WHO:Emma Frost & Jean Grey WHEN: Early January WHERE: Brunch meet WHAT: Emma and Jean have that awkward conversation. RATING/WARNINGS: None/Low STATUS: Complete
Sunday brunches appeared to be a regular occurring thing by this point, and Emma was pretty sure she’d happily make it a scheduled thing, if only because everyone should be allowed an alcoholic beverage with their not-breakfast. The place in question was understated with great service and quality, something that Emma rather appreciated.
And while she understood that the discussion today with Jean might be somewhat complex, considering their apparent relationship within the dreams and Jean’s building powers -God Emma hoped that firebird stayed away- it wasn’t like she could bury her head in the sand over this one.
Least of all with them both becoming telepathic and Jean’s offer of helping Emma figure out her damn mental blocks. It wasn’t something Emma could really stand to turn down, given her limited success so far. Which was why she was already seated, sipping on her mimosa and awaiting her childhood friend with uncharacteristic apprehension.
Sundays were one of the few days Jean had lunch or brunch available. While she could squeeze in something on Saturdays sometimes, it wasn't too easy with her responsibilities at the Outreach Center. Luckily she liked volunteering there. Despite the whole named after her thing (seriously Logan what the fuck?)
It wasn't just the dreams that Jean wanted to talk about, though they were certainly important. Last she'd dreamed, Emma had opened her own school and was working with Banshee of all people. Maybe she'd turned a new leaf, maybe it was some kind of plot, but she thought Emma wouldn't mind knowing that she wasn't entirely an evil bitch. The Phoenix was also a concern, as were the help with Emma's powers.
But there was also the matter of what had happened before Christmas, that neither of them had talked about but that Jean had thought about. A lot.
She could sense Emma's apprehension as she approached, and she didn't even need her powers for that. She sat down, ordering a drink and a light sandwhich, then turned to Emma. "Good morning."
“Good morning,” since they had a few minutes to spare before that became the afternoon, but Sunday’s were meant to pass without a real awareness of the time. “How’ve you been dear?”
And yes, it was maybe a small stalling, but Emma was raised by ridiculously proper British import nannies who absolutely insisted on manners. She could use that as a sufficient excuse for now.
Discussion of the dreams was inevitable, considering Emma was now aware of Sebastian’s thing for Jean’s abilities, her own envy of those abilities and just how not-very-nice they were in general, well, she did make super-villainy look decidedly attractive.
"I've been fine. How about you?" Jean was okay with manners. She wasn't sure she was prepared either. She was looking at a woman who was on one hand a dear friend and on the other hand a bitter enemy. And she didn't even have the full picture yet. She just had enough of one to see Emma's redemption as a possibility. Even if her dream self didn't entirely agree yet. "Dreams aside."
“Aside from another tense meeting with my father, fine.” Emma was fairly certain that something was going on between her father and Christian, but she hadn’t fully found out what it was just yet. She had to discover that at some point, Cordelia alluded to hushed discussions over the phone but Emma hadn’t managed to talk to Christian just yet. “Business is going well, and I should be able to avoid my family until at least March.”
Aside from her brother, Emma was less than enamoured with the rest of them.
“That’s probably a good thing, considering how much your family vexes you,” Jean replied. “I don’t know how they didn’t make you actually snap in high school.” With the exception of her brother, Jean hadn’t been particularly fond of Emma’s family. But then she’d grown protective of her friend.
Jean took a long sip of her drink. “What have you dreamed of lately?”
The tug of war that she and her family played through their younger years was the kind of thing that never left the house. Blackmail and manipulation was as common for the Frost’s as hugs and encouragement were for well adjusted families. And beating her father at his own game was all that stopped Emma from flat out killing the man. “There were methods of payback that were better suited.”
Sipping her own drink, Emma paused for a moment.
“Hellfire. The current incarnation of it at least. Sebastian had just failed in enticing the Dark Phoenix into our fold.” She’d already worked through her less than clean work through the club, it seemed that Emma was destined to sully herself regardless of the world. “Although I did have a fabulous vacation in Atlantis with a king intent on wooing me.” How Namor felt after Shaw’s destruction of his kingdom was another matter entirely.
