Xaviers!

Robin knocks on the door to Vic's dorm-room while simultaneously texting him a 'knock knock'. In a break from her usual t-shirt or simple blouse with jeans she's wearing some kind of odd vest/dress combo with a diagonal button-row in the front. It's not quite formal but it's definitely dressed up a bit from her usual clothes.

For his part, when Victor answered the door he was unusually dressed-down from how people usually saw him. The young man wasn't even wearing a tie, just an untucked dress-shirt, some slacks, and suspenders that were hanging to the sides. Maybe it was because he was in his dorm and therefore didn't have to keep up appearances - whatever those appearances might be.

"Well, this is a surprise. I don't get many guests." He stepped back from the door and offered Robin some room to step inside. "So, what's the special occasion?"

"Eh, I was just in the area, figured I'd swing by, see if you wanna grab a cup of coffee or something." she says, sauntering in with a casual shrug. The grin on her face when she turns around towards Vic does make it kind of obvious she's playing the overly smooth approach intentionally straight.

Victor looked at Robin as if he was appraising her and the possible motives of her offer. Well... what did he have to lose?

"Alright, I'll bite. Just give me a second while I go get my coat, okay?"

"Sure!" she says and patiently waits for Vic to get his coat. Well, somewhat patiently. She does pace in front of the couch a bit and almost immediately shouts after Vic. "Hey just so we're clear, this is me asking you out on a date. Dunno if that was unclear or anything."

Smooth.

Victor's head and shoulders poked out from behind the bedroom door, his hands busy with his tie.

"Wait, for real?"

Oh boy. If he wasn't careful this could get real awkward, real quick.

"Yeah, sure! I mean if you don't wanna, no big, we can hang anyway, but yeah." she says. And while she might be kind of weird about things, she's not being particularly awkward.

"Well, I mean, I do wanna." Victor called out before stepping out of his room, pulling his jacket on - properly spiffed up now. "But I'm not sure that my girlfriend would approve." It seemed easier to drop that little bomb this way than asking Robin to sit down and reassuring her how awesome she was first.

"That said, I'd still like to spend some time to get to know you better and hang out, if I haven't just spoiled everything."

"Whelp, serves me right for barging in like this." she laughs a bit abashedly. "It's all creamy. My bad for not asking if you're flying solo, really. Scratch the date, we'll just hang as friends."

"If it's any consolation, I'm extremely flattered. And you're welcome to barge in anytime. You look nice, bytheway, that's a really cool dress." Robin seemed to be taking it all in stride, so he decided to just roll with it.

"So, what's the plan? You got a coffee place in mind?" He asked as he fished out his phone and tapped on the screen a few times.

"Thanks, it's from the fuuuuuture." she chuckles. "And I dunno this version of Maldon very well and it's just similar enough to keep tripping me up but surely there's a nice place somewhere that's mopped up the flood waters by now."

"Beyond-cutting-edge fashion, I dig it." Victor finished tapping out a quick text before he stashed his phone in his pocket and went for the door, opening for Robin.

"So we go for a wander and see what catches our eye? I'm game for that. A little bitta suburban exploration, without the breaking and entering part."

"Hey, it's not breaking if you slip in through the gaps in the shutters. Still entering though."

"I guess the laws are different in Britain. In Canada it's still considered B&E even if you go in through an open door, so long as the intentions are the same. Kind of like how we don't separate assault from battery."

Fun topic for a little stroll, that. Good job Victor, no surprise you managed to land yourself a girlfriend.

"No, that's pretty much how it works here too. And yeah yeah, gotta set an example, people only see the abuse of power, but no harm no foul if you ask me." she shrugs.

The discussion of the morals vs legality of superhero work kept the pair pretty occupied, to the point where Victor barely noticed when they'd started approaching Maldon's downtown proper.

"... so that's why I always keep a spare mask on me, just in case. Oh, hey, does that place do all-day breakfast? Hmm... how much am I hating myself today...."

"That's smart. I could go for the whole secret identity thing but then I'd have to try and lay low as a civilian and that just feels wrong. Plus back home people know me anyway for better or worse." she shrugs.

"I could go for some pancakes though. Or perhaps even some more pancakes on top of that."

"Well, my parents already have their hands full with two super-kids. People being able to link me back to them would just be too much trouble, so I gotta be careful. At least your parents are bullet-proofed or something."

Victor got to the door first and held it open for Robin, because that's the proper thing to do. The cafe was a modest little spot, only a few tables inside, probably frequented by a regular clientele of locals. It definitely leans more toward "comfort and tradition" than "hip and trendy."

"To varying degrees. But yeah, they sure know how to defend themselves. Are your siblings in the hero game?" she asks as they head inside and she looks around the place. "Or just the general shenanigans that tend to come with being a mutant?"

"My oldest sister is looking to get into it, yeah." Victor said as he looked up at the menu written by hand in chalk on the boards above the counter. "Her and I are the only ones in my family who're mutants, at least that we know of. She actually graduated from the Institute last spring. I can't really tell you how she's doing though, I think communications are pretty limited for cadets for security reasons."

He paused for a moment before he let out a chuckle. "I've... never seen the term 'American Breakfast' on a menu before. But I guess it makes sense."

"That hush hush? That's rough. Hope she's doing alright. And Yanks are only the default when you're actually in the US, yeah." she chuckles. "And no offense but the British got the breakfast game on lock."

