Log: Lil, Jake and Wanda

[x-diamondlil.livejournal.com]

Lil heads to the Brownstone to show Wanda her bike and finally meets Jake.


She now understood what every parent went through the first time they left their child alone. Sure, Lil had left her baby by itself overnight but the mansion's garage was vastly different from the streets of New York. Casting a glare at a kid hanging around the corner to put the Fear of God into him, the giantess made her way into the Brownstone and to Wanda's door, muttering to herself that if the teen so much as looked at the bike wrong, she was going to make herself a purse out of his skin. It wasn't late in the day and a little afternoon drink wouldn't hurt anything except maybe her wallet seeing as she would be paying for the other woman's drinks until the taller woman was either deported or reached her goal. Lil lifted a fist and knocked on Wanda's door while casting a glance over her shoulder to ensure a certain ex-cop wasn't about.

Jake was just putting a final round of paprika on his sandwich when he heard the knock at the door. He certainly wasn't expecting anyone; maybe Wanda had ordered a package? He scooped up the sandwich, squishing it a bit to keep it together, and opened the door.

Only to find himself face to face with a very nice set of--Look up, Gavin. Best to figure out who those belonged to before he decided to get himself into trouble. He had to resist the urge to make himself taller--the stranger had three quarters of a foot on him in his current state. "Can I help you?"

Lil couldn't help but quirk an eyebrow at the man who appeared at Wanda's door. A quick check confirmed she had indeed knocked on the right one but it still didn't explain him. Stuffing her hands in the pockets of her leather jacket, the Amazon continued to frown her confused little pout. "I'm looking for Wanda," she said, more question than statement. "This is her place, eh? I've only been here once so if it's not I'm sorry."

He waved a hand, which meant waving the sandwich, as if to shoo away her apology. "This is Wanda's," he said. "I'm crashing with her for a little bit." He took a contemplative bite of his sandwich, looking her over as he chewed. She looked familiar, now that he was over the shock of her height. "Leather pants, right?"

A touch of color came to her cheeks, not sure if he was referring to the drunken post she'd made asking the whereabouts of her pants or the pictures of her and Jean-Paul doing body shots sans said article of clothing. "Um. Yeah. Prefer to be called 'Lil,'" the blonde said with a small smile. Dressed in the jacket, a pair of dark jeans and green tube top, she looked as casual as always with long blonde hair spilling freely over her shoulders. "Dunno who you are though." Obviously someone from the journals but she wasn't able to place a name to the handsome face. God, she was slipping.

"Ah. You're the one Wanda took to her bike guy." It was a statement, not a question. He shifted the sandwich into his left hand, then stuck out his right. "Jake Gavin. Sorry. I lose all of my manners when there's food involved." He held up the sandwich in apology.

"I'm the same way," she assured him as she took his hand in her own for a shake. "Lillian Crawley-Jeffries, but like I said, prefer Lil. I've got the bike outside; kinda the reason I stopped by." Show Wanda the finished product and grab a celebratory drink though finding Jake instead wasn't all that horrible, she'd admit. "I can stop by later if she ain't here. Just wanted to show off the wheels."

He shrugged in reply. "Don't know where Wanda is, but you're welcome to wait around if you'd like. I wouldn't want your trip into town to be in vain--not," he added with a smile, "that I think you're sad about the chance to spend some quality time with your new ride." He stepped back and held the door open for her to enter, if she wanted. "Sandwich?"

Lil's mouth moved silently for a moment, no words coming. Should she? There was little evidence that Wanda would be back soon but on the other hand, there was Jake. And food. "Um. Sure. I can stay for a bit. There was some punk out front, eying my bike for parts I think but I don't think he's stupid enough to try anything." At least, Lil hoped not.

Stepping into the apartment, she peeled off her leather jacket to reveal biceps still in the process of being finely cut but there was enough definition to her arms and stomach to make something think twice - or three times - about taking on the giantess. "And a sandwich sounds good. If you left anything, that is," Lil added with a smirk, motioning to the size of his meal.

"I buy in bulk," he replied with a smile, leading the way to the kitchen. An assortment of meats and cheeses to rival any deli, plus a fairly random assortment of condiments and greenery, were spread out on the counter, along with a loaf of bread that hadn't found its way back into the bag yet. "Help yourself," Jake told the Amazon. He leaned against the counter casually, continuing to eat his sandwich. "So are you one of the many inhabitants of the mansion?"

Lil nodded, perusing the offerings. "Yeah. Powers and team training. Kinda an exchange student from up North, you could say," she told Jake as she pulled out three pieces of bread and started stacking a double sandwich. "You're with Snow Valley then if you're hanging around here... or just a friend of Wanda's?" the blonde asked, trying to keep as much emphasis off
the word 'friend' as possible. What - or who - Wanda did was no business of hers.

