Disclaimer: Yep, I own Susana, and that's about
it. Go me. Huffamoose owns the song, Marvel owns the recognizable mutant
types.
Notes:
sound
*thought*
} telepathic conversation {
Setting: Later that evening, back in Westchester.
Jono set the guitar aside and stood when he heard the limo
pull up to the door. He walked across
the room to the window, where he could look down and over and have a clear view
of the circular section of the driveway. From this spot, he watched as the occupants of the limo spilled out,
carrying various packages and bags. Susana
spoke briefly to the driver, then cast a mental line out to find Jono.
}Hey, love. Meet me
in the foyer, will you?{ She looked up
at the window he was standing in, then grinned when he disappeared from
view. *Good. Now he won't see his present...and hopefully he'll stay outta my
mind till tomorrow, when I give it to him. I'm so glad the professor said I could set it up in that little room
across the hall. If it had to go in our
room....* She shuddered at the thought,
then began digging in her purse for the camera so she could show Jono her
dress.
When Jono walked into the entryway, Susana was glaring down
at the viewscreen of the camera. }What's wrong, luv?{
"Damn thing is being weird. We found a dress and I have pictures so I can send them to my mom
and Nat and Claud andnowIcan'tgetthemtoshowupsoIcanshowyou!" Everything from the names of her
ex-roommates on came out in the same breath, and when she stopped to catch
another breath, Jono pulled her to him and wrapped an arm around her.
}Calm down, gel. D'you remember what it looked like?{ She nodded without looking up, and he reached between them to gently
push her chin up. He brushed her lips
with the pad of his thumb, and crinkled down at her. }Show me.{
She closed her eyes and smiled against his thumb, then began
sifting through the images of the gown that she'd filed away in her
memory. She opened a small telepathic
connection between them, and images of the gown in the shop flashed through,
interspersed with images of the gown as she imagined it would look when she actually
wore it. Through everything she was
sending, there was a common thread of simultaneous joy and apprehension. Eventually, the images slowed to a trickle
rather than a rush, and she opened her eyes. "Like it?"
}S'beautiful. What
else did you gels do?{ She looked down
and hoped fervently that he was staying safely out of her mind. She wanted his present to be a
surprise. The evil grin from earlier
reappeared as she turned and caught Jubilee's eye.
"Oh, nothing much. We did look at the baby clothes section of Macy's, though...and Jubes
found the cutest little miniature raincoat!" Angelo paled visibly and headed outside for
a cigarette. Jubilee choked back
laughter and followed him.
}Yer kidding, right?{ There was a definite tinge of alarm in Jono's eyes, and she
giggled.
"Nope. Jubes did
find a really cute raincoat...but that was while we were waiting for the others
to convince Jean that it was time to leave. Don't worry; parenthood is not imminent. We just wanted to scare Ange."
}And me.{ he raised
an eyebrow, daring her to dispute his words. She grinned sheepishly and nodded.
"Well...yeah. You, too. Would you really be
upset?" She tilted her head
sideways and looked up at him.
}Not...not upset. Unprepared and a bit worried, yes, but not upset. I dunno. I like kids, but I don't think either of us is up for parenthood just
yet. Now, let me take a look at the
camera...I did buy it fer myself, even if you stole it from me that same
day.{ Wordlessly, she handed over the
camera and watched as he turned it over, checking the position of switches and
the settings on the screen. }Here's the
problem. This switch must've gotten
bumped somehow.{ He flicked it, and the
screen was filled with a picture of Susana and Jubilee striking a pose suited
to the pages of any fashion magazine. }Gonna send this one to Vogue or
somethin'? "What the well-dressed
mutant bride is wearin' this spring"...I can see the feature now.{
Susana shook her head at him, then took the camera. "and what did you do today? Hmm?" She turned back to face him, then poked him in the stomach with the
corner of the camera, accentuating the action with lightsaber sound effects
from the previous night's Star Wars marathon. Jono watched her with a slightly suspicious expression, then grabbed her
wrist when she went to poke at him again.
}You done?{
She bit her lip, considering, then nodded slowly and looked
up. "Well? What'd you do?"
}Nothin' much, worked with the professor on refining my
control. He says he thinks I'm getting'
better at controlling the blasts and the energy in general...and I'm going to
try the flying- like Ev could do when he synched with me- later on tonight,
when there's less chance of being seen.{
"I see...you have a new mutant gift, it seems. We have among us...The Master of Understatement. Nothin' much, my ass!" She gave a disgruntled huff, then
smiled. "Seriously, though, that's
wonderful. You are getting
better as far as control goes, have been since I met you."
}How d'you figure?{
"Well...did ya blow up the Academy mansion while we
were both there?" He shook his
head, and she continued. "Our
room- hell, that whole wing of the mansion- has stayed mostly whole...and when
it hasn't, has it been your fault?"
