>>“Well, if anything, she outta love those,”

Hmm. Sveta flipped through the comics again, trying to decide. She was vaguely aware that the boys were still staring; she was also vaguely aware that the guy was waving again. Maybe he was afraid of bugs or something. Or maybe he was just nuts. But the nice and helpful kind of nuts.

When she asked about his favorite, however, his eyes lit up. She knew that was the right question to ask. Then he handed her another comic, but not before flashing her the picture on the back, and a smile that matched the picture.

>>“Personally…this,”

She looked between him and the comic, and grinned.

"Nice." she nodded, looking at the pages "You do all dis? That's amazing..."

She always envied people who made a living of their artistic talents. They were lucky, in her eyes. Creativity was something special...

He showed her his comic book. His pride and joy, the source of all his fear and anxiety, and low and behold…she smiled. That grin upon her lips, those perfect teeth, the rise of her cheeks, the twinkle in her eyes, it only made him fall for her all the more. She had to be a goddess, a divine being come down from the heavens for the sole purpose to showing him the beauty and bounty of the higher beings, and that even he too could be loved. After all, why else would someone as gorgeous as her walk into his comic store and ask his opinion on comics?

Love at first sight? Heh, love at first issue.

He beamed all the more brightly. This would be the story they that they tell their many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many grandkids.

>> "Nice…You do all dis? That's amazing..."

“OH, heh, why thank you,” he grinned he rubbed the knuckles of his hand onto his shirt in a nonchalant way. “Was a fun…” he almost said another noun. He grumbled before he cleared his throat. “It was fun!”

He would sell it to her more but for whatever reason his abilities were on the fritz. The last thing he wanted to do was to terrify his bride-to-be with his a word suddenly conking her on the head. So he minded his words extremely carefully.

But ooooooh how his mouth wanted to ramble. The sound of her voice was absolutely lyrical, especially with the sexy accent that she sported.

“You know what, I’ll give you that….” he motioned to his own comic in her hands. “Call it a…promotional offer.”

He beamed…as another word began to form near her. Suddenly he stepped, pretended to trip and flew past her, flailing away more letters that threatened the appear. He sighed. This was beginning to get ridiculous!

“So, ugh, will that complete…um…” he said motioning to the comics, wondering if that was everything she was going to buy so he could lead her to the cash register.

>>“OH, heh, why thank you. Was a fun… It was fun! You know what, I’ll give you that…. Call it a…promotional offer.”

"Really?" she looked up, surprised. That was awfully nice of him. Almost too nice, it made Sveta think if she should accept. You don't just accept gifts from random guys. Even if they are kinda cute. Gifts came with string attached, and then he would be asking for her number next.
Then again, she did not like hurting people, and she didn't see any way she could refuse without hurting him Meh.

"That's really..."

And then he was flailing again. That was over the top.

>>“So, ugh, will that complete…um…”

"Yeah" she nodded "Yeah, sure. I think dat is all. And... thank you, for the gift, That is really nice of you."

He walked her to the cash register. She had a stack of comics for Agnes, which was nice. She might even read some of them, for fun. Especially the gift. She looked at him. He still looked kind of twitchy.

"I'm sorry" she said, blushing a bit "The buzz, that's me. It will go away when I leave."

He deserved to know that much, with all the flailing.

She seemed almost hesitant to accept the gift. He really was just giving it to her because he felt that either herself or her friend would enjoy the comic book. After all, he doesn’t really get THAT much of an earning out of a single book, so it was no big deal for him to do. Besides, if he gave away one and they liked the others, then he was home free! They would get hooked in order to buy more of them! So in a way, he was making money rather than losing it.

But one look at her and he knew that she was suspicious. He really did not want to come off as some kind of scuzbag for treating her to a gift and then demanding her phone number in return. Really, he was not that kind of a guy. As attracted as he was to her, he was not going to demand anything from her. In due time, she would be unable to resist and will fork over her number and a classy photo for him to hang on his wall.

It was going to work out perfectly.

>> "Yeah…Yeah, sure. I think dat is all. And... thank you, for the gift, That is really nice of you."

“Eh,” he said with a grin and waved his hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about it.”

He was a kind a giving man. Yes! Check that off the Mighty List of Awesome that she was surely carrying around inside of her head. He knew she was checking him out and it was all good. His generosity, mixed his with dashing good lucks, were sure to score him high on the “Hot Stud-o-Meter”!

