(OOC: Continued from A night to Remember)

Streak waited patiently as the elevator took them up to the floor they were staying on. Jewel, for her part, seemed to be very comfortable with Streak carrying her. She was even falling asleep in his arms. He stood upright as the elevator doors opened and he stepped out of them still carrying her curled up body in his arms. Jewel was seemingly trying to start a conversation going even though the alcohol was starting to make her sleepy. Either that or Lily was just that comfy in his arms.

"Shawn?" "Why is everrrryone under the impression that we are... um... together?... Besides, you know... you carrying me to my room right now."

"Well I'm sure this doesn't give anyone a different opinion." Streak said to her looking down at her. She apparently didn't want to look up. Maybe she wasn't as tired as he first thought. Maybe it was just the way she sounded when she didn't want to open her eyes with the movement. The walk from the elevator to his room... Yes his room. Not hers. His. He didn't have a key to her room, and therefore they went to his room. The door closed behind them. The lights had been on since he was in a bit of a hurry to get down to the scene that had occurred with the gals in the lobby.

shawn set her down on the bed and sat down next to her. Well time to break the ice here, "You're not going to throw up on my bed are you?" It was lame, but she was drunk and probably wouldn't care how lame it was. He smiled at her. "Before I let you go to sleep we're going to figure this situation out so that we ain't hanging in limbo anymore." Clarification was always a good reason for keeping someone up. Besides it was something that they needed to discuss anyways. Whether she was drunk or she was sober it was a high priority. Once they got this cleared up they would be able to concentrate more on mission than have a part of their minds on what was going on between the two of them. "I'm just gonna be blunt about it. Where the hell do we stand? I hope you know cause I have NO clue."

Shawn took her to his room. Uh-oh. There was going to be talk. Lily frowned a tiny frown. She knew the team leader had a very good reason (several good reasons, actually) to be mad at her, but she though maybe it could wait till she sobered up.
Maybe not.
"You're not going to throw up on my bed are you?"
Lily shot a look at him as she sat on the bed. She had never experienced drunkenness before, but as far as she could tell from the signs, she was not going to be sick any time soon. Hopefully maybe.
"Puh-lease, Shawn, I'm not that drunk." she chuckled, lazily kicking off her boots and wriggling out of her coat before she fell back onto the bed. Whatever.
"Before I let you go to sleep we're going to figure this situation out so that we ain't hanging in limbo anymore. I'm just gonna be blunt about it. Where the hell do we stand? I hope you know cause I have NO clue."
Lily blinked, and her eyes widened in surprise. Wait, what? She was expecting a whole different kind of discussion (including a speech on Why We Don't Get Drunk During Missions), but... this was about something else.
Shawn and her.
She ran a hand through her - by this time quite messy - hair, and sighed.
"Are you suuuure you wanna discuss this now? Because... I think I am drunk." she giggled. She was pretty sure she was drunk. Sitting up once again - the changes in position still made her dizzy - she rested her chin on his shoulder, tilting her head to look at him.
"I have no clue either. Where do you want us to stand?"

Streak quickly realized that this was probably not the part of the conversation that he should have started with. It was like trying to pick up on a conversation that they'd left off with at an earlier date and neither one remembered exactly the part they left off. Unfortunately they hadn't ever started this conversation so he needed to be a little more tactful with someone that was enebriated. She may be drunk but that doesn't mean that he didn't still need to be careful with what he said. Stupid. Why'd you start with that. Well she did bring it up first. Didn't she? While we were in the elevator. So I have every reason to ask that question. Don't I? Well it was too late for him to take it back. The words had already left his mouth and she had already heard them and countered with her own repsonse.

"Are you suuuure you wanna discuss this now? Because... I think I am drunk." "I have no clue either. Where do you want us to stand?"

"Would you prefer to start with the lecturing about getting completely hammered on a mission or would you prefer to start with this subject?" He didn't really care which one she'd rather discuss. One way or the other they were going to talk about both subjects. Streak was tempted to take the subject in a completely different direction now that she'd countered him with another question. He wasn't going to sit here and let her placy twenty questions with him. Shawn was determined to get some answers from her tonight. It was going to be a long night. "Cause I can do either subject." Streak looked at Lily as she rested her chin on his shoulder. Shawn sighed and shook his head. This was going to be a complicated night.

"You brought it up in the elevator so I'm just pursuing the subject. Now. I don't know what you've been thinking about lately but I've only been concentrating on learning this mission so hard because I've been trying to avoid this discussion. But I don't think we can avoid it anymore. It's a little weird that our kiss in the infirmary dind't make things uncomfortable between us. It's like it never happened. Which is good when you're going on missions together. But it's not good when you have to put that person in certain danger." Streak paused to give Lily a chance to contribute to the converstaion. He didn't want this to turn into a lecture about relationships so he was letting her have a say.

