Disclaimer: I do not own X-Men.
Seven more days. Only one more week. That was the thought that circulated through Scott's mind when he woke up one beautiful morning, as the light filtered through the blinds and as his fiancée stirred in his arms. He gently extricated himself from the tangled mess of comforter and sheets and stood up, stretching. It was Saturday. There were no classes, and no Danger Room sessions. He was absolutely free to spend the day as he wished. He smiled peacefully as he went into the bathroom and got into the shower.
The last week had been eventful, to say the least. Warren had returned, unCured, his wings still as full and beautiful as they always had been. His relationship with Justine had gotten deeper, and he had asked her to be his girlfriend, to which she had excitedly agreed. They were very happy together. Scott was also proud of Rogue for making the right decision and not taking the Cure. He could only imagine how hard it would have been to step out of that line, but she did it. It wasn't that he was about to make a little mutant army, or that he wanted to have as many students as he could, but rather, he viewed her, and all of his students, as his children, and wanted them to be true to what they had been created to be. They were mutants, and just because humanity couldn't see it didn't mean that there was something wrong with them.
With Rogue's decision, she and Bobby had become even closer. It was as though they had turned a page and were confident in their feelings for each other, and for the other's feelings for them. They found strength in their relationship, and didn't need to find strength from other people for their relationship.
Scott turned the hot water off, quickly missing it, and stepped out. He toweled himself off and dressed in the outfit he had picked out the night before. It was simple; jeans and a plain green t-shirt. However, one didn't need fancy clothes when they were going to take their girlfriend on a romantic motorcycle ride. He grinned at the thought, and left his hair natural, and without any of the usual mousse to keep it in place. Today was a day for them to be young, and not to be teachers or role models or anything other than a couple that was going to be married in a week. He and Jean had forced themselves to get all of the planning done in the last week. The week ahead of them was for enjoying their pre-marital bliss before marital bliss.
He left the bathroom and nearly giggled as he launched himself onto their bed, effectively waking Jean up. She growled at him. "What?" She snapped.
"Good morning beautiful." He greeted sweetly, unfazed by her anger. "We are getting married in a week. And we're also going on a motorcycle ride and a picnic today. Just you and me, away from the school and all of the kids. Since you need to spend as much time as you can away from so much mental noise, I thought it would be nice." He beamed at her.
"Scott, that's so sweet. Give me another few hours, and I'll be excited, I promise, honey." She mumbled, kissing his arm, for that was the closest part of his skin to her, and closed her eyes, intent on sleeping the day away.
"But Jean!" He whined, flopping down and pulling her close. "It's Saturday and we don't have to do anything for those whiny, annoying kids." He smiled as he kissed her cheek. "And we'll be all alone out in the beautiful country, and it'll be wonderful. And I won't let you fall asleep." He grinned as she rolled her eyes and got up.
"Fine, you annoying little bugger." She yawned and walked into the bathroom. "But you so owe me!" She closed the door behind her.
Scott grinned. "Oh, yeah I do." He stood up and pulled on a pair of well-worn sneakers, making sure he had the keys to his motorcycle, as well as his wallet, in case a police officer had the ability and car power to pull him over, but that was nearly impossible. No one really knew about the special addition he had personally put on his motorcycle that pushed it to speeds that seemed impossible for such a little machine. He smirked at the idea. His skills in auto engineering were pretty impressive, weren't they?
Jean walked out of the bathroom, towel wrapped around her, and laughed at Scott's blatant stare, entering the walk-in closet. She chose a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, poking her head out the door.
"Where are we going, Scott?" She asked, blowing a drying piece of hair from her face.
"How does a ride on my motorcycle sound?" He asked with a smirk.
Jean bit back an excited squeal and slammed the door shut, dressing quickly. She dug a hairband from a drawer and messily tied her hair back. She pulled down the leather jacket Scott had given her years ago as a commitment present; he was letting her into every area of his life, even the motorcycle part, which was his favorite vehicle. He loved it even more than the Corvette. By giving her a leather jacket, he was telling her he loved her more than any of his possessions, that she was the most important part of his life.
She found a pair of well-loved sneakers and walked out to meet him. She laughed happily, wrapping an arm around his waist. Together, they walked out of the mansion to the garage. It was nine in the morning on a Saturday; there was hardly a soul up. Scott grinned as he sat down on his bike and moved the kickstand. Jean sat behind him, helmet on (though it was a different story with Scott), wrapping her arms around him tightly. She squeezed her eyes shut, preparing herself for the adrenaline rush that came from riding behind Scott.
