Brian and Lydia, backdated to Jan 25

[om_panax]

Lydia and Brian surprise each other by being Smart Enough for Real Conversations.

Brian had discovered the sun room quite by accident, but he was glad now that he had. Not only for the comfort of its furniture, but for the solitude it currently provided as he finished sending his most recent project to Darkmoor. He was, admittedly, nervous that it would not meet their standards but, simultaneously, quite certain that the work was utterly correct. As the laptop signaled that his package had been delivered, he let his shoulders fall slightly in relief, and looked out the window. Nerves aside, it truly was a lovely day.

Lydia often wandered by to sit in the window and study. Occasionally the sun room was occupied; if the occupant was quiet or otherwise unobtrusive, she would go about her business; otherwise, she'd turn on her heel without so much as a word. Rarely, she would engage whoever it was, if they were worth it somehow.

She didn't know the... extremely large boy in there now, but she knew who he was. And that was interesting. She took a few steps inside before announcing herself with, "Hello. Betsy's brother, right?"

Brian glanced over, and rose when he noticed that a lady was entering. "Yes. Brian Braddock. I am pleased to make your acquaintance Miss...?"

"Lydia Martin." She crossed the room to meet him and held out one hand. A gentleman--not surprising, considering Betsy's effortless class, not to mention her family. An urge to prod and see what fell out of him would not be denied. "How are you settling in, Brian?"

He reached out and grasped her hand gently, by his standards at least, and shook it for a moment. "I'm settling in quite well, I believe. Thank you for asking."

Her hand all but disappeared in his, and when she pulled it out, her eyebrows had crept slightly higher. He was, quite literally, over a foot taller than her. Betsy had probably been tall too, considering the modeling career, but... were they descended from a noble family of Vikings or something? "It's not so bad, once you get used to it. Nothing like a regular school--not in this country or yours. Where were you at school?"

"I studied at Fettes College in Scotland," he replied, pleasantly surprised at the idea that she might know schools outside of the States. "Do you know it?"

She had expected to hear 'Eton', but that was far more interesting. She cocked her head and twirled a lock of hair around one finger, half appraising glance, half sweet little girl. "Just enough to know this will be an even stranger adjustment for you than for me. But it has its perks, depending on what you're looking to get out of a school."

Hell, even blue-blooded connections wouldn't suffer here, so much--though they might not be particularly British. Plenty of snobs to go around.

He smiled mildly at her -- she was quite charming. "I suppose it may be, but I am looking forward to it."

Not entirely true, if Brian was honest. He very much missed England, and Scotland, and Fettes. But Betsy was here, and so he should be too. Besides, his sister was not the only one of them whose mutation required further attention.

"So do you like it here, then?"

Normally, she would've thought the conversation too prosaic to attend to all that closely, but wasn't that just the question of the month? Lydia pursed her lips and looked upward thoughtfully--with a touch of the air-head about it, but not playing it up too much. "So far. You're used to living away from home, but it's a first for me. I like it, even if the company is strange. At least it's interesting, right?"

"It certainly is that," Brian said diplomatically. "Where are you from?"

"Nowhere, California." Yes, she was still avoiding referring directly to Beacon Hills. A quick Google search would almost certainly show articles about her turning up naked in the woods just a few months ago. Not the kind of thing she particularly wanted her classmates to know, and especially not the big, dumb, rich, pretty ones. "Culture shock, but not as much for me as you. What will you miss most?"

She looked the part of a California girl, he decided -- well put-together, smart hair and clothes, vaguely insipid smile, though utterly charming in her own way. He'd only been to California once or twice, but Brian was unable to recall ever hearing of a place called 'Nowhere.' No matter, though, he'd meant to make polite conversation, not to pry.

"I suppose I'll miss experiences, rather than some particular thing," he admitted. "But I stand to gain a great deal as well."

She couldn't decide if he was really that stupid, or simply too polite to give real answers to her questions. Given his looks, she was inclined to suppose the former, but then it was a lot like talking to Inara, too, in its way. She cocked her head, her gaze sharpening, a lock of hair still wrapped around one finger. "Powers-wise, do you mean?"

"Well, naturally, I plan to take advantage of the tutors here, in practicing the various aspects of my mutation," Brian conceded. "But I was referring to seeing my sister again. We've not attended school together since we were children."

Lydia couldn't relate precisely, but she knew enough of Betsy to understand. Gail was old enough that Lydia had never been in the same school with her--and Lydia was glad for the lack of competition (even though she would've won). She quirked a little half-smile. "And it should make the things you miss easier to handle, too.

"Can I ask what you mean by different aspects? Seems like a personal question, but honestly it's a first conversation sort of thing around here."

"I do not mind at all. I am..." Brian had yet to determine a truly satisfactory method of explaining his mutation succinctly. "Physically enhanced, I suppose, would be an accurate description."

Lydia raised her eyebrows, smile morphing into the tiniest of smirks. She looked him over once and was unable to stop herself: "You don't say."

He felt his cheeks heat slightly, though he'd have been hard pressed to give a concrete reason why. "Strength, durability, stamina, reflexes, senses...that sort of thing."

Oh god, too easy. But in a good way. "Mmm, all very important," she agreed, gaze still sharp, though fixed to his eyes now. "Turnabout being fair play: mine is immunity. To both disease and any other kind of tampering."

