Title: Normal Guys
Notes: Why don't more people like Scott and Bobby? Because they're normal. In which I discuss this theory.
Summary: Scott and Bobby bond and reflect on their lives
Part 1:
He sat on the bench, watching her and Remy. He grudgingly admitted that they were perfect together. It was a pity that he and Rogue couldn't be perfect together instead. Remy was everything Bobby knew he wasn't. Outgoing, outlandish, self-confident, exciting, interesting, the list of traits Rogue had found sadly lacking in Bobby. That stupid list broke Bobby's heart even more than Rogue and Remy's constant...togetherness did. Remy didn't fear Rogue, Rogue didn't fear for Remy. Bobby felt weak and shallow in comparison. Compared to Remy he felt plain and ordinary. In a mansion full of mutants, Bobby felt painfully normal.
Scott sat on a bench opposite the yard from Bobby. He wasn't watching Rogue and Remy, but Jean and Logan. Funny, how she'd never expressed an interest in the outdoors before. Oh, sure they went on picnics when the weather was nice, but when athletics were involved Jean always had something better to do in the lab. Suddenly, now that she was with Logan, a tickle fest in the grass was not only okay, but also welcomed. Scott suspected bitterly that Logan didn't get lectures on public displays of affection. Logan wouldn't respond well to that. No. Logan was rough, tough, gruff, a strong, violent rule breaker. And Scott was "good ol' Scott". Clean up the mess, fix what was broken, take care of what had been destroyed. And Scott liked that, annoyingly enough. But when compared with Logan, Scott looked puny. He was extremely tired of being the bigger man and looking smaller. Tired of being gallant and looking the fool. Tired of having super powers and feeling like a normal guy.
Bobby first noticed Jean and Logan when Rogue tripped over them. Then he noticed Scott who had obviously been watching Logan and Jean. Scott looked like he had just been jolted from deep thought, and from the look on his face they hadn't been happy thoughts. When Bobby thought about it, he and Scott were in very similar positions. They both had to watch the women they loved be with guys who were cooler, more exciting, and more seemingly dangerous then themselves. Didn't it used to be cool to be the boy-next door?
"Hey Mr. Summers- Scott," Bobby greeted his teacher and friend as he sat next to him.
"Hi Bobby. What's up?"
"Nothin' much. Just watching the girl I'm in love with fall in love with a cooler, more exciting guy. And feeling sorry for myself," Bobby said conversationally. "You?"
" 'Bout the same. I'm feeling like a pretty normal guy."
"Yeah," Bobby agreed. "And y'know what? Being a normal guy sucks."
Part 2:
After that particularly warm, sunshiny and utterly depressing day in the yard, Bobby and Scott shared a new kind of bond. It came into play a hundred times a day. When Remy and Rogue were making out at breakfast, when Jean and Logan decided to go to bed a little earlier than usual, when teams were picked in an all-school hide-and-seek. Scott and Bobby could convince themselves, and each other, that they weren't alone. They would see an awkward situation, walk past the other man and whisper, "Normal Guy," Two words that soothed, reminded him he wasn't alone. It was good having someone to face the day with. Someone to count on, and someone to be there for. Friendship, either would admit, almost made up for love. Almost.
Being a "Normal Guy" helped soothe the little problems that made up a day, but inevitably bigger issues came along and almost a month after Scott and Bobby became "Normal Guys," Jean and Logan gathered the school together for an announcement.
"We wanted you all to know, that we're, um..." Jean paused, looked guiltily across the room at Scott. Bobby got up at that moment and walked to where his ally was leaning against a wall. Bobby got there just in time. "Logan and I are having a baby."
Scott could swear he felt the earth move. Bobby felt the aftershocks.
Jean and Logan. Jean and Logan. Scott thought. It was almost too much to bear. And then Bobby elbowed him. Quite painfully actually. Scott understood he had an ally, no power in this situation, but an ally who was there for him. He also knew that everyone was watching, waiting. Sometimes Scott really hated being a role model. When all he wanted in the world was to slug the man who had touched the woman he loved, he knew he couldn't, worse, knew he wouldn't. So he did what was appropriate, predictable, chivalrous, so very Scott.
