Chapter Six: Phrases

-o-

October 12th 1956

"Look at you, you're a mess."

Jason ignored Tim's concerned stare as he wrapped a bandage around his knuckles, the faint light from the streetlamps filling the small space of the car as he continued to patch himself up. His knuckles burned a bit, but he chose not to say anything, lest Tim start up on one of his rants again, telling Jason he needed to take care of himself. Jason grabbed the edge of the bandage with his teeth, and tied a neat knot with a grunt. He knew what he was doing was difficult and hard on him, but at least it paid the bills.

"I'm fine."

"No… you're not… jeez. You look like you got into a fight with a lawn mower."

Jason snorted. The image wasn't that far off course.

Licking blood off his lips, Jason picked up his head and looked out the window, eyes failing to recognize any of the familiar landmarks. "We're not headed back to the apartment." He jerked around and saw a few shops and restaurants that were usually just out of his price range. "Where are we going?"

"Out." Tim's response was sharp and bity, as if he was trying to hold something back.

Jason raised an eyebrow, the movement causing him to wince a little. "Out? Where's out?"

"I have to borrow a book from Raven for one of my classes. She has it at the cafe she works at, and I told her I would pick it up tonight." Tim gave Jason a sideways glare before looking back at the road. "And now you're a complete mess."

Jason leaned back in the seat and glared at his brother. "You didn't tell me-"

"No, Jason. I didn't." Tim sighed and shook his head. "I haven't been telling you anytime I ditch you or try to get you two in the same room each other, because if I did, you'd run off like some kinda scared-"

"Don't say it," Jason growled, feeling anger bubble up into his throat.

"I will say it. You run away like a scared kid." He rolled his eyes and turned down another street, taking them to a small, brick building with soft lights filling the window. "You're so damn afraid of falling for a girl that you'd rather run around with cheap floozies and drink even cheaper booze while you waste your time. She's a great girl, smart, funny, pretty… and she can keep you in check. I haven't seen a girl do that to you… ever, actually."

Tim slammed the car in park and turned to look at his brother again. "So, you know what? We're gonna go in there, I'm gonna pick up that book, and you're gonna put a nickle in jukebox and drink a damned cup of coffee while you try to make realconversation with her." Without another word, he threw open the car door and started for the cafe, leaving Jason in the car as if he were a child.

Jason just sat there and glared at his reflection in the rearview mirror, feeling his heart sink down into his stomach. Tim was right, he was a mess. His lip was split, his cheek was burning and one of his eyes was starting to darken. He didn't want to throw this match, but he had to pay for the rent this month, and some of Tim's books completely drained them of any of the savings he might have had. Grunting out a curse, he stepped out of the car and followed Tim toward the cafe.

The door rang open with an off-tune little clink from a battered bell above his head. Jason stood in the doorway and stared at the painted brick walls as the scent of cigarette smoke and coffee filled his senses. There was a low, strange sort of hum of conversation as Elvis Presley's I Want You, I Need You, I Love You played on the jukebox. It was so different from any place he had ever set foot in, and Jason was starting to feel like a fish out of water. Just what kind of world did he walk into.

A few people looked up from their notebooks and cups of coffee, and gave him a strange sort of stare, as if they were judging him for even thinking of stepping into the cafe. A thin, gangly boy mumbled something rude and looked away, and if Jason wasn't so culture-shocked he might have actually reached back and punched him. Luckily, he knew better. Shifting a little under their heavy gaze, he readjusted his jacket and licked his lips, tasting blood again. One of the people staring at him got up and moved closer.

"You must be Jason."

He choked a little on his breath and stared down at the petite girl, dressed in blacks and pale pinks, twirling a finger around her dark hair. He racked his mind to try and remember how he might have known her, but his head was still a bit fuzzy from the fight, and he didn't really remember meeting someone so… cute. He sniffed a little. "How do you know me?"

She smirked, the flash of white teeth shining underneath her soft, umber skin. "Well, you know how these things go… word gets around."

