Did I Ever Know You?
By Princess Alexandria
AN: set during the first meeting between Sage and Emma after Sage's cover was blown, and after Emma joined the Xmen.
Emma took a deep breath through her nose and stared out at the plane landing. Releasing it she sat back and waited. Using her mind she scanned the area and sighed as she felt very little where there should be a familiar presence.
How familiar though, she thought, as she studied the readout on her cell phone, seeing a few missed calls, but she recognized all the numbers, so none of them were the one she'd been waiting for.
The hatch lowered on the plane and a familiar graceful woman stepped out onto the stairs, her black hair immaculately done, but in a new style. Emma stared at her, watching the way Tessa took each stair with grace and poise, the way she'd been taught at the club.
They'd talked a few times on the phone since Tessa left the club, but not about anything too seriously. Emma needed to talk with her now, which was why she went with the driver to pick Tessa up.
"If you could get the door please." Emma told the driver and waited until he had before stepping out and looking over at Tessa walking her way.
"Emma." Tessa spoke as the driver took her bag, and Emma nodded just a little. Emma took in the tattoos now around Tessa's eyes with an expression that gave nothing away, before moving to waved toward the opened door.
"The rest of your team is already at the mansion." Emma informed Tessa and watched at the dark haired woman slid into the back of the limo, facing forwards, as was her habit. Tessa preferred to see where they were going to where they'd been. Perhaps that was Emma needed to do as well but not until she really understood the path they'd taken.
The privacy window went up with a flip of a switch and Emma waited a moment, staring at Tessa in the silence.
"I heard about Genosha." Tessa spoke softly, and Emma saw some gentleness in her eyes. "I'm sorry."
"Yes, well, aren't we all." Emma sighed and moved to caress her left arm with her right as she thought of that day. "I heard about how you were kidnapped."
"Yes." Tessa turned to stare out the window and Emma stared at her.
Emma's voice was softer. "I would have paid the ransom for you, if I'd known, I would have tried to find you." Tessa turned to look at her, her eyes staring, clearly looking for the truth.
Tessa smiled just a little and nodded. Emma felt awkward, but that was why she'd come, to deal with this away from prying eyes. The Xmen were often looking for gossip about her and she didn't want to give them any right now. "I owe you after all, for stopping that bastard from winning me in that damned card game." Emma added and sat back.
"I would do it again, even though it put me on his list of people to torture." Tessa spoke softly and Emma swallowed a lump in her throat, thinking of the idea that Tessa had been tortured, and that it had been partly because she'd saved Emma that once.
"It was all a mission to you?" Emma asked, while studying Tessa's face for any emotion that would give the woman away, but if she hadn't found it in the years that the woman spied on her, Emma knew she wouldn't find it now.
"You're normally more subtle about your questions Emma." Tessa spoke and Emma sighed heavily.
"I imagine that once we reach the mansion I will be hard pressed to pull you away from whatever your team is working on and I need to know the answer." Emma rarely laid her own cards out like this, but with Genosha and living with the Xmen, she didn't have the energy left to play games with Tessa now. The ride back was far too short for it.
The mask of little emotion broke a little on Tessa's face, and there was some pain there. Whether it was real or not, Emma couldn't tell. "I spied on everyone there, and reported back," Emma closed here eyes and grimaced. "But I was very glad when you left the club and started working with Generation X, because I never felt comfortable spying on you."
"But you did." Emma turned to look out the window, to collect her thoughts.
"But I did." Tessa agreed softly.
Emma sat quietly, and Tessa was just as still and quiet. It was a familiar trait in the woman, and one Emma could now see made her the perfect spy.
"I still would have paid the ransom." Emma gritted her teeth a little and continued to look out the window. A hand gently touched her knee and Emma looked back into concerned eyes. The only eyes that she'd ever let her own mask down for, and Emma's hand shook as she moved it to rest over Tessa's hand.