A Tale of Chivalry, Stupidity, a Man, and a Woman, Charlie/Jonny :)

[Charlie Mortar]

Midnight on a night with an average amount of stars in the sky, in a bar in Persephone, sat Charlie Mortar. At the counter, plopped down on a stool she stayed, nursing a beer. She seemed almost pensive, sitting so quietly and sipping. The bar itself contained all the usual suspects, creeps, smugglers, normal working folk looking to take a load off and the like. It was a calm night so far, the bar heavy with the sounds of drunken conversation. On one side of the bar, however, a commotion was brewing. An alliance soldier was coming onto a girl, propositioning her.

“You’re very pretty. And you see my uniform? That’s right, an alliance soldier. That means I have authority, girl. You’d best respect that.” He said, pushing the girl against the wall.

“I said no. I don’t want to be with you. Let me go.” The girl was struggling against his hold, trying to break free. The soldier’s buddies were at a table not to far from the scene, chuckling to each other. Charlie puffed out a heavy sigh. She had become sort of a regular here, despite the bar being occasionally seasoned with Alliance soldiers. Charlie had been successfully ignoring them for weeks.

“Hush girl, you’re very lucky. You should realize that. Just calm down, you’ll like it.” The soldier continued, and began sucking on her neck. Charlie sighed again.

“Gou tsao de Alliance.” Charlie mumbled and finished her beer in one swig. She smacked her glass down on the bar and stood, now facing the soldiers.

“Enough. Leave the girl be, she doesn’t want a ching-wah tsao duh liou mahng like you.” Charlie said. The bartender chuckled and picked up her glass to wipe off. The soldiers at the table turned to look at her, and the original soldier released the girl. Then, he turned to face her as well.

“What did you call me?” He asked her, the challenge already bright in his eyes. He was a young soldier, fresh off the asshole train and cocky as anything. Charlie met his eyes with an expression almost bored.

“Ching-wah tsao duh liou mahng.” She said, annunciating every syllable. The soldiers at the table stood and moved behind their apparent leader. The soldier stepped closer to her.

“No one is allowed to say that shit to me.” He said, puffing out his chest. Charlie rolled her eyes, stepped forward, and punched him right in the cheek. The soldier recovered quickly and began swinging punches at her as well. His buddies soon surrounded her and took swings of there own. Charlie managed to get a kick square in the soldier's nuts before two of his buddies grabbed her arms. They dragged her outside and pinned her against the wall, where the remaining soldiers took turns kicking and punching her.

“Five guys on one girl, nice.” Charlie said, and one of them punched her in the gut. She doubled over and coughed. The cocky soldier smirked.


(Gou tsao de is dog humping, ching-wah tsao duh liou mahng is frog-riding bastard)

[Jonny Appleseed]

It was just another night, except that it wasn't. The fates had somehow found Jonny on Persephone, and that always meant trouble. He usually didn't return here unless he needed to, and normally Mondo would never have asked. But this time, it was the sort of food cart emergency that only a practiced hand could fix, and Jonny was the closest. He managed to set the bad wiring in his friend's rig right, but encouraged him to look into an upgrade. Nothing worse for businesses than an electrocuted customer.

It was near about midnight, however, and Jonny didn't have a boat home. He thought about stopping in on the Padre, but he found out the man had gone off on some Alliance boat. So he decided to freewheel it tonight, hoping he didn't find any trouble. It was only one night, what could possibly happen?

He heard the coughing down the alley, followed by some voices shouting. He turned his attention away from his shoes and squinted. Five of them. Alliance, from the uniforms. They had someone pinned on the wall and they were laying into him.

No, scratch that. They were laying into her. This is why they won the war, you know? Superior numbers.

Jonny looked down and found a conveniently placed loose brick. Picking it up, he tested its weight for a second, before giving it a heave toward the Alliance thugs. It caught the nearest one in the shoulder, getting his attention in the worst way possible. Jonny grinned and waved.

