2/19 Issue: Doctor Mom

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Slarti
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2/19 Issue: Doctor Mom

Post by Slarti »

Timelined after Texts from Last Night.

Jessica: Jess was having a good Saturday. She'd spent time with Miriam, caught up on housework, and taken a nice hot bubble bath. Now she had wine and the comfortable silence of child in bed and reading a book with the company of her husband.

Shinobi: Obi had been having a good day, but on his drive back to New York things went sideways in a not-totally-unexpected, yet still unexpected way. He shot a look at the phone in the passenger seat as if the message was its fault.

Jessica: Jess picked up her glass and was sad to find it was empty. She pouted at it for a moment then set her book pages down on the table and got up to get a refill. Stupid non-bottomless glass. Maybe she should make the suggestion of a bottomless glass next time she spoke to Tony. He'd totally go for it.

Shinobi: Obi parked on the street, too flustered to bother with circling the block to put in the code for the family garage. Once parked he grabbed his phone and was soon pounding on the door, thinking very loudly at his father to open up.

Shaw: Sebastian looked up from his own reading to frown at the prod on his brain at the same time the security system dinged that there was a visitor at the front door.

Jessica: Jess paused half way to the kitchen and turned for the stairs to go answer the door before the banging woke Miriam up... or Sharky did.

Shaw: It's Michael, Koibito, I'll tell him to cease the noise. Sebastian did so, moving to get up himself to see what the fuss was about.

Shinobi: Obi huffed at his father's telepathic scolding, but stopped knocking. Looking around at the deserted street, he realized just how late it was.

Jessica: Jess set her glass down at the top of the stairs and hurried down to the door, opening it up with a smile, "This is a surprise," she wrapped him into a hug.

Shinobi: "Yeah, sorry. I should have called." Obi happily hugged his adopted mom, totally willing to admit he was clinging a bit.

Jessica: "You don't need to call ahead," she pressed a kiss to his cheek and gave him a squeeze. "Come inside. Miriam's asleep so... shhhhh..."

Shinobi: "Right... that... makes sense." Obi finally let go of her and followed her inside.

Jessica: Jess closed the door behind him and went toward the stairs, "Do you want to stay over?"

Shaw: Sebastian was watching them from the top of the stairs. "What's the Little Stark done now?"

Shinobi: Obi snorted a little, looking up at his father. "It wasn't her, but she's..." He sighed and shook his head.

Jessica: "How about a drink?" Jess suggested, glancing up at Sebastian as a hint.

Shaw: Taking that hint, he turned with a smirk and started for the living room and the bar.

Shinobi: "Yeah, that might help, actually." Obi followed Jess up the stairs, the phone burning a hole in his pocket.

Jessica: Jess picked up her glass when she reached the top of the stairs and continued to the kitchen to get her refill, "Something happen?"

Shinobi: "Sort of. I was in town on business and I stopped by to see Carol. Everything was fine, but after I left I got a, uh, text message from her." Obi rubbed at the back of his head and pulled the phone from his pocket.

Jessica: Jess raised an eyebrow, setting the wine bottle down, "What kind of text message?"

Shinobi: "Well, I'm suspecting there was scotch involved." Obi sighed and scrolled to the message, handing it over to Jess for her to read. "It's... what the fuck do I say to that?"

Shaw: Sebastian brought Obi a scotch and went to Jessica's side to read over his shoulder, eyebrows rising. "Well..."

Jessica: Jess sipped her wine while she read the message over a couple of times. "What do you want to say?"

Shinobi: "...that she needs to hide her phone when she's drunk?" He took the scotch from Sebastian and knocked it back in one go, then pressed his fingertips into the corners of his eyes.

Jessica: "... Well maybe not that..." She wrinkled her nose, setting the phone on the counter and taking a sip of her wine. "Was this a surprise or did you suspect?"

Shinobi: "It was - I thought something might be up, because she's been to the house recently. She was drunk, needed someone to talk to. She called me in the middle of the night, and I realized she was in a tree across the street." He shook his head.

Jessica: Huh. Jess wasn't sure what to say to that one. She looked at Sebastian then at the phone again. "That part about you being in her bed...?"

Shaw: Sebastian swirled his own untouched scotch in the tumbler and handed it over to Michael. "You need this more than I do, I believe."

Shinobi: He snorted and took the glass, giving it a hard stare. "I was tired, and I took a nap, alone, before I drove home."

Jessica: Right. That cleared that part up. Still though... "Maybe sleep on it...?"

