It was a hot day. The sun was high in the middle of the afternoon, casting its light across the canopy of green that was Central Park. The trees loomed high above, breaking the light into a patches here and there but offering a vast amount of shade. It was this shade that people were currently utilizing in order escape the blazing heat of direct sunlight. All around, people were gathered amongst the roots of trees, laughing, talking, sharing a drink or just lounging under the cool air of the shade. Amongst these people was on intrepid and (he thinks) devastatingly handsome comic artist—Akshay Malik.

Akshay sighed as he opened his bottle of Cepsi-Pola (he liked off-brand things) and took a long sip of the icy, carbonized drink. A satisfied sigh fell from his lips as he set the drink into the icy nestled in his miniature cooler. He had his solo-picnic all set up and ready. Sadly Emerald couldn’t see him today so he would make do with his alone time.

Besides, he could have always used more practice with his drawing. A true artist never mastered his craft so there was always more to learn.

Back against his tree, Akshay sighed as he pulled his sketchbook out of his backpack and fished around until he found his box of drawing pencils. Once that had those in hand, he settled in and began to watch the various people throughout the park. He had to chuckle and think back that this was how he and Emerald met. He wondered if another life changing person would walk into his life today?

Hah, what would the odds be of that?

He chuckled and shook his head as he caught sight of a random person and began to sketch him out on his crisp, white paper. The scratches of his pencil danced in his ears as he drew…and what a lovely sound it was…

A beautiful day. After skypeing with her brother and his fiance about wedding details, Sarah was headed to the park. It had been a bit since she had sketched people in Central Park. Today felt like that day for it. Though she had yet to figure out why she felt the need to on such a warm day.

Since it was a hot day, she had opted to wear on of her few tank tops and shorts, though she kept her hat in place upon her head. One thing she hated about her tank top was that it showed her wolf tattoo to the world. She had already gotten looks from some older women. The shade provided by the bill was enough for her to not need to wear sunglasses, for which she was glad for. Sunglasses were horrible things to put on with a hat.

She already had her sketch pad out, held in on hand at her side. Her other hand was occupied with twirling her pencil. The twirling looked similar to a mini baton twirling. She walked slowly along the path, looking for some sort of muse. The park was full of people, so she hadn't thought it would be so hard. Sarah had been mistaken.

With a sigh the young woman stopped in the path and looked around. Some couples picnicing, a few kids playing in site of their parents, a guy sketching, some teens playing frizbee... The woman's greenish-brown eyes flew back over to the guy sketching. A smile inched its way across her face.

'What is it about New York and artists? I always seem to find at least one a month.' With her smile in place she started for the artist. Maybe he could help her find some sort of muse. If not, and she didn't see why he wouldn't help her, she would just be on her way.

Sarah kept her body out of his way as much as she could, though since she had no idea what he was drawing she didn't know how well that worked. When she reached a reasonable distance from him, she spoke up. "Hello. Do you mind if I sit with you?"

Akshay simply could not understand why fat guys who started working out always went for the teeniest, tiniest workout shorts they could find. The whole concept made Akshay shutter but, like the gravitational force of the sun, he could not look away. The young wordsmith was busying himself with trying to find a subject to draw when he settled onto a young couple lounging on a picnic blanket, sharing food. They would be the perfect study since they were not going to go anywhere any time soon.

…sadly, just as he was getting the basic shapes for his characters, the large man (in what had to be the “manliest” shade of pink training shorts) jogged into his field of vision. He blinked as the man bent over to start stretching his ham strings. Akshay felt the stirrings in his stomach. That is not to say he was a judgmental man but dude, look in a mirror before you leave a house!

He shuddered as he attempted to work with the figures he had laid out already. The graphite of his pencil scratched and scraped across the paper, darkening his lines and adding tiny details he could remember. But, when he reached the end of those, he cautioned a glance up to get more information.

Hopefully that man was gooooooo---

It was suddenly as if his brain just gave him the blue computer screen of death! A very pretty woman now replaced the large man in his line of sight. She smiled sweetly as she stood before him and for a second Akshay forgot what his name was.

Wait…she didn’t ask his name.