Brian was glad that his father was in Britain, because the man would have worked himself to death with the sheet amount of scientific fascination in this place. Though, admittedly, Dr. Braddock had always been far more interested in physics and biology. "What other sorts of tampering are you referring to?"

"Anything that affects the balance. Even if I'm not immune at first, it builds up--so for example drugs or alcohol, or the effects of other peoples' powers, even if they're not necessarily negative, just... don't work." But she was getting frustrated, because it was annoying trying to talk about it without using big words. Ugh, whatever, "Homeostasis, right down to my brain chemistry."

"That's fascinating," Brian confessed, a gleam in his eye confirming his sincerity.

She cocked an eyebrow. "Yes. And useful, considering the possibility of mind control around here."

"The headmasters gave me the impression that such use of our mutations was not tolerated here," he said. Brian's eyes narrowed slightly as he thought about the implications if such a rule were not enforced, as well as imposed. "Do you mean to tell me this rule is often broken?"

"Not that I know of--if it was, we'd be seeing some expulsions. Doesn't mean that I dislike having extra insurance." She twirled her hair again, but her eyes were sharper than ever, weighing this reaction--his first showing any real feeling or spark apart from the tiny bit he'd given when talking about his sister.

Brian filed that away for further thought; there was no need to be rude and focus his attention on it now. "How are the facilities of the school?" He asked, changing the subject.

"All of them are impeccable," she said honestly, also weighing the rapid subject change. Hm. There was more going on in there than she'd thought, she just couldn't decide what. "What are you interested in particularly?"

"I'm hoping to find a suitable lab facility," he said. Perhaps he should have addressed his query to Dr. MacTaggert or one of the headmasters first, but Brian didn't suppose that the admission would upset anyone. Besides, it was quite possible that Lydia would have no idea his meaning.

Well. That was interesting. "As in bio and chem, or electronics and mechanics?"

"Physics."

Her eyebrows refused to come back down, apparently. Her stance shifted into something straighter and she crossed her arms over her belly, eying him up again, this time in an entirely different manner. "The labs are pretty extensive, and they're accommodating. Josh and Simon do medical research, I'm working on some bio--though it's not my specialty. There are plenty of rooms down there that don't seem to be in use; I'm betting they'll get you whatever you need. Assuming you're not working on something that'll blow us all up."

Brian looked at Lydia with wholly new interest when she said that she was doing scientific research here. Biology was not his specialty either, of course, but still. He'd thought her charming, before, now she was becoming something altogether more fascinating.

"I promise you, nothing I am currently working on runs the risk of exploding," he told her. Whether that would remain true or not was an altogether different question, but Brian left that aside. "If you do not mind my asking, what is your specialty, if it is not biology?"

"Theoretical mathematics," she answered, just to see how he reacted. "But it's hard to resist the lure when I'm in the one place in the world that can let me into the brave new world of mutant genetics."

"True. We are uniquely positioned to become experts on the phenomenon. Still, I personally find physics to be more to my liking. Who did you study maths with?" Brian asked, legitimately curious.

She blinked, amazed into being honest, "I studied like every other sixteen year old in the United States: with whoever the public school system put me with. But I was planning to go to Adrienne Lewis at MIT. We've been talking for a year now."

"An excellent choice," he said, though Brian very much doubted his approval amounted to much. "And pure maths have a great deal of utility; though, naturally, I suppose you know that." He paused. "I'm sorry, I've jumped ahead. Do you intend to study pure maths?"

Lydia pursed her lips. She'd been wrong before. That was the question of the month. "It's safe to say that just about everything I ever intended is up in the air right now. But yes." Because she would have that Fields Medal. "And you? What's your joy, physics-wise?"

"Particle theory and quantum mechanics, mostly." Fascinating, indeed. Beautiful, charming, and clearly bright. How very....lovely. It was a good thing, Brian decided, that academics were the one thing he could speak about without becoming uncomfortable. "They're a bit disparate, of course, but I must admit, I've yet to find any field of physics uninteresting."

"Quantum mechanics is a favorite of mine," she admitted, moving nearer simply because she was interested, though if he wanted to take it as a flirt, she wouldn't mind. She was too busy thinking to bother at the moment--and there was no point with him, anyhow, for the moment. He was finally talking about something, though it had been like pulling teeth. "I read a fascinating take-down of the Wheeler-DeWitt equation a few months ago. We definitely need to get you a lab."

Brian grinned at her, genuinely - a rare occurrence when he was with anyone other than his sister - as he realized he had someone he could truly speak to about his scientific interests. Xavier's school was still no Fettes, but it might not be so bad, regardless. "I hope we can find me one. I'm completing a research fellowship long-distance, and I fear there is a limit to how much I can do in my own room."

Well. This was definitely not what she had expected from the ridiculously handsome, tall, blond boy. That'd teach her, wouldn't it? "Starting to think it'd be a shame if we never found out. I'll mention it to Dr. MacTaggert next time I'm in the lab, but I doubt she'd mind if you dropped in. Josh always wants more company anyhow--he and Simon have some kind of animosity thing." She smirked. "Boys."

"Well, I don't know that either of them would consider me much of an improvement upon their conditions, but thank you," he said, gratitude apparent.

"More importantly, you'll be an improvement upon mine," Lydia decided. Yes, Brian Braddock would be useful to know after all--and not just because his sister was fabulous.

Brian felt his cheeks heat, but smiled. "I look forward to it."