Mutation Sternuation: Marie and Jake

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Jake and Marie go out for creme brulee, and Marie gives voice to some of her frustrations with the effects of the powers swap. Posted late because of my space-cadetedness; takes place Sunday afternoon.



"Seriously, though, they've got amazing creme brulee at this place. It almost makes up for the not-quite-perfect pastries." Jake had been chattering on about the bakery since they left the Brownstone in an attempt to keep things lighthearted, trying to ignore the parallels to his and Jean-Paul's first bakery trip. At least he wasn't dragging Marie down the sidewalk like he had Jean-Paul.

"It better be the best creme brulee ever, the way you've been talking it up since before Ah got here this morning," she said with a smile, peering at Jake over the frame of her sunglasses.

He held the door for her. "I'm not sure if I can call it the best ever, but it's certainly the best on this side of the Atlantic."

Fabulous creme brulee or not, the bakery had the air of a business that wasn't long for this world, which was probably adding to Jake's urgency. They placed their orders, then sat at one of the many unoccupied tables. "So, how are you doing?" Jake asked, then ruined the moment by moaning with pleasure as he took a bite of his dessert.

"Fine. Just...it's strange, you know?" she said, holding up her hand and wiggling her bare fingers in the air. "Some part of me is still terrified at the prospect of touching anyone."

He nodded in sympathy. "Fear of your powers suddenly snapping back, or just old habit?"

"Maybe a little bit of both," she answered after taking a bit of her dessert, a sudden look of pleased surprise on her face. "You're right, this is delish."

He grinned at that. "Best ever?"

"Yeah. It's like a little piece of heaven in my mouth," she said, taking another bite and savoring it.

They were quiet for a moment, enjoying their desserts, before Jake finally spoke. "Other than the whole power-switching thing, how are you doing?"

Marie laughed, but the sound was cruel in her own ears. "Other than? There is no other than right now. It's all Ah can think about. Should Ah be taking advantage of it? Should Ah pretend it's not happening? Now that that we know this is temporary, that it's going to revert, should Ah be, Ah dunno, flying home to give my parents a hug? Going out and getting...well. You know." Her voice grew quiet as she set her fork down and lowered her eyes. "It's cruel. It's like. Here, remember normal? Well, don't get too comfortable. It's not going to last." Part of her felt guilty for her words. If the switch wasn't temporary, that would mean someone else would be stuck with her curse. Yet she couldn't help have the thoughts every time she looked at her bare hands.

Jake nodded. He liked his powers, and couldn't imagine what it would be like without them--having to be careful, losing that control. Marie's powers were more of a burden, but they'd also defined who she was for years now. "Would you rather not have had the opportunity at all? Even though it's not going to last, that doesn't mean you can't enjoy it, right?"

"Ah suppose. It's just..." she paused, looking at Jake. Here she was without her powers and she was turning into more of an emo-muppet than she was with them. Pathetic. "Well," she finally said, forcing a smile on her face. "Ah can at least enjoy this," she said as she lifted a bite of creme brulee to her lips.

"Hey." Jake set his fork down and offered her his hand, laying it palm up on the table for her to take if she wanted it. "Sorry. I'm not trying to give you a hard time. Is there anything I can do?"

Marie hesitated, then slow set her hand in his. "No unless you've added time traveling to your repertoire when Ah wasn't looking," she said, a feeble smile on her face. "And Ah'm probably the one giving myself the hard time."

"Well, I wasn't going to say anything..." Jake said with a wry look. He squeezed her hand gently. "Hey. I know it's totally cheesy and lame, but you X-types are pretty good at that whole 'live one day at a time' thing, right?"

"Compartmentalizing is a killer coping mechanism," she said squeezing back. "Or so my psyc classes have taught me."

"It always works for me," he said with a grin. He followed it with a thoughtful look. "So. Free pass on your powers. Is there anything you want to do that you haven't done yet?"

Marie turned red, pulling her hand away to shove a bite of creme brulee in her mouth to cover her silence. "Maybe. Ah'll figure something out Ah'm sure."

Jake winced, drawing his now-empty hand back to run it over his mouth. "Hey...I didn't mean..." He sighed. "Look. Clearly I suck at this. I'm trying to help. If that means I should talk about the new Harry Potter movie and desserts, I can do that, if you'd rather?"

"Distraction. And pretending things haven't happened. These are other coping mechanisms right?" As the color on her cheeks faded, she managed a small smile.

"Distraction I can do," he said with a nod, giving her a smile in return. "Should I tell you about how I've been torturing Illyana?"