"Both," he replied through a mouthful of food, swallowing before he continued. "Wanda and I were roommates at the mansion the last time I lived there. She's very good at putting up with me," he smirked, "even when I staple her laundry to the fire escape. So I've been borrowing her couch." He tilted his head, regarding her curiously. "What exchange program?"

"Flight Program up in Canada. Was part of Beta and looking to join Alpha when it relaunches," Lil told him, slathering the bread with mustard. "Need extra help first, thus exchange." At least, that was it in a nutshell. A few minor, missing details wouldn't hurt either of them. "Wanda seems to be good at putting up with people," Lil laughed. "And for being generous with them."

"That she is," he said thoughtfully, as if it had just occurred to him. He finished off his sandwich. "Flight Program? That's the Hudsons, right?"

The blonde nodded again. Lettuce and cheese and she'd completed the doubledecker sandwich then took a bite. "Mac and Heather, yeah," she confirmed. "They um suggested I come down to the mansion for the help I needed."

"It's a good place for that," the shapeshifter said. "That's how I ended up there. Got stuck as a girl," he offered by way of explanation.

"Got stuck - what?" Lil asked, her brow drawing together again in confusion. "You got stuck as a girl?"

Jake smiled sheepishly, busying himself with putting away the sandwich makings now that Lil was done with them. "Yeah. After the Big Headachey-Thing."

"Oh," the Amazon said plainly just before stuffing her face full of sandwich. Lil chewed at she thought, a frown stuff tugging at the corners of her mouth. "So, you can change genders now when you feel like it or you stuck as a guy?"

"Always could, even when I was stuck as a girl--it was just my default state," his voice came from the fridge. "Got a headache if I stayed out of it too long." He paused, then leaned back to look at her. "Oh. Right. I'm a shapeshifter," he explained.

"I figured," Lil laughed, wrinkling her nose in amusement. Taking another bite of her sandwich, the blonde head jerked towards her arm. "Brick, or so I've been told the name is. Invulnerable to pretty much anything including fire and ice. Enhanced strength. First line of offense and defense. So, can you just change genders or like full features?" she asked, not particularly caring if she was crossing some delicate line or not while devouring her second lunch of the day.

Ooh, there was still some cake left. Jake rummaged around in a drawer for a fork, then started eating it straight out of the box. "Pretty much whatever I want," he answered. "My mutation works on a cellular level."

An impish smirk crossed her lips while green eyes took a long look up and down the shapeshifter's frame. "Whatever you want, huh?" Lil chuckled. That was interesting. Her tongue swiped over her lips, catching a taste of mustard before she went back for another bite.

He gave her a decidedly wicked grin in reply. "Yep. Makes me fun at parties." He licked the frosting from his fork. "How's the bike?"

"No doubt," Lil returned, ignoring the surge through her veins. She was there to see Wanda, not ogle the house guests and get lost in thoughts concerning his so called party tricks. "The bike's great; lots of custom work so it's everything I coulda ever wanted. She got me one hell of a payment plan to boot. Wanted to take her out for drink as a thanks."

Jake nodded at that and set the cake down long enough to pull out his cell phone. "Hey," he said after a moment. "I'm standing in our kitchen with an extremely statuesque blonde biker chick who seems to feel like she owes you a drink and who, if memory serves, does a mean body shot. Where should we meet you?"

There was a pause over the phone. "You do realize that I am, still, in the study, yes?" Wanda's voice said over the line with a faint echo coming from behind the closed, and locked, door. "In other words, you can meet me in the living room and I promise not to make the scary voice at you this time if you want to come into the study."

Jake rolled his eyes and gave Lil a long-suffering look. "You haven't come out of there since Sunday, have you? Get your coat on, woman, or I'll send the impervious Amazon in after you."


A short time later, the trio head out to the bar for a little fun and a lot of laughs.


"That," Wanda commented as she reseated herself next to Jake, "is a masterpiece." After orders had been placed, they had run out to go ooh and aahh at the motorcycle. "Henri out did himself. I bet the sly dog had most of everything ready to go in case I broke mine. We shall have to go sing his praises soon or else he'll get pouty that no one understands his genius."

"Already sent him a couple bottles as thanks," Lil admitted, picking up her own tumbler of whiskey and taking a large sip then smiling over the rim at the pair. "Helps to work at a bar, I just bought stuff off Harry and shipped it over. Wasn't sure what he liked but I hit all the basics. Still, probably wouldn't hurt to thank him face-to-face," she added.

