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Polly Romantic: Jay knows the score by now. Vacuum repair shop, door at street level, up to her apartment's first floor, enter into a small entry way that leads directly onto the kitchen. The kitchen presently smells rather deliciously of chili powder and simmering rice and beans. No meat, though, on account of Jay's vegetarian. Still plenty of room within the cuisine, though!
Her air conditioners are working overtime to keep the place cooled down, but even so it's in the mid 70's on the lower floor. So she has fans running, too, and is wearing a largely sheer spaghetti strap crop top over a sports bra and a pair of comfy looking cutoff shorts. Not the best or most fancy date night attire, but it's comfortable and flirty all the same. When Jay arrives, she answers the door after undoing her various locks and peers around it at him.
"Oh, hey. Now's a bad time. I'm having this really hot musician guy over for dinner. I'm already registered to vote, though."
Jeremiah Hamilton: Truth be told Jeremiah was somewhat nervous about the conversation that he knew would be coming with this particular date night, which in itself was an unusual sensation for the Warlock. This was something that he definitely didn't want to mess up, though, so he was doing his best to shove that into the back of his mind as he made his way up to Polly's apartment.
"Lucky guy, then." He replied with a smile, lifting up the brown paper bag he had in hand. "Brought some libations to go with, hope that's alright."
Polly Romantic: "I never say no to a free drink unless I don't get to watch it being poured," Polly replies sensibly, then steps back to pull the door open and offer him admittance to chez Polly. She eases the door shut and locks it behind him, then reaches to accept the bottle and claim a kiss hello in the process. "It's good to see you, Jay. Why don't you have a seat, dinner's almost done. Sorry it's warm in here, I've had the stove working most of the day and it's not like I have a good hood exhaust or anything. So."
Jeremiah Hamilton: "Good call." Jeremiah made his way inside in short order, letting her take the bag with the six-pack of Victoria and returning the kiss happily. "Good to see you too, and no worries. Smells fantastic, too."
Polly Romantic: When she sees he brought an appropriate beer selection, she beams approval and sets the case down on the sideboard, then goes to begin serving up the meal. Enchiladas with mole sauce, tortillas with some home made guacamole, and sides of rice and beans. She prepares the plates at the stove to save making a huge mess of the table cloth, and then carries the plates to the table, setting them down. Then she washes her hands off and notes, "Okay! Meal's up. Have a seat!" The last thing she fetches are two pint glasses from the freezer, setting them on the table in their respective places.
Jeremiah Hamilton: And take a seat Jeremiah does, having grabbed two of the bottles along the way to set them down beside the pint glasses. "This looks awesome. I've found a couple decent places here, but nothing quite up to snuff in comparison to what's out in Cali."
Polly Romantic: "Check out La Michoacana up in Norristown. Actual Mexican food! Best I've found in the area, personally, but it's a bit of a hike from where I live. Not far from the Norristown station, though." Polly settles in, uncaps her beer, and pours it into the frosted glass before the air gains the benefit of its chill rather than the beer. "Do you want to talk about all of this before or after dinner, Jay? I'm not, like. Upset or anything. I was just surprised, and figured we should have a conversation about it all away from outside observers."
Jeremiah Hamilton: "Don't think I've hit there yet. Will keep it in mind." Jeremiah nodded, taking a moment to fill his own glass. He looked towards Polly at the question, thinking a moment on his answer. "I'm fine with talking about it while we eat. And I'm glad; I wasn't trying to hide it per se, but I also didn't want to make you talk about it until you wanted to."
Polly Romantic: "The only reason I didn't is that I didn't know you were other than just a regular charming guy. I know a lot of us supernaturals can look down on run of the mill humanity, but I genuinely don't. Especially since I had to go through horrible things to become the way I am. Lost my family, too." Polly backs up a bit and begins anew, "I think you know this already, but I'm ... there's lots of name for us. Changeling. The Lost. I was sold into slavery and turned into a rainbow, which is about as fun as it sounds. I'll spare you the grisly details, but you can probably infer how I was treated by my aversion to darkness and so on. It wasn't great." Polly says all of this while slicing up her enchiladas.
