Log: Kane/Jean - Not So Pool Party
Aug. 8th, 2022 07:49 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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Neither Garrison or Jean is feeling up for groups, so they both end up on the dock of the boat house, chatting and occasionally singing.
Kane had lasted ten minutes at the pool party before retreating to the boathouse dock and the lake. Every time he thought he was fine, he'd hit a group and it was almost impossible for him to stay a long time. Instead, he'd collected a six pack and his guitar and slunk off, down to the dock, to catch his breath and relax. He eased back in his chair, idly tuning the guitar and looking out over the lake between pulls of beer.
The water lapped against the shore, and every once and awhile an eruption of laughter and chatter came from the direction of the pool. It was easy not to notice the woman floating in the lake, watching the fluffy white clouds as they rolled past. Jean had escaped about 15 minutes earlier after making her rounds of chatting with the others. The sound of the guitar caught her attention, and she made her way back to the dock.
"Trying to hide too?" she said with a smile. The nice thing about being in your own home is that you didn't have to pull yourself up onto the dock with your arms. Instead, she floated up from the lake, the water cascading down in rivets as she stepped foot on the dock beside him.
"I'm not hiding. I'm avoiding. A small but important distance." He said as her feet hit the dock. He reached down and pulled a beer from the bag in the cool water and held it up. "Drink?"
Jean gave him a skeptical look punctuated by a small smirk, then nodded. "Thanks," she said, sitting down on the dock beside him, enough to let her feet dangle in the water as she rung out her hair.
"So what kind of song does this moment call for?" she added, nodding to the guitar.
"It calls- uh, whoa. New swimsuit, Doc?" He said, finally getting a clear look at her.
Jean glanced down, shrugging. "Yeah. I wanted something different," she said, then quirked an eyebrow.
"Why?"
"Just surprised." A tiny blue bikini with pink edging was not something he was expecting her to wear. Despite their familiarity in a number of different ways, it seemed more revealing of her than he'd seen in a very long time. "Looks good. Definitely a look I and I argue most people would call impressive."
"Impressive?" Jean mused, trying the word out on her own lips. "What makes you say that?"
"Oh come on. You're a beautiful woman, Jean. You know that." Kane said, leaning back and taking a sip of his beer. "You do know that, right?"
Jean laughed. "I mean, I don't think I'm ugly but being called impressive for my looks is a new one," she admitted with a smile, rubbing the back of her neck. She glanced at him for a moment, the realization coming to her that he thought that, which was also a new one. At least, enough to say it aloud to her.
"If I'm the first one to call you impressive, this mansion has badly warped the minds of people around you." Kane said with a laugh. "Don't get me wrong. This place looks like a 'world's hottest people' convention most days. It's just... you almost never advertise it. Despite all of our history, good or bad, and you ask me to picture you, it's either in leathers or a lab coat. Seeing you decide to buy and wear an outfit like that confidently means... I don't know. Maybe you want someone to finally call you impressive if it hasn't happened yet?"
"Oh...people have called me plenty of things in my life regarding my appearance, including Warren. Just...not like that," Jean said, taking a sip of her beer. "I usually get impressive powers...or medical skills...not impressive abs."
"See, that's why we're friends. Because you're convinced I would have said that about your abs." Kane said, only mostly a joke. "I think it's good you got this. Because if anyone deserves to be told about how impressive they are, it's you. And frankly, that outfit is likely the shortest route to that, eh?" His white teeth flashed with a grin and a salute from his beer.
Jean laughed. "Thanks, but I wasn't trying to impress anyone. It wasn't to be noticed. It was just for me," she said, then shrugged.
"I don't usually dress for others. I wear what I want to wear. And I don't care what people think." She smiled.
"Usually."
"Fair enough. But..." Kane took a long draw from his bottle. "You look real impressive. But now I'm getting into uncomfortable stalker territory. I came out to badly sing songs no one else wanted to hear. Any requests?"
Jean was quiet for a moment. "I...guess I didn't realize you thought that. I don't know what I thought," she admitted with a smile.
"Hey, if I never said that, I missed out. You're a hell of a looker." Kane said, slightly uncomfortable. He'd never pretended he didn't know what Jean looked like but he was able to hide behind Adrienne. "And we're friends, so I just want to be honest."
The comment hung in the air for a moment, and Jean nodded. "Oh. Right," she said finally, taking a long drink of her beer. Her smile lingered, though it was more polite and polished again now that she knew what the set tone was, and was mistaken.
"Well um...thanks," she said. She finished off her beer.
"Blackbird, then."
"Oh, you trust my ability more than I do. I'll play it, but you have to sing it." Kane said, his fingers already finding the chords.
"Nope," Jean said, laying down on the dock to stare up at the sky. "You said you came out to badly sing songs. I expect a song."