Shinobi: "Sleep on... what?" Obi downed the second glass and watched Sebastian wander back to the bar.

Jessica: "Your possible response?" Jess set her own glass on the counter, "Scotch-fueled or not... that can't have been an easy thing to admit."

Shinobi: "I don't know how to respond to that!?" He flailed at the phone. "And if Hope saw it?!" He laughed wildly. "Hoooly shit."

Jessica: "Well don't let Hope see it, obviously." She sighed, wondering if she should take her inhibitor off. "Just... take a breath. The ball's in your court. She said as much. You don't have to answer right away..."

Shinobi: "She's... a good friend." He watched Sebastian, who he could tell was pretending not to listen. Fucking bat ears. "I don't want to hurt her." Obi chewed on his lower lip.

Jessica: "I know... and I know she knows that too... I'm sure she's not expecting anything to change... sometimes you just have to tell people how you feel so you can move on..."

Shinobi: Obi decided he needed to go sit down, so he did so, flopping himself onto the sofa while Sebastian loitered.

Jessica: Jess sighed and picked up her glass, going to Sebastian to take a glass of scotch for Michael. Maybe you should go hideout somewhere and I'll fill you in on what you don't overhear later... Jess suggested to her husband as she pressed a kiss to his cheek. She then went to take a seat on the sofa and offered Michael the glass of scotch.

Shaw: Sebastian accepted the kiss and shot her a wry look. Yes, dear. After taking his time pouring another drink, he turned. "If you'll excuse me, Michael, I was working in the lab." He inclined his head and turned to go.

Shinobi: "Good night then... I'll probably see you later." Obi watched him leave and looked over at the tablet on the arm of his father's favorite chair. He glanced from it to his mom and raised a brow. "Well, I guess I'm grateful for the attempt."

Jessica: "I know you find it hard to talk in front of him sometimes..." Jess replied honestly, "You can say whatever you want to me." She gave him a warm smile, "Take your time."

Shinobi: "To put it lightly, since he likes to loom." Obi smirked a little and let his head fall back against the sofa cushion. "I don't know if I even know what I want to say." He sighed and rubbed at his face with both hands.

Shinobi: "...I don't know." He kept his hands over his face so he didn't have to look at her.

Jessica: "You don't know or you don't think you should say? You know I'm not going to shout at you... and I promise not to do the disappointed voice either. You have nothing to worry about from me, okay?"

Shinobi: Obi let his hands drop and rolled his head toward her. "Do you think she's right?"

Jessica: "About what? Hope?" She sighed, "I don't know... I do think she's lost sight of what's important... gotten too wrapped up in working. What do you think?"

Shinobi: "Yeah, about Hope. She's... never home. I don't know if she's really just obsessed with work or if she's avoiding coming home."

Jessica: "I think she takes you for granted..." Jess put her hand on his arm, "Have you tried talking to her about it?"

Shinobi: "I don't want to whine." His nose twitched.

Jessica: "It's not whining... at this point you're barely even living together never mind living like a married couple. That's not a proper relationship... you need to talk about it... otherwise what's the point?"

Shinobi: "But if she's just really busy, with stuff she can't tell me about, then I'm the one being an asshole."

Jessica: "No one is that busy... She can delegate. That's the point of being the boss. Your father manages it just fine. If he didnt, he'd be hearing about it from me."

Shinobi: Obi looked toward the door where Sebastian had disappeared. "Yeah, but she's a Stark.”

Jessica: "That does not excuse shitty behaviour. You remember that time I threw stuff at Tony for nearly killing Hope?"

Shinobi: "Yeah," he said with a tired laugh. "For the peanut butter incident." He sat up and looked at her. "Do you have any cookies?"

Jessica: "There's always cookies. I have a five year old." She got up from the sofa, "Sit tight. I'll get a plate," she gave him a smile, "Just relax for a few and sort out your internal monologue, okay?"

Shinobi: Cookies made everything better in his book, and if he was spending the night here... Obi looked at a clock and snorted. Yeah, he was. Snagging his phone from the table where Jess had set it, he noted he didn't have any texts, either from Hope or Carol.

Jessica: Jess put a few cookies on a plate and made some hot chocolate putting it all on a tray before carrying it into the living room. "I decided some hot chocolate would help with the comfort food..."

Shinobi: "Thank you," he said, giving her a grateful grin and dropping his phone again.

Jessica: "You're welcome." She smiled, taking a seat and picking up a cookie for herself, "I know I wasn't gone that long but... any thoughts?"

