Bad habits make for good memories.

[hostage]

WHO: Jesse Pinkman & OPEN
WHERE: Heropa & Maurtia Falls
WHEN: June
WHAT: It's a catch-all for everyday situations involving Jesse.
WARNINGS: ...Drugs. Like. Obviously.

HEROPA - YOUTH CENTER

[As soon as the kids' painting class lets out, Jesse hops outside for a cigarette. It's more out of habit than need, these days. Nicotine does nothing for him. Nothing does anything for him. But he likes it: the smoke in his lungs combined with the sweet summer air around him, salt on the breeze and the sun on his skin. He keeps away from the building's entrance - doesn't want to make the children breathe second-hand smoke, of course - and wanders the grounds instead. It's a good chance to survey the area for any creeps lurking around, too. The place doesn't have much in the way of security, and if there's one "heroic" job he's willing to do, it's protecting these kids.]

MAURTIA FALLS - RED BRANCH

[It's funny. He's been living in Pennsylvania for over a month, but he couldn't be assed to explore the place very much. Honestly, he doesn't like Pennsylvania. There's not nearly as much sun as he's used to and it just isn't his scene. Downright gloomy, sometimes. But he's slowly getting used to it, and his leisurely exploration finally leads him to the imPort pub on the outskirts of town. It's cool-looking, at least. Not a place to hang out on the regular, but definitely a place to look at. He snaps a few photos as he hops up the steps, and does the same when he walks in. That's going on his instagram, for sure.]

HEROPA - THE STREETS

[It's about time for dinner. Jesse never cooks for himself - he doesn't need to save the money and it's lonely as hell eating in his apartment by himself - so he heads straight from work into town to scope out the options. Sometimes he'll choose pizza. Sometimes tacos or a burger. Sometimes he just grabs ice cream, because he's a responsible adult. Anyway, he parks his stupid banana-yellow convertible off the street and hops out to look around. There's probably someplace he hasn't tried yet. He'll just walk until he finds a good one.]

MAURTIA FALLS #001 - CLOSED TO GREED

[It's the worst time of night, when Jesse has to come back to this place. Half the time, he doesn't even bother. It's often hotels for him, wherever he happened to just be partying. But since he couldn't land a girl for tonight, Jesse comes shuffling into his government-sponsored apartment as soon as the bars close. He smells strongly of liquor but he isn't remotely drunk, which is his curse, really. No one should have to be this sober. He tosses his jacket over the nearest chair and opens the fridge to grab a beer, not quite ready to sleep yet. He rummages around for some leftovers, too, but they're all gone. That's great. The roommate probably ate them again. He heaves a mildly irritated sigh and wanders out of the kitchen, chugging his beer.]

AT THE DRIVE-IN - CLOSED TO SKYE

[Okay... So he was honestly only half-paying attention to the movie, if that. He's been mostly focused on Skye, because he's a teenage boy at heart, and who really goes to a drive-in to watch the movie? But now the credits are rolling and the engines of the cars around them are starting up. Jesse sits back and looks up at the starry sky over their heads, letting out a quiet laugh.]

Over already, huh.

Comments

[hostage]

[He glances over, smirking.]

I dunno what you're talking about.

[hackitude]

... I know I look cute, but you do know I'm not like... some sweet and innocent girl-next-door, right? I've stolen a couple of cars before in my lifetime. I'm not gonna judge.

I mean. Slightly judging the paint job, but...

[hostage]

You don't like yellow?

[hackitude]

Sure I do. On... bananas. And lemons.

[hostage]

The other one's red. But it ain't a convertible.

[hackitude]

Yeah? ... You know they say the red ones go faster.

[hostage]

You gotta visit me up north. We'll go for a ride through the hills.

[hackitude]

Sweet.

[A small snapshot of Skye's running internal monologue at this exact point in time:

Oh my god, Skye. What are you saying? Not sweet! Stealing not one but TWO cars? For FUN? This is CLASSIC bad boy behavior. You need to stop. Just because he's not a freaking Neo-Nazi doesn't mean you can just excuse all other red flags because they're not as bad in comparison! Oh my god this is terrible. I'm a cliche!]

[hostage]

[Awesome. He successfully dodged that line of questioning. He gives her a smile and turns his focus back on the road, weaving in and out of traffic until they pull up into downtown. It's pretty late by now, so he finds a good spot right in front of the soda shop.]

[hackitude]

[Skye hops out of the car once they pull up, grinning like a loon.]