"My point being, though? I thought you were just a nice, talented, handsome man who was kind to me and gentle with me and compassionate about my eccentricities. And that was more than enough for me. But bringing our lives into the lives of normal people puts them at risk, so... I didn't tell you. I didn't want you being hurt the way I was hurt."
Jeremiah Hamilton: "Neither do I, and I've never understood those who do. We all started in the same place, and getting into the mindset that we're the only people that matter is dangerous as hell." Jeremiah went quiet then, listening intently as Polly spoke. The mention of what happened to her brought a small frown, however. "My own experiences were more metaphysical than actually physical, but while I know it's not the same and won't claim to understand fully I get the idea of being torn down and rebuilt from the ground up."
"Right. We have to be careful about that too on some level, so I understand." He nodded quietly, allowing himself a small smirk. "And it's not the easiest thing to bring up in a conversation besides."
Polly Romantic: "Right? I was worrying the stuff I could share was going to make you decide I'm not worth the effort to begin with. I am pretty honest about my baggage. Because I have to be. If I'm not, people won't think twice about shutting a light off at night. You know? You can't see me as I am, but I'm basically just... refracted light. I look like how the top of a puddle looks when it gets oil in it. The brighter the light I'm in, the brighter I am. The darker it gets, the less of me you can see. When it gets truly dark, it's... It's like I stop existing. In my mind. Like I'm just a consciousness floating in nothing. And it doesn't matter what I tell myself or how hard I try to convince myself I'm wrong, I just... freeze up. Or scream. And it takes me a good long while to recover from that. But there's a reason why I'm that way. And maybe that is why my relationships keep falling apart on me. It's a lot to ask of a person to live with the lights on perpetually."
Polly pokes a bit of her enchilada onto her fork and takes a bite, staring down at her plate. "It still is, even if you are different like me."
Jeremiah Hamilton: "It's a perfectly legitimate reason to be that way. I can't even imagine what that would feel like, and I wouldn't want to inflict that on you." He looked to Polly at that, the smirk shifting to a proper smile, and a warm one at that. "You're definitely worth the effort, in my book."
Polly Romantic: Polly had been moving food around on her plate when Jay spoke that reassurance, and it clearly takes a moment or two to register the compliment. When she does, she looks up with wider than normal eyes and a slightly pouty question on her lips that's never quite spoken. Instead she sets her fork down, folds her hands up into her lap, and watches his face carefully before prompting, "Say that again, please. I wasn't watching you the first time."
Jeremiah Hamilton: "You're worth the effort." He repeated it easily, with no sign of insincerity in his tone or features. "No question about it."
Polly Romantic: She takes in and lets out a slow breath with that said, her smile regrouping as she sits a little straighter in her chair. "Thank you. I needed to hear that." She takes a sip of her beer before moving forward, "Mind you, I still haven't the foggiest notion what about you gets you past the wards on Maddy's portal."
Jeremiah Hamilton: "Very welcome." Jeremiah nodded with a small smile, finally moving to try a bite from his own plate. "Magic-user. Awakened, if you're familiar with that particular term."
Polly Romantic: "Not particularly, no. Like a magician? Wizard? Person?" Polly's not too hip to the lingo, sadly. But at the least she seems to recognize the term enough to make an appropriate guess. "That has to be pretty handy in a pinch. I've got a few tricks up my sleeve, too. But. They're all related to the eldritch laws of the Fae. So. They tend to be kind of weird and esoteric things. Narrowly applicable, in most cases."
Jeremiah Hamilton: "Wizard works pretty well, yeah. The way that we come to our magic colors what kinds of magic we do best, and in my case it's more matters of the mind and playing around with spatial relations; the portal that gets you into Maddy's is an example of that. I also have a decent hand at what helps up to study the core of our magic itself, along with the truth of the world around us."
"Sounds interesting, at any rate." He nodded, looking rather intrigued. "Guessing that's what the tin of cookies at Maddy's was about, then?"