He walked across the room, congratulated Jean, hugged her. Shook Logan's hand.
Look kids, He thought, this is how to be a grown-up. He knew no one respected or was terribly impressed by his actions. No one ever really saw how close Mr. Summers, Cyclops, got to doing something rash, Logan-ish. It simply wasn't done. Only one person in the world could understand, truly empathize, with what Scott was feeling, and that person was a sixteen year-old kid.
That sixteen year-old kid was very glad he was unable to feel Scott's emotions directly. He was already drowning in empathy. He tried to imagine himself in Scott's place. Rogue and Remy telling him...in front of everyone...no. They wouldn't do that. But Jean and Logan had. Bobby suddenly hated Jean. Logan had always been upfront in his dislike of Scott. But Jean, Jean claimed she loved Scott. How could anyone who had ever cared do something like this? Hurt someone so badly. Bobby half-wondered if Scott would adjust his visor, send the school tumbling down on them. That's something Logan would do, no questions asked. But Scott couldn't, and Bobby hated the injustice of it all.
Scott watched emotions cross Bobby's face. This is what having an ally was. Someone who felt more strongly about your situation than you did. How on earth did people survive without allies, friends?
Part 3:
The "Normal Guys" were great, wonderful. Having an ally was one of the best things on earth, but it did get lonely. But it came to pass that Scott and Bobby realized that dispite wishful thinking their romantic problems weren't going to be solved by hanging out alone. And they slowly realized they'd become a clique. Isolated. Insulated. And then Bobby remembered his best friend Kitty again. The girl he'd been half in love with when Rogue showed up at the Acadamy.
He walked into her room one morning, sprawled across her bed like always.
"Hey Kit. How's it going?" Kitty looked up from her book, not hiding her surprise.
"Same as always," she said looking down at where he was lying on his side.
"I don't get it," he sighed. "What's wrong with me?"
"Bobby? Try explaining. From the beginning, not the middle please."
"What is it about Remy, and Logan? What is it that girls want and I don't have?" Bobby wondered, rolling onto his stomach and looking out the window so he didn't have to meet Kitty's eyes. Kitty laughed, a little bitterly.
"What you do have is terrible taste in women," Bobby turned to look at her questioningly. "Oh, I'm not saying I don't like Rogue. I'm just saying you and her don't mesh. You're far too normal for her."
"Thanks Kitty, I hadn't noticed," Bobby grumbled sarcastically, staring out the window again, at Remy and Rogue.
"No. You're not...its just...Grr. Okay Bobby listen, Rogue digs wild guys. Dangerous guys-"
"I'm not dangerous?" Bobby grumbled to the window.
"Oh sure you could turn anyone into a Popsicle, but you just don't give off that vibe. Anyway, Rogue digs danger, Jubilee digs, in her heart anyway, she digs guys that need her. Innocents. People who confide in her. I myself," Kitty patted his back gently, "am partial to normal guys." Bobby turned then, to face her. Sat up, hugged her.
"Kit- I could really use..." he buried his head in her shoulder embarrassed by the tears streaming down his cheeks, shocked at how lonely he really was.
"I know Bobby," she smoothed his hair with one hand, holding him tight with the other. "We both really need a good friend." Bobby sighed. Let go of his friend. Got a little more comfortable on Kitty's bed.
"Mind if I read over your shoulder?"
"Do I ever?"
When Jubilee and Rogue walked into their room several hours later Rogue didn't hide her jealousy, or surprise at finding Bobby and Kitty asleep on Kitty's bed with a single book. Jubilee simply smiled.
" Kitty always did go for normal guys."
Part 4:
Scott was glad for Bobby. He'd needed to get out. Needed a friend. And if the expression on Kitty's face was an indicator, Bobby's joy at finding their friendship again wasn't entirely one-sided. Good for them.
Bobby, Scott decided, was a lucky kid. He had options here. People he could fall in and out of love with. Scott on the other hand... There were a grand total of five adults at the X-Academy, if Scott counted himself. Three, still counting Scott, were men and Scott wasn't going to swing that way anytime soon. Of the other two, Scott had been engaged to one, and considered the other a best friend/sister. Yes, Scott's options here were decidedly limited and Scott was decidedly determined not to be celibate forever. He'd seen what celibacy had done for the Professor and, not that he didn't admire the guy, but, pass! These decisions begged the question, what now?
