JP and Alex (it works because Kari said so)

[thenorthstar]

Jean-Paul is having the worst year of his entire life. And he has had some terrible years. He thought there would never be anything worse than the year his sister was tortured, saved, and then begged to come home to hide where she felt she belonged - just when Jean-Paul was trying to make a life in New York.

But things had gotten better. Jeanne-Marie was stronger, sometimes. And Jean-Paul had found the purpose he'd always longed for in sports. Skiing suited his mutation but didn't totally draw from it; it was like he finally had a way to channel this thing he couldn't bear to live with.

And he did it. He won gold.

And he was outed as a mutant, stripped of his medal, and all but exiled.

Jean-Paul didn't know how to come back from it; his pride was too great for this blow.

So, New York. Again. So, museums, and coffee alone, his sister too afraid to venture out unless she was too comfortable to venture out.

Usually the park wasn't his thing, but there he was at Madison Square Park, relishing the brisk chill of oncoming fall, idly watching squirrels, clutching a cup of (bad) coffee. Trying to learn to be still.

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[secondsummers]

It was not the worst year of Alex's life. He was hopeful that that time, at least, was behind him. He was also fairly sure that the best years, the ones he'd spent traveling the world with his father, were also lodged firmly in the past.

As he'd always said he would, as soon as he graduated high school he'd left New York. He went to university in Arizona, studying geology and French, and spent all his breaks traveling. He wasn't sure why he decided to go to grad school in New York, of all the places in the world, but he ended up there anyway.

Some places owned a piece of you whether you wanted them to or not.

Alex walked through the park after hitting the library, doing his best to soak up all the sun he could before the days got shorter and coffee became a more reliable source of energy.

[thenorthstar]

Jean-Paul wasn't really looking at anyone; he never wanted anyone looking at him, and the best way to avoid that right now was to keep his eyes never really lingering on anybody. Which was really the worst thing about living through a scandal and nightmare: he couldn't play eye contact games with anyone anymore.

Still, the man walking through the park caught the corner of Jean-Paul's eye. There was something familiar about him. The set of his shoulders. The gait. It trigged a memory, and Jean-Paul lifted his face to at least glance at the other man's.

It was familiar.

It was Alex.

Jean-Paul didn't know whether to hide or to rush to his side. He settled for a quiet cough, and for lifting his hand in a wave - a still, not-quite-committal one. So Alex could ignore it if he so chose, and they could both keep their dignity.

[secondsummers]

Alex caught the movement out of the corner of his eye and glanced over quickly without really registering what--or who--he was seeing. He took another two steps before he thought to look again, but he was glad he did. His expression lit up immediately, smiling widely as he made long strides over to where Jean-Paul was sitting. "On behalf of my country, I thank you for gracing us with your presence," he said with a small bow.

[thenorthstar]

Jean-Paul was surprised by Alex's warmth, but grateful for it in a way he didn't want to admit.

"On behalf of my soul, I thank you for still looking handsome," he answered, automatically. There was no way to not acknowledge it: Alex was stunning, with that ridiculous smile like the sun. Older, but no less charming. Jean-Paul might be having the worst year of his life, but apparently he wasn't dead inside! He could still make sly appreciative comments! That was a win.

[secondsummers]

The ease with which Jean-Paul flirted made Alex very glad that some things, at least, didn't change. "I wouldn't dare not be, with your soul at risk." He shifted his bag to his other side so he could sit down next to his old friend. "It's really good to see you." Facebook didn't count. Disparaging news pieces about him definitely didn't count.

[thenorthstar]

"You couldn't help it if you tried." Jean-Paul was sure of that. The sun rose in the morning, and Alex Summers was handsome. It had always been so; it would always be so. It was not the most unpleasant constant in the world.

"It's good to see you too." It was good to see him, and his kindness. But Jean-Paul wasn't going to say that. "It's the last place I thought I'd see you.You were allergic to New York."

