ic Nanofibers (IC)

[April]

Green eyes narrowed as a defiant look crossed Eve's features, where moments ago she was terrified Erin was going to hit her, though she hid that fear well.

"I am not apologizing a second time," the telepath stated in a low voice when they were outside of the bedroom. Eve knew she messed up, that the method of delivery for the little gift she had for Trevor and Erin was ill-conceived, but if he or Erin doubted the sincerity of her apology then there was little reason to remain.

[Gizmo]

"Just making sure we're clear," Trevor replied calmly, neither visibly upset nor off-put by the challenging expression. He knew full well that Eve was not someone overly given to apology or shows of weakness. Of course, neither was Erin, but given a little time to cool off he was hoping that the issue would resolve itself; he certainly didn't relish the thought of playing peacekeeper between them. "Come on, I'll put a pot on," he offered, starting off toward the manor's nearest kitchen, intending to give his girlfriend some literal space.

[April]

Eve bristled at Trevor having to "make sure," mouth opening to reply but the angry retort died on the tip of her tongue. She made a quiet, irritated sound, shook her head with an accompanying throwing away motion with her hand.

And then she relaxed and her shoulders unknotted, the tension she felt from being near an upset Erin--and being the target of that anger--gradually fading by degrees. It wasn't gone completely, but Eve wasn't quite so ready to run--or defend herself.

"Coffee sounds good right now."

[Gizmo]

Indicating a stool at the counter as they reached the kitchenette, Trevor busied himself producing a sealed container of beans and feeding them into an electric grinder. He said nothing as the machinery whirred away with a high pitched whine over the low rumble, and while an observer might have assumed a telepathic conversation was taking place instead, his thoughts were similarly tranquil. One of the reasons he and Eve got along well was their mutual understanding that not every moment had to be filled with chatter.

[April]

Eve settled down onto the indicated stool as Trevor set up the burr grinder. As he prepared the beans for brewing she telekinetically flicked open the cupboards until she found what she was looking for, three largish coffee mugs. As she brought them out of the cupboard she had them perform an elaborate aerial dance before setting them down upon the countertop.

"My control has improved somewhat," she said with a faint smile, breaking the silence. "I've been learning a few things since, well, our last mutliversal jaunt but I need some advice. Dating advice."

[Gizmo]

Trevor observed the floating mugs with an approving expression that read faintly like fraternal pride. He quirked an eyebrow slightly at the petite telepath's request, however. "Not sure I'm the best source," he cautioned, leaning against the counter while the grinder did its work. As good as he felt about his relationship with Erin, he hardly considered himself an expert on the subject. In fact, he suspected a considerable amount of his relevant experience qualified as untypical and of limited application elsewhere. "Can try, though."

[April]

"Who else could I ask, if not you?" the young telepath inquired, her raised snow white eyebrow punctuating the question. Eve didn't have much (or, rather, any) experience dating, having made efforts to avoid those sorts of entanglements; kids can be cruel, especially to one who is 'not normal.' So much for avoidance, she thought ruefully.

"I do not exactly have a dearth of experience," she said after a moment, frowning slightly. She thought about telling Trevor some of the difficulties she's had with the subject, but she decided against it.

"What did you and Erin do for a first date?"

[Gizmo]

"Point taken," Trevor conceded with a slight frown, considering the question and what advice he might give with the same studious effort he would have given any other challenge of strategy and technique. The young man felt another faint stab of protectiveness, but resolved to focus on a more constructive approach. "Hnn. ...'courtship' was... atypical. Depending on how one counts... first date, rode Night Cycle up the Pramas Bridge's support cables, beat up thugs, visited diner." He ticked each of the components off on his fingers as he listed them.

[April]

Eve's expression became blank and unreadable as she just blinked at Trevor, then with a small shake of her head she chuckled softly. "I shouldn't be surprised. I really shouldn't but... you rode up Pramas Bridge support cables, really?"

The white haired teen tossed up a warding hand as another round of quiet laughter shook her compact frame. "Sorry, it's just that when you said atypical I expected something a little different but... it would have to be something like that, wouldn't it?"

Eve shook her head again, "You two are something else."

