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Sam just arrived at the front door of Christine's building. She didn't show up to classes today, which is unlike her, and so Sam is naturally a little bit worried. He rings the buzzer to her apartment, standing on the front steps with his hands in his pockets waiting for her to shout down, or come down to let him in. "Come on, Chris," he says to himself a bit impatiently, pacing a little bit, even though it hasn't even been more than a few seconds.
*
After a bit of Nova's buzzing, Cristine does indeed answer the buzzer and let's him into the apartment. The buzzer tiself was giving her a splitting headache, so she would have rung pretty much anyone in after a few seconds of that. She meets Sam at the door to her apartment, smiling rather tiredly and with bags under her eyes. She looks compeltely worn out, but is trying to put on a good face for Sam. "Hey," she says when he arrives and gives him a hug.
*
Sam rushes up once he's been buzzed into the building, returning Christine's embrace when she gives it, along with a quick kiss on the cheek. "You look absolutely beat," he says, sounding honestly concerned, not intending for it to come out as bluntly as it did. "Something happen? Are you sick?" Can she even get sick? He looks at her with worry, and puts his hand to her forehead, checking for a fever. After a moment, a look of regret comes over his face. "I must have woken you," he says, "I'm sorry, I was just.. you know, worried."
*
"I know," Christine smiles and gives Sam a pat on the arm as she guides him into the apartment. After the door is closed, she picks up a damp washcloth and puts it against her forehead. She also leans on Sam, holding onto his arm. "I'm okay. Really. I just pushed my powers last night and have a migraine to beat all migraines." Christine smiles at Sam bravely, pening her head to make contact with his shoulder. "Just help me to the couch?"
*
Sam steps inside, and once the door is shut he dutifully takes Christine by the arm, and helps guide her gently to the couch so she can lay down. "I guess I know how that feels," he says; after all, it was not too long ago he was suffering similarly after pushing himself too hard. He keeps his voice quiet, the revelation that she has a massive headache prompting him to limit his volume. "Wait a second," he says after a moment once Christine is comfortable. "This have something to do with that collapsed apartment building last night?" He takes a step back from the couch, crouching to remain on the same level, while giving Christine a bit of breathing room.
*
Theres a warm and appreciative smile on Christine's face for Sam. "What would I do wihtout you?" She asks the question in a semi-serious tone, then reaches up to put her hand on his cheek. The mention of the apartment building gets a nod, then Christine lays her head against a pillow. "I was holding the building up while others evacuated the residents," she says. Her voice is slightly…strained. Like there's a mix of emotions going through her. "Sam…." Christine addresses him in a quiet tone. "I held up a 10 story apartment buildin that was collapsing. The tortional forces involved…." She looks over at Sam, a slight hint of fear in her eyes. "I shouldn't have been able to handle that much weight."
*
"That's incredible," Sam says. In his Nova armour, he wouldn't be able to lift that much. "The paper said everyone got out before the building came down. You saved a lot of people," he continues with a soft smile, and reaches to squeeze her hand gently. "Adrenaline can push people to perform past their regular limits. I think maybe you were able to do what you did because you felt like you had to? Maybe you pushed yourself further than your body could really take, but.. you're still here? Maybe you're stronger than you thought?" It's not exactly the same, but Sam has always found that the more he pushes his limits, the further those limits can be pushed. But he always feels it afterward.
*
Christine nods. "That's what I was thinking. And…it makes sense. That's all I could think of, Sam. Getting those people out. But it's more than that." Christine struggles a bit to sit up, finally making it and setting aside the washcloth. "It was more than just raw power. I make simple constructs with my power. Simple shapes. But last night…I made something more complex than I've ever done before. A central shaft with spars jutting out to hold each floor up. And then I added a ramp for people to use to escape. It was a level of power and control that I didn't think I could have. The concentration…" She reaches up and rubs her temples. "My hea was about to burst when i got home. I took lots of asprin, but I couldn't sleep, the headache was so bad." She looks back at Sam. "You don't want to know about the nosebleed."
*
"Apparently not so simple any more," Sam says, offering another soft smile. "But it's understandable that you're feeling the after-effects from over-extending yourself. I don't know much about mutant powers, but your light-based powers are more mental than physical, so it makes sense to me that you'd have the headache of a lifetime after doing so much at once. At least you made it back home," he says softly. "Could have been a lot worse, I think." She could have passed out mid-flight and landed in the East River.
