Rebirth and Awakenings
Chapter 12
Three weeks later, Scott was in his room, staring out the window. A week ago had been his birthday. Eighteen. Free at last, he wanted to cry out. Free and legally an adult. Now he could go wherever he wanted and do whatever he wanted to do. No more hiding and no more looking over his shoulder, afraid that someone would report him to Social Services. He finally had freedom and it felt great.
He thought over the circumstances which had brought him to this point. He was exceptionally lucky, and he knew it. For the past two years, Scott had been in a loving, stable environment with people who had protected him and nurtured his abilities, both of his gift and his non-mutant talents. He was going to go to college and he could do anything he wanted with his life. He wasn't a freak, he was a man.
From his window, he saw Jean leave the house and walk towards the dock. Jean. She meant more to him than anyone now. Before, he believed she only thought of him as a friend. But since that night in her bedroom when Robert walked in on them, he wasn't so sure. He needed to know what her feelings were, one way or the other. Decisions had to be made. Scott cherished the relationship he had with Jean, but it wasn't enough anymore. He wanted more. But did she?
He would find out tonight.
* * *
Jean sat on the pier by the old boathouse and stared at the water, reflecting on her life. It wasn't a completely happy reflection. On the plus side was her graduation from medical school and beginning her first year residency. She looked forward to beginning her career, using all her talents to help people. But on the negative side was her breakup with Robert. After the scene in the cafeteria, any feelings she may have had for him had dissipated. He had hurt her too badly. Then there was the resulting yell-fest with her mother, who looked on Robert as the last thing to save her daughter from a life of mutancy. If only she knew -- just as well she didn't know.
She heard footsteps coming down the pier. She turned. It was Scott.
"Hi," he said, as he sat down beside her.
"Hi, yourself," Jean replied.
"It's a hot night," he commented.
"Hmm," she said. "People never think New York gets this hot." There was silence between them for a moment. "I'm sorry I missed your birthday party."
"It's okay," he said. "I'm not really used to having them again yet."
There was a moment of silence between them.
"I never thanked you for the guitar," Scott said suddenly. "I know you bought it. I always knew."
Jean smiled. "I wanted to give you something. Something you wanted."
"There are other things I want, Jean."
Oh, good heavens, she had walked into that one. Only, why didn't she feel affronted or embarrassed, or -- anything other than a burgeoning desire?
She turned her head to look at him. He was looking at her. It was so hard to tell his thoughts behind those damn glasses. His face gave nothing away.
Suddenly, he leaned forward and kissed her. It was nothing like the time he had kissed her in his bedroom. It was complete, total. Hunger. That's what she felt. He was hungry for her. He wanted her so much it frightened him -- and her. Was this what she wanted? This -- hunger?
It was.
She broke the kiss roughly and stood up. Then she smiled and reached out a hand to him. It was what they both wanted. She led him to the boathouse.
* * *
Scott followed her to the enclosed patio of the boathouse -- a small guest house on the edge of the lake, next to the pier. The house was locked, but the screened-in room wasn't.
As the door closed behind them, Jean leaned in and kissed him again. Scott didn't know how to respond. He was more than nervous -- he was terrified. He had fantasized about this for *such* a long time. And now that fantasy was becoming reality, part of him was telling him to run while the other part was telling him to stay. So, he stood still, frozen, frightened, and, in spite of his fear, turned on.
But here was the advantage of being with a telepath -- Jean knew his nervousness and understood. She was still leaning against him. This close, she could see two pinpoints of light behind his glasses. His eyes. She saw him blink.
"You don't have to be nervous," Jean assured him as she kissed him gently. "It's okay. I'm not a virgin, Scott. Are -- have you ever been with a woman?"
"No," he admitted. Thank god, he could still talk. "I mean, ... I know the basic idea. But I've never ...." Scott hesitated. This was outside the realm of his experience. His only knowledge of sex was as a violent act or as witness to a commodity being bought and sold. Sex as an expression of love was almost alien to him. He knew he loved her; he wanted to make love to her, to show her how much he cherished her. But he had no idea where to start. "Show me," he begged. "Show me what you like. *Please*."
"I will," Jean whispered. "Kiss me."
Released from the paralysis that had gripped him, Scott put his arms around her and kissed her again, with all the passion and intensity in his nature. Suddenly, it was like a dam broke. Scott could hear Jean, *feel* her emotions, know her thoughts, as well as his own. Scott wasn't a telepath -- how was this possible? Yet, they were feeding off each other, all mingled together, both of them, impossible to sort out whose thoughts were whose, all their sensations interwoven with their minds.
The kiss seemed to go on forever. Reluctantly, they broke apart. Scott pressed his forehead to hers, as if loathed to separate from her completely.
"Wow," he whispered. "I could *hear* you. And me. What was that?"
Jean was just as surprised as he was. "I don't really know," she admitted. "Some kind of a mental link."
"Is that normal for you?"
"No," she responded. "That's never happened before."
Scott smiled now, almost mischievously. "Let's see if it happens again," he said as they kissed and sank to the floor.
* * *
Hours later, Jean propped herself on one elbow and regarded her sleeping lover. *Her lover*. Strange, she had never considered Robert in those terms, but Scott she did. They were back at the mansion, in her bedroom, in her bed.
The boathouse had been a revelation to her. They didn't have many coherent thoughts as things heated up between them, but Jean had been able to pick up a few from Scott. He loved her. He thought she was beautiful. He wanted her so much. Her skin was the softest thing he had ever felt. He didn't want the evening to end.
Jean felt it was a nice change to be loved.
She made sure Scott picked up some thoughts from her. She loved him. She truly wanted him. His skin was warm and his hands were gentle and oh, how much she needed that gentleness. She also didn't want the evening to end.
The sex between them had been awkward at first, mostly because of her limited experience and his total lack of it. But instinct soon took over and Scott had good instincts. All the passion and intelligence Jean had ever wanted was there, and to top it all off, sensuality in buckets. Who needed eroticism -- Scott knew about touch. Hands that were once content to rub only her back had roamed greedily over the rest of her. There wasn't a part of her body he didn't caress. The encounter had been far more satisfying than anything else in her experience. So after years of loneliness and searching, Jean had found everything she wanted in her own backyard. Literally. "Welcome home, Dorothy," she thought wryly.
Afterwards, they had gone swimming in the lake. It had been a rather silly thing to do, but enjoyable considering how hot the evening still was. They came back to the house together, dripping wet under their clothes.
Going back to her room, taking him into her bed, was something Jean had been glad to do. *He* needed it. It was an affirmation of what had transpired between them, an acceptance that this was not a one time fling. And it wasn't. Jean knew when she kissed him on the dock that this would only be a beginning.
Jean sighed and snuggled closer to him. This wasn't a period in their relationship or even a semi-colon. It was a comma.
Their lives would continue.
Together.
THE END
That's it for this story. I'd like to thank my beta-readers, Jen and Amy ,
and everyone who wrote and left reviews. This was my first X-Men fanfic and the feedback
from you all was great. Until my next story,
Juliebmr