Home sweet home
May. 21st, 2016 05:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bachjones In the end it had been quicker to get a room mate to get the place over Apples and Eve. The girl was a silly high school student that wanted to experience living on her own before leaving town or something, blabalbla. Nancy was only there like three days a week, but cleaned the living room (her bedroom) and the bathroom better than Bach would or could.
The important thing was that he had a place of his own. Now he didn't have to hang around the school or the play yard any more to see Isaac, didn't have to come up with all kinds of spots he could bring his own son to. He had a place now. Bed, kitchen, couch, television, everything. Alfred liked it as well, and Bach even got the cat a little pillow of his own. Is Essie didn't approve, she would have to take her rich people goggles off and try again.
Heck, the place even smelled better than his last one, living over a café. So he had left a few texts with Essie, letting her know that she could come visit for approval any night except for Thursdays (his show nights) and Saturdays (his ho nights). That she was welcome to come for dinner if she'd bring food or would be okay with pasta salad, and that Dan was welcome as well. All very considerate and grown up, right?
"Stairs are at the back of the building", he added last minute.
The important thing was that he had a place of his own. Now he didn't have to hang around the school or the play yard any more to see Isaac, didn't have to come up with all kinds of spots he could bring his own son to. He had a place now. Bed, kitchen, couch, television, everything. Alfred liked it as well, and Bach even got the cat a little pillow of his own. Is Essie didn't approve, she would have to take her rich people goggles off and try again.
Heck, the place even smelled better than his last one, living over a café. So he had left a few texts with Essie, letting her know that she could come visit for approval any night except for Thursdays (his show nights) and Saturdays (his ho nights). That she was welcome to come for dinner if she'd bring food or would be okay with pasta salad, and that Dan was welcome as well. All very considerate and grown up, right?
"Stairs are at the back of the building", he added last minute.
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Date: 2016-06-12 04:55 am (UTC)"Sometimes, when I come across something nice. There's actually more than you think because most of the tables and shelving I've used for the displays and such are for sale, too." Essie shrugged and started arranging the food on the little table. "Can you get the plates and maybe some glasses for the wine?"
Professional. She could be professional, get through the meal all casual-like.
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Date: 2016-06-12 06:25 pm (UTC)"So everything's still going well there? I'm trying to find something more permanent than music, something closer to home. I don't want to be on the road when Isaac needs me. Or like.. he's a bit too young to travel along. On weekends, of course, I mean. Not going to pull him out of school because I want to see him." Bach still felt like he was on very thin rope here, but honesty was necessary, wasn't it?
"He mentioned a tablet. Did you get him one? Should we talk about what he can't and can do on the internet?"
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Date: 2016-06-20 02:59 am (UTC)"It is. Business is steady, we're finally in the black cash-wise. It's nice." Essie started opening the containers of food, nodding at Bach's plans. She was glad he was doing something he enjoyed and hopefully something that would keep him close to home. "And I be once summer comes, Isaac might like a quick trip with his dad." She couldn't argue with that, it was only fair.
She actually chuckled a bit about the tablet. "It's mine, but I've been letting him use it so he can get used to tech and how it works for him. I have to approve any websites he uses and it's got a safe-search mode totally locked in. It logs everything he does.
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Date: 2016-06-21 07:10 pm (UTC)"There's this Wikipedia he loves? Isn't that like a library on the internet?" His son was going to be a nerd, it just felt like it. As long as he would be happy, it wasn't important.
"It's not that important. His birthday is in three weeks, he hasn't talked to me about it, but probably because he knows I'm poor and can't get him shit. I just wanted to go to the ocean with him. I've been - I've been getting swimming lessons." He scratched the back of his neck, feeling all too vulnerable already. "I think - I hope that's cool enough for him, just having a good long swim with his dad. Ice cream after, of course. I don't know what else we should or could do."
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Date: 2016-06-22 03:26 am (UTC)"Sure, he's out of school, I think it would be nice for him to travel a bit. See the country. I wish I'd had the chance at his age." Besides, she had no doubt that Bach would take care of him and bring him back. He'd more than earned that trust since he'd come back.
"Honestly, he hasn't asked me for anything either. I was gonna ask you if you had any ideas, but I know he'd love a day at the beach. Take lots of pictures for me, okay?" She took a sip of wine to cover the slight lump in her throat. It pained her to think he was going to have his birthday without her, but maybe they'd have cake that night. Maybe curl up and watch a movie on the sofa. "And swimming lessons, huh? Must be humbling for a siren."
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Date: 2016-06-23 02:27 am (UTC)"A day at the beach it is. I'll get him some fast food afterwards and maybe even a cake. Drop him off at your place when he's completely out. Or you can have the birthday breakfast and I can just take him home, of course. I don't always have to drop him off at your place now any more." He got up with one of the containers, putting it in the microwave with a bit more force than necessary. Whenever he felt like they were getting better, she'd dig in a knife again. Every fucking time.
"And I don't have a camera. Except the shitty one on my phone."
