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xp_logsRevelations had and secrets revealed amongst two extroverts and someone who brought it upon herself.
It had finally happened. An existential crisis and subsequent revelation that was so big, she didn't know who to talk to about it. Sure, she could have called any of her girlfriends but for some reason, she knew it had to be a male friend.
Except they were all busy.
Gar was in Canada and not answering his phone.
Scott had business hours.
Haller didn't even open the door.
So it was with great relief that she came into the common room and found Marius, looking pleasantly bored. "Hein, mon ami! J'ai quelquechose a te dire!"
And then she proceeded to bombard him with the fact that she no longer was going to wear a bra. There was no point, and at this stage of her life, she was happier without it. As proof, she did a few jumps, not even bothering to think about the subsequent jiggling that was happening.
"See?" she continued in french. "Gravity no longer is a thing to worry about! The mental space I now have has increased tenfold!"
Marius had, against his most basic nature, remained silent all throughout this speech. There was really little else he could have done. As the sort of man who prided himself in dressing well and engaged in a regular skincare regime, this was hardly the first time a woman had engaged him about the struggles of the fairer sex. Still, her passion enraptured him. Until this very moment Marius had never truly appreciated the tyranny of underwire.
Solemnly, the Australian leaned forward and laced his fingers.
"I see. I thank you for this update, and I am honoured to have your confidence. Rogue," he responded in kind as she bounced to a halt, "know that I give you nothing less than my full support, even when undergarments do not."
"Merci, mon amour," Rogue cooed, draping herself over the lounge chair in front of him. "It's really nice to not have to think about these things anymore. Do I wish I wasn't toxic to touch? Absolutely, but you know what's not toxic? My personality and my mind. Free as a bird, like my boobs. It's a lovely feeling." She lifted her arms in front of her, and traced down one with the other. "I can remember being young, and being so worried about so many things. The anxieties were never ending, the fear was never ending .... and I have no idea at what point that stopped being a thing for me. Maybe I just woke up and went 'no thanks'? I have no idea. All I know is I'm happy. And that's a weird feeling. Wasn't I depressed a few months ago?"
"Indeed." Marius' brow, deep in noble furrow, suddenly uncreased with revelation. "I believe I might know the cause. Wasn't your birthday this past spring? This, I believe, is the gift of 40, when youthful anxieties fade and give way to seasoned maturity. I recall a similar transformation in my mother. She described the experience as quite freeing." He paused, considering that memory. "Well, perhaps the staff would have chosen a different verb, but ultimately a settlement was reached."
"Maturity.." Rogue rolled the word on her tongue, before making a face. "I guess I have to accept that I'm at that point too. Mature. Not reactive. Calm. Steady." She gave a swift nod. "That's me. Rogue. Mature." The straight look on her face only lasted a few seconds before she dissolved in laughter. "It's just a wild concept to me, truly. But I think you're right.... I do want to apologize then if you've had this 'free the patriarchy' conversation with your mother though. That sounds very traumatizing."
The X-Man waved a hand. "No worries. Fortunately all conversations with my mother are equally traumatic, and as such no one exchange can take precedence."
A pink-haired presence shifted in the doorway, taking in the conversation with a blank expression. Not that her expression was often anything other than blank.
To her credit, Rogue rarely was caught off guard. Years of living with Logan had taught her to always be aware but today, in her joy, she completely didn't look around to see if anyone else was there, so when Gaia showed up, it was only appropriate that she yelp. "Oh my god, girl. Y'all can't do that to someone. Didn't ya hear the conversation? I'm mature, that means my heart ain't ticking how it used to. Goodness. Gonna have to get a cat collar with bells on it for you."
Gaia half shrugged and slid into the room, making a beeline to curl up on one of the large plush chairs. She regarded the two from her perch. “I believe that would be more suitable for Liam.”
Marius, so incurred to this sort of spontaneous materialisation that it barely warranted a blink, gave the newcomer a pleasant smile. "Always a pleasure, Gaia," he said. "Have you and Rogue already had the pleasure of each others' acquaintance?"
“I know who she is,” came the mildly ominous reply. The girl pulled out a book and flipped to the bookmarked page, balancing it on the armrest of the chair. Emblazoned on the cover was The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
Apparently it was assumed they would continue the prior conversation with her now in the room.
Rogue looked curiously at Gaia. "Y'all know that ain't a travel manual right?"
“Unfortunately,” she said, a little wistful. “I am delving into the world of ‘fiction’ for a ‘book report’.” The mutant did not seem too impressed with the concept.
