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xp_logsLaurie's doing the food delivery rounds and runs into her roommate, as she's never seen her before.
Laurie watched the half-rebuilt houses and foundations of houses yet to be built crawl by in front of her and Jacob as he drove his pickup truck 'Baba' to the next building site. They'd been travelling around for most of the day and she was almost ready for lunch herself.
She noticed a familiar red head of spikey hair as they pulled into another of the small compounds that served as field headquarters for each section of Red-X on the build. It would appear that her friend had used a strip of self-repairing material to hold her hair back in the heat and was busy cutting lengths of wood for the crews.
Laurie watched her silently for awhile as Jacob pulled into a good parking spot with some ready shade. She'd not seen Yvette in action with Red-X before and it was something of a revelation to her. She seemed...happy, and at home.
"Hey, Spike, hold on a minute! You're cutting faster than the crew can floor!" one of the men called to the small girl. Yvette looked up and smiled, giving him a little wave.
"Perhaps you should be working faster? You are such big men, and I am only the small person!" she called back, but straightened from her task. In the warm weather, she had stripped down to just the bodysuit, and made a slim, angular figure among the burly construction workers. Then she caught sight of the pickup truck , and Laurie, and waved. "It is okay to be taking the lunch break, yes?" she asked the foreman.
"Sure, Spike. We'll try and catch up with you while you eat," he told her, gesturing for her to go. Yvette nodded, catching up the button-down Red X shirt she'd had made (t-shirts were too hard to pull on over her hair without shredding them) and pulling it on as she made her way over to her friend. "Hello, Laurie!" she said as she reached the vehicle. "You are feeding the masses, yes?"
"Yup!" Laurie said brightly, untying her apron and placing it on a hook inside the door. "You got some time? Thought I might take my lunchbreak if you do."
"I think so, yes." Yvette grinned a little. "I am cutting too fast for the building men to keep up, so they need the time."
"Excellent!" Laurie replied, trying out her best Montgomery Burns imitation. "Now, what would madam desire for her lunch?"
Yvette rattled off her request and Laurie made it - salad sandwich with ham and cheese, apple juice and, of course, an apple. There was a half-built house nearby, roof already in place providing shade from the sun, and they headed over there. With a relieved sound, Yvette flopped down onto the cool concrete of the foundation. "It is strange, to be somewhere so warm when it is still so cold at the school," she said, reaching for her juice.
"Jacob had to tell me to put on sunscreen," Laurie admitted, popping open a bottle of water before placing the extra one down beside Yvette. "I keep forgetting just how hot it gets down here, even in spring. So bizarre, but I guess it's good for the building effort. So, have you met any cute guys yet?"
Yvette coughed on her juice. "I have been working!" she protested, although there was a hint of bashfulness in her voice - there were several boys Yvette had noticed doing various tasks, but she was far too shy to talk to any of them.
"I saw," Laurie said, grinning at her friends reaction. "You're really good at it too."
She'd been meaning to talk to Yvette since the night she'd helped her after she'd finally accepted what her powers could potentially do. The two of them had been less the friends they'd started out as lately and Laurie wanted to fix that if she could. She just wasn't entirely sure how to go about it was all.
"I like it," Yvette replied simply. "It makes my powers be useful, yes? Not just for the breaking of things or the hurting of people." She carefully unwrapped her sandwich with the tips of her gloved fingers and took a bite. "Red X is good for me to be helpful. What about you, Laurie? Do you enjoy the work?"
Laurie played with the salad she'd made for herself for a second while she thought about that. She did enjoy Red-X work, especially this sort which mainly consisted of her cooking and handing out food to people. "I do. You get to use the stuff you're good at and there's no questions about whether you're doing the right thing or not."
"Do you wonder that, with the X-Men?" Yvette asked, pausing in her eating. "About if you are doing the right thing?"
It wasn't an easy question to answer, but it was something Laurie asked herself more often these days, ever since she'd started training for team, really.
"Not what they're doing, I still believe in that, and I want to be a part of it." she admitted quietly. "But maybe myself, sometimes. Just look at us, I've not been giving you near as much credit as I should for how well you've been doing. I mean, here you are, helping people rebuild San Diego and I've been treating you like a kid that needs to be protected. I'm afraid sometimes of myself, and what I'll do."
"But you are thinking about it now, and I think that is the good thing. If you do not know what is going wrong, then you cannot fix it, yes?" Yvette gave her roommate a careful nudge with her shoulder. "Are you talking to Dr. Samson about these things? Or Mr. Summers?"
"I've talked to Dr. Samson," she admitted, thinking of the recent session they'd had. "I'm trying, you know? I'm just tired sometimes of people like Monet thinking that because I'm not into things that I'm somehow a dork or in need of instruction. Times like that, it's just... Sometimes it's hard to remember that making someone wet themselves isn't the most ethical use of powers, no matter how much I really want to do it."
"That is why I spend so much time in the woods sometimes," Yvette said with a touch of wryness. "It is better for the stress to not be having the argument. And the stressed me is the pointy me, so..."
"Maybe we could do something together when the stress gets too much?" Laurie suggested, thinking about all the times she could have used a guaranteed timeout. "Well, as long as it wasn't the two of us arguing, anyhow."
"Like the sock sliding?" Yvette pointed out with a smile. "There are times I am glad to be alone, but not always. And the distraction is good, when everyone is so unhappy lately."
"Exactly like the sock thing." Laurie said brightly, noting that Jacob was gesturing for her. "And looks like my lunchbreak is over. I'll catch you tonight, maybe?"