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Date: 2016-06-27 07:20 pm (UTC)Well, apparently she'd done something wrong. It could be any number of things she'd just said, and damn if she could figure out which one. She was trying, okay? She'd said okay to touring over the summer, she'd said okay to the birthday thing, was it the swimming thing? She'd just been teasing? It was always something, wasn't it? She couldn't have a single damn conversation without tripping him off at some point.
Finishing off the wine in her glass, she gritted her teeth and just moved on, pouring another. She wasn't going to be the one that started the fight, not this time. "I have one you can borrow if you like. And if he conks out, you can just bring him back here. Your choice." Why did it have to be so hard? They'd gotten along fine when they were sleeping together, until that damn spell at any rate. That fucking spell. If she could find the witch that cast it she'd freeze her blood solid.
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Date: 2016-06-28 03:52 am (UTC)Bach emptied the container in two bowls and shoved one of them in her direction. "It has to be an easy one, the camera, just point and click. I don't know all that stuff that the pros do and I just want some memories. I can hang the nice pictures on the wall until it embarrasses him. If he ever is going to be that kind of teenager." It was hard to imagine. Would Essie still be around when Isaac was a teenager? Would she still come with a bucket load of triggers?
"I'll ask him if it's okay with it, before we decide for him. He's getting that stubborn streak about wanting to know everything involving him right now." That didn't come from Bach, Bach had always been better with not knowing, but it wasn't like Essie had been involved in that way for her to claim that. "I had to explain vitamin C pills to him the other day, little snoop."
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Date: 2016-06-28 04:10 am (UTC)"It's simple. Point and click, all digital." She wouldn't mention that she'd bought it for Isaac so he could practice taking pictures without getting a phone. He wanted to for some reason and she knew actually getting him a phone would definitely set Bach off. She got it, she did, but she just wanted to be able to buy things for him without his father getting all bent out of shape. She didn't want to spoil him, but there was no reason for him not to have a few nice things.
Taking the bowl, she knew the confusion was plastered all over her face, "Vitamin C?"
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Date: 2016-06-28 04:17 am (UTC)Yes, it made him stupid proud to feel that Isaac could make some kind of influence, even though he knew he shouldn't. They played off each other sometimes, just so his son could get it out of his system, to never ever do it with someone else but him.
"So I had to explain to him about sick kids and not wanting that for him. Snotty brat acted like he'd never get sick in his life, so we took them together, in case I caught the flu somewhere. Disgusting things, just sour."
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Date: 2016-06-28 04:29 am (UTC)Essie started laughing, she couldn't help herself. "That explains so much. The other day, he walked in and handed me a couple of my antacids and insisted I take them. I couldn't for the life of me figure out why but he was so serious so I just took them anyway." Chuckling, she shook her head, "They have vitamin C in them, there's a giant C on the bottle. That's why he wanted me to take them."
It was possibly the most adorable thing he'd done in a long list of adorable things. He just didn't want her to get sick.
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Date: 2016-06-28 04:34 am (UTC)Not that the pasta wasn't good, and with food in his mouth he at least didn't have the chance to say anything stupid.
"He really cares about you", he mumbled from behind a raised hand, his mouth still half full. "I had to explain that Alfred didn't need them. Do cats need vitamins?"
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Date: 2016-06-28 04:45 am (UTC)"Uh, if you want to? I figured if anything really weird came up, I'd just call you." It was something that she hadn't considered, but maybe she should have. Was that something that other separated parents had to do? Like child-care debriefing? God, that sounded awful.
"I care about him, too." She took a deep breath because she was going to say this once and then things were probably going to explode. They always did. "I care about you, too, you know. I hate that every conversation we have ends up in an argument. I don't want that, you know."
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Date: 2016-06-28 04:00 pm (UTC)Bach had already opened his mouth to offer a list of suggestions about things they needed to really communicate versus 'we can live without knowing this' when she just barged in with that gem. Was she ever going to make up her mind about how she felt about him? Hadn't they discussed this before, wasn't that why they didn't bring up any more, to prevent arguments? Did she like arguments?
"I know you care about him, a lot." Well, she said she didn't like 'em. And caring about the person you parented a child with was probably super genuine and grown up and considerate. It still felt like a dismissal. Essie cared about Isaac, Essie cared about Dan, Essie cared about Bach. The men in her life that she needed to look out for.
"Your pasta is still better than mine." It was the easiest option, to avoid the minefield of nerves and thoughts. "I don't know what the difference is, though."
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Date: 2016-06-29 04:45 am (UTC)Honestly, ti was probably best that Bach did gloss over what she'd said, it wasn't as if their previous conversations about feelings had gone over well. But dammit, they were stuck with each other, right? She wasn't saying she wanted to date him or anything, but an actual friendship might be useful considering their circumstances. And maybe if they talked about everything, she wouldn't feel like she was crossing a field of emotional landmines every time they saw each other.
But whatever. Maybe they needed some kind of therapy or something. Christ, if this was what divorce felt like, she was never getting married.
"Maybe next time you can cook. Or we can cook together. Figure it out?"
