2541/Questions!

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Questions!
Date of Scene: 20 July 2020
Location: Bobby's Room
Synopsis: Julio stops by to ask Bobby for some advice, a little math tutoring, and end up putting 2 and 2 together to equal a first date.
Cast of Characters: Bobby Drake, Julio Richter




Bobby Drake has posed:
Bobby's been around more often at the mansion since he graduated and will be teaching full time soon. And when he's not out and about around the place, or off doing whatever it is that Bobbys do when they're /not/ at the mansion, he can be found in his room -- sometimes reading, sometimes studying something, sometimes just chilling out and listening to music. Today is one of those days. There's music playing in the room and it is tidied up. There is no clothing on the floor and everything seems to be in its place. The door is cracked open so people can walk in and out if they feel like it. He's seated in the window, looking out over the yard below, somewhat lost in his own thoughts on a warm summer day.

Julio Richter has posed:
The summer schedule around the school is pretty relaxed, but Julio's still playing catch-up with summer classes so that he can just maybe squeak in an equivalency degree before he's already old enough to drink. That said, it has been hard to focus on classwork for the past several weeks, for an awful lot of reasons. Still, here he is with a math binder tucked under one arm, seeking office hours with a teacher. Maybe he's trying to knuckle down?

The Latino youth pauses in front of Bobby's door, bounces on the balls of his feet twice as he takes a deep breath, and then raps with his knuckles on the door. With it already cracked, the force is enough to cause it to swing open just a little bit wider, revealing him in a pair of green shorts and a black T-shirt with some metal band's name scrawled on it in one of those incomprehensible metal band name fonts. Leaning around the door to check, he calls out, "Hola -- Bobby? You home? It's Julio."

Bobby Drake has posed:
Bobby doesn't really have office hours yet. He also doesn't really have an office yet. So it's not too surprising that if anyone wants to come find him, they have to find him in his room at the mansion. He glances over from where he's sitting as the door swings open and grins a little bit crookedly as he sees Julio standing there. "Hey," he says in greeting and slides out of the window, wandering over in that direction. He's got on a pair of faded jeans and a plain white t-shirt. "How's it going?" He glances from Julio to the binder and says, "Something tells me this is a business call." He nods over toward his desk, "Can set up there, or we can head down to the library."

Julio Richter has posed:
"Oh, I'm good. ¿Qué pasa?" Julio replies, slipping into a friendly grin of his own when he makes eye contact with Bobby. "You don't mind? I guess it's business, but not /business/ business," he says thoughtfully (and a bit cryptically), glancing over his shoulder. "I think here might be better than the library."

He heads for the desk and sets the binder down; it has 'Mates' scrawled across the front in sharpie, and when he flips it open, there's a half-completed worksheet on top: multiplying binomials. To Bobby's eye, it's going to quickly be obvious that Julio is struggling with the FOIL method; the examples haven't been followed, and he keeps combining the wrong factors or adding when he should be multiplying.

Bobby will have to come to that conclusion quickly, in fact, because Julio doesn't wait before flicking to the next page: a series of human silhouettes with superhero outfits sketched onto them. "I wanted to talk about this stuff," Julio says conspiratorially. The first is a quick rendition of what he's been occasionally seen wearing in the subbasement: a standard training uniform topped with a green vest. The rest are... mostly not great, to be honest. His drawings aren't terrible but the ideas are all over the place.

Bobby Drake has posed:
"Nah, I don't mind," Bobby says with an easy grin. "That's why the door's open." He raises a brow at the cryptic answer but doesn't seem to mind. There's a split second where he looks at the math worksheet and opens his mouth to say something, but then the page is being flipped and both brows go up this time. His lips quirk up in amusement and he says, "Oh. So.. not the math, huh?" He leans up against the desk, folding his arms in front of him and looking down at the drawings instead. "So you're trying to figure out your look, then?" He seems fine with ignoring the math for now. He might still point out the issues with that, later, but it's clear that Julio came with different questions in mind.

Julio Richter has posed:
"Si..." Julio answers, looking over at Bobby with evident chagrin, although whether he feels sillier because of jumping straight to the superficial stuff, or because his attempts at it aren't up to snuff, even to his eye, isn't clear. "I've gone on some missions with Scott in the training uniforms, and that's fine, but now that I'm doing this thing with Jean? I can't be going out in borrowed spandex every time." He pauses, then repeats himself to make sure that sinks in. "Borrowed. Spandex."

He shakes his head and looks back at the grid of silhouettes with a frown. "I mean, there's other stuff, too. The cool name, the rules for the group, some other things. I'd ask Scott this stuff, but he's kind of..." He turns to lock eyes with Bobby, hoping they'll just be on a wavelength about what exactly Scott is. "I mean, he's been very fair to me, I'm not complaining."

Bobby Drake has posed:
Bobby just grins and sits on the edge of the desk, picking up the binder and looking over the drawings, tilting his head a little bit to one side and says, "So.. you dig the green? And yeah, I know what you mean. I wore the training stuff for a long time, too." He flashes a sidelong grin then considers. "So, give me some thoughts on the look you're going for.. and we can come up with something." Seems he's on board to jump right into it.

Then he looks up and over when he trails off there and says, "... a great strategist, a strong leader, a confident guy who can make split second decisions for the good of the team, and willing to make hard decisions... but not real warm and fuzzy and approachable?" Both brows inch up just a little bit.

