Octavian knocked on the door of Julie and Bobby's apartment. He hoped Bobby would answer it and they could just leave without him having to spend any time with Julie. She kept harping on about seeing his kid, but as far as he was concerned, he was not interested. He would give money for her, but that's as much as could be expected from him.
So far, Bobby had been fairly good at not pushing, but Tav knew him too well and knew that his subtle hints were probably going to get a little less subtle.
He tapped his foot lightly as he waited for someone to answer.
Julie
Julie sighed as there was a knock on the door. She'd finally had a chance to sit down and work on her next game... Julie put her pen behind her ear, left the clipboard on the arm of the lounge and made her way to the door.
"Well, hi Tav," she said with false cheerfulness.
Octavian
"Ah, dear Julie."
Octavian smiled charmingly, but it wasn't as sincere as he was hoping it would be.
"Is dear Bobby around?"
Julie
"He's at Xavier's, with Hank," Julie replied cooly. "He'll probably be there awhile."
She held the door open.
"Did you want to come in? I have someone here you should meet."
Octavian
Octavian groaned, and none too quietly, at that.
"If you're talking about that child, then no, I won't stay."
Julie
Julie glared stonily at him.
"That child," she repeated. "Her name is Tinga Ziyal Drake-Rocks. She has enhanced senses which can only be a deriviative of your power, and she can carry a tune. which is more than can be said about most one-year olds. Her talent she's could have only gotten for you, but doubtless she had her red-headed beauty from me. Let's face it, your attitude of late has been anything but beautiful."
Octavian
Octavian waved his hand dismissively.
"I have never been interested in children, nor have I ever wanted any of my own. I accept that accidents happen, and so, for that, I am sorry. I can appreciate that the child has talents, but as for my duties, I will pay for what she needs. And that is all."
Julie
Julie shook her head incredulously.
"This isn't about money," she informed him coldly. "If it was, I would have gotten onto you about child maintenance payments months ago. This is about you behaving like she doesn't even exist, and even now, when we're talking about her, you act as if she's beneath notice."
Octavian
"You have always known of my attitude towards children," Octavian said, shrugging off her last statement. "And so, why is it a shock for you to realise that I do not care? I come from a family that is barely a family, did you expect me to be loving towards a child? I will help financially, but as for being a parent figure in her life, I will not do that. I did not come here to meet her."
Julie
"I don't care," Julie replied. "I don't care if you don't want to be a dad. I really couldn't give a stuff. That's not what I'm asking for. What I'm asking is that you treat her like a human being - even if techinically she's a mutant. Say it with me: Tinga. This is her name. Her name is not 'the child'. She is not some ornament you stick on your Christmas tree and then pack away for the other eleven months in the year. C'mon. Tinga. I know you can say it: you have a tongue."
Octavian
"Well, listen to you on your moral high horse, saying you don't care how I feel about the situation, then saying I should treat her the way you see fit."
Octavian shrugged.
"Anyway, I didn't come here to meet her. I didn't come here out of duty to you or your children. I came here to support Bobby."
Julie
"Well, Bobby's not here. And I'm not asking anything of you other than a little acknowledgement that Tinga is your daughter and not some random kid," Julie replied. "It doesn't take any more effort than you've already expended arguing with me about it. It's not like I'm trying to force you into taking sole custody of her or anything. Geez."
Octavian
"Yeah, and it's no wonder Bobby's not here, if this is what he has to deal with," Octavian shot back.
"No wonder he's so sick these days. I came here to be here for my best friend, not to play house with you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go find him. Because obviously, you are incapable of supporting him."
He gave her a scathing look.
"Do you even care he's sick?"
Julie
"Sick?" Julie repeated, confused. "What on earth are you talking about?"
Bobby wasn't sick... was he? He hadn't be around much lately, but she thought that was just because of school and catching up with old friends. Surely he would have told her...
Octavian
"You didn't know?"
Octavian stared at her in horror.
"Well, I won't betray his confidence. I'm leaving now."
Julie
Julie's eyes filled with tears as she tried to conprehend this.
"Wait... he told you, and he didn't tell me?" she exclaimed. "But I... I... I love him! I love him more than anything... and he didn't tell me?"
She swallowed hard and ran a hand through her hair in distress.
Octavian
"Yes, well, I suppose he has his reasons for telling me and not you."
Octavian looked scornful.
"Haven't you even noticed how much time he's been spending at the Mansion? Or how often he is talking to Hank? It's much more than usual."
He turned to leave.
"I'm not going to make you feel better, you hardly deserve it with your behaviour as of late. I may be many things, Julie, but when I care about someone, I am there for them."
Julie
Julie lifted her hand to slap Octavian across the face, not even remembering at that moment that his super reflexes would enable him to dodge the blow before it even came close.
"My behaviour? And where have you been for the last few months? You haven't been here, you've been at Harvard. How on earth would you know what's normal around this house?" she screamed at him. "I care more for Bobby than I do for my own life. How dare you stand there and tell me I don't care? How dare you accuse me of not being there for him. I'm always there for him."
There was a short gasp for breath and the tears began to fall down her cheeks.
"Just... this time... he... appar-ren-tly... doesn't... need me."
She bit her bottom lip and finally burst into tears.
Octavian
Octavian dodged the blow easily and shook his head.
"I don't pretend to know what is going on inside Bobby's head, but I do know that he always does what he thinks is best. And so, you can take comfort in the fact that he did this not to hurt you, but for his own noble reason."
He sighed.
"I don't wish to discuss this with you, I've already broken a confidence."
Julie
"But how could you have possibly have known that his own wife didn't know he was sick?" Julie demanded almost sarcastically, trying to wipe away tears that just kept coming. "No, instead you just accuse me of not caring and not being willing to support him. Well, it's nice to know what you really think of me: a two-faced, shallow slut. That's it isn't it, Mr I'll-give-you-money-for-The-Child-but-I-won't-call-her-by-her-name-when-I-know-perfectly-well-what-it-is."
She reached for the door handle.
Octavian
Octavian scoffed.
"Because, I assumed he would've told you."
He turned to leave.
"I knew Bobby made the wrong choice when he picked you."
And with that, he left.
Julie
"Bastard!" Julie screamed after him.
She flung the door, slamming it shut, and dissolved into tears.