Part Nine
It was dark by the time Domino pulled back into the garage, depositing the car keys in the jumble by the door before entering the house. She'd run a few errands after her lunch with G.W., and that, combined with hellish traffic on the drive home had made her later than she'd intended. Most of the mansion was quiet, though she could hear a TV droning on someplace and voices talking quietly. She found Nathan in the kitchen, drinking coffee and muttering over something he was reading in the newspaper. "Hey, babe."
"You're back late," he replied.
"Traffic sucked. How was your afternoon?"
"You conspired against me."
"Awww. You poor baby. Was it really that bad?" Domino slung an arm around his shoulders and deposited herself gracefully on his lap.
Nathan gave her a pathetic look. "Yes."
"You're not convincing me," she replied. "I bet it was good for you, and you just don't want to admit it."
"Talking with Scott has never been good for either one of us," he grumbled, wrapping his arms around her. "It always ends in an argument."
Domino pulled away a bit, fixing him with a stern look. "And whose fault is that? Because I somehow doubt that Scott's the one instigating disputes." She reached out and swiped his coffee mug.
Nathan grumbled something under his breath. "How did your day go?"
"You're lousy at changing the subject, you know that?" She smirked. "It was fine. You would have been utterly bored." A white lie, but it wasn't going to hurt him. And she vowed she'd tell him all about it once she'd made up her own mind as to what she wanted to do. She set the mug back on the table and rested her head against his shoulder briefly. "Why don't we head upstairs? I'm sure this poor chair would appreciate it."
Nathan kept his arm around her waist as they wandered back to their room. There had been some logic in his conversation with Scott--and now that both he and Jean had pointed it out, it was glaringly obvious that he was going to have to sit down and have a serious conversation with Dom in the near future, as much as he dreaded the prospect.
It would have been so much easier if he didn't have to contend with all the reluctance on her part. He had the feeling that, as far as she was concerned, things were more or less fine, and she was perfectly content to leave it at that. He couldn't, and that was part of the problem.
"You got all quiet on me," Domino commented as she changed and slid into bed. "Something the matter?"
"Not really," he replied, climbing in beside her and pulling her close. The world always seemed a bit cleared when he could just hold her. It was a comfort he'd been missing for far too long. Nagging fear in the back of his mind reminded him of how easily he could lose it all again. Those few days when she'd fled to Las Vegas, trying to 'find herself,' she'd told him later, had been the longest in recent memory. Longer than when she'd been at Muir, because at least then he'd known she was safe, just a phone call away. The fear seemed silly, but he couldn't shake it off.
"Sure? You're being more huggy than usual."
"I missed you."
She chuckled, drawing the covers closer around them both. "Well, I'm not going anywhere."
----
Muttering a few choice words, Scott Summers pushed his way into the kitchen entry. Shrugging off his jacket, he idly noted that as much as he liked the privacy living in the boathouse provided, the walk across the lawn to the mansion could get tedious. Especially when the temperature was hovering just enough above freezing to keep the steady drizzle from turning to slush.
"Lovely weather we're having, huh?"
On reflection, Scott would wonder how he'd managed to miss Domino's presence in the room. At that moment, however, he was too busy trying to keep his skin from jumping clear of his skeleton.
Domino saw his startled reaction and chuckled. "Don't worry, I'm on my second cup here." She waved the coffee mug a bit for emphasis.
Scott gave her a puzzled look and glanced at his watch. "It's only eight."
"I need to break Nathan of these sudden early bird tendencies he's developed," she smiled wryly. "He tries not to be disruptive, but it's hard to sleep through two hundred plus pounds of person vacating the bed. He was up at seven," she added. "And I just don't sleep that well alone anymore. Go figure."
Scott tried to hide his lack of reply to that by busying himself pouring orange juice. He stuck the carton back in the fridge, taking the glass in hand. "Oh," he finally replied lamely, wondering where on earth his conversation skills had crawled off to. Never mind that he had no idea what to say to the woman seated across from him.
"So, is this how your conversations with Nathan usually go?"
"Pretty much."
"Try books next time."
"Books?"
"Yeah... made from dead trees, the pages turn? He reads a lot."
"Oh. I didn't know that..."
"Well, I suppose you don't go to law school if you don't like to read... please tell me you know he went to law school."
"He mentioned it at some point," Scott smiled thinly. "It was somewhat surprising."
Dom grinned. "Not really...well, not if you know him like I do, anyway. He's got this... desire to learn things. Dunno... maybe it comes from knowing nothing but war for most of his life."
"Just--how long *have* you known him, anyway?"
"Almost twenty years, as impossible as that seems..." She replied amusedly.
"Twenty?"
"I was eighteen, if that's what you're wondering," she said, pushing a stray strand of hair out of her eyes and grinning mischievously.
"I have the sudden urge to give my son a stern talking to," Scott deadpanned.
Domino snickered and took a sip of her coffee. "Y'know, I'm pretty much a captive audience. It'd be a good time to grill me for information."
"You're very odd."
"I date your son. It's a given."
"Okay... Do you ever wear any other color?" He gestured to her blouse.
She glanced down. "Oh... well, I think I have a lime green bra someplace."
Scott choked on his orange juice, and she laughed. "Oh, come on. You married *Jean* for heaven's sake. After that, I can't be *that* shocking."
"You're not Jean," he pointed out.
"Observant. It would be very wrong if I were."
"My family seems to attract... colorful women."
"So I've noticed," she replied. "Is your father still with..." She sighed. "The cat woman."
"Hepzibah? As far as I know... he doesn't exactly write home much." Scott replied wryly.
"Well, the life of a space pirate is probably very taxing," she remarked. "Discussing your family always gives me a headache," she added.
