-

CJ didn’t feel like putting up with grumpy johns that night; it was the kind of weather that made people irksome to deal with – or more irksome than they usually were, anyway. Hot, muggy, with the promise of a thunderstorm on the horizon but not quite there yet. So CJ was taking a night off, waved goodbye to the other ladies she normally hung with, and made her way to a children’s playground she enjoyed hanging out at upon occasion. Once upon a time, it was where she’d meet up with her old school friend. But that hadn’t happened for years, and CJ had no reason to think he’d be coming by that night, or any other night.

Lifting her right hand, CJ licked the slowly melting ice-cream, enjoying the sweet treat. She didn’t indulge on such things often, not nearly often enough really, but enjoyed them all the more because of it. This one was a combination, with one scoop of mint-chocolate-chip, a scoop of vanilla bean, and a scoop of mango. The server girl had looked more than a little concerned with CJ’s choices, but CJ didn’t care. She loved the flavours, and they went well together in her opinion. She licked the ice-cream again, relishing the minty freshness and delicious tang of chocolate.

Moving through the empty park, CJ made her way over to the swing set, and selected the one that looked the cleanest – the centre one – and set herself down. Her left arm wrapped around the chain, her right arm close to her body to protect her diminishing ice-cream, CJ pushed back and began to swing, closing her eyes and enjoying the self-made breeze in her hair. It helped combat the muggy heat, even if only slightly. Mayne that was why those fancy ladies like to carry around fans, though they’d always seemed to be more effort than they were worth to CJ.

Malachite had come to love storms. Knowing that he had a roof over his head again helped with that. The early years were terrifying when a summer or winter storm blew in as he huddled in a corner of some alley, parking garage, or building he had snuck into via a broken window. It was amazing what some security in life could do. Maybe that was why he liked walking around when the air was charged with an impending storm now. He knew he could be safe, even if he got caught in the rain, he would have somewhere to return to dry off and warm up.

So he wasn’t hurrying as he wandered through the park, using it as a shortcut to get from where he had been trying to push some bags of V while scouting for new play toys for Indulge and actually heading down to the club. He wasn’t expected until later that night to give any updates and gossip he had picked up so Malachite was enjoying some free time. He was debating where he should get food and wishing he had grabbed a slushie or something from the corner store he’d passed a few minutes ago when he saw a familiar pink head not too far away.

Smiling, Malachite meandered over to the swings and wrinkled his nose when he saw the ice cream CJ was holding. “Really, Jade? You ruined another one with mango? We gotta work on your taste,” her taste in a lot of things, like men and getting a stable job. But he wasn’t going to bring up the openings at Indulge again, not really feeling up to the usual arguments. Instead, he sat in the swing to her left, hands gripping the chain as he leaned back enough to bring his feet in the air for a moment before sitting back up right.

CJ looked up in surprise at her name, but grinned when she saw Malachite. “Hey,” she responded cheerfully, kicking back on the swing so it started moving again as he gave her sass about her ice-cream. It was to be expected, and she stuck her tongue out at him before returning to the sweet treat. She made a show of licking at all three flavours at once, and rolled her eyes back, her face a picture of ecstasy as she enjoyed them. “My taste is exquisite.” She said with a smirk. Okay, so that was debatable in the general sense, but CJ had no doubt that her taste in ice-cream was outstanding. It was not her fault no one else was smart enough to give it a go!

Still swinging, she alternated between watching her friend, and turning her gaze up at the sky so she could watch the dark clouds come rolling in. The promised storm would be there soon, but not yet, and she took another bite of her ice-cream before looking at Malachite again. “Not working tonight?” she asked curiously, “or on your way?” Another bite of ice cream, and she swung her legs again, enjoying the breeze and the company. She needed to take more nights off, but with ends barely meeting on the best of times, it simply wasn’t affordable. She would probably regret not working that night before the week was out, but for now, she was enjoying the freedom.

“Both?” Malachite replied with a smile and kicked off so he could start swinging as well. He put a bit more force and height into it since he wasn’t holding questionable ice cream but he wasn’t rocketing yet either. “I’m not scheduled to work there tonight, just to report in on the other side of things.” CJ knew he did some dealing of V and while he never gave her full details of his job, he still shared basics.

“Come with me and meet the boss and I’ll get you a vile of the purest form,” he didn’t need to specify what he was referring to. CJ knew he sometimes got his hands on the crimson liquid that Malachite explained was the drug before it was cut with everything else and turned into a pill. It was the truth since it was straight blood of a vampire and highly potent but the V that Rafe donated to was still the cleanest shit in the city even as a pill. He never gave his friend anything he wouldn’t take himself.

But Malachite knew that even that vile wouldn’t be enough to get CJ to come with him. She was still too suspicious even though she would love everything Rafe offered. Instead, he slowed his swing down, lightly dragging his feet until he was stopped and pulled out a small baggie with two pills. “Or we can party.” He put the bag back in his pocket and got up and moved behind CJ so he could lightly push her, conscious of her ice cream and light hold. “We’ll probably get caught in the storm if we linger much longer.”

CJ tilted her head, giving Malachite a questionable look. “Pass.” She stated simply; she’d heard things about where Malachite worked, and none of them had been good. Well, that wasn’t true, she’d heard some really interesting things about Indulge, but for the most part, she and the other girls had been warned off the place, but people that CJ trusted had their best interests at heart. Not that she didn’t believe Malachite was looking out for her, but rather, that he’d been sucked in by Indulge and all its… indulgences… and so his word was twisted by that.

