for Jairo

[talesuntold]

Maggie heard the station for the first time the day after Buffy died. A sudden friendly voice in the middle of all her supposedly talk-free satellite radio. Maggie could have been annoyed, but that day, it was just what she needed.

She didn't have the luxury of indulging her grief for long, however broken up she was over it. The news doesn't wait. Maggie might run the fiction and poetry division of After the End Times rather than factual reporting, but she's still a journalist. Buffy left big shoes to fill, when Maggie took over her department.

Since that day she's been a regular listener, and she's even gotten to know the DJ a bit.

Tonight is one of her storytelling nights. Maggie settles into the comfy chair in her office with a cup of tea and a laptop. Softly, she orders, "House, turn on the radio."

She doesn't specify a station, just waits. And sure enough, there's no need to scan through looking for something in particular. Jairo's voice is loud and clear, warming her up just as much as the tea she's drinking. An excellent way to spend the evening. After one more sip, Maggie sets down her mug and begins to type.

Hello, my dears!

You're in for a treat tonight. I'll be opening the floor to requests. Is there a story you've been itching to hear? A scene you wish I'd included in one of my ongoing serials? A feeling you need echoed in poetry or prose? I'm here to oblige. I'll fill in any gaps in the stream of inspiration with whatever comes to mind.

I have music playing, tea steeping, and all the time in the world. Or at least, as much time as any of us are guaranteed in these crazy times. Stick around. Let's create something together.

After all, where would all these stories be without someone to read them?

Comments

lmk if thats ok

[transmittings]

"Hello hello!" The radio comes on almost immediately after the block of songs are over. Jai's voice is crystal clear and maybe--just maybe--a little nervous.

Probably because he is. A lot.

"I'm gonna run the next block by my bro Shug, he's gonna do me a solid 'cause, my dear lovely listeners, your main man Jai is gonna do the unthinkable. Straight. Up. Unthinkable. So I want y'all to settle in and send a little love my way while Shug keeps the list of songs I've got. Y'all know what I'm gonna do? I'm going to go say hi to the girl I've been crushing on for the better part of the year. Lay some love on me, I'm gonna dedicate this song to her before I lose my nerve."

It's not a movie night. It's probably a little creepy, but he's normally too socially inept as he locks himself in his recording studio. There's a brief pause.

"Hey, yo, honestly, just don't answer the door when I knock, save us both the trouble of havin' to reject me."

And, after that, his song of choice begins to play.

This idea is very, very, very fucking stupid. Good thing that's never stopped Jai.

[talesuntold]

Maggie catches her breath, She was hoping he'd at least let her curl up with him on the couch at movie night. This? This is more. She may not be ready for more, but from the instant rush of adrenaline and the big smile on her face, she wants more. She scoffs at the last-second addition. As if there's a chance of her turning him away. Losing Buffy still hurts, but she's tired of being alone, too.

For once she doesn't have houseguests, which is a very good thing if Jairo is planning a big romantic gesture.

"House, call Officer Weinstein. ...Alex, I have a houseguest on his way later tonight. His name is Jairo. Not on the returning guests list, but minimal security, please?" She can hear in his answer that Alex noticed the nervous excitement in her voice and is deliberately refraining from teasing her about it. He doesn't bother to hide his amusement when he promises to let Jairo through the gates without stopping him for anything more than the automated security measures any building has these days. ...She always did like Alex. "Thank you."

That leaves work. A message to one of her writers in case the forum goes crazy while it's her turn to watch it, and a message to the audience she promised to spend the night with.

Alright, my darlings, I know I promised you my whole night, but something exciting and unforeseeable has come up. I promise to come out of the evening with a fresh dose of inspiration, and the first ten prompts in my inbox will receive published responses on my blog. Sweet dreams, and I'll write you a love story tomorrow.

...Which leaves Maggie with nothing to do with her sudden nervous energy. She didn't think she could focus enough to write anything for immediate publication tonight; anything she writes now will need an edit first. Cooking. Cooking is calming, and comes with the added bonus of being able to feed Jairo later.

By the time he gets there the kitchen smells like chicken pot pie and chocolate. The house alerts Maggie when Jairo passes through the gates, and she's already standing silhouetted in the open doorway with light spilling out behind her as he comes to a stop. Yeah, that part about not answering the door? Clearly not happening.

And hopefully whatever gesture he has planned can survive the onslaught of a small sea of dogs, because Maggie's two dozen rescued miniature bulldogs have just streamed out the door toward the newcomer. Maggie laughs and calls, "Down!" before following them down the front steps. They'll refrain from jumping on Jairo, at least.