[Gizmo]

Smiling in spite of his reserved demeanor, Trevor shrugged affably. "Up... over..." he noted in a casual deadpan, moving his hand to illustrate using the bridge's cables as a massive ramp to launch the Night Cycle into the air far over the river below. Eve's bout of laughter forced him to pause himself and shake his head in amusement, covering his eyes briefly with the same hand. "May have gone a little overboard trying to impress her. Be more embarrassed if it hadn't worked," he noted with slightly exaggerated swagger, a note of self-depricating irony still present behind his voice.

[April]

"Hmm."

Eve quietly thought this over for a few minutes as she watched Trevor prepare the coffee for brewing. She took some pleasure in watching him work; she had come to admire his precise movement and little wasted effort, traits she sought to emulate and cultivate within herself.

"Don't have a bike," she said after a moment. "And I'm not ramping the Veyron of the SLR off of a bridge. Not sure Etain would appreciate that sort of thing anyway."

She signed and brushed a hand through her hair, it was something Eve did when she was frustrated and Trevor knew this.

"I wish I had more experience with this," she admitted. "Sometimes I think it'd be easier if I was 'normal'."

[Gizmo]

With the grounds placed in the large, stainless steel brewer, Trevor turned back to Eve with a vaguely apologetic shrug. "Wasn't really recommending it, no." Seeing his petite friend growing more obviously agitated, he resolved to have a talk with this 'Etain' at the earliest convenience. Eve wasn't always one for opening herself up and he knew from experience just how shattering a betrayal could be for someone so careful about who they chose to trust. "Led to believe it's difficult for everyone," he began before frowning and furrowing his brow slightly. "...'normal' how?"

[April]

Eve fidgeted in her seat slightly.

"You know, normal, like you and Erin."

The telepath frowned slightly, looking down at the hands she held in her lap. She trusted Trevor, he was her best friend and she loved him like a brother, and she didn't really mean to make a big production out of all this. But part of her was tired, so very tired of holding things this close to her chest.

"I was eleven, when I came out." She said after a moment. "We were a close bunch, the other girls and I, those of us that trained together. Some of them started talking about boys they found attractive. I... didn't. Talk about boys, that is."

She had lifted her eyes up from her lap to look at Trevor as she was speaking, but turned her head at her last statement.

"Kids are cruel, Trevor."

[Electra]

Erin wasn't entirely sure what the topic was of the conversation she was interrupting, but from what she could hear, it seemed personal enough that she didn't want to stand around eavesdropping, even without meaning to. She walked into the kitchen with her hair still wet, dressed now in her typical well-worn civilian clothes. Even a quick shower had given her time to pull herself together after the difficult afternoon, at least enough that she could maintain a pleasantly neutral expression and a passable mental shield as she headed for the fridge.

"You never have anything to eat in here," she commented to Trevor as she rummaged around, finally emerging with a couple of slices of processed cheese. She leaned one hip against the counter and pulled the film off a slice of cheese, apparently determined to act like nothing had happened.

[Gizmo]

Trevor's face clouded over the moment his suspicions as to Eve's specific meaning were confirmed, the corners of his mouth twisting downward in what might as well have been a broad scowl on his reserved features. "That is--" he began before reflexively cutting off as Erin entered nonchalantly. The dark haired engineer found himself abruptly stymied, unsure if it would be worse to continue the sensitive discussion now that they weren't alone or to leave the topic unaddressed and seem as though he were hiding something. "There is nothing--" he started again before turning to his girlfriend and demanding, "Would you tell her--" The sentence didn't have time to end before he had turned again to point a lean finger in the French girl's direction. This time he simply opened his mouth, clicked it shut again and made a low, frustrated sound in the back of his throat before clasping his hands behind his back, squaring his shoulders and pacing toward the far end of the kitchenette. Both young women recognized the body language he adopted when out on patrol: looking for someone convenient and deserving to pummel.

[Electra]

Erin's eyes widened a bit in surprise at Trevor's reaction, watching silently for a moment as he paced. She suspected he didn't want her to tell Eve any of the stuff she'd worked her own way through while she was in the shower, and she wasn't a hundred percent certain what conversation she'd interrupted. Trevor rarely got so worked up about anything, though. Deciding that cowardice was occasionally the better part of valor, she shoved the entire piece of cheese into her mouth and shrugged a little, indicating her helplessness.

