Log: Matt and Hope

[x-daredevil.livejournal.com]

Matt and Hope cook together in the kitchen and discuss him getting a haircut. She won't let him go to Supercuts.



For the past couple years, Matt hadn't bothered with things like haircuts because they hadn't mattered. He hadn't cared. Now though, his hair was bothering him, it was too long, too hot and too in the way, especially at his acrobatics classes and X-Men practices. It wasn't required that he cut it, but it did need to be tied back and it was just the hassle of it all. The question was, how did he want to cut it? He had no idea other than 'short.'

Heading into the kitchen to make himself something to eat, Matt was unsurprised to find Hope there, too. He had taken cooking classes with Lorna the previous school year in an attempt at building some life-skills and that was the same sort of thing that was right up Hope's alley, especially with her mom being all about Hope being a proper lady circa never. "Whatcha cooking and can I eat it?" he asked, going to the sink to wash his hands before he touched stuff in the fridge. Lorna kept things labeled for him, but it still involved hands and touching so cleanliness was important.

"Oh, I was just practicing one of the recipes Ms. Dane showed me to make. Roasted tomato bisque..." Hope looked up from where she was pouring the soup into the blender in small portions, so she could work on the structure of the soup. "I am just working in the cream."

"Ah, cool," not something super quick then. And he'd need grilled cheese to go with it, too. "You want a grilled cheese? Those go great with tomato soup," at least Matt thought so. "I'll even use the fancy cheese for you." That did sound good actually.

"Is there any blue cheese? There was a link to recipe combing it with apple and watercress in a toastie." Hope carefully added the cream. "I think the combination might make for an interesting lunch." Ms. Dane had mentioned somewhat more exotic versions of familiar dishes would make an excellent start for cooking for entertaining.

"Is blue cheese really blue?" One of the many odd questions from Matt some days, "But I think so. I smelled it a minute ago...ah ha! Found it. Yes. And apples are always in stock. I don't know about watercress..." he ran his hands over the various vegetables, but he didn't feel anything that screamed 'watercress' to him, nor did he smell it. "Come look?"

"Let's have a look." Hope rummaged through the fridge for a moment after having shut down the blender. "This is it. And blue cheese kinda has dark blue veins running through it. The flavor is quite strong though..." Hope's voice turned questioning, knowing about his sensitivity to strong flavors.

"I'm familiar with the taste," Matt assured her. He didn't care for strong flavours, but at the same time, he also knew how to moderate them, "We can cut it with another cheese or just use less of it than you would otherwise. Or I'll make one for you with blue cheese and the rest with something else for me," he was easy like that. Pushing his hair out of his face, Matt gathered the things needed. "I don't mind some flavour, just not...overwhelming."

Hope hummed an agreement as she turned the blender back on, pouring in the last batch. "That is a good idea. I hope the combination work, so I can add it to my list of things to use when I am entertaining."

"Who're you entertaining then?" Matt asked, getting everything ready to start the sandwiches. "Somehow, I can't see your mother or her lady friends here."

"Well, no one at the moment, but entertaining is one of the things my mother taught me I enjoy most. Cooking itself I have never been fond of, but learning for dinner parties I do enjoy..." Her voice trailed of as she registered Matt his last sentence. "You are kidding right? My mother would give an arm and a leg to be able to entertain here."

"Huh?" Matt turned away from the cutting board to face Hope, completely clueless. "Why would she want to do that? She's all...I dunno. Fancy," Matt hadn't met Hope's mom, but he had the general idea, "You know, never buys stuff on sale and only wears designer names and lots of luncheons with the ladies after getting her nails done at the spa. This is Xavier's home for mutants with no where else."

She blinked at Matt, a little uncomprehendingly. "Wait... you have never seen what the school looks like... Before your accident, have you ever seen one of those English period movies with mansions?"

"I guess?" Matt shrugged, "I don't remember. Uh...wood paneling and the pervading sense that you can't put your feet up and relax?" Which was not how Xavier's felt at all. There was wood, he knew that, he could touch it, but that didn't mean anything.

"I am not quite sure about the not relaxing part, but the wood paneling is right. It all looks quite elegant and my mother only wishes she would live in a place like this."

"Oh." Huh. Pushing his hair from his face again to catch it behind his ears, Matt went back to making the sandwiches, "Doesn't feel elegant. Feels....I dunno. Like home. Minus the cockroaches," which was not a bad thing at all. He'd been here nearly three years now, it had better feel like home.

"It's is home." Hope concurred. "Just somewhat... fancier in looks then other homes." That was expressing things mild though. She put the pan back on the fire, to make sure it would be heated evenly. "How far along are you?"

"Mmm....five minutes or so?" the pan was hot with the butter and the sandwiches assembled, he just had to let them cook. "Hey, so, I was thinking about getting a haircut. What do you think?" It had been a while. Like two or three years...

"A haircut?" Hope turned the fire low and carefully examined Matt's face. "I would at least say it's time for one. Your hair is quite long and it could do with some attention. Did you have something particular in mind?"

"Shorter?" Matt shrugged, "It's kinda annoying in my circus classes having to tie it back. And the X-Men stuff, too," not that he went on any missions yet. Mostly he was reading backlogs of all the previous mission reports and working on hand to hand stuff. "I trust you on things like what looks good."

