xp_logs | Paige and Forge

Forge comes to see Paige for more than five minutes at a time. I love them. Oops. Jono, get back here, before your girlfriend realises Forge is technically perfect for her.

Forge checked the box he was carrying to make sure nothing had fallen out on the way through the medlab. He'd cleared everything through the doctors first (having learned his lesson after smuggling frybread to Danielle during her recovery from childbirth, Jean was not big on crumbs in her sterile lab) and figured that if he wasn't any good at cooking, at least he could deliver.

Stopping in front of the metal door, he smiled as he noticed the red lights above the access panel. Unlocked. Open. How two little LEDs could say so much, he thought.

Knocking twice with his elbow, he pushed the door open slightly. "Hey, Paige? You decent enough for visitors?"

"Well, for you? What's your definition of decent?" Paige called out, her giggle indicating she was teasing. Forge's voice caused her to sit up a little, and push back her hair. Didn't want to scare the guy after all. She might look like death, but there was death and then there was death. "Get in here, you dork."

Forge nudged the door open further, doing a double take at how CLEAN the small room looked, after months of observing the shattered chaos Paige had been living in. Pillows lined up, bed made with perfectly straight corners - Paige was definitely getting back to herself.

"So the docs okayed some solids for you," he began, pulling a ziploc bag out of the box. "So. Lorna mentioned something about arrowroot cookies?"

Patting beside her, Paige invited him over. "You, my dear, can be my bestest friend any time you want. Gimme?" she asked, eyes instantly going wide like the anime characters Shiro was so fond of. "I have no idea why I love these things. They're for toddlers, really. Thank you."

"Well, arrowroot got its name because the South American Indians used it to treat poisons from scorpions and spiders that were often used on arrows. It also fights off gangrene." He looked up, blushing slightly. "I looked it up. Since I had no idea what these things WERE. Had to make sure I wasn't smuggling you in something like Mr. Dayspring's special brownies. Dr. McCoy would never have forgiven me for not sharing in that case."

He cocked his head, taking in Paige's appearance. Reassuring or honest? Honesty won out.

"Man, you've looked better."

"Shove it, shrimp," Paige answered easily, still grinning, and grabbed the Ziploc bag in case he decided to take offence. "You'd look like shit too if you broke, oh, pretty much every limitation of your mutation. More so, I think. I'd pull off the waifish albino look quite well if I could do that whole moving thing."

Tossing her hair – somewhat awkwardly, but hiding it well – Paige bit into her cookie, rolling her eyes up in ecstasy. "Oh yeah. These are the good ones. Much applause in your direction when I can get up the energy."

Forge laughed, experimentally poking Paige in the side. "Well, you're not cracking and falling apart anymore, which is good. And don't talk like I don't know about breaking mutations. I'm the guy who can't turn his off, remember?"

"Yeahyeah. I can't turn my brain off either, it just doesn't happen to be ingrained into my DNA," Paige bantered back at him, swatting playfully at his hand as he moved in for another poke. "And I have no idea who had to clean up my iso room, but man. Do I feel sorry for them. It was gross."

"Doctor McCoy was complaining about diamond dust in his fur," Forge replied with a wicked grin, not mentioning how long it had taken to get the tiny grains out of his hair as well. "But hey - nice and clean now and all better. Few more days rest, couple afternoons out by the pool? You'll be back to the hottest blonde in the labs in no time." Forge's smile cracked at that, revealing a self-conscious and shocked look briefly. "Unless you're heading back to Harvard?"

She covered up another giggle with her hand, eyes looking around shiftily, guilty. "I suppose I'll have to be 'sleeping' whenever he comes in for a good week now, huh? Shoot. He gives me DVDs when I'm sick, and it just happens so seldom." Reaching over, Paige grabbed Forge's hand, giving it a squeeze. "I'm the only blonde, blonde girl anyway, in the labs, twit. They didn't break my brain. But nah. I think I'll stay here a little while. I'm comfy."

Forge felt his neck grow warm at the squeeze, debating between just enjoying the moment and finishing what he came in for. Finally he lifted the box with his other hand. "So. Cookies and," he produced a small porcelain pot and lifted the lid to reveal tea leaves. "The good stuff, so I'm told. Because I know you said Bobby's reading to you, but in case you get bored with the Brat and his Wand..." Forge nodded down in the box. Numerous brand-new books on string theory and subatomic matter lined the bottom. "Some light reading."

"Ooh... and Forge comes in to steal the Gold. You are so my favourite." Running fingertips over the covers of the books, the smooth china, she smiled. Paige wasn't sure why she'd become so interested in textiles, and smells, and sounds, but she had a good idea. Right now, she didn't mind, and was just enjoying the experience. "Thank you. It's all perfect."

"No," Forge corrected, brushing his fingertip against her nose gently. "It's not. But you know what? It'll do. It doesn't have to be perfect."

She tilted her head, looking at him warmly. "Maybe not. Not in the normal way. But right now, breathing, thinking, seeing you. It's perfect."