It was done.

Or at least, the first, official part was. The transfer was approved, his new roommate had theoretically been notified (and almost certainly was well aware by now, since there had been something about having wanted a change from the guy's now-previous roommate for a while), and he had packed. He hadn't really seen anything of Persi lately, and hadn't spoken to him. That made things a lot easier and simpler.

Now, though, he had to go talk to someone else. Some Jude guy. Aiden knew... well, all he knew was that he went by Jude and he had been trying to get rid of his glue-eating roommate for a while. Aiden figured it wouldn't be hard to be an improvement over that, no matter how... unsocial... he tended to be. He was busy these days, though, so it wasn't like he'd be sitting in there glaring at a computer screen 24/7.

Gah, he had to get this over with. Jude was expecting him. Probably. He rapped his knuckles on the door before he could decide to procrastinate a bit more again, only to realize that he wasn't one hundred percent absolutely completely sure that this was the right room. If it was wrong, please let it be empty please let it be empty please let it be empty.

Check that. No matter what, please let it be empty please let it be empty please let it be empty.

X-trainee, defender of innocent mansion students against multiple larger foes, totally terrified about talking to one more person. Yup. That would indeed be Aiden Killian in a nutshell.

The door opened on a luau.

Six hula girls, 7cm tall and spring loaded, wobbled back and forth just barely not in sync with each other. Three were lined on either side of the door like an advanced guard. The carpet fed into what at first looked like sand, but turned out to be a clever use of a truly hideous blanket. There were two honest to god lit tiki torches leaning precariously from their stands made of books.

One of the desks had a fresh pineapple mangled into something sort of resembling slices and two coconuts that looked oddly whole by comparison. Tiny umbrellas in blue drinks. Something was playing some kind of ukulele music. There were a few inappropriate pin up illustrations.

A luau. Or, as good a luau as a Frenchman could scramble together in the time from one roommate to the next.

Needless to say, Jude was excited.

"Aloha!" Jude pegged Aiden in the face with a plastic lei. A most manly plastic plumeria.

Jude, in his wisdom, had left Aiden's side of the room decoration-free so he could move right on in and not eat glue.

What.

Just.... what.

Aiden's disbelief didn't even let him think it as a question. He just stared and blinked and couldn't think properly. Or at all, really. Just... what.

Sapience eventually returned, somewhere around the time something hit him in the face. Muscle reactions, check. Slow, but check. He nearly punched himself in the face trying to catch the thing, but still. Okay. What was...

What.

...

If it weren't for the disturbingly Hawaiian decor, Aiden probably would have turned around and gone right back to Persi. On the spot. Regardless of the paperwork and explaining that would be required. The fake flower thing fit in with the rest, though, so Aiden just blinked a few more times. "Um. Hi."

"Oh. Come on, it's not that lame, is it?" There was a hint of laughter in Jude's words that made him non-threatening.

The dark-haired boy hopped down from his perch on his bed and offered his... hand? Well. He offered to help put that box somewhere and then the hand shaking business. "Jude Coilin Csendes." That was Csendesh said like chen-DESH. There was a nice rhythm to his name. "Power mimic. Nice to meet you."

He gave his new roomie a manly sizing up. The new guy was older than him, but physically they looked relatively similar. Jude's hair was a shade lighter than the new guy's. Jude... well, he would claim they were similar in height. Well, and the one silver eye thing. Flippin' sweet.

The guy was shy as a widdle puppy, though. Hopefully they could get past that. "Come on. I'll help you carry your stuff."

Did his lack of enthusiasm mean they should extinguish the tiki torches? 'Cause Jude thought they were festive.

Lame? What? "No - I just -" Aiden shut up for a moment. "I wasn't expecting it." Logically, if that was his real response to unexpected things... well. He should probably try to fix that before, say, Cafas found out. Or it got someone killed. That wouldn't be good either. He'd think about how little he wanted to actually go about fixing it later. Much later.

Handshake. Sure. Standard protocol and all. At least with outgoing people.

Was he really stuck with an extrovert this time?

"Aiden Killian." It was unusual enough for Aiden to give out his last name; he definitely wasn't going to hand out his middle name just because his new roommate did. Plus it wasn't exactly a common name, though Jude's sounded foreign so it probably would be an issue, but... whatever. Being stared at was weird enough. If it distracted Jude, though...

Oh good he stopped. "It's no problem," Aiden said quickly. Upside to all that weight training, he supposed. He stooped to pick up his box - computers and books buried at the bottom, clothes piled on top, the tips of his sword sheathes and batons poking out of the corners - and lifted it without strain. He stepped hesitantly into the room, and then set the box beside the bed. "So... er... They said something about you looking for a new roommate for a while?" he asked after a few moments as he started to put clothes away. Most of his stuff was fairly worn, but his uniform was close to new.

