LOG: Spring is in the Air (Terry/Doug/Vance)

[x-justice.livejournal.com]

Early spring in the New York countryside. It was the kind of day to make a girl curl her toes and stretch in the sunlight, letting it do the job of keeping muscles warm and limber after a workout. Terry had stripped out of her leathers in favor of jean shorts and a billowy style shirt, a plate of something purloined from the kitchens on her knees as she sat on the back patio steps around lunch time. She had been scarce lately, buried under mounting piles of investigative paperwork, and her skin started to show that this was its first exposure to the sun in a long time.


Despite not having lived at the mansion for several years, Doug still visited fairly regularly compared to the rest of X-Force. He was the language tutor for a number of mansion residents, whether it was helping those for whom English was a second language, or helping native English speakers expand their linguistic horizons. He liked the chance to maintain contact with people who weren't his coworkers, and keep himself from being too insular and a hermit.

So this particular spring day found Doug at the mansion as well, and he strolled up from a walk along the paths behind the mansion. He paused to enjoy the stretch of Terry's legs before walking into her field of vision to be noticed. "I hope you're not on the clock for the feebs right now, rua," he observed with a grin.


"If I am, tis no more than they deserve," Terry retorted, looking up at the interruption and letting a smile slide across her face in greeting. "They've been burying me in the dungeons, and I was wasting away for lack of sunlight." She scooted over a bit, making room for him to sit next to her, then stuffed a forkful of food into her mouth.


"Hey, what do I really care?" Doug asked as he sat down and leaned backward on his elbows. "I engage in questionably legal activities all the time. Damn the Man." He leaned up on one elbow and into Terry's personal space, for once not feeling all that awkward. "Whatcha eating?" he asked, trying to see what was on the plate.


Terry bent her head over her plate, close to his own, and tipped the plate up with one finger toward him. "Leftovers, mostly." THere was a bit of salad, a bit of noodles and chicken, and what looked like the crushed remnants from a bag of tortilla chips. "Are ye peddling your questionably legal activities here then?"


The first indication of another person spoiling what could have turned into an intimate moment was the whistling sounding down the path. Not an alert, but the whistle of someone trying to carry a tune with it, and-- kind of succeeding. A minute or two after his whistling could be heard, Vance strolled around the corner of the mansion himself, hands tucked into the pockets of his shorts as he strolled along, enjoying the day.

He would normally be more unremarkable, only as he walked, his eyes glowed a pink color, head surrounded by a nimbus of pink energy that was also carrying three different books behind him. Each book held independently with its own small piece of pink TK, they floated along behind the mansion's newcomer. However, the whistling stopped suddenly as Vance spotted both Terry and Doug, followed by the *thump* of two of the books as they hit the ground.

Vance flushed slightly and turned to pick the books up in one of his hands before he offered a smile to both Doug and Terry, his eyes lingering slightly on the latter. "Oh-- afternoon."


Caught up in the tight little world of banter and spring-inspired goodwill, Terry didn't hear Vance's approach until the books went tumbling. She turned her head toward the sound, eyes widening when she figured out 1) who it was, and 2) really just how close she was to Doug. She cleared her throat a little and straightened up and back, placing a little more space between them. She caught her lower lip between her teeth for a split second, then replied "Uhm. Hi." Pink flared fast and dark across her face as she looked from Vance to Doug and back again.


Well. Doug hated that feeling that he was arriving in medias res, as it were. The new guy dropping his books could have been explained as being startled to come upon people during his walk, but Terry's slight furtiveness to her body language, and the flush on her cheeks suggested perhaps it was something a bit more. Personal curiosity indeed, he thought as he remembered her email request. Hespared a slightly arched eyebrow for Terry that probably spoke volumes, and then turned to Vance. "Hi," he said, offering his hand as he stood. "Good to meet you in person."


Vance's eyes turned back to Doug as he stood up, and offered his own hand, the one without the books, for a firm handshake. His eyes drifted for a moment as Vance did the mental leapfrog to place faces with handles and messages, and moments later, grinned slightly. "Doug, right? I'm Vance. Good to meet you too."

He did his best /not/ to look at Terry and her blushing, but Vance's eyes betrayed him by at least glancing in her direction once. As he released Doug's hand and took a step back, he finally turned his head to look at Terry and offered her an easier smile. "Sorry. Didn't mean to interrupt. I was just enjoying the day and... practicing," he finished lamely, then looking between the both of them.


Doug read Terry's warning look loud and clear. There was probably going to be some kind of discussion about 'personal interests' later, though. Because he was definitely feeling like there was a whole chunk of story here that he was missing. He couldn't really blame Vance, though, as Terry certainly distracted the hell out of him frequently. He bent to pick up one of the books that had fallen on the ground and held it out to Vance, something of an olive branch to attempt to defuse the tension that was clearly in the air. "How's settling in going?" he asked, hoping that might be a neutral topic of conversation.


