((OOC: Thread takes place between Juliette's X-trial and the X-missions.))

It was actually amazing that she had managed to put it off for that long. 

Why hadn't she told him, really? There wasn't a good reason for it. At first, she had fully intended to tell him as soon as things were figured out, but there never seemed to be a good time. She didn't want to tell him before things were for sure, and then they had all just happened so quickly.

And then Juliette was there, standing in the hallway of the mansion, realizing that she had been in the same building as Sam for a week and had thus far managed to avoid having the awkward conversation of 'oh hey, I joined your superhero team and moved into the place where you live and didn't tell you about it'. She had no idea how he would react, or if he would even be okay with having her on the team. Hopefully she was just overthinking things and making them out as worse than they actually were.

It wasn't like she was avidly trying not to tell him, she reasoned. Really, she just hadn't seen him, so she couldn't tell him. Besides, she hadn't fully moved in yet. There were still a ton of things at her New York apartment. 

Juliette was trying far too hard to make herself feel less guilty.

"Hey, Sam," she greeted as he approached, a hint of uncertainty in her voice. She had no other idea of how to start the conversation. 

”Nice to meet you, where you been? I could show you incredible things. Magic, madness, heaven, sin, saw you there and I thought oh my god, look at that face you look like my next mistake. Love’s a game, wanna play…. Hey.” Sam said as he realized that he wasn’t alone in the hallway. The ice mancer blinked twice then made sure he was looking at what he thought he was. Yup, Juliette was standing in the mansion hallway looking and talking at him. His hand shot up as he started to wave pretending he wasn’t just singing Taylor Swift.

”Hmmmm… I didn’t forget to call you… did I?” Sam asked more of a question to himself than Juliette. He hadn’t called her yet but he was meaning to. Things at the mansion had just been a little busy with kids starting to take his class again. The lack of sleep also meant most of his paperwork was done now too. ”So I haven’t call you yet… but I have been wanting to.” Sam said pulling out his phone and pulling up his contact info of her. He hit send and called her hoping she’d pick up.”[/color]

Sam was... Singing Taylor Swift...? Not exactly what she would have expected from him, especially after talking about Zeppelin, but she ignored it.

"No, no, that's not why I'm here," Juliette shook her head as Sam took out his phone. She bit her lip and glanced at her own in her hand as it started to ring. She pressed the green button and put the phone to her ear, playing along with the joke. "I wouldn't have tracked you down just for not calling," she said into the phone, hearing her voice echo on Sam's device just a few feet away. "I actually didn't track you down at all."

"I, uh," she paused and took a deep breath, "sort of live here now, I guess?" She fell silent after that, not sure what else to say on the matter. 

Sam was about to make a joke about her stalking him then when she explained she sort of lived in the mansion now. ”How do you sort of live here?” Sam asked smirking back at her not sure how to take this information. Was there a reason she didn’t tell him? Or was there a reason she was telling him now.

”You sure this isn’t because I didn’t call.” Sam teased before snapping his figners like he just came up with an idea. Sam gave Juliette the ‘give me a minute’ sign then turned away from her, ”You free right now? Want to grab a cup of coffee? I know just the place.” Sam asked as he turned back around then raised an eyebrow.

A lot of things could be said about Sam he was a master of creating or diffusing awkward situations.

"Well, I, uh, moved in," Juliette admitted and then closed her eyes, "and joined the X-men." She really should have just told him sooner. This was way harder than it needed to be. She was eternally grateful that Sam rarely ever took things seriously, though. It made things a little easier. 

"I'm sure," she nodded. "If I was worried you didn't call, then I probably would have just called you. I am free right now, though," she smiled, grateful that he had made an effort to diffuse awkwardness of the situation. She hung up her cellphone, a little annoyed with the echos coming from the speaker. "And I love coffee."

”Hmmmm….” Sam said in response to her joining the X-Men as well. He wasn’t sure if she was joking but there was a time if anyone was thinking about joining the team leaders were notified and could vote yes or no. Sam would have withheld his vote if she was serious because he was involved. The ice-mancer didn’t say anything else on the subject but rather kept his mouth shut till she had hung up.

