Back in Town (Roxie)

[the_next_avenger]

(Occurs after this thread.)

 

Joe checked the building twice over before he pulled his bike into the garage and closed the door. The last couple of days had really taken a toll on his sanity. He was holding up well but being back home was good. He went to the fridge and pulled out a few things for making a sandwich because he hadn't eaten much while he and Sammy were on the way to Leavenworth. Now that he was back, he could relax and get his head in order before he went off after Jason Landon or before Landon came after him.
 

He also had to talk to Roxanne about things and that reminded him to be quiet in case she was sleeping. He sat down at the counter in the kitchen and dug into his sandwich, relishing having real food again.

His mind wandered to the idea of Roxanne sleeping and thinking she probably looked like an angel. Was she a morning person? Probably not.

Finishing his sandwich and finding himself with a bit extra energy, Joe went to his room and changed into some sweats and a t-shirt with running shoes. If nothing else, he might at least get a work-out in.

He dropped to the floor and began the first five-hundred push-ups.

Comments

[avengingwarbird]

Roxie? A morning person? No.

Not usually. Today was different, though. After her earlier phone call with Joe, and despite Tommy's having checked the penthouse out, Roxie'd decided that it'd be in her best interest to check the place out as well. Thus, Roxie had left Avengers Mansion early that morning and flown home. She'd started with flying around the place a couple of times and then casing the upper levels of the terrace before finding herself inside the penthouse, checking everything else out. She stayed aloft, floating through the house so as not to make a sound with her footfalls.

This was how she'd chanced upon Joe, seeming as though he'd recently returned, doing push-ups in his room.

She paused, hovering in his doorway, a small smile on her lips, silent as she watched.

[the_next_avenger]

When Joe got into his work-outs, very little caught his attention short of walking up to him. He was already at one-hundred thirty and going strong. Back in school, he'd do seventy-five or eighty push-ups to keep him at the top of his class and wow the guys, but that didn't challenge him in the least. He never weight-lifted in public because, most of the time, he'd just hurt people's feelings.

At two-hundred twenty, he became aware of a pair of feel in the doorway to his room. He followed the feet up the long pair of amazing legs until his eyes came to rest on Roxie's. He stopped pushing and stood up, sweat pricking up from his skin.

"Hey, you. I'm sorry. Did I wake you up? I was trying to be quiet but it looks like I failed." he said.

"How's your night going? I checked the place out to make sure no one was lurking."

And I thought about you the whole time I was gone. he thought, which went unsaid.

[avengingwarbird]

"I just got back myself," Roxie said, finally touching down on the ground. "I was at the Mansion, but then I felt as though I should come check the penthouse out," she explained. "You know, after our conversation."

She walked up to Joe and gave him a quick hug. "You just got back? How did everything go? Did you catch Melissa's brother?"

[the_next_avenger]

"Yeah, I just got in. Things...are not good. Like I said, Landon's been out for three months. We've got no idea where he is, though everyone's looking." Joe told her.

"When something happens, I'll probably have to leave right away without any word but I'll be back as soon as I can. But I'm glad you came back tonight. At least I know you're okay." Joe said.

"How is Anton?" he asked, regarding the doorman.

[avengingwarbird]

"He's wounded, but he's getting better. I'm going to do something to help him and his family out, because they have like a two-year-old, and this...well. You know as well as I do that he didn't deserve this."

Not feeling comfortable enough to sit on Joe's bed, Roxie instead lowered herself to the ground, folding her legs under her, and leaning her back against his bed. She patted the ground next to her, indicating that Joe should sit down as well.

"Hey, I understand that. The mission is the mission, and you have to do what you have to do," she said. "But is there anything I can do to help find Landon?" Pause. "And you don't think Tommy is somehow connected to all of this, do you?" Yes, she was full of questions tonight.

[the_next_avenger]

Joe moved to the spot next to Roxanne and sat down, relaxing a bit. He shook his head at her question about Jason.

"No, there isn't. And...I don't want to get you too involved, Roxanne. You weren't part of that mess and it's nice to have someone--I mean, know someone that wasn't there, you know? You're a port in the storm and I like having that." he said.

"No, I don't think Tommy's in on it. But he's in trouble, I know that. He's got the FBI on his tail and Sammy asked me if I wanted to turn him over or bring him in under SHIELD." Joe said. "I don't think he'd do well with either one."

Joe was silent for a bit before speaking again. "Anything interesting happen with you while I was out?"

[avengingwarbird]

"What kind of friend would I be if I didn't at least offer to help, right?" she said, leaning into him a little. Yes. He was there. He was real.

