Come back? Jude stood at the threshold and tried to memorize how far he had walked. 8 maybe 9 meters? He tried to steel himself for the hyper focus to come back. It was probably still within the time limit since they'd kissed. Only, when he stepped in closer... no super space Godzilla grass crushing action.

He grinned and jogged the distance to Svetty. "It's not crazy anymore." He reported the news with all due vigor and bug eyes. His power waggled to remind him that her power was a tastier option.

He scooped her up and spun her around before setting her back on her feet. If she wanted to jump up and down with him, he was totally game for that too. "What does zis mean, exactly? Does nothsing boosted get out? What if I boost you and you boost me?" She probably had a billion and a half question as well, but it felt like they were finally catching a break.

She was still laughing when he picked her up and spun her around. It worked! Just like with Agnes, it worked.

>>"It's not crazy anymore. What does zis mean, exactly? Does nothsing boosted get out? What if I boost you and you boost me?"

"I don't know..." she caught her breath once he put her down "De same happened with Agnes. But I don't know about the boost. You would have to take my powers to try that."

Maybe Central Park was not the best place to do that. The city-wide coffee buzz had claimed no victims so far, but it was still mutant activity, and the last thing they needed was any more attention.
Still. That was something they needed to know...

"Zen let's share powers. What's ze worst zat could happen?" Deranged deers chewing on their faces. "On second sought... I could just spin you around again."

He could also plant a kiss against her hair and let her go. He opted for that. "Is it time to celebrate? Go get anothzer power?" He wasn't going to suggest they go out to that far away park. The moose, as DocProf had called it, was probably still out there. Plus last time they sure didn't get a whole lot of training done.

>>"Zen let's share powers. What's ze worst zat could happen?... On second sought... I could just spin you around again."

Sveta laughed. The worst that could happen? The city going up in a caffeine overdose and poodles turning into Poodzillas. Nothing much.
Spinning, on the other hand, was harmless.

>>"Is it time to celebrate? Go get anothzer power?"

She smiled and nodded. "I think we should celebrate. If dis works how I think it works... the City is safe from me. Dat's worth celebrating, don't you think?"

More that anyone could imagine. Other mutants might have seen her change of abilities as a limitation; but for Sveta, it was an improvement. Genes are funny that way.

"Celebrate!" He echoed her with enthusiasm and offered his arm with a grin. Sometimes he felt strange. Not like he had touched her skin strange, just... it was like they had sort of skipped normal dating and fell into this weird state of knowing too much. They were more than friends. She was going to have his babies. Still, it didn't feel like anything was certain or safe. It was like the foundation of their relationship was a house of cards.

"Zey ought to give you ze key to ze city for how much you worry over everyone." Away from the parks and the benches, it was time to get them to a proper date. Jude could only afford so many bribes of blue roses.

"Where to?" Around the park the prices were inflated for tourist reasons, but there were holes in many walls. "Maybe a taste of home? Surely zere is Russian food somewheres."

>>"Celebrate! Zey ought to give you ze key to ze city for how much you worry over everyone. Where to? Maybe a taste of home? Surely zere is Russian food somewheres."

She laughed and linked her arm into his. Just touching him was nice enough; walking down the street like a normal couple. People were probably getting the coffee buzz, but they were at least not going to be blown off their feet.

"I don't know" she mused, looking around "I have not found good Russian places yet. They must be somewhere out of the city." she glanced up at him, smiling "How about French food? I only had French food once..."

And that was a long, long time ago. In a country far, far away...

"French food? You don't want French food. It's all butter and wine and cheese and feelings." Jude winked to let her know he was kidding. Also, he didn't know where one was. Jude got out his phone to check as they walked. Odds were that any direction they picked would be as good as the next. "I cannot recommend terrine. Do you know zis food? I am ashamed of its existence."

His phone said there was a five star across the street and a 1 and a half star two blocks down. "Just a little bit of a walk. Zis way." He pointed the way toward the lower rated place. It would be cheaper and more of an adventure.

"La Vie Bistro." Ivy was climbing up the walls and out front was a chalkboard with, no doubt, the entire menu. Entrée included soup and salad. The price was steep, but not unreasonable for the value.

"Duck l'orangerie, Coq au vin, Pot-au-feu, Cassoulet." He read the few menu items. All of them were pretty classic dishes, some more home-ie than others. There were a range of meats, but the real clincher that sealed the deal for Jude? "Mmm. Chocolate souffle too. What do you sink?"

>>"French food? You don't want French food. It's all butter and wine and cheese and feelings. I cannot recommend terrine. Do you know zis food? I am ashamed of its existence."

Sveta grinned. Now she really wanted French food. It was probably the same for Jude than for her; recommending anyone to eat Russian food just felt weird, since there was no guarantee they would like it, and then what. And she was aware that even though French food was said to be really classy, especially in the USA, it was not always... good.
She smiled none the less and followed him down the street, curious where they were going. The Bistro looked nice and cozy. The menu looked... French.

>>"La Vie Bistro. Duck l'orangerie, Coq au vin, Pot-au-feu, Cassoulet. Mmm. Chocolate souffle too. What do you sink?"

"I think I have no idea what you just said." she giggled, looking at the menu "But chocolate sounds really good."

She would have to start learning. Fast. Maybe they should have gone to a Russian place...

"No idea at all?" But he had said it so clearly and these things were so familiar to him. Was it possible that she hadn't heard of any of them? (Well, besides the chocolate.) "I sink you would like ze duck." And there were two duck options on that menu so it looked like this place could maybe do it right.

