xp_logs | Nathan and Haroun, Friday afternoon (Reply)

Nathan and Haroun go outside - separately - to clear their head. They run into each other, not behind the woodshed, and while the conversation gets a little heated, there's no hitting. (They're good boys, at heart; they just need muzzles.)

The continuous low growl of profanities as he headed down the path leading towards the far side of the lake was the only significant amount of noise out here. Apart from the occasional bird chirping with obnoxious cheerfulness, and Nathan was doing his almighty best to ignore those, as they were irritating the crap out of him. But beneath the irritation was a growing embarassment, hence the heading to the far end of the grounds.

Haroun, up in the sky, had long-since finished grumbling under his breath and was feeling his own set of ambarrassment. Nathan did have a point - maybe he was too hard on his students. They did have their own crises to deal with, and while he still felt that being overly-gentle was the wrong approach, perhaps he could try being a mite more tolerant.

Sam, on the other hand, deserved every word. Arrogant stupid foolish fully-functional good-looking American corn-fed farmboy ... Haroun started grumbling under his breath again as he absently touched down at the far side of the grounds. The flight had helped to calm him down, and the walk back should be enough to finish the job. After all, he was certainly going to have some sort of a punishment detail from Alison and Scott to contend with.

It would undoubtedly be unpleasant - but it would be worth it.

Nathan looked up, his eyes narrowing at the sight of a familiar contrail. No, Nathan, that would be bad, he told the less-embarassed and more-aggravated part of himself. He would never live it down if he actually swatted Haroun into the lake.

Taking a deep breath, he launched himself with his TK to the top of the tree beside him, landing lightly on one of the thin upper branches.

Haroun landed elegantly and dusted himself off before he finally realized that he wasn't alone. "Trying out for a wuxia movie?" he asked politely. "Got the standing on a tree limb too slender to hold your weight thing down pat."

Nathan grumbled and lept to the next tree, keeping his balance easily. "I might as well show off," he said. "Since my powers get thrown in my face one way or the other, why not enjoy them while I can?"

"Hey, at least you're using them without your brain leaking out your ears. That's improvement." he said helpfully. "Look, about that little conversation earlier..." he said uncomfortably.

"No," Nathan said abruptly, cutting him off. "I started it, and I shouldn't have. And I was thoroughly out of line. Let's just leave it at that, okay?" He stepped off the branch and landed on the ground, wincing at the shock to his back as he didn't quite provided enough of a telekinetic cushion. Straightening up took a little more effort than it should have.

"You weren't the only one." he admitted. He then shot Nate a concerned look about that wince. "Back still bothering you?" he asked.

Nathan gave him a sideways look. "Yes," he muttered. "Not enough to take anything for it." He'd rediscovered his stubbornness about painkillers, these last few weeks, now that the pain wasn't constant. "Just muscles spasms, this morning..."

"So go stretch out. Always used to help me when mine would cramp up on me." he suggested. "Or a jog."

"Thank you, neither option had actually occurred to me." Nathan stopped, bit his lip. "People are going to start making jokes about psionic PMS," he muttered.

"They usually save those for cybernetic PMS." he said with a small laugh. "But if you'd prefer, we can all make psychic PMS jokes."

"Or we could not and say we did." Nathan leaned back against the trunk of the tree behind him, sighing. "Why did you have to say it?" he asked, the question slipping out before he could quite help himself.

"Say what? Psychic PMS? You brought it up!" he said, not understanding the thrust of Nathan's question.

"That I let my students down," Nathan snapped, unable to quite keep the hurt out of his voice. "I know damned well I did, and I know that most of you think I did... I just didn't need to hear it, okay?"

Haroun shrugged. "I have never been one to hide away from unpleasant truths." he said. "And besides, you were pissing me off."

"So you rubbed my nose in something I couldn't have changed, something that's been driving me fucking insane since March. Thanks, pal." Nathan pushed away from the tree, moving a bit stiffly down the path.

"If it's been eating you since March, then maybe you should be used to it by now." he pointed out, following Nathan down the path.

"Maybe the fact that I'm actually being stupid enough to give it another try this summer has something to do with why I might be a little sore on the subject in June," Nathan shot back.

"Good for you. Get back on the saddle. Maybe you'll actually finish out a semester and then you can get off this and back onto a more serious problem to be solved." he replied nastily.

