Wanda and Marie-Ange, Christmas Eve
Dec. 24th, 2009 09:15 am![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsWanda surprises Marie-Ange at her hotel on Christmas Eve and they discuss family and how perhaps throwing them into the ocean is a bad idea.
It was a quaint but gorgeous hotel but Wanda hadn't expected any less of a place that Marie-Ange had selected. Leaning on the counter, she smiled at the concierge before slipping her sunglasses into her hair. "Bonjour," she said, "~can you inform Mlle Colbert that she has a package waiting for her in the lobby?~"
After declining to simply leave it at the desk, she settled into one of the nearby chairs, nearly sinking to the floor due to the plushness. She had time to kill, and a newspaper to read, before the next part of her journey.
Time to kill turned into fifteen minutes and several pages in the paper before Marie-Ange's face peered over the top of the newspaper. "I did not know you were going to be here!" She exclaimed. "Also I hope you were not trying to make this a secret because the concierge described you very well when I inquired." Her instinct to be just ever so slightly paranoid were obviously well-honed.
She grinned up at her before folding the paper up. "If you had not asked, I assumed you would have made me by my shoes," Wanda replied, unfolding herself from the chair to give Marie-Ange a quick hug. "And I did not know myself! My Christmas present to myself is a bit of country hopping and when I ended up in France I decided to wish you a happy Christmas in person." She waved a hand. "It is, after all, only about 100 kms or so from Paris, not so far to not stop in."
"Just far enough away that I can avoid Paris when it is full of tourists and close enough that Jean-Phileppe and I can take in some shopping." Marie-Ange agreed. It was the one thing she and her cousin agreed on, and she had found that shopping with him was actually enjoyable."Where else have you been?"
"Just London so far," she replied, nodding to the little café attached to the hotel. Wanda had not eaten yet that morning and was craving her caffeine. "But I am due in Russia for Christmas itself. After that, Romania, maybe Italy. I buy my tickets rather haphazardly so my trip is not quite set in stone."
"Whereas my travel plans are about as firm as my travel plans ever are. Here until Sunday, and then Jean-Phileppe and I return to New York, and I give him back to the school and then continue on to Denver." Marie-Ange explained as she and Wanda headed to the cafe. "I think Amanda and Kurt are in Germany right now. It is sort of funny, when we are in the United States, I do not think of a several hour trip as far away, and then I come here and it is another country."
The cafe was nearly empty and they were promptly seated at a small table next to a window, allowing them amble chances to keep an eye on their surroundings while they enjoyed the sun. "It is all about perspective," Wanda agreed, eyes flickering down the menu in her hands. "Several hours by car in the United States might get you out of New York. Several hours here? Well, in Switzerland, you would pass through several countries!"
"I know. It is so strange sometimes even now to think about so many large spaces over there and no need for passports or visas." The European Union had made travel easier but not -that- much easier. Marie-Ange fussed with her menu for a minute and then set it down - she had eaten at the cafe a few times before and had a good idea of what she wanted. "Are you visiting your family at all, or have you and Pietro decided that being in the same place would make things explode?"
"Explosions galore," Wanda said dryly, finally picking something off the menu that appealed to her. She was trying her best to stick to the doctor's - and Amanda's - orders when it came to food and rest but it meant some heavy thinking when it came time to eat. "He is stressed, I was stressed, so he zipped up to me for lunch wherein we exchanged gifts, barbed comments and a drink before he left."
"And then several drinks after he left?" Marie-Ange said, equally as dryly. "Jean-Phileppe has been on his best behaviour, although I think that is more due to my threat of telling my mother that he is gay than any want to make my life easier." How her mother had not yet figured it out, Marie-Ange didn't know, and she would not actually do that to her cousin, but he did not need to know that. "Not that I would, because that is appalling to do to someone, but it made for an excellent threat. I think I shall keep using it until he figures it out."
Wanda snorted out a laugh, covering her mouth as she did. "Use every weapon at your disposal," she said dryly but in approval as well. "I can only imagine what your mother's reaction would be ... probably fairly horrifying, I assume?"
"I am fairly sure it would end in tears for someone." Probably not Marie-Ange, and most likely not Jean-Phillipe. "His parents know, but I am not sure they care. I am not sure they would have realized he was in America if he had not gone out of his way to tell them. He was on his own much earlier than he should have been." And it wasn't that Marie-Ange was bitter about that so much as what it had driven him to. Even if she had played some part in that. No, especially that she had played some part in that.
Wanda nodded - her stance on Marie-Ange's cousin was fairly neutral towards someone who had been at the side (or at least in the viewing range) of her father. But then again, her own brother had signed on with Magneto for some time before he'd jumped ship and began to feed the X-Men information. It also helped to know pretty certainly that Marie-Ange, family or not, would be one of the first to step up if Jean-Phillipe moved against any of them. "Family can make or break someone," she agreed quietly. "Even without needing to be different in any sort of sense of the word."
"Even if we want to throw them into the ocean sometimes." Marie-Ange said. "Well, I suppose that would be worse for Jean-Phillipe than Pietro. I am not sure my cousin likes water very much anymore." He certainly did not seem to ever use the pool. "Even if he is an eel-boy. He told me that he has little organs like an eel. Which is just ... icky."
That garnered a pause as Wanda, not normally taken back by much of anything, processed that particular piece of information. "That," she said slowly, "is disgusting. Suddenly, my teenage years of breaking things and being a whirlwind of chaos? They do not seem so bad..."
