LOG: [Scott, Marius] Random room service

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Safely returned from his harrowing abduction, Scott gets a visit that has nothing to do with anything. Except for cider. There is a certain extent of cider involved.




Jean had threatened him with a dire fate if he gave himself another migraine from too much reading, but Scott needed to just finish up a couple of things... A knock came at the door and he looked up guiltily. "Yes?"

"Room service," Marius grinned, peering around the door. He waggled a large silver thermos. "Lorna made cider. Said you might appreciate some."

Scott relaxed a little, seeing that it was Marius and not someone who would scold him for being in his office. "Lorna's cider is wonderful stuff. Come in."

Marius' smile widened as he pushed his way into the room. He sauntered over to Scott's desk, glancing around with interest. "So this is your office, eh?" he asked, handing Scott the thermos over his desk. "Can't believe I haven't been in here yet, but then Dr. Grey handled the chewin' out last go around."

"Well, I did go and get my head blown up fairly soon after your arrival. This week has been my first back at being the local disciplinarian," Scott said wryly, taking the thermos with a nod of thanks. "Oh, how I haven't missed it."

And I thought Jennie's room was obsessive. This is the most organized office I've ever seen. "Yeah, I figure whenever staff has to make a 'please refrain from assaulting your fellow students' announcement all cannot be well. No worries. Dr. Grey, Miss Dane, Dr. MacTaggart and Rahne didn't allow for a lapse in standards in your absence."

"I was here in spirit, I suppose." Scott opened the thermos, peered into it for a moment, then shrugged and filled his empty coffee cup. "Did you want a cup? You can use the attached one," he said, waggling the lid at Marius.

"Wouldn't say no," Marius grinned. "First time with homemade stuff. I'm really beginnin' to love livin' around a semi-professional chef." He watched Scott pour the cider and scratched his chin. "Come to that, how's the eye? Aside from migraine-sparking, but those seem to happen one way or another even without the head trauma."

"I've always had the migraine issues, yes," Scott said, handing Marius the cup of cider. "Rather more since I got this job, mind you... or rather, these two jobs. But in terms of how I'm healing up... pretty well, I think." He smiled a bit. "At least the sight of me isn't making small children faint anymore."

Marius took a sip of cider and waved his free hand. "Truth? From what I've seen, it takes more'n a missing eye to scare the small children around this place. Mouths on the hands, remember?" He lowered the cup and licked his lips. "But it works out for you, right? No more sunglasses at night and that. Migraines aside, can't be hating that bit."

"There are pros and cons, yeah." Scott savored his first sip of the cider. He was going to have to ask Lorna what she used for spices one of these days. "There are things I'll miss. But getting rid of the glasses and visor... that's growing on me."

"Figured. 'Course, on the negative side, no glasses means your secret identity's blown. Maybe you should look into a fake mustache. Or untuckin' one side of your shirt. That's probably better. More out of character, and I think facial hair's only recommended for an evil twin or something. Probably this place doesn't need the confusion, especially since you've already got the eyepatch."

"Are you casting aspersions on my fashion sense?" Scott raised an eyebrow. "Don't let the preppy look fool you. It's as much a uniform as my leathers."

Marius grinned. "Regulation cardigans? Now that lends a new terror to graduation." He took another sip. "Seriously, though, nice one back there in Seattle. Never had a teacher that took a molatov cocktail to the head, let alone kept goin' after the fact."

Scott hesitated, cup halfway back to his lips. "Well," he said, looking a bit bemusedly at Marius, "I guess I am still here, aren't I? It was just one of those 'shit happens' sort of accidents, really."

"What, unlike all those times you planned to take one to the head? Not that I'd know from that, but from what I've seen so far I'm makin' an educated guess." He laughed and took another sip. "Question. What's the bigger headache: anti-mutant mob, or dealin' with this new-kid fallout? Because how Kyle tells it, I think he'd have preferred the mob."

"The new kid is former FoH, although you probably heard that," Scott said. "Makes his integration here a little tricky."

"Yeah, I can imagine," Marius replied with the ease of one who'd obviously never had to deal with a hate-group. "Bit weird, though. Seems like people'll cut you slack for attackin' staff your first week or trying to blow up your school, but speciesist dogma is over the line. Not that I'd enjoy being called a freak an' that, but it doesn't strike me as any worse than some of the other stuff you lot take on." He smiled and shrugged. "But then, never really had a run in with the FOH, so maybe it's just me."

"It's a little more complicated than that," Scott said after a moment, more thoughtfully. "Some of the other students here knew Tommy when he was still active FoH. And he didn't limit himself to just calling them freaks." That was about as far as he could go, and as far as he wanted to go, really.

Marius nodded. "Yeah, I heard he burned down a coffee shop or something where people used to meet . . . though I'm not in a position to hold property damage against anyone." He coughed. "Not that I ever went to arson, but there's that long, proud history of actin' an absolute idiot. Tends to make you a bit more forgivin' of it in others."

Scott eyed Marius patiently. "I'm glad to see you taking such a generous approach. I hope it's contagious."

Marius shrugged again. "Don't see the use in bein' angry with a bloke I haven't even met yet. I can barely work up the effort to be angry with someone I am angry with most days. Anyway, everyone does idiot things now and again. Given the irony of it, I'm layin' odds he's feelin' it now. Live and learn an' that."

"Good to know," Scott murmured, sipping at his cider and continued to eye Marius. He needed to make more of an effort to get to know him, he thought; circumstances had made that difficult, obviously.

Marius finished his cider, then snapped his fingers. "Come to learning, here." He extended a gloved hand to Scott, grinning.

Scott raised an eyebrow. "There's a point being made here," he said with a quick smile, "isn't there? Biteymouths now doing as the brain tells them?"

"After extensive trainin' with Drill Sergeant Catseye, yeah." The smile broadened. "Never did get a chance to shake your hand. Can finally correct that oversight."

Scott, without the slightest visible hesitation, reached and shook the young man's hand. "Catseye's very good about things like that, I've noticed. I should put her on staff."

The handshake was firm and sincere. Marius' grip tightened briefly, though he was privately unsure whether this was a test of his own control or in response to an unexpected flash of gratitude, and not really caring either way. There wasn't so much a as a twitch from the mouth.

"That's all she needs, teacher-permission to rule the school with a purple fist," Marius smiled, withdrawing his hand. He nodded at the pile of ilicit paperwork on Scott's desk. "But probably that's a doomsday scenario you don't have time for right now. Need anythin' taken out or brought in?"

"Doomsday scenario? Who have you been talking to?" Scott asked wryly, but smiled again. "No, I'm good. Thanks for the cider... I think I'll keep the thermos. I do have my little weaknesses."

"No worries. Lorna said to assure you that complete inability to spot lame cover-stories fronting an abduction attempt is hardly a damnable offense." With one last grin, Marius gave Scott a mock-salute and slipped out the door, cup in hand.