ax_main | Jean-Paul and Simon, backdated 12/30

Jean-Paul and Simon have a post-Christmas conversation to solidify a few points about their relationship.

Thank God for teleporters.

Jean-Paul hauled the last of his bags over to his side of the room, then crashed onto his bed. It had been good to go home. Raymonde had adored Warren and Simon, and had seemed happy to see Jeanne-Marie again. And he was sure everyone had managed a good time, despite how cozy/cramped a handful of teenagers had made Raymonde's two-bedroom flat. It had been great to go home, in fact. But it was still OK to be back at the school, where he had some distance from everyone's expectations.

Simon was already sprawled on their couch, staring at his phone, exhausted from the trip, but still kind of missing the cozy warmth of Raymonde's home. It was the kind of place he'd never spent his time growing up - his own house a bit more sterile and showy than anything that actually seemed lived in. Having experienced such a thing, Simon found himself unsure how to return to the hustle and bustle of life at the school, with all of its drama, relationships, and problems. "We should go back for Spring Break," he told his roommate.

"We can go back sooner, if you like," Jean-Paul offered. "Take a long weekend sometime. Bribe a teleporter to run the three of us up and back. I know Raymonde liked you. And I think he feels better with a medical man watching my back."

"Well, he shouldn't," Simon glanced up. "I'm not even in medical school yet."

"I didn't say you were a doctor yet," Jean-Paul pointed out. "But if there was something wrong with me, you would probably know what to do more than anyone."

"Well, as long as we're acknowledging that I'm probably better than any medical professional out there when it comes to mutants, then yes, you're probably right," Simon quirked a small smile.

Jean-Paul laughed despite himself. The edge of confidence was always appealing in Simon. He crossed the room and tucked himself against Simon's legs. "I'm 100% confirming it. And I'm glad you had a good time."

Simon's smile grew, and warmed. "I loved it. I loved Montreal, for all that it's cold as hell. But I really loved Raymonde, his bistro, and his home. Even if it's freezing outside, I'm not sure I've ever been someplace so warm and loving."

"Say the word and we'll go back," Jean-Paul promised. "You, me, and Warren. Even if we just want to run up for dinner and some time away."

"I might hold you to that," Simon agreed thoughtfully. "His food is mouthwatering."

"I noticed you were appreciating it." Jean-Paul rested his chin on Simon's hip. "Much more appealing than three meals a day from the cafeteria. Though at least I can't complain about their portions."

Simon slipped his fingers into Jean-Paul's hair, tipping his head against the backrest. "This...holiday really solidified it for me."

A tiny frown replaced Jean-Paul's smile. "Solidified what?"

"You, and Warren." Simon told him softly, then paused, thinking. "Well, and the situation with my father too, of course, but I think being in Montreal helped to minimize my feelings of abandonment. More than anything, I just felt cared for, and any doubts I had about this relationship seem to have fled."

Jean-Paul all but melted at the words and that gentle petting. "That means a lot. I'm glad we were... that we were able to be family to you when you needed it."

Simon tugged gently on his hair. “More than family.”

Jean-Paul took that as an invitation to climb up Simon's body. Once he was in a position to nestle his head on Simon's shoulder, the let out a content sigh. "Family's complicated anyway. You guys... well, yeah, you are too. But I feel like we know where we stand better."

Thumbing the ring on his finger, Simon leaned in, brushing his lips over the pointed tip of Jean-Paul's ear with a smile. "Now we do."

"For a couple of rich brats, you two are easy to love," Jean-Paul teased.

Simon snorted softly. "We aren't rich anymore."

"Rich is more than money. And you guys seemed to have missed some of the worst symptoms." For all his contentment, Jean-Paul was willing to expend just enough energy to kiss that smile.

"Maybe it skips a generation," Simon told him wryly, returning the kiss and slipping an arm around Jean-Paul, pressing their bodies more firmly against one another with satisfaction at having the other teen's warmth suffusing them both.

Jean-Paul laughed. "Yeah, maybe. You've been great, though."

"Great?" Simon let his eyebrows lift. "Really?"

Jean-Paul sobered. "You didn't have to stay with us."

"Did you think I was going to walk away?" Simon asked quietly.

"I would have seen it as you being taken away," Jean-Paul said. "Trust me, I know what it's like to have people who don't give a shit about what's good for anyone but themselves running your life. But you didn't let it happen. You stood up to him."

"Well," Simon huffed a sigh. "It was long overdue. And in this instance, I didn't see 'choice'. I couldn't leave the research. And the people. I'm a part of this community now - more than I've ever been a part of anything before."

"Even when that community wants to kick your ass," Jean-Paul teased.

Simon glanced down, biting back on the bitter taste in his mouth. "Right."