"Would you prefer to start with the lecturing about getting completely hammered on a mission or would you prefer to start with this subject?"
That was more like it. Lily knew the other 'subject' was there, so it was good to finally hear it, they were going to deal with it sooner or later anyway. Better sooner, because in her current position she was not sure about later at all.
"I don't know what you've been thinking about lately but I've only been concentrating on learning this mission so hard because I've been trying to avoid this discussion. But I don't think we can avoid it anymore. It's a little weird that our kiss in the infirmary dind't make things uncomfortable between us. It's like it never happened. Which is good when you're going on missions together. But it's not good when you have to put that person in certain danger."
Lily's eyes narrowed. The whole speech was... a lot to think about, and her mind was struggling with the alcohol to make sense of what he was saying. More importantly the parts he was not saying out loud.
She fell back on the bed again with a sigh, and stared at the ceiling. Trying to put words together for a delicate conversation seemed a lot harder after a few cocktails. Damn.
"I'm not good at this, Shawn..." she bit her lip "... I mean the whole relationship thing... I don't have any experience. Sooo. I'm sorry, I don't..."
Glancing at him, she felt her cheeks burn.
"And I also have nooo experience with what a kiss is supposed to mean... after being double scared to death. Dunno, I... figured you'd know. You have been doing the whole... saving the world thing a lot longer than me. I just thought... I don't know what I thought." she concluded with a sigh. She was rambling now. Perfect. Just perfect.

"I'm not good at this, Shawn..." "... I mean the whole relationship thing... I don't have any experience. Sooo. I'm sorry, I don't..." "And I also have nooo experience with what a kiss is supposed to mean... after being double scared to death. Dunno, I... figured you'd know. You have been doing the whole... saving the world thing a lot longer than me. I just thought... I don't know what I thought."

Finally she started talking. He didn't think that he would be able to get her to start talking. Jewel wasn't making this easy. Not one single bit. The alcohol might have had something to do with that fact. Streak propped himself up by his elbow so that he could still look at her when Lily laid down on the bed. Her rambling was cute. It didn't help him much but it was cute, he couldn't deny that.

It made sense. Not much. But some. Streak couldn't think of anyone that was actually good with relationships. Sure some people made them work, but for the most part no one he knew would ever claim to be good at relationships. "Ya I've been doing this whole X-Men thing longer than you. But that doesn't mean anything. When we ended up in the infirmary that night it wasn't exaclty like we were on a mission to kick some gangester butt." Streak thought he knew what she thought. It was things that he'd thought before but it wasn't something that happened a lot when he was fighting or finished fighting. Streak had a feeling that she wasn't sompletely awaware of what he was saying. But he had to try anyways didn't he.

Shawn got off the bed and started pacing. This stuff never came easy for him. It was easier for him to concentrate on the mission and put this on the back burner of his mind than comofront her with anything specific right now. However, Streak thought that if he didn't right now, then he would be putting his entire team in more danger than was necessary because he didn't weigh the risks correctly. There was more than just a realtionship at stake here. "Look you didn't do anything wrong but it just makes thing weird unintentionally. This puts me in a real awakward situation for leading. I don't want to put you in a dangerous situation because I care about you..." He stopped talking for a second as he realized what he'd just admitted to her. Oh well too late now to take it back. However that didn't stop his cheeks from going a bright read and his pace in the room to stop.

Streak then continued before this became an even more awkward situation than this moment. His continuation was much slower now as he was thinking of the words that he was going to say before they escaped his mouth. "I...I...I mean... I have to be able to put the mission before any relationship right now, and I'm having trouble doing that right now because I'm afraid to put you in harms way." Whoops. There he goes again. He really should stop talking before he does or says something that he'll really regret. Aparently sleep deprevation also had the same effect as being drunk. Alcohol was always a good truth serium and aparently so was no sleep. Lily certainly didn't need to guess at what he meant there. It was, accidentally, very obvious what he meant and he wasn't going to take it back no matter how much he would have liked too.

