𝐒𝐖𝐈𝐅𝐓 (X-Men ~ Peter Maximoff)

First Dates & Revelations

Friday the eighteen of August was a rather bleak day. It wasn't exciting in any way shape or form. There was no new information or discoveries that impacted anyone (other than a blocked road on Saint Argrel Street due to road works, but the diversion signs were easy enough to follow that all those affected by it still arrived on time). There were no special holidays, no famous birthdays, no noteworthy births or deaths – nothing that would make the day stand out in a year or a decade. There was a chance that it was the most boring, empty day in  history.

Two particular teens were unaware of the plan to make the day forgettable and had instead journeyed to a clearing in what seemed to be the middle of nowhere. Surrounded by various species of trees from evergreens to maples was a square patch of luscious green grass, as thick as it was colourful. What with it being an (almost) perfect square, Jennifer had come to the conclusion that it had been man made, though for what purpose she was unsure. She was also unsure about how Peter, the ever indoors person, had managed to find the place, though perhaps that was a story for another time.

By a stroke of luck Peter had found a wooden picnic basket earlier that morning, now serving it's purpose as it sat filled with practically all the food from the fridge between the duo that were resting upon a red and white checked blanket in the centre of the empty clearing, the sun beaming down on them from it's place in the high sky. Although not hot enough to break any records, it was safe to say that Jennifer was glad she had chosen to wear her only dress that day, and even then she had rolled it up in a desperate attempt to cool down.

Peter too, was struggling with the prolonged direct sunlight, ditching his favourite jacket on the blanket to reveal his pasty white arms that had probably never seen the sun before. He still wore his jeans though, and despite being rolled up at the ankles, Jennifer knew for a fact that he regretted not owning a pair of shorts.

Every so often Jennifer caught sight of Peter flicking at his hair, shooing away the bugs that kept trying to land on the unkept strands. It was a miracle the crows hadn't seen them otherwise who knew how much havoc would reign with hair that shiny.

Examining the contents of the basket once again, Jennifer raised her eyes to Peter's relaxed form as he leant back on his arms, chin to the sky. "Hey, uh Pete?," she spoke, receiving a hum of acknowledgement in response. "You didn't pack any bread."

"Sure I did," he protested, moving to sort through and remove items from the bag. "We've got ham, cheese, bacon from the pan, lettuce for you, cake, lemonade, and...."

He paused with a frown, causing Jennifer to grin slightly. "No bread?"

"Yep. Damn it. How did I forget it?"

Giggling, Jennifer began opening packets and bags. "It's a skill only you could have. We can use the lettuce as wraps instead."

Peter crinkled his nose in distaste. "You can, I'll just eat the cake."

"Why do we have cake?," Jennifer asked, praying he didn't say what she was thinking.

"It's your birthday, and you can't have a birthday without a cake."

Adverting her eyes, Jennifer sighed. She hadn't mentioned her birthday since early May, hoping that maybe, just maybe, Peter would forget the event. Evidently not.

"What's wrong?," he asked, concern taking over his features as he noticed her change of mood.

"I, uh, I didn't really want to celebrate it this year."

"Because of your mum?"

Jennifer nodded, biting her lip in what could be perceived as embarrassment, but was really regret – not about the events that were occurring, but rather how she was handling them. To her, it was selfish to enjoy an event that she usually did with her mum when they couldn't be together, even if it may only be a few more weeks. It was wrong to think that way, she knew that, and she knew for a fact that her mum would want her to be happy, but it just felt strange, traitorous even. With every new memory she made, every memory from Maryland, it felt like she was erasing her mother from her brain, moving on, and Jennifer Howard-Jones was not a fan of that idea, hence why she had attempted to avoid her birthday altogether.