Julio Richter has posed:
Julio breaks into a grateful grin. "Yes, exactly. I'd ask, what should I wear? and he wouldn't be mean or anything, he'd just stare at me with the rock glasses that he is never allowed to take off, ever, and I'd feel this big." He holds up his finger and thumb, about an inch apart. "I mean, you might decide to stare at me and judge, too, but it's just different."

The comment about Bobby's own experience with training outfits gets a sympathetic lift of Julio's eyebrows. "It's not great, right? I mean, they're kind of embarrassing to wear, anyway, and then if they don't fit exactly right..."

He stuffs his hands into the pockets of his green shorts at the question about color, and pushes the fabric forward a little with a chuckle. "Si, supongo. It matches my powers." His eyes widen. "Especially the magic ones. Have I told you about the magic ones?"

Bobby Drake has posed:
Bobby Drake grins a little crookedly and says, "I might stare at you and judge, but it'd likely be only to make a suggestion as to something that might look even cooler." He swings one leg just a little bit, heel bumping into the desk in a light thud. "I don't know, they're not that bad. And when I turn to ice, you can't even really see what I'm wearing anyway. I mean, you can, but it's all translucent, so the color doesn't really matter." He considers and then says, "No, I don't think you told me about the magic ones. I saw the shaky quaky ones when we were out by the river with Jamie. But that's all I've seen."

Julio Richter has posed:
Julio ducks his head and smiles at the 'even cooler' comment, but doesn't answer until the topic of the colorless ice outfits comes up. "So, do you just stay ice all the time when you're in, eh, tights mode? Or do you switch back and forth sometimes?" He laughs, then adds, "I mean, after going through all this thinking about it, I'd want to show off what I came up with a little bit, at least."

He leans back in the chair, bouncing one knee below the desk, and continues, "Si, when we met I didn't know about the magic ones either -- that was just last week. There was this whole thing with ghosts and Dr. Strange -- it got pretty scary. Illyana was there, though; she helped me out. Anyway, it turns out I have been pulling up some kind of Earth magic along with all the 'shaky quaky' powers I already knew about." He seems to like the term.

Turning back to the topic of what he's looking for in an outfit, Julio says, "I mean, I don't think I'm a bright colors guy like Superman or somebody. I'd want it to feel more 'me' -- that's why I wore the vest with the training outfits. I mean, that and it's a cool vest. But maybe you can think of something 'even cooler'?"

Bobby Drake has posed:
"Nah, I'm not always in ice form," Bobby says with a little shake of his head. "But if I'm going to be going into a dangerous situation, then yeah, it's a better idea to be iced up. I'm pretty indestructible that way. This way.." he gestures at his warmer, less frozen form, ".. I'm a lot more vulnerable." He grins and says, "Illy's cool. It's nice to have the Queen of Limbo along with you if you've got to deal with creepy magic stuff." He looks thoughtful and says, "Earth magic makes sense since you seem to have a kind of affinity for the earth and all."

But then the conversation turns back toward outfits. He sets the binder down and leans over the desk to pull a notepad and a pencil out of the drawer before straightening back up and balancing it on his thigh. "My drawing is shit, so.." he warns. Then he sets the pad down next to what Julio's already drawn. "Okay so.. We want to stick with dark colors. I'm thinking green and black, maybe a dark grey. It'd give you a bit of camouflage in certain situations as well, even moreso than black would. Lose the gold bits entirely. You can use green as a highlight color. But build the vest kind of into the design of the jacket." He begins to sketch a little bit, creating kind of a dark grey leather jacket look as part of the suit, though with dark green panels and highlighting the X-men logo as a patch on the shoulder instead of on the chest or back. The trousers are likewise a dark charcoal grey, but the boots are a dark green to match the jacket, sturdy and designed to take some punishment. It's not a true artist's sketch and could use some work, but it's an idea.

Julio Richter has posed:
Julio stands and cranes his neck to watch over Bobby's shoulder as the sketch takes shape. "It doesn't have to look good, it just has to" -- he pauses and peers at the side of Bobby's head, almost as if offended, then turns back to the drawing -- "That's not shit, that's really cool! This is way better than anything I came up with." No giant shoulder pads or fringe in sight: how dare Bobby sell his design skills short!

Once the drawing is complete, he reaches around Bobby for it, not in a sharp grabby motion, just hoping to take a closer look.

"Yeah, there was a basement full of freezing smoke and claws that I got dragged down into until Yana helleported me out of it," he comments absently. "I don't know what they would have done with me, but... nada bueno."

After a second more spent looking at the sketch, he flashes Bobby a crooked grin, briefly trapping his lower lip under his teeth. "Indestructible, huh? Sounds nice -- why aren't you always 'iced up,' then?"

Bobby Drake has posed:
There are definitely no giant shoulder pads in sight and there is definitely not any fringe, or anything that might get caught on anything while fighting. It's minimalist, designed for function with a little bit of design work for fashion -- some buckles, maybe the addition of some studs here or there, but for the most part it's meant to be the colors that Julio wants while still being effective in a fight. He holds out the drawing so Julio can take it when he reaches for it, grinning a little and letting him have it. "I just took the ideas you already came up with and kind of dialed them back a little here, and here.. and made a few changes, there. You were on the right track."