"Ready?" He asked, touching her arm that was around his stomach.
"Yeah!" She responded enthusiastically, though she was nervous. Scott was an absolute maniac on the road, though he controlled his vehicles flawlessly. It was still scary.
Scott turned the key and they were off, probably going ten miles over the speed limit. Jean kept her grip tight and buried her face into his shoulder. She laughed as he took a particularly sharp turn, shrieking slightly. Jean relaxed as they left the city area and started on a country highway.
"Where are we going?" Jean yelled over the sound of the motorcycle and the wind slapping against their faces.
"Just somewhere!" He yelled back, giving her a secretive grin over his shoulder.
Jean sighed, frustrated. She loved surprises, and she had one of those nagging feelings that Scott had been planning something for weeks on end to get it perfect. She loved that Scott always went through so much trouble to keep her happy with him, but he was so secretive. He never gave her any kind of hint at what was ahead.
Scott finally slowed the motorcycle to a halt, and the couple got off of the bike. Jean looked around. They were in front of a large, grassy field that ended several hundred feet away from where they had stopped, and after that, a line of trees began. She glanced her head left and right. There was nothing else in the general area. She turned back to Scott, mouth open to ask a question when she raises an eyebrow at what is in his hands. It was a blindfold.
"What?" Jean asked, gesturing slightly to the blindfold.
"Just trust me, Jean." Scott grinned as he put it over her eyes and tied it gently. He ducked his head to kiss the back of her neck. "You'll be pleasantly surprised, I promise."
"Okay." Jean replied uncertainly. She felt Scott's hand take hers and she gripped it tightly.
Jean stumbled as Scott slowly led her forward with encouraging words and his firm grasp on her hands. The terrain underfoot changed from soft and springy to hard and unmoving. She was slightly afraid of falling over without being able to see what she was falling on, and of not being in control of the situation. It was difficult for her to fully trust Scott as she was, though she knew he would never willfully take her into danger or allow her to be injured. She concentrated on taking deep, slow breaths as Scott continued to lead her further away from the motorcycle and the road.
"Scott, where are we going?" She turned her head in the direction of his mental presence that had always been a comfort to her. From the first moment she met him, a scrawny, blind teenager, she had found him comforting, and as her telepathic abilities developed, his mind seemed familiar to her. She wasn't a big believer in the idea that soulmates know each other when they first meet, but she did think that minds could unconsciously recognize each other, and because of her telepathic abilities, she could sense her own 'soulmate'. But that was just her personal opinion of her and Scott, and it wasn't her scientific, expert opinion.
"Well, we're getting married next week, and I know you've been worried that things will change between us, so I did something to show you that I'm still going to show you how much I love you. I have no idea why you'd think I'd stop doing that." Scott said directly into her ear, kissing her cheek. "We're here."
Scott untied the blindfold as he stood in front of her, careful to make sure he didn't snag her hair. Jean stepped around him and gasped, turning back around. There was a small table set up for two, with a small picnic basket on the grass beside it. Surrounding them was a small patch of rosemary, as if deliberately planted. She knew rosemary was a symbol of fidelity, and turned around to see Scott smiling tenderly at her. She turned back to focus on the bouquet of flowers that laid on the table. They were purple carnations.
"Scott!" Jean squealed like a teenage girl with her first boyfriend. "You are so sweet!"
Scott laughed and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Nah." He shrugged slightly, still smiling. "You're just so pretty." He teased her, poking her sides.
"Well, are we going to eat or are you just going to compliment me?" Jean demanded with a grin. "On second thought, we can do both." She giggled as she pulled Scott along towards the table. "How did you get this rosemary to grow?" She bent down for a moment to pick a sprig.
Scott pulled out her seat and picked up the basket. "I talked to the owner of the land and asked him if he could do me a big favor. He asked me why, I told him it was for my future wife and he agreed. I did the work, and he didn't shoot me." He chuckled nervously as he recalled the huge man with the shotgun who oversaw every move Scott made while on his property.
