499/Making It Home

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Making It Home
Date of Scene: 13 March 2020
Location: 11C - M'gann and Xiomara's Dorm
Synopsis: Xiomara and M'gann share dinner, and admit something special to each other.
Cast of Characters: Xiomara Rojas, M'gann M'orzz




Xiomara Rojas has posed:
    Friday evening has come to Happy Harbor- and that means the school week is over. Another school week where Xiomara spent more than one day after school in detention due to fighting- it seems she has trouble NOT getting into trouble. She's certainly living up to the name Crush. Everyone at the school is calling her Crush- and she's been particularly quick to show bullies that sometimes someone might take issue with what they have to say. She's been threatened with law suits- but she has no money. She has no parents. There's nothing to sue when a fifteen year old girl is on her own... anyways it looks bad to sue the orphan girl who just punched your son in the mouth for torturing some other kid.

    Now though, it was time to be home- and Crush unlocks the door to the dorm. She's carrying a flat-screen TV. It looks a little beat up, but it's a newer model with all the ports and functionality. Apart from the plastics being scratched to hell, it's perfectly usable. "Hey, Megan!" she calls into the dorm as she closes the door behind her- "I found a TV!"

M'gann M'orzz has posed:
     A certain redhead, would, with more self awareness, realize that Crush has more than one meaning. And this discrepancy might account for some strange feelings in her stomach. However, M'gann is still oblivious and is idly observing some potato plants imside a miniature plastic wrap greenhouse in suspiciously reddish soil. She looks over at the sound of the door unlocking, before springing to her feet. "Xio! Let me help you!" The punk teen would find the TV suddenly almost weightless in her arms, and much harder to bang into the walls once the door's closed. "I figured out that TK is really good for decorating earlier..."

Xiomara Rojas has posed:
    To Xio, of course, the TV was already next to weightless- although, perhaps Megan doesn't know just how fantastically strong her roomie is. "Woah.. Alright." she says, as Obelus appears from under the bed- giving a little *klang* of greeting, "Hey Obelus!" The chain is quick to fly across the room and wrap herself around Xiomara in greeting- just hanging on her like some kind of lazy metal snake.

    "That's a neat trick." Xiomara says regarding the TK as she moves over towards the fridge, pulls out one of the beers she put in there and opens it up. "You wanna beer or somethin?" she asks from the kitchen. "You ever had Mac and Cheese before?" she wonders next.

M'gann M'orzz has posed:
     Megan is just about to suppress a yelp of surprise at the sudden appearance of flying metal chain. Her brow furrows for a moment, before a smile forms on her lips. "I saw these really long snake plushes for sale at the mall, you could totally cut a hole in one so she could hide in it. Then you've just got a pet plushie snake." The TV makes its way to a desk for now, and the redhead wanders in after Xio. "I'll pass on the beer. I did have Mac and cheese in the cafeteria last week, but I"m guesisng you know a better recipe?"

Xiomara Rojas has posed:
    "Yeah, that was garbage." Xiomara says, as she grabs a block of cheese out of the fridge. It's not particularly fancy or expensive cheese- some brand with a name in Spanish. Ethnic, to be sure. She grabs some butter- full fat, of course. Then a couple of boxes of Kraft mac and cheese- nothing special there. "I mean, it ain't fancy or nothin'. Just got extra cheese added- and a few vegetables and stuff. It changes the whole thing, though."

    Potatoes come next, they're washed quickly enough. Onion. Cut and diced. A single Jalapeno- she's not sure how spicy M'Gann can take things.

    The potatoes are set up to boil, another pan set out, a bit of butter- half the onion tossed in to fry up in butter.

    "Hope you're hungry though." she says back over to Megan as she busies herself in the kitchen. "Most of the time my parents would be so fucked up they couldn't cook. So I did a lotta the cooking."

M'gann M'orzz has posed:
     Unfortunately, M'gann's translation trick doesn't apply to reading text without an active link, and out of respect for Xio's request she's not going to do that. Cheese must go un translated. "I bet it's going to be amazing! I really enjoyed your hot chocolate. And I'm quite hungry. ...I don't think the school lunches here were calibrated for my metabolism, really." She floats up a few inches into the air and gently touches her roomie's shoulder, trying to provide a little bit of comfort. "I think you're an amazing cook. And I could take you to meet Caretaker someday. Once we find some kind of power supply I could tak eback."

Xiomara Rojas has posed:
    The touch comes as a surprise to Xiomara- she's clearly not used to physical contact. She jumps slightly, but seems okay with it a few moments later. "Uh.." she's not sure what to say. Or what to do with the touch. "Thanks, I guess?"