Yeah. Jude could totally pass himself off as this guy if he had the right shoes. He was sure of it. Not sure why he would need to, but it was little thought like that, that got filed away only to be pulled out for later scheming.

> "So... er... They said something about you looking for a new roommate for a while?"

"Yeah. I am kind of a special needs case. They can't put anybody in here with an active ability that will actually harm people. Or themselves. Or me." Jude scratched the back of his neck self-consciously. "As a copier I, y'know, copy. I have a handle on it now, but sleeping and stuff. I usually take on my roommate's power before morning. Just to warn you."

Jude watched Aiden's face with bald curiosity. "Wow. I am kinda glad I'm not a psychic right now." He chuckled. "You look like you've got a lot going on up there." He also didn't really have a whole lot of belongings. Or at least, it didn't look like too big a heap. He did have his own computer, though. That was spiffy.

And now came the awkward part where Jude wanted to ask any and every question that came to mind until they became best buddies. Or. At least one. "Holy crap, are those swords?" Was he hovering? He didn't want to be that annoying kid that was all up in his new buddy's business. Geez. Why was being cool so hard?

Oh. "Just don't move fast and try to avoid heat." Aiden shrugged. "I make snow if I move enough, and I don't get cold but I do overheat." The need for a roommate with a sufficiently neutral mutation was pretty clear when Jude put it like that. "Nothing particularly drastic." At least in winter. They might have to shuffle around again come summer, but that was plenty far in the future.

Psychic..?

...

That thought was filed away under Best Not to Look. And locked. "Nothing interesting," he said, a bit shortly. He didn't have much time to worry about it, though, instead switching to a slight eye twitch - fortunately not in Jude's direction, since Aiden happened to be turned away and looking down at the time. "Yes. No, they aren't sharp, and I don't let people touch them." It was awkward enough letting people see them. He'd let Cafas handle them, but Cafas was, well, Cafas. X-Man and trainer and decent guy. He slid the swords under the bed, followed by a couple of worn sketchbooks, but set the batons on the bed for the time being.

... Jude was still watching him, wasn't he?

So when his new roommate had been described to him as a snow dancer... Jude took Aiden's warning in stride.

He was tempted to test out this new power, but he would have plenty of time later and for some odd reason some mutants tended to take offense to his copying their power. It wasn't like he was insulting them in any way or trying to be annoying. It was that without other mutants around, Jude didn't have a power that did anything.

To keep himself from hovering and give the kid space, Jude hiked himself up to sit on the desk next to the pineapple and coconuts. He speared a misshapen lump of pineapple with one of the toothpicks provided and felt that his effort toward friendship and hula were being wholly under appreciated.

>"Yes. No, they aren't sharp, and I don't let people touch them."

Geez. Protective much? "What're they a part of your power or something?" He talked about them with the reverence some guys talked about a stolen pair of girl's undies. Yeesh. And what good were swords that weren't sharp anyway? There was nothing fun about that.

His roomie seemed stiff and awkward. Jude made a point to scrutinize one of the pinups instead. "If you want some space, I can go elsewhere." Geez. Jude could take a hint if he wanted to be alone with his sword.

Aiden appreciated having a bit of space while he finished setting out his belongings. He plugged in the computer but didn't turn it on, and left his books in stacks on the desk while he knocked the box flat and slid it under the bed. Keeping busy didn't keep him from hearing or answering Jude, however.

"No, they're just... sentimental." And Aiden could be very possessive, even if he didn't set it to music and blast it out of every speaker around. "They did help me get in with the Xs, though." And through most of his previous school years; having something complex and physical to focus on helped a great deal with stress, even though trying to keep it private often added a whole new layer of anxiety. Jude hardly needed to know that, though. Aiden sighed.

And then winced. Was he that unpleasant to be around? "Sorry. I'm just, well, stuff hasn't exactly been relaxing lately. I don't want to kick you out of your room. I'll head out when I'm done."

Hm. Aiden may be terse, but the few things he did say got Jude thinking. He chewed over the thought of swords and x-men. Wasn't the pink-haired one a sword guy? Also Liquid Silver Pants McGee. Swords were kind of a thing. Which was odd for a group that was supposed to find non-violent solutions. Maybe that's why Aiden's were blunt.

