005 | video 🍻 two hot messes for the price of one

[hardedged]

[ As the video feed starts, there's some quick, unstable shaking of the camera, panning around the room to reveal a dimly lit dive bar. After a moment, it finally focuses on two intoxicated women making the healthiest of life choices — Sarah Manning and Jessica Jones. They certainly didn't arrive here together, but after a drinking contest gone wrong, they're inseparable now. ]

Shit. [ Jess mumbles, her gaze barely focusing on the camera. ] Sobriety sucks. So does this dump. Stuck here for a goddamn year, and you dumbasses still can't find a way out.

And—and what's with all the complacency? [ Sarah points to the camera and, presumably, whoever is watching on the other end. ] Everybody's so bloody happy here.

Like morons. [ Wake up, sheeple. Jess stops her ranting, only for a moment, to take yet another swig of hard liquor. Apparently, she hasn't consumed enough. ] Jesus Christ.

My sister... [ Sarah laughs, but it's a kind of disbelieving laugh, and then she takes a swig of her own drink. ] My sister got married. To someone from another universe. Married.

The hell? [ Her brow furrows, matching Sarah's incredulous expression. If she was slightly less wasted, Jessica would be able to process this revelation better. ] Sarissa?

No, Cosima. [ She sighs and tips back her drink, draining the rest of it. ] Sarissa's got enough shit going on even without adding a wedding.

[ Oh right. God, there are so many clones, she can't keep track anymore. ] Yeah well, don't we all. [ Brushing off the subject, and the hidden layers of guilt and self-loathing beneath it, Jess leans back in her seat. She lifts her almost empty glass in a mock toast. ] Getting hitched here's a death sentence. Congrats to the happy couple.

Yeah, cheers. [ Sarah refills her glass before sloshing a little toast back towards Jess, then towards the camera. ] And cheers to all of you. It's not gonna last.

[ Amen to that. ] Never fucking does. [ Jess drains the rest of her glass in an instant, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. With one more angry glare at the camera, she reaches out to turn the device off. What a good idea this clearly was. ]

Comments

[heisenbitch]

[ He should have anticipated that would happen. He still blinks his eyes open wide in surprise and exclaims a, "Jesus!" He slumps back and pushes his hands over his shaved head, and he bites his bottom lip in frustrated deliberation.

He should back off, like she said. But instead, he's hauling himself off the couch to fetch his keys and grab his jacket. Goddamn it. He'll track them down on his own, somehow. ]

[hardedged]

[ an hour later, she winds up in the passenger seat of his sports car. it's an awkward ride home, the silence between them palpable. jessica jones, living up to her crapass luck, feels exhausted and miserable. she's on edge, constantly conflicted and wondering if she should jump out of the vehicle, even if it's moving. ]

So you bought this shit with your drug money?

[ it's a cold, casually cruel question, provided with no context. even without sarah's confession back at the bar, she would have suspected that something was amiss. no way that a guy like pinkman could afford a car like this through honest means. ]

[heisenbitch]

[ The tension could be cut with a knife. Jesse hasn't a word to Jessica since picking her up, sticking to his promise that he is just going to drop her home and she doesn't have to talk to him. He keeps his focus firmly on the road, forcing against the urge to keep sneaking glances over at her. Jane's face. Memories of driving with Jane through Albuquerque, to the museum, to the corner store, to the occasional place to pick up food and cigarettes and smack.

Jessica's sudden question cutting into the thick silence has Jesse finally throwing a glance over at her; off-guard and surprised. He quickly schools his expression back into something neutral and turns his attention back to the road. ]

Found it at my place when I first wound up here. Wouldn't have a clue where it came from.

[ At least, that's the truth, insofar as Jesse having no clue when the car was bought, from whom, or how much was paid for it. And it's true that he has no clue what his previous self got up to, outside of things he's found out. Those truths help make his response sound highly convincing. ]

[hardedged]

[ jess remains skeptical for a moment, staring at him hard. however, especially in her current state of intoxication, it's tempting to fall for the sincerity in his voice. of course, the jesse pinkman she once knew was also a persuasive thespian. she wonders how he was able to fool her for so long. ]

You're no moron, Pinkman. Where d'you think it came from?

[heisenbitch]

[ Jesse looks back over at Jessica. ]

Drugs, probably. [ No point hiding it, if she already knows. He says it simply, like he's not going to bother arguing with her. He sets his eyes back on the road, slowing down to turn a corner. ] Nothin' I can do about whatever I got up to back then, though, is there? Might as well be a completely different lifetime.

[hardedged]

[ a different lifetime. as much as she's unwilling to admit it, she can relate. there was a jessica jones here, before her. they're not the same, and it's unfair of her to judge him based on another version. still, that doesn't mean she won't retain her suspicion.

this is too much to dwell on, considering that she's still drunk. with a heavy sigh, she leans back into her seat and changes the topic. ]

The old you couldn't stay away either. [ jess observes, though she's mostly thinking aloud. ] What the hell am I missing?

