[The minute she gets into an empty elevator, she can’t help a goofy smile, rereading his messages. It’s a relief, and it lingers as she waits out front in the humid late summer air, her jacket slung over one arm.
[ The early bird gets to watch Jimmy pop the door of the cab and scramble out, then stand with his hands on his hips, looking supremely satisfied. He spots Kim only a handful of seconds later, any semblance of composure eradicated as he breaks into a wide smile.
He's drunk, of course. It's different in person: he looks rumpled and underdressed absent his jacket and tie, one of his sleeves rolled up and the other exquisitely wrinkled. He's a wadded-up newspaper blown across the doorstep of this soaring edifice. Maybe not even a newspaper, a candy wrapper. ] Hey you. [ His step is light, if wobbly. His eyes are bright. He plucks at her arm and leans in for a kiss, then gently steers her so they're both gazing up at the building.
He points both fingers upwards, wagging them in a not-terribly-coordinated way. Tracing incomprehensible paths. ] Show me which window's gonna be yours.
[Kim beams as she meets him; that's her man, his open enthusiasm a stark contrast from the crowd of restrained and professional people inside. It softens her shoulders and has her slipping a hand along his side as they meet.]
Hi.
[She's not nearly inebriated enough to overlook his breath, but it doesn't matter. She'll humour him.]
I'm in a bullpen right now, but... [She leans her temple against his cheek so she can catch his line of sight. He's warm. She measures her route in and out: how deep the elevators sit in the sprawling lobby, the path she'd walk through the offices. Her desk is crammed amongst dozens of others, and she has to crane her neck to see a window. It's fine. It's temporary.
She adjusts his finger to some rough approximation.]
One promotion and I'll have an office here. [Over slightly.] Two... [And again. A finality on her voice:] Three.
[ He slumps into her—affectionately, in his mind. The counterpoint to his outpouring of energy at the meet-and-greet, the eighty-proof giddiness that he realizes was mostly anticipation of this. This is special. That he can relax with her; that he relaxes into happiness.
He sneaks a look at her, in the skyscraper's cast-off light, face at that hopeful angle, then follows his fingertip as she presses it to the three windows. ] Best view in the city. [ It's easy to picture her up there, high enough that the ten thousand neon signs that scream for attention on the street become a stunning haze of color. Able to see farther than anyone else. ]
Okay, we gotta—meter's running. [ But he says it softly, conspiratorially. With a grin: ] Getaway time.
[His weight sank against her has her pressing a heel into the ground to brace them, her hand curling into his other side, but it's permission to be close, an explanation for affection for any prying eyes.
She thinks, fleetingly, that she has gone backwards in time.
She turns her face to him again, gaze dipping briefly to his mouth before locking with his eyes again. There's a flicker to her face, some failure to suppress her excitement, relishing there being something to come next.]
I heard about— [ He takes a step back, still facing her—his fingers trailing down her forearm. Shoes scraping against the pavement. The spark in her eye could burn the city down. ] —this disgustingly swank— [ He swivels, grabbing for the door to the cab, ready to open it like the gentleman he is. His hand swipes at air.
There is no cab.
For a moment Jimmy stands there staring, as if he can't quite put it together. Akira with his tarot cards all over again, the taxi shuffled away during a lapse in attention. Then: ] No! My jacket's in there! And your— [ He lets out a cry of frustration, somewhere between a harrumph and a howl. He stumbles off the curb, trots a few steps as if to give chase. Throws up his hands at the empty street and heaves a sigh.
It's not until he looks back at her that he cracks a smile. He gestures one more time, sweeping an arm up the street. ] Maybe there's a warrant out on him, he got antsy.
[She follows along with these developments with rapt attention, curiosity giving way to a bemused sympathy giving way to an easy humour, her expression relaxed. A jacket is replaceable. Her souvenir, difficult to miss when she never had it. Jimmy is in one piece and in arm's reach, and that's all she can ask for. There are easy answers to everything else: a call for a replacement car, a message left with lost & found, new memories made.
And, if she's being honest, it's fun to watch him drunkenly troubleshoot it all in real time. She laughs, a noise that pops out of her in one sharp burst, a hand flying to hide her mouth as she does. She smooths herself over just as fast.]
Probably took one look at me and knew he was in trouble. [She manages to inject some gravity into her voice, somehow. Then it's gone like a flash, replaced by a pause, and an eagerness that feels embarrassing in the best way:] Actually, while we're here... come see something with me.
[She reaches for his hand. The streets are quiet enough.]
