Disclaimer: Still own nothing

Disclaimer: Still own nothing.  But I did get a nifty membership to WeddingChannel.com, where I did some of my gown research.  Woohoo.


Notes:

sound
*thought*
} telepathic conversation {

Setting: A mid-November morning in Westchester.

Susana stumbled, bleary eyed and still in pajamas, into the kitchen, where she promptly grabbed a mug and filled it with coffee.  After about five minutes of communing with Juan Valdez, she felt human enough to acknowledge the other occupants of the kitchen.  "Mornin', Bobby...Warren."

Warren grunted and didn't look up from the front page of the Wall Street Journal.  Bobby waved distractedly from his seat on the bench beside the table, then froze the spoonful of cereal Warren was about to eat.  Susana debated pointing it out to Warren, then shook her head.  *If he can't look up long enough to notice, that's his own fault...plus, this is gonna be funny.*

clink

"AH!  Dammit, Drake, that hurt!"  Warren unfolded a wing and reached across the table to thwap Bobby, scattering a few feathers across the table.  Bobby retaliated by freezing the entire bowl of cereal, and Susana gulped down more of her coffee before it got caught in the crossfire...or, more accurately, before the weapons of the crossfire got caught in it.

It was this chaotic scene that met Jean's eyes when she strolled into the kitchen.  Susana waved her over to the breakfast bar, a safe distance away from the mini snowballs and downy feathers that were by now flying across the table.

}How long have they been at this?{  Jean inquired, holding a hand over her nose and mouth to avoid inhaling any feathers.

}Long enough.  I didn't want to get in the middle for fear of endin' up with feathers and snow up my nose.{  Susana rolled her eyes, then sneezed as a passing feather tickled her nose.  }Hey, do you have any interest in going in to the city?  I want to look at wedding dresses.  Jubilee's going- she better, she's my maid of honor-, and I thought I might ask Kitty, Rogue, and Storm, and maybe even Psylocke,{ she shuddered minutely, }if they wanted to join us.  Oh dear.  Why does your expression really scare me?{

}I can't imagine why.  I know Storm's out in the greenhouse and Jubilee's still asleep, but have you seen Rogue or Psylocke this morning?{  Jean watched the two men at the table, and when Warren was distracted, she used her telekinesis to stuff a small snowball down the back of his shirt.  }And why the reluctance to take Betsy along?{

}Three words:  psychic knives, salesmen.  Or does that count as four words?{  Susana was barely able to restrain her laughter at the sight of Warren scrambling to get the snow out of his clothes.

}I see your point.  But I think she might be able to offer some good advice.{

}Like what?  Get married naked, save a step?  No thanks.{

}Her costume's not that bad.{  The only answer was a disbelieving snort as Susana carried her coffee cup  over to the sink.  She rinsed it, then filled it partway with water and looked back and forth from the cup to Bobby.

}Well, Jean?  Do I dare?  S'only fair.  You got Warren....{  And with that, she tipped the mug over Bobby's head, pivoted, and raced upstairs to wake Jono and get dressed.

Two hours later, the X women- Kitty, Psylocke, Jubilee, Jean, Storm, Rogue, and Susana- had all gathered in the mansion's entry hall.  Jean was armed with the addresses of several couturiers Xavier had accounts with, as well as what Jubilee had affectionately termed "the matrimony mission book"- an oversized spiral notebook full of notes, ideas, and plans for the wedding.  The chauffeured limo that Xavier had provided pulled up to the front door, and they all claimed seats.  Angelo and Jono watched from the upstairs landing as the women filed out.

"Hombre, I'd be scared."

}Why's that?{

"She's takin' Betsy with her to buy a weddin' gown.  Chica's straight up loco."

}I'm not so sure I'm the one who should be scared here, Ange.{  Jono turned his attention from the limo pulling out to his friend. 

"QuĂ©?"  Angelo raised an eyebrow in question, the gesture exaggerated to cartoonish proportions by the stretching of his skin.

}Well, y'see, I've already committed to gettin' married.  You, on the other hand, oughta be worried.  I mean, Jubes may come back all googly eyed an' talkin' bout flowers and white silk, or the differences between fifteen shades of cream and ivory and off-white.{  Jono lifted a hand to his left temple and rubbed lightly.  }Think I could get ya t'let me leech an aspirin off of you?  Just thinkin' bout it gives me a headache.  Who knew there was so much planning involved?{

"She did.  Chicas are like, born knowing these things.  It's in their blood, I think."  With that bit of dubious wisdom, he sauntered off down the hall.

~*~*~*~*The limo, en route to New York City~*~*~*~*~

"Remind me again why I, the damn bride," the tone of Susana's words indicated that she thought 'bride' equivalent to 'Medal of Valor recipient' "am stuck sittin' on the floor?"

Jean looked up from the list she was making in the book to answer. "Because your maid of honor took your seat?"

"Of course.  How could I have forgotten."  She glared at Jubilee, who grinned, then turned to stare out the window.  "So, oh great keeper of the agenda, where are we heading first?"

Jean consulted a previous page of the notebook.  "We're going...to Madison Avenue, because that's where all these places are."  Susana nodded, then pulled out a book and stretched her legs across the floor. 

"If we stop suddenly, anyone who lands on me will die. That ok with everyone?"  She looked up and around at the seated group, then nodded contentedly and began to read. 

