sharp_as_knives | Emma's New York, Sunday

Now that Jono was properly tailored, clothed, (hair)cut, manicured, ~~trolled,~~ and had an inkling that this might not, in fact, be torture, the intervention posse was set to see him actually relaxing a bit more.

Whether he liked it or not.

[OOC: As before, open to the intervention posse and open for calls, texts, etc. NFB due to distance.]

Current Location: New York city, Emma flavor

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

sharp_as_knives

"Would it help if you talked with them a bit first? Got to know the person who would be touching you? I'm sure they've dealt with people before who are body conscious for one reason or another; it can't be an unusual request."

Hannibal was going to have to learn massage, wasn't he?

From:

furnaceface

Somebody was going to have to, if people were going to keep insisting that Jonothon give in and get one from time to time.

//... It might. I don't know. My back's nothing like my chest, but it's still a bit of a mess.//

It would be less of a mess if he'd quit getting shot at and stabbed and sliced up with scalpels in the salle, granted.

From:

sharp_as_knives

But then what fun would life be?

Hannibal nodded. "I'll speak to them. I'll be right back." He eyed Jono. "No running?"

From:

furnaceface

//... Probably no running.//

Jono was making no promises. It really all depended on how safe his place in the doorway turned out to be for him while Hannibal was over there talking.

From:

sharp_as_knives

That was the best he was getting, wasn't it? Hannibal headed off to talk to the staff and shook a few hands. Jono probably couldn't hear what was going on, but he'd see a bit of talking and nodding, then one of the masseurs said something and headed off.

When he came back, he introduced a middle-aged woman to Hannibal, and after a moment more of talking, Hannibal brought her over.

"This is Jono," he told her. "Jono, this is Terry."

"Hi." Terry nodded and smiled, but didn't hold out her hand to shake. "Why don't we head on back to the room and sit for a bit? I've got a nice couch, and we can talk." She pointed at a door down the hallway. "Straight shot to the exit if you need it."

From:

furnaceface

Jono took a moment to very seriously consider that door before giving a little nod of his head.

//You'd be impressed by the speed I can hit that door at,// he shared, not quite stepping into the room from that spot he'd staked out in the doorway, just yet. //Just sitting and talking?//

From:

sharp_as_knives

"Just sitting and talking," she agreed. "There's a massage table in there if you do decide you want something, but it'll be off to the side. And Hannibal can stay, if you like."

Hannibal raised an eyebrow in question.

From:

furnaceface

Jono glanced between Terry and Hannibal, and then gave a slight nod of his head.

//If he doesn't mind,// he replied. //I wouldn't want to cut into his relaxation time, either.//

Here he went, completely ignoring whose intervention this was, again.

From:

sharp_as_knives

"Not at all," Hannibal answered. "Although I wouldn't mind a bit of aroma and tea while you talk."

Terry nodded. "Not a problem, as long as Jono doesn't mind. Come on back."

From:

furnaceface

Jono hesitated in the doorway for a moment more before nodding and stepping into the room. Finally.

//I don't mind either at all,// he replied, following Terry toward the couch. //Whatever makes you most comfortable.//

Once again missing the point of this intervention, Jon.

From:

sharp_as_knives

"Nope," Terry told him. She waved Jono toward one end of the couch and pulled up a chair next to it for Hannibal, leaving the other side of the couch for herself. "Don't care about him, no offense."

Hannibal nodded in understanding.

She poured him a cup of tea and brought it over, along with sugar, then set some oils above a burner before taking her seat. "This is about what makes you comfortable. Which I hope is a massage, because I'm pretty good at it and I like to show off, but might just be talking. So, you're British? What brings you here?"

From:

furnaceface

//I... er... it was for school, once upon a time. When I was in high school I got a... scholarship offer, to study across the pond at a private prep school. Took them up on it, settled down in Massachusetts, and then in Maryland, and then in New York for a bit... America was a difficult habit to break, I suppose.//

Considering he still looked like he was in his early twenties, he wasn't going to clarify just how long that meant he'd actually been here, no.