Polly Romantic: "Yeah. Our magic comes at a price, and one way you can help circumvent the price is by behaving according to the old dictates of the Fae. So. For example, I was able to refresh Sturm and mitigate her headache, relieve all of her fatigue and basically make her feel like she'd just woken up from a good sleep to a hearty breakfast, all fully hydrated. But she had to accept food from me and consent to being touched by me first. No muchies and the cost goes up. If she doesn't consent to be touched, the power won't even work despite what I pay. Most of my magic relates to helping bodies and minds recover from deprivation or trauma. Being an elemental, though, I can manipulate light, create things out of light, and so on."
To prove the point, her silverware begins to glint a bit brighter than it has cause to, and the fork and knife lift up off the plate, saw off a bite of enchilada, and carry it to her mouth while her hands remain folded in her lap. "I can conjure art supplies out of thin air, too. And make you the thing you most desire or truly and deeply need. Which can be a useful trick."
Jeremiah Hamilton: "Interesting. On our end there's a cost in a few different ways, potentially. One's the internal energy that goes into the casting, and another comes if we push too hard to bring an effect into being and the universe smacks us for it. Kind of the 'phenomenal cosmic power, itty bitty living space' issue."
His eyebrow arched up as the light shifted to move her silverware about, smiling after the initial surprise wore off. "Now that is pretty cool. And yeah, I can imagine that would be handy."
Polly Romantic: "Keep it in mind if you're ever stuck on a problem. I won't know what I'm making or what your problem even is, I'll just hand you back the thing you need to resolve it. Which you need to use in like a day, because Faeries are assholes and the thing disappears. Point being, though, that I can make you something you need without spoiling your operational security. Which is also handy. You don't have to tell me anything, you just have to ask for what you need. You know?" Polly reaches for her beer and has another sip while her silverware continue to glint and dance of their own accord, seemingly. Now that she's allowed to be herself, she's apparently just going to be her actual self.
"Anyway. While our double lives are probably going to be pretty inconvenient where dating is concerned? Just. You know. Because of responsibilities and stuff? I don't want... like." She pauses. "I really like you, Jay. And I don't want this to be a problem for us. Especially because it means I can just be myself with you. I want to keep seeing you. I really want to keep seeing you."
Jeremiah Hamilton: "Will keep that in mind. And if you ever need to get anywhere in a hurry, let me know. Not quite teleportation good yet, but I'm getting there." He nodded with a smirk, taking a few more bites of his meal. He paused when Polly did, however, setting his silverware down as he paid proper attention to her words. "I really like you too...more than anyone else I have in a while, honestly. I'll admit I was nervous coming over, hoping that you finding out about this like that wasn't going to mess things up."
"I think being able to be open about things will help in the long run more than it'll hurt." He smiled softly, offering his hand for her to take if she so wished. "I want to keep seeing you as well."
Polly Romantic: "That just makes me wish my whole band were in on the secret, because I do not miss tour busses. Being able to just walk through a portal to a show would be an amazing time saver. Even if it would mean no stories about Montana Targets and their ball cages." Polly accepts Jay's offered hand and gives it a firm squeeze, her smile growing a touch emotional and therefore more sincere by orders of magnitude.
"Then let's do that. Let's see where this goes." The silverware settles down onto her plate, and she just scoots her chair around the table to get nearer to him at the expense of access to her plate. And once she's closed that distance, she leans in to carefully and gently rest her head on his shoulder. She folds her other hand over the top of his which she holds with her other, takes in a deep breath, and lets it out as a worry-expelling sigh. Anxiety begone. The tension in her starts to disappear little bit little.
Jeremiah Hamilton: "True...that was a lot better than my 'band made a mess of a place' stories, at any rate." Jeremiah's smile warmed as Polly squeezed his hand, scooting over a touch to make her eventual resting place a little more comfortable to reach. Once she was settled he leaned over to lightly kiss the top of her head before resting his head against hers, letting out a content sigh of his own. "I look forward to it."
Polly Romantic: She smiles more sedately as his head comes to rest against hers. With that, she let go of his hand, but only so she can slide her arms around his waist and pull herself in against him more snuggly. Cuddling at the dinner table is perfectly fine when dining alone! "Does this mean that your roommates that you want to introduce me to aren't just your roommates? Do they know what I am? I just want to know what I should expect when I do come over."