*
Christine makes sure that there's room on the couch for Sam, nodding at his words. "You're right. It could have been worse." And she looks disturbed as she ponders those possibilites. "It's…strange. I knew that being a hero, using my powers to help others…it was going to be dangerous. I could even die saving someone. But…it's different when you think of taking a bullet for somone or dying in a fight with some villain. It's something else to conciously sacrifice yoruself. To push yourself to death to same someone. No fighting, just…you know what you're doing to yourself will kill you."
*
"That's why we practice," Sam says. With the space on couch being offered, he moves to sit next to the girl, and reaches to take her hand in his own. "I'm lucky, I guess. I have powers because of armour, not because they're in me. If I push myself, I pay the price in exhaustion, but I don't think the armour would let me over-extend myself to the point of putting me in danger. It's different in your case.. like overworking a muscle. You can push yourself through anything, but your body can only take so much. Granted, your body can take a lot.." he pauses, fighting the potential for innuendo. "You're stronger than you think. You can push yourself, and it might hurt. But you have to believe that you'll get through it all. Or else you won't."
*
When Sam moves next to her on the couch, Christine lowers her head onto his shoulder, leaning on him for support. His words make her nod and smile. "I have a small confession to make," she says with a blush. "You're a big reason for me believing I can get through it. No matter how bad I'm feeling, how down on myself I might be…you're there with just the right words to keep me going. And…that means alot to me."
*
When she leans on him, Sam wraps his arm around Christine's shoulder, lightly pulling her against him in a hug. "Well, you're pretty great, Chris. I just think you should be told more often," he says with a smile. "I know you'd do the same for me. But, probably best that you don't, since I'll get kind of a big head about it. I already know I'm pretty great," he jokes. "So hey, I've been meaning to ask," he says, changing the subject a bit. "Your know much about, I don't know, magic? Or, uh, Japanese Mythology?" Because questions about the world, he has some.
*
Sam gets a kiss on the cheek for his encouragement and flaterry. And a smik for the self-aggrandizement. But when he asks those last quesionts, Christine looks rather puzzled and shakes her head. She's still resting comfortably against Sam's side, letting the embrace provide her with strength and support, so she has to crane her neck a bit to look at him to answer. "I don't known anything about those things," she says. "But I'm sure we can probably find a professor of Archeaology or History that could provide some answers. Why do you ask? What did you encounter?"
*
"Oh, not sure we need to talk to a professor," Sam says, a bit hesitantly. "I have a couple of.. friends?" Yeah, they'd be friends. "One you met.. that's Keith. From Times Square? He's.. well.. ever read Alice in Wonderland?" It kind of boggled his mind the first time he learned about it, so he would understand any amount of skepticism on Christine's part.
*
"Ahhhhh." Christine nods in understanding. "That did seem quite a bit like magic. Although there's a science fiction writer named Leigh Brackett who wrote, 'Witchcraft to the ignorant, simple science to the learned.' I mean, a lot of what we can do must seem like magic, even thought we both know there's science behind my powers and your helmet. But maybe there really is something called magic that exists beyond what people like Blackstone and Houdini do on the stage."
*
"Yeah.. he's the Cheshire Cat," Sam says. And he's serious. But, that's not the biggest thing, oddly. Keith's powers could be explained by mutation, at least as far as Sam has witnessed them. Teleportation and illusion aren't exactly undocumented. Not that Sam doesn't believe what he says; he's here telling Christine about him, after all. Maybe that's a breach of trust? If it is, he's not doing it maliciously. Honest. "The other one.. ever heard of a Kitsune? He's like, a magical messenger of the Japanese god Inari.." Aaaaand that one's a bit of a stretch, even as he says it. But then, what he's seen the Fox do, it's hard to argue with.
*
"Okay, The Cheshire Cat I can understand. I loved those books as a girl." Christine smiles as the nostalgia adds to the warm, comfy, safe feeling she had right now. "But as for mystical Japanese creatures…sorry, I have no idea there. Like I said, maybe a professor of Jaanese History or Mythology would have a better idea to help you fill in the gaps?"
*
"Oh no, I don't think I have any gaps," Sam says quickly. "It's been explained to me pretty thoroughly, actually. I could probably teach a class on it," he jokes. "Just didn't think I should keep it from you.. I mean, it's bound to come up, and when it does, you'd be all 'what, magic mail foxes, and cats from Wonderland?', and I'd be all, 'Hey guys, what's up?'. You know, just wanted to avoid future awkwardness," he says with a soft smile to the girl. "Really threw me for a loop when I met them, but it's beginning to seem kind of.. I don't know, normal's the wrong word for it, but.. normal?"