He rests his hands on the edge of the desk, fingers curled over the lip as he watches Julio look over the drawing. "Freezing smoke doesn't sound too bad but claws, probably not good. Glad she was able to give you a hand." He grins a little crookedly. Though when asked he's not iced up all the time, Bobby shrugs his shoulders and looks over toward the window. "Sometimes it's nice to just be.. normal, you know? People don't look at you the same when you look inhuman."

Julio Richter has posed:
"Bien, I might have been on the right track, but I was pretty far behind this," Julio answers, still grinning with delight as he looks at the drawing. He does raise one eyebrow over the top edge of the pad when Bobby makes his comment about the smoke, saying simply, "I bet the cold sounds nice to you, but you'd be surprised what a little bit of magic smoke can do."

At Bobby's last comment, though, Julio fully lowers the pad, giving him a sympathetic look. "You have always seemed really human to me," he says, setting the pad back down on the desk before giving Bobby an encouraging smile.

Bobby Drake has posed:
"Teamwork," Bobby says with a little grin, happy to call it a collaborative effort. "Yeah, I'll admit that the cold doesn't really bother me at all. Go figure." He reaches over to the pad when Julio sets it down and he tears out the drawing, setting it inside Julio's binder with his other ones before he closes the pad up again and sets it to the side. Then he tilts his head a little to the side and studies Julio for a moment or two before dipping his head a little, "Thanks." Then he admits, "When I first came here I was just a kid. And I couldn't control it. I looked like a crazy snowman, all white and fluffy with snow, with legs. It was uh, awkward, at best." He smiles a little bit thinly. "I mean, it looks better now, even the ice form. But I still want to be able to give somebody a hug, or a high five every so often without it feeling like falling down on an ice rink, you know?"

Julio Richter has posed:
Julio grins at his mental picture of snowman Bobby, which hews a lot closer to Rankin-Bass than anything like the reality. Then something occurs to him and his eyes go wide. "Oh, mierda -- you didn't /shed,/ did you? Little flurries behind you?" It's a funny concept, but Julio's not mocking; rather, he seems to have a sort of horrified sympathy for the way that might have been received in a high school setting. Especially if the snow melted and caused puddles -- a possibility he considers but decides tactfully not to bring up.

"I get it, though," he says instead. "The hugs and all that. It's easy to feel, eh" -- he searches for the word --"isolated, when you're like us. Alone and unlovable." A somber mood settles on him, but then cracks with an upward twitch at the edge of his mouth, as he finishes: "That's a big part of what this place has helped, for me. There are people here who will save you from smoke claws or help you make a superhero costume."

Bobby Drake has posed:
Bobby smirks just a little at Julio's question and then shrugs his shoulders. There may indeed have been flurries -- not that he outright admits it, but he doesn't deny it either. "At least I always had ammo for a snowball fight year round," he points out, making light of it with a bit of a grin. Though when Julio mentions feeling isolated and all, he gets a little lost in his own thoughts. "Yeah," he agrees, though, looking up again and rubbing a bit at the back of his neck. "At least here we've got folks who've got our back, people who'll help us be better versions of us, and who'll be there for us when we need help. It's a good place. I owe it a lot. That's why I'm going to be teaching."

Julio Richter has posed:
Julio takes a slow breath and nods. "Having a place to go, people who will help: you don't realize how important that is until you lose it," he agrees. "Not even just for the big stuff. Even stupid things that are only important to you, knowing that someone will listen and care and try to make it easier -- it makes a difference. A big one."

Quickly, he pauses and ducks his head, a self-deprecating smirk crossing his features as he rolls his eyes at his own attempt at being profound. "All of that is me trying to say thank you and still sound cool, by the way," he admits. "But if there is anything the oldest remedial math student in history can help with, even if it's just to listen, let me know. Even if you think it's dumb. I might judge, but only so I can make it even cooler." He flashes a smile at the callback. "I owe you that much, at least."

Bobby Drake has posed:
"Yeah," Bobby agrees, knowing how that goes particularly well. Then he laughs a little at the self-deprecating smirk and the explanation. "Yeah," he says again. "I kinda got that," an easy grin replacing the somewhat pensive look. "You don't need to thank me, you know. I'm glad to help with whatever. It feels kind of good to be the one helping out now instead of always being the one needing it." He spent a lot of years on the other side of that table. Then he laughs and says "You're hardly the oldest remedial math student, but.. while we're on the topic." He glances back to the binder. "If you want some tutoring, I can probably help you out with that." He nods in the direction of the worksheet.

He laughs then and says, "I think I'm pretty hopeless in that department. I'm a giant math nerd and a block of ice. There's absolutely nothing cool about me other than temperature." He spins the pencil lightly between his fingers, "And you don't owe me anything. But I do appreciate the company and the conversation."

Julio Richter has posed:
"Well, you are helping. And I do appreciate it. Just so you know." Having said that, Julio turns and reluctantly flips the page back in his binder. "Ay. Right... 'Polynomials,'" he says, reading the word from the title of the worksheet with all the verve and enthusiasm of a man about to dig into a dinner of dry toast dipped in lukewarm water.

"I swear, I was listening to the tutor, but none of the words she was using made sense. And once you get lost to begin with, it gets /really/ hard to catch back up." He turns to square off against the intimidating problems on the worksheet, but before he really digs into it, he adds in a clinical tone, "It's true, you are a giant math nerd." After a moment, he adds, "But I still think you're pretty cool."

