ax_main | Tommy and Jeanne-Marie, Backdated to August 17

The day after the run-in with the Brotherhood, Tommy is restless, and Jeanne-Marie wants to check in. They end up at Six Flags. Obviously.

The Danger Room wasn't exactly the best place for sitting and thinking, which made it the best place for Tommy to have an excuse to do neither. A simulation hadn't hit the spot either and he'd run a couple of hundred laps before giving up, so he had the gym itself open, with a trampoline and stuff to mess around on.

Right now he was hanging off the rings, trying to remember some of the cool shit he'd seen Kurt do, but mostly just swinging lazily back and forth and occasionally trying to haul himself over and upside down. It was harder than it looked. He probably should go find Illyana, make her tell him more about what she'd started to say the night before, but the exhaustion was still chewing at the back of his brain and he couldn't summon up the energy to deal with someone else's problems on top of his own.

After the day he'd had yesterday, Jeanne-Marie let her brother have his peace and decided to do some danger room drills on her own. She'd been upping her routine steadily since the museum debacle, determined never to be caught off guard again. It made her feel better. Stronger.

Like next time she'd be able to do more than just run find an adult.

She didn't expect to find anyone inside, but smiled when she did. Then frowned. Jean-Paul had told her the whole story, and she wondered if Tommy preferred to be alone... or not. But she'd wanted to check on him all day, so might as well seize the moment. "I didn't know you were a gymnast," she said with a smile, tossing her long ponytail over her shoulder.

"That's 'cause I'm not," Tommy admitted, hanging upside down. He pulled himself over one last time and let go, dropping to the floor. "I'm just messing around. Did you need the room? I can clear out." He made the offer reluctantly; he didn't exactly have anywhere else in mind to go from there. He grinned, but without as much heat behind it as usual. "Or I can stick around if you're looking for a little one on one."

"With you? Always." She came to stand in front of him, cocking her head and taking his measure. "I won't annoy you about it. But--are you all right?"

Tommy wanted to be angry that word had already gotten around, but - this was JM. And Northstar (Jean-Paul, whatever) had been team lead, so yeah. Of course she would know. "Who, me?" he drawled, shoving his hands in the pockets of his sweats. "Never better." He held her gaze for half a beat longer - an eternity, by some measures - and deflated a little, made a half-hearted shrug. "I woke up with a hell of a headache and everything still smells like smoke, but at least we didn't end up on the news this time."

Jeanne-Marie huffed out a small laugh, crossing her arms over her belly. "Yes, there is that. Honestly, I was a little miffed Jean-Paul was asked to come and not me but..." She shrugged and gave a little smile. "I suppose my hair not smelling like smoke is a good thing."

Still, she'd wished she could be there... for Tommy.

"It's better that you weren't, honestly." Bored with standing, Tommy headed for a stack of gym mats, glancing back over his shoulder to see if she was following. "We didn't exactly achieve mission objectives, so if there's any class credit riding on it we're boned." Not like he actually believed that there was, or cared if it were true, but it was something to say. "I bet you had a lot more fun here."

She did follow, and crawled up onto the mats when they reached their destination. "I'm sure we had more fun, but I'm more interested in what that other team took and what they wiped," she admitted. Then, a little self-consciously, thinking of how she'd wanted to leave the protest instead of fighting like him and Tamara at first, she added, "Jean-Paul and I have been doing drills to help me with my initial reactions to things."

"Kitty hasn't found anything on the hard drives we swiped," Tommy admitted, flinging himself down beside her. he lay on his back, hands laced behind his head, and stared up at the gymnastics equipment hanging from the ceiling above them. "And there's no way to know what they got. Not unless they decide to show up and spill, which doesn't exactly seem likely." He glanced at her, not moving his arms. "What's wrong with your reactions? You got clear, which was the main thing."

Jeanne-Marie sighed at the first part--she hadn't know the drives hadn't given any results yet. If there was anything to be had, kitty would find it, but... ugh.

She batted at Tommy's shoulder. "I got us an exit plan! But I admit..." she frowned a little. "I wished in retrospect my instinct had been to stay. Anyhow it doesn't matter. It's too depressing to think of right now. We deserve a day off."

"Truer words have never been spoken," Tommy pronounced, ignoring the rest of what she had to say. What did he know about doing the right or the smart thing in a crisis? Not much, apparently. "Where do you want to go? Boca? Aspen? Or is skiing just your brother's thing?"

The base idea of running across the continent right now appealed in the abstract, even though the distant throb of the headache behind his eyes suggested otherwise. If his fast metabolism cleared painkillers so quickly, why the hell couldn't it fix his head that quickly too? Stupid powers.

"Oh, no, he's taken me and I love it! It's so fun to go speeding downhill like that." She smiled, gaze suddenly far off. "But it's not skiing season yet--maybe not even in Aspen. What do you want to do? Show me something you like."

He considered his options for a few seconds, sprawled out there on the gym mats that smelled faintly of feet. And he reached out, following her occasional lead, and curled one finger in a lock of her hair. She liked contact, usually, it seemed like it grounded her. He wondered idly if it would do the same for him. If that was even possible.

"How do you feel about roller coasters?"

