Where had the time gone? It was always an odd question to try and ask oneself because obviously time simply went day by day, hour by hour, and minute by minute. The weird thing was when those increments seemed to move more quickly than they were supposed to.

It had been months since Janelle had gone to a pizza shop with a guy she’d met doing one of her student outreach events. It was still, to this day, the only good thing that had come out of that gig and the redhead idly wondered if that singular experience had made the whole thing worthwhile.

She and Erik had seen each other a few times since, always briefly and always to simply catch a bite to eat and catch up. Were the dates? It was hard to tell and Janelle had never had the gumption to ask such a question. Sometimes they felt like dates, but it was never a good idea to presume. Then summer had come and an invitation to come home from her parents, it had been almost impossible for Janelle to refuse because she had decided to take the summer off from classes, so she’d left the city to return home...but she’d still had her phone and she and Eric had spoken quite often. In fact, when she’d mentioned she was heading back to the city they’d decided that it was time to try that French Restaurant that Janelle had mentioned back on their very first outing together.

So here she stood in front of her closet, trying to decide what was going to be appropriate for what had to be an actual, real-life date. It had been a long while since she’d gotten dressed with something like a date in mind and it was a mind-bogglingly difficult decision.

Finally making a decision, Janelle pulled a little black cocktail dress from the hanger and got to work getting ready. The dress was black with a high-sided v-neck that tapered into tiny straps over the shoulders...pretty generic, but it was the skirt that made it unique. Fitted and asymmetrical, the right side of the skirt came to a point that nearly touched her left knee. The left side, however stopped mid-thigh, just high enough to be trendy, but low enough to be classy. It would do nicely. Her hair was in loose curls, her favorite way to wear it, and she slipped her feet into short heels that would compliment the dress without feeling like torture devices.

Ready to go, Janelle unlocked her phone and booted up the app for her favorite ride-share.

It didn’t take long to get to “Le Lieu” and the driver didn’t feel the need to chatter awkwardly the whole way. It was kind of nice and Janelle shot Erik a text to let him know that she would be there in just a few minutes. They’d decided to meet at the restaurant instead of trying to coordinate driving. It was fine with Janelle, but did leave that slightly awkward first interaction for a highly public area.

The driver pulled up to the curb, Janelle finished her review (5 stars) and gave the tip as she exited the car, slipping her phone into her purse as she perused the slightly busy New York street for her date.

It had felt like an eternity for Erik since he had last seen Janelle. When one did not have the sweet reprieve from their thoughts that sleep entailed a person was often left wondering far too much and too deeply about certain things to be healthy. For Erik he found he quite missed his little outings with his female.. girlfriend? Friend friend? The ability to talk and text over the phone was a salve to a wound Erik hadn't experienced before. he still hadn't really been able to classify it himself. For all his quirks (of which there were many) she wasn't averse to communicating with him.. sometimes at length. That had to mean something right? If he had any other deep friends he might have asked their opinion. 

After what felt more like three months for the eternally awake man she was finally coming back. They had seen each other on.. food outings? Fact finding missions? Practice dates? Whatever the hell they were before she had left and he had always found them pleasant. Now they had set a dinner date. A fancy one with reservations. He had taken the appropriate time off from work and had spent the time leading up to the 'date' preparing with full gusto. As he looked at himself in the mirror he had to be impressed with himself and his tailor.

He had bought an entire outfit for the event. A dark navy blue tailored suit thrown over a subtle pink shirt with matching pocket square folder so it made to triangle peaks instead of the usual flat square and brief glimpse of color. A new watch and dress shoes filled out the accessories. In another change he went for custom ordered cherrywood cufflinks with a wolf's head burned into them instead of the usual buttons for the sleeves. The teeniest dab of a woodsy smelling cologne applied along with a touch of product to keep his hair from looking messy finished everything out. After one last look and a good natured berating from his landlady telling him he was going to be late sent him off. 

Ensuring his present was secure in the trunk he set off in a high end sedan he had borrowed from an acquaintance. Finding a parking spot was a usual New York nightmare and settled into a spot as she texted him. replying with his situation and telling her he was going to be a tiny bit late he settled into a brisk walk after slipping on some designer shades knockoffs. Briskly making his way to his destination. As he got closer he wondered how long it would take for her to notice him. She probably thought his idea of fancy was a button up instead of his usual cotton t-shirt he was always wearing and the thought made him chuckle a bit to himself.