“Ooh,” CJ said with amused delight, making playful grabby hands at the baggie that quickly vanished back into her friend’s pocket. “I’ve been running low.” She still had enough to get her through the coming weekend, maybe the first few days of next week, but probably not. Weekends were tough, and CJ hated working when she wasn’t high; it added to the experience and helped make the bad sex less awful, made her life less awful.

CJ laughed, and tilted her head back to look at Malachite when he commented on the storm, raising her eyebrows curiously. “Afraid you’ll melt if you get wet?” She asked, smirking.

"Obviously. I'm as sweet as they come," Malachite gave his friend a large smile and then winked. "I also look horrible with running eyeliner." He didn't always wear it but since he was out working, Malachite liked to put it on as part of a uniform of sorts, completing the look he liked to go for.

"But if you're in no rush, I'll keep you company." He was certain Jade could look after herself since she already had been for years and it wasn't like they were in a shady rundown area either. But he knew what lurked in the area and would be coming out soon with the sun inching toward the horizon. He was marked by Rafe which gave him some level of protection from other vampires and even species that didn't want trouble. Malachite hoped being with him would keep Jade safe as well.

"So, do you come here often?" Malachite asked, using a slightly skeevy voice to mock the bad pick up line. But the question was genuine. Did Jade spend her free time enjoying a bit of nature or was it linked to her old life? Street code dictated that you didn't use your real name and you didn't ask questions so he didn't know much about the Before Times. Usually only what the trigger was to land someone on the street.

CJ laughed, and shook her head at Malachite, but he brought up a good point. Since she’d been planning on working the night, CJ was dressed to the nines in her usual streetwalker clothes – a very short faux leather skirt, a strapless tank top, and a pair of heeled lace up boots. But that also meant her face was made up, and she was also not a fan of running makeup. Which was why her eyeliner and mascara were waterproof, but the rest of it was not.

“Your company is always welcome!” CJ said enthusiastically, turning around on the seat to blow a sticky kiss towards Malachite. She’d finished her ice-cream, but her fingers were still a bit messy from where it had been melting, and she felt like she had ice-cream all over her face, even though she knew perfectly well that she didn’t; it was just one of her paranoias playing up. CJ smiled as Malachite pushed her lightly, swinging her legs a little to keep up the momentum but not to make her go any higher.

“Used to,” she answered honestly, after a short time of thinking, giving Malachite a dry look at his attempt to be skeevy. “Not so much anymore.” The park had been one that her parents brought her to when she was a child, before they’d died in the car crash. The only foster family she had had that had the honour of being called her family. Her parents. Hers. Before they were taken away and she was taken away. CJ hated that she did not even know where they were buried, so she couldn’t put flowers on their grave or tell them she missed them. So she tried not to think about them at all.

“Wanna get something to eat?” CJ asked, as the first spattering drops of rain finally started to fall. “Since I’m splurging tonight, I’ll even shout you a burger.” Not that she could afford the extra cost, but Malachite was worth it, and she didn’t feel like being alone any more than she felt like working. She should go home, save what money she had from the previous night, and get ready to work tomorrow. But that would be the sensible thing to do, and CJ didn’t feel like being sensible; but nor did she feel quite wild enough to take up Malachite on his offer to meet the boss. Just somewhere in between. Like shouting burgers she couldn’t afford.

“You should come here more often then. It makes you happy or at least reminds you of happy memories.” Malachite had watched his friend’s face as she answered and fell silent. He hadn’t been waiting for more of an explanation and was surprised she gave him that much. Jade held things closer to her chest than most people he knew and he hung out with vampires regularly! But he could tell the park meant something to her and she deserved some happiness, even if it only came from a swing and a memory.

“You know I could always eat.” Even before being on the streets he’d always been a bottomless pit. But since going days without much to eat, Malachite had come to appreciate food all the more and he never passed up the chance to have some. But that didn’t mean he was going to let Jade pay. She still struggled a lot more than he did since he did some jobs for and at Indulge. Which meant he would have to get creative in order to pay for their meals without offending her.

Actually, he had a better thought and cocked his head to the side as he came around and offered his hand to Jade. “You buy me dinner and I’ll buy you for the night.” They both did a lot of things in their short lives for money or drugs and Malachite could think of worse things than being with a friend that he had some trust with. “We’ll get high and have some fun. What better way to pass a stormy night?”

“Of course you could,” CJ said in amusement, deciding to ignore Malachite’s comment about her and happy memories. She hadn’t meant to let anything like that slip, and it irritated her that she had. She was usually better at hiding that sort of shit; but the memories had come swarming in with unusual strength at his question. CJ tossed her head, tucking stray strands of pink hair behind her ears and grinned at Malachite as if she wasn’t irked with herself.

As much as CJ didn’t like accepting pay from her friends when they tumbled together, she wasn’t in the mood to fight him, and frankly, she needed the money. So she agreed with a quirk of her lips and a pump of her legs, pushing the swing higher so she could jump off it with a flourish when it reached the apex of height, leaving the empty swing to jerk awkwardly back towards Malachite. CJ brushed her short skirt down, as if it had been rumpled, and gave her hair another brush out of her face. Her messy bun was coming loose.

“Where do you wanna eat?” CJ asked, twining her arm through Malachite’s and pressing a kiss to his cheek with a playful grin. His plan sounded like an excellent way to spend the stormy weather, and CJ was all for it. “I have no preferences, so you can choose.” A pause. “But somewhere with takeout so we can go home.” His home, or hers, it didn’t matter to CJ, though they’d be racing the weather to get to either location before the clouds opened up with vigour.