Jake and Wanda | Backdated, "Welcome Home, Mr. Gavin"

[x-courier.livejournal.com]

Very backdated to right after the return from India. Jake is back in town and just "happens" to run into Wanda at one of their favorite coffee shops.


Jacob Gavin stood at the front of the line, waiting for his cappuccino, taking every bit of restraint not to bite into the cheese danish on the plate in his hand. Wait until you get to the table, he coached himself, though delayed gratification was never one of his strong suits. He didn't exactly tap his foot, though he was on the inside. He didn't recognize the barista. She was slow, but at least she seemed to know how to make her drinks. Cafe Grumpy. There was no decision about where breakfast would be this morning. He'd been thinking about their danishes since...well, before the transatlantic flight. He didn't let himself look at the pastry--that would be too much.

She finally finished the drink and set it on the counter--it even had the foam heart. Ok, maybe she did deserve a tip after all. A small one. She punched at the register buttons for a minute. The line behind him were noticing the slowness by this time, and the crowd was beginning to mirror the Cafe's namesake. He fished out is wallet, waiting for the total. "$7.02" the girl stated, holding out her hand for the cash.

Jake opened the wallet. Fuck, was the first thought to his mind. I forgot to exchange currency. He thought a moment, then picked one of the cards, handing her the Visa. Without a word, she pointed at a small sign in front of the register "Cash only." A few people started to grumble more loudly behind him. "Cash? When did that change? Fine, can you take an--" IOU died on his lips as he glanced around, realizing he didn't recognize any of the staff. I haven't been gone that long... "Euro?" he offered. "Or Francs?"

When the crowd heard what he was asking, they really started to get loud - after all, a slow barista was one thing but he was throwing a serious monkey wrench into their morning schedule. And no one was in the mood to spot him or do a bank transfer, not when he stood between them and their coffee. If Jake didn't pony up some US cash soon, he was as good as kicked out on the street by a hungry mob.

From the doorway, a sigh was heard even above the general back talk and the girl behind the counter brightened instantly. Accustomed to the crowd in the cafe, Wanda easily pushed her way through so she could prop her hip against the counter. Like most days, she was dressed in an expensive suit, though the ragged leather bag over her shoulder told more about her character than the shoes that pushed her above six feet. "Never mind the tourist," she said dryly, accidentally on purpose bumping Jack's shoulder as she fished out her wallet. "This'll cover it, Mindy, and I'll take a danish for myself."

While the barista went to get one for her, she turned and looked at Jake. "You never call, you never write but you make the patrons at my pastry shop pissy," she said, a mixture of amusement, resignation, joy and hurt somehow coming through. "Why am I not surprised?"

The inevitable needs to learn that 48 hours just doesn't give time to build suspense. The annoyance at being jostled was immediately squelched when he heard the voice, and Jake's mouth snapped shut--all the responses he'd prepared for the semi-baited run-in fleeing his mind. He busied himself with closing his wallet and putting it back in his pocket. "Uh...surprise?" he finally offered, looking up, trying his best to look sheepish.

"Hope the recipe hasn't changed over as much as the staff," he said, waving at the danish awaiting its mate. "Thanks for spotting me. I almost exchanged at the airport, but even with the jetlag, I could see the exchange rate was highway robbery."

"You missed my birthday by several months," she said, rolling her eyes at him right before rescuing her breakfast from the barista. She didn't wait for him, just assumed he'd follow as she wound towards the back where she quickly snagged a table from a couple that was leaving. It wasn't even a conscious thought for Wanda to take the seat with the wall to her back and she looked up at Jake as she sat, a momentary look of relief passing across her face when she sat. India hadn't been that long ago and she was still so incredibly sore.

"So you decided instead of the airport robbing you, you'd hope and pray for New Yorkers to tolerate you before their coffee?" Wanda scoffed at him. "Still living on the edge, I see."

