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It's not the best of places to be, but Sousa's department decided to go out for a quick drink after work and he's taken a little longer to make his way home. Having a drink at ome is one thing, but sometimes he needs a chance to just be elsewhere. It might only be an hour or so, maybe one drink, but it's enough to help reset. One kid and one on the way and a wife who seems to embrace danger. No wonder he just needs a moment at a bar with a drink in front of him.
*
Whoever knew that Jean actually had a job? With a busy schedule of one who barely ever sleeps (and sometimes looks like hell), she's finally managed to come in and pull a shift, thank god. She was going to need the money if she was going to stay elsewhere from the mansion. And busy work is a thing to keep her mind off of things that bother her and other people. And yet? One man catches her attention. She really didn't know why, but his face seemed.. familiar.
It was an odd thing, but she slowly picks up a towel and begins to wipe down the counter top, inching in his direction. "Lift your glass, Sir?" She finally murmurs, ducking a little just to see his entire face.
*
Sousa was a bit lost in his thoughts now that the others left to go home, and the friendly voice snaps him out of his reverie. A bit of a smile is given to the redhead before he lifts his glass, "Sure. Sorry about that. I was just daydreaming, I guess." He might have one of 'those' faces, although it's probably distinctive enough; he doesn't have 'movie star' looks and has a definite Mediterranean/Iberian look to him even with the slightly silvering hair.
*
Uh oh. Yes. She knows that look. But she continues on with her own cleaning of the counter top, finally stopping with a toss of the towel and a slight little grin. "It happens." Jean, she wasn't that much taller than the counter top itself, it reaching just below her ribs, but she did feel the need to drag a stool from near a place behind the bar (possibly where Luke sits) to plant it right in front of her.
It was clear that he was not from the states, but that really didn't matter too much. She was all screwed up in the brain so that nearly puts the two in the same bracket! Once she parks it in front of him, she takes the bottle that was neatly placed for his own pouring to add a little bit more to his glass. "It's on the house." She says quietly. "Especially if you tell me what's bothering you. I heard that I'm a good listener. Maybe.." The little word at the end added as a joke, one that has her grinning from ear to ear.
*
Sousa starts to stop the topping off of the drink but then allows it. He doesn't have to finish it and a little more won't inebriate him. "Thanks. Just…" he takes in a breath and lets it out. "Life, I guess. One kid already, another on the way, and my wife is completely unconcerned about putting herself or the baby in danger. I trust her implicitly and I know that she really won't seek out harm but if I show my worry then I'm being weak. So. Just a few moments of normalcy before I have to go home and pretend not to be at my wits end because of it."
There's a dry sort of chuckle then, "I sound like a complete bore, don't I? This world is a mess and I'm worried because my wife has an adventurous spirit." It's one way to describe it.
*
One could easily tell that Jean still lived on the side of youth despite her age. There were people who were younger than her, who held more adult interactions and she flew off the handle! Yet, she does listen to Sousa, both elbows planted upon the bar top, her hands curled into half-fists so that she could rest her chin upon the palms of her hand. And she watches him speak, and despite the deep love and concern she feels as he speaks of his wife, there was a tiny twinge of fear that anyone could pick out from his words.
"No." She says honestly. "You sound like someone who really cares for his wife and his new baby." She smiles then, but still retaining her position. "Besides, I rather hear about your home life than monster bugs, aliens, mutants, strangers, lost people, Asgardians.." She says simply. "..need I go on?"
*
"With the world full of all that, it seems so petty, doesn't it? But I guess it's still sort of what I'm doing now. Finding normalcy in chaos." Sousa looks at the drink a moment before he looks back to Jean, "Asgardians? That's a term I don't know." As for 'aliens'…well, he's no longer in that department. At this point, he's rather glad. "Frankly, if people would just get it together and realize that we're all the same, then we wouldn't have an issue with mutants or other races. People are just plain stubborn and stupid sometimes."
*
"It seems like a dream to me." Jean admits, finally lowering her hands to cross forearms with the other. "You really do a good job of showing it, non concerned and all. Your focus seems.. directed I guess? I don't know.
