ArchivedLogs:Stop the World

Stop the World
Dramatis Personae Aloke, Jackson, Micah
In Absentia	2013-08-17 '
Location <WES> Croton Gorge Park – Westchester
Situated on the east bank of the Hudson, this large park offers events year-round and a plethora of activities for nature lovers. With playgrounds, facilities for camping and swimming, boating and fishing, plentiful trails for hiking, biking, horseback riding, cliffs for rock climbing, grounds for winter sports, and ample ground to just sit and enjoy the weather, these park grounds are a great place to relax year-round. The grounds are well-tended, and with a host of avian and herpitological life, early mornings often find animal lovers scoping out the grounds in search of a glimpse of some rare bird or lizard hiding in the trees or rocks as well. It was Aloke's idea this time. He wanted to thank the guys for that nice dinner, and all the kind support he's received since coming to Xavier's. So with it being nearly the end of summer, and schedules about to ramp up again, he suggests a picnic out at the park. This time however, Aloke is providing the bulk of the meal, a picnic lunch full of fresh fruits and veggies (with dips!) and all the fixings for delicious veggie sandwiches. Also, he's supplied an assorted six-pack from Happy Cakes Bakery. All of this is packed into a classy, old fashioned picnic basket. Aloke only asked them to bring something in the way of a beverage. The mutant has arrived early and claimed a spot of open field, right under a gorgeous, leafy oak tree. The tree must be at least a hundred years old. Aloke is wearing loose, tan, drawstring linen pants, a white, button up linen shirt, and no shoes. Jax isn't /exactly/ on time. Chronically incapable of arriving at social gatherings without food no matter /what/ reassurances he's received that it is unnecessary, he's made them late (albeit not /much/) with preparation of spring rolls, mango and cucumber and cilantro and rice noodles in thin soft rice paper wrappers with a chili-garlic-vinegary dipping sauce. This, together with the iced tea he carries and the lemonade that is Micah's current burden. He's dressed in a cheerful yellow 'Little Miss Sunshine' t-shirt, mottled black and purple knee-length shorts, and purple Keen sandals, a black FreakAngels messenger bag at his hip and a bright smile on his face. "Aloke! Oh, gosh, you picked a gorgeous spot. S'all looks completely wonderful -- m'sorry we're late, it was /totally/ my fault a hundred percent." Having hiked out on foot, Micah and Jax's slightly late arrival might have something to do with the lack of enhanced travel techniques to draw upon, as well. Micah is carrying a canvas tote bag with a Thermos poking out its top, working to keep cold lemonade cold. He is dressed in an orange and red plaid button-down worn open over a plain white undershirt and faded, patched jeans. A newsboy cap perched on his head helps to keep the sun out of his eyes. "It ain't like we're hardly late, hon. Just not /early/. Not quite the same thing," he reassures with a smile as they approach Aloke's chosen picnic spot. "Afternoon, Aloke. Jax just got himself caught up in makin' more food. Because he's pretty much compelled t'make food if we're meetin' people at mealtimes. Sometimes even if it's /not/ mealtimes." Jax receives a fond pat on the shoulder before Micah assists him with setting out the additional food and drink contributions. "Hey guys, it's /fine/ of course," Aloke smiles ear to ear, and hugs each man in turn once things are set down. "Thanks for bringing this stuff. It's looks great." Aloke holds up his hands apologetically. "I have to confess though, Jax. I wasn't thinking, and I didn't check which cupcakes might be vegan. I'm really sorry about that. I could pop over and get one though! What's your favorite?" "We're not on time," Jackson protests with a deep blush, and then accedes apologetically, "-- okay, you're right, honey-honey, we ain't -- really /late/, I just. I was makin' rolls and I forgot how finicky the rice paper gets when you get it all wet and /sorry/ I just. Um. Sorry! Hi Aloke I -- hi." "Oh! Oh gosh, every single thing Hanna makes is /delicious/. As long as it's /not/ chocolate-mint I'm happy." Jackson returns his hug in a quick tight squeeze, and once he sets his rolls and iced tea down beside Aloke's spread he's already toeing off his sandals to wiggle his toes (nails painted glittery purple) in the grass. "-- I like anything with chocolate /and/ I like anything with fruit so that pretty much covers ninety nine percent of dessert. It -- basically just leaves out plain vanilla, I'm not -- really much'a a vanilla kinda person." Micah almost starts to protest Aloke fetching another