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Thankfully for Lynette, the conversation about human girls and mutant girls didn't last forever between Madrox and Josh. Even though she had began walking, she found herself lingering beside the jet black Impala. With a quick whip of chilly air, she girl shudders down to her soul and then decides to just…wait. Hunkering down, she sits beside the beautiful beast of a car, resting her back against its down as her rump rests, hovering off the ground, and her feet are firmly planted on the sidewalk.
Once Madrox comes into view, she places her hand down to give herself a bit more stability before pushing up. Now standing, she replaces her hand into its protective pocket, and asks gently. "Hey, y'goin' m'way?" It seems that she has reconsidered his previous offer.
*
Jamie left Josh not more than five or six minutes after Lynette made her departure, and dressed himself at least enough not to freeze on the way out to the car. He steps outside into the cold, and lights up a cigarette, smoking it on the way to where he's parked the Impala, and when he sees Lynette waiting there for him, his face lights up in a smile. "Course I am, darlin'," he says to her as he approaches. Breathing out a long puff of smoke away from her, he discards the freshly lit cigarette, and closes the distance between them. "Welcome to the team, by the way," He says, moving close and pulling her into an embrace. "They say you did good out there. Wish I'd been there to see it."
*
The girl leans against him, but it takes her arms a moment to come to life and wrap around him. The embrace is tight, but brief, as she pulls away and thumbs toward the door. "S'cold. Lets hit de road, non?" Falling silent, waiting, she doesn't speak again until after sitting in the protective comfort of the Impala. Another shiver passes and then she remembers that he had commented about her previous exploits with the team. "Oh, t'anks. I didn' do much, dough. Jus' glad I could help."
*
"Good idea," Jamie replies, and unlocks the passenger side door to let Lynette in first, and then slides into the driver's side, turns the key to start the engine, and off they go. "Probably more than you think, darlin'," he says when she dismisses her contributions. Every little bit helps, really. "Westchester, hon? Got class in the morning?" He doesn't actually know the details of her residence there, but she mentioned it was a school, and Jamie can put two and two together. He keeps one hand on the wheel, but the other slips back up over the seat, resting outstretched so his hand is actually not far from Lynette's neck, if she's sitting up.
*
Lynette nods, sounding a soft 'mm-hmm' as he just so happens to guess right. For now, she's content to sit there with her hands up, resting them over the vent slots as they transition from spewing out cold air for hot. Her fingers move, knuckles popping now that they're warm enough to without much of a push or pressure. "What d'y' do t'day? Why all de dirt?"
*
Jamie's face goes from contented looking happiness, to a frown. "I.. don't really want to talk about it. Let's just say while you were on the front lines liberating shiny shiny gold bars, I was wading through shit making sure you didn't have any other unexpected surprises," he says, and leaves it at that.
*
Jamie's face goes from contented looking happiness, to a frown. "I.. don't really want to talk about it. Let's just say while you were on the front lines liberating shiny shiny gold bars, I was wading through shit making sure you didn't have any other unexpected surprises," he says, and leaves it at that. Whatever he was doing, it wasn't his choice, and it wasn't any kind of fun. "Suppose someone's gotta do the shit work though. I drew the short straw tonight, is all." He forces a smirk, and lets out a breath. "What are you studying at this school, anyway? They know about you?" In the mutant sense, he means.
*
"M'sorry." She murmurs, allowing it to drop almost instantly. Pulling her hands back, she rubs them together before slounching in her seat and allowing herself the comfort of leg room and a sprawl. "Jus' basics. Dey don' really teach what I wanna learn t'do, so, I self-study on de side." A pause, "I wanna learn t'bake t'ings. M'be have a lil bakery o'cafe. S'mt'ing like dat." To his next question, she gives another nod. "Dey do, yeah. S'safe place." Something was there, lingering, unspoken.
Turning her head, she watches the world pass them by from behind the protective window. "Y'don'…d'y't'ink like Josh does? Dat we betta den people?"
