Running (Jackson Blake - TW: Sexual Themes)

Victoria's head turned towards the sound of the man's voice, but her body didn't move when he told her where he was. A guess placed the room he was in as a bedroom, and Victoria simply could not move towards it. Subconsciously she held the fabric in her hands closer to her stomach.

Holding herself together.

In a failed attempt.

The man continued, explaining how she'd been in such a bad state she couldn't tell him who to contact, which was why he'd brought her here. Wherever here was. The news that she'd lost her purse and her shoes explained why she couldn't find her phone -- she remembered stashing that in her purse before she headed in to the club for safe keeping, but safely kept the purse had not been. The shoes were not something she minded, they could be replaced, with time.

What in Merlin's name must the man think of her? Knowing nothing about her, but saving her from being passed out only Merlin knows where? Devoid of some of her clothes, no purse or phone. The witch could only guess as her eyes found the sofa, taking in the blanket that had been placed for her, and then -- she hadn't noticed this earlier, but a jacket led on the sofa. Her saviour, as the man now was, had draped his coat around her upon finding her, obviously conscious of the lack of modesty her dress had left her.

Had she not been feeling pitiful before, Victoria most certainly did not as she moved numbly to the sofa. For a brief few moments, Victoria busied herself with folding the blanket neatly, arranging the sofa to look as if it hadn't been slept upon, trembling as she thought off the multitude of thoughts plaguing her of what could have happened if her saviour had not arrived.

The jacket stank of vomit, and Victoria grimaced. If she had her wand...

The witch shook herself, knowing better than to play with 'ifs', 'buts' and 'maybes', and concentrated. She was moving towards the sink, ready to scrub the jacket of the mess when the next of the man's words stopped her.

"I have a phone outside if you want to use to call someone? Your brother?"

How..?

The witch turned towards the bedroom in which the man resided, her hand holding on to the jacket much too hard as she emerged in the doorway, curiously looking to the man she'd come to refer to as her saviour in her head.

The raven hair of the male was all she could see to start with, his back turned to her as he watched the muted TV programme.

"How d-"

But the witch was cut off as the man turned towards her. The face had matured exponentially over the years, the young boy from Salem with his small amount of childish puppy fat had transformed in to an athletic, slim man. Power exuded from him as only the job of his could have done, but behind all of that. Behind all of the grown up front there was, it was undeniably...

"Jax..." Victoria breathed softly, unable to believe that it would be the boy from so many years ago that would have found her in such a state.

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Jackson had fully expected her to grab the phone and ring someone as soon as she realized she had that option, so he wasn't exactly waiting for her to come in and confront him. His attention turned to the TV once more. The front door was unlocked, she could go out whenever she wanted. The host was making some joke about women, he guessed by the graphics of lipsticks and rough flashing on the screen. Funny how it was the so called feminists who made a mockery of women more than people like him who were always raised to respect women and keep them in line.

He was about o zone out again when two things happened in quick succession. An image of himself flashed on screen, kissing the Vice President politely on the cheek and a voice from across he room uttered his old school nickname. The headlines read "Fiorina Fondled" but more interestingly, the princess was now standing in his room, holding on to his jacket for dear life.

"Jax..."

"Jackson," he corrected gently, his eyes off the screen on her. The girl looked terrified as a kitten and was scrubbed as raw as a plucked turkey on thanksgiving. What did she do, go sit in his washing machine? He was almost certain she would fit there. "S'up kiddo?" he added awkwardly, not making a move from his bed. The last thing he needed was a lawsuit to sink money into.

Well, another lawsuit to sink money into.

"Uh... like I said, there's a phone outside. You can call whoever to pick you up. And until they arrive... you can hang out here. There's chips and salsa in the fridge and the microwave works. I think there might be half a leftover pizza..." The young man trailed off, unsure how to tell her she was free to go wherever she wanted to.

Reaching out to turn off the TV, Jackson accidentally demuted the volume and loud fake studio laughter filled the room.

