tushanshu | 05 ❄ ( voice )

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05 ❄ ( voice )

[ Jack has come back to the city after his fight with Kyle and his talk with Bucky at the shell's edge. He isn't quite ready for video replies yet, knows that despite the usual cheerful timbre he's forcing into his voice it won't cover the fact that his eyes are sad and hollow. ]

Has anyone seen Periwinkle? I went to her suite to give her fresh snow but she's not there and it looks...

[ he fumbles for the right description ]

Unused.

[ private to Finnick ]
Sorry I haven't figured out those other lures yet, I... something-- kind of came up. I take it you saw the announcement?

[ private to Damian ]
I... wanted to apologize, for what I said to you on the sled hill. When you brought up-- I, I just shouldn't have snapped back at you like that. I don't have any right to say who trusts you and who doesn't. I'm sorry.

[ private to Kyle ]
... please don't tell everyone about the snow. I get it, okay? It was wrong and fake and cheating and a horrible thing. But just let them have a good memory of it and-- and I won't spread any more snow like that around. Please. I'll... I'll do whatever you want.

[ He doesn't think he could take it if all the people who thanked him for the snow day suddenly turned on him for it. The ones who'd had their hearts lightened enough to even be able to see him for the first time. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Costigan glances down at the space beside him where Jack is, half expecting to see the kid with the feeling of the chill beside him. His lips twitch into the smallest of frowns when he sees nothing and looks back up to the counter, stepping into line. He continues to reply, still quiet.]

Does it bother you?

Sometimes it does.

[ Jack saw no point in lying about it, no shame in admitting what had been and still played a large part in his life. ]

But being here gives me opportunities that I never had at home, so I want to make the most of them for people here whether they can see me or not. Besides, there's never an end of chances for people to discover. The amazing thing about belief is that it has no expiry date.

[ Unseen, he crouches down next to the display case containing the shop's sweets, setting a handful of juulan onto the counter that, to Costigan's view, would seemed to have simply appeared there out of the corner of his eye. ]

Get whatever you want, I have more money if that's not enough. Hey, can you order this tart on the end for me?

[The kedan behind the counter looks at Costigan, then looks surprised when the money appears out of nowhere. The undercover glances down to the space where Jack isn't, then to the tart, then back up to the kedan.]

One of those tarts on the end there.. [He gestures to make sure he has the right one, giving Jack the chance to correct him if not.] ..and a coffee.

[He grabs the juulan from the counter and holds it aside as he withdraws his wallet. Costigan pays for both items from his own money and then returns his wallet to his pocket. Waiting until the kedan has walked away to grab his drink, the Bostonian then holds Jack's money down beside him.]

Keep your money, kid. This one's on me.

[ Jack just shook his head in rather fond exasperation, because either Costigan had forgotten that he'd claimed it would be his treat or he was just purposefully ignoring it. He reaches to accept the money, intangible fingers just brushing across (beneath) the man's skin to let him know his hands were there before pulling back, though he didn't know if Costigan would feel anything except the vague chill. ]

Thank you, Billy.

[Costigan feels something more than a chill but less than fingers and withdraws his hand almost immediately at the uncomfortable sensation, glancing down just to make sure that Jack doesn't drop the money. He shoves his hands into his pockets just in time for the kedan to return with the coffee and then offer the tart as well. The undercover removes his hands as quickly as he pocketed them to take the two items with a quick "thanks." Then he's turning and leading their way back towards the door for the outside.]

Don't mention it. [He replies somewhat dismissively. Then, more conversationally:] So you want to tell me what's been going on or are you still keeping things secret?

[No matter how old Jack actually is, he's a kid in Costigan's mind and that makes the Bostonian naturally protective of him. If other people are messing with him or if there's a lesson Jack needs to learn, the undercover will make it his business to help.]

[ Jack trails after Costigan as they head back outside, following to a quieter table and settling comfortably (in his opinion, to anyone else it would have surely seemed like he'd just crammed all his poor posture into one seat) in the chair across from the undercover. As had happened last time, frost gilded the painted metal surface after only just a few seconds.

He didn't want to go into any detail, but Costigan was shrewd enough even without being able to see his body language to pick up on the verbal cues. Still, Jack hesitated a long moment before replying, running his finger around the edge of the plate on which the tart sat and leaving tiny tendrils of ice there too. ]

A friend and I had a... an argument.

[Costigan takes a seat at the quiet table and is reassured by the appearance of the frost a moment later. He sets the tart out in front of Jack on the table and then takes a sip of his coffee. The undercover listens to the silence and is unnerved by it in a way that he never is when he can see the other person.

He's just reconsidering asking as he watches the ice appear around the plate when Jack finally responds. Costigan's quiet for a beat after the words.]

Are you still friends?

[It's an easier way of asking how it went and what the result was all in one.]

[ Even though Costigan can't see him, Jack doesn't meet his gaze, eyes fixed on the tart and suddenly wondering how he's ever going to be able to eat that with such a hard lump in his throat. ]

No. I don't... think we are anymore.

[Well that answers that. For all his curiosity, Costigan finds himself in an awkward position, torn between prying more and distracting him entirely. He's not good with kids, especially those who get upset easily, and Jack seems like one of those types -- at least in his limited experiences.]

Can you fix it?

[It's the natural progression, right? If they can do something about it, they will. If they can't, he'll make the kid talk about something else.]