"Tommy mentioned something about things going bad when the sun goes down. I don't know what he was getting at, but there's more to his story than he's willing to share with anyone. Well, more than he's willing to share with a girl he's just met at any rate." Potentially because if it was really bad, Roxie would've had the Avengers on him in a New York minute.

"Interesting? Well." She cleared her throat. There was one other thing she needed to warn Joe about.

"My brother is here. Alex. Well, he prefers that most people call him Alexander." It was funny, she realized. Out of all of Ares' offspring, Alex was the only one she ever called brother. "He's in one of the other spare bedrooms here." Pause. "He might...be a little overprotective about me." Mostly because he was all too aware as to Roxie's feelings for Joe. "But don't worry. He won't, you know, punch you into Hades or whatever."

[the_next_avenger]

"You're a great friend, Roxanne. Never believe anything different." he said.

"I don't know what he's talking about but it worries me. He got dealt a really bad hand and I...I tried to be there for him but there were some things he wouldn't even tell me." Joe told him. He knew that Tommy had been set up by his family but not how or what really happened.

"If he comes back, I'll talk to him."

When Roxie mentioned Alexander, Joe took a deep breath and composed himself. He hadn't seen Alexander since Colorado. That...hadn't gone well.

"Alexander is home. I see. Did he mention that he saw me in Colorado a few years ago?" Joe asked.

[avengingwarbird]

"..." Roxie blinked at that. She shifted over so that she was facing Joe, a look of curiosity on her face. No, Alex hadn't mentioned anything of the sort at all.

Had he?

Roxie racked her brain, but she couldn't remember Alex ever having brought it up. "Saw you as in he popped by for a friendly visit?"

[the_next_avenger]

"I don't know if meant it to be friendly when he showed up but it certainly didn't end that way." Joe said.

"We talked about you and he left."

Joe decided that leaving out the part where Melissa threw a drink in Alex's face and the subsequent bar fight over said insult was better than going into it. He hoped Alexander had gotten over that.

"We'll deal with Alexander when he's around. There's other stuff we can talk about." he said, searching for one of those topics in his head.

[avengingwarbird]

"I was hoping," Roxie explained. "But Alex is...well. Alex." She knew her brother well, and she loved him, but he had certain quirks that she was all too aware of.

Still, she wanted to know what they'd talked about, especially since the topic of conversation was her.

Granted, if Joe didn't want to talk about it just then...

"Like what occurred shortly before you left?"

[the_next_avenger]

Joe looked at Roxie now. She wanted to go there.

"Yeah, like that." he said.

He looked down at the floor for a bit before speaking again.

"I used to keep track of you when I was away. I wanted to know that you were all right. I tried to do the same for everyone but...you were in magazines and stuff." Joe said.

"I kept that plane because it made me think of times when life was simple. But you were always younger than me, Roxanne. We were friends, kind of like siblings and I thought it would be wrong of me to take advantage of that. You deserve a lot more." he said quietly.

"And it seemed like you had that over the years. You always had a smile on your face so I took that as a sign, I guess, that you had what you needed and who you needed. And after Melissa, I knew I didn't fit into your life like that. So that was part of why I stayed on the road. It was easier than coming home and feeling out of place."

[avengingwarbird]

Go there? Roxie had been living there for the past few days.

Mentally, at least.

"Do you still feel out of place? I mean, you're barely back, and the last thing I want is to rush into things. The very tiny part of me that allows rational thought knows that we need to get to know each other again as adults." She smiled at him, sadly. "Tommy and Alex both remarked that it was very obvious that I still care for you, you know. Apparently I'm not so good at hiding it." Not that she'd ever been good at hiding any emotion ever. Roxie was practically passion incarnate, her every emotion on display for the world to see.

Usually in the gossip rags.

[avengingwarbird]

A few hours later found Roxie and Joe still on the couch, an empty bowl of popcorn and a few empty boxes of candy on the table in front of them. They'd gone through a couple of Marilyn Monroe movies and Roxie was staring at her collection, trying to decide whether to watch more and go to sleep.

Indeed, a big part of her didn't want the night to end.

"Ancient weaponry and armour, chilaquiles, and books by F. Scott Fitzgerald," Roxie said suddenly, turning the screen off and turning to face Joe. "I never told you three of my favorite things."

[the_next_avenger]

Joe was having a great time with Roxanne as well. He'd watched each movie with rapt attention, though he did pause a various moments to see the expressions on her face during certain parts. He also just wanted to see her smile or hear her laugh, too.

