If Walls Could Talk
Disclaimer: Not mine! Mutant X belongs to Tribune and Marvel.
Rating: PG
A/N: I was given a request for a B/S fluff piece…I started out with that intention, but ended up with this instead. It's just a different sort of "fluffy" I guess! I hope you enjoy it!
A tense silence filled the walls of Sanctuary as in a bedroom, two stubborn people sat side by side in bed, arms firmly crossed in mutual defiance.
"Come on, Shal."
"No," her eyes flashed, "No way."
"Why not?" Brennan glared back at her.
"Because I said no. Forget it, Brennan."
He stared at her with narrowed eyes, "Since when do you get to have the final say? Shouldn't we discuss this together?"
"With anything else, yes. But with this, no, absolutely not." She flounced down onto her back, rolling over to her side and turning off the lamp. "Now good night."
He huffed as he watched her stiff back for a few minutes before blowing out a heavy breath and collapsing onto his own side, facing away from her. He stared angrily across the room, listening as Shalimar exaggeratedly groaned and sighed behind him.
"Brennan!" She finally rasped at him, not sparing him a glance.
"What?" He gritted between clenched teeth. Her voice was beginning to grate on his nerves. He roughly punched the pillow, bunching it further beneath his head as Shalimar let out another annoyed sigh.
"Turn off your light."
"No."
The bed gave an ominous creak as she raised herself back up into a sitting position. He felt the heat from her furious eyes stabbing into his back, but refused to be intimidated, keeping his gaze focused at the wall across the room as he studiously ignored her.
A tiny hand crept over him and stretched towards the light. Fingers were inching towards their destination when a large hand suddenly shot out, closing over her wrist and halting her movements. She growled deep in her throat, nails closing over his fist and digging into skin. She gasped in indignation as a tiny spark shocked her and rippled up through her arm. She yanked her hand away, the other hand simultaneously flying out and smacking him on the back of the head.
"Hey!"
"Turn off the light," she repeated in low voice.
He sat up and faced her. She lifted her chin in silent challenge as they stared at each other. Long moments passed and eyes hardened in a rebellious stand-off until finally as one, they both flopped back onto their sides, backs rigidly adjacent.
"Fine."
"Fine."
Brennan glared over his shoulder as Shalimar released another piteous sigh.
"Oh, fine." He gritted, finger pointing to the lamp and frying it. The light flickered and sizzled, and the room fell dark.
Shalimar sniffed. "You didn't have to break it."
A low grunt was his only answer.
Silence again fell over the darkened room as two figures lay back to back, pretending hard to ignore the other. Brennan blinked in surprise as light suddenly flooded the room once again. Shalimar pulled her hand away from the lamp and turned towards Brennan.
"Hey Bren?"
"Yeah?" He didn't look at her.
"Remember our promise."
He shot her a half glance, brow quirked in confusion.
"We vowed never to go to sleep angry, remember?" Her hand fell lightly on his back. She felt him stiffen and then relax as he blew out a long breath.
"Yeah," He quietly agreed, "I remember."
She leaned over him, arm wrapping around his shoulder, her hair hanging long and low in his face. He shuddered as her scent hit him. He rolled, fist gathering a handful of wild hair as he captured her lips in a demanding kiss. She met him kiss for kiss, and they battled silently for control, lungs hitching in gasping breaths. Finally he pulled away, leaning his forehead against hers as he fought to regain ragged breathing. She smiled up at him, fingers stroking his cheek in quiet apology.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, eyes falling shut. She waited as he continued to breathe heavily. And waited. "Well?" She finally asked, pulling away in expectation.
"What?"
Her eyes narrowed at him. "Good night, Brennan." She turned around and plopped back onto her side, forcing herself to stay calm.
"Ok, ok," he conceded reluctantly, "I'm sorry too."
She smiled triumphantly, "Thank you." She reached up and again the room was awash in darkness.
It was silent for a beat.
"Although I don't know why," Brennan muttered under his breath.
"Oh shut up," she snapped back at him, foot lashing backward to kick him in the shin as he groaned exasperatedly.
The next morning, Shalimar opened grumpy eyes to see Brennan's face swarming in front of her.
"Hey, Shal."
Her nostrils flared as a delicious scent wafted up and caught her attention. She turned astonished eyes back to Brennan as she realized he was holding a tray out in front of him, filled with delectable breakfast goodies.
"Brennan?" She pushed herself up into a sitting position, leaning back against rumpled pillows and straightening tangled sheets. She had tossed and turned for most of the night.
He grinned as he placed the tray on her lap, bounding over her and landing with a bounce on the other side of her. Orange juice splashed over the glass rim and landed in the middle of scrambled eggs, but she didn't even notice; her eyes were glued to Brennan's face.
"I ah, I decided I didn't like having you mad at me," He shrugged sheepishly, "This was the best thing I could think of on short notice to make it up to you." He reached over and captured her hand, gently sliding off her ring. "I also threatened death to the others if they disturbed us in the next few hours," He set both their rings down on the side table.
She grinned back at him. "Nice move."
He waggled his eyebrows, reclining on his side next to her and picking up a fork. He speared a piece of fruit and lifted it to her mouth. Her lips curved upwards before leaning in and closing over the offered treat, eyes falling shut in appreciation.
"Good, huh?"
"Very," she took the fork from his fingers and chose another piece of fruit, lifting it to his lips. He pulled it off with his teeth as she watched with a wide smile. She leaned over and brushed a soft kiss against his lips.
