When Clarice got to the hotel room she was staying in, dead tired from a full day of press, she didn't think that she's going to end her night in the arms of John Proudstar. But here they are... Inspired by Shawn Mendes's "Lost in Japan".
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Clarice had just returned to her hotel room when her phone pinged with an incoming call. The caller ID said John Proudstar. Aka one of her best friends. At least that's what Clarice chose to tell herself. Truth be told they have been dancing around each other's feelings for a while now, but neither was willing to take the next step. At least not yet.
“Hey, how was your day?” John's voice sounded through Clarice's phone.
She kicked off her heels, sat on the bed and then spoke rubbing her tired feet, “Hey! Long. It was very long.”
“That bad, huh?” Came John's reply, concern leaking into his voice.
“No, not really. I'm just tired. The whole day consisted of me dodging questions about my personal life and trying to coax the journalists into asking me anything else other than questions about how tight my suit was or was I wearing anything under it.” Clarice explained. She was currently on the Asian leg for the promo tour of her latest superhero movie. It was a worldwide box-office hit so that is how she found herself sitting in a hotel room somewhere in Tokyo dead tired.
“So, were you?” asked John.
“Was I what?” Clarice replied confused.
“Wearing anything under that superhero suit?” John continued cracking up at the end knowing how much the question will annoy Clarice but that it will also ultimately make her smile.
“Seriously?” Clarice exclaimed, “You're really asking me that?”
“I mean, I was wondering..” he trailed off with humor still evident in his voice but also kind of flirty.
“You're unbelievable,” Clarice said but you could hear the smile that she was sporting in her voice. “But for the record, no I wasn't. I mean, it's a skin-tight catsuit, you can't wear much under it,” she added, receiving the answer she had hoped for from John.
You could hear John choking on the water he had been drinking and when he finally stopped coughing he replied: “I will never see that movie the same again.”
That caused Clarice to finally burst out laugh, but once her laughter died down she sighed and fell back on the bed: “And tomorrow I do it all over again. Anyway, how did your meetings go?”
Hearing Clarice so sad and exhausted broke John's heart. He himself felt tired, but his lifestyle was nowhere near as exhausting as Clarice's. Sure he was the CEO of a huge company and ran several charities, and that did cause him to travel pretty frequently. But other than business trips his life was pretty low-key. No paparazzi flashes or screaming fans wherever he went. Although as of late he was in the tabloids more often than he liked due to his friendship with Clarice as well as actor Marcos Diaz and musician Lorna Dane.
“They went great! The investors agreed to back the Thunderbird project so we're full steam ahead.” John replied feeling a little guilty that his day went much better than Clarice's.
“That's amazing. I'm so happy for you John! The positive impact that this project will make is incredible.” Clarice knew all about John's efforts to better the lives of those less fortunate and admired John for it. Hell, they have spent countless hours throwing around ideas since Clarice herself was a philanthropist and a supporter of various charitable causes.
“Thanks, Clarice.” John thanked Clarice for her kind comments and they fell into a comfortable silence.
But after a few moments Clarice spoke again. And she didn't know if it was her exhaustion or the fact that she was simply done hiding her feelings for John, but Clarice made the decision to voiced something that had been weighing on her for a while now.
“God, I wish you were here not all the way in Osaka. We finally are in the same country but you are still hundreds of miles away. And meanwhile, I can't get you out of my mind. You know a few of the reporters asked me questions about you, about my relationship with you and instead of telling them that you're one of my best friends I wish I could have said that you're something more. I have been feeling this tension between us for a while now. Sometimes it feels like you could cut it with a knife. And I know that you feel it too! But it's still so easy to talk to you, you just be with you. I... uh... I just really wish you were here...” Clarice trailed off.
“Clarice, I...” John started but then stopped again. It sounded like he was trying to make a decision as well. “What are you doing tonight?”
“What?” Clarice asked confused for a second time that night.
“You know Osaka isn't that far from Tokyo. I could... I could fly to you...” John trailed off.
“You can't John, what about the charity benefit tomorrow evening?” Clarice asked. She knew that John couldn't just fly to her, the benefit was too important, but she really wished he would come to her.
“I will fly back tomorrow.” John simply replied. You could hear rustling in the background and then John saying something to someone.
“What are you doing?” Clarice tried to understand what was happening and if John was really about to jump on a plane to Tokyo.
“Please don't go to sleep yet. I will be there in two hours.” John rushed out when he returned to their phone call and then hung up.
Clarice was left shell-shocked. She couldn't believe that John was really about to hop a plane to visit her for just a few hours. But in about half an hour her phone started blowing up with notifications. Apparently, John had posted a picture of him on a plane to Tokyo and since she had posted several photos on her timeline of her Tokyo trip earlier in the day the fans were going crazy in the comments speculating that John was coming to see her.