"Now now," the host chided his crowd. "We all laugh but come November, Jackson Blake could very well snag the Senate seat of Wisconsin. And we all know who he works for. Don't let the moderate demeanor fool you, the man is in with the likes of Mitch McConnell, Michael Bloomberg, Carly Fiorina and is in fact in the party of our Glorious Leader Donald-"

The TV switched off, Jackson finally having located the right button. "Sorry about that," he mumbled. Great, as if she needed more of a reason to believe he was bad news. "Fake news and all," he attempted, trying to pull off a casual Trump impression.

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Running (Jackson Blake - TW: Sexual Themes) - Page 2 Rsz_mi10

Running (Jackson Blake - TW: Sexual Themes) - Page 2 Rsz_ja12

Running (Jackson Blake - TW: Sexual Themes) - Page 2 Rsz_rs13

The extension of the man's name was not taken on board by Victoria. The man before her, no matter what he said, would always be Jax to her, he'd always been Jax to her. The fact he'd thrown accusations at her a couple of years ago about what she'd done in the aftermath of Jake and Azalea's break up were gone from her mind, and even more so now that the name of her saviour from the previous evening had a face.

No response came from the young witch at his greeting, still somewhat in shock of being in the apartment of Jackson Blake, of all people. Still unable to process the small world in which they lived in, the witch simply stood in the door way, knuckles white against the fabric of his jacket.

The offer of the phone came again, and Victoria looked out to the living area, contemplating the offer that had been set out for her. She could call anyone, right now, anyone she wanted to, Jax had just pointed out he didn't mind. And yet... the witch didn't know who to call. Did she want to call anyone? No. The idea of ringing Jake was one that Victoria wrote off in only a second. Jake would be livid, with her, or the situation, Victoria could not tell. He was vastly protective of her, and the protectiveness terrified her in the aftermath of the unknown of last night.

Her parents... Victoria wrote those off just as quickly. They didn't know she was here.

Grayson... no, Grayson had been given enough to worry about when she'd asked him to look after her possessions for a short period. To ring him to tell him she'd... the witch shuddered at the thought of Grayson knowing this. The thought of his eyes befalling her with pity, or worse disgust, pushed that thought from her mind. Irrational though it might be that Grayson would be disgusted, she could not risk even the possibility of him seeing her like this. Seeing her broken after losing her job had been enough.

"I... can't..." Victoria managed a little too thickly in that moment, shaking her head gently at the notion of picking the phone up. And yet, she knew she couldn't stay here, either. It was unfair to intrude on Jackson's personal space. But... she didn't know what else to do in that moment.

The offer of food was presented, but Victoria could not fathom the idea of eating right now. So she ignored the kind offer, her eyes drifting to the TV that sported a picture of Jackson upon it. He fumbled with the screen, turning the sound on which announced his likely ascent to a seat on the Senate, something that Victoria had not, in truth, been keeping up with. Names of other officials, people who held office, the rich and famous with whom Jax now associated himself with.

As Jax tried to cover it over -- Victoria hadn't been judging, he was making a career here and she would never hold that against someone -- Victoria gave the smallest, tightest smile at his joke, but it did not meet her eyes.

"I was going to try and wash your jacket," She told him softly, her eyes falling away from Jax's because she still felt dirty, ashamed, and even if Jax wasn't actively doing so, judged. "If you could just show me where the washing machine is..." Victoria trailed off. Keeping herself busy, that was what she was doing, until such time as she worked out who he could call, or what she was going to do.

There was a pause, Victoria thought of saying something else, but then settled softly on something more worthwhile.

"I don't remember what happened last night... I don't know how you found me, or... or in what state you found me. But... thank you, thank you for helping me." She insisted, hoping this would be enough, and leaving the final part unsaid.

Anything I can do to repay the kindness, I will.

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The confession that she couldn't call anyone came as more than a little spurring to Jackson. He'd have figured someone like her had a dozen people ready on her speed dial. She certainly gave off the air of the glammed up airheads with thousands of twitter followers. But then again, maybe the loss of her phone had also deleted all the numbers from her mind?

