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xp_logsBobbi and Jean run into each other for the first time since Bobbi's big argument with Warren, and things are kinda awkward.
The sun was starting to set, making the lights turn on in the Xavier pool. Jean floated in the water, her face lifted up toward the colors painted across the sky. After a few minutes she closed her eyes, listening to the nothingness that came from having her head partially below water.
Bobbi had a similar idea of wanting to relax by the water. She was already at the mansion, so she figured she'd just as well stay there instead of heading back home. Thankfully she kept a spare change of clothes and a swimsuit there, so it didn't take long for her to change and head for the poolside.
When she walked in, she saw that she wasn't alone, and slowed her walking. When she saw who it was inside the pool, she stopped altogether. Well, they were bound to run into each other at some point, so why not now?
"Hey there."
Preoccupied with the calm, it took Jean a moment to realize there was someone there. With her ears below the water, she didn't really hear what Bobbi had said, though she did sense the other woman's presence. Opening her eyes, they focused on Bobbi as she treaded water.
"Hi," she said. The awkwardness was palpable.
It was too late to turn around now, though Bobbi was starting to question just how much relaxation she'd get out of this now. Mentally she shook her head, telling herself not to start off on such a negative foot.
She started moving again, finally resting on a deck chair where she could take off her shoes. "How's the water?"
"It's nice," Jean said, taking the moment to meet her eye but focusing on the sunset. The silence that came after that was so dense it was like filling the pool with cement.
Jean had made her apologies. Bobbi was in her right not to accept them. That was that. She wasn't going to force someone to endure her presence.
"I'm going to head inside. Enjoy the pool," she said, making her way toward the pool ladder.
A big part of Bobbi - the small part of her, figuratively at least - wanted to just let Jean go and deal with this some other time. Or never. Never would work fine too.
"Wait, Jean." She sighed, knowing she should at least try and say something. "Please. You don't have to go. And... we should probably talk."
Jean paused at the ladder, eventually choosing to lean against the wall instead. "I don't have to go but I will if it makes it easier."
What was there to say? Quentin accidentally got me high on drugs because of my messed up psychic powers and I tried to fuck your boyfriend. Sorry?
How would you begin to talk about that? Jean wasn't going to throw Quentin to the wolves for having a lapse in judgment, even if she definitely did NOT condone it.
"No, I'd appreciate it if you stayed." Easier would be nice, to be sure, but it wasn't going to get my easier.
"I'm sorry I never texted you back." Bobbi had turned her phone off for a few days immediately after everything had happened but she did get Jean's text. It was just awkward to try and reply after time had passed, but now this was even more awkward. "I appreciate it, and... I don't blame you, Jean."
Jean got out of the pool and sat on the edge. "Thanks," she said. She skimmed her toe along the water.
"I still blame myself, though." Would she have sought Warren out had he not texted her? Probably not but she could've ignored the text. There were a few ways things could've gone.
"Are you doing okay otherwise?"
Bobbi nodded slightly as she wandered over to the water's edge herself, taking a seat a few feet away from Jean and tentatively dipping her own feet into the pool. She made a lazy figure eight with one leg, fighting back against the drag of the water just enough to slowly trace out the pattern.
"You shouldn't blame yourself. We did that kind of thing all of the time... well, Warren did - with my permission," she clarified, "just not like that I guess?" It was something she was still struggling with, especially her reaction to the same, but that had nothing to do with Jean at all.
"Like what?" Jean found the words spilling from her mouth. She never really understood how Bobbi tolerated Warren's infidelity. It was why Jean left him. But it stopped being her problem the moment they broke up so she never said anything. Besides, they were two different people. It wasn't her business.
She shook her head. "Nevermind. You don't have to...I just...for me, I told myself I'd never do that, and I did. Because I guess I thought I wanted to break the rules for once. And in the moment the interference told me...it didn't matter. But it did. I shouldn't have given in."