Bobby Drake has posed:
"So are you," Bobby says with a little grin, and then he watches as Julio reluctantly turns back toward the page on polynomials. He laughs outright though when Julio confirms that he's a big math nerd, but is cool anyway. "I will take that as a win," he decides. Then he leans over to motion to the page. "First, get rid of that. Just close the binder. We'll start from the beginning and come back to it." And he does in fact, start over with polynomials from the beginning, introducing the concepts in bite sized chunks, and creating his own problems in his own notebook to help him with. He doesn't tutor for long, maybe half an hour or so, just long enough to get him started. He then writes some simple problems down. "Try those on your own. We'll do it in a few sections, then you can go back to that sheet. But you're not going to get to the finish line if you haven't found the start yet."

Julio Richter has posed:
As he goes through Bobby's version of the lesson, it becomes a lot clearer than it might have been initially that Julio isn't actually stupid. The language barrier is an issue: he has to keep pausing Bobby, asking for technical words he doesn't recognize to be carefully defined. He also admits at one point that he hasn't had a math class in four entire years, and suddenly his need for quick refreshers on a lot of basic concepts makes a lot more sense.

On the other hand, he is quick to get frustrated at his own mistakes, but a 20-year-old needing to be walked slowly through high school algebra can, one hopes, be forgiven a little bit of insecurity.

It's obvious, by the time they get to the practice problems, that prerecorded video lessons haven't been fitting his needs as well as this more conversational teaching style does. It was a longer, more meandering road to get there, but by the end Julio seems to tackle the problems with a lot more confidence and skill than he mustered in even his best efforts before.

Bobby Drake has posed:
Bobby isn't much older than Julio, a scant couple of years, but Math is his subject, and numbers seem to come naturally to him in a way that some other things don't. He's also very patient, and is happy to stop, explain, stop again, and translate where necessary. He doesn't mind going back to earlier concepts, either, refreshing those so that they can be applied. It is very apparent to him that the way that Julio's been learning isn't doing him any favors. He never assumed that Julio was stupid, just that he hadn't had the teaching for one reason or another.

Once they finish, he grins a little and says, "You're going to get this in no time. And I'm going to help. I know you didn't really come for math help but.. I think if we keep working on this a little bit at a time, we can get you caught up much faster than the pre-recorded classes are going to." He glances at Julio questioningly, waiting to see if he's game to try.

Julio Richter has posed:
Julio sits back and stares at the problems once they're complete, looking almost like he's wondering where the answers came from, himself. "Bien, I feel like I've made more progress in math in the past 20 minutes than all the rest of the time I've been here, so... yeah, let's keep meeting up and working on this." He turns to Bobby and grins: not a getting-off-a-roller-coaster kind of grin -- this is math tutoring we're talking about -- but he seems genuinely pleased by his own progress. "If that's OK? I know it's supposed to be your vacation, I don't want to be making you work straight through it." He pauses, then slowly suggests, "We could also meet up to do fun stuff sometimes. To make up for it, tal vez?"

Bobby Drake has posed:
Bobby grins broadly when Julio seems pleased. That is the fun of teaching, after all, being able to help someone learn something and seeing them get it. "Yeah," he says reassuringly. "It's totally okay. And I mean, sure, it's my vacation but I'm doing vacationy things, sortof, a little. We went to the Ren Faire!" Okay, so he hasn't been doing much vacation-like at all, but the Ren Faire was a fun trip and it had gotten him out of the mansion for a bit. He smiles a little crookedly, and when Julio suggests they could meet up to do fun stuff, too, he smiles warmly. "Yeah? I'd like that. I mean, only if you want to. Don't feel obligated or anything.."

Julio Richter has posed:
It looks like, for his part, Julio is rediscovering the warm feeling of learning something new, too. "The Ren Faire was fun!" he agrees with a quick smile, but he goes on to point out, almost regretfully: "It doesn't reeeeally count if it's a school trip, though." He takes a moment, looking at Bobby and fighting down a grin that keeps trying to push its way onto his features, then says, "I do want to. No obligation at all. No math, no school, just hang out and do something fun." He looks almost like he wants to say something more, but just lets the grin loose instead.

Bobby Drake has posed:
"Well it was kind of a school trip, kind of just everyone hanging out having fun, but yeah, I guess you're right," Bobby concedes after considering for a moment, chuckling just a little bit. "What?" Bobby asks when he sees that grin trying to peek out. His brows lift and he can't help but laugh just a little when it seems Julio wants to say something else but doesn't. "Whaaaaat?" he draws it out longer this time. "What is going on in your head?" He smirks. "You know I'm not a mind-reader, right?"

Julio Richter has posed:
Standing up from the desk, Julio laughs at the wheedling and answers, "Si, I know, I know." He's obviously still debating whether or not to say anything more, though, leaning back, then forward again, sort of rocking on his heels. Finally, as he collects his binder and tucks it under one arm: "I guess I better just say it, in case I'm making things up. We're talking" -- he makes a rapid gesture, metronome-like, between them with his free hand -- "We're talking about going on dates, right? I was asking you out."

