He was an immortal? Maya felt like it was a tad harder to breathe for a moment so she set down her fragile cup. She had to have met every immortal in New York by now. A lot of them knew each other, but it was possible that Paul wasn't yet a member of that club since he seemed by comparison so new.

It didn't mean that he was immune to the effects of its hurt.

"I endure while others that probably deserve to live are forced to pass on. It's..."

"The nature of immortality." She finished the sentence for him and reclaimed her tea cup. Rowan abandoned his sticker in favor of patting his mother's hand. Even as young as he was, he knew she could use some comfort.

Maya rubbed her hand through his baby soft hair, the contrast between her pale skin and his oddly grayish skin was startling when they were next to each other. "Did you ever have a wife, Paul?" It would be easy to seem a bit too interested in this question as it was the hinge of her despair.

"My husband was thousands of years old. Well. Is. Somewhere out there." Somehow Maya just couldn't stop pouring every little detail out there. One day it was going to get her in trouble. Or maybe that day had already come and she had used up her quota of trouble and could now live out the remainder of her days saying whatever she wished. Was this why old people did whatever they wanted? The idea cheered her somewhat.

"I wasn't his first wife and I don't suspect that I will be his last." Though she had suspected for him to at least wait to see her to those last of days. Maybe the idea of losing someone so soon broke something inside of him. Maybe that was it.

Maya cleared her throat and roused herself from that line of thinking. It didn't lead anywhere good. "Do I need to be concerned about fire, mister Phoenix?" The smoke detectors could probably use some updating if he was a real fire type of guy.

"The nature of immortality."

Raising an eyebrow toward the young woman Paul lifted his cup and took a sip of the tea. It seemed like she spoke about immortality like a person that had dealt with it and lived with it before. Perhaps some of those friends she had mentioned were immortals?

"Did you ever have a wife, Paul?"

Immediately Paul's mind flashed back to the beautiful blond Ashley Sullivan that had captured his heart back in the 1970's. Those had been two wonderful years but the pain of her passing had been more than he could stand at that moment.

"I had a love... we were never married but we were as good as." Paul answered softly with just a touch of wistfulness in his voice. "I'd never felt such despair and for one hour... one blissful hour I was able to escape."

And moments later her own story was pouring out. A thousand year old husband that had left her behind. She had mentioned earlier that she had only a few years left ahead of her and her husband wasn't willing to give her that much time? He wasn't willing to give up 5 or so years of his immortal life to care for this woman?

"Do I need to be concerned about fire, mister Phoenix?"

Paul had to chuckle slightly at the question. He could understand her concern after hearing his story but knowing his own ability he knew that it wasn't even an issue. "I don't know how or why but the flames never spread from around my body. Everything within two feet or so of me when I die is burned but the flames never spread any further. If there's a fire it won't be because of me."

> "I'd never felt such despair and for one hour... one blissful hour I was able to escape."

One hour? Maya chewed on that information. For one hour he was... brain dead? On fire? She decided she probably didn't need to know the specifics. What she did need to know was that he wasn't a direct threat to herself, her family/tenants, and her home.

> "If there's a fire it won't be because of me."

"That's good to know." And it was. She didn't have to worry about him at all, it seemed. He could catch his death and it wouldn't even matter.

"Would you like to stay for dinner? We eat vegetarian most nights. I hope that's alright."

"Gup. Gup, mama. Gup." Maya grabbed the cup Rowan was waving in her direction and hopped up and went to refill his water. While Maya was away Rowan studied Paul very seriously before asserting himself. "My mama."

Well, if Maya did nothing else, at least she inspired loyalty in her children.

A dinner invitation? She was inviting him to have dinner with herself and her young son? It seemed a little strange that she would be inviting someone that was almost a complete stranger to continue hanging out in her home but the fact that they were both mutants helped to bridge quite a few issues. It gave them a connection that most people couldn't understand.

"Vegetarian would be fine... I like most types of cuisine."

Turning to the young man, Paul returned his gaze just as seriously. The little boy was definitely cute and would be enough to make most people melt but Paul was used to trying to keep his emotions on the inside so he didn't even crack a smile as he slowly nodded. "Your mama... I understand. I won't try to steal her away from you." Paul had never understood the people that would talk to their children in baby talk, changing their voices to be more high pitches simply because they were talking to children. In Paul's experience children wanted to be taken seriously and they wanted to know that you treated them in a similar manner to how you treated other adults. Even at his young age he figured that Rowan probably wanted the same sort of treatment.

Once he was sure that Rowan had understood him as much as possible, he turned his gaze back over to the only female in the room. "Is there anything I can do to help with dinner?"

Maya was in the habit of giving out trust where it hadn't yet been earned. Though she was more cynical now than she had been when she first returned to America, it would take a lot more to stunt her generous personality.

She passed Rowan's cup back into his pudgy hands and looked between the two boys at her table, amused.

