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A good run was always the way that Tommy sorted out his problems and put his thoughts into order. It was the one place he could go and just… not be bothered by anyone at all. It was great. It was also a luxury that he didn't have when the problem at hand was the one person who could always keep up with him. A run across the ocean? She could be there too. Lunch in Thailand followed by dinner in the Tower of Pisa (Pizza, of course)? There'd be nothing stopping her from joining him.
So he doesn't run far, but does go where he can have some small measure of privacy.
Which is where she'll find him, sitting on his bed in his room, legs crossed, head resting in hands with fingers lost somewhere in that platinum mop. Savoring those precious few moments of thought before he's not alone any longer.
*
The only thing she would be stopping at is an indication she isn't wanted, conversation isn't happening, and… well, where they can get in thirty minutes is a vast range. Getting *back* from Borneo might be troubling, but getting there, that's not so hard.
With that being said, she backs away from involving herself with the functions of a man's privacy. A dart puts her inside the apartment and then blowing through the window, perching out on the edge looking out over the city. He has privacy, then, and a sense of being out there. Which means he can come out when he wants to, since the window isn't the one in any bedroom.
*
It takes him some time; he was expecting her to crash right on in, to be honest, but the extra moments help the speedster gather his thoughts a little more clearly. Once that's done, an eye opens, scanning around and expecting her to be there… but nothing. There's an initial frown; that was it? With a sigh, he got up from the bed, and walked out of the bedroom. Normal speed. It's a little relief when he spies a window open that wasn't before, and after only a moment's hesitation, he moves over to climb outside as well.
Upon finding he once more? His reaction is a wary smile, a slight wave of fingers and a soft, "Hey." His body language suggests some of the initial tension is gone — he gets over things fast, so those extra seconds were crucial — but not all of it.
*
Call her a coward for seeking easy escape. Maybe it's cowardice or a failure to face the uncomfortable edges of a new relationship. She's someone who has been alone for so long that allowances for social awkwardness might be okay, except they really aren't. Either way, she is still sitting on the ledge staring out over the buildings from that spot, and it's easy for her to balance on an admittedly dangerous height. It's not like their place, or his uncle's, is two storeys up. Try more like five or six.
"Hey. So that's Lyn and her boyfriend, I'm guessing. I don't know much about him, except to say do not ever, ever get in a fight. He's supposedly pretty savage." That's putting a nice point on it. "Have questions? Spit 'em out."
*
Balance is an easy thing when attempted by a speedster. Even when a foot slips, there's /time/ for correction again and again and only the klutziest would ever hit the ground without actually /wanting/ to. "Yeah. She told me as much." Pause. "…and I'll keep that in mind." Still wouldn't be able to touch him, Tommy assures himself. Not that he has a particular /reason/ to brawl with Victor, so it might be better safe than sorry in that regard.
As for questions? Oh, he has a ton of them. It's just the order that he's trying to decide on. There's no accusation of lying to him — another boon of waiting to talk, he realized she never did, because he'd never actually /asked./ But…
"…were you ever gonna tell me?"
*
"When I knew she wasn't setting up a genocide," Hope says. Her gaze shifts towards Tommy, holding him in its emerald scope. Maybe she should be afraid, but life burnt that out of her young. He is warm June to her stormy November, the seasons tempestuous and so very different in ways. "I told you why Bishop hunted me. Wanted me never to be born. Things like that." She waves her hand towards the vague west. "Bunch of dead mutants, dead kids. I'm not from his future but that doesn't mean that future doesn't happen or repeat itself. I'm afraid of hurting people, but I can't just sit by and see someone be attacked. If mutants were trying to kill every last human, I'd be fighting with the humans. It's so stupid, we're all the same people."
Her gaze flashes and melts away.
*
"Still don't know, huh?" Tommy asks, considering her words for a few moment. Well. At least she /was/ going to tell him. Eventually. It's a step in the right direction, at least. And while he's not moving - towards or away - from her. The look in those emerald eyes softens just a bit.