"I'm sure she's fine. She's a tough kid, even if she doesn't look it. She can take care of herself." He raised his eyebrow at that last comment though. "I dunno, I still can't wrap my head around beans for breakfast."

Assuming that Robin was fairly set on what she had wanted when they entered, Victor approached the front counter and spoke to the brown-haired woman working behind it. "Hi there. Could I get two breakfast sandwiches please? And a bottle of fruit squash."

"Hey, it's not just about them beans." she says as they walk up to the counter. "Hi, can I get the full fry-up with five eggs and toast on the side, thanks!"

"Breakfast gotta be be hefty. Put some oomph in your step!" she chuckles.

"Hefty is right. If I ate that much for breakfast the only place I'm stepping to is the nearest couch or bed to have a nap."

The woman behind the counter seemed a bit taken aback a bit by such a hefty order, but Robin's confidence seemed to put her at ease. She asked her if she wanted anything to drink and then told the pair to go ahead and seat themselves and she'd bring them beverages.

"See that's just because your body isn't used to that kinda load." she nods sagely. Easy for the shapeshifter and her probably insane metabolism to say. "Well that and you'd probably have to skip lunch." she laughs.

Victor pulled Robin's chair out for her before he took a seat himself. "I mean, I've had some pretty big meals, but overeating can be pretty painful when your whole body isn't made out of rubber."

"Fair, fair." she nods, letting out an "Ooh, old-timey." at Vic moving the chair for her.

"But yeah, I burn through calories like it's nothing. 'Tis a blessing and a curse." she chuckles.

"Well to be fair, you are back in the olden times... from you perspective at least." Time travel was such a mess, if Star Trek had taught him anything, it was best to avoid it.

"Honestly I think finding a student back at the campus who doesn't have a super-fast metabolism would be the odd thing. It's gotta take a lot of calories to astral project yourself, or create fireballs or whatever."

"I am! It's weird cause it's also a different universe, but I guess that means I can't accidentally screw up the timeline or whatever?" she shrugs. Apparently she shares Vic's opinion that timetravel is, at best, confusing.

"And you'd think so, right? And a lotta people do, but it's always the ones who are, like, shifters or part bear and such even though it takes a lot less energy to be a big wolf than it does to make a ball of plasma. At least according to my Mum and she complained about how little that makes sense often enough that it stuck in my head." she chuckles.

"I guess that makes sense. Though I'm technically a shapeshifter, but my food's not coming out on a turkey platter."

The woman working the counter brought the two their drinks, and apologized that it would be a little while before they were ready, but Victor reassured her that they were fine. He cracked the cap off of his bottle and took a swig.

"Does it ever get tiring, or annoying? People asking you about the future? Well, a future I guess...."

"I dunno. Not that many people do, really. Guess the alternate reality bit is what sticks out more to people? And that can weird people out, I think. Less like I know what's gonna happen but more like I know them somehow and that's...
it's a little strange. Like funhouse mirror versions of each other, you know?"

"That's a pretty accurate description, I think. A reflection of the 'original', but warped by the environment.

"So long as I'm not dead, or an huge jerk, I don't think there's anything I need to know about that Victor."

"I don't actually know you back home, if you exist at all. A lot of people I do recognize I know as adults anyway. But hey, means you're not a big-deal super-villain!" she laughs.

"Or I am, but I'm actually doing it right." Victor said with a finger raised. "If you're up to nefarious no-good, it's better to be a rumour than most-wanted."

"That is exactly what a mastermind would say..." she says, thoughtfully tapping her lips with her fork.

"Just don't tell the Headmistress. It's bad for the school's reputation." Vic joked. He actually took some comfort in the knowledge that Robin didn't know him in the future, though it was for reasons he'd never admit to. Selfish and presumptuous ones, but his mind tended to go to such places when considering possibilities.

The platter put in front of Robin was, well, a platter; definitely not something normally meant for one person, but the cafe had done their best to accommodate her hefty request. Vic's meal looked practically paltry in comparison.

"Oh there's always a reformed villain or a hero of questionable means at the school." she waves it off with a chuckle. When her food arrives her eyes are nearly as large as the plate (metaphorically, though one must wonder if she's done that before and found it a bit too disconcerting for onlookers)

"It's part of what we do... Sure, the official line is..." she keeps talking between forks full of food "...mutant solidarity and learning from everyone else's unique experiences... but a lot of that is... a lot of that is that we've all fucked up at some point, so people get it."

"Absolutely. Diverse backgrounds and experiences can offer so many different viewpoints. Heck, growing up, the divide between rural and urban mindsets made for a lot of trouble. But once you understand the reasons why people think things, a lotta stuff starts making sense." Victor took a big bite out of his first breakfast sandwich and, from of the look on his face, really enjoyed it.

"God, this is my favorite way to have bacon and eggs. Why does putting it between two crumpets make it so much better than just spread across your plate?"

"I dunno, but it does! Personally I blame the butter."

"And heck, it's the same with mutants and humans. People got their ideas and assumptions and once people actually try to understand each other it all works out. Most of the time. Some people are just jerks."

Victor took another bite of his sandwich as he listened, nodding his head. "And that'll probably never change, the some people bein' jerks part. But we'll survive.

"How'd we start talkin' about this heavy stuff? I should be asking you about what music or movies or hobbies you like."