Jean & Jay, Sunday afternoon

[x-icarus.livejournal.com]

Set some time after Jean and Terry catch up. Jay goes to visit and reintroduce himself to the crazy redhead. At first reluctant, Jay soon finds himself growing comfortable with Jean, and decides that she's a very cool person.


The excitement seemed to have died down, enough at least that people weren't running around like chickens with their feet cut off, as Shiro so aptly put it. Jay's headache had more or less subsided, and was now just a very dull throb that he could ignore. Curious about the seemingly-resurrected teacher who'd hurt him in the first place, Jay figured that maybe he should speak with her. Say hi. Get her reacquainted with her home. Find out if she was a psycho axe-murderer or not so he could warn the rest of the mansion before she went on her killing spree.

Jay found himself asking why the fuck was he doing this as he knocked on the door to Jean's suite. He could only hope that if she was an axe murderer that his healing factor would take care of the damage she'd inflict.

Jean was curled up in an arm chair, staring at the medical file open on the table in front of her without really seeing it. She'd propped her feet on the edge of the chair and had her arms wrapped around her legs, chin resting on her knees as she the conversation with Betsy played through her mind again. It was her medical file open on the table, but she couldn't bring herself to read it, not even to understand the medical miracle that was the return of her sight. She didn't even quite register that knocking meant there was a person on the other side of the door, although she did yell out, "Come in!" without moving.

Steeling himself, Jay tentatively opened the door and poked his head in. Spotting the woman, he tried to speak but found that his voice had escaped him. There's a first time for everything, I guess. Clearing his throat, he tried again. "Um, Ms. Smith? Or Dr. Grey. Sorry."

Jean stopped breathing for a second as a rush of emotions she couldn't even put a name to overwhelmed her, but it was gone in a second, pushed down until she could look up without it showing in her eyes. She recognized the boy in the doorway and quickly unfolded out of her chair, standing up. "Jay, hello. How are you?" She had been reassured that he was fine and had gone over his medical file first, glad to see the notation on his healing factor, but there was a difference between being told and knowing that she hadn't hurt a student.

Jay entered the room, gulping, but didn't close the door behind him. It didn't take telepathy to read what was on his mind. But the fact that she at least remembered his name was a bit heartening. "Ah just came by to see if you're alright after yesterday. And ta reintroduce mahself in a way that doesn't involve almost givin' me a concussion."

She bit her lip. "I'm so sorry, Jay," she said. She held out her hands to show she was 'unarmed' by the inhibitor blinking away on her wrist. "I... There's no excuse for what I did to you." He was a student and she'd hurt him!

Jay just barely caught himself from flinching away, just only just. "No, it's okay. Extenuating circumstances and all. Ah'm okay, really. Had a bitch of a headache when Ah woke up, but it's mostly gone." He offered Jean a small smile. "Ah don't hold it against ya."

It did not excuse her to herself, but she nodded anyways. "Can I get you anything," she asked, glancing towards the in suite kitchen. "Juice? I have some cookies...?"

Jay couldn't help but chuckle. Juice and cookies seemed too juvenile for the Great Jean Grey (or so the rumors told him). But who was he to turn down free food? Finally fully entering the room and shutting the door, he nodded. "Sure, thanks."

Jean caught the chuckle and guessed at the reason behind it. "I'll have you know that you are never too old for juice and cookies, young man," she said, smiling as she grabbed a pair of glasses out of a cupboard and poured out the juice. "Just ask Hank. Hell, they were Hank's cookies before I liberated them to stock my kitchen." Sparing only a moments thought to regret that she couldn't just levitate the bag of cookies now but still only had two hands, she took the juice out and set them on the table, moving the medical files. "Here, take a seat," she said as she went back for the cookies.

"Ah don't think the Doc likes me enough ta talk ta me without yellin'," Jay found himself saying softly. Blushing as he took a seat, he silently told himself off for saying that to Jean. She didn't need to know this. "Ah plan ta buy the Girl Scouts when Ah become rich and famous so's Ah can have all the Thin Mints Ah want," he said, hoping the change the subject.