"Hey, you purple-bellied zhengqi de goushi dui... How about you leave her alone and deal with me, instead?" It had sounded better in his head, but he was sure it got his point across.

Of course, he hadn't thought his plan any further than that.

This post has been edited by Jonny Appleseed on Mar 24 2012, 01:16 AM

[Charlie Mortar]

"Hey, you purple-bellied zhengqi de goushi dui... How about you leave her alone and deal with me, instead?"

Charlie's head shot up, but she couldn't see anyone through the Alliance soldiers. She had been far from expecting someone to come and help her. She had gotten into enough bar fights to realize that people were not likely to intercede. The soldiers seemed surprised as well, and they all turned to see who had decided to interrupt. Charlie saw her opportunity.

She shifted, then pushed off the wall and broke through the group of soldiers. They turned to her, surprised again by her abrupt movement. As they turned, Charlie had already lifted her foot in a kick which quickly connected with one of the soldier's face. The impact forced him to stumble backwards into one of the other soldiers. Charlie hadn't paused to see whoever had spoken. She launched forward again, kicking into a soldier's knees so that he buckled and fell to the ground. One soldier looked between the guy and Charlie, hesitating just enough so that she could kick him in the stomach, then grab his head and smash it against her leg. He fell to the ground as well. Charlie took a step back then, pausing to flick her hair out of her eyes and focus the bright green orbs on the stranger.

"Thanks," she said to the man. The soldiers seemed to have decided to disregard the stranger, since he was at the entrance of the alley, and focus on her. They moved towards her, yet again.

[Jonny Appleseed]

Jonny's brick had done just what he'd intended: it gave the girl a chance to run. What he hadn't expected, of course, was the whirlwind of fury that the assaulted young woman then unleashed on her attackers. It was methodical. It was brutal.

It was the sexiest thing he'd ever seen in his life.

When the young woman paused to look at him, his heart almost stopped. Despite the bumps and bruises, maybe because of them, she was quite beautiful. Her green eyes pierced him, looking appreciative. She even said something, but he couldn't hear it over the sound of the blood rushing through his veins.

The respite was short lived, however, as the men who could actually stand up did so, and turned their attentions on the young valkyrie again. His mouth twisted into a frown, at the same time insulted to be ignored and impressed that they regarded her as the bigger threat. Determined, he charged down the alleyway to aid her, hoping that none if these guys were armed.

As he reached the first soldier, Jonny brought his elbow down between the man's neck and shoulder. The soldier whirled around with a wild punch, which Jonny managed to barely duck underneath before bull-charging right into the purple belly's purple belly. He churned his legs, slamming the soldier hard against the wall. Stunned, the soldier barely had time to look up before Jonny's fist caught him under the chin, crumpling him.

The next thing Jonny knew, there was an arm around his neck. Another of the feds had grabbed him and pulled him into a sleeper hold. Gritting his teeth, Jonny fought for freedom.

This post has been edited by Jonny Appleseed on Mar 14 2012, 06:15 AM

[Charlie Mortar]

Charlie had turned to face the stranger just to thank him and then get back to the soldiers, but her eyes met his warm brown ones and she all but forgot to breath. Them, he surged forward and Charlie felt her heart speed up. Which meant that she was totally distracted for those moments. Charlie's reprieve was broken when she felt a pull on her hair and the impact of the soldier's knee against the back of her head. It made small explosions of light color her vision and blocking her from seeing. Purely on instinct, as the soldier's knee lowered, Charlie swung her elbow backwards and landed a blow into the soldier's stomach. He grunted, released her, and doubled over. While he was hunched over, Charlie stepped out of his reach and blinked her vision clear. She turned and saw that the stranger was struggling against a soldier who had wrapped his arm around the stranger's neck.

