fandomhigh | Office #2 at the school, Thursday mid-morning.

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office hours

Office #2 at the school, Thursday mid-morning.

[CW/TW: Jono's thread goes some dark places. Torture/etc.]

Jack had decided on office hours so once she hit the coffee shop for the largest to-go cup they had she went and camped out in her spartan school office. After about twenty minutes she became bored and out of coffee. Examining the lock on her door, she pulled a multi-tool from her pocket and began disassembling it. Once it was off the door she took pictures of the whole rig and reassembled it. It was tossed carelessly into the bottom desk drawer.

The door was propped open with the wastecan. From another pocket came a tennis ball. Leaning back in her desk chair, she began doing a slow bounce with it from floor to wall and back to her hand.

The teacher is in.

[Open office hours!]

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//Ah,// Jono replied, giving a small, knowing nod. //Self-esteem thing, then.//

He was easily one of the X-Men's most formidable walking firebombs and he still found himself relegated largely to benchwarmer status. He could appreciate that.

//Sooner he realizes it isn't a contest, th'better it'll be for everyone.//

"Yup," she smirked, "He was a fanboy before he was crew. Had a whole 'Normandy Forever' patch on his armor and everything. Came on during the war then after found himself Commander of the ship. He's still growing into it. Part of him keeps wondering when Kaidan's going to show back up and tell him he was just kidding and to give his ship back."

Kaidan would never do that. She understood why but it still stung a little. If Kaidan was Commander of the Normandy, they'd all be there. They'd all be home. She realized that was a pipe dream and not real. She wouldn't give up Grissom or her kids. Liara wouldn't give up being who she was. Garrus and Tali couldn't take off from their duties and Wrex sure as fuck couldn't walk away from Tuchanka to ride or die with them again.

Still.

Still.

//Doesn't sound like Kaidan's style,// Jono noted. //Still, suppose you can't blame a man for wondering.//

It was hard being on the B-list.

"Kaidan," Jack said tightly, "will never take the Normandy. I get why he won't. Aside from everything on the ship reminding him the only damn man he ever loved is dead as fuck. If he took that commission on that ship, we'd all follow. The Normandy with that goddamn crew on her? The Council'd throw us at every damn stupid impossible fucking thing they could find and the thing is, now we don't gotta do the stupid until it gets one or more of us fucking killed. Reaper threat's fucking ended. Vega's the newest. He earned his rank in the war. He earned that ship; Kaidan fucking made sure of it. But he's new and he doesn't have the history with it the rest of us do. Makes him insecure, sure."

Her jaw tightened. "Also makes him fucking safe. Makes the onboard crew safe. Makes the ship and EDI inside her safe. Council doesn't yet know what Jimmy fucking Vega can do so they've stepped back and they send her at achievable goals instead of expecting another fucking miracle like it's standard goddamn protocol."

The ball was tossed from hand to hand with a stinging little slap on each end. "Vega calls, we'll be there. He needs us, we'll for fucking sure be there. But he tries to tell me what to do and I'm gonna slap him upside the back of his fat fucking head before I go do it because he's still the goddamn baby."

//Naturally,// Jono replied, lifting a shoulder slightly. //Got to keep the baby in his place. At least until he stops acting like the baby.//

Which was something they had to earn, wasn't it? Even put through their paces, the X-Men tended to love their hierarchy.

Even when the ones at the top didn't always deserve it.

"Be nice if he did but I'm not sure he ever fucking will," Jack said easily, "Crew of the Normandy were his heroes. I dunno. Maybe it's a good thing that even after he's fucking worked and fought and bled alongside us, the little shit still sees us that way. We haven't let that little bastard down."

Not yet. She didn't expect it would be forever. Not with her. But so far, not yet.

//Hardest thing about being the hero,// Jono mused. //Is being the bloody hero, innit?//

It was one thing to do the right thing. It was the other thing to live up to the expectation of it.

"Yeah," Jack scowled, "and where we're from? We had a real hero. Commander Shepard. He got sent after the impossible and he got that shit done, but every time? Every time? The Council wouldn't listen to him when he said what we gotta do next. Then when shit hit the fan they'd go running to him again to fix the goddamn mess."