"Seems like your future's coming early, if the newspapers are to be believed." Then there's a pause. A few moments pass. Tongue slips out to moisten lips, thoughtful. "What, exactly, am I to you?" …not directly about what was revealed, but the whole brouhaha has him wondering where he stands.
*
"If he's right, Tommy, I cause a million people to die. Me. I do it somehow, except it takes like… seconds. I personally annihilate every last one of them. You know what does that? Big, big weapons. Things that blow up." A shudder runs down her back, and she wraps her arms around herself, staring out. "Dad said it wasn't possible. That I would never do that, and he was really damn sure it wouldn't ever happen. Even if I stand by the sideline, is that any better? Watching people wiped out…"
Her lips tighten, and she gives her head a sharp little shake. "If Raven's wrong, I gotta know that too. Because someone doing the wrong thing for the right reasons still has to be checked. Maybe by this guy we were looking for, this school. I don't know. What I know is that I'm not going to start killing people because I think I'm right. Stop them, help them, do something, sure. Not like I'm leaving because, hello, I'm marooned and you're my boyfriend. I don't sleep with anyone else. Aside from absolutely no one you're the only person I have here. Raven is plenty nice, and cooks like a…. chef person… but she isn't… This." She waves her hand.
*
Tommy frowns. Pulling his vision from her to look out over the city for a few moments. "Doing anything in a few seconds isn't impossible when you're like us." he opines, letting his head hang down for a few moments. "Seriously. Give me a knife and a crowd of people, and… I could. I know I could. It's just the start of it, too. The scientists that were in charge of the detention center I was at… they wouldn't grab someone who /couldn't/ do some massive damage. It's something I think about sometimes." Pause. "If it ever came down to it… you'd need someone nearby who can /stop/ you in less than the seconds it would take you to do… whatever it is. Not saying you would." Pause. "…but it seems like there's still a lot about you that I just don't /know/ yet." In truth, he's got things he hasn't revealed, too. Just not many of them.
Now he moves. Balancing along the edge, arms out to his sides. It's a bit exaggerated considering steps are taken at normal speed, but it's something to do. "That wasn't.. y'know, exactly what I meant." Tommy offers, green eyes seeking a matching pair. Grass staring into gemstones. "'Boyfriend' can mean a lot of different things. I've been one a few times, so I know." Pause. "I mean, y'know. Do I /matter?/ Am I just some fun between the sheets and a place to stay, a handy resource to be used or… y'know. Something /more/ than that?" Tommy asks, watching her. For someone who can read people like she can, /especially/ while he's looking right at her? He's showing some weakness; hurt. There's no bravado on display like most times.
*
"A million people. That's like a quarter of the city or something." Hope stares off into the distance still, trying to pull her thoughts out of a grey morass. "I don't know Tommy. There's so much I am supposed to do, could do, and it's all pretty fucking moot when I am sitting here and not next to a nuclear missile or a volcano." Not the type to feel sorry for herself, she huffs like a very annoyed cat. Then looks over at him. "You get there's a metric fuck ton of stuff I don't know because no one would ever tell me? Because I'm a kid, or not some decision maker or I'm a nuclear football. Throw Hope and keep running! Go, go, go! Never mind I'm a person. I'm just a thing to these people. Because I'm a damn messiah. Is that even anything anymore?" The bitterness drops from her lips, harsh as it comes. Saddling a literal prophet with the curse of the future is rarely welcome.
She just watches him waltz along the edge of the ledge, as surefooted as they come. People skills… for all she's sheltered, she does have them. A bit unpracticed by they do in fact exist. "Point, I guess it can? Maybe I can frame it this way: you're the next most important person to me beside my dad. Adoptive dad. Nathan. Whatever. That's because I just haven't lived with you for a bunch of years. Yes, you matter. I'm not trying to get back to 2028, or 2133, am I? Because you're important. And we're not just… people. We're this. A place. A place with us in it. It can't be any place without you but that means something. I don't have a home or a place like this, I never really have. So… Yeah, that's kind of an important thing, and I get it's the person who makes that happen and not the thing and now I'm rambling like a stupid girl or something. But you're not some bank or a bed mate or like, a store."