    Back to cooking! That's the plan. That's a good idea, Xiomara.

    She stirs the onions as she fries them in the butter, then puts them to the side. "The potatoes will take a few minutes." she explains, as she turns to look back at the dorm room. "So. Where should we put the TV?" she wonders over to Megan. "Near the couch, I guess. I'm trying to find us another chair- like a recliner. I think I know where to grab one. Extra comfy, but probably a little beat up."

M'gann M'orzz has posed:
     M'gann flinches a little at the startled twitch, but relaxes again when the surprise disappears. "Well, the beneit to TK is, again, that we can figure out where it'd go well." Grinning, she nods in the direction of the appliance which is indeed now sitting against the wall across from the couch. "And older chairs are the most comfy. Nice and broken in, like a pair of shoes." ...Not that she'd ever know about breaking in shoes, but that's besides the point.

Xiomara Rojas has posed:
    "Cool." Xiomara says, as she takes a look around the room. "So.. I was thinking maybe we move the couch over to like here." she reaches over and lifts the couch- it's so easy for her. She then sets it down so it acts as a barrier between their sleeping area and the rest of the room. "Right?" she begins, "And we can hang a curtain here..." she points across that same area. "That way, we got our privacy from the rest of the room if we got friends over or something."

M'gann M'orzz has posed:
     ...Okay, maybe Xio hadn't needed the help earlier. M'gann's eyes widen a little at the casual display of strength, before walking over and eying the situation. "...Yeah, that's a good idea. Make it kind of a tiny apartment. ...More than it already is, I mean. I never really got to customize my rooms much more than decorations, but we can make more rooms out of one room..."

Xiomara Rojas has posed:
    "Yeah- this way we got our private area." Xiomara says, "And we got the common area. It'll also give us a little extra time to uh.. hide ourselves. If we need-ta." she explains with a bit of a grin. "Though, Obelus said she'll let us know if anyone's comin' that's up to no-good." she continues.

    "So.. With the sofa here, we could put that recliner chair over here." Xio points towards the area of the recently vacated sofa, "And that lets us maybe put the TV over there? That way we can maximize the use of that little table." she nods towards the coffee table. "Gotta find something to put the TV on, or we could hang it on the wall I guess."

M'gann M'orzz has posed:
     "...Oh yeah. I mean, I can shapeshift pretty fast, but more time isn't a bad idea. I've been kind of keeping a general ear out for anyone who's radiating particularly malicious emotions too. ...Is it still an ear if it's your mind?" This is a question that M'gann must ponder later. "I think wall hanging would be a good idea. We can probably find a mount somewhere, or maybe ask the people in metal shop what'd be the best way to do it..."

Xiomara Rojas has posed:
    "Uh.. I guess." Xiomara says slowly, "I mean.. you're listening, sorta?" she agrees, "So I guess it counts." she takes a little breath. Xiomara walks back into the kitchen, nose twitching as she stirs the potatoes a bit more before draining the water and putting the pot to the side for the potatoes to cool and finish cooking. Steam rises from them.

    Another long pause. "So. Uh.. Megan." she starts, "I uh.. " She's not sure how to say something, "Do you like spicy food?" A change of subject! Clearly that's what this needs. "I love spicy food." she says as she pours pasta into boiling water and then pulls the heat back a bit. She tosses the cooked onions and raw onions into the pot of potatoes, along with the chopped jalapeno. "I'm not making this super spicy like I enjoy it, but I think you'll like it. I just didn't want to go overboard or something."

    Xiomara then turns- looking directly at Megan. "Hey.. Megan. I.. uh. I like you." she says, then.

M'gann M'orzz has posed:
     "...I'm not sure if it's listening. Like... It's more like being in a crowded room, and you can hear murmuring? So it kind of is, but at the same time it kind of isn't. ...I try extra hard not to listen to anything from you, though, since you asked. I can still recognize your 'voice' though." ...This metaphor is really getting out of hand. "I mean, I haven't had much chance to try spicy earth food yet, but It should be fun! I really like finding new things. And if it /does/ end up being too spicy for me, I could always retune my tastebuds." Megan offers a reassuring smile, watching intently as the cooking proceeds, until the revelation jerks her out of her reverie. "I... uh..." Huh, for someone with naturally green skin, her face sure is looking red right now. "You mean like... /like/ like?" THe difference was something her sitcoms had been VERY clear on.

Xiomara Rojas has posed:
    "Well." Xiomara begins- just looking over to Megan quietly. She then steps forward and attempts to press a kiss to the Martian's lips. A moment's shared kiss before she pulls away, "I *like* you. Think about it."

