Comments | mparkerceo: Rooftop, about midnight

mparkerceo

Rooftop, about midnight

Oct 02, 2006 17:21

Parker was smoking on the roof again, well past the time anyone would catch her. She watched the smoke rise into the sky, and thought about what a very long, dreary day it had been, and wearily wondered: if time was supposed to make being heartbroken better, why did it seem to get steadily worse ( Read more... )

jarod, smoking, over, jack

Comments 56

anextimeagent October 2 2006, 23:42:50 UTC

Jack felt like he'd been drifting along in Parker's wake, following where she'd been. He'd seen her but he hadn't been able to pin her down. But this was the roof. And unless she was prepared to jump off rather than talk to him he had her cornered.

She didn't notice him approach, which told him something was very wrong, and the curl of smoke wreathing her confirmed it.

Wordlessly, he snatched the cigarette out of her hand and the pack from the wall beside her, trying very hard not to let his unease spill into a glare.

mparkerceo October 2 2006, 23:44:57 UTC

“Gimme those back!” Parker heard the desperation in her voice, and stopped when Jack flicked the lit cigarette to the ground and lifted the pack above his head, turning away, her voice cold. "Fine. I'll just buy more. You don't get a say in stopping me, Jack. Not now."

anextimeagent October 2 2006, 23:46:22 UTC

Hearing about the ulcer had been bad enough. There was no way in hell he was going to witness it first hand, even if he had to stalk her day and night to prevent it. Even if she hated him now. "No, you won't. It doesn't matter if you can't stand me, Parker, or if you want to push me off this roof. I'm not letting you hurt yourself."

mparkerceo October 2 2006, 23:50:17 UTC

"I don't want to push you off the roof." Parker shook her head. "And you're still my friend. One of my best friends. I'm over you being a jerk. You're gonna pay, though." She smiled a little, but it was a quick, closed-mouth attempt, gone in a second. "Starting with my cigarettes."

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anextimeagent October 3 2006, 02:24:24 UTC

"I'll stay, and you won't feel like this forever." Jack wiped the tears off her face and smiled. "But no cigarettes. I'm not watching you do that to yourself. And I know," he paused, feeling the tiniest pang of guilt as he deliberately went for the throat, "I know you won't make me watch one of the only people - in the entire universe - that I love make themselves sick."

mparkerceo October 3 2006, 02:29:50 UTC

Which just broke her, that right there. No more sense, no more words, just Parker crying, unable to see straight for the tears, because damnit, she could take verbal abuse, she could take yelling, she could stand up to threats, but she was such a damn wimp when people were nice to her. She hated it. She loved Jack for it, but she hated herself, and...

She was probably babbling in and among this, about how it had been inevitable, and she'd known it would end, and there were other guys out there, there would be other guys, she just, damnit, wanted that one back for another six months, was that too much to ask? Really?

anextimeagent October 3 2006, 02:30:57 UTC

Jack scooped her up and carried her over to the couch, settling down with her on his lap, holding her close and muttering soothing nonsense in her ear while she cried. He really didn't know what else to do.

mparkerceo October 3 2006, 02:37:13 UTC

Parker stopped talking after a while, and just kept crying, hating herself, but not able to stop, until she was too exhausted to do anything but gasp for breath. Jack holding her was infinitely better than no one holding her, but it still didn't fix the fact that Jarod would never be doing this again. That she wasn't even sure she wanted him to, now. Not like things were. "If you used... being a Time Agent... to fix this." She swallowed. "That would be wrong. Yes?"

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