Tea and Happiness

May 15, 2016:

Hank and Jean chat a little over tea.

Characters

NPCs: None.

Mentions:

Plot:

Mood Music: [*\# None.]


Fade In…

The 'Tea Thursdays' have been as much of a regular thing as possible and Hank does seem to appreciate the visits. He's still mostly keeping to himself and staying at the school, but the 'teas' have been a nice change of interactions.

As it's 'that time' again, Hank has the tea service set out as well as some snacks. His own work is set aside for a moment as he actually makes the attempt to be social.

They may both be mutants, they may have crazy things going on, but a hint of normalcy is welcome.

While they both can't make tea like Charles, it was still delicious and made to their tastes, often times Jean savoring the fruitish variety yet this time she wanted something plain. Since it was his turn to host, Jean comes with nothing but a movie in hand, some old timey flick about cops, robbers and gangsters in their zoot suits with their funny way of fast talk that captures the attention and makes everything they say sound fantastic.

There wasn't a knock, really. Just an opening of the door, she was sure Hank was decent because he always was. And the smile she wore when she entered spoke of her cutting loose for the moment and relaxing, even though this was a veiled therapy session just for Hank alone. "Look what I goooot!"

The movie was flashed during her little sing-song voice, a twirl given, dvd case produced left, right, left again as she does a little dance number towards the table. "I did say movie. Last few times there were no movies. Now, we have a movie."

There were tea options…Hank has been collecting a variety. When Jean comes in and flashes the movie, he looks up and grins, "Cagney or Robinson?" is asked as he moves in to meet her. "I got some new teas as well. They looked interesting…" he gestures to the sofas and the tea layout. It's not a proper British tea, no.

Whether or not he realized that these are Therapy sessions isn't voiced, but he's at least enjoying the company. "You look like you're ready for a break. And 1930's crime dramas." A nod is given to the movie. "Want to put it in now or later?"

"Cagney." She states, stopping her little dance number to carefully remove her shoes from toe to heel. The DVD itself was carefully laid out upon the table as she rounds it, plopping down upon the couch with a light bump up as she carefully drags the tray of assorted teas closer. "Pomengrante, raspberry…" She shifts through the packets, frowning just a little. But Earl Grey was soon picked, dark, the packet ripped open and dropped into her cup. "What's your poison?"

"I'm always ready for a break. Plus, with graduation looming and then summer break? I'm ready for it. Though we have to start planning our summer activities and I think that you should head up something sciency. It'll keep the kids who can't go home busy and you out there doing what you do best." She smiles a little, then shrugs her shoulders. "It's up to you, but.. if we pop it in now, we're not going to talk."

"I like Cagney," is offered before Hank moves closer to the teas. "I'll take the Jasmine green, I think. I feel like something less sweet, myself. Did you want milk or cream with your tea?" He has some somewhere.

At the mention of the movie and not talking, he thinks before grabbing one of the cookies. It's munched as he considers before he offers, "The movie can wait a little." The mention of the summer activities brings about a slight frown. "I'm all for that, I guess, but…are we going to be doing anything about Genosha? Because won't that take up a great deal of our time?" There's another pause then, "Or are you all having me stay here and keep an eye on things and distract the students while you go there?"

The jasmine was taken and ripped open, placed within Hank's cup with relative ease. The teapot was soon snatched, water poured into both of their cups as she gives a slight shake of her head. "Just sugar. I want something bitter to kick me up."

"We're still on Genosha, yes. And like everything else, we'll have to just take it one day at a time. I'd like for you to stay here, but I'd also like you to be out in the field too. I don't know, honestly." She smiles a little sadly. "If we could find a stand-in for you then we need to get your combat skills up to snuff. If not? Then.. I suppose we get your combat up to snuff and you defend everyone else here in New York. It's all up in the air at this point and dependant on what you want to do."

"Thank you," is offered when his tea is prepared. He moves to bring over some sugar before taking a seat opposite Jean and listening to what she says. An eyebrow finally arches, "You don't think my combat is up to snuff?" Sure, he hasn't been in the field of late. "Because I haven't been training with anyone?" There's almost a wry sort of smile, "Maybe I'm not training with others for their own safety?"

The long answer, though, gets a glance into his steeping tea mug. Finally, he offers, "Thank you for trying to make it sound like I'm not being left behind due to perceived inadequacies. That's not an easy thing to do…in fact, you've pretty much been the only one to have done it."