*
"Something else we have in common. Not mattering as /people./ Just as… things. As what we could be, what we can do." Tommy replies, kicking one leg up and teetering around a bit. Fear? Tommy doesn't have much in that regard. A combination of growing up without much to lose and having abilities that make him hard to stop. "…and yeah, I get it. I mean, hell Hope… the /only/ reason my brother and the rest of the team broke me out of Juvie was because they needed me. If it hadn't been for that… I'd probably still be there. I'm sure of it. Or worse. I might be what they wanted me to be."
Then he's listening again, and he visibly relaxes. That was probably the most important of the questions that he had in his head, and her answer? More than satisfactory to him. She'll be able to tell /that/ when he moves at top speed to press lips to hers. Just a quick kiss, but a wordless promise that things are good between them again. "For what it's worth? I've been with a lot of girls. All different types. You probably don't want to hear about /that/ part." There's a small, self-deprecating smile to that. "But you're the first one I think actually /gets/ me. You don't look at me like a project to improve on, some fun to pass the time, or a useful ally to have. It's… it's different. Special." Pause. "Tell anyone that I'm being gushy and I'll deny it a hundred times." And then, he's going for the hug. Just because. "Sorry to break it to you, Spicecake, but despite making me yell 'oh God', you're not a messiah to me." There's a playful wink to that. "You're important to me because of who you are, and that's just that." A smile, now. "Just… like you, I'm used to people not giving me all the details. They think I talk to much, or am gonna run into battle yelling out my name halfway through the plan," Fun-fact, he has. … and yes he had chicken. "Can we… just /not/ do that to one another? Open books. If one of us has something going on, we tell the other. Too much to ask?"
*
"But he's your brother. Seriously, you can't be saying he would have let you rot in… whatever juvie is? People aren't supposed to do that in normal families. Normal like in this century normal." Hope still can't bend her brain around that one, and it hurts to squish. "You're mistaking what I'm saying. You are a person. You are more than a person. You mean something bigger than just a person, I don't know. This is crap, trying to put words together, and I'm not good at it, okay? Feelings are weird." And if there's a telepath around, oh hell, she's borrowing those powers. Oh daaad…
"Also, screw that your team only figured that was the reason worth having. Like… face value is nowhere like what it's made out to be, you figure?" Hey, she has opinions. She will share them, even when grumpy and a kiss seals off her mouth, again and anew when he's pressing his lips to hers or she's seeking his out.
Eyebrows arch slightly. Hope sticks her tongue out. "I don't care if you slept with all of Egypt as long as you don't give me any diseases and don't compare me to them. Most of the time, anyways." Obscure, vague references are a go as she smirks at him. Hug means prickle cake is hugged, and she leans back against the wall. "You are so weird, Shepherd. Not the least of which is because you're probably gonna freak but I'm fairly sure…" Her gaze alters slightly, pupils going vertical, slitted black. The flick of her tongue is unmarked, but she gives another smirk. "Pretty cool, huh?"
*
"Neither of us had any idea we were related until… a couple months ago, maybe? Hell, he didn't even know I existed, and if he had, I would've just been some punk criminal to him. To any of them. He's the good one." Pause. "He only screws guys though, so don't go getting any idea, alright Summers?" There's a wink to that. Staying close. "I think I get it though… - words are hard, but we're important to each other in the right way. Whatever the fancy way of saying that is."
Then he's grinning. "/All/ of Egypt? Are you kidding? Maybe a /quarter,/ but give me some credit here!" Yup. Things are back to normal. Back to good. Then it's her turn to play showoff and his eyes go wide. "Whoa. How'd you do that?" …if she pays attention, he's going a bit cross-eyed. Trying to replicate the feat. Failing miserably. "That's pretty awesome."