"Well." Maya pushed up her sleeves trying to remember exactly what she had planned for dinner anyway. "You can slice mushrooms if you promise not to slice yourself." The elemental collected Rowan from his seat and put the toddler on the counter so that he could help too.

The first step was fishing out the various ingredients. Butter, mushrooms, pepper mill, and wide long noodles. The mushrooms, Maya passed to Paul along with a small mandolin for thin slices. "It's crazy sharp. Seriously. Be careful." She exercised the mom voice a bit there then went to fill a large pot with water from the small sink. Always awkward. Rowan splashed in the puddles that formed from the water that sloshed out when Maya wrestled the pot from the sink and onto the two range stove.

This was a comfortable place for Maya. She moved around the small space and it was clear that the kitchen functioned as a well oiled, well loved machine.

One of the main advantages to cooking vegetarian, Maya had found, was that besides the slicing it took a little less time to make simple dishes. "These noodles are called pappardelle. There's an eatery a few blocks over that sells them. Really good."

A little cream went into the butter and Parmesan that took up the second spot on her small stove. Garlic, leftover onion slices, Paul's mushrooms, pepper from the mill, and a dash of something from a wine bottle. Easy-peasy. The last thing to go in would be the spinach and then they'd be set.

"Not too shabby, huh?" Maya passed plates to Paul next so that he could set the table. He had offered his help and she wasn't shy about taking advantage of that where she could.

"Slice mushrooms without slicing myself... Got it." Paul nodded before rising from his seat and walking over to the sink to wash his hands. Expecting a cutting board and knife he turned around to find Maya setting a strange instrument down on the table along with the mushrooms. Racking his brain he seemed to remember that the device was called a Mandolin and he thought he had seen them used at some time but he had never used one himself. Slowly he ran a mushroom over the extremely sharp blade, raising an eyebrow in amazement at how well the device worked.

After several minutes of silent working he looked over to see how Maya was progressing. Her confidence in the kitchen was obvious and it was clear she either loved cooking or just cooked a lot. "So why do you normally cook vegetarian? Just what you prefer eating or is there another reason?"

He had known people that thought animals were sacred or other things but he was curious about Maya. It was strange but he felt protective of her for some strange reason. He didn't want to romance her but he did want to keep her safe. He almost felt fatherly toward her... what was bringing that response on? Not really knowing how to classify his feelings Paul simply took the plates when they were offered and began to set the table.

"My husband is a strict vegetarian." She assumed that hadn't changed even if the rest of him had. "It's something to do with his power. He eats meat and... well, you don't want him to eat meat. I got used to it. I kind of like it. I can't say it's for my health or anything." She punctuated that thought with a sort of bitter ha. "I mean, you can use butter on vegetables just as easily."

Maya pushed three forks into Rowan's waiting hands. The toddler dumped them all onto the first plate that Paul put down and then went back for more things he could help with. He didn't get to carry the serving dish, but he did get to carry the extra special large serving spoon.

"This way, at least I can't forget to serve the vegetables. You just have to watch your protein. We usually have some kind of beans or, well, there's cheese in here and milk." So that counted, right? Maya ran back to refill cups one last time before they all sat down.

"If you'd like to say a few words, you can, Mr. Paul. Otherwise I think we're ready to dig in." Maya helped Rowan into his seat and buckled the precocious kid in. She would serve him first, make sure his noodles were cut and he at least started the night using his fork. Next she offered teh serving spoon to Paul.

What a nice domestic scene they made.

So his fellow immortal had to be a strict vegetarian for some reason. If he ate meat something bad happened. Did it make him turn into something like Dracula if he allowed himself to have the taste of blood and flesh? There was so much that Paul's imagination could do with Maya's simple statement but he did his best to reign it in for the moment. After all, as far as he knew he had never met Maya's husband so there was no way that he could judge the other man.

Smiling at Rowan's attempt to help Paul took the time to move the forks off of the one plate and set one beside every plate. "True, there are plenty of protein options other than meat though I have to admit it would be difficult for me to give up the occasional steak." Paul's smile was just as obvious in his voice as it was on his lips.

A few moments later Paul found himself sitting at the table with an attractive young woman and an adorable little boy. Is this what it would have been like if Ashley had lived? If cancer hadn't claimed her life would he be enjoying dinner with her and a son of his own practically every day? Could this simple domestic scene be an example of what his life could have been like?

"If you'd like to say a few words, you can, Mr. Paul. Otherwise I think we're ready to dig in."

For a moment Paul was silent but then he bowed his head. He wasn't a praying man and he had no idea if there were some great eternal being that was at the root of everything, including mutant kind, but it just seemed right in this situation.

"We give thanks in this moment for food, new friends, and the hope of a good future. We ask for help in forgetting the past that might haunt us and strength to work through our present."

Lifting his head Paul smiled and accepted the serving spoon graciously. "It looks and smells delicious. Thank you for asking me to stay." After serving his plate Paul offered the spoon back to Maya. Once she had taken it he took his first bite and nodded in appreciation. The food was absolutely delicious.