She smiled, thinking something was different about this scenario than their usual, but unable to put her finger on it. It was nice, though. He seemed quieter, more open. No matter how terrible the circumstances, that... could be good for him, right? "Shall I tell you a secret?" She leaned in close and stage whispered: "I've never been on one."

He gasped in mock horror, tipping his face up to keep his eyes on her. She smelled good this close, flowers or perfume or something. "That is a crime," he replied solemnly. "Especially considering one of the best is only minutes from here. At least for you and me, it is. Tallest in the world, fastest on the continent. If you wanna talk about going downhill fast."

"Let's see how it compares!" Jeanne-Marie was grinning a little wickedly by then. But she paused. "Actually, I don't think I can keep my speed up that long without my brother. Can you carry me?"

"An excuse to have my arms around you?" Tommy teased, spurred on by her grin. "You've discovered my evil plan."

Jeanne-Marie giggled. "Well, if the plan suits both of us..."

"It's a date." He flashed a wide grin up at her, the prospect of literally leaving his problems behind so much more appealing than sitting around and wallowing some more. "Will Jean-Paul freak if you're late for dinner? It's just over at Six Flags in Jersey, but you never know what else might look fun."

Jeanne-Marie grinned right back. She didn't think it was a date-date--Tommy was just like that, and she was glad because so was she. But it was still a cute thing to say. "I'll just text and tell him I'm out with you. He can't worry then. Ooh, I've always wanted to go to an amusement park!"

"Your wish, my command, etc etc." He waved his free hand in the air and sat up, careful not to bang his head into hers. "Wanna go now? We're burning daylight."

She stood in the mat and held out one hand. "If you don't mind me in my workout clothes. I have my wallet on me, though, so I'm ready. Where do you want me?"

"Dangerous question." Tommy took her hand, even though he didn't need the help scrambling to his feet. It was as good an excuse for keeping up the contact as any. "If you're comfortable, I'm good. They won't kick us out of Six Flags for showing up in track pants."

Jeanne-Marie knew very well that a pretty girl like, say, Tamara would never turn up somewhere like Six Flags in track pants. But then, she was in a hurry to see this roller coaster. And she really did have everything she needed...

She nodded, though. "Let's go. The sooner the better--you're right, we're burning daylight."

Tommy stretched languidly, his arms above his head, then nodded his agreement. He scooped her up in his arms -- bridal style this time -- Yana had given him grief already about the piggyback thing and Jeanne-Marie was a few inches taller than she was. "Hang on," he grinned. "Here we go."

Jeanne-Marie only had time to wrap her arms around Tommy's neck before they were off.

***

"Oh, my god, we're coming to the top!" Jeanne-Marie grabbed for her phone and held it up, aiming it down at her and Tommy and making sure the screen showed just how high up they were. You could practically see half of New Jersey from up this high--or so Jeanne-Marie assumed, though she had no idea how large New Jersey was. "Smile!"

Tommy flashed a bright grin and a V-for-Victory just before the camera flashed. "Better put that away," he warned, laughing, and then they were in free-fall.

Jeanne-Marie shoved her phone into the tiny pocket of her track pants and grabbed for Tommy's hand, screaming with glee the whole way down.

***

"Ohhh, it's so cute!" Jeanne-Marie sighed at the adorable stuffed bear sitting above the ball toss stand. It looked so squishy and cuddly...

Tommy looked back and forth between Jeanne-Marie and the plush toy that had to be easily half her height. "You know these games are all rigged, right?" But he was also already pushing his money across the counter and grabbing the weighted baseballs from the carnie running the booth.

One, two, three -- the targets were designed never to topple, but they sure as hell weren't designed for a little so-fast-he's-invisible tap in the right direction.

Jeanne-Marie clapped and giggled, and as the bewildered attendant turned to get the bear, she leaned in, grabbed Tommy's arm, and whispered into his ear, "Good thing we're rigged too."

***

Jeanne-Marie had her arms full with The Plush That Ate Manhattan, which left Tommy on food-gathering activities. The heavy grease-and-sugar smell of the food court was a siren song and he was too hungry to wait in the half-dozen lines. A zip through left him balancing a tub of fried chicken, fresh doughnuts, a thing of dippin' dots and two cups of beer... and a handful of confused concession owners with extra cash on their counters.

Jeanne-Marie laughed delightedly at Tommy's haul. She'd found them a table near a pond with an outlandish fountain; a few carnies in cartoon character suits taking pictures with sticky-looking but adorable children; and some very overfed and yet startlingly aggressive geese.

Then she noticed the drinks. "And beer! Tommy, you've outdone yourself!"

He spread it all out on the table, then handed her one of the cups as he sat. "If we're going to do something, we should do it right." And because he was feeling good, even a little bit ridiculous, easy and free, he tapped the edge of his plastic cup against hers. "Here's to rollercoasters, and to park security having an off-day."

"To rollercoasters and very confused security." Jeanne-Marie tapped and then took a drink... and was surprised to find it rather good. "Thank you, Tommy. You know how to show a girl a good time."

"You know it," he replied breezily, his grin bright. He drank - not bad, for beer - and his expression settled into something a little more serious. "Hey JM -- thank you. For checking in."

"You don't have to thank a friend for caring about you," she said with a genuine smile. Then, as she reached over him for a piece of chicken, she pecked his cheek. "But you're welcome."/cut>