There's an instinct to bolt apparent in the set of Julio's jaw and the line of his shoulder, but he roots himself to the spot to hear Bobby out on this point. He doesn't want to misread the situation and end up making things even more awkward later. "If that's not your thing, it's OK, I just, well... it is my thing."

Bobby Drake has posed:
Bobby waits where he sits on the edge of the desk, his head tilted just a little to one side as he waits for Julio to either enlighten him or not. There's a quizzical expression on his face, as though he's trying to guess what Julio might be about to say. Then, when he gestures between them and comes out and says it, Bobby looks momentarily a little surprised, and then he grins and says, "Yeah, I mean.. I'd like that." He admits after a moment's pause, "I didn't want to assume, though." Because he didn't want to make it awkward if it /wasn't/ a date they were talking about.

Julio Richter has posed:
Julio spends the seconds waiting for Bobby's response keenly aware of the blood rushing through his temples, as, for once, the tension in his own head feels like it's liable to overwhelm the terrestrial tensions his mutant powers deal with, instead of the other way around. He's visibly a little flushed. He likes to imagine himself the sort of man who will accept Bobby's eventual reply with a cool nod, a calm smile, and a pithy couple of words, like a rock star too cool to have worried about anything.

In actual point of fact, when Bobby gives him the answer he was hoping for, a held breath comes flying out of him and he visibly sags with relief. "Oh, gracias a Dios," he mutters rapidly. Muy chido, Julio.

One long blink later, he collects himself and grins back at Bobby, gesturing with his hands, or possibly just flailing as he breathlessly responds, "I'm happy you -- I mean, I'd like that too. Y lo entiendo -- I didn't want to assume, either. But I guessed, and..." So much for not making it awkward. Julio takes a short breath and finally manages a clear statement: "I can't wait."

OK. Maybe /now/ is the moment to bolt.

Bobby Drake has posed:
Bobby grins, and that grin doesn't seem capable of fading. He hadn't been certain whether Julio was asking him out or not, and he hasn't really had the best track record with that kind of thing, so he had been careful not to make any assumptions. So when it turns out that he /was/ actually asking him out, he couldn't hide his surprise for a moment there. "I have one rule, though," he laughs. "No coffee dates. Every time I go out with someone for coffee I never see them again." He's mostly joking, but it'd be funnier if it wasn't true.

Then he grins a little crookedly at something Julio says. "You guessed? Because the blatant flirting was too subtle?" He's poking fun at himself as well, there. "You don't need to run away, either. I mean, unless you've got somewhere that you need to be." Then a little quieter, "I'm glad you asked."

Julio Richter has posed:
So, now they're just kind of grinning at each other like dorks. Some part of Julio should probably be grateful that no one else is here to see them like this, but that part has taken a break for the afternoon, it seems. "No coffee dates, got it," he replies readily, brushing one hand back through his hair. Honestly, he hadn't even thought that far ahead, but now his mind is racing through potential date scenarios.

Fortunately, Bobby keeps talking, and his words bring Julio back to the present with a snort of laughter. "Ah, give me a break, I've never asked a guy out before," he protests mildly. "I never even said to anybody that guys were a thing for me until... maybe a week ago? I didn't have time to figure out /what/ I wanted until I'd been at the school for a while. There was always something more important to worry about." He reaches farther back, to rub at the back of his head and neck, and then matches Bobby's lower tone. "But... I'm really glad I got a chance."

Bobby Drake has posed:
"Never?" Bobby asks when Julio says he's never asked a guy out before, and then he nods in understanding as Julio continues, smile softening just a little bit. "I can understand that. I've known for a while. And I've flirted with a few guys, a few girls, but dating hasn't really worked out for me." He smiles a little wryly. "The last two guys I went out to coffee with promptly left town so.. I dunno if you should consider that a warning or not. I'm beginning to think it's me." That wry twist of his lips deepens a little, and then he shrugs his shoulders, looking back over to Julio. "Yeah. There's been a lot to worry about lately. There's so much going on all the time. Between Genosha, Dinosaurs, Sentinels.." he trails off. There's a lot of a lot happening these days. "It's nice though, to have a little bit of time for, you know, just being people." He nods then and says, "So am I." He considers for another moment or two and then says, "We should go out on the lake. Maybe go swimming. Bring some food, some drinks, just hang out somewhere quiet for a bit."

Julio Richter has posed:
"I don't think it's you," Julio says, head tipping to one side as he looks at Bobby with obvious fondness. Then he shrugs and adds, in a bit of gallows humor, "And if it makes you feel better, the only reason I can think of that I might leave town is getting deported." Normally a pretty terrifying prospect, but even that thought can't dent his good mood at the moment. "I fought Sinister's killers and a Brainiac drone and a nest full of wild sentinels, so I'm thinking I'm pretty tough. Maybe a date with Bobby Drake is exactly what I need to cut me down to size," he teases.

Then he considers Bobby's offer of a swim at the lake, glancing up at the ceiling and then flashing another bright grin. "You want to get started right now? A little sooner than I expected, but..." He trails off, sticks his hands in his pockets, and finishes, "Yeah. I like it. Why wait?"

Bobby Drake has posed:
"No one is too tough to be bored to death," Bobby points out, raising one finger as though to punctuate the point, but he's still grinning, and so clearly not particularly serious. Then he says, "Okay well, you're not getting deported. That's just not happening. If it were a danger, we'd fix it." Meaning the school, or Xavier, or the X-Men. Someone would fix it. On that, he is confident.