The scowl grew. "They'd do it all over again. It's what they did every other time we did the fucking impossible. They'd just do it again."

//Always do, don't they?// Jono shook his head. //Always th'ones who don't have to get their hands dirty who think they know best. Bastards.//

"They need to sit the fuck down and do what they do best - govern the goddamn place," Jack scowled, "Leave fighting shit to the people who know how."

//Never will,// Jono sighed, shaking his head. //You put people in a position like that, suddenly they know better than everyone all there is to know about everything.//

Jack snorted loudly, "Have you ever met an adult Asari? 'Know better than everyone' is standard fucking type for them."

//I've met an Asari or two,// Jono agreed, and then hiked a shoulder. And looked faintly amused. //Back in my blue period.//

The bartender on that one school trip had taken a particular sort of interest in him. It had been a good night. He... was not sharing details.

"Yeah, but have you met an adult one?" Jack challenged, "Most of the ones you meet around the galaxy are in the Maiden stage and that's totally different from when they hit the fucking 'Mysterious Matron Who Knows All But Won't Share The Secrets' stage and think they know better about every-fucking-thing than everyone else. It's a goddamn racial trait."

It was annoying.

She gave him another up and down and then she snickered. "If you thought it was just the blue, you're dead fucking wrong. New genome. I'm surprised you didn't get swarmed."

//Then I suppose I haven't met one in that stage, no,// Jono replied, reaching a hand up to scrub the back of his neck. //Though, yes, I did get the impression that there was something of an interest in the... novelty of it all.//

Hooboy.

She laughed at him a little, "Yeah. Hope it was just physical fun. If you did the mind-melding thing where their eyes go all fucking black? I got bad news for you."

//Physical fun,// Jono replied quickly, blinking. //But all things considered, I can guess at what that news might have been.//

Nooooo thank you.

Jack bobbed her head. "Good. I mean, they ask. They don't just.. y'know.. thieve it. Not sure the physics of how it works but babies require the mind-meld thing, so you're fine."

Probably fine. Unless the Asari had been lying to everyone and that wasn't something she'd entirely discount considering the beacon on Thessia fuckery.

//Good,// Jono replied, shaking his head a little. //God knows the last thing the multiverse needs is some little genetic offshoot of this mess.//

Or the mess he'd been before, even moreso. He had some vague idea that the Asari mapped those genomes to create new Asari, but he had no idea how factoring in Apocalypse's blood would complicate matters. After all, no small part of what he did was re-map genetic material to fit his imprint, too.

Jack lifted a shoulder, "Not sure how it works. They'd want it though. The genome. They can somehow pick and choose the traits they want. The only kind of bad birth they ever get, or that we ever heard they ever get, are the Ardat-Yakshi and those ever only happen when both parents are Asari."

//So there's really something to be said for a broader genetic sample,// Jono mused, nodding a little. //Well, hell. Good to know.//

Not that he was running off to make little Asari children any time soon. Still, given this island's tendency to pull people from that galaxy, too? Understanding more about them didn't hurt. He'd known Liara, after all. Somewhat. As a peer, in one instance when the island had gone to hell courtesy of Umbridge, and then awkwardly as a student when he'd gone back to being a teacher, after. There was no small amount of respect, there.

"Yeah," Jack acknowledged, "Considering they're just clones otherwise. I like 'em in the Maiden stage. Once they age up, though, fuck 'em. Can't stand that damn attitude. Liara's bad enough."

Liara was fine. She was just a little stiff was all and needed a good shake to loosen her up. Jack had far too much fucking fun providing the shaking.

Jono couldn't help but look amused.

//Little serious for you?//

"Are you fuckin' kidding me?" Jack laughed, "Holy shit yes. Her idea of raging fun is watching a TV show and skipping the commercials."

Not really.

"She's boring as hell."

Also not really.

Yeah, Jono wasn't completely buying that one, either.

//Mmm, but at least she's got a level head about things,// he offered. //... Possibly the most level head I've ever seen.//

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