“Namor,” Jean said. Interesting man, proud and stubborn. “If I recall, trying to entice the Phoenix didn’t end well for anyone. That wasn’t even me...just the Phoenix pretending to me. I think she even believed she was for awhile. I’ve got her memories of that time.” Her lips curled into a deep frown. “I’ve got all her memories of that time, most of which I’d like to forget. But you opened a school, in Massachusetts. Recruit some students, including our Jubilee. Seem to go on the mostly straight and narrow. So things look up. For you at least.”
The problem with that there was that Emma was very well aware of her own thinking, of her own thought process and planning. She might’ve seemed to have gone straight, but that didn’t always mean that it was true. “Taken into the fold of the great Charles Xavier?” Emma just rolled her eyes, the idea of it was ridiculous, but she would wait and see.
“While I can’t deny the dreams are fascinating at times, and the bleed over is rather interesting,” the abilities that came with things just a little irritating at times, “I can’t fully figure out just why these things seem to affect us so.” For one thing, bloody Jean Grey was constantly running through her mind -and yes, Emma had been envious of certain people in past, but only fleetingly, and she was wholly uncomfortable with being jealous of Jean for any reason what so ever.
“More like competing against the Xavier school,” Jean replied, a faint smile finding its way to her lips. “I think because they feel so real. Like there are days I’ll wake up, and expect to be in New York.” She shook her head. “And maybe for us, as telepaths, it’s harder to separate between the two. Who we are here and who we are in the dreams.”
And the truth of it she wasn’t that happy with how people looked at her there. Like she was somehow perfect, incapable of mistakes. Jean was put on a pedestal she never wanted to stand on.
And Emma was put in the gutter like the tarnished, broken doll they assumed her to be. No, it wasn’t ideal at all, trying to sift through the two realities, what was their lives and what they dreamed in such vivid detail that it incited rage from just a few hours of unconsciousness.
“Well, I highly doubt that anyone would expect us to be sitting, eating brunch and chatting away, should they have ever seen it.” Probably not in that world, Emma had too much of a competitive spirit to push through her own stubbornness to befriend Jean in that place. “You did say the dreams weren’t all you wanted to talk about.” And that was probably the least smooth segue of Emma’s life.
Emma definitely didn’t deserve some of the vitriol directed her way, no matter what she’d done. Jean chuckled. “I almost wish we would. We both know we’d see eye to eye on some things…” She fiddled with her glass, then took a much longer swig. “We should talk about helping you with your powers. Which will help me too, if I’m being honest. But there’s probably something else we should talk about first, since getting into each others’ heads is going to be….intimate.”
“Hmm,” so it was possibly long overdue, really. The discussion that was coming up and while Emma was usually decidedly head on about things like this, well, it was different when it was someone she actually liked, wasn’t it? “I suppose you’re right, we really should.” Because really, if they were about to have the type of connection that Emma remembered forging with certain psychic associates, just a brief dip into other minds was startlingly opening.
“No secrets, right?”
Jean focused on her glass again. It was almost empty but it didn’t really feel like enough for the conversation they were about to have. Her jaw tensed, then relaxed. “We...kissed, Emma. And while we can attribute the urge to whatever crazy things go on in this part of the country, I can’t dismiss the fact that I liked it.”
“Well, one would hope so, kissing isn’t meant to be repulsive, Jean.” Although yes, those occasions did happen and Emma knew that everyone had at least one experience they’d like to forget, it likely wasn’t true of that particular kiss. Taking her own time to drink for a stall, Emma just considered the avenues -denial occasionally worked, especially with stakes that sometimes Emma wasn’t really to wager, but then there was the fact that Emma’s mind likely wouldn’t work with her here when it came push to shove.
“It was quite enjoyable, a kudos to both our techniques, then?” And yet she was still hesitant to put all her cards on the table.
“Well it’s not like we haven’t had practice,” Jean replied. But Emma was stalling, if not entirely trying to dodge the conversation. Jean considered that an improvement over some of the scenarios she’d ran in her head. “But was that it? Just a kiss, one time that wasn’t even our choice to make?”
“You have an alternative in mind?” And yes, perhaps Emma had thought about that more than once, both in the past and more recently, especially given the dreams. But Emma didn’t see Jean being the casual hook up sort, and Emma was decidedly difficult to date. She wasn’t insecure, not in the least. She was rich and she knew she was attractive, but that didn’t mean people like Jean -genuine people who didn’t care about things like money or looks- were terribly keen to deal with her caustic attitude and temper.