[April]

Eve was, suffice to say, somewhat startled by Trevor's reaction and she knew it couldn't solely be on account of what she said; as close as they were it was an uncharacteristic reaction from the normally stoic teen, so she must have inadvertently punched a button. So, she backed away from that particular part of the conversation entirely.

"Not sure when I'll actually have that date... or if she'd be interested anyway," she said. "And I'm going to be really busy for the rest of the summer. What about you two, any plans?"

[Electra]

Erin looked to Trevor, but since he didn't seem inclined to pick up the conversational ball, she fielded it instead, idly picking at the plastic film on her second piece of cheese. "Well, assuming nobody else tries to kill everything before fall, I've got to try and get another job, and maybe we'll relax a little bit. Been kind of a long time for that. Who's this girl you're thinking about going on a date with?" Her tone was more curious than Trevor's faintly suspicious inquiry, hoping girl talk would reroute the conversation.

[Gizmo]

Eventually aware and subsequently embarrassed by his relative outburst, Trevor cleared his throat and walked back over to the rest of the conversation. "...sorry," he apologized shortly, practically muttering. Directed more toward Eve specifically, he elaborated, "Not a... question of 'normal', is all." Having taken a moment to cool down, it wasn't hard for him to see exactly how the telepath's comments had squarely pushed one of his few buttons, and he regretted the lack of self-control even as he maintained his simmering, understated outrage at his friend's mistreatment. "Claremont student named Etain," he answered Erin.

[April]

Eve was thankful to shift to subject somewhat, even if the former subject matter was something she brought up. Despite any 'grass is greener' thoughts she might have entertained she was, in truth, comfortable with who she was and who she liked, despite the baggage her younger years heaped upon her.

"She's my height, a little taller really, dark hair." Eve smiled as she pictured Etain in her mind. It was a perfect memory map, of course, it always was. "Cute accent and way of speaking, prefers 'period' clothing. Victorian, I think."

The telepath flashed a grin.

"Great kisser."

[Electra]

"She a superhero?" Erin asked curiously, relaxing more now that Trevor wasn't so obviously worked up. She dug into the cupboard and found half a sleeve of crackers behind some empty baking canisters. She folded the cheese into squares and began making cracker sandwiches with the absent finesse of someone who ate them often. "Is she like our age? How'd you meet her?" Erin hopped up on the edge of the counter with the ease of someone who felt quite at home, eating while she watched Eve for answers.

[April]

"That is a safe assumption to make, Erin," Eve replied. "We met toward the end of the last school year. My class schedule was shifted around a little toward the end and I was placed in her gym class."

The telepath paused for a moment, collecting her thoughts (and enjoying the aroma of brewing coffee) before continuing.

"Then we met up that weekend, had dinner and I drove her home. But things have been too busy lately so there hasn't been a repeat, yet."

[Gizmo]

Trevor caught himself frowning noticeably and schooled his expression into careful neutrality once more as he moved to retrieve the full pot of freshly brewed coffee. He had no reason to think ill of this Etain, rather in fact he had reason to think well of her given his trust in Eve's judgement. On the other hand, this was likely the most he'd ever seen his shorter friend open herself up in such a fashion - clearly a conscious effort on the gymnast's part - and with that came if not nervousness per se then an acute feeling of irrational protectiveness the particular brand of which the dark haired young man was not entirely familiar with. Deigning to remain silent while he sorted himself out, he focused instead of filling the three generously sized mugs and handing out two of them.

[Electra]

"You have to make time," Erin opined, taking her coffee and dumping three spoonsful of sugar into it. "There's always something that comes up, between school and hero work and training and everything else. So you have to, like, make an appointment and make it the most important thing. She sounds pretty cool, so hopefully she'll be worth the time and effort it takes to do the whole dating thing." She sipped her coffee, then added another teaspoon of sugar, since there was no milk. "I don't think I remember anyone named Etain," she admitted, "but I didn't get a chance to meet many people towards the end of the school year."