Lil and Jean-Paul, Nathan and Jean-Paul - backdated to Thursday

[x-cynosure.livejournal.com]

Lil tracks down Jean-Paul after his first therapy session and offers to take him out to eat. And to prom.



What Jean-Paul wanted was to be stretched out and lazy on his comfortable -- and recently rescued -- couch and just not think. What he needed to do was mark the pop quizzes he'd given that day. In the end, he'd compromised, flopping down on the couch with a stack of papers while using a collection of the much-despised Hawthorne's work as a hard surface to write on. No great loss if the ink bled through there.

As he relaxed, a loud knock beat through the quiet of the speedster's suite, followed by the sound of another Canadian's voice. "Jean-Paul? You in there? It's Lil," the giantess called, as if he wouldn't recognize her voice or the strength with which his door was struck.

"The door is unlocked," Jean-Paul called back, rolling onto his side. People were decent distractions as well. He'd promised himself that he wasn't going right to Nathan. At least not until the Elpis office had closed for the day.

The smile she'd worn to greet him faded slightly when she spied the book in his hands, her nose wrinkling automatically in distaste. Literature and homework. Two things Lil did not miss in her life. "You alright?" the blonde asked, looking down at him where he sprawled on the furniture, hands tucked in the pockets of the denim skirt she'd finally pulled out of her closet. "Feel like catching dinner or something?"

"Not especially. I had my first session today and I am trying not to think about it until I have calmed down a bit." All the same, he sat up, making room on the couch. "Can I take a rain check?"

Lil's shoulder rose and fell before she plopped down in a nearby chair, making herself comfortable as she crossed her legs. "Sure. I'll make you take me out another night." A weak grin and she canted her head to the side, causing the blonde curls to cascade down her arm. "Guess you don't wanna talk about it, eh?"

"Not so much. I have spent too much of today talking about it. Or me, rather." He half-smirked. "Who would have thought I would ever consider that a negative?"

"Doesn't seem possible. Should call Hell and make sure their heater's still working," the giantess suggested, getting more comfortable by kicking off her flip flops. Lil's eyes glittered with sympathy. "You want me to go out and get food, booze and films to bring back here?"

"Curious as to why you showed up at my door, actually." Jean-Paul stretched out, reclaiming the couch again. "I did not think the usual array of dark clouds had gathered in my wake as of yet."

"Just your lucky day. I was bored, figured I would stop by and see if I could score some food off you instead of having to fend for myself." It was... wrong the way he didn't seem like himself. And much to her surprise, Lil wanted to remedy that. "Come on. Let's go have a couple of drinks. You don't wanna go to Harry's, I have some bottles in my room."

"You have no idea how appealing that sounds right now." Jean-Paul ran his fingers back through his hair, the motion quick and restless. "I really should not. Drinking on an empty stomach would not be a good thing. So...an early dinner, then. Let us do that."

Lil's laugh was giddy and childish as she jumped out of the chair and bounced over the couch, extending her hands from him to take. It was all how you phrased the request that got you the end results you wanted. "You cooking or am I - mean, I'm putting you on the back of Mist where you'll be forced to hold onto my waist until we find a restaurant."

"Oh, Lillian." Jean-Paul sighed in mock-frustration and shook his head. "How many times do I have to compliment your derrière before you understand that I am not afraid of your girl cooties?"

"Is that so?" Cocking her eye brow in challenge, Lil dropped her hands and proceeded to climb onto the couch, pinning him beneath her as she straddled his chest with an impish grin. "Still so brave, monsieur?" came the amused chuckle.

"Oh dear. I am trapped between the couch and a hard place without the proper leverage to struggle free and dive into a vat of sanitizer. Whatever shall I do?" Even as he spoke, the pair of them began rising up from the cushions in a controlled hover.

The giantess gave a little squeak of surprise and clung to him. "Jean-Paul," she scolded with a smile. "Not quite the way I've dreamed about a man sweeping me off my feet but beggars can't be choosers, eh?"

"Not in the least." Jean-Paul flipped over in mid-air, reversing their positions, and then let gravity take over, dropping them both back onto the furniture...which responded to the abuse with a muffled crack. "...merde. That was not you, was it?"

