Trapped in Hell again aka James' couch (For Moira)

[jamesthorn]

Hours are beginning to run together again. Sure it had been bad trapped down in hell without knowing how fast the hours and days were passing. But it was worse being back in the comfort of his cottage with the clock on the wall staring him in the face. Yes, he admits. His damn foot hurts and actually...

With a scowl, he reaches for the pill bottle sitting on the side table and swallows down a round of painkillers. His foot hurts, but he still hates this. He's twiddling his thumbs being stuck in his house, when he should be back at the station, getting caught up on his cases, tracking down whoever it was running rampage through the town. It wasn't just his own attack. Now there was a murderer on the lose. Seriously. Why else stick this damn walking boot on his leg, if he wasn't allowed to walk on it.

Dark magic shouldn't be allowed to continue without consequence. He knows others were doing their best, but James had a vested interest in this case. For himself and for his family. This wasn't a random attack. It was the curse. His family's curse.

"Fuck this." James tosses the remote aside for about the fifteenth time that day. Through the window, he sees the sun has set, and he's vaguely hungry for something to eat again. On the coffee table is the remainder of the feast June and Demetri had brought over from earlier, all the leftovers gone greasy and cold. Ever since they had left, James has been in a food and mind coma, ready to climb up the walls, scowling at the world.

Comments

[chasingtwisters]

Moira knows if anyone catches sight of her making her way to James' apartment, it'll set tongues wagging. In fact, she's surprised the tabloids haven't yet fabricated some kind of desperate romance from their return from hell, how all that time together~ had forced them to grow closer. Which, in fact, it had, but Moira tries not to think of it.

Still, she wants to check in on James, especially since she hasn't seen him since she handed him off to his brother. So here she is, on his doorstep, actually kind of admiring his cottage with an iced tea in hand, a peace offering to a potentially grumpy visit.

"Hello?" She knocks. "James? It's me, Moira."

[jamesthorn]

At the knock on his door, James wants to crawl under the couch because June was gonna be the death of him. But then. It's me, Moira. Of all the things, and people, he didn't expect; it was Moira Coombs at his house. He digests that for a second, lets it soak in, and nope, it still doesn't make sense.

He also isn't up to getting up from the couch to deal with it. Even though he's been concerned...no...just curious how she's been since they returned. Something must be wrong with him.

"Go away!" He yells at the door because. Because he can't have Moira Coombs in his house. If his father found out, he could only imagine the lecture he'd receive.

[chasingtwisters]

"Look, if you don't want to let me in, that's fine," Moira says, unable to keep from rolling her eyes, though there is a touch of fondness in the gesture, something that catches her off-guard. Since when did she actually enjoy rolling her eyes at James? She quickly buries it beneath other thoughts, determined not to dwell on it. "I'm also okay with yelling at you through the door, if that's how you prefer to hold conversations, now."

She refuses to leave until she sees that he's okay.

[jamesthorn]

James tries hard to ignore her by flipping rapidly through the stations on the television, not even seeing what's on, but he can't have Moira Coombs in his house. Definitely not an option. But he actually thinks she's serious when she prepares to carry on outside. He definitely can't have Moira Coombs standing on his porch yelling at him. What will the neighbors think?

He holds his head for a few seconds, thinking when did this become okay, but he's not half as ticked off by Moira's presence as he should be. "Whatever. Fine. The door's open," he yells back. She can come in, but he's not getting up.

[chasingtwisters]

"I knew you'd see things my way!" She calls cheerfully as she opens the door and makes her way into the house. She takes in the decor as she walks down the hall, towards the source of James' voice. There's something very homey about this place that also reminds her of James himself. It oddly makes her smile as she makes her way into the living room.

"Just so we're clear, I liked cottages before they were cool," she informs him, placing the iced tea in front of him. "For you. A peace offering of sorts."

She looks around the room with a keen interest.

"I'm surprised that sister of yours hasn't tried to redecorate for you."

