Disclaimer: I own Susana, my roommate uses the phrase 'Crazy wild monkey love' , and the girls at the Bad
Girl Swirl message boards introduced me to the phrase "Walk of Shame", so the
definition is theirs.
Notes:
sound
*thought*
} telepathic conversation {
Setting: The Mansion. Sunday afternoon, about 1:00 PM.
After a very long and enjoyable shower, and an hour of
uninterrupted reading time, Susana decided to go investigate lunch. Pulling on a pair of track pants and a shirt
she'd stolen from her father before moving out, she ran her hands through her
still-damp hair and padded downstairs. On the way, she bumped into Jubilee heading upstairs.
"Hey Susana, where ya headed?"
"Thought
I'd go see if Jono's up for lunch...how about you?
"Well,
Angelo and I went and practiced in the biosphere for a while, and now I'm going
to shower before I go get lunch. So
I'll see you in the kitchen, probably." Jubilee continued on her way, leaving Susana to walk to the empty
kitchen alone. After making a sandwich-
half sans mustard- she wrapped it in a paper towel and walked to the basement
door.
taptap
"Jono, can I come down?" At his mental
assent, she pulled the door open and stepped onto the top stair. "Do you think there's any chance of this
staircase getting cleared off any time soon? Cause I'm not overly fond of the idea of broken bones." She held the sandwich in one hand and
gripped the banister with the other one until she was safely on the floor of
the basement. She looked around, then
broke out laughing when she saw where he was. "You planning on getting up ever?"
}Not if you
come visit me down here...with lunch to share and everything.{ He still hadn't
moved from his position-flat on his back, sprawled across the bed.
"Come on,
get up...don't you hafta go train or somethin'? Somehow I doubt Emma and Sean would accept 'Well, I was up late
making crazy wild monkey love, so I'm too tired to train now' as an excuse." She set the sandwich on the bedside table
and climbed onto the bed.
}'Crazy
wild monkey love'? That
sounds...traumatic.{
"Was it?"
she gave him a wide-eyed innocent look.
}Definitely
not.{ He reached up and pulled her down
beside him on the bed, where she proceeded to tickle his side. Capturing her wrists in his left hand, he
raised an eyebrow at her. }How about
that lunch now?{
"Oh,
you...." Her protests died away in a fit of giggling, as he tickled her side
with his free hand.
}So, how
was the...what was it you called it? The Walk of Shame?{
"Quite
good, actually. Didn't see anyone till
I got to the door of my room; then I saw Jubilee. Weird thing is, she didn't say anything. I'm a bit confused about that."
}Well, at
least she's the only one you saw. Wouldn't
want anyone knowing you'd been here all night,{ he noted sardonically. }OW! What was that for{ He rubbed the top of his head, where she'd
smacked him.
"That was
for making an asinine comment." She
glared at him.
}Well, you
were the one who referred to it as the Walk of Shame, so I don't see how I
offended you.{ He looked on in surprise
as she rolled onto her back and began howling with laughter.
"Jono, the
term 'Walk of Shame' is an expression- when you stay at someone's place and
have to get back to your place when you're still in clothes from the night
before...bedhead and smeary makeup-both of which I had this morning- are
optional. It doesn't mean I'd be
ashamed for people to know about me and you." She reached over and poked him in the side for emphasis.
*Alright,
Starsmore. Don't know how y'did it, but
you've got a pretty girl who's definitely interested in yer sorry self.* he was pondering things along this vein when
she poked him in the side again.
"You want
any of the sandwich? Half of it is no
mustard...since it's such a sin against food." She stuck her tongue out at him.
}Yes, I'd
like that very much...and don't stick that out at me unless you plan t'use
it.{ He held up an arm to protect
himself from her halfhearted smack.
"I left
myself wide open for that one, didn't I? Oh well...on to lunch." Reaching
for the sandwich, she unwrapped it and peeled one slice of bread up. "Ok, this is the mustardy half...I'll play
nice and wait to eat that." Picking up
the other half, she took a bite, balanced the paper towel on her knee and
reached for Jono's hand. Ignoring her
hand, he moved the paper towel from her knee to a shelf at the head of the bed,
then rolled to his side and pulled her toward him.
}Sheets
need t'be changed anyway. Might as well
have a good excuse. Can't sleep with
crumbs in m'bed, can I now?{
"Good
point." She squirmed closer and took
another few bites of the sandwich. }You
better be enjoyin' this...I'm in a bit of an awkward position for eatin'.{
}Don't you
worry, gel. I'm definitely enjoying
myself.{
}How
impressive...double entendre. I didn't
think ya had it in you, Mister Starsmore.{ She twisted her upper body around to face him, then kissed one of his
bandages. Laughing, she wiped her mouth
with the back of her hand, then brushed the place where she'd kissed him with
the pad of her thumb. }Sorry, missed a
spot there. You had crumbs on your
face.{
}Better
crumbs than egg, I suppose...{ He
watched as she took another bite, polishing off the sandwich.
}You're
just feeling uppity and smartassed today, aren'tcha? Got a comment for everything.{
}Well, you
see, there's this gel I know, really sexy sort...{ He began before he was mentally cut off.
