Timelined on Sunday, April 2, 2023
Jamie: Jamie put the non-hallway flowers behind his back, checked that his fly was up, hoped the dupe Figaro was the cat closest to the door, and knocked. Shave and a haircut... He looked around the hallway at the various porch lights, noting which ones were on, which were off, and which were needing a new light bulb. Two bits.
Jean: Her newly rekindled love life had put her behind at work, and Jean was on her tablet, catching up on reviewing invoices, and responding to the snarky commentary Redd had left her in the virtual margins. Bitch. She smirked to herself and looked up when Figaro - one of them - darted past her.
Jean: Jean had been distracted enough she hadn't realized Jamie was already here. He knocked a moment later as the cat started sniffing at the door. She had just enough time to debate which cat that was before she heard the growl from the bedroom. Found him!
Jean: She bounced up from her sofa, slamming the bedroom door with her teke. Oh little cookie girl? Is that you?
Jamie: Maaaybe. Jamie grinned and shifted from foot to foot while he waited for her to get to the door. Or maybe I'm the candy man... Oogadee boogadee.
Jean: Do you have a white van? Jean scooped up the kitty and opened the door. "I don't see any cookies or candy," she teased, then shrugged. "I'll take you anyway."
Jamie: "What about flowers?" He pulled them out from behind his back and smiled at her, "Not from the hallway this time." Jamie started to lean in to kiss her, but stopped himself to look at the cat with a wary eye. "Which one are you?" It wasn't hissing, so he hoped that was a good sign.
Jean: "Awww, flowers work too!" Jean laughed reached for his arm, starting to go up on her toes for the kiss. Figaro squirmed and mrowed. "Pretty sure this one is yours."
Jamie: "Mine?" He was a dad now? Made a little bit of sense... Still weird, though. "Okay." He grinned and kissed Jean again. "Hi, Jeannie. You ready?" Jamie reached up to pet the nice cat and slyly looked over her shoulder for the evil one.
Jean: "I locked Prime in the bedroom," she smirked, not needing telepathy to know what he was thinking with that side eye. "Just give me a sec," she said, letting her hand trail down his arm to take his free hand and drag him inside.
Jamie: Jamie made a dramatic show of being dragged inside, body whiplashing like in a cartoon, complete with a wolfish grin plastered on his face. He shut the door behind them and wrapped an arm around her before she could escape, kissing her hard enough to bend her backwards a bit.
Jean: Jean loved it, but Figaro wasn't so sure. The dupe cat meeped and popped out from between them to jump onto Jamie's shoulder.
Jamie: Jamie jerked only a little when he had a sudden weight on his shoulder and broke the kiss by just moving his head, "If I stand up straight will he fall off?"
Jean: "Nope, he won't fall off, but do you need a save?" Jean stroked her hand up the arm of his leather jacket. Would be a shame to hurt it.
Jamie: "Um. I think that might be a good idea..." He held the flowers out from his body, hoping the cat wasn't after them. "Besides the fact that one hates me and one doesn't, have you figured out a way to tell them apart yet?"
Jean: "It's harder than telling you apart from... other yous." Jean accepted the flowers and gave them a quick sniff before she made a kissy noise at Figaro, who hopped from his shoulder to hers, balancing easily. "Tada!"
Jamie: Jamie stood up and adjusted his jacket with a roll of his shoulders. She was good at that. He frowned. He wanted to be good at that, too. Especially if it was 'his'. Then what she said registered, "I'd sure hope so. It's saved my life hundreds of times." Kind of... Except not really... But he was still here, so kind of. "Okay! Do what you need to do and let's go before the other one figures out how to get out?"
Jean: Jean raised an eyebrow at his babble and went to the kitchen with her shoulder kitty to find a vase. "I meant a cat brain is a lot smaller than yours," she said. "I just want to put these in water and close down my file."
Jamie: Oh. Right. That made a lot of sense. "Okey dokey." Jamie sucked in his bottom lip and rubbed at the scruff on his cheek while he waited. "File? Are you investigating somebody? Can I help?"
Jean: "No," she giggled, "I'm just checking the business accounts, and Redd's color commentary, because she's convinced she's hilarious." Jean leaned around the corner and nodded toward her tablet. Figaro hopped down and trotted toward Jamie.
