Disclaimer:
Yeah, Marvel still owns the X-men and I still own Susana. There is NO continuity here; it's a
completely alternate universe. I just
wanted to use the characters.
Notes:
sound
*thought*
} telepathic conversation {
Setting: The X-mansion, the next
morning.
She was going to die. She was absolutely certain of it. She moved to roll over onto her side, away
from the light, but was stopped by a hand on her shoulder, holding her
down. }Light bothering you?{ She nodded slightly, then whimpered.
"I'm never drinking again." He sat up and turned the bedside lamp off,
leaving the room lit only by the light that got past the curtains.
}D'you want a bath?{ he asked, rubbing small circles on the pulse
point of her wrist. She nodded again,
then peeled an eyelid open just enough to give him a mournful look. Jono stood and walked into the bathroom to
start the water running. Leaving the
bedroom, he walked downstairs to the kitchen to get the gel eye mask she always
wanted on the rare occasions she was hung over. When he got to the kitchen, Bobby and Angelo were sitting at the
table eating breakfast and reading the paper. Bobby, he noticed, had the entertainment section. Ange had the funnies. }Mornin', guys.{
"Hey Jono...how is she?" Bobby dropped the paper and turned to look
at him. Ange looked up in
confusion.
"How is who?"
}Susana's fine. I'm down here to get her eye mask so she can wear it while she's
in her bath. Poor gel. How much did she drink?{ He ignored Ange's slight snicker.
"She drank...more than enough. She was pretty annoyed at you." Bobby made a face. "I didn't quite get what it was you did. To be honest, I don't know if she even
knew."
}I was being a first class pain. Probably deserved it.{ He struggled to ignore Angelo, who was
pantomiming cracking a bullwhip...complete with sounds. Ever so casually, he walked around the edge
of the kitchen, picking up a forgotten nearly empty watering can from the
counter behind Angelo. }Think I should
take her some juice or something? Maybe...{ He dumped the contents
of the watering can over Angelo's head and Bobby howled in laughter. }Some water?{ He quickly crossed back to the cabinet that held glasses, pulled
one out, and filled it with red grapefruit juice. Replacing the juice carton in the fridge, he picked up the mask
and glass, and headed back to the room.
When he got there, Susana wasn't in bed
anymore. Peeking around the bathroom
door, he crinkled in amusement. She was
buried nearly to her nose in bubbles. }Susana, I've brought you your mask, and some juice.{ Her eyes popped open, and he was glad to see
that she seemed to feel at least a little bit better. One bubble-coated hand emerged from the drifts, and he handed the
mask to her. She lifted her other hand
and put the mask over her eyes, then leaned back.
"What'd you do while you were
downstairs? I thought I heard Bobby
laughing through the vent."
He hadn't realized how much he liked being
able to see her eyes when she talked. }I dumped some water over Ange's head.{
"No. You didn't...did you?" Despite the mask, he could see that one eyebrow was raised
skeptically. He sat on the edge of the
tub and touched a hand to her forehead, sending her the mental image of Angelo
dripping and sputtering. "Right...I guess you did. What'd he do?"
}Called me whipped. Not in so many words, but...{
She giggled, thinking about the mental image
he'd given her. "Thanks for
running the bath for me. I feel much
better. Nearly normal, in fact. I'm sorry I was being such a pain
yesterday." He handed her the
juice glass, and she sipped from it before sitting it on one of the shelves
built into the wall. "Thanks."
}Don't worry about it. And hey, it's not as if you had a monopoly
on the 'being a pain' impulse.{ He
reached down and flicked a puff of bubbles at her face, causing her to wrinkle
her nose at the feel of soap on her skin. She brought a hand back up from below the bubbles and tried to brush the
bubbles off. She succeeded only in
smudging more bubbles across her face and knocking the mask off her face and
into the water. Sputtering, she grabbed
the edge of his t-shirt and used it to scrub the suds off of her face.
}'ey now!{ He scowled at her, then laughed at her wide-eyed expression of mock
innocence.
