2019-10-22 - Catching Elbows and Feelings

Usually she goes home after a shift, opting to just go straight to bed, or have a nice, normal dinner. Tonight has sent her out to the Pourhouse though, and Charlie is wearing exactly what she's been wearing all day at work, which means that there is that lived in look to her jeans and button down, and her ponytail is drooping a little. The badge is on her belt still, and her firearm on her other hip, which is something she can get away with even coming into a bar, hands tucked into the pockets of her jacket as she heads towards the bar itself.

The ever creaking door alerts Jericho to someone's arrival, even through all the other sounds going on, causing his gaze to shift toward the entrance. Perhaps for the first time in his life he's actually glad to see a cop wander into a bar where he happens to be. Normally when that happens he's getting handcuffed and having to spend the night in lockup, for some sort of drunk shenanigans. So when he sees the Detective, he smirks with devilish amusement and watches as she makes her way over to the bar, where either Mariah or Teresa will end up taking whatever order she might place. A few moments pass before he decides to slide out of his booth, leaving his jacket behind, to wander over in that direction himself, as quietly as possible to hopefully sneak up on and surprise with a whispers greeting of, "Hello, Detective."

It is probably a good think that he doesn't actually startle her, because she's armed. There is still a tensing in her shoulders when she senses him coming up behind her, and she glances over her shoulder, "Are you seriously wanting me to slam you on the ground and put a gun to your head?" She tugs the jacket aside, pointing out she's got her gun on still, "You've seen all those videos of cops freaking out and using deadly force, right?"

Jericho doesn't even bother to look down at the gun as it's showcased even more clearly, instead his eyes remain fixed to her own as she glances over her shoulder at him. "Of course I've seen those video, and more. But really now, Detective.." he begins to say, leaning in much closer if allowed, to speak quietly in her ear. ".. I noticed the gun when you first walked in. That's my job. And in such close quarters as we are now.." his voice taking on a slightly sultry tone as he continues. ".. You would end up being the one on the ground, pinned beneath me.." Lingering for a moment longer, he leans back and looks down at her with the pale blue eyes and smiles in a rather mischievous manner.

That is like the wrong kind of push on the wrong kind of day, and instead of just letting this all roll off her back Charlie tries to prove that she's not some helpless little damsel by swinging backwards at him with her elbow in an attempt to catch him in the stomach.

Sadly, she's misjudged who she's swinging at. Not where, no. She's painfully aware of where she is, and how very wrong what she's doing is, and how, honestly, this could probably get her chewed out at work at the very least.

Jericho really and truly wasn't expecting her to take a swing at him, he thought maybe his words would get brushed off and they'd both maybe laugh about it later. But, alas, he finds himself back stepping an elbow thrown toward his midsection at which point training kicks in; both Charlie's wrist and elbow are taken hold of as she's lifted up off the stool, turned around, and having her arm pinned behind her back, while he holds her in place by manipulating the held arm. "Feisty today, aren't we, Detective?" Jericho inquires, tone a cross between amusement and frustration as he speaks. "I told you exactly how things would've turned out, but you just had to go and try it anyhow, didn't you?" His lips move close to her ear once more, leaving him to whisper in a rather stern, no nonsense tone. "Go sit down over in the booth over there and calm yourself down. Now." A jerk of the head indicates the booth he had been sitting at earlier, before he lets her go with the faintest of nudges in the right direction. "Mariah, bring her drink over to my table, please. And I would love a refill, myself. Thank you." He says to one of the girls behind the bar, before making his way over to the booth himself.

That is not how she wanted it to go, and there is a oof of surprise when he twists her arm behind her back, and she's actually starting to reach for the gun with her other hand. His training kicks in, her's does as well. She gets as far as starting to pull the gun before she manages to not continue the downwards spiral of one shit choice after another, all seeming to compound a shit day.

When he lets her arm go she jerks away from him, "I could arrest you for that." It's crabby, and spoken with the bruised ego of someone not used to even having much of an ego. But she storms off anyways, heading towards the indicated table with her chin lifted and her shoulders tense.

After her snarky remark and before she storms off, Jericho raises his voice just enough to be heard above all the noise, clearly. "You could try, but you'd fail and probably get written up. I was merely defending myself by restraining you, after you swung first; something that is both within my rights and job description to do. Plus, all these witnesses.." A gesture it made to the various people around the bar looking at the both of them currently. "Back to your own business," he barks aloud, sending everyone begrudgingly back to doing their own things. He lets her get settled first, before making his way over to the booth and slides in directly across from Charlie, where he crosses both arms on the table and practically stares her down. "Talk." He says, "What has you so riled up, Detective?" Moments later the drinks are brought over and left on the table for the both of them.