"Then, maybe I can drive you somewhere... wherever you're staying?" he offered since phoning a friend was stricken from the options list. He really hoped she wasn't those amnesic hungover ones who couldn't remember where they lived after a night out on the town. "I've got a car and everything," he finished pathetically. He would have offered to call her an Uber but dressed as she was with a stranger in the car, he may as well have left her on the bar last night.

When she offered to wash his jacket, he merely shook his head. "Don't worry about it, I was going to go put a load in tonight anyway, the stuff's piling up." As if to emphasize his point, he jabbed a thumb towards the overflowing hamper.

And then it happened, her... gratitude, or something akin to that. She thanked him like she'd never done the deed before. Slow, awkward, ashamed. How privileged did one have to even be to not know how to say thank you? "You were just falling asleep on the bar," he offered, seeing no merit of reminding her what she'd gone through with Metz and the gang. She probably didn't even remember them from Salem.

He was surprised she remembered him.

"You'll have to go down to the station and fill out a missing wand report," he reminded her because he was running out of things to say. "Of course, that doesn't mean they'll find it but at least you'll be in the system. And then eventually you can go down to Greenwitch and get a new one." Though how would she go to the station without shoes or money or... anything? "I can take you there after if you like?"

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The offer to be driven somewhere was not one that Victoria found welcoming, either. She did not want to go back to the hotel room which she had booked, to be left on her own. But, insisting her presence upon Jax was hardly fair, either. The witch didn't know what to say in response to that offer, so once again, she didn't give a comment upon that statement, trying to think of something she wanted, and falling short.

She wanted to be back home, in her apartment safe, but that... that was no longer an option.

Victoria knew, of course, that Jackson didn't have a reason to keep her here, nor was he obligated to let her stay, so of course, she would have to accept that much.

"You were just falling asleep on the bar,"

It was a lie, they both knew it. The elephant in the room was there, and neither one of them wished to talk about it. Though, Victoria supposed, she should be thankful that Jax was keeping the rougher version of events from her. Merlin only knew what he'd come in between last night.

The reminder to report her wand missing was one that Victoria knew all too well from her time at the Ministry. Jackson was right, she needed to report it missing in case it was used... Victoria moved away from those kind of thoughts, and merely nodded in response. The insistence he take her, after he'd taken her to her hotel was one that Victoria could take the hint with.

"Thank you," The witch replied to the offer, giving in to the fact that Jax was trying to get rid of her as soon as possible, and accepting it. "May I borrow a pair of trousers, until I've retrieved my clothes? I don't mind if they've been worn." She assured him. They would be too big, of course, unless he had a pair of tracksuit bottoms with the elasticated waist, but it was better than her current attire.

***

An hour later the duo emerged from the car ride -- which smelt so chemically clean, Victoria knew without Jackson telling her that she'd thrown up in the car last night, not that she remembered -- that had been conducted in an awkward silence. Victoria's head was ringing from the night before, but in the oversized trousers of Jackson's, his shirt, and a pair of too big flips flops they'd managed to locate, they had arrived at the Westin Milwaukee.

It had, perhaps, been Victoria's apprehensive look at the building that brought Jax from his seat, or perhaps it had been her generally dishevelled look. Victoria didn't know, but he'd gotten out of the car with her, and walked with her to the Reception desk under the close scrutiny of the security.

Victoria had explained the predicament that she'd found herself in -- sans the copious drinking, and what she guessed had happened last night -- to the woman on reception, who had kept explaining that without ID, her money, or any electronic means of paying for the room she claimed to have booked, there was no way that she could allow Victoria a second key card. Losing property of the hotel was not helping Victoria's case, and the glances from the receptionist to the security guard was making Victoria feel very helpless.

"Please, I just need to get my belongings from my room. Just five minutes, I promise, and then I'll be on my way..." Victoria pleaded with the woman, who looked vastly unmoved by Victoria's situation.

"Company policy, ma'am, I can't let you up without your card, or the means to purchase another card." The receptionist explained impatiently once more.

Letting out a sigh, Victoria turned to Jax. "Can you just... take me to the station, and... I'll sort things from there, please?" She asked softly, giving in to defeat because she couldn't see how else she was going to get in to that room now.