cupcake, then remembers just how quickly the man could pull off such a task. "Ohgosh, yeah. I keep forgettin' how fast you are. That /is/ all kindsa useful." He settles himself down on the grass beside Jax. "Everythin's fine. I don't think we derailed the plans none, so it should be good." The commentary on vanilla earns a sudden, unexpected bit of a giggle from Micah, followed by a slight smirk tracing across his lips. "Pretty much, yes. Can't go wrong with chocolatey things or fruity things, most of the time." "Dibs on the vanilla then!" Aloke nods at the six-pack box and winks at Micah. "Ok, settle in you two. There might be a line. But I shouldn't be long! There's veggies and humus in the green tupperware." Then, he crosses his arms over his chest, wiggles his nose, and disappears in a soft flash, which is almost unnoticeable in the bright, midday sun. In all of about five minutes, a soft flash announces Aloke's return with a little square onesy box. He grins and goes to a knee in front of Jax, lifting the box like a knight presenting the holy grail to King Arthur himself. "She had a chocolate thing, with some kind of /raspberry/ layer. She is a wizard." For a moment at Micah's giggle, Jax gives the other man a puzzled look; it quickly morphs, though, into a /fierce/ blush. He settles in, when Aloke disappears, nestling himself happily into the grass in a patch of sunlight to nab himself a carrot and swipe it into the hummus. "-- Oh my gosh, that is the handiest bit of amazing. I wish I could turn /into/ sunlight. Except I guess if I could, you wouldn't /never/ get me back into human form. Though I guess if I looked /half/ so pretty as person-me as he does I'd hafta human it up sometimes just to look in a mirror -- oh!" His blush returns, as deep as before when Aloke returns with his box. "Oh, gosh, /you're/ a wizard, honey-honey. Chocolate-raspberry, that sounds like a bit-a heaven. Thank you so much." Jax's blush has Micah giggling again, though his own cheeks colour faintly pink in response. "Might be sad if you were just sunlight all the time," he observes, borrowing Jax's free arm to place a kiss on the inside of his wrist. "Can't give kisses t'sunlight, exactly, no matter how many writers wanna talk about sun-kissed whatever'n'such." He returns the arm to Jax so that he can snag a cherry tomato with hummus for munching on. Despite his commenting on Aloke's speed already, his quick trip still has Micah shaking his head with a touch of incredulity. Aloke sets the box next to Jax, and flops over on to his side, propped up on an elbow, putting the basket between himself and the happy couple. He looks at them both and can't restrain a full, warm smile. "Seeing you two... so happy together. It reminds me that love is a real thing." He shakes his head to dismiss too much seriousness, and finds a broccoli to dip in humus. It turns out to be too much for one bite, which just turns into several messy bites, and humus on his nose. Which he has failed to notice. "How's work been, Micah?" "But I could give so many kisses to /you/," Jackson says cheerfully. "Sunny sunny -- sunburn kisses. OK, maybe all-sun all-the-time kisses would be more pain than s'worth. You'd hafta invest in /real/ good sunblock with a boyfriend /made/ outta sunlight. Though I wouldn't be half surprised if someone out there /was/." He chomps down half his carrot, and giggles at the hummus on the end of Aloke's nose. "Love love love -- makes the world go 'round." He /might/ sing this to the tune of the Powerpuff Girls' song of the same name. While leaning forward to dab a finger towards Aloke's nose and wipe the hummus off, his smile bright. "Think I'd go half crazy if it wasn't. World's got enough terrible, it kinda /needs/ the happy to balance it out. Thank goodness for summer, mmm? -- You get all your grades turned in in time, Aloke? I know I am /fully/ planning on slacking off from now till fall. Well -- okay no I still got a few shifts of other-work an' a trip to Georgia in a couple weeks but I'm gonna do a lot of slacking in /between/." "Ach, no sunburn kisses! Ginger!" Micah play-protests, flinging himself over dramatically. The movement seems to have been aimed to get his head resting in Jax's lap as the rest of him sprawls across the grass. His fingers reach up, tugging on a lock of his own hair illustratively. "Would be a peely lobster forever." This is such a sad image that it requires Micah to jut out his lower lip in a pretty little pout. Micah's blush shifts through a few deeper shades into the red spectrum at the couples commentary, though he is soon giggling again, tapping at his own nose and then gesturing with a fluttering hand in Aloke's direction. "I think y'got yourself flavoured," he