Scott and Jean, Saturday afternoon

[x-cyclops.livejournal.com]

While Alison's team is in Chad, Jean lures Scott away from monitoring the coms for some lunch, complete with introspection and teasing.


#Scott... You have to eat, Scott... I have food all ready... There isn't even anyone else up here. Come eat.# Jean sat at the kitchen table, seemingly staring at the pot of soup simmering on the burner but her mind clearly elsewhere.

There was a touch of startlement on the link, followed by chagrin. #Jean? I hadn't even realized what time it is... just give me a few minutes. I'll get Sam down here to watch the coms for a few minutes...#

Jean stifled a laugh, although Scott could no doubt feel her amusement, and went ahead and served out lunch, snacking idly on carrot sticks as she waited.

It took him roughly ten minutes to get upstairs to the kitchen. By then, lunch was all laid out, and Scott shook his head as he came in to join her. "The halls are dead silent. I think it's magic."

"The magic of children's literature. We should do this more often, although I can't think how." Jean kissed him softly. "How are things going?"

"They had some excitement," Scott said, "of the unexpected sort. But everyone's all right, and they're back on track." He would have made the same decision Alison had. Scott made a mental note to tell her that when she got back.

"Glad to hear it," Jean said. "Now, eat. Coffee is still not an acceptable substitute for food."

Scott snorted softly. "I beg to differ. Coffee is life." He tried the soup. "It's good. I ought to go talk to Moira while I'm up here, actually..."

She frowned slightly. "You're going in half a dozen different directions at once, Scott. Sit. Eat. You can go back to worrying after you finish the soup."

"I hate sitting at home," Scott grumbled quietly, turning his attention back to his soup. "Watch, next week something simple and straightforward will come up and yet I'll still find a way to get myself blown into a wall or something."

"Scott..." Jean shook her head, starting on her soup as well. "I love you, really I do, but you're nuts."

His lips twitched suddenly. "What, you weren't already fully aware of that? Of course I am. Nuts, and paranoid."

"Oh, I knew long ago, but it does get clearer sometimes."

"It's very good soup. Thank you." He picked up a carrot stick. "I probably won't be to bed tonight. Unless I saddle Sam with coms duty for the night shift, once I know they're on their way back."

Jean nodded, not quite sighing. "All right. The waiting is always the worst part," she mused. "Stuck on the sidelines, just watching and hoping."

"You're not used to that," Scott said quietly, watching her. "Being back here, not being on the team... you're still not used to being on the sidelines."

"No, not really," Jean admitted. "Sometimes it still catches me unaware. But... not as often anymore." She wasn't sure if she was starting to accept not being on the team or just not thinking about it as much, busy with her work.

Scott stared down at his soup for a moment, not sure precisely how he felt, hearing that. Mixed emotions, definitely. "Well, on the bright side, with three team leaders I'm not liable to be running off as often," he said.

"Which I'm glad of, no question. It's still strange, you know, thinking of there being enough X-Men to warrant multiple teams."

"And when all the trainees are ready..." Scott blinked. "Well, I think we'll still stick with three team leaders. But that's going to be a scary shot in the arm, manpower-wise."

"I'm still having trouble thinking of Jubilee as a trainee. The others I never knew, but Jubilee... I still think of her, and Kitty and the others as little kids."

"She's come a long way," Scott said, grimacing a little bit as he remembered the incident last fall. Jean raised an eyebrow, and he sighed. "It was a... discussion with Jubilee where I made it very clear to everyone within earshot that I was well into Nervous-Breakdown-Land."

"Ah," was all Jean said, nodding slightly. "She always did have a talent for finding just the wrong thing to say at any given moment."

"Last fall was hell," Scott said, as blithely as he could manage. "Quite literally, upon a few occasions. Demon invasions."

"I think it's the 'few occasions' that is so worrying about that statement," Jean said, steering away from Scott's breakdown, as today was not a good day for him to be distracted. "Multiple demon invasions is just... a bit much for one school term."

"At least this year so far has been full of nice, mundane threats. I find that oddly reassuring."

"I feel this is something the school should work towards. Other places have signs like 'days since last accident'. Perhaps we should make up some for the school. 'Two months since last demon invasion', 'three weeks since staff member out of commission in the medlab.' Or would that just be tempting fate?"

"The school has been safer, in general," Scott said. "Well, except for the cyborgs. Which were handled very well." Even if he'd been lured away like an idiot... argh. He smiled sheepishly at Jean. "I don't let go of the reins well."

Jean smiled, amused. "I think I knew that, love. And safer in general is definitely a good thing."

Scott reached across and took her hand, squeezing it gently. "We're doing a not-bad job these days, I think. All of us."

She laced her fingers through his. "And we'll keep on, as best we can. And perhaps, one day, you'll really get the hang of the whole delegating thing." She grinned at him.

"Don't hold your breath," he said with a chuckle, squeezing her hand once more and then releasing it. "I'm kind of excited about Moira's baby, you know. I mean, not that I'm not happy for Hank, too, of course, but... a third-generation psi, getting to grow up somewhere where she can be taught and guided so that she hopefully misses out on all the problems her fellow psis tend to wrestle with... I just like the idea."

"You like the idea of baby psis around?" Jean asked, arching an eyebrow, her grin turning slightly evil. In truth, she did not want children any time soon, but the opportunity to make Scott do the flabergasted-worried face was too good to pass up.

Scott was rather glad he hadn't been eating right then. Well, I walked right into that one... "Umm. Yes? In principle?" he asked, with as straight a face as he could manage. Jean had that glimmer in her eyes. Witch, he thought pointedly, a smile tugging at his lips.

#Just a bit, yes. Although I think Amanda would object on principle. At least I haven't taken to tormenting you with the idea that twins run in my family? Oh, wait...#

"You win," Scott said, raising both hands in surrender. "I freely admit it. And I think our soup is getting cold."

Jean grinned a tad smugly before turning back to the soup and reluctantly freeing Scott's hand. "Seriously, though, I think you're right. Rachel, and Billy, too, if it comes to that, is going to have so many opportunities that the rest of us never had. Mind, they'll undoubtedly find new problems to have."

"I thought I was the pessimist?" Scott said innocently.

Jean couldn't resist sticking her tongue out at him. "I'm optimistic that we can handle whatever problems come up, the lot of us. Smartass."

"Always. It's one of my endearing qualities. Unless you always just told me it was to make me feel better?"

"It's very endearing. What can I say, I'm attracted to smartasses."