"Look you didn't do anything wrong but it just makes thing weird unintentionally. This puts me in a real awkward situation for leading. I don't want to put you in a dangerous situation because I care about you... I...I...I mean... I have to be able to put the mission before any relationship right now, and I'm having trouble doing that right now because I'm afraid to put you in harms way."
Lily sat up slowly and blinked. Now Shawn was rambling too. This didn't exactly make things easier, but at least they were talking now, and if she would just be able to peel away all the extra words and find out what he exactly meant...
Tilting her head, she looked at him. His cheeks were red (so were hers, as far as she could tell), and kinda cute.
Poor Shawn. He was always so tense about the mission. Not that she could blame him for it.
Lily dimpled, and shook her head.
"Soooo, let me see if I understand what you are saying: we are putting the mission in danger because I am distracting you, because you keep thinking about where we stand with each other. Right?"
Oh, she was so proud of herself. Putting that sentence together all on her own. Drunk. Yay.
She chuckled softly, and fell back onto the bed again. It was much more comfortable.
"Come back here I'm not gonna bite you."
Staring at the ceiling, she was silent for a while, musing about the whole situation.
"Soooo... as I see it, here are two ways this situation can be solved." she announced. It was easy, really. They just had to decide one way or the other. Positive or negative. They just have to tip the balance over, and the dilemma will be solved and they can go back to concentrating on the mission and nobody gets hurt and...

"Soooo, let me see if I understand what you are saying: we are putting the mission in danger because I am distracting you, because you keep thinking about where we stand with each other. Right?"

"Right." He couldn't aruge with it. She had pretty much summed it up in one sentense. He'd stopped pacing again and was now staring directly at Jewel. Streak ast back down once he'd said what he'd accidentally said to her. "I'm not worried aobut you biting me." he said smiling a little as he once again sat down next to her. Streak was finally getting somewhere. Or rather she was getting somewhere with him. He'd been the one, after all to tell her that he cared for her. And without that there wouldn't be hardly any conversation at the moment. He listened to her continue to speak as she was still laying on his bed. She was making a good point.

"Soooo... as I see it, here are two ways this situation can be solved."

There were definitely two ways they could handle this. Unfortunately she'd neglected to mentioned either way. What ways were there? Thier situation was certainly a difficult one. There was the mission and there was them. They needed an understanding to not do rash things while on missions to protect the other. "Well the way I see it, we could agree that we like each other and try to not let it get in the way of our job. Or we can have an awakward moment everytime we're together and the mission might suffer because of the tension that'll undoubtedly build between us. Is that right or am I way off here?" Streak asid to her. He laid down next to her. It was hard for him to imagine that he'd be to far off the mark right now. Streak also didn't realize how comfortable his bed really was until right now.

Shawn was back on the bed. Good. It was much more comfortable this way. And her world being blurry as it had been in the last couple of hours, she was grateful she could see his face more clearly. It was an important detail in these kinds of conversations.
"Well the way I see it, we could agree that we like each other and try to not let it get in the way of our job. Or we can have an awakward moment everytime we're together and the mission might suffer because of the tension that'll undoubtedly build between us. Is that right or am I way off here?"
Lily but her lip again and smirked at him.
"Not exactly, buuuut... sorta. Yeah. As I see it..." she raised her hand "One, we can agree there is nothing between us and then go on totally professionally about the mission with nothing to distract us."
Us. Yup. Not like she hadn't been distracted once in a while when Shawn was around. She just dealt with it by chalking it up to the silver effect.
"... ooor, two, we can admit we like each other." she continued, glancing at him "Either way, we get rid of the tension."
It sounded surprisingly logical to her, but of course she couldn't be entirely sure through the alcohol buzzing in her head.
She looked at Shawn again. She knew it would be an easy choice for her. For him... it might not be. She was at a loss when it came to feelings, but there were also responsibilities, to the team and to the mission and whatnot. What did he say earlier? Oh right. Putting her in harm's way.
Raising her hand she touched his cheek. She could feel the silver in his body, reacting to her powers even though she was not using them right now.
"Y'know Shawn, you don't have to worry about.... whatever you worry about. I chose to be here. If anyone puts me in danger, it's gonna be me, not you." she giggled "I am perfectly capable of getting into trouble alone..."
Funny. She really was.

"Not exactly, buuuut... sorta. Yeah. As I see it..." "One, we can agree there is nothing between us and then go on totally professionally about the mission with nothing to distract us."
"... ooor, two, we can admit we like each other." "Either way, we get rid of the tension."

Streak nodded. He was thinking that too. Wait! Isn't that what he just said? It sure sounded the same if not very, very similar to what he'd just said to her. The only difference must be that she said it instead of him. "Right. Awkward tension doesn't work well in these situations." Streak said to her. Since her answer sounded so similar to his own he wasn't sure what she meant. She didn't really give him a definite answer, then again he'd been struggling to get a straight answer out of her the whole time they'd been talking. Streak was silent for a long time after she'd spoken. He didn't even look at her during that silence. If either of them had a knife they could have cut the silence with it. Shawn just stared up at the ceiling in his hotel room. Lily had effectively back him into an uncomfortable situation. How'd she do that? She's drunk. Or maybe she's just pretending to be drunk. I don't know for sure. I'm supposed to be the one getting information out of her not the other way around! His decision was already made. Shawn knew that she was drunk, for one thing he could smell it on her breath; and for another thing she could hardly sit up without swaying from being dizzy.

