Life's a Beach - Jean and Nica

[xp_spectrum]

Backdated to the beach vacation - Jean takes Nica out to burn off some of her sun-induced energy.



Jean pulled her hair into a gold scrunchie, letting it hang loosely before putting her hat back on. It was a dark blue Columbia baseball cap that she'd paired with a pair of acid washed cut off shorts that showed off her legs, flip flops, and her gold bikini top with an oversized purple shirt with the neckline cut to where it hung off her shoulder.

She was on vacation so that meant dressing how she wanted.

"So is there anywhere in particular you want to go?" she said to Nica as she scanned the shops along the boardwalk.

Nica literally bounced beside her, rising on the toes of her tennis shoes and then back on the heels, rocking excitedly. She was trying her best to suppress the sunshine-induced glow of her powers, but it was difficult. "Play all of the games?" she replied with a slightly manic-looking grin. "My Dad used to take me to the arcade when I was little and we were visiting my grandparents down South, so I've always had a soft spot for these sorts of things. Even if they aren't exactly legit." She looked around, spotting an arcade. "Let's go to this one!" she announced suddenly, grabbing Jean's hand and half-dragging her over there.

Jean was not expecting that but let herself be pulled. How could she disappoint Nica when she was that excited? "Whoa, okay, wearing flip flops!" she said with a laugh as she stumbled along, pausing a moment to shove her shoe back on.

Tiki Arcade was up ahead. Behind the door, a cold blast of air hit them. The arcade was darkened, with neon lights and a cacophony of sounds all around them. The goal was to lose track of time so you didn't know what time it was and play more, therefore pay more. Being an adult was no fun, so Jean tried to see it Nica's way.

"Okay, so let's get our tokens and then you can decide what to play first. Do you have any money?"

Nica dug in the front pocket of her shorts and handed Jean a crumpled twenty. "I live rent-free in a mansion. I have money," she teased. "Besides, give me a couple of hours here and I might finally wear down from the sun buzz I've had since I got here."

Jean laughed. "Fair point," she said, striding over to the token machine. She fed the bill into the slot, hearing a processing noise before the tinkle of coins dropped into the bin below. She motioned for Nica to scoop them up as she scanned the arcade.

"All yours," she said with a grin. "Okay...so the question is...do you want to play to win a prize or to get a top score?"

"Well, prizes are good, since tangible sign of winning, yadda, yadda," replied Nica, her eyes glowing ever-so-slightly in the gloom as she looked around. "But you don't want to win too many at the start, 'cause you end up carrying them around with you for the rest of the time. And since Dad's not here, I can't make him my packhorse. So... let's go with high scores." She spotted something nearby. "Hey, Galaga! You'll remember this, won't you?" she teased, making her way over to the console.

Jean eyed Nica. "You'll pay for that," she said with a smirk. "Hang on, I need to grab my coins and I'll meet you over there, kiddo."

"You can kick my butt in the DR again as payback," Nica suggested, grinning back. "But only if you win, that is."

Letting out a laugh, Jean nodded. "You're on."

~XXXX~

Before they knew it the time had flown by and they had played their way across the arcade. Jean stretched her arms over her head, listening to her stomach growl.

"Ready to grab some food? I could go for some overpriced nachos."

"Overpriced nachos are all part of the experience. And I'm starving, so that's a yes," replied Nica. She shifted the overly large, cheap stuffed unicorn in her arms so she could see where she was going.

Letting out a laugh, Jean paused at the exit door to the arcade. "Get ready to be blinded," she said, slipping on sunglasses before she held open the door for Nica to pass through back onto the sun-washed boardwalk.

She scanned the street. "Which sounds better? Pirate-themed restaurant, tiki-themed restaurant, or surfer-themed restaurant?"

Unlike Jean, Nica had no need of sunglasses or squinting as they walked out into the brilliant sunshine. "Mutant power tolerance to solar energy, for the win," she pointed out rather smugly. "And I'm ashamed you even have to ask. There's a pirate themed restaurant and you're giving me options?" She made a beeline for the tacky-as-all-get-out entrance of "Cheesy Beards". "Oh hey, they have free pirate hats for every customer. Must be needing the business."