Jamie: Jamie smirked. Color commentary. Redd. Colors. Haha. That amused him far more than it should and he scooped Figaro up as he walked towards the tablet to take a look. The commentary wasn't as amusing as his previous thought process had been. "She's snarky. I like it."
Jean: "Are you telling me you've got a thing for snarky redheads, Madrox?" Jean put water in the vase and arranged the flowers to her liking before coming back out. She set them on the table beside her sofa and wrapped her arms around his waist from behind.
Jamie: Jamie let go of Figaro so he could put his hands on top of hers, "As if you didn't know that already." He grinned and turned around to give her a cat-free kiss. "Hurry up and let's go!"
Jean: "Thank you for the flowers," she grinned, stretching for the kiss. "I love them." After another kiss, and a bit of sliding her hands under his jacket for scientific research purposes, she broke away. "I'll let Prime out when we go. We can do a countdown and run for the door."
Jamie: "You're welcome, Jeannie." Oooh. He quite liked this research she was doing. And then it stopped. Damn. "Ooor... I could just wait for you outside just to be safe?"
Jean: Jean floated to kiss the tip of his nose. "Don't worry, I'll protect you." Then, since electronics and teke were non-mixy things, she plunked to the carpet and switched off her tablet manually. holding out her hand for her purse, which zipped to her open palm.
Jamie: Jamie grinned as he watched her using all sorts of alien tomatoes. "You shouldn't have to protect me. I should protect you." Right? Of course right!
Jean: "We can protect each other," she said, settling her purse over her shoulder and flipping back her red curls. "Except for when it comes to my cat. Then I'm totally your bodyguard," she said with a nod.
Jamie: Jamie offered his arm to her, "I am a-okay with that, Jeannie. Keep that devil cat away from me." He turned to the cat in the room and gave it a wave, "Bye, angel cat!"
Jean: Jean looked at the offered arm and found her expression softening into a fond smile. Her Jamie and his manners. Jean took his arm and ordered Nice Figaro to take care of his bitchy brother. When they reached the door, she opened the bedroom door from afar and they bolted.
Jamie: Once safely in the car and on the road, Jamie grinned over at Jean. "Can you guess where I'm taking you for our first date? ...Again." He grinned. Again. "And no reading my mind because that's not playing fair."
Jean: Jean was still considering the possibilities of this car and her hot boyfriend. It had a back seat, after all! She looked up and caught his expression, then laughed. "I think we're banned for life there, so it's probably a good thing the mini golf course is in New York."
Jamie: Jamie screwed up his face at the mention of that particular mini golf course, "Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if they ever grew the business if they put the ban franchise wide. We really wrecked that course, huh?" And then he grinned at her again, "Sure was fun though, right?"
Jean: "It was," she agreed with a giggle, reaching over to rest her hand on his leg. "If I'd known were going golfing I could have brought my lucky ball."
Jamie: Jamie glanced at her then back at the road as he shifted gears. "Lucky ball? Mine don't make the cut?"
Jean: "Haaa! Oh, no, baby, they totally do." She grinned, watching him drive and running her hand over his thigh. "But you gave me the one I'm talking about, too. The pink one?"
Jamie: His grin turned kind of goofy and prideful. The pink one! "You still have that? Smudged writing and all?"
Jean: She found herself melting at that expression. "I still have it, in my jewelry box." Most of the writing had worn off when she'd used it as a focus. Every day for the weeks he'd been missing, she tried to find him, until the day she gave up and used Cerebro.
Jamie: "It is?" That made him feel really good. He knew she never got past him in the same sense that he never got past her. Jamie slid his eyes to her shortly before making the last turn. And there was the parking lot. He turned in and slowly drove through to see what she would do or say.
Jean: "It is." She'd never had the heart to get rid of it. He'd been sneaking glances at her for the last few blocks and she saw why when they entered the lot. It really was a miniature golf course. She laughed. "Oh my God, think we can break this one, too?"
Jamie: Jamie gave her a bright smile as he pulled into a spot and turned off the car. "I'm willing to try if you are," he waggled his eyebrows and leaned over to give her a kiss. "Just don't break my shin this time."