teases the other man. "Work itself's been good. Was catchin' up pretty well, but the 'mobile' part of the mobile business's been slowed up a bit with any attempts at drivin' in the general direction of Harlem. They got things blocked up down there pretty good." Micah snuggles against Jax at he details his plans. "Oh, lazy summertimes. Yes, please." If Aloke's skin were lighter, this would probably be his turn to blush. But he allows Jax to nab the humus, and just offers a thankful, if embarrassed nod. "Thanks. Should have warned you guys - I never claim to be dainty." He listens to Jax's plans and nods. "Yep, summer session is all taken care of, but I had hardly anyone for summer credits. Pretty light work on my end. I'm looking forward to hearing reports on your Sex Ed. class. It's got /quite/ the buzz around campus." Aloke sits up, pours himself some of the lemonade, and goes back to the elbow lean. When Micah describes his work troubles, Aloke nods. "Yeah, sounds like it's gonna be hard in Harlem for a while. I hope they get everything straightened out down there. It's a shame people can't get a fair trial in this city." He sighs and sips at his drink. "Pfft, if we wanted dainty we'd probably have to be eating those -- tiny little mint sandwiches? With the crusts cut off? Under parasols. I don't think this is the dainty sort of picnic. We also need to play --" Jackson considers this for a moment. "-- what's the one where you tap the balls through the --" He draws an upside-down U shape in the air with one forefinger. His hand drops to rest against Micah's head, stroking at the hair that Micah tugged at. "M'kay, lobster-boy, no sunkisses. I'll do all the sunbathing. You can hang out in the peely-lobster corner. D'you think that you'd turn all peely-lobster if y'flitted around with Aloke too long?" His free hand gestures towards Aloke in indication. The mention of Harlem sets his mouth briefly in a thin line. He nods, exhaling slowly. "Yeah, that's -- that's gonna be rough. Been keepin' an eye on -- well. Got a friend up there." He shrugs a shoulder. "That whole thing's just -- I hope t'find some way for it t'end well." His blush returns after this, together with a quick lopsided smile. "-- Both m'boys got /all/ their friends to sign up for that class this term. It ain't like to be boring, at least, that's for sure. I'm sure you'll hear /plenty/." "Oh, goodness, ain't no need for daintiness 'round us," Micah assures with a chuckle. "Don't know why anybody'd waste the crusts offa bread. S'perfectly good bread! An' I don't know much about croquet," he supplies the name of the sport in reply to Jax's mime, "'cept for when it shows up in the Disney version of 'Alice in Wonderland'. Got my suspicions they don't /actually/ play it with flamingoes an' hedgehogs an' sentient card-people." His tone implies that this is a deduction that took some effort or cleverness to reach. "Y'know, I really don't know if bein' transported /with/ a light-person would cause damage? I mean, do passengers turn into light, too, when they travel with you? Anybody show up with an impressive tan after?" Micah seems legitimately curious about the mechanics. Aloke nods solemnly when Jax mentions the friend in Harlem, but otherwise lets the topic go for now. It /is/ picnic time, after all. "Well, I bet your class is gonna be great, Jax. Wish /I/ could take it. I'd probably learn something." Aloke laughs, and sips at his lemonade. "And, I'm pretty sure my passengers can't get burnt, because they turn /into/ light, which I don't think can burn itself. But then, I've never had a trip take more than a couple seconds, so..." Aloke shrugs and smiles. "I have a confession to make though," Aloke says, making a show of glancing over his shoulder at the people playing frisbee WAAAY over at the other end of the field. "I have family members back in India, who are card carrying members of the Croquet Federation of India." He sighs and shakes his head. "True story. They take their croquet /very/ seriously over there. I mean, it looks like fun and all, but I'm not sure I get it." "I mix up that one and cricket," Jackson admits, "and I didn't know there was Federations for neither." He /eyes/ Aloke with mock suspicion. "You sure you ain't in no cri-quet federation yourself. Oh! You could teach us how to play. Though we'd be the un-daintiest cro-cket players ever. OK, maybe not /the/ un-daintiest, we still wouldn't be bapping no hedgies with flamingos. I didn't even remember to /pack/ no flamingos/." He tosses a quick grin to Aloke after that. "An' I can run y' through my curriculum if you really want, though I don't imagine it's nothing you don't already know." Micah nods to Aloke as he describes the light-metamorphosis