"Hey." Jean-Paul nudged Simon's chin back up so he could look him in the eye. "Not everyone here loves me either. That's the annoying part of other people."

Simon quirked a smile, snorting softly. "Yes. I suppose so. But you and Warren tend to deal with them much better than I do."

"You are a generous soul." Jean-Paul snugged marginally closer. "Warren deals with them. I just don't waste time on people who aren't completely head over heels with my perfection." He let out a small, content sigh. "Plans for the rest of the day?"

"Not moving? We just got back from Montreal," Simon reminded him.

"We have to eat eventually," Jean-Paul pointed out. "Want to order in? I can afford to treat you guys this week."

"Are you sure?" Simon frowned. "I don't want you to push your budget."

"I've got some savings." Jean-Paul grimaced slightly. "And I'm on an allowance again, but it's not like I've been spending much of it. I'm not saying it'll be Jean Georges quality, but if we want to be lazy and anti-social, it's an alternative to the cafeteria."

Simon smiled and ran his fingers through Jean-Paul's hair again. "Or you having to cook, I suppose. Yes, let's order in. Your choice."

"That was part of the 'lazy', yeah." Jean-Paul sat up and headed over to his jacket to get his phone. "As much fun as it is keeping you two in my debt, I do need a break now and again."

"And I recognize that," Simon told him, rolling onto one side, propping his head in a hand. "But I find myself dreaming of your cooking almost as much as I dream about your body, so I feel that I should point these things out."

"I'm not sure which of those I take as the bigger compliment." Jean-Paul paused in scrolling through his phone, then reconsidered. "Non, definitely the cooking. My body is as wonderful as ever, but I'm having to improvise a lot more when it comes to keeping the pair of you healthy."

Simon found himself laughing at that, ducking his head into the cushions. "How did I end up with such narcissists?"

"We can't help who we fall in love with, Tam. Learn to cope."

“I - I didn’t say. I mean. Right. Coping.” Simon choked down a million things in his head as he pulled up to a sitting position.

Jean-Paul watched him for a moment, then went back to ordering. "Does that bug you?"

"When I make jokes like that. It's not like I don't mean it, you know."

“I’m coping!” Simon told emphatically as he looked up.

Jean-Paul blinked. "Ok. Sorry." He tapped in a few more entries on his phone, then paid for the order. "We'll have food soon."

Simon took a slow breath. “That’s uh. That’s good.”

After a moment, Jean-Paul came to sit beside him again. "Warren'll be here in a few"

Simon was quiet for a moment, then said, “But we have some time alone.”

Jean-Paul snorted softly. "Yeah. He's probably already neck-deep in some project. So just us for a bit."

Simon shifted, dropping his phone in his seat as he moved to straddle Jean-Paul’s lap. “Good.”

For the second time in minutes, Simon had Jean-Paul wordless in surprise. He reached out instinctively, settling his hands on Simon's hips, but his expression was still all confusion.

Simon took a deep breath, then looked him in the eyes. "I know what your brain is making you feel about me. I know what my brain is making me feel about you. But it's all neurotransmitters and sex hormones, especially at our age. It's sex drive and gender preference and attraction, but attachment can't possibly have formed yet. Not a true commitment to it, anyway."

It took a moment for Jean-Paul to absorb just what the fuck Simon had just said. Then why. Then another to tamp down the automatic anger than came with it. He tightened his hold on Simon, making sure he stayed right the hell where he was.

"And was it 'sex drive and gender preference and attraction' that made me stand up with you and paint a target on my chest?" he asked, tone oh so mild.

Simon's eyes widened slightly as his chest seemed to tighten. He wanted to point out that the dramatic act was also the product of overactive chemicals in a teenage brain, but swallowed that thought instead. Dramatic or not, Jean-Paul had done it, for him and Warren and no other reason.

"Yeah. I thought so." Jean-Paul held Simon's gaze for a moment, then wrapped his arms around him and pulled him in close and tight. "It's terrifying, right? Thinking anyone cares that much about you? That you could let them down? Or you were never worth it?"

Simon was pulled, finding his lips next to Jean-Paul's ear, and he slowly slipped his arms around the other teen. "Are we talking about me or you?" he asked quietly.

Jean-Paul huffed a quiet breath. "Has it got to be one or the other?"

"Thank you," Simon finally sighed. "For painting a target on your chest."

"Well, I love you two idiots," Jean-Paul murmured. "Made it a lot easier."

Simon pulled back, raising a brow. "Who is an idiot?"

Jean-Paul laughed and kept hold. "All three of us. Don't think I was excluding myself."

"I am not an idiot," Simon pointed out.

