Smokes by Eve-the-Charlotte
Pairings: Mentions Tabitha/Amara and unofficial Ray/Alex.
Number 8 in Witchblood-verse. I have a feeling Tabby'd be a smoker and a drinker, so, if it offends, avert thine eyes from this story. Anyways, read on!
All she wanted was her smokes. And a beer. But, mostly her smokes. That was all she wanted when she stepped into the House that Xavier Built, really it was! And now she was stuck back in Mutant High with a Wolverine-like psychopath as her roommate and her room being an entire wing away from Amara's. They said it was for lack of space, but that was bullshit and they and she knew it. There were plenty of rooms available in the West Wing, but Tabitha Smith wasn't allowed to live in them. No, she had to be in the wing with the up-to-date security cameras that would catch her sneaking out into Amara's room in the middle of the night.
Worse, she couldn't get her smokes back anyways, because Ray, the dumbass, had gotten caught by his little boy-toy, Alex Summers, brother of Scott "Stick Up My Ass" Summers, who totally flipped when he caught Ray smoking and immediately told the Badger about them, who then confiscated them and refused to give them back to you because, "They ain't good fer you, Tabby Cat." Bullshit, he probably kept them for himself.
The absolute worst thing, though, was that Xavier accepted her back into the New Mutants, easy peasy lemon squeezy. It wasn't supposed to be that simple, that easy, she should have been forced to work her way back onto the New Mutants, even if they were the B-Squad. She should have been punished for what she did, betraying her team more than once, but she wasn't. Her teammates let her back into the fold like she had never left. Hell, Amara had let her back into her heart as if she never left. And it frightened Tabitha, it really, truly did.
It frightened her because they loved her unconditionally, it seemed, and she wasn't sure if she would do it for them. She probably wouldn't, and she knew it. And that's what made her heart hurt.
All she wanted was her smokes. But what she got in return was something far greater, and much, much worse. Guilt.
That was interesting to write. I was actually kinda nervous about writing this one, because I wasn't sure if I got Tabitha right, so I agonized over it for a while. It was originally a bit longer, but I figured Tabitha was more of a short and sweet sort of gal, so I shortened it a bit. Hope it's okay. Anyways, read and review.