Scott couldn't leave the school. It would mean abandoning the kids, the Professor, the team. But Scott couldn't stay like this, live like this. The Academy walls felt like they were closing in around him. He was starting to see why Logan ran, when there was nothing but loneliness for him here. The mansion was stifling when you had no one. How on earth had Ororo stood it as long as she had? Scott paced the hall. The more he thought the more trapped he felt.
"Aaah!" He screamed and it felt good. Startled the hell out of Jean too.
"Scott? You okay?" she asked. The Scott she knew didn't randomly scream in hallways.
"Fine Jean," Scott brushed her off. He muttered under his breath, "suffocating to death, but fine." At which point Scott decided to see the Professor.
"Scott. You know what you have to do," The Professor told him.
"But I can't just...can I?"
"Scott, it is your prerogative. If you want to live and socialize near here you may continue your work and team duties, or choose some part there of. Or you may leave entirely. The question here, Scott, is, what do you want?" The Professor asked gently.
"I want to leave. Go to the city. Live there, work there. Come home on weekends and holidays. When you need me. When the team needs me. The Blackbird can be in the city in under five minutes," Scott assured him.
"Scott, you don't owe us anything. You don't have to still be Cyclops. Be just Scott if you so desire," the Professor instructed him.
"But I don't know- I've forgotten how to be just Scott. I'm afraid to let go of Cyclops," Scott confessed. "I'm afraid of being outgrown, being forgotten." The Professor shook his bald head and smiled softly,
"Son, you could never be forgotten. You aren't the average man you seem to think you are."
Part 5:
It was a strange day at the X-Mansion. Historic even. No X-Men had ever left the team, the school before. There was a party. It seemed almost rude. Like a "Yay! No more mechanics classes" party. But Scott appreciated that people cared. So he ate store bought cake, and drank diluted punch, and talked with well wishers.
"Scott?" Jean asked as he started towards the car which would take him to his new life in New York City.
"Hey Jean," he turned to face her.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. This isn't about you. Okay, that sounded wrong," Scott chuckled. "Jean, you aren't forcing me to leave my home. I'm making a choice, making a change."
"I'm glad. I wish...things would have been different," Jean sighed. She brightened suddenly. "Logan doesn't know this yet but..." Jean leaned to whisper in his ear "...the baby's a boy. We're gonna name him Scott. After you."
"Thanks Jean. That's...I don't know what to say that won't sound trite," Scott hugged her. "You know Logan'll hate it right?"
"The decision is final. He has six months to learn to deal with it!" The two laughed together, able to be friends without being lovers.
"Scott?" Bobby approached Jean and Scott. "Jean, can I borrow Scott?" Jean smiled at Scott.
"He's all yours."
"We haven't really talked in awhile have we Bobby?" Scott asked.
"Nope. You 'k?"
"I'm good. This is right, this is what I need to be doing," Scott told Bobby nodding.
"Okay. Don't be a stranger man. Call, write!"
"You too. Take the Blackbird on unauthorized trips to visit. Tell 'em I'm still in charge," Scott grinned determinedly.
"Always. You're the man," Bobby grinned at his friend, fellow "Normal Guy".
"Don't let Logan take over my team."
"Nah. The Prof wants Ororo."
"Good choice. I'll be around when you join the team."
"Normal Guys forever, huh?"
"Normal Guys forever."
" 'Bye Scott."
" 'Bye Bobby," The two men hugged and Bobby rejoined Kitty on steps. Scott waved broadly before getting in the car and driving away.
It was hard to imagine life at the Mansion without Scott Summers. Most of the students didn't understand why he needed to leave. Jean and Logan had been together for almost two months. He'd adjusted, so why now?
Bobby tried to explain it to a few of them. The lack of options, being trapped. Scott was just a normal guy who wanted a life. Maybe he'd find one he could bring home and nurture in the Mansion. Or maybe Scott Summers, formerly Cyclops, was leaving the nest for good. He just needed time to find out where he stood, just like everyone else. Scott Summers finally was a normal guy.
