Kevin and Yvette | 9 am

[x-wither.livejournal.com]

Kevin's feeling tense to the point of debilitation and he figures Yvette may be as well, so he hatches a scheme for some relaxation for them both while at Mr. Jones' house.

There were way too many people in way too small a space. Kevin kept getting really jumpy and twitchy whenever just about anyone came near him. Given the number of people in a three bedroom house, that was happening a lot. It was earning him some strange looks, needless to say. Jay was about the only person who probably grasped why he was so twitchy, or even knew he got like that. Jay would also just tease him relentlessly for it. Bastard.

After digging around in his backpack, Kevin produced several sheets of metal and a number of thin metal rods in addition to his portable soldering iron. Equipped, he went off looking for the one person who didn't make him twitchy. Maybe that made no sense, Yvette probably should have made him more twitchy than everyone else because there was the added danger of getting sliced up by her skin. Honestly? The "dangerous like me" had him more comfortable with her, they were careful of each other. Besides, she was a cool chick.

After poking his head through a couple doorways Kevin finally found the familiar crimson color. "Hey, red. Ya feel like messin' with some metal?" He gave her a smile and wiggled a rod at her as if it were quite a treat.

Yvette looked up from her book, eyes flaring to the brightness of a welding torch for a moment. She'd been finding herself quiet corners to keep herself out of the way in, when she wasn't doing something with Angel - her suitemates knew to be careful around her hair, but she didn't want to damage any of Mr. Jones' belongings with a moment of carelessness. It had made showering difficult - she had to wear her socks and gloves as she washed so she didn't slice up the shower's floor or faucets. The thought of going outside and doing something that didn't require her to focus was wonderful. "Yes, please!" she replied, practically bouncing up. "The project you are talking about, yes?"

"Mmhmm," Kevin nodded, a smile playing over his lips at her enthusiasm. He hadn't felt much like smiling before he'd managed to find Yvette but he was not likely to erase the expression now that she'd reacted like that. "Ah got an idea. An' maybe we can get Forge er someone ta even rig it up fer us when it's done an' we're back at school." It had taken him some time to figure out what he wanted to do with the image of the tendrils, but Kevin had come up with something. If they did it right he could maybe get Forge to rig it into one of those self-replenishing waterfalls. It was Feng Shui or something like that.

"Wanna go camp ou' in the yard? Hot metal an' metal shavin's not really stuff Ah wanna keep in tha house. Mah luck Ah'd find a way ta burn tha house down."

"It is a very good idea." Yvette lay her book (and the faithful dictionary!) aside after tucking the bookmark in place - Emily Dickinson this time. Possibly not the most positive reading material, but she hadn't really thought when she'd packed. "And I think I would like to go outside. There are too many people in the house." The last was said in a lower tone, almost ashamed. "I am worried to be bumping into people."

Kevin's expression turned solemn, eyes full of sympathy. "You too, huh?" He fidgeted a little as he stood there and waited for her to approach him so they could walk out together. "Ah've been eight shades o' twitchy since we got here. I's a'right sometimes, bu' mos' tha time Ah'm so paranoid 'bout people gettin' hurt," he shook his head as his voice trailed off. He didn't think he had to explain the tension that knotted his shoulders, neck and back due to the worry to Yvette. She was hiding off alone, too, after all.

Regaining just a little of his smile, more for her sake than anything else, Kevin led them out to the back yard. "Bu' tha's why we got art, righ'? Make somethin' beautiful an' all tha other stuff sorta fades ta background noise."

She nodded, eye glow softening a little. "You are saying you have the ideas, yes?" she said, walking along with Kevin, happy to not pursue the topic - they both understood each other, after all. "Or are they the surprise?"

"Well, Ah can't keep it too much a surprise if ye're gonna help, can Ah?" Once outside Kevin found a spot that looked like they'd not get in anyone's way, and likewise not be approached by anyway, and spread out all the various pieces of material. Getting comfortable, he held up a sheet of metal to Yvette. "You can cut clean through this, righ'? Anyway, yer hair when it's relaxed was pretty. It sorta cascaded. So it got me ta thinkin' 'bout what Ah could do with that. Ah'm thinkin' of a tree wit' a waterfall next to it. Ringlets comin' off tha tree, like a weepin' willow. You ever seen one of those? An' you can carve the rivulets inta tha metal for the water to follow in the waterfall. It's gonna need some tweakin' as we go, it's jus' a rough idea."