//My stint in the Empire State University was far shorter than intended, though. Figures.//

From:

sharp_as_knives

"That sounds great. I've never made it outside the US. Did a road trip after high school, saw a bit of the country, but that's about it." She shrugged. "Came back here, got a job, stuck around." She laughed. "Got out, got another job, and here I am. Sucker for New York. Or for punishment, I'm not sure which."

From:

furnaceface

Really, you didn't talk like that without expecting the person you were talking to might ask, did you?

//... What was your first job? If that's not too nosy, I mean?//

Jono didn't have a leg to stand on when it came to suckers for punishment.

From:

sharp_as_knives

"Nah." Terry chuckled. "Believe it or not, I was a cop. I know, right? Big difference. But I had a few too many close calls."

She sighed and shrugged. "I won't say it didn't bother me, but I would've kept going. Important stuff, you know? But once I had a kid..."

Hannibal sipped his tea and smiled. Was it coming clear why he'd gone with this masseuse yet?

From:

furnaceface

At least a little bit. Jono was giving him a bit of a side-eye for a couple of seconds before returning his attention to Terry.

//Once somebody depends on you to come home every day, there's always that worry that maybe this next time, you won't,// Jono supplied, knowingly. //It stops being about what you want, and starts being about what they need. It's no small amount of responsibility.//

From:

sharp_as_knives

What? He was just looking out for you, Jono.

"Yeah," Terry agreed. "So, a cushy, well-paying job it is. Oh, the horror." She grinned. "But I kinda like it. There's something to be said for the lack of late-night calls, anyway." She paused for a moment, then waved at Hannibal. "He says you do something pretty similar?"

From:

furnaceface

Jono spared Hannibal another glance, and then nodded a bit, slowly.

//I'm... ex-military,// he said, because that was accurate enough. //These days I'm more like a glorified security guard, though. I do a fair bit of bodyguard work, that sort of thing.//

All of these were accurate and true statements.

From:

sharp_as_knives

If Terry suspected they weren't the whole story, she kept that to herself. "Still sounds dangerous. And like you're probably used to being pretty careful. No strange hands on you when you're vulnerable?" she guessed.

From:

furnaceface

//To say the least,// Jono agreed, a little more tentatively than before. He was sitting there on the couch, but he might as well have been standing in the doorway again. //Saying I'm a bit skittish about physical contact is understatement.//

Which was awkward to admit, all on its own.

From:

sharp_as_knives

"Not a problem." Terry held up her hands. "These aren't going anywhere you don't want 'em. We'll just stick to tea and scented oils unless you decide otherwise."

She snorted. "I've been a cop, and I've got a daughter. Far as I'm concerned, no means no, and kick 'em where it hurts if they don't listen. Which goes for me, too."

"And you didn't even wear your pointy boots this morning," Hannibal quipped.

From:

furnaceface

//It does more damage to kick with the heel, anyway,// Jono shared. //I was only thinking of kicking the break-your-own-toe way before I saw the price tag.//

Which was still obscene, thank you.

//Can we stick to just the scented oils, perhaps? I'm... not much of a tea person. Worst Brit, I know.//

From:

sharp_as_knives

"With those boots, I'm not so sure. You could probably gut somebody with them."

They were pretty pointy.

"Just the oils, then," Terry agreed. "Let me know if you change your mind. Did a bit of shoe-shopping before you came here, then?"

From:

furnaceface

Jono turned a raised-eyebrow look in Hannibal's direction.

//That, and every other bloody thing,// he agreed. //Shoes, suits, underwear. Had a haircut yesterday, which wasn't too bad, I suppose. Even let one of your coworkers do my nails. They're calling it an intervention.//

It was a bit of one, anyway. He didn't seem to mind so much, now that it was almost done with.

From:

sharp_as_knives

"Some people need to be bullied into taking care of themselves," Hannibal answered, smirking into his tea.

He was such a rotten bully, wasn't he? Poor, poor Jono.

Terry looked at Jono's hands and nodded. "Rocking the goth look. I had a boyfriend years ago colored his with sharpie. I used to swear he'd run off and leave me for Siouxsie."