Notes: Why don't more people like Scott and Bobby? Because they're normal. In which I discuss this theory.
Summary: Scott and Bobby bond and reflect on their lives
Part 1:
He sat on the bench, watching her and Remy. He grudgingly admitted that they were perfect together. It was a pity that he and Rogue couldn't be perfect together instead. Remy was everything Bobby knew he wasn't. Outgoing, outlandish, self-confident, exciting, interesting, the list of traits Rogue had found sadly lacking in Bobby. That stupid list broke Bobby's heart even more than Rogue and Remy's constant...togetherness did. Remy didn't fear Rogue, Rogue didn't fear for Remy. Bobby felt weak and shallow in comparison. Compared to Remy he felt plain and ordinary. In a mansion full of mutants, Bobby felt painfully normal.
Scott sat on a bench opposite the yard from Bobby. He wasn't watching Rogue and Remy, but Jean and Logan. Funny, how she'd never expressed an interest in the outdoors before. Oh, sure they went on picnics when the weather was nice, but when athletics were involved Jean always had something better to do in the lab. Suddenly, now that she was with Logan, a tickle fest in the grass was not only okay, but also welcomed. Scott suspected bitterly that Logan didn't get lectures on public displays of affection. Logan wouldn't respond well to that. No. Logan was rough, tough, gruff, a strong, violent rule breaker. And Scott was "good ol' Scott". Clean up the mess, fix what was broken, take care of what had been destroyed. And Scott liked that, annoyingly enough. But when compared with Logan, Scott looked puny. He was extremely tired of being the bigger man and looking smaller. Tired of being gallant and looking the fool. Tired of having super powers and feeling like a normal guy.
Bobby first noticed Jean and Logan when Rogue tripped over them. Then he noticed Scott who had obviously been watching Logan and Jean. Scott looked like he had just been jolted from deep thought, and from the look on his face they hadn't been happy thoughts. When Bobby thought about it, he and Scott were in very similar positions. They both had to watch the women they loved be with guys who were cooler, more exciting, and more seemingly dangerous then themselves. Didn't it used to be cool to be the boy-next door?
"Hey Mr. Summers- Scott," Bobby greeted his teacher and friend as he sat next to him.
"Hi Bobby. What's up?"
"Nothin' much. Just watching the girl I'm in love with fall in love with a cooler, more exciting guy. And feeling sorry for myself," Bobby said conversationally. "You?"
" 'Bout the same. I'm feeling like a pretty normal guy."
"Yeah," Bobby agreed. "And y'know what? Being a normal guy sucks."
Part 2:
After that particularly warm, sunshiny and utterly depressing day in the yard, Bobby and Scott shared a new kind of bond. It came into play a hundred times a day. When Remy and Rogue were making out at breakfast, when Jean and Logan decided to go to bed a little earlier than usual, when teams were picked in an all-school hide-and-seek. Scott and Bobby could convince themselves, and each other, that they weren't alone. They would see an awkward situation, walk past the other man and whisper, "Normal Guy," Two words that soothed, reminded him he wasn't alone. It was good having someone to face the day with. Someone to count on, and someone to be there for. Friendship, either would admit, almost made up for love. Almost.
Being a "Normal Guy" helped soothe the little problems that made up a day, but inevitably bigger issues came along and almost a month after Scott and Bobby became "Normal Guys," Jean and Logan gathered the school together for an announcement.
"We wanted you all to know, that we're, um..." Jean paused, looked guiltily across the room at Scott. Bobby got up at that moment and walked to where his ally was leaning against a wall. Bobby got there just in time. "Logan and I are having a baby."
Scott could swear he felt the earth move. Bobby felt the aftershocks.
Jean and Logan. Jean and Logan. Scott thought. It was almost too much to bear. And then Bobby elbowed him. Quite painfully actually. Scott understood he had an ally, no power in this situation, but an ally who was there for him. He also knew that everyone was watching, waiting. Sometimes Scott really hated being a role model. When all he wanted in the world was to slug the man who had touched the woman he loved, he knew he couldn't, worse, knew he wouldn't. So he did what was appropriate, predictable, chivalrous, so very Scott.