"Ok, I-" Kane said, slowing as she stretched out. "It is going to have be Canadian then. Hmm..." He said. "Mississippi in the middle of a dry spell, Jimmy Rogers on the Victrola up high."
Jean tapped her foot to the song as she listened, closing her eyes as he sang, the words mixing in with the strum of the guitar.
Kane leaned into the guitar, a little happy about the focus with Jean's distracting form beside him. "Mama's dancin' with a baby on her shoulder, The sun is settin' like molasses in the sky."
Jean continued to listen. The trouble with really loud thoughts was like trying not to listen to the people next door. Most of the time it was quiet with good sturdy walls, but sometimes with enough yelling it was easy to tell emotions through inflection, or catch glimpses of words. Like now. She tried to ignore it, though she did sit up, staring out over the water as she kept her attention on the music, and not the feelings behind them.
"The boy could sing, knew how to move..." He was more talk singing, just a little oomph behind it. It wouldn't carry so unless someone came down all the way to the docks, they wouldn't hear anything.
It was the first time she'd really heard him sing. They'd talked about his playing the guitar before, but the accompaniment was a bonus. His voice was surprising, in a nice way. She smiled as he went on.
"Black velvet in that lil' boy's smile." He snuck a look over at her, stretched out in her bikini, seeming to just enjoy the sun and his shakey version of the Alannah Myles classic. After the whole issue with the creature that she'd fought and used to heal the universe, there had been a shadow over Jean that he saw. It flared worse with what he'd helped put her through. But it wasn't there right now, and he hoped she was finally starting to heal from everything. After all, she'd earned a little happiness many times over.
She seemed happy to stay there, taking occasional sips as he switched to 'Wheat Kings' to 'These Eyes' and then 'Bitter Green', stumbling over the odd chord or lyrics but decent enough for dockside or a fire pit, as advertised. He finally paused and put the guitar down for a bit, dipping the tips of his fingers into the cold lake water.
When it appeared he was finished, Jean clapped, giving him an impressed smile. "So if this whole...superhero thing doesn't work out you could always have a career as a musician," she said.
"That was great."
"That I doubt, but I appreciate the vote of support." He said before kicking himself off the dock and into the water with a splash. "So, with the concert over, you want to swim or just raid my remaining beer and pose on the dock?"
Jean shook her head at the self-deprecation, then smirked. "I am not posing. I am just sitting here."
"Doc, I hate to tell you, but in that bikini, anywhere you stop moving is posing."
Neither Garrison or Jean is feeling up for groups, so they both end up on the dock of the boat house, chatting and occasionally singing.
Kane had lasted ten minutes at the pool party before retreating to the boathouse dock and the lake. Every time he thought he was fine, he'd hit a group and it was almost impossible for him to stay a long time. Instead, he'd collected a six pack and his guitar and slunk off, down to the dock, to catch his breath and relax. He eased back in his chair, idly tuning the guitar and looking out over the lake between pulls of beer.
The water lapped against the shore, and every once and awhile an eruption of laughter and chatter came from the direction of the pool. It was easy not to notice the woman floating in the lake, watching the fluffy white clouds as they rolled past. Jean had escaped about 15 minutes earlier after making her rounds of chatting with the others. The sound of the guitar caught her attention, and she made her way back to the dock.
"Trying to hide too?" she said with a smile. The nice thing about being in your own home is that you didn't have to pull yourself up onto the dock with your arms. Instead, she floated up from the lake, the water cascading down in rivets as she stepped foot on the dock beside him.
"I'm not hiding. I'm avoiding. A small but important distance." He said as her feet hit the dock. He reached down and pulled a beer from the bag in the cool water and held it up. "Drink?"
Jean gave him a skeptical look punctuated by a small smirk, then nodded. "Thanks," she said, sitting down on the dock beside him, enough to let her feet dangle in the water as she rung out her hair.
"So what kind of song does this moment call for?" she added, nodding to the guitar.
"It calls- uh, whoa. New swimsuit, Doc?" He said, finally getting a clear look at her.
Jean glanced down, shrugging. "Yeah. I wanted something different," she said, then quirked an eyebrow.
"Why?"
"Just surprised." A tiny blue bikini with pink edging was not something he was expecting her to wear. Despite their familiarity in a number of different ways, it seemed more revealing of her than he'd seen in a very long time. "Looks good. Definitely a look I and I argue most people would call impressive."
"Impressive?" Jean mused, trying the word out on her own lips. "What makes you say that?"
"Oh come on. You're a beautiful woman, Jean. You know that." Kane said, leaning back and taking a sip of his beer. "You do know that, right?"
Jean laughed. "I mean, I don't think I'm ugly but being called impressive for my looks is a new one," she admitted with a smile, rubbing the back of her neck. She glanced at him for a moment, the realization coming to her that he thought that, which was also a new one. At least, enough to say it aloud to her.
