( telling her that he's at the garage gives wanda the best ability to locate him. jesse seems to like to have a few jobs to rotate throughout the week, but she's been to the garage before. so, as promised, she manages to make it there within ten minutes, parking her motorcycle on the alley at the back, where all the tires and scraps are put aside for later collecting.
pushing off the bike with the paper bag full of the hole-less donuts, wanda waves over at him. )
Hey. ( she steps closer, raising the bag. ) I won't take a lot of your time.
[ Jesse hears the low purr of a motorcycle engine before he sees her, the sound distinct against the sleepy clatter of the garage. He's leaning against the workbench with a rag in one hand and nothing much to clean, just smudging oil into oil, killing time like he has been most of the morning. Business is slow - it has been all week - and he's mostly just ghosting around the place, pretending to have a full slate when really, it's just him and the hum of fluorescent lights.
He straightens a little when he catches sight of Wanda through the open bay door, the familiar cut of her silhouette against the alley's harsh light. She waves, paper bag in hand, and he raises a grease-streaked hand in return, the corner of his mouth tugging into a tired but genuine smile. ]
Yo.
[ Jesse's voice is low but warm as she steps closer. He nods at the bag with a flicker of curiosity. ]
You kiddin'? You can take all the time you want.
[ He wipes his hands on the rag, tossing it aside with zero urgency. ]
Besides, not much goin' on around here anyways. Been mostly standing around tryna look like I'm busy.
[ He gestures toward the bench, then tilts his head at the bag. ]
Those the, uh, not-donuts?
[ He doesnt want to butcher the hell out of 'krofne'. He's not about to even pretend he knows how to pronounce that. But he'll make the effort once he hears her say it. ]
( it's an odd feeling, because wanda hasn't experienced a lot of it in a long time, the warmth that comes from the familiarity of someone whom she feels comfortable with, enough to take the friendliness in stride. this place has given her a lot of wonderful pockets of moments like this, though she has halfway convinced herself it's because none of these people she feels closest to know about her abilities.
she shrugs, smiling. )
You probably shouldn't say that out loud.
( that he's mostly standing around trying to look busy. she steps closer, then towards the bench. she places the bag on her lap, working on opening it up and rolling the sides so it's easier for him to grab at one. )
It's krofne, yes. ( maybe she noticed his hesitation there— ) Some have custard and some have jam. They're very sweet.
( especially with the powdered sugar. how did she get any and all of these ingredients to create this? well, she did have help from a proper 'cook', so. )
They taste almost like the original ones that I remember.
[ Jesse watches her settle at the bench, the way she rolls the bag open with careful, practiced fingers, and something eases in him. It's not relief exactly, more like a quiet untensing--like that hum in his chest that's always halfway toward panic finally lets itself dial down. ]
Krofne.
[ He repeats it softly once she says it, mouth shaping the word slow, deliberate. He doesn't butcher it (well, almost doesn't, anyway). It comes out rough around the edges but not unkind, like he's handling something fragile and knows it. He takes one with a touch of hesitation, like he's making sure it's okay before taking, even though that's why she's here in the first place. The powdered sugar dusts his fingertips instantly, and he glances at her as he takes the first bite. ]
Damn. That's good.
[ It's muffled, half-chewed, but the way his eyes go a little wide says enough. He wipes at his mouth with the back of his hand. ] You made these?
Most stuff around here, it's just...survival, y'know? But this, uh, this feels like more than that. Taste's like...I dunno, like somebody gave a shit.
[ He sounds impressed. Not just polite or humoring, but like he means it. He shrugs, a little sheepish. It's the kind of compliment he doesn't know how to make pretty. ]
Thanks for bringing 'em. For real. These somethin' you made back home a lot?
[ Something in his gaze lingers--wary curiosity, maybe, or just the flicker of someone who's not used to kindness showing up for no reason. ]
( her accent when she says the word definitely helps her with making the right sounds for it, which is why it sounds a little odd in jesse's american tongue. still, it's not butchered, and it's nice of him to try it out despite his linguistic limitations.
wanda isn't taking one herself because she's already had her fill, and there's a few left back in her room, anyway.
his positive reaction to the krofne makes her smile, even when he does ask about her home in a roundabout way, almost wary of stepping over something that she wouldn't like discussed. it's safe, with jesse, and it's certainly good to remember the good parts of sokovia, too. )
I didn't make them a lot, but they weren't unusual. They are easy to make and don't need to always have a filling. They remind me of celebrations and winter.
( this is just extra.
she shrugs and leans back, against the wall, then closing up the bag to hand over to him. )
They're yours. My roommate is a cook, so making delicious things with the weird ingredients here feels like watching a wizard do a magic trick. ( that being said— ) I helped a little. If we do more some other time, I'll save you a few.
( for now, wanda is plenty pleased that jesse likes what she's brought. )
[ Celebrations and winter - her words stick with him. He can almost see it, some snow-dusted street in a place he's never been, people laughing with their coats drawn tight, hands full of these little pastries like talismans against the cold. It's a picture too good for the life he's known, at least in recent years, but it stays in his head anyway. He huffs a laugh and tips the bag toward her in acknowledgment before he tucks it under one arm with the care of someone guarding a rare find. The shop smells faintly of gasoline and warm metal, but every time he moves the bag, powdered sugar drifts up and cuts through it, brighter, sweeter, stubborn in the way it hangs around. ]
Well, if you do make more, I'm not sayin' no. Sounds like you, uh, lucked out s'far as roommates go. I just got a shitty little room at one of the motels in the blocks. This guy Wade did invite himself in through my window, though. Woulda been better if he had a bag of these.
