03

Yay Biscuits!

Elliot was discharged shortly after breakfast.

That is to say, she checked herself out. As soon as she regained feeling enough to move, there wasn't a lot the blue furry doc could do to stop her. He did manage to get her to stay long enough to let him put a protective bandage over her stitches by promising to show her around. Elliot submitted. She liked this new doctor. He was an improvement over the last one that had called her a loose tart shortly after examining her breasts.

Actually, he was probably an improvement over most of the men that had walked in and out of her life, excluding Kyle and including her lout of a father.

"I'm Elliot Aimes, by the way," she said as the furry doc wrapped the last bit of protective gauze around her head.

"Charmed, Miss Aimes," he said in that same pleasant voice, "I am Doctor Hank McCoy."

"You can call me Elliot," she said, feeling a little funny about being addressed as "Miss Aimes."

"Thank you, Elliot," he said giving her a kind smile, "You may in return call me Hank."

The whole exchange made Elliot start reconsidering her social circles. She was definitely not hanging out in the right places to catch guys like Scott and the good Doctor. Though she rather preferred the doc to Mr. Bespectacled. Scott was just a little too normal for her tastes.

There was a slight argument involving Elliot and a wheelchair. Hank maintained that she should take it as easy as possible until she was fully recovered. Elliot argued that there was no way in hell she was going to let her little brother or anyone else for that matter wheel her around when she had two perfectly good legs. Elliot won in the end, marching down the hall ahead of everyone while Scott muttered something about her being worse than Wolverine.

"Elliot is a very strong willed young woman, Scott," soothed Hank, foreseeing a future as a mediator between the likes of Elliot and Scott, "But she is not nearly as restless as Logan. I believe she will be a good influence among some of the younger X-Men."

"She may not be as restless, but she as hell is crazier," growled Scott, "I don't like it, Hank, it's too dangerous to have her here."

"Yo!" called Kyle, "If Scott's done with his paranoid ranting, I think we found the elevator."

xXxXxXx

"Nice digs," said Kyle, looking around the main hall of the mansion, "Plenty of rooms, elegantly furnished, huge grounds, high tech underground fortress."

"Too bad we weren't zoned for an underground fortress," said Elliot wistfully, "That would have made up for that damn leaky roof."

"Yeah, I hated that roof."

Hank chuckled, "Well, you two seem to be adapting quite nicely! Why I believe that young Kyle is well enough to by pass the other new students in the group therapy sessions."

"NO SHRINKS!" Kyle and Elliot chorused suddenly, spinning around to face Hank and Scott.

"It's standard procedure," argued Scott, "All of the students are required to go through group session. It helps some of the students who've come from violent backgrounds become more comfortable and feel accepted for who they are."

"I come from a violent background and I feel comfortable and accepted for who I am," said Kyle with a shrug.

"I don't!" said Elliot cheerfully raising her hand, "Ooh! Ooh! Pick me! Pick me!"

"You can't go, Elliot," Kyle said in a childish voice, "It's for kids like me and not stupid loser freak nerds like you!"

"Whaaaaat?!" gasped Elliot, "Hey Scoot, did you hear that! Yer gonna get it now, you stupid twerp!"

Kyle was already halfway up the stairs, "Nyaa, ya can't catch me, you stupid loser freak stupid head!"

"I'll show you!" howled Elliot, bolting up the stairs fairly quickly for someone with a mild concussion. They ran up the stairs, down the hall and in a matter of moments had left their chaperones in the dust.

Scott sighed, running a hand through his hair, "This was a bad idea. I'm going to talk to the Professor. That girl is clearly unstable."

"I wouldn't jump to conclusions so quickly, Scott," said Hank, smiling, "Just give them time." Scott walked away grumbling. Hank didn't bother trying to catch up to his escaped wards. He had been around mischief makers like Remy and Jubilee long enough to know an escape plan when he saw one. Besides, he thought it would be better for the two of them were left alone for awhile.

"Guess they aren't going to follow us," said Kyle peeking through the vents of the hall closet he and Elliot were sitting in.

"Good, because my head is starting to throb somethin' awful," mutter Elliot. Kyle opened the door and the two of them stepped out into the hall.