Marie-Ange broke into a mischievous smile as the waiter brought their food. "To quote my cousin, if I must suffer, all must suffer."
It was a quaint but gorgeous hotel but Wanda hadn't expected any less of a place that Marie-Ange had selected. Leaning on the counter, she smiled at the concierge before slipping her sunglasses into her hair. "Bonjour," she said, "~can you inform Mlle Colbert that she has a package waiting for her in the lobby?~"
After declining to simply leave it at the desk, she settled into one of the nearby chairs, nearly sinking to the floor due to the plushness. She had time to kill, and a newspaper to read, before the next part of her journey.
Time to kill turned into fifteen minutes and several pages in the paper before Marie-Ange's face peered over the top of the newspaper. "I did not know you were going to be here!" She exclaimed. "Also I hope you were not trying to make this a secret because the concierge described you very well when I inquired." Her instinct to be just ever so slightly paranoid were obviously well-honed.
She grinned up at her before folding the paper up. "If you had not asked, I assumed you would have made me by my shoes," Wanda replied, unfolding herself from the chair to give Marie-Ange a quick hug. "And I did not know myself! My Christmas present to myself is a bit of country hopping and when I ended up in France I decided to wish you a happy Christmas in person." She waved a hand. "It is, after all, only about 100 kms or so from Paris, not so far to not stop in."
"Just far enough away that I can avoid Paris when it is full of tourists and close enough that Jean-Phileppe and I can take in some shopping." Marie-Ange agreed. It was the one thing she and her cousin agreed on, and she had found that shopping with him was actually enjoyable."Where else have you been?"
"Just London so far," she replied, nodding to the little café attached to the hotel. Wanda had not eaten yet that morning and was craving her caffeine. "But I am due in Russia for Christmas itself. After that, Romania, maybe Italy. I buy my tickets rather haphazardly so my trip is not quite set in stone."
"Whereas my travel plans are about as firm as my travel plans ever are. Here until Sunday, and then Jean-Phileppe and I return to New York, and I give him back to the school and then continue on to Denver." Marie-Ange explained as she and Wanda headed to the cafe. "I think Amanda and Kurt are in Germany right now. It is sort of funny, when we are in the United States, I do not think of a several hour trip as far away, and then I come here and it is another country."
The cafe was nearly empty and they were promptly seated at a small table next to a window, allowing them amble chances to keep an eye on their surroundings while they enjoyed the sun. "It is all about perspective," Wanda agreed, eyes flickering down the menu in her hands. "Several hours by car in the United States might get you out of New York. Several hours here? Well, in Switzerland, you would pass through several countries!"
"I know. It is so strange sometimes even now to think about so many large spaces over there and no need for passports or visas." The European Union had made travel easier but not -that- much easier. Marie-Ange fussed with her menu for a minute and then set it down - she had eaten at the cafe a few times before and had a good idea of what she wanted. "Are you visiting your family at all, or have you and Pietro decided that being in the same place would make things explode?"
"Explosions galore," Wanda said dryly, finally picking something off the menu that appealed to her. She was trying her best to stick to the doctor's - and Amanda's - orders when it came to food and rest but it meant some heavy thinking when it came time to eat. "He is stressed, I was stressed, so he zipped up to me for lunch wherein we exchanged gifts, barbed comments and a drink before he left."
"And then several drinks after he left?" Marie-Ange said, equally as dryly. "Jean-Phileppe has been on his best behaviour, although I think that is more due to my threat of telling my mother that he is gay than any want to make my life easier." How her mother had not yet figured it out, Marie-Ange didn't know, and she would not actually do that to her cousin, but he did not need to know that. "Not that I would, because that is appalling to do to someone, but it made for an excellent threat. I think I shall keep using it until he figures it out."
Wanda snorted out a laugh, covering her mouth as she did. "Use every weapon at your disposal," she said dryly but in approval as well. "I can only imagine what your mother's reaction would be ... probably fairly horrifying, I assume?"
"I am fairly sure it would end in tears for someone." Probably not Marie-Ange, and most likely not Jean-Phillipe. "His parents know, but I am not sure they care. I am not sure they would have realized he was in America if he had not gone out of his way to tell them. He was on his own much earlier than he should have been." And it wasn't that Marie-Ange was bitter about that so much as what it had driven him to. Even if she had played some part in that. No, especially that she had played some part in that.
Wanda nodded - her stance on Marie-Ange's cousin was fairly neutral towards someone who had been at the side (or at least in the viewing range) of her father. But then again, her own brother had signed on with Magneto for some time before he'd jumped ship and began to feed the X-Men information. It also helped to know pretty certainly that Marie-Ange, family or not, would be one of the first to step up if Jean-Phillipe moved against any of them. "Family can make or break someone," she agreed quietly. "Even without needing to be different in any sort of sense of the word."
"Even if we want to throw them into the ocean sometimes." Marie-Ange said. "Well, I suppose that would be worse for Jean-Phillipe than Pietro. I am not sure my cousin likes water very much anymore." He certainly did not seem to ever use the pool. "Even if he is an eel-boy. He told me that he has little organs like an eel. Which is just ... icky."
That garnered a pause as Wanda, not normally taken back by much of anything, processed that particular piece of information. "That," she said slowly, "is disgusting. Suddenly, my teenage years of breaking things and being a whirlwind of chaos? They do not seem so bad..."
Marie-Ange broke into a mischievous smile as the waiter brought their food. "To quote my cousin, if I must suffer, all must suffer."
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