"Go se," she said quietly. Charlie looked around to try and find something to hit the soldier with, noted that another soldier was on the ground, and then saw the brick the stranger had initially thrown. Charlie hurried over to it, careful to stay out of the soldier's view, and pick it up. She then moved behind him. The soldier was attempting to deal with the struggling man that he held, and so it wasn't hard for Charlie to hit his head with the brick with enough force to knock him out, but not do serious damage. The purple belly's arms slid off the stranger as he fell to the ground. Charlie saw in her peripheral vision that the soldier she had just escaped from was staggering toward her again. She held up the brick in a silent threat. The soldier stopped. Charlie took the opportunity to grab the stranger's hand and tug him around so that he was facing her.

"Time to go," she said and began backing out of the alley with the brick still held up. The soldier eyed them, then spat on the ground and turned back toward his allies. Charlie turned to face forward and quickened her pace. When they turned the corner of the alley, Charlie dropped the brick, but didn't pause. She then looked to the stranger, whose hand she still held and who she had been dragging along.

"Are you okay?" She asked quietly, her green eyes gentle and concerned. Her red hair was mussed, her choppy bangs hanging in her eyes. Her shirt was rumpled and all of her clothes were streaked with dirt. A few bruises were already darkening her arms and she had a few scrapes to match.

[Jonny Appleseed]

This is it... You always knew this place would kill you...

The soldier's arm clamped tightly over his windpipe, making that little thing called breathing a lot more difficult. Suddenly, it seemed awfully important. Jonny clawed at the arm, stomped for the toes, anything to break free. But as he started to grow weaker, the light grew dimmer. The fight started to drift away...

There was a sickening thud, and the soldier fell away. Jonny coughed, doubled over, gasped greedily for oxygen and filled his aching lungs. Glancing up through watery eyes, he saw another one of the soldiers start to approach, then stop. Jonny started to make a fist, ready to go again but not really.

He felt a hand on his, and was turned around to face her. Those green orbs once again invading his mind. She was holding the brick aloft, threatening, daring the last purple-belly standing to come at them. Her voice was smoky, breathy, and a little hoarse.

"Time to go."

Jonny nodded. Yes, ma'am.

She fled, pulling him along. Not that he needed to be dragged, mind you. He knew how to get while the getting was rutting good. He also knew that he was better off sticking with this wildcat, seeing as how she'd just laid out three Alliance soldiers. But honestly, he just didn't feel like letting go of this one just yet.

She turned back to face him as they ran, her hair and clothes a mess. She still looked great, considering she'd just been in a back alley brawl. "Are you okay?" She'd asked him, and that was when he realized they'd slowed down. There was actual concern in the question. It gave him pause. Especially considering the circumstances of their meeting.

"Am I okay? I'm not the one who just got bushwhacked by five pieces of Alliance feiwu..." There was a heavy dose of disdain in the reply. He couldn't stand bullies, especially ones with fancy uniforms. He couldn't even imagine what this pretty young thing could have done to deserve such treatment. "Seeing as how you clubbed that cat for me, though, I'm still standin'. The real question is, how are you?" He paused for a moment, a smirk playing on his lips. "And mother of mercy, girl, who showed you how to fight? Dio?"

This post has been edited by Jonny Appleseed on Mar 24 2012, 01:26 AM

[Charlie Mortar]

He was scrappy. He was definitely a survivor. His throat was red from where the purple belly had held him. For some reason, Charlie had to contain her impulse to reach out and run her fingers along the mark. She hadn't really realized they had slowed down, but they had reached a nicer area and the danger was far behind them.

"Am I okay? I'm not the one who just got bushwhacked by five pieces of Alliance feiwu..."
"Seeing as how you clubbed that cat for me, though, I'm still standin'. The real question is, how are you?" He paused for a moment, a smirk playing on his lips. "And mother of mercy, girl, who showed you how to fight? Dio?"

His words made a low chuckle escape from her lips. It shook her belly and tumbled across her lips, and it made her smile wider than she had in a while.

