|
  |
Greenwich Village is a universe of difference from M.T., it's hard to believe they're the same city. Tall buildings, businesses, kept sidewalks, fancy details and care put into the structures. Hell, the building that the cab Jeb is in stops at /has a doorman/. Seriously. A doorman. A guy whose whole world is just opening the door for people and knowing who to let in and who to not let in. Which is why he stops the young man just inside the broad glass doors with a hand and asks if he can help him. Gotta make sure the riff raff doesn't get in.
Oh and Jebediah looks like a can of riff raff. A rather small can, but riff raff none the less in his slightly singed about the shoulders, rumpled plaid shirt that seems to be a size too big for him, torn jeans and beer breath. Jebediah takes a step back and sizes this door guy up. Was that fairy guy sure this was the right address? What would Sam or Jay be doin' here. "Uhm, excuse me. Ah'm lookin' for my brother." That's right. He doesn't know which one it is. "Uh.. last name is Guthrie. Ah was told he lives here." In this big, fancy lookin', clean building. Jeb scratches the back of his head, trying to wrap his mind on how any Guthrie could live here. Maybe one of the girls in the future. They were all real pretty, one of em could be a model or something.
The word 'Guthrie' leaves Jeb's mouth and the doorman's eyes lid. Oh. /That/ one. Right. "Apartment 6C, sir." /Sir/! With a smooth pivot to one side, the doorman gestures across the posh looking lobby to the right, his tone generally dismissive in businesslike tones. "Take the right-most elevator to the 6th floor. Turn left after the elevator and you will be able to find the door." He eyes the scruffy looking man with an accent that is just as much a credential as anything else. "Please try not to disrupt the other residents on your way there." Well, that's a positive, right? The name seems to ring a bell.
Jeb looks at the man like he's seeing Jesus right here in the flesh when the man calls him 'sir'. What kind of crazy place is this? Did one of his brothers marry some rich broad while they were away? "Uh.. thank you, sir." He takes an age to respond because all of this is a lot for Jeb's mind to process, not the directions but being called sir, the fancy building, a drunk guy who says he confessed feelings for his brother, who knows WHICH brother. Dear god, Jeb needs to sit down.
He follows directions and looks for 6C like he'd been instructed. He hesitates for a moment, chewing on his lower lip before he finally knocks but not loudly. The guy said not to be disruptive after all.
The door is pretty plain, all things considered. Even for the holidays, it's not decorated. No welcome mat. Nothing. Hardly seems a very warm place, does it now?
Jeb knocks. Nothing at first. The tentative sound doesn't seem to disturb anyone inside, but there is light streaming in from under the door, so someone's gotta be awake in there.
Jeb steps back and glares at the door when no one comes to greet him but he looks at the floor to see that light is on inside. Well, they said not to disrupt the residents but Jebediah was made to be disruptive. He knocks, /aggressively/ this time. "Is there a Guthrie in there?" He says quite loudly.
Okay, now /that/ someone is bound to hear. Well, not Kaleb. His room is usually buffered against noises so he can get a good night's sleep, and by extension, Jay gains a bit of that immunity as well. However, Jay wasn't in his room just yet at this late hour. Soft feet pad across the floor and the peep hole goes dark for a moment. A muted voice mumbles something through the door and locks click over in successionjust twobefore the door swings open and a half naked Jay appears in the doorway, his hair still wet from a shower. The red-headed brother looks confused, gaping at his younger brother. Standing there. In his hallway. Not in Kentucky. Gobstopped, Jay just stares for a moment, a hand on the doorknob.
"Jeb?"
It's Joshua, not Sam that answers the door and Jeb can't decide if he's glad that this is the brother he sees. Sam had to go to work in the mines as soon as their daddy died, Jay was the one who was around more often to do all the playing house and by extension, Jebediah knew Jay a lot better than Sam.
Also, Jeb missed Jay a lot more than he did Sam. He doesn't answer for a prolonged moment though, twisting his hands up in the shirt who's sleeves are too long for him. It's relieving to see that Jay is fine here in New York. He's okay. He looks like he's been eating just fine. He lives in some fancy rich place so he's got a girlfriend or friends that are looking out for him. It's Jeb's fault he's all the way out here anyway. He looks down at the floor for a moment. Guys aren't supposed to be all emotional and junk over seeing their big, dumb, winged brother for the first time in awhile. "Yeah, it's me." He says after a moment before he looks back up. "Wanted to come and see what New York was all about, y'know?"
