The Runt of the Litter

Nobody Exists on Purpose

Note: Hey loves <3

I know, I know, three days in a row, this is nuts! But I genuinely feel so bad about leaving you all hanging for so long, and I've been kind of on a roll writing lately. Plus, today is Saturday!

Title is something Morty says in one of the Interdimensional Cable episodes of Rick and Morty. Highly recommend that show for all my cynical ladies, gents, and nb ninjas.

Several people, a while ago, requested to see more of Anna and Jack's relationship. And I've recently been rewatching season thirteen, so baby Jack has been on my mind.

Anna is nineteen.

Nobody Exists on Purpose

Anna pulled the coffee pot out of its holder and gratefully breathed in the steam as she poured herself a fresh cup. "Hey, Jack," she said as she put the pot back. She turned to look at the nephilim sitting at the kitchen table.

"Yes?"

"Have you tried coffee yet?" she asked. Her fingers brushed the wood of the cabinet above her, and she pulled out a blue coffee mug with some random company logo on it. "It's the nectar of life, so if the answer isn't yes, I might cry."

Jack appeared some combination of puzzled and concerned. He hesitated as he spoke, "I... I don't want you to be sad."

Anna chuckled and shook her head. "I was kidding, man. You take things really literal."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize," she waved him off. "It's charming. Cas does-" she coughed once into her fist, her chest suddenly tight. "-did. Cas... Cas did the same thing."

It was still a strange thought, hard to even wrap her mind around, that she would never see Cas again. Some days she felt a strong temptation to go dig a hole in a crossroads somewhere, make somebody promise to give her back her angel friend. But she'd seen the fallout of too many deals to make one herself. So instead, every time the thought crossed her mind, she closed her eyes, kissed her fingertips, and raised those fingers above her head.

She could love Cas and let him go, and that was what she was trying to do. But fuck did it hurt.

Jack had gone silent, and Anna knew he was in pain too. It was different from hers, there was no getting around that. Hell, she wasn't sure she had any chance of understanding even a portion of Jack's experience. But she did feel for him. So she swallowed her own pain and returned to what she'd been trying to say before.

"I think you should try coffee. I mean, I know you don't sleep much, but you must get sorta tired sometimes, right? And caffeine... man, it is the only good thing God ever did for us." She cringed a little at her own choice of words and looked up at the ceiling. "Chuck, if you were listening just then, I'm also very grateful for Rick and Morty, punk music, and puppies."

"Who are Rick and Morty?"

Anna made wide eyes and a little smile at Jack. He had so much to learn, and she was incredibly excited to introduce him to the wonderful world of Rick and Morty. "My favorite fucked up people," she replied. "I'll show you some time, but for now..." She finished filling the blue mug and slid the coffee pot back into its place. "Coffee."

She set the cup in front of Jack and sat down across from him. She wrapped her fingers around the outside of the mug, letting the heat seep through the pads of her fingers. It was the little things that could be relied on to save you. That much she'd learned when she was seventeen, looking for reasons to live, wishing but doubting that she would someday learn to smile again.