Heading back to the counter, he began to ring up the stack of purchases that she was buying for her friend. She really must indeed be a good friend in order to buy so many comics for. Kinda made him wish that he had had her as a friend when he was in high school. Probably would have made everything so much easier.

But as he started to ring her up, he shook as a particular powerful jitter ran throughout his body. He really, REALLY needed to stop drinking so much coffee.

>> "I'm sorry…The buzz, that's me. It will go away when I leave."

He arched a brow. The buzz? That was her? What could that possibly mean. He only smiled and nodded at her as he started to bag and board her purchases when it began to dawn on him. The buzzing was caused BY[/b] her? As in…she had…powers…?

He tilted his head as he turned to look at her, a small flicker of amusement in his eyes.

“You?” he gently lowered his voice. “You, uh…you’re…special?” he asked cautiously. If she were a mutant, she would know what he meant…

She could see the surprise in his eyes, and she must have looked even more surprised herself. She just realized she did not mind mentioning that at all. There were people out there who hated mutants, and wished they were all dead (some even did stuff about that, bad, bad stuff); but those people were not working in a comic store, reading and worshipping stories with mutants and superheroes in them. She had nothing to fear about this guy.

>>“You? You, uh…you’re…special?”

He said it quietly. Sveta looked around. The boys were having a heated discussion over some comic in the opposite corner. Good enough.

"Yes" she nodded with a small smile "I have an aura. It's like... coffee. Dat's what you have been feeling. Sorry, I can't turn it off."

He tilted his head as he waited for her to answer. Akshay was that type of guy to blatantly ask if an interesting person were in fact a mutant. He loved mutants, he truly did, even though he usually tried to keep his own powers hidden. Hey, there was a difference between reverence and stupidity. He did not want anyone to judge or come after him just because he couldn’t keep his mouth shut about being a mutant. Therefore, he chose to be subtler about his true identity.

But this, he just randomly ran into another mutant by chance? A gorgeous, blonde, kind, sweet young female with an accent to DIE for, mutant on top of that?! Akshay could not stop counting his lucky stairs. This had to be fate. There was no other way around it.

>> "Yes…I have an aura. It's like... coffee. Dat's what you have been feeling. Sorry, I can't turn it off."

He listened to her describe her powers. An aura? A COFFEE aura? That. Was. SO. Frickin’. COOL! He wanted to contain his excitement, he really did, but it was so hard. When was the last time he had actually spoken to another real mutant? He simply could not remember. That only added to the plethora of reasons why he was so excited to speak to this woman.

Definitely, soulmates!

“That is sooo awesome!!” he said giddily, trying to keep his voice down so that he didn’t alert to other two boys in the store. “I love mutants! And not just because I’m one too!”

He cast a glance over to the kids. When he noticed that they were still enraptured with the comic that he had signed for them, he turned his gaze back to the woman. She had shown him her’s (well TOLD him anyways) so it was only far that he did the same. After all, it takes guts to tell a complete stranger you’re a mutant. Even if that stranger is your soul mate.

He cleared his throat as he cast another look at the kids before he grinned enthusiastically at the woman.

“If I may?” he asked for permission first. When given he leaned in close to whisper in to her ear, not touching her though. That would be rude. Just outside of her ear (framed by her magnificent smelling hair) he whispered… “Goddess…”

Instantly just above her ear, he grinned as the word began to form. Before long it was completed and he reached up, plucking the word out of thin air and smirked as he presented it to her. The black bordered word “GODDESS” was no bigger than an index card but it was clear as day what it said. The white, iridescent simply radiated with sparkles, like sand on the beach, yet it was smooth to the touch. He smirked as he held it out for her to touch. It was real enough.

“Definitely not as cool as a coffee aura…but…well…there you are…” he said with a grin. While waving away the words “Coffee” and “Aura” that attempted to form between them. For now, he simply waited for her reaction…

>>“That is sooo awesome!! I love mutants! And not just because I’m one too!”

She was worried there for a moment. The classic 'I love mutants' always made her feel like a pet. But that's okay, he was one too, he had the right to say it. Even if it did sound weird.
Sveta smiled. Wait.
He was a mutant?...

>>“If I may? Goddess…”

She watched the word form. For some reason, it made her giggle. A comic book artist who can make words appear? How fitting. And the word was pretty. She prodded at it with her finger. Felt real enough.

