Alice and Lydia, backdated to Dec 7

[om_panax]

Alice finds a way to come out--and gets a new job in the deal. Lydia gets some much-needed help. Also, they discuss Eames's hair. What?

"But anyway, enough about my admittedly amazing sex life," Alice concluded with the grin of the truly satiated. Well, maybe satiated was the wrong word, but content, at least, or satisfied. Yes, satisfied was perfect. She took a sip from her mocha, rearranging, satisfied with pretty much everything that weekend. From the night she'd spent at the hotel with Harry to her coffee date with Lydia right now, in a lovely little shop in Greenwich. She had every intention of stopping by to see Shinobi, next.

But for now, she followed up her conclusion with, "How's yours going?" Which was, of course, asking other things, like how she'd dealt with the crazy busy of the past few weeks, and where things were at with Scott.

Lydia was still smirking from the highly entertaining Tales of Harry. She could not have been happier for Alice, whom Lydia had always thought deserved her very own well-dressed rich boy who'd give her anything she wanted just for being her.

And, honestly, "Not bad at all." If she sounded surprised, well, there had been a month or two where Lydia had wondered if she and Scott would climb back out of the Alisha hole. And they had. "Scott was an absolute prince during the repeated speedster explosions in my life. He took incredible care of me--good thing, because I honestly would've forgotten to, at that point."

Alice raised her eyebrows in quiet, mild surprise. "Well, okay. He's earning back some of the points he lost, then." With her, she meant, since she didn't expect Lydia to view their relationship that way.

"Mmm he's still got a lot of earning to go, but yes. That week in particular earned double bonus points.

"Not that I put the blame on either Jean-Paul or Pietro, for that matter. It was just a lot at once." And she was definitely going to have to give up teaching next year... and possibly more, if she wanted to keep up with X-statiX. Which was hardly option.

"I can only imagine," Alice sympathized. Like she could only imagine what it had been like for either speedster, for that matter. "Have things calmed down now?"

"Yes. I'd be more worried if Pietro didn't actually ask Wanda about everything but--well, he does, thank god for Wanda. She's amazing." Lydia sighed and sipped at her drink. "Still, I have a feeling there are going to be a lot of crazy ass weeks to follow--and a lot of me chasing my tail."

"How's that?" Alice asked curiously. Not the crazy ass weeks - that was obvious enough - but the end, yeah, just in case it was more than a general statement.

"We've only just begun. Pietro won't be the last to accidentally out himself; more of us will want to do it on purpose; as numbers grow, there's more to organize and keep track of." Lydia sipped thoughtfully at her drink.

Right, not what Alice had thought she meant... This, yeah, was totally expected, and she nodded along. "Yeah, about that..." Alice began. "Not that I wanna come out, obviously. But I like being able to hang out with my friends, and I thought maybe I could pick your brains about finding a way to do that?" She had ideas, but honestly, Lydia was so much smarter than her that she would feel a bit foolish bringing them up, especially since she knew how faulty they were.

Lydia considered for a moment. She'd been coming up with scenarios like this for a while now, but to tailor them for Alice in particular meant a little tweaking. "Do you want to stay entirely out of the public eye, or do you just want the public not to know that you're a mutant--or even what kind of mutant?" That was the starting point, for certain.

"Honestly, I don't give a shit what the public thinks," Alice replied bluntly. If she couldn't be blunt with Lydia, who could she be blunt with? Relief washed through her, that Lydia wouldn't laugh it off as impossible, stop dreaming - she knew, rationally, that she wouldn't, but anxieties weren't exactly rational. "I just don't want them to know what I actually am, and I really don't want Jenna's parents to know that, either. Obviously."

"We could make up a false mutation--something benign, like mine, if you're okay with the Malones having that," Lydia said thoughtfully. "Otherwise, you might be talking about needing a disguise of some kind. All the time."

"Ugh, yeah, no," Alice confirmed with a shake of her head. She could have started wearing contacts a while back, but she hadn't... for... a reason... That line of thought came to a halt as another derailed it. "Minor like my eyes? Or would we need something more?" She had very little idea about the genetic aspect of these things, honestly.