The sugar was soon taken, dropping in two scoops to give it a stir, then lets it sit so that the flavors could mix. "Nope. I don't. I've seen you in action possibly twice. And lately you've been holed up in here working and teaching. I think you need to stretch your bones a bit and get that tactical brain working. And you don't have to train with anyone, but.. it wouldn't hurt to have a buddy in there in case everything goes wild with the Danger Room again."

Though, his little sly comment causes her to grin, her brow raising at the same time. "Oh? So you're saying if me and you go toe to toe, you'd win, hands down?" She snaps her fingers. "I'd like to see that."

His words though, sad as they've seem, only causes her to shake her head. "I'm just being honest. You're my friend. God help me if I start lying to anyone, let alone you. You're too smart to take a lie and run with it." She takes up her tea to finally sniff, then sighs. "What would make you happy, right now in this moment?"

Beast looks at his own tea, "Well, I guess I can't really compete with the mutants who are able to do massive damage from range. I'm pretty much hand to hand only…and that's not the easiest when up against Sentinels." That said, he did help take one down with the Justice League. "I don't know that anything will go wild with the Danger Room again. There's a little more understanding about what's been used in it…" although he's not fully aware of what it is. Xavier might not even be fully aware.

Her challenge gets a smirk, "If you weren't using your telekinesis against me, probably." At least, he seems confident about that. "Although you're right. Stretching my muscles might be a good thing." He just hasn't really seen the need of late.

"Intelligence aside, when someone hears something they want to hear, questioning it isn't really immediate. But thank you for telling me the truth and not saying what you think I'd like to hear. To be honest, I don't really know what would make me happy. World peace?"

"Thing is, anyone can do massive damage at a range, you just have to figure out your own way to do it." She was silent for a moment, taking a sip of the tea and allowing that all too subtle nod of her head given again. She didn't ask about the Danger room, what Hank or Xavier knew about it. It was their business, though she figured she has to know soon..

"You know we're going to have to take this to the room right? Not because I don't believe you, but because I need to satisfy my own little ego just to see if I actually -could-." She lifts her teacup, then lowers it again.

"Honey, world peace would make everyone happy. And for some reason, I feel that even if there's world peace that there would still be longing across the people who live in it. Namely you. Me. So, what would bring you peace. You personally."

"Well, I suppose if I threw something," Hank shrugs before taking up his own mug of tea and tasting it. "Hot." But steeped. The challenge still gets a chuckle, "I don't want to hurt you, Jean, and I'm not being patronizing. I can't pull these claws in…they're not retractable," he looks at his own hands for a moment before he wraps them around the mug again. "You're probably more skilled than I am…I mostly go by instinct, for good or for ill."

He picks up another snack to eat, possibly to stall the question again. "I…don't know. Honestly. I haven't even really thought about it much. Not anymore. I thought that it would be being able to look 'normal' but now that I can do it, I only see how much we need to fix this world so that it doesn't matter. Material goods and interpersonal relations can be so fleeting that it seems silly to bank happiness on such things."

"Let me show you something." Jean says, leaning forward to put her tea cup down. She then brings her fingers to her stomach, bunching up her shirt to reveal her torso. She points at the most prominent scar there. "Ran through with a sword." She drops her shirt then, tugging her sleeve back upon her arm. "Shot in the shoulder by a purifier." She even turns her head to the side, pointing at the two points left within her skin. "That tech you took off of me? Remember that?" She turns then, drawing her shirt up once more, a series of scratches and a rather large mark that could resemble a bite.

"A dream eater."

She wasn't bragging, but there was even a possibility that underneath all of Hank's fur when he has it, he's full of scars as well. "I think we both can take the pain we dish out."

Though as he takes another snack, she does as well, thumbing it briefly before popping it into her mouth. "I notice that in all of our time…" She mumbles, mouth full, hand covering her lips as she speaks. "..no one truly knows at any moment what would make them happy, even if they experience what they percieve to be the feeling. Some people say it's an illusion, happiness. Some say it's a state of mind, and that if you pretend hard enough, you'll eventually fool yourself into being."

She shrugs her shoulders then. "But wants? It's something set in stone for some of us. Knowing what you want. It's how you feel after you've gotten it that counts."

Maybe not as many as Jean. He's been in less scuffles than she. He watches soberly as she shows her scars and he nods when asked about the tech, "I remember." He lets out a breath then and gives a nod, "But friends shouldn't be the ones dishing out that sort of pain or scars." There's suddenly a wry little chuckle then, "The wounds we deal to each other are far deeper."

Hank looks back to his tea as Jean pretty much agrees with his answer. "I think it's more of a state of mind…and a realization that happiness isn't a single state. That it's something like…a core. And Life happens all around it but it's the foundation."

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