Nothing will be the same
Author: Wen
Situation: This is an alternate continuation of Day of Recovery. It's what I came up with before seeing the actual follow-up episode.
It begins right at the end of the episode; Scott isn't in uniform (so his chest is still half bare). I'm having the end of the episode take place at midnight. Lol
Summary : Scott and Jean talk about recent events and how they have been affected.
Category: general
Author's notes : This is my first X-Men fic and I don't think I'll write another - except Brainwave (in progress). I have translated this story from French, and Jen (Jen1703) helped clean it up; so thank you, Jen.
Unlike my customary way of writing, I thought up this story in half a day, and I spent only one hour writing it (not to translate it lol).
A big thanks to Jen, who I've been corresponding with for a couple of months now, although the six hours time difference between our two countries doesn't make it easy! Lol
So, happy reading and please review!
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"We will have to live in a hostile world, a world which is afraid of us. Somehow, we must prove to them that we are good people, that there is no reason to fear us, before it's too late," declared Storm.
"Time for bed kids," groaned Logan before catching himself. "I mean…we need to get some sleep. There are only a few hours before the dawn, and then we'll have to find the rest of the kids."
With sad faces, the others members of the team agreed and most of them dropped to the ground where they'd been standing. Scott and Jean did the same; Cyclops crossed his arms behind his head to act as a pillow, and Jean lay next to him. He turned his head towards Jean, his brows drawing together in uncertainty.
"Jean, I'm…I'm sorry for how I've been acting lately. I mean, about what happened earlier. I don't want you to think I was angry and pushing you away," he said in an apologetic tone, referring to the way he'd avoided her embrace a few hours before.
"It's nothing Scott, you don't have to apologize," she comforted him in a quiet voice. "You were upset, and I probably would have acted the same way in your place."
She sighed, her gaze shifting to the stars as a gentle breeze began to blow softly. "I can't believe everything that's happened to us in such a short time. The Brotherhood moving in with us, the Institute being destroyed…"
"The world discovering that we exist, and not in the best possible way," added Scott.
"That robot, that 'Sentinel' as Logan called it, programmed to kill us."
"Magneto's return."
"Mystique's infiltration of the Institute, Professor Xavier's disappearance, and the division of our team…" Jean trailed off, leaving them in silence for a moment before she continued speaking in an emotional voice. "All the things we worked so hard for – our reputations, the identities we developed in order to fit into the world – have all been destroyed. Now, we risk only being seen as 'mutants' and nothing else."
"I don't understand why Magneto did it," Scott agreed with a subtle nod of his head. "I mean, he'll be tracked down just like us, so I don't see the logic behind his actions. All he did was cause mass fear and panic," he paused and flashed a resigned grin. "I know that's exactly what he's always wanted, a war between humans and mutants. I think he's just made a good start."
He shivered slightly because of the breeze.
"You're shivering," Jean observed.
"It's nothing, it's only because I'm not really dressed in survival gear," he tried to joke, motioning to his torn shirt that left his chest half bare. "I should have watched the weather report before going camping."
Jean smiled slightly, but gave him another worried look. "You'll get sick and this is not a good time for it," she said.
She partially sat up and looked around her. In the semi-darkness, the shapes of the other X-Men stood out against the ground and, of course, there weren't any clothes or blankets lying around.
Scott had resumed staring at the stars, and Jean wrapped herself around him, pushing aside the strange feeling that had made her hesitate.
"Jean?" he asked in surprise.
"I'm not about to let you freeze to death if I can help warm you up," she insisted, justifying herself in a confident voice. "We've already lost the Professor; we need our leader to be in top form."
"There's still Storm and Wolverine," he said, not noticing that the two older X-men shared a conspiratorial wink and glanced in Scott and Jean's direction.
"You know what I mean," Jean scolded.
Scott didn't say anything, but put a hesitant arm around the young woman's waist. If the circumstances had been different, he would have been in seventh heaven holding her as he was, but he couldn't forget the situation they were in…the situation in which all mutants now found themselves. However, a pleasant heat began warming him, and Jean's hair covered his left shoulder in a soft caress.
Jean couldn't deny the feelings of contentment and security which were gradually overtaking her, but those feelings were muted by a slight embarrassment, a sort of shyness from being so close to Scott. That was absurd, she knew. After all, when they were younger, the two of them had gotten just as close physically. But now, it was different and she knew the reason why – her feelings for Scott had changed.
She had recently come to that realization, particularly after the day her powers had gone crazy. It was not Kitty, Wolverine, or the Professor who had been able to reach her and save her; no, it had been Scott. Scott was the person who knew her better than anyone else, the person who had always been there for her during difficult times, and who she had always relied on. Since then, she couldn't help seeing him differently, and feeling a kind of confusion in his presence – something she had never before felt for anyone.
The seriousness of their situation brought her back to reality. No more home, no more anonymity, their team scattered and the professor…missing.
"I've tried, you know," she murmured
"Hmm? What?" asked Scott in confusion.
"I've tried to contact the professor telepathically several times, but I haven't been able to reach him. Maybe I'm just not concentrating hard enough."
"Or maybe he's too far away for you to reach him," Scott suggested, not wanting her to doubt her abilities.
"Or, he may not be able to contact us. Maybe he's hurt or…"
"No Jean, don't even think on that. He's not dead," he protested.
The young woman briefly shuddered at the thought, a possibility she hadn't allowed herself to consider.
"You say that, but you have doubts," she said raising her gaze to him.
"You…?" he asked with a questioning expression on his face
"No, no need to be a telepath to read the doubt you have. I know you, that's all," she answered to his implied question. "You're questioning it because of Mystique, right?"
"Yeah," he admitted in a gloomy voice. "I tried, Jean. I tried catching her off guard and asking her where the professor was, willing to trade the information for her freedom, but she wouldn't tell me anything."
"She's much too proud for that, she didn't believe your threat. When she realised you weren't bluffing it was too late, that's all," she said, trying to be convincing.
"But, that's not the only reason. She wouldn't let you read her mind.
"Nobody wants someone sifting through his memories, whether he has something to hide or not," argued Jean. "Besides, Mystique has really strong mental shields, and the professor is the only one who can read her, and even then he can only see whatever information is close to the surface. I remembered that too late."
Scott didn't answer, allowing himself to be convinced by her argument.
"We should get some sleep now. It's been a long day and the ones coming up promise to be, too," he said a few moments later.
Jean nodded before closing her eyes.
Scott hesitated to do the same. The unexpected arrival of the S.H.I.E.L.D. members earlier that evening worried him, and he was afraid that another commando team, one less friendly, might come across them during the night.
A quiet but grumbling voice interrupted his thoughts.
"You can sleep, kid. I'm keeping look-out," said Logan. "So don't argue, just get some sleep."
Scott didn't argue at all. He trusted Wolverine to watch over them, and couldn't deny how tired her was. He closed his eyes, Jean still curled up against him.
Tomorrow would be another day.
-END-