[DRP] The Second Hand Unwinds (Preacher & Chester)

[The Semblance of Unity]

broken

She took Hickory back gingerly, her thin fingers patting his legs. Chester had worked miracles, in Preacher's opinion.

"Well, golly, if ya don' want m'sugar daddy-ness, I can find 'nother young man to shower in bills." She snorted.  

[The Semblance of Unity]

hands on

"Bed!" Finally, she wriggled free of his grasp and flopped gracelessly on his bed. After a few failed attempts, she managed to push herself up into a sitting position. "Smells like you." Preacher blinked owlishly a few times, then smirked. (It was a little lopsided, but she felt a little lopsided right now, so that was fine.)

"Knew ya wanted girls in y'bed, but this isa weird ploy for iiiitt." Then she yawned.

smerdle

 

[Smerdle]

french girls

"I do," he said with a solemn nod. "The biggest lobster. But I wouldn't object to the beach, if you didn't mind hanging out with someone who spends ninety-eight percent of the time under a very large umbrella." What he wouldn't mind would be seeing the rest of the purple bikini, but he wasn't about to say that.  

[Smerdle]

john jacob jingleheimer schmidt

"There's a collection now," he said, accepting his fate with a theatrical sigh. Chester held up his phone before she'd lowered hers, taking a picture of her taking a picture. "I'll have to work to catch up."  

[Smerdle]

broken

He backtracked again, chuckling when he recalled his tone. Granted, he didn't know many of the same people their age that Preacher did, so the list he gave quickly grew old and moneyed.

"I'm sure the Beaumonts would love that. Detective Kuroda or Jeremiah as well, though they probably rake in the cash on their own."

Chester paused. "Okay, that might have gone a little far. I promise to accept your piles of money to keep you from that fate."

He gestured at Hickory. "He should be sturdier now. I apparently didn't know a thing when he was first made."  

[Smerdle]

hands on

In theory it wouldn't have taken him long to join her, but Chester lingered behind to sit and breathe once she left him, pondering the sequence of events that had landed him here and finding that it was far too long to make sense of. This was what living with Preacher was, he supposed. Fascinating and frustrating all at once.

He followed a short while after she had settled, sitting at her back and opening the beer. He disliked the taste, but it had been part of the deal. If she even remembered the deal. Chester sipped then set it down where she could see it.

He pulled one side of her hair back over her shoulder, smiling a little at nothing. "Who told you I wanted girls in my bed?"

The Semblance of Un!ty

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

french girls

"I'll jus' have ta push ya into tha water at some point, then." She grinned, relieved that it was something he'd actually consider. She wasn't sure why she'd suggested it, but now that she thought about it, Preacher could concede that it sounded like fun.

"It's a.... not-date."  

[The Semblance of Unity]

broken

"The Beaumonts? So not m'type. Plus, did I tell ya I punched one of 'em in tha nose? Not Lord Kickflip, but t'other." She made a disgusted face. "If I had bills on me now, I'd make it rain jus' ta prove tha point." But Preacher did not.

So, instead, she set Hickory on the floor in front of her legs. "Know more than me 'bout this s**t, so..."  

[The Semblance of Unity]

john jacob jingleheimer schmidt

"Mhmm." She brought her hands up to block her face, but not before he got a picture. "Why'd ya want pics of this?" Preacher snorted.  

[The Semblance of Unity]

hands on

She leaned her head way back to look at him and almost fell backwards. "Duh, Ya had that thiiiing with that girl. I ain't dumb, Mr. Poole." Preacher leaned back over the other way to steal a drink of his beer.

"Ain't nobody been over in while, though. D'ya need new pick-up lines?"

smerdle

 

[Smerdle]

french girls

"You can try." He pressed his lips together to partially mute his smile. "A not-date then."

Somehow saying that felt like more of a guarantee than his slip up from earlier. Maybe she'd even draw him at the beach. It was as close to nude as he could see himself getting in front of a sketchbook for some time.  

[Smerdle]

broken

"I might have heard. At the time I couldn't imagine what Oliver had done to earn a punch, but I thought it better to stay out of it."

After another few seconds of thought, he joined her on the floor, pressing Hickory's back and watching him fold in on himself.

"I do know more in this instance. But it's only because of this weird power."  

[Smerdle]

john jacob jingleheimer schmidt

He shrugged a little. "I don't know. Remembering all of this will definitely make me smile the next time math rage sets in. Mark Slaughter and the Preacher Maria hair salon." He laughed through his nose. "I mean, my selfie is arguably worse to keep around, but you wanted that, so... It's fun to see you happy and now I have a picture of it."  

[Smerdle]

hands on

Oh. He might have said one or two things about that in idle conversation, but he hadn't been expecting her to catalog it or even bring it up at all. One thing was for sure though, he hadn't had anybody over, not since they'd moved in.

"That was a long time ago," he said softly, bringing the rest of her hair around. "I think saving the world is more important than... picking people up." Chester swallowed, looking for a way to change the subject.

"You should still give me some to add to my library though. You never know when I might need them." Okay, so not a subject change, but at least he'd shifted another uncomfortable spotlight off of himself.

The Semblance of Unity

 

[The Semblance of Unity]

john jacob jingleheimer schmidt

She flushed, which only made the scarred skin around her neck stand out more. Then, taking her phone, she wrinkled her face up and snapped a picture of herself, sending it to Chester before she could regret it.

"Don' take any creeper shots," she mumbled.