He shook his head as he tried to zero in on her voice…

>> "Hello. Do you mind if I sit with you?"[/color]

“No I wasn’t!” he blinked and shook his head. Stupid. “Err, I mean, sorry. Had a bit of a senior moment there. Hehe. I mean, sure, you can if you like. Careful though, the roots of this tree keeps trying to get friendly with me,” he beamed as he turned back to his drawing.

He reached for his drink inside of the cooler and took a long sip. He was beginning to feel a tad warm again. He probably should have decided on a better outfit than the light gray, red lined, “I’m-Not-A-Superhero” t-shirt and blue jeans he was wearing. The warmth was to the point that he had to roll up the sleeves of his shirt to make it quasi-tank top-like; a motion which revealed his own Ka-POW! tattoo.

He glanced at the woman again before he just smirked and remarked, in his very witty way, “Hot enough for ya?”

Siiiiiiiiiiiigh… Where was Emerald to kick his ass when he needed her?

>>"No I wasn't!"

Sarah raised an eyebrow at his sudden outburst. She felt a bubbling laugh try to force its way out of her mouth but she clamped her lips shut. 'Did he or did he not just sound like Carl?' she thought as the male in front of her recovered himself.

>>“Err, I mean, sorry. Had a bit of a senior moment there. Hehe. I mean, sure, you can if you like. Careful though, the roots of this tree keeps trying to get friendly with me.”

'Definetly like Carl.'[/color] Sarah smiled wickedly. "I think I can handle a few roots. Besides, I have you to protect me, don't I?"

As soon as the words were out she regretted them. If he didn't take the comment the way it was intended she'd be in some sort of trouble. Always nice to have on such a day. As she sat down she noticed the shirt he was wearing. Her smile widened. A quick look gave her a sight of his tattoo, something she softly giggled about.

>>"Hot enough for ya?"

Oh dear. This man was far too much like her witty cousin for her to keep her mouth shut. Years of 'Banter Wars' came flooding back to her mind. Carl would be proud she found someone that gave witty comments in New York. He had been worried she would loose her touch after all.

"A few more degrees higher and I might just have to get the slip-n-slide out," she told him as she looked about the immediate area for something to catch her eye. "You always this chatty with girls you just met or is it just the heat getting to you?"

Sarah quietly hoped her mouth would shut up, but years of practice seemed to make it impossible. Her brain screamed for her tongue to stop working, even though it was working on finding comebacks for most replies that could come her way.

>> "I think I can handle a few roots. Besides, I have you to protect me, don't I?”[/color]

Akshay…blinked.

His expression was a bit deadpan for a moment there, shocked and unsure of really how to continue. This was the classic Akshay, the Akshay before dating a wonderful, redheaded she-wolf; the Akshay that loved to flirt and had a witty tongue for any young woman that attempted to cross his path. It was funny that he was actually taking notice of this part of himself. Normally it was so subtle and unconscious that he never would have realized it.

But he had to now. Not only was he dating a woman but she would more than likely rip out his lungs if he had so much as touched another woman.

Still…that didn’t mean that he couldn’t be friendly, could he?

He smirked as he nodded.

“Hah, well, I do have a reputation to be a botantical terror…” he chuckled. He remember his adoptive mothers rose bushes. Gawd, how many of them had he accidentally killed in his lifetime? It was a good thing she never called him anymore to house sit whenever she and his father went away for trips.

He turned back his attention though as the young woman took a seat nearby. His most wittiest of quips was thrown out and instantly he regretted it. That was such a clichéd and stupid thing to say! She probably thought he was some mental patient now. He grumbled silently as he took another sip from his bottle of soda, swirling the contents idly in the bottle as he looked ahead.

>> "A few more degrees higher and I might just have to get the slip-n-slide out…You always this chatty with girls you just met or is it just the heat getting to you?"[/color]

…

…yeah he wouldn’t acknowledge that first part of the conversation. WAY[/b] too dangerous.

But he grinned at her question; was he always this chatty with girls? In reality, Akshay really was! It was not just in order to hit on women but a lot of it was because he just felt more comfortable around girls. In school the majority of his friends were girls and even now the majority of people he spoke to were women. There was just something different about him, like his brain was wired to chat with women better than the average man. After all, Akshay was not really the beer-swilling, sport-watching, car-talking kind of guy! And most comic nerds like him, well, he really did not want to be left alone with them for more than a few minutes.