The hair made her easy to spot and his sunglasses disappeared into his inside coat pocket as he approached and took in her outfit. Raising a hand to get her attention once he figured she might be able to see him. "Janelle!" Grinning as he closed the distance right next to her. "You look absolutely stunning." Ignoring the dull thud in his chest as he knew he was about to be judged for his own efforts to impress. Giving her a few moments to take him in before he offered the crook of his arm to her and gestured towards the restaurant with his free hand  a genuine (and surprisingly unforced) smile on his face. "Shall we?"   

A hard line on punctuality was one of those things that Janelle had never understood…especially in New York City. Between train delays, lack of cabs, traffic, and entire city blocks being closed off due to X-Men activity...it was a miracle that anyone made it anywhere on time. That being said, when Janelle received Erik’s text she was more impressed than anything...he’d very nearly pulled off the impossible.

Scanning the usual crowd of people making their way down the street, it took Janelle longer than she would have expected to spot Erik on his approach...then again she hadn’t expected him to look like he’d just walked out of one of her parents’ cocktail parties.

As Erik called her name, Janelle grinned in greeting, instantly feeling her cheeks darken at his compliment. Darn light complexion...maybe the lights on the street would keep him from noticing. ”You look fantastic too...how did you get a suit tailored on such short notice?” there was no way that was straight off the rack...when a suit actually fit a man it just looked different.

An arm was proffered and Janelle took it with an easy, practiced motion as they made their way into the restaurant.

Le Lieu was one of her Parents’ favorite places when they came into the city and the Maitre D recognized Janelle and caught her eye as she and Erik made their way through the doors. There was no need to mention the reservation and off they went to their table...set for two in a quiet area of the restaurant.

”I hope this is okay…?” Janelle said, once seated. ”The food here is honestly more french than a lot of places in town...and the menu is in english.”

Erik didn't fail to notice her heated cheeks and as the gentlemen he was took a silent pleasure in it without calling her out on it. Afterall his own cheeks felt some heat and the grin on his face somehow managed to grow bigger at her own return compliment. "I called in a favor from a tailor I know." He decided was the best answer he could give. It had taken a bit of cajoling to make it happen, but seeing Janelle's pleased reaction made all the effort worth it. 

With a relaxed pace they went inside and he took stock of the place. It was as fancy as he imagined it was going to be. The fact the Matre D recognized Janelle was something he filed away for future reference. Erik was just busy trying to not look like a tourist out of their element. Casually guiding Janelle to her chair and offering to push it in for her before taking his own seat. His smile a permanent fixture on his features. Then she asked him a question and confusion reigned supreme for a moment.

"It is more than okay with me. I am looking forward to trying some Escargot if they make it here. If it was in French I was just going to have you order me some of the specialties." He admitted with a chuckle. "You might still end up doing that anyway." Then a brief flash of concern. Maybe she meant that in another way entirely. Was this too ritzy for a first real date? Maybe she thought it was too fancy for one of their previous 'food outings'. Had he horribly miscalculated everything?

"Or does this feel too much like a real date?" The words out almost before he thought through the potential fallout of that answer and his heart froze. If it wasn't for his power he could swear a foot grew in the back of his throat. Still perhaps his subconscious had made it all happen. It wasn't like he didn't want to know the answer. He certainly liked her and missed her in an even greater measure than he thought possible when she was gone. With a tact level of what felt like zero they would dance to a conclusion of just where they both wanted this to be. Bull meet china shop.

Well, no matter his past troubles, Erick now had a tailor and was in a position that he could call in favors. If nothing else, his intrapersonal skills were excellent.

Now that they were settled in their little eating nook, the real conversation could begin. It appeared that he was eager to try anything she recommended and Janelle immediately began scanning the menu for her favorites. Erik had mentioned escargot though, and the redhead couldn’t help but pull a bit of a face.

”Escargot is one of those things…it’s very salty and has a really…special texture.” . Janelle was not a fan, put many people were.

”I love foi gras though…we’ll definitely need some of that, and maybe a cheese plate? I think that would all go well with the escargot…” . She nodded to herself, pleased with the selections. It had been a while since she had done the fine dining thing and was getting excited just sitting there and deciding what the profile of the meal should be.