He walked across the room, congratulated Jean, hugged her. Shook Logan's hand.
Look kids, He thought, this is how to be a grown-up. He knew no one respected or was terribly impressed by his actions. No one ever really saw how close Mr. Summers, Cyclops, got to doing something rash, Logan-ish. It simply wasn't done. Only one person in the world could understand, truly empathize, with what Scott was feeling, and that person was a sixteen year-old kid.
That sixteen year-old kid was very glad he was unable to feel Scott's emotions directly. He was already drowning in empathy. He tried to imagine himself in Scott's place. Rogue and Remy telling him...in front of everyone...no. They wouldn't do that. But Jean and Logan had. Bobby suddenly hated Jean. Logan had always been upfront in his dislike of Scott. But Jean, Jean claimed she loved Scott. How could anyone who had ever cared do something like this? Hurt someone so badly. Bobby half-wondered if Scott would adjust his visor, send the school tumbling down on them. That's something Logan would do, no questions asked. But Scott couldn't, and Bobby hated the injustice of it all.
Scott watched emotions cross Bobby's face. This is what having an ally was. Someone who felt more strongly about your situation than you did. How on earth did people survive without allies, friends?
Part 3:
The "Normal Guys" were great, wonderful. Having an ally was one of the best things on earth, but it did get lonely. But it came to pass that Scott and Bobby realized that dispite wishful thinking their romantic problems weren't going to be solved by hanging out alone. And they slowly realized they'd become a clique. Isolated. Insulated. And then Bobby remembered his best friend Kitty again. The girl he'd been half in love with when Rogue showed up at the Acadamy.
He walked into her room one morning, sprawled across her bed like always.
"Hey Kit. How's it going?" Kitty looked up from her book, not hiding her surprise.
"Same as always," she said looking down at where he was lying on his side.
"I don't get it," he sighed. "What's wrong with me?"
"Bobby? Try explaining. From the beginning, not the middle please."
"What is it about Remy, and Logan? What is it that girls want and I don't have?" Bobby wondered, rolling onto his stomach and looking out the window so he didn't have to meet Kitty's eyes. Kitty laughed, a little bitterly.
"What you do have is terrible taste in women," Bobby turned to look at her questioningly. "Oh, I'm not saying I don't like Rogue. I'm just saying you and her don't mesh. You're far too normal for her."
"Thanks Kitty, I hadn't noticed," Bobby grumbled sarcastically, staring out the window again, at Remy and Rogue.
"No. You're not...its just...Grr. Okay Bobby listen, Rogue digs wild guys. Dangerous guys-"
"I'm not dangerous?" Bobby grumbled to the window.
"Oh sure you could turn anyone into a Popsicle, but you just don't give off that vibe. Anyway, Rogue digs danger, Jubilee digs, in her heart anyway, she digs guys that need her. Innocents. People who confide in her. I myself," Kitty patted his back gently, "am partial to normal guys." Bobby turned then, to face her. Sat up, hugged her.
"Kit- I could really use..." he buried his head in her shoulder embarrassed by the tears streaming down his cheeks, shocked at how lonely he really was.
"I know Bobby," she smoothed his hair with one hand, holding him tight with the other. "We both really need a good friend." Bobby sighed. Let go of his friend. Got a little more comfortable on Kitty's bed.
"Mind if I read over your shoulder?"
"Do I ever?"
When Jubilee and Rogue walked into their room several hours later Rogue didn't hide her jealousy, or surprise at finding Bobby and Kitty asleep on Kitty's bed with a single book. Jubilee simply smiled.
" Kitty always did go for normal guys."
Part 4:
Scott was glad for Bobby. He'd needed to get out. Needed a friend. And if the expression on Kitty's face was an indicator, Bobby's joy at finding their friendship again wasn't entirely one-sided. Good for them.
Bobby, Scott decided, was a lucky kid. He had options here. People he could fall in and out of love with. Scott on the other hand... There were a grand total of five adults at the X-Academy, if Scott counted himself. Three, still counting Scott, were men and Scott wasn't going to swing that way anytime soon. Of the other two, Scott had been engaged to one, and considered the other a best friend/sister. Yes, Scott's options here were decidedly limited and Scott was decidedly determined not to be celibate forever. He'd seen what celibacy had done for the Professor and, not that he didn't admire the guy, but, pass! These decisions begged the question, what now?
