Lex and Jay | Thursday Morning

[x-lexington.livejournal.com]

Jay finds Lex while he is running and decides to join the man.


It didn't matter how many times he ran up and down this path, weaving through trees, Jay still hated jogging. There wasn't any enjoyment in it for him, bounded to the ground, working through the burn in his calves and the odd times he tripped over a stick or slipped on a muddy patch, it made him want to clear out the immediate area by taking out all the trees with his wings. Of course, that was definitly not containing any of his problems and it only made him focus on his speed more, incase he was bound to the ground for some reason that his wings would not come out if on a mission.

Flat work first, he reminded himself but was immediately stirred out of his thoughts by movement ahead. Recognizing the other running figure, Jay picked up speed.

"Lex! Wait up!"

Running as hard as he could, Lex barely recognized the voice calling to him. He slowed slightly, wondering who could be out in the forest so early, and when he saw Jay he decided to wait for the man. Running in the mornings was always a joy for him, the brisk air against his face, but it was even better with company.

"Hurry up! I want to get back sometime before noon," he poked at the other man.

Jay swatted away the hand, "Easy there, Ah bite," he joked and lined up along side Lex, matching their footing pace for pace. "Thought you ran with Julio?" he asked, being nosey. Julio didn't seem to have much in terms of accepting the fact that Jay was gay and Nori always seemed to take that side too.

"I do, but I've got to run twice as hard now that I'm training for the X-Men." He said with a smile, every morning he ran with Julio, took a ten minute break, and went out again. It was a bitch, but it kept him honest. He knew he wouldn't always be able to rely on his powers and intense training was the only way he'd survive a thorough ass kicking.

"Ah reckon you can over due it, yanno," he huffed, turning down the path and ducking a branch. "At least you don't have school. Ah can barely keep up." With Red X meetings, school and training in the DR, plus things left ot him by Ororo in the greenhouse and work, there was little time to do anything else.

"You forget where I came from," he said, keeping a step ahead of Jay, "This keeps me honest." He looked at the blue man and shrugged, he really couldn't speak to keeping up as he found himself searching for anything to keep busy.

"How's runnin' keep you honest?" He was having a sense of de-ja-vu somewhere here and could recall someone else saying what they did kept them honest. It was familiar ground although he couldn't recall who it was that had said those words awhile ago.

"This'll help keep me from getting soft. I mean, waking up in a cushy bed with four walls and well-stocked kitchen is not what I'm used to. It makes me feel strange, not having to worry about someone sneaking up on me to shoot me and I feel I've been lax on keeping myself in top physical and mental shape because of it. You know what I mean?" Lex kept running as he spoke, pushing them even harder. He would be exhausted when they got back to the mansion, but a shower and a pear would give him the strength to make it to lunch.

Jay's breathing came harder as his feet hit the soft ground and felt like his knees were going to buckle. He kept up because Lex set the pace and he was determined not to flatter. "Not really no, Ah've always... had.... a roof over... mah head. Food on the table. ... stuff like that....Ah only can say..... Ah've had four... near death... experiences. Other than that.... can't relate."

They ran the rest of the way in silence, Lex pulling up just short of the mansion to give Jay some time to catch his breath. "Well, that was fun," he heaved a heavy sigh as he spoke. He felt bad for the other man, but wondered in the same stroke how he would ever keep up on a mission if he didn't get in better shape. He vowed to challenge the man as often as possible, the only way he'd grow would be to constantly be pushed to the edge and told to jump off. "If you run regularly at this time I might have to tag along. This is definitely better than tromping through the forest alone."

Jay couldn't even speak, he was so out of breath that he had to lean against a tree, hunched over and waiting to catch up. "Ah think.... Ah think... yer nuts..." his legs wobbled but he forced himself to stand up, the lopsided grin slipping over his face as he shook his head. "Yer .... gonna... kill me."

"Yeah, but then you'll come back twice as strong." Lex laughed, he enjoyed training with Jay. The man's accent, as well as his honesty, always gave Lex a new perspective to work with. Besides, it would give him another person to trust when his back was against the wall. "Come on, lets go inside and get some breakfast."