*
Rolling her eyes, Hope points her finger into Tommy's chest. "No kidding. He's projecting that like a mile off, and never mind that having twins at the same time would be… okay, that's probably up there in the 'try' column for a whole lot of people, but he doesn't go for the ladies. That's cool. You guys are kind of cute looking all nervous about it. Like it's still a thing. I get it, here, it is a thing. Don't see why. As long as he's happy, consenting, not hurting anyone? Totally fine." Hello social liberation. It makes a difference when you're gonna murder 10,000,000 people in a month, apparently. Tucking her chin lower, she sighs. "Look, I could just screw you to say what I mean, and give you a card and a cigarette after? That's what people now do?"
Her pupils slide back to round, and if a smattering of scales replace freckles on the bridge of her nose, he is not hallucinating. It's happening. Look familiar? It should. "Dunno. Sometimes I just can. It's weird. Some parts of this city are like… dead silent, empty. Others are so loud, there's constant white noise in my head, and I get pretty sure I can fly or set a building on fire. Actually, I know I can. You said open book? You got open book. Nathan was told I'm basically the evolutionary voodoo doll, the messiah. You can get down on your knees and worship now, because supposedly," fingers make curly brackets, "I can do anything that humans are ever supposed to be able to do. Somehow. I think that's what makes my enemies so bitchy. I look better than them and do it better? Who knows."
*
Tommy's eyes go wide. And then he can't help but grin. "Tell you what. If he ever changes his mind — I don't see it happening, but — I'll see about hooking you up. As long as I'm the one you run off with in the end." There's an amused wink to that. "And that's the thing, he's nervous about it. I'm not gonna go around blabbing everyone's secrets, you being the exception to that rule." Open book means that. What he knows, she can know, too. "But it doesn't bother me. Hell, I've already tried to set him up, with that blonde kid we met in the park. Teddy." Little does he know it went better than he thought.
/He,/ admittedly doesn't recognize the mutation she's copying — but he's never seen Lynette in action, just trying to blend in. The confession that she offers? Well, that's definitely a surprise. Of course, it means… "So… when you're moving as fast as me, you're… moving fast /like/ me? You don't do that on your own?" There's a brief look of confusion as he considers how he feels about /that./ "…well, I guess there's few things more intimate than that. Keep it up, speed looks good on you." Tommy replies, lips curving into a grin before he reaches up to tap her nose playfully. "You just want me on my knees." Pause. "Not out of the question, but it ain't because of what you can do." Wink.
Then there's a thought that strikes him. And gaze turns a bit serious again. "…you know, if things don't check out with the Brotherhood, you're gonna need to be able to get out of there, fast." Beat. "If they're on the up and up like I'm hearing… it might be the kind of thing I wanna stick my feet into."
*
Hope has partially disconnected.
*
It's a good thing that she's listening. At least a little more than not, otherwise there might be a misunderstanding. "Wait, you hooked up with him before you… oh, hooked him up. Okay, that's a difference." You don't say. She gives Tommy a look, anyways, that is rife with mischief and consideration both for all those variables suddenly springing up. "You're saying you'd tag team with… yeah. I knew I heard something. Rewind, back we go there."
He's interested in powers, she's interested in sibling dynamics. Go figure, it's what happens when the world is up. "I've been able to do the speedy thing since I showed up here. It was different elsewhere. Like… when Dad's around or not around, I guess. Everything looks and feels different here, including me, so it's not so surprising? I mean, I was younger when he saw me last. I don't know what the hell I do. No one knows what I do. Except apparently cause mass murders, genocides, and a really shifty future in several timelines that crazy people cook up."
Grim facts, anyways, and then she pokes him again after he taps her nose. "And you want me in Times Square without anyone noticing where your hands are. What's your point? By the way, no one is home but us."
Point to make, and then she looks back at him, framed near the window. "You don't want to put your team back together? I respect it. Kinda sounded cool. The Brotherhood is like a firecracker. They can be good and they can also blow up in your face and you'll have no eyebrows."
