A quiet fluffly chapter in-between heavy discussions. I hope you like it.
A big thank you evening_spirit for getting me unstuck in this chapter and so many others and being an amazing sounding board on top of an amazing human being :)
"Thank you for picking me up," Clarice tells Marcos when he pulls up in front of the mutant community center. "You didn't have to do that."
"Your place is barely a detour, and I had to come get Lorna anyway," Marcos says. "It's really no trouble."
"I could have walked or caught a bus."
"Are you thinking of getting a car?"
Clarice shrugs. "I don't need one that badly, and I'd rather use the money for something else, like saving toward a better place."
And getting a car, even an old second-hand one, means having to worry about finding it burned down every morning. Flames and smoke dance in front of Clarice's eyes for a second, before she shakes her head to get rid of them.
"Clarice," Marcos starts, hesitantly. "I know that only taking you on part-time means we don't really pay you a living wage. If you're struggling−"
"No, it's really not−" Clarice protests.
"When we advertised for the job, we thought we'd be employing a student, since we're so close to the university."
"Marcos, don't feel guilty about that. You're paying me well above minimum wage, and I could look for another job. I haven't because I love the café, and you guys, but also because I don't think I could work another job. There's just too much...let's just say I'm really grateful to have this."
"Okay," Marcos backs off, obviously sensing Clarice's reticence to say more. "The café's actually going better than expected, so when Lorna goes on pregnancy leave we might be able to take you on full time, if you want to."
Clarice smiles at him. "Thank you."
She'll reserve any hope for when it actually happens, and they find out whether she's capable of working full time, but it's nice to know Marcos and Lorna are thinking about it.
"Alright, Lorna should be done by now," Marcos says. "You coming?"
Clarice looks at her watch. It's noon, and John's class ends now too. The youth club he asked her to help with doesn't start until two, but she promised to have lunch with him.
"Sure," she says, getting out of the car.
They walk together to the back part of the building, when the classrooms and offices are. Clarice hasn't seen more of it than John's office and the staff break room he brought her to on their first date, but Marcos takes her past those, pausing to say hello to a few mutant adults in the corridor.
They find John and Lorna together in an open classroom. It's nothing like the classrooms Clarice has been to at school. There are no tables and the few chairs, beside the one John is sitting on, are pushed against the back wall. There are several mats in the middle of the room, which Clarice assumes are for self-defense practice, and she notices scorch marks on the floor.
Marcos knocks lightly on the open door and John looks up from his conversation with two teenagers.
"You're here," he smiles at Clarice, with a nod to Marcos.
"Lorna, we need to go if we want to make our plane," Marcos says, looking at the time on his phone.
"Sure," Lorna nods. "Sorry guys, looks like I have to run," she adds toward John and the young mutants.
"Go," John tells her. "You don't want to be late." He waits until Marcos and Lorna have walked out to wave Clarice closer. "Clarice, this is Naya and Skyler, two of my students. Clarice is my...girlfriend."
Clarice notices John's hesitation and their eyes meet. They haven't defined their relationship yet, and it's the first time he's talked about her in these terms, as far as she knows. She nods her agreement with a smile.
"Hi," she says to the two teenagers. "It's nice to meet you."
The girl, who seems to be the oldest, shyly holds out a hand. Clarice shakes it and nods kindly to the boy, who can't be older than fourteen and is fidgeting nervously.
"It's nice to meet you too," Naya says after a beat. "Is...is your hair color part of your mutation? It's beautiful."
"Yes, it's all natural," Clarice smiles. She's never been asked about her appearance before in a way that wasn't horribly awkward, or worse, despising. "I think it has something to do with this," she adds impulsively, opening a small portal between her fingers to show off the purple light.
"Oh, that's so cute!" Naya exclaims. Skyler beside her looks more and more uncomfortable, trying to get her attention discreetly, but she doesn't notice. Instead she turns to the front of the room and moves a hand.
Water starts coming out vertically from a basin on the floor, against all laws of gravity. Clarice watches in fascination as it starts to turns and swirl in the air. It seems to go out of control for just and instant, before Naya twists her hand and the water obediently flows back into the basin.