There is not any response to that, instead she just sits and stares. She at least doesn't sulk, which would be a very bad look on her to begin with, but when he sits down and demand that she talk she leans forward, her forearms resting on the table as she stares right back at him. "Tell me something, Jericho. Are you attempting to get me to dislike you? I got the impression you were chasing down a dinner date, not a broken nose."

Taking a breath, Jericho decides to sit there and shake his head in response to her words before even thinking about open his mouth. But when he does, his tone is calm and even. "No, Detective, I'm not." He states plainly, "All I did was come over and greet you, while your back was to me. You're the one who decided to take offense and threatened to slam me into the ground." Pausing, he takes a sip from his glass. "Granted, I probably shouldn't have teased you as I did afterward. But, I thought and still do understand you well enough to know that under normal circumstance you wouldn't have reacted so adversely. Which leads me to believe that something is eating at you, and I think you should talk about it before you end up snapping at someone who can't defend themselves like I can." Splaying his hands out over the table, he continues, "So what's up? And don't bullshit me, please. I'm trying to care here."

"Try respecting my personal space, first." Charlie points out with a shake of her head, "I'm not a touchy person, but you keep trying to creep into my personal bubble, and today is just not the day." She slouches back in her seat, reaching for her drink before she frowns at him, "And you might try and let someone win when they're obviously having a shitty day."

Wounded pride? Everyone falls victim to that eventually. There is a sip of her drink, then she sets it down once more, "As for what is bothering me, I've had a long few weeks, and a long day, and I'd like to just close one case before someone else is getting murdered."

"I'm sorry," Jericho replies quietly, gaze falling to the table as the words leave his mouth. "I guess I've never really understood personal space." A slight shrug of the shoulders is given. "What with numerous voices in head since as long as I can remember. I've only had control over them for a few years now.." A hand moves to grab his glass, which is brought up to his lips and tilted back until whatever was left inside vanishes. Once the glass hits the table, his attention focuses on her once more. "Next time, as long as there aren't any guns involved, I'll let you kick my ass all you want. Deal?" He remarks with a faint smirk. "I.. uhh..." He begins to say after she mentions wanting to close a case before someone else gets murdered. "... have a certain skill set that might be able to help you with finding the suspects."

The voices thing again. "You might want to stop mentioning the voices, or people are going to start asking if you're still taking your medication. Charlie slouches a bit, crossing her legs before she lets her attention drift away from the table. "Sure, you can let me kick your ass next time...I know a gym we could go to right now, work off some of this aggression." She then glances towards him, a brow lifting upwards, "What do you mean?"

At mention of medication, Jericho's eyes narrow and his voice lowers slightly. "Stop." He barks, "I don't need a lecture. And I'm just being honest with you, I don't tell anyone else. I told you because you knew me from before all this. Because I thought you might understand.." The look in his eyes is hurt, but only for a moment, and then he's taking a deep breath and calming himself down. "What I mean is; objects carry emotions and memories.. I can sometimes tap into those.. see who owns the object in question, as well as seeing how it was used in previous events. Among other things." The remark about the gym earns a slow to form grin, not as quick as usual, probably due to how her earlier comment effected him. "We could do that, sure. With only regulars here, I'm sure they could handle themselves just fine without me."

The bark causes a frown, "And I'm to know that you've only said it to me?" Charlie gives him a look that says she's pretty sure he knows what she's thinking. The drink is pushes away from her, only so that her hand can tuck into the pocket of her jacket once more, "You're working?" She wonders, glancing around for a moment before she glances back, then she shakes her head, "If you're at work then we can just go some other time. I respect the need to make your money."

"As you said; it's not really something I want to be spreading around." Jericho retorts, "Besides, what would I have to gain by lying to you? I want to be someone you can trust, Detective." A pause and then. "Especially if this is going to have any chance of turning into something." The concern about his making money is met with a genuine smile as well a shake of the head in amusement. "Mariah's pretty alright in that regard, Detective. I only have a couple more hours tonight, but I can make it up another day. Nothing happens this late anyway."

When he mentions things having a chance there is a stare, and then a hand raises up to rub across her face before she drops her hand, "Look..." Charlie moves forward again, her hands pulling from her pockets so that she can rest her forearms on the table, "I don't really date. Haven't....probably had a successful date since I got divorced. My dating history is shitty, and so I'm very rusty at this. But if you're really wanting me to give this an honest shot, then fine. But lets respect personal space, and maybe not...I don't know. Are you always cocky, or is it just me?"