Not that one could really tell by looking at Jay just what his state is. One of the downfalls to his latest mutation, though Jeb mayhonestly not know the extent. It isn't as if Jay was home for very long before being quietly moved to New York once his mutation kicked in. And certainly nobody would explain all the horrific details of what happened with him to the younger siblings. So, really, Jay's just as shocked when he stares at the young man in the hallway, anxiously twisting his sleeves to a hand-me-down shirt. Where Jeb is right is that he's living in a fancy looking place. With a doorman for some reason.
After a moment of shock, feathers shiver behind him in a cacophony of whispers while he stands there dumbly in his doorway in his sleep pants, trying to decide if this is a trick. "Um. H-Hey! Yeah, yeah, course…" Blinking rapidly, Jay reaches out with a free hand to grip one of Jeb's shoulders, prompting him to come inside. "Sorry! C'mon in. Mah roommates are sleepin', but…come in. Come in. No need fer you to be standin' out there."
Jeb knows that Jay's got wings. He doesn't know that he can heal. Their mama wasn't going to tell the rest of them why Jay had to leave, not the real reason. There was a story about him showing off his wings at a concert and that he needed to be somewhere safer for people like him when he's so obvious. Jeb also knows that a Cabot girl died. Jeb also knows that he got them banned from the time. Jeb also knows that his actions were what got the Cabot girl killed and he knows that Jay might have been with her when she was killed. Jeb also knows he's done a whole mess of wrong by the family because he really, /really/ wanted to teach his childhood bully a lesson.
Jeb allows Jay to guide him inside by a hand at the shoulder. "Oh, okay. You got more'n one, huh?" He asks, curious, he tries to contain all the questions but only because Jay's roommates are sleeping, not because he's trying hard not to be annoying. "This is a real fancy place. There was a guy downstairs who wasn't even gonna let me in."
Fuck the Cabots, man. The only good one's gone now, so what's the point?
Guiding Jeb inside the apartment, most of the lights seem off except for the immediate living room and one of the open doors to the far right off the livingroom. Upon first entry into the apartment is a small foyer. To the left is the single bath for the apartment and the entrance into the first of the three bedrooms. To the right, one enters the long living room area that makes up the main living space, with the small galley style kitchen tucked away to one side. A second and third bedroom are set off of the living room and both have access to the terrace and the view of the city.
The furniture is sparse and the apartment has that recently-moved-in feel which is perpetuated by the presence of some boxes that still remain packed and the promise of future customization of the space. The kitchen, however, is neat and clean and seems to be stocked full of food, pantry brimming. If one space has been completely moved into, it seems to be the kitchen. A comfortable couch and coffee table as well as a couple of large over-stuffed chairs take up some of the livingroom space. There are a number of bookshelves as well, some of which have been filled. Otherwise, it still needs quite a bit of work.
Shutting the door behind Jeb and locking the door, Jay lingers close to his younger brother, automatically falling back into old habits. "Yeah, actually. I've got" Hesitation. Shit. There are only three bedrooms. "more than one. They're all good guys, though. Mutants, like us, though they're like you; they can pass. Pass fer normal, that is. It is really fancy, Ah know, Ah'm still not used to it all, but the twins are from a wealthy family an' their folks set them up here. It lets me send more money home fer Ma." Scrubbing the back of his head a bit while they walk into the apartment, a little awkwardly. "So. How long are you in town fer?" Presuming he's here on a visit.
Jeb takes in the inside of the apartment, looking to see where Jay's been living but it looks like his brother and his friends have only been living here very recently. There are boxes that are still packed up and it smells real clean but a fancy place like this might have maids or something. He looks at everything in awe, bright, brown eyes wide as he observes it all, mouth dropping open a little. For a little podunk country boy, this was interesting. "Wow!" He says, dragging out the vowel of that word as he spins around in a circle to really get the full effect, little stupid smile growing on his face during the action.
When Jay asks him how long he plans on staying, Jeb starts anxiously pulling on his shirt again and hastily spins away from Jay much like he might have done when he was younger and was eating something he wasn't supposed to or playing with something that wasn't a toy, or was marveling over a lock one of his many sisters' hair that he'd just cut off. "Well… uh… about that, ah was thinkin' ah might stay until ah don't wanna anymore."
A little self-conscious and a little proud, Jay smiles while he watches Jeb boggle at the place he's somehow magically (not) landed himself in. "Yeah. We just moved in. We were down a couple floors before, actually. But, uh, Ah didn't have a room an' was sleepin' in the livin' room. Kale decided it was time that ah had one of my own…" There's /something/ there that he isn't explaining. A tension or uncertainty over the subject, but it must have been resolved, right?