*
Tommy holds out a hand, counting off the conditions of statement with his fingers. "/If/ he swung that way, /if/ that's what you wanted, and /if/ you weren't going to run off with him instead afterwards… yeah, I'd try to make it happen for you. Two out of three doesn't get you there, though." he teases, flashing those pearly whites and the accompanying dimples. "I'd expect the same from you if /you/ were twins, after all." Another empty thought, but a fun mental image nonetheless.
The tale on what she can do is definitely interesting. Trying to figure it all out. It's one of those things that he might /have/ to know one of these days, "Hey, the future's what you make of it. What /we/ make of it, even. Because we can choose to do what we want, not what others choose /for/ us." he tells her, hand reaching up to stroke her cheek briefly.
Then she points out that they're along again. Eyes widen, lips grin. "…then let's get inside before that changes or we fall off the building, yeah?" Tommy replies.
That said, with a zoom he's back inside the apartment and waiting for her to join him. "It's more Billy's team than mine." he points out, "If /I/ try to put a team together… it'll probably look like oil and gunpowder near an open flame." A bit of a frown to that. "But if he's doing anything, he's dragging his feet about it." Pause. "I'm sure you know how I feel about waiting, and…" he trails off for a moment looking away. "…look. Things happened in Mutant Town the way they did because we weren't there to /stop/ them. If something happens to you because /I/ wasn't there…"
*
"Like I'm going to run off with anyone. Um, no. Because you may have noticed, I kinda like you." Hope rounds on him, getting up from sitting and edging along the ledge towards the window. "Get your ass inside. You're going to be on your knees, and getting me all ready for you. Capiche?" Her limited use of Italian has all the advantages. Be careful what one wishes for, Tommy. If she ever meets Madrox or any illusionist, there's a very good chance she can make twins, triples, quadruplets… Is he prepared for that?
"I kinda wish I had the power to meld the door shut or how to /do/ that, but then they'd probably worry about you and break down the wall or something. And if it matters, you know, he can totally put it together with some of your ideas, yeah? This isn't the same age as then. It's not like all the people on your team are here, are they? Or not like you got here. You should totally poke him. Or say you want to get the band back together, and you know, there's already four of us." She raises a finger each. "Me, you, him, Teddy? Who else do you need? I bet we could fetch a few people and do it. That… girl… you were talking about seems like a bit of a crybaby but maybe she can sing backup vocals and save the world or something."
*
"I must have some kinda luck powers that I never realized, then." Tommy replies — and he's not going to argue with her statement. Instead, when she comes back in the window, she'll find him on his knees, waiting for him. Rebel he might be, but it seems like she's got him wrapped around a pinky. "Alright, my gorgeous red-haired messiah," he teases, terribly amused. "Your turn to bring /your/ cute little ass over here." Tommy replies, licking his lips and curving them into a grin.
"…I guess? I mean, as far as I know, Billy and I are the only ones who got sent back in time. Everyone else hasn't even been /born/ yet." Tommy replies, lips twisting into a thoughtful expression… but then eyes seek her out again. Watching her quietly. "We could probably find people, yeah…" he admits, considering. "…but don't you think that Raven chick would have a problem with you going around and stopping people from causing trouble?"
*
"I don't know about luck." Not yet, anyways, but that's something else she might be bringing home like burrs on an alley cat or a pup running through fields. Fear, Tommy, there is a chance that life goes interesting. When she steps into the apartment, he makes her laugh, and that's a rare thing. She doesn't laugh enough. "You look damn good like that. Though I suppose I can wiggle my ass over there, if that's what you want." Throwing off her coat reveals one of those new t-shirts, this one of all things decorated with a pineapple and a palm tree, reading 'Hawaii: Tropical Paradise!' in swirly felt velvet letters underneath. Yellow is a rare colour she can pull off.
"So maybe your team hasn't been born but we can be a fabulously fantastic four. Or five. or more people. And no, I don't think that Raven would mind if I don't cross my business. Plenty of us seem to be mercs. I mean, I used to be a mercenary but I'm not really one. And besides." Leaning forward, she gives a bit of a smirk. "I'm answerable only to me. Messiah privileges, right? Whatcha gonna do about it, baby?"