[jamesthorn]

There's something disturbing about seeing someone you'd never thought you see in your house, standing three feet in front of your couch. There's something equally disturbing about it not being as disturbing as it should when Moira marches into his living room, carrying a cup of iced tea from Quill. It even looks like the blackberry and mint flavor which he likes. He glares at it for a second.

It's weird when people know things about you, you didn't think they knew.

"I don't let her come in," he says, flatly. "Just like I shouldn't--" Just like I shouldn't have let you come in. He's about to say, or something equally as mean-spirited because that's what he does. Except Moira came over in good faith with the tea, and she had carried him out of that place. It wasn't as easy to brush her off as he did before.

But he can be direct. "So why are you here?" he asks.

[chasingtwisters]

She's not saying she's noticed which kind of tea James prefers, but after standing behind him so many times at the Quill, it was kind of hard not to pick up on his preference for blackberry and mint, a flavor she herself quite enjoys, though it doesn't hold a candlelight to mango lavender. A part of her wonders at what this perception of hers means, and she brushes away that thought before it can develop any further.

"Well, you did," she shrugs, answering his unfinished statement. "Don't worry, I won't inconvenience you for long. I just came to check up on you." She actually wants to be honest with James, for once. It's a thought that disturbs her, to be honest.

[jamesthorn]

He doesn't like it. This. Him. Her. The ever-shrinking chasm between them, their lives, how they see one another. He isn't sure either how to put the train in reverse and put things back right. He has a sinking feeling that he might not be able too. So Moira gets to say she's come to check up on him, and he barely even flinches.

He gestures emphatically at the boot on his foot. "Well as you can see..." He has his foot resting on a pile of pillows since the doctor advised him that it would help with the swelling. "I just told them I fell down some stairs." Not giant troll snapped my ankle in two.

[chasingtwisters]

Moira feels like her world is shifting in ways she isn't entirely prepared for. The mutual animosity between them seems permanently altered since their time in the labyrinth, and Moira finds that it comes as a welcome relief. She feels a growing sympathy towards James, one she can't completely explain.

"And they believed you, of course," she observes, watching his foot. "How badly does it hurt?"

[jamesthorn]

"I'll manage," he says. He's had worse. The trouble was being cooped up inside where he couldn't do anything. But if he was going to be honest, he was barely getting around for himself. June had been right to put him on bed rest. Even taking trips to the bathroom was an ordeal, much less anything else.

Still he is working very hard not to appear helpless. "I'll be okay."

[chasingtwisters]

"Okay," Moira nods, even if she hardly believes the tough act he's attempting to put up. There's no point in being condescending to him in this state; so she'll try and listen, instead. She finds herself wanting to offer him assistance, even though she's sure he'll refuse it.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" She offers, choosing her words carefully, so as not to provoke or offend him.

[jamesthorn]

"Uhh..."

James glances at her then around his living room, at the scattered disarray of the medical items Demetri had brought home from the doctor's office, to-go containers, and beer bottles. It's not like he's dying here. He's just slow on his feet.

"I don't know. You don't have to do anything? June will be around..." Even though she hadn't called. He just assumed she'd be over to check on him and bring him dinner. Maybe he could call Demetri instead.

[chasingtwisters]

Moira takes in the scattered array of various medical objects with a raised brow before turning her eye back on James' foot.

"I could make it more comfortable for you, you know. To walk and stuff." She could actually outright heal most of his injury, with the right potions and a spell she gleaned from Riley. But she doesn't want to push James too hard, for once; she just wants to give him a gentle nudge.

[jamesthorn]

James considers the idea, tempted to say yes just so that he can get off this couch and go back to work. Even though just the temptation of it is against everything he stands for, and he hates that.

"That's okay," he says, shaking his head. "But thanks."

[chasingtwisters]

"Alright," Moira nods, for once not going to try and argue with him. She actually finds herself thinking he obviously has his reasons and she's trying to respect them. What the fuck did that labyrinth do to her and whatever this is she's experiencing in regards to her relationship with James? "Just thought I'd offer."