”Oh good!” Sam said still talking into the phone as if he was still on the line with her. . ”I’ll pick you up shortly then.” he hung up his phone and placed it in his pocket then walked over to Juliette and smiled, ”So… you ready for some coffee? Sounds like we got some stuff to talk about huh?” he asked as he started to walk towards the mansion kitchen.

Juliette bit her lip again. The extended 'hmm' really wasn't the response she had been hoping for. Maybe he thought she was kidding or something? Instead of making things worse, she followed his lead and didn't say anything more on the matter. They could discuss things further with a little bit of coffee.

"Thanks for picking me up," she grinned, playing along. "I hope you didn't have to go too far out of your way." She picked up a pace next to him and linked her arm through his. "So where are we going?" 

She glanced around the hallway that they were walking down, assuming that they would soon turn to the garage. 

”Not too far, kind of in the area.” Sam said with a smile when his arm was linked he guided her into the mansion’s kitchen. Once in side the kitchen he got the coffee maker out and filled the pot with water and pointed towards some bread that hadn’t been toasted. ”Hungry? I know the chef and he can whip you up something.” Sam poured the water in the maker then got some of his exclusive blend coffee he got when he was last down in Columbia. Yeah, he knew where the good stuff was at.

”Hope you like it strong, the Barister doesn’t know how to make it any other way.” Sam said grinning. Once the coffee was started he raised an eyebrow to Juliette and then smiled, ”So… you moved in. Couldn’t stay far from me huh?” he said still trying to make it less awkward.

"Oh, so it's a little bit underground, huh?" She gestured to the kitchen as they walked towards it. She tried to keep her face as straight as possible as she continued. "Even missing a name. Very hipster."

"I could go for something to eat," Juliette nodded. She had actually neglected to eat lunch, she realized. "Strong is the only way to drink it," she grinned.

She took a seat at the counter nearby and watched him work, enjoying the smell of the coffee brewing. "Or maybe I just thought you might need some more permanent help with those lions. Since you seemed to be having so much trouble with them before and all."

Sam smirked at her response. It wasn’t a typical date but they were already in their home so he guessed he could welcome her with a coffee and some food. ”Been called a lot of things in my life. I don’t think hip is ever a word one described me as.” Sam wobbled his head side to side as if he was fancy now.

”Lions.” Sam nodded his head, ”tougher than they look. Far tougher than bears and tigers.” Sam said with a smirk. The cyclopean ice-mancer got a frying pan out and twirled it in his hand a bit before setting it on the grill. ”Grilled Cheese sandwich, ham sandwich or…” Sam looked at some of the stuff in the fridge, ”An omelet?” Sam asked as he sprayed the frying pan with a little olive oil.

”No, it’s cool you moved in here.” Sam said as he got some cream and sugar out he didn’t take his coffee with either but she might. The coffee was now halfway full and it couldn’t finish soon enough. He needed some coffee. He was tired, and had a feeling he needed to be a little more alert for this conversation. ”So how come you didn’t mention it before?” Sam asked trying not to sound too invasive.

"Hmm, that's a really tough one," Juliette smiled, "but I'm going to have to go with an omelette." She rarely ever cooked for herself, so it was nice to get something homemade. Especially since that something was an omelette.

"I'm not invading your space or something, then?" She questioned as she watched him put out cream and sugar. She didn't take either in her coffee, but wondered if maybe he did.

"I..." Juliette trailed off and paused for a minute. She glanced at the coffee pot as it finished, and stood up to grab it. She poured two mugs and handed one to Sam, taking a sip from her own. "I had to get through the X-men initiation stuff first, so I didn't want to say anything until that was all finished. And then I didn't see you until now. I half expected you to have already found out through other ways," she shrugged and took another sip of coffee. It was delicious and exactly what she needed in that moment.

Sam nodded his head at the food request pulling a few eggs, some mushrooms, peppers and some onions. He then grabbed some cheese and milk and a little spinach. He laid them all out then grabbed the mug and took a sip when she handed it to him. He took a swig then smirked and then set it down. ”Thank you.” he thought about what she said for a second then found the best way to phrase it trying not to sound to upset or too excited.

