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The rustle of a freshly printed magazine can be heard in the air, along with the sickeningly tangy scent of paper with coloured, vibrant ink. Technology has certainly come a long way with printing things, such as newspapers and books - the former being practically out of style in the year 2013.
Jolyne still remembers the pennies and bills she had to give up in prison for even a single article about Sports Max - the papers being so incredibly important that there was even a timed limit on any magazine. Now, though, the whole hype about newspapers has significantly gone down the drain, the internet being a far more accessible and varied source - although a bit untrustworthy.
Ermes licks the tip of her fingers as she brushes to the next page, a slight hint of green lipstick staining the edge of the paper she nipped. She's reading a Vogue magazine, from the looks of it, and she's quite enjoying herself too! A flash of a half-naked woman Jolyne takes a glance of and she's already feeling a bit stuffy sitting in place like this.
“Hey, Ermes”, Jolyne starts, not quite knowing where she's going with this yet. Her boredom has brought her far in life - including into prison - and she doesn't quite have that good of a reason to keep it under control. After all, Ermes and her are supposed to be hanging out today, just the two of them!
The start of a hum comes from Ermes’ lips, eyes flicking up at Jolyne for a mere moment before resuming to read the magazine. She's got her attention, Jolyne knows, even if it looks like her words have reached deaf ears. The resolute, silent sarcasm that Ermes almost always uses is something Foo Fighters still vehemently struggles with. It's not in her nature to read between the lines, Jolyne always argues back to an irritated Ermes, to which F.F. proves her wrong by making a similar remark that blows the both of them off course.
The clothes Ermes wears are quite fitting; a tight blouse, unbuttoned at her voluptuous chest, accented with a bomber jacket that should totally not fit together, but somehow does - and some slacks that show off the heavy muscles in Ermes’ cross-legged figure. To say she looks attractive is an understatement.
Her own self is heavily underdressed for the occasion; a simple orange summer dress that reaches her mid-thighs, decorated with Weather Report's handpicked jewellery - golden and silver alike, more of a bronze. Although the crisp of the air doesn't even reach 20 degrees, and she finds herself shivering more often than not with every breeze.
Jolyne props her head on her tattooed arm on top of the wooden bench they've sat themselves at, leaning against a wall just outside of an Italian restaurant. She purses her lips, teeth grinding upon one another, before letting out a small sigh alongside a smile.
“Why'd you name your stand Kiss?”
The question has practically appeared out of thin air, something she never actually found herself worrying over before this very moment. It's the longing for a conversation with her dearest friend, maybe, that sets her off on a wild goose chase.
Ermes raises her eyes back from the paper, stark and cold, pupil a stare that pierces through Jolyne's very soul - however, it never feels threatening in the slightest. She seems to contemplate the question as if it's serious, but her eyebrows raise in a way that hint at oncoming sarcasm. Jolyne's surprised with her ability to read Ermes’ actions so easily, as if they haven't known each other for barely 2 years.
“Well, it's ‘cause her sticker ability looks like kiss marks,” she motions with her hand, tracing lips in the air. “But also ‘cause Kiss is a band I like. Used to always listen to them before jail.”
A band? Jolyne nods in solemn acknowledgement. It shouldn't be all too surprising, considering her own stand is named similarly to Ermes’ - but maybe it's the fact that she's never heard of them before that deem her curious.
“Never heard of them, must be for a reason.”
She doesn't doubt Ermes’ taste in music, but it's cute to see the sides of her mouth twitch up in amusement. A sparkle reaches just above the crinkles in her grey eyes, shining them over, before they suddenly lack that playfulness that Jolyne desperately longs for. Pucci has changed the both of them, and not for the better - neither of them knowing if they'll get their old selves back.
The reply that was supposed to arrive only mere moments after Jolyne's jab stays silent, undelivered. The rustle of the cranky magazine picks up again, as Ermes rushes to the next page as if she hadn't just barely brushed her gaze over the first one.
Jolyne sighs again, letting her propped-up arm fall back onto her lap instead. The hem of her skirt, although cute, rides up awkwardly over her thighs - star-patterned boxers almost showing from beneath them -, and she has to roll them back down with a slide of her sweaty palm on the thin, but cute fabric. Maybe she should've paid more mind to the weather forecast instead of which pair of heels to wear.
Birds fly past in the trees, wind gushing through her thick, two braids she had to pattern with her own damn thread for the pins to stay. With her fingers, she brushes her dainty locks of hair out of her face. They're a dull orange now, dyed in favour of the oncoming autumn season and because of Emporio's like minded mutter of his favourite colour.
The spit that lingers at the roof of her mouth tastes of the leftover meal that her and Ermes shared at the very same Italian restaurant they seat themselves in front of; spaghetti with tomato sauce. One of the most basic Italian cuisines there are, but certainly not any less tasteful.
“Ermes”, she starts again, eyes blinking wide because she does not know what the fuck she's going to say. Ermes’ stark gaze is back on her now, eyebrow raised and her lips in a somber press of a smile. It's a revolting sight, yet also something that she would die to see again.
“Can Kiss… kiss?”
The sputter of air from Ermes’ esophagus is almost instantaneous, a clutched fist knocking on her own ribcage as she coughs out the rest of her stress and surprise. Jolyne almost doesn't even know what to do anymore, hands clutching at the sky and frantic darting of her eyes for any passerby that might want to spy. Maybe a stand user is making her cheeks feel this hot to the touch.