process, his grin broadening. "Oh good! See? Totally a ginger-safe mode of travel. No burnin'." He tips the brim of his hat a little lower, as if reminded that he's in actual sunlight for the time being. "They'd almost /have/ to take croquet seriously if they were gonna take it any way, wouldn't they? S'kinda a richfolks sport, an' they do most things way too serious. If we're playin' croquet with cricket bats or cricket with the croquet...balls...I dunno if they're called somethin' specific. We /might/ be the un-daintiest." The laughter that begins at this continues through Jax's offer to run through his...particular curriculum, though a hint of blush returns to his cheeks at the idea. At least he's used to changing colours most of the time. Aloke just laughs at all the back and forth about croquet. "'Serious' is not the word. You don't even know." He pauses to wind down the chuckle, and sips at his lemonade before dipping another, smaller broccoli this time. Crunch! "Cricket gets on TV. Way more popular. But I guess their croquet is kinda like bowling over here. That's another one… I just don't get." He grins, and rolls onto his back, propped on elbows, staring at the beautiful blue sky. "Well, mostly I think the kids' reactions are gonna be funny. But who knows? I only ever had two girlfriends… High school, and the other two years ago… Holy shit, has it been that- Oh wow, sorry. Over share?" His words say one thing, his posture is MUCH more embarrassed about his total lack of love life. "Right. Cricket's got the bats. Can y'play that with flamingos, too?" Jax's fingers move from tracing through Micah's hair to stroking down over his arm; where they run, a bright pink flamingo appears on Micah's skin. Like a tattoo, except this one moves, batting at a roly-poly hedgehog cricket ball. Croquet ball? Either way, it rolls itself off of Micah's arm into the grass, taking three-dimensional form and nestling itself into a ball of prickly-looking but completely /un/prickly spines up against Micah's side. He blushes again himself, at Aloke's embarrassment, flushing faintly pink. "Aw, honey-honey, that ain't -- nothin' to be --" His smile curls wider, and, with a warm cheerful smile he reaches out to squeeze Aloke's shoulder. "I," he informs him, his tone solemn despite the smile, "ain't never had /any/ girlfriends." "Can't imagine it would be a very happy flamingo if it got used as a bat," Micah speculates, as if this were a completely legitimate question. He...actually /squees/ at the sudden animated antics of flamingo and hedgehog. His hand just can't help itself from reaching to pet the insubstantial light-hedgie, gently brushing against nothing. Oh! Oh right. People were talking about things, weren't they? "I don't think I got an over-share line left t'worry about, hon. Between workin' in the medical field an' generally not feelin' a need t'judge at folks over things... Ain't a lot a person could /say/. As I see it, relationships are a lot more about quality than quantity, anyhow." Micah might be a bit flushed again, but this should be no real surprise. He giggles at Jax's claim to no girlfriends and swats playfully at the illusionist's knee. "Mmhmm. Way t'get out on a technicality." Aloke watches the animation with equal glee. "Well, two girlfriends and…" Aloke smiles wistfully, looking up at the sky again. His eyes grow bright enough to really notice in the daylight, and then his whole body shimmers, and is see-through, yellow light for a moment. He blinks and looks down at himself, a little surprised. "Uh, sorry, not sure what that was. But, I was just remembering… Alan. Alan… Widmeyer. Freshman year, Psyche 101." Aloke snaps his fingers when he remembers the name. "I never had the guts to… ask him out. But that's when I knew… " He shrugs, and rolls up to sit lotus style without any noticeable effort, lemonade still in hand. "In my head, I always used the word… 'heteroflexible'." He laughs, "I mean, I hope it's not offensive or anything, for you guys. I never said it out loud before, let alone… pursue the idea." Even Aloke's dark complexion seems to be letting some of his flush through. Nonjudgmental friends and environments are all well and good, but disclosing something personal for the first time is never easy. The hedgehog unrolls, tentatively, snuffling at Micah's finger. "I got two teenagers /an'/ I'm teachin' sex ed," Jackson says with a small quick curl of smile, "I think I probably got past the whole TMI thing long since." He quiets, watching Aloke's shimmer for a moment with a slight tilt of his head. "Oh -- oh, honey-honey, there ain't nothin' no ways offensive about -- it can be kinda hard sometimes t'find folks you're comfortable talkin' with 'bout stuff