"That was pretty lame though," Kyle said to his older sister as they walked down the hall at a far more sedated pace, "We gotta come up with some better stuff. I think we might be getting to old for that routine."

"Yeah you're probably right," agreed Elliot, stretching, "Scoot bought it, but I don't think we fooled the doc. I liked that whole "I'm comfortable with myself" thing though."

"That was a pretty good one, wasn't it? Oh this is your room." Kyle opened the door and led the way in. "You gotta unpack still. I fed the critters and set up Moses's crib, though."

"I knew there was a reason I kept you around," Elliot said, "Hello my darlings," she said to the collective creatures, "How's the new set up? It's bigger than what we're used to, isn't it?"

"My room's in the next hall over," said Kyle, "And guess what? There's this really cute chick in the room next to mine. Total mall rat. Super hot stuff."

"Obviously our well meaning benefactor, Mr. Xavier, has had limited experience with teenage hormones," observed Elliot, "I, on the other hand, am very familiar. Behave or else."

"Yeah, yeah," Kyle waved off his sister, "You're just jealous 'cause all the guys you date are dicks."

"I swear there's gotta be at least one guy who's interested in me and doesn't have a domestic abuse case number," sighed Elliot, flopping down on the bed.

"Isn't that setting your standards a bit high?" asked Kyle innocently.

"Oh go hit on your mall rat," snapped Elliot. Kyle left with every intention of doing so, leaving Elliot to stew. Last night had put a few things into perspective. They obviously hadn't been as safe as they thought. That crowd had been a lot bigger and a lot more organized than the last few. Granted they were organized for a teenaged kid who could manipulate things using electricity and shoot lightning bolts, not for a woman in her early twenties shit face drunk and wielding a twelve gauge. If her less than sober antics hadn't completely thrown them off, a lot of things could have gone wrong.

She knew the life she and Kyle had been living wasn't very ideal. They had a crappy, cheap-ass condo on crappy, cheap-ass property. They were just barely pulling in enough income to support the two of them, not to mention her lab fees at the university. Their parents would have been more than willing to send them the cash, but they were already paying most of Elliot's tuition and the two of them were way too proud to except that much help. The cause of their friendship had probably more to do with living just above the poverty level than the fact that the two of them had matured past sibling rivalry. Now they found themselves living in a place were room and board was taken care of and Kyle was surrounded by kids that were like him.

There was a catch. The underground fortress spoke volumes. They weren't in any less danger here than at their old condo. The only difference was that they were better equipped and wouldn't have to fight off deranged, violence crazed mobs by themselves. They had a legitimate support group now. Well, Kyle would anyway. Elliot wasn't the kind of person to naturally assume she would be welcomed with open arms just because her brother was a mutant. Despite all her eccentricities, she was still human. What made her common place would make the abused mutants wary and mistrusting. What made her unique would drive a wedge between her and the mutants who were trying to feel like normal humans. She was going to have to find a midpoint, just like she did back in the human world.

Elliot Aimes was the kind of person who attracted outcasts and loners, like a mad auntie who the normal ones tolerated because she made a smashing biscuit.

'Damn,' though Elliot, as she slipped into sleep, 'I'm gonna have to brush up on my biscuit recipes.'

xXxXxXx

"Hey." Kyle looked up from his chest of drawers to find the cute mall rat standing in his doorway. He grinned.

"Hey."

"Sooo, you're the new guy, huh?" she asked, coming in and plopping down on his bed. Some might consider it rude, but Kyle did have an older sister. He was used to things like that.

"Yeah. I'm Kyle." He tossed the shit he was holding into the drawer and held out his hand. She shook his hand. Her hands felt good in his.

"I'm Jubilee," said the dark haired girl. She had a rapid fire speech pattern and didn't bother with too many formalities. "So, like, is it true that that lady who came with you isn't a mutant? Like she's actually just a normal person?

"Well, she's not mutant, but I wouldn't go as far as to call Elliot normal," answered Kyle, sitting backward on the chair across from his bed and resting his arms on the back.

"So what, is she like your guardian or something?"

"My older sister. My parents sent me to live with her when I was 12 because of the whole mutant thing."