Shinobi: "I like Carol," he admitted with a sigh as he reached for a cookie. "I feel like I can talk to her, too, so there's that. She's funny, attractive, fucked up..."

Jessica: Jess nodded in agreement to all those things but stayed silent so he could continue if he wanted without interruption.

Shinobi: "But I love Hope. I married Hope." He stared at the cookie, starting to wonder if he wanted it at all. "Part of me wants to just go to Stark Tower and see if she'll tell me why she doesn't come home."

Jessica: "Why don't you?" She glanced at him before returning her attention to her cookie so her staring didn't put him off.

Shinobi: Obi took a bite anyway as he thought this over.

Jessica: Watching him for a moment, Jess took a guess, "Are you afraid of the answer?"

Shinobi: "Yeah," he mumbled, picking up the warm mug to wash down the cookie.

Jessica: "So you'd rather go along like this? ... It's probably not what you're afraid of... maybe she is just wrapped up in work and loses track of time. I don't know... but what I do know is that wondering about it isn't good for you... and it's no way to live."

Shinobi: "Even if I did that, what am I gonna tell Carol? This... is not something I ever really expected to happen. I thought she might have been kind of attracted to me, but she's lonely, and an alcoholic, so I figured I was just reading into it."

Jessica: "The only advice I have is to be honest with her. If you're not honest about your feelings it'll just make the whole situation more messy... she knows you're married. So I'm sure she's not expecting you to dump Hope and run off with her... just don't avoid it because you're worried about making a bad personal situation with her worse because by not saying anything you'll leave her to the crazy in her head."

Shinobi: "That's easier said than done, I think." He sighed and dunked the cookie into the chocolate. Much better than scotch.

Jessica: "Why's that?" She picked up her own hot chocolate and wrapped her hands around the mug, holding it in her lap.

Shinobi: "Because that means actually talking to her, and I can't even talk to my own wife apparently." He frowned at himself and finished off the cookie.

Jessica: "Well.... Hope's not exactly easy to talk to at the best of times..." Jess had had many many fights with Hope in the past about ridiculous things due to her inability to take criticism. "But didn't you just say you felt like you can talk to Carol? The topic might be uncomfortable but that doesn't mean she'll be unreasonable..."

Shinobi: "Yeah, but we don't talk about her feelings for me or my feelings for-" He frowned. "Okay, I guess I do complain about Hope quite a bit."

Jessica: "Well before you didn't know she had feelings for you and now you do so..." Jess sighed, "Maybe talk to Hope first so you have more firm footing? You need to know where you stand with her before you can sort out the rest..."

Shinobi: "Talking to Hope never puts anything on a firmer footing. She likes to set your feet on fire."

Jessica: "... Yes... she does do that..." Jess sighed, "But either way... you need to have a conversation with her. Otherwise nothing is going to get better."

Shinobi: "I know. Really, I do, but..." Obi gave her a pleading look.

Jessica: "I can't have the conversation for you..." she patted him sympathetically, "I know it's not easy... but you know you have to talk to her one way or another... otherwise it has potential to create bigger problems down the line."

Shinobi: "I know, but..." His nose scrunched. "I really don't want to think about testing the Stark temper anymore tonight."

Jessica: "Then don't... have a rest... sleep on it..." She gave his arm a soothing rub, "But don't sit on this... if you're going to leave it a while before you talk to Hope then... you should tell Carol you're going to try and work things out with her. Because she needs to know where she stands too... and if... if you decide that things with Hope aren't going to work out... whatever happens... we're here for you."

Shinobi: He gave her a slight smile. "You, I know, but Sebastian?" Obi rolled his eyes. "This is just going to cause drama no matter what."

Jessica: "Of course it is... there are feelings involved. But you can't just ignore it for fear of hurting someone or maintaining the status quo when the status quo is making you miserable. Don't worry about Sebastian... or Tony for that matter. I'm not above smacking the President."

Shinobi: Obi laughed at that, moving closer and putting the mug aside to give her an awkward hug. "Thanks, mom."

Jessica: She set her own mug aside to return the hug, "You're welcome. You know I'll always defend you... unless you do something truly retarded and then I will mock you mercilessly."

Shinobi: "So no assassination attempts, got it." He gave her a squeeze.

Jessica: She laughed and squeezed back, "For that I would smack you."

Shinobi: "Good, good, so we have our boundaries." He pulled back and flopped again. "Fuuuuck, why do things have to get so complicated?"