Marius brightened. "Ah, an assignment from Kyle, I presume? Good on you; the acquisition of knowledge is all very well, but its interpretation and application are skills in their own right. Should you need advice on format or a proof-reader, you have only to ask."
Switching to French, Marius turned his attention to Rogue. "Still a bit unclear about what her world was like," he explained. "She's not the most forthcoming. So far all I've been able to determine is that it was a bit low on concepts such as standardised education and, ah . . . any means by which to satisfy nutritional needs and otherwise maintain or prolong physical health. At least she's stopped falling over quite so often."
"Franchement...I know those feels," Rogue responded in French. "I have one of those in my room. I think I finally have her understanding that reading is a good thing, so truly, this one here is miles ahead."
Gaia watched them for a moment, before promptly returning to her book, seeming to not care about whatever they were saying in this other language.
"Ah, the younger Hope?" An image of the diminutive redhead presented itself in Marius' mind's-eye, where it threw a table at him.
"Miles ahead, perhaps," he conceded in kind, "but possibly on different planets, neither of which appear to be earth."
"If I could pick a different planet to belong to, I dunno if Earth would be in my top 3, honestly. Sure, it has oxygen and all that, but it's just so lame. The people are lame. Microwaves that turn a tiny pizza into a big pizza still hasnt' occured, like Back to the Future promised me ...." Rogue sighed. "Yeah, I wanna go wherever Gaia is from. She seems chill and happy."
A uncharacteristically sharp, almost bark like sound erupted from Gaia’s throat at the last comment. “Croyez-moi, vous ne le feriez pas.” Her French was obviously rusty, but it was said with enough conviction to make up for it.
Marius' eyebrows shot high enough to scrape his hairline. His was not the startelement of a man caught discussing a third party behind their back, for that sort of distinction presupposed the existence of some kind of mental filter. Rather, this was the first time he had heard Gaia vocalize an emotion other than withering annoyance.
"Ah, vous parlez ma langue maternelle?" he beamed, matching her formality whilst simultaneously failing to acknowledge the dire implications of her statement.
"It would appear so," Rogue added in English, switching back to her own mother tongue. "Sugar, who knew you were so accomplished! Ain't that interesting.... what else you got drifting in that noggin of yours?.... oh! And how come you think I could never go there? I've been to space ... ain't you from space?"
“Many things.” Gaia seemed a tad displeased that her reveal had left the pair altogether unfazed. The price of surrounding herself with gregarious extroverts. “I… picked it up some time ago.”
As for the line of questioning about her previous dimension of residence, she reverted back to English. “No. I am not from space. It is not so simple as that.” Loathe to divulge the tidbit, but offended enough at the assumptions to share.
Rogue took Gaia's answer in stride. "It never is. I don't even know where home is anymore, I guess. Not that we're talking about me, but maybe now we are. Born in the south, lived all over the US, lived in Canada so damn long that I actually got myself dual citizenship..... and now I'm here again, living like a lady of leisure. But like, truly -- where does anyone really come from? Marius here claims to be Australian who speaks French and looks Caribbean. What a life we all lead," she said cheerfully.
Marius shook his head sadly. "Alas, the spectre of colonialism holds us all within its sepulchral grasp. What of your world, then? Are your people explorers?" Now that Gaia had opened the door a crack it was clear he was trying to find space in which to wedge a toe.
Gaia looked him dead in the face, with eyes of steel. “My people are dead.”
"Ah, is that so." While Marius' encouraging smile remained, the enthusiasm drained from his eyes like a receding tide. "My . . . condolences?"
"Usually why people end up here," Rogue responded nonchalantly. "Ain't many of us with normal family relations, if you get my drift. I haven't spoken to my parents in ....phew, over a decade or something. Maybe longer. Got Kurt, my brother, living here but that's the extent of like ...bio family. Now for found family ... well, there's plenty of those if you want here." She grinned at Marius. "And even some you don't want but can't get rid of," she teased.
“Hmph,” she cracked a whisper of a smile at the verbal poke Marius received.
"True enough," Marius said with the easy humour of a man who had long ago decided to sacrifice his dignity upon the altar of social harmony, "that how one defines one's 'people' is delightfully subjective." An eyebrow waggled briefly. "Should one care to investigate their options, of course."
Their pink-haired party crasher had seemingly had enough Marius and Rogue time, as she promptly put her bookmark back in the beaten up old book and stood. “Perhaps.” With that Gaia was out of the room and off somewhere else as abruptly as she had arrived.
Rogue watched curiously as Gaia walked out. "Strange girl," she said to Marius, returning to French. "But I think I like her. Quirky, anyways."
