(no subject)

[have_no_mercy]

Tess leads Jim upstairs to her room and shows him inside.

Hopefully, he's not looking to be impressed. As usual, her room is spartan with only the necessities in sight.

But really, the necessities are all they're going to need.

"Come on in."

Comments

[have_no_mercy]

She did, didn't she? Tess knows what she was thinking, and still sort of does, but she can't complain. Not a bit.

"Didn't take you long to convince me."

And it'll likely take him longer next time.

If there is a next time.

[just_cant_lose]

'And I expect I will again.'

That's a decision for future him, and not in the least bit relevant here and now. Here and now, all that matters is whether the rat brought him cigarettes, and if there's a drink on hand.

Not that he's getting up to check either of these things just yet. But they're on his mind.

[have_no_mercy]

"We'll see."

Tess isn't moving either and frankly, she doesn't give a damn about his cigarettes, but alcohol is tempting. She thinks she brought it in from the bathroom but she can't quite remember.

[just_cant_lose]

'After that, you say we'll see?'

Jesus.

'There's no pleasing some women. Oh! Except there is, because I just did.'

He pulls a face at her, then smiles - a bit sharply - and gets up to investigate the cigarette situation. And, hurrah! Yay for good service. He lights one as he crosses to the bathroom to dispose of the condom, wash his hands and find the scotch.

[have_no_mercy]

"Always a brat."

She's smiling, though, because yes, he just did and very, very well.

And he's going to search for the alcohol, bless his soul. Tess takes the opportunity to stretch out, no matter how tired and sore she may be. Chances are she'll be taking advantage of the jacuzzi later on.

[just_cant_lose]

'Always.'

What's the use of being mental if you can't behave exactly how you like?

Jim returns to the bed and arranges pillows against the headboard so he can lounge against them. He pours two large measures, holds one out to her, and then relaxes. Ahhhh, afterglow. With alcohol and a smoke. Decent.

'Come on, then. Tell me why you nearly said no. And don't tell me it's because I'm sixteen, because that's stupid and we both know it.'

[have_no_mercy]

Tess steals one pillow for herself and curls up beside him, taking her glass in one hand.

"Because you're sixteen and as much fun it is to give older you spontaneous new memories, I'm not entirely certain this is good for you."

[just_cant_lose]

'In what way?'

She's prevaricating over concern for him? Please.

[have_no_mercy]

"I have a brother not much older than you. If he was doing this with some older woman, I'd kill her."

Granted Conner and Jim are entirely different animals and dammit she wasn't supposed to bring Conner up.

She sips her drink and shakes her head.

"I don't know. You should be figuring out girls or boys your own age, not seducing women like me.

[just_cant_lose]

Jim blinks. This is the most ridiculous thing he's ever heard. Almost. One of them, anyway.

'Boys and girls my own age are boring, Tess.'

Conner, eh?

'I figured them out years ago. It's not like there's anything to figure out. Besides, I fuck them as well. They're just not very good at it.'

Does she think 'good for him' equates to relating to his peers? That's so stupid. He doesn't have any peers, and certainly none his own age. Apart from that one, but even he knows better than to go and introduce himself to him yet. Jim smokes, frowning, because he thought all this was obvious. If he could get satisfaction from kids in school, he probably wouldn't be the type of guy who needs to blow things up every now and again.

[have_no_mercy]

True, she knew pretty much all of that, but it still doesn't sit right with her.

"You shouldn't even know this much about sex at your age."

[just_cant_lose]

He stares at her.

And then starts to laugh.

'Are you joking? Or have you just lived an extraordinarily sheltered life?'

[have_no_mercy]

She tries to smile but it doesn't quite make it,

"My life was fairly sheltered when I was young. At sixteen all I was worried about was getting my Bachelor's."

[just_cant_lose]

'Right, well, you've obviously never been on a council estate in England, or Belfast, or Dublin. Kids spend their time taking drugs and having sex because there's nothing else to do. I'm not alone in knowing how to insert tab A into slot B, and move when it feels good. Christ, it's not difficult.'

Not even for idiots. Some of them are even passable at it, when they try.

'If you base everything off age, I probably shouldn't have been able to recite pi to a thousand places when I was six, and I wouldn't understand quantum mechanics, and I wouldn't-'

Know how to build bombs, or have a handful of dead bodies chalked up against his name.

He shakes his head.

'Sex is the most normal thing about me. I've been at it a long time. Holding it up as the barometer for normal is just stupid. And if you were doing a BA at sixteen, you should know that.'

[have_no_mercy]

"Maybe it's more that I wish you didn't know so much and I wasn't participating in that education."

Maybe she wishes he'd had a chance to be a normal kid. Goodness knows she wished she had.

[just_cant_lose]

He laughs again, hollow and just a bit scornful. Because he's never been a normal kid, and has never wanted to be. Not since he was really young, anyway, and didn't realise how different he was.

'You're not participating in that education. Sorry if that's disappointing, but I'm not doing anything here I haven't done a hundred times before.'

Admittedly, others aren't so good at it. She definitely has that going for her.

'The first person I had sex with was one of my friend's fathers, and I seduced him. Don't bother thinking I've ever been an innocent, Tess, it's a waste of time. And there's definitely no need for sympathy.'

[have_no_mercy]

She holds up a hand in defeat.

"Alright. I know enough to believe you."

She empties her glass and reaches out for a top up.

[just_cant_lose]

He eyes her, just a bit pissed off. But he passes the bottle over anyway, and drains his own glass for a top-up too.

'Does the offer of going to get me dry trousers still stand?'

[have_no_mercy]

She pours them more scotch and nods.

"I can get you something, if you want."

[just_cant_lose]

'Yeah. Please.'

He doesn't want to stay. Quite apart from the fact that he never does, he fucking hates it when people try and hold 'normal' standards against him. It's so annoying.

[have_no_mercy]

That's not exactly what she was trying to do, but it's been done nonetheless.

She pushes herself up off the bed with a hiss of pain, throws on a chemise and a robe and heads downstairs.

Tess is gone perhaps five minutes before she returns with a set of clothes pretty much exactly like he was wearing, school attire aside. On older Jim's tab.

"There you go."

[just_cant_lose]

Jim emerges from the bathroom, having jumped in the shower as soon as she was gone. He tosses his towel in the vague direction of something that looks like it might be for laundry, and takes the clothes off her.

'Thanks. Ooh, still a schoolboy. Excellent.'

His grin is sharp, but not angry, as he starts to dress.

'I know just who needs to peel this off me. Good choice.'

[have_no_mercy]

"You have fun with that."

Tess drops the robe and climbs back into bed properly this time, nap ready.

"See you around."

[just_cant_lose]

He snorts, stuffing his tie into his pocket but leaving just enough hanging out so it can be seen.

'Of course I will.'

Duh.

He comes to pick up his cigarettes and, just to be a brat, leans down and kisses her.

'See you around.'

He practically bounces to the door, energy restored, and is gone.