jean-paul beaubier is much faster than you (northmost) wrote in mutanthaven, @ 2009-08-04 16:05:00 |
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Jean-Paul: He was actually really happy and perhaps even excited that Jeanne-Marie seemed to be sticking around for while, so it was a nice change. Aurora had been in control for almost two months, which made Jean-Paul even more concerned about Jeanne-Marie. Much more concerned. In an effort to make things better, he had been paying a lot of attention to her and had been spending most of his free time around her and even taking her places. Everyone like the zoo, right? Jeanne-Marie totally got a stuffed animal out of that deal. And right now, she had popcorn chicken and about a million sides thanks to her brother making a quick trip to the local KFC. Now spread across his tiny hotel room table was various kinds of chicken plus mashed potatoes, green beans, mac and cheese, plus some corn bread. Between the two of them, they could probably devour all the food and considering how hungry Jean-Paul was, he could probably eat his share in less than a minute. However, he was being polite and slowly dished some mashed potatoes onto his plate before handing it across the table to his sister. "Have some mashed potatoes." Eat woman! Jeanne-Marie: Jeanne-Marie was happy that she felt as though she were in control for more than a few days at a time, as well. Though she had a sneaking suspicion her brother had something to do with this fact - he seemed to be wrapping her in cotton wool, shielding her from anything that might upset her, spending every waking hour with her...taking her to the zoo, even. As he handed her the potatoes over to her, she smiled lightly, taking the container with both hands, before spooning a tiny pile onto her slightly empty plate. After that she reached for the vegetables, bypassing the corn bread altogether, and saying "You know you should let me cook for you once in a while." She'd shown surprising skill back at school in what little home economics the orphans had studied. "Instead of always buying me...chicken." And greasy chicken at that. (Though she had to admit the popcorn chicken was pretty damn good.) Jean-Paul: He wasn't just wrapping her in wool; he was wrapping her up in fucking seven feet of bubble wrap. Don't get him wrong, Jean-Paul loved Aurora, but it was nice to see his other sister as well. He worried less around her! Well. That was a lie, he worried about different things with Jeanne-Marie, but at least he didn't have to worry about her flying to France because she wanted some cheese. If she could cook, could she sew buttons as well? He had a few that could use a good sewing. Anyway. "If you want to cook, you can," Jean-Paul answered as he a piece of corn bread onto her plate. It's healthy. It was made from vegetables! Much like the mashed potatoes were made from vegetables, thus totally and completely healthy for you. He really should have paid attention to a better diet, but having a fast metabolism sort of made him forget about it. "I like buying you things." To Jean-Paul, things still meant happiness sometimes. Jeanne-Marie: "Maybe I will," she picked up a single pea and daintily popped it in her mouth, "though we would have to go to the store for some groceries." Jeanne-Marie sighed, and frowned deeply. Quite well aware that Jean-Paul enjoyed buying her stuff, Jeanne-Marie didn't take as much joy in it as he. If not for her unique...problem...she would have gotten a job long ago, bought him presents, instead of the other way around. Sometimes JM felt quite useless. "It would be nice for me to be able to do something for you, once in a while." She finally admitted, pushing some of the chicken around on her plate absently. Jean-Paul: Looking up from his plate, he gave his sister a small, but genuine smile. "You do that by just being around." Cheesy, but true. For most of his life (mainly the time spent in the foster care system), Jean-Paul had felt lonely and he still felt that from time to time even to this day. But not around his sisters. That was more than enough for him to constitute wanting nothing in return beyond just them being around him. To Jean-Paul, it was a good deal. "But you can if you want." After all, he wasn't going to say no to food. "We can go to the store tomorrow morning. Or after dinner. When ever you want." And then he stuck a huge fork full of mac and cheese into his mouth. Jeanne-Marie: Jeanne-Marie smiled in return, dipping her head a littly shyly and speaking down to her plate, "That is lovely of you to say, Jean-Paul. Thank you." Often it was hard for her to swollow this sort of emotion, so detatched as she was. She found it easier to just look away, answer in kind with a voice and inflection that was light and slightly absent. "Please." A pause as she watched him stuff his mouth full of mac and cheese, deciding not to comment about his table manners, and instead picking up her own fork. "Perhaps tomorrow morning, yes? I would like to go to the library, anyway." Jean-Paul: He leaned his head to the side, trying to see if perhaps he could catch her eyes as she talked, but it was no use. Jean-Paul wanted to tell her there was really no reason to do that, but he didn't want to ruin dinner or ruin her being here. At least he had somewhat learned to pick his battles with these sort of things. "You're welcome." That was followed by a bite of a drumstick. "What do you want to get at the library?" His table manners were questionable, but at least he waited to swallow his food before speaking. "I have some books in French I got from Border's if you want." They were only regular old fiction stories. Nothing special, but it was just easier to read than English for him. Jeanne-Marie: A small shrug, "Just some books, I have read all of mine. It is...uncomfortable for me to read in English, but it is good practice." When he offered his French books up, however, she nodded, "I'd love to borrow yours, nonetheless. I'll look after them, I promise." Until Aurora defaced them all. At this particular thought, she frowned, and sighed heavily. Jean-Paul: He'll have to look through the books and make sure there weren't any sex scenes or anything else that would make Jeanne-Marie blush/upset/be uncomfortable. Yeah. "I know