Like any good and overly responsible older brother, Jay immediately turns around when Jeb spins away from him, following but at a distance with that avoidance activity. Patient as the day is long, there's still a surprised pop of Jay's brows upwards when Jeb explains. Tension filling the silence. "Okay." A beat passes. "Does Momma know that?"
.~{:--------------:}~.
Jeb picks up a shoulder for a noncomittal answer that's neither a yes nor a no. "Sorta, Ah mean, she knows where ah went an' she knows that ah wanted to be with more mutants like me an' she knows I wanted to see you an' Sam. Ah don't know if she thought ah was gonna come back any time soon. Ah didn't tell her if I would or wouldn't be either." He's still not facing Jay as he stammers through a run on sentence of an explanation. "But ah mean, really… if ah'm far away it's probably better, y'know?"
Jay continues to trail after Jeb as he walks into the apartment, wincing a little bit when it becomes revealed that their mother may not know what's actually going on. Great. "You know that's not entirely true, Jeb. Everything that happened…not all of it was yer fault."
"A lot of it was. Ah mean, ah know that the Cabots were just the spawn of Satan without my help, but ah triggered the worst of it, didn't I? It's my fault that Ray Jr's daddy is dead." Jeb hugs himself for a moment, still doesn't want to face his brother. "If ah hadn't planned that attack out…"
"That ain't Christian to say, Jeb," Jay murmurs lowly, hearing the edge in his brother's voice, he walks up beside the brunet, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "You don't mean itwhew. You did some drinkin', huh?" He recoils slightly and steers Jeb around toward his bedroom. "If you an' Junior hadn't done what ya did it still would've happened. Maybemaybe not right away, but it was gonna happen. You know how they are. They were jus' lookin' fer an excuse an' if it wasn't you…" Jay exhales a hard breath straight from his lungs, feeling sick to his stomach. "It would'a been me. This is my room, all right? You can stay here."
"They weren't good Christian people, Josh, Ah'm sure God wouldn't have a problem with my sayin' so either." Jeb doesn't fight his brother's hold when it comes to steering him towards his bedroom. Too weary from drinking and making stupid decisions to argue with him. "Well yeah, we can here, Josh! Legal drinkin' age is eighteen out here. Can you believe it?" That's a better subject, seems to perk Jeb up a little but then Jay says it would have been him and Jeb frowns. "If only because you have those wings and they're all god fearin'jackwagons out there. You ain't never done anythin' wrong though. You're still the best out of all of us Guthries besides Mama."
There's a physical wince when Jay hears his birth name, but nods a couple of times anyway. "Maybe not, but that don't mean we go as low as them, huh?" Smiling mildly as Jeb steers that way easily and notes the drinking age. "You know Ah didn't figure that out for the first month Ah was here? Ah thought it was the same age as back home." The thoughts on him being the best one of them, and the mistaken assumption it'd be his wings that sent the Cabots after him results in a distressed flutter of his feathers behind him and hard swallow. He pushes past it and steers Jeb into his room. "You sure about that? Ah think that most folks reckon it's Sam."
Jay's small room possesses large windows along most of the far wall to bring in natural light. A second door between the windows leads the way out to a shared balcony wonderful views of the surrounding area. This space is somewhat conflicting, but ultimately the collaboration makes sense for the space he's in. The furniture seems new and pristine, picked out with a far more fashionable eye than the occupant probably has; stained a slightly caramel hardwood color rather than being painted, the lines are all very square and masculine with understated detail work. Even the bedside and desk lamps seem to match everything in what was probably imagined initially as a classy bedroom to match the building and the rest of the apartment. Until the occupant unpacked his sparse belongings, at least.
A homemade patchwork quilt folded half way down the bed rests over a second quilt in case of chill, commanding the most attention in the room and adding warmth that it was sincerely lacking. A framed color photo sits on the nightstand with a second photo stuck into the outside of the frame—the very last family photo that they all took together before Jay left. The one with just Lucinda, Jay with his wings barely smiling, and Junior. The photo stuck on the outside is a picture of Julia. Several other beloved photos are framed and sit scattered throughout the space along with an increasing number of notebooks and folders, all neatly labeled. A few records and other memorabilia about but generally the shelves seem rather bare with the occupant owning very little. An acoustic guitar sits beside the bed, without a case, but aged and well-loved through the years as a beloved item with pristige.
A fully functional coffee machine sits on the dresser and there's probably a glass left on the nightstand, socks strewn next to the bed or something the like, but generally tidy.