So, he would be honest.

“Who says it can’t be both?” he chuckled as he took another sip. “Do you always just sit with handsome strangers?”

Yeah, that would be the last banter—right?

>>“Hah, well, I do have a reputation to be a botantical terror…”

Sarah smiled. She noticed a young girl in a sundress reading with some patches of sunlight landing on her. "Sounds like a fun life."

>>“Who says it can’t be both?”

The brunette looked away from studying the girl and listened to the other artist. He skipped the first part of her comment. But why? Then realization hit her. Her comment could have been taken in a slightly perverted way. Not what she had meant.

>>“Do you always just sit with handsome strangers?”

"I do if the stranger happens to be a fellow artist," she answered.

She held up her sketchpad to prove her point. She had absently started to draw the girl she had stopped. The girl's head and shoulders were taking shape, but that was all she had gotten too.

"Sorry if I said something," she paused for the right word for the situtation. "Suggestive? My brain's used to thinking up fast replies without a censor."

She hoped he wouldn't be upset with her. He seemed like a nice guy and she might have just made him uncomfortable. She really needed to find a way to censor her brain.

>> "I do if the stranger happens to be a fellow artist,"[/color]

He smirked. Ah fellow artists, they always loved to flock together. Akshay could not count the times that freelance artists would speak to him whenever he was caught outside with his sketchpad. Honestly, he understood why, there was just something about artists being together that made them all want to chat, swap techniques, share war stories, it was just that type of profession.

He gazed at the sketchpad she had and he had to nod his head. She really was quite good. A glance at the drawing and he looked out of the corner of his eye, spying the woman whom was the subject of the artists impression. She didn’t get much of her down but what was there was actually very good! He wondered if she was one of the many art students that tended to frequent Central Park for natural inspiration.

“That’s very good,” he said with a tint of awe in his voice.

They settled back in and once more return to their drawings. The large exerciser had finally jogged away, leaving him a perfect view of the young couple who were still lying about in the sun. He smirked as he started to fill in the blank details; the pattern of her dress, the shine of his hair, the longing looks in their eyes. Wow, with the way that she was pawing at his arm, constantly, he figured that they were going to be hightailing it back to their home before long.

He finished sketching out their bodies as much as he could in the meantime. He had just started to shade in their calves when the woman spoke again…

>> "Sorry if I said something…Suggestive? My brain's used to thinking up fast replies without a censor."[/color]

A mischievous smirk fell across his lips as he shook his head. He actually enjoyed such banter like that, though it had been awhile since he had partook of it.

“Don’t worry about it,” he beamed. “Trust me, in my circles, I’ve heard far worse and far less subtle than taking out your ‘slip n’slide’.” Just thinking about that comment actually made the man laugh heartily. He sighed and shook his head when he was done with his giggling fit. He finally turned to face her fully. A friendly smile on his face, he offered her his hand, “Akshay Malik. It’s a pleasure to meet a fellow artist.”

She suddenly felt self-conscious about her art. It was another one of the things she hated about her nature. She was insecure around those who were most likely better than her.

>>"That's very good."

Sarah smiled as she felt her cheeks heat. She had sat watching the reading girl for a bit before she had spoken, so her sketch was rather unfinished.

>>“Don’t worry about it. Trust me, in my circles, I’ve heard far worse and far less subtle than taking out your ‘slip n’slide’.”

The brunette laughed. "I didn't mean it like that!" she whined as the male laughed.

She wondered if she would ever live that comment down. Not likely. Her comments usually came back to bite her in the butt.

>>“Akshay Malik. It’s a pleasure to meet a fellow artist.”

Sarah smiled as she took his proffered hand. "Sarah Jackson. The pleasure is all mine."

She winked before taking her hand back. With a smile she started working on her sketch of the reading girl. It would be nice if she would be able to recreate it later. To do that though, she'd need a really good sketch. What she had so far wasn't bad, but she knew she'd need more than a head and shoulders.

>> "I didn't mean it like that!"[/color]

Akshay had to chuckle heartily at the woman’s huff that she had not meant that comment in the way that he had taken it. Of course he knew that she didn’t really mean that but it was still too amusing to stop poking fun at her. Maybe if she stuck around he would jab at her again with a reminder of her little faux pas. After all, it was all in good fun so where was the harm in that?

