thelongdormantcop | (no subject)

Entry tags:

grace faraday

(no subject)

If he's honest, Jerry doesn't have the first idea what he thinks he's doing. That isn't much of a surprise, though. Whatever seems like it should be self-explanatory with Grace, he doesn't really know what they're doing, either, none of that having been clarified since she showed up. He just hasn't been in a hurry to change that. The last time he asked what they were doing, everything went to hell pretty quickly, and what he does know is that this isn't what it was before. He isn't just some secret she's keeping this time; as far as he's aware, there isn't anyone else, either, though he isn't just going to assume that will stay the case. There's still plenty he can't give her.

Right now, it's just the former that matters most. He hasn't been checking his mail very often, since there isn't really anyone here who would be sending him anything, but he thought to on a whim today and wound up glad for it, finding an invitation there for some kind of party. The names on it aren't ones he recognizes, but given that he's received an invitation in spite of that, he has a feeling it doesn't matter, that the pair arranging the event probably invited everyone, which means there's no reason not to go. What's more, there's no reason he can't go with Grace, which is more than enough to make him want to. He's been in public with her since she got here, and that in itself is something he's still grateful for, but he hasn't really gotten to take her out yet. This is as good an excuse as any to change that. Though it's difficult to gauge from an invitation, it seems more like their style than a lot of what's in this city, anyway.

He'd meant to stop by anyway, so at least it isn't like he's gone out of his way just to ask her out. This, he feels considerably more sure about, too. He might not know much about Grace, but he knows pretty well what she's like, and he saw how many shopping bags she had at the mall the first day she went out. It seems incredibly unlikely that she would even have thought to prioritize something like groceries. Of the two of them, he's the one who's employed, waiting on his first paycheck, and he's needed a lot less in the way of clothes and accessories than she has. Besides, though he spent a lot of it on the hotel room, there's still a little money left over from everything he sold after his own arrival, so it's nothing to pick up a few things for her while buying food for himself, just some basics to make sure her shelves stay stocked. Though he can't and never will be able to take her out to expensive restaurants like Mickey could, he can at least make sure she has enough to eat.

A paper bag held in one arm, two plastic ones in his other hand, he knocks on her door as well as he can manage. "Grace?" he calls, considering a moment later that she might not be in and hoping she is. "It's me."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

It's been a long day, truth be told. Grace feels as if she's been tromping about town for days, her feet aching as she sits on her bed. Looking for work is hard. She knew that from experience, from the early days in Los Angeles, seeking whatever work she could get to keep herself afloat. It's harder here, though, when she's not altogether certain about how to put together a resume and all of her limited experience comes from another time and place.

The knock at her door comes as a surprise, and it isn't until she hears Jerry's voice that Grace budges, swinging to her feet with a wince. She's exhausted and her feet aren't too happy with her, but it's Jerry and she's not just going to ignore him. Opening the door, she smiles. "What's all this?"

Jerry smiles when he sees her, warm and crooked, any worries temporarily set aside. This isn't the first time he's come by her apartment since she got here, and no matter what this is, there's something that's just comfortable about it, a ease he could never fully allow himself back home. He felt it, but he shouldn't have, and with the awareness of that never far from his thoughts, it wasn't really quite the same. Now, no matter what he might be uncertain about, he knows this is alright, and it makes all the difference.

"I was just at the grocery store," he says, shrugging, "and I thought I'd pick up a couple things for you, too." That it's more than a couple is pretty obvious, but he doesn't want to make any more of it than that. She spent too long with someone else funding her life, and he wouldn't want to imply that he thinks she can't take care of herself. Just like he's always done, though, he can't help wanting to look out for her. "You gonna let me in?"