"It's ok, really. I mean, it wasn't your fault, it was..." Jean told her she didn't have to talk about it, but Bobbi felt she had to, it might even help her figure things out some more. "Honestly, I can't help but feel a lot of it is kinda my fault, actually." She wriggled her toes, creating tiny splashes around her feet that she focused her gaze on while thinking aloud.
"I thought I was ok with the whole, y'know, other people thing." Bobbi wove her hand for emphasis. "And I told him as much, and I was, until people with a history came into it. Which shouldn't matter, if I was really ok with it, but... I wasn't." She shrugged, getting to the crux of it. "I probably never was, not really. Which wasn't fair to Warren, or to myself, when you think about it."
Jean fell silent for a moment before finally speaking. "I could never do it. That's why we broke up...or...why I broke up with him. He doesn't seem the type to be tied down. Which is why I was surprised when I found out the two of you were dating."
"I thought I could, but..." Bobbi trailed off, gesturing with her hand again. "It's not easy. Which is something we have to work on, or talk about, or... something." She shrugged, trying not to think about that right now. "But the bottom line is that none of that's your fault."
Jean didn't really reply, because part of her still felt guilty, but she didn't try to argue with her. After a few moments, she let out a breath.
"Our lives will never be uncomplicated, I guess," she mused with a faint smile.
"Sister," she replied with a smirk of her own, "ain't that the truth? I guess our lives would just be too boring then, huh?" Not that Bobbi didn't enjoy the odd bit of boredom now and then, but for the most part she was pretty happy with what she had most days.
"I like boring," Jean said. But after a moment, she glanced over, her smile widening into almost a grin.
"Sometimes. But I'm so used to this...anything else seems strange now."
"Mmm, me too," she agreed. "Good thing we're all used to strange by now, huh?" Bobbi was glad they all had each other to get through everything at least, even if it was harder sometimes than others.
"I don't know," Jean admitted, rubbing the back of her head. "Sometimes I still get surprised."
"This is true, I shouldn't jinx it." Who knows what could happen to them all next, after all?
The sun was starting to set, making the lights turn on in the Xavier pool. Jean floated in the water, her face lifted up toward the colors painted across the sky. After a few minutes she closed her eyes, listening to the nothingness that came from having her head partially below water.
Bobbi had a similar idea of wanting to relax by the water. She was already at the mansion, so she figured she'd just as well stay there instead of heading back home. Thankfully she kept a spare change of clothes and a swimsuit there, so it didn't take long for her to change and head for the poolside.
When she walked in, she saw that she wasn't alone, and slowed her walking. When she saw who it was inside the pool, she stopped altogether. Well, they were bound to run into each other at some point, so why not now?
"Hey there."
Preoccupied with the calm, it took Jean a moment to realize there was someone there. With her ears below the water, she didn't really hear what Bobbi had said, though she did sense the other woman's presence. Opening her eyes, they focused on Bobbi as she treaded water.
"Hi," she said. The awkwardness was palpable.
It was too late to turn around now, though Bobbi was starting to question just how much relaxation she'd get out of this now. Mentally she shook her head, telling herself not to start off on such a negative foot.
She started moving again, finally resting on a deck chair where she could take off her shoes. "How's the water?"
"It's nice," Jean said, taking the moment to meet her eye but focusing on the sunset. The silence that came after that was so dense it was like filling the pool with cement.
Jean had made her apologies. Bobbi was in her right not to accept them. That was that. She wasn't going to force someone to endure her presence.
"I'm going to head inside. Enjoy the pool," she said, making her way toward the pool ladder.
A big part of Bobbi - the small part of her, figuratively at least - wanted to just let Jean go and deal with this some other time. Or never. Never would work fine too.
"Wait, Jean." She sighed, knowing she should at least try and say something. "Please. You don't have to go. And... we should probably talk."
Jean paused at the ladder, eventually choosing to lean against the wall instead. "I don't have to go but I will if it makes it easier."