Scott couldn't leave the school. It would mean abandoning the kids, the Professor, the team. But Scott couldn't stay like this, live like this. The Academy walls felt like they were closing in around him. He was starting to see why Logan ran, when there was nothing but loneliness for him here. The mansion was stifling when you had no one. How on earth had Ororo stood it as long as she had? Scott paced the hall. The more he thought the more trapped he felt.
"Aaah!" He screamed and it felt good. Startled the hell out of Jean too.
"Scott? You okay?" she asked. The Scott she knew didn't randomly scream in hallways.
"Fine Jean," Scott brushed her off. He muttered under his breath, "suffocating to death, but fine." At which point Scott decided to see the Professor.
"Scott. You know what you have to do," The Professor told him.
"But I can't just...can I?"
"Scott, it is your prerogative. If you want to live and socialize near here you may continue your work and team duties, or choose some part there of. Or you may leave entirely. The question here, Scott, is, what do you want?" The Professor asked gently.
"I want to leave. Go to the city. Live there, work there. Come home on weekends and holidays. When you need me. When the team needs me. The Blackbird can be in the city in under five minutes," Scott assured him.
"Scott, you don't owe us anything. You don't have to still be Cyclops. Be just Scott if you so desire," the Professor instructed him.
"But I don't know- I've forgotten how to be just Scott. I'm afraid to let go of Cyclops," Scott confessed. "I'm afraid of being outgrown, being forgotten." The Professor shook his bald head and smiled softly,
"Son, you could never be forgotten. You aren't the average man you seem to think you are."
Part 5:
It was a strange day at the X-Mansion. Historic even. No X-Men had ever left the team, the school before. There was a party. It seemed almost rude. Like a "Yay! No more mechanics classes" party. But Scott appreciated that people cared. So he ate store bought cake, and drank diluted punch, and talked with well wishers.
"Scott?" Jean asked as he started towards the car which would take him to his new life in New York City.
"Hey Jean," he turned to face her.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. This isn't about you. Okay, that sounded wrong," Scott chuckled. "Jean, you aren't forcing me to leave my home. I'm making a choice, making a change."
"I'm glad. I wish...things would have been different," Jean sighed. She brightened suddenly. "Logan doesn't know this yet but..." Jean leaned to whisper in his ear "...the baby's a boy. We're gonna name him Scott. After you."
"Thanks Jean. That's...I don't know what to say that won't sound trite," Scott hugged her. "You know Logan'll hate it right?"
"The decision is final. He has six months to learn to deal with it!" The two laughed together, able to be friends without being lovers.
"Scott?" Bobby approached Jean and Scott. "Jean, can I borrow Scott?" Jean smiled at Scott.
"He's all yours."
"We haven't really talked in awhile have we Bobby?" Scott asked.
"Nope. You 'k?"
"I'm good. This is right, this is what I need to be doing," Scott told Bobby nodding.
"Okay. Don't be a stranger man. Call, write!"
"You too. Take the Blackbird on unauthorized trips to visit. Tell 'em I'm still in charge," Scott grinned determinedly.
"Always. You're the man," Bobby grinned at his friend, fellow "Normal Guy".
"Don't let Logan take over my team."
"Nah. The Prof wants Ororo."
"Good choice. I'll be around when you join the team."
"Normal Guys forever, huh?"
"Normal Guys forever."
" 'Bye Scott."
" 'Bye Bobby," The two men hugged and Bobby rejoined Kitty on steps. Scott waved broadly before getting in the car and driving away.
It was hard to imagine life at the Mansion without Scott Summers. Most of the students didn't understand why he needed to leave. Jean and Logan had been together for almost two months. He'd adjusted, so why now?
Bobby tried to explain it to a few of them. The lack of options, being trapped. Scott was just a normal guy who wanted a life. Maybe he'd find one he could bring home and nurture in the Mansion. Or maybe Scott Summers, formerly Cyclops, was leaving the nest for good. He just needed time to find out where he stood, just like everyone else. Scott Summers finally was a normal guy.