It took Clarice a couple more minutes to realize that John was really on his way to her, but then her mind kicked into high gear. She rushed to tidy up the room and take a shower to wash off the bad day she had. And once she was done with all that she sat on the window seat of her hotel room, too nervous to do anything else other than to look outside at the city below her and wonder what's going to happen once John gets here.
Another half hour passed and then someone knocked on the door of her hotel room.
When Clarice opened the door it revealed John with an overnight bag in his hand and a smile on his face.
“Hi,” was all Clarice could choke out because of her nerves and because of the fact that John's lips were on hers as soon as the words left her mouth.
When both of them ran out of air they broke apart and John rested his forehead to hers finally saying “Hi” as well.
Eventually, they got out of Clarice's hotel room doorway and into her room. And after John sheepishly admitted that he did not have a place to stay he spent the night there as well. And although the morning came way too quickly and they had to return to their duties, they parted not as friends but as lovers. A tension had been broken and replaced by something more solid and long-lasting. And even years later they still spoke of that night in Japan full of snap decisions and nervous energy that finally brought them together. All it took was to feel lost in Japan to finally find their way to each other.
A little Thunderblink drabble I came up with after watching the season 1 finale and reading some interviews with Jamie Chung about Blink and her beauty marks.
Title: Do I have something on my face?
Summary: When Clarice can't understand why is everyone at the Mutant Underground staring at her, John is there to help her out. And she thanks him in the only way she knows how, with a kiss.
Can be also found on: FF.net | Ao3
Sometime in The Gifted season 2...
The months after Lorna and the others left to join the Hellfire Club were hard for the Mutant Underground. They were constantly fighting for their survival and safety. Which meant that many of them overextended their powers nearly on daily basis. So it's no wonder this happened...
After another hard day of rescuing mutants from Sentinel Services, and a restless night of Clarice not being able to shut her brain off because of all the things that were happening around her, Clarice walked to the make-shift kitchen in the new Mutant Underground headquarters to get some breakfast. But for some reason, everyone was staring at her. Some tried to hide it, but some were openly gawking.
She got her breakfast, or rather what nowadays needed to suffice as that, meaning that she got her bland oatmeal and crappy coffee and went to sit at the table occupied by John and his tablet.
Since the kiss on the day that Lorna and the other mutants left the Mutant Underground, Clarice and John were sort-of, kind-off dating. They hadn't defined their relationship yet. Nor did they felt the need to do that. And they weren't all lovey-dovey either. But for someone on the outside looking in they seemed like a solid couple.
They were touching each other constantly, whether to alert the other of incoming danger or just seeking comfort from their partner. And kisses, although a rarity nowadays, given the tense situation they found themselves in, did happen on occasion. Mostly though when it was just the two of them since they didn’t want anyone assuming the wrong thing about either of them. What with Sonya’s death still being a recent thing and Clarice being crowned a Mutant Underground leader alongside John and Marcos just a few months prior.
"Why are people staring at me? Do I have something on my face?" Clarice asked John as she sat down at the table. John finally looked up from his device and did a double when he spotted Clarice's face.
"Have you looked in the mirror this morning yet?" John asked with a bit of amused smile, thinking that Clarice looked even more beautiful now than before.
"No. Why?" Clarice asked confused, panic rising in her. Was her hair that bad? Or maybe her eyes had suddenly gone from green to bright blue. When it came to being a mutant, the possibilities were endless.
"You have a new beauty mark, Clarice." John finally answered after a long pause. And then he powered off his tablet and gave it to Clarice so she could use it as a mirror.
John was right. A pink diamond had taken residence on her forehead, right between her eyes. The cost of using her portals so much and transporting multiple people at large distances.
"Damn. And right smack dab in the middle of my face. I guess now there really is no hiding that I'm a mutant. Because this one is going to be really hard to cover up with hair." Clarice quipped continuing to examine her new addition and then handed John back his tablet with a frown on her face.
“Hey..” John said seeing Clarice’s expression and leaned over the table to place his hand on hers “I’ve always loved that you can tell that you are a mutant. Besides, the new beauty mark means that you are getting stronger. Soon everyone will fear you instead of me or Marcos.” John finished and smiled at Clarice lovingly.
“Yeah, doubt that’s going to happen anytime soon. But thanks!” Clarice replied leaning over the table as well to give John a kiss. Clarice was a big believer in the saying “actions speak louder than words”. And with John being so sweet, the hell with avoiding kissing him in public. So Clarice kissed the living daylight out of John and after she was done, resumed eating her breakfast as if nothing had happened. The only indications of what transpired only a couple of seconds ago were John’s blush and Marcos snickering in the doorway to the kitchen.
Maybe things weren’t all that bad for the Mutant Underground after all! At least not for the two leaders.