She had a little bit of an English lilt to her voice and it was kind of endearing. Jason let out a soft breath and gave a short nod, his eyes flicking behind her to see the round hips he had often found himself daydreaming about. His lips twitched upward into a smile. Raven. He found himself drawn to the sway of her flesh, and he ran his tongue over the cut in his lip, absently responding to the strange woman in front of him. "Does it now?"

"Well… can't say I've ever seen her so… happy."

That brought his attention back down to her, his eyes narrowing in on an almost playful smirk. "Happy? Has she not-" He stopped himself, knowing that wasn't his place to pry. If she didn't want to talk about it to him, he shouldn't go prying to her friends.

"Mm…" The girl pitched forward just a little, poking him in the chest so that his attention snapped back down to her. "You're different than him… something about you… I like it. Jen, by the way, but everyone calls me Jinx." She threw out her petite hand and grinned as Jason shook it slowly. "Nice to see you come by, Jason." There was a short pause and her stare darkened just a little. "Don't screw this up."

He nodded, knowing better than to argue with small women. "Don't worry. She's safe with me."

His thoughts came to a halt and he felt all color leave his face. Why in the world had he just said that? He was a complete idiot. They weren't even together, and now he was acting like they were? Just what in the hell had he gotten himself into? Panic sunk deep into his stare, but Jinx pretended not to notice.

"Safe with you?" She pursed her lips, her eyes brightening as if she knew a very dirty secret. "Well, we'll see about that… now won't we." Jinx turned on her heel and gave a short, vague wave in the direction of the counter.

Jason's stare followed her wave to find Raven as she returned to a spot behind the counter, fidgeting with a coffee pot. She was pushing at her hair and cursing in French under her breath, and something about it was… enticing. He glanced around the cafe looking for his brother, but Tim was no where to be seen, and at the moment Jason didn't know if he could care. He just knew that Raven was here and he hadn't seen her in almost two weeks, and that was an awful long time to go without his new vice.

He twitched a bit and leaned on the counter, tapping his fingers as she waited for her to notice him. Raven pushed at her hair again and finally looked up, those electric blue eyes meeting with his own. His heart picked up speed and he swallowed hard, his head going through about six different things to say to her - not all of them in English. Raven's gaze flicked from his lips to his eyes and back again, a quiet breath escaping. Her stare softened and there were shadows filling her eyes before clarity seemed to come back.

Jason opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off before he could utter a sound.

"Come with me."

He blinked, feeling a bit like a rug had been pulled out from underneath him. "W-what?"

"Come with me," Raven repeated. She walked around the counter and grabbed his wrist, careful to avoid his bruised and battered knuckles, and then pulled him down a tight and narrow hallway. He was helpless to follow her, watching the sway of her hips as she pulled him from the dining area into a small, closet that smelled of coffee and pastries. She flicked on a bare bulb and began crawling up the shelves, shuffling through the shelves for something near the top.

Jason reeled back a little shamelessly eyeing the fact that her hips and behind were at eye-level with him. He blinked a few times, feeling the pain from his injuries suddenly slide away as his blood stirred in his veins. His hands twitched a little and he found himself crossing them over his chest, or he was almost certainlygoing to grab handfuls of her gorgeous body and yank her into his arms, and it was very likely he wouldn't let go.

"Sit down." She looked over her shoulder at him as she groped along the top shelf.

He looked around and found an old, battered step stool.

She sighed and wrapped her hand around a tin. "Look at you… you're a mess."

Jason blushed and looked down at his injuries, feeling something akin to shame bubbling up into his chest. He'd never been ashamed about what he did to make money before, but being around her made him feel… less than adequate. It made him feel like he should have been doing something different - cleaner. It was almost as if he was too dirty to touch her. He rubbed the knuckles he bandaged and shrugged. "Yeah, that's not the first time I've heard that tonight."

