ax_main | Jean-Paul and Warren, backdated

The Boys are still on the press trail, this time in a more Tiger Beat sense--and sometimes it is actually fun!

Jean-Paul blinked as they walked into the interview room. He was about to ask the obvious question, then discarded it. Instead, he grabbed Warren's elbow and crashed onto the nearest piece of furniture with him on top.

Why yes. They were beanbag chairs, and appropriately squishy as well.

Something told him this interview was going to be fun.

Laughing, Warren draped his wings over the side of the bean-bag and settled an arm around Jean-Paul's shoulders, making himself comfortable as could be. "If only we had more than thirty seconds alone here before..."

The interviewer was already entering, though. The kid couldn't have been more than a year or two older than they were, (if that!) was perfectly made up, and smiling in a self-consciously friendly way. Jean-Paul guessed he was about thirty seconds away from gushing all over them and made up his mind to be actually nice.

"Mister Beaubier? Mister Worthington? Hi, I'm Jang, and I'll be doing some Q&A with you guys today." Jang's smile was on the verge of going fluttery, Jean-Paul noticed.

"Pleased to be here," Jean-Paul said, offering a friendly smile of his own.

"Same." Warren reached out, but didn't get off his boyfriend's lap. Obviously. Jang took his hand but didn't shake, just sort of squeezed. It was adorable. Warren said, "We like your digs."

"Well, it's an informal interview, right? I mean, not even really an interview," he said quickly. "Like I said, just some fun Q&A. Are you both OK to get started?"

Jean-Paul nodded. "Fire away."

"OK, so these first few were selected from from our social media circles. Warren, this one is for you. @junkratgrrl on Twitter would like to know what product you use on your hair and if you have any special care routine for your wings."

"I use American Crew on my hair--the high hold pomade? Smells amazing too," Warren said, relaxing completely into JP's lap, utterly at ease. "The feathers are a lot like hair in some ways, they need to stay moisturized. Baths, sunning, then a good--uh, preening for lack of a better word. It feels awesome." He was going to spare them the details of the actual production of preening wax that happened via his skin--not the same as birds but... yeah. Had to keep them protected somehow, right?

"Oh, nice!" Jang smiled, still a little stiff, but relaxing into his role. "Jean-Paul, Sam H. on Facebook wants to know what your top speed is in flight."

"So far as I know, I haven't had a chance to come anywhere near my upper limit yet," Jean-Paul lied. No one needed to know about the Danger Room simulations. "I mean, I suppose theoretically, I could hit mach 4 or 5? But that's not conducive to little things like breathing." He laughed. "Also, at those speeds, I'd probably wind up losing my clothes to wind friction."

"Not that anyone would complain," Warren pointed out.

Jang laughed. "Please, let's keep this family friendly. Could you maybe give us an idea of a typical flight for you?"

Jean-Paul considered. "I can fly from my apartment in New York to Montreal in under twenty minutes, and still preserve my modesty. How's that?"

"Like you have modesty," Warren said with a chuckle.

"Excuse me, flyboy?" Jean-Paul stealthily slid his fingers into Warren's feathers. "Don't make me spill personal secrets while we're supposed to be behaving."

"Oh, intriguing," Jang said with a laugh. "Maybe I should request a follow-up interview?"

"Let's not get you in trouble," Jean-Paul demurred. "But back to our questions...?"

Jang mock-sighed, having lost his last hints of nervousness. "All right. Warren, we have a question for you from marymaryqc on Tumblr. What's your ideal romantic night out?"

"Oooh, that's a good one," Warren said, making a thinky face and trying not to squirm, seeing as JP's fingers knew exactly how to stroke his feathers to have... an effect. "I'm an old school romantic. I like a nice dinner--nothing fancy, just something good--and a good wander around the city. A night market or something that inspires conversation that might not otherwise happen. Of course, for me, there's also sometimes a flight involved." And champagne. But... illegal at 17, so Warren kept that one under his hat. "If I'm lucky." He shot a tiny smirk at Jean-Paul.

"You're with me." Jean-Paul tickled lightly up along Warren's spine. "You're always lucky."

Warren's wings shuddered slightly, ruffling his feathers. He directed a wink at the interviewer. "Better not elaborate on that one, either. But there's me, Mr. Romance."

"One more, and it's for Jean-Paul. I'm afraid it's work-related, though."

Jean-Paul lifted his brows in question and finally left off teasing Warren. "Oh?"

"Reader Alan J. wants to know what your routine was like when you were competing and how it's changed since then."

"Ah." Jean-Paul frowned a little. "Well, I supposed the honest answer to that last part would be 'less than you would think'. I've never been one to let myself get out of condition."

"He works out more than anyone else I know," Warren added. "And unlike the rest of them, it's not just vanity. The guy's a born competitor."

"Hoping to have the guys on the extreme circuit shaking in their shoes?" Jang asked.

Jean-Paul shrugged. "Well, these days I figuring out just what my best actually is, as opposed to what I used to think it was. So I'm going to be my own most challenging competition for a while."

"Do you ever race your sister?" Jang asked, all curiosity.

Jean-Paul laughed at that, relaxed and natural. "Oui. Yes, I do. And I win. Ties of blood have no bearing when it comes to a competition."

"She's kicked my ass a few times, though," Warren threw in with a chuckle of his own.

"You're practically family," Jean-Paul pointed out. "So you don't get any special treatment either. Sad, but true."

Warren wished Jeanne-Marie considered him family, but he'd never been able to have the same kind of rapport with her that Simon did. He always got the feeling she wasn't sure about him, somehow.

In spite of that, he smiled happily, because it was nice that she hadn't said as much to Jean-Paul, anyhow. He chuckled. "I'm fascinated by sibling relationships. I like how they can simultaneously be in competition but still love each other. Also, the yelling is funny."

"As someone with three brothers? Trust me, it's only funny from the outside." Jang laughed. "I'd like to thank you both for coming in today. I hope you had as much fun as I did. Is there anything you'd like to say to our readers before we sign off?"

"Listen to mutants. Amplify their voices. Especially women and mutants of color." Warren made a peace sign.

"Seconded," Jean-Paul said, giving Warren a fond squeeze. "Thanks for having us."