"Nice," Clarice says.
"That was a good show," John coughs, with a hint of disapproval in his voice. "You're improving. We keep some water in here for her to train," he explains to Clarice. "But it's not really meant for public displays."
"Sorry," Naya says sheepishly.
"Come on, she's proud of her mutation," Clarice shrugs. "I would be too, if I could do something like that."
John frowns, opens his mouth to say something, but stops himself as he eyes the kids.
"You two, you better go home for lunch before your parents start to worry," he tells them.
"Yes," Naya nods. "Come on, Skyler. We'll see you this afternoon?"
"We'll both be here," John confirms.
The two teenagers walk out, excitedly talking to each other as soon as they're in the corridor. Clarice can't hear what they're saying, but John smirks.
"They're wondering if we live together," he explains. "I guess meeting their teacher's girlfriend is a great chance for gossip."
"They seem like good kids," Clarice says. "What were you going to say?"
"Just that what you do is amazing too. Naya clearly thinks so, and she hasn't seen a full portal yet. Don't sell yourself short."
"I just wanted to encourage her," Clarice shrugs. "Why reprimand her for using her mutation?"
John shakes his head. "It wasn't because of that. I have to enforce pretty strict rules in class to keep everyone safe, since they're all teenagers with budding powers. It can get dangerous."
"I see. I didn't mean to undermine your authority."
"It's fine," John says. "Naya is usually very responsible, and this wasn't a major breach. I don't enjoy restricting them, believe me, but we've had accidents before."
"The scorch marks?"
John nods. "Among other things. Sometimes powers can clash pretty brutally."
"How do you manage them?"
"Constant vigilance," John answers. "It's only a couple hours a week, and the adult class is easier because most of them have some level of control over their powers already. And if something happens, my body is mostly impervious to...everything, really. Except for, you know, IEDs."
Clarice raises an eyebrow at the awful joke.
"Sorry," John smirks. "How about we go have lunch too?"
"Sure," Clarice says.
John leans on the cane he's been twirling in his hand to stand up. He's walking a lot more easily than on Thursday, but Clarice still winces internally in compassion. The bags haven't disappeared from under his eyes, and despite the obvious effort he did tying his hair back and dressing up this morning, he still looks exhausted.
"Lorna made some chili last night and I brought the leftovers," he says. "There's enough for two, so I thought we could share, if that's okay with you."
"Good with me," Clarice answers, relieved that he didn't plan on eating out.
She beats herself up in retrospect for not asking about it earlier. On her work days, she gets free lunch from the café's food, and she's used to eating with John, so she didn't even think about it.
While they haven't really spoken about money, John is the one doing the books for the café, which include Clarice's paychecks, and he must know she doesn't make enough for restaurant food. And having him pay for every meal they share would just be embarrassing, without even mentioning John must not make much more than her on a disability pension and whatever he earns for his work at the center.
They settle in the staff room to eat, where John heats Lorna's chili in the microwave. Clarice blushes as she remembers their first date, and the pizza they ate here after she got them kicked out of the restaurant.
They sit the same way, side by side on the couch, but this time Clarice doesn't hesitate to come closer until their shoulders touch.
"Wow, it's spicy," Clarice exclaims, nearly spitting out her first bite of the chili.
"Oh God, Lorna must have added hot pepper for me," John apologizes. "I'm sorry, I forgot to tell her that I would eat it with you. You okay?"
Clarice coughs and nods. "Why would she−do you always eat your food this spicy?"
"Chili is meant to be spicy," John shrugs, not quite looking at her. There's something he's not telling her. What could be embarrassing to him about food?
"This is a bit...overboard," Clarice says, her eyes tearing up. "I mean, I'm not really used to it. I could use some water right now."
John rises immediately. "I'll go!" Clarice exclaims, standing up as well.
"It's fine," John smiles at her, taking the few steps to the kitchenette area with barely a limp. He comes back with a glass full of tap water.