"I shoulda known better than to start that fight. One of those hwoon dahn had singled out a young woman. She was a small thing and he would not say no." She paused and studied him for a moment. They were on Persephone. It was hard to trust people here. But, this was the first time someone she had never laid eyes on had stood up for her in a brawl against the Alliance. She let out her breath on a long sigh.

"Truth be told, I fought on the Browncoat side of the war. Just seeing those young cocky wang bao dahn strutting about makes my fists start to itch." She paused again.

"Between the war and all the odd jobs I've been doing since, plus the occasional bar disagreements," she grinned a devilish sort of grin. "I've learned to hold my own." She took a few more steps before she slowed to a complete halt. She look into his brown eyes.

"I don't know why ya did that, but thank you. I was right and ready to take the beating just to keep them off that girl. I'm Charlie Mortar, it's a pleasure to meet you," she said, grinning again and holding out her hand to him.


(hwoon dahn is son of a bitch, wang bao dahn is dirty bastard)

[Jonny Appleseed]

It was sort of funny how things worked out. She'd taken those guys on to help a woman in need, and the 'Verse had returned her investment pretty quick. Of course, diminishing returns was what she ended up with. The 'Verse could have at least sent her a fighter.

And then she opened up, and it all made sense. The Browncoats had a fire in their belles that was hard to quench. He'd seen that fire in his brother, Ike, once upon a time. This one had it in spades. Though he'd never picked a side himself, Jonny had a certain respect and appreciation for those who stood up for what they thought was right. She might've been short, but she'd stood tall. She'd been a soldier, and like a lot of 'Coats he'd known or heard of, she was still fighting all these years later.

When she finally stopped, Jonny's lungs were grateful. They had a hard enough time with the man's bad habits. To be choked of oxygen, followed by a nice sprint, well... He coughed some more, rubbing his chest. It wasn't his proudest moment.

The break did give him his first good look at her, though. Fiery red hair, cute freckled face, and those haunting green eyes. For a moment, he thought of Holly, which made him feel a little sick. If she'd caught him around here, he'd wish the Alliance dog had choked him to death. Pushing his ghosts away, his mind turned back to his current companion. His eyes moved slowly along the scar on her neck; clearly, she'd been through some stuff.

His eyes flicked up just in time to catch hers again, and he felt a little faint. Her smoky voice came again. "I don't know why ya did that, but thank you. I was right and ready to take the beating just to keep them off that girl. I'm Charlie Mortar, it's a pleasure to meet you,"

She held out her hand, and he smirked. They'd just given each other the world's most urgent handshake on their way out of the alley. The gesture seemed almost redundant. However, he was happy to oblige her, giving her a firm squeeze of the hand. "Folks call me Jonny. It's my pleasure to meet ya, Charlie. As for why I did what I did, well..." He pondered it for a moment. "I guess I'm just attracted to trouble. Truth is, I don't really cotton to cats ganging up on anyone the way those guys ganged up on you. Figured I'd come and give you a hand. Seeing as you're a Browncoat and everything, I'm sure you see the reasoning behind fighting an unfair fight, huh?" He laughed bitterly for a moment, before realizing that he still had her hand. Awkwardly, he let his own hand drop.

Smooth.

[Charlie Mortar]

Jonny, as she now knew him, had slid his hand into her own and had settled there. It seemed kinda natural after she had tried to pull his hand off dragging him out of that alley. This time, the hold was gentler, somehow much more intimate. Some part of her had the urge to drop his hand, turn from the understanding that had lit his eyes, get away from this man it was easy to like. But, she couldn't pull her hand away. Couldn't pull her eyes away.

"Seeing as you're a Browncoat and everything, I'm sure you see the reasoning behind fighting an unfair fight, huh?" His laugh that accompanied was bitter, capturing the same sentiments she felt when she thought of the war. He then paused for a second and unceremoniously dropped her hand. Just like that, whatever spell was broken. Part of her was glad and part of her felt the loss of his warmth with regret. She studied him for a moment, then turned to face the path and began walking. It was a slow gate, a purposeless sort of meandering. But, her body wanted to be moving, to have some distraction from the distressing feelings brewing inside of her.