[transmittings]

"Thisisdumbthisisdumbthisisdumb." That's pretty much Jai's monologue as Alex does the routine check-up, and he shoots a slightly nervous glance to the guard and tries to play his nervous mantra off as something that totally happens all the time. He winds up waggling his eyebrows instead, and he's fairly certain he's unintentionally flirting with the other.

Holy shit, he really is nervous.

He makes his way, looking at the size of the place because damn, this isn't pirate radio, and it shows. Holy shit. This is Maggie's place, these are Maggie's things and he hates that it's been a year, almost, of him endlessly gushing about the pretty girl on the website.

What if he really is unattractive to her? He's never had any problems before but he doesn't exactly get out much in the first place. What if it's just his voice that's better than anything? What if he's too gangly and his hair is too long and his face is too puffy?

He smells chocolate and home cooking and to Jai, who lives on a steady diet of fast food and ramen, it smells pretty amazing. More than amazing--but he's distracted even from that, because Maggie is there, silhouetted like a fucking disney princess, and Jai is weak in the knees. This is it. This is happening. This is--

--this is a sea of dogs. "Holy--" he can't finish it because Maggie is laughing and it sounds like silver bells in the air and Jai is stunned enough to sort of let himself be guided into stooping down to pet one or two or six of the dogs. Holy shit.

"You have so many!" His nervousness is forgotten. He's laughing, smile bright.

[talesuntold]

Alex does a valiant job at keeping a straight face and remaining completely businesslike, as if strange men show up and babble and flirt with him every night of the week. (Granted, plenty of Maggie's regulars are eccentric.) There's a good chance, though, that if Jairo doesn't roll his window up fast enough as he pulls in past the gate, he'll hear a bark of laughter from a very amused Officer Weinstein.

Fortunately the dogs are good at getting out from underfoot, because the sea of them parts around her as she closes the distance between her and Jairo without slowing down at all. His face absolutely lights up when he smiles, she notes with a rush of affection. Lying to herself about how she feels definitely isn't going to be possible.

"It looks like a lot more when I don't just have a few of them on video at a time," she admits, grinning. Maggie always records her first meetings with new additions to her pack of mini bulldogs, and the she's pretty openly vocal about reading breed specifications before buying purebreds. All two dozen dogs are epileptic rescues. Still, two dozen are a lot all at once.

But by this point she's gotten to Jai, and her arms are around him as soon as he's in reach. She's just going to cling for a minute, appreciating how real and solid and here he is. "I'm so glad you came, Jairo," Maggie murmurs against the side of his neck.

Then she pulls back just enough to get another good look at him for a second before crushing her lips to his.

[transmittings]

"I didn't expect like, Jurassic Park," Jai confesses, and he's very close to singing (purposely off key) the theme to the old classic when Maggie touches him. He feels like he's on fire, but in a good way, because Maggie is real, look how she's hugging him?

Oh, wow. Maggie is hugging him, and he feels more than hot--he feels giddy and stupid and in love all at once, because this is the woman on the webcam, the beautiful girl with a mind to match, and Jai finds himself not regretting a goddamn thing. Not about this. especially not about this.

"Oh, me, too," he agrees. "I was going to chicken out, but I--"

He doesn't finish his sentence. HE doesn't because Maggie is kissing him, eager and stunning and she kisses as good as she looks, so much so it knocks the wind out of Jai. He can't believe he's actually here. That this is real.

Maybe he'll wake up tomorrow and it really will be a dream; Maggie and her stories and her army of pugs or bulldogs or shitzus or whatever they are. But for now, it's not, so he brings one hand to the side of her face, cupping it, and his thumb moves along her jawline as he kisses her right back. His other hand moves to the small of her back, gently pressing her closer.

It's one hell of a nice dream if it is one, at least.

[talesuntold]

Laughing at the comparison drawn between her tiny absurd dogs and a pack of velociraptors (Maggie is a Jurassic Park fan, it's a good movie to reference) she just shakes her head.

Maggie stopped hesitating the second his announcement tipped her over the edge. Jairo said how he felt, got in his car, and drove. Maggie got over her fears and her waiting. She works in words. Of course she can fall in love from a distance, but oh, is it nice to have a real, solid person here, in her arms, kissing her, pulling her closer. She obliges with another half step forward, her arms tightening around him.

Jai isn't the only person half-wondering if this is real. Calmer, lazier kisses are definitely on her agenda later, but this one has enough urgency in it that it's almost as if she's afraid he'll vanish.

She breaks the kiss just enough to rest her forehead against Jai's, her breath still brushing his lips when she speaks. "Thank you for being braver than I was. I needed that."