Shiro & Jake, backdated to Saturday

[x-sanfuaiyaa.livejournal.com]

Shiro goes to bid Jean-Paul farewell before his trip to Japan, but meets Jake instead. The green-eyed monster makes its appearance.


Normally, the beginning of summer ushered in a pleasant respite for Shiro. With no school to worry about, he could focus all his energies on the X-Men and his training. But this time even with university completed, he felt like he was running around to put out fires everywhere. He still didn't know what he was going to do with his now free life, he had a relationship to worry about, and his upcoming trip to Japan commanded most of his attention and time. He needed a respite from his respite, so halfway through packing he literally dropped what he was doing and anxiously walked over to Jean-Paul's suite and knocked on the door. Even just a few minutes with a friend would recharge him.

Unfortunately, the door opened to reveal not the speedster, but instead one of Shiro's least favorite people in the mansion right now. "Shiro! Hey!" Jake smiled, holding the door open for him to come in if he wanted. "What's up?"

Well, this was a surprise. "Ranma. Hello," Shiro said, not too frostily. His eyes narrowed at the sight of Gavin in what he presumed to be Jean-Paul's pajamas. "You look different when you are not inside a cake."

Jake smiled sheepishly, one hand coming up to rub absently at his mouth as if to rub the smile away. "I may never forgive Dayspring for that." He shook his head. "How are you?"

"Well, all things considered. And you?" That was almost an afterthought. Shiro tried to catch a glimpse of the room behind Jake, hoping to spot Jean-Paul, but not sure if stepping in would be wise despite the invitation.

Jake shrugged. "Not bad. Working. Being forced to jump from baked goods and take high schoolers to prom. Other than that, I can't really complain." He caught Shiro's glance. "Um. If you're looking for Jean-Paul, he's off doing some...teacher thing." Jake waved his hand absently. Truth be told, he hadn't been awake enough to figure out what the speedster had said when he left. It might have been something to do with his classes or students, or may simply have been tear down from the previous night's dance.

"Oh. You are here alone and do not know where he is?" That did not sound quite as sharp in Shiro's head, he reflected. "Will he return soon? I would like to speak with him."

"Basically?" Jake frowned, confused and a little defensive. "I didn't catch what he said when he left. You're welcome to come in and wait, or I can tell him you stopped by." Preferably the latter, Jake thought but didn't say.

Like that was a tough decision. "I think I will return later, hopefully not at an inopportune moment." Shiro almost turned to leave, but stopped. "You and Jean-Paul are really a couple."

Jake blinked, biting his lip. You jump out of one cake...He shook his head. "Not really?" He hadn't meant for it to come out so uncertain, but he wasn't sure what the proper response was. 'A couple' meant all sorts of things that he'd rather not consider, much less admit to.

Shiro was quite obviously taken aback by that, as he'd expected a rhetorical response. "Not really?" he repeated. "So, then, what are you?"

Jake squirmed visibly, jamming his hands into the pockets of his--well, Jean-Paul's--pajama pants. "Just...Not that. We're just...having a good time."

"O-oh." Any trace of enmity was gone from Shiro, replaced by utter bewilderment. He wiped his sweaty palms on his pants. "But you two . . . you jumped out of a cake for him."

Jake shrugged, still looking as though he were prepared to bolt past Shiro and down the hallway, if only a good opportunity presented itself. "Nathan made me?"

"But you do not wear their clothes or wait in their homes if you are just 'having a good time.'" Shiro scratched the back of his neck in confusion. "Do you?" he asked rhetorically.

At this point, Jake wasn't sure if what he was doing was a squirm or a shrug or both. "...Apparently I do?" he offered finally. He rubbed at his mouth again. "I didn't know there were rules about this sort of thing."

"I do not understand." Shiro frowned. Weren't there rules for relationships and intimacy? Why couldn't they just make sense? "I apologize. It is not right for me to question Jean-Paul."

"At least not by asking me," Jake said, still somewhat defensive. "It's not like I have any idea what he's thinking."

Shiro's frown slid back into his more familiar glower. He fought back to the urge to slug Gavin, though his clenched fist shook from the effort. "You should."

Jake rolled his eyes. Good job, Gavin. "That's not what I meant," he said, clearly exasperated. "Why does everyone think we just fuck and don't ever talk?" He shook his head. "I just meant that I can't read his mind. If you have questions for him, you'd be better served asking them of Jean-Paul, not me."

A voice in the back of Shiro's head, which he hoped wasn't a nosy telepath, suggested he back off before doing something unnecessarily stupid. Jean-Paul would be angry, and that really was not something he wanted to cause. With great effort, Shiro forced himself to relax. "Never mind. I apologize for disturbing you. I will find him later."

"Sure," Jake replied, eyeing Shiro warily. He looked like he was about to say something else, but then changed his mind. "I'll tell him you stopped by."