The X-Project

After leaving the medlab, Johnny goes to Lil for some much-needed comfort.

Rest. It was all he really wanted after his visit to Jean-Paul's holding cell and the subsequent encounter with Nathan that had left his head feeling light and his thoughts tangled up in a mesh of anger and fear and increasing weariness. The idea of returning to his suite, and the risk of having to explain himself to his classmates, only made him feel worse. There had to be somewhere else.

Johnny was walking a familiar direction before he realized it. Up two sets of stairs. Down the length of the hall that followed. Jean-Paul would not be in his room, but perhaps Lil would be in hers. The idea of the woman's company allowed the last of his anger to begin settling, soothed into temporary restraint. His typical eagerness at the thought of her presence was not there, but the remembrance of a soft half-embrace and the words she had given when they first met offered the possibility of solace most other company did not. You run into trouble and monsieur isn't around, my door's that direction.

He knocked on her door quietly.

"Be right there," came Lil's voice from inside a moment before the door opened to reveal the blonde woman who'd obviously just stepped out of the shower. A pair of well-worn sweat pants hung off her hips and a short-sleeved tee - a gift from Adrienne that proclaimed 'I Fucking Love To Cuddle' across the chest - both spotted some wet patches but the giantess looked anything but relaxed. The news of Jean-Paul and Nathan's return had her hitting the gym harder than normal and the small smile that had found its way to her lips faded even more when she spied the student standing there.

"Hiya, Johnny," she greeted, her lower lip sticking out slightly as she regarded him then held the door open a little wider in invitation. "You wanna come in?"

Johnny didn't move. Part of him was surprised she was still up, but mostly he was just relieved. He raised his eyes to meet hers, mute and still for a moment until he found his voice again. He hated how unsteady it sounded and how abrupt and how transparent to his current moods. "Can I stay here tonight?"

"Oh, sweetie," Lil sighed, dropping the towel to the floor before reaching out and pulling the young teen into a tight hug. "Of course you can." The others would understand; he was upset and needed a bed with a familiar presence nearby. A tight squeeze of affection and Lil began to back up, leading them both back into the room so she could shut the door. "You can stay here," the blonde repeated, running her hand over his hair.

The hug was unexpected, but undeniably welcome. The teen's slim body felt almost limp under her arms, worn and near effortless to lead as she held him close and then walked them both gradually inside. He offered a quiet 'thank you' that was swallowed up almost entirely by the cloth of her shirt, saying no more for now. He wasn't certain if he should tell her anything or if they would both be happier with his mouth and thoughts shut off or if she knew all about it already. He returned the gesture slowly, not sure just what to hope for. It didn't seem to matter much now.

Long fingers brushed through Johnny's messy hair as Lil continued to hold him for a few silent moments more. She never claimed to be a maternal creature; would vehemently deny it under most circumstances but with the crush teen in her arms, clinging to her, the Canadian couldn't help but feel a surge of some deeply repressed instinct. Guiding him to the couch, Lil sat them both down, still stroking his head as she allowed him her shoulder to cry on - literally, if so needed - and an ear to listen. "Do you need me to get you anything?"

Johnny didn't have the energy to cry, only to lean into the older mutant still sitting close and to shake his head, the gesture loose and small. He didn't want her to go. They sat in silence for a long moment until the boy spoke again, "...Have you seen him yet? Mr. Beaubier, I mean." The weight in his voice carried its own unpleasant suggestions about how he might answer and he raised his light eyes to meet Lil's again.

"No, I haven't," Lil replied in a voice just above a hush, her hand dropping from his hair to his back to continue the gentle up and down. "They haven't let me in." And she wished they hadn't let him, either. Not with the way the boy at her side had crumbled. It would have been better to wait until Jean-Paul was closer to his old self.

"Me either," the teen admitted softly, "I went anyway." There was no guilt in his words, no regret, just the lingering difficulty of the experience and the knowledge the action had brought. Johnny tucked himself against Lil a little more. "He didn't know me at all. He looked at me like...I was barely even there." His voice strained, almost cracking, and he took a moment to let it recover. "Mr. Dayspring said he's...'not responsive' right now. And that he's going to need a lot of help."

The older mutant swallowed down the discomfort that lodged itself in her throat when the images came; the visions of Jean-Paul helpless and lost even in the haven of the mansion. "And he's gonna get it," Lil promised after giving Johnny another hug. "He's gonna get all the help he can get here. Nathan and Jean and the Professor are gonna see to it." Just as she would. If she had to break bones or put people's heads through walls, the giantess would see to it that her friend was taken care of. "It's just gonna take time, eh? But you'll see, he'll be okay."

The idea of entrusting Nathan with Jean-Paul's care made Johnny thoughtlessly tense, but he did his best to shake it off, silently reassuring himself that all three telepaths would do what they could and audibly offering the only thing he knew with actual certainty, "...Us too. Whatever help we can give." He pulled in a breath, trying to find the conviction to agree. He remembered their friend's vacant eyes and felt his chest tighten. "Yeah."

"Us, too," she repeated, resting her cheek on the top of his head. "Whatever help we can give." Though, the boy didn't seem to be in much shape to offer any help - her either, if Lil was being honest. She was more angry than anything. Angry at those who did such horrible things to her friend. Angry at Nathan. Angry at the world and no time in the gym was going to make that feeling fade. Only time and Jean-Paul's recovery. A little sigh and she could find no more words to offer Johnny, no other comfort except being there and letting him know he wasn't alone in his pain.