"Some of us put teaching the little retarded darlings pretty high on our priority list," Nathan growled, making himself walk on.

"Hey!" Haroun said, stung by that allegation. "I do my part to broaden the little retarded darlings' horizons." he said grumpily. "Not my fault if they don't want to capitalize."

Nathan stopped, half-turning back towards him. "Look," he said harshly, "I'm not pretending that we don't have our fair share of lazy kids. Or kids who put things they shouldn't higher on their priority list than their education."

"Only you are, but we'll leave that aside for the time being. Going to Xavier's is a priviledge, not a right." he said in an exasperated tone.

"And you're oversimplifying things. As usual," Nathan growled. "What about the ones who have deaths in their family? Or wind up in the medlab?" He stopped for a minute, knowing perfectly well that he was opening himself up to the obvious accusation here... but it was a point, damn it. "Or the ones who exhaust themselves helping other people in the medlab and then get penalized for it?"

"In those first two cases, then they could come to me afterwords and, you know, make the effort. Try a little. In your third case? That didn't happen." he said, trying to keep his voice even.

"Oh, it didn't?" Nathan folded his arms across his chest.

"It didn't." he said, crossing his own arms. "Sure, she came to me for supplemental help. I gave her the readings, told her to look to her classmates for help. But when the next quiz time came around - it's like she never even tried. I know she's your pet student and your surrogate daughter and all that jazz, but I got to go with what I'm presented."

"I'm not..." Nathan stopped, took a deep breath, and closed his eyes for a moment. "I'm not blind to the fact that she made choices this year that screwed her over, school-wise, as much or more than some of the stuff that was beyond her control."

Haroun shrugged. "So ... I should pass her anyway? Because she's got potential? Because you love her and want her to do well? Is that how it works?"

"No. That's not what I'm saying." Nathan looked back up at him. "But it's not just about her, either. What are you going to do when you get a kid who's constantly struggling with their powers to the point where they can't keep up with the schedule? Going to tell them no, sorry, you can't make accomodations?"

"Then they can take my course when they've got a grip. I teach a _language_and hand-to-hand combat, Nathan. Not one of the core classes." he pointed out.

"It doesn't matter what you teach." Nathan stopped, shaking his head. "To hell with it," he said tiredly, turning away again. "Advice from the incredible absentee teacher. Just what you need."

"Actually, yes, it does matter what I teach. My approach works for me, given the circumstances. I never said it would work for everyone." Haroun explained.

Nathan rounded on him, faster than he'd intended. "Fine!" he snapped. "Just drop it, okay? You're right, I'm wrong, and I had no business bringing it up." His hands clenched into fists at his sides. "Teach your classes the way you see fit, and I'll focus on actually getting through mine."

"Bonus!" said Haroun sarcastically. "You should do that. It'd be nice." he added, and then sighed. "Forget I said that. We should not be having this conversation, not when we're both cranked."

"I am not cranked," Nathan muttered, then flushed at the look Haroun gave him. "But I shouldn't have brought any of it up." Or opened the door for letting Haroun and Sam take their issues public, either. Although he suspected the person he owed an apology to on that was Alison.

"You are too cranked! Someone's seriously pissed in your cornflakes." he said.

Nathan made an incoherent noise of pure frustration, grabbing without thinking at his cropped hair, part of him wanting very much to yank it out by the roots. "Would you stop it with the cereal already?"

"What?" Haroun said with a laugh. "Someone _did_ pee in your cornflakes? Was it Meggan? Small children like to pee everywhere but where they should...."

"I don't know where the fascination with urine came from, and I don't want to know." His back was seizing up again, and he winced, laying a hand against the nearest tree for support again. "It's just... stuff. That's all."

"Stuff. Right." he said, trying to lighten the mood. "You need to go stretch out, if your back is seizing on you that hard."

"I'll just walk it off, I think." Nathan stared at him for a moment, then half-shrugged. "I'm sorry," he said again, more quietly. "Stupid argument I shouldn't have started, like I said."

"Probably a good idea." he said, a glimmer of an Idea beginning to form. Knowing Nathan was a telepath, he decided in a flash to act on it. Kicking his power into gear, Haroun tackled Nate and carried him over the lake before letting go. "Swimming's good for back cramps too!" he called with a laugh.

The splash was moderately impressive.