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om_main2014-04-15 07:01 pm
om_northstar) wrote in om_main2014-04-15 07:01 pm
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Jean-Paul and Simon, Tuesday evening
Jean-Paul and Simon plan for a future with a lot of distance between them.
Jean-Paul was bent over his laptop when Simon came into the room. Before Their Eyes was blasting from the speakers and his boyfriend looked as if he were about to put his fist through the computer screen. All that was lacking was a full ashtray and Jean-Paul would have been a precise cliche of angry, teenage tension. He glanced up as Simon came in.
"Congratulations. I'm probably going to yell at you. Just know it's not your fault, all right?"
Simon tensed and closed the door behind him. "Okay. What's going on?"
"Best guess? Jeanne-Marie and I are going to talk to a man about how much the Canadian government wants us to join Alpha Flight. And I'm probably going to take him up on it."
The blood drained slowly out of Simon's face. "Is this...this is April Fool's, right?"
Jean-Paul shook his head and turned down the music. "We've been trying to figure out how to infiltrate this place, right? What better way to figure out if they're on the level than by sending in our most suspicious-minded bastard?"
Simon sank heavily onto his bed, staring at him. "Where is this coming from? What set you off?"
"What do you mean 'what set me off'? Their mouthpiece got in touch with my agent, who got in touch with me. I was stupid enough to talk to my sister without a battle plan, so she's coming with me too." Jean-Paul looked over at him. "And they are hiding something. Do you know what Sage told me? The mouthpiece is human. Not human-mutant like us, but one hundred percent baseline."
"Mouthpiece?" Simon stared at him quietly, still in shock. "You mean Hudson?"
Jean-Paul nodded. "It might be PR, it might be something else. Either way, it says something that they don't have a mutant in charge, doesn't it?"
Simon rubbed his face, trying not to freak out. He wasn't the kind of person that freaked out. He was the kind of person to be cool, calm, collected... maybe sometimes concerned, but he didn't freak out. He could feel his chest tightening, the production of carbon dioxide in his blood rapidly falling. He recognized the oncoming hyperventilation and countered, purposefully slowing his breathing to mechanical, deep levels. "It says they don't trust them."
"Not even enough to be seen holding the leash on our own." Jean-Paul pushed the computer away in frustration, got to his feet, and came to flop down beside Simon. "So. Someone needs to check it out."
"Why you?" Simon managed quietly.
Jean-Paul sat up and squeezed his hand. "Because if one of us shows up on their doorstep looking to sign up, they're going to be suspicious. But if they're coming to make me an offer, they're going to look a lot less closely if I say yes. And it's still an 'if', you know. If I don't like what I'm hearing, I won't go."
"Right," Simon agreed quietly. "If."
"I'll talk to the headmasters. To Tess, Philip. All the paranoids. We'll have a plan in place." Jean-Paul ran his fingers through Simon's hair, trying to calm him. "I'm not just charging into the middle of things, no matter what it sounds like."
Simon pulled away from the touch that normally would have him melting into the bed. Instead, he rose to his feet, dumping his computer bag by his desk, then leaning his hands on the back of the nearby chair. "So you've decided this without talking to anyone first."
Jean-Paul frowned. "I talked to Jeanne-Marie. And more than that, I can think of a lot of reasons I should go and not so very many why I shouldn't."
Simon's stomach dropped. Maybe he'd been putting too much weight on their relationship. Yeah, Jean-Paul was telling him before he talked to the rest of the school. That was... a plus. And yeah, if Jean-Paul thought it was important that he go and get intelligence on them, Simon would support him. He'd just thought that he was a reason why he shouldn't go.
His gaze shifted toward his desk drawer.
Then, after a moment, he opened it, reaching into the back for the handful of envelopes he'd stashed there over the past month or so.
If possible, Jean-Paul actually grew more tense, watching Simon's every move with focused wariness. "I was wondering when you were going to show me those," he said, his tone almost conversational. "I saw Jeanne-Marie's weeks ago."
Simon looked up, his expression unreadable, mostly because he didn't know how he felt himself. Angry? Terrified? Depressed? He clutched the envelopes a little tighter than he'd meant to. "You knew they were there?"