"Thank you." She kissed him again. "I'm glad you can admit it when you're wrong."
He felt his first twinge of irritation.
"Hey, Shal," He took another bite off the fork she offered to him, "I didn't say I was wrong."
"What?" She yanked the fork out of his mouth. It jerked upward and screeched as it scraped against his moving teeth.
"Ow! Watch it!" He garbled, mouth full of food.
The fork waved in the air. "What's the purpose of all this then?"
His hand pulled away from his mouth where it had been checking for blood. "I wanted to make up."
"Without resolving the issue?" Eyebrows arched high.
"Well, yeah." He shrugged, rolling over onto his back and leaning against the headboard. "I thought we could agree to disagree."
"Oh." She sat silent for a moment, thinking. "I suppose I can live with the knowledge that I was right and you were wrong," she slowly nodded her head.
His eyes narrowed. "Hey, Shal."
"Hmm?"
"There's coffee over on the dresser if you want it."
Her eyes lit up. "Coffee!" She set the tray on the bed between them and jumped up.
As soon as her back was turned, his hand shot out and grasped the salt shaker. He twisted off the lid and dumped a generous heap onto her eggs, furtively glancing back at her as she poured herself a cup and took a sip. Quickly he set the shaker down and met her gaze with an innocent smile as she walked back towards the bed.
"Good?"
"Yes, thank you." She smiled back at him, climbing back onto the bed and pulling the comforter over her outstretched legs. His hand had been busy stirring the eggs, so he quickly dropped the fork and handed her the plate.
"Here, sweetie, why don't you eat before it turns cold."
"You're always so thoughtful, thank you." She held the plate in her hands.
He watched as she dipped the fork into the steaming mass, deciding he better put some distance between them. Casually, he stood up, strolling over to the coffee.
Her hand stopped in mid-air and she grinned. He glanced back over his shoulder at her, and she quickly raised the fork in acknowledgement. He smirked and turned back around. Shaking her head, she switched their plates around, dipping her fork into his pile of eggs instead as he turned back towards her again.
"Well?" He asked leaning against the dresser, "How do they taste?"
She shoved a big forkful into her mouth. "Wonderful."
His eyes widened slightly before he could catch himself. "They do?"
"Uh-hum," she closed her eyes, taking another bite.
He grimaced. Maybe it was a feral thing. Disappointed, he walked back over to the bed, again stretching out beside her and taking his own plate in his hands.
He supposed it was for the best, he didn't want to drag their fight out any longer. He took a big bite and choked. Or maybe not.
"Shalimar!"
She met his roar with a perfectly aimed fork. He paused, blinking as egg splattered in his face.
Shalimar giggled, waiting.
"Are you trying to tell me something?"
She smirked. "What do you think?"
Calmly he set his plate down and picked up a napkin, wiping his face clean. She set her own plate down, watching him closely for his next move.
"You realize we have two choices here, don't you?" He crumbled the greasy napkin and threw it over his shoulder.
She watched it, frowning as it landed on a pile of clean clothes. "We do?"
"Yeah," he brushed his hands together, "We do."
She tilted her head. "Well?"
"One," He held his index finger into the air. "We can call a truce, forget about all this, and start the morning over."
"And two?" Her lips twitched.
"Or two," a second finger rose up to join the first, "We can continue this petty fight until one of us wins."
"Hmm," She considered aloud. "What do you think we should do?" She turned towards him with a knowing grin.
He grinned back, "Ok, but no powers allowed."
She suddenly sprang off the bed and flipped up into the air, hanging upside from beams in the ceiling. Long blonde hair hung down, partially hiding her smile.
He shook his head. "Ok, but don't forget who started it." He sent a quick bolt to her knees.
She gasped and clutched the beam with her arms as legs gave way. "Hey!"
Brennan laughed and ducked as a foot was suddenly flying his way.
Screams, giggles, and righteous gasps of indignation flew from the room. Next door Jesse groaned and shoved his pillow over his head. Not again. They were at it again.
Back next door, voices grew steadily quieter as two figures wrestled happily in each other's arms, pressed against the wall in a deep kiss.
Finally, Shalimar pulled back and grinned up at Brennan, giggling as she pulled bits of egg out of his hair. He laughed back, catching her gaze for a moment before leaning down and pressing his lips into her neck.
Her arms stole up around his shoulders, shivering as he worked a gentle trail down to her collarbone. He pressed a long kiss into the hollow of her throat, feeling her gasp for air as knees turned weak beneath her.
He pulled back with a wicked grin. "Do you surrender?"
"Never," she murmured into his mouth, pulling his head down to meet her seeking lips. "How about you?"
He swallowed hard as she began nibbling on his ear, knowing his weak spot. "Nope, not, ah, not yet."
She chuckled into his neck. "What were we fighting about anyway?"
"Whatever it was, I don't care," he huskily intoned, framing her cheeks with his large hands, "This is the important part anyway."
Her eyes softened beneath his gaze. "Making up?"
He grinned, "Getting even." He wildly shook his head, scattering egg bits all over the place. Shalimar squealed and ducked her head into his chest as his knees bent down slightly and he swept her up into his arms, whirling her around with him, over and over again in mad circles, laughter bouncing off surrounding walls.
A clump of fluffy scrambled egg slowly slid down the wall, gradually falling to the ground in small chunks, leaving tell-tale streaks behind. Not too far away, marks of a similar sort were just barely still visible, giving hint of another time, another story.
If walls could talk, oh the secrets they'd share.