Grace doesn't entirely know what to make of it or how to feel, but she steps back with a smile. "I guess I may as well," she says, "since I'm not doing anything else." It's clearly more than his spotting a few things he thought she might like or need, but she can't quite pin down if she's annoyed or grateful or what. Budgeting her money isn't easy and she's trying to stretch it as far as she can, which is making things difficult now, when she's still looking for work and had to spend far too much to restock her wardrobe and buy a few other necessities. That he's helping her out like this is terribly sweet and much more needed than she wants to tell him. On the other hand, it isn't as if she isn't taking care of herself and she's never asked him to support her even on a smaller scale like this.

But then, Mickey never bought her groceries, not directly. This isn't jewelry. It's a fundamental need, and one she's neglected shamefully. Her smile softening a little, she leads the way toward the kitchen. "That's awful sweet of you."

"It's nothing," Jerry says with a slight shake of his head, shutting the door behind him once he's stepped inside before following along in the direction of the kitchen. The subject is a tricky one, he knows, and the last thing he wants to do is give her the wrong idea, make her think that he feels obligated to buy her necessities like this or that he doesn't believe she can take care of herself. She would be fine, he knows that, and he isn't trying to buy her or own her or exercise some claim to her he isn't even sure he has. It's a difficult adjustment, though, being here. If he has trouble with it, he can only imagine that the same is even more true for her. He's been fending for himself for a lot longer, after all, and without a field to go right into, it makes sense that she wouldn't have found herself a job yet. Until then, if nothing else, it just makes sense to help her out some.

Setting the bags down on the counter, he smiles a little wider when he faces her again, resting a hand on her waist and leaning in for a quick kiss. "I'm glad you were in. I'd've looked like a real idiot just standing in the hall with all of this." He should have called ahead, probably, but he still doesn't like those little portable phones, and he isn't even sure if Grace is using hers. This was about his only option.

"Got back an hour ago," Grace says, slipping her arms around his neck and kissing him again. "I'm glad I could spare you the humiliation." Whatever he might say to the contrary, it is kind of him to think of her and do this when he really doesn't have to. She certainly wouldn't expect it from him. Now that he's here, though, she isn't about to turn down what he's brought when she doubtless needs it anyway. He's the one who has a job right now, but it won't always be like that, and when she's got a job of her own, she can make it up to him somehow, try to cook him dinner or something. (Maybe by then she'll be a little more competent in the kitchen. When there's a lot less chance she'll be dining out, she has little choice but to improve.) "Now is there anything I need to put away right off or can I keep kissing you?"

"I think it'll be fine for a while longer," Jerry says, unable to hide his grin at that. "It already survived the walk over here." He doubts he could pull away from her now if he wanted to. When he worried about how this might go over, when he's still worried about what he wants to ask her, it's a relief. Mostly, though, he just likes kissing her, how this feels at once normal, wonderfully domestic, and novel. Times they did this before, it was generally just early mornings, and all of those were cut too short. Now, their most pressing concern is getting groceries put away, and he thinks that, if given half the chance, he could get used to this. It's somewhere in the middle of the day, and they're just standing here together, and it's wonderful. He leans in to kiss her again for it, arms wrapping a little more securely around her waist.

Grace laughs, quick and soft against his mouth, as she leans into him. Curious though she is as to what he's brought, it doesn't matter nearly as much as this does, not just yet. "That's more like it," she says, kissing him again. She's still not used to this, just getting to kiss him in the middle of the day, not having anywhere else to be or anyone else to see, and it's hard to imagine the novelty wearing off. It's been such a long time since she had a place all her own, and there's never been anyone like him. Smiling, she runs her hand down his neck, staying close even after she draws back. "How was work?"

"It was alright," Jerry says with a shrug, still not the least bit interested in letting go of her yet, either, his hands resting by her waist. "Pretty slow. I'm still getting caught up to speed around here." The same would be true even if that weren't the case, he thinks, and though he wouldn't want to admit it, it's a relief. No matter how worthwhile he thought everything he was doing at home was at the time, he wouldn't want to sign on for that again, wouldn't want to face a city run by the mob. That he has no doubt that the same is true for Grace just makes him all the more appreciative. If the price he has to pay for both of their safety is occasionally being bored, he'll do it in a heartbeat. "How about you? Any luck yet?"