Jeremiah Hamilton: Jeremiah chuckled at the sudden snuggle, looping an arm around her in kind. "They're like me, yeah. We've been working together for two years now in what we call a cadre...basically a group of like-minded willworkers who can combine their efforts towards larger workings and whatnot. I said that you were cleared for Maddy's as well but no more than that. Didn't want to assume that you'd be comfortable with me doing so."
Polly Romantic: "Thank you for your discretion," Polly murmurs, carefully extracting her head from under his so that she can look at the profile of his face. "I'll want to meet them and decide for myself. It's a pretty personal thing for us. And can often lead to a lot of well-meaning, but very personal and sometimes offensive questions. I'm better adjusted than a lot of our sort, but nobody likes revisiting their traumas unbidden."
Jeremiah Hamilton: "Very welcome." He looked down to Polly with a small smile. "And totally understandable. On that note, is there anything in particular I should avoid on that front? I said something that hit Ziv the wrong way at Maddy's not too long ago ,which led me to ask Annie about any general things to avoid, but if there's anything specific for you other than being in the dark I'd want to know."
Polly Romantic: "I don't deal well with silence or darkness. Those are the big ones. Being browbeaten or pressured when I set a firm and clear boundary is... bad. Moreso if I'm not expecting it, or it's coming from someone I trust. I mean. To give you an exhaustive list would take forever and make me sound like a bit of a basket case. Just realize that my perception of reality and yours differ. In ways other than yours does from a normal person's, I mean. It can be hard to trust your own sanity when you see the world the way I do. So anything that gaslights me could be real bad, too. I'm good at repairing that sort of damage in others, but I have no means of doing it myself outside of my music. And that takes time. On that note, if I ever grow... like. Emotionally distant or close off from the world? You got to get me out of that situation. I might not even be aware it's happening, but that will be the first signs my mind is starting to slip. It's not ... necessarily dangerous? But if you don't get me away from the situation, it could get that way. Same if I really lose my temper. If I lose my temper, something bad has happened and I need to leave. Even if I'm right about being mad, get me out of there."
Polly's hold on Jay grows as she shares all of this. Part of telling someone how not to hurt you is giving them all they'd need to destroy you emotionally and mentally. Especially when you're a Changeling. Especially then. And she's growing understandably tense in the sharing.
Jeremiah Hamilton: Jeremiah's arm shifted so he could gently run his hand up and down Polly's upper arm as she began to tense up and hold him close, nodding quietly as she spoke. "I can do that. Annie mentioned getting a hold of her as well to be able to help, along with a couple folks I don't know off-hand, Jack and Yu Jin."
Polly Romantic: "Jack Martingale. He's in the news a lot. Yu Jin is Annie's primary partner. I've not met them, but they sound cool. If you call Annie at home, you might reach Yu Jin, though. There are others. I'm one of them, as I said. But I can't heal myself like that. You can't talk yourself back into sanity, basically." Polly straightens up slowly so she can watch Jeremiah's face directly. There's definitely some fear in her gaze. Not unearned, just unfortunate. "I don't mean to dump on you. This is... this is just my life now, you know?"
Jeremiah Hamilton: Jeremiah paused briefly at the name given before the lightbulb visibly went off. "Ah hah...I have heard of him, yeah. And good to know. Think I only have Annie's cell at the moment, though."
"Right...makes sense. I...might be able to help on that front too, but I can't say for sure." He nodded quietly, giving Polly a small smile and a reassuring look when she moved to face him. "I know, and I don't see it as 'dumping'. I'd rather know what I need to do to make sure you feel safe, and that I don't make you uncomfortable by touching on something I shouldn't."
Polly Romantic: "You have actually accidentally been... amazing, Jay. There are others in my community that aren't as considerate and kind as you've been to me. About this stuff. About everything, honestly. This is." She pauses to huff out a small tense sigh. "This is what I meant by waiting for the other shoe to drop with you. I kept waiting for you to show your selfish side, to show what your agenda was. To get bored with my eccentricities and just back out of it all. I realize we're still early days, and all that. But I don't have a single complaint about how you've treated me, or how you've behaved, or-- anything. I'm starting to trust you. Which is hard for me, despite appearances. Welcome isn't the same as trust, let's just say. And I miss you when you aren't around. Especially at night when I'm here alone and essentially trapped in my apartment." Polly frees a hand from around him to reach up to his face and rest her fingers there against his cheek. At which point her smile returns with some hesitance, but sincere for all of that. "And I still want to meet your friends. I want that a lot."