Erik said something else and Janelle was so caught up in the menu that it didn’t register for a moment, when it did she looked up and tilted her head slightly to the side, expression neutral. Had she been misinterpreting things?

”I mean…isn’t dating what we’ve already been doing?” she asked, laying her menu down on the table and leaning slightly forward, ”Or have I been reading into things too much?”. There was that darn blush again, heating her cheeks as her confidence ebbed. Surely if Erik had gotten a suit tailored specifically for this dinner, it hadn’t been silly of her to spend so much time getting ready.

Now he had done it. He had seen her blush. His own little bit of what he HAD to admit was insecurity mad had tumbled together and made her feel self conscious in the process! Her response had assuage any fears  he had and in all the whole thing made him want to laugh, so he did. A small one to shake off the sudden impending feeling of doom before he smiled at her. "Sorry, consider it a case fancy dinner jitters mixed with the excitement of finally getting to see you again. I.. missed you." A hand reaching up to rub the back of his neck some as his cheeks flushed. She said she wanted honesty and he was giving it to her. Even if he embarrassed himself a bit by saying it.

Erik paused a moment to let it all sink in and for him to gather his train of thought back up before plowing forward. "What I guess I meant to ask is if you would like to be an official couple? Talking to you is the highlight of my otherwise long days and I really like you in so many ways. I also know there are topics we sometimes dance around and it might be easier to talk to an official boyfriend or girlfriend about it." His blush staying present as he forced himself to say what he needed to say. "You don't have to answer right away of course. I just wanted to get it out there." So it wouldn't dwell any longer in his heart like some cursed thing to think about in the quiet hours of the day. He raised his own menu a bit as if it was a shield that could ward of any potential rejection. Silently wondering if the menu wasn't really in French with his inability to concentrate on it. 

Erik looked uncomfortable after Janelle finished speaking and she watched the different plays of emotion move across his face...he was at least as uncomfortable as she was...that was fair, wasn’t it?

It was also strange...uncomfortable was a word she wouldn’t have applied to any of her previous interactions with Erik. In fact, that was part of what had made all of this so good...everything had been easy...until now. It was so difficult to understand intention over text though, and that had been how a vast majority of their recent interaction had occurred. It wasn’t outside the realm of possibility that she’d taken things the wrong way. So Janelle waited until Erik spoke, then softly released a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding when he said he’d missed her.

So she hadn’t been misreading the situation. It was weird how pivotal moments seemed to make the world around you slow down and get quieter. Sounds were filtering in again now as Erik suggested it might be better if they made things official. Some people chafed at the idea of labels...Janelle was not one of those people and a slow smile spread across her features as she nodded her head. The blush on her cheeks had intensified as Erik spoke and her heart was doing the little tap dance it tended to do in situations that made her giddy and nervous at the same time.

”I like you too…” she responded, unconsciously reaching up to tuck her hair behind her ear, ”And I don’t know how I’d have made it through the summer if we hadn’t started texting.” It was true, more and more time away from the city felt torturously boring...no matter how her parents thought she needed to be seen at events around home.

”So I think I’d like that...a lot.” she finished, hands now fretting with the menu as the waiter arrived to ask if they knew what they wanted. Soon enough, the appetizers and drinks were ordered and they were alone again.

Janelle couldn’t help but let out a slightly nervous little giggle, ”Well, now that that’s out of the way...how have things been?”

Tension ebbed from his shoulders and body at her agreement to his proposal and felt a big grin almost split his face as she spoke. If he was living in a dream he would have expected responses almost identical to her words. His eyes felt glued to her noting how she handled what he guessed was her own sudden bout of nerves and excitement. Was there anything she looked awkward doing?

He gave his own little chuckle when she giggled and found himself immensely more relaxed. "I am sure you would have made it through it the same way you did last time you had to deal with your parents." It was spoken gently as he had confidence in her to deal with her own parents and little in the way to do with their conversations. "Things have been.." Pausing as he noticed two things.. the first being that he always answered with a simple 'good' and moved on. As his girlfriend she certainly deserve, and probably expected, more than that. The other point one of mild annoyance as the dead space across the table felt so vast and empty. With her being entirely too far away for his liking. "One moment." 