y'ain't shared with nobody before." His smile is warm, still, easy. "Certainly ain't neither of /us/ going to be bothered -- m'kinda touched you /do/ feel comfortable around us. Was he the only one who y' --?" Micah manages to bite back another /squee/ at the hedgie snuffles. Though he /might/ be petting the air again. It just looks so pettable! He smiles warmly at Aloke's storytelling. The teacher's glow, however, is familiar enough in its similarity to Jax's in like situations. Micah's cheeks and ears creep through several deeper shades of red, though his posture remains relaxed. "Words are...often inadequate t'cover the scope an' fluidity of human sexuality. Ain't my place t'be judgin' whatever another person wants t'use t'identify themselves. It's so...personal, you use the words that feel right to /you/. Even if those words evolve over time." Micah sits himself up a bit, propping back on his elbows, entering into mutual-sharing mode in hopes of putting Aloke more at ease. "I mean, I never really found anythin' that felt right, m'self. I usually go with 'bi', 'cause anythin' more descriptive usually just confuses folks? But it's not exactly /correct/, either. Gender just don't factor into the equation of who I like any more than...say...hair colour or taste in books or how a person laughs." His smile broadens, aimed largely at Aloke. "So, I guess I mean t'say that I'm used t'complicated. An' discussions /about/ complicated. I'm glad you felt like you could talk about it, too." Aloke smiles, and laughs the pressure-release kind of laugh of someone who didn't realize he was tensed up. "Thanks, guys. It's nice to… I dunno. Say it out loud? Personally, I really like Kinsey's idea of a scale, but then, that still doesn't explain a lot of the gray area in the middle." Aloke smiles at Jax's question about 'others'. "I mean… I've had crushes, and stuff. I've just been working so much the last ten years. People think artists live this cushy - oh well Jax, you /know/. I had to hustle to get my work shown, even after being 'discovered'. Then I had to hustle to keep myself relevant at NYU. It was nonstop." He clears his throat, and grins, "But I guess you could say I've been an equal opportunity fantasizer." He shrugs, and stretches his back, still in lotus position. More lemonade, and then he presses the cold glass against first one side of his neck, and then the other. It's not super hot out, even for August in New York, but the man seems a little overheated. "Oh, gosh, yeah, I know. Ain't half so romantic as people seem t'think it is. Mostly just a whole lotta laughin' at the idea of free time. But then --" Jackson quirks a crooked grin down at Micah, rubbing a hand lightly against one of Micah's arms as the hedgehog climbs back up the /other/ one to settle on Micah's chest and curl up for a nap. "-- I guess that's how it is with most independent business. Downside'a makin' your own hours is y'kinda end up making 'em be /all/ the time while you're trying to get off the ground." Which he says with kiiind of a wince, both he and Micah still firmly in the /getting/ part of 'getting established', still. The wince, though, fades off into an easy smile. He pours himself a glass of sweet tea, wriggling a little closer to Aloke with a cheerful expression. "Still," he says, light and easy, "that just makes it all the /better/ when y'do find time to take to get out and --" He turns a hand upward, sweeping out around them. "-- enjoy the scenery." He dips his hand down to fish a piece of ice out of his glass and flick the tea off it, lifting it to press it (kind of wet! drippy!) to Aloke's forehead. "You're hot." -- Though this only makes his blush deepen worse, creeping out past his cheeks to briefly tint the air pink around him. "-- Um, I mean, you look --" He twitches a quick smile, small and crooked-shy, his eye flicking away from Aloke back down to Micah. "Sorry." Micah's eyes go all wide and star-struck at the clamberings and snoozings of the illusion-hedgie. Apparently Jax is trying to break him with sheer adorableness today! It takes him a minute to return to the conversation with the actual /people/ who are present. It's hard to keep attention on things when there are illusions of extreme cuteness, okay? "It can be helpful t'get things outta your own head, yeah," he finally replies to Aloke. "They get t'rattlin' around in there 'til they sound funny sometimes. I saw this diagram that someone tried t'make that included all the various scales an' identities an' whatnot that they'd ever heard of. It was almost /funny/ how complicated it was. Like a whole Venn diagram convention /exploded/." He chuckles at Jax's description of setting up new businesses. "Ohgosh, yeah. Normal schedules. What