>>“Definitely not as cool as a coffee aura…but…well…there you are…”

"Oh, I think it's cool." she smiled, watching the other words form. So is that was he had been flailing at? Words appearing randomly? Must have been a struggle to live with that mutation...

"So..." how to ask? "Does dis always happen when you speak?"

He smirked as he leaned back. He held out the small word that he had whispered near her ear and watched as she prodded it. It was solid alright. Maybe not the strongest thing in the world but it was solid enough to prove that it was real. The twinkle in her eyes as she looked at him made him grin all the wider. She had a real appreciation for the power that he displayed. Akshay never thought it was that awesome, there are cooler mutant powers in the world, but he liked that she appreciated it. It just made him smirk all the wider.

>> "Oh, I think it's cool."

Oh yeah…she wants me… he thought.

He shrugged a little humbly. When it came to his powers, it was probably the only time that he was really humble. Yeah he could create a pretty word or two but it was not as impressive as all that. But the look in her eyes as she peered at the word he created made his heart sing. Someone out there did appreciate his gifts.

Heh…that was a first…

“I’d give it you,” he said with a shrug. “but it doesn’t last all that long. A day at most.”

He sighed and reached up, plucking the word DAY out of the air. He set that down onto the counter. Was there a connection between that coffee buzz aura this girl had and why he couldn’t wrangle in his powers? If she was making him jittery then it was very possible that he was not in control of his powers…

>> "So...Does dis always happen when you speak?"

He nodded.

“Yeah but usually I have a better control of it,” he said, taking a preemptive wave to send away any other words that formed while he spoke. “But it is just nouns. Any other word I’m fine.” he smirked (After another wave through the air), “And I can even see the words you say. Well, nouns anyways. And I must say, they are just as beautiful as you.”

He said that with a slight blush. Akshay always fancied himself a playa, but deep down he still tended to act shy around pretty girls.

>>“I’d give it you, but it doesn’t last all that long. A day at most.”

She was still prodding at the word. Letter born out of thin air? That was just weird. And interesting. She prodded at it again, trying to decide what it was made of. It felt solid enough. And at the same time, she was trying to wrap her head around the idea that she was prodding at a word that someone just said.
A day at most? She wondered what he does with all the words he utters into existence...

>>“Yeah but usually I have a better control of it. But it is just nouns. Any other word I’m fine. And I can even see the words you say. Well, nouns anyways. And I must say, they are just as beautiful as you.”

Oh, there it was. Sveta blushed, and hated herself for it. It was nice to be complimented by someone... but still. Awkward...

"Thank you" she said, looking down as she picked up the comics "That's... really interesting. Have you.... um, have you met other mutants around?"

Change of topic. Always a good thing.

She blushed at his praise. He blushed too and silently smirked. They would make an absolutely adorable couple. It was not that he was a shy man, not entirely. He would be the first one to cut up a dance floor, even before the music started! But when it came to matters of the heart and people he was attracted to, it was an unfortunately fact that he simply could not control himself. He always managed to somehow mess things up. But he didn’t believe that the same was occurring now.

He was being dashing…

He was being giving…

He was being sweet!

And none of it was simply to seduce the girl. He didn’t know her, but he definitely would love to get the opportunity to if she would allow him. But she seemed so shy. He would not press asking her out, not just yet, anyways. She needed to get used to the idea that he liked her too! After all, he was probably being so chill that she really couldn’t tell if what he was saying was genuine.

Poor thing. He would be patient with her.

>> "Thank you…That's... really interesting. Have you.... um, have you met other mutants around?"

He shook his head as he went back to collecting the rest of the items she had purchased for her friend, the comic loving girl.

“I’ve seen a person or two, you know, the visibly mutated,” he said. “But I’ve never gone up to talk to them.” he said, ignoring the words that wanted to spring to action in the air and waved them away quickly. “And everyone else pretty much has kept their abilities secret from me.”

He shrugged as he finished ringing up her items with the flourish of quick fingers over the cash register. When he was done, he smirked as he turned the screen to flash the price.

“Except for you, of course,” he said with a smile. Then he nodded to the register. “$20.45 please?”

>>“I’ve seen a person or two, you know, the visibly mutated. But I’ve never gone up to talk to them. And everyone else pretty much has kept their abilities secret from me.”