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Thank the stars it didn't take the princess long to catch on the fact that he wanted her out. He'd done his good deed for the week and now he just wanted to... To do what, he found himself thinking as he searched for an appropriate pair of pants for her. return to this place and think of he mess his life had become. the wizard paused... he hadn't thought once about his current situation since last night. Perhaps the munchkin was good for soemthing after all?

There were no jeans or clean track bottoms for her to wear, so wincing slightly he pulled out his emergency suit. As a politician, he had to keep one sharply pressed and ready to go at all times. Tossing the garment on his unmade bed, he proceeded to pull at the hanger until the trousers came undone. they would go well past her feet but there was little choice right now. "Here," he offered, letting her take the proffered pants and slip out the room. the next time he sww her, she was waiting by the door.

She herself had solved the footwear issue, finding a pair of flip flops on the sad box by the doorway that passed for a shoe rack. Jackson had never really grown out of his dorm days. The house on Lake Drive was supposed to be his new start but right now... thinking of it simply filled him with dread. "Come one, lets get you safely back to your home," he spoke, his voice falsely cheery in the midday heat as he opened the car door for her.

However instead of a home, he was softly given the address of a hotel, a hotel he knew quite well by its name alone. And though the drive was mostly quiet, Jackson knew what was coming. He knew the hotel better than she did, which meant she was only passing through Milwaukee. They would turn her away the moment they saw her in baggy suit trousers, a Mil-Tech sweatshirt and large flips flops, claiming she had a room there. This realization, more than anything, made him go into the hotel with her.

He stayed quiet while she tried to make her case, not wanting to be called out for misogyny by stepping in. Instead, he watched as the staff continued to humiliate and belittle her. They knew who she was, that was obvious. She had probably waved to them all and they had welcomed her to the hotel. And now they were reminding her of how helpless she was over and over again. It was like the bastards last night but in a more corporate fashion. they were making her feel worse about herself than they had a right to.

When she finally gave up and returned to him, Jackson nodded. "Okay, but sit here first, drink some complementary water or shit?" he instructed before making his way to the counter himself. This time, there was no genial air about him, his jaw was set in a hard, unforgiving line as he approached the heavily made up receptionist.

"Can i see your manager please?" he asked, his tone brooking no argument. "Tell him it's Jackson Blake, District Three and Four." The receptionist politely told him to wait a moment and picked up her phone. Another moment later she smiled at him again.

"If you'll just wait in the lobby for-"

"You know what, I don't think I will," he replied, dark eyes flashing. "I think I'll wait right here and see how long your staff keeps me standing." As it turned out, less than two minutes. The manager was still fixing his tie as he approached, the mustard stains on his fingers still not all gone from the quick paper napkin rub he must have applied to them.

"Mr. Blake, a real pleasure. I must say, I have a cousin in Green Lake and you've put us right on the map with you-" The man stopped, taking in Jackson's dark expression. "I mean, how can I help you sir?"

"My kid sister booked a room here last night and now she's lost her key card, but your receptionist isn't letting her in to retrieve her belongings."

"That's not what the lady said," the receptionist cut across him, her smile no longer friendly, no longer even there.

"Are you calling me a liar, Miss?" the politician asked coldly. She could decide if she wanted to be right or continue having a job. twenty seconds passed before she bowed ehr head in defeat.

"My apologies sir, I must have misheard," she admitted with an heir of someone who had at least sacrificed her integrity once in favor of the customer service motto. I took another minute for her to hand him a fresh key card. Taking it from her, he stalked of back to where the princess was waiting.

"Here, go get your stuff."

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Victoria had followed Jax's instructions, sitting down with a cup of the water that was complementary with her bowed from the continued staring of the security personnel of the hotel. She didn't blame them, in Jax's clothes she looked a mess, she knew that. Jax was the best part of a foot taller than her, athletic. Everything hung off of her terribly, but she didn't care. It was temporary.