Marius returned a sage nod. "Indeed. There is much she could learn from us, two pinnacles of normality."
It had finally happened. An existential crisis and subsequent revelation that was so big, she didn't know who to talk to about it. Sure, she could have called any of her girlfriends but for some reason, she knew it had to be a male friend.
Except they were all busy.
Gar was in Canada and not answering his phone.
Scott had business hours.
Haller didn't even open the door.
So it was with great relief that she came into the common room and found Marius, looking pleasantly bored. "Hein, mon ami! J'ai quelquechose a te dire!"
And then she proceeded to bombard him with the fact that she no longer was going to wear a bra. There was no point, and at this stage of her life, she was happier without it. As proof, she did a few jumps, not even bothering to think about the subsequent jiggling that was happening.
"See?" she continued in french. "Gravity no longer is a thing to worry about! The mental space I now have has increased tenfold!"
Marius had, against his most basic nature, remained silent all throughout this speech. There was really little else he could have done. As the sort of man who prided himself in dressing well and engaged in a regular skincare regime, this was hardly the first time a woman had engaged him about the struggles of the fairer sex. Still, her passion enraptured him. Until this very moment Marius had never truly appreciated the tyranny of underwire.
Solemnly, the Australian leaned forward and laced his fingers.
"I see. I thank you for this update, and I am honoured to have your confidence. Rogue," he responded in kind as she bounced to a halt, "know that I give you nothing less than my full support, even when undergarments do not."
"Merci, mon amour," Rogue cooed, draping herself over the lounge chair in front of him. "It's really nice to not have to think about these things anymore. Do I wish I wasn't toxic to touch? Absolutely, but you know what's not toxic? My personality and my mind. Free as a bird, like my boobs. It's a lovely feeling." She lifted her arms in front of her, and traced down one with the other. "I can remember being young, and being so worried about so many things. The anxieties were never ending, the fear was never ending .... and I have no idea at what point that stopped being a thing for me. Maybe I just woke up and went 'no thanks'? I have no idea. All I know is I'm happy. And that's a weird feeling. Wasn't I depressed a few months ago?"
"Indeed." Marius' brow, deep in noble furrow, suddenly uncreased with revelation. "I believe I might know the cause. Wasn't your birthday this past spring? This, I believe, is the gift of 40, when youthful anxieties fade and give way to seasoned maturity. I recall a similar transformation in my mother. She described the experience as quite freeing." He paused, considering that memory. "Well, perhaps the staff would have chosen a different verb, but ultimately a settlement was reached."
"Maturity.." Rogue rolled the word on her tongue, before making a face. "I guess I have to accept that I'm at that point too. Mature. Not reactive. Calm. Steady." She gave a swift nod. "That's me. Rogue. Mature." The straight look on her face only lasted a few seconds before she dissolved in laughter. "It's just a wild concept to me, truly. But I think you're right.... I do want to apologize then if you've had this 'free the patriarchy' conversation with your mother though. That sounds very traumatizing."
The X-Man waved a hand. "No worries. Fortunately all conversations with my mother are equally traumatic, and as such no one exchange can take precedence."
A pink-haired presence shifted in the doorway, taking in the conversation with a blank expression. Not that her expression was often anything other than blank.
To her credit, Rogue rarely was caught off guard. Years of living with Logan had taught her to always be aware but today, in her joy, she completely didn't look around to see if anyone else was there, so when Gaia showed up, it was only appropriate that she yelp. "Oh my god, girl. Y'all can't do that to someone. Didn't ya hear the conversation? I'm mature, that means my heart ain't ticking how it used to. Goodness. Gonna have to get a cat collar with bells on it for you."
Gaia half shrugged and slid into the room, making a beeline to curl up on one of the large plush chairs. She regarded the two from her perch. “I believe that would be more suitable for Liam.”
Marius, so incurred to this sort of spontaneous materialisation that it barely warranted a blink, gave the newcomer a pleasant smile. "Always a pleasure, Gaia," he said. "Have you and Rogue already had the pleasure of each others' acquaintance?"
“I know who she is,” came the mildly ominous reply. The girl pulled out a book and flipped to the bookmarked page, balancing it on the armrest of the chair. Emblazoned on the cover was The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
Apparently it was assumed they would continue the prior conversation with her now in the room.
Rogue looked curiously at Gaia. "Y'all know that ain't a travel manual right?"
“Unfortunately,” she said, a little wistful. “I am delving into the world of ‘fiction’ for a ‘book report’.” The mutant did not seem too impressed with the concept.
Marius brightened. "Ah, an assignment from Kyle, I presume? Good on you; the acquisition of knowledge is all very well, but its interpretation and application are skills in their own right. Should you need advice on format or a proof-reader, you have only to ask."