When the movie ended, he watched her look at her collection and knew it was late. He felt like an idiot when he realized the time of night.

"You know, I've never had chilaquiles before. They sound pretty good, though. But I love old weaponry, too. And I own no F. Scott Fitzgerald books but...now I know what to get you for Christmas. Or your birthday." he laughed.

"By the way, I'm not trying to keep you up all night. If you need to crash, it's cool." Joe said. It was tough for him to fall asleep most nights without a drink, but he was trying to get away from that.

"But I do like spending time with you, even if it's like this. Do you play video games?" he asked.

[avengingwarbird]

"I'm fairly nocturnal myself," Roxie said. It was true, that. One didn't get to be one of the most famous party girls around by managing to be in bed by ten pm.

Ten was when the parties generally started.

"I'm the one who should apologize," she said. "You've got a lot going on, and instead of letting you rest and recuperate I'm keeping you up." After all, if anything on Landon came up, then Joe would need to leave in a heartbeat.

"But yes, I do," she nodded. "I'm more of a Wii girl myself, because I like the interactivity and the physicality of it, but I'm not altogether unfortunate at Halo."

[the_next_avenger]

"I'm a night person, too. Have been for a long time. I used to be really good at Halo and Counterstrike but I keep telling myself I'm getting a Playstation 3 so I can play Call of Duty." Joe said.

"We should play Halo sometime and team-up. I bet we'd work well together." he said.

He ignored the double entendre in that sentence and just smiled.

[avengingwarbird]

It wasn't a double entrende she minded, considering she'd dropped one of her own just a moment earlier.

"Oh, I think we'd work very well together," she smirked.

What? It's not as though she was going to let that line just slip by her.

[the_next_avenger]

Joe didn't fully blush, but he turned slightly red and a bit of a dopey grin came to his face. Hey, he's a red-blooded American male and he liked the idea!

"You like to fight, play video games and watch old movies. Seriously, if there is a line of guys outside trying to get in here, I'm fighting them all off to say I was here first." Joe joked.

Though he seriously did wonder which day he'd wake up to find out that every other guy in the world wanted to date Roxie and show up with any number of things they thought would sway her. Joe knows she's not that kind of girl but he knows that guys are not especially bright.

Personal experience, that.

[avengingwarbird]

"That's a fight I wouldn't mind watching," Roxie laughed. "After all, I know who I'm rooting for." It was Joe, obviously, but Roxie felt that it went without saying.

"Rest assured I'd do the same when the women of New York realize what a catch you are."

[the_next_avenger]

"The women of New York would have to know I exist. And there's only one New York woman I'm really interested in so I'd politely, but firmly, turn them away." Joe grinned.

"Any other favorite foods I should know about?" Joe asked.

[avengingwarbird]

Roxie grinned at that and looked down at her lap, blushing. She'd never really blushed that much in her life before, but then most men hadn't ever made Roxie feel the way that Joe did.

"Honestly? Besides my distaste for sushi and Vietnamese, I like everything." The distaste for Vietnamese had occurred when Ares had taken her out for dinner one night and Roxie had ordered the chicken fried rice. The plate had come back to her with a severed chicken head and chicken feet accompanying the rice. Though the daughter of the god of war, that had left something of a metaphorical bad taste in Roxie's mouth. She hadn't eaten Vietnamese since.

"Although, I'm partial to really bad chow mein and white wine on nights where I just want to kick back and relax," she admitted. "How about you?"

[the_next_avenger]

"Not big on sushi myself. Tommy took me out for all-you-can eat sushi and beer in Kansas City once. I spent the rest of the night emptying my stomach. It was terrible. But I love orange chicken and beef with broccoli." Joe said.

"I've never had Vietnamese food. I love spicy food, especially Mexican. And I have a weakness for kettle-cooked jalapeno-flavored potato chips." he said. Speaking of, he needed more of those.

[avengingwarbird]

"I can't actually imagine the sushi in Kansas City being fresh," Roxie said. "I mean, you know, in terms of freshly-caught fish and all that." Not that Roxie knew much about things that weren't located in the city of New York, but still. "See, I like salt and vinegar chips," she said. "Not everyone's favourite flavour, I know, but there's this bite to them that I love." Already, she was mentally putting together a Mexican dinner surprise for Joe.

[the_next_avenger]

"Salt and vinegar is...okay, I'm sorry, I can't eat them." he laughed. "That bite you like is too much for me. What about barbecue? Do you like the food or the potato chips at all?" he asked.