Disclaimer: I own
Susana, the couch, and a few other incidental things. Vanessa Mae owns her recordings, and Marvel owns the Gen X kids
and their mansion (dammit! I
want to own them)
Notes:
sound
*thought*
} telepathic
conversation {
Setting: The
Mansion- Susana's room. Monday evening,
about 9:00 PM.
Susana unfolded a
beach towel and spread it out on the floor. Smoothing out the wrinkles, she arranged a few small glass bottles along
one end of the towel. *Sandalwood,
ylang-ylang, jasmine, and tangerine...I think maybe sandalwood, since jasmine
and tangerine are kind of girly smells and I don't really like
ylang-ylang. Plus, sandalwood's
supposedly good for keeping you in the moment. God knows I don't need to be having any more fits of memory in front of
him.* Satisfied with this reasoning,
she picked up three of the bottles and deposited them in a dresser drawer. While she was there, she pulled out an old
set of pajamas that she wouldn't mind getting oil on. Slipping out of her t-shirt and boxers, she pulled the soft
yellow tank top over her head and pulled the ivory satin pants up. After giving her image a cursory glance, she
sent Jono a telepathic message. }Come
on up, I've got my stuff all ready.{ That
done, she put a CD on and turned the volume down low as Vanessa-Mae's version
of Toccata and Fugue in D minor began pouring from the speakers. Hurrying
because she knew Jono would be there soon, she lit the few candles she'd been
able to pilfer from the mansion's storage closet and turned the lights
off. She frowned at how dark the room
was, then opened the closet, turned on the light, and closed the door
halfway. *There, that's just
right.* She was grinning as she opened
the door to Jono's knock. "Good
evening, sir; how are you tonight?" she inquired solicitously.
}I
think it looks like I'm about to be much better. You look great.{ He
crinkled at her skeptical expression, then continued. }Where d'you want me?{
She
steered him to the towel she'd laid out, then looked at him consideringly. "I need you to get rid of the jeans and the
shirt...do the bandages go all the way around, or are they just over your
front?"
}Just
the front, now. This is actually one
big piece of material, rather than lots of strips like when I first came
here. There's a strap to hold it in
place across my back, below my ribcage. Think you can unfasten that for me?{ He lifted his arms and tugged the shirt over his head, mussing his hair
in the process.
She
reached up and fixed the disarranged hair, then placed a hand on his side to
turn him. Undoing the strap, she pushed
him down towards the towel. "Cross your
arms like this," she demonstrated, holding a hand to each elbow, "and lay the
side of your head on your arms." She
dropped to a crouch beside him, set the bottle of oil beside his shoulder, then
stretched her leg over his back so she was straddling his lower back. Unscrewing the top of the bottle, she poured
a little into her hand, then rubbed her palms together to warm it. She lowered her palms to his back, pressing
down on his shoulders, then along the sides of his spine. She let out a disbelieving snort when her
hands encountered matching collections of tiny half-moon scratches midway down
his back.
}Wot's
so funny?{
}This,{
she responded, rubbing the nail marks lightly. }Hadn't realized I did that. In
fact, I don't think I usually do. Wonder what that says.{
}Must
mean I did something right.{ he commented, trying not to sound conceited and
failing miserably.
}Jono?{
}Yes?{
}We're
both telepaths. If we can't
manage things, there's absolutely no hope for the rest of humanity. Now shut up and enjoy your massage.{
}Yes,
Ma'am.{ He acquiesced meekly, relaxing
at the motion of her hands on his back. *Starsmore, you are one lucky bastard.*
Susana
had by this time progressed to kneading the muscles in his shoulders and at the
base of his neck. She leaned forward
and whispered into his upturned ear. "Tell me if this starts to hurt, ok?" He nodded, trying to ignore the feeling that her soft breath on his skin
had caused by concentrating on the sensation of her hands on his back. *I'm going crazy, that's just all there is
to it. I'm going to go stark raving mad
if she doesn't...Why'd she stop?*
Downstairs,
Emma was working in her office when she sensed something wasn't quite right up
in the girls' dorm. She looked up from
her paperwork and began scanning to find out who was having such problems. She smirked when she realized it was Jono,
and he seemed to be in Susana's room. He didn't know it, but Susana had been to see her a few times in the
couple of months she'd been at the academy. Emma had decided she liked the girl- she was smart, ambitious, and
genuinely cared about everyone at the academy- much like Emma herself-, even if
she disliked their personalities.
The
last time she'd come to see Emma, she'd asked, indirectly of course, if Emma
thought it would upset the team dynamics if she pursued Jono. Emma, tired of having the potentially most
powerful member of the team sulking about in the basement because Paige had the
worst taste in men Emma'd ever seen had assented, and it seemed that had been
all the encouragement Susana had needed. Emma was, however, glad to know that Susana wasn't making her
relationship with Jono known to everyone just yet. Tuning out the telepathic hum from upstairs, Emma returned her
concentration to the paperwork facing her.