Jean: "I didn't break break it," she smirked, leaning into the kiss and cupping his cheek with her hand. She shifted a little in the seat to move close enough to whisper. "I'm totally using teke, you know."
Jamie: Jamie's eyes narrowed playfully, "Challenge accepted." He gave her another kiss, this one super fast, then got out before she could stop him, hopping over to her door to open it for her. "M'lady? Your re-do first date awaits."
Jean: "Thank you." She grinned up at him, offering her hand while making a show of swinging both bare legs out of the seat in ladylike fashion. It was kinda cold, but totally worth his expression.
Jamie: Jamie didn't bother to hide his leer as his eyes were drawn to her legs. He was imagining things that one should not imagine while at a mini golf course. "Jean," he scolded playfully. "We won't get into the building at this rate."
Jean: "Oh, we were trying to?" Jean got up, gracefully, and shimmied her skirt down - not much, since it was hella short.
Jamie: "That would be kinda the point of driving all the way here, yeah." He locked and shut the door behind her and took her arm to lead her across the parking lot and into the building. "One pink putter and green ball for you and one green putter and pink ball for me. Right?"
Jean: "Awww, but maybe distraction was part of the long game for my brilliant golf strategy?" Jean happily took his arm to head toward the counter. "Right!" Although now she was reminded of her pink ball again, and Cerebro.
Jamie: "Your femme fatale ways won't work on me for this game, Jeannie. I'm on to you." He grinned down at her. On to her...On top of her... On her... Stop! Jamie cleared his throat and paid the kid behind the counter before he let his inner monologue dissolve any more. He scooped up a pink ball, tossed it in the air, and caught it, all while keeping his eyes locked on Jean's. Such a pretty green.
Jean: Jean grinned, meeting his eyes while she picked a green ball, then flipped her hair over her shoulder, tilted her head and lightly ran the ball over her neck.
Jamie: His eyes slowly caught sight of what she was doing with her ball and he swallowed hard. Jamie sucked in a breath through his teeth then abruptly turned away from her to pick out his green putter. Nope. No way, Jose. She would not be a distraction right now.
Jean: Score! She noticed the teenage boy behind the counter gawping, too, and gave him a wink, then sidled over to pick out a putter.
Jamie: Jamie stepped away from the counter and practiced a tiny putting swing. Yep, this one would work. "Come on, seductress," he looked up at her with his eyes, still bent over his putter. "Ladies first."
Jean: Jean was busy doing some exaggerated practice swings of her own when he gave her that look. Oh shit. Hot. Not fair. "Thank you," she said, voice coming out low and a little breathless.
Jean: She went to the first hole and checked it out - an easy one, even without teke. Smirking to herself, she bent just enough to put the ball down without showing her entire ass to the park.
Jamie: Jamie smirked, knowing exactly what he had done to her and stood back to let her take her putt. Just as she was lined up, seemingly ready to swing, he projected his idea of things he would do to her if they weren't in public. And one idea of what he would do even though they were in public.
Jean: Whoa! Jean's shot went wild. She eeped and used her teke to curve the ball back from the brink, but missed the hole. She spun to face him, aiming for pissed but feeling herself flush. Oh, it's on!
Jamie: Jamie gave her his best shit eating grin and stepped up to take his own spot at the end of the green. He set his pretty pink ball down, looked up at her with another grin, then straightened up enough to putt.
Jean: He'd probably be expecting a telepathic assault, so she didn't bother testing his shields. After all, she'd taught him how to shield so she knew he was good at it. Instead, Jean stayed across the green and gave him a telekinetic goose as he swung.
Jamie: Jamie knew it was coming and he still jumped! He would so get her back for that. He watched his ball ricochet off one wall to roll down the tiny hill at the end of the green into the 'sand trap'. Drat. He gave her a mock-glare and gave her a physical goose when he walked by her. "Cheater."
Jean: "Yup. You knew that coming in." Jean just grinned at the goose and quickly putted her ball into the hole, fetching it sneakily with her teke and following him.
Jamie: Jamie lined up his shot and swung, frowning when he hadn't put enough power behind it and the ball rolled back down to him again. "It's a good thing you're pretty, Jeannie," he teased.