Jubilee's eyes widened, "Wow, seriously, like they turned you out? Man, that's rough. I dunno if I could've handled it if my folks tossed me out for somethin' that like wasn't even my fault. Of course, my powers didn't show up until like right when the Professor and the rest came to get me. How long have you had your powers?"

"Since I was six," he said, grinning at the memory, "I found out that if I concentrated really hard, I could cut the hair off of some of my sister's dolls."

"Bet she wasn't too happy about that."

"She pushed me down the flight of stairs we were on," he said with a grin, "Broke my leg. I told her I wouldn't tell mom and dad how it happened if she didn't tell them that I was a mutant."

Jubilee was actually quiet for a second, "That seems a little harsh."

"We were pretty young. We fought like that all the time back then. That was actually the second time she broke my leg," Kyle said, offhand, "The first time was when I colored all over her picture books with a black marker." It was hard to hate his older sister now, after everything they had been through. "So what are you're powers?"

"Oh," Jubilee made a face, "Nothing really impressive." She held out her hand and a bunch of multi colored sparks shot forward in a small mini-fountain. "It's kind of a useless power."

"Bet you're a hit at the fourth of July, though," said Kyle, fascinated, "It's actually pretty cool."

"Yeah? You think so?"

"Yeah."

Jubilee blushed a little and tried not to seem flustered. "Thanks... So now you gotta show me yours."

"Um, okay," Kyle looked around, "Okay, watch that lamp." Jubilee did. As she watched, the bulb flickered on, and then off. Then the overhead light. Suddenly all the lights in the room blazed brightly for one blinding moment before shutting completely off.

"Wow," she whispered, "That was you?"

"Uh-huh," said Kyle, trying not to show off. He held out a hand and in the dark Jubilee could see little bolts of electricity attach to the lamp and draw it to him. "I can stick to walls too," he admitted, "Like Spiderman, only I use static."

"That is so cool," Jubilee said enviously.

"I guess it's pretty cool, as far as being a mutant goes," admitted Kyle, "But I can't get my hair to ever lay flat and I have trouble with moisture sometimes."

"So, like I guess you have trouble with kissing too..." The two of them froze, staring at each other in the dark. "I mean...that is...oh man." Jubilee was bright red and even Kyle was blushing a little.

"Well, no, not really...I mean not that I've done a lot of that, but...you know," he said, scratching the back of his head.

"Yeah...me either...I mean I have before...

"Oh yeah, me too..."

"...but not a lot..."

"...me either...not really."

"Yeah..."

Silence.

"We..." Kyle struggled to find the right words, "We could try it...Kissing I mean...if you wanted to."

"Oh! Uhm...well, yeah. Okay." They sat very, very still for what seemed like forever. Then Kyle got up and crossed the room to sit on his bed with Jubilee. They stared at each other for a long second. Kyle moved first, leaning forward. Jubilee closed her eyes, because it seemed like the right thing to do. His lips lightly brushed against hers. Time stood still and a tingle of electricity ran through Jubilee. She lost track to the seconds as...

"Knock knock, Kyle!" chirped Jean, "Huh? Oh I didn't know you were in here too Jubilee."

Kyle sat in his chair across the room from the black haired mall rat, all the lights blazing. The two were looking fairly nonchalant. "Oh yeah," Jubilee said, "I just wanted to meet the new recruit, ya know?"

"That's very mature of you, Jubilee," Jean said, still smiling, "Anyway, I just came in to tell you that dinner is ready if you guys are hungry."

"Yeah, I'm starved," said Kyle, standing up.

"Yeah, let's go!" Jubilee said cheerfully.

As made to go out the door, the red head stopped them. "By the way," she said with an uncharacteristic wicked smile, "It's better to keep your romantic rendevous limited to the observatory. No one ever goes there."

The two teens blushed, exchanging glances. "Well, she is a telepath," whispered Jubilee as they followed her out to the hall.

TBC

Awkward and innocent romances make me giggle. More cannon characters introduced in the next chapter and a much less innocent, but just as awkward romance. Two canon character/OC pairings in one fic?! Yeah, I'm a bad person. I'll make it up to y'all soon.

NEXT CHAPTER: You're Cute When I'm Drunk