Jake smirked at the two women as they returned from their oohing and aahhing. He'd gotten more than enough of a look at Lil's bike from the back of Wanda's as they'd cut in and out of traffic, and had opted to guard the alcohol while the pair went outside. "Are you two going to get into a catfight over whose bike is better? Because if so, I need a few minutes to sell tickets."

Wanda prodded him in the shoulder. "No, because they are equally special in their own way," she said, as if reciting. "Consider them Henri's children; to play favorites is blasphemy." She was sticking with beer that night, the darker and heavier the better. "Though I can tell Lil is very pleased with everything. Have you tried to bring it into bed with you yet?"

The blonde snorted, shaking her head. "No. But if I start finding scratches on it, you can damn well bet I'm finding somewhere better than the garage to store it." Green eyes continued to study the pair, watching them in true amusement. A dangerous duo, certainly. But one hell of a lot of fun so far. "Mine still needs a name though. Nameless kids get their asses kicked on the playground."

"Gertrude," Jake suggested, squirming when Wanda poked him in the ribs. "Hey! Don't ask me, I'm crap at naming things." He took a sip of his Guinness. "Besides, I'm pretty sure your bike could handle any schoolyard crotch rockets that tried to bully her, name or no."

Lil's nose wrinkled in distaste. "I should beat you up for that name," she told the shapeshifter, pointing a finger wrapped around her whiskey at him. "She needs something strong but fun. Not fucking Gertrude," the Amazon growled then stared into her drink. "Gertrude is the name for a librarian. Or a bird."

Wanda tilted her head thoughtfully and took in Lil with a look. "I saw how well she drove," she commented, rubbing her chin. "Almost as if you were flying through traffic. And since you certainly look the part - I say we dub your new steed 'Mist', after the Valkyrie in the Grímnismál poem."

It was fitting and one of the few easily pronounced names from those poems.

"Mist," the Canadian repeated, tasting the word. It was much easier than Grimiwhatever and had a damn fine reason behind it. Lil beamed at the dark-haired pair. "I like it."

Jake eyed the blonde across the table. She would almost certainly kill him, or at least hurt him a lot, if he made a Canadian Mist reference. "To your new mount," he said instead, raising his glass. "May she carry you far."

Lil offered Jake a delighted grin and raised her own glass to clink against his. "Not too far, though," she added. "This one here's IOU chip is only good for as long as I stay in New York. I leave and she's back to buying her own drinks."

"I do have to say that is quite the shame," Wanda laughed. "I had been fully prepared to gloat about the free drinks in Canada to Garrison. But I suppose I shall have to restrict myself to New York only and conspire to keep you here." She tilted her head towards Jake. "See? People simply cannot seem to stay away."

"Because they're afraid you'll hunt them down if they try," he teased. "You have to watch out for this one," he said to Lil, tilting his pint towards Wanda. "Once she decides she's keeping you, there's no arguing. You may have just entered into a lifetime of buying her drinks."

"Make a deal with you," Lil said to the brunette woman, tipping her drink in Wanda's direction. "You left me go home in a few months to join Alpha and I'll extend my end of things to cover any trips up North that you make so you can still tease Gar. May toss in a couple of rounds for your shadow, too," she bargained, nodding at Jake. Another person on her side would be a good thing. She hoped.

Wanda pretended to think it over before lightly tapping her beer against Lil's whiskey. "I approve of this plan," she said regally. "And I believe my shadow will, too. Though if you throw in some cake on top of the free booze, he just might be your best friend for life. He keeps me around for my good looks, my access to drink and my knowledge of the best bakeries in town."

"And your scintillating wit, of course," he smirked. "Although I'll have you know," he pointed at Lil, "that I can't be bought with just any cake--none of this grocery store crap with the chemical icing. If I'm letting you buy my loyalties, you'd best do it right." He grinned at her, settling back in his seat with one arm slung along the back of the booth behind Wanda.

Lil's attention slid to the shapeshifter. "Oh really? And why should I buy your loyalties? Wanda got me a bike," she pointed out, still smirking in amusement. "Unless you're coming back to Canada with me in a few months, I don't need another platonic relationship with a man. That's what I got Jean-Paul for."

A sly look crossed Jake's face right before an arm snaked around his neck and yanked him down. Sitting directly next to him made the headlock a little awkward and Wanda had to shift so that Jake wasn't either slammed against the table or suffocated against her chest. She smiled at Lil as if nothing unusual had happened. "A few months, hmm? Well, I suppose it is better than nothing - we shall have to make the most of your being here."

"Few months at least," Lil confirmed, amused by the little bit of Jake's smile she'd seen before Wanda had caught him. "Alpha's gonna relaunch this year and assuming my time here's done what it's supposed to, I'll be moving home. 'Course, I can always fail and then open up my own bar and problem solved." The last bit held a slightly less fun tone in her voice and the giantess knocked on the table to ward off any jinxes she'd brought on herself.