*
Christine nods slowly and smiles. "Normal is an apt description," she confirms. "However…." And here, Christine has a slightly guilty look on her face. "Maybe it would be best to let others explain their powers and identities and such." She uickly adds, "I don't think you did anything wrong. But the more people with gifts that I meet, the more I realize that everyone has their own level of what they're comfortable sharing with others. And just becasue they let you know something, it doesn't neccessarily mean they're comfortable with me knowing." She pats Sam's arm and hugs it. "I do want you to know, however, that I trust you. I trust you in choosing your friends and who you team up with besides me. You're a good person, Sam, with a good heart, good judgement, and…" Christine smirks and gives Sam a peck on the lips. "Impeccable taste in girlfriends, if I may say so."
*
"Maybe you're right," Sam says. He didn't really think about it as a betrayal of trust, more as just preparing her for meeting them. Because she's going to, at some point. "I trust you too, for the record. I know you can't tell me about the other people you meet, and I wouldn't want you to break anyone's trust. We've been thinking about forming a team, of sorts, I think? Is that.. something you'd be interested in?" This is probably something he should be running past the other two, but hey, he's eighteen, and has a lot to learn. They'll cut him some slack, right?
*
Secretly, Christine is thrilled at the offer, but she looks away from Sam, sighing coyly. "Well…I don't know. It'd mean that I'd have to spend more time with you, so that's a plus…" She giggels and hugs Sam. "I'd be interested, yes. But let them meet me and ask me first. I don't want to feel like I'm a tagalong for you or that they think you're just foisting your girlfriend off on them." She does look rather serious about this whole team business. "And if I do become a part of the group with you, we're teammates when in costume, okay? The dating and kissing is for after we fight the badguys and save the day."
*
Sam gives a nod, and a soft smile. "Deal," he says simply, and gives Christine a light squeeze. "I'll let you know when I see them next. We're kind of flying by the seat of our pants right now, so to speak." No pun intended, of course. "Give you some more time to rest up," he says. "Speaking of which, I should probably let you get some sleep. I can stay if you want, in case you wake up needing anything? I'm well-practiced in sleeping on couches," he offers.
*
There's a rising redness in Christine's cheeks after Sam makes the offer. It's not something a 'proper lady' would agree to, as her grandmother would protest. But this is the 1960's, not the earlier age her grandmother had ben raised in. And Sam…she trusts Sam. With her secrets, her heart…her life. She doesn't need her empathic reading to know that she can trust him to always be a gentleman. And so, she nods. "I'd like that." She stands up, then clutches at him to steady herself from the headrush. "Whoa….Ummm…just help me to my bed. And then…stay for a couple hours?" She looks at Sam with a slight, pleading smile. "Just…make yourself at home and check in on me once in a while for a couple hours. Wake me when you have to leave."
*
And if he wasn't planning to be a gentlemen, Christine would sense it, right? Fortunately, Sam isn't about to try to take advantage of her, especially not in her current condition. He stands when she does, and holds her when she starts to falter. "Of course," he says, giving the girl his body as a crutch to support herself on the way to her bedroom. honourable though his intentions are, though, he can't really help himself but to make some kind of mildly inappropriate joke. "Not exactly the way I'd been hoping to see your bedroom, but I'll take what I can get," he says with a smirk. "You make sure you call for me if you need anything. I don't want you trying to get up if you don't have to.. I mean anything. Well, anything I'm actually able to help with," he says, starting to ramble awkwardly a little bit. There are some things a lady has to handle on her own, after all.
*
Christine allows the assitance to the bedroom, which is tastefully decorated and features a nice white metal framed queen-sized bed. It's all neat and tisy in here, with no dirty clothes or embarassing underpinnings to be seen. Once she's lying down on the bed, Christine smile up at Sam. "Thank you. I've…never really needed to rely on anyone before. But I'm glad I have you to rely on." And with another smile, she situates her head on the pillow, laying above the covers, and slowly drifts off to sleep."
*
"Well, like I said, I'm just a shout away," Sam says. "Sleep well," he instructs, and before she drifts off entirely, gives her a soft kiss on the cheek. He slips out of the room, closing the door /most/ of the way, but not entirely, in case it being shut prevents her from getting his attention. Sam makes his way to the couch, picking up a book off a shelf on the way. Not sleepy yet himself, and he's not about to just pass right out right after putting Christine to bed. In truth, his offer to stay is a tiny bit self-serving; it's quiet, and he doesn't have to share a bathroom with a bunch of other guys. Win.
*