He ushered her inside and, though the place was small and seats were sparse, there weren't many seats left open. That was a very good sign.

A hassled looking waiter in black slacks and a white shirt with a black apron pulled out a wrought iron chair for Svetlana that looked like it belonged to a patio set instead of the square table in front of it. Jude pulled out his own chair which was round and had an old lady butt cushion. "Have you decided what you want from the menu outside?" The waiter asked them politely enough, but he asked while he looked down his nose at them. Jude shook his head. "A moment?" The man went to fetch water for them, eyed Jude's pleasant smile again and then left them alone.

Jude leaned across the table for two. "Want me to explain everysing?"

>>"No idea at all? I sink you would like ze duck."

Sveta chuckled as they got a table. The waiter was giving them the evil eye, but she was used to that; it seemed like waiters do that a lot. The menu, however, was not much more helpful than the one outside the door. It was all French. Because, after all, it was a French restaurant...

>>"Want me to explain everysing?"

"No" she shook her head with a smile "Just order something for me."

She liked surprises. Not many people did, when it came to food; but she trusted Jude with this one.

"I should learn French" she mused, resting her chin in her palm "And you should learn Russian."

"I would love to learn Russian." Jude raised his hand to summon their busybody waiter. The waiter took his time. "I would also love to have a first student for French teaching, but, I must warn you. As a native speaker my prices are rathzer steep."

One more hand wave did the trick and Jude put in the order. Duck l'orangerie for Svetty. Cassoulet for himself. Raspberry vinaigrette on their salads and, yes, they did want a baguette. Unfortunately no on the wine. Unless the lady objected?

Once they had the food order all squared away, Jude found his mind wandering back to the idea of a limit to Svetlana's power. That was what they were celebrating, after all. He raised his water glass to Svetlana's victory. "To learning new sings." Russian, French and how not to douse the metro in a coffee buzz.

>>"I would love to learn Russian. I would also love to have a first student for French teaching, but, I must warn you. As a native speaker my prices are rathzer steep."

Sveta chuckled and shook her head.

"I am sorry, I don't think I can afford you then. I'll go find another French teacher..."

Of course she was teasing him. Well, it was true that she couldn't afford a teacher; she could barely afford living expenses to begin with. Not like Jude would ask for money to teach her. Still, it sounded funny.
He ordered food, and it sounded very... French. She was glad she did not have to pronounce any of that. No wine was fine by her; the matchmaker tried to teach her sophisticated drinking once, but she was not a big fan of it. She raised her water glass with a smile.

>> "To learning new sings."

"To learning new things" she echoed, clinking her glass to his "Hoping dey will change things."

Jude drank to to that. If there was one thing he'd been working toward all this while it was change. So far he'd gotten it, just... not in the ways he had hoped. Running away had ended with his family in pieces. Sure, he was a mutant now, but at what cost? "Svetty, do you ever regret some choices you have made?" Hopefully he wasn't one of them since it looked as if they might be destined to have each other's babies.

And just in case that was too heavy a topic, "I'll make you a deal. We'll trade word for word until we are boths fluent. Okay?" That solved the native speaker surcharge. After all, Svetlana was a native speaker too.

"L'eau." Jude pointed to his water. "It means water. We may as well start ze learning now. What is water in Russian?"

>>"Svetty, do you ever regret some choices you have made?"

Sveta thought about that for a moment. All of them? None? Probably somewhere in-between the two. Jude sounded like he was serious about it; she knew he had to make choices just as difficult as her own. Probably that's why he decided to change the topic instead.

>>"I'll make you a deal. We'll trade word for word until we are boths fluent. Okay? L'eau. It means water. We may as well start ze learning now. What is water in Russian?"

She tried the French word a few times; it was not easy to do, but hey, she had learned English too when she had to...

"Voda" she smiled, taking a sip of water "That's water in Russian."

Step by step. They could do this together.

"As for your question" she continued after a pause "I regret some choices I made. But not all of them. I guess dat's the same for everyone." she looked at him. Was he asking more than he said? "The ones I regret happened a long time ago though, so dere is nothing I can do about them now."

"Voda." Jude tried it out and immediately noticed the contrast between the soft and nasal French that Svetty was repeating and the harsher consonants of Russian. "I feel like zere is a water brand withs zat name, but... maybe not." Maybe it was Voss? What language was that? Not that it mattered, he was learning Russian right now.

Jude repeated the process for cup, fork, plate, and once the salads came out he named the whole thing and then each part. He was sure to repeat the words as many times as she needed. French was funny sometimes in how things needed to sound.

By the time the main course arrived, Jude could practically feel his vocabulary expanding. "My brain is feeling a little full." He thanked the waiter who passed them a long and skinny piece of bread to go with their meal and then it was time to dig in. "Yours is a roast duck withs an orange vinegar sauce." The rice and vegetables, he was pretty sure Svetty could figure out on her own.

"Mine iz a peasant's meal, but it's nostalgic." He showed off the contents of his bowl. It looked like a mix between a stew and a gumbo. "It's beans and sausage... sometimes duck and carrots. Looks like maybe crouton too." He poked around in his bowl, inspecting.

It was a relief that her regrets were long since past. Jude's were all pretty recent. He broke the bread and passed Svetlana a piece. She probably don't like to think of as a kid, but it was hard for him to explain what was bothering him without thinking back to the times when he was 11 and she was unattainable. He vowed that he would do whatever it took to date her. Now here he was on a date. He wasn't unhappy. The feeling was more like... guilt?

"Égoïste means selfish." He continued the lesson and he picked at his comfort food. "I have been selfish about you, Svetty, and I'm afraid it cost me my family."