"Jono,
You ok down there?" He cracked an eye
open and peered up at Susana leaning over his back. "You were fine, then you got all tense again. Should I keep this up?" At his nod, she sat back and continued
rubbing the oil into his back. The
small calluses on her hands rasped lightly over his skin. He concentrated on commanding his muscles to
relax so her massage would be effective.
He
woke with a start after what seemed like only a few moments. Sitting up, he rolled his shoulders, amazed
at how much better they felt. He looked
around the room and wondered where Susana had gone off to. }You in here, gel?{ He stood and fastened the strap behind his
back, then noticed one small bare foot propped on the near end of the couch.
After rubbing the towel over his back to catch any leftover oil, he went over
to the couch and picked up her feet, then sat down and placed them gently in
his lap. He rubbed the soles of her
feet as she woke up and stretched. "What time is it?" He looked at
the clock and was surprised to read that it was actually two in the morning.
}It's
two AM. I was out for a long time,
wasn't I? I'm going to go back
downstairs now, I think.{
"Three
hours isn't really a long time...well, ok, it is a long time, but that doesn't
matter. Would you like to stay here
tonight? There really is enough space-
I'll share." She scooted over and
patted the sliver of empty couch cushion.
}Oh,
alright...{ he began in a reluctant tone.
"Don't
give me that, Jono...you're all about staying here tonight and we both know
it. Now get up here, the air in my
blanket is getting cold." She smiled as
he picked up her feet and climbed into the blanket with her. She curled against him and they both fell
immediately back to sleep.
The
next morning, Susana woke to a pair of warm brown eyes. "Mornin', sunshine. How'd you sleep?"
He
made a face. }I don't see how you can
sleep on this every night. My back
hurts from just one night.{ He leaned
forward and bumped the upturned tip of her nose with his own. }You have a standing invitation to come
share my bed any time you'd like.{
"Why
thank you ever so much, sir...I'm sure that was a completely honorable offer,
not motivated in any way by your lecherous intent...mmm, you smell yummy." She pulled herself closer to him and sniffed
appreciatively.
}Actually,
the offer was completely motivated by my lecherous intentioOOF...God,
woman...you're a dangerous sort.{ He
looked up at her from his new position on the floor, training the full mournful
force of a sad, brown-eyed puppy dog expression on her.
"You
provoke me with comments like that. Don't
do things just to make me mad, and you're fine. Now do you think you could get your pasty British arse back up
here? I didn't mean to knock you off
the couch."
}I
think I'd rather depend on the knowledge that you think I'm too cute to be mad
at for long.{ He quipped, climbing back
onto the couch edge.
Her
jaw dropped. "Were you just in my
mind??"
}No,
no...I wouldn't do that without permission. It was a guess...apparently a pretty good one, it seems.{ He laughed at her scowl.
"You...gah. You know, I think I'm just not going to talk
anymore." She rolled over him, stood,
and stretched, showing a peek of skin between the tank top and pants. Jono watched this process with marked
interest, and when she dropped her hands, he pulled her back onto the couch on
top of him. Neither of them would be
leaving for a while.
Some
time later, Jono slipped stealthily out the door. He made it almost to the basement door without being
spotted. Then, as he was reaching for
the doorknob, there was a low whistle behind him. "So, what Jubes said really is true...congratulations,
amigo." Jono turned slowly to face
Angelo.
}Hey,
Ange, how's it going?{ he ventured lamely.
"It's
going good...but I think things are going even better for you," Angelo replied,
smirking at the look in his friend's eyes.
}Yeah,
things are going excellently for me...listen, do you think you and Jubilee
could keep this kind of quiet?{
"We
could do that...but why? I mean, you're
both adults, neither of you has any sort of previous commitments...what's to
hide?" Angelo looked at him, genuinely puzzled. "Is this another thing, like with Paige, where you're gonna run
hot and cold about her? Cause, hombre,
I don't think Susana's gonna put up with your mopey bull...." He trailed off at
Jono's raised hand.
}This
is nothing like with Paige.{
"Forgive
me if I'm skeptical. I had to talk you
and Paige through too much. The idea of
doing it all again has absolutely no appeal." A tinge of anger crept into Angelo's voice.
}Look,
Ange...I'm trying to be a grown-up this time around. She makes it easier for me, somehow. She's not afraid to take the piss outta me if I do dumb
things. I'm not saying that the way I
treated Paige was ever right, but I can't help thinking that if she'd stood up
to me like Susana does, I wouldn't have been quite so...{
"Self-absorbed? Mopey? Brooding? Asshole-ish? They all work, you know?" Angelo's eyes narrowed, and Jono took a step
back from the frustration evident deep inside them. His shoulder blades bumped against the door. "Yeah, amigo, you were all of those and
more. I watched you mess with Paige's
mind until she didn't know which way was up and she thought Tristan Brawn
seemed like a good idea. I better not
see that with Susana, comprende?"
}Yeah, comprende. Now can I go downstairs? I gotta get a shower and clean clothes.{ Jono watched his best friend warily. With a sigh, Angelo stepped back and walked further down the hall as Jono opened the door and navigated down the stairs. Jono stripped out of his t-shirt, boxers, and jeans, then headed for the small basement bathroom to shower and think about what Angelo had said.