[jamesthorn]

He finds their current situation, or relationship, whatever it is, even more uncomfortable than it already was. The urge he normally feels to begin yelling in anger whenever Moira shows her face is no longer really there, no matter how hard and deep he reaches for it. His feelings for her have somehow been reset to a blank slate, ready to be rewritten with whatever James decides, and the hard part is he's confused about what that means. It doesn't mean he likes what she is or what she does. It just means...

Well. He doesn't know what it means. "You could sit down you know," he finally says. He isn't sure why. It just comes out, but in the same breath he decides he wouldn't mind. No one will know.

[chasingtwisters]

"If you insist," she says, perching on one of the arm chairs on the edge of the room, taking in the decor of the room. There's something oddly comfortable about James' house, a sense of homeyness she didn't expect. She associates James with order, rules, and adhering to the Thornton way of life, not the interior of a hunting cabin. "I didn't peg you for a cottage in the woods kind of guy, I have to say."

Part of her wonders what the hell she's doing, making small-talk with James Thornton in his home. Another part of her wants to know more, now that they've survived death together. All she knows entirely for sure is that their...relationship? is changing, and she doesn't know how.

[jamesthorn]

His little sister was forever telling him that his house needed a remodel, that the furnishing inside were too woodsy and out-dated, and that he was wasting his woods lined property by not putting in an outdoor deck complete with hot tub and wood-burning oven. James had managed to keep her off his back by adding to the furnishings in the kitchen, but otherwise, he had kept the house close to the way it was when he purchased it.

And he liked it. It was comfortable and his. It wasn't a dump by any means, but it wasn't like the family's estate with it's endless formal rooms and sitting areas. After too many years off that, you just need a couch that felt lived in.

He shrugs, watching the careful position she takes on the arm chair. "It was an unplanned purchase. It just stuck," he says. Because he hadn't planned to leave the family home until Demetri finally talked him into it.

[chasingtwisters]

"Well, it's nice," she decides. She remembers when she left her own home in favor of a cottage of her own. She wouldn't trade it for the world; the closeness to the ocean, the smaller space that actually felt like it belonged to a human being currently living without the vast, cold size of some historical landmark. She had certainly planned on finding a house by the sea, but like James with his cottage, she hadn't planned on a cottage. "And I find that it's the unplanned things in life that really stick the most."

Sort of like how the ending of their mutual animosity towards one another was unplanned.

[jamesthorn]

It isn't an important gesture, but he thinks it's a good thing, maybe, that Moira likes the cottage. Not that she needs to like it. Or anything of the sort. But though it had been an unplanned purchase at the time, but the cottage became part of him. Something his friends thought was too stuffy, that June thought was poorly decorated, but he liked it regardless. And he's simply, thinking, it isn't so bad if Moira approves. Which is a weird thought. A very weird thought that he brushes aside as best he can.

"Speaking of unplanned--" His face sets into a frown. "Have you seen your mother since coming home?"

[chasingtwisters]

Moira doesn't know why she wanted to tell James that she likes his home beyond a compliment. But she truly admires the place, finds it cozy and obviously lived in, which she always prefers over the cold, dismal halls of her family's manor. Plus, the place just really suits James, a thought that catches her by surprise even as she brushes it away, to reconsider at another time. She strangely finds that she is comfortable here, more comfortable than she would ever assume to be possible. She really doesn't want to dwell on the reasons for that.

Moira's face hardens at the mention of her mother, her mouth curving downwards in a sharp frown.

"Unfortunately, yes. I suppose you've heard about the ball, right? 'In honor of the safe return of two children from the oldest family in town,' or whatever bullshit she fed the press," Moira grimaces, remembering her phone conversation with her mother, who all but threatened Fabrice and promised hell to come should she not attend. A force reconciliation to strengthen her mother's public image, her favorite sort of activity.

[jamesthorn]

His sister June had mentioned the ball in passing, complaining that her father was already lining up suiters to be her escort, but Jams honestly hadn't given it a second thought. It seemed too outlandish to think that Moira's mother would want to throw a welcome home party for a daughter she probably had kidnapped to hell. He thought his family drama was worth its own movie sometimes, but Moira and her crazy ilk clearly had issues.

"I guess I heard. I didn't think it was real?" he shrugs.