Switching to French, Marius turned his attention to Rogue. "Still a bit unclear about what her world was like," he explained. "She's not the most forthcoming. So far all I've been able to determine is that it was a bit low on concepts such as standardised education and, ah . . . any means by which to satisfy nutritional needs and otherwise maintain or prolong physical health. At least she's stopped falling over quite so often."
"Franchement...I know those feels," Rogue responded in French. "I have one of those in my room. I think I finally have her understanding that reading is a good thing, so truly, this one here is miles ahead."
Gaia watched them for a moment, before promptly returning to her book, seeming to not care about whatever they were saying in this other language.
"Ah, the younger Hope?" An image of the diminutive redhead presented itself in Marius' mind's-eye, where it threw a table at him.
"Miles ahead, perhaps," he conceded in kind, "but possibly on different planets, neither of which appear to be earth."
"If I could pick a different planet to belong to, I dunno if Earth would be in my top 3, honestly. Sure, it has oxygen and all that, but it's just so lame. The people are lame. Microwaves that turn a tiny pizza into a big pizza still hasnt' occured, like Back to the Future promised me ...." Rogue sighed. "Yeah, I wanna go wherever Gaia is from. She seems chill and happy."
A uncharacteristically sharp, almost bark like sound erupted from Gaia’s throat at the last comment. “Croyez-moi, vous ne le feriez pas.” Her French was obviously rusty, but it was said with enough conviction to make up for it.
Marius' eyebrows shot high enough to scrape his hairline. His was not the startelement of a man caught discussing a third party behind their back, for that sort of distinction presupposed the existence of some kind of mental filter. Rather, this was the first time he had heard Gaia vocalize an emotion other than withering annoyance.
"Ah, vous parlez ma langue maternelle?" he beamed, matching her formality whilst simultaneously failing to acknowledge the dire implications of her statement.
"It would appear so," Rogue added in English, switching back to her own mother tongue. "Sugar, who knew you were so accomplished! Ain't that interesting.... what else you got drifting in that noggin of yours?.... oh! And how come you think I could never go there? I've been to space ... ain't you from space?"
“Many things.” Gaia seemed a tad displeased that her reveal had left the pair altogether unfazed. The price of surrounding herself with gregarious extroverts. “I… picked it up some time ago.”
As for the line of questioning about her previous dimension of residence, she reverted back to English. “No. I am not from space. It is not so simple as that.” Loathe to divulge the tidbit, but offended enough at the assumptions to share.
Rogue took Gaia's answer in stride. "It never is. I don't even know where home is anymore, I guess. Not that we're talking about me, but maybe now we are. Born in the south, lived all over the US, lived in Canada so damn long that I actually got myself dual citizenship..... and now I'm here again, living like a lady of leisure. But like, truly -- where does anyone really come from? Marius here claims to be Australian who speaks French and looks Caribbean. What a life we all lead," she said cheerfully.
Marius shook his head sadly. "Alas, the spectre of colonialism holds us all within its sepulchral grasp. What of your world, then? Are your people explorers?" Now that Gaia had opened the door a crack it was clear he was trying to find space in which to wedge a toe.
Gaia looked him dead in the face, with eyes of steel. “My people are dead.”
"Ah, is that so." While Marius' encouraging smile remained, the enthusiasm drained from his eyes like a receding tide. "My . . . condolences?"
"Usually why people end up here," Rogue responded nonchalantly. "Ain't many of us with normal family relations, if you get my drift. I haven't spoken to my parents in ....phew, over a decade or something. Maybe longer. Got Kurt, my brother, living here but that's the extent of like ...bio family. Now for found family ... well, there's plenty of those if you want here." She grinned at Marius. "And even some you don't want but can't get rid of," she teased.
“Hmph,” she cracked a whisper of a smile at the verbal poke Marius received.
"True enough," Marius said with the easy humour of a man who had long ago decided to sacrifice his dignity upon the altar of social harmony, "that how one defines one's 'people' is delightfully subjective." An eyebrow waggled briefly. "Should one care to investigate their options, of course."
Their pink-haired party crasher had seemingly had enough Marius and Rogue time, as she promptly put her bookmark back in the beaten up old book and stood. “Perhaps.” With that Gaia was out of the room and off somewhere else as abruptly as she had arrived.
Rogue watched curiously as Gaia walked out. "Strange girl," she said to Marius, returning to French. "But I think I like her. Quirky, anyways."
Marius returned a sage nod. "Indeed. There is much she could learn from us, two pinnacles of normality."
