Disclaimer:
Same lack of continuity and ownership as all of the 25(?!) chapters in Part
1. I own Susana, Marvel owns anyone
else, Mitsubishi owns Eclipses, and Moby owns his music.
Notes:
sound
*thought*
} telepathic conversation {
Setting: July 24th, 3 years
later. The New York Mansion.
Susana
Blaine adjusted her position on the tree limb, then leaned back against the
supporting trunk. Scribbling over
something in the small notepad she held, she scowled and cursed managerial accounting. *I wish I'd taken this back when I was
supposed to, instead of putting it off till now. Oh well. One more
semester and I'm soo done.* Reaching
up, she gathered her now-long hair into a loose bun and stabbed it through with
her pencil. She tucked the notebook
into a back pocket of her jeans, then turned on her limb. Looking down, she gulped, then slid off the
branch and onto the ground. She landed
on her feet with a light thump, right as her fiancée, Jonothan Starsmore,
walked around the tree trunk.
}Whoa
there, gel. You ok?{ His eyes showed
his concern, and she smiled at him.
"Never
better, sir. Finished my homework. Know what that means?"
He
looked genuinely puzzled. }Nope,
sorry. No idea.{
"We
can go into the city tonight," she grinned, then pressed a kiss to the
bandages over the lower half of his face.
"To celebrate my birthday!"
She did a delighted little dance, then glared at him. "It's not nice to laugh at people on
their birthdays!"
}Laughing? Me?
Never.{ He grabbed her hand and
pulled her back towards the mansion.
}Come on, now. I've got a
surprise for yer.{
"Oooh...a
surprise. Fun!" She gave a little hop, then smiled at his
amused expression. "Sorry...I
guess I'm still just a big kid, aren't I?
God...I'm getting old. I'm 23
today. That's weird to think
about." She shrugged, and the introspective mood left as suddenly as it
had come. She followed him into the
mansion and to the room they shared. He
pushed her down onto the bed and told her to stay. She sat calmly on the bed, looking around at the room that had
been her home for three years and his home for nearly half that. Just then, he pulled a package from the top
shelf of the closet and held it out triumphantly. She took it, and settled it on her lap while she waited for him
to join her on the bed. "Just had
to use the top shelf of my closet as a hiding place, did ya?"
}Well,
I figured since you can't reach up there...{
He grabbed both of her wrists before she had a chance to hit him for the
comment. His
eyes glinted mockingly, and she growled at him.
}None of that now...save it for later.{ She choked back a snort, then turned her
attention back to the package on her lap.
Ripping open the paper, she grinned.
"A London 'pictorial tour book', sweet. I'm all about going there next
year." She leaned across the bed
and pressed a kiss to the side of his face.
}Somethin' else, too.{
She looked at him, then at the book, then back at him in confusion. }Yer get a tour guide who 'appens t'know the
area pretty well. Just say the word, and we'll go.{ He fell backwards as she set the book carefully aside and scrambled
across the bed to give him a hug and press another kiss to his cheek.
"Thanks, Jono. I
love it." }And you, don't forget
that.{ "Now, come on, let's get
ready! If we're staying at my place,
I've got clothes. You, however,
don't."
}Perhaps I should do something about that...{
"You could. I mean,
would you really miss one pair of jeans and a concert t-shirt? That seems to be all you'll wear." She lay back on the bed and closed her eyes
for a moment, then shrieked in surprise as he suddenly settled on top of
her. "What now?"
}I figured I should point out that jeans and concert shirts
aren't all that I wear.{ He
raised an eyebrow at her as she tentatively slid her hands down his sides.
"Ok, point taken.
You have some very nice silk boxers, and I should know, since I
bought you these. However, I think I
could enjoy them more in New York where I don't have to concentrate on dampening
your telepathy quite so much." She
slid a hand back up his side and tickled him lightly before bringing both hands
up to push his shoulders off of her.
"Dressed, please? Not that
I couldn't stay here like this for a lot longer, but we can have a lot more fun
at my place."
Her 'place' referred to the SoHo studio apartment her parents
had provided when she decided to go back to school at NYU to finish her
degree. Her mother had encouraged her
to stay there rather than commute from Westchester every day. However, she generally used it when she had
early classes the next morning, or when, like tonight, she wanted to go
clubbing without having to worry about the late night drive back. Spending time away from the mansion meant
spending time away from Jono; so she endured the daily train commute
instead. Dragging herself from her
position on the bed, she stood and walked to her side of the closet. She pawed through the clothes until she
found something she liked. She took the
black sleeveless turtleneck and tan leather pants over to the mirror behind the
door and held them up in front of her.
With an approving nod, she slipped into the bathroom to change
clothes. That done, she opened the door
and stepped out, then whistled.
"Well now...you look absolutely scrumptious." She eyed his dark jeans and plain white
dress shirt. "Now let's go. We're both gorgeous," she giggled
"and every minute we're here is another minute we're...well, not at the
club or my place. And of course we
don't want that." She gave him a
fake pout, batting her eyelashes simultaneously; then she shrieked again as he
scooped her up and carried her downstairs.
"What the..."
}Well, if I'd let you keep talking, we'd still be up there. Wouldn't we?{
"Good point. But do
you think you might put me down now? Alright then...." When he made no move to let her down, she
shifted her weight until she could reach the fly of his jeans. "Put me down or you lose the...what
dy'a call em? Oh yeah, trousers. You
know I'll do it. I can deal if you
fall, remember? Wolverine's been
teaching Jubilee and I how to take a fall and not get hurt." She smiled triumphantly as he set her back
on her feet. "I'm sure some time
it'll be a useful skill. Until
then...I'll content myself with just threatening to depants
you." With that, she raced down
the stairs to the driveway.
}We're takin' the Eclipse today. Since it's yer birthday and all, you know.{ His eyes crinkled at her delighted
expression, and he stumbled back as she threw her arms around him in a
hug.
Tilting her head back, she gave him a pleading look. "Can I drive pleasepleaseplease? Cause it's the Eclipse, and it's my
birthday, and I'm a perfect driver..." she trailed off, waiting
expectantly for his input.
}Well, yer got two out of three right...so I suppose so.{ He hugged her against him, then pressed the
keys into her hand and pushed her towards the other side of the
convertible. After some shuffling
around in the glove compartment, Susana pushed a Moby CD into the changer and
threw the transmission into drive. They
sped off into the night, tires squealing, techno blasting, and a slight odor of
burning rubber hanging in their wake.