Lazy Sunday IC

[alderwitch]

Alex gave a little grin and shrug, happy to go along with Mike's hastily constructed plans, "Thanks, Ms. Harris"

She plucked the bag from Mike's fingers and fished out her piece before placing it as the door clicked shut. Once his mother was heading back down the stairs, Alex peeked up from her intense focus on the Carcacone board. Her eyes twinkled with amusement and she let out a peal of merry laughter, clearly at his expense. Still giggling, she held out the bag of pieces to him. "Oh, if you could have seen your f-face."

She dissolved into happy laughter once more.

[angrydurf]

Mike cocked one eyebrow as he rather haphazardly placed his piece, "Yes very funny I'm sure." he stated flatly, but couldn't manage to keep a straight face before his girlfriends infectious laugh. He shook his head and handed over the bag of tiles once more.

"She's gonna get all sorts of ideas now you know." He said as he took a sip of one of the proffered drinks, managing less of a wince than the soda had caused. Not that her antics hadn't stirred some ideas in Mikes mind as well. He blinked once or twice trying to clear those from his mind and asked, "Where'd you like to go for dinner, I figure I can save you from the brussle sprout sorbet she's been trying to pass off as desert the past few days."

[alderwitch]

"I can tell you exactly what ideas she has if you'd like, but I don't think you really want to know." Alex said with another cheeky grin as she plopped the next tile down before reaching over to fix his hair. Giggles kept escaping her as she smoothed down his dark locks but her touch was tender. "It doesn't matter to me. Someplace low key. We could hit up a pizza place."

[angrydurf]

Mike frowned slightly at the board as he realized slightly too late that his haphazard play was already leaving him behind Alex. "Yea I think you're probably right on that front. It was awkward enough when dad felt the need to ... explain things before he left for work this morning." he admitted uncomfortably.

With a shrug he placed another tile resolved that he probably wouldn't have been doing much better if he had been able to focus. "Anyway pizza sounds great." he said quickly moving away from discussing his parents and their assumptions. Not that it was easy to think of much of anything with her hand running through his hair and her being so close by.

[alderwitch]

"What exactly was 'the talk' about?" Alex made finger quotes and grinned at him but she leaned her shoulder against his in silent support for his obvious embarassment over the situation, "I assume that you didn't tell him I covered all of that in my 'did you know' lectures when we were seven."

Alex had gone through a phase of downloading her questions and facts about the world around them right around that age. Of course one could also say she'd never grown out of that phase.

[angrydurf]

Mike laughed out loud at that. "No I didn't fill him in on that little tidbit." He replied with a smile as he slung an arm over her shoulder pulling her close once more. There was something that just felt right having her as close as possible.

"He clearly wanted to talk about it as much as I did. My mom probably made him." He explained rolling his eyes, "It was lots of hemming and hawing and talking around the issue of ... well you know." he said with a blush.

He chuckled quietly and with only a little discomfort as he continued, "lots or 'Boys your age ...' and 'Be smart and safe' blessedly light on detail." As he spoke he absentmindedly trailed his fingers along the fabric of her blouse over her ribs.

"Parents are weird, I mean I know they're just looking out for us but its like they think we don't have any sense." he said with a shrug and moved his head down to lightly nuzzle her neck not really wanting to continue talking about his parent awkward assumptions of their behavior.

[alderwitch]

"Well, a lot of kids our age don't have sense," Alex's usual lecturing tone was somewhat thrown off by the hitch in her breathing. Her chin tilted up and her breath sighed out happily. Closing her eyes, she cuddled closer under his arm as she mumbled, "I mean, you, me and Erin are like the only people on the team who haven't already done it and there are way less responsible people in school who prolly have done it without protection n' stuff. Though for a lot of the kids meta physiology, standard protection is of dubious quality at best, completely worthless at worst."

Alex's lecture went straight into rambling mode at the touch of Mike's lips against the column of her throat, eventually petering off completely with a happy murmer.

[angrydurf]

"mmm Hmmm" Mike murmured as her explanation petered off. He wasn't all that interested in what others had done or were doing at the moment. They stayed like that for longer than he had intended, and the sun had dipped towards the horizon as he slowly pulled away.

"So much for it not being 'Torrid make-out session' day." He said with a smile and a quick if not chaste kiss, "But we should head out if we're gonna manage to make it to dinner." he joked quietly.