"We all miss you more'n we miss Sam, Josh, so ah think it's you and ah'm your best brother so my vote counts for like fifty." Jeb insists, words slurring a little as he allows himself to be led along into Jay's new room.
Jeb's eyes widen a little despite how weary he feels when he takes in the sight of the room. What the hell kind of life was Jay living out here in New York? Who did he know? What kind of job does he have to live in such a fantastic place? The windows were amazing and Jeb shrugs Jay's guiding hands away so he can hurry over them to look out like a kid pressing his face to a candy case. "Wow!" He /whispers/ which must mean he's geuninely impressed. Jebediah has no problem being loud. He stays there for a moment before he takes in the rest of the room, if Jay leaves him to it, he'll take a small tour, running his fingers over everything like it might be made of gold. "This is a really nice place." He says the obvious, stopping at the picture of Jay, their mother and Jr. He frowns a little at the way Jay's smile is lacking in it.
The bed is incredibly inviting in a room that looks like it came right out of a catalog. He moves back to Jay after a moment left to survey his brother's new dwelling and tries to wrap his brother up in a good old fashioned Southern hug. He had said he missed Jay the most.
Jay smiles smally, a sentimental kind of ease in him while he watches Jeb run to the windows. "Just don't open the door, okay? Ah don't feel like dive after ya from the balcony." Jay advises because there is a /balcony/ out there that is just the right kind of dangerous for a drunk man. He vanishes for a few minutes to grab Jeb a glass of water and two aspirin, of which they have plenty of for Kaleb. The frames are all new except for the one on his nightstand, but the photos are all old black and whites from back home. There are a couple color as well of the pond just outside of town in high summer.
Jay comes back and closes the door quietly, the apartment dark behind him as he walks back to Jeb, pressing the two pills into his palm. "Thanks. Ah can't take any credit fer how nice it is. Yer gonna want those. Here." Offering the water. Yeah the bed looks like a catalogue with a fancy headboard and all. Definitely different than the bunkbeds that their grandfather built. But the quilts are both touches of home that their mom must've sent to Jay. Instead of compliance for drugs, he gets a drunk hug, his arms awkwardly stuck, Jay chuckles in his whispering way, hardly audible even in the relative silence. Wings come around instead and wrap around Jeb for a hug. "Hey, Jeb. It's good to see you, too."
Jeb holds Jay hostage for a good long while before he finally releases him and likely surprises his older brother with his further compliance when he takes the two pills without any fuss. He trusts Jay to know what's best for his drunk, stupid self right now. Jay's always known what's best for him and the rest of the smaller Guthries, it probably won't be any different now. "Thank you." He says and it seems to be for a lot more than not making him sleep on the streets and offering him aspirin, a large general thank you. For Jay's existence. "Can ah open the door tomorrow?" He asks innocently about the balcony as he wanders towards the bed and hesistates. It's not as if they haven't shared a bed before, when you've got as many siblings as they do, Guthrie piles tend to happen. Especially if you're mad at one of your other siblings and want to really stick it to 'em by only cuddling every sibling but them. But this was Jay's new life, he doesn't want to impose on him so he wavers. "You want me to just make a place on the floor? Ah can."
Jay lets Jeb hold on as long as he likes in his half-drunk messness. There's no point in disrupting something like that while he's in a delicate place. Though Jay does say a small prayer when Jeb takes the water and pills without an argument. "You're welcome. Yeah, we can go out there t'morrow, but it's colder way up here." He warns ahead of time. indeed, there's a tiny snow drift from where the sun doesn't reach in one corner. Scrubbing a hand through his hair, Jay goes about turning down the bed without a second thought. He wasn't exactly ready for sleep just then, but after having a drunk jeb dumped on his doorstep, well, the excitement has faded and now he may actually get to sleep. The offer to sleep on the floor gets a weird look from Jeb, and a crooked smile when he hesitates. "Just get yer narrow backside in the bed, already," as if the question were wholly ridiculous.
"It is, everything is so much different. So many buildings. Guys who all they do… all they do, Josh, they just… they just answer doors, Josh. That's crazy." He slurs at Jay but he looks relieved when Jay tells him to just get in bed with him. He kicks off his shoes and falls messily into the bed without bothering to get undressed because that requires a lot more brain function than Jebediah possesses. "Ah even missed you tellin' me what t'do."