"I was looking for your iPod and I found those. Well, not all of them. But I guess more came in the meantime, non?" Jean-Paul didn't seem angry. If anything he looked a little tired. Worn out, but too tightly wound to let it all go.
Simon looked away, looking down at them. "I haven't opened them."
"You don't need to, though." Jean-Paul shook his head. "Those are thick envelopes and I'm not a complete idiot. We both know they'll all want you. You've got your choice of places to go."
"That's not the point, Jean-Paul," Simon sighed, sinking down into the chair. "The point is that I didn't want to make a decision on anything until I knew where you were going to be. What you were going to do."
"You shouldn't have waited." Jean-Paul was looking down at his shoes now, the words bitter. "What I was going to be doing was going nowhere fast. You shouldn't let me hold you back."
Simon continued to stare down at the letters in his hands, and some small, petty part of him replied, "You're right. I shouldn't."
If the words twisted something deep inside, Jean-Paul didn't let it show. Because they were right about this. Simon had too much to offer and too many weights dragging him down as it was. Jean-Paul didn't need to keep being one of them. And hadn't he said himself that he could be anywhere Simon decided to go? Right. So no need to whine about it.
"Glad we're on the same page, then. Where are you going?"
Simon set the letters on his desk, picking out one and sliding it open with a letter-opener. A flick of the papers to catch a glimpse of the opening line and Simon set them down before rising to go get a water bottle out of the mini-fridge. "Yale."
Jean-Paul didn't move. "Leaving the school or staying?"
"I can't leave River," Simon answered quietly. "My sister and I have made plans too."
"See? That didn't take long. No use winding yourself up over it." Jean-Paul finally pushed off of Simon's bed and went back to his laptop. "Now I just have to let the rest of the kids know that those assholes are actively recruiting."
Simon stared quietly at the back of Jean-Paul's head. Just like that. Just like that, Jean-Paul was off to Alpha Flight to infiltrate a government sponsored superhero team, and Simon was off to med school. No discussion about their relationship. No promises or fears.
He turned away, tossing the other letters in the trash and turning on his computer. "Yeah, you should do that."
Jean-Paul was bent over his laptop when Simon came into the room. Before Their Eyes was blasting from the speakers and his boyfriend looked as if he were about to put his fist through the computer screen. All that was lacking was a full ashtray and Jean-Paul would have been a precise cliche of angry, teenage tension. He glanced up as Simon came in.
"Congratulations. I'm probably going to yell at you. Just know it's not your fault, all right?"
Simon tensed and closed the door behind him. "Okay. What's going on?"
"Best guess? Jeanne-Marie and I are going to talk to a man about how much the Canadian government wants us to join Alpha Flight. And I'm probably going to take him up on it."
The blood drained slowly out of Simon's face. "Is this...this is April Fool's, right?"
Jean-Paul shook his head and turned down the music. "We've been trying to figure out how to infiltrate this place, right? What better way to figure out if they're on the level than by sending in our most suspicious-minded bastard?"
Simon sank heavily onto his bed, staring at him. "Where is this coming from? What set you off?"
"What do you mean 'what set me off'? Their mouthpiece got in touch with my agent, who got in touch with me. I was stupid enough to talk to my sister without a battle plan, so she's coming with me too." Jean-Paul looked over at him. "And they are hiding something. Do you know what Sage told me? The mouthpiece is human. Not human-mutant like us, but one hundred percent baseline."
"Mouthpiece?" Simon stared at him quietly, still in shock. "You mean Hudson?"
Jean-Paul nodded. "It might be PR, it might be something else. Either way, it says something that they don't have a mutant in charge, doesn't it?"
Simon rubbed his face, trying not to freak out. He wasn't the kind of person that freaked out. He was the kind of person to be cool, calm, collected... maybe sometimes concerned, but he didn't freak out. He could feel his chest tightening, the production of carbon dioxide in his blood rapidly falling. He recognized the oncoming hyperventilation and countered, purposefully slowing his breathing to mechanical, deep levels. "It says they don't trust them."