With what could only be described as a goofy smile on his face he stood, straightened his jacket, and with an increasingly large smile slid counter clockwise around with his chair to sit at her left before resuming his seat with a dignified aplomb. Erik knew it was most likely a complete breach of whatever fancy dinner etiquette she had been raised in or even for the restaurant. Both of which amounted to zero in his mind as he noted with satisfaction how the closer distance felt warmer and not just with the flush of his cheeks. It would also allow them to lean in towards one another if they wanted to share about more private matters with even less chance of being overheard.

Clearing his throat in a soft manner before continuing on. "Things have been good... When i am not assigned to a detail work is mostly about training and cleaning guns. In my volunteering time I have been pushing the kids I figure would do well in public school to get signed up and helping get together school supplies, clothes, and all that. The more difficult cases I try to urge to go to The Mansion or other mutant help groups if they aren't comfortable with that option. Ah! I did recently help get one of the kids adopted. Jeremy was one of the first mutant kids I actually got to know." Pausing to make sure his voice didn't waver at all before continuing on. "Let's see.. side jobs are as random as ever, though I have had to put them on the back burner while I help fix my landlady's deck to try and get that done before winter rolls in. I am thinking I am going to have to redo the whole thing. If I needed to sleep I would probably go crazy from the lack of reading time." It was probably the most he had talked about dang near anything in one go to anyone about anything! "I will have to give you my address.." Realizing it almost as an afterthought. "My landlady is pretty amazing. You will like her I think." Grinning at her as he let her absorb the information download he had just unleashed on her. "How about you?" 

Janelle smiled and nodded as Erik pointied out how she’d have managed to survive the summer. In all honesty, Janelle knew that she shouldn’t really complain...when all was said and done she had gotten very lucky in the parent lottery. While someone snobbish and out of touch, they loved her and genuinely wanted Janelle to be happy. They still seemed to think her life in the city was some kind of phase that she was going to grow out of, but they didn’t mind the idea of her going to school and working. They hadn’t even minded when she’d said she was kind of seeing someone. It hadn’t been an intentional topic of conversation, but even Janelle’s parents had noticed her increase attachment to her phone.

The redhead was prepared for a vague yet sufficient answer to how Erik had been lately, because that’s how their conversations about such things always went...what she was not prepared for was for him to move his chair closer.

Janelle couldn’t help but laugh a little. It was the kind of thing that would usually have been severely frowned upon in a place like this, but she knew that they wouldn’t dare say a thing to her or her date. There were sometimes that the world she came from had its perk, at some point she would have to explain to Erik just what he was getting himself into.

Proximity was nice, especially when one was attempting to have a conversation in a room full of other people. It wasn’t necessarily conducive to eating, but that was a problem that could be dealt with later. Besides, one was supposed to sit near to ones boyfriend or girlfriend, and that’s what they had just decided they were.

To say that Janelle was surprised by the deluge of information she received as a result of her question was an understatement. It wasn’t that they hadn’t ever had meaningful conversations, it was just that Erik had always been fairly conservative of his descriptions of his job and the things he did in association with it.

It was a lot.

There was a philanthropic side to what Erik did that almost made Janelle get emotional. He literally signed kids up for school and made sure they had the things that they needed to get started. The redhead filed the information away for later, that was something she could definitely help with. School was important, especially for mutant kids, even more for kids who were no longer living at home. Janelle also filed away the info about the Mansion, that was something else she could help with.

The things she couldn’t wrap her head around...weapons and their use. For some reason it wasn’t difficult for Janelle to imagine Erik helping an orphaned kiddo buy school supplies and get up in the morning to catch the bus...the bit about him fixing his landlady's deck wasn’t even a stretch...but using a gun? It was just too difficult to picture.

There was something else.
”You don’t sleep?” was what came out before she even started to think about what she had been doing. How did she not know that? ”And your job involves guns?” The questions weren’t asked with judgement, surprise and eagerness evident in her voice and open curiosity painted on her face. Janelle just wanted to know more and Erik seemed to be in a mood to share. Unsure if this was the new status quo or this would pass, Janelle wanted to get all the information she could, while she could.

Talking about himself was never a skill Erik had ever been good at. At first growing up shrouded in secrecy and practically hidden away under the floorboards as a kid. Then as he got older becoming a criminal and making personal sacrificed to keep his family and more importantly his mother alive. Once his mother died and the world fell apart he ended up coming to New York and he simply didn't know or trust anyone well enough to talk too in depth. Now he worked as a mercenary with a double life as a vigilante while maintaining the guise of a criminal for certain associates of his. Secrecy was a habit that had simply became a state of being that suffused through him.