Lil's eyes went wide as the looked up at him and she shook her head quickly. "No." This couldn't be good.

Jean-Paul sighed. "Well...I can always donate it to the flier's platform and use my generosity as an excuse to buy something new."

The blonde bit her bottom lip, face growing apologetic as she shifted under him. "I'm sorry?" Lil offered with a wrinkle of her nose. Come to drag a man to dinner and end up breaking his couch. She felt like she was back in high school.

"I think there is blame to go around in this. Mostly centered on the one who decided it was a good idea to drop..." No, better not guess at pounds; Lil still had excellent access to important parts. "...two grown gym-freaks onto the couch from height."

Her anxiety faded slightly, replaced by amusement. "Nice save, Slim," Lil laughed, poking him in the side. "So, are you gonna get off me or is there something you wanna tell me first?"

"We are going to eat at Casa Azul and I expect help carrying the replacement up all of those stairs. That is all." Jean-Paul dismounted. "'Mist', hm? Suiting. Who picked it out?"

"Wanda," Lil admitted, sliding off the couch to collect her shoes and slip them back on. She flipped her hair over her shoulder and smirked at him. "It's depressing that you're the only man to pin me to their couch in the last three months," Lil chuckled dryly.

"Tragic," Jean-Paul said with a smirk, "being that I am such a pathetic example of the masculine aesthetic."

Rolling her eyes, she jerked her head to the door. "We gonna go get food or what?" she asked, planting both hands on her hips and grinning at him. The couch seemed to have break the ice that had gathered and she was feeling much better about dragging him out. "And what are all the kids jabbering about lately? Prom or something?"

"They have less than a month to plan a formal dance." Jean-Paul grabbed his leather jacket and his wallet. "This is on top of finals. They have reason to be excited."

"Yeah, yeah," Lil waved him off. "I remember all the excitement about Grad. You get roped into chaperoning or anything?"

"I volunteered. It is not as if I had any other offers for the night. And I am curious. I am used to parties on a larger scale."

The blonde chuckled as she wrapped her arms around him, forcing the speedster to escort her. "So the kids all get dressed up and dance with their dates. You getting dressed up and bringing someone along?"

"Dress up, yes. I did not think that the escorts were required to bring escorts, however."

"Did I say required?" Lil asked, poking him in the side again. "I asked if you were. I'm sure you could someone along. If you wanted. All dressed up." She finished by popping the last syllable, the impish grin growing once more until it touched her eyes. "And you should. Me."

"Hmm." Jean-Paul pretended to consider. "Well, I am not a cheap date, I will have you know. I expect to compensated."

One golden brow rose. "I am not putting out."

"Oh, please. Do not forget who you are talking to. If I am to confuse myself by taking you along as my date, however, I need you to learn some basic hairdressing techniques."

Her expression shifted to confusion, one hand lifting to brush along the back of his neck then up over his scalp. "You're not serious about needing my help to do your hair."

"No, but I can think of one student who might not mind the aid of a pair of strong, invulnerable hands when it comes to getting her hair to behave. Give Yvette a hand on prom night, and I am yours for that evening."

Lil stopped, regarding him openly before her smile slid into a cheshire cat grin. "Sweetie, you just made yourself one dangerous deal."

"I think I will live." Lil, at least, seemed well distracted from the subject of his therapy session, and that was all for the good. He could keep that up for the evening.

Later, Jean-Paul and Nate meet up at Harry's and Jean-Paul vents.



"I think we could have done far worse this week than provide the mansion's entertainment," Nathan said, picking up his beer and sipping at it to hide his grin. "I mean, not the most purely productive exercise in the world, but a whole lot of fun." He deliberately was not broaching the issue of Jean-Paul's session with Jack Leary today; the purpose of the Harry's trip was to get him to relax.

"Ridiculous, but fun," Jean-Paul agreed, smirking into his own mug. "Even if it does mean we will be scraping paint tomorrow. It will not take so long to do the house, but the windows will not appreciate being cleared at speed."

"Moira is leaving Rachel home with me this coming week. Apparently I need the reminder to act like a responsible adult," Nathan said, with a martyred sigh that did nothing to hide the happy gleam in his gray eyes. "I bet you she would have found our shenanigans hysterically funny."

