The X-Project

Laurie and Kevin clear the air and start over again.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Laurie asked, slipping into the sofa spot beside Kevin as she glanced at what he was watching.

It wasn't a show she recognised but then she had been in Europe for six months give or take, there hadn't been a lot of time for television.

Kevin blinked and looked over at his new company just as Michael Westen fled an exploding building. Re-runs were awesome killers of time. Though maybe the show was back on for the summer again. Kevin wasn't very good at keeping track of TV shows since he rarely watched them. "Ah was wonderin' if that's what Ms. Frost and all them over at Snow Valley do all day." He indicated the TV with a nod.

Laurie watched for a time, thinking about what they did as X-men or 'training to be an X-man' in her case. It had to be twice as dangerous if you were the 'super spy' type. "I imagine there's more explosions."

"You think 'Ah blow stuff up for a livin'" works as a pick up line?" Kevin laughed quietly to himself, imagining that you'd either be smacked or stared at like you were a moron if you actually tried to use that on a woman. Then again, what did he know about women or pick up lines? Maybe it actually would work.

"I would think it would depend on the type of woman," Laurie noted, continuing to watch the television.

She could say that the conversation had been going well so far, and her shoulders relaxed slightly, allowing her to get more comfortable on the couch.

"We had words awhile ago," she said, glancing over at him. "I thought I should say sorry."

"You ever get that letter Ah left you when Ah left?" The letter in which Kevin had apologized for being an ass, even if he still didn't think she'd had a right to tell Jay the things she had. The letter in which, if he recalled correctly, he also said he understood why she'd told Jay.

"I did," Laurie said, letting her eyes drift back to the tv and she pulled her legs up to get more comfortable. "I shouldn't have told him, it wasn't my place. Do you think we could try starting again? There's a lot of stuff both of us said back then, I don't really think we're those people anymore."

Kevin shrugged. "Sure, why not? Seems like a long time ago. Wasn't really all that long, though, huh?" It was weird how change impacted perception and how time took forever to pass when you were stagnant but then zoomed by when you were evolving. At least he hoped he'd been evolving.

"Give us enough time and we'll be doddering around here on walking frames telling kids that they never had it so good," Laurie noted, holding out a hand. "Hi there, I'm Laurie Collins."

If they were going to begin again, might as well go all the way and really begin at the beginning, at least symbolically anyhow.

"Are you gonna go for that old lady blue hair? 'Cause Ah could find a shade that'd work for your skin tone." Mostly because he thought Laurie with that blue sheen to her hair would be hilarious.

Kevin looked at her outstretched hand for a second before he shifted and turned so he could face her more. Then he took her hand in a firm grip and shook it. "Kevin Ford, nice to meet ya." It was a sign of how far he'd come more than a sign of them already knowing one another that he didn't immediately follow that with the warning about how people shouldn't touch him. Then again, the lack of hesitation in taking her hand was also a testament to that.

Laurie held his hand for a moment longer, and then let go. It was a subtle sign of trust, but sometimes you just needed to show people that they were okay, and you were okay and things were good.

"So what was the West Coast Annex like? Is Warren really as gorgeous as they say he is?" Laurie asked, settling back.

Kevin gave her a look that asked if she was maybe on something. "He's not really my type. Ah mean, Ah guess he's not unattractive, but Ah wouldn't go askin' him to model for a sculpture of Apollo or anythin' either."

"Who would you go asking to model for a sculpture of Apollo then?" Laurie asked with a big grin, eyes sparkling with humor.

"Maybe Garrison." Kevin grinned a bit, then affected a high pitched tone as he added, "He's a dreamboat."

Laurie burst out laughing, and then looked around as if Garrison would pop up at any second to see what she'd been doing.

"He may be a dreamboat, but he's also the crankiest person I've ever met. At least, where I'm concerned. I think a vein starts throbbing in his forehead the moment I walk into the room."

Kevin laughed. "You sure it's not just psychosomatic and your powers kick in accidentally and make the vein throb?" He stopped and thought for a second. "Could you even actually do that?"

"I...don't think so," Laurie said after a pause, she supposed she might be able to increase blood flow considering she could clot it. Something she'd have to talk to Jean about, she guessed. "I might, just never thought about it really. So, think I could convince you to come play on the Wii with me? I'm trying to beat Kyle's high score and I could use a cooperative effort."

"Ah've...never played a Wii. Ah mean, yeah, sure, Ah'll come play but Ah don't make any promises 'bout bein' good at it." He had decent hand-eye coordination. That had to count for something, right? It should have been strange just hanging out with Laurie, acting like a normal person who hadn't just not been speaking to her for about a year, but it wasn't. Maybe the fact that it wasn't weird was what was.