Jean shook her head, amused that Scott would go through so much trouble just to plant a small patch of rosemary to promise his fidelity to her. She watched as he unpacked the basket. Inside were several sandwiches, potato salad, regular salad, and French bread. She couldn't stop smiling at him. She was continually impressed that he simply got better with age. When they had first gotten together, he was slightly awkward, but charming and kind nonetheless. As they hit their twenties and as both of their confidences spiked, things became more passionate and it was as though they infected each other, but never had they gone further than a long kiss.
It might have been viewed as strange to their contemporaries, but they knew they loved each other. Oh, were they ever attracted to each other. After all of these years, she was still passionate about him and got a bit of a flutter when he hugged her warmly. They had talked about sex early on, and had come to a decision as a couple to only engage in those activities when they were engaged. Maybe it was selfish and bad decision-making, but with the type of work they were in, they never knew when their deaths might come. Though both Scott and Jean were hesitant about sex before marriage, their minds changed after they both had nearly been killed.
Scott offered her a sandwich and she bit into it, and they lapsed into a comfortable silence. The sun was shining, they were in a beautiful field and they were together. She took a deep breath and swallowed.
"How did you know I was even nervous?" Jean asked randomly.
Scott grinned. "You may be a telepath, but I know you, Jean."
"So arrogant." She sniffed.
"Well, look at me." He gestured to himself. "I'm gorgeous!"
Jean giggled, swatting him. "Fine, I won't argue that." She rolled her eyes, but suddenly became almost embarrassed. "Are you…?"
"Nervous?" He asked, and Jean nodded. "Of course I am! I'm terrified that things will somehow change between us. I'm so worried that I'll be such a bad husband that you'll leave me, but I'm kind of more scared of hurting you." He sighed, looking into her eyes. "I love you, though."
"I love you too. And you couldn't be a bad husband because you love me so much. I'm worried I'll be a bad wife. I don't really know what that means because we have such a weird life. We don't have a house, so I don't really know what my role is without the cooking and the cleaning." Jean set down her sandwich on the paper plates Scott had put in the picnic basket.
"What do you want from me? Like, as a husband?" Scott asked, putting down his sandwich as well and giving her his full attention. It was a random question, but one that needed to be addressed.
Jean reached over to take his hand and studied his face for a moment. His strong features seemed softened in the morning sun, and though he wasn't in formal wear, he had never appeared more handsome to her. She smiled. "I need someone who will protect me and will always love and accept me. Someone who will listen to me, and not always give me a solution. I need a good father for our family… I really want to have children, Scott, not now, but someday." She, then, turned the question to him. "What do you want from me as a wife?"
Scott considered the question, running his thumbs over the back of her hands. "I need someone to support my leadership, someone for me to come to with all of my problems. I need someone to comfort me when I wake up from a nightmare, no matter how childish that sounds." He took a shaky breath, searching for more of an answer. "I need you to be patient with me and to stand by me." He shook his head slightly. "After all this time, I can't believe we're still together, that you still somehow love me."
Jean laughed. "I can't believe you still love me." She stood up and walked over to him, sitting on his lap and wrapping her arms around his neck. "We've come a long way, Scott, and I think we definitely deserve this happy time in our life." She rested her head on his as he pulled her closer.
"Yeah." He agreed softly. "I feel so bad for saying this, but it's kind of… depressing that we don't have our own space, considering we're always surrounded by kids." He smirked.
"Oh, Scott, you disappoint me. Are you telling me you can't be… creative?" Jean teased him.
"No." He answered, almost offended. "I'm telling you that you won't be able to be quiet because I'll be so creative." He gave her a devious smile.
"Scott!" Jean laughed, slapping his arm. "That's so bad."
"But oh so true." Scott added, grinning.
The next several hours passed peacefully as the couple could actually be a couple, and not a team that saved lives and nurtured broken children. They were Scott and Jean, two people who were very much in love and who would be married within a week. Would their lives change drastically? Yes. They would always love each other, but they couldn't change the reactions of a world who would want them dead for their marriage. Two mutants. How scandalous.
But for a moment, they forgot all of that and celebrated their love in private, away from their responsibilities, holding each other, and laughing at nothing in particular. The moment ended, though, and they returned to the mansion to wait out the next week, at the end of which they would finally be legally and truly one.
The wedding is in the next chapter! Be patient, it's coming! And please, review. It's not that I'll hold the chapters hostage or anything, but it would make me happy if you would.