Jean-Paul finally let him go and leaned back on his hands so he could get a good look at Simon's face. "Simon Tam, you were sitting on my lap trying to convince me that my love for you is a hormone-addled hallucination." And if he sharpened the edges of the word just slightly, it's because he suspected he'd need a sword to get through Simon's armor.

Simon swallowed tightly, but didn’t pull away. “I...didn’t say it was a hallucination.”

"Delusion, then. Don't pick nits." Jean-Paul sighed and reached up to muss Simon's hair. "Doesn't change how I feel, even if you don't want me to feel it."

Simon ducked under the mussing, but caught his gaze at the last bit. “I also didn’t say I don’t want you to feel that way. What...what I was trying to say is that...that I love you too.”

Jean-Paul was quiet a moment, then pulled Simon down on top of him for a long, gentle kiss. Actions over words was always going to be his preference.

Simon melted into the kiss - he couldn't help it, not when he knew (could feel) the chemistry lighting up between them. When he could finally take a breath, he raised his head and smiled. "That was the right answer then?"

"No wrong answer, Tam." Jean-Paul laughed and kissed him again. "But I do like this one. A lot." Far from feeling tired now, there was a warm energy humming through Jean-Paul's nerves. As if he could take on anything in the world and win.

Brushing fingers through Jean-Paul’s hair, Simon sighed. “My point was that this euphoria might not last.”

"Do I make you euphoric?" Jean-Paul was grinning, any danger of offense off to the side for the moment.

Simon stared at him. “Has that ever been in question? Between you and Warren, I can barely catch my breath.”

"'Euphoric' is a strong word, that's all." Jean-Paul smoothed his hands down Simon's back and let them rest on his ass. "But yeah, I get it. The infatuation stage isn't supposed to last, though. It's supposed to mature."

Simon shifted slightly at the hands on his ass. “You have a way of distracting me from discussion.”

Jean-Paul kept his hands right where they were. "Was that a complaint?"

Simon opened his mouth, then closed it abruptly. Whatever he’d been about to say, it wasn’t the right answer. After a breath, he shook his head. “Ah, no. No, not a complaint.”

"Glad to hear it. Though feel free to punch me if I'm getting to be too much a distraction."

“Please. Warren is too much sometimes; I just lock him out of the lab,” Simon smirked.

"You've never locked me out. Does that mean I'm just right for you?" Jean-Paul wriggled under him, pleased with Simon's weight and warmth above him. "Or is it because I bring you food?"

“You bring me food, and then I can’t get you out,” Simon replied, but let his weight settle fully on the wriggling.

"But again, not a complaint."

Simon brushed his lips against Jean-Paul's. "Do you really think I would complain about either of you? Trust me when I say that if I ever felt uncomfortable or annoyed by you two, I would let you know."

Jean-Paul settled down at the kiss. "Just saying. I think we're going to last."

"I'm not sure we should be making those kinds of predictions, what with the kind of mess we're in right now, all of us," Simon sighed, pushing up onto one arm.

"I'm not scared of being wrong." Jean-Paul sat up. "Because I don't think I will be. We're in a mess, but we're still together."

"Will you...will you sleep with me tonight? In my bed, I mean. There is more room than in the school-issued beds," Simon quickly explained.

That was unexpected. It wasn't that Simon had ever been shy about asking for closeness when he wanted it, he was just usually fine with waiting for Jean-Paul or Warren to initiate. And he hadn't volunteered his side of the room for anything yet. It wasn't something Jean-Paul held against him; they all needed their space. It was just a surprise. Especially just as they were returning from rather cramped quarters.

But then, maybe that was why. Maybe Simon didn't want to lose that closeness yet.

"Sure thing." Jean-Paul ran his fingers through Simon's hair. "And I'm good for keeping nightmares away, right?"

Simon couldn't help the shiver as he leaned into the touch. Of course Jean-Paul would see right through him. Over the past week, he'd had the best sleep in months with Jean-Paul and Warren at his side. It had been intoxicating, being able to wake up in the morning feeling rested and refreshed, with that warmth against his skin. "So you know me better than I thought."

Jean-Paul laughed. "I just pay attention when you talk, believe it or not. It's part of that whole love business."

"I just enjoyed our time in Montreal," Simon sighed. "It would be nice to have one more night together."

Jean-Paul sobered and tugged Simon into his arms. "Hey. You can have me any night you want. Warren too. It's not like you're imposing."

Simon laughed softly. "We might need to make a bed on the floor for that. I'm not sure Scott would approve of my bunking with Warren."

"Well." Jean-Paul gave him a happy squeeze. The laugh was a victory. "Maybe we should save up for a bigger bed."

Simon snorted and pushed him back down, brushing a soft kiss over his lips. "I doubt that would go over well."

"Dream big, Tam." Jean-Paul let Simon lean him back, content to relax under his touch until their third (or their food!) arrived.