Thankfully, small talk was a required skill for any thief or even any person with a job that potentially faced the public so he could manage to keep from looking completely inept when on a job or the most passing of conversations. That meager offering wouldn't cut it for a real relationship so Erik had to do what he had always done. He adapted. Janelle had slowly drawn him out of his shell and taught him how to be himself. A rare raw vulnerable part he reserved only for her.

Now. Now he had to slowly expose the real him for the simple fact that for all his flaws and secrets he was not about to build a relationship out of lies or half truths. Not that he would dump everything on her all at once. He doubted she would be very understanding right away that the money he used to help so many people often came from the sort of people who oppressed others. Some of whom would never be seen again. 

The fact she hadn't immediately seemed disapproving of the more detailed facts around his life so far seemed like a good start! Of course her first follow up question was only half expected and he ended up laughing softly in surprise. "You know I am pretty sure there is a dating magazine that says something about guys not talking about themself the whole time." He teased lightly with a smile before nodding to affirm she had heard him right. "No, not for... several years now at least. I have also never been sick or had a cold. A fever a few rimes, but never the flu or anything like that. Those are just the party favor perks believe it or not. It all comes with its drawbacks of course like any 'gift'." Refraining only somewhat from making a face as he used the same byword The Mansion used for talking about mutant powers before smoothly moving onto the gun issue. "Of course. I did say I was armed security when we first met. Though I suppose the official title is 'Security Consultant'." Smiling and giving a little shrug about it. Of course security consultant was just an extremely polite way of saying mercenary in certain circles. "We protect people, places and things and that often times requires the use of guns. If it goes bang I have probably trained with it at this point. My boss was a real.. stickler about it." Dreading the usual follow up question of 'Have you ever shot or killed anyone' he let himself go silent and process it all at her own pace. Ready to field any follow up question or concerns in a genial manner.

”Dating magazines are dumb.” Janelle said with a small smile when Erik called her out for turning questions back on him instead of talking about herself.

He could hardly blame her, he had to know that this was probably the most words he’d ever said at a single time since they’d met. It was simply too rare an occasion to waste talking about herself.

Besides...he didn’t sleep, and never got sick. Apparently it was part of the whole mutant thing. Strangely enough, in all of their conversations, powers had never come up. It had always felt weird and unnecessary to ask, and they’d had plenty of other things to bond over. Erik, apparently, didn’t need to sleep though, and had some kind of super immune system.

Was there more? Janelle decided she may have to ask for more details at a later time because Erik had moved on to the second point she had addressed with her questions.

If she thought hard, Janelle could remember Erik mentioning that his job was something to do with armed security, it had never really sunk in though. It was strange for her to try and imagine him doing the types of things that a person did when they could shoot things that were meant to shoot.

It seemed so very gauche to ask if he had ever shot someone, and Janelle decided that she didn’t want to know right now. Obviously if he had, it was because it was something that had to be done. The same people who helped mutant orphans find families did not go around shooting people willy nilly. She simply nodded her head in acceptance of his answer. It all made sense and could be delved deeper into later if need be.

It was quiet now, and Janelle realized it was her turn to talk.

”I do stuff to plants.” she blurted out, unsure what else to say right that moment. It was as good as anything, she supposed. It had been far more eloquent in her head though and she giggled nervously as she took a drink of her water before elborating.

”I mean, I can make plants do things...that’s my gift.” she said, ”Though I need more sleep than I like to admit, and I’ve definitely been sick before.”

As for the rest of her summer, ”I’ve kind of been looking for a place to live, outside of the Mansion. I love it there, but I kind of want to know what it’s like to be on my own. I’m not in a hurry though.” It was something she had discussed with her parents and they’d immediately offered her their apartment in Manhattan. It was too big and too...them though. Janelle wanted a little place to call her own...and maybe a cat.

Those sorts of things took time though, and she had classes to register for and dates to go on.
As if on queue, appetizers arrived and Janelle actually rubbed her hands together as they were set down.

The foi gras was her first target and the redhead took a liberal portion smeared on the accompanying crostini.

”Mmmmmm.”