"Yes, but I just had my birthday. So it's kind of a present to me that's really for you" Jake argued, following after her and settling into the seat across her. "Not that I showed up here for my birthday. Geez, how do you always steer the conversation like that?" he laughed. If it could be classified as a laugh, weak as it was. He looked back at the line, their anger seeming to dissipate now that its source was gone. "Old habits die hard, I guess," he said, not elaborating whether he was referring to living on edge or the the other.

He turned his attention back to her, started to say something, then paused. And instead, took a bite of the danish, savoring it with not just a little dramatic flair. "I missed these... And you," he added after a slight pause. "You look...surprisingly well for someone who's weathered the winter I've heard the East Coast had."

The tightness around Wanda's eyes lessened slightly and her smile was suddenly less sharp. She was also grateful for the makeup that hid the worst of the bruises on her face and neck. "I've missed you, too," she said, quietly, tearing a small piece of the danish off to pop into her mouth. She did wave a hand at him, rather imperiously. "Darling, you forget, I survived the wilds of Europe at it's worst," she continued, her accent thickening on purpose. "Same old, same old to me."

She reached over to snag his drink, taking a small sip that didn't really disturb the heart foam before sitting it back down next to his plate. "So, is this a jaunt where you tell no one you've landed just for the hell of it or is there something going on...?"

"Hey!" he protested, swatting at the air beside her hand without disturbing the drink. "That's mine! Paid for with your hard earned dollars!" He stared at the drink on the table a moment, then shifted his gaze up to the coffee shop around them. "Can't a guy just show up and say hi to friends once in a while? Besides, I did tell people. Even when I would land. To the minute, and when have you ever known me to follow that kind of a schedule?." He trailed off. "Not my fault no one showed up...and I had to pay the $65 plus tip to get into the City."

"When did you -" Wanda's voice trailed off as she thought. "Did you say something on the journals! Jake, I haven't even slept at my apartment in the last two days, let alone checked the journals! You could have called or emailed me directly - it's not like you do not know my information." She leaned back and raised her eyebrows. "Not trying to avoid me, were you?"

"Avoid you?" Jake spluttered. "Now why would I want to do that? You were...next...er, first on my list to see-- fine, fine," he said, throwing up a hand, then reaching for his drink and taking a long sip before continuing the conversation. "I should have called. For anyone else, I could probably make up excuses about being busy or the phones being tapped or whatever. I shoulda called. Sorry. I got back over the weekend and was going to come by, but I hadn't figured out what I'd say why I hadn't. Besides, it's not like...nine months," he said, counting them up, "is all that long. At least compared to how long we've known each other. Right?"

Immediately, a piece of pastry bounced off Jake's forehead, right between the eyes. "That's just dirty pool," Wanda informed him. "And yes, you should have called. You owe me big time - do not think I will forget that." She leaned forward and rested her chin on her cupped hands. "And do not think I forgot that you managed to avoid answering my original question, Jake. Is this a social visit or something else?"

The Danish bounced off him and landed in the cup with a loud plop. Jake looked at it mournfully then reached for a spoon and began fishing the soggy bread out. "Hit me or whatever else i deserve but that's just a waste of good pastry. And guess I really should have kept an eye out for good memory blockers while I was away."

He finally got the treat out of the cup. He held the spoon up as if he might fling the mess back at her, then shrugged and put it aside. "I'd say social but we'd both know I was lying. So...both, I guess."

She didn't point out that the danish was even more delicious thanks to the coffee - Jake took his food seriously. Also, she really didn't relish having to go back to her apartment to change her shirt. "I can work with both," Wanda replied. She also didn't ask him if he was coming back to Snow Valley; loaded questions were better off for later in the day.

"I hoped so." Jake leaned back, balancing his chair on the back legs. "Sooo..." he dragged the word out, a blatant mischievous streak running through it. "If you haven't slept at your apartment for the past two days, just where have you slept?"