}Have I got
competition then? Is that the way things
go with you?{ She huffed in mock
indignation and turned back away from him, taking the opportunity to elbow him
lightly in the side.
Jono pulled
her across the bed to him and continued. }Now, as I was saying, this really sweet, very sexy gel,{ he gave her
waist a light squeeze }for whatever reason, she's decided I'm worth 'er time,
and I gotta tell yer, it's made me probably the happiest- and consequently the
most smartassed- I've been since...well, since a long time ago. Thanks.{ He was mildly surprised when she rolled over to face him and he saw the
slight glint of tears in her eyes. }You
ok, gel?{
"Yeah,
Jono, I'm ok...better than ok, and better than I've been in a lot of
years. You're entirely worth my time,
so thanks right back at ya." She smiled
softly, and the knot of psionic energy that'd assumed the role of his heart
clenched at the sadness in it. Then it
was gone, and she was reaching up to get the other half of her sandwich. She grinned devilishly. "Are you sure ya don't want any? It's really good. Mustard, yum!" She waved the sandwich at his face, scattering crumbs all over
the sheets, then took a bite and reached threateningly for his hand. Wrapping the edge of the sheet around his
hand, he grabbed her wrist and shook his head sternly.
}That stuff
is poison! How can you eat it?{
}Excuse me,
but am I correct in remembering that you're from Britain? The country that thinks warm, flat beer and
boiled beef constitutes good food? Eeuck!{
}And I
suppose your precious Louisiana crawfish are so much better? I find it difficult to believe that anything
commonly called a 'mudbug' is worth eating.{ He shook his head doubtfully. }Nope, I don't think either of us are in a position to criticize the
other's food preferences...{
"You know,
you're right. Creole and Cajun food is
obviously so much better, I don't even need to insult your precious fish and
chips or whatever." She took another
bite of the sandwich, and he gave up on the attack he'd been planning. }Jono?{
}Yes?{
}Were you
about to tickle me or somethin'?{
}Yes I
was. But then you'd be able to send me
the mustard taste. I'll wait.{
She grinned
at him. }Do you really think
that'll save your sorry British butt? I
can remember the taste and send that to you...You're not ever gonna be
safe from...{ here she broke off their telepathic conversation and yelped, "The
wrath of the mustard!" She raised the
sandwich up like a beacon and laughed at her own silliness.
}You've got
quite a flair for th' dramatic, don't yer, gel?{ He crinkled as she nodded sagely, then sat back and happily
polished off the rest of the sandwich.
"Yes I
do. I'm a performer, remember? And..." she added conspiratorially, "I even
like giving speeches; hence the pursuit of a PR or marketing degree. You know, in all seriousness, I'm curious-
what did you go to school for before you left London?"
}You know,
if yer were anyone else, I'd be pissed that you asked that. But since you're you, I suppose I'm
not. I was just...there to be there,
yer know? I figured Gayle was there, so
it couldn't be but so bad. It wasn't,
but I still thought I'd rather be a musician, so that's what I spent the most
time on. Hell, if I'd spent half as
much time on my classes, I'd be a university grad now.{ He chuckled mentally and waved a hand at the
bandages. }Wish I'd known this was
gonna happen. Then I might've planned
for a future where I wasn't a rock star.{
She
regarded him solemnly. "You really
didn't ever want to be anything but a musician? I wanted to be so many things before I decided on marketing..."
}Nope,
never wanted to be anything but a guitarist and a singer in a rock band. Why'd you decide on marketing?{
"It made
the best use of my talents...the persuasiveness, the telepathy, and so
forth. Plus, it's a good living if
you're successful, and with my knowledge of Spanish, I'd get to travel. I dunno, it just sounded fun to me, and then
after I took classes and was still interested, I figured- why not?"
Jono
nodded, considering what she'd said. }Wish
there was something I could do that made use of my talents...but playing
guitar, fighting evil, controlling a bionuclear furnace, wearing black leather,
and angsting aren't exactly the most marketable skills, you know? I suppose this is the only place I can be
productive. Here, or with the X-men
when I graduate- which is actually coming up pretty soon.{
"Yeah,
isn't you all's graduation in a month? Just get through until the end of May, and then on to Westchester and
the mansion there. I know you're going,
and Jubilee...who else?"
}I think
Ange may go just because he can't go home. No idea about Monet, Mondo, or Ev. Paige...{ His eyes darkened in
anger. }I don't know wot Paige'll
do. Maybe move in with Rat-boy and play
house or something like that. She seems
to have lost all interest in the team and it's welfare...it's all about Tristan
bloody Brawn and his money and how much he cares about her, even though he's
blackmailing her. But I won't drop all
my feelings about that on yer head. Not
like you can do anything about it.{ Rather than respond, Susana merely nodded silently. }So, what do yer say to teachin' me some
more of those yoga techniques? They
were interesting.{ He sat up, mirroring
her position on the bed, then moved his legs over until they bumped her off the
edge of the bed.
"Dammit,
Starsmore, you're gonna pay for that!" *and I know just how,* she thought, smiling devilishly as he stumbled
around the room getting dressed.