"I wasn't paying too much attention to the news cast, but I caught that word. They were on the Ed Sullivan show." With that said, she leans back a little to study him, her mind reaching out in faint tickles to scan his surface thoughts as she asks. "So if I tell you that I'm a mind-reading, pushing, fire creating mutant with a god in her soul, you wouldn't care and still consider me an equal?"
*
Sousa must have missed that show. Maybe it was while PEggy was in the hospital? Or he fell asleep with Mickey on the couch? Hard to say. He starts to respond when she mentions that his focus seems directed, but her comment about being mind-reading has him directing his dark eyes at her. Now he is definitely focused. "I had a bad run-in with someone who could do that. I've known mutants, both good and bad. It's what you do with that ability that defines you…not that you have them in the first place."
*
Flattering! He thought she was pretty! Though that falls by the wayside of his wariness, however. She furrows her brows slightly, then leans forward again, chin resting upon her hand as she considers his words. "So the mutant that did this to you was bad?" She asks quietly. That was discerning.
"Maybe you should have met me first." There was her confession. It was a bar after all, and with her outing herself as the Phoenix took a little shadow to the grandoise of the world as a whole. No one remembered, and no one captured her face. So that was a good sign. But even still, she did not care. And to prove it?
"You really should continue to feel flattered where ever you go. You are a rather exotic, good looking man! If you weren't married, I'd try to hook you up with my sister. She likes the dark haired types. Though, she's married too, so that's a failed thought."
*
"I don't know that he was bad, but there were threats made." He glances at the drink, "Maybe I should have, but not too long ago, it wasn't very easy to find mutants. I found some and they introduced me to their mind-reading friend who made the threats." A gestures some at that. "There was intimidation and threats when we refused to succumb to their intimidation." And there was immense concern for the fact that these people could go after and harm his family. That's the real fear.
"Wherever I go, hmm? You're just being kind. I'm a middle-aged guy born outside of Boston…nothing exotic about me unless you find missing limbs 'exotic'. I'll be sure to tell my wife that she has some competition."
*
It wasn't something that Sousa was immediately thinking about. Their faces. She could read and feel the situation as it was, but she does shake her head faintly. She wasn't aware that it was Charles that he was speaking about. "Maybe now? Their tunes have changed." She smiles faintly, though.. she wasn't really sure. Not about all of it. Not about anything.
"Well, my sister is middle-aged too." Jean points out. "I'm twenty-four. She's about.." She thinks about this for a moment. "Thirty nine? So say you both get divorced, I can snatch your number from your brain and tell her to give you a call." Jean looked serious for a moment, then breaks out into a hint of giggles.
"But I'm sure your wife is glad to have you, to be honest, anyone is glad to have anyone these days. Something and someone to hold on to when the times get tough." She purses her lips faintly. "You should do that. For your wife. Hold on to her for a little while and just don't say anything. Or maybe just let her know that you're afraid of losing her and the new baby, maybe even that the babies will grow up without a mother. Something sentimental."
*
The two mutants that he met come to mind briefly before he shakes his head, "Doubtful. I actually haven't seen them about in a while. While I wasn't a fan of how they treated us, I hope they're all right." Not hurt or attacked or anything. The mention of the sister gets another sort of grin as he downs the rest of the drink. A hand goes over the glass, however, so that it's not refilled. "I'm flattered, but there probably won't be a divorce. Sorry. I bet your sister isn't half as gorgeous as you though."
As she talks about his wife and that he should be sentimental, he gives another little laugh, "She's not terribly sentimental herself and she knows my fear. But if I say it too often then she gets to thinking that I don't want her doing her job and that way leads resentment."
*
And that imaginary divorce mentioned earlier.
*
The brief flashes of the two mutants has her eyes widening. Holy crap! So that's where she knows his face! Jean doesn't say anything about this for a while, instead of bypassing it all in favor of the glass that she slowly pries from his hand. She drags it closer to herself as well as the bottle, adding in an inch of liquor, but she does not give it back to him. If he was done? He was done. Luke had a great policy about leaving people alone.