Grace shakes her head. "Not a bit," she says. "I've been in for a couple of interviews, but I won't know for a while." She doesn't really get the sense she's done very well, but that isn't something she wants to say just yet. There will be other interviews. Something has to come together sooner or later, and she'll just push until it does. "In the meantime, I suppose I'll just have to keep looking. You haven't heard about anything, have you?"

Edited 2013-02-07 23:29 (UTC)

"Not yet," Jerry says, shaking his head in turn. It isn't as if there's a hell of a lot he figures he can do for her, and he doesn't want to find some way of pulling strings to make it happen, if only because it might give the wrong idea, but he still wants to help however possible. These things don't just appear overnight, and in a new city where so much has changed, it can't be easy to even find somewhere to start, not nearly as much so as it was for him to walk into the police station. "But I'm still keeping an eye out. There'll be something soon, I'm sure."

"I hope so," Grace says. "It's alright. I just have to keep looking." It isn't easy. There are skills considered necessary now which she hasn't earned, which were irrelevant or nonexistent the last time she sought a job, and it's difficult to find somewhere she can apply at all. At least some things are timeless. She doesn't want to let on that she's worried and leave him worrying, too. Smiling, she tips her head up to kiss him again. "These things take time, that's all."

"They do," Jerry says with a nod, brow raising slightly. For a moment, he wonders if he should tell her about some of the trouble he had, some of the jobs he resorted to when he couldn't get any others, but he quickly decides against it. Whatever his intention in doing so, it would probably just be disheartening, and he still isn't really sure how to talk about himself with Grace. They spent too much time not doing so for him to have figured that out yet. "You'll be fine."

He wants even more to tell her that, in the event that she isn't, she can count on him, but where that's concerned, he just knows better. However much he means to look out for her, that isn't territory he can get into. There's so much they haven't done yet, anyway, the thought of which just serves to remind him part of why he came here in the first place. "And in the meantime, I guess you've got some free time on your hands, right?"

"That I do," Grace says warmly. She doesn't know whether to be happy about that or disappointed. She needs a job, after all, but she's never been too thrilled about spending her day on doing things for other people. If it were a film role, that would be one thing. She hasn't any qualms about working hard if it's something she wants. As it is, she'd rather be free to spend time with him. The only consolation is that he has to work, too, and so isn't available anyway. "Why, did you have something in mind?"

"Uh, yeah, actually, kind of," Jerry says, and to his credit, he manages to sound a lot less awkward about it than the words themselves should have. She turns everything upside down for him, that's been the case since he met her, but usually, he's been a little more composed (until he isn't at all). So much is different now, though, and there's so much that he can't determine, and just something this simple leaves him feeling like a kid half his age, except he never had any problems around girls even in his youth. This is just something else entirely, all the more meaningful for the amount of time they've been together. He still doesn't want to look like an ass in front of her, shy and fumbling, and so, although it takes a good deal of effort, he keeps himself together for his question, too, managing not to look too nervous. "There's some party this weekend, it looks like it's supposed to be a pretty nice thing. I thought maybe you'd want to go with me."

Grace smiles at that, softer, broader, a little surprised he's asked. When she received the invitation, she was just about counting on their going together — if, of course, he wanted to go at all. Hearing him say it is something entirely else, though.

She shakes her head at him, fond. "Don't be silly," she says. "Of course I want to." She's utterly crazy about him, he must know that. And he knows damn well she likes parties. Any excuse to dress up is a good one, but it's something altogether different when she knows it's his arm she'll be on this time. They've never had a real date like that. She wants that even more than the chance to go, something she's not sure she's ever actually felt before. There just haven't been any other men that made her want to stick around like he does. At best, she's always gotten bored too soon, and it's hard to imagine ever being bored with him.