Jean: "I know," she giggled, taking a quick glance around before she made the pink ball do a quick circle of his feet.
Jamie: "Hey!" He picked up a foot, but laughed anyway. Jamie set his stance again once the ball stilled and hit it hard enough to send it out of the trap and close to the hole. He skipped up to it, gave it a tiny tap, and watched it plonk in. Woo! He hit par! That was good, right?
Jamie: Jamie scooped his ball from the cup and held it between two fingers as he walked to Jean, "Prettier than a pink golf ball." He stooped to give her a quick kiss, then took her hand to walk to the next hole.
Jean: Jean bit her lip and stopped walking, tugging him back to her. She glanced around again, but only crazy people were golfing this time of year, so they were mostly alone. "Jamie," she started, in that serious-but-not-bitchy tone she'd learned. "Um... I need to tell you something."
Jamie: At first Jamie thought she was going to pull him somewhere secluded, but his eyebrows went up at her words. "Um... Okay? Should we go sit somewhere? They've got benches near some of the holes." What could she need to tell him? Did she not want to be with him? Had her birth control been a placebo the whole time? Was she really a dupe of Jean?
Jean: "Sure." She held onto his hand to go to one of the benches, sitting down and instantly nearly freezing her ass off. Bad idea! But she had to tell him.
Jamie: Jamie sat next to her and set his putter and ball down to take one of her hands in both of his. "What's wrong, Jean?" Play it cool, Madrox. Everything will be hunky-dory.
Jean: She could feel him keeping a check on his emotions and set her ball and putter aside to touch his face with her free hand. "Not wrong, just... I need you to know something."
Jamie: He frowned at her in confusion, but nodded. That's what this whole time was for. Getting to know the new versions of themselves after no contact for four years. "Alright." He turned his face to kiss her palm then smiled at her, "You can tell me anything, Jeannie."
Jean: She hoped so. Jean returned the smile and brushed her thumb over his cheek. "Okay, well... remember when I told you we weren't linked anymore?"
Jamie: "Yeah? That was only a few days ago, after all." Jamie laughed, "My memory's not that bad." Was it? Had her severing the link done something to his memory? Wait. Who was he again? Look, a Jean! That must make him the luckiest guy on the planet. Right! Jamie Madrox. "I also remember the kind of weird feeling when it happened..."
Jean: "Yeaaaah, sorry about that." She let her hand fall and entwined it with his. Her nose scrunched. "Epic misunderstanding, right?" Jean really didn't want to think about how it must have felt on his end. She cleared her throat, licked her lips, took a breath. "Okay well I think the smoosh? I never actually totally managed to... unsmoosh..."
Jamie: "Never... unsmooshed..." He stuck his lips out as he thought about it, trying to feel around in his brain, but totally incapable of telling there was anything different than normal. Or abnormal even. "So... We're still linked? But, then... How come I can't feel you?" Jamie was going to get a headache if he tried to think too hard about how to smoosh and unsmoosh minds.
Jean: "We're... sort of linked?" Jean gave his mind a prod, debating if explaining this telepathically would be faster. Probably not. This was Jamie.
Jamie: "Gah," one eye closed at the prod and he twitched his nose. "But, you've always been able to do that to me." Jamie tilted his head, "How can you only be 'sort of' linked?" Was that even a thing?
Jean: His expression made her snort softly and her hand flew to cover her mouth and offending nose. The fuck!?
Jean: Jean shook herself. "Um, y'know how I accidentally lojacked you? With the metal hat?" She made a face. "That part never went away."
Jamie: Jamie snickered and brought a hand up to tweak her nose. That was adorable. Then he sobered when she did. Wait. What?! "Wait. What?!" Yes, you are outside, no do not use an outside voice. Right. "What? How? What does that even mean?" His eyes went wide and he stared at her open mouthed for a moment. She was a better detective than he was! Hot! Or was it disturbing? Think on that later, Jamie!
Jean: There was a lot going on in Jamie's head at any given time and she was used to it, or had been, but wow. She couldn't tell much about the cascade going on in there right now. "It means you still won't get lost?"