Jeremiah Hamilton: "I know what you mean about trust, even if it's for different reasons. There's something about you that just...resonates with me in a way that no one else really has. Those eccentricities are what make you you, and trying to change that wouldn't be fair to you."
"If I have an agenda, it's to see that light within you shine as brightly as it can, and if I can help you do that then all the better." He smiled softly, putting his hand atop Polly's against his cheek. "I think you'll get along with them well. They're like the sisters I never had."
Polly Romantic: "Well, you're in luck. All I've got to grow is light, quite literally. Don't let this fleshy meat prison fool you." Polly draws her hand back to tug at her cheek playfully, causing a squishy sound in the process. "I'd show you the actual factual Polly Chromatic Romantic, but it's dangerous to do that in the city. We'd need to go well out of town, away from doorways or arches or anything portal-like for that to be remotely safe. We can put that on our to-do list for the future, unless you're super gung ho to see me sooner than all that." Polly settles back into her chair and reaches over for her forgotten beer glass, taking a sip of it to help settle her nerves.
She smiles at the mention of his cadre being like sisters to him, wistfully at that. "When I got back from Arcadia, I found a creature of the fae living in my old life. We call 'em Fetches. She'd given up on music as a frivolous pursuit, much to the delight of my parents, and is doing super well for herself. My mom and dad are happy, my siblings don't seem to care that the former me is now not artistic at all. Which, I guess, goes to show you how much my family never really knew who I was deep down. But she was actually just a sweet woman. It wasn't her fault she got made to live in my shoes, and so we agreed she could have my old name, my family, all of it. We talk sometimes. On the phone. She tells me what it's like with my family, I tell her what it's like living your dreams. And I keep her a secret because there are Lost who hunt fetches and destroy them."
Jeremiah Hamilton: Jeremiah moved his hand to let Polly pull her back, chuckling after the self-cheek-pinch. "I'd be interested in seeing it, yeah, but no rush."
His eyebrow arched up firmly as she continued, though, giving a slow nod when she finished. "That...is something. Glad that you two are on good terms, at least."
Polly Romantic: "It's awkward. But I'm not a murderer. And, again, it's not her fault she's in my place. Sometimes the uncomfortable lie is better than the horrible truth, you know? Better for all parties, is my thought on the matter. But I got to put together a new life, a new version of myself. I got to turn everything about my life into art. From my name, to my hair, to my clothes, to my house-- all of it. It's exhilarating. Kinda feels like the first moments of bungee jumping. But... I make it work, I think." Polly finishes off her beer and sets the glass back down, wiping off her fingers on her shorts briefly once that's done. "Anyway. I'm babbling and oversharing because I'm nervous. I should maybe let you talk ever."
Jeremiah Hamilton: "You make it work very well, yes." Jeremiah replied with a smile. "And I know what you mean. That 'moment of clarity' I know I've mentioned a few times was the day that I Awoke to what I am, and after going through what I did to earn that gift i was pretty much starting fresh as far as me as a person was concerned. I like to think I did an alright job with it."
"No worries, you're good. I'm not going to complain about getting to know you better."
Polly Romantic: "I mean, I obviously can't say I know everything about you, but from what you've shown me so far? You've done great. And I have a better understanding of why you left the scene, too. To the extent you did, anyway. Living a double life makes this industry particularly hard to work inside of. The schedule demands, the media attention, all of that." Polly rises from her seat to begin cleaning up the table a bit, "I'm definitely looking forward to learning more about this creation of yours that you call you."
Jeremiah Hamilton: "That was part of it, yeah. That and being in physical therapy for a while after the fact gave me a lot of time to think on what I wanted to do going forward, and that race for the spotlight wasn't as important as it had been before. The music itself was, though, and still is."