But with each moment that passed under the intense eye of the security and other hotel customers who found her an odd sight, Victoria curled in to herself more and more, trying to make herself smaller than the oversized clothes were already making her look in that moment.

Why couldn't she just go unnoticed for a short while?

The water didn't much help. Being too cold against her teeth and tongue it caused a brain freeze that made the ache in her head exceedingly more painful than necessary. With barely a sip more being taken, Victoria placed it down, and sat waiting, watching the floor for Jax to return.

Not five minutes later, Jax returned with a card, holding it out to her and insisting she go and get her things. Looking to the card in disbelief, Victoria gently reached out for it, almost scared Jax would snatch it away, laugh, and tell her that they couldn't get to her things. But that didn't happen, the card moved to her hand, and for a moment the witch just looked up at Jax, curious in that moment. Why? Why him? After all these years, in Milwaukee, why was Jackson Blake here, looking after her again?

She shook the thought, though, bringing the card back towards her stomach to keep it safe in the same manner she'd held his jacket only a couple of hours before. "I'll... be right back." Victoria insisted, checking for a moment that Jax was not going to run off before she hurried off up to her room. She'd not unpacked, having only arrived yesterday, so she didn't need to put anything away. But, the witch took a moment to change back in to something better suited to her. Avoiding the dresses she'd packed, and opting for jeans and a top that covered her body and any signs of what happened the night before, Victoria worked quickly, efficiently, in to the new look.

A quick exchange with the bathroom found her teeth brushed, deodorant on, body spray and perfume applied. A moment was taken to consider her looks, and her hands automatically reached for the clear chapstick, applying it to her lips deftly in the hope of feeling normal. All of the cosmetics did nothing to alleviate her anxiety, though, as the witch put all of the items back in the suitcase, together with Jax's clothes, before lugging it out of the room and back to Jax.

To his credit, the man was still where she'd left him.

Moving to the reception, Victoria placed the card upon the desk, ready to be stung with a bill she couldn't pay. But the receptionist -- tightly -- thanked her, before motioning her away. Confusion touched her features for a moment, before her mind caught up. Jax had sorted everything. Her debt to the man was growing each minute they spent together, and Victoria didn't know how she was ever going to repay his generosity.

Especially seeing as he was so intent on getting rid of her.

"If you could just drop me at the station, I'll be fine from there." Victoria told Jax as she approached him once more, her suitcase wheeling silently behind her as they made their way out of the door, away from the eagle eyed security who didn't know what to make of the situation at all. "And... thank you, again, for bailing me out. I'll... send you the money to repay for that. And the car." She insisted, making it known that she knew that Jax had done for her.

And once again, Victoria left everything else unsaid as Jax helped her with her suitcase. After he'd lifted it in to the trunk, she opened it to pull his clothes out, leaving them as she'd folded them neatly beside her bag so that she didn't accidentally take them with her. The drive to the station was shorter than the drive had been to the hotel, and Victoria had insisted Jax didn't need to wait, but he'd not listened.

Another hour passed, the Ministry -- they were police men in the Muggle world, but it didn't take long for that to be shown up when Victoria used the distinct wording used when trying to get through to the wizarding world. The loss of her wand was something the Ministry were not happy about, but they noted it as missing, together with her phone, purse, ID and -- Victoria had insisted it didn't matter, but the men were thorough -- her shoes from the night before. The officer had been honest, telling Victoria not to expect to see the items again, and the witch had simply accepted the minor telling off for her carelessness.

Had it been a female officer, Victoria was quite sure she would have picked up on more, but in honesty, Victoria couldn't remember enough to be of use in the end.

From there, Victoria returned to the car that remained parked out front, and slid in to the passenger seat, lower lip trembling softly as she tried to keep herself from letting her emotions get the better of her. She would not cry, not now, she was fine. This was silly. But everything... everything she had was gone in this moment. Her job, her home, her phone that held so many pictures of her beautiful family that she hadn't thought to back up before now, her bank cards, the small note from Ivan that denoted how much he loved his favourite Aunty Vic, even the bloody shoes that she'd bought on a whim because Adrienne had picked them out when Victoria had taken her shopping.