Jessica: "Because that's how life is. We'd get bored any other way." She picked up her hot chocolate and took a cautious sip. "Don't think so hard about it. Logic doesn't apply to feelings. Make sure you remember that, okay?"

Shinobi: "I think I like boring," he groused, picking up his mug for another sip.

Jessica: "No you don't," she wrinkled her nose, "I thought I would... and then I missed all the craziness."

Shinobi: "Okay, maybe not literal craziness." He considered something and looked at Jess. "Has Carol ever talked to you about her problems? Because... I'm so not a therapist."

Jessica: Jess shook her head, "No... but she's not keen on the professionals. If you think I can help without helping I can offer suggestions...?" She settled against the back of the sofa, tucking a foot under her.

Shinobi: "That might be an awesome idea... I wish I'd had it before everything got super complicated." He sighed. "I know she doesn't do professionals. I suggested you, since she knows you outside of your job, but she was still... stubborn."

Jessica: "Well... sometimes it's harder for people to open up to a therapist because they need the close relationship... at the same time, it's unethical technically for therapists to treat their friends... but mutant specialist therapists are hard to come by so I make exceptions." She had another contemplative sip of her drink, "If she feels comfortable opening up to you, I'm afraid you're going to have to do the legwork."

Shinobi: Obi laughed. "I would be a terrible therapist."

Jessica: "But you're an excellent friend. Maybe that's what she needs right now. You said she's lonely... so be that friend."

Shinobi: "Friend she apparently wants to fuck?" He shook his head. "Worse than that, since she thinks she's catching feels..."

Jessica: "Those feelings might be real or they might be a product of loneliness. Maybe laying some boundaries down would be a good idea... especially if you're going to work on things with Hope. Be there for Carol as a friend and make it clear that's all you want. It might be hard for her to hear but I'm sure she's expecting that to be the response anyway... if you respond at all."

Shinobi: "I'm gonna make an idiot of myself, and I might have to call you for a fucking panic attack before I do it," he chuckled, shaking his head and taking another drink.

Jessica: "You can call me whenever you like, you know that," she gave him a smile, "And... as far as making an idiot of yourself... just remember who you're talking to. She's not going to care."

Shinobi: "There were a lot of Star Wars posters in her bedroom..." His smirk faded as the text read back through his mind. "Yeah, no more naps at the school."

Jessica: "She's a massive nerd," Jess nodded, "Why do you think she gets along so well with Bobby?" She paused at the comment about the naps, "Maybe if you need to rest... rest in one of the many many spare rooms."

Shinobi: "Uh, yeah." He picked up another cookie and contemplated it before taking a bite. "Just nowhere near her ex either."

Jessica: "Yeah... can't imagine that's easy for her either... and with Rogue in the building and Rogue's new relationship." Jess wrinkled her nose, "Much complicated..."

Shinobi: "Estrogen thick in the air," he laughed. "I better watch my ass."

Jessica: "Well that... and all the history... and it all being basically shoved in her face right now. That can't be helping... with the loneliness and the unhealthy relationship with scotch." Jess decided to drink more hot chocolate and try to remove the stubborn therapist hat. It was Saturday, damn it! Or... maybe it was Sunday by now...

Shinobi: "...maybe she won't remember texting me?" He was hopeful for as long as it took the words to get out of his mouth.

Jessica: She laughed a little in sympathy for the reluctance to poke the bear and leaned to give him a hug, "I know it's hard... but at least she's easy to talk to.... I also know you're worried about making things worse for her... don't be."

Shinobi: Obi returned the hug with a sigh. "How can I not? I do care about her... and I've kind of been there, although for different reasons."

Jessica: "Right... but you can't let that stop you setting boundaries or it'll be worse in the long term..." She rubbed his back a little, "The longer you let it sit the harder it'll be."

Shinobi: "Okay," he said, with a lengthy sigh, aware he sounded like the moody teenager he never really was. "But... in the morning."

Jessica: "Yes. In the morning after some sleep." She pressed a kiss to his cheek, "Remember to check your own feelings not your obligations. That's the last thing I'm going to say on the matter." She sat back and picked up a cookie.

Shinobi: "How psychologist of you," he chuckled, taking a drink before he reached for another cookie himself.

Jessica: "Shut up. I can't turn it off," she smirked and gave him a playful shove.
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Re: 2/19 Instance: Doctor Mom

Post by Esynthia »

Aww, good bonding time for them! Yay for awkwardness that brings other people closer together!
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