"Y'know Shawn, you don't have to worry about.... whatever you worry about. I chose to be here. If anyone puts me in danger, it's gonna be me, not you." "I am perfectly capable of getting into trouble alone..."

"Ya I know that. You managed to get a court order to the mansion all by yourself. You're such a big girl." The silver manipulator quipped. Streak blushed a little bit when Lily touched his cheek. This wasn't a normal blushing though. It was different because as she touched him he felt the silver under his skin also creeping to the surface as well as the blood. This turned his face and almost rust color instead of the normal red color. Streak finally turned back to look at her. "I've already told you what I think. But if you're asking me what my decision is... I'd have to say it's this." The silver eyed mutant took a deep breath and released it slowly. Streak took her hand in his and said very quietly, "I think it'd be easier for me to admit that I like you. I don't think I could pretend that I don't." As he admitted this he positioned himself to look into her hazel eyes to see that he meant the truth. Finally admitting that to her felt like there had been a huge load on his shoulders, and now it was gone. He had never been in a relationship with someone he was in charge of before, and especially never when they were in the beginning stages of a long mission. He'd been through this before. But he'd had Raina, his unofficial little-big-sister, to talk to and to save in a mission. Never a girlfriend or someone this close to him. It would be different but even after telling her how he felt his entire body felt relaxed. He wasn't carrying that around with him anymore and he was glad. There was only so much a man could carry under stressful situations and now that he'd said this he felt like he more energized and ready to do more planning for the mission. But he wouldn't he still needed his sleep and they had to finish their conversation.

"I think it'd be easier for me to admit that I like you. I don't think I could pretend that I don't."
The world stopped spinning around her as she focused on him. He was looking into her eyes now, and she could feel silvery blood racing under his skin. So simple, so nice, so warm.
He looked relieved. The tension was gone, just by admitting it. It was unreal to hear that from a guy, it happened before but never like this. Lily suddenly wished she wasn't drunk. And hoped she would remember.
She smiled.
"That's settled, then." she murmured, her hand sliding down to the back of his neck. She looked up into his eyes, wondering. "Before you point it out, I know I am drunk."
And with that made clear, she kissed him.
When did she get so bold? Shawn seemed to have this effect on her. Either that, or she'll just blame it on the Hurricane.
She would pull back, eventually, and they will have to talk some more. About whatever else was on the schedule tonight. He still needed to lecture her on being responsible, and all that.
Eventually.

Maybe he should have ended with this topic. If he knew he was going to be getting kissed the he probably would have saved it until the end, when he didn't have to turn around and lecture her about drinking and such. It was pretty apparent that she wasn't so drunk she didn't know what she was doing. He wasn't going to argue. He couldn't really because he wasn't expecting it. A simple 'I like you too' would have suited him just fine, but this... this was so much better than just some words. The kiss was great. He liked it just as much as their first kiss. Maybe this one was even better because she was a little drunk. Or maybe it was because they had finally admitted to each other what they'd both been thinking about since they went out that night.

Streak finally broke the kiss. He didn't really want to but if he didn't then he probably wouldn't have all night. "Now don't think you're gonna be able to kiss your way out of the next conversation." He'd have to be careful around her. This would make this mission a lot more interesting. Since they clarified that, he was more able to think about the mission; however, this didn't make him any more willing to put her in harms way. That would be something he would have to consistently work through. So this must be how Shin feels about Kasumi. He didn't pair them together because Shin had specifically asked not to be paired with her. Unfortunately he couldn't really do that with Jewel. If he did she'd probably be almost helpless without enough silver to pull for protection.