"I mean, it's a gorgeous day, the lake's right there, and we're definitely not counting the math tutoring as a first date. So.. yeah, if you're down, then, I'm going to grab some swim trunks, and swing by the kitchen to fill a little cooler, and then I'll meet you outside? I don't have any other plans today."

Julio Richter has posed:
"Sounds good to me... I have to change, too," Julio answers unnecessarily. He could wear his shorts into the lake, but then why even own a swimsuit? "I mean, I'm not /planning/ on getting deported," he adds with a laugh. "And with the friends I've got now? Mierda, even if I /did/ get picked up by ICE, Illyana would have me out of there so fast, my head would spin." Then, a shrug, and more soberly: "Besides, I got away from them once before, and I had no idea what I was doing, then."

Bobby Drake has posed:
"Good, at least I know if you flee the country, it'll be of your own volition," Bobby winks and then slides off the desk and starts to head toward the closet to grab his things to change. "I'll meet you out back in.. ten minutes." And with that he heads of to change and grab his cooler, then heads down to the kitchen to pop some food and drinks in. No need for ice. He can make that on his own. Then it's out the back door to meet up and make their way down to the lake.

Julio Richter has posed:
When Julio joins Bobby outside, he's wearing a pair of tight-fitting trunks, in green (of course), and a loose-fitting pink tank top with an 80s-style gradient sunset on it. The latter is a pretty obvious thrift store find, like most of his clothes, but the trunks look new and kind of expensive. He's also got a big fluffy red and blue towel bearing the seal and colors of Chivas, his hometown soccer team, draped over one shoulder. He greets Bobby with a smile and a wave. "Hola!" He's barefoot, even though they have a bit of a walk ahead of them.

Bobby Drake has posed:
Bobby arrives in a pair of dark blue trunks and a white t-shirt with a pair of sandals. He's got a small cooler in one hand and a big blue towel with a giant yellow fish on it slung over one shoulder. "Hey," he grins and doesn't seem to think anything of the fact that Julio's got no shoes on. He wanders over and bumps him with his elbow and grins. "So," he says, "You never told me what kind of magic things you can do."

Julio Richter has posed:
Julio leans right back into the bump, returning the grin as they start on the path to the lake. "Bien, there's not a whole lot to tell right now," he admits. "I can kind of hear Earth magic -- that's how I found the spirit of the Bronx. In the building with the smoke claws?" He offers the clarification, knowing he hasn't explained much of the experience yet. "Ahora, I can just sort of do this plant thing -- well, just watch."

As they head down the path, Julio takes in a deep breath, and his shivery, tectonic aura becomes faintly visible in the afternoon sun. The shaking energy field quickly shrinks and becomes brighter, as if distilling to a purified version, a tiny, bright spark of green. The spark rises over Julio, whose face is fixed in concentration, flowering and fanning into an image like a flame or a cluster of leaves. suddenly, a pattern like a discoball projection of stylized animal spots extends around them from the tongue of flame, reaching toward the grass on either side. Wherever a spot draws near to the grass, it seems to shake off little sparks of green. There's... well, there's actually no visible effect, other than the light show.

"I'm, um, encouraging them," Julio explains. "If I do it every so often, the plants grow faster." A pause. "Or maybe they don't? It feels like I'm helping," he admits, "but I haven't actually been doing it long enough to know for sure."

Bobby Drake has posed:
Bobby wanders along next to Julio as they talk, slowing when Julio concentrates and watching with fascination as he creates the green light. If it was only the patterns of green light and nothing else, that in and of itself seems to be pretty cool. Bobby watches with interest, following the pattern as it moves out over the blades of grass. "That's neat. You should get a couple of plants and try it with one of them and not the other, and kind of keep their environment the same otherwise, and see if one grows faster than the other." Because yes, Bobby cannot help his nerd showing.

It's not a long walk to the lake, and once they reach the small dock that floats out onto the water, Bobby heads out to the end of it and drops his towel there before setting the cooler down as well. He reaches out his hand toward it and all the ice that had begun to melt in it once more solidifies, re-frozen to keep everything inside cool. He tugs his shirt up and over his head and sets it over by the cooler, leaving his sandals there too before going to sit on the edge of the dock and drop his feet into the water.

Julio Richter has posed:
Julio stops short and snorts out a laugh when Bobby suggests adding a control group, rubbing his forehead. The spots and leaves of fire fade out of view. "Guau... that's... a really good idea," he says, jogging a bit to catch up. "You're better at this magic stuff than I am! I've just been going for walks in the student gardens at night and blasting everything with actual miracle-gro. I guess I also did these sort of -- magic shields? When we had to deal with Mata Ketu. But that was pure panic."

He follows a few steps behind as they head up the dock, taking a second to admire the line of Bobby's bare back and shoulders before peeling off his own tank. He's been eating well and working out since moving to the School, and while he's still a little on the thin side for an X-man, he's gaining the kind of noticeable definition that comes pretty easily under those circumstances at 20. He drops to the edge next to Bobby, dipping his own dusty feet into the water and reaching back to grab a bottle of whatever soda is close to the top of the cooler.

"So, how long did it take you to go from snowman to the chiseled ice-body?" he asks, slightly teasing in his choice of words, but genuinely interested.