Awwwwww yes. I am so ready for ice cream to get in my mouth. Man I must sound crazy. You don't even know when the last time I just stopped to chill out and get ice cream was. I don't think I know.

[hostage]

[Jesse follows after her, laughing.]

Yo, there is nothing crazy about getting excited about ice cream. Especially when it's well-earned - which it kinda sounds like it is.

[He steps ahead to make sure he gets to open the door for her. Ladies first.]

[hackitude]

[... Cute. Skye lets him-- though with a grin and a raised eyebrow-- because she's really not about to get into a debate about guys opening doors for girls right now.]

It's totally well-earned. We stopped keeping ice cream on the Bus after people kept getting into fights over who ate the last of it. Like totally mature adults.

Yeah. And somehow people entrust the safety of their country to us for some weird reason I still haven't figured out.

[Without missing a beat, she turns to the man behind the counter to order chocolate ice cream.]

[hostage]

[Have mercy on him. He's Southern.

He trails after her and orders chocolate, too. Because she did.]

What's the Bus?

[hackitude]

[She pays and then turns back around to Jesse while she waits, grinning.]

Oh. You know. Nothing special. Just a double decker jet we get to fly around in. Iiiiiiit's pretty cool. I mean, unless you get air-sick or something, which-- thankfully none of us do. I mean, except for that one time we blew a hole in the plane. I definitely wanted to be air-sick after that. Okay I went from cool to lame in zero point two seconds there I'm going to stop.

[hostage]

[Did she just pay before he could? Damn, girl.]

No way, for real? Yo, that's awesome.

[hackitude]

[Skye's sneaky like that.]

Right? Holy crap, I've finally run into someone who has the appropriate reaction to that statement. Everyone else I've met here and back home-- barring the weird medieval kids-- is like "So you live on a jet. Big deal!" YES. IT IS. It is a big deal. I'm not weird for thinking that, right?

[hostage]

No way. No way, that's like the coolest house ever. Is it always in the air, or..?

[hackitude]

Are you kidding? Have you seen the price of gas? We stay grounded when we don't have somewhere to be.

[Taking her ice cream from the server and thanking him before applying delicious chocolately ice cream goodness to her mouth.] ... Mmmmmm. Yes. Good.

[hostage]

[Hi, he's distracted by her mouth for a second. Girl is sexy even when she's being silly. Or maybe being silly makes her extra sexy.

Then he remembers his own ice cream and pauses for a bite.]

So - mmm - how's it work? Like, you guys're always ready to just take off and save the world?

[hackitude]

Pretty much. That's... well, why we live in it. And we have proper beds and a sort-of-kitchen-but-mostly-bar area, so it's not like what most people imagine when they think of a plane.

[hostage]

Huh...

[Sounds nicer than he was imagining. Which is extra cool.]

Is it super uptight, like you're in the army or something? Or is it kinda like here, where everything's chill and nobody gives a fuck?

[hackitude]

It's... actually kind of a weird mix between the two. I mean-- SHIELD itself is like, super uptight. Or was. Technically it doesn't exist anymore as of like... a week before I got here. Buuuuuut that's a whole different story. But basically yeah-- they take themselves way seriously. The whole... black suit shebang. They were big on the whole... follow protocol, follow orders, "trust the system" crap and so on and so forth.

My team, though... they're a lot more laid-back. I get away with a lot of crap I probably wouldn't if I were working with anybody else. ... Then again, if it'd been any other team that picked me up, I'd probably be in jail right now, but instead I got a job offer. I feel like that kinda speaks volumes about the kinda people they are.

[There's a terribly fond smile on her face that she's trying to hide by busying herself with more ice cream eating.]

[hostage]

[He has so many questions about everything she just said. But maybe he shouldn't pry too much.]

Sounds like you got a good deal.

[hackitude]

[Skye's walking slowly out onto the street as they talk, since she doesn't particularly want to stay in the malt shop. Besides, a walk was proposed. A walk they shall have! And she can totally walk and talk and eat ice cream at the same time. Probably.]

Yeah, they're all right.

... So come on, your turn. Tell me more about-- I don't know, your life back home or something. If I talk any more about myself I'm going to have to go battle my boss for biggest ego in town.

[hostage]

[He walks right by her side, like the puppy he is.]

God, I dunno. Not much to talk about, compared to like... everybody else here. I mean, I'm from Albuquerque. Nothing ever happens there.