He had mostly been teasing when he pointed out the fact she didn't respond to his own questions. Erik certainly didn't blame her. LIstening intently and then making succinct comments was more his style. Socializing casually had been a skill he had learned mostly from interacting with Janelle herself and for certainly not the last time he felt himself being grateful for her patience and help even if she was completely unaware of it herself. 

Then she dropped a bomb.. or at least it had seemed like a bomb initially. Erik's mind racing to slot the new information into place even as he suddenly found himself pondering the anatomical limitations of what he assumed was a confession with a speed and acceptance that he found surprising. That is until she clarified and the eyebrow that had shot up to her initial response drifted down and the big red abort button in his head was hit. "Oh." Well that.. that certainly made far more sense given the previous context of the situation. A million far more relevant and far less risque questions popped into his head. She could control plants! That was far more amazing then his ability to not die even if he was horribly mangled.. at least in his opinion. "That is amazing." It came out in a soft almost whisper like voice. "The plant whisperer part not the sick part. Though for someone who has never been sick it is fascinating in its own way." Nobody ever brought him chicken noodle soup in bed when he was sick and read him a story as a kid. He felt he missed out somehow.

As she mentioned a place to live he had to clamp down on saying anything. Inviting her to live with him was way too advanced for the current stage in their relationship and it wouldn't solve her desire to become more worldly even if she didn't realise it at the moment. "I can say being alone most of the time is not for me. Having grown up around my family all the time makes isolation a bit unnerving. If you like I can see if any of my landlady's friends have a room for rent? Most are widows and the like, but it might be a good first step?" 

As a brief lull settled in he found their appetizers arriving and had to give the staff credit. They certainly knew what they were doing in how to be unobtrusive as possible. Smiling as she rubbed her hands together. She went for her mystery smear and he looked over the snails and cheese plate.. nodding to himself in agreement in how lost he was to the proper way to eat the garlic and butter infused snails. So he copied her and as rather surprised to find it tasted good. Was there a fancy fork he was supposed to use for the snails? He figured he could just pick one up and chew one down, but that hardly seemed appropriate etiquette for a place like this. So he leaned over towards Janelle with a wry grin on his face "So how exactly does one eat snail?" His eyes directing themselves over towards what he had ordered before leaning back and continuing on with their conversation. "Amongst my disadvantages for my gift I end up needing to eat more just to maintain myself. I suppose when you don't have an 8 hour rest cycle you have to make up for it. My primary gift is my ability to.." Looking around to make sure noone can hear as he was both a bit shy and paranoid about it.  Far more lame than her super ability to control plants. His was just a basic biological process amplified to a ridiculous degree. "Regenerate." Having got it off his chest it was both liberating and terrifying in equal measure.

If Janelle had been blushing before, now her cheeks were absolutely burning. That had been an awkward verbal mistake. Erick seemed to take it in stride though, and Janelle couldn’t help but smile as he told her how novel it was that she could be sick.

Being sick wasn’t something Janelle enjoyed, but she was still so fascinated by the idea of Erik’s powers that she didn’t spend too much time dwelling on the mistake she had made. The proverbial dam had broken and they were sharing things now, things that they hadn’t even talked about over text on those lonely summer nights.

Erik offered to ask his land lady if she knew of any other rooms for rent in the area and Janelle had to shake her head and laugh just a little bit.

”My parents gave me the name of their real estate guy. As much as I’d love to live somewhere with character, I have a feeling that I’m going to end up with something with a lot of security, high in the sky.”

It was true, while her parents were happy to let her have a great deal of freedom, Janelle didn’t want to push things too far.

”I’d love to see your place sometime though.” That was also true. Now that they were sharing, she wanted to see where he spent his time. You could tell a lot about a person by the way they arranged their space and the things they kept on shelves.

Erik asked exactly how it was a person ate snails, and Janelle grinned again. This was something she was good at. Reaching out, the redhead grabbed one of the tiny forks that had come with the escargot and easily removed it from its shell.

Then she ate it.

Escargot was something she’d had enough to expect the texture and the very buttery and salty taste. She couldn’t help but wonder how Erik would react, considering it was his first time.

”Like that! she said. Then it was back to the sharing.

”Regenerating?” she said, brows rising ”Like...healing?” she said, followed by”You really don’t sleep?”

