Lil and Johnny

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After a long day of waiting, Lil and Johnny get together to catch up and discuss more pleasant matters, with mixed results.



"He even let me drive on the way back," Johnny concluded proudly, smiling and leaving out just how quickly Jean-Paul had made him pull onto the shoulder and hand over the keys. It had been a fairly entertaining story (partially because of the teen's rekindled energy in telling it), a detail of the last days of their trip which had never made it to the journals due to the harsh realities that had set in. But with their world settled again, it seemed all right to visit friends and talk about the DiVinci Exhibit at the museum and the Montreal Biodome and Ovo, the Cirque de Soliel show that made it difficult not to want to run off and join the circus, if only for a short time. It seemed the Canadian had forced some culture down his throat after all.

The teen shifted where he sat, pulling his sneakers up to the edge of the sofa cushion and leaning back as he looked up at Lil again. "What about you? Did you do anything fun while we were gone?" The cardboard poster tube he'd brought along with him seemed to have slipped from his mind, at least for the moment, even as it rested tucked between his side and the arm of the couch.

"Nah," the giantess replied, reaching out to ruffle the student's hair as she lounged on the other end of the sofa with her feet propped up on the coffee table; two glasses of soda sitting nearby. "I went drinking with Jake one night but that's about it on the fun scale. And well, I started taking lessons with Professor Xavier," Lil admitted with a wrinkle of her nose. It wasn't something she liked to admit, needing extra help with her issues but the boy had been very forthcoming about his adventures with Jean-Paul so she could reciprocate. "Just some stuff to help keep Psis Gone Wild outta my head." A little wink and she reached for her cup. "Life was just boring without the two of you around."

Johnny grinned, not seeming to mind as her long fingers tousled his hair and briefly ducked his head; he raised his eyes again as she continued. Having limited contact with Jake himself, he couldn't decide if the man was 'fun' or just peculiar. But Lil and Jean-Paul seemed to like him and that, in his mind, was a fairly admirable quality. The thought cut and he tilted his head faintly. Lessons with Xavier? To keep telepaths out? "...you can do that?"

The wink brought a small flush of color to the boy's face and he smiled again, replying in a tone that made the idea sound less than new, but the suggestion no less genuine, "Maybe we should...do it again sometime. You could come with us." He added lightly after a pause, "You'd probably have better luck with the mission than I did, anyway."

Lil gave an amused laugh after setting her drink back down. "I dunno about having any better luck. You got him to let you drive, eh?" she pointed out. "Ten to one he won't let me touch the car, let alone drive it. As for getting inked, that's kinda impossible given my powers." Another smile and she relaxed into the cushions; long hair spilling freely over her shoulders and more than comfortable in her tshirt and sweatpants.

The topic of telepaths, Lil left alone; not wanting to delve into the details of the how and why she was taking lessons and instead focused on his suggestion of the three of them taking another vacation. "I'd love to take a road trip with the two of you but I don't know how much longer I'm gonna be here. But, me moving home again gives you plenty of excuses to talk Speedy into bringing you back to Canada," she pointed out with a gentle smile.

"I guess it wasn't a total failure," Johnny agreed, keeping to himself that he hadn't really worked toward much else on the list. As much as he wanted to impress Lil, he had never wanted to aggravate Jean-Paul and the trip had been busy enough to keep his thoughts from his 'objectives' almost entirely.

His expression faltered visibly as the older mutant continued, smile sinking. Hers did not seem to help him at all. "...You're moving back?"

The blonde woman nodded and her grin softened noticing the dejection in Johnny's face. "Yeah. I'm only here for training, remember? Canada's working on relaunching their Flight Program which is the whole reason I'm here; so I can make the team when it does." Not the whole reason; if there hadn't be other issues, Lil would have been training with the rest of the hopefuls. "Not sure when it's gonna happen, though, so I should be here for a bit longer. And you ain't gonna lose the good monsieur," the giantess reassured him with another ruffle of hair even as her brain pointed out the fact that Juddsie and Madison had both been on the mission with Garrison. Things were starting to fall into place.

"I remember...I just didn't think it would be so soon," the white-haired teen replied, his tone and his expression showing just how little progress Lil's attempt at reassurance had made, though he wished they wouldn't. Even the fluffing of his already unkempt hair didn't seem to hold much sway. He smiled dully, finally remembering the gift he'd brought and realizing just how foolish it seemed now. He had hoped the glossy poster, a stunning image of her hometown of Yellowknife beneath the northern lights, would help her feel a little less homesick. He touched the poster tube briefly, then offered it to her, "I guess you won't need this...but I hope you like it anyway."

Brow furrowed, Lil took the tube and with great care, pried the end open and removed the paper. She unrolled in on her lap and the confused expression she'd worn slid into one of quiet happiness. "Oh, Johnny," came her gentle reply as fingers ghosted over the picture with reverence. "You know, I used to go out to Aurora village with my father to look at the lights. Last time we went was when I was about your age, before I left for Gamma..." Green eyes turned back to the boy and Lil reached out to wrap one arm around him, then pull him close for a hug. "Thank you."

The soft nostalgia the simple gift brought to Lil's features made it difficult for Johnny to hold on to his sadness over her eventual departure. It seemed to mean a lot to her and that meant the world to him. He smiled gently and sheepishly back as he found her gaze on him again and one strong arm leading him to her in a partial hug, doing his best to keep the color out of his face, "...You're welcome. I'm really glad you like it."

She leaned her cheek against his head for a moment before giving his hair another ruffle. "It's gonna go in my room as soon as I get a frame for it," Lil promised, eyes back on the picture. She should probably give her father a call soon, just to check in. "And maybe when you talk Jean-Paul into another trip, the three of us can go and see the lights." It had been so long but a vacation like that, just to bask in the simple beauty of nature could do them all good.

There was something secure about being close to the woman like this, the posture a comfortable one once he could get past (or, at least accustomed to) his embarrassment. Not that he expected his pulse to slow or his voice to be wholly even any time soon. He gave a small nod, watching as her eyes returned to the image. Johnny smiled, "I'll start begging him the day after you leave."

Her fingers pulsed on his shoulder, giving an affectionate squeeze to the younger mutant. "Works for me. I'll certainly make time for two of my boys between bouts of saving the world," she said lightly, coming out of the nostalgic trace to smile down at him. "Poster makes up for your lack of tattoos and annoying Speedy."

"I'll hold you to that," Johnny quipped back, only partially joking no matter how airy his tone had become. Though he couldn't help but laugh at what came next, bobbing his head in agreement, "We'll call it even, then."

"Works for me." Lil carefully rerolled the gift and slid it into the tube once more, wanting to protect it from any spills or other damage until she had time to buy the promised frame for it, then laid it on the side table next to her. "So, anything else fun or interesting happen on your trip that you wanna tell me but he swore you to secrecy about?"

"Nah," Johnny replied playfully, even if her movements to secure the poster meant he had to sit apart from her again, "All of the stuff he swore me to secrecy about was boring." There were things he had opted to keep to himself, not because of any particular oath, but simply out of courtesy and respect for the older man. And those details were anything but 'fun' anyway.

She blew a raspberry with her tongue in response. "Lame." Her nose wrinkled and she gave him another wink while reaching for her drink once again. "You're supposed to raise hell on those kinda trips. God, I have so much to teach you," Lil teased.