"Oh, here and there," Wanda drawled, flapping a hand in the air. "You know how it is." Yes, the last time she'd seen him, they'd slept together - goodbyes were better truly unsaid - and, yes, her heart had done some strange, stupid lurching thing when she'd seen him. But it didn't mean she had to let him in on the fact that the only company she'd kept for the last two nights had been her laptop in the meeting room at the offices. And he'd lost the right to know about X-Force's movements when he'd left. He was a smart boy, though, he had to have wondered if they had done anything in India...

Truth be told, there were enough of those nights in Jake's recent months too, well, if you replace "office" with various European hotel rooms. Of course, not always work. And not always alone, though he couldn't remember the last time he'd been with anyone in his own unaltered form.

He brought himself back to the present, lowering the chair back onto all four legs, and if he had any suspicions about her actual nocturnal activities, not mentioning them. "So what's on today's agenda? I mean besides filling me in on the past year's worth of gossip and deciding which fabulous restaurant you're taking me to tonight for my Welcome Home dinner."

For a moment, all Wanda could think of was the work that was waiting for her back in the office. And in her apartment. On the laptop, the Blackberry ... she eyed him with some thought, going quite for a few minutes. There was still the layer of hurt there but she realized with a sudden bolt of clarity that she was probably punishing him a little.

Doug. She was still so angry with the younger man that some of the residual emotion had been leaking into everything. It drove her to work more, socialize less and compounded on other emotions. Jake's faults were his own, no reason to add someone else's sins on top of it. "I suppose," she finally said slowly as she leaned forward, wriggling her fingers at him in an open invitation - they hadn't touched since she'd bumped him in the line. "I suppose that I can be persuaded to open my incredibly packed schedule for you today..."

Yes, no need to take it out on poor Jake. It's not as if he'd done anything unexpected after all. He reached out his hand at the invitation, first brushing her hand, then spreading his fingers to entwine with hers. "So just what would it take to put you over the edge then? Beside the thrill of ignoring voicemail and the danger of the inbox exceeding 700."

"Well, since I know what your wallet currently holds," she responded, squeezing his hand, "I think the first order of business entails taking you to a place you can exchange money at." Now Wanda smirked, a slow smile that chased away stress. "Because for all that I might be willing to take a day off of work and somehow get us into our favorite place for a grand welcome back? Mr. Gavin, do not for one moment think that it will be my billfold that comes out tonight."

Jake laughed, an unexpected release, relishing the moment and her touch. "Always the old fashioned girl. Well, at least until the check is paid, hmm?" he winked. "Fine, fine, you work your reservation magic and dinner's on me. And at least with me, you know desert's always included, right?"

"It's one of your many charms," Wanda said, straight faced, for all of a moment before she laughed again.

"They are many, aren't they? Over 600 the last time I counted." Jake grinned. "So, another cup of coffee before we get on with the rest of the day?"

---
Jake and Wanda had spent the last few hours catching up, stealing each others food and generally avoiding any and all 'touchy subjects'. Still, it was almost dinner time and she had no intention of going in her suit. The problem, of course, was finding something in her closet that she could wear with her back still all messed up.

"You realize Amanda's going to kill you once she realizes you haven't stopped in to say hello?" she asked as she shut the door to her apartment behind her. She was starting to fade and it was obvious from the way she was moving that she was getting stiffer as the night went on.

"She'll have to take a number," Jake said with a laugh. Perhaps juuuust a bit forced. He leaned against the familiar wall, taking in the room as Wanda closed the door. "You need some new kitchen towels. And you really need to stop sleeping at the office," he added, noting the stiff walk. He reached to squeeze her shoulder. "Here, let me."

Wanda's hand shot up to grab his before he could squeeze any harder. "Jake," she said, a bit strangled. "It isn't from sleeping at the office..." Carefully she disengaged enough so that she could shrug off her jacket - underneath she wore a plain, loose tank top. Not loose enough, though, to hide the bandages and the deep bruising that ran the length and breadth of her back.

She looked at him over her shoulder a bit sheepishly. "Just remember that Snow Valley has a fantastic health plan."