"Not even enough to be seen holding the leash on our own." Jean-Paul pushed the computer away in frustration, got to his feet, and came to flop down beside Simon. "So. Someone needs to check it out."
"Why you?" Simon managed quietly.
Jean-Paul sat up and squeezed his hand. "Because if one of us shows up on their doorstep looking to sign up, they're going to be suspicious. But if they're coming to make me an offer, they're going to look a lot less closely if I say yes. And it's still an 'if', you know. If I don't like what I'm hearing, I won't go."
"Right," Simon agreed quietly. "If."
"I'll talk to the headmasters. To Tess, Philip. All the paranoids. We'll have a plan in place." Jean-Paul ran his fingers through Simon's hair, trying to calm him. "I'm not just charging into the middle of things, no matter what it sounds like."
Simon pulled away from the touch that normally would have him melting into the bed. Instead, he rose to his feet, dumping his computer bag by his desk, then leaning his hands on the back of the nearby chair. "So you've decided this without talking to anyone first."
Jean-Paul frowned. "I talked to Jeanne-Marie. And more than that, I can think of a lot of reasons I should go and not so very many why I shouldn't."
Simon's stomach dropped. Maybe he'd been putting too much weight on their relationship. Yeah, Jean-Paul was telling him before he talked to the rest of the school. That was... a plus. And yeah, if Jean-Paul thought it was important that he go and get intelligence on them, Simon would support him. He'd just thought that he was a reason why he shouldn't go.
His gaze shifted toward his desk drawer.
Then, after a moment, he opened it, reaching into the back for the handful of envelopes he'd stashed there over the past month or so.
If possible, Jean-Paul actually grew more tense, watching Simon's every move with focused wariness. "I was wondering when you were going to show me those," he said, his tone almost conversational. "I saw Jeanne-Marie's weeks ago."
Simon looked up, his expression unreadable, mostly because he didn't know how he felt himself. Angry? Terrified? Depressed? He clutched the envelopes a little tighter than he'd meant to. "You knew they were there?"
"I was looking for your iPod and I found those. Well, not all of them. But I guess more came in the meantime, non?" Jean-Paul didn't seem angry. If anything he looked a little tired. Worn out, but too tightly wound to let it all go.
Simon looked away, looking down at them. "I haven't opened them."
"You don't need to, though." Jean-Paul shook his head. "Those are thick envelopes and I'm not a complete idiot. We both know they'll all want you. You've got your choice of places to go."
"That's not the point, Jean-Paul," Simon sighed, sinking down into the chair. "The point is that I didn't want to make a decision on anything until I knew where you were going to be. What you were going to do."
"You shouldn't have waited." Jean-Paul was looking down at his shoes now, the words bitter. "What I was going to be doing was going nowhere fast. You shouldn't let me hold you back."
Simon continued to stare down at the letters in his hands, and some small, petty part of him replied, "You're right. I shouldn't."
If the words twisted something deep inside, Jean-Paul didn't let it show. Because they were right about this. Simon had too much to offer and too many weights dragging him down as it was. Jean-Paul didn't need to keep being one of them. And hadn't he said himself that he could be anywhere Simon decided to go? Right. So no need to whine about it.
"Glad we're on the same page, then. Where are you going?"
Simon set the letters on his desk, picking out one and sliding it open with a letter-opener. A flick of the papers to catch a glimpse of the opening line and Simon set them down before rising to go get a water bottle out of the mini-fridge. "Yale."
Jean-Paul didn't move. "Leaving the school or staying?"
"I can't leave River," Simon answered quietly. "My sister and I have made plans too."
"See? That didn't take long. No use winding yourself up over it." Jean-Paul finally pushed off of Simon's bed and went back to his laptop. "Now I just have to let the rest of the kids know that those assholes are actively recruiting."
Simon stared quietly at the back of Jean-Paul's head. Just like that. Just like that, Jean-Paul was off to Alpha Flight to infiltrate a government sponsored superhero team, and Simon was off to med school. No discussion about their relationship. No promises or fears.
He turned away, tossing the other letters in the trash and turning on his computer. "Yeah, you should do that."