Scott and Jean-Paul - Backdated to the night of the 3rd

[x-cynosure.livejournal.com]

Scott and Jean-Paul eat, drink, and overthink.



Jean-Paul's bar of choice turned out to be a rather upscale Mediterranean restaurant with a comfortable patio area shaded by a sweeping, wrought iron ramada shaded over with grape vines. Since Scott was absolutely buying the drinks, Jean-Paul had opted to spring for dinner -- he did want to drink, and he could stretch his limited tolerance further with food in his stomach.

"There is the problem," Jean-Paul admitted, sipping at his retsina. "I am happy to be at the school. I like it here. And then I occasionally find myself asking what the hell I am doing trying to be a role model to anyone."

"Is it really such a bad thing?" Scott asked, tearing off a chunk of herbed pita bread and dipping it in the bowl of tzatziki. "Comes with the territory. And it's not like you're actually leading them astray. Well, not as far as I've heard..."

"Not so far, anyway," Jean-Paul admitted. "I just occasionally find myself feeling like the living embodiment of 'Those who cannot do teach', at least when it comes to the part of my job that includes advising others on how to be a passably functional human being."

"I think you're being too hard on yourself," Scott said, shaking his head. "Seriously. I know we all feel like fakes at one point or another, but... we're what they've got. And frankly, that they feel comfortable enough to come to you is beyond fantastic. Would it really be preferable if they didn't talk to us?" There had certainly been times that had happened. So very many times.

"I think the answer to that depends on the day of the week you ask, hm?" Jean-Paul half-smiled. "But no. I suppose most of the time what gnaws on me is less that they do come to us and more that they have to. As you said...we are what they have got, even if being a part-time parent is unnerving."

"Considerably more than part-time, in some cases," Scott murmured, raising an eyebrow at Jean-Paul as he sipped at his own drink. "At least in certain quarters."

"Are you trying to get me to break and run?" Jean-Paul asked. "I usually manage just fine with the whole business until I stop to think about just what I am doing. It is like walking the tightrope again...look at the platform, do not look down."

"See, the self-delusion only works for so long," Scott said, unhelpfully. The faint smile on his face made it very clear that he knew he was being unhelpful, too. "It's not such a bad thing to recognize the importance of what you're doing."

"Even if it means dragging my captain out of doors and making him pay for my drinks? I will remember that." He took another sip of his wine. The taste of pine resin was strong enough to border on unpleasant...but never quite enough to go over, and oddly refreshing on the way down. "Trust that I will try to return the favor once you are in the full-time parent position."

Scott proceeded to choke on his drink, and then glared at Jean-Paul.

"Désolé. I should be ashamed of myself for that." Though the speedster's self-satisfied expression suggested that he was anything but. "I think this is all just the result of having parenthood on the brain this week. Johnny's father called the other day. All of a sudden he seemed to recall that he has a son he has been neglecting for the past eight years."

Scott frowned. "All of a sudden, huh?" One of the things he had noticed he and Jean-Paul had in common was a tendency towards being naturally suspicious, and this sounded... fishy.

"One day the boy does not exist, the next day his father is calling to say how much he wants to be a part of Johnny's life again." Jean-Paul drained his glass and toyed with an olive sitting at the edge of their appetizer tray. "I want to believe that man had an epiphany. I truly do. Too many of the kids will not have that second chance with their families, and I want to be happy for Johnny. Then there is the part of me that is braced to find out that the man has joined the FoH and only wants the boy home to try and beat the mutie out of him."

"Scarily plausible," Scott murmured, sipping his drink. "I... can imagine how much Johnny would want to believe the epiphany theory, too. Seems like the situation requires some care to be taken, though..."

"I am trying to encourage him to keep the lines of communication open, and at the same time keeping the spare room ready for when the other shoe inevitably drops." Jean-Paul snorted quietly and filled his glass again. "I can play handball with bullets and I still have to sit by and wait for that boy to be hurt again. Parenthood as a part-time job stinks."

"Pessimistic, but probably pretty accurate." Scott tossed back the rest of the retsina, then sighed. "I can't say I trust parents much, to be honest." He might be getting along better with Chris these days, but still.

"Neither of us do, and we have our reasons." Jean-Paul glanced over at Scott. "So we will do our best to buck the trend."

"Here's hoping," Scott said softly. "I really do, you know. It's nice to see them happier than the world seems to leave them most of the time."

"Well, you know...I do not give up my couch and kitchen in the service of unworthy causes." Jean-Paul sighed. "These kids scare me to death."

"I get the sense we've moved onto a different subject than your fear of being a role model," Scott said, raising an eyebrow.

Jean-Paul shook his head. "Just the old one of being human. It comes and goes."

"Do you ever think that we overthink a lot of this?" Scott ventured, almost idly. "Too much analysis, too much second-guessing..."

"Almost certainly. But there is some good to getting things thing out in the open, perhaps? They get talked through and then you can get an outside opinion on whether or not you are being an idiot." Jean-Paul considered his words for a moment. "Not that I take that many outside opinions so seriously, but they are sometimes worth heeding."

"And if there's one thing that people back at the mansion have plenty of, it's opinions," Scott muttered.