"Hey, man, it's your room too now. If you want space just ask. I was just really excited to hang out with someone..." Older, cooler (pun intended), and x-affiliated? "who doesn't eat glue." He finished lamely. "I meant all this stuff as a welcome. You know. To make you feel welcome? Appreciated? That kind of stuff." Maybe he should just clean it all up.

Jude nudged one of the hula girls with his foot so that she would wobble and dance again.

Aiden glanced over his shoulder. Jude seemed to be thinking about something. It didn't keep him from talking, though. "This space isn't going to be more helpful than any other space," he said drily. Excited... to... hang out? Aiden didn't get it. Why would Jude be excited?

Oh. As opposed to someone who ate glue. Yeeeaaahhh that would be pretty easy to improve upon. "Er."

The concept that someone would go this far out of his way to make Ai feel welcome and.... appreciated? was even stranger. Really? Appreciated? It was all about as alien and unexpected as suggesting that Aiden walk into the White House and inform the president that he was taking over the country.

He floundered for a moment or two before busying himself with neatening and reorganizing the books on his desk. "Um........ thanks," he said quietly.

Weird-o. Or maybe he just had too much baggage. Like emotional baggage. He certainly didn't have too much physical crap crammed in that box. Man, Jude even spelled it out for Aiden and the guy still didn't appreciate it.

His lame-*ss thanks was like giving a hand shake but not gripping the other guy's hand properly. Yeah. That was exactly it. Aiden was giving Jude the floppy fish.

Ugh. Jude shivered out the ick feeling that gave him. Floppy fish. Noncommital. Uncommunicative. Ick, ick, ick!

Jude gave up on the party all together and just flopped face-down onto his bed. Maybe glue-face wasn't so bad. At least he'd gone halvsies on pizza with him when the need arose. This guy just seemed the type to go MIA. He was probably going to choke on his soup, alone, in his mid-20's. Yeah.

Seriously. Most Mansion kids were friendly enough. He had to get the one that didn't even appreciate hula?

Jude sat up suddenly. "No one deserves to choke on soup!" It didn't matter that Aiden hadn't been privy to the whole conversation that Jude had in his head. That was it. Aiden needed an intervention.

.... What.

Was Persi really so bad? He didn't blurt out random, irrational things. He drew irrationally, sure, but he didn't do... that. He eyed his new roommate sidelong. Yeeeaaahhhhhhhh probably best to go. Would it look too weird if he left right now? He'd have to come back eventually, but maybe it would be best if Jude had a chance to... calm down.

But what if he pulled something else like this again? While it might be good for Aiden to get better at reacting to irrational things, he really didn't want to have to do that every time he walked into his own room. Most of the time he just wanted to sleep.

Or he could bite the bullet and try and figure out was going on in Jude's strange skull. He didn't want to. That involved talking to people far more than he wanted to. Aiden didn't like talking to people. He glanced at Jude again. Ehhhh.... "What?"

"Lonely people choke on soup and die alone in the peak of their lives because there's no one around to pat them on the back." Jude waved his hand in front of his face as if to wave the perfectly logical explanation away. That wasn't the important part. "You, my friend, are not going to die alone."

Jude ran through his mental accordion folder of trouble. His poker ring had been thoroughly busted. Most of those kids had wagered pretzels and the like anyway. Jude wanted some mischief that was more... memorable.

"You don't happen to be friends with Sam? Cold Steel? Adult? Ah- that's questionable. X-man, though?" Jude was pretty sure he could get into the guy's room. From there, it'd be rather simple to find a pair of keys and borrow his car. He had offered it to Ghost once, so naturally Jude assumed this invitation should extend to him.

Of course, if Aiden was his friend that meant that borrowing the car was out. But Jude did want to take Aiden into the city. He had an idea for how to get his new pal to open up. It would get them both in big trouble, but...

Ah. Jude mussed his hair and sighed. He was over thinking this. Besides. He promised Ghost no more overt shenanigans. "You don't happen to have Danger Room access, do you?"

Aiden blinked slowly. Jude's outburst still made no sense. Aiden wasn't lonely. He was comfortable with the amount of time he spent by himself, and really wasn't entirely averse to spending more alone if that happened to come up. And he did spend time with other people, so he was even safe from the psychotic recluse status that seemed to hang around most of the craziest villains.

... Actually, he spent a lot more time around people here than he used to. No supervillain status for Aiden. The mansion said so, apparently.

He conveniently seized on whatever it was Jude was rambling about now instead of continuing with that thought. "No. Of all of them, definitely not him." Aiden tried not to twitch or laugh at the thought of being friends with CS. "He hung my last roommate off the roof and offered to drop him. Why?"

Aiden was getting very confused now, and vaguely suspicious. "Well, yeah. The batons aren't for show."