Tabitha, Percy: Almost Over the Hill

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Percy comes by to talk to Charles, regarding an offer Barry (the owner of Stonewall Farms) would like to make, and afterward, he tracks down Tabitha. They chat and go out to lunch.


Percy found the door to the room where he'd been told he could find Tabitha and he leaned on the wall opposite the door, waiting for her. The halls were busy with kids right now, as full of laughter and voices than any other school. For all that it was a school for mutants, once you gave up on the idea of being surprised by anything about it, it was pretty normal. He checked his watch - a minute past twelve - and decided, again, that this was a good idea and that he was going to stop feeling like he was ten years younger than his driver's license indicated.

Tabitha sat on the top of her desk, indian-style, her sneakers making little squeaking noises on the maple surface each time she moved. She demonstrated, one more time, how to reabsorb the energy from one of her timebombs, then dismissed her student. "See you tomorrow!" she called, as the student trudged away, nodding his thanks.

The door opened and a slouch-shouldered boy slunk down the hall, leaving it open behind him. When no other students emerged, Percy stepped up to the threshold and looked inside. Tabitha sat on the desk, looking barely older than the students in the halls. Percy read her red t-shirt, "My superpower is being this cute", and grinned.

"Well, that saves me from having to ask," he commented wryly, leaning in the doorway, hands in his pockets.

Tabitha looked up and her face split in a grin. "Percy! I didn't expect to see you again so soon." She processed what he'd said, looked down at her shirt, and laughed. "That's not..." She laughed again, but decided not to answer until he'd really asked the question. Just in case.

"Well, I was in the area," he said, a little sheepishly. "Barry sent me over to talk to the Professor about a few things and I figured I'd see if you wanted to go get lunch while I was here. I'd have called but I couldn't say what my schedule was going to be today so I couldn't ask any earlier than about," he checked his watch, "well, now."

She grinned, pushing herself down off the desk and grabbing her bag -- a backpack that had obviously seen better days -- and slinging it over her shoulder. "Lunch sounds great. I don't have another session until," she looked at the clock on the wall, "three, today. I think." Her brow wrinkled. "Yeah, three."

"My car's right out front." He held the door for her and closed it behind them. "So what do you teach?"

She grinned. Well, there went any chance of keeping her mutation to herself. "I'm a TA for Energy Projection. I tutor the kids -- the ones in that class -- who need a bit of extra help controlling their mutations."

"Sounds a little... flammable," Percy said, smiling down at her. "Definitely more interesting than what I do. And you get to dress casual. I think I'm envious."

Tabitha shook her head. "Probably only more interesting because you don't do it every day," she said reasonably. "It's got its perks, though. Casual dress is definitely one of them." She gave him a once-over. "But I kinda like the way you're dressed."

Percy tugged at his tie a little irritably. "I've never gotten used to wearing the first-cousin to the noose, but it's not too bad, especially since I'm not the one who makes sure it all matches." He stepped ahead and opened the front door for Tabitha. "I'm a hazard on my own, apparently. I can't tell... which probably means it's true," he admitted.

She smiled. "Probably, yes. That's usually the way it goes." She walked out the door and toward the only car in the drive, which must be Percy's. "So, who makes sure it matches?"

"My flatmate, Hil. Irritating as hell, great sense of colour." Percy opened the passenger door for Tabitha and waited for her to get in. "Anywhere you'd like to go?"

Tabitha slipped into the seat, smiling at how /male/ the car was. "Depends on what you want to eat, I guess. Chinese, bar food, pizza, Italian..." She trailed off, trying to think of the other restaurants in the area.

"Can you stand nouveau cuisine?" Percy got into the driver's seat and started the car without buckling up. "The chef from one of the clubs I manage ran off with an artist and opened up her own place in the area, in an old factory building. I trust her cooking more than most, and she's fun. Hell, if you don't like what's on the menu, she'll make you something you will."

One of the clubs that he managed. Huh. "Sounds great."

Percy gave her a smile. "You seem like an adventurous woman, I'm sure you'll have fun." He headed northwest at a speed that could generously be described as enthusiastic. He rolled his window down and leaned back, settling into his seat. The car barely provided room for his long legs, but he seemed comfortable enough. "So, is this what you're going to do with yourself? Teach? Or is there something around the next corner?"

It was a question she wasn't sure how to answer. Teaching wasn't her real job at the mansion. She was quiet for a moment, then nodded. "I like using what I can do, my mutation, to help people. For as long as I like doing it, this is what I'll do. After that, who knows?"

"That works. I was kind of like that when I was younger, muddled along doing what seemed interesting with a side-helping of what my dad wanted me to do because, well, I like the guy and he worked hard to send me to school so it seemed like the right thing to do. Before I knew it, I was living in Manhattan and getting Hil to make sure my ties and socks matched." Percy paused and then shook his head. "That sounds more like a warning, actually..."

Tabitha eyed Percy. "That /does/ sound like a warning," she said wryly. She grinned and shrugged. "But I think I'm old enough to manage, even if this doesn't work out."

"So now that begs the question of how old you are," Percy said. "I'm guessing young enough not to mind answering that one."

She laughed. "Twenty-four, at last count. Definitely not old enough to mind answering."

"And this is where I pretend I'm not breathing a sigh of relief that you're over twenty-one," he admitted. "It was kind of hard to tell on Thursday night."

Tabitha laughed a little louder at that. "I guess, with all the kids around..." She shrugged. "Turn about is fair play, I guess. How old are you, then?"

"Twenty-eight," Percy answered. "Almost over the hill, the way I used to think. Of course, I act like I'm about ten on a good day, when I'm not at work. Still prone to skinned knees and all that. Broke my arm skateboarding last summer." He looked over at Tabitha and grinned. "It's probably wrong of me to be proud of that. I have a scar, look!" He pulled his left sleeve up enough to show the start of a scar on the outside of his wrist, just starting to fade.

Tabitha reached out to touch the scar. She had a few of her own, but not in places she could show them off. "Skateboarding? Really?" She grinned and tapped his wrist. "I know a great indoor park...but you should probably pay attention to the road."

Percy gave a mock-sigh and turned back to watch the road. "Yes, but the road is remarkably unappealing compared to the company. Good thing we're almost there." He took pointed to a sign for 'Garafraxa'. "I have no idea about the name. Weird names somehow add to the mystique of a place, I suppose. For me, it means spelling errors in my database."

"I'm not even sure how to pronounce that, but I'm trusting you that the food's good." Tabitha clapped her hands excitedly, obviously happy to be trying something new.

Percy watched her out of the corner of his eye, grinning. He turned off sharply into the parking lot of an old building that must have been all but derelict before developers resurrected it and made it trendy. "Here we are." He swung the car into a spot in the 'staff' area and was out the door before the noise of the engine had died away. "Let's go take our chances with Kath's cooking, shall we?" he asked, opening Tabitha's door and offering her his hand.

Tabitha slipped her hand into Percy's, giggling quietly, and stood. "Yes, let's," she said, as he closed the car door behind her.