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Post by skyeknight on Apr 3, 2018 18:01:15 GMT
Jane had to look away from Shadow. He had a peculiar look on his face, one that sent a chill down her spine and made her stomach feel a bit fluttery (though that could very well have been the coffee she just downed like a shot). She smoothed a hand over the back of her neck, as if to work out some kink in her shoulder. What was she thinking? This was Shadow! The cop. She was left feeling rather helpless since she didn't know where she stood with the guy and it was mostly her fault.
"Offer still stands if you ever want to ditch work to talk to the kids," she shrugged.
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Post by Zuyuri on Apr 3, 2018 20:18:22 GMT
“Good. I was hoping I the invite would still stand,” Shadow smiled.
Wait did he say that out loud? He had called several schools, and not one had returned his offer. Jane was the first to openly invite him. Had she talked to her principal about him giving the cop talk. He had always wanted to do that.
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Post by skyeknight on Apr 4, 2018 13:13:11 GMT
"Yeah, well, I invited you. It's not like I'd take that back."
She folded her arms in front of her, still avoiding directly looking at him. It would do her students good to see a number of adults coming in and out of the classroom. As much as her dad wanted to stop in, he was likely going to distract kids more than help her educate them about the world. Still... Shadow was the only responsible adult that Jane knew who even tolerated children. Yang loved kids, but Jane feared that throwing the blonde in with her large class would be overwhelming. 30 students all coming at you at once with questions. Some of them quite personal.
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Post by Zuyuri on Apr 4, 2018 14:06:21 GMT
“I’ve been prepping for the scenarios. You know how kids are with things other than math or reading.”
He was talking, of course, about questions and big settings with the kids. Some would ask him about arrests. Others would ask more serious questions like about strangers. Or what to do if a kid puked. He dealt with body fluids on the job so much that it hardly phased him.
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Post by skyeknight on Apr 4, 2018 14:13:27 GMT
"You mean how they are with guests in general." Jane pointed out.
Any break to the school monotony of the same thing every day was something fascinating to the children. They would talk in hushed whispers about it for the rest of the week. It would truly make their day to have someone stop by. But Shadow had a point. The kids didn't quite grasp the concept of inappropriate questions or not. She still had a wager going with another teacher that someone would ask Shadow if he had shot anybody. But no one would ever imagine that their teacher had. Though, in Jane's opinion, man-eating crocodile people should not count.
"Listen, there's no pressure. I want you to come because you want to."
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Post by Zuyuri on Apr 4, 2018 14:22:07 GMT
“And I do want to come. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t...you know...”
It wasn’t stress. No, far from it. Ten years on the force and he was used to criminal activity going in and out. He rubbed the back of his neck with a sheepish smile. Wow, how much had been smiling around Jane? He was just now noticing the muscles in his jaw beginning to stretch up. He couldn’t think of the last person he had been this positive around. Not even around Sunshine, his optimistic partner, gave him that sense,
“...Nervous.” He held up his hands. “I know, me, the guy who hunts monsters, is nervous about talking to a bunch of kids.”
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Post by skyeknight on Apr 4, 2018 14:34:59 GMT
"As long as you don't start imagining them as a bunch of little monsters, I think you'll be fine." she laughed. "Just be kind and patient. They'll be excited."
Granted her students varied. She did have Others in the population. Like a young Harpy girl who had gone through her first molting. Or the druid boy who had been caught trying to cast spells on frogs behind the school. She loved her students, even if sometimes they drove her to drink exceeding amounts of coffee or alcohol. Not in that order and never together. She kind of wanted to see how Shadow got along with kids. A brisk officer of the law like him surrounded by yelling, squealing delighted children.
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Post by Zuyuri on Apr 4, 2018 14:39:25 GMT
Shadow laughed, “My PTSD isn’t that bad. You think too harshly of me.”
He had gone to Craig for a diagnostic. Funny how after so many people bagged him, he had gotten it done. With all the chatting, he had a positive diagnosis for PTSD. Brought on by Maria’s death. It explained all the on-edge reactions, the flashbacks coming and going with specific triggers, and even the senses of overprotectiveness.
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Post by skyeknight on Apr 4, 2018 15:09:41 GMT
"Hey, I just meant it that some people just imagine speaking to an audience in their underpants." Jane teased.
She didn't think harshly of Shadow at all. Perhaps that was what was bothering her. She was actually quite open and very candid with him on things. Shadow was pushing past her regular guards, weaseling his way past her defenses and leaving her feeling quite vulnerable. And this was before he took the Sapien! She felt her stomach churn and not in a way that was uncomfortable.
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Post by Zuyuri on Apr 4, 2018 15:54:08 GMT
“Well I’m on some kind of watch list now. Thanks, Jane,” he teased.
Be stifled his laugh with a sip of coffee. It had long since chilled, making the black liquid metallic-y. At this point a normal person would add cream or sugar. Instead, Shadow dranknit straught. He had never been the kind for adding extra fluff or extra calories. Besides, Sunshine’s rants about complicated orders from divas had turned him away. Maybe he’d go for tea the next caffeine break.
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Post by skyeknight on Apr 4, 2018 19:10:47 GMT
"You're terrible. How does your partner cope with you?"
She shook her head, fighting back a groan at his attempt at a joke. But the venom wasn't there. Her distaste for him, should have been overwhelming. Instead, she was laughing, blushing, flushing, nervously shifting in front of him, like someone seeking approval. And it was the first time Jane even remembered Shadow had a partner or mentioned her. Or was at all accepting that Shadow had a partner. A police officer partner. It didn't settle on her until she looked back up at him.
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Post by Zuyuri on Apr 4, 2018 20:27:27 GMT
“Sunshine tones down my realism with her optimism. That and she knows how to shut me up with her beignets,” he said with a playful eye roll.
Her hadn’t said much about her, he had realized. Maybe because the acceptance of loving her as a close friend was sinking in. He was part of her wedding for crying out loud! Her happiness and cares were more important than his...not Sunshine’s, but Jane.
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Post by skyeknight on Apr 5, 2018 1:28:07 GMT
"Ah, so like any guy food shuts you up. Good to know." she said.
Inwardly she was screaming at herself. What was she doing? Was this flirting? Really really bad flirting? She felt like she needed to flee but managed to keep her ground. If she had been alone she might have groaned in absolute dismal agony over the word vomit that just seemed to gush out of her whenever he was around. Seriously, what in the world was wrong with her? A guy just happens to show interest in her and she's tripping over herself to impress him.
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Post by Zuyuri on Apr 5, 2018 1:42:58 GMT
"You should know. Last time we met, you stuffed me with curry and tea," he said with a wink.
Oh, gag. That was so low down the tree when it came to women. Dimitri would be kicking him if he were here witnessing this. Or what would Ralph, the gentle giant be doing? Cringing? Telling him to abort? He was an awful flirt. Sure, Sunshine was encouraging him to branch out more, but to try his best lines, if he could even call them lines, on Jane? She was too good for these kinds of treatments. Hadn't he decked a guy for putting the moves on her?
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Post by skyeknight on Apr 5, 2018 1:55:46 GMT
"I had to make you remember to eat!" she scoffed.
Shadow was the hardworking type who would forget to eat. He even confessed to living on takeout. It made her want to offer to make a meal for him. The invitation sat on her tongue, heavy and all to eager to just jump out. She didn't think he would appreciate the coddling however. He was a grown man. Clearly, her mind supplied. But he could take care of himself. Not well, she reminded herself again.
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