}Well....{ He began,
then stopped. }You know, you're right. I haven't slipped up since we got here.{
"And that's been 3 years and some." She leaned up and pressed a kiss to his
cheek, then turned to the stairs. "And now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go email these to Mama,
Nat, and Claud. You gotta let me go
before I can do that." She turned
back to him and gave his stomach another experimental poke, then shrieked with
laughter as he picked her up, carried her upstairs, and sat down in the chair
at her computer desk. Settling her
securely on his lap, he watched as she connected a cable to the camera and
tapped a few keys to load the pictures onto the computer, then opened the
Internet connection and began tacking pictures onto a short email. She tapped out a rhythm on the edge of the
desk while she waited for the pictures to load, then stopped when he began
lazily tracing a fingertip up her arm, across her shoulder, and along the
hairline at the base of her neck. She
tipped her head back, trapping his hand, then reached behind her to capture it
more effectively.
"You're being playful. What's up with that?" She turned slightly so she could look at him, and he reached up to her
chin to tilt it back towards the laptop screen.
}Nothing...can't I be affectionate without it making the
news?{ His tone was defensive, and a
little hurt, and- still facing the computer screen- she reached back with her
free hand to give his waist a slight squeeze.
"It's not that it bothers me. It's just...a change, is all. It's nice." She tucked her
chin to her chest to dislodge his hand, then gave his thumb a slight nip when
he tried to tilt her chin back up. Her
reaction amused him, so he continued trying to move her chin, tickling lightly
along her jaw and the side of her neck until she broke down in giggles. "Quit that, you dork! You're making me all twitchy!"
}Oh, so I'm a dork now, am I? Guess I'll just go dig out an ancient computer manual...maybe
some taped glasses, and a pocket protector. Costuming, y'know? I'm sure
we've got that stuff somewhere around here.{
"Don't you dare, Starsmore. I told you before that you're too sexy to be a Boy Scout...and
you're definitely not cut out for bein' a dork. You're just incredibly..."
}Sexy, right? 'At's
what you're gonna say, isn't it?{ He
raised an eyebrow and pretended to slide a pair of reading glasses down the
bridge of his nose to peer at her. The
gesture reminded her so much of Hank that she laughed herself breathless at it
before reaching back and poking him lightly in the side.
"I was going for infuriating, maybe persistently
annoying...but I think sexy'll do. Or
maybe conceited would suit you better. Actually, I'm quite certain it would." A prompt flashed on the computer screen, and she tapped a button
to make it go away. "Excuse me,
sir...but what, exactly, do you think you're doing?" He undid another shirt button, then looked
up at her.
}Taking back my shirt.{ The way he answered made it seem perfectly normal...which, she supposed,
it would be- if the shirt weren't on her at the moment.
"And you can't wait until I change, and...Oh, I
dunno. Wash the shirt,
perhaps?"
}I could, yes. Don't
particularly want to, though. I'll
admit, I've got more than a passing interest in what's under the shirt.{
"Mighty honest of you to share that." A distinctive sound rang out, drawing her
attention back to the computer, which had uploaded and sent all of her
pictures. She turned completely towards
the screen, closed the Internet connection, and pushed the chair back from the
desk so she could stand facing it. She
propped a hand on her hip and waved the other hand at the shirt's remaining
buttons expectantly. "Well? You don't seem to have your shirt back
yet...so why the pause?"
}Just thinkin'.{ He
shrugged and looked down, then blinked in surprise as she hooked a finger into
the neck of his shirt and leaned her head to his ear. }huh?{
"Think later, you bloody annoying Limey bastard. You've started something...and it'd be quite
ungentlemanly not to finish it." She ran the edge of a nail lightly along the edge of his ear, then
grinned as she felt a tugging on the finely woven cotton of the shirt. Without looking, she fumbled on the desk
until she came up with a remote control. Pressing a button, she hit play and dropped the remote back onto piles
of papers covering the desk. Slightly
jangly guitar filled the air, followed shortly by a more conventional guitar
piece and an almost raspy voice.
move back just a little let me watch your hips sway
hold me looser still throw me like I'm wet clay
and you a feast I devour
if you let me be the man of the hour
cause you are rhythm I'm a cold shower
baby
wait baby wait I'm reaching in your pocket baby wait
baby wait it's coming
wait baby wait I'm deeper in your pocket baby now
baby now it's coming
Susana took a cue from the lyrics and pulled on the pocket of
Jono's jeans, tugging him closer to her and across the room, towards the bed.
private
figure skater I love when your eyes fix
up and down figure eighter you stick with the old tricks
and you alone my soul entrancer
let me be your private dancer
cause you got moves motion me an answer
baby
wait baby wait I'm reaching in your pocket baby wait
baby wait it's coming
wait baby wait I'm deeper in your pocket baby now
baby now it's coming
carnival
hazy eyes tango lovers tranquilize
in patterned prances secret glances
of high strung tip toe fringe of a taut brown leather
strikes me down with the weight of a feather
we'll
be moving love forever together
baby
wait baby wait I'm reaching in your pocket baby wait
baby wait it's coming
wait baby wait I'm deeper in your pocket baby now
baby now it's coming
strikes
me down with the weight of a feather
The bedframe creaked softly in protest as both Susana and Jono collapsed onto it, and Logan, who was carrying a speaker into the room Susana had acquisitioned for Jono's present, grinned broadly around his ever present cigar. *looks like she's got him well and truly distracted. Good thing, since she wants this stuff secret from him and he could likely pick up on my thoughts if he wanted to.* He settled the speaker into a corner of the room, then headed downstairs to antagonize Scott.