"Thank you," Clarice says, taking it and emptying it in one go. The water feels soothing, but the burning feeling comes back the second she's swallowed it all.
"We can go get something else for you," John says, sitting back down.
"No, I think I can eat this," Clarice says on an impulse. "It's a good experience."
John seems to really like spicy food, and she can at least try to relate with him. And she can see he's already beating himself up over this.
"Do Lorna and Marcos cook like this? I mean, I have no idea what Colombian food tastes like, but I guess it could be a bit like Mexican−" Clarice rambles.
"No," John shakes his head. "Colombians rarely use hot peppers. Marcos likes it though, but not this spicy. Lorna always adds some extra for me."
Eating from his own plate, he doesn't seem the least bit bothered by the hotness. Clarice gingerly tries another bite, and schools her face not to show any outward emotion.
It actually gets easier with each bite, as long as she doesn't stop eating. She more or less engulfs the chili, interspersing it with gulps of water. John watches her with some amusement and finishes his plate at a more reasonable pace.
"Hot pepper is...it's one of the only things I can taste," John admits, his back to her, as he's washing their plates in the sink.
"What do you mean?"
"My sense of taste is very dull. It's part of my mutation, because my tongue is as dense as the rest of my body."
Clarice lets that sink in for a moment. So that's what he was so embarrassed about. She can tell the confession is hard on him, although it seems like a fairly innocuous subject.
"Does it mean you can't enjoy food?" she asks, keeping her tone as light as possible.
"No, most of what we call taste is actually smell, and I can do that just fine. I just can't really tell if something is sweet or salty or whatever else. If it's spicy enough, I can actually feel it."
"So that's why Lorna adds more spices for you."
"Yes. I should told her not to this time, though."
"It's okay," Clarice says. "I ate it anyway, though I like it better a little less spicy. And I'm glad to learn this about you."
John spins on the high stool he's sitting on to look at her, surprise on his face. "Seriously? It's nothing interesting."
"Everything about you is interesting," Clarice winks playfully, coming to stand beside him.
"That is very blatant flirting," John raises his eyebrows.
"I was serious," Clarice says, but she also bends down to kiss him lightly on the mouth. A deeper kiss with their mouths full of hot pepper is probably not a good idea, given that she feels the burn on her lips. Turning her back on John, she grabs a towel to dry their plates, not letting him touch her. "You're a very interesting person."
"Is that what you're going with?"
"I have to get your attention somehow."
"Oh, you have my full attention at all time," John says.
"I thought you had to keep constant vigilance with your students."
"Damn, maybe that's why Naya suddenly decided to break the rules. You distracted me and she got jealous."
Clarice snorts. "I don't think you were the most distracted one in that room. The other kid−Skyler, is it?−he was redder than a lobster."
"Ah, I was wondering if you'd noticed. He's a fourteen-year-old boy, and awfully shy to go with it. I think having to interact with a really hot mutant woman who happens to be my girlfriend was a bit much for him. I'm sure he'll get over it."
"You intend on having me here often enough for that?" Clarice asks. That sticks with her more than the "really hot" part of his sentence, though she blinks at it.
"Only if you want to," John says. "But this place is a pretty important part of my life."
"I get that," Clarice answers. "But that's exactly it. It's your thing. I don't want to impose myself."
"I'm inviting you to. This is supposed to be a safe, fun place for mutants. If it can't be that for you, then I've failed."
Clarice shakes her head. "That's not true. No place, even safe places, is good for everyone. I'm not the social type, you know?"
"Clarice," John hesitates. "I don't want to overstep boundaries here, but how much of that is just anxiety? How much is really you?"
"No, I never enjoyed the big parties and stuff like that. And even if it's because of my anxiety, isn't it still me?"
John sighs. "Of course. I didn't mean to imply otherwise. I'm really thankful that you agreed to come today even if it's not your thing. I hope you didn't just do it for me."
"Of course not," Clarice smiles. "I'm happy to do it with you."
I wanted to say thank you to everyone who is still reading even though the fandom has damn near disappeared. I love you all.
I'd love to know what you like most so far and what would like to see in this story down the road :)