“You would’ve done it given a choice?”
"I've been thinking." A dangerous prospect in general, all the more so considering what she'd been thinking about. Emma was only partly right - most of Jean's casual hookups had ended up being decidedly less than casual on her part. A flaw in her character as it were. She was lucky she still wasn't infatuated with Logan.
She looked up at the ceiling, and at the wall, then finally at Emma. "Eventually probably. Not so soon."
Not so soon, hmm. After just a month or two of knowing each other again, trying to learn just how they’d both grown up following college and losing touch. And yes, there was still the interest from high school, those little queries about just how close they could get. “Eventually then, the tension might’ve been broached, with what kind of outcome?”
Sure, Emma knew that Jean’s preferences went both ways, and it seemed things were fairly acceptable around these parts. And Emma wasn’t just looking for excuses, but there was an aspect of that to it too.
"Emma, you can't possibly be this obtuse." Jean's face was reddening. Was she looking for excuse to back out? Or excuses to explore it further. "I...probably would have asked you on a legitimate date."
“I had thought you’d say that.” Really, Emma couldn’t actually think of the last time she’d been on a date that was just dating someone for the sake of dating them. Ian had been put up to it by her father, Sebastian had wanted as much from her as she had wanted from him, the men and women between Sebastian and now had purely been flings for the sake of enjoyment -which Emma was very, very good at.
“You know, when we get into each others minds, there really isn’t going to be any secrets, and you’ll be privy to all the things you might not really want to know about me.” Because Emma was not the wholesome, sweet and good kind of girl, no matter what sort of persona was put up. “Are you really sure you’d want to date that?”
“You act like you’re the only one without secrets or bad thoughts,” Jean pointed out. And while she knew she wasn’t on Emma’s level, she wasn’t pure and untouched. It was a little scary. She could admit that. It was. What she’d find. But it wasn’t a thought that dissuaded her.
“But I think so. No, I know so. I know you’re a ruthless person, Emma. More so since our...drifting apart. But I also know you’re a good person, where it counts. Whether you want to admit it or not.”
It was true enough that no one got through life pure and innocent, but there were people who just couldn’t really be the malicious sort either. And Jean was that kind, Emma knew that well enough. “There’s a difference between having bad thoughts, Jean, and acting on them.” And Emma had acted on many of her thoughts. Maliciousness was in her nature after all.
Maybe the whole thing was about taking that risk, although Emma was still trying to figure out just how much of a risk it was, that Jean might find out things she didn’t really want to know about Emma. “But you want to date, even if it means seeing all my dirty little secrets.” And Emma had a few.
Logan would probably flip if they dated, which would be funny. But it was out in the open now. The question. A question. Even if the associated desires and dreams and fantasies weren’t. Jean chewed on her lip, one of those nervous habits she'd never grown out of. "Are you telling me there's some deep, dark secret that would forever change my opinion of you? There's a difference between being shocked and momentarily upset and hating someone for it."
Emma let her lip curl into a small smirk, considering her past. There were numerous things that cropped to mind, not least of all her business dealings, her period with Sebastian. Emma had done numerous things that she would say she wasn’t exactly proud of, but they were just things she’d done. “You might be surprised just what I’ve done.”
And most of the time, she didn’t care what it did with people she didn’t know, but when it came to Jean, well, that was something different. “Short of murder, just what would it take?”
“Maybe I’ll be surprised,” Jean replied. But if there was one thing she’d learned from her dreams, it was the power of forgiveness. Forgiving villains. Forgiving herself for the actions of the Phoenix. Even if she hadn’t exactly done so yet.
“I’d generally draw the line at murder or harming children.” She rested her elbows on the table. “Supervillainy aside, you don’t strike me as the type.”
“Well, I can’t say I’ve ever harmed a child.” Emma was fairly without scruples, but there was a limit and innocent children deserved nothing but nurturing. “So points for me there.” And sure, she’d never been directly implicated in murder, or involved in it, but then she couldn’t say for sure exactly how Sebastian obtained all the power she helped him get.
“I guess we’ll see, won’t we, just how much of my secrets you can take.” Because Emma might be apprehensive about just what it would take to turn Jean away, but it wasn’t yet enough of a worry for her to take back the chance to master these powers.