Her head was spinning again, but this time it didn't have much to do with the alcohol. It had much more to do with Shawn kissing her. It was like she remembered; it made her heart race and her back arch and her mind much more fuzzy than it was before. She felt the pull of her powers, but it was almost like he was pulling her this time. Hmm.
When Shawn broke the kiss, Lily let out a soft groan; she didn't like loosing contact. She also didn't like what still had to be discussed. She opened her eyes and looked up at him.
"Now don't think you're gonna be able to kiss your way out of the next conversation."
She huffed, and put her arms behind her head. "I didn't kiss you because of that." she chuckled, licking her lips; for a moment she found herself wondering if more kissing would make him forget the subject. Probably not. Too bad.
She sighed and turned more serious. It wasn't easy. Alcohol made her sleepy, and kissing made her distracted. But she tried.
"I know, Shawn. I'm sorry. I just... Alex was very upset, and she was about to storm out to the city alone, and I couldn't possibly hold her back so I went to keep and eye on her, and she was very upset, so we sat down in a bar, and... then it got out of hand." she suddenly felt guilty. She should have been more reasonable.
"I told you it was my fault. Very unprofessional. And dangerous. And stupid. And... you have anything to add?"
She was not joking. Well, not really. She meant the things she said; it just sounded funny, listening to herself from outside. She basically did his part of the conversation.

He smiled. Streak knew that she didn't do it because she was trying to get out of the conversation. He knew why she did it and he didn't really care. Streak was upset that he stopped kissing her, however, he needed to so that he could talk to her about how she had acted tonight. It didn't take her long to start talking. Spilling the beans. That's what he called it. Some called it 'singing like a canary'. Either way he didn't have to work hard to get her to start talking. Of course once she started talking she basically said everything that he was planning on saying.

"I know, Shawn. I'm sorry. I just... Alex was very upset, and she was about to storm out to the city alone, and I couldn't possibly hold her back so I went to keep and eye on her, and she was very upset, so we sat down in a bar, and... then it got out of hand."
"I told you it was my fault. Very unprofessional. And dangerous. And stupid. And... you have anything to add?"

Shawn would have laughed but this was a serious conversation, not that the other one wasn't serious. "You did the right thing. Going with her instead of trying to stop her was the right thing. I'm sure you didn't mean to get that drunk, but you probably couldn't help it. It wasn't your fault. Well I mean it was for getting that drunk but it's more Sam and Alex's fault because it all started with whatever problem they have going on and she dragged you into it. But ya it was irresponsible, foolish, and unprofessional. You both could have said something to give away that yall are mutants." He was getting upset now with what she'd done. "And worst of all... yall jeopardized the mission." Streak paused for a second. He could go further but she's summed it up and seemed to get the idea. So perhaps there was no point to continuing this lecture. "You need to learn the secret to drinking with someone that's not in a good mood."

"...it was irresponsible, foolish, and unprofessional. You both could have said something to give away that yall are mutants. And worst of all... yall jeopardized the mission."
Lily's cheeks burnt red; she knew it was coming, but it didn't really hep her feel less guilty.
"I know it doesn't help... but we didn't." she said "I mean... I made sure we didn't say stuff that could give us away."
As far as she could remember. But at this point, she was pretty sure she could.
"You need to learn the secret to drinking with someone that's not in a good mood."
"I need to learn the secret to drinking. Period." she chuckled "I... have... never... been drunk before. I guess the first two cocktails would have been enough to make me drunk..."
She looked at the ceiling again, and blinked; the lights were stinging her eyes.
"It's noooot that good now. And it was scary, getting us home..." she shuddered, remembering the walk on the dark streets. Back then and there is felt like hell of a lot of fun, singing and dancing, but looking back it was more dangerous than she realized. Among other things.
Closing her eyes, she dimpled again.
"You know what? I followed you home. Yoooou make an excellent beacon."

"I know it doesn't help... but we didn't." she said "I mean... I made sure we didn't say stuff that could give us away."
"I need to learn the secret to drinking. Period." she chuckled "I... have... never... been drunk before. I guess the first two cocktails would have been enough to make me drunk..."

Streak just nodded his head. So she'd never gotten drunk before, there was a first time for everything. Unfortunately this wasn't the time to learn what it was like to be drunk. "Ya the first two drinks would have been enough to get you drunk." he agreed. "Great. I'm glad you could use me as a way to get home. But you shouldn't have had to." Streak looked at her again, now that he was calming down a bit. "Here's the secret. Order a drink that you have to drink slowly. One that you can taste the alcohol with and need to drink a lot slower than the other person. Then you won't get as drunk because it'll take you longer to get all the alcohol in your system."

He wasn't sure what else to say. Lily seemed to be beating herself up for it pretty bad right now and Streak had a feeling that she would be feeling worse when she woke up. Shawn took her hand and held it lightly. "Look at me. You're beating yourself up well enough that I wont have to continue this. I can tell you feel bad about it and I'm sure that you wont be forgetting this for a while." Streak kissed her on the cheek after he'd said this. He was sure that both of them could only say how stupid it was so many different ways before it became redundant. Lily seemed to get it faster than probably anyone else that he might have had to lecture about this.