~*~Three hours later, in the private showroom of a Madison Avenue bridal boutique~*~

"No.  Nuh-uh.  Not happening."  Susana crossed her arms, shook her head, and scowled balefully at the new dress a store assistant was holding up.  The stance would have been far more imposing if she were wearing more than one of Jono's shirts over white satin lingerie. 

"But Susana," Jean soothed, "it's a gorgeous dress!"

"Yeah, on you it would be perfect, but I'm too short for a dress like this.  It would swallow me whole.  I said I want something simple.  Simple, as in no 80's prom dress big taffeta skirts.  No trains- I do not need something new to trip me up, plus I'd probably get grass stains on it-, no bustles- my ass is just fine the size it is, thank you very much-, and most definitely NO poofy stuff!"

Some time during this tirade, the assistant had disappeared with the offending garment.  She slipped back through the curtain again, this time holding a hanger with a definitively non-bustled, trainless, taffeta-free dress.  Susana looked up at her soft cough, and her eyes lit up.  She bounced happily across the room to examine the dress more closely, then grinned.  "I like.  May I?"  The assistant carefully extracted the hanger from under the thin straps, then unfastened the back of the dress.  Susana dropped the stolen shirt to the ground and stepped into the dress, then stood patiently while it was refastened.  Once the woman stepped back, she did a little spin and was happy to note that the dress didn't touch the ground at all.  In fact, the lowest of the asymmetrical layers of the dress hit at about ankle level. 

"Well, maid of honor?  What do you think?"  She gave a slow twirl in front of Jubilee, who nodded approvingly.

"Jono'll definitely like it."  She gestured to the low, princess-style neckline of the dress.

Susana shrugged, then walked across to the curtain.  She pulled it back and stood in the empty space, posing and turning slowly so that the other X-women, seated on couches in the waiting area, could see the dress.  Storm smiled in approval, Rogue clapped, Betsy gave a sort of grudging nod, and Kitty started in surprise when Rogue kicked her in the ankle.  "It...umm.  It looks nice!"  She recovered quickly from the surprise, then kicked Rogue back as soon as she saw the opportunity. 

Susana pushed the curtain of the dressing room back and stepped back in, then went to stand in front of the mirror.  She spun slowly and craned her neck to see all of the dress.  "Jubes, camera.  Now."  Jubilee dug through Susana's oversized purse and pulled out a digital camera.  She directed Susana to stand against the dark background provided by the curtain, and then proceeded to take several pictures showing the view of the dress from multiple angles.  Once Susana thought they had enough pictures to satisfy her mother's inevitable questions about the dress, Jubilee put the camera away and Susana changed back into her clothes.  The shop assistant reappeared with a notebook, and they filled out all the appropriate order forms.  Once the last size chart had been consulted and the appropriate pages had been signed, they left the boutique and headed to what Betsy called "the best deli in New York" for a big lunch before they began the non-wedding shopping they all wanted to do.

Now that they had provided their opinions as amateur bridal fashion consultants, the X-women were ready to shop...just as soon as they could pry Jean out of the baby clothes section of Macy's.  "Ro, look at this!  It's adorable!"  She held up a hideously ruffled pink and yellow pair of overalls and the matching t-shirt.  Susana made a gagging sound, and Jubilee nodded emphatically.

}Hey Jubes, wanna have some fun?{  The corners of Susana's mouth curled up in what Jubilee thought was possibly the most evil smile she'd ever seen. 

}What're we gonna do?{

}Nothing much...just let's each build a baby outfit.{

}This is fun how?{

}The fun comes when we go home and talk about the unbearable cuteness of baby clothes...and babies.  At length and in excruciating detail.  In front of Ange and Jono.{  She grinned at Jubilee, then began sorting through a display of brightly colored onesies.  With a slow nod of dawning comprehension, Jubilee began sorting through the other side of the display.

~*~*~*two hours later, Inside a large music store~*~*~*

"Ok, Jubes. Did I buy everything I needed to?"

"how am I supposed to know?  I'm no musician.  Just...ask the sales guy, then read his mind so you know if he's trying to cheat you."

"Tried.  He doesn't seem to be cheating me.  But is this all the stuff Jono'll need to set up?"

"Good lord, woman.  You've spent how much on his birthday present?"

"About three days worth of interest on my stocks-god bless my financial planning professor.  The money's not an issue.  Making sure he has everything he needs to produce on a small scale...that's an issue."  Jubilee was about to respond when an unfamiliar voice cut in.

"He's got everything he needs for just playing around with producing, learning techniques and stuff.  You don't want to buy anything too complex for a first setup.  What you've got is good, he- whoever 'he' is- can add to it in parts as he works up to needing more stuff."  The girl tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled.  "Hope ya'll don't mind my butting in.  But I figured it was the nice thing to do- I'm not makin' any money off of anything you buy, so I'm unbiased, and you two sounded...confused."

Susana gave a dry laugh and nodded slowly.  "Confused might begin to cover it.  This," she waved a hand around the store at all the different pieces of equipment, "is my fiancĂ©'s area.  I just sing, play a little guitar...and I can do 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star' on the piano."

"Quite the repertoire.  But anyway, if he's not planning on going professional immediately, you should be set with what you've got there."  She returned her attention to the guitar she was considering, effectively dismissing them.  Susana shifted her burden of speakers and electronics, muttered a thanks in the girl's direction, and headed for the register and the limo waiting outside.