"If I'm the first one to call you impressive, this mansion has badly warped the minds of people around you." Kane said with a laugh. "Don't get me wrong. This place looks like a 'world's hottest people' convention most days. It's just... you almost never advertise it. Despite all of our history, good or bad, and you ask me to picture you, it's either in leathers or a lab coat. Seeing you decide to buy and wear an outfit like that confidently means... I don't know. Maybe you want someone to finally call you impressive if it hasn't happened yet?"
"Oh...people have called me plenty of things in my life regarding my appearance, including Warren. Just...not like that," Jean said, taking a sip of her beer. "I usually get impressive powers...or medical skills...not impressive abs."
"See, that's why we're friends. Because you're convinced I would have said that about your abs." Kane said, only mostly a joke. "I think it's good you got this. Because if anyone deserves to be told about how impressive they are, it's you. And frankly, that outfit is likely the shortest route to that, eh?" His white teeth flashed with a grin and a salute from his beer.
Jean laughed. "Thanks, but I wasn't trying to impress anyone. It wasn't to be noticed. It was just for me," she said, then shrugged.
"I don't usually dress for others. I wear what I want to wear. And I don't care what people think." She smiled.
"Usually."
"Fair enough. But..." Kane took a long draw from his bottle. "You look real impressive. But now I'm getting into uncomfortable stalker territory. I came out to badly sing songs no one else wanted to hear. Any requests?"
Jean was quiet for a moment. "I...guess I didn't realize you thought that. I don't know what I thought," she admitted with a smile.
"Hey, if I never said that, I missed out. You're a hell of a looker." Kane said, slightly uncomfortable. He'd never pretended he didn't know what Jean looked like but he was able to hide behind Adrienne. "And we're friends, so I just want to be honest."
The comment hung in the air for a moment, and Jean nodded. "Oh. Right," she said finally, taking a long drink of her beer. Her smile lingered, though it was more polite and polished again now that she knew what the set tone was, and was mistaken.
"Well um...thanks," she said. She finished off her beer.
"Blackbird, then."
"Oh, you trust my ability more than I do. I'll play it, but you have to sing it." Kane said, his fingers already finding the chords.
"Nope," Jean said, laying down on the dock to stare up at the sky. "You said you came out to badly sing songs. I expect a song."
"Ok, I-" Kane said, slowing as she stretched out. "It is going to have be Canadian then. Hmm..." He said. "Mississippi in the middle of a dry spell, Jimmy Rogers on the Victrola up high."
Jean tapped her foot to the song as she listened, closing her eyes as he sang, the words mixing in with the strum of the guitar.
Kane leaned into the guitar, a little happy about the focus with Jean's distracting form beside him. "Mama's dancin' with a baby on her shoulder, The sun is settin' like molasses in the sky."
Jean continued to listen. The trouble with really loud thoughts was like trying not to listen to the people next door. Most of the time it was quiet with good sturdy walls, but sometimes with enough yelling it was easy to tell emotions through inflection, or catch glimpses of words. Like now. She tried to ignore it, though she did sit up, staring out over the water as she kept her attention on the music, and not the feelings behind them.
"The boy could sing, knew how to move..." He was more talk singing, just a little oomph behind it. It wouldn't carry so unless someone came down all the way to the docks, they wouldn't hear anything.
It was the first time she'd really heard him sing. They'd talked about his playing the guitar before, but the accompaniment was a bonus. His voice was surprising, in a nice way. She smiled as he went on.
"Black velvet in that lil' boy's smile." He snuck a look over at her, stretched out in her bikini, seeming to just enjoy the sun and his shakey version of the Alannah Myles classic. After the whole issue with the creature that she'd fought and used to heal the universe, there had been a shadow over Jean that he saw. It flared worse with what he'd helped put her through. But it wasn't there right now, and he hoped she was finally starting to heal from everything. After all, she'd earned a little happiness many times over.
She seemed happy to stay there, taking occasional sips as he switched to 'Wheat Kings' to 'These Eyes' and then 'Bitter Green', stumbling over the odd chord or lyrics but decent enough for dockside or a fire pit, as advertised. He finally paused and put the guitar down for a bit, dipping the tips of his fingers into the cold lake water.
When it appeared he was finished, Jean clapped, giving him an impressed smile. "So if this whole...superhero thing doesn't work out you could always have a career as a musician," she said.
"That was great."
"That I doubt, but I appreciate the vote of support." He said before kicking himself off the dock and into the water with a splash. "So, with the concert over, you want to swim or just raid my remaining beer and pose on the dock?"
Jean shook her head at the self-deprecation, then smirked. "I am not posing. I am just sitting here."
"Doc, I hate to tell you, but in that bikini, anywhere you stop moving is posing."