She reached over, putting her hand over Jean’s. “We’ll take it as it comes, Emma. And there are things that may be difficult for you to see, from my end. The Phoenix, she’s… strong. Overwhelming. And the guilt…” She squeezed Emma’s hand, thinking at her, And this isn’t a game of who’s got it worse, Either.
“You have nothing to be guilty of,” Emma turned her hand over, lacing their fingers together, “she is not you and what she’s done is not what you’ve done.” It was difficult to hate Jean, far too enamoured with her to let the residual feelings from the dreams to come through. And it was strangely comforting, the small echo of Jean’s voice in her head, where it might’ve once been unnerving. “At least we’ll be able to save on phone conversations.”
“We could...keep a line open, as it were.” She’d done that with Scott. He’d never been completely out of her head, even as she’d kept him away from her deep thoughts. She thought she could do the same to Emma. With Emma. “After we’ve opened ourselves to each other. Think of it as a good way to practice precision.”
Emma was fairly certain her other self, the one she dreamed about, wouldn’t have trusted anyone with that, a psychic connection that was constantly maintained. But it would be a good lesson to help build up control too. “Once we’re sure, yes. That would maybe help.” If they got that far, it was something.
“And is this aside from the dating?”
“Yes. No matter what, I want to teach you.” If they were closer, she would have touched Emma’s cheek. As it was, she stroked her fingers along Emma’s palm. “You know, when we were in high school, I had the hugest crush on you.”
“Which I honestly thought would be a passing infatuation,” Emma had known, and occasionally she’d thought about it, but it would’ve just been a ploy to infuriate her father and she hadn’t wanted Jean to think that was all it was. “Least of all since you were perfectly able to get anyone else.”
“What?” Jean started. “You knew?” She looked surprised, and a little put out. But then she knew that Emma was right. She could have had anyone else. “I don’t know if I wanted anyone else, but I thought it was an infatuation too. So I put it out of my mind. But I always kept wondering what if.”
She was tempted to make a schoolgirl fantasy joke. But she refrained.
Emma had always believed she liked Jean because they were so different, Jean was everything she and her family weren’t, so it made sense to her that she was interested in that aspect more than anything else. “Clearly we have a little more the base these feelings off of now, more than just who’s the prettiest and smartest.”
“You mean me,” Jean said, a teasing smile on her lips. Emma was right again. They’d both grown. Changed. Become new people. But she still felt their cores remained the same. And though Emma wouldn’t admit it, there was still that girl inside needing validation. Jean had felt she’d always looked in the wrong places.
“You always were the prettiest girl in the room.” Emma just teased back, although there was an air of truth in it all. And it had probably taken Emma rather a long time to be able to admit such things, but she was growing as a person, slowly and year by year. “At least we both agree on that.”
“Yet you had the best ass in the locker room,” Jean countered. Which meant admitting she’d looked. Her fingers were still brushing Emma’s palm. “So how do you want to do this? Minds first… a date?” Both? The best part of being a telepath in a relationship, at least in the dreams, was the mental link. But who knew what was in Emma’s head right now.
“I think a date might be the best idea for order of proceedings,” if only so that neither of them were largely distracted about how things went in regards to learning things. Emma knew she’d be distracted if they did things the other way around at least. “I’m fairly certain it will still be awkward, despite how well we know each other.” Emma’s last date was several years ago, and she’d been paid to go on it. “And afterwards we can discuss our mind meld.”
“Oh goodie.” Jean’s lips quirked and she appeared to almost be bashful. Like this was really happening. And in light of dreams and telepaths and superheroes and snowstorm and god knew what else was going to happen, something as simple and nervewracking as dating was a nice thing to focus on. “I asked first so I guess it’s up to me to figure out something?”
“I think that’s fair,” Jean did ask, and part of Emma needed some kind of example of just where to set the bar. Jean wasn’t the sort impressed with decadence and money, Emma needed to have a baseline for ‘normal dating’ to go by before she attempted anything. Otherwise she’d be angling towards sitcom dates for advice and that just was not something she wanted to stoop to. “But I think for this particular case, I’d be happy to clear any date you pick.”
“Are you afraid I’d drag you to some hole in the wall sushi place? That was one time, Emma!” And it had been hilarious in hindsight. She moved her fingers, threading them through Emma’s. “This is.. it’s okay, right?”