The reaction caught Jake off guard, not thinking things were nearly that strained to deserve that from a simple touch. "Ok...sorry." He let his hand be removed, hesitating over what to say next. And then was quite glad he did, as she took off her jacket. "God, what happened to you? Wait, I can probably guess. Fantastic health plan, my ass."

He moved around her to get a better look at the bruise. "Owwww. They really worked you over. I'd hate to see what the other guy looks like."

She pulled back on the side of the tank top so he could get a better look down. "You really would," Wanda said with a small smile. As hurt as she was, in the end, she had still come out on top. That counted for a lot in their job. "Needless to say, it's been sleeping either propped up on my side, on my stomach or, well, at my desk these past few days."

Wanda sighed and headed towards her room as she tugged the shirt up and over her head, revealing even more bandages. Just in a skirt, hose and heels she was determined to find something a little more comfortable to wear. "But what can I say? You seem to have all the luck - remember the last time you showed up on my door?"

"They got you on some decent painkillers at least?" Jake asked, following her into the room. "And more importantly, are you taking them?" He flopped down on her bed, rolling over to prop himself up on his elbow as he watched her look for clothes. "Yeah, you were pretty beat up then too. Maybe I should just stop showing back up," he said with a half chuckle.

For his trouble, a shirt landed on his head. "You seem to have enough excuses without using using me as one," Wanda half warned, half teased. "And yes, yes, there's a small bottle that appears each night in the hand of someone and they force me to take them." There was a flowing tunic in red and green somewhere in the vastness of time and space that happened to be her closet. Wanda half-disappeared into it in search of the garment. "And they're more than just decent drugs, I'll give them that much.

"At least that health care is good for something, then," Jake said, extracting himself from the shirt and dropping it on the floor beside him. Nevermind whether or not she was already one of those excuses. At times, he wasn't quite sure himself. "Well now you have the delight of my company to also take your mind off the pain. My empathic nature draws me from hiding once again."

"Is that what you're calling it now?" For a moment, she disappeared completely into the standing wardrobe before emerging, triumphant, with the tunic. That with jeans would mean she would be presentable and comfortable for the rest of the night. Wanda wondered if she should go into another room to change but decided it would really be against her nature if she did so. That alone would speak volumes of any sort of emotional ... woobiness ... as it were. "So you're better than any medicine out there, I suppose?"

"Well, it's either that or an uncanny sense for showing up just after my help is no longer needed," Jake laughed, rolling onto his back and staring up a the ceiling. Perhaps to give her a moment to finish changing. Perhaps just laziness. "But 'empathic nature' is easier to say. Besides...you can't say I'm wrong, huh? I have kept your mind occupied most the day. Pills can't do that. And you have a cobweb, you know?" he said, reaching one hand up to point toward one of the corners.

Wanda found her gaze drifting towards the ceiling as she slipped the tunic over her head before glancing down at the ever present bracelet on her wrist. "I hate symbols," she muttered to herself before tossing the skirt and reaching for a nice pair of jeans. "But no, I suppose I must concede to you, Oh Mighty and All Knowing Jake. Or, well, at least all Amusing Jake, anyway..."

"What would that be, omnihumorous? Finally, I get an offensive ability. I'll just keep them rolling on the floor laughing, then let someone else go in for the kill."

“Always letting someone else do your dirty work for you,” came the amused voice from the side as she carefully got dressed. Once the process was done, she padded over to where he was laying and peered down at him, smiling slightly. “And why does that person always end up being me?” Wanda teased, holding out a hand.

"Because you never complain? No, wait, I must be thinking of someone else," he teased right back, grabbing her hand. Conscious of the wounds, though, he used his other arm to push off most of his weight as he stood. "So let's eat. I'm famished!"

Laughing a little bit at him and a little bit with him, Wanda tangled her fingers in with his as she tugged him along back to the front of the apartment. There were some slip on shoes somewhere out there that she could put on. “Well,” Wanda said, “at least some things never change…”

"Ah, but would you love me as much if I did?" Jake grinned, letting himself be led back out of the bedroom.