“I-I mean like- well, she's got a mouth, and lips and-”, a swallow. The bench creaks from where she spreads herself across it, arms propped behind her on the backrest in a way to make herself seem bigger than she feels. Since when did it feel so hot? Just a couple of minutes ago she swore she was fucking shivering.
The rapid, unruly train of her own meticulous thought gets interrupted by the crinkle of plastic film, similar to the material of the binder Ermes had brought for her magazine and other such papers. A bag would have been much simpler to carry, Jolyne had joked earlier with a pinky in her ear. Ermes, however, just shot a sharp grin as she showcased the various stickers she sticked onto it - with glue that would peel easily from the leather of a purse.
Jolyne looks back at Ermes from where she was staring at the cemented pavement below her heeled feet. She looks almost as panicked as Jolyne feels, save for the very calm and calculated brush of her fingers through her jewelled locs, untangling them in the process. That wonderfully tanned, brown skin of hers is almost a bright red around the creases of her angled nose and hollow cheeks, flush still noticeable beneath the concealer and foundation Jolyne saw her fix before meeting.
“You're asking me… my stand, to kiss you?”
Ermes wipes her mouth with the back of her hand, dark eyes straying from Jolyne's own bright ones. Bright with something like idiocy, no less, but alongside excitement and something new. It's a feeling she's felt before with Romeo, although muddled and dulled over the course of years since his betrayal to her. Pain still grips her heart when she thinks of him - and she doesn't know if it will ever go away -, but she still vaguely recalls that blunt of something she calls love that spiked her blood like ecstasy.
Jolyne, flushed and hazy, just nods with pursed lips, eyebrows furrowed into a particular pout. Something in it makes Ermes laugh, though, and she can't help her own smile that climbs up to claim her awfully frowning mouth.
“Yeah, you- just bring her out.”
She blinks. “Bring who- OH… right, yea-” she stutters, tucking a lock of framed hair behind her ear. Her finger shakes with the awfully collapsing heart in her chest right now.
With a single blink, Stone Free appears in front of them both, blue threads and all clumping together in a vague mess of a stand. Even her usually frowning and composed face has melted into an almost teenage blush and smile - hell, she didn't even know stands had bloodflow!
Ermes, staring up at Stone Free, finally brings her own mighty stand from the confines of her spiritual enclosure. The yellow skin is as glowing as ever, lips puckered and pursed into a pre-kiss that resembles the one on the back of her palm, folded into a note. Jitters, however easy to conceal on the face, show bright as day in the form of the manifestation of the soul - as such, Kiss is fidgeting in place in the air with her legs crossed and a sweaty brow.
“So- just-” Ermes beckons with her hand for Jolyne's stand to come closer, head tilted like a dog - german shepherd, specifically. It's still baffling to Jolyne for the fact that she accepted this half-arsed request, something that Jolyne would've brushed off as a jab at her pride if she refused. Because really, there's no good reason to do this except for the fact that she may want to kiss Jolyne too.
The hover of Stone Free closer to Kiss is as silent yet deafening possible. A hand she brings up to rest against the curve of Ermes’ stand's shoulder, chin tilted up. At this point Jolyne starts to wonder if she'll actually be able to feel the kiss, like how she feels Ermes right beneath her palm now.
Jolyne takes her eyes off of the stands again in favour of Ermes’ reaction - who seems to be in the middle of combusting with the way her cheeks flare and lip is bitten to conceal an expression. It's… quite a sight - but before Jolyne can fully process the fact that the expression Ermes tries to hide is in fact a grin, her mouth is met with a softness that thuds her heart back into life.
The stands, oh so close to each other, just fucking kissed and Jolyne missed it. Kiss is already retracting back into Ermes, until Stone Free grips her by the shoulders and pushes her lips against her again. Ermes gasps but this time Jolyne does not want to take her eyes off of their souls in favour of her bright, red face.
“Jolyne-” Ermes squeeks from beside her, shoulder brushing against her own. Jolyne jolts and as fast as the kiss happened, it stops again - Stone Free back in wherever the hell she came from and Kiss left lingering to twitch in the air.
Her hand shakes from where it brushes against her trembling lip, still left tingling with the phantom touch of Kiss’ kiss. It was… too fast, too short - way too fucking short. She shouldn’t have let go so quick, maybe even sneaked an extra smooch maybe - just something so she can remember the already fading feeling of Ermes’- her stand's mouth.
Sighing shakily, she leans back on the bench and lets out a blow of air. “Haah, she wasn't that great of a kisser after all.”
Ermes’ eyebrows twitch, the corners of her lips curling up into a basterdly grin. “Are you serious?! So we just- they just- for nothing?!” She slaps her hand on the wooden leaning behind Jolyne's back, mouth gaping with every exhale.
“I mean- I've had better”, Jolyne, as nonchalantly as she tries to- fails to be, looks at her own nails and curls her others in her lap. God, she's so giddy she just wants to giggle and screech and stuff her head against her pillow until she faints!
Ermes scoffs, crossing her arms and turning back to look at the grass scenery in front of them. “Sure you did. I can see how you're hiding your smile, Jolyne, don't lie to me!”
The giggle that Jolyne lets out is utterly unprofessional and giddy - way too giddy for someone who just kissed her same-gendered best friend when she's supposed to be completely hetero! Or maybe she's always had a small liking to women too. For Ermes she sure does.
“Maybe I did enjoy it a little~”