[secondsummers]

"I still am, I've just gotten better about hiding the hives," Alex retorted with a laugh. It was true he'd never really felt like he'd fit in there. He and Scott had eventually made their peace, though--with each other, if not with their parents, who were both too far out of reach, in different ways, for real closure.

"Four years away seemed like enough, I guess. Besides, I'm at the mercy of my nerdery, and the graduate program I just started really is a good one."

[thenorthstar]

Alex had grown up. And grown up wel, it seemed - into a good-natured, reasonably sensible adult. He'd made peace with his issues about the city at least, and that wasn't nothing. It was a nice kind of energy to be around.

"What is it you do again?" he teased - he knew full well the answer. "Archaelogy? Biology. Architecture."

[secondsummers]

"The only biology I've studied is the overactive metabolism of a certain beautiful Quebecois," he retorted. "So have dinner with me. We can go out, or we can get takeout and head back to my apartment. Whatever." Alex might have made his peace with the city, but that didn't mean he had an overabundance of friends there.

[thenorthstar]

"That is not," Jean-Paul said, barely bothering to hide his pleasure, "The biology you've studied. The most interesting? Probably. The most attractive? Potentially. But I'm sure you're conducting biological experiments all over the city."

Just for a moment, a real smile broke over Jean-Paul's face. Alex wasn't turning his back on him. "I'll have dinner with you but I don't want to go out."

People still stared.

[secondsummers]

"I haven't been back long enough for all that," Alex countered with a laugh. "Not all of us are as fast as you are, Jean-Paul." Alex had missed him and his ego. Not a lot of people could be the exact opposite of modest and manage to make it charming. "My place it is, then," he pronounced, standing.

[thenorthstar]

"You move at a good pace," Jean-Paul replied, approvingly, and resisted standing and striding at a faster pace, just to show off. "Is your place clean?"

[secondsummers]

"Well, it's still got unpacked boxes, but I'd never let you see it if I thought it would lower your opinion of me," he teased, though it was entirely true.

[thenorthstar]

"So you are very new. When did you get here?" Boxes he could handle. Maybe he could rearrange the furniture to his own liking, as well.

[secondsummers]

"A little less than a month ago. I was doing fieldwork with my undergrad advisor until then." And he'd maybe been putting off coming back to New York as long as possible. Still, he'd wanted to get settled before classes and things started. "What about you? How long have you been back?"

[thenorthstar]

"I'm glad you're back," Jean-Paul replied, as offhand as possible, but deeply sincere. His warmth was something else. Something Jean-Paul had been lacking. "I've been here a few weeks. Trying to decide if I should stay."

[secondsummers]

"Well, you know which way I would vote on that, if it were up to me."

[thenorthstar]

Jean-Paul glanced at him, happy about that answer. But it wasn't the only factor. "That's your answer, but I have to live with a scandal, and I don't know if this is the right place to be." The staring was obviously happening less than it did at home, but he was still so aware of it.

[secondsummers]

"I know." Alex had been the subject of a lot of staring and speculation before, and it wasn't a great feeling. He couldn't blame Jean-Paul for wanting to minimize that. "Though I'm having a hard time picturing you hiding out in a small town somewhere where you wouldn't be recognized."

[thenorthstar]

"So am I," Jean-Paul admitted, with the slightest smile. "I would be too restless. I much prefer the idea of melting into a bigger city. It's just that I don't know if this is the city."

[secondsummers]

"What about Jeanne-Marie? Is she here with you?" Considering what she was like the last time Alex had seen the twins, he didn't think Jean-Paul would go anywhere without her.

[thenorthstar]

"She's here. She doesn't really go outside. I don't know if-" he was pained "she would be happy anywhere."

[secondsummers]

Alex reached over and squeezed Jean-Paul's hand as they walked. "I'm sorry. I wish it were better for her. For you both."

[thenorthstar]

The gesture was deeply, deeply appreciated. "So do I. I worry about her... she's always worse when she can sense that I'm not alright."

[secondsummers]

"I can't blame her. It's distressing seeing someone so beautiful in pain." He was flirting, a little, to try to cheer Jean-Paul up, but that didn't make it any less sincere.