He just beamed, though, when she finally introduced herself.

>> "Sarah Jackson. The pleasure is all mine."[/color]

Sarah…cute name! He shook her hand gently as he turned back to his drawings and she to hers. A glance had shown him that the pair had found completely different targets. While she was focus on the individual, he had decided to target a scene. Her’s was a subject of study, while his was focused on capturing a moment of time. It was actually interesting to see a fellow artist at work, looking at the same world as he was and seeing something completely different.

For a moment he wondered what had actually inspired her to pick that subject of hers. She was paying excellent attention to the head and torso. It really was a pretty sight.

He smirked as he continued sketching out his own piece, finally completing both bodies of his subjects and continuing with his shading. That was it, they were caught forever, together, on this sheet of course paper, etched on with graphite smears and smudges. It was a section of time that could never be spoiled…

The sounds of his fellow artist drawing drew his attention though. There was no harm in friendly conversation, right?

“So are you an art student?” he asked innocently. “Or just some strange person like me, drawing people at random with nefarious intent?”

That was a joke, of course. Hopefully she would just take it as that and won’t think he was some serial killer sketching out his next victims.

She started working on the girl's body. Sarah left the arms alone for the moment and worked on getting the way the dress hugged the girl. The girl wasn't old enough for her body to have a definite feminine shape, but the light yellow sundress and long golden brown locks helped.

Then Sarah spotted the girl turn the page of her book. Quickly, so as not to forget the image of hand and paper moving as one, she began working on the arms and lap. It was only a few quick lines to guide her sketch to mimic the young girl's actions, but it was deemed enough for the moment.

>>“So are you an art student? Or just some strange person like me, drawing people at random with nefarious intent?”

Sarah stopped sketching to answer him. Her smile had grown when his 'admittance' came out. No one in their right mind would tell a stranger of their wicked plans. Then again, if they did have wicked plans they probably weren't in their right mind. Either way, she was almost certain that the artist next to her was joking.

"When I graduated, I thought I'd stalk little girls in New York to get a pretty picture for my wall," she teased.

How many times had her cousin called her a stalker for drawing random people? Too many to count.

Akshay had smirked as his question actually seemed to make the young woman think for a moment. The smile on her face was proof enough that she really did not think his was some crazed axe murderer, or at least she was putting one on just so that she didn’t make any sudden moves (that seemed most unlikely.). Nah, he was sure that she was only interpreting what he said as a joke and he was happy for it. It was far too warm and lazy a day to be scared half to death.

>> "When I graduated, I thought I'd stalk little girls in New York to get a pretty picture for my wall,"[/color]

It was Akshay’s turn to laugh again. This woman had an excellent sense of humor. He just imagine the ludicrous though of this woman’s bedroom, walls covered with drawings of young women, men, what have you, pasted or taped up so that she could watch them obsessively for as long as she wanted to. It was such a creepy and disturbing thought that it made the young wordsmith shudder just a tad but he managed to still laugh it off. He was having far too much fun with this conversation and his time with this young woman.

“And here I thought I was the only one,” he chuckled as he turned back his drawing.

A glance up and he could see that his subjects were getting ready to leave now. The pawing, the stolen kisses, the hot day, it must have proved to be far too much for them to withstand any longer. Thankfully he had gotten down their basic forms and some of the shading already. Quickly he tried to memorize details about their clothing, accessories, and the entire scene around them.

Within moments, with a quick scratch of a detail or two on his paper, and he was free to let them go. He now had them firmly implanted in his mind so he doubted that he was going to forget any time soon.

A bead of sweat rolled down his cheek. Quickly he wiped it away and grumbled about it being hot. He took another sip of his refreshing soda and sighed. When he glanced over, he began to wonder if maybe Sarah was going to succumb to this heat too. Who knew, some people actually liked it like this! They were insane. A glance at his cooler and he grabbed it, pulling it over so that it was between himself and Sarah.

“Help yourself to a drink, if you are thirsty,” he said in a friendly manner. “I promise I didn’t drug any of it.”

>>“And here I thought I was the only one.”