"You know, I do realize that they're people with families too. But, the go se running the whole operation decided to blow up some of the harmless planets. They killed the citizens they were claiming to want to protect. Not just men, but women and children and old folks. The Alliance didn't give a lick and blew 'em to bits." The words had tumbled out, almost without her consent. She didn't really talk about this stuff with anyone. With other Browncoats, it didn't need to be said. Every soldier had known what they were fighting for and against. As for most other folks, they usually didn't care. No, Charlie had far exceeded her usual word count and with these unspoken topics. It was weird, the underlying trust she felt for this man. Her eyes darted to his, attempting to gauge his reaction to all this, but also wanting to escape from these heavy topics.

"Anyway, enough from my mouth," she said, her voice carrying an edge of self mocking.

[Jonny Appleseed]

He felt like he'd opened the wrong door. Her words were tinted with a sadness that could only have come with loss. True loss. He was beginning to realize that this one, Charlie, to use a cliche, was more than just a pretty face. She was broken. Weren't many folk outside the Core who weren't broken in some way, but she was truly one that had been through Hell. As he followed her along the streets and alleys, he was beginning to feel the utter inconsequence of his own problems, by comparison.

And then she stopped, and looked at him, a look that he imagined not many people had seen from her before. "Anyway, enough from my mouth." She said, and the words, so simple, conveyed regret, and self-deprecation, and jaded cynicism. He saw a part if himself in those five words and smiled. He wanted to tell her he wanted to hear more from her. Much more.

Instead, he tried to think of a way to keep this going.

His hands went immediately for his pockets. "Hey, uh, I know it's late, and you've just been through the gauntlet and whatnot, but... you hungry? Cause I know this shiny all-night joint run by a buddy o' mine, get ourselves some grub or something, you know? Healing food..." The words came out in bursts, as if he wasn't sure how to say them. There was almost a boyish uncertainty to them. Definitely not spoken with the confidence he'd crowed at her attackers.

His eyes drifted to the dirt. "Or, y'know, if not... I get it."

[Charlie Mortar]

The bursts and pauses, the uncertainty, the hint of excitement. His speech reflected her own thoughts and emotions. It made her smile. And the rush of excitement that coursed through her at his words, well that was unusual. He hadn't mentioned a gunnery or anything that would have usually produced enthusiasm.

It was probably just the thought of food. Fights like that one always made her hungry. That's what it must have been. Not the realization that he didn't think her crazy for saying all that. Or the idea that he wanted to keep talking to her. That he wanted to spend more time with her.

With her.

No, it must have been the food. The whole thing reminded Charlie of her schooling and that itching feeling of not being comfortable in your own skin. She blinked at him for a moment. She realized she must have looked even crazier just standing there and not saying anything.

Then, she didn't know what to say. Should she play it cool like it didn't really matter to her? Should she nod like a crazy person as her neck muscles were itching to? Ah hell, this was all way too confusing.

"I'm starving." She said, and looked into his eyes with confidence. He should know that she wanted to eat with him. Talk with him. This reckless man. His recklessness reminded her of herself. Why she had even gotten into that fight. She absently fingered the cut on her neck. This man who had helped her from having more scars. Had risked his neck for her. She wanted to know more about him. Yes, he had peaked her curiosity and she definitely wanted more.

[Jonny Appleseed]

He fought hard to keep the cheesy, go se eating grin off his face. He really did. Maybe he was tired, our maybe it had to do with lack of oxygen to the brain. Whatever the case was, he just couldn't manage. The con man's emotions laid bare. And honestly, it didn't bother him a bit. His hands came out of his pockets and came together in a sort of clap.