[alderwitch]

As Mike pulled back, Alex had a delightfully befuddled expression on her face. It wasn't a look she wore often, and it cleared quickly but Mike had the satisfaction of knowing he'd successfully derailed that busy brain of hers. She blinked first at him and then at the setting sun before she unwound herself from his lap and stretched.

"I don't think that qualifies quite as torrid," she opinioned with a shy little grin. Alex leaned over him to run a hand through his now legitimately mussed hair, "But its definately a good start. Do I look okay?"

[angrydurf]

Mike beamed at her as he helped her to her feat, "You look wonderful." He said adding with a wink, "And presentable as well."

He stood and straitened his own clothing. Seemed torrid enough to him but he wasn't exactly the most uninhibited teen around. "So," He asked as he swept their abandoned game back into its box, "Should I borrow moms Prius or should we take the express."

[alderwitch]

Alex still ran a selfconcious hand through her hair before redoing her ponytail as it had definately gotten mussed during the afternoon. She rolled her eyes at him as she hid all of the evidence of their junk snacks in her backpack.

"Like you have to ask. Flying, of course!" Alex's eyes twinkled. "You could even carry me, all bad comic romantic like."

[angrydurf]

Mike easily swept her up in one arm grinning wide. "I was hoping you'd say that." he said and nearly sidetracked the whole evening with his next kiss but got hold of himself enough to crack open his door and bellow, "Mom we're heading out now I won't be out too late."

Then in a flash he crossed the room and opened the window to launch them skyward.

[alderwitch]

Alex let out a cheerful whoop of joy and clung to his neck, her face turned out against the wind rushing by. At the speeds Mike travelled at, any sound would have been difficult to make out so she easily switched to their mental link to keep up their conversation, 'I don't know how you don't spend more time just flying. Especially since you could go out into space. Its so amazing. I wish my powers protected me the way yours do so I could go with you. You'll just have to bring me back memories.'

[angrydurf]

'I kinda wish I had done it more when I had more time.' He replied as they sped southward just under the speed of sound. 'Now I usually have classes or training or just hanging out with all of you to keep me occupied.'

He slowed slightly and turned to look at her in his arms, 'I have been to space though. I wanted to see if anything had changed since the fight in the graveyard.' She could feel the combined nervousness and excitement over what he had found while he was out there but he was having trouble verbalizing it even mentally.

[alderwitch]

Alex touched tender fingertips to the sides of his face, silently encouraging. She sent him that wordless, bolstering stream of bottomless support before she reminded him tenderly, "You're still you. You know this. A person defines their power, not the other way 'round. Don't be afraid of yourself, my love.'

It would have sound hokey if she'd called him that aloud but that was the best defination her mind could find for what Mike was to her. 'It's intentions that make someone dangerous, power just makes that easier.'

[angrydurf]

Mike smiled and squeezed her gently to his chest, 'Thank you.' he couldn't fathom going through all of this without her by his side.

He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, 'Well I knew I had gotten faster after ... everything.' He thought to her. 'I didn't want to run into a plane or a anything so I went up above the satellites even, Higher then I ever went before, so I could see just how fast I am now.'

Mike came to a stop hovering above the downtown skyline and looked down to meet Alexs eyes, 'I flew as fast as I could, I mean really went all out and all of a sudden I wasn't in orbit any more, I wasn't even in the solar system.' He shook his head still not entirely able to believe what had happened himself, 'I don't even know how far out I got. But I timed myself after I got back and it took me less than a second to get from Mars back to earth.'

[alderwitch]

Alex understood his innate terror but she couldn't help seeing the wonder. She sighed softly, a wistful sound, and twined her thin arms around his neck, 'That's amazing. That's a lightyear in about a minute give or take. Maybe half that. That's just incredible. We've hit a new plateau with the upsurge. Once you get used to it, you'll probably start traveling light years in under ten or less. That's the estimations they had for peak potential.'

[angrydurf]

Mike was comforted by her wonder in a way and satisfied with the revelation cut a gentle downward arc towards a park near Alex's favorite Pizza Parlor. 'It was pretty incredible.' He admitted, 'I was worried for a little bit that I might not be able to find my way back but I managed.'

Now that he thought about it if he was going to experiment further with this he may need to brush up on his astronomy or maybe find out from Dark Star how he managed it.