"An excellent ambition," Jean said, letting the change go by. She hadn't seen anything in the notes on Jay's file to indicate anything of the sort, but she'd talk to Hank about it later. "As long as you share. If you are going to hoard the thin mints we will have a discussion."

"Iffn ya can get into mah super-deluxe freezer-safe, because frozen thin mints are totally the way ta go, then ya can have some." He popped a cookie in his mouth and hastly chewed and swallowed it. "Damn, Ah could eat a whole bag of these things."

"I will storm your freezer-safe and free the cookies." Jean grinned as she settled back into her chair, taking up her glass. "And don't eat the whole bag, I had to go to great lengths to liberate them from Hank. He's very protective of his cookies. Besides, as a doctor I have to tell you that an entire bag of cookies does not constitute any part of a regular balanced breakfast. Or, well, dinner," she added, glancing at the clock.

"'Cept Ah'm a regular mutant Adonis," Jay said, not-too-smugly. "The docs say that Ah metabolize just about everythin' Ah eat 'cuz Ah need so much energy. So maybe Ah won't get all the nutrients Ah need, but at least Ah won't put on a pound."

Jean laughed. "The girls must hate you for that one," she said. "Although I suspect that Adonis bit improves their temperament."

"Maybe so, but Ah don't worry much 'bout their opinion of me." Stuffing another cookie in his mouth, Jay blushed and looked down. Yeah, this conversation was definitely not going where he'd imagined it would. (Not that he'd really imagined it going anywhere.)

"Really?" Jean asked, then spotted the blush. "Ah, ok." Her tone remained the same, and this time she offered the change of topic. "So I have been gone for a significant period of time, and much has changed. I would very greatly appreciate an opinion on things at the school. You said yesterday that you liked it well enough? How are the students treating you? How are classes?"

Jay looked up at Jean for a second, the looks in his eyes offering her a thank-you, before he took another cookie. "The place is alright, Ah guess. Ah ain't one of the bigger fans, but that's mostly personal stuff that'll bore ya. And classes are okay, too. S'mostly like high school back home, 'cept everyone here is a freak and knows it, whereas there, everyone was but only a few were branded."

Jean nodded. "Yes, there are some things about High School which will remain constant no matter the culture or genetic structure of the occupants." She pulled her legs up so she was sitting cross legged in the chair. "What are you studying, if I can ask? And who's teaching it these days?"

"Ah'm in eleventh grade, so Ah'm just takin' whatever it is they tell me Ah need ta graduate. Algebra, English, physics for dummies, American government. And music, of course. No self-respectin' musician could pass up a chance to study under the Alison Blaire, y'know."

Jean smiled, although it seemed rather more strained than earlier. "Of course," she agreed. "And what, then, is your musical bent?"

"Ah play guitar," Jay said, his tone obviously becoming excited. "Ah mostly play Southern rock, but Ah'll do any kind of rock so long as it's good and not that whiny Emo crap."

"Whiny Emo crap? And that is...? I admit, I am behind on current fashion in, well, most things. My life in Canada was fairly... quiet."

"Canada's home to some great music, y'know. And Emo is that stuff that rich White suburban kids listen to about how life sucks and no one understands them and wah wah wah. It all sounds exactly the same. S'like there's one band who does all the music, but they release all their stuff under different names."

"Ah, I see," Jean said with a nod and a small smile. "I think you're right, that must be less than excellent. As for the music in Canada, I'm sure you're right. I'm afraid, though, that I was hardly leading the high life and tended to just listen to whatever happened to be on the radio."

"Well, maybe Ah can offer you a little music tutorial or somethin'," Jay timidly offered. "Get ya back in the swing of things?"

"I would like that very much, thank you, Jay. There are definitely some things for which I will have to play the student these days, and I trust you to be a good teacher."