"Sorry...but I was gonna get soap in my
mouth." She grimaced and stuck out
her tongue, and he reached down to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her
ear. She smiled up at him. "Thanks, hon...now, if you would be so
kind as to get me my shorts and that shirt on the door, I think I'm ready to
brave a trip downstairs." He stood
and pulled the oversized blue and tan flannel off of the hook behind the door,
then laid it over the towel bar and went into the bedroom to get her shorts and
to dress. When Susana eventually
emerged from the bathroom, he handed her the blanket she'd wrapped herself in
the night before, then picked her up and carried her downstairs. She started to protest, then stopped
suddenly. "AAAoww. Loud noises, bad." She whimpered and rubbed her right temple
lightly, then squirmed. "Please
put me down? I swear on my life I can
deal with walking." He complied,
and they made their way into the kitchen. Bobby was still sitting at the kitchen table, looking healthy and well
rested. Susana glared at him in
repulsion. "You're looking
disgustingly happy today, Bobby. What's
your secret?"
"My secret? Huh? Oh...well, I didn't
actually drink much of my wine." He grinned sheepishly at her as she stared daggers at him.
"You're an evil, evil man, Bobby
Drake." She grinned, all traces of
maliciousness fading from her expression, and continued. "But we love ya anyway. So, how out of it was I last night? I don't remember much. I just know I wasn't making sense as far as
I could tell." She opened the
fridge and pulled out a bagel. After
slicing it and dropping it in the toaster, she slid a chair out from the table
and sank bonelessly into it. "Ugh...next time I try to drink like that, someone please stop me,
ok? I've lost any drinking skills I
had...hell, it's been almost 4 years since I went to my last frat party. No tolerance for drinking anymore."
"Yeah, we're all getting ancient...soon
we'll need to buy, like, Ensure and Depends by the ton, cause if you're old
at 23, the rest of us are...well, we're sad and decrepit."
"Decrepit?" She looked at him and concentrated on
restraining the giggles that were threatening to spill out.
"Yes, decrepit. What's wrong with decrepit? It's a funny word!"
"Nothing wrong with it...I'm just
surprised you know it, actually. I
would've figured you to be the kind of guy who'd rather call someone an old
fart than call 'em decrepit."
"Yeah, well...I'm a surprising guy, you
know? Besides, you try spending
time around Hank, and let's see if you don't pick up a few new words," he
shot back defensively.
"Hey Bobby?" The toaster pinged and she shuffled across
the kitchen to get her bagel and cream cheese.
"What?" He was sulking, and refused to look up from his paper.
"I'm not laughing at you." She lowered herself gingerly back into her
chair, then picked up half of the bagel and took a bite. }Why would I? I used to read the dictionary, for Godsakes!{
"The dictionary?" He stared incredulously at her, his paper
completely forgotten. "You read
the dictionary?" He rocked
his chair back on its rear legs and howled in laughter.
"Shut up, Drake." The words were muffled by the bite of bagel she
was still chewing on, but the intent was clear. Reaching across the table, she grabbed the front page of the
newspaper and began to read headlines aloud. "Rebirth of the sitcom sounds the death knell of reality
TV...Economy has picked up in the past month...Senate to debate new mutant
policies." She stopped her
dramatic reading of the headlines to scan the article briefly. "God, I wish I could go...I dunno, do
something. I mean, the climate in
Washington seems to have calmed down as far as mutants go...no more
registration act...but I'm sure it's still got a ways to go before we can feel
really safe from stuff like that." She stomped her foot in aggravation at the state of the world.
"You know, Susana, if you're so into
trying to make a difference, you could talk to Jean about you going with her
next time she speaks at a hearing. Who
knows, you might be able to help...put that persuasive ability of yours to good
use." He raised an eyebrow at the
speculative expression on her face. "Considering it? She's out
in the pool, swimming laps." By
the time he finished his sentence, he was speaking to Jono and an empty chair.
}My intended, the would-be political
crusader. Well done, Bobby. I doubt she even remembers she has a
hangover anymore.{
"You're probably right. You know, I've probably just sentenced you
to an exciting trip to the capital of our fair nation. Bor-ing."
}Well, it's doubtless not as cool as London,
but it might be interesting. I've never
been, so maybe I won't think it's as boring as you do.{ He pushed himself back from the table and
stood. }Know where Ange is? I have to ask him about something Susana
said yesterday.{
"I think he's just up in his room...had
to dry his hair again." Bobby
chuckled and looked back down at his paper, and Jono headed off to find
Angelo.
}'Ey Ange, you in here?{ Jono tapped lightly on the doorframe,
peering around the half-opened door.