you will." Jean-Paul assumed Aurora wouldn't destroy them as long as she knew they belonged to him and not Jeanne-Marie. After that, he was quiet for a few moments and just focused on his eating, chewing some green beans much longer than needed. "Can I ask you a question?" Jeanne-Marie: And if he missed anything, be sure to know that Jean-Paul would probably receive the books back in perfect condition, save the black lines she may have chosen to put through unsavory passages in order to sensor them. A child of the church, was this one! At his last question, Jeanne-Marie paused mid-chew for a second, glancing up at him and tilting her head to the side, she nodded and swallowed gesturing for him to continue, before adding, "Of course." Jean-Paul: Umm, please don't do that Jeanne-Marie. It would be defacing someone else's property! Certainly a child of the church would not do such a thing, especially since a few of them may have also been literary classics. What? Jean-Paul could read rather well in his native language. "Well, I've been thinking about this for a while now," he started as he put his piece of chicken down on his paper plate. "Given everything and your... if you wanted to go talk to someone, I would pay for it. And go with you." Jean-Paul doubted his more quiet sister would take the offer, but he could feel a bit better that he tried. Jeanne-Marie: Considering the amount of books the Catholic church burned and censored throughout the years, Jeanne-Marie was certainly well within her Catholic rights, or something. At his suggestion, she froze. Hand hovering somewhere just before her mouth, eyes wide, mouth open. Very slowly, she put her food down, carefully smoothing out the crease in her skirt, taking a deep breath and clasping her hands. "Jean-Paul." She began, before breaking off, and glancing away, starting again after a shake of her head, "You treat me like an invalid, Jean-Paul." Her eyes were closed, her expression slightly pained, "I know you mean well. I do. I know you want to look after me, but I don't....I cannot..." again, she paused, passing a hand across her eyes, struggling for the right words, "I can't breath with you hovering all the time with your worried eyes. I don't want to talk about things, if I talk about things I will remember things and I do not want to remember things. I just want to be normal. I want to pretend that there is nothing wrong, for now. So...thank you, Jean-Paul, for worrying about me, and thank you for the offer, but no. I do not want to talk to anyone. I am fine. We are fine." And she lifted her chin, and there was that classic haughty look Jeanne-Marie wore so well, as she gracefully rose to her feet, "Now. Would you like a glass of water? My cup is empty." Jean-Paul: Her words stung. While they hadn't officially been siblings for even a year, having a twin sister was something Jean-Paul took very serious, or as least as seriously as having a twin sister could be taken. He grew up an only child, so he thought he had been doing a pretty OK job with this whole sibling deal. He always made time for her and apparently from Aurora's ideas that bordered on dangerous, he let her do pretty much what she wanted. Then again, Jean-Paul was comparing himself to Pietro here and almost anyone would look less controlling than that. In times like this, his normal reaction would have been to say something snide and hurtful, but his sister was safe from that option. "But you're not normal. We're not normal." Eh. Jean-Paul had his own problems, but the lady Beaubier sure took the cake in the not normal department. "Pretending things don't exist isn't going to make it so. I mean," he continued as he looked up at her with an actual bit of hurt in his eyes. "You were gone for over two months. You never showed up once in that period of time. I was -- I was starting to wonder if you would even come back. So I'm sorry if I am smothering you, but I am worried about you. I know about what happened at the school and -- you can't just ignore things. It doesn't work. We could ask the priest at the church if he knows anyone. I just want to h -- ." And he didn't even bother finishing his statement because frankly, he didn't exactly know where he was going with it. So he just pushed some green beans around his plate instead. Jeanne-Marie: Jeanne-Marie lifted her chin a little higher, and at mention of her school, the walls she kept so carefully hidden behind thickened, and the expression on her face became icy, impassive and altogether unreadable. As he broke of, she deliberately turned her back on him, disappearing into the kitchen and turning on the tap, letting the water fill the glass, and then overfill it, water trickling down the side of the glass and over her fingers. Closing her eyes, she paused for a moment, taking a deep breath in, and then switching the faucet off, returning to the other room and seating herself down, still remaining silent. Finally, after a few sips of her water, she lifted her shoulder in a shrug, saying a little distantly, "Fine, if you think it would help then I will talk to someone." She'll play this game till the cows come home. Whether or not she would open up to anyone was doubtful, but if it would make her brother happy, very well. Jean-Paul: He didn't mean to make her feel like that with the mention of her school. While he knew Jeanne-Marie didn't talk about such things, he thought that maybe if she knew he didn't care or that he didn't look down at her for it, it would make her feel better? Jean-Paul always had the best of intentions when it came to his sister, but that didn't mean it was always the best option. After all, there was that quote about the road to hell being paved with good intention. He meant well. He always meant well with her. "OK," he answered as he tried his best to give a genuine smile. "I'll call the church and see if they could recommend someone." See! He was going to find you a nice Catholic counselor, Jeanne-Marie! Maybe they could incorporate God into things. After another moment passed, Jean-Paul pushed back his chair and stood up, appearing by his sister's side a moment later so he could wrap his arms around her shoulders into an awkward hug. He was careful not to hug her too tightly, but hugging her none the less. "I love you." |