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timeasmymeasure
3/3
Date: 2022-09-13 09:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-09-13 09:39 pm (UTC)I'll let you know. There will be a memo, 2 meetings and a final briefing in advance.
no subject
Date: 2022-09-13 10:00 pm (UTC)hey want me to com down there? tell them you DON'T answer QUESTIONS without yr LAYER present (emphasis important)
1/2
Date: 2022-09-13 10:12 pm (UTC)2/2
Date: 2022-09-13 10:13 pm (UTC)1/3
Date: 2022-09-13 10:20 pm (UTC)(something that flies obvously)
2/3
Date: 2022-09-13 10:21 pm (UTC)3/3
Date: 2022-09-13 10:23 pm (UTC)can you commandeer cars now?
no subject
Date: 2022-09-13 10:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-09-13 10:52 pm (UTC)you are in the scary tower right?
no subject
Date: 2022-09-13 11:03 pm (UTC)Tell me when you're close, I'll come down and meet you.
no subject
Date: 2022-09-13 11:23 pm (UTC)[ A minute later: ] The 90 Story Nightstick [ And another minute: ] CLOSE
no subject
Date: 2022-09-13 11:31 pm (UTC)[The minute she gets into an empty elevator, she can’t help a goofy smile, rereading his messages. It’s a relief, and it lingers as she waits out front in the humid late summer air, her jacket slung over one arm.
This is where her night begins.]
no subject
Date: 2022-09-14 02:55 pm (UTC)He's drunk, of course. It's different in person: he looks rumpled and underdressed absent his jacket and tie, one of his sleeves rolled up and the other exquisitely wrinkled. He's a wadded-up newspaper blown across the doorstep of this soaring edifice. Maybe not even a newspaper, a candy wrapper. ] Hey you. [ His step is light, if wobbly. His eyes are bright. He plucks at her arm and leans in for a kiss, then gently steers her so they're both gazing up at the building.
He points both fingers upwards, wagging them in a not-terribly-coordinated way. Tracing incomprehensible paths. ] Show me which window's gonna be yours.
no subject
Date: 2022-09-14 03:39 pm (UTC)Hi.
[She's not nearly inebriated enough to overlook his breath, but it doesn't matter. She'll humour him.]
I'm in a bullpen right now, but... [She leans her temple against his cheek so she can catch his line of sight. He's warm. She measures her route in and out: how deep the elevators sit in the sprawling lobby, the path she'd walk through the offices. Her desk is crammed amongst dozens of others, and she has to crane her neck to see a window. It's fine. It's temporary.
She adjusts his finger to some rough approximation.]
One promotion and I'll have an office here. [Over slightly.] Two... [And again. A finality on her voice:] Three.
no subject
Date: 2022-09-24 03:00 pm (UTC)He sneaks a look at her, in the skyscraper's cast-off light, face at that hopeful angle, then follows his fingertip as she presses it to the three windows. ] Best view in the city. [ It's easy to picture her up there, high enough that the ten thousand neon signs that scream for attention on the street become a stunning haze of color. Able to see farther than anyone else. ]
Okay, we gotta—meter's running. [ But he says it softly, conspiratorially. With a grin: ] Getaway time.
no subject
Date: 2022-09-24 03:32 pm (UTC)She thinks, fleetingly, that she has gone backwards in time.
She turns her face to him again, gaze dipping briefly to his mouth before locking with his eyes again. There's a flicker to her face, some failure to suppress her excitement, relishing there being something to come next.]
Where are we going?
[She's going without question.]
no subject
Date: 2022-09-27 12:24 am (UTC)There is no cab.
For a moment Jimmy stands there staring, as if he can't quite put it together. Akira with his tarot cards all over again, the taxi shuffled away during a lapse in attention. Then: ] No! My jacket's in there! And your— [ He lets out a cry of frustration, somewhere between a harrumph and a howl. He stumbles off the curb, trots a few steps as if to give chase. Throws up his hands at the empty street and heaves a sigh.
It's not until he looks back at her that he cracks a smile. He gestures one more time, sweeping an arm up the street. ] Maybe there's a warrant out on him, he got antsy.
no subject
Date: 2022-09-27 01:41 am (UTC)And, if she's being honest, it's fun to watch him drunkenly troubleshoot it all in real time. She laughs, a noise that pops out of her in one sharp burst, a hand flying to hide her mouth as she does. She smooths herself over just as fast.]
Probably took one look at me and knew he was in trouble. [She manages to inject some gravity into her voice, somehow. Then it's gone like a flash, replaced by a pause, and an eagerness that feels embarrassing in the best way:] Actually, while we're here... come see something with me.
[She reaches for his hand. The streets are quiet enough.]