Yvette clapped her hands together. "Yes, I know the willow tree! Oh, that sounds so pretty!" she exclaimed. Then she turned her attention to the sheet of metal. "I think I can be cutting - you will need the thin strips, yes? Like the ribbon?"

He nodded, his smile damn near glued onto his face from her reaction. "Yeah, thin like ribbon. Then Ah can heat it an' wrap it inta shape. We could try lettin' ya etch stuff into it, like leaves an' stuff first, an' see how the heatin' it changes it. Or we can just let ya etch stuff in after it's shaped. Ah was thinkin' maybe of keepin' the tree an' the waterfall separate. Maybe do tha waterfall an' send it back ta Mr. Jones as a thanks fer lettin' us stay here. An' then the tree," his voice trailed off, eyes becoming unfocused as he considered it. Suddenly Kevin grinned and his eyes snapped back into focus, looking back at Yvette. "How'd ya like a weepin' willow that actually wept? We could have it rigged so tha water came up the trunk o' tha tree an' then followed down the tendrils." After all, he had meant for this project to be something for Yvette anyway. He had enough random metal sculpture sitting around his room and he thought it'd be nice for her to help make something she could keep.

"We could try both?" she suggested. "With the etching, that is? Some before the heating, and some after, to see what is working best?" Her eyes shone as a thought occurred to her. "Angel, she is the, how you say, walking welding iron? She could be helping, with the heating and the wrapping, like ribbon around the fingers, yes?" With difficulty she mimicked the gesture with a lock of stiffened hair, wrapping it around her finger to show him. "And I think the tree being the fountain is a very good idea. We could ask Miss Ororo where would be the good place in the garden to put it." Despite the stress-induced stiffness of her face, glimmerings of a broad smile were apparent. "I think I like this project very much, Kevin. You are so clever, to be thinking of it."

Hmm, using Angel could be helpful. Then again, Kevin was pretty damn stubborn and if there was a way for him to do it himself he would. It was always more interesting figuring out how to get a thing done the hard way than to just go the easiest route available anyway. That way you discovered things. Still, it was a good back up plan. "Let's see wha' we can figure out withou' Angel firs'. Ah like knowin' what's possible before callin' in help. But, ya know, I was thinkin' a little tree. Maybe no more'n a foot high. Maybe if we figure that one out you can keep it an' we can make a bigger one fer Miss Ororo's garden. Tha' way you get the proto type an' she gets somethin' after we know wha' we're doin'. Tha' work fer ya?"

"A whole sculpture for me?" Yvette's eyes went round. "To be keeping?"

That expression was priceless and Kevin ended up laughing, perhaps for the first time since arriving at Mr. Jones' house. "Yeah, fer you. Tha' was tha whole point in tha firs' place, actually. Ah wanted ta make ya somethin' an' Ah figure' you'd like it more if ya helped maybe." He was still laughing softly, though it was in no way mocking. Actually, it was sort of funniest because he had the same reaction when people did stuff like that for him. He may have worn that very expression when Sooraya showed up at his door with food she'd made for him. Well, minus the glowing eyes, though that would be cool to have.

With any other people, it would be the cue to hug. Instead, Yvette clasped her long-fingered hands together, looking up at Kevin with those big glowing eyes. "Thank you! So very much! You are the very good friend to have, Kevin," she said. Then she looked at the metal sheet again, and with a comically business-like air, began to strip off her gloves. "We are to be making the start, yes?"

Damn if the girl didn't inspire a guy to keep wanting to make her all excited like that. In a fraternal sort of way, that was. Kevin's grin took the place of his half of the hug-that-couldn't-be as he nodded. "Yeah, we should start. Ah'm thinking we need 'bout a dozen half inch wide strips ta start. An' maybe four inch ta inch an' a half wide ones fer me to make tha trunk o' tha tree outta. Ah'll start making a sorta skeleton fer the trunk so the strips can be wrapped aroun' it." Yes, he actually had a plan now. Give him art, give him metal and Kevin could have genuine ideas. Anything else and he was more or less at a loss.

"Yes, sir!" Yvette gave him a jaunty salute, something she'd picked up from Angel, and set to work, humming a little under her breath. Suddenly the whole evacuation thing wasn't so awful after all.