Even though she recognizes the two mutants that he spoke with, she still blushed. He thought she was gorgeous? Gosh. He even said it outloud! "Uh.. thank you.." She stammers out, her cheeks hot. She even fans a little at her face, her brows raising ever so slightly. "She's not? Well.. why did she get married then?" She raises a hand, then slowly shakes her head. "Don't answer that. I'm.. not really good with that sort of stuff?" She huffs out quietly. "I spent most of my life sheltered."
With a glance around the bar, she slowly allows Sousa a little bit of wonder, her fingers gesturing towards the glass so that little marble-sized balls of liquor were lifted from the cup. They begin to dance along in a slow motion, lowered so that no one else could see. "Those two guys you met? They're fine. One is studying hard for the rest of his tests and the other one is currently fussing over new clothes since I stole a pair of his for someone in need."
*
Sousa certainly wonders that himself and feels immensely honored that she deigned to marry him. He does note the trick with the liquor and then looks to Jean again, a little warily. How did she…mind-reader. What did Fury tell him about how to beat mind-readers? Multiplication tables? Silly songs? "I'm…glad they're all right." Although he's really hoping that they don't ever try to work on a team again. He still has a mistrust of mind-readers, however.
*
It was clear that this bothered him a little, so the little orbs of liquid were settled back into the glass with a quiet *PLOP*! She draws in a breath, then exhales softly. "That won't work as well." She says simply. "Let me teach you a trick, alright? You have to have an open mind for this if you don't want anyone into yours." She grows a little serious, "Do you trust me? I mean, trust me enough to listen?"
*
There's not an immediate answer and Jean is given a wary sort of glance as he considers her offer. Finally though, he nods, "All right. I trust you." Worse comes to worse, he's armed…and he knows Peggy would seek vengeance if anything happened to him.
*
"Good!" Jean seemed -way- too happy about this. Possibly it was because the prospect of teaching, something she's rarely ever done, is what makes her a little happy. So with a wiggle in her seat, she holds up a finger. "With this, you have to have a lot of willpower. But the most important thing is your ability to multi-task with your mind." She smiles. "You know how, when you cook dinner and you're holding a conversation? You're doing two things at once, and you're focused and attentive. It's like that." She nods her head seriously, as best as she could explain it.
"So on one hand, you're holding a conversation with someone like me. And the other, you're thinking about something else. But it's done together so there's no breaks in conversation and the other thing that you're thinking about. Else someone like me, could tell because you're distracted." She pauses a little, then furrows her brows. "Does that make sense?"
*
The eagerness is a little surprising, but he does listen. There's a nod when she mentions multi-tasking and even the cooking analogy since he's the one who cooks in their household. "Sure, I get that. But how does that stop someone like you from reading my mind? Wouldn't you just pick up on the other stuff I'm thinking about?" Although he does understand about not showing that he's distracted.
*
"I think that's where will-power comes in. You have to fortify what you're thinking about." She smiles a little. "See, I know I can tell when someoens deliberately thinking about something else. But then I back off. I don't pry. But if you want to be clever? Think about nothing." She wrinkles her nose.
"Nothing as in, black and blank space. Don't just -think- about the color black. Actually -see- it. It's.. kind of weird, I know." She says quietly, thinking on how to explain it. "Okay. How about this. A typical person would picture themselves a wall. A wall that is mile high, usually made of bricks. They would imagine themselves building up that wall, they would imagine themselves fortifying it. They would imagine that wall as some unseen and unmovable force in their mind. And they 'imagine'.." She even use the quotes fingers.. ".. this while dealing with psychics."
She then shrugs. "Or you can think about the most grotesque, vomit inducing thing that even -you- want to throw up looking at. That's a quick and easy repellant."
*
Sousa actually seemd to consider that advice. It's along the same lines that Fury told him, but much more detail…and from a mind-reader herself. "Thanks. That's…I'll work on that so if it happens again or I meet that Xavier again, I'll be better prepared." That actually helps. Not that he's fully relieved, but he feels better armed and prepared so that he's not walking into a gunfight with a butter knife. "I appreciate this. I do."
