Opposites Attract

When in Rome

Jax came back a few minutes later with a pair of jeans, a belt, and a button up shirt.

"Here. You and I are nowhere near the same size, but it's better than nothing. You can change in the house once you dry off a bit."

She rolled her eyes and slowly lifted her body temperature until the water was evaporating off her in a cloud of steam. When all the water was gone she lowered her body temperature back to normal as the steam dissipated.

"I'll go change now."

Jax sighed a bit and let her walk past.

She went back up to the room Jax had assigned her and shed her tattered dress. She pulled the pants on and tightened the belt to the smallest hole, rolling up the too long legs so they hung to the top of her boots. She buttoned the shirt up and rolled up it's sleeves too. All the clothes were baggy, but they were clean and comfortable, and that was all that mattered.

She left the room and went back downstairs, finding Jax in the backyard with the twins. He was sitting in the grass with a small smile, watching his mother's look-alikes wrestle on the ground. Instead of bothering them she just moved and sat on the edge of the porch and next to him. He tensed as she did, hands gripping the edge of the wood.

She kept her eyes on the twins, smiling as the two laughed and played.

"Water magic, hm?"

Jax looked over at her, gaze icy.

"Whoa, chill. I was just asking."

"Well what about you, with your fire? At least I've never damaged anything."

"Ouch. I must say, I'm offended. And it was an accident!"

"You sure about that? Or was it intentional? I'm sure you got teased plenty, being the only pyro in your village. Sure it wasn't revenge?"

She flinched, looking up at him with hate-filled eyes.

"Shut up. Just shut the fuck up!"

His eyes widened a bit and he tensed, as if preparing himself to get hit.

"I'm not going to hit you, for fuck's sake!"

She grabbed him by the front of his shirt and pulled him close to her face, hissing, "I lost everything because of that fire. Everything! So don't you try to say I did it on purpose."

She let go of his shirt and went back inside. Slamming the back door behind her.

She walked through the house and out the front door, going into the nearby woods to find something to vent her anger.

---

She came back a few hours later, carrying the vine hammock she'd woven across her back. She came through the door while Jax and the twins were eating dinner. Jax didn't look up from the soup he'd been eating, but the twins did, both taking deep breaths to ask her questions.

"Ask later," she said, and she dragged it up the stairs.

---

The twins were quick to question her the second she sat back down, and she answered as best she could.

"What was that?"

"A hammock," she replied, ladling some soup into her bowl.

"It's for sleeping, right?"

"Mm-hm."

She took a sip of the broth, burning herself a little. It was good, and she found herself taking another scalding sip.

"Are you and Big Brother fighting?"

"Not fighting per se. I'm a little upset, that's all."

"You were using bad words earlier!"

"I was, sorry."

"How come-"

"Sammy," Jax interrupted, "Let her eat."

She didn't look at him, just kept eating.

"Molly?"

"Hm?"

She looked up, meeting Mick's worried gaze.

"Are you ever gonna forgive Big Brother?"

"Depends."

"On what?"

"On whether he apologizes."

She got up, setting her empty bowl aside, and went back to her room.