How she can say it like it's something that ought to be obvious, Jerry doesn't have the first idea. Maybe, by now, after a couple of weeks here, he should have been able to assume, but with Grace, he can't do that, doesn't know how to. There's no one else here and that means a great deal, but that doesn't mean he's sure of what she wants, what she's looking for here. It obviously isn't what landed her with Cohen — he does well for himself, but not that well — but that just gives him all the more cause to be careful. After all, she was with him for a reason, and he can't imagine that's anything that applies here, too.

None of that is worth worrying about, though, when she's agreed, his mouth pulling into a smile before he can think twice about it. "I was hoping you'd say that," he says lightly, almost teasing. That doesn't make it any less true, but he isn't certain how to admit to the extent of that, how badly he wants to take her out properly, so he doesn't. "Good."

Grace beams, leaning in to kiss him. "Good," she echoes, gaze adoring as she looks up at him. Now he's asked, she's far more excited about the party than she already was. A chance to go out is always nice, but she can make those if she needs. Going with him is something different. "It'll be nice to finally step out together right."

That's something of an understatement, but she's sure he knows that. It's all the more reason to back to the shops and find the most perfect dress she can for the occasion. She's determined to look her best, less for her own vanity this time than to ensure he has the most beautiful girl in the room on his arm.

"Yeah, that was my thinking," Jerry says as he grins down at her, almost as much for the way she looks saying that as the words themselves, though it's really the words he still gets stuck on. No matter how casual both of their tones might be, it isn't anything of the sort. Not once in all the weeks he spent with her did he really think he would get the opportunity to take her out like this, like he's wanted to almost since he met her. How to tell her that, though, he doesn't know, and he doesn't think he needs to. She obviously gets it. "It's about time we got a chance to."

Grace nods, resting a hand at his shoulder. "It is," she says. She's wanted it for the longest time, but before they came here, she didn't dare think about what it would be like. The closest they ever got was running off to the Observatory, and though she enjoyed that, it wasn't the same. Even then, they weren't really anything, not like they've wanted to be. Now they can really do it right, step out together like any other couple.

She lets out a soft, sudden laugh, kissing him again. "Well, now I'm really looking forward to this."

Edited 2013-02-17 21:22 (UTC)

Jerry laughs in turn, the sound muffled against her mouth when she kisses him again, an arm wrapping a little more securely around her waist. It's startlingly easy to get caught up in the headiness of this, of having real plans to actually go out with her, and he can't even think that it shouldn't be such a big deal. After all the time they spent without this even being a possibility, it really is one. For that matter, anything that would make her light up like this would be.

"Oh, well, that's good," he says, just about teasing. "I'm glad I asked, then."

"So am I," Grace says lightly. "I don't know where I'd have gotten another date at the last minute like this." She flashes him a grin, drawing back to look into the bags he's brought her. There isn't anyone else at all she'd want to go with and she's sure he knows that. The way things were before, that was necessity and nothing else, and now that she's here with him, there isn't a man alive she'd want to be with other than the one she's with now. Pulling groceries from the bags, she starts to assemble them on the counter, deciding — partly guessing — where everything ought to go.

"Oh, you'd have managed alright," Jerry says with a shrug, making light of it mostly because he has to. Even if it's all just teasing, he doesn't like the idea of her going with anyone else, or how easy it probably would have been for her to come up with some other guy's arm to go on. He nearly says that she could have started by looking at the same sort of place she found herself a rich gangster back home, but he doubts it would go over well, and he isn't that cruel, though he wouldn't have meant anything by it. Reaching into his pocket for a cigarette, he heads over to the counter where she's standing, figuring he might as well help her put it all away. It wouldn't be very nice to just bring all of this here and stand around watching while she takes care of it all. "Probably could've gotten guys lined up around the block to go with you. Sure you don't want to reconsider?"

Grace looks over at him with a warm smile, and for a moment, she just takes in the sight of him, gaze flickering over his handsome features, the face she loves so much. "Now why on Earth would I want to do that," she asks, reaching up to touch his cheek, "and pass on a date with the man I'm just crazy about?" It leaves her a little giddy, just saying that, and it feels a bit inappropriate, when she means it every bit as much as she is teasing him. But then, she's never been able to say these things before. Even now, with the freedom she has, it's a slow process, acclimating herself to the possibility, letting herself be a bit more open. Just getting it out there is a bit exciting in its own right, though it's a fact as obvious as they come. "Now what kind of a fool do you take me for?"