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Date: 2016-06-29 09:38 pm (UTC)"Eh. Like a normal one. Together. You know what I mean." He really hoped she did. "But cooking, yes, sure, why not." Because he still couldn't deny himself a chance to be close to her. Because there had been a time when they worked together. Without magic even, if he remembered correctly.
"Want me to fill up your glass?"
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Date: 2016-06-30 08:49 pm (UTC)Honestly, she disagreed. She thought that Isaac was smarter than Bach was giving him credit for, but she could see where he was coming from. Their entire situation was messy and complicated and shadowed by that time in the curse. But she was certain of one thing and as she pushed her glass over for a top-off (why not, it was going to be that kind of night) she went ahead and damned the consequences, "But we are a family. A really weird and awkward and twisted one, but I've seen worse. At least you're not trying to kill me."
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Date: 2016-06-30 11:22 pm (UTC)The wine slopped over her glasses' rim, like he needed something else to make a mess. What the hell was she on? "At least I'm not trying to kill you?" It was the easiest thing to reply to. "Are there people around Isaac that try to kill each other?"
Because this night wasn't supposed to be about what they were to each other, it was to get her approval for his place, so that Bach could be a parent for Isaac, instead of the fun daddy lazier fathers only desired to be. He was so close to having her out of his system, out of any idea about any future, so why was she cozying up like this? Did witches have a sense for that, weakness in others?
"Let me clean that up." He poured out the remainder before grabbing a wet cloth. Bach was a person who had wet cloths in their kitchen now, he didn't need more drama.
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Date: 2016-06-30 11:32 pm (UTC)"It's not-" She shook her hand to get the wine off of it as she grabbed for the napkins. "He's not in danger. No one from that part of the family are anywhere near here. I have them watched." By reliable PIs she paid very well. Damn, the wine had been a bad idea, she shouldn't have said that. But she'd mentioned her family to him, hadn't she? And his father had certainly vetted her and found her safe enough. Not that she'd bring up that bit of information. Mentioning either of Bach's parents was guaranteed to turn this into a disaster.
God, why did this always happen, she just wanted... some kind of relationship with Bach that didn't involve lawyer and negotiations. A friendship. A truce. For Isaac's sake because she knew he could feel the tension whenever they were in the same room. She knew it hurt him every time and it broke her heart. She just wanted to get past all that.
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Date: 2016-06-30 11:43 pm (UTC)He sat down opposite her, emptying his glass in one go. "Do you want me to reheat your pasta again? It's a bit of a risk, but looking at the way this appointment is going it might be an upgrade if I burn down the kitchen." He remembered to add a smile. "Or just me."
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Date: 2016-06-30 11:49 pm (UTC)"They are. Far, far away. I'd know if they came close. I've taken a lot of precautions." Magical and mundane. If anyone of her bloodline came to town, she'd know the moment they stepped across the city limits. However, she won't lie or try to hide the truth. That would only make this bad situation worse. "But if they've taken any of the same against me, they've probably hired someone to see where I am and what I'm doing. So they will have noticed Isaac."
Sticking her fork in the pasta, she noticed it was still warm enough. "It's fine. It hasn't cooled too much. And perhaps you should start to use a gas cook-top, that's mechanical not electrical. Unless you have the same problem?" She really didn't know. But she hadn't had too many problems with Isaac when she used the stove.
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Date: 2016-07-01 12:34 am (UTC)How she could jump between subjects like that .."Maybe. I don't know, we always had microwaves. Microwaves are easy as long as they don't explode on you or burn your food.." He looked back. "We do have a stove. I don't know if it's gas though, I'll ask the land lord."
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Date: 2016-07-01 01:32 am (UTC)"I... honestly, I can't guess what they think of him. If they know he's part siren, and that's a pretty big if because we don't talk about it with strangers and he hasn't had any... incidents in public, if they find out he's a siren, they might have a problem with that." Essie paused, running a finger along the rim of her wine glass before downing the remainder. He had to know, it was only fair. "But honestly, siren or not, I love him. And if they come for me, I can see them maybe doing it through him. That's why I've done so much to make sure they don't."
Hell, she'd sell all her shares in the company, give up everything to protect him. Without a second thought. And be glad for it.
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Date: 2016-07-01 02:03 am (UTC)"Tonight was just supposed to be a check up", he repeated, because every other subject only seemed to grow the ball of nerves inside of his stomach. "I don't know what you're doing, and I know it's not the wine, but it's seriously freaking me out."
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Date: 2016-07-06 05:16 pm (UTC)"He's not unsafe with me, Bach, I've taken precautions." Precautions thoroughly vetted by his kinda asshole-ish father, no less. Not that she'd even mention that one in passing. Not while things were already tense. "Hell, if you want the list, I'll give it."
Tapping her finger on the table, she tried to keep her temper in the face of Bach's sudden hostility. she tried to understand it, she really did, but he never saw anything in her but the bad and she was getting fucking tired of it. "I'm trying to be your friend. To be honest and open so maybe we can try trusting each other again. To build some kind of relationship with you that doesn't begin and end with suspicion so someday we can be in the same room with Isaac without having to bite our tongues clean through."
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