"Taking a break," Xen countered amicably to Terry, obviously (to Doug) a lot more at ease with her than with Doug already, "And working on some other mental exercises. But it's a gorgeous day, and I don't have to be sitting in a classroom like the younger kids." Vance started to reach out for the offered book, but stalled after a moment and held his hand up in a 'Stop' gesture.

His eyes glowed a bright pink color, and a nimbus of light gripped the offered book by one side and lifted it gently from Doug's grasp. The look of concentration on Vance's face was plain to see as the book floated the short distance back to him and spun around in visual inspection. His TK flowed over the book and bits of earth and grass began to rain down from the jacket cover before it finally dropped into Vance's waiting hand.

When the pink light faded, Vance finally took a deep breath and relaxed his shoulders as he tried to shrug off the tightness from the unfamiliar usage of his powers as he finally addressed Doug's question. "It's going," Vance said, looking between the redhead and newly made acquaintance, "There's a lot to get used to-- finishing school, practicing with my powers." His eyed crinkled slightly at the edges as the corners of his mouth curled in a sly little grin, "Living with a school full of teenagers and then some."


Terry's brows climbed up while a crimped little smile pinched her lips. Doug gets an innocent look that strains itself the longer Vance shows off his progress. Finally, apparently no longer able to control herself, she teased as a sort of aside to Vance, "That just gets prettier every time I see it..." She curled her knees back up and rearranged the plate on them before stabbing some food onto her fork and taking a bite.


The implication being that she'd seen it before. Doug wondered how many times. Of course, this was also more the Terry he knew, as opposed to the one who'd come back from Attilan. So he supposed he had to be at least a little grateful to Vance for that.

And it wasn't like he had any claim on her, after all. She was free to flirt with whoever she wanted. Of course, all that rationalizing didn't exactly stop the spike of jealousy at her teasing of the other man. He was still human, after all. And while he might be able to hide it from the new guy who didn't know him all that well, he kind of doubted Terry would miss it, even without his ability to read body language. In some ways, there was no substitute for just having known
someone for years.

"So what are you studying, then?" he asked Vance, curious. At least he had some 'getting to know you' small talk to cover up the fact that, for the first time in quite a while, he was kind of lost for words.


Vance's cheeks flushed slightly at Terry's teasing, and his mouth tightened up around the edges, though his body language didn't indicate anger at being teased, just some mild embarassment quickly dispersed. He eyed the redhead for a little longer than was necessary, a mischevious glint in his eyes as he contemplated some form of revenge.

But in the end, Vance looked back to Doug and turned one of the books to face the linguist. "Criminal Justice," Vance explained before placing the book flat with the others. "I'm finishing a degree online this spring, so I will officially be a college graduate. Perhaps a little bit later than I had planned, but better late than never."


The implication being, yes... Terry smirked under Vance's eyeing, and she steadfastly refused to look at him while she finished a last bite. She slide the plate off her knees and into the spot vacated by Doug, his shifting body language finally capturing her attention. Terry shot a curious look up at Doug. “Tis a popular choice for us," she murmured vaguely as she held her hand up to Doug in silent request for a pull up and off the steps. "Guess when you are aware of how little there can be, justice gets a bit more important."


Doug gave Terry his hand instinctively and helped her to a standing position, his hand lingering a bit long against hers before he pulled away. It was a certainty that there would be some questions later on for Terry, perhaps from both of the men. He wondered what Vance was making of him and Terry. Body language only went so far, after all, and it didn't convey complex concepts. "So, criminal justice. Thinking of going into law enforcement like our intrepid lady guard and Special Inspector Garrison Kane?" He only barely kept himself from adding his usual 'of the Royal Canadian blah blah blah' mocking that he tended to append to the Mountie's title. It wasn't so much that Doug disliked Garrison as he just enjoyed making fun of him at times, a remnant of the time that Marie-Ange had been dating him.


Vance noticed the lingering touch and looks between Doug and Terry, but remained steadfastly neutral. "I thought about it at one time," Vance said as the tension in his body ratcheted up a touch with the subject, and his hands gripped the books in them that much harder, "But I can't be in Law Enforcement any more." Having shared his secret with Terry already, his eyes started to cut to the redhead, but instead looked down to the ground at the last minute as he collected himself.

"That doesn't mean I can't do some work privately," he continued in a firmer tone. "Or even be involved in some outreach for mutants who find themselves lacking an ally in seeking out justice," Vance added, a brief smile flashed to Terry as he borrowed her word. "I think the Professor believes I could have some insight into helping other mutants who need some-- perspective. Especially if they are having a difficult time at home."