"Always," Jericho confirms with the slightest nod, though his expression seems a tad off-put mostly at himself. "It's how I survive." A look to her and he counters with, "Are you always so serious, Detective?" When she leans forward, he leans back into the booth. Personal space and all that. "I'm not going to be like the guys that you're surrounded by at the precinct all day; serious all the time and with a stick up my ass. I won't pretend to be something I'm not. Sure, I'm can be cocky the majority of the time, but I can promise you that you will always be getting the real me. Nothing more, nothing less." Arms cross over his chest as he watches her. "I'm cocky, stubborn, and I'm not always going to be Mister sunshine and rainbows.. I have my off days, just like anyone else. But.. I am caring, truthful, and loyal to a fault, while also being someone to lean on and know will have your back." Sighing, he finishes with a shrug, "So if that's a deal breaker, well.. the door is right over there."

"Most of the guys at the precinct barely act over twelve on a good day." Charlie points out with a shake of her head, leaning back once more, arms crossing over her chest in an echo of his gesture, "But no, I'm not always serious. In fact, I'm usually pretty easy to get along with, I prefer being personable to being a bitch. More flies with sugar and all that crap. But I had bad days, I have days where I wonder why I'm even doing what I'm doing because the bodies and the trauma just keep stacking up."

"Well, I suppose I've even more not like them then." Jericho says with a shrug of the shoulders. "I'd have to agree with you on that. You are surprisingly easy to get along with, which is refreshing, actually." At her talk of bad days, it's his turn to lean forward and place his arms on the table in order to look more closely at her. "Even if you only close one percent of your cases, Detective, you are making a difference. It might not feel like it, but it's true. And despite those odds, you still go into work and do what you can. That's admirable."

"One percent isn't really a huge amount." Charlie points out with a shake of her head, "It doesn't make that big of a difference to only be closing one percent." She leans forward in response, frowning for a second before she nods, "But I appreciate the sentiment, and I try my best to not let the weight of things get me down. But sometimes...it happens. Usually I just go home, eat ice cream and watch a movie."

Noting the frown, Jericho's hand twitches upward ever so slight, but he ends up stop himself. "Normally I would tap you on the nose for frowning, after having told you that you do so too much, last time. But.. given how tonight has gone, I'm just as liable to earn a bit of glaring as I am to get a gun pulled on me." Smirking he adds, "So I'm keeping my hands to myself." The bit about ice cream and a movie draws out a faint chuckle. "Ah, yes. Ice cream. The soother of all things wrong." A pause for a breath before he asks, "Favorite flavor?"

"Please don't boop my nose." Charlie sounds resigned that one day, one day probably soon, he'll forget and boop her on the nose again. The rest of her drink is picked up and she tilts it back to finish the glass before setting it back down, pushing it towards the edge, "Strawberry." She then starts to scoot herself from the booth, reaching into her pocket to pull out her wallet, starting to pull out enough to cover her drink, and a tip. "What's yours?"

"Don't worry, I already said I'm not going to." Jericho says, slightly amused by the tone in her voice. When Charlie's wallet comes out, he lifts a single hand and says, "Just leave a tip." Before reaching into a pocket, only to toss enough cash to cover both of their drinks onto the table. "I'm more of a mint chocolate chip kind of guy, but strawberry is never a bad alternative. Especially if it has real frozen strawberries in it." Checking the time he asks, "Mags got the kid tonight?"

"Nope. Mags is working, I bet." Charlie replies with a shake of her head at the question, tucking her wallet back into her back pocket before she checks the time on her watch, but she doesn't seems too concerned about it. At least, not yet. "I've got time to hit the gym before I need to get back home, so you don't need to be too worried about it."

"I'm not worried if you aren't, Detective." Jericho replies, giving her a faint smile before settling back into the booth once more. "I hope the gym manages to work out some of your frustrations. I would offer to come with, but given how well we've both handled tonight.. I think it's better if I finish out tonight's shift." Lifting his shoulders in a shrug he adds, "Hopefully I'll see you soon? Unless tonight has changed your mind about me."

The sudden change to not joining her at the gym seems to momentarily catch her off guard, but she doesn't argue. Instead she addresses the question, shaking her head a bit, "Sure. You've got my number." She reaches into the pocket of her jacket, pulling her keys out, glancing down at them until she can dig around for the key to her car, "If you change your mind, I'll probably be at the gym for a while." She gestures towards the bar behind her, "Sorry."

With that apology offered she propels herself into motion, heading towards the door without waiting for any other response.