pitchfork-wielding civilian. With no small amount of effort, Mary smiled apologetically. "Okay. You don't bite." It wasn't easy, and it showed a little, but she was trying very hard to fight down every single frantically screaming hunter's instinct she had and open her mind more. "I really am sorry. Where I come from, anything different is usually trying to eat someone. But I know I'm not home anymore."

Pause.

"For the record? I meant "small" in the sense that... you look like one of those TV pregnant women who still have thin faces and good ankles. It was supposed to be a compliment." Because not having cankles is tantamount to a blessing from the gods, and never mind of Jinx was hiding them under those pants. She still kept her cheekbones and single chin, which Mary was a little jealous of.

[hexyoutotuesday]

Jinx could barely contain a crack about those racist Winchester hicks. Gabriel put a lot of images in her head about hunters and none of them were pretty. However, this woman wasn't a hunter, to the best of her knowledge. Her kids were, but that was her future, not the present. No need to jump to crazy conclusions. In her world? Everything different had to be a superhero or villain and there was nothing in-between. She wasn't sure if that was better or worse than the eating people thing.

She also had to ignore the anything different comment, too. Don't argue about semantics. It will get you nowhere fast.

"Please. I can't wear any of my stilettos, I put all my size zero jeans in a box in the basement so I didn't have to look at them, and I'm wearing a bra right now. This is Hell on Earth." Jinx had the uncanny ability to make all her first world problems sound like someone had just murdered her family in front of her.

"And do I look like I could eat someone? I mean, seriously. Gabriel asked me that on our first goddamn date. Did someone put a sign on my back?" She threw an arm up in the air, rolling her eyes. "Warning: Pagan Sacrifices R Us!"

[refrigeratormom]

Mary wasn't at all sure that it was what she was going for, but something about Jinx's righteous indignation was completely disarming. She found herself relaxing despite herself, fighting back a disbelieving laugh at the girl's wounded attitude towards the indignity of wearing a bra.

"The more I think about it," Mary began, "The more you seem like a big city sushi type. I can't picture you as a cannibal."

Something about Jinx's little rant struck her belatedly as off She couldn't figure out what, and then it hit her.

Wait a minute.

"......Size zero?!"

[hexyoutotuesday]

"See! That's exactly it. I like sushi, and fashion, and art, and--" It was good to see Mary relaxing, but she didn't have to relax that much. Frowning, Jinx looked down at her stomach, up to the other woman, and repeat. Oh, that kid did not look happy with life in the least.

"Is it really that difficult to imagine?" Growling in the back of her throat, not unlike a large cat, she stomped over to the nearest trashcan and ditched her coffee. "The second this is out of me, I'm going back to running, dancing, and not eating. I fucking swear on everything dark and unholy that--"

Jinx paused and looked back at Mary. "Well? Aren't you coming?"

[refrigeratormom]

"Uh, yeah," Mary said hurriedly, following after Jinx. For the moment she was too surprised to really react, not completely sure of what she said to set her off again.

"So- you weren't joking. There's actually such a thing as size zero."

[hexyoutotuesday]

"Yes!" she blurted out in the most exasperated tone. "I could fit both of my hands completely around my waist without even trying. On a bad day, I weighed in the triple digits. I'm crossing my fingers and praying whenever I pick something out of a store and I don't even know if I'm wearing the right size bra."

Only Jinx could make fashion seem more important than the fact that she was carrying something that could very well kill her along with the rest of the city. It got her through the day, really. Stressing over the little things and not the big one. Not the reason why Gabriel looked at her stomach everyday with so much worry in his eyes.

No, she would bitch about being fat.

[refrigeratormom]

Mary was just going to smooth over the gray pregnant teenager talking about wrapping her hands around her waist like that was normal. Clearly, she needed help with the maternity shopping thing. Mary swallowed down the still-present urge to whip out the salt shotgun and reached out to put a hand on the girl's shoulder.

"Maternity shopping gets easier with help, I promise. Maybe we could get you fitted for a real bra. Wearing ones that don't fit is just uncomfortable."

[hexyoutotuesday]

Jinx slumped at the weight of that hand on her shoulder, sighing. Usually, she was good at this kind of thing. She had a natural knack for being able to fit everyone and anyone. Rarely, she had to think about herself. The smallest thing on the rack normally fit her, and if it didn't? She was obviously in the wrong store and would take her money elsewhere.

But now, she felt about as useless as she did at the Junior HIVE Academy when her hips started filling out. Having an older woman to help her along back then would have saved a lot of boys from a lot of broken bones.

Swallowing her pride, the teenager nodded. "You help me with...this and I'll get your fashion senses out of the year I was born. Deal?"

[refrigeratormom]

"Deal," Mary smiled, trying not to show how incredibly freaked out she was- by Jinx, yes, but by the fact that her fairly current sense of style was mired in someone's birth year, and that someone was old enough to reproduce. That was the current shining facet in the kaleidoscope of freakish making the woman want to run. "I have a feeling I'll need help, I have never gone shopping in a really big city before."

Mary stepped out, hand coming down from Jinx's shoulder, before she realized she had no idea where to go and looked back at her. "Lead the way? I don't know what you want to do first."