It's probably a terrible way to put it when Jerry can think of a lot of ways in which she's more than a little foolish, but then, he wouldn't be here with her now if he minded that. Hell, he wouldn't be here now if it weren't true in the first place. It was pretty damn crazy of her to ever agree to meet him after the night he approached her at Slapsy Maxie's, even more so to keep coming around after that first night. And none of that has anything on the way she went running back to L.A. for him. Even so, he doesn't think any of that has any kind of bearing here. She's never been just his before, and though he knows she cares about him, there are plenty of reasons why she might want to go with someone else. When she looks at him like that, though, her fingers soft against his cheek, the last thing he'd do is point that out. He'd only meant it teasingly anyway. Still grinning down at her, he shrugs. "You really want me to answer that?"

Grace arches an eyebrow at him, though she smiles still. "You really want to risk answering?" she asks. He makes her horribly sentimental, and in the wake of all that's happened, she doesn't mind. It's nice to get to be like this, soft and happy and all wrapped up in him, pretending everything's simple and fine. There's so much to keep herself busy with here, the whole process of finding work and settling in to this new time and place, and little so appealing as letting the past drop away. Even so, she's not about to roll over and be simply sweet. That isn't who she is or who he likes.

Pretending to consider that for a moment, Jerry shrugs, too casual. "I don't think I really need to," he says lightly, teasing. All joking aside, there's no need. For one, he doesn't think there would really be anything all that foolish about it if she actually decided she was interested in someone else. He might relish the thought of her being entirely his, something he's wanted for longer than he could ever admit to himself, but if it ever came to that, he would never tell her what she can and can't do. That's not him. More importantly, that's not the point right now, nothing he has any intention of saying anyway. Besides, he's already told her how crazy he thinks she is, and she's still here. It probably wouldn't matter if he did, despite the threat she's implying, but that's all the more reason not to bother. "I'm not gonna give you a reason to change your mind if you don't already have one."

Grace rolls her eyes at him, fond, and turns back to the counter. Sorting through the groceries and putting things away, she makes a mental catalog of what he's brought her. It certainly spares her the time and expense of going shopping, and she knows that he can afford it just this once. She wouldn't expect him to do it again — she wouldn't want him to have to — but when he has a job now and she's still looking, there's no harm in accepting this bit of help. "Well, you've already as good as said it's silly of me to want to go out with you."

"Did I say that?" Jerry asks, brow furrowing like he can't remember, or like it isn't true. "I don't know what you're talking about." Honestly, even now, there are moments he doesn't quite understand it, or when he thinks that what he's got won't be enough for her, but for the most part, he isn't worrying about that. She's here and she's with him, and she's agreed to go out with him, too, and that's all he needs to know for now. Coming up to stand behind her, he rests a hand on her waist, ducking his head to press a kiss to her neck. "Why in the world would I say that?"

Grace tips her head away, feigning disinterest, though her eyes close briefly at the feel of his mouth at her neck. She reaches for a can to place in the cupboard, not altogether sure what it is or if it goes there, but intent on looking occupied. "Maybe I'm not the one of us who's a fool," she says evenly. "You know exactly what you said, Jerry. Now if you don't want to go with me, you can just say so." She knows that can't possibly true — they didn't risk near-certain death on a whim, after all — but if he's going to tease like that, he can at least prove it isn't true.

"Yeah, I know what I said, but it wasn't that," Jerry protests, making a face down at her, though it's not like it's visible. He isn't about to step away from her yet to change that, his arm snaking a little further around her waist, holding her close. "Not even close. You really think I would have come all the way up here to ask you to go to a party with me if I didn't want to take you? Now what kind of sense would that make?" He can't possibly fathom why he wouldn't want to go with her, anyway, but she ought to know that. Even when he doubts that what they're saying could be all that serious, though, he isn't about to pretend for a second like what she's said might actually be the case. He's wanted this for too long to do that.