She nodded. That was not surprising. He looked human, and unless he spoke in the funny letters, no one would guess otherwise. And he did not have a mutation that made others' mutations manifest, which, in his case, made all the difference. Sveta herself usually found out really fast if someone was a mutant... or an adapted.

>>“Except for you, of course. $20.45 please?”

"Sure" she nodded, handing him cash (she still hated using a card) and picked up the comics. Agnes was going to love them, or at least she hoped she would. The guy obviously knew what he was talking about.

"Thank you" she smiled "And if you want to, um, meet other mutants... there is a whole school for them in the city. I can tell you where."

>> "Sure"

Akshay grinned. This young lady certainly was quite a looker and not only that but she seemed kind and sweet on top of it all. She really was the whole package but the look on her face made it seem as if she simply did not want to discuss their relationship. Which he thought was odd because he could have sworn that she was into him.

But…whatever. As much of a goddess as she was, he was not some scumbag that was going to make her fall in love with him. She would eventually accept her feelings for him. He simply needed to wait for her to realize that. And he could definitely be a patient man.

Gratefully he took her money, punched in the appropriate keys into the register and pulled out her change. He smirked as he dropped the money into her dainty hand and took a proceeded to bag and board her purchases and handed them over in a nice, yellow back that had the store’s emblem on it.

>> "Thank you…And if you want to, um, meet other mutants... there is a whole school for them in the city. I can tell you where."

He blinked. Slowly he lifted his gaze and tilted his head to the side curiously. Was she serious? Did she seriously just say that? There was…a school? A gathering of people like him? Of mutants? He was actually beginning to get a little giddy at the idea that she was proposing to him. It was true that Akshay did not get to meet a lot of mutants but that did not mean he was not eager to meet those of his own kind. That was really all he thought about. He was sadly just always lacking opportunities.

And yet here, the this sweet woman, was offering that to him. He had to smirk.

“Really? I would TOTALLY love that!” he said with an actually squee in his voice.

>>“Really? I would TOTALLY love that!”

His eyes lit up in such a child-like excitement that it made Sveta laugh.

"Sure. Many people end up there anyway. It is a good place for mutants.. well, most of them. I only visit sometimes."

This guy looked like a nice guy. He wouldn't get into trouble. And if he did... he wouldn't be the first one. At least his power was not dangerous.

Sveta took a pen and scribbled down the Mansion's address on a piece of paper.

"There" he smiled, handing him the paper "Just tell them I sent you."

Oh. Right.

"Um, my name is Svetlana. People call me Sveta."

>> "Sure. Many people end up there anyway. It is a good place for mutants…well, most of them. I only visit sometimes."

Slightly crushing that she only visited this mutant school from time to time, but hey, sometimes was better than never at all. He wondered if he had gone there that he would run into her? That would be quiet a fun to time. Maybe she could personally show him around so that he would meet his fellow mutants as well as hang out with his absolutely favorite person in the world!

Yes, the circle of seduction was growing and before long she would finally understand her feelings for him…

>> "There, Just tell them I sent you…Um, my name is Svetlana. People call me Sveta."

He took the paper from her hands, grinning, happy, on top of the world…

Wait…what? She was just sending him there? On his own? Without…HER?! The whole concept just sent him for a whirl. Just, what was going on here? He was under the impression that she was telling him this so that they could go together, so that she could personally give him a tour of the place and she was just going to send him off and leave him in the capable hands of another? That was just so…so…for the first time in his life he couldn’t find the word. Didn’t she realize that if she kept acting like this that her chances for him asking her out were going to diminish?

Slightly crushed looking, he quickly rebounded with a happy, playful grin as he held the paper between his fingers and looked down at her name. SUCH a beautiful name too!

“Thank you, Sveta,” he said with a coy smile. “So…would it be possible, you know, to set up tour with you?”

He then flashed the million dollar smile.

>>“Thank you, Sveta. So…would it be possible, you know, to set up tour with you?”

Oh, that smile. It was cheeky and goofy and adorable at the same time. It almost made Sveta laugh out, but that would not have been polite.
Also, the question. Umm. This was beginning to sound like dangerous territory.

"Well, I, um... I don't spend much time there" she admitted "because, you know. My mutation. Some kids are hyper on their own, they don't need me to overboost them. We are talking about teenagers here." she chuckled. Not like she was much older than those teens...

"But, sure. If you come visit when I happen to be there, I can show you around. I can't check you in or anything, they have people for that there, but... yeah. I think you'll like the place."