”It’s cool, big house doubt you’d invade my space.” Sam cracked two eggs then leaned over to her getting close to her face. ”Maybe I like you invading my space.” he smirked then went to throw the shells out. Going back over to the veggies and forming an ice cutting board on the counter top he then produced a knife and started to chop the onions into little cubes followed by the peppers and mushrooms. Sam pulled apart the spinach then cut them into little pieces as well. Turning the stove on finally he raised an eyebrow? ”Any veggies you don’t want?” before he took another sip of his coffee.

”You know I got to ask about that, there was a time when all the team leaders would vote on a new recruit to see if they got what it takes. Someone might have forgotten to say something to someone and then me.” Sam said shrugging, ”Doesn’t matter though, you’re on the team. Still would have been a little nice to have been told from you.” Sam smirked, ”Almost like you’re trying to hid it from me.” Sam raised an eyebrow in her direction as he started to add the veggies she wanted.

"Well maybe I'm the one who has the problem with it, then," Juliette countered with a laugh as Sam got closer. She leaned against the counter as she watched him work, sipping her coffee occasionally. "I don't really mind," she nodded to the veggies with another shrug.

She put the cream and sugar away after watching Sam drink his coffee black, and mulled over his statement. The way he spoke about it made it sound like he was a team leader too. She had assumed that he was just a member, but apparently she had been wrong. "I went through Cafas," she explained. "I kind of figured that he was the team leader, so I didn't really think it would be that big of a deal. I didn't have anything to do with the whole logistics thing and lack of communication." Feigning innocence seemed to be her best bet. Cafas could probably handle taking up the mantle of a scapegoat for a while.

"And I wasn't trying to hide it from you," she corrected him as she continued. "It just... Never seemed like a good time, I guess, and then it just got more awkward." What a blessing coffee served as a sentence end-er. She took another sip and squelched any other words that tried to come up.

Sam nodded his head when he heard that Cafas was the one that accepted her. Made sense Sam and Cafas didn’t talk much. That should change because they were both team leaders but it hadn’t happened yet so Sam gave a mental shrug then a physical one. ”I don’t talk with him as much as I should it seems.” Sam said as he sprinkled some cheese onto her eggs before folding one side over with a flick of his wrist.

Sam waited fore a second then dropped it on the plate for her and then started his own. ”I got a few years on him.” Sam said with a smirk, ”Haven’t worked too much with him but then there are a few team leaders like that. We call kind of work together without working together. Easier to move a team of three or four than one of six to seven.” Sam said with a shrug. The more he thought about it the more he realized that Cafas and he might be the only two active team leaders unless Ghost signed back on but with Rowan she doubted that would be happening any time soon. Then there was Mirror but he and Mirror were more of a duo than anyone else so he sometimes forgot that he/she was a leader as well.

”Only as awkward as you make it I guess.” Sam said raising an eyebrow to her, ”Now why would it be awkward?” he sprinkled some cheese on his eggs after the veggies and gave another flip of the wrist and then dropped it on a plate for himself. ”I mean, you think I’ll be cramping your style? Hot,” Sam pointed to her then himself, ”and cool?” he offered her a fork from the drawer and then took another sip of his coffee.

"That makes sense," Juliette nodded along, glad that it had worked to shift the attention onto Cafas. She took the omelette from him with a grateful smile. It smelled absolutely incredible. She grabbed two forks from a nearby drawer and set one on the counter for Sam. She took a bite of her own dish and savoured it for a long moment.

"Thanks for this," she smiled at him, greatly enjoying it. "You're a pretty good cook. Do you do it often?"

"More like I'd be cramping your style," she sighed slightly. "I mean, I did in the danger room. Sorry about that, by the way." She paused again for a bite of eggs and a sip of coffee. "But, I mean, we could probably figure out a way to make it work. If you're willing, that is."

Juliette moved across the kitchen and took a seat again at the counter, looking back at Sam. "You can probably take a seat now, Mr. Chef. The coffee shop is closed."