Vanessa & JPB | Thursday Morning

[x-quebecois.livejournal.com]

Vanessa and Jean-Paul discuss the previous night on the way to work.


What was it with Vanessa waking up naked and tangled up with strange men lately? She supposed Warren hadn’t actually constituted a strange man, really, but Will likely did. Well, on the other hand, after the events of the previous night she wasn’t sure either her or Jean-Paul could claim he was a stranger. They were both intimately familiar with the black-skinned man with the emerald shimmer. He had questioned her when they’d woken because it had only been the two of them asleep in Jean-Paul’s bed. Vanessa had only told him that the Quebecois had a powers thing that made sleeping in bed with someone dangerous so he had opted to leave the pair of them there and sleep on the couch. They had woken to the scents of eggs and bacon so it was hard to feel terribly bad for the possible imposition for long.

“Mi cuervo left us his number,” she told her friend as they walked down the street. Vanessa and Jean-Paul were headed to the X-Factor offices and she had an arm wrapped around her friend’s waist so she could cuddle in under his jacket with him despite having borrowed a zip up hoodie from him already. Next time she joked about him pillaging her she really needed to make sure she had her coat on hand. “He said he’d really, really like to see us again if we’d want.”

Jean-Paul grinned. “Oui? And do we want to be seen again?” They’d certainly had an eventful night, one that didn’t involve a great deal of actual sleep. It had been fun - especially the part where he remembered it all and woke up in a familiar place as opposed to a strange hotel with a strange man and very little recollection of how he’d gotten there.

Veering slightly to the right, the Quebecois headed them into the coffee shop they tended to favor, especially after he’d helped that one barista with her obnoxious boyfriend after damaging Vanessa’s ribs. The caffeine had little effect on him, but he could admit that he was well and truly addicted to the taste - and at least here they’d make him what he asked for instead of telling him he wanted something sweet.

The scent of coffee hit Vanessa and her eyes closed a little while the corners of her mouth pulled up into a rather contented expression. “Mmm...caffeine.” She really shouldn’t be trusted on caffeine with idle hands, though. Vanessa had a tendency to bounce off the walls with caffeine in her system, but she had paperwork and stuff to do at the office so mostly she’d end up being very productive and efficient, at least.

Looking over at Jean-Paul, she refocused on their conversation. “I don’t know, do we? Last night was....mmm...” Vanessa bit her lower lip and smiled at her friend. “It was an unexpected and quite pleasant new chapter in our friendship.” How many girls ended up sharing a man with their gay best friend? Vanessa and Jean-Paul hadn’t had any sort of sexual contact beyond the small touches and kisses they shared as friends. No, just as they had told Will in the bar, they focused entirely on their third party. “And he was a lot of fun to play with.”

Vanessa looked over at Maddie who was behind the counter she suddenly found herself at. The girl quirked an eyebrow curiously and Vanessa just grinned. “You guys just want your usuals?” Vanessa nodded, then looked to Jean-Paul for him to confirm or deny for Maddie.

“Oui, merci,” Jean-Paul said, smiling at Maddie. He looked back toward Vanessa and nodded, not losing the train of their conversation. “He was fun.” Will also meant that the Quebecois was going to have to have a talk with Kevin. He didn’t think it would go poorly, but he’d never had to have a talk like that before and he wasn’t entirely sure how to begin it. “I would not mind being seen again.” Then Jean-Paul grinned. “That tongue of his... mon Dieu.”

Giggling, Vanessa put a hand over her mouth in an effort to stifle the sound. “It is a very talented tongue and he is a very enthusiastic man.” He was also incredibly comfortable to sleep on, but Vanessa wouldn’t bring that up. She wasn’t sure how much of a wound that was for Jean-Paul and she wasn’t one to rub salt unintentionally. Vanessa paid for their coffee, gave Maddie a wink and headed back out the door with the Quebecois.

Outside, Vanessa rifled around in a pocket until a piece of paper was withdrawn between two fingers. It was the slip of paper Will had left his number on. “Mi cuervo,” she said and passed it over, “will be very happy to hear that. I get the feeling he’s not used to people sticking around in the morning or being happy to see him after a night of...” she drifted off and sipped her coffee. “Carnal pleasure,” she finished. “I think being seen again by him would be lovely. Mm, your boy won’t mind you having repeat offenses with someone?”

"Kevin is having repeat offenses, as you say," Jean-Paul commented, sipping at his coffee and then shrugging. "I will speak with him, of course, but I do not think it will cause trouble." At least he sincerely hoped that it didn't. He wasn't sure he'd like it if their understanding wound up being something more lopsided than not. But Kevin wasn't like that, so the Quebecois didn't anticipate any problems.

"When would you like to see him again?" Jean-Paul took the slip of paper so he could type the number into his phone.

“In about an hour,” Vanessa joked. Clearly she was working out a lot of pent up sexual energy and frustration that had built up while her and Lex had barely been ships passing in the night. She just wasn’t the sort of girl who was all that contented with taking care of herself for so long when she was supposed to have someone around to help with such things, apparently. “Honestly, though? I don’t know. Whenever? I mean, if you want me to commit to Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays or something like that then I could, but you know how work goes. Inevitably you’d end up alone with him on a Wednesday night and what would you do without me to distract him from is damn near pleading request for you to fuck him?” She raised an eyebrow and looked over at Jean-Paul. “Which you didn’t. Which I find very curious, for the record.”