"Well, good." She crawled down from the shelves with a small first-aid kit. Snapping open the tin she pulled out a few bandages and some rubbing alcohol, and set it to the side, her eyes roaming his face. "I cannot believe that you let yourself get in this kind of state, Jason. Just look at you. You're-"

"A mess. Yeah, I know. You already said that." He fought against the urge to glare up at her, and then he saw her expression soften even more, her fingertips trailing over his cheek and rubbing against his lips with little tender touches. He winced, but managed to not pull back, instead looked into her eyes with that soft, needy expression. She smelled of tea, not coffee, and strawberries, and Jason found himself unable to do anything than look into her eyes. He felt like the entire world was spinning around him, and he wanted nothing more than to stay here in this quiet, small supply closet.

A few minutes passed in silence before Raven knelt down in front of him, picking up the supplies she had pulled out and effectively breaking the spell between them. She tucked her short hair behind her ears before looking up into his eyes. "This is gonna sting a little, okay?"

He twitched a little as she ran the alcohol-soaked cotton over his busted lip and cheek, but he was used the pain by now. How many nights had he spent trying to heal himself after a bad fight? He'd lost count actually, but having her so close and feeling the way she tried to protect him and keep him safe, it made everything sharpen to a point. This moment was meant to be something special, but he didn't know why. He just knew that he needed to hold onto this particular moment, with her kneeling in front of him, her soft, delicate hands smoothing over her injuries and trying to heal him. It was precious to him.

"There."

Jason jerked a bit, pulling himself from his thoughts. He forced a small smile, hoping she couldn't hear the frantic pounding of his heart. "Thanks."

She pursed her lips a little, looking as if she was trying to keep herself from scolding him. Instead, she turned her attention back to picking up the supplies. "You should take better care of yourself… you know."

He flicked his eyes towards her face, shielded by a curtain of hair. He licked his lips and smiled, feeling his hands start to itch again. "I'm a slow learner."

She smirked. "I've noticed."

He cocked his head to the side as he watched her climb the shelves again, and rose up onto his feet. Rubbing his thumb along his jaw, he continued to watch her form wiggle up the shelves, tucking the box back in its rightful place. Heat stirred within him again, and he forced himself to make conversation with her, or they might never leave this little supply closet.

"Did Tim get the book from you?"

She looked over her shoulder. "What book?"

Jason faltered, his eyes meeting her face as she came back down. "The book for your class. He said you had it and he was coming to… idiota."

"I don't even need to speak Italian to know what you're saying." Raven blushed and turned back to climbing down the shelves, her foot slipping just a little on the second to last shelf. It didn't seem to bother her though. She sighed and shook her head. "Well, Jason, I believe we've been had… yet again."

He laughed and helped her down, his hands tightening over the curve of her waist. Her flesh felt surprisingly soft under his touch, like silk and warmth and cotton. She was everything soft in the world, free from sin and pain and fear. She was everything he had ever wanted in his life, and even though he knew he couldn't (shouldn't) have her… he wanted her. He wanted her like air, or water, or any other necessity in life. He just wanted to know what it was like to kiss her. To run his fingers through her hair. To hold her in his arms. To know every inch of her body like it was a well-loved poem he'd read a hundred times over.

He wanted to know all of it…

His grip tightened a little on her waist and he felt himself pitch forward, taking another breath of her scent. Her eyes fluttered closed and he nudged her nose with his own, lips barely brushing against her own. Her lips felt smooth and soft against the scars of his mouth, and her breath curled over his skin like a whisper. All it would take was one little nudge from either of them.

… but not yet. He hadn't earned her yet.

Jason pulled back and gave her a knowing smile. "Well… I'll make sure to give him a few good hits when I get home." Nodding politely, he reached for the door behind him, opening it to the long hallway. "Thank you again, Raven."

She stood there, blinking at him, and let go of a soft, strangled sigh, and that sound nearly broke him. It meant she had wanted to kiss him as much as he wanted to kiss her. But not yet…

Soon. But not yet.