“Well, I would really like to go somewhere I’m not going to get food poisoning from, if you don’t mind.” The hilarity that ensued was likely a hindsight kind of thing. Absolutely not something to laugh about at the time. “It’s okay,” easy affection like handholding and the small cuddles and awkward little PDAs here and there, Emma didn’t mind them. She was always looking for a little affection, usually from the wrong people, but that rarely stopped her. “I think we’d both know if something wasn’t okay.”
And Jean, well, Jean liked PDA. Holding hands, arms around each other, little kisses snuck when no one was looking. She was an infamous cuddle whore, and she knew it. It was just a little more complicated with women, and with women like Emma Frost in particular. Whether that was Emma’s general personality or just her position in life, Jean wasn’t sure, but it was a worry. She thought back to the kiss, and her cheeks started turning the color of her hair. “I think that it took getting interrupted to stop us might be a good sign, at least.”
“Oh, we’re really not lacking in chemistry, dear.” That was probably the least of their worries. It was difficult to look at Jean and picture them naked between sheets together, not in the least. It wasn’t even too difficult to imagine them on dates -those annoyingly cliche ones that Emma would keep locked away and just hope that Jean didn’t find them when they began sharing space in one another’s minds. If only because she refused to be that simpering little girl who believed in true love and one perfect partner. The trouble was that Emma was a romantic at heart, and she knew it. “I think keeping our clothes on might be the difficult part.”
“We could make a wager,” Jean teased. They’d be so hot together, like setting fire to the sheets hot fueled by both their dream rivalry and their waking friendship. And those cliche, romantic dates were things that appealed to her too, and she knew, deep down, that Emma would appreciate them. Little romantic gestures. Little romantic moments.
Jean was already in too deep, and when she cared, she really cared.
“A wager? To spice things up, hmm?” Really, the hard part about embarking on relationships was getting to know the other person. With the fact that they grew up together already behind them, Emma already had the worry of her father dealing some new hand at trying to get control over her out of the way. Jean almost despised her father as much as she did. No, that wasn’t a worry, and while Emma was partially scared she could still scare Jean away with her secrets, the ‘getting to know you’ part of the relationship was still largely invigorating.
“Alright, what did you have in mind?” And maybe those little aspects of Jean, the ones that only lovers ever really found out were worth risking her secrets for.
“Mmm. I’m not sure yet what to bet, but how about how long it takes before we can’t resist each others’ charms.” A more polite way of asking how long they could possibly last before they gave into baser instincts. While on one hand Jean wanted to take things slowly enough not to Ruin Everything Between Them(™), she also knew she was an adult, and had adult wants and needs, and once she was in Emma’s head silly things like waiting didn’t really matter as much.
“Well then, let’s start simple. Whoever cracks first, has to do whatever the other one plans.” It was silly little things, college humour almost, betting things that could be laid out as sexual favours. But then, Emma didn’t entirely mean it had to be that way. That was up to Jean’s surprisingly devious little mind to work out for itself. “We can work on our milestone wagers when we reach them.”
Not that Emma imagined they’d be requiring something so silly as wagers to keep the chemistry alive.
Jean had seen once or twice some of the things Emma had gotten into in the dreams. And truth be told? Part of her was into that. So she didn’t mind that wager at all. A devious little smile crossed Jean’s lips. “That’s almost an incentive to be the one to crack first, Emma.”
“Oh darling,” Emma let her smirk turn absolutely dastardly, a tiny hint of the personality she’d used to seduce and manipulate many a man under her charms during her time with Sebastian at his club. “You don’t have to lose a bet for that, all you need to do is ask.” And she wasn’t averse to a little role play, not in the least, but it certainly didn’t have to be for a bet. “Besides, prolonging the wait just makes it all the most sweet a prize, dear.”
Jean thought she could play a game. A very impatient game, but a game. And one where they could both cheat a little. “Think you can wait until Valentine’s Day for a date?” She didn’t think she could. But she could certainly try.
“I think I could hold myself back,” how romantic, a date on Valentine’s, something Emma hadn’t planned for at all. “Clear my schedule for you, I’m at your whims.” And Emma might be more than a little giddy at the concept, a date on Valentine’s, but she wasn’t about to broadcast that too loudly. “You just let me know when and where you want me.” And yes, there was a little bit more sultry in that than strictly needed.