"Si, hombre. I'm in the bathroom...drying my hair." Amusement and annoyance permeated Angelo's
words. He folded the towel he was using
and hung it up, then entered the room. "What's up?" Angelo
plopped down on the edge of the bed and motioned for Jono to come in.
Jono did, and sat down in the chair in front
of the desk. }Susana said somethin'
yesterday and I was wonderin' if you could translate it for me. I'm pretty sure it's not exactly G-rated,
but she won't tell me what she said. I'm hoping you can.{
"Sure, what'd she say?" He stretched his fingers to the bedside
table and grabbed the water bottle that was sitting there. Pulling it to him, he unscrewed the cap and
took a sip.
}She said 'deseo ser travieso con te toda la noche de largo'...what the hell?{ Jono jumped
up from the chair and wiped water from his face, then shook his hands off. }I'm assuming it's somethin' good, to get
that reaction. Either that, or you just
wanted to get back at me for earlier{
"It's somethin' good. Sure you want to know?" Angelo swiped the back of his hand across
his chin, laughing softly at the frustration in his friend's eyes.
}Of course I do, you bastard! Why the hell else would I have asked?{ He waited impatiently for Angelo to
speak. }Well?{
"'Deseo ser travieso con te toda la noche de largo' means, literally, 'I want to be naughty with you all night
long.' Hombre, do you think Susana
would teach Jubilee Spanish? I mean,
she knows all the good stuff. Propositions, how to order good beer...Hey, listen, I don't know how
they do things back in Jolly Olde, but here in the US, we usually thank people
when they help us out." It was no
use. Jono was gone. Angelo reached down and pulled a pack of
cigarettes from the knee pocket of his cargo pants. Slipping one out, he lit it, then leaned back. Lounging against the wall, he inhaled deeply
and laughed.
Jono burst through the door of the room he
and Susana shared, having determined through telepathy that she was already
inside. She was on the far side of the
room, crouched in front of the dresser, pawing rapidly through the neatly
folded clothes in an opened drawer. Every so often, she turned to an open suitcase behind her and dropped an
article of clothing into it. Jono
crossed the room and knelt beside her.
}Goin' somewhere?{
"Washington, DC. There's a suitcase at the foot of the bed
for you if you want to go. Jean thinks
we might be able to speak at the hearing Wednesday. Any interest?" She
propped herself against the bureau and turned to face him.
}Sure...how long are we staying?{ He stood and carried the suitcase to the
edge of the bed. Dropping it there, he
zipped it open and began throwing in jeans, T-shirts, and boxers while he
waited for an answer.
"Huh? Oh...I think the plan right now is that we stay for about a week, so
that Jean and Hank can do some serious lobbying. We'll go to maybe a hearing or two, but mostly we're just going
for the chance to go to DC. It'll be
fun!" She turned back to the
dresser and continued packing.
}You, gel, have a bizarre sense of fun. Not that I don't love you anyway,
but...you're just strange sometimes.{
"...Says the man whose idea of fun is falling
off of a board. 'It's easy,' he
tells me. 'You'll like it,' he tells
me. Bullshit!" She grinned at him over her shoulder as she
folded a tank top and put it in the suitcase.
}Well, you're a gymnast...how was I supposed
to know that you couldn't even stay upright on a skateboard if you bloody sat
on the thing?{ He raised an eyebrow
enquiringly.
"Hmm...I dunno, maybe the shrieking and
flailing about, and the yelling 'Put me the hell down!' should've clued you
in. You only need to take one actual
suit, so go ahead and hang it on the door there. We're going to take one group hang-up bag so there's less baggage
to lose." She stood and walked to
the closet, where she pulled out two skirt and jacket sets. "Which one do you think I should
wear?" She held one up in front of
her, then walked across the room to the mirror. "Gray or blue, blue or gray...." She turned and held up one, then the
other.
He looked at her appraisingly. }I think...the gray.{
"Yeah, it does look slightly more adult,
doesn't it?" She turned and
considered her reflection again.
}That, and the skirt's shorter.{ He crinkled at her glare of mild
outrage. }You asked...{
"You. Are. Absolutely.
Insufferable." She stomped across
the room to the closet, where she re-hung the blue suit and pulled out an ivory
silk camisole to wear under the gray jacket.