“I did not mean such a scheduled thing,” Jean-Paul clarified. “I meant something like... do you want to see him this weekend, oui?” He pointedly didn’t answer her question about why he hadn’t fucked Will despite the very nice way the younger man had asked. Mostly, he didn’t quite understand it, himself. Finally, though, after a sip of coffee, the Quebecois said, “It did not feel right to fuck him yet.” A woman walking past them did a double take when she overheard Jean-Paul say that, but he paid her no mind.

“Yet?” Vanessa nudged him with her hip and grinned at the double take woman. “Is this your way of romancing him? You’ll wait until he’s begging to have you inside him before you actually give him what he wants?” She shook her head. That just seemed sort of mean. “He’s...very fun, just in case you weren’t entirely sure from your vantage point. And the weekend works. I can be around for that.” There was a cat-that-got-the-cream smile on her face for a second before she sipped at her coffee again.

“Non, I am not trying to make him wait or beg, as you say,” Jean-Paul answered, contemplating the pair of students now looking at Vanessa as though she’d grown a second head. Then he smiled. “It is only that I do not feel like it is... so necessary, oui? I cannot explain it, I think.” But he was pretty sure it’d feel right eventually. At least he hoped it would - he wasn’t terribly interested in trying to analyse himself enough to pinpoint why he hadn’t fucked Will. He just hadn’t. That was that.

“What if it’s necessary for him?” she asked with a serious tone. “The thing is if you’re getting into a sexual relationship with someone it’s not just about you, it’s about both of you. I’m pretty sure I can distract him from it for a while but eventually he’s going to wonder why. And he might wonder if it’s something he’s doing wrong. He seemed like the sort who kept waiting to get shot down back at the bar. I’m not sure I want to end up putting him in a position where he feels like he’s getting shot down again. Something to think about before calling him, aye?”

“Oui, something to think on,” Jean-Paul agreed. They had a good bit of time before the weekend and there was nothing to say they had to call him then, after all. Perhaps he’d figure it out by then. Or perhaps he’d get wrapped up in a case and not let himself think of anything else. It was possible. But he supposed putting some thought into it was only fair - Will did seem like the sort to take things to heart as opposed to simply taking them at face value.

“Let me know after you think about it and we can either call him or not from there.” The idea of seeing him again was just as much amusing as it was intriguing given the sharing arrangement they’d had the night before. “If we see him again are we making this an ongoing sharing thing? Because if at some point you want him all for yourself I wouldn’t mind. And I doubt he would either.”

“Ah,” Jean-Paul said, blinking a little. “I would not mind sharing again. I feel that this worked well, oui?” He hadn’t considered having Will to himself. He was still on the thought train of only really wanting Kevin all to himself for the moment, though that wasn’t likely to happen given the younger man’s involvement with Laura. The Quebecois still felt like that should bother him more than it did, since it didn’t really bother him at all. “I think it is best to not... make boxes, you see?” That was the wrong expression, but he hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before and he wasn’t particularly inclined to worry overmuch about his English at the moment.

“Really? Because I have a fetish that involves a man in a very small cardboard box,” Vanessa deadpanned and followed her words with a pout. The coffee was helping keep her warm, but she was so comfy nestled in next to Jean-Paul that she didn’t bother to pull away. “Well, boxes or not,” she said more seriously, “I think before anyone calls Will you and I should figure out what all we are or are not potentially doing with him. You realize he already thinks we’re a couple. We should probably correct him on that eventually.”

“At least he does not think I am Mister Carlysle,” Jean-Paul said, quirking a rueful smile. “Et oui, we should speak to him of this. Do you think it would change his opinions of us?”

Vanessa shrugged. “I dunno. People get weird about the oddest things. It might change his opinion and it might not. Personally, I think he should be totally flattered that a gay guy got naked with a woman so they could play with him together. I mean, what could possibly be more flattering than that?”

Laughing aloud, Jean-Paul shook his head. “This I do not know, mon ami. But I hope you are right and that he sees it this way.”

“Or we could just keep him thinking we’re a couple.” She grinned over at him before sipping her coffee again. “I mean, we play affectionate couple damn well, after all.”

“And then? If he finds that we are not? We have no photos on the walls, no wedding rings. We play it well, but we are not so convincing if he takes closer looks.” They were approaching the X-Factor offices now, but Jean-Paul wasn’t inclined to release Vanessa just yet. He didn’t feel the cold the way she did, but it was still nice to have the contact.

“That’s true.” She shrugged again. “So we tell him and he can either decide to keep us or not.” Vanessa laid her head on Jean-Paul’s shoulder and batted her eyes as she looked up at him. “If we all keep each other are we strictly sharing or not? Not sharing could result in favoring which would inevitably kill someone’s fun. But alone time is also fun. I am very torn on the topic.” She gave a melodramatic sigh and wilted a bit at his side.

Jean-Paul chuckled softly and shook his head. “I think we should keep each other and see if the alone time, as you say, becomes an issue. As long as we talk to one another, I think it should not be so bad, oui? But I do not so much feel the need to be alone with Will, not right now.”

“Sharing it is until further notice.” She could stand to lose Will. Vanessa had Warren she was sleeping with and Wade she was sleeping in a not-sex way and Tabitha she was apparently kissing in bars. Not sleeping with Will wouldn’t exactly hurt her. But if Will came to favor her over Jean-Paul she might feel bad because his other person also had another person and what if Kevin went full time with her?

“Oui, until further notice,” Jean-Paul said, pausing in front of the door to her building. He opened it, and nodded for her to precede him. They had work to do today, after all.