d'those look like again?" Micah's grin implies that he doesn't expect those present to be able to answer any better than he could. His hand darts out to claim a carrot and some more hummus, chomping most of the hummus off the end with what might be considered poor timing. Because Jax...with his word choices. It is an impressive thing that Micah manages /not/ to choke on carrot, though it is touch and go for a moment. That he is /bright/ red could have to do with any number of factors, including the fit of giggles that is finally allowed to surface once choking is no longer a concern. "Jax. Jax-honey. Your fanfic writes itself." Aloke sighs, and closes his eyes when Jax presses the ice to his forehead. He keeps the eyes closed while Jax and Micah tease each other. Jax's comment doesn't really /help/ with Aloke's ambient temperature, but it does make him smile, and the ice helps a lot. He keeps his back straight, still trying to maintain lotus, when a drop of melted ice runs down to leap off his nose and land on his ankle. This, /this/ is the moment that makes him lose his composure. Aloke laughs and his posture collapses. He slumps over, and puts his head in Jax's lap, lying on his back now. "Micah, I'm sorry, I have to borrow your man…" he says idly. "This ice is amazing." Eyes still closed, it looks like his eye-glow is actually shining /through/ his eyelids. Micah's comment brings a snort, to which Aloke raises his index finger to point at no one. "For the record, I did /not/ just snort." "Yeah -- I, uh -- I tried t'find some kinda diagram thing m'self for class -- like. One thing I really /didn't/ want to do is -- in /so/ many sex ed classes in so many schools they just. Stick to the binary and don't even slightly acknowledge all the kids that don't fit in it. An' we /got/ so many kids that don't fit in it -- I kinda want to make sure class ain't just trying to squish everyone into boxes. But um. I don't think a sorta normal model's gonna quite work. People are /complicated/." Jax shrugs a shoulder, briefly pensive. "-- Ohgosh honey-honey don't die." Though Jax is giggling himself, a little, once Micah is no longer choking. He leans back with one palm braced in the grass behind him, his other hand still lightly tracing his melting cube of ice against Aloke's face, water streaking down now against the other man's cheeks. "-- Don't you need t'like. Be -- fictional to get fanfic? I mean, admittedly this whole summer /has/ felt kinda surreal but I don't think we've leapt quite /that/ far off the reality train just /quite/ yet." He lifts his other hand out of the grass to move it to Micah's side, curling it in a loose drape around his chest -- just /under/ where the hedgehog has nestled to sleep. "S'alright. S'plenty'a me for the borrowing." There's a small smile on his face, and where his fingers hold the ice cube, a soft shimmer of light blossoms around them; his thumb slips downward to brush against Aloke's cheek. "You're glowin'." He sounds rather pleased about this. "Mmn, borrow away," Micah offers half-playfully. "You wanted t'be a professional pillow, right Jax? Just sit around an' let people drape on." The corner of his mouth quirks upward in a smirk at Aloke's claims of non-snorting. "That's too bad. 'Cause it would've been a /little/ bit adorable if you had." A hand lifts to pat at Jax's knee as he frets over his class. "Hon, I think you're gonna have the best, most inclusive high school sex ed. class that ever happened. If nothin' else, the bar is set preeetty low most places." He pops the last bit of carrot into his mouth, chewing slowly to indicate that he is not, in fact, going to die of carrot. "Don't gotta be fictional t'get fanfic. How many actors y'think get roped into roles by their fans, not /just/ the characters they play? It could be done. No escape for you." Micah sneaks in a kiss, placed lightly at the inside edge of Jax's bicep when the other man's arm curls around him. His smile brightens (well, everyone /else/ is glowing!) at the growing shimmer from the light-pair. "Y'stole my line," he accuses Jax teasingly as the illusionist points out the glow. "I - wait, really?" Aloke's eyes flutter open at Jax's comment about glowing. They look concerned, but more importantly, looking at them is like staring into headlights at night, they're that bright. "That… doesn't usually happen." He chuckles, a little unsure of himself. Then Micah's claim of snorting gets a real laugh. "Nope, no. Definitely sure. I do /not/ snort." Then, the water drops running down the sides of his face drop straight down to Jax's leg, /through/ the space where Aloke's head is. He's become quite transparent again, and intangible. He closes his eyes and becomes solid again, but