Lydia looked impressed. "That could work. And it's useful all around, too, if you don't mind. Like, look, not all mutations are like superspeed or light shows... it's good to have out there." Even if it was a lie, in Alice's case. Hell, Lydia would be the last to complain about that.

Alice grinned at Lydia's answer. "Hey, if it makes my life easier and works for the greater picture - totally." Now she just needed to figure out how to bring it up with the Malones. And what story to give them exactly. "Now - what story do I tell Jenna's parents."

"You mean whether to tell them about the school or not?" Lydia asked curiously. She didn't know the Malones, and Alice's situation was... unique, to say the least. She'd leave it entirely to her, but Lydia was interested.

"Yeah, among other things," Alice sort of agreed. "Like... have I known all along. And kept quiet because I respected the privacy of my friends. Or is it a more recent discovery. And what do I tell them about my recovery - the doctors all thought it was a miracle."

"We'll get Simon or someone to come up with an idea about how the recovery was the traumatic experience that triggered it. And..." Lydia waved one hand. "As far as anyone can tell, it was just the eyes.

"No one understands how this shit works; we can take advantage of it."

"Definitely," Alice nodded, pushing a hand back through her hair. It didn't answer all of her questions, of course. Did she tell them about the school? She presumably needed to talk to Harry, too, although she didn't think that he had the same hang-ups about being associated with a mutant as she did; it wouldn't hurt to check. It was the done thing. "What about - how we put that story forward? You got any ideas? I mean, that story isn't, and I don't wanna be, headline material."

"Well, you can do it how I did it--just turn up at a lot of mutant things so it's obvious--or you can come out on your own--online," Lydia suggested. "Anything else would be a little much for what you have in mind."

"Yeah, I think I'm just gonna do the show-up-at-events obvious thing," Alice stated with a brief purse of her lips. She had absolutely zero interest in coming out online. She paused as another thought hit, then asked, no matter how uncertain she felt about it, "Especially if you could use me in any way?"

It would feel weird, showing up suddenly, for no other reason than because it was a mutant thing. But on the other hand, she wasn't sure she could be of much actual use, so... yeah. Uncertain.

"Oh my god, yes, I definitely could," Lydia said with a little laugh. "Please. Seriously.

"If you're willing, that solves everyone's problems."

"Really?" The word was out before Alice could help it; she hadn't expected that answer. But then she smiled, because of course really, or Lydia wouldn't have said so. "OK. What can I do to help?"

"Come to events with me? Interviews and stuff. Hell, I could even put your name--Jenna's, whatever--on the site as an associate of some kind. We'll get you a job title and everything.

"I can't pay you right now, but... well, I can buy you some shoes every time you have to actually be somewhere?" Lydia smiled.

Alice laughed at that, and shook her head. "That's fine, seriously. I don't really need money - and while a girl always needs more shoes, you don't have to, seriously. I'll be glad to do it - out of the goodness of my heart, you know," she finished with a smirk, eyes twinkling. She expected Lydia to know exactly why she would be doing it: because it worked with what she wanted for herself. Helping Lydia out was a welcome bonus.

Lydia held her hand out over the table and grinned. "Alice Fitzgerald, you--as Jenna Malone--are officially hired." And she was totally going to buy her shoes. Probably from that new Cindy girl, who was amazing.

Alice shook her hand mock-solemnly, wearing a matching grin. "I'm totally calling you boss."

"Hot." Lydia's grin turned into a smirk.

Alice laughed at that, without a hint of self-consciousness. "Even better."

"Seriously. Great, then it's a plan." Lydia took another sip. "We can get started whenever you're ready. And I can pop your name up on the site.

"Once you decide what to do about the family, that is."

"Yeah, I need some time to think," Alice confirmed with a nod. "I'll let you know." She smiled gratefully at her friend. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, but thank you, too." Lydia gave a little laugh. "It'll be a relief for me."

"You'll thank me when I'm actually making myself useful," Alice retorted with a small smile, which then sharpened. "With the whole of my zero qualifications."

"Precisely how many qualifications I had, so sounds good to me." Lydia smiled into another sip of her drink.