Wade? Yeah, I think he tried that in a few places...
( but moving along, she smiles softly at jesse's easy enthusiasm—the way it builds and exudes off of him, without holding back. she really does appreciate his earnestness, even if there's a quiet lonesome feeling tucked in there, between it all.
it spurs her to say, )
I could go hang out some time. ( then, quickly adding, ) You've been alright?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
zvi
no subject
Date: 2025-06-29 05:25 pm (UTC)yeah, i'm at the garage today.
[ One of his jobs is working as a swappie doing basic vehicle maintenence. The pay isn't great, but it keeps his hands busy. ]
no subject
Date: 2025-07-09 01:20 pm (UTC)pushing off the bike with the paper bag full of the hole-less donuts, wanda waves over at him. )
Hey. ( she steps closer, raising the bag. ) I won't take a lot of your time.
no subject
Date: 2025-07-19 05:28 am (UTC)He straightens a little when he catches sight of Wanda through the open bay door, the familiar cut of her silhouette against the alley's harsh light. She waves, paper bag in hand, and he raises a grease-streaked hand in return, the corner of his mouth tugging into a tired but genuine smile. ]
Yo.
[ Jesse's voice is low but warm as she steps closer. He nods at the bag with a flicker of curiosity. ]
You kiddin'? You can take all the time you want.
[ He wipes his hands on the rag, tossing it aside with zero urgency. ]
Besides, not much goin' on around here anyways. Been mostly standing around tryna look like I'm busy.
[ He gestures toward the bench, then tilts his head at the bag. ]
Those the, uh, not-donuts?
[ He doesnt want to butcher the hell out of 'krofne'. He's not about to even pretend he knows how to pronounce that. But he'll make the effort once he hears her say it. ]
no subject
Date: 2025-07-22 01:33 pm (UTC)she shrugs, smiling. )
You probably shouldn't say that out loud.
( that he's mostly standing around trying to look busy. she steps closer, then towards the bench. she places the bag on her lap, working on opening it up and rolling the sides so it's easier for him to grab at one. )
It's krofne, yes. ( maybe she noticed his hesitation there— ) Some have custard and some have jam. They're very sweet.
( especially with the powdered sugar. how did she get any and all of these ingredients to create this? well, she did have help from a proper 'cook', so. )
They taste almost like the original ones that I remember.
no subject
Date: 2025-07-26 04:16 am (UTC)Krofne.
[ He repeats it softly once she says it, mouth shaping the word slow, deliberate. He doesn't butcher it (well, almost doesn't, anyway). It comes out rough around the edges but not unkind, like he's handling something fragile and knows it. He takes one with a touch of hesitation, like he's making sure it's okay before taking, even though that's why she's here in the first place. The powdered sugar dusts his fingertips instantly, and he glances at her as he takes the first bite. ]
Damn. That's good.
[ It's muffled, half-chewed, but the way his eyes go a little wide says enough. He wipes at his mouth with the back of his hand. ] You made these?
Most stuff around here, it's just...survival, y'know? But this, uh, this feels like more than that. Taste's like...I dunno, like somebody gave a shit.
[ He sounds impressed. Not just polite or humoring, but like he means it. He shrugs, a little sheepish. It's the kind of compliment he doesn't know how to make pretty. ]
Thanks for bringing 'em. For real. These somethin' you made back home a lot?
[ Something in his gaze lingers--wary curiosity, maybe, or just the flicker of someone who's not used to kindness showing up for no reason. ]
no subject
Date: 2025-07-27 07:50 pm (UTC)wanda isn't taking one herself because she's already had her fill, and there's a few left back in her room, anyway.
his positive reaction to the krofne makes her smile, even when he does ask about her home in a roundabout way, almost wary of stepping over something that she wouldn't like discussed. it's safe, with jesse, and it's certainly good to remember the good parts of sokovia, too. )
I didn't make them a lot, but they weren't unusual. They are easy to make and don't need to always have a filling. They remind me of celebrations and winter.
( this is just extra.
she shrugs and leans back, against the wall, then closing up the bag to hand over to him. )
They're yours. My roommate is a cook, so making delicious things with the weird ingredients here feels like watching a wizard do a magic trick. ( that being said— ) I helped a little. If we do more some other time, I'll save you a few.
( for now, wanda is plenty pleased that jesse likes what she's brought. )
no subject
Date: 2025-08-11 02:19 am (UTC)Well, if you do make more, I'm not sayin' no. Sounds like you, uh, lucked out s'far as roommates go. I just got a shitty little room at one of the motels in the blocks. This guy Wade did invite himself in through my window, though. Woulda been better if he had a bag of these.
no subject
Date: 2025-08-18 06:23 pm (UTC)( but moving along, she smiles softly at jesse's easy enthusiasm—the way it builds and exudes off of him, without holding back. she really does appreciate his earnestness, even if there's a quiet lonesome feeling tucked in there, between it all.
it spurs her to say, )
I could go hang out some time. ( then, quickly adding, ) You've been alright?