What was there to say? Quentin accidentally got me high on drugs because of my messed up psychic powers and I tried to fuck your boyfriend. Sorry?
How would you begin to talk about that? Jean wasn't going to throw Quentin to the wolves for having a lapse in judgment, even if she definitely did NOT condone it.
"No, I'd appreciate it if you stayed." Easier would be nice, to be sure, but it wasn't going to get my easier.
"I'm sorry I never texted you back." Bobbi had turned her phone off for a few days immediately after everything had happened but she did get Jean's text. It was just awkward to try and reply after time had passed, but now this was even more awkward. "I appreciate it, and... I don't blame you, Jean."
Jean got out of the pool and sat on the edge. "Thanks," she said. She skimmed her toe along the water.
"I still blame myself, though." Would she have sought Warren out had he not texted her? Probably not but she could've ignored the text. There were a few ways things could've gone.
"Are you doing okay otherwise?"
Bobbi nodded slightly as she wandered over to the water's edge herself, taking a seat a few feet away from Jean and tentatively dipping her own feet into the pool. She made a lazy figure eight with one leg, fighting back against the drag of the water just enough to slowly trace out the pattern.
"You shouldn't blame yourself. We did that kind of thing all of the time... well, Warren did - with my permission," she clarified, "just not like that I guess?" It was something she was still struggling with, especially her reaction to the same, but that had nothing to do with Jean at all.
"Like what?" Jean found the words spilling from her mouth. She never really understood how Bobbi tolerated Warren's infidelity. It was why Jean left him. But it stopped being her problem the moment they broke up so she never said anything. Besides, they were two different people. It wasn't her business.
She shook her head. "Nevermind. You don't have to...I just...for me, I told myself I'd never do that, and I did. Because I guess I thought I wanted to break the rules for once. And in the moment the interference told me...it didn't matter. But it did. I shouldn't have given in."
"It's ok, really. I mean, it wasn't your fault, it was..." Jean told her she didn't have to talk about it, but Bobbi felt she had to, it might even help her figure things out some more. "Honestly, I can't help but feel a lot of it is kinda my fault, actually." She wriggled her toes, creating tiny splashes around her feet that she focused her gaze on while thinking aloud.
"I thought I was ok with the whole, y'know, other people thing." Bobbi wove her hand for emphasis. "And I told him as much, and I was, until people with a history came into it. Which shouldn't matter, if I was really ok with it, but... I wasn't." She shrugged, getting to the crux of it. "I probably never was, not really. Which wasn't fair to Warren, or to myself, when you think about it."
Jean fell silent for a moment before finally speaking. "I could never do it. That's why we broke up...or...why I broke up with him. He doesn't seem the type to be tied down. Which is why I was surprised when I found out the two of you were dating."
"I thought I could, but..." Bobbi trailed off, gesturing with her hand again. "It's not easy. Which is something we have to work on, or talk about, or... something." She shrugged, trying not to think about that right now. "But the bottom line is that none of that's your fault."
Jean didn't really reply, because part of her still felt guilty, but she didn't try to argue with her. After a few moments, she let out a breath.
"Our lives will never be uncomplicated, I guess," she mused with a faint smile.
"Sister," she replied with a smirk of her own, "ain't that the truth? I guess our lives would just be too boring then, huh?" Not that Bobbi didn't enjoy the odd bit of boredom now and then, but for the most part she was pretty happy with what she had most days.
"I like boring," Jean said. But after a moment, she glanced over, her smile widening into almost a grin.
"Sometimes. But I'm so used to this...anything else seems strange now."
"Mmm, me too," she agreed. "Good thing we're all used to strange by now, huh?" Bobbi was glad they all had each other to get through everything at least, even if it was harder sometimes than others.
"I don't know," Jean admitted, rubbing the back of her head. "Sometimes I still get surprised."
"This is true, I shouldn't jinx it." Who knows what could happen to them all next, after all?
