. mutant brain

[joseph mccarthy]

While he felt like a total monster for kicking her outside and yelling at her, it was a relief to see some vulnerability from Aisha, even if it was behind a bathroom door and only for a couple of minutes. Joseph always tried to see other's to their best. If angry, it was usually out of concern. He'd been angry during Isaac's spiral and had split the band up over it, but now he felt everyone was in a better place. He could only hope he and Aisha would have a similar outcome and would end up stronger for it. He holds her softly as she turns to settle in his lap, his hands falling to her bare skin but not doing much more as to avoid overstepping. "I know," he says with a smile. "I know," he repeats with a groan, his hand lifting to his pounding head and forking through his messy hair. His chest rises and he sighs deeply, adjusting himself so that his head rests on a pillow. "Angry's exhausting.. don't let me do that again."

[aisha van buren]

It seems hard to believe that it's the same couple who filmed a loved up livestream a few hours ago were the same couple fighting on the balcony, were the same couple now curled up on the couch. If she had had a similar fight with anyone else, Elliott say, it would have gone so differently-- she would have smashed things up, and she would have left without a word. Not a tear would have been shed, nor would she have ever spoken to him ever again. It was such a new feeling to value someone enough to stick it out for them, and she could hardly believe the lack of residual resentment between them. Especially on her end, as she was an absolute champion at holding a grudge. Exhausted though she was, she had already decided that they would have sex later on, sensing how uneasy he was about touching her and wanting to dispel any awkwardness once and for all. "You have to promise me that if and when I make a move on you tonight, you won't dare try to make love to me. That would be the final straw," she warned, though the truth was even their sexual encounters had a level of intimacy that she would never have dared allow anyone else. "It's a little bit fun though, isn't it? It's ok, you can admit it." She glanced away from him, her voice quiet. "I really am sorry too. For not telling you, and for doing it. You deserved more than that."

[joseph mccarthy]

The aftermath of their argument was proof of something that they didn't have in their past. If this had happened a few years ago when they had dated, he would have been out. There would have been no reopening of that door, he would have waved her a taxi and pushed her in. Or, rethinking that statement, as obsessed with her as he was at that time he probably would have comforted her and paid her the attention that she wanted. If this had happened a few years ago, he was sure she would have flew out that door and never returned. This was growth for them. A sense of newfound maturity between them and a step into a more adult-relationship. "Oh babe," the calloused tips of his fingers fan gently across her hot skin, "in a couple of hours you'll be begging me for nothing but aloe." He laughs when she dares him to admit it was fun. It was in the moment a little fun, to see the shock on her face as he slammed the door in her face. "A bit, I don't think you thought I had it in me... not worth it though," his eyes focus on the television screen, where a baking tray of blue crystal is being smashed to bits. He thinks about how to reply, his words come carefully and meaningfully. "I'm not trying to white knight... any decent person would have wanted to be there with you. I'm fine about you making decisions, I'd just like to be informed about said decisions so you don't have to fly solo through it," he pulls her against him as he stretches out and lies down. "I'm not here to judge, you know. I hate that you think I am."

[aisha van buren]

The burn stings where his fingers brush against it but she doesn't say anything, still preferring that he touch her and it hurt than he not touch her at all right now. She mulls over what he said, she truly had not thought he would have it in him. No part of it was something she believed he had in him. She wondered where he had gotten it from, whether she was influencing him negatively, or maybe it was fucking Isaac insisting he be more firm with her. In any case she'd had a taste of her own medicine and found it to be very bitter indeed. "I hope you never have it in you again," she says petulantly, looking up at him and running her fingers across his cheek. It was nice to be this close to him again, for a minute there she thought this might not happen. She starts biting her fingernails as he talks, a nervous tic from childhood that she hadn't indulged in forever. Stopping as he stretches out and takes her with him, she rests her head on his chest and picks up one of his hands, threading her fingers through it. "I know. I brought Tate, I wasn't on my own," she added, guessing that any irritation he might feel at Tate being privy would be eclipsed by relief that she hadn't gone alone. Matching his level of consideration for once, she chose her next few words carefully. It was important to her that they didn't seem flippant or a response to the drama that had just unfolded, because they weren't. Sat outside for so long, she'd had time to think. "I still think it was the wrong time, but maybe someday," she swallowed, always struggling to say something sincere, "it wouldn't be such a bad thing."

[joseph mccarthy]

He shakes his head, agree with her. It'd.been exhausting and once she began to cry, it didn't feel at all worth it. For someone who tried to live his best self, being so cruel truly did feel monstrous and against nature. His arm stretches over her small body and locks it against him, taking her hand and holding onto it for dear life. He feels relief when she tells her she wasn't alone, some of the guilt of not being there when she needed him sheds away. "I'm really glad he was,," he tucks down to kiss her head again, reassuring himself with affection that everything was alright and would remain that way. He smiles at her next words, recognizing the weight of kindness was heavier than truth. "There's no rush."

[aisha van buren]

This is the Joe she knows and loves, cradling her in his arms and taking comfort in the fact she wasn't alone in her time of need. It was so cruel of her to accuse him of being a white knight, Joe had the purest intentions of anyone she had ever known and to try to cast doubt on that said more about her than it did about him. When he speaks it's obvious he means it, both that he was glad she was alone and that there was no rush. She had been lying earlier when she said she didn't know why his friends disliked her so, it was really pretty obvious... Joe was exceptionally selfless, so seeing him with someone exceptionally selfish was bound to cause them plenty of worry. She could see how people would assume that she would be constantly taking advantage of this, that his needs would be forever second to her whims. But she hoped that the earlier video had shown the world that that wasn't the case, that Joe knew how to handle her just as much as she knew how to manipulate him, and that really theirs was a relationship characterised by balance. Usually. She kissed the back of his hand, her eyes watching the TV without really seeing it. "You're going to have to go out and get my stuff, though. And shake every single item out thoroughly, if I open my make up bag to find a black widow I really will leave forever."