A Studio Apartment, Emma's Manhattan, Monday Night

[bitten_notshy]

It had been almost a week since the curse ended, and Jack had not made a great deal of progress toward Project New Life. (It was daunting, was what it was -- the process of picking up pieces he hadn't put down with much care when he'd left six weeks before. Easier to hide in a different world and pretend he had all the time in the world.)

Anyhow. Today he actually had made some progress. Spurred by his conversation with Mitchell, he'd navigated his way to an interdimensional website and found a few jobs worth applying to. Nothing special, busywork in offices, but any one of them would keep his hands and brain occupied. He sent a few resumes in and called out for pizza. He and Emma weren't Valentine's people, per se, but dinner together the day before seemed safe enough.

[OOC: For Miss Frost, or for texts and such.]

Comments

[bitten_notshy]

"You didn't see him when he was a purple pony," Jack teased, but kept playing with her hair. "... all right. Other than that it isn't even close."

He'd stopped noticing Mitchell's looks long before. besides, he seemed to have a fondness for the breathing these days.

[icecoldfrost]

Yes, well, breathing bed partners tended to be warm and snugly and not prone to vampire angst. Which made them automatically better.

All the tension was slowly training out of her, and Emma made a happy sound. "Mmm," she responded, the topic of Mitchell's idiocy closed, as far as she was concerned. "See anything interesting in the job listings?"

[bitten_notshy]

"Most things want a degree," Jack admitted. "But there are a few nonprofit office monkey positions that look promising. I'll send in my C.V. and see if I can charm them into giving me a chance."

He paused, leaned forward to kiss the top of her head. "I won't refer to the job as 'office monkey' in my cover letter, promise."

[icecoldfrost]

"Have you thought about taking a distance learning class or two?" she asked idly. "That way it looks like you're still working on your degree, but in a non-traditional way. Thinking outside the box, and all that nonsense."

[bitten_notshy]

"Would they let me start?" he wondered. "I assumed I was boxed out until May at the earliest no matter what."

[icecoldfrost]

"No idea," Emma admitted, turning her head just enough to regard him. "But it's worth a shot, at least so you don't die of boredom."

[bitten_notshy]

"I would offer to be your kept man, but I think I'd get into far too much trouble that way," Jack said, with a hint of a smile. "Better I go home, get a job ... all of that."

He liked her New York perfectly well, even if he still thought it should have been New Amsterdam. But it was safer to be a werewolf in his world.

[icecoldfrost]

"You would be hideously bored as a kept man," Emma pointed out, laughing. "I can't see you taking up knitting to pass the time."

[bitten_notshy]

"You know, Sebastien tried to teach me?" Jack laughed in return. "It's the one thing I never took to."

[icecoldfrost]

"What, no making sweaters for penguins caught up in oil-spills? No tea cozies?" Emma teased. "I think I'm shocked; I thought you could do anything you set your mind to doing."

[bitten_notshy]

"I could, but that doesn't mean I want to," Jack answered. "There's too much sitting still in knitting. Though now you have me feeling sorry for the penguins."

[icecoldfrost]

"Have you ever seen Mr. Drake as a penguin?" Emma asked. "I feel sorry for him, too. He'd be quite dashing in a little sweater."

SORRY, BOBBY.

"We'd have to find you another leisure activity then. Dominoes?"

[bitten_notshy]

Jack gave her what he hoped was a withering look. "You can't think of anything better for me to do than dominoes?"

he might have demonstrated what he meant, but the buzzer sounded for the pizza delivery.

[icecoldfrost]

Emma made a disgruntled sound and got out of his way so he could get the door. "I could think of a few things," she offered, "-but I was trying to think of sedate things for a kept man."

"You could always start a literary circle? Run a scandalous salon of some sort out of the back room."

[bitten_notshy]

"I could go back into politics," Jack tossed over his shoulder, and fumbled for his wallet and paid for the pie.

Once the delivery man was dispatched, he brought the box over to his tiny table. "Could you get drinks out of the icebox?"

[icecoldfrost]

Emma glared and pointed at him. "No more politics!" she yelled, hauling herself off the futon to go rummage in the fridge for sodas or beer. "You are banned, darling. A year, at least. My poor fragile heart can't take it."

[bitten_notshy]

"Can I work for an activist group if there's no cloak and dagger involved?" Jack wondered, though in a meeker tone. "Superhuman rights and magic are valid fields in my world, you know."

[icecoldfrost]

"If they meet during daylight hours, and you carry pepper spray," Emma retorted. "I swear, darling, sometimes you try and shorten all our lives with worry."