I don't know how I could. The problem isn't just something I did... it's me being me.

[ He picks up the tart and holds it, his intangibility wrapping around it until it also fades from view -- he'd never thought much about how that worked, but he felt suddenly glad for it and supposed it would put Costigan's blood pressure up far less than watching the tart bobbing in midair and being invisibly eaten. ]

I'm sorry. I don't mean it to seem like I'm giving you a riddle.

Don't apologize, kid. I get it.

[Because he spent enough time undercover to know exactly what the kid means, if in a different way. It's not him or something he did, but what he is at his core and what that lifestyle means. Costigan doesn't need to push any more to understand that concept or what it means for their friendship.

He glances at where the tart disappeared before looking out at the area around them, watching people meander by in an idle way as he thinks about what to say to Jack. It seems like a distraction is best.]

You have any secret method to help people see you that you haven't told me about?

[ The distraction works and Jack chuckles around a mouthful of tart, swallowing before answering. ]

I could always have Bunny hit you over the head with one of his boomerangs. He's here now, he got here on the same weekend I made all the snow.

[ Not that he suspected Costigan would have any better luck seeing the pooka than Jack himself, but the image was still kind of funny. ]

[Costigan's face looks as utterly confused and suspicious as he feels. Dealing with Jack Frost is one thing, but other fictional characters? Jack's not exactly helping the undercover's belief.]

Bunny?

I know, I know. One of us at a time.

[ Jack's tone has become slightly impish, but he knows this is shaky ground so he lets the subject slide away easily. Besides, he's all right with turning the conversation away from himself for a little while. ]

So what about you? Did you find a better job like you were looking for?

[Costigan's silently more grateful than he even realizes at Jack's tactful shift to a better conversation. He allows himself to be taken in the new direction, not wanting to think too much about what might exist and lose what faith he has of Jack in the process. Faith, God. The undercover idly reaches up to touch the medallion he wears beneath his shirt as he gives a facial shrug.]

I think so, yeah. Arthur offered me a security gig. You know him?

Not really, no... but I think he might be Ariadne's friend? I saw them talking together in the snow that day while they were looking at some of the ice sculptures.

[ He'd been flying overhead, decided not to interrupt Ariadne to see if she'd liked her icy Paris, brought it up later instead. It was only their bearings which prompted him to call the pair friends; he hadn't been close enough to overhear anything and had moved on shortly after. ]

Yeah, I think he is.

[He confirms, almost immediately. Costigan's natural inclination would be to ask more questions, to press for information, but he intentionally opposes that when speaking with kids like Jack, people he cares about. Arthur is Ariadne's business associate, he knows that. Like he knows the two know Cobb and Freddy somehow. But that's a complicated mess that he's still trying to puzzle out.

Costigan leans forward onto the table and takes another sip of his coffee, glancing briefly at the empty chair before him before looking out at the people again.]

You think it's possible to live here? To get comfortable and have an actual life here, beyond just working and serving the Emperor's whims?

[ Jack gave a thoughtful hum, looking out over the other patrons scattered around the cafe's seats, closed his eyes and listened to the pleasant murmur of conversations before responding. ]

I think there's a good reason that the saying is, "home is where the heart is".

[He considers that, his frown growing comfortable on his face as he glances down to his drink.]

You think it's the right thing? That we should get comfortable here?

[ Jack traces a small but intricate pattern on the table, thinking over his response. He hasn't been here as long as some of the others, and everyone had different motivations for wanting to return home -- or not, in some select cases -- but Costigan was asking his opinion so that was what he gave. ]

... No. I think we should keep trying to find a way back to where we're supposed to be. A lot of us have responsibilities we have to get back to, friends and family we want to see again.

But... if for some reason that's not possible -- and there's nothing saying it's not, but as a what-if -- I think there could be a lot worse places that someone could be stuck in than Tu Vishan, and worse people to be stuck with.

[Costigan watches the frost appear on the table, then seems to realize he's basically focusing on something half imaginary. He immediately takes a sip of his coffee and straightens as he listens to the voice coming from nowhere.]

How do you know? [A beat, then he clarifies.] I mean, if it's impossible to leave. Do we spend our whole time we could have been living struggling for something that's not possible? Or do we give up and risk never getting back?

[His voice is the same volume as before, but there's something softer about it. It's the kind of rare vulnerability that he doesn't show or express often, and never with people he doesn't trust at least a little.]

I don't know for sure. None of us do.

[ There's honesty in Jack's tone, a wisdom that doesn't seem to fit with the teen he sounds like. ]

But there's still trust in good things that can happen. That's why you wear that medallion, right?

[Costigan's gaze snaps over at the chair at the mention of the medallion. He frowns slightly at the empty space, at not being able to see Jack, and then looks down to his coffee again. The undercover's fingers follow the chain to the coin before he drops his hand away.]

It's not that simple.

[ Jack smiles knowingly even though Costigan can't see it. ]

Ah... I guess so.

[He offers a pointed, disapproving frown at the place where he knows Jack to be. This time, it's definitely directed at the kid.]

You're lucky I even believe in you. Don't test that.

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action - and then I forgot to tag for almost a week. whoops.

aww, s'ok

<333 sorry

it's cool!

omg dw stahp with the accidental bans/etc

ahaha yeah, I finally had to change my hover menu settings

...that's a thing you can do?