Terry snorted and pushed against Doug's arm, no doubt knowing exactly what he had left off. Or maybe it was more for the lady guard comment. She folded her arms in front of her, exchanging a brief glance with Doug as Vance avoided spelling out his reasons for not being able to pursue a law enforcement career. The earlier blush had mostly faded, but it renewed slightly. She stepped away from the porch and circled around the two men, using action to cover her own discomfort at her breach of trust. "And we are needing more of that, to be sure."


Despite the awkward, Doug was impressed with Vance's reasoning and passion. In their own way, all three of them were working for the justice that was scarce for them. Even if his own path was of questionable legality, as he often joked about. "I should introduce you to a friend of mine," he told the other man. "She's a PI, does a lot of work in District X with a few other current and former residents from around here. She doesn't come around the mansion as much as, say, I do, though, so next time you're in the city, let me know." It was a rare person that Doug got along so poorly with that he wouldn't offer some help or an introduction. Even his ex-girlfriends at the tensest of times could count on him if they needed it. Maybe that was why he was so pissed with Jamie, now that he thought about it. If the shoe had been on the other foot with the whole 'sixteen' mess, he would have been on a plane without further question.


"I'll make sure to remember that," Vance responded to Doug with a nod and a half smile of gratitude. "I remember a few people mentioning a PI firm in town when I first got here," Vance continued, as he threw a glance and a grin in Terry's direction even as she continued to move, "but I've been a little distracted by the luxurious mansion life, what with tons and tons of free food all over the place. Along with trying to finish out my degree before old age. And powers practice."

He paused for a moment, cocking his head slightly as if suddenly realizing just how busy he'd found himself here since arriving a short time ago. He blinked and shook his head to clear it before coming back to reality as he focused on Doug and Terry again, a faint touch of something a little deeper than simple wistfulness creeping into his voice. "Amazing how much happens around here, really, when you think about it."


"Now why was I not getting that offer when I showed up?" Terry asked of Doug in mock protest. Oh, wait. It might have something to do with the fact she was already employed. She looked from Doug to Vance, lips twitching in understanding. "What? You were expecting an Ivy-league boarding school with a staff the doubles as secret agents fighting an unacknowledged revolution to be boring? Remind me to ask what your idea of exciting is sometime, boyo."


"Not all of us can be a gorgeous Interpol agent with their own family castle, mo chara," Doug teased Terry, the awkwardness slipping away just enough for him to use the slightly flirty nickname and smirk affectionately at her. "Some of us have to network to find our place in the world." Of course, he didn't exactly have it difficult in that regard himself, what with working for Emma Frost. But he'd gotten it the same way Vance would probably find his niche - being at a mansion full of a lot of very diverse people.


"Well, when I first made plans to come here, I wasn't told about the whole secret agents fighting an unacknowledged revolution. Obviously," Vance shot a slight grin to Terry as he re-used her own words again, and then to Doug as he teased the redhead as well, noting some of the easy interplay between the both of them. "Not that it would have changed my mind had I known ahead of time," Vance added after a moment, his sincerity shining through.


"Sure, and my castle network is so enviable," Terry retorted, a little bit of bitterness warming her voice. Doug knew her relationship with her father was strained at the best of times, and her careful reserve often slipped when it came to him. She exhaled and looked away, then glanced back and gave him a wry half-smile. None of them had shiny happy family stories. Terry looked over at Vance and snorted lightly. "Might have even sped you along, to be sure?"


"Knights in shining armor, that's us," Doug quipped with a wink. "Well, maybe his more than mine."


Vance's eyes studied Terry's body language, cued off of the tone of her voice, his own brows furrowed just slightly in concern, his lips tightened as he restrained himself from getting involved in a situation he knew nothing about, or offered sympathy where it may not have been welcome. He stood awkwardly for a minute as she composed herself, and arched an eyebrow just slightly at her jibe. And at Doug's quip, Vance looked down at himself, dressed in his shirt and jeans. "I think maybe my armor's a little tarnished," he quipped back, not quite as light-hearted as he was trying for.

Vance looked back at both Terry and Doug, his hand readjusting the books tucked under his arm, and offered them another smile. "Anyway, I'll let you two get back to your conversation or whatnot before I interrupted." His eyes flicked to Doug, "Nice to meet you, again, Doug. I'll be taking you up on your offer." And then back to Terry, pausing for a second before he said simply and quietly, "See you around." And then Vance was off again, continuing on the way he had been headed before.


Terry sucked in her cheeks to bite the insides, her expression looking a little like she had sucked a lemon. "Catch you later," she offered to Vance, then watched him depart before looking over at Doug, and moving back to the steps to pick up her plate and head inside. "I should be heading back."


Awk-ward. Doug managed a half smile and half wave for Terry. "Bye, then." And he walked off as well, thinking.