Charles & Leo, Monday afternoon

[x-leosamson.livejournal.com]

Charles & Leo discuss life at the mansion during one of their regular lunches.



Leo carefully examined the two CDs he'd brought and furrowed his brow, trying to decide. Did he want to annoy Charles today or have a satisfying lunch with musical and intellectual discussion? He cocked his head slightly, and then put in the My Friend the Chocolate Cake cd. As much fun as it was to watch Charles's eyebrow twitch when Leo's musical selections exceeded his slightly more refined tastes, he was more in the mood for conversation than banter. Besides, after Charles's last retaliation of Gregorian chants, he should probably avoid the more esoteric and slightly outre selections for a while. Charles was very close to banning rap altogether from the list of allowed musical genres.

He leaned back as the calm, almost ambient pianos and violins filled the room, and glanced over at the table. It was his turn to supply the dessert, and Sam had recommended Colette's Cake in the village, so he'd brought a chocolate mousse cake that matched the music choice. He was curious to see what Charles was bringing for lunch this time. It was always a gamble if the desert and lunch matched in any way, both men had diverse tastes.

There was a knock at the door and just the barest brush of Charles' mind against Leo's. I see you've called a ceasefire? came the slightly amused thought.

Leo laughed as he walked to the door, replying out loud as he opened it, "I do try to be considerate. Sometimes. Besides, I'm convinced I will find a rap artist you'll like. Eventually."

"Hope is an admirable thing, even in the face of the impossible," came the reply as Charles wheeled himself in, a covered basket on his lap. "Good afternoon, Leo. I hope your morning has been relatively calm?"

Making no attempt to hide his grin, Leo walked back to sit down in his favorite chair. "Relatively calm. A bit of a difficult session with Leong Manh this morning, but otherwise my most difficult client this week is at the clinic."

He peered over, curious to see the contents of the basket.

Reaching the table, Charles lifted the basket onto the table and removed the napkin covering it. "It is a most welcome change, the current spate of calm, although I will not risk invoking trouble by hoping it remains so." There was a tinge of wry regret in his voice - as much as Charles tried to provide a safe haven for his students, he was all too aware it was sometimes a nebulous thing, at best. "I felt nostalgic today and made a call to a Tibetan restaurant in the city. We have chicken and lamb momos, which are a type of dumpling, and thenthuk, a noodle and vegetable soup which I thought appropriate given winter is still clinging to us." He was also well aware of Leo's personal issues with the season.

Leo grinned happily and began helping himself to the food. "I haven't had Tibetan in ages, Charles, this is wonderful." He scooped out a generous helping of the soup into one of the bowls that had been provided and leaned back, smelling the rich aroma with contentment. "I've definitely been in the mood for soup recently--well, you know my dislike for this season," he glanced out at the rather drizzly day, "hot soup is always a good cure."

He pointed over to the table where the cake sat. "And I brought chocolate cake for dessert." He grinned again, "To match the music."

That got a chuckle, as the name of the band was not hard to 'see' on the surface of Leo's thoughts. "I must compliment on both the music and the dessert," he said, gathering his own meal. "One can never go wrong with chocolate."

"Absolutely," Leo agreed. He took a sip of the soup and closed his eyes for a moment to savor the flavor.

The two men sat quietly for a moment, listening to the music and enjoying the food. Leo took another sip of the soup and grinned at an especially strong bit of daikon. "So, how are you, Charles? And how is life in the madhouse--albeit a moderately calm madhouse at the moment--any student issues I should be aware of? Or more importantly," Leo continued with mischievous grin, "any good gossip?"

"Our two latest students seem to be settling in well. After the initial distraction - it seems Julian's presence caused something of a rush of hormones in the female students." Charles' expression was wry and amused. "The New Mutants program seems to be successful - the students are much more of a cohesive group than they were before. Of course, there are still problems - Karolina is still unhappy to be here and does not seem to have made many friends within the school."

"Yes, I did notice some, ah, incidents after Mr. Keller's arrival," Leo responded dryly. "But I'm afraid there exists no cure as of yet for that particular aspect of adolescence. Though one of my colleagues has had some success in working on building better relationships between high school girls at Salem Center High--using the 'Mean Girls' movie."

He speared another momo and continued, "And I definitely have noticed the increase in unity and also self-esteem with the New Mutants students--Yvette, in particular," and Leo smiled, making no attempt to hide the fondness in his voice. He was quite proud of the strides the young girl had been making.

"Karolina, though," he sighed. "I think David and I need to have another strategy session, perhaps with Jan as well. Our current approaches seem to be less than successful."

"Her parents are aware of the problem, but they are adamant that she remain here." Charles sipped at his soup meditatively. "Another group discussion might prove fruitful - do let me know if I can be of assistance." After eating in silence for a few moments, he continued. "And the clinic? How are things going there?"

"I will--I need to get together with David to discuss a few other cases, we'll put our heads together and see what we can come up with."

"Hmm, the clinic," Leo cocked his head thoughtfully. "Let's see...Tamika has finally perfected her Ninja Turtle balloon, and her newest project is to make a balloon Transformer--Optimus Prime, I think. Paul and I are almost finished with that article on the use of anti-depressants for mutants, and we've already had a few queries from interested journals. Dante is planning another ropes course challenge for the spring, and would be thrilled to have another group from the mansion...hmm...Jasmine is working with a high school in the Bronx on developing a Mutant-Human Student Alliance...." Leo sighed, "And I have one very unhappy eight year old whose mutation has just manifested publicly and outed her at school."

"Not in a way that endangered anyone, I hope?" Charles asked, looking concerned.

"No serious injuries, no," Leo replied. "She's had a minor blue aura since birth, and has learned how to control its visibility, but recently she's begun emitting a low-grade electrical field that shocks any organic matter she comes in contact with--including her mother. As you can imagine, it's not been a particularly pleasant experience."

"Especially for one so young to have to be careful about contact." Charles stirred his soup idly with his spoon for a moment, thinking. "Perhaps it might help if she and her mother were able to talk to someone with a similar experience? Someone who has learned to cope, more or less, with the idea that if she touches someone she injures them?"

Leo blinked, and then nodded thoughtfully, "Hmm. Someone like Yvette?" He considered the idea for a moment, and then nodded again. "Yes...you know, Charles, that's an excellent suggestion. It really might be helpful--possibly for both of them. Do you think Yvette might be agreeable?"

Charles smiled - exactly what he had been thinking. "You said yourself that she has gained much in confidence, and she likes to help. I think being able to help in a manner that uses her personality, rather than her powers, would be a good lesson for her." He took a bite of his momo and continued, telepathcially: Perhaps speak to her about it and see what her response is?

I will, Charles, and thank you, Leo responded in the same vein, and then continued aloud. "In other news, TJ, Sam & I are going to catch another showing of Rusalka at the Met--you know how much I adore Renee Fleming. Nina was planning to come, but she has to cover a shift at the Clinic. Do you think you might be able to join us?"

"I would very much like to join you. It's been far too long since I was last at the opera." Charles dipped his spoon into the soup again. "I remember seeing Ms. Fleming perform several years ago, it must be now..."