[heisenbitch]

[ Darting a quick almost imperceptible side-eye across at Jessica. The old you couldn't stay away, either. His gaze snaps back to the road, gears shifting to pick up speed now he's around the corner. Hearing her say that makes him feel a little ill. Fuck his old self. Fuck him, and yet look at him - doing exactly what it seems his old self was doing, according to her. And her follow up question causes his stomach to knot up slightly.

He's got a quick answer for that, though. He answers without missing a beat, calm and again to the point. ]

Fellow addicts know how to handle other addicts.

[hardedged]

Addicted to what — poor life choices?

[ jess scoffs, a sardonic edge to her voice. even now, when she's inebriated, she can't acknowledge that she has a problem. she knows of her addiction, of course, but she's not ready to confront the problem. ]

[heisenbitch]

[ Small shrug. ]

S'what addiction is, isn't it?

[ Poor life choices. Endless poor life choices. Destructive life choices. Self-destructive life choices. Jesse glances over at Jess once again, this time at her injured hand. ]

Looks like that hurts, by the way.

[hardedged]

[ her line of vision follows his, and after a beat, she shrugs. ]

I've had worse.

[heisenbitch]

[ Eyes back on the road. The thought of her getting hurt makes him press his lips together slightly. ]

I'd ask what happened, but "none of your business" is no doubt gonna be the answer.

[hardedged]

You gonna kiss it better?

[ it's a flippant reply, one that rings true. not that she knows exactly how his abilities operate. the old jesse healed her in the past, and the current one mentioned he could heal as well. perhaps they aren't so different, after all. ]

[heisenbitch]

[ An even breath in, out. Far more frankly honest than sarcastic: ]

If you want me to.

[hardedged]

[ caught off guard by the tone of his voice, jess narrows her gaze. ]

Just drive.

[ she'll heal by herself in the morning. she doesn't need anymore of his help. ]

[heisenbitch]

[ Fine. He'll just drive. He grips the steering wheel tightly with one hand, the other on the gear stick, and the car falls back into tense silence while he continues the rest of the way to Jessica's place. The whole time, there's a sadness welling in his chest, heavy and loathsome. If only he'd been able to merely kiss his Jane better. Breathe life into her, or kiss away her death, or kiss away all the heroin she'd injected into her body so that she could have been free from it all, without withdrawal, without suffering.

He finally pulls up outside Jessica's place, his sadness pushed down into a cold ache deep in his chest. He shifts the gears into neutral and looks over at Jessica. He finds himself saying: ]

D'you want company?

[ It's a simply stated offer, and it means whatever Jessica wants it to mean. ]

[hardedged]

[ she snorts, trying to repress the sting of solitude and the desire to accept his invitation. jesus christ, what the hell's wrong with her? all the alcohol buzzing through her system must be the reason. ]

Why, so you can come in and cuddle?

[ she still recalls the soft taste of his lips, how gentle and utterly romantic he behaved. there's disgust in the pit of her stomach from thinking about it. ]

[heisenbitch]

[ Jesse peers at Jessica in the darkness of his car with guarded albeit also intense eyes. It crosses his mind that he could reach out and touch her hand, just so. Just enough to... influence her a little. What a sick thought, especially with drunk she is. He grips the steering wheel just that bit tighter to fight that thought back. ]

Up to you. [ A pause, then: ] Quick visit. Be gone as soon as you want me gone.

[ That, too, is simply stated; again, it means whatever Jessica wants it to mean. ]

[hardedged]

[ she should shut him down, not only for her own sanity but also to protect him. the jesse pinkman she once knew had deceived her, yet he was always kind. he helped jessica, more than once, even when she treated him like shit. she owes him that much.

instead, she holds his gaze for far too long. this is a mistake, she knows it, but she's rarely listened to common sense before. sarissa is in her head, lurking within every thought, and she doesn't want to think of the other woman tonight. her hand shoots forward, fingers clutching his jacket as jess pulls him in roughly for a kiss. ]

[heisenbitch]

[ Jesse is absolutely no match for Jessica's strength. The force with which he's yanked forward is startling, and his heart leaps into his throat as he immediately tilts his head to let her crush their mouths together. It's a rough, aggressive, biting kiss, filled with the taste of alcohol fumes, cigarette smoke and desperate loneliness. Jesse's mouth parts wide against Jessica's, hot breath, probing and duelling tongue, his hand still gripping the steering wheel, even tighter now. He buries all his aching passion and grief for who Jessica reminds him of underneath how snarling and obediently ruthless the kiss is. Then he's forcefully breaking away from her mouth with a heavy breath, and he says in a low, scratchy voice: ]

Inside?

[ Or here? ]