[alderwitch]

"If nothing else, you could probably learn to track the psychic link to me back." Alex said thoughtfully as she untangled her arms from around his neck. She pecked his cheek in silent thank you and took a few steps away toward the pizza place, "I'm sure I can reach you still even that far out."

Taking his hand, she happily led the way into the pizza place and they managed to score a booth towards the back. Alex's ambient glow drew more than a few startled looks as they squeezed into the back. Alex tossed her backpack into one back corner and scooted in. After they'd placed their orders, she changed the subject, "So, you've an idea on what your plans are after school."

It wasn't exactly a question but Alex tried very hard to make it sound like one. One of the perils of being so wound through each others thoughts was if Alex missed very little with their friends, she missed virtually nothing with him.

[angrydurf]

Mike nodded agreement that that would probably work as they took their seats. For all his uncomfortableness past and present with his own powers he had never much cared for others looks or opinions and if he even noticed the looks Alex drew he certainly didn't care.

He smiled at her question that wasn't and considered teasing her further about scouting his prospects but decided instead just to answer truthfully. "Yea I've put some thought into it." He replied. He'd actually put quite a bit of thought into it in fact. the full embracing of his powers and the responsibility of them had definitely changed his future prospects some. "Well counting on picking up a Freedom League stipend right out of high school might work for Mark but I'm not so confident that's in the cards." He said with a smile. "So I guess I'll have to get a day job. Dad thinks I should go to college but I don't think thats really for me."

[alderwitch]

Alex pulled her soda closer, her wide eyes intent on Mike's face. She pursed her lips at that comment but nodded her agreement. "I think that for the work you want to do its probably not neccessary and I don't think it would give you any more emotional growth and socialization than you've gotten from Claremont. Probably less."

She paused to sip her soda, her gaze dropping down to the table as she thought for a few moments before asking in what seemed like a nonsequitor or at least a conversational leap althought it made sense to Alex, "So, cop or fireman?"

The fact that he hadn't said either of those aloud seemed to escape Alex.

[angrydurf]

Mike laughed slightly at her analysis, "Well dad just wants me to go to his old college I think. That and earning potential and all that." He explained, "I agree though, I mean dad really likes his job but I don't think sitting at a desk 9-5 will ever really suit me, even if I wasn't going to have to keep hero hours." he continued with a wink.

He seemed nonplussed at her assessment, long since having grown used to her almost prescient ability to know what he's thinking even without active use of her powers. "I dunno really." He replied, "I was leaning towards the police, but I don't just want to be a mascot, and I could see that developing with the police." He paused not certain how to phrase the rest of his opinions, he respected the police a lot actually and knew they were definitely brave public servants but what her really wanted was to help people. "So, I guess I lean towards the Fire department, saving people ya know."

[alderwitch]

"I think you're right on becoming a cop. Plus, all too often, it isn't good guys versus bad just a lot of desperate people. I think your powers would be more help and less problematic in the fire department. There's a lot more uses for your powers in those situations. Especially if you took like an emt course as well. And that would come in useful for heroing too." Alex enthused brightly at him, obviously having put thought into it as well. She didn't like to press but it was actually rare that she didn't have an opinion. Far more often she was merely keeping her opinions to herself.

Alex beamed at him, "Plus, then I could have a hunky fireman for my boyfriend. Added bonus."

[angrydurf]

Mike blushed and laughed nervously, "Well there would be that too I guess." He replied quietly. "Anyway I figure that'll work out for the best, I can get the basic training done over the summer after we graduate if not earlier." he continued. He was thoughtful for a few minutes then agreed with her assessment on EMT classes as well, "Yea the EMT thing would be handy, maybe I'll see if I can wedge in something this semester."

Mike then inquired, "What about you? I know your planning on grad school and everything any thoughts on where?" There were several options in Freedom of course but a part of him wanted to know she wasn't going much further afield either.

[alderwitch]

"Locally," she replied, answering his unasked question, "They have the best ties to Claremont and it'll be easiest to get everything straightened out. I have a lot I want to do, so that's not too surprising. I want to get psychiatric credentials, and do the therapist lisencing. I'm debating seeing if I can work with the government to help locate missing people."

She shrugged, a little embarassed at her ramblings. "I'm hoping that being on file as it were won't cause problems. Being 'out' is probably going to be hard enough."