Jamie: "Well, right, but..." He took a breath to say more, but let it out and stared at her for a minute, completely unsure where to go next. "So... You've know where I've been since we had our epic misunderstanding four years ago?" Oh crap. "You weren't able to like... see... anything... right?"
Jean: "Sort of?" She bit her lip, the guilt setting in again, until she caught that last bit. "Um, no?" She had no right to be pissed, or jealous, but she totally was.
Jamie: While that was good, her tone was bad. "Um. Right. So... You never used it, then?"
Jean: "I didn't know it was still there, not really. Until... well, until we found each other again." She put her hand back over his and squeezed. Then, she sighed, staring at the pink golf ball beside his thigh. "I couldn't sever it... back then. I, um, blocked it, but... I had to know you'd be okay, so I... checked, every so often." Jean glanced up to gauge his reaction.
Jamie: Jamie mulled that over as he watched her, still not entirely sure what all of that meant. But he did know one thing: she cared. And that was enough for him. He smiled and leaned forward to kiss her softly. "I love you, too, Jeannie."
Jean: Jean sighed in relief and returned the kiss. When she pulled back, she cocked her head and tried a smile. "Sooo, guess I'm actually the stalker ex after all?"
Jamie: Jamie grinned, "I guess so. Not that I'm complaining since we're obviously back where we're supposed to be." He took her hand and kissed the back of it, "You were just trying to take care of me. Protect me from things like cannibals and explosions."
Jean: "We are!" She brightened up. "Yus, I'm your hot bodyguard... that you didn't always know about, but hey!" The hand kiss was adorable and she watched him with a fond smile.
Jamie: Jamie lifted his eyes to meet hers, "You don't have to protect me now, Jean. I'm not afraid anymore." He sat up and smiled at her, glad she had told him, even if it almost broke his brain trying to figure it out.
Jean: Jean's expression slid into a coy smirk. Yep, he absolutely knew what he was doing to her with those looks. "We talked about this - mutual bodyguarding," she nodded. "It's a life plan."
Jean: One moment, she was sitting there with Jamie, her bare legs pretty much glued to the cold metal of the bench. The next, she was somewhere else - a place she'd seen before, but rarely. She wasn't alone, either. There was the fire, as always, but not just the fire. A man? Professor? The fire was building and she wasn't cold anymore.
Jamie: Jamie laughed, "Yeah, I know. Mutu- Jeannie?" He ducked his head to try and catch her eyes, but she wasn't focused on him. He looked behind himself, not seeing anything for her to focus on there, either. Jamie waved a hand in front of her face and frowned. It was like she was looking through him. Through the golf course.
Jamie: "Jean?" He stripped his jacket off and put it around her shoulders, then knelt in front of her, trying to figure out where she was. "Jean, can you hear me?"
Jean: Jean absolutely couldn't hear him. The figure in the darkness reached for her. Gasping, she tore herself away. The fire came at her call.
Jean: "Fuck!" The word sounded garbled to her own ears and she realized she was looking into Jamie's cool green eyes, but seeing them through a curtain of flames.
Jamie: Whoa! Jamie fell backward and crab-crawled away before the fire had a chance to touch him. But.. Jean! He flipped around and crawled toward her, unsure what to do now since his jacket was on her. He tore the buttons of his shirt, yanked it off, and started trying to put her out, but nothing was burning. Slowly, he stopped trying to put her out. Fire was not real fire. Fire was Jean fire. Fire was the bird thing.
Jamie: Jamie fell back onto his ass, knees up, but apart, letting his head hang between them as he tried to relearn how to breathe. He noticed his hands trembling out of the corners of his eyes and balled them in the shirt he still held. Maybe he was still a little afraid.
Jean: "What the fuck was that?!" She was panting, dizzy, suddenly freezing. She'd only been partially aware of Jamie's attempt to put out her fire and she tried to pull it back now, only a little successful. "Fuuuuck, it hurts..."
Jean: Jean kept blinking, reaching to rub her eyes and look at the flame licking over her fingers. She realized Jamie's jacket was over her shoulders and he was just a few feet away, head down and wearing only his undershirt. "J-Jamie?"
Jamie: "Yeah," he croaked. He cleared his throat, took a steadying breath, and looked up at her. Barely flinched. Point for Madrox. "I'm here, Jeannie. Where were you?" Hurts? "What hurts?" She was still fiery but he forced himself to look past that and his body moved without him telling it to, kneeling in front of her again and trying to examine her through the flames.