"Need a hand?"
Polly Romantic: "Wouldn't mind a hand, if you're feeling up to it. Can you grab the tupperware down there? I'll send the leftovers back with you for the girls." Polly sets the dirty dishes into the sink and starts filling up the sink to wash the dishes the old fashioned way. There's still the pots and skillets on the stove that need to have their contents put into the tupperware, though. "How bad was your accident? And how soon after it did other wizards find you?"
Jeremiah Hamilton: "Can do." Jeremiah hopped up and grabbed said containers to aid in the pack-out. "Had to cut me out of the car bad, in a 'the only reason I don't have permanent injuries at this point is because magic' kind of way. I was in a coma for a few weeks afterwards, and far as I know they found out about me pretty early on but since I was already in the system as it were they had to let that run its course."
He paused for a moment to gather himself, his tone more somber as he continued. "The girl I was dating at the time was in the car too, but she didn't make it."
Polly Romantic: "Oh, Jay." Polly ceases her fussing over the dishes to turn towards him, her expression concerned. Watching him to make sure this isn't treading over truly uncomfortable ground for him. She reaches out a hand to give his shoulder a squeeze and his arm a rub of reassurance. "I'm so sorry, honey." That makes a lot of things make sense, to put it mildly. Not that she'd ever say so. Her expression softens as a consequence of it, though.
Jeremiah Hamilton: Jeremiah turned to look Polly over in kind, a note of...not quite relief, but close enough forming on his own face at seeing her reaction. "Thanks. It's been a while at this point, but finding that out when I woke up was rough."
Polly Romantic: "Come here, baby." Polly shuts the water off for now and steps forward to lean up and wrap her arms around his neck so that she can pull him down into a nice tight hug. She holds him in place for a few moments, then ends it with a soft kiss against his lips, settling back to the flats of her feet to rest her hands on his chest and look up at him frankly. "I'm proud of you for changing. I'm proud of you for recognizing where you were going wrong and correcting the problem. I'm proud of you for taking responsibility and not falling victim to self-pity and self-destruction. Whatever you were before, you're a good man now. None of us should be judged by who we are at our worst moments, or none of us would deserve a moment of joy in this life. Not even me." Her hands smooth down his chest in reassurance before sliding back around his waist as she leans up to smooch his chin in further reassurance.
Jeremiah Hamilton: Jeremiah sank into the hug without resistance, returning the kiss gladly and smiling as Polly looked up to him. "I try to be, at least. Hasn't always been an easy climb, but it's been worth it." He relaxed a touch at the motion of her hands down his chest, leaning forward to leave a light kiss on her forehead. "Thank you."
Polly Romantic: "Thank you," Polly answers sincerely, "for all of the things I just said, and for trusting me enough to tell me any of this in the first place. I'll keep your confidences." Polly reaches up to tweak his chin between her thumb and her forefinger, then goes back on tippy-toes to kiss him properly. More sweet than seductive, this kiss, but lingering just the same. And when she sinks back to her feet, she suggests simply, "Stay here tonight. I don't think either of us wants to be alone after sharing all of this. I'll make you breakfast and get your day started right."
Jeremiah Hamilton: "Appreciate it, and I'll keep yours as well." He smirked at the little tweak, leaning down to make that kiss a little easier to do. "I'd love to, and...agreed. Feeling a little raw at the moment, but in a good way."
Polly Romantic: "Then help me finish cleaning up, here, and we can retire up to my room where the AC is actually doing its job. I'll let you pick the movie and slash or the music, and we can just curl up and be together. And if you want to talk, we can talk. And if you want to just process together, we can just process together. I may tax you by stealing one of your shirts before I have to leave, but I figure that's a small price to pay." Polly smiles up at him, attempting coy but managing only mischief. And then she squeezes him a final time and steps back to resume working on the dishes so he can finish packing up the leftovers for his cadre.
Jeremiah Hamilton: "Just gives me another reason to come by to reclaim it." Jeremiah replied with a sly wink, giving a hug back in return before she got too far out of range. There was a bit of pep in his metaphorical step as he went back to packing out the leftovers, humming a bit to himself as he worked.
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