"She would have appreciated my window treatments," Jean-Paul agreed, leaning back against the booth. "In keeping with the theme of indulging in our second childhoods, I have a date for prom." He managed to keep a perfectly straight face as he said this.

Nathan raised an eyebrow. "Oh-ho?" he said. "Dare I even ask?"

"Lilian asked me and I accepted. For a reasonable fee, naturally."

Nathan snorted, setting his glass down. "I'm sure you'll make a perfectly presentable couple," he said. "Canadian solidarity, huh?"

"It seemed fitting." Jean-Paul reached for the beer pitcher. "Neither of us ever went to a school dance. I was too busy qualifying to waste time on that sort of thing."

"School dances... I missed those too," Nathan said. "Oddly, it's not something that troubles me overmuch... I'm sure you and Lil will have a good time, though. Maybe a social outing with a non-threatening male will get her to unbend a little."

"You think Lil is not relaxed enough? Which party were you at, Dayspring, and who was the doppleganger at mine?"

"I think she goes from one extreme to the other sometimes," Nathan said, then waved a hand. "She strikes me that way, anyway," he said, throwing in the obligatory disclaimer. "It's been odd, being off from the team as long as I have. Now that I'm back, I have a new perspective on the dynamics."

"Oh?" Jean-Paul's tone was light, his interest oddly intense. "Enlighten me."

Nathan shrugged, but put some thought into his answer before he spoke again. "I think I may finally be moving away from unconsciously applying pack-dynamic-theory to the world around me," he said. "Which is healthy, according to Jack-" He'd had his own session last week. "-but a little unsettling. Especially in the context of the team, where our survival and/or success sometimes depends on us working with a common goal and respect for our internal hierarchy."

Jean-Paul made a non-committal noise and stared at his drink for a few moments before putting it down. "But healthy in its own way, non? If you do not have to be the alpha, that leaves room to trust another's decisions."

Says the control freak, Nathan thought privately, if not unkindly. "Fortunately I tend to take orders well," he said, the hint of a twinkle in his eye. "Solves the problem, at least in my personal context."

"I am glad you are making headway. Would you like to go to my next session for me? Apparently, I have trust issues. You can imagine how shocked I was to hear this." Jean-Paul sipped his drink. "I am glad you declined to set me up with this person way back when. Nothing good could have happened."

This patience thing was really a great tactic, Nathan reflected. If you left a topic alone for long enough and babbled, it would come up by itself! "Ah," he said wisely, "but what kind of trust issues do you have, that's the kicker..."

"All of them." Oh, yes, someone was sulking.

"I don't think that's true," Nathan said, almost thoughtfully. "If a mustache-twirling maniac kidnapped you and tied you to a railway track, you'd trust me to rescue you, right?" He gazed at Jean-Paul with all evidence of sincerity.

"Oh, oui. Because I still have to scrape the tartan from your house and owe you a weekend of baby-sitting."

I bet you're all kinds of fun for Jack, Nathan thought wryly. "Leaving aside my self-interested motivations for rescuing you from maniacs," he said, "I notice you're not swearing never to darken Jack's doorstep again."

"Because I am just self-aware enough to know that I am forty kinds of fucked up on my good days, Nathan. That is fine when it is just me. It is not so good when it is me and four classes of students that I am responsible for. Not to mention sundry hangers-on who might need me to be a functional human being occasionally. Throw on the business with St. Ives..." Jean-Paul's beer must have been fascinating to hold his attention so. "If this does not work, I have lost nothing but time. If it helps, then so much the better."

"This is not me being trite," Nathan said after a moment. "But that's a good reason to start this... process, I suppose you'd call it. But if you're going to stick it out for the long haul, you need to eventually start to consider more 'selfish' motivations."

"I am good at selfish. But in case like this, it will boil down to 'I do not want to be here, so I am leaving' if I go in thinking it is for me." He looked up, then shrugged. "Maybe I will manage to sneak up on myself."

"Just... take it for what it is, when you're in there," Nathan said. "Conversation by conversation. And it really does help, by the way, to think of them as conversations instead of sessions."

"Interviews, more like it. But I will give it a shot. May as well relax and try to enjoy it."

"Lay back and think of England, huh?"

"Montreal, you heathen. But the same principle, yes."