"That doesn't sound so bad," Jake's voice came out muffled from where Wanda held him down. He squirmed suddenly, ignoring Wanda's protests as he wriggled free from her grasp. He emerged flushed and triumphant, his hair mussed and sticking up every which way. "You can also add double jointed to your list of reasons to keep me around," he said to Lil with a grin, reclaiming his beer and taking a long drink.

Green eyes flashed before the Canadian tossed back the rest of her whiskey then leaned toward the shapeshifter a bit more, sizing him up. "Double jointed, huh? How's your endurance?" she teased, her tongue peeking out between her teeth.

"It's--hey--I--AAH--" Jake actually giggled as Wanda attacked him, zeroing in on the most ticklish spots on his ribs. He set his beer down with a thump, barely managing to not spill it, before attempting to fend her off. It didn't go well, and he ended up in a headlock again, this time with his face pressed against Wanda. "Mmmmmphmm-mmmmph."

"No one ever asks how my endurance is," Wanda said mournfully, obviously lying. She gave a slight shriek and shook the arm wrapped around Jake. "If you try and bite me one more time, Gavin, I will not be responsible for what I will be forced to do." It took some effort on her part but she grabbed her drink and managed to actually have some without dripping anything on the back of Jake's head.

Lil's laugh was amused and sincere as she leaned back in her chair, watching the duo's antics openly and with no shame. Catching the eye of the waitress, she nodded and motioned for another round of drinks then turned another smile on Wanda and Jake. "Sorry, Wanda, you're plenty hot but got a little too much going on up top for my tastes," Lil told her, crossing her arms over her chest.

Jake wriggled around so that he was face up, at least, managing to squish himself between the wall and Wanda in a way that would have been horribly uncomfortable were he anyone else. "We could sell tickets," he offered again, this time with an utterly shameless grin.

"Well, I suppose that is one way to earn more money. After all, I believe we would have a number of buyers. And it could be a three person act." Wanda released some of the pressure, but not all of it, when she reached forward to take the drink from the waitress. And she was also grinning quite broadly, some of the stress from overworking herself again slowly leaving her muscles as she flirted. She might be as interested in the same sex as Lil was but flirting was like breathing sometimes.

"It would take more booze than I have money for to get me into bed with the both of you," Lil teased back, keeping her pose plus her refreshed tumbler. Not that she wasn't enjoying the game, but there were still... circumstances she'd rather avoid talking about if it could be helped. "Two of you make a pretty pair though and from what I've heard, female domination is a hot market. Add to that your double-jointedness..." Lil trailed off as she took a sip, still smiling at them.

It was one thing to catch the slight change, which Wanda did, and quite another to blatantly point it out, which she didn't. Instead, she let up on the death grip around Jake's neck so that he was simply cuddled against her shoulder. "We are so very, very pretty," she agreed simply, stretching out her legs. "And since half the world saw my lingerie collection, well, they know they won't be disappointed."

"So very pretty," Jake agreed happily, although it was hard to tell whether he was talking about he and Wanda or about her underwear. He reached for his beer, draining it while he still had the chance. He craned his neck so that he could look at Lil. "I think you should stick around. Ooh, beer," he said, eyes lighting up as he realized that he had a fresh pint waiting for him.

Lil lifted one shoulder and then let it fall casually. "Am. For awhile, at least. Still got alotta work to do." She flexed the arm not holding her whiskey, showing off the cuts of her bicep. "No where near the shape I used to be in and I gotta be ahead of where I was when I left if I wanna make Alpha." Had to be stronger. Faster. Better. "Getting there but five months at the mansion doesn't fix three years of sitting around."

Wanda admired the muscles not with sexually charged interest, but one of a fellow gym rat. "If that is you now, then you in several months will be interesting. There is nothing wrong with adding to perfection, I suppose." She grinned and shrugged. "God only knows I have been trying to do the same for years."

Jake snorted and rolled his eyes. "Neither of you is going to listen to me if I try to convince you that there are more interesting things to do than sitting around in a gym all day, so I won't try. But I think you're both--" and he somehow managed to poke Wanda in the ribs, despite his awkward position-- "just fine the way you are."

"Nothing to do with perfection or vanity and everything to do with powers," Lil replied, taking a long draw of the whiskey. It would be her last; no use destroying the bike on her way home because she'd had too much to drink. "But thanks for the encouragement."

Laughing, Wanda kissed Jake on the forehead and finally let him go. "See? There's a reason I keep him around." She raised her glass in a toast. "Here is to perfection, friends and beautiful bikes. May none of those ever cease."