Everything Important

Chapter Five: Confrontation

Abair stopped Scott from going up the stairs. "She went to get a shower and change." He said. "Give her a few minutes."

"Fine." Scott fumed. "Maybe I should be talking to you anyway."

Abair crossed his arms over his chest. "Maybe you should." He said – sizing Scott up.

"Rogue has responsibilities around here. She's supposed to be a part of a team."

Abair unfolded his arms and snatched a black marker off the table at the base of the stairs.

Scott stood still, transfixed by the oddity of Abair's actions, his attention captured. Abair pulled the cap off with his teeth and drew and 'X' on the palm of his hand.

Which he then presented with a roundabout flourish in to Scott's face.

"Talk to the 'X' pal." He smirked around his hand.

"And by that I mean Xavier." He clarified.

Scott fumed for a moment. "Listen …" Scott began as Abair started to retract his hand.

And Abair's eyes betrayed an inner fire. It happened just that quick – he suddenly felt they had reached the end of any civilized discussion that they might have been having.

So, in a lightning flash of a movement, he snatched the glasses off Scott's face.

"Whoa!" Scott closed his eyes and buried his face in his arm. "Do you know what you almost did?" He asked, shocked.

"No – But I do know what I REALLY did." He countered, moving a step or two away and bobbing around the room so that Scott couldn't find him. "I proved that you're so wound up that you're making mistakes."

He began counting them off. "Like starting in on Rogue for being gone with me when it's been cleared with Xavier." He began.

Briefly, Abair considered giving him a marker mustache, but then he reconsidered and capped the pen.

"The second would be pushing me to snatch your specs, because, this is your home, and not mine, and I really don't care how much you trash your own place - provided you keep your eyes off my girl - you get me?"

Abair held the glasses up to the light and looked through the lenses. Then he put them on and looked at himself in the entryway mirror. They made him look like an insect, especially when he smiled – and he shrugged, then took them off and fixed his hair.

Scott was hesitantly stepping out toward his voice and reaching in that direction – so he slipped under Scott's arm and began talking from the other side of the room.

"And the third would be feeling around for something …" Abair began – but then he jumped out of reach and to a new location before continuing.

"That I am perfectly willing to … just give back."

He smiled to himself. He was proud of his restraint. "On two conditions." He added quickly.

"First?" Scott asked him.

"You stay out of my way and I'll stay out of yours. I'm not going to be here for very long – it shouldn't be difficult."

Scott nodded slowly. "Second?" He hissed softly, growing tired of being blind.

"Ask me nice." Abair hissed back. "And mean it."

Scott paused, his words bottlenecking in his throat for a moment.

"Would you please - give me back - my glasses?" He asked softly.

"Sure." Abair whispered without inflection, from right next to Scott's face. He turned Scott's hand over and laid the glasses gently across his palm.

But Abair was gone by the time he put them on and the front door sat wide open.

Scott eyed it as a cold wind blew in carrying with it the sounds of a car door slamming and an engine starting in the front driveway.

Scott closed the door, trying to dispel the anger he felt. Okay, just calm down … he thought to himself.

And … He began, but his memory used Abair's voice, colored three shades of sarcastic, to continue …Talk to the X …

He shook his head side to side and took a long deep breath in through his nose.

This guy bugs me … Scott told himself. Especially when he's right. He added as he thought about his more obvious mistakes.

Then he smiled at himself, regaining his humor, before thinking to himself in his most self-mocking and whiney inner voice: "Damn - it."