Scott and Jean-Paul - Backdated to the night of the 11th

[x-cynosure.livejournal.com]

Scott and Jean-Paul touch base after the most recent mission. Nicodemus decides that he likes Scott better.



A prompt answer to a knock on the door was generally a good thing. One did not, however, generally expect the one answering to squeeze under the door and top out at whopping six inches in height. The little black rat didn't seem at all alarmed by the stranger on the other side of the door, and halted its escape to climb upon Scott's shoe and nibble at the hem of his jeans.

Scott eyed the rat for a moment and then bent down, picking up it carefully. "Dangerous to go wandering," he murmured to it, then knocked on the door again with his free hand. "Jean-Paul, someone's making a break for it..."

"I might let you keep him." Jean-Paul finally made it to the door. He was barefoot and had a slightly larger brown-and-white rat on his shoulder. "Well, I see you've met Nicodemus. Do you need a bandage?" He reached out to collect the wayward rodent, who immediately tried to vanish up the sleeve of Scott's sweater. "He's not terribly social."

"He seems to be doing just fine making friends," Scott said wryly, coaxing the rat out of his sleeve and stroking the sleek fur for a moment. "I don't think my cat would appreciate it if I took you home, little guy. Well... scratch that, she might appreciate it a little too much."

Nicodemus ground his teeth appreciatively and tried to groom his new admirer's fingers.

"He nips me every chance he gets." Jean-Paul shook his head. "Did you want to come in? It is about time for these two to go in their cage for the night away."

"Maybe it's a sign of affection," Scott said with a crooked smile, but did indeed come in. "So, how goes it? You wouldn't like to have some of my jetlag, would you? I have plenty to go around..."

"I have my own. Just got back from Canada." Both Jenner and Nicodemus went into their cage without nipping or protest and immediately headed for their food dish. "It was not a bad night, I have to say. I had dinner with Amanda and Angelo. Belated thanks and more immediate. And Nate went off to Muir yesterday, so he must trust himself a little more. And I! I have gotten to sleep in my own bed for two nights running now. I'd almost forgotten I had one. Do you want anything?" Jean-Paul headed for the kitchen niche. "And you? Is everyone all right?"

"No casualties. I'm fine, too," Scott said, then shrugged. "Just another week, I suppose. I'm glad to hear things are settling down for you, though... getting back into something approaching a normal routine can be a big relief." Damn, did he want to be able to do just that.

"There is no such beast." Jean-Paul leaned on the counter. "So...I found out what was eating Nate. I had him show me. He was on a mission for Fury, hoping to figure out a way to undo the conditioning of they Taygetos child soldiers. It went badly. His recon team was attacked, Nathan captured. He got to watch the bastard in charge execute the survivors and then he wound up against a wall, along with the children in the base because there was a chance he might have 'contaminated' them. Then they collapsed the base on him, buried him alive, and left him to dig himself out. And all this time, he was thinking that the fact that he couldn't save those children was the unforgivable thing in this." The speedster sighed. "Amazing, non?"

Scott's expression was still as he took in the explanation. "We're going to need to do our best to find a way to be more proactive about these people," he said finally, his tone analytical, but edged with weariness. "The cost of just reacting is starting to add up." Central Park, Wakanda, now this.

Jean-Paul nodded. "If you need me for any of it, you will let me know?" Helping to take Taygetos down would have been worth doing in and of itself, but he had a personal stake now. "Aside from that, things are calming down. I've managed to talk with Julian a bit about what happened with Arcade. As expected, he was being hard on himself for not being able to do more, but I think he's starting to come around."

"I should arrange to run into him. I have a certain degree of experience with being too hard on myself." Scott was smiling faintly as he settled into a chair. "You know, have you listened to yourself lately? You seem to be tackling everyone else's problems, or trying to..."

"You pay me to tackle the problems with the students." Jean-Paul trailed Scott to the living room and flopped on the couch. "I'm just earning my keep. It just so happens that there are a lot of students here. And Nate is my friend. I may have my own bastard moments, but I like to think I am not quite so bad as all that." He considered. "Yes, I think that covers everyone."

"Good, because listening to you is making me tired," Scott said, leaning back into the chair and slouching. His tone was light, but he did look tired; his joke about the jet lag hadn't been entirely in fun.

Jean-Paul laughed. "Yes, fine, I give. So my shepherding instincts are in full swing. I could be doing worse."

"Much," Scott said with a chuckle, gaze moving idly around the suite. It was beginning to look more lived-in than it had the last time he'd been up here. "I may be giving you a hard time, but, well, it's appreciated. All of it."

Jean-Paul snorted quietly. "You are not giving me a hard time, trust me on this. Thank you anyway. It's..." He considered, his gaze following Scott's. Several new bookshelves had appeared in the suite over the last couple of months. The rats' cage. A second-hand copy of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' sat on the coffee table, the roles taken by Xavier students all highlighted in different colors. A sheaf of diagrams for set designs sat beside it. "It's very strange, but I'm enjoying it."

"Well, you know," Scott said in his best helpful tone, "every so often the planets align and in a truly stunning display of improbability, we do enjoy our jobs. Sometimes even our lives!" He gave Jean-Paul a wide-eyed, innocent look.

Jean-Paul grinned over at Scott. "See? How can I think you are being hard on me when you stop by to tell me fairy tales before bed?"