"You mean the guy downstairs?" Jay smiles faintly, recalling just how weird that was for him. Still is, actually. "Yeah. It's weird, all of it. It's beyond different than home. In more ways than one. Didja find Mutant Town?" Jeb falls into the bed and he sort of pauses, standing outside of the double bed, scrubbing the back of his head. "Erm, well, Ah got an extra pair of 'jammas if you want to change, Jeb." Though, he's not going to argue too much. Beneath the quilts from home there are some stupidly soft sheets and pillows, though. Posh. Kaleb made him get them, of course. Jay quirks a crooked smile over the grunt that he missed Jay's bossiness. "Haw. Well in that case, finish that water, huh? An' the bathroom's down the hall across the living room. Door on the /left/. It's open. Don't open the door on the raght, okay? That's mah roommate's." Oh God, Jebediah. Don't open the door on Vic and Kellan.
"But I'd have to change. There's so many dumb buttons on this shirt." Jebediah whines up at Jay at the notion of changing even though, his brother likely doesn't want to sleep next to someone who still smells heavily of alcohol. "And, ah'd have to get up. Ah said ah missed it, ah didn't say ah was gonna do any listenin'." Jebediah shakes his head at Jay as if he were the most ridiculous thing in this room. "Left. Ah got it. Won't walk in on anybody."
"You smell like a brewery an' a smoke shop had a baby," Jay points out, but doesn't yell at him for his language. But he almost does. Almost. Habits! "If you don't change, yer washin' my sheets in the mornin', and laundry's down the street. That's another thing about out here—it's hard to find a place with laundry in the buildin', so it's not all roses." Jay smiles mildly and walks to his dresser to throw an extra pair of pajamas at Jeb. The down side? The back is cut out. Because they're Jay's.
It's not as if Jeb is of enough mind to care much either as he clumsily catches the pair of pajamas thrown at him. The shirt Jebediah is wearing currently could very well have belonged to Jay at one point too, or Sam. He gives Jay a long suffering sigh that only a little brother can as he rises like his very bones are weary with the effort. "Fi-ine," He huffs at Jay, making sure to drag out the 'i' in the word. "Ah'll go change, splash some water on my face too, but only because yer makin' me. The door on the right?" He smiles mischievously at his older brother to indicate he's just being a brat.
Jay walks around to what's become 'his' side of the bed at this juncture and throws the quilt off, ignoring most of Jeb's whining and huffing. He's used to this ol' dog and pony show times seven, so one isn't so bad. Though he does look up when Jeb says the wrong door, a brief look of panic, before he sees the smartass smile on Jeb's face. "Haw, haw. Open the raght one and yer gonna get an eye-full of man-ass. Go on if you gotta. Ah'll try to figure out how to explain you to the guys tomorrow."
Jeb's smartass smile doesn't fade, it only grows wider when he recognizes panic on Jay's face. "Just tell 'em, a drunk ugly overgrown rat was on the doorstep and you decided to keep it, I'm sure they won't mind." Jeb teases as he moves to the door. "Thanks again, Josh. I appreciate ya takin' me in tonight." Even though, that's what family does, Jay should still be made aware that Jeb appreciates him.
"Ah don't think that this buildin' accepts pets," Jay points out with a smirk. "Though, if that's the case, Ah'm not allowed to be here, either." Making fun of himself was always a talent. His throat tightens up a bit again when he hears the name, but not nearly as bad as before, and easily missed by a drunk 18 year old kid. "That's what family does, Jeb. What was Ah gonna do? Turn you out? No way. You should stay with me 'til we get everythin' straightened out. The guys won't mind. Kale 'n' Kel are brothers. They'll understand." The appreciation does feel good, even if he underplays it.
Jebediah says, "Well damn, you're gonna have to hide me when yer landlord comes around or you'll get kicked out for sure." Jeb teases himself in the same style that Jay does. He nods when Jay says he should stay with him and swallows hard, clearly a little touched by that offer. "You coulda turned me away, but you didn't. You're a good brother. Now Ah'm gonna go change before I start tellin' you ah love you and stuff. Wouldn't want you gettin' any funny ideas that ah actually like you or anythin'.""
"That'd be awkward, now wouldn't it?" Jay answers on an angle, like clockwork. "It's not like you showed up on my doorstep an' not Sam's or nothin'." Of course, Jay has no idea that that has nothing to do with it, and not even Jeb knew which brother he was showing up to see. "Go on." Swatting a hand in his brother's general direction, Jay carefully scoots down in bed and lays down, his wings fixing themselves tight to his back at first. "You stink. Try not to puke in th' livin' room."
"Now, damn it, yer already ruinin' all my fun. That was the exact place ah was planning on puking." Jebediah teases but moves out of the bedroom before Jay can throw something at him.
"You were adopted!" Jay calls out at Jeb's retreating back.