All of it. Gone.

And what was worse, everyone was silently judging her for the mistake she'd made.

Everyone was judging her because she'd wanted to simply be free, for one evening.

A soft choking kind of sound left her as her hand came up to her mouth, her arms around her stomach protectively once more. Fighting back the tears, the witch looked straight ahead. "I'll... just grab my st-stuff. Thank you, again, for everything." She whispered, moving to open the door to the car.

Jackson had done enough, she had burdened him more than enough.

Now she just needed to get away.

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Jackson had just sat down on the comfortable sofa and picked up a magazine - how were magazines still a thing in today's world? Wasn't print media already dead? - prepared to wait the better part of an hour when the princess emerged from the elevator only two pages in. How she had managed to change, pack and sort herself so quickly, he couldn't understand. But maybe women could do this all the time and they just lied when they said it would take them an hour to get ready? He wouldn't put it past them. They left the hotel in silence, a silence she tried to break with another clumsy attempt at a thank you.

And then the mention of money.

"Don't worry, I know you're good for it," he replied dryly, getting in the car once more. Of course she would pay him back. He briefly considered blowing up the bill but then dismissed the thought. He didn't need that kind of money, not now, not ever. Though an extra ten grand would keep the reporter quiet until the elections...

Once again, the drive to the station was quiet and this time, she told him to stay back, Jackson nodded. But then she asked him to leave and he merely pointed to her luggage. "I'll wait, you don't need to drag that everywhere with you." The princess conceded the point and headed inside, she was probably sick of looking pathetic in front of him so many times today so he let her have her space, even if she had no clue what she'd just walked into.

Once she'd left, Jackson took out his phone, calling up a number he had rare occasion to use. Jim Sarbh picked up on the third ring. "Blake, heard you fucked the VEEP, were you any good?"

"Why don't you ask Preethi you son of a bitch?" Jackson replied, the first real smile of the day lighting his face. The chief officer in charge of wizarding affairs was a man after his own heart.

"Don't you talk about my wife that way, you asshole," Jim berated before putting said wife on the line to say hi.

"Hello bhabhi, how you put up with Jim, I don't know. But I suspect he has to go down a lot huh?" A few more seconds of chatter before the men got to business. "Listen Jim, this woman walked into prescient 7, last name Newbury, they can't miss her she's the size of a fucking goblin." Jackson continued to give details of what had happened to her and put forth his request to fast track her case. As a result, it only took her an hour to make the necessary reports and fill out paperwork. Otherwise they would have had to bring sleeping bags.

She finally emerged from the building as the sun was getting lower in the sky. A glance at his dashboard showed five p.m. They had been on the go for over three hours. His stomach growled, reminding him he hadn't eaten anything since last night.

As the princess climbed back in, clearly on the verge of some kind of mental breakdown, Jackson shook his head once again. Of course now she would break down, when everything was done. Not really sure how to comfort people, he let her wibble for a bit until she reached for the door handle.

"Do you have a place to go?" he asked seriously, reaching out to stop her from getting the handle. When no clear reply came, he muttered "thought so" to himself before asking her to buckle up.

Because as much as he would have loved to leave her there and be rid of all the problems she brought along with her, he would know exactly what Merida at home would think of her son leaving a girl alone in trouble like that. Having spent her own youth relying on the mercy of strangers, Merida had taught her son one thing above all else.: You don't abandon a woman in need, no matter who she is.

He drove unconsciously, letting the car take him to one of his favorite eateries in town. It was no Bambini's but Jackson preferred the pizza slinging college kids much more to the fancy waiters who called him "signor" and told him names of wines he couldn't give two shits about. Pulling into the parking lot, he got out of the car, motioning for her to do the same before leading her inside the brightly lit, clearly kid friendly restaurant. "Its buy one free one pizza night," he offered in explanation if the witch asked him why they were here.

Finding a table right by the last existing ball pit in America, the two sat down and Jackson ordered a large steak and pepperoni pizza before looking her way. "You choose the other one, that's how the boy one free one works no? We each get a pizza."