"Shorter..." Hope repeated, considering his face thoughtfully. "That does not tell me much. But I think I can figure something out. Are you giving me a free hand as long as it remains practical?" A small mischievous grin covered her face. "I mean, for all you know I might get your hair dyed purple."

Flipping the last sandwich over so it could finish cooking, Matt nodded slightly, "I could rock purple hair," he agreed, not believing for a minute that she would actually dye his hair any colour, "But you know. College. X-Man. Circus freak. It's time for a change. And practical sort of fits for all of those. But not some high and tight military whatever. That's too short. Might as well just shave your head and just...no."

"I have to agree. A crew cut would not suit you. Far too harsh." Hope turned away, gathering what she needed to set the table. "I will check for a good salon nearby and then we can make an appointment. I am guessing you want something that is easy to maintain as well? No extensive styling?"

"Yeah," Matt nodded, setting the sandwiches on plates and taking them to the table, "We could go to Supercuts after we eat?" Weren't salon's for women?

"No, we are not." Hope gave a firm shake of her head. "We are going to a place where they will be able to pay proper attention to your hair. Especially if you want no fuss, it's important that it's cut carefully."

Touching his hair and pulling it out with his fingers, Matt let it drop, "It's just hair," he replied, "I mean....nevermind. You're the expert which is why I defer to you. But I don't want some fancy hoity-toity French place or whatever," he took a bite of his sandwich and nodded appreciatively, "You need to try this. The blue cheese makes it work," he had mixed blue cheese with some mild cheddar and it was delicious.

"There is a middle way between Supercuts and a truly upscale salon. Just let me handle that part." Hope stated confidently. "All you have to do is show up on time." She took a bite from her toastie and chewed thoughtfully. "I do like this combination. It's rich, but not too much."

Dunking his sandwich into the soup, Matt had to agree. It was all good together, "So you gonna go host your mom now or something? Like...show her that we're not all deranged heathens or whatever?" He'd wear a tie if he could get a ringside seat for that!

"No." Hope shook her head. "My mother expects me to continue leaning things that 'befit a lady'. This is one of those skills, part of being a good hostess. She had already enrolled me in a cooking school in Michigan for the summer, but Ms. Dane was able to convince her she had better credentials." She tasted the bisque as well, considering the result carefully. "And showing I do wish to keep working on those will hopefully make things easier when I have to convince her when I go back home."

"I'm not following," Matt replied, "Convince her of what?" To stay here? The idea of Hope leaving did not sit well, she was one of his closer friends. "If she pulls you out, I'll come and kidnap you. Just in case you were wondering. I can totally do it."

"No, I don't think there is any risk of that yet. She does not quite know I have managed some basic control of my abilities. It's more that I wish to take some classes they would frown at. Giving her the idea I am still committed to being what she sees as her ideal might help dealing with that." Hope explained, though she frowned a little at how... ugly the words sounded.

Duplicitous. Matt kinda liked it. "Damn the man," he agreed, "Or...damn the woman. Whatever. What classes?"

"I am not quite sure if I will be taking all of them, but public speaking, accounting and AP psychology are on the list." Hope listed the three subjects she really wished to take.

"I took debate and was on the team. Even won at a competition," Matt replied. He'd won third in his category for a mandatory district competition with other classes, nothing too special, but it was good enough for him, "So if you want help with public speaking, let me know. The others...you're on your own," he grinned, "I like those ideas though. All very good ones."

"I don't think I will be joining the team though. Just taking the class is quite enough for me." Hope commented thoughtfully. "What was hardest for you with public speaking?"

Getting up to get a drink and getting some for Hope, too, Matt considered the question, "Eye contact," he finally said. "I can't see my audience, but it's hard for a group of people to feel connected to what you're saying if they don't think you care about them personally. So, I had to learn how to position my head and adjust how I was looking to include them even if I couldn't see them. Make sense?" It had been weird at first, but it made sense and it helped with him appearing not blind, "It's not as important when I'm with people I know or even just doing whatever, because then people know I'm blind and it changes their perceptions. When you speak to an audience though, they may or may not know or care."

"Of course it does. I remember someone saying once eye contact is vital when you are speaking in public. Which is a lot harder when you are blind." Hope gratefully accepted the drink. "Thank you."

"Try impossible," Matt joked, "so...yeah. I'd never really considered that before. I mean, how I appear to others, because I use different criterion."

"That will be interesting when you have to give presentations in college. Not only that, but you also have the issue with powerpoints and those kind of things." Hope inquired curiously now that she really considered it.

"I've had to do power point presentations before and give presentations in general," Matt pointed out, "I uh...usually get someone to help me on it because the program isn't the most user-friendly if you're blind. I mean, it has voice software built in, but that doesn't help with making it look decent or layout and formatting much. What I really hate are making posters. At least with power points I can type the info and set it up and then let someone else help with formatting."

"I can imagine why posters would be even worse." Hope agreed with a nod. "Especially since posters are a completely visual medium." She titled her head as something occurred to her. "Before I forget, would you mind helping me remember to bring the chain of my necklace when we go? I need to get the latch repaired..."

"Sure," Matt agreed, "Are we going now or tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow. I still need to find a decent salon and get us an appointment. Like I said, no Supercuts." Hope raised her eyebrow at him, even knowing he could not see it.

"Yeah, yeah, no Supercuts," which he didn't get, but whatever. This was Hope. She did things like that, which was why he went to her in the first place.