"Of course," Yvette replied with a nod. "Have the good rest of the day, Laurie."
Laurie watched the half-rebuilt houses and foundations of houses yet to be built crawl by in front of her and Jacob as he drove his pickup truck 'Baba' to the next building site. They'd been travelling around for most of the day and she was almost ready for lunch herself.
She noticed a familiar red head of spikey hair as they pulled into another of the small compounds that served as field headquarters for each section of Red-X on the build. It would appear that her friend had used a strip of self-repairing material to hold her hair back in the heat and was busy cutting lengths of wood for the crews.
Laurie watched her silently for awhile as Jacob pulled into a good parking spot with some ready shade. She'd not seen Yvette in action with Red-X before and it was something of a revelation to her. She seemed...happy, and at home.
"Hey, Spike, hold on a minute! You're cutting faster than the crew can floor!" one of the men called to the small girl. Yvette looked up and smiled, giving him a little wave.
"Perhaps you should be working faster? You are such big men, and I am only the small person!" she called back, but straightened from her task. In the warm weather, she had stripped down to just the bodysuit, and made a slim, angular figure among the burly construction workers. Then she caught sight of the pickup truck , and Laurie, and waved. "It is okay to be taking the lunch break, yes?" she asked the foreman.
"Sure, Spike. We'll try and catch up with you while you eat," he told her, gesturing for her to go. Yvette nodded, catching up the button-down Red X shirt she'd had made (t-shirts were too hard to pull on over her hair without shredding them) and pulling it on as she made her way over to her friend. "Hello, Laurie!" she said as she reached the vehicle. "You are feeding the masses, yes?"
"Yup!" Laurie said brightly, untying her apron and placing it on a hook inside the door. "You got some time? Thought I might take my lunchbreak if you do."
"I think so, yes." Yvette grinned a little. "I am cutting too fast for the building men to keep up, so they need the time."
"Excellent!" Laurie replied, trying out her best Montgomery Burns imitation. "Now, what would madam desire for her lunch?"
Yvette rattled off her request and Laurie made it - salad sandwich with ham and cheese, apple juice and, of course, an apple. There was a half-built house nearby, roof already in place providing shade from the sun, and they headed over there. With a relieved sound, Yvette flopped down onto the cool concrete of the foundation. "It is strange, to be somewhere so warm when it is still so cold at the school," she said, reaching for her juice.
"Jacob had to tell me to put on sunscreen," Laurie admitted, popping open a bottle of water before placing the extra one down beside Yvette. "I keep forgetting just how hot it gets down here, even in spring. So bizarre, but I guess it's good for the building effort. So, have you met any cute guys yet?"
Yvette coughed on her juice. "I have been working!" she protested, although there was a hint of bashfulness in her voice - there were several boys Yvette had noticed doing various tasks, but she was far too shy to talk to any of them.
"I saw," Laurie said, grinning at her friends reaction. "You're really good at it too."
She'd been meaning to talk to Yvette since the night she'd helped her after she'd finally accepted what her powers could potentially do. The two of them had been less the friends they'd started out as lately and Laurie wanted to fix that if she could. She just wasn't entirely sure how to go about it was all.
"I like it," Yvette replied simply. "It makes my powers be useful, yes? Not just for the breaking of things or the hurting of people." She carefully unwrapped her sandwich with the tips of her gloved fingers and took a bite. "Red X is good for me to be helpful. What about you, Laurie? Do you enjoy the work?"
Laurie played with the salad she'd made for herself for a second while she thought about that. She did enjoy Red-X work, especially this sort which mainly consisted of her cooking and handing out food to people. "I do. You get to use the stuff you're good at and there's no questions about whether you're doing the right thing or not."
"Do you wonder that, with the X-Men?" Yvette asked, pausing in her eating. "About if you are doing the right thing?"
It wasn't an easy question to answer, but it was something Laurie asked herself more often these days, ever since she'd started training for team, really.
"Not what they're doing, I still believe in that, and I want to be a part of it." she admitted quietly. "But maybe myself, sometimes. Just look at us, I've not been giving you near as much credit as I should for how well you've been doing. I mean, here you are, helping people rebuild San Diego and I've been treating you like a kid that needs to be protected. I'm afraid sometimes of myself, and what I'll do."
"But you are thinking about it now, and I think that is the good thing. If you do not know what is going wrong, then you cannot fix it, yes?" Yvette gave her roommate a careful nudge with her shoulder. "Are you talking to Dr. Samson about these things? Or Mr. Summers?"
"I've talked to Dr. Samson," she admitted, thinking of the recent session they'd had. "I'm trying, you know? I'm just tired sometimes of people like Monet thinking that because I'm not into things that I'm somehow a dork or in need of instruction. Times like that, it's just... Sometimes it's hard to remember that making someone wet themselves isn't the most ethical use of powers, no matter how much I really want to do it."
"That is why I spend so much time in the woods sometimes," Yvette said with a touch of wryness. "It is better for the stress to not be having the argument. And the stressed me is the pointy me, so..."
"Maybe we could do something together when the stress gets too much?" Laurie suggested, thinking about all the times she could have used a guaranteed timeout. "Well, as long as it wasn't the two of us arguing, anyhow."
"Like the sock sliding?" Yvette pointed out with a smile. "There are times I am glad to be alone, but not always. And the distraction is good, when everyone is so unhappy lately."
"Exactly like the sock thing." Laurie said brightly, noting that Jacob was gesturing for her. "And looks like my lunchbreak is over. I'll catch you tonight, maybe?"
"Of course," Yvette replied with a nod. "Have the good rest of the day, Laurie."
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