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As she moved to the door, Victoria knew that she was in trouble. No money, no phone, nobody that could help her once she stepped out of the car from beside Jackson. She supposed she could turn back in to the precinct once Jax had driven off, ask if she could borrow a Floo Network and go back to her parents... or Jake's house. Maybe even head to Grayson's until such time that she had reacquired a wand...

But as she tried to think of a plan, Jax spoke, asking her if she had somewhere to go. The question was one that she knew the answer to, but was much too ashamed to actually answer. Jax took that as his prompt and asked her to buckle up, something that Victoria did slowly, carefully, because she was exhausted. Emotionally, physically. And with each moment she spent with the man beside her, she knew she was simply running up a debt -- not of a monetary value -- to the man.

The drive was quiet, Victoria trying to form a plan in her life now, but failing. She knew she had to get herself together. If not for herself, then for her family back in the UK that had always expected so much more from her. Jax, to his credit, let her be as they drove. They pulled up outside a restaurant that looked... so plain, so down to earth, and undeniably children friendly. It was a breath of fresh air as they got out of the car and Victoria hurried after Jax's long strides in to the restaurant as he explained that it was buy one get one free night in the place. That sounded perfect to Victoria, her body was weak, and even if she didn't feel like eating, even if she felt sick thinking about eating, Victoria knew she had to.

As they sat, Victoria scanned the menu, oddly overwhelmed by the choice, even if she didn't have reason to be. She sat quietly, barely noticing that Jax had hailed down one of the waiters to take their order. In a blind panic, the witch simply gave her order because she hadn't settled. "Just a small margarita, please." She told the staff, putting the menu back in the holder. They both ordered a drink after, Victoria just ordering a water because she couldn't stomach fizzy in that moment.

And then, there it was. Jax sat before her. Looking after her. When he had no cause to. The man had done so much in the last eighteen hours or so. Something she was curious to understand. But that was for another time.

"So, the Senate..." Victoria prompted, looking impressed. "How's the campaign going? The opposition any good?" It was casual, keeping the subject off of herself for now because he deserved some credit for all he'd done recently.

And, for the life of her, Victoria couldn't pinpoint anything else to talk to him about.

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Fortunately, the princess was wake enough to walk herself into the pizzeria, if she hadn't been Jackson would simply have turned the car around. He was not carrying her into a restaurant full of families with big mouths and phones ready to snap pictures. After having ordered, the two fell into an awkward silence once more, Jackson watching the ball pit with a slight smile as children ran in and out, screaming and yelling and generally being children.

It was a shame ball pits were labelled a health hazard now, he would have liked to see more of this. But that was what happened didn't it, someone was an asshole and everyone had to pay for it.

"So, the Senate..."

The tentative words from her tore his attention away from the kids, making her look at her face curiously. Was she mocking him? In the "oh, you still have to work to survive" kind of way? Or was she grasping at straws for a topic of conversation too? "Is still a thing," he managed as casually as he could. "But if the President wins a Third term, who knows anymore." While the US of A's descent into a dictatorial regime wasn't quite as eminent as the liberals made it out to be, no sane person could argue that Trump had bent the law as far back as he could without doing time for it.

Lucky bastard.

When their food arrived, the waiter setting down his large pizza first and the tiny thing she had ordered second, making him look especally piggish, Jackson grunted a thanks before directing his next words to her.

"Eat," he insisted, picking up a slice of his own pie and taking a large bite as if to demonstrate how the chewing and swallowing process worked. Once he was satisfied she had taken a few bites, he started up conversation again.

"So why aren't you calling someone up? Anyone at all? You weren't trying to run away from home, were you kid? Cause I don't think it counts after you hit eighteen." Of course, the way she was, he wouldn't be surprised if the witch opposite him was mistaken for a minor. The idea made him cringe internally.

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Come Plot With Me <3

» Jackson Blake
» Keep Holding On (Jackson Blake)
» Shards of Trust (Jackson(Aza NPC)) [Warning: swearing, sexual themes]
» Blake Mason
» Superman ain't savin' shit (Josh - violent themes)