Log: Lil and Peter Lakatos

[x-diamondlil.livejournal.com]

Lil meets the mansion's newest guest and the two discuss the upcoming mission.


Stifling a yawn, Peter Lakatos sat down on the porch steps and sipped at his coffee, gazing out at the grounds of the Xavier Institute and wondering why he wasn't more eager to get back home to Budapest. Did he really have that much faith in the intelligence, that the attack wouldn't come for several days yet? Or are you just getting overconfident because you haven't had any visions? He sometimes wondered if he relied too heavily on those flashes, and whether that would come back to bite him when his country's still-unnamed team was operational. Something to think on, he supposed.

Heading out for a morning smoke, dressed in a sports bra and bike shorts for the following run she'd planned, Lil was surprised to find the mansion's latest guest taking in the scenery. "Don't mind if I light up, do you?" the tall blonde asked with a small smile, lifting her cigarette. True, it was the designated area but she also didn't want to interrupt him if he was looking for a little peace and quiet. Living at Xavier's had shown her just how rare and precious such a thing could be.

Lakatos offered her a quick smile, waving his free hand. "Don't worry about me," he said. "I'm safely downwind. Lil, wasn't it?" The very, very tall blonde from the briefing the night before. Canadian, he thought Scott had said.

"Most people are," she chuckled, tossing the long blonde ponytail over her shoulder before lighting the cigarette and taking a long drag from it. Lil released it on a slow exhale as she nodded. "Yeah, Lil," she confirmed while extending her other hand towards him with a warmer smile. "Sorry I didn't get to hang around last night and introduce myself properly after the meeting but I had to get some last minute things ready for the prom tonight."

"Peter," he said, taking her hand and shaking it. Quite the grip. "I'd heard about the event today. A little surreal, no? A school dance, then off to fight terrorists the very next morning..."

"I'm told it's a way of life here," the giantess chuckled, ignoring the little thrill that jumped along her spine when he shook her hand. Long legs folded under themselves as she took a seat next to the Hungarian, green eyes bright and amused. "You should stop by for a little while. See the decorations and the kids enjoying themselves." And her in a very tight, very short little number.

Lakatos surprised himself with a laugh. "I may poke my head in. Professor Xavier pointed out that it made more sense to stay here, rather than head back to the embassy in New York. Since I'm flying back with you." He shook his head, sipping at his coffee again. "It will be nice to see your jet when I'm fully conscious."

Lil couldn't help but smile back before sucking in another long puff on her cigarette then flicking the ash onto the grass. "The Professor is a very smart man and there is more than enough room in the mansion, eh?" Her nose wrinkled playfully. "Being conscious helps especially if you're flying the thing," she agreed. "I kinda tend to sleep through most of the flights if there isn't anything for me to do."

"Sometimes the best thing to do." He sipped at his coffee again, and for a few moments they sat there quietly, neither of them moving to break the silence until Lakatos decided that yes, he would give in to curiosity. "Scott mentioned that you were Canadian," he said. "Here for training, before you went back north... we have something in common. Both would-be members of would-be teams."

She nodded, eyes moving from her hands to his face. He was certainly good looking; not bad to focus on at all. "Yeah. Only you've got a reservation and I'm still fighting for a spot. Ain't no guarantee I'm making Alpha Flight even after all this training. But," Lil sighed and lifted one bare shoulder in a casual shrug before dropping it again. "What happens, happens. All I can do now is work my ass off while kissing other people's. And even then I'll still be low man on the ladder; you're gonna be running the show."

"Which has its disadvantages, too," Lakatos pointed out wryly, but there was a look of completely non-condescending sympathy in his warm brown eyes. "The first time our would-be team is less than successful, I expect there will be many. But it's the risk we take, isn't it?" he asked, more lightly. "Any of us, wherever we do this kind of work. If it wasn't worth it, we wouldn't be so persistent."

Again the blonde head bobbed and she brought the cigarette back to her lips. "Very true. I wouldn't be here if I didn't want it. You, either," Lil added with a softer, understanding smile. "Here's hoping those less than successful missions are few and far between, eh?" Tossing him a wink, she offered him the carton of smokes she'd placed beside when she'd sat down.

He shook his head, but smiled - although the expression turned almost wistful as he looked away. "This one has to be successful," he said quietly. "These bastards have hit us once already. I don't care what we have to do to stop them, but they're not doing it again." He sighed, thumb tapping the coffee cup restlessly. "I lost a number of friends when they blew up the Mutant Affairs Ministry two years ago."

Frowning, the Amazon put the pack aside then reached out to cover her hand with his own, stopping the anxious tattoo. "We're not gonna let them do it again. We're gonna stop them, Peter. That's why you came here, to get help, and we're gonna help." Even if she was uncomfortable with it, even if the idea of so many psis in one place put her on edge, Lil would do what she could.

She got another one of those quick smiles, but the gratitude in it melted into curiosity as he set his coffee cup down and put his other hand over hers. "You have very warm hands," he said, sounding intrigued.

Lil blinked at the sudden change of topic and the corners of her mouth tugged upwards once more. "Side affect of my powers," she explained, leaving her hand in his grasp. "I have a bio-aura that surrounds my skin: makes me invulnerable but it's alotta energy bumping around that causes it." Lil put out her cigarette then lifted her fingers to trip along the back of his palm and up his forearm. "Keeps me from feeling most stuff, too, though. Can't feel temperature or most textures," came the near sigh.

"Most stuff?" Lakatos asked, not quite innocently. "That would be a shame..." There was a sudden twinkle in his eyes as he met hers.

"There are some things I can feel," Lil replied, trying to ignore the slight blush that came to her cheeks. Trailing her fingers up over his bicep, admiring the cut of muscle beneath his shirt, she smiled at him coyly. "Leather being one of them."

Both of Lakatos's eyebrows went up, and the smile grew and turned a little helpless as he looked away for a moment, back out at the grounds. "What's that saying in English - breaking one's brain? And then," he went on, the smile turning into a grin as he looked back at Lil, "I remember that I will get to see you in leather, sooner rather than later. Which only makes things worse."

Biting her lower lip, the rose flush on her cheeks grew. "Should I be apologizing for your brain going to places I didn't mean it to?" Lil asked with a little giggle, letting her hand fall back to her lap. "But yes, you will."

"Well, you realize, I wasn't complaining...." His tone was almost teasing. He gave a shrug and a self-conscious laugh. "If this is inappropriate, I apologize too. But it's early in the morning, and it's not every day that I have my morning coffee with an impossibly gorgeous blonde."

The gentle blush turned into a much brighter scarlet. "No apologies necessary then," Lil compromised with a little nod as her eyes dropped to where he was still holding her hand. "From either of us." Her fingers tightened around his, giving them a little squeeze. "And for the record? I'm very glad Charles convinced you to stay here instead of at the embassy," she admitted.