It isn't really the same thing, Grace thinks, but she's not about to point that out. There was a point when she really was a fool to keep seeing him, and it has nothing to do with how much they wanted it. None of that matters here, though, and she doesn't really think she cares what he thinks one way or another about her options, whether in earnest or in jest. So far as she's concerned, she hasn't got any other options; she doesn't want any. "Since when do you make sense?" she asks, but she turns slightly as she does so, tipping her head up toward him. Sense doesn't have a damn thing to do with how crazy she is about him.

"I make plenty of sense," Jerry says, huffing out a laugh even as he lifts a hand to trace the backs of his fingers along the line of her jaw, leaning in a moment later to press a kiss to the corner of her mouth. Sense doesn't have all that much to do with it, he knows, and he certainly didn't have any when he approached her in the first place, but that doesn't mean he's without it. Hell, he thinks it would require a distinct lack of it not to take advantage of the opportunity they've been given here, such a far cry from how it ever was back in L.A. He's wanted this for too long to let it pass them by now. "And I know I'd have to be crazy to not want to go to this party with you."

Grace smiles, looking up at him, and leans in to kiss him properly. "Then I guess that settles that," she murmurs. She could hardly say no to him anyway, but she likes hearing these things anyway. Knowing he cares for her and hearing it expressed are separate things. The former may matter more, but the latter is so very comforting, the kind of thing she could just soak in like a good, warm bath. She can't remember the last time she felt as good as he makes her feel, not in this way, reaching right through and wrapping around her.

Jerry means to agree, even opens his mouth to do so, but she's so close and it's just too tempting to lean in and kiss her. Though this is one part of what they're doing that isn't new in the slightest, he can't make sense of it. Even so, that's hardly any reason to stop. Besides, when she's just agreed to go out with him for the first time they've been able, he isn't sure how he could be expected to do anything else. It means too much, and in ways he hasn't yet figured out how to give voice to. "I guess it does," he says when he's drawn back, mostly just to take a deep breath, half-teasing. "I would've felt like a real fool if I'd shown up here and you turned me down."

Grace shakes her head, thumb brushing along his cheek. She knows the feeling damn well, with him more than with anyone else, but it's baseless. Caring so much about him just makes it easy to feel a fool for it, and too simple by far to worry that he'll come to his senses and decide she never really meant much, even when she knows that can't be true. Her past might have caused them a world of trouble, but he's never held it against her. "I wouldn't," she says. "I wouldn't want to, Jerry."

It's not as if he could have just known that before he asked, even in thinking he had pretty decent odds, but Jerry smiles to hear it anyway, head tipping instinctively into her touch. "Well, good," he says lightly, inclined to downplay it even now, no matter how much it means. He doesn't want her to think that it's something of little importance to him, but he doesn't want her to know how nervous he was, either. There's no need for that when she's already said yes. He leans in to kiss her again instead, quick, drawing back with a smile. "Works out well for both of us that way."

Though Grace smiles, she wishes he'd say more than that. It isn't as if she doesn't understand, though. It isn't easy still, opening up to him like she wishes she could, and she doesn't know how to tell him just how she feels without worrying she's somehow wrong about all of this, as if he hasn't shown time and again how much he cares for her. Every time she says something like that, though, she feels too sentimental to go on, unable to help wondering if maybe it's too much. Instead of saying more, she kisses him, her happiness genuine in spite of her uncertainty.

Jerry, for his part, has no problem kissing her instead of continuing, arms wrapping around her waist to draw her a little closer. If anything, it's easier like this, familiar. He might be more than glad that things have changed, but that doesn't mean he's really figured out yet what he's doing, or what might be alright. This, though, her mouth soft against his, isn't something he has any question about. When just asking her to the party was nerve-wracking enough, he's content to leave it at that for now.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only