    She takes then a step back, just smiling a bit- either way, she got the kiss. It's an absolute win.

M'gann M'orzz has posed:
     Megan stiffens a little before utterly melting into the kiss, leaning against Xio. She doesn't really escalate things, keeping it simple for now, and nearly staggers when her roommate steps back. She blinks a few times, looking up at the taller teen. For once, she's entirely without words. Not that a link would have helped anyway, as right now her emotions are one big confused jumble. ...Not a bad jumble, though

Xiomara Rojas has posed:
    Xiomara is *pretty* sure that went well. She's humming to herself- a first. Just a little big of music as she starts to bring dinner together. Powdered cheese, she grates up the mexican cheese she bought and mixes it all together with the vegetables. Finally she grates a rather good portion of the rest of the cheese onto the top of the stuff.

    "We gotta give it a minute or two to uh.. well to melt."

M'gann M'orzz has posed:
     Megan still isn't entirely firing on all cylinders yet, so she's just going to lean here against Xio's side and hopefully not get in the way too much. This was the warmth, the closeness, that she'd been missing. It's still not as good as a full on mental link, but... Someone likes her. And she likes them, and she's warm and is going to have food soon.

Xiomara Rojas has posed:
    Xio doesn't start this time- no, she seems happy with the contact. "So.. uh.. did you have plans for Prom night?" she asks, next- gotta seal the deal, Xio!

    "Cuz, um.. I wasn't really interested in going, but maybe if YOU wanted to go...We'd go together."

    It really doesn't take long for the mac and cheese to melt up and the flavors to marry. Everything would come together well. A couple of bowls are grabbed from the cabinet and two heaping bowls of mac and cheese are served- with more to be eaten as seconds. Xiomara certainly has higher caloric requirements than a human. One bowl just wasn't enough! "I hope you like it." she says, offering the bowl over towards Megan.

M'gann M'orzz has posed:
     Blinkblink. "Uh... I hadn't really thought about it? It was a thing you needed a date for, and I didn't really think I had anyone, but now... I'd love to go with you." Megan smiles up at Xio, pressing a little closer. "We could look up dresses and stuff later, and I could see what looks good on me..." Oh hey, food! The martian accepts her own bowl and digs in, eyes widening a little at the spice. "Oooh! THat's... It's hot, but not temperature... Different than Martian spices. I like it!" She settles into the cushions next to her... Girlfriend? Are they yet? She should probably ask that. ...But food first.

Xiomara Rojas has posed:
    "Dresses?" Xiomara begins. "I mean. I guess? I mean- you should wear what you want, right? But.. I don't know about me wearing a dress." she admits, honestly. She doesn't mind at all the closeness. "Yeah, there's a lot of different kinds of spicy, too." she continues, "Wait until you try curry. That's a totally different kind of spicy."

    This is all very interesting to Xiomara- it's all sort of new, but it feels.. good? She hasn't felt that in a while.

    It's a nice change of pace.

    Xiomara tucks into the food- "Yeah, Mac and cheese is like a great comfort food." she explains, "I'm also pretty good with tamales. My dad showed me how to make those. He said my grandmother used to make them all the time."

M'gann M'orzz has posed:
     "I mean... If it's anything like it always is in movies and TV..." It probably isn't, but it's not like Xio has any more experience than Megan does. "And you can wear whatever you want too! I mean, there's always a nice dress shirt and slacks or something? ...We might need to ask for help though. Finding things and deciding what looks good." This is definitely very comforting. She's not sure how much is the food and how much is the contact, but... "What's a tamale?"

Xiomara Rojas has posed:
    "Oh.. Well, Tamale is a a wrapped in masa- it's a corn meal." Xiomara begins between bites of food- chewing and swallowing before she speaks, of course. She's not an animal. "You mix that with lard and water until you get a batter. A lot of chilli in my family recipe. Not everyone does that, though. Then you gotta make the filling. It takes a long time to make'em. We usually had them on holidays because how long it takes to make them." She pauses a moment, "I had them every birthday. My Dad would get up early and make a bunch of them for us. He said it was his favorite birthday food. It's mine, too." she admits, next. "I think you'll like them."

    Tamale are very special to Xiomara. It's impossible not to feel her fondness for them- for how they mean so much to her and that she very much wants to share her family's tamale style with Megan. "We wrapped them in corn husks before cooking them." she says, finally. "Traditionally, you have them with Atole." every Spanish word is spoken like a native. "That's a corn drink. I'll make some of that, too. We can have a traditional tamale feast together."

    "I mean, I could try to find a dress. It's not like I don't like dresses.. I just haven't worn one in a while. Pants is more useful for day to day stuff."