seems out of breath when he speaks. "Hey, how about you two help me burn some of this off?" He smiles ruefully up at Jax, and then over at Micah too. He reaches out to take their hands in each of his, and then he just sighs. In an instant that seems to stretch on forever, Aloke converts all three of them to light, and swoops the trio around the park. They zip back and forth, like a demented light cycle, right out of Tron, not that any of the other park goers would be able to notice one ray of light in the bright, sunny afternoon. As they go, the world around them seems to be paused. The frisbee player in mid-leap like a sports photo, the bee, wings still, hovering over a patch of clover, even the leaves of their shade tree, leaning forever in the direction of the light breeze, but frozen still. One, two, three laps around the park, and Aloke brings them all back into solidness in the grass near their picnic. He is laughing and gasping, and happens to be flat on his back between the two men. "Oohhh, I needed that…" Aloke says, breathless. "S'worse things than gettin' draped on." Jackson sounds pretty lazily contented, here, fingers tracing against Micah's chest, his others against Aloke's cheek. At least until it goes insubstantial; his brow creases with a brief note of concern. "-- Hey, honey-honey, y'aright? Now you're kinda-- goin' all flickery." He flashes Aloke a quick smile, though the concern hasn't /quite/ left it. "I sure don't mind. Don't mind helpin' and don't mind how you travel, s'/kinda/ -- incredible beautiful." His finger curls through Aloke's, just before the world -- stops. By the time they've returned, his face is a little flushed, his eye wide. "Oh --" His breathlessness is not from any exertion, just from a quiet sense of awe. He drops down to his back, too, at Aloke's side, fixing his eye up at the sun. "Oh -- /wow/. I don't -- think I could never get used to that. S'dangerous. Just -- kinda stop the world. Stay here forever." "Definitely glowin'," Micah confirms at Aloke's inquiry. "Oh? That's not...typical for you? I just assumed on account of Jax...kinda glows sometimes. Filed it under 'mutations with light sometimes glow', I guess, an' didn't think nothin' of it..." He looks a touch sheepish at the overgeneralization. "Burn--?" 'Off' was presumably the rest of that question, but it is lost in a sudden, sharp intake of breath as the group zips away in a beam of light. When they reappear, he releases the breath in a gasp that implies he /might/ have been holding it the entire time. "Ohgosh. Oh/gosh/, that was," he pauses just to /breathe/ for a moment, tugging his hat on straighter, "surprisin'." While clearly taken off guard, Micah's tone does not convey any displeasure at the experience. Rather to the contrary. He lays supine, simply blinking up at the sky for a few beats. Aloke streeetches in starfish pose. It's a pose he just made up, just now. He takes a couple more deep breaths, shifts, and tries to wriggle so he's in contact with both of his friends at the same time. At a glance, he seems to be back to normal, as far as light emissions go. "Wow, never taken two at once before…" Then he chuckles, and definitely doesn't snort (he really did), and adds, "I probably could have phrased that differently. But I'm lucky to have friends like you two. Today has been great." Jackson's eye widens at Aloke's choice of words. His cheeks flush /brilliant/ red, a soft red tinge in the air around him for a moment, too. His mouth opens and closes again, and he flicks a glance to Aloke and then to Micah and -- somehow manages a deeper shade of crimson. His arm lifts, curling his elbow over his eyes to partially hide his face. "Ohgosh. Right. Travel. With the light. You meant. Carry. Right. I'm. Going to. /Right/." The blushing doesn't fade, his arm still curled over his face. "-- Today /has/ been great. Thank you." Micah puts up no resistance to Aloke's wriggling closer, even sliding toward the other two to facilitate the contact. He chuckles at the not-snort, moving into full-on snickering at Aloke's comment. Because he's twelve, apparently. It's hard to say whether his face colours red more of its own accord, or out of sympathetic blushing due to Jax going all the way to air-blushing in mere seconds. "Well, glad it seemed t'be a...positive experience." He has to bite at his lower lip to stop the smirking; there is no hope for it otherwise. "But really. That was fun." He places a series of quick little kisses along Jax's clean-shaven head in attempt at coaxing (or at least distracting!) him out of his little hedgie-curl. "C'mon out, hon. We ain't even tucked into the better part of all this /food/ everybody brought. Don't know about you, but I'm famished!"