Bobby Drake has posed:
"I'm not good at magic at all," Bobby laughs. "I don't even have any. I mean, not really. Nothing I do qualifies as magic. I'm just a huge nerd." And he doesn't seem to mind admitting it at all. "Making things grow is cool, though. Best I can do in that department is make it rain." He rests his hands to either side of him and swings his legs back and forth a little bit through the water.

In the cooler there are a couple of bottles of water and a couple of cans of coke as well as some plastic bags with some crackers, cheese, and cubes of meat along with some slices of fruit -- oranges, apples. It's not a very elaborate snack, but it's something to eat and drink out by the water.

Bobby laughs and says, "Well, I was a goofy looking snowman for a little over a year. Then eventually I became more of a white snow person type thing. Over time I just kind of kept refining the form until I look like I do now."

Julio Richter has posed:
"Turns out magic is pretty nerdy," Julio says, completely in earnest, as he pops open the water bottle he fished out without really looking. "The magic house we went to was like a library and a museum in one. They served tea and talked about how to name a giant evil god baby that wanted to eat the city, and when they took too long to figure it out, it turned into... ay, trillizos? What's the word for twins, but three? Anyway, Illyana makes it look very heavy metal, but a lot of it is much more chamber music."

He flashes a silly grin and leans over to bump Bobby with his shoulder. "Refined it, eh? Like, looking in the mirror at night, trying to get the ice-abs to show a little better?" He gives his date a wink.

Bobby Drake has posed:
Bobby laughs and says, "Illy does make it look pretty metal. We were in Genosha when some Hydra agents attacked and she was popping out portals and throwing people into limbo. It was pretty crazy." But it's not the first time that he's seen her do that, and probably won't be the last either. He raises both brows and asks, "Triplets? So there's .. three giant evil god babies that want to eat the city?" That's news to him, and news he's not sure that he wanted.

But then Julio makes him laugh and he says, "Nah, man, the hair. Abs are easy. It's the /hair/ that takes work." He's clearly teasing.

Julio Richter has posed:
"¡Ay, no!" Julio answers, quickly reassuring Bobby that the news isn't as bad as it sounded. "The god /triplets/ -- gracias -- we dealt with them. We had to get the spirits of the city on our side, and they gave us these... magic tools? So even though my magic is still really weak, I was able to help. They won't bother anyone now."

"You do have cool hair," he says, reaching up to give it a playful ruffle. "I get why you would want to get it right. And the abs are OK, too."

A thought suddenly hits Julio, and he cocks his head upward. "You can make it rain, and I can make plants grow? I think we might secretly be superhero farmers. Mutant, gay, superhero farmers. One's an immigrant. America is going to be /so confused./"

Bobby Drake has posed:
"Oh, okay," Bobby seems a little relieved when Julio reassures him that there are not, in fact, multiplying hungry god babies about to eat the city. "Still, that's pretty cool that you were able to help." He smiles amusedly when Julio reaches over and ruffles his hair. He then reaches down and pats his abs lightly. "Just okay? Guess I'm going to have to work on that. Get to chiseling a little better." Then he flops back on the dock, folding his arms under his head and letting the sun shine on him. He snickers, "That's quite the combo, there, but I'm alright with that. I'll water the fields. You can make everything grow. We'll solve world hunger. It'll be great."

Julio Richter has posed:
Julio looks back over his shoulder at Bobby and grins. "Your abs are pretty great," he admits. "But I mean, you already took your shirt off on the first date. I'm just trying not to stare too much and make an ass of myself."

At that point, he pushes forward off the dock and slips into the water, treading water until he can get some distance from the piles and flip onto his back. "I can't believe you thought I would just leave a bunch of god babies stomping around for somebody else to deal with later." This is said as a sort of self-deprecating joke; Julio's amazing slightly faster-growing plant powers wouldn't give him a lot of choice in the matter without considerable help. "Maybe we should do it. Really get that good PR for once. I don't know a single thing about farms, though."

Bobby Drake has posed:
"Well we're going swimming," Bobby points out with a laugh. "Pretty sure if we were going to the movies I wouldn't have taken my shirt off until at least the second date," he adds, tone teasing and light. He pushes himself up onto his elbows to watch Julio slide off the dock and into the water.

"Hey! I didn't just assume you'd have left them out there," Bobby says, splashing some water in Julio's direction. Then he pulls himself up and kind of rolls off the end of the dock into the water with a splash. When he comes back up again he pushes water from his eyes and face, chuckling. "Neither do I. We may need to think this through a little bit more."

Julio Richter has posed:
Julio ducks the splash somewhat by dunking himself almost all the way under the water -- so he's pretty soaked regardless. When he bobs back up to the surface, he swipes his hair out of his eyes with one hand, and spouts a little fountain of lakewater from his mouth in Bobby's general direction. It only goes a few inches, more of a teasing, ineffectual rebuke than any attempt to get him back.

"Bien, I'm glad we're outside, then. It would be a lot harder to get a look at your sexy, sexy abs in the dark movie theater."

As Bobby joins him in the water, Julio ducks under the surface again, this time swimming sharklike toward his companion a few feet underwater.