}And yet you want to...what was that you said
yesterday? Be naughty with me all night
long? Interesting proposal.{ He raised a hand to fend off the accent
pillow she'd just launched at him. }Now, now, luv...I'm trying to pack. Let me do my work. We'll get to
the naughtiness later.{
She dropped the pillow she'd been preparing
to throw and pulled the camisole off of its hanger. Slipping it onto the hanger under the jacket, she hung the whole
outfit on the back of the door alongside Jono's suit. Darting across the room to the bathroom, she rummaged around in a
cabinet until she found a small makeup bag, which she filled with a week's
worth of toiletries and makeup. She
dropped it in her suitcase, then stopped and began ticking things off on her
fingers.
"Ok, got clothes for being a tourist and
clothes for anything official...I need a dress in case we do anything
formal-ish, and I need to pack the travel iron...remind me to call my
accounting prof and tell her I won't be in class on Wednesday." She stood in front of the closet and
strained to reach the iron on an upper shelf. "Think you could possibly provide a little help here? Oof...thanks, hon. Next time, do you think
you could avoid elbowing me in the head? People with concussions are not generally up to being naughty." She turned and tossed the iron onto the bed,
then leaned against him and looked up.
}I'll be painfully careful in the
future...after all, we can't have you missing out on naughtiness.{ He wrapped his arms around her and gave her
waist a light squeeze before backing out of the doorway. She followed, nudging him backward until the
backs of his knees hit the edge of the bed. She gave his chest a slight push, and he leaned back onto his
elbows. She braced herself over him and
lowered herself so her nose bumped his.
"Do you really not mind going? Cause if you're gonna be bored, you don't
have to come with us."
}Are you kidding? Miss a week of staying in a plush hotel, where I don't have to
share you with a single class? Bored is
the last thing I'll be.{
"You do know that I'm gonna make you
venture out of the room with me on occasion, though...right? I mean, I want to go to some of the
Smithsonian museums, and we're definitely going to have to go to lunch with
Senator Landrieux..."
}Who's he?{
"She is a Senator from
Louisiana...who just happens to be the chair of the mutant activities
committee. She also happens to owe my
father big time." She grinned down
at him, then pressed a kiss to his forehead.
}How d'you figure she owes him?{ He looked at her, and a puzzled frown
creased his brow.
"Well, he gave her the support of the paper
during the election...basically, it's highly doubtful she would've won without
his support. She's a nice enough
lady...fairly liberal on the mutant issue, so we shouldn't have too hard of a
time convincing her to vote for the new bill. I hope."
}And if we do? What then?{
"I'm kinda reluctant to do this...in
fact, I probably wouldn't, but she doesn't know that. If she doesn't, I'll just make some comment about stuff she
doesn't want to be public knowledge. I
don't actually know anything...but she's a Louisiana politician. They've all got something they'd rather not
have the public know about, and because of who my dad is, they assume I
know." She shook her head.
"This is not getting any packing
accomplished. Our flight's at four, so
we better hurry up...oh, God. I still
have to change." She rolled over
and promptly landed directly on the box she'd thrown onto the bed. "OWW!!! Owowowowow...travel iron to the kidneys...not fun." She scooped the box out from under her and
tossed it in the general direction of her suitcase, then lay back and rubbed
her side gingerly. Sitting up, she
dropped her legs over the edge of the bed and stood, wincing at the pain in her
back. She walked around the bed to her
suitcase and pulled out a cropped tank top and a bikini. She held up the tank tops so Jono could see
it, then made a face. "If that
left as much of a mark as it felt like it did, I don't think I'll be needing this...what
do you think?" She turned and
pulled her shirt up enough that he could see the angry red mark left by the
corner of the box.
}Think that's a safe assumption. Let's not have people thinking I beat you or
somethin'.{
"No, that would indeed be bad. I'm gonna go take our dress clothes and put
them in the hang-up bag, and then I think we're ready to go...sound right to
you?" He nodded, and she hurried
out of the room and down the hall.
A/N...ok, this took way longer than I
thought(due in large part to the annoyingly time-consuming nature of the
employment-seeking process), and it's not as amusing as I might have
liked. Next chapter will be better.
Question: Where do you all think Jono and
Susana should go while they're in Washington? What kind of touristy things can they do that won't make Jono go off on
a bitching and moaning tangent?