M'gann M'orzz has posed:
     M'gann nods slowly as she continues to eat herself, carefully cataloguing this information. "...So when's your birthday? I want to be able to practice before then..." Mmmm. Warm food, warm friend... "We'd probably need to ask a friend where to shop for things. ...Should I actually buy one, or just use my organic clothes? They already shapeshift with me, so..."

Xiomara Rojas has posed:
    "Well. We always celebrated September 4th. That's when my parents found me at Burning Man." Xiomara explains, "We used to go every couple of years just to like.. experience the freedom. It's really fantastic! Maybe we should go sometime." she begins. "So, like it's basically a bunch of people getting together and doin' art, and music, and a hell of a lotta drugs. At the end of it, they burn a giant effigy of a man- that's whys they called it Burning Man."

    "Its super. Everytime I been it's blown my mind."

    "Yeah, I mean, there are a lot of places to go shoppin' in New York, and it's not so far away." Xiomara notes. "Probably a good idea go there. I'll haveta get some cash, though. Luckily, there's a fight soon, so I can go to that and make some quick money."

M'gann M'orzz has posed:
     Megan nods. Yes, September. That's PLENTY of practice time. Art and music sounds fun, but she's not quite sure about the drugs, and... Oh. Fire. "Xio, I've got this... kind of thing about fire. Large amounts of it make me really weak, and I can pass out. It's part of Martian history, apparently. Caretaker didn't go into /too/ much detail on why it happens, though. ...And you don't have to fight to make money for dresses if you don't want to. I get a bit of a stipend, I can help..."

Xiomara Rojas has posed:
    "Well. We'd better not go to Burning Man, then." Xiomara says without missing a beat- apparently just taking Megan at her word. Megan doesn't like fire- it does something to her. THat's all Xiomara needs to hear.

    "Yeah, but I like to fight." Xiomara admits. "It just feels. I dunno.. it feels right for some reason? I'm always like.. angry. I always want to hit something- or someone." And that is fairly obvious. "So.. like it's just.. I dunno. Fun?" she says next, "I ain't never lost, though."

M'gann M'orzz has posed:
     Turns out that anxiety over relationship potential makes you hungry. M'gann's empty bowl floats onto the coffee table, the redhead cuddling a little closer and resting her shoulder on Xio's. "Okay. ...But I want to come along, and if anyone does beat you by cheating I get to do a Darth Vader impression. ...But without the whole killing thing. Just, you know... scare them into not messing with my girlfriend." ...ohcrap she said it. Amber eyes nervously flick up to meet red.

Xiomara Rojas has posed:
    Xiomara swallows. The *G* word. "Okay." she says, "You can come, but don't get in the way. Like.. that's cheatin' and I don't cheat." she says. "Anyways, ain't none of them strong enough to beat me." she says, "It be nice to have.. my girlfriend there." she admits.

M'gann M'orzz has posed:
     ...Okay, it wasn't rejected. Keep it cool, Megan, Ceep it cool... "I obviously wouldn't cheat. Same as you wouldn't do anything to interfere in chearleeding." Her hand finds Xio's, and she squeezes gently. "...I should probably look different if we're doing that, though... You know. A geek like me hanging around pit fights? That's just obvious something's weird."

Xiomara Rojas has posed:
    "Everyone shows up to pit fights. You come in with me and they won't ask no questions." Xiomara explains. "It ain't weird for fighters to bring.eh.. a 'Good Luck Charm'." she says with a little grin. "So, you'll be fine.. Look how you wanna. I like it." she admits, "You're very cute."

M'gann M'orzz has posed:
     M'gann blushes hotly, pressing a little closer for a moment. "You're cute too. But like... In a tough way. Tough Cute." Megan's brows furrow for a moment, and she... changes. A little taller, little less of a gymnast's build, a little skinnier. Her hair shortens to shoulder length, turning a pale blue, her face gains some rather distinctive high cheekbones, and a hint of smoky eye shadow. Her NASA T-shirt and jeans are replaced with leather pants, combat boots, and a NIN tank top under a battered leather jacket. "So... how do I look?"

Xiomara Rojas has posed:
    Xiomara watches as M'gann just changes in front of her- a bit of awe there. "Uh.. wow. That's pretty fantastic- but really, you don't gotta change for me. I likes you how you is." she assures M'gann. She's not lying. "But, if you feels more comfortable in this face when we go, that works." she says. "I mean, I always got the same face- I dun even like using this dumb inducer thing. I think it's friggin stupid to hide what we is."