"Right," Alice mock-agreed, because, well, being Lydia was a qualification, as far as she was concerned. But since it was Lydia, she actually trusted that she would be of some use. No better person to learn from, clearly - and it would be a lot more fun than maths, at least. "Anything in the works right now I should know about?" She grinned. "Boss."

Lydia laughed silently. "Always. I'm going to be out of commission for a week or two around the New Year so the main thing will be holding down the fort for me--just sifting through messages and all that--while I'm gone. Sound okay?"

"Sure," Alice nodded. "After you've given me a tour of the fort, anyway." Metaphorically, obviously. "Vacation?"

"Unfinished business," Lydia said with a little frown. "I'm hiring X-Factor to look into what happened to me when I manifested--or at least, when I discovered I had. We suspect there was a psi of some kind involved, and I need to get to the bottom of it."

She'd needed to for years, now, and hadn't. If anyone else had been hurt or scared like that in the meantime, it was on her.

"Wow," Alice replied evenly. She knew that Lydia had been attacked, and that the next little while had been rough for her, but her friend had never hinted at the involvement of a psi. Whatever had happened, it was probably worse than she'd let on? "Well, at least you've got the right people to have your back." Especially against a psi.

"Exactly," Lydia agreed. "Tessa's not coming, but Betsy will be there, so we're covered. Simon's on surveillance, Damon's got a great plan, and Scott can backup anyone. Though--god help him and Damon if they get into it. I will flip my shit."

"Seriously," Alice chuckled with a shake of her head. "Kinda sounds like you're playing with fire." She wouldn't be a real friend if she didn't say it, the way she saw it.

"It's true." Lydia shook her head slightly. "The problem is, Damon is the best person for the job--he knows the most about my situation and he's literally the only person in the world with relevant experience.

"But there's no way I'd cut Scott out of this. For one, he needs to meet my mother, and for another, if he cut me out of something this important to him, I'd be devastated. So I'll have to rely on mine and Betsy's ability to keep these boys on a leash, basically."

"At least you two are probably the best persons for that job," Alice stated after a second's thought. Seriously.

"That'll be our saving grace," Lydia agreed. But then, more seriously, "I don't think either of them would do anything to put this in jeopardy though, to be honest. They know how important this is to me and--Damon can be a volatile prick, but no matter how angry he gets at me, I can't see him fucking me over like this."

"Well, I'll trust your opinion on that," Alice sort of agreed. For all of the dreamfucking going on, she wasn't anywhere near close enough to Damon to ever talk about Lydia with him. "When are you guys leaving?"

"After Christmas sometime--this is all supposed to go on just after New Years." Lydia sighed into her drink. "I just want it done. I want to know who it was who messed with me when I was all fucked up like that, and I want to stab them. Personally."

Alice nodded, unable to know what Lydia must feel like, but trying to imagine it all the same. "Keep me posted?" she simply requested. She'd have offered any help she could provide, but she couldn't provide any, could she - apart from holding down the X-statiX fort, and she'd already agreed to that.

"I will, yeah," Lydia promised. "It'd be good for someone not with us to know what's going on anyhow.

"But thanks for taking care of things here for me--that's huge. Wasn't sure what I was going to do. Asking Arthur to hold down the fort might've ended with him tearing out his hair. Or Eames's."

"Oh, yeah, no," Alice agreed with her immediately. "He could grow it right back out, but still."

"He'd look way too super-villain, bald." Lydia wrinkled her nose.

Alice had to laugh at the mental picture. "Oh my god, that image. Thank you."

Lydia chuckled. "Oh my god. I just disturbed myself." The she paused and made a thoughtful face. "... kinda hot though, actually. Weird."

Alice's laughter only lasted a little longer for that. "Okay, I'll let you keep that fantasy to yourself. I mean, no. I like him with her. Or her with her." She was sure he could take on some forms she'd like without hair, but she hadn't seen them yet.

"Eh, me too. And though he doesn't act like it, I'm sure Arthur needs something to yank on now and then." Lydia smirked.

"Hmm," Alice agreed. "Now that's the kind of image I can get behind. Manner of speaking."

Lydia laughed and raised her glass. "I'll drink to that."