Claire's Apartment (Join with Permission, Mature)

She didn't look up, something that Antonio knew as well as felt, and he merely continued his work until everything unusable was gone. This done, he set about preparing food, having no issues doing so even with the not-as-extensive-as-his-own collection of food he had available.

Claire busied herself with her thoughts and the necklace, oblivious to all else. Sarah moved around the kitchen, glad to help him prepare a meal for the four of them.

Tony said hardly anything unless directing a question or two specifically to Sarah. Jasmine didn't really move away from the door, eyes occasionally going to the flowers or the kitchen, but never once to where Claire sat on the couch, nor anywhere near the hallway and, in turn, the bathroom.

Claire cast a glance over to Jazz, hopefully too quick to be noticed. She caught sight of the revolver's necklace hooked through her belt loops, her gaze lingering on the small x. The corner of her mouth twitched in the hint of a smile at the sight, and she felt tears come to her eyes.

Sarah avoided looking out into the living room as best she could, busy chopping up some onions that had been in the fridge.

She still didn't look at her, though she moved over to the table, sitting down and checking the carpet burns and scrapes on her knees. From in the kitchen, an empty pasta box suddenly sailed over, nailing in the forehead.

Claire heard the box hit the table, turning to see what had happened. Sarah looked at Tony, eyes wide. "What the hell did you do that for!?" She held a wooden spoon, raising it not unlike a weapon.

He raised his pierced eyebrow at her, expression not changing even as he caught the box hurled back at him. "You really think this paper-cardboard could hurt the firecracker revolver?" He shook his head, looking over at Jasmine who, despite the slight red mark, seemed wholly unaffected. Her brow was raised back at him, though, an almost perfect mimic, mirror-image of his expression, silently asking why he wanted her attention.

Claire looked away, slipping her necklace from around her neck. She laid back on the cough, rolling it through her fingers and squeezing her bear closer with the other.

Sarah rolled her eyes at them, returning her attention to stirring the sauce to keep it from burning.

He shook his head, tossing the box in the trash as he passed the can. Jazz's eyes never left him as he approached, grabbed the back of her neck just enough to keep her still, and brought her over to the couch. Carefully pushing the table out of the way with his foot, he brought Jasmine over and released her right beside Claire.

"Just kiss and make up already!"

Claire blushed madly, stunned into further silence by his audacity. She kept her eyes on the wall for a few moments, before flitting her eyes over towards Jazz a few times, unsure.

Sarah howled with laughter in the kitchen, bracing herself against the wall and almost cackling at his words.

He made his way back into the kitchen, digging through vegetables and spices, tossing looks over his shoulder every minute or so. Jasmine hadn't moved, completely still, eyes on her legs. With each ticking second of the boiler timer, Tony seemed to grow more and more agitated until finally he seemed to be fed-up. "Kiss already!" He shouted, grabbing one of the dry noodles and tossing it; it quickly got caught in her hair, and though she flinched, she said nothing.

Claire winced, her face completely red at this point. She glanced over at Jasmine, unsure of what to do or say. Finally, in a quiet whisper, she managed to squeak out. "I'm sorry I shut down... I'm sorry I hurt you. I'm sorry I slapped you earlier."

Sarah watched, quickly sigh and rubbing her eyes. "You do understand that we need to eat some of that, yes?"

Jasmine's face began to take on a pinkish-red hue, signifying that she could definitely hear everyone. Still, she didn't move, and Tony let out a frustrated growl, throwing another. "KISS!"

Claire scooted just a little closer, taking slow movements to gauge her response. "I-I missed you... I miss you..." She reached up, balling a fist over her heart as the tears started to come again. "It feels like their's a hole here, and it hurts more each day..."

Her eyes slid upwards to meet hers, unspoken apologies and vows clinging to her lips like prisoner's chains. The flush of her cheeks was still there, carried up to her ears, and her fists clutched the edges of her shorts as her arms shook. She couldn't bring herself to speak, could not form the words that her brain was screaming back at her. Apologies were one thing, but when it came to cutting off from others, she had never once needed to, let alone adapted to, returning from severed ties. Peple came and went in her life, leaving on their own or forcing her hand into doing just that. Abuse, neglect, and abandonment were nothing new, though they nonetheless stung, and though the physical pains always healed, the emotional, mental, and in turn, psychological trauma always let behind poorly mended scars. She didn't want to risk her heart again, did not want to continue to question whether it really was Section 12 that had impregnated Claire or if she had, in fact, cheated --- the visitor with the strange, silent gift suggested otherwise.

Still fed up with his childhood friend, though he understood every bit of it, probably more than the girl did herself, he reached for another pasta noodle. Chucking one again, it landed in her lap, immediately moistened by a single tear falling from her eyes even as Tony began screaming, "Kiss already, damnit!"

Claire stared into her eyes, her own tears starting to spill down her cheeks. "I-I wish... I-I wish I could go back and slap myself for how I acted, Jazzy... I wish I could make it all better, a-and I want to... B-But not without you. Your help."

Her lip curled over her teeth as she bit down, unsure of herself entirely. This was against so much of what she was used to, of what had happened time after time before. With a shake of her head, she looked up to Claire, and her hand shot out to catch the next noodle just as it reached her. Saying nothing, she suddenly darted forward, free hand reaching behind Claire's head and into her hair as she pressed their lips together.

Claire's eyes went wide, completely shocked by the action. She went rigid, before slowing accepting it, her shoulders loosening. She started to kiss her back, her tears turning from melancholy to joy, her arms slowly wrapping around the revolver.

Jazz stiffened just slightly but pressed forward nonetheless, kissing her back. From the kitchen, Tony made a face, faking a gag and grabbing a handful of raw noodles. After a bit, he hurled them at the pair, shouting for them to get a room.

Claire ignored Tony, and the shower of noddles, focusing only on the girl that held her lips. She pulled her close, whispering apologies against her lips and kissing her again after each one.

Sarah peeked out of the kitchen, then smacked Tony. "We need to cook those, for God's sake! Stop throwing them!"

He burst into laughter, shoving her gently. "There's more. Pasta's cheap anyway." After retrieving another from the pantry, he mixed the boxes together and dumped them in the now-boiling water.

Jazz didn't seem to want to hear any of it, and was instead trying to continuously shut Claire up with her lips, slightly more forcefully kissing her than was necessary, though she was not aggressive.

Claire quickly took the hint, simply holding Jasmine in her arms and kissing her, trying to convey everything through the simple action. Her alleviated pain, her joy at this moment, her regret at what had happened. She poured everything into the kiss, hoping Jazz understood them.

Sarah snorted, turning to stir the sauce again, dumping in some of the onions she'd chopped.

The scythe gave her a look, "So long as the Frenchie doesn't try to tell the Italian how to make pasta, we'll be fine." His tongue poked out at her, the ring gleaming.

Her face just continued to burn as she kissed her, finally breaking apart after several minutes when breathing through her nose alone was no long sufficient. Blushing, she panted a bit, avoiding eye contact with everyone in the room.

Claire panted softly as well, eyes dropping downward out of timidity. Slowly, however, she leaned forward until her forehead was pressed against Jasmine's, holding them together with the simple expression.

She stuck her tongue out at him in return, wiggling it just a bit. "Maybe if the Italian would get in here and help, I wouldn't have to!"

"The Italian has been here, just trying to keep our sisters between "cute" and "porn."" Jasmine's face burned bright red at the word, opening her eyes to meet Claire's.