Jean: She looked up at him and winced. Fuck, she had to pull the fire back. "My head," she whimpered. "It was... weird. I think it was the professor? Xavier?" She tucked herself into his leather jacket, taking the lapels with shaky fingers that were still laced with small, licking flames.
Jamie: Jamie rolled his shoulders and moved to sit beside her, pulling her into his embrace. He kissed her head and gently pushed it to rest on his chest. "Xavier made your fire thing come back?" Eyes closed, chin up, can't get burned.
Jean: Jean curled up in his lap, more than happy to rest her head against him. She could feel his heart hammering and knew she was still flaring up. "I-I think the bird told him to fuck off..." Her voice was weak and she closed her eyes, trying to rebuild her ruined shields.
Jamie: Breathe in, two, three, four... And out, two, three, four... No burning. No broiling. No baking. Just Jean. He kissed her head again, but kept his eyes closed. "Okay, we can worry about that later. What can we do about now? Should I just take you home?" Would that hurt Baby? Probably not since the bench wasn't melted.
Jean: She could feel his mouth on her head, and more of his controlled panic than she normally would. Her shields were not cooperating and neither was the fire. Argh! "I just -" Ugh her head was pounding in time with her heartbeat... and an echo of his. The staff inside was watching them, to afraid to come out. She could feel their curiosity, and alarm. Oh, this sucked.
Jean: "I can't shield," she croaked, feeling tears coming now.
Jamie: Oh that was bad. "Um." He rested his cheek on her head and ran his fingers through her hair. Maybe a lullaby? "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine... When you're not happy, my skies are gray..." Heh. Gray. Grey. Jean Grey. Jeannie. Jamie smiled against her head. "You'll never know, dear, how much I love you... Please don't take my sunshine away..."
Jean: Jean kept her eyes squeezed closed, concentrating on his voice and willing it to make her fucking relax enough to get her fucking shields to fucking work and stop this fucking fire. At least she'd kept it to a low simmer, and Jamie was handling this way better than she was right now. Oh. Idea.
Jean: "Can I get inside your shields?" She gave his chest a weak pat.
Jamie: "Um. I- You-" He stopped and just frowned for a moment. "Twinkle twinkle, little star..." Get inside his shields? How would that even work? "How I wonder what you are?" More like, what she meant by that question. "Up above the world so high..." Telepathy was so high above his realm of understanding. "Like a diamond in the sky..." Fire bird in the sky. "Twinkle twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are."
Jean: Okay, please stop singing. Her head hurt too bad to do this out loud anymore.
Jamie: Oh. Jamie's shoulder's hunched and he held her a bit tighter. Sorry... "Sure? You can... Shield... Thingy?"
Jean: It's not - the singing - sweet, but- Jean easily found their link and almost immediately it was easier to think. Thank fuck!
Jamie: Jamie shushed her. "It's alright, Jeannie." I was just trying what my mom used to do for me when I was upset. It's okay if it doesn't work for you. He felt her inside of his mind and couldn't help the smile on his face. It fit. Though, now the rest of his day with her was no longer a surprise. She might not want to do it anyway because fire, Jamie. Duh. "Wanna go home?"
Jean: Jean calmed, relaxing in his arms and sticking her own out of the leather cocoon to check for flames. She sighed. It helped, she admitted. Gave me a focus. Jean wasn't snooping on any of his plans, or anything else. She raised her head a little. "No fire now, so we probably should."
Jamie: Jamie opened his eyes and smiled down at her. "I'll always take care of you, Jeannie." He scooped up his shirt from the ground, handed it to her, and stood with her still in his arms. "Fire won't stop me. Not again." He leaned his head down and kissed her gently. "I'll call in lunch from the car and it should be waiting at your apartment when we get there."
Jean: She was struck with a sudden memory of trying to get him to carry her, on their very first date. It made her smile, still too exhausted for anything else, as she tucked his shirt inside the jacket and slid her arms around his neck. Jean closed her eyes. My hero. The inside of his head was familiar, safe, and as solid as his arms around her.