[Thread] I made my way on trains

[poppingseeds]

Characters: OU!Jing, AU!Persephone
Where: Ast-Tessera
When: Now-ish
Summary: Jing gains +1 roommate.
Warnings: None?

Comments

[thieveryofstars]

To say Jing had been surprised by the offer was an understatement, especially given that they'd been sniping at each other not a few days prior. But that had been a stupid, childish thing on his part and he'd been trying to work up the nerve to apologize for it when she'd apologized herself.

He'd been briefly seized by the urge to tidy things up, but there was nothing to clean. Aligoté had always kept the apartment clean and now -- so shortly after his departure from it -- there had not been time for clutter to accumulate.

He felt a pang; but pushed it back down. As he'd told Persephone, there were far more important things of consequence than the drama unfolding in his personal life.

At her knock, he was quick to open the door for her, noting with some bemusement that a wagon trailed behind her and was filled with plants. Only to be expected from a nature goddess, he surmised, and held the door wide so she could pull it inside without encumbrance.

"I'm not going to wake up with a cactus in my bed, am I?" he quipped, smiling.

[thieveryofstars]

"Um," Jing said lamely, trying to recall. "I had breakfast. The morning the Keepers arrived."

[poppingseeds]

There was a looong silence from the goddess as she eyed the man, hands on her hips. Stupid mortals and their stupid not eating. When Persephone finally spoke and stopped staring him down, it was with some annoyance, "You're just as bad as Robin, you know, with the whole not eating thing. Go eat or you will find a cactus or three in your bed."

[thieveryofstars]

Feeling smartly reprimanded, Jing huffed a little at being treated like a child (even though he still protested being an adult, even at 20) and turned to head for the kitchen. Once there he found the makings for a sandwich -- one of the few things he managed to compile by himself without incident.

"Would you like one?" he called.

[poppingseeds]

At the question, the goddess poked her head out of her new room, having been setting up the rest of her things -- it wasn't taking all that long, but she still had a bit to go. But sandwich! It sounded tempting.

Persephone meandered into the kitchen, asking, "You sure I should with supplies as they are? I don't really have much of an appetite, you know." Or one at all, really.

[thieveryofstars]

Jing hadn't even considered that as a goddess, Persephone might not need to eat. So he replied, "If just a sandwich is going to deplete the supplies beyond the point of no return, then we're all pretty much doomed anyway so we might as well have the sandwich."

It was chilly out and he'd really have preferred to add a cup of hot soup to go with it, but he also looked distrustfully at the stove, much like he'd looked at the aloe plant. He just seemed to know when he was crossing his set boundaries.

[poppingseeds]

If Jing was going to insist, the goddess wasn't going to stop him; Persephone shrugged her consent and leaned against one of the counters, fidgeting with the sleeves of her sweater. "I guess one sandwich wouldn't hurt."

The look to the stove didn't go unnoticed, however, the goddess blinking in confusion at Jing. "Something the matter with it?"

[thieveryofstars]

He nodded and set at making her one too. At her question however, he looked a little downcast and reluctantly shook his head.

"Ki-- Aligoté did all the cooking. Kir always did for me, even before Econtra. I'm really bad at it, so..." He trailed off. As genuinely happy as he appeared to be in welcoming Persephone to share the living space, it was clear there were still some issues with the previous tenant which he had not yet gotten over.

[poppingseeds]

Persephone bit her lip, taking a seat at the nearby table. She guessed at what his demeanor was about -- it was hard losing friends, no matter what they did. Heck, the goddess even missed the nymph that had punched her in the nose once when they decided not to be friends anymore (and had then made up a week later, but there was still a bit of a residual grudge between the two).

"It's probably a bad idea to mention now that about all I'm good at making is noodles, right?"

[thieveryofstars]

Jing seemed to shake the melancholy mood and turned to smile at her over his shoulder. "There's nothing wrong with noodles! Besides, when the Indigeo comes up again we'll be able to get our food that way again and then people won't be placing such a strain on you."

He looked sympathetically at her and brought a sandwich over to her on a plate. "I can't even imagine what it would be like to have so many people looking up to you. But I guess that's kind of the same as being a goddess anyway, isn't it?"

[poppingseeds]

The sandwich was cause for much fascination on the goddess' part, though she tried to hide it. It was hard, though, Persephone poking at it and peering under the bread as she spoke, "I'm used to people fearing my mother more. I just followed her and kept to my nymphs, really."

She shrugged, taking a bite of the sandwich. It wasn't all that bad~ When Persephone swallowed, she added thoughtfully a moment later and made a face, "Though I suppose when I get older in my world, people will have much to fear, what with the whole queen of the dead thing."

[thieveryofstars]

"I didn't put anything bad in it," Jing chuckled, watching Persephone examine the sandwich. It was almost like she'd never seen one before, but honestly how could someone not know what a sandwich was?

But he felt his own sandwich stick a little in his throat as she continued to speak, and he coughed several times before managing to get out, "Queen of the dead?"

[poppingseeds]

"Goddess of nature, daughter of the god Zeus and the goddess Demeter, Queen of the Underworld, The Maiden, Kore, Iron Queen..." With each title, Persephone ticked them off on her fingers. There were more, but the girl got bored after so many and a disgusted look crossed her face.

"Queen of the Underworld was not by my choice, for reference."

[thieveryofstars]

"Heh," Jing said, shaking his head. "Even after so long, I still forget how much this places just loves irony."

Clearly he was referring to something other than Persephone herself, but didn't seem to be elaborating.

"Although slightly appropriate, a Queen rooming with a King."

[poppingseeds]

Persephone didn't press. Other things had caught her attention.

"You're a king?" She studied the man carefully, head tilted to the side. Jing hadn't really struck her as the king type, but she could see it, she supposed.

[thieveryofstars]

"The King of Bandits," Jing replied with a grin. "Not a real king, I'm afraid."