A giggle bubbled up as she went back to sketching. The girl had shifted her legs a bit, but Sarah could keep the lap drawn the way it was. She worked on defining the arms and starting the legs next. The girl wasn't wearing any shoes, but a pair of flats were off to the side. She decided not to draw them.

>>“Help yourself to a drink, if you are thirsty. I promise I didn’t drug any of it.”

The brunette looked over to see that he had moved his cooler in the space between them. With a smile she picked one of the sealed drinks out.

"Unless you can get into the seal, I think I'm safe," she smiled before opening the soda. She took a quick sip. "Thanks. You'd think people would stay inside in this heat. At least it's not humid too. Then again, we're both out here, aren't we," the brown haired woman smiled.

>> "Unless you can get into the seal, I think I'm safe," [/color]

He chuckled. She did have a point. But considering the fact that this lived in this city, which was a mecca for mutants, was it really that farfetched for her? Mutants had many strange and interesting powers. Some of them could be so off the wall and mundane that one would have never considered it an actual possibility. Who was to say he wasn’t a mutant with some ability to seep some strange chemical into an unopened can of soda?

…

…

…okay yeah maybe that was a bit far to think. But it technically was a possibility! Especially in this city, but, since that wasn’t the case, he was not going to worry about it. The girl seemed smart enough to know if she were in a dangerous situation or talking to someone that couldn’t be trusted, and Akshay Malik could definitely be trusted.

>> "Thanks. You'd think people would stay inside in this heat. At least it's not humid too. Then again, we're both out here, aren't we,"[/color]

He paused in his drawing, just barely finishing the outline and give the characters in his drawing a more comic book –like look with the use to heavy lines. He thought for second, mulled over her words, and just had to grin. She certainly had a point.

Another lyrical laugh fell from his mouth as he shook his head.

“Yeah, but there is obvious a difference between us and the rest of these people sweltering,” he beamed. He then held up his can of soda to clink against her’s in a gesture of camaraderie, “we have soda and are therefore, far cooler.”

He winked as he clinked his can against her’s (if she had interpreted his gesture correctly) and took another long sip. Ahh, life was good…

>>“Yeah, but there is obvious a difference between us and the rest of these people sweltering.”

Oh this she had to hear. What did make them so different from everyone else? She had also seen him lift the can of soda. She quickly mimicked the action.

>>"We have soda and are therefore, far cooler.”

Their cans clinked as she began laughing. She didn't take a drink until her laughter had died down a bit. She briefly wondered if she would chock while laughing. Then she remembered a saying her Omi (granny) would tell her: Laughter is the cure for all things. Illness, baldness, heartache. It fixes all things.

"Far cooler," she echoed with a giggle.

She finally finished her light sketch of the girl, letting her move on to darkening the lines a little so that they stood out next to the details she would add. Once the lines were deemed dark enough, she took another sip of soda.

"What happens if someone else has soda?" she gasped in fake realization. "We'll be less cool!"

>> "Far cooler,"[/color]

He had to chuckled as he she raised her can of soda with him, took a long sip, and shared a laugh. He had no idea who this woman was save for the light conversations that they were having right now, but he had to admit that he was rather enjoying himself. Obviously, because he was always in a relationship, he was not going to be some scumbag and ask for his woman’s number, but there was nothing wrong with a little friendly chit-chatting and sharing drinks on a hot day, right?

It was just being neighborly.

>> "What happens if someone else has soda? We'll be less cool!"[/color]

Her question made him chuckle> he shook his head and waved his hand nonchalantly.

“Pfft! You and I know that we’re the originals,” he said matter-of-factly. “Anyone who tries that will just be a poser.”

Another long sip and he set the soda beside him, looking across the green lawns of Central Park, eyeing the various passer-bys. He was done looking for subjects right now, especially considering that he had already is pair of people caught in loving embraces down on paper. E was more than a little pleased with the results so there was really no dneed to go out and search for more.

For now, his lust for capturing moments of real life on paper with graphite was quelled. He would take his time working on the details of his current drawing and make it his best yet. That didn’t mean he could not chat with his new cohort, though…

“So, Sarah,” he started as he began to shade in the hair of his more cartoony characters. “if you don’t mind me asking, what do you do? Or did you make stalking people in the park and drawing their pictures a full time job?”