Bobby Drake has posed:
Bobby laughs and says, "That's not quite what I was thinking when I chose the date, but I suppose now that we're here I'm definitely not complaining." Not like he hasn't been checking Julio out as well. He ets himself slip beneath the water, only to pup back up to notice that Julio is swimming, sharklike beneath the water toward him. He treads water where he is, holding his ground without flinching even as Julio glides closer to the water.

Julio Richter has posed:
As it happens, Bobby was right not to worry too much about Julio's intentions. When the younger man does catch him, he just puts his hands to the other man's sides, a couple inches above his waistband, and gives them a little squeeze before popping back up to the surface.

Brushing his hair back out of the way again, Julio gets a breath and then gives Bobby a slightly befuddled grin. Like the proverbial dog chasing cars, he quite apparently didn't know exactly what he planned to do with his date when he caught him. One of his hands has, however, remained in contact with Bobby's skin below the surface, his fingertips brushing lightly against his side.

Bobby Drake has posed:
Perhaps Bobby had been expecting to get dunked, or pulled underwater, or .. any number of possibilities, so when Julio does catch him and does none of those things, he can't help but laugh just a little bit and says, "I thought for sure you were going to pull me under." And then his expression turns a little bit mischievous, as he does just that. Suddenly pushing off the dock, he goes under and pulls Julio with him, dunking him beneath the surface.

Julio Richter has posed:
"I thought for sure /you/ were going to try to get away," Julio replies with a smirk. He looks amused for a second, probably just at the dorky outcome of his own lack of planning, then takes a sharp breath as he is dragged under the surface. He doesn't struggle against it, just opens his limbs into that sprawling, weightless posture common to anyone underwater, and then reaches out to give Bobby a not particularly serious shove with one hand.

Bobby Drake has posed:
Bobby seems deeply amused by the entire scenario, and when they both go under, he actually laughs when Julio gives him that little shove. He reaches out to give a teasing shove back and then takes off beneath the water, swimming out further into the lake. He's a strong swimmer which really shouldn't be all that surprising. Water is his element, after all.

Julio Richter has posed:
Bounced about a foot away by the shove, Julio takes a second to surface, as he didn't really get a proper breath to start with. He also takes the opportunity to stick his tongue out in the general direction of his fleeing date. After that moment's pause, though, he dives under again and sets off to pursue Bobby with a flutter kick. He's a strong enough swimmer, for sure, but at a distinct disadvantage versus Bobby, especially as the latter had a head start.

When he feels his lungs start to burn, he pops back up for air. "Houf! Are you sure that these guys haven't wanted a second date? Maybe they just couldn't keep up," he calls out.

Bobby Drake has posed:
Bobby surfaces in time just to catch that stuck-out-tongue and laughs. He slows when Julio calls out to him and pushes the water out of his face, hair falling in his eyes. Then he begins to swim back over toward Julio, chuckling a little bit. "You think that's it, huh?" He swims in lazy circles then. "Maybe I should slow down a little, then?" He drifts in a little closer, and comes to a stop, just treading water.

Julio Richter has posed:
"I'm going to be sorry I said you move too fast, aren't I?" Julio says, laughing. He bobs upward with a powerful kick and shakes his hair out, droplets flying everywhere. "But I think you're going at a pretty good speed. It's more the 'away' part that might cause problems." A smile flickers across his face, then he sinks until his nose is just above water and slides in closer, slipping his arms under Bobby's to rest against his sides. Not a grip, this time, just holding them there. "I'll try not to worry about it until I catch you sneaking out a bathroom window to get away from me, though."

Bobby Drake has posed:
"Maybe," Bobby teases lightly, grin broadening. "So you want me closer then?" He lets his arms slip lightly around Julio's shoulders when he moves in closer, no longer moving away. "What makes you think I was trying to get away from you?" he laughs. "Maybe I just wanted to be caught." At least, that does certainly seem to be the case at the moment. "I don't foresee any sneaking out of bathroom windows any time soon. So, pretty sure you don't have anything to worry about."

Julio Richter has posed:
Julio turns his head ever so slightly to one side, giving Bobby a skeptical look. "You'd have to run a pretty long way to get to a bathroom window from here," he points out. "I won't count that as a win just yet. Maybe after an indoor date." Under the water, he slides his hands a little further toward the middle of Bobby's back, drawing the pair as close as is practical with both of them kicking to stay afloat. "But yes, for now, you're caught." And then, probably not unexpectedly, he builds up enough courage to close his eyes and lean in for a kiss, light and just on the lips. He only lingers for a handful of moments before pulling back, eyes on Bobby again, gauging his reaction.

Bobby Drake has posed:
Bobby laughs and says, "Fair point," considering their current location. He lets himself be drawn closer. His fingertips toy a little with Julio's damp hair. "For now," he agrees with a little smile that tugs the edges of his lips. Bobby meets the kiss, cupping the back of Julio's head lightly as he brushes his lips against his, just as light. He forgets to kick a little bit and begins to sink slightly, water almost covering his face, but not hiding his smile before he comes up again. Then he leans in and kisses Julio again, this time just a little bit more firmly, letting it linger for longer, even if it means going under for a moment or two before it breaks.

Julio Richter has posed:
As reactions go... that's a great one. Julio returns the smile as he takes a breath, still a little bit amazed that this is happening, that it's even possible. But he sinks into the second kiss with more certainty, holding Bobby to him more tightly, even as the water creeps up over their heads.