"Yours is simpler?"
"Ah, now you're prying," she shook a finger at him grinning. "Let's just say I'm not related to any super villains bent on world domination."
"That does put you on better footing than about half of the team."
"And to think people say you don't have a sense of humor."
----
"Nathan?" Domino peeked into the library cautiously. "Ahha! There you are. You're a hard person to get a hold of lately, y'know." She walked over to where he was seated on the carpeting. "Did I interrupt meditation?" She asked, looking down at him.
He shook his head. "Not really. Jean had to cut the training short today." In truth, he'd been trying to get some clarity to his thoughts, get everything into some semblance of order before he tried to talk things out with her.
"Ah... extracurricular, then," she replied. "How have things been going?"
"About the same," he replied with a shrug. "There's not much I can do about it, no matter how... frustrating that is."
She nodded. "Understandable. I know I didn't really... react well to that. But you're right." She pursed her lips and blew an errant strand of hair out of her face. "It'll be okay."
"Something's been bothering you."
She blinked down at him. "What makes you say that?"
"You haven't been sleeping well. You don't when something's bothering you," he added.
She sighed. "Yeah, well, you've been distracted too, so I guess we're even."
He took hold of her hand and pulled her down into his lap. "Tell me?"
"Sure, might as well." She pushed her hair behind her ear nervously, deciding there was really no good way to frame the information. Might as well stop dreading it and just get it over with. "G.W. wants me to come work for SHIELD. Not full time," she amended, "but it would mean being away for a few days here and there. I haven't accepted... but I might want to in a few months."
"You should. If you want to."
"You don't mind?"
He gave her a lopsided smile. "Of course I do. But I'm not stupid enough to expect you to sit around forever with nothing to do just because I can't keep up anymore."
"Nate..." She kissed him lightly on the cheek. "Thanks. For understanding." That hadn't been so bad... she'd expected him to be more hurt, somehow. She gave his hand a light squeeze. "So, I've shared... is there anything you wanted to talk about, while we're at it?"
He reached out, brushing an errant curl of dark hair behind her ear, quashing the apprehension that seemed to renew its assault. "Nope."
She sighed. "Well, if you're sure..." She trailed off, not entirely convinced. She tried to brush it off as lingering paranoia left over from days when most of their conversations had consisted of half-truths on both their parts, skirting around issues still too painful to approach. "Weather's crap," she commented, changing the topic. "Wanna go find lunch and maybe dig out a movie to kill time? There's one hell of a collection down in the rec room."
His arm tightened momentarily around her shoulders. "Sure. Sounds like a plan to me."
----
"He's bluffing."
"Dunno. Cyclops, he got one hell of a poker face, neh?"
"Can it, Cajun."
"Y'know, I think this is the best entertainment we've had in weeks."
"How long have they been doing this?"
"Few hours now."
"Huh. I don't think you could pay me to play poker with that group."
"Let's see... master strategist, gun-happy telepath, someone with probability altering powers, a thief, and Logan? You're right, it'd be insane."
"Hey, quiet in the peanut gallery," Domino called over her shoulder, eyeing Bobby and Warren's little huddle. "It's a poker game, not football. We don't need commentators."
"Eh, leave the turkeys alone, Neena. They're just jealous 'cause they haven't got the guts t' play with the big kids."
"Turkeys?"
"I think we've just been insulted, Bobby."
"Turkeys?"
"Will you two shush?"
"Aw, c'mon Jean, you're just gloating 'cause Scott's winning."
"Damn right I am."
----
Cable looked down at his cards in disgust. "Fold."
"Not having any luck tonight, hmm?"
He gave his partner a baleful look. "Must you be so smug about it?"
"Of course I do. It's my job to give you hell." She glanced over her cards. "Call."
Everyone laid down their hands. "Looks like I win again," Scott commented.
"Are you smirking? He is... he's smirking at us."
"Knew it was a mistake to let Cyke play," Logan grumbled, gathering up the cards.
"You're only saying that because you're losing, old man," Dom countered.
"I ain't losing, kid. That tin soldier of yours is the one gettin' his ass kicked."
"I'm going to--"
"Down, Nate. He's just trying to provoke you."
Nathan crossed his arms and glared.
"Aw, poor baby. Just not your night, huh?"
"Don't patronize me."
"Fine be that way."
"You gonna deal or what?" Nate grumbled.
"You sure you can keep up?" Scott asked.
#Honey, stop taunting your son with your superior skills.#
'Awww, Jean...'
#Come to bed, while he still looks up to you.#
He sighed. "Change of plans, I'm out."
Logan snorted. "Jeanie takin' you to task?"
"Seeing as I'm the one she's leaving with, I'd say I win."
"Ouch. He's got you there, Logan."
"Ah, shuddup, kid." He eyed Nate. "You still in?"
Nathan shook his head. "I think I'll just let Dom wipe the floor with you," he replied, leaning back in his chair.
"Dat some confidence you got, mon ami."
Nate smirked. "I don't need confidence. I've seen her play before."
----
"Gambit folds," he tossed the cards down on the table with a shake of his head. "She's trouble," he commented to Cable as he got up.
"Don't I know it."
"It's down to just you and me, old man. You still game?" Domino gave her old mentor a feral grin.
"Nah," he tossed the cards into the pile. "You win. Good game, Neena. Haven't lost y'r touch."
She laughed. "Good to know." She stood, stretching lightly. "Well, it's probably time for me to turn in anyway. Coming Nate?"
He smirked at her. "Dunno, what's in it for me?"
"Let me rephrase that." She grabbed a fistful of his tee-shirt. "You're coming with me."
A rumble of laughter escaped Logan. "Guess you'd better do what she says."
"As if I'd ever argue."