*
"It's okay, just.. don't really want to think about it right now, you know?" Jamie isn't mad that she asked, or anything, but he's happy to put the experience out of his mind. He nods as she explains about the school, and a smirk comes to his lips when she mentions baking. "Darlin', you open a bakery, that means pie, and you will have a customer for life," he says, meaning him. When she asks about his sociopolitical leanings, he gives a bit of a nod. "Mostly, yeah. Maybe not as fervently as he does, but in general? We're the next phase. No denying that. We're to them what they were to the Neanderthals. Doesn't mean there's anything /wrong/ with the individuals, but as a species? No denying that we're their superiors." He watches the young woman for a reaction; if she's going to be rolling with their team, this is something she either needs to believe, or at least not fight against. "'Lixir's a bit more zealous about it, I guess. He's had his share of hard times, just like we all have. It'd be easier to just shake our heads and laugh about it, if they weren't so.. hateful, about everything. Even toward their own. You know?"
*
"I c'n make pie." She beams, proudly. "I c'n make lots a t'ings, but I wanna learn more, too." Then comes ethics on their kind and those like them. Turning her head, she faces him, watches him as he drives, speaks, everything. "I dunno. I don' like de idea of bein' 'bove dem. If 'nyt'ing, I jus' wan' t'be equal. I ain' even dat t'most." A breath, she stares forward and out through the windsheild. "I don' wanna hurt in'ocent people. I know dat much. N'well, I ain't gonna bend on dat one. We do dat, den we no betta den dem."
*
One could argue that as long as they're perpetuating the system that holds mutants as second-class citizens, no-one is innocent. But Jamie gets her point. And he doesn't disagree, necessarily. "I can respect that. We've gotta defend ourselves, but you're right about hurting innocents. If it can be avoided, we do," he says. At least, he does. Other people might have different definitions of inncent, though. Once they're out on the highway, the drive is smooth and easy. Not even a lot of traffic. "But you can't deny that we live in a world that hates and fears us, and if they had their way, as a collective, they'd wipe mutants from the face of the Earth. Wouldn't surprise me to learn they're workin' on a way to do it. Some kinda cure."
*
Scoffing, she smirks ruefully and looks back toward Madrox. "Honey, I t'ink I know dat. Y'seen m'skin, right?" Focusing on the road, she takes another breath and allows the topic to fall by the way side. She understood, that much was apparent, but she knew how she felt, too. At some points, convictions might class, but it doesn't seem like now is the time. A few more miles down the road, she rubs at her arms and rests her hands on the flat of her stomach. "So…what'd y'mean earlier? I t'ought y'didn't settle f'one girl."
*
"Whaddya mean?" Jamie says, honestly confused. He turns to look at her, for just a moment, before his eyes have to be back on the road. "Oh, when I said I hoped it wasn't just a one night thing? Well.. you know, I had fun. I think you had fun?" Sounded like it, at least. "I might not be up for the whole 'going steady' thing, but there's no law saying we can't keep havin' fun, right?" He pauses a moment. "Okay, there is," stupid racist laws, "But not one that I'm gonna listen to. I mean, you get a say too, obviously.. don't want to put you in a bad spot. Would understand if you wanted to cool things down," he says. But he's hopeful that's not the case.
*
"Ah." That makes more sense. Thinning her lips, she doesn't answer at first. There's silence then, calm, at least. The road below them, the motor purring, and the heat rolling out and into the cab. "Y'always been dat way?" She then inquires with a soft voice. "If y'don' wanna say, y'don' gotta. M'jus' curious."
*
"Yeah, always have. I'm not the type to keep a steady girlfriend, get married, or anything. Hard to see it. With me, it'd never just be one me, one girl. Because it's not just one me. But it's more than that. I know myself, darlin'. I like you, and it's more than just the sex, but I know I'll get restless. I'd do something to break your heart, and it wouldn't be fair to either of us. With me, bein' what I am, it's too easy." Jamie's trying to phrase it gently, but honestly, and it's hard to find the right way to put it so it doesn't sound like he's just this philandering jackass.
*
Lynette nods, her expression flat. Again, there's just silence from her, and the white noise of the Impala rumbling down the road. Yawning, she covers her mouth with the back of her gloved hand, then she rubs at her eyes and closes them as they move along. Head back, she rests and slumps a bit more in her seat. It had been a big day, after all.
*
Jamie turns his attention back to the road, moving his hand from the back of the seat to rest on the gearshift as he drives. His easy, relaxed expression turns in a light frown, his eyes focused on the road ahead. "You should rest," he says, as if his suggestion wasn't what she was already doing. He flips on the radio, but keeps the volume low, so music fills the air inside the vehicle, but not so loud that it drowns anything else out. Just background, like the low rumble of the engine and the wheels on the pavement. "I'll nudge you when we get close," he says.
*