"Cool! I'll show you the way!" His eyes maybe lingered in hers a second or two too long, before he started heading off toward their destination.

Not wanting conversion to come to a complete halt, and in the interest of fairness, Jonny decided it was time for the telling of a little about himself. Charlie had put everything out there, whether she meant to or not. He had to give her something.

"So I'm a cook, y'know? Got a food cart, independent business venture. I travel around the Border and Rim planets, stay for a couple weeks, make some scratch. Then I move on. Been doing it for about... five years? It's a good gig, not a lot of pressure, which I like." He glanced over at her with a smirk. "Usually not a lot of danger, either. But sometimes..."

Sometimes... "Look, I oughta tell you... I got into a mess of trouble here a while back. My name isn't exactly being sung in the streets, especially in some circles. There's a chance that something might go down. Now, I'd try to tell ya that if it hits the fan, you should get outta there but..." A small smile crossed his lips, and he studied her. "I don't think that would actually happen. So, just be prepared, in case. But really, I ain't anyone worth gettin' hurt or killed over, Charlie."

He stared off down the street. So there it was. She was a soldier, a hero. He was a coward. She'd fought for and would have died for total strangers, and he bailed on his closest friends. He frowned.

This post has been edited by Jonny Appleseed on Mar 16 2012, 01:00 PM

[Charlie Mortar]

He had grinned like a little girl who just got her first pony. There was something so honest in his grin, Charlie's heart skipped a beat. And then he was hurrying forward and showing her the way. Charlie was again happy to be in motion. It was something to focus on, something to do. But truth be told that wasn't what she was focused on. She was focused on the profile of his face as they walked, and the words that tumbled out of it. He had decided to open up to her. She was hypnotized. She just wanted to hear these things.

He was a cook. That was interesting, but somehow it suited him. The dexterity he had shown...she could imagine it in the kitchen. Yeah...just in the kitchen. She blinked, forcing herself back to listening to him and away from her straying thoughts.

Wow, he had some danger in him. Most people walking around Persephone at night had some kind of danger following them, but an actual lingering threat? Shoot. That was exactly the kind of thing her momma would have said told you to stay away from a guy. Charlie drift a little closer to him as she walked. This side to him she didn't expect. It was another thing that reminded her of herself. There were fair amount of folks who didn't love her drifting around the 'Verse, but she had yet to have to avoid an entire planet.

"...Now, I'd try to tell ya that if it hits the fan, you should get outta there but..." A small smile crossed his lips, and he studied her. "I don't think that would actually happen. So, just be prepared, in case. But really, I ain't anyone worth gettin' hurt or killed over, Charlie."

It made the butterflies in her stomach flutter. Since apparently there were butterflies there? That was different. And the funny thing was that as he looked away down the street, she could only think one thing.

"You are someone worth getting hurt or killed over." It came from somewhere she hadn't thought about in a while. A place she had assumed must have rusted over from lack of use or something. Her heart. Huh. Then she did something she hadn't done in a while. A real long while.

She reached out and put her hand on his shoulder. She reached out to him, and her eyes were trained on his, to let him in to the deep pool of her emotions. Let him into her.

"I'm not going anywhere." The words were gentle, but also rough. Like they hadn't been used in a while. Then, she squeezed his shoulder and smiled. Something in her gaze shifted, cutting him off from the depths, pushing him back into shallow, easy waters.

"Sides, I owe you." She forced out a laugh that sounded hollow, but she had to do something to cover up the fact that she was a little terrified. She had let down her wall. Just for a moment. Let him in to that place she didn't dare venture. She would have felt more comfortable just stripping naked in the street than she did in those moments.

And yet...

And yet, she didn't regret it at all.

This post has been edited by Charlie Mortar on Mar 16 2012, 10:23 PM

[Jonny Appleseed]

don'tsayanythingstupiddon'tdoanythingstupiddon'tsayanythingstupiddon'tdoanythingstupid...

