Oh yeah I'll... tell you something...

Alex considered the grumpled woman, the remnants of a smile watermarked through his tired features. Jade's behaviour was strange and he’d be the first to admit he didn't completely understand what she was up to. Whatever it was, though, he’d enjoy, tolerate, or fend it off as it came. A segment of his innards was still glowing from the unexpected warm words she'd spoken.

"What?" She grouched.
He tucked a lock of damp hair behind her ear.
“They’ll notice the difference in length, if you’re not careful.”
“Oh. Yeah.” The tender gesture calmed her a little.

They re-seated themselves.
“Uhm, Jade?” He scrunched his eyes as soon he realised his ‘mistake’. “Uh, sorry Kitten, I mean.”
The po faced man forcing himself to be cutesy amused her, lifting her pride-coshed spirits further. “M’yes?"
“Those things you said…” She thought back over her rant. “To Twalex” he clarified, mildly.
She nodded.
His voice was quiet. “I just, um…” He cast his gaze to the sandy, dusty ground, the left side of his face scrunched in solemn thought. “… Thanks.”
Then he put his arm around her shoulders, and gave her a gentle squeeze, like he’d wanted to on hearing the Alex-positive outburst. He left it there.

As they waited for lady-Jamie, they listened to the hum and hubbub of the fountain-splashing upper class twits, and conversed gently with Jamie himself - who sometimes sat on the wall with them, and sometimes strode about, seeming to be taking his guard duties seriously.
Jade became a little bored when the two engineers started rambling on about vending machines, but the drone was quite relaxing. For a moment, as she zoned out of conversational focus, she felt almost as if things were normal.
Well… As normal as things could be when you were in an unfamiliar dimension with an evil soul-snatching God and a twitty version of yourself, whose identity you’d taken, shortly after suffering a misadventure in a flooded warren among kidnapping, oversized, warring rodents… Having previously escaped from killer clowns, been influenced by love-bugs, and having tried to maim then bonk one of your crewmates.

All that aside, the happy fountain-folk, the water, and the sunshine made it almost possible to pretend they were just everyday people on holiday. A snatched moment of serenity amongst the madness.
The damp doc nestled into the chloriney Alex and found herself falling asleep as he rumbled on about something or other – lulled by the mention of his favourite… doors, or… somethi- Zzzzzzzzzzz.

---

Jamie frowned at his approaching female self - her form now distinctly recognisable to him even through her armour. She was walking stiffly. “Hasina, are you all right?”
The mask nodded. “It’s Anubis. We’ll talk about it later.”
She turned to Alex, who was dully watching some kids splash about, and the snoozing Jade. “Come on. You two need to get ready for the feast.”
Alex nodded. “Come on, sleepy” he tried, giving the drowsy Jade a wiggle, thinking – not for the first time – how pleasingly petite she was.
“No, I don’t wanna learn the limbic system, too tired” she muttered.
“Uh, what?” He chuckled, wondering where she thought she was. “It’s Alex you… Twonk.”
She woke properly, and blinked up at him, before sleepily reaching up to wipe at his face.
"Oi..."
“Your Kohl’s smudged.”
“... Ah.”

It wasn’t the first time he’d worn kohl. 'Guy-liner', Jacob had called it when Alex would go out to gigs all ‘dolled up’… as Jacob had also called it – to Alex’s irritation.

“Yes, you need to sort yourselves out. ” Nodded Hasina, noticing how splodged Jade’s own make up was. “You can’t go all runny…” she screwed up her nose within her mask “and smelling of chlorine. Ra expects his guests, and guards" she looked at Jamie "to be impeccable.”
Alex made a face, he wasn’t sure if he was able to accomplish ‘impeccable’. He really wished he knew where his hip flask was. He looked back down at Jade, considering telling her how much he needed a drink, but she looked back at him so… what was that… admiringly? Trustingly? That he couldn’t bear to let her know what a loser he was, and kept it to himself. Still, all the kissing was certainly helping him feel better. Perhaps she’d dive at him again. And what exactly had she meant by making it up to her later? Was she propositioning him? Or was she just pretending to be ‘Jaahhdaay’? (Why they used that pretentious pronunciation of her name, he did not know.)

Hasina turned her mask to Jamie, tilting it a little. Why did you let the twits play in the water?
“This way…” she beckoned, striding off confidently in the lead.

They followed, and after a while Alex felt Jade's still sleepy hand fumbling for his.

--
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<Either tbc (I can do it later) or tag Jade – The Banquet. If you wanna write it let me know. I’ve got some ideas about it either way.>

[Edit: Or if Jade doesn't wanna do it, and someone else does, that's cool too. But if you wouldn't mind could I tell you a couple of ideas to include? Thanks.]