It didn't really come as any surprise that her parents would allow her only so much freedom. Afterall even he had the occasional job protecting some rich kid with overprotective parents though that usually entailed keeping them safe from themself. Janelle didn't seem your typical selfish rich kid which is probably why an attraction or fondness had been allowed to blossom at all. Her own laugh prompted one of his own as he replied with a bit of chagrin. 

"Let us hope I don't end up working security in your building. It doesn't sound like your parents would be too impressed by that resume." The thought causing him to chuckle again in good nature before shrugging offhand.

"And I would love to give you the grand tour of my humble abode." It was probably smaller than anything Janelle had ever lived in, but he wasn't intimidated in the slightest. If she minded his humble way of life he doubted she would have spent all that time texting him over the summer. 

As she demonstrated exactly how to eat snails he watched with a rapt, intentense concentration before nodding to himself. He had guessed the fork might have had something to do with it, but it was better safe than sorry in the silver palace of Le Lieu. For her sake he could at least pretend for the evening he wasn't some gutter runner. Grinning at her exuberance he picked up his first victim along with the utensil and teased out a snail before eating it. Chewing slowly at first to get the flavor with a tiny wriggle of his face as the saltiness hit him. "Hmm not bad. I can see why the cheese plate is recommended to clear the palate." He picked up his next snail and glanced at her with his own eyebrows raising as she hit him with questions. 

The look of concentration on his face had little to do with the snail he ate before speaking. "No, I think regenerating is far more appropriate. Most every living thing can heal. You get a scratch and a few days it would be fine, a broken bone a few weeks to a few months, but not everything can be mended and if you lose say.. a finger. It is gone for good. You break your back.. well you live life in a wheelchair. Me? I just get myself a new finger and my back would fix itself like it never happened." Smiling gently to her as he didn't want to sound patronizing and lacking any better way to explain it without a bloody and macabre demonstration. "When I was a kid I broke my arm and it was fixed before my uncle could drive me to the hospital. As for sleep? Haven't had to in several years now. Without the ability to become tired a few hours of unconsciousness just seems like a waste of time even if it was possible for me to do so. Haven't bothered to try." Not that he imagined his dreams would be the good kind even if he bothered.

He took a breath as he continued to eat with no real hurry, enjoying the food. "When I was running around breaking the law in Russia to try and keep my Mom alive I suffered my fair share of injuries which would have been life threatening to others. Don't even have the scars to try and impress you with." An impish smile flashed over to her before shrugging. "Honestly, being able to plant whisper or whatever it is exactly you do sounds fare more interesting and less bloody. Do you just make them grow or can you alter their biological characteristics?" Making sure it didn't sound like he was forcing her to talk about herself or shutting down any further questions she might have though it felt strange to talk about something he usually didn't talk to anyone about. Not to other mutants.. not to anyone. It was a night of new experiences.

Erik working security in her building. Janelle had to grin a bit at the thought. No place she had ever lived had had armed security...at least not obviously armed security. Still, ”I don’t think that would be good for anyone, you’d never get any work done.” she said, ”And my parents wouldn’t care one way or another. They just have a certain way they do things and it’s best to pick my battles.” Declining a nice apartment was one of those battles she wasn’t going to pick.

A tour of his place was offered by Erik and Janelle made a mental note to arrange the tour as soon as practically possible, and said as much. For some reason she was deeply curious to see where Erik lived, how he arranged his things, what kinds of pictures were on the walls, and what was in his fridge. The nice old lady who was his roommate sounded fascinating as well, considering that Janelle’s house growing up had almost felt lonely sometimes.

The more Erik explained about his gifts, the more amazed Janelle was. Even more amazing was the fact that they had managed to avoid this topic for so long when it was obviously such an integral part of Erik’s self. Growing back limbs? Fixing injuries that couldn’t usually be fixed?

”Wow…” the redhead breathed, eyes wide with the implications and possibilities. He didn’t even have any scars.

There were so many other questions Janelle could have asked...wanted to ask, but Erik was asking her things about herself now and Janelle smiled and nodded her head.

”A bit of both, I think, though I still can’t do a whole lot. If the plant is already there, I can make it do pretty much anything. I can help it grow larger, I can make it change color, I can make it move…” She paused for a moment in thought, ”I haven’t really had to use them for much other than cosmetics though, so I’m really not sure what all I could] do. My parents sent me here to school so I could learn enough to not hurt myself or anyone else...but I can’t imagine being able to do anything that could do either of those things. It’s not very special, to be honest. ”