Ad infinitum.

They were easily the most frightening moments of his life, those when she stopped him, turned him, started into his eyes. Said those words and just... looked at him. Maybe into him. He certainly hoped it wasn't the latter, because he was all nerves and awkward insecurity, trying not to babble or trip over his own feet. It wasn't like other girls on other worlds, where he went in with the expectation that he'd get drunk, spend the night and fly away in the morning. He'd never intended to come across Charlie Mortar, but by some twisted happenstance he had. They'd shared a moment of violent, desperate excitement and now here they were, standing in the street on the way to eat diner food. And he didn't have anything resembling a plan for this. He just hoped beyond hope that he wouldn't screw it up.

Maybe he'd missed his moment, though, because suddenly the tough-girl soldier was back and joking around. Telling him she owed him. Like he expected anything from her. "Charlie, you don't owe me a damn thing. Anyone who wouldn't have done the same as I did ain't anyone I'd wanna know. I don't want you to feel obliged to me, 'cause that ain't what I'm about." He tried to bring back the swagger that had, up to this point, had been painfully absent. He smiled. "Besides... now that I've met ya, I'm glad I ran into that alley. I'd do it again." A hundred thousand times, against a hundred thousand soldiers... "You're one of the best people I ever got strangled for, that's for damn sure."

He laughed again, that being one of the corniest things he'd ever said. But it was honest and he felt good saying it. This was easily one of the best nights of his life already, and he'd spent a part of it unconscious. He was excited to see what the coming hours would bring.

"We're almost to Wesley's, so if you wanna change your mind and bail, speak now or forever hold your peace.

This post has been edited by Jonny Appleseed on Mar 16 2012, 04:08 PM

[Charlie Mortar]

"Charlie, you don't owe me a damn thing. Anyone who wouldn't have done the same as I did ain't anyone I'd wanna know. I don't want you to feel obliged to me, 'cause that ain't what I'm about."

She felt like she owed him. While he had distracted the soldiers, helping her, she had then hit that soldier with a brick to save him. But, he only needed saving because had had come to help her. That was confusing enough, but it wasn't exactly why she felt she owed him. Maybe it was because he made her feel...well, he made her feel at all. Her life had become such a cycle of just doing what came along, doing what she could, not really doing much of anything. Not really caring about much of anything. Need someone to do some sketchy, dangerous job? Why not Charlie Mortar? She's got nothing to loose and better someone with nothing than someone with everything. If she was more of a philosopher, she would have thought about how she rarely thought. She just did.

But, he brought something more. That organ in her chest constantly pumping to keep her around, but more what it represented. The feelings she didn't ever feel. He brought them back. The excitement, the happiness, the laughter. She owed him for the hope that he had opened up within her. The hope that there was more to life than the motions she was constantly going through.

"Besides... now that I've met ya, I'm glad I ran into that alley. I'd do it again."

He'd throw a brick into an alley, get hit and strangled, and dragged back out of the alley again to meet her again. Damn butterflies were acting up again. How did they even get down there?

"You're one of the best people I ever got strangled for, that's for damn sure."

And then he made her laugh. The soft, harmonious sound rippled through the air as she tossed her head back for the moment. He was cheesy, too. She couldn't help but to like him even more.

"We're almost to Wesley's, so if you wanna change your mind and bail, speak now or forever hold your peace."

Charlie felt a rush of excitement at his words. She turned to look at him as they walked. Almost there to sit down and share a meal. A meal was simple, it didn't mean much. And yet, she felt like eating a meal with him would mean something. That it would be somehow intimate. She pushed those thoughts away and raised one eyebrow at him playfully.

"Forever? That's quite of a lot of commitment, Jonny. Especially considering we just met and all." She pretended to mull it over for a minute."But I am pretty starved, so this will just have to do." She looked at him with a mischievous twinkle in her eye and she let out a dramatic, almost disappointed sounding sigh while she held back more laughter.