Jean arched a brow. "Who am I to resist a free pirate hat?" she mused, eying the decor with a smirk and a low whistle of approval as they made their way inside.

"I'm not going to lie, this is pretty great in an awful way."

Nica was about to reply, but then a server dressed in a pirate costume appeared abruptly. "Arrrr!" he exclaimed in an overdone pirate accent. "Greetings, wenches! Are you here to try our pirate patties?"

The younger X-Man cocked her eyebrow at the 'wenches' part, before snorting a laugh. "Aye, that we be," she responded in kind, before breaking down into giggles.

Jean, who's eyebrow had practically quirked in unison with Nica, smirked. "Wenches, hmm? Are you saying we're not ladies?"

The waiter, who looked barely old enough to shave under the fake stubble, blanched a little. "No ma'am!" he practically squeaked. "You're totally a ho-- totally a lady! Let me show you to a table!"

Once they were seated, Nica glanced at the waiter scuttling back into the kitchen. "Never underestimate the intimidation power of a hot older lady," she remarked with a grin.

Jean looked amused, opening her menu. "It's a skill that's good to start practicing," she said, scanning the items. "Comes in handy."

"I'll keep it in mind," replied Nica, setting her plush unicorn into the seat next to her. "And after all that, I've got to 'taste his pirate patty', whatever the hell that is." She wrinkled her nose. "They really need a slogan with less innuendo. Or have I been hanging out with Miles and Bobby too much?"

"Unfortunately you'll probably start to notice things more and more as you get older," Jean said with a sympathetic laugh. "I suspect the pirate patty is supposed to be funny for adults and mean nothing for kids except for just a pirate-themed burger."

"Like those old cartoons, The Simpsons. Kids love 'em, but there's plenty for the adults." Nica shrugged. "Normally I don't notice that sort of stuff so much - I've got all the things happening with school and training and the team and stuff. But then I get reminded that the media is totally obsessed with sex and..." She pulled a face. "It's so... ick."

Jean nodded. "It can be. Sometimes it definitely gets to be a little much," she said. She pulled the scrunchie out of her hair so she could readjust it.

"How's all that going, by the way? School and training? Sounds like you've got a busy schedule."

Not that she could really say much.

"It is, but I like it that way. Besides, nothing saves the commute time like being able to convert yourself into light and zap yourself to where you need to be." There was an element of smugness in Nica's voice. "Doing training with the team is really helping me expand on my powers, too. You know, I really do think I can break the speed of light eventually?"

Jean tilted her head curiously. "Really? That's pretty impressive. How much longer do you think you have to go?" she said.

"Reed something about it before he left. Something about having to break the link between my mind and my body." She shrugged. "I think he means I have to work on forgetting normal human limits and more from the perspective of an energy source. Like... I can't go lightspeed right now, because I'm bogged down with normal physical limits and physics. Once I get past that block, who knows?" She looked somewhat conflicted. "Or course, I could do that and forget what it's like to be human altogether. Which is kind of freaky."

Jean studied her sympathetically. "I think that's a real, understandable concern. But people can do incredible things with their minds and bodies that someone might have thought was alien or...magic a hundred years ago. They're still human, just in a different way. It doesn't make them any less a person. And it's the same for you. You're still human. The fact that you're worried about it is actually a good thing. It means you've got the mindset to want to keep a hold on who you are. You'll just need to find a tether. Luckily, if anything happens you've got friends who can help," she said with a smile.

"You know... that really helps," replied Nica thoughtfully. She'd been finding herself increasingly isolated, with her study and training workload. Perhaps that was something she needed to work on, to create that tether Jean was talking about. "Do you mind if I come to you to talk about this sometimes? I mean, outside of training? I figure as a psi, you understand the whole body-mind relationship, right?"

Jean laughed. "There's always room for improvement. But yeah...I suppose so. I'd be happy to," she said.

Nica grinned. "Awesome." She was about to say more when the waiter returned with drinks, ready to take their orders. "But first, we have to defeat the most dangerous opponent of all - the Cheeseybeard's pirate patty!" she proclaimed dramatically.

Jean smiled. "I think I am up to that challenge."