Noelle - Day 48 (Chalk, Paint, and R.M.S. Story Parts!)

I realized something.
I never announced the 5 Week mark on Day 42!  Well hmph.  It's kinda silly, but I like counting the weeks and knowing, yep, I made it another seven days without messing up!  Lucky duck.  (Out of randomness, does anybody know why we say 'lucky duck'?  Are ducks lucky?  Is this just a random 16th century joke that we just kept saying?)

Anyway, so as you can see, I named this post Chalk, Paint, and R.M.S. Story Parts.  Why?  Well, a) I did one of my semi-famous chalkboard drawings! and b) I have some watercolor paintings I would like to share and c) yep, that's right!  R.M.S. Story parts - specifically, parts 20 & 21.

You ready?  Just click the link below!

Well well well, you actually clicked it!  Cool!

Something cool: I posted this only fb a while ago and Epbot (the actual Epbot) posted on my blog!  Scroll down to the bottom if you don't know who Epbot is.

And now for the paintings.  One was actually an R.M.S. painting (I was bored).

R.M.S. one (Someone to Match Me)

"My Ace in the Hole"

And, the thing you were actually waiting for: R.M.S. Parts!!!!  WooHoo!!!  Btw, if you're looking for the rest of the story (since it's getting pretty long now) click here.

Random Marvel-based Story (Parts 20 and 21)

They rode JACKIE over to Parker’s place in silence, where Iron Fist insisted that Jess wear a reflective helmet over her face.  He came jogging back out a minute later with a bedroll and a backpack.

“I thought you didn’t approve of deception,” Jess said as she pulled them out into the road and pulled the helmet off.

“Is a mask deception any more than it is protection?”  Danny said wisely.  “I know that you don’t have a problem with me staying at your place, but they might.  I just don’t want them to know just yet.”

“Whatever,” Jess said, whisking them up onto a skyscraper to avoid an eighteen-wheeler.

They eventually stopped at a small, rather dark looking apartment complex in the lower parts of Midtown.  Although slightly scary and nerve-racking, this apartment was close to Midtown high and a nice pizza place, or so Jess explained.

She led them up two flights of stairs, and after fiddling with a key for a few minutes, unlocked the door.  “For a friend of Tony Stark,” Daniel commented, “Your apartment is, well, disappointing.”

The large, open space that they stood in was framed by a counter, a plush, fold-out couch, and a bookcase, filled with cubby holes of loose teck and unidentifiable junk.  The floor was a hard concrete, with a rough rug at the other end of the room, but besides that, the place was rather comfortable.

“Honey!  I’m home!”  Jess yelled, opening up a pair of doors to a  squished balcony.

Danny’s eyes widened, but then a huge, fluffy cat came charging in, distracting him.  The giant, golden bobcat before him rubbed its face on Jess’s and meowed excitedly.

Jess smiled, a real, sparkling smile that Danny hadn’t seen before in the year that he had known Jess.  “I’ll get you your food, Honey,” she said, still looking at the cat.  “You, you can make yourself at home.  Try not to poke around too much though, I was making extra bombs last night and left them out.”

Danny nodded serenely and wondered how such a peaceful person could come across as such as morbid fighter when she wanted to - or was it the other way around?  He shook his head, dropping his bags on the couch.  He decided to explore the rest of the apartment while Jess was busy with Honey.

There was a bathroom that was surprisingly empty, except for a kid’s bottle of no-tears shampoo.  On the other side of the apartment, there was another empty room, having nothing but a closet (Danny decided it was best he did not go in there) and a bed that was still un-made from the morning.  A small basic desk lay in the corner, covered in paint supplies and pencils, but no art was to be found.

He walked back into the main room to find Jess reading on the couch.  He noted that she didn’t have a tv - probably couldn’t afford one - and sat down next to her.  “I like your apartment,” he said when she looked up.  “It isn’t as crowded as Peter’s place, and it has the character that the helicarrier simply didn’t.”

Jess didn’t even look up from the metaphysics textbook that she was reading.  “No,” she said shrewdly.  “You like it because it reminds you so much of your home at Kun Lung.”  When Danny looked back at her, startled, she shrugged and added, “I needed room to train - so would you - basic surroundings for a peaceful environment - like you need and want - one large window to let out air - or in your case, incense - and rather small, meant for one or two people - just like the small population of Kun Lung would have.”  She returned nonchalantly to her book, leaving Danny in an impressed silence.

After a few minutes of semi-awkward silence, Jess said, “Feel free to raid the fridge or get a book.  Heck, you could even do homework if you’re feeling rebellious!”

Iron Fist grinned and snatched some papers from Jess’s school backpack, which was lying in the corner near the door.  “Maybe I am rebellious...enough to steal your well-done finished homework!”

Jess smiled another bright, happy smile that Danny had never seen and snatched at the paper.  Danny was just a bit taller, and after a minute of trying to grab the paper from him, Jess switched tactics.  She chased him for a good ten minutes around the apartment before she tackled him.  They landed laughing on the floor next to each other, too tired to get up.

“I hate you sooooooo much,” Jess said breathlessly after a few minutes.  She snatched the papers away from Danny and put them back in her bag.  “And this isn’t new homework. you dimwit, it’s from a month ago!”

“Well,” Danny said with a laugh, “You can’t blame a boy for trying!”

Jess stopped in her tracks, her happy smile fading fast.  She turned her back on the boy behind her, silent.  Danny’s grin faded a little.

He hesitated, then walked slowly up behind her.  “I’m - I’m sorry,” he said, putting a gentle hand on her shoulder.  “Did I say something wrong?”

Yes, thought Jess.  “No,” she said, bringing the good humor back with a small smile.  “You just reminded me of something, that’s all...wanna go get some pizza for dinner?”

*******

Danny quickly found that living with Jess was not at all like he had expected.  When she wasn’t tinkering with gadgets beyond his comprehension, she was painting, alone in the dark of the windowless bedroom.  When she wasn’t doing that, she was doing homework (oh the humanity!) or sparring with him in the open space of the living room.  Jess kept mostly to herself though, staying up late and rising early in the morning for S.H.I.E.L.D. training that Danny didn’t even know existed.

One late Saturday afternoon, Danny was reading a book from Jess’s intriguing collection (28 Guns You Never Want Pointed At You, by Kei Donnell) when he sat up with a start and said, “Who are you parents, Jess?”

Jess had never talked about her past - in fact, the more Danny thought about it, the more he realized that although Jess talked a lot, it was almost never about herself.  He didn’t even know where she lived or what she did in her spare time until two weeks before that day.

Jess looked at him from the kitchen counter, where she was mixing cookie dough.  “What do you mean,” Jess said mysteriously, “Who are my parents?  Who are your parents, Danny?  Who does your laundry at night and feeds you in the morning?”

“Before I moved in with you, S.H.I.E.L.D. did those things for me,” Danny said, confused.  “S.H.I.E.L.D. isn’t my parent.”

She smiled.  “You know what I meant,” she said on a rather final note, and with that, they returned to their own things.  It wasn't until that night that Danny realized that she had never answered his question.