Each to Each [Jane - casual]

[JANE EYRE]

"You've chosen an honorable profession,"Jane simply smiled and nodded her thanks. It was rather pointless to correct him by saying she really had no choice. It was either teach or have no marketable skills.

Monte Cristo seemed to be in the same boat as her. They both didn’t feel the need to elaborate on their pasts which, by the sounds of things, were both quite unfortunate and quite possibly sad. Jane appreciated not being expected to explain her relationship that she was running from and she returned the favor by not prying any further into Monte Cristo’s unfortunate past. It was easy to see that a bond was being built between them though, even in the few minutes that they’ve known each other. It wasn’t a judgmental atmosphere, it was more like it was someplace they were safe to share a moment of respite.

"I wonder what it is about this city that made us both seek refuge here." Jane sipped her lemonade and looked out at the sea, mulling over the question. It was a rather good question at that. It was like some divine force had driven these two kindred souls together on the same beach for the same reason. Solace. Solace from the packed, bustling city of New York that people traveled to just to lose themselves in it. How funny that was. Well, not funny really, more peculiar. “I think the city has a tendency to either make you feel at home or make you feel like some unwanted stranger. This is going to sound ridiculous, but it feels like the beach understands better than the city.”

Jane sat her drink aside and pulled out her bag of veggie chips, nibbling on them daintily. “Yes, I did make it. I’m trying to teach myself how to cook and beverages seemed like a decent place to start.”

[THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO]

Perhaps this was what Monte Cristo had been looking for - not merely a vacation, a trip to the beach, but a companion, someone to talk to without feeling as though he were a celebrity being interviewed or a criminal on trial. Whether he had been searching for that or otherwise, he was glad to have found it in the small person of his new friend Jane. He hoped they were friends, at least, the sort to meet again and catch up with each other. It had been so long since Monte Cristo had actually wanted that sort of connection with a person that it felt strange to him, though strange in the best of ways.

“I think the city has a tendency to either make you feel at home or make you feel like some unwanted stranger. This is going to sound ridiculous, but it feels like the beach understands better than the city.”

He turned to her and gave her a bright smile. "That's not ridiculous at all," he said, being both a little playful and quite earnest at the same time. "I think I know what you mean."

He took another sip of the lemonade as Jane explained the drink's origins. "Agreed," he said with a chuckle. "Myself, I began with boiling water. That took me years to get right." He was joking; actually, if he bothered to remember how he had gained his cooking skills, he probably would have traced them back to a fish, given his father's profession and hobbies.

"So, which are you? Do you feel at home or like a stranger in the city?" Since she was here, he figured he knew what her answer would be, but asked all the same. "I've been here nearly two years and still haven't…." He chuckled softly at what he was about to say; given who he was, the media or other spectators would never expect such a statement to come from him. "…still haven't found my place in it."

[JANE EYRE]

Jane smiled at Monte Cristo, laughing a little at his comment about boiling water. Jane could manage that easy enough, as long as she didn't forget she was actually boiling water. Once she did and it set off the fire alarm.

"So, which are you? Do you feel at home or like a stranger in the city? I've been here nearly two years and still haven't…still haven't found my place in it."

That question gave Jane pause. No, she wasn't at home in the city. She tried to remember a time when she felt welcome, a time when she felt more than a stranger or a house guest. When Jane couldn't ever recall such an instance, she felt saddened by it. Plain, wretched Jane Eyre, without a home, as always.

"I don't think I've ever felt at home." She said musingly. Was that pathetic? Given what she came from and all she had experienced, Jane wasn't sure if it was. She had endured hardships that some people would never think of, most of which Jane credited her formation to. While it may be sad that she had traveled nearly 20 years on this earth without finding a home, Jane was hard pressed to find a true fault with it. If she had found a home, she wouldn't be what she was now. If Edward hadn't already been married, she'd be sitting in Thornfield, a happy wife with a grouchy husband. It would have been simple but even then, would it have been her home. Jane remembered telling Edward that Thornfield had been her home and looking back, Jane realized she only said that because up until that moment, it had been the closest thing she knew to a home. But it hadn't been, not really. She knew that now, looking back at it.

It had been filled with people who cared, but it wasn't home.

One couldn't be at home anywhere unless they felt like they belonged, like the space and the people welcomed them. So far, Jane had not found both in one place.

"But that's okay. Everyone has a home, it's just a matter of finding it."

[THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO]

"I don't think I've ever felt at home."

Monte Cristo frowned upon hearing her speak in such a way. It was probably true, of course; he had little idea of her background, having just met her, but it was saddening nonetheless. A home was crucial to one's development, he thought; or was it? He had been without one for such a long time, and it had shaped him into a hateful, vengeful shadow of his former self. Jane, on the other hand, seemed to have adapted well, She was a sweetheart, if a little quiet, and certainly deserved a home, if she wanted one.

He nodded but hardly provided a verbal response. He'd had a home once, decades ago. That home had been taken from him, and once he'd been free to, he'd embarked on a quest to, among other things, win that home back. He had succeeded in a bitter sort of manner. That home could no longer be his, and so he'd arrived in New York in search of another. Between the Greenwich flat and the Long Island mansion he'd bought, he had not found it yet.

Raising his glass of lemonade, he offered Jane a small smile. "Then here's to finding those homes," he said, a playful toast. "And to new friendships that may lead us there."

[JANE EYRE]

Monte Cristo didn't answer her, or offer verbal comfort which Jane appreciated. His silence was far more comforting than a 'Poor girl' or 'I'm sure you'll find a home eventually' would ever be. Jane liked the silent solidarity he provided, being there with her rather than being there for her. Jane liked having someone who would stand with her through something instead of someone who tried to take care of her. She had never been taken care of before so she didn't know how to be taken care of.

Jane wiggled her toes, pressing them into the sand. With a small smile, she thought about her tiny apartment, the first one she moved into in New York. It had been wretched, but it had been hers. It was as close to a home as she had ever gotten, even with the rats and the water damaged ceiling. That hadn't been enjoyable, but Jane took pride in its peeling walls and it's warped floors. she had made that her home for a year.

Her new flat was larger, it was everything she had ever wanted in a home, and it was her's completely. She owned it, her name was on the lease. But it still wasn't home. It was nice though.

"Then here's to finding those homes, and to new friendships that may lead us there."

Jane raised her glass of lemonade as well, tapping the rims together with a smile. "I'll drink to that."