M'gann M'orzz has posed:
     The now blue-haired teen nods slowly, before her form flows and returns to normal. "...Okay. I just thought... You're you. Nobody gives you crap. I'm the geek who's growing potatoes in what totally isn't real Mars soil just because I saw a movie about it and I thought it might win the science fair." She girns sheepishly. "I do kind of think I'd draw a lot of attention if I was walking around with green skin, glowing red eyes, and no hair though."

Xiomara Rojas has posed:
    "Sounds hot to me." Xiomara says. "I mean, I got red eyes, and I've shaved my head before... but yeah, you'd probably draw some attention." Says the girl who's skin is as white as snow, and is naturally with the black markings that make her look like an 80's hair metal diva.

    "Naw, people give me crap all the time Megan. I just don't *take* no crap." she says, "You gotta make those sorta decisions for yourself, you know? There ain't nothin' wrong with bein' the nerdy girl who wants to grow potatoes in whatever sorta soil you gots there." she states, "You are yourself. There ain't nothin' wrong with who you are." And that appears to be Crush's opinion on that particular matter. "That's why it's dumb to hide who we is just so *someone else* can be comfortable. It ain't my job to stroke everyone's ego to make sure they is comfortable with me bein' what I am. They can be uncomfortable- that's their right- but I shouldn't haveta do something special to make them feel better about bein' idiots."

M'gann M'orzz has posed:
     "...Thanks, Xiomara. I really appreciate it. And hopefully someday we won't have to worry about this kind of stuff." M'gann wriggles a little, biting her lip and concentrating again. Her hair retracts, skull changes shape, skin turns that certain shade of green, and her eyes glow a dull pupilless red. She stays like that for a moment, before returining to her 'normal martian' form. Almost human, jsut with green skin. "I don't do this for anyone else. I do it for me. This..." She touches her chest. "This is who I am inside."

Xiomara Rojas has posed:
    "You're beautiful."

    And that, it seems, is Xiomara's whole opinion. She has nothing more to say about it. "As long as it is who you wanna be, I got your back, Megan." she states next. "I want you to be comfortable with who you are. That's a very important thing- cuz ain't no one else gunna be able to give you that. You gotta give it to yourself. You gotta be the person you wanna be, and sometimes it ain't easy to get there."

    "I fight everyday to be the person I wanna be." Xiomara admits. "I get so angry, and I just wanna... smash everything. I wanna hurt people.. but I wanna be someone my parents would be proud of. They told me that my real parents were off in space protecting the universe, cuz.. They didn't want me to know who my real Dad was." she says, "They did it to protect me."

    "And they was always there for me. The only reason I'm in this school, right now, is because I wanna do somethin' that would make them proud... they couldn't never give me no private school education."

    "And I know they'd've jumped at the chance to send me to one for free- but it's what I want, and that's what's most important. You gotta be who YOU wanna be and fuck everyone else's expectations or opinions."

M'gann M'orzz has posed:
     That... That's the first time anyone's called her beautiful. Megan's eyes shimmer a little as she blinks back tears, before she hugs her new girlfriend tightly. "I... Thank you. And I know you're going to make them SO proud. ...and if you want, I wouldn't mind learning to fight a little. I mean... I'm going to be a hero, so I should learn some of how it works, right? We can both help eachother."

Xiomara Rojas has posed:
    Xiomara holds M'gann when the hug comes- a tight hug. Not too tight- but tight.

    "I'm going to be a hero, too." Xiomara says softly. "I gotta be. I gotta do that." For so many reason.

    "I can help a bit, but.. uh.. I'm mostly a good fighter cuz nothin' really hurts me and I'm strong." she admits, "Like *really* strong."

    "But, yeah. We gotta help each other. Ain't a lot of alien girls around. Gotta stick together."

M'gann M'orzz has posed:
     "We'll be heroes together." M'gann offers a smile again, happy to rest her head on Xiomara's shoulder. "...We can probably find someone to teach us as well. Like... My uncle has to know someone. Or we could maybe ask if there's a martial arts club or something. And I'll always have your back. You can call me whenever you want." Smiling again, she taps one finger against her temple.

Xiomara Rojas has posed:
    Xiomara smiles quietly. "You want some more mac and cheese?" she asks then, as she kisses M'gann's cheek before standing to grab her bowl- and Megan's. "It's a good night for that. More mac and cheese."

M'gann M'orzz has posed:
     "More Mac and cheese, and more cuddling. I'd like that." M'gann offers a grin, blushing again at the cheek kiss. "We could prop the TV up and watch something if you want, too."

Xiomara Rojas has posed:
    "Sounds like a plan." Xio replies- a night with the girlfriend. That's a fantastic night.