*
Jean looks surprised. "You met Xavier?" Though, he did think of Alex and Bobby, and she didn't give names.. it should have been clear that he did. But it all makes sense now, she would have considered Emma the one to issue threats, but Charles was as passionate about mutants as he was teaching.
She groans a little, then leans forward. "I.. don't know what happened during that meet, and I don't know if I'm priviledged to. That's.. in between you two. But, mind if I impart with some advice?"
*
It's his turn to look surprised, "Do you know him? He was the mind-reader…threatening me and mine if I intended them harm." Sousa can't detail too much but he'll tell her that much. "Frankly, I doubt I'll ever meet the man again, but sure. Advice is always welcome." He can decide later if he plans on taking it.
*
She wrinkles her nose at that little tidbit of information, then nods slowly. "I.. can see that happening." She sighs then, and nods. "I know he's seeking unity. Peace between us all. But.. just love us? We're all flawed, and troubled. And we hurt so much. At the end of the day, he just wants us all to be loved. No matter who or what we are. And he gets so defensive about that. Even if you don't see him again, even if you never meet anyone like us ever again, just love us. That's all."
*
There isn't an immediate response, either for or against the request. He considers the younger woman for a long moment before he offers, "I don't view you as any different than anyone else. I will work to make sure you are all safe and feel accepted as best I can, but only if you show me that's what you want. If you want to break laws and create chaos then I will do my job to stop you, as I would do with anyone else. You're not all young children who act out of naivete. Again, I go by your actions. If you want peaceful acceptance and integration, I support that."
*
Jean smiles. "That's all I can really ask for, to be honest. I know that there are others out there like me, and I know that they're not all good. But I want to work to stop them, just like you would." She frowns faintly. "Though.. I think I'd be put in jail for doing the polices work but I still will try my best to help you make sure that everyone is safe and following the laws." She was serious about that.
"Oh! Before you go! I'm Jean Grey! I.. know that there are rules that we follow that Xavier put into place to keep us safe but, just hearing you speak about your wife and kids.." Yes, she used kids. "..you just remind me of the way I sometimes hear my dad talk about us to his friends. It feels good to hear."
*
Sousa isn't the police, but he offers a slight smile and a nod, "It's appreciated. Maybe leading by example will help." He does dig into a pocket of his blazer to pull out a business card to hand over. "If you need any help with any of that, please don't hesitate to contact me." It's a basic card…not much besides 'Daniel Sousa, Senior Manager' and a phone number to call.
A hand is offered when she gives her name and he states his own, "Daniel Sousa. It's a pleasure to meet and speak with you, Ms. Grey." There's a pause when she mentions his kids, plural, but he offered trust. "And now that I am yet again called a 'dad', I think I should probably make my way home." Gone are the days where he was a 'catch'. Now he's a 'Dad'. Some bills are set on the bar for the drink and a very generous tip before he reaches for his crutch to help him get to his feet.
*
"I'm a crappy example. I need help with that." Hey, she wasn't lying. Though as he reaches for a card and hands it to her, she takes it, reading it over briefly. Name and number, which was soon slid into her back pocket for safe keeping. "I'm pretty sure I'm -going- to call." Because Jean, well.. she's a hot mess.
Once he offers his hand, she takes it and shakes it lightly, finally hopping down from the stool to return it to its place, but not before looking in his direction. "Give the kid a kiss for me!" Jean, Jean loves babies. Even kids! And that was possibly due to her time missed being one.
*
"Somehow I doubt that. You seem a good example to me." He settles his crutch on his arm, "I wouldn't give you the card if I didn't want you to call. If I can't help in person, I'll find someone who can." Because he still believes that forming a relationship with mutants is just going to make everyone stronger.
As the kid is mentioned he gives a grin, "I will…although she'd rather have a dog." And with that, he'll start to limp his way towards the door.
*