Summary: Scott and Jean take a look at their past as the two find solace in the beauty of a winter wonderland.
Pairing (s): Scott/Jean
Rating for this Chapter: PG-13
Chapter 10
Up in the sky, the overcast ruptured in a burst of white flames as the X-jet took off. Contrails of heat and water vapour spilled carelessly over its forward swept wingtips as the pilot brought it up to cruising altitude, eyes glowing a silver-blue haze as her mutant powers dissipated some of the moisture in the wet spring air. The air above was surprisingly calm and serene despite the turbulent layer of clouds below, and Storm could feel the onset of a thunderstorm building up. They had to get back soon.
"Did you guys have fun?" Storm asked from the pilot seat, not turning to look at her charges.
"Yes," Jean replied, letting her head fall back tiredly against the headrest. Two more hours of skiing after that little incident in the lodge had taken its toll, even on her. A small smile crept to her rosy lips as Jean snuck a quick glance at the boy sitting beside her, resisting the urge to run her fingertips along his cheeks. At the moment, he seemed like some incarnation of peace and innocence, all shields and defences lowered and the scowl he always seems to wear gone. Very rarely did he let down his guard, even around her, and now that he did, the telepath didn't want to break the moment.
"Why didn't you go skiing with those girls? Wouldn't you have more fun with them?" Jean asked, strapping on her bindings again.
"Boarding isn't as important to me as testing out the uniform." He threw her her ski poles. "Besides, I'd rather hang around other things for a couple of hours than a few attractive girls."
At that last part, Jean frowned a bit. "Like what?"
"Oh, I don't know...redheads, maybe?" he teased, playfully batting at her ponytail. She gaped at him in mock shock, trying her best not to laugh.
"Mr. Summers! Are you trying to flirt with me?"
"Hell no, Miss Grey. I can think of plenty of less painful ways to die, thanks."
"Ugh, you are so dead, Slim."
Jean spent the rest of the time chasing him around, finally resorting to tripping him with her TK right off the ski lifts before kicking the stuffing out of him. Yee-uup, there were certainly worse ways to spend an afternoon than beating up her best friend, but it would've been even more enjoyable if Scott actually smiled or laughed. Then again, how many people would laugh during their beating?
Looking at him now, his rich, chestnut hair has lost much of its volume, while his goggles were dark and breathing slow and even. By the way that his head was resting heavily on her shoulder (he didn't mean to, it just sort of fell there), it was quite obvious Scott was fast asleep.
Being so enthralled by Scott, Jean didn't realize that they were being watched carefully by a weather witch. Ororo knew very well what was going on, despite having her back turned. As Logan had said, the two were starting to get a little bit too comfortable for being just friends.
~We are going to have to keep our eyes on those two...~ 'Ro smirked.
Despite their undeniable closeness, the Kenyan, along with the other instructors, was shocked by how quickly the little redhead was able to bring Scott out of his shell. Over the past week, everyone noticed a drastic change in his behaviour (for the better), save for maybe the child himself. Logan even claims to have heard him speak more in the past week than in the past year, and often teased their student about it.
Calling him Slim instantly became the quickest way to shut him up, or, if they're lucky, to score a blush.
"It sounds like you're losing him back there," the woman chuckled. The two have known each other for only two weekends, but acted like they had been friends for several years.
"Yes," Jean whispered softly, not wanting to wake her best friend. "We went down a lot of hills."
"Maybe you shouldn't push him so hard next time, huh Jean?" Ororo smiled from the pilot seat. "Or beat the stuffing out of him."
"Maybe I won't," the redhead blushed, careful not to raise her voice too much. Were we that noticeable? Suddenly, despite her best attempts to fight it, Jean slowly started to drift off herself. She didn't mean to, but even the air around Scott seemed to be saturated with calmness and a sense of tranquility, and, being so close to him, it was rubbing off on her. Slowly, her eyes fluttered shut and her own breathing slowed as the telepath dozed off lightly.
"Storm, come in, can you read me?" Charles' voice crackled over the radio. The older woman quietly closed the hatch to the cockpit, so that the kids would be able to sleep in peace.
"Storm here. Is there a reason you're using the secure radio-link, Charles?"
Her answer took her completely by surprise. "It's cause we've got some business ta discuss, 'Ro."
"Logan?" But wasn't he...in Canada? "How's the mission, going?"
"He'll brief you later. Cerebro has recently detected several other mutants, and already Logan is on his way to contact one in Germany. But that's not what we're here to talk about." He stopped, letting Logan carry on for him.
"I ran into Sabertooth," Logan said, rubbing the area where Creed had almost ripped off his arm. "Things are startin' ta get out of hand - we simply can't handle everythin' between da three of us anymore. Soon, kids like Scott are gonna get involved. We need to discuss some type of chain of command in the X-men."
"I understand," the African responded, nodding understandingly in the cockpit. "You don't think its enough that this new team takes directives just from us."
Charles smiled. She had always been unnaturally fast to catch onto things. "Precisely. And with all the contacts I have been keeping, we may pretty soon have a large number of students attending the school, many of whom will train as X-men. Cerebro has already been able to detect several Alpha-level mutations, two of which I'm sure you are already familiar with, Robert Drake and Jubilation Lee, whom have yet to manifest their powers, but once they do, their parents have agreed to send them to the Institute."
"We're not always going to be here. The X-men may benefit from a field leader, someone these younger children could look up to," the telepath finished.
There was a long pause in the cockpit as the radio hummed in silence. "So?" Logan asked, prompting the Professor to continue. "Ya got any ideas?"
"Not at the moment. I was sort of hoping to see how this unfolds once we enroll more students, but I imagine that this person will have a level head..."
"...he's gotta be cool under pressure, smart..."
"...and capable of empathy and encouragement...Logan, who said it can't be a 'she'?"
"Yes," the Professor pondered, immersed deeply in his thoughts. "Someone like..."
------
"Scott, Scott!"
A little kid, with deep blue eyes and a thick mop of blond hair, ran quickly through the plane. His sweet, boyish voice was full of anxiety and panic as he shook his brother awake frantically. "Come on, wake up!"
"Hmmm? Alex?" A mini-Scott, no more than eight, groaned tiredly, blinking away the huge migraine he had been having. Lately, he seemed to be getting a lot of 'em. Scott looked at his kid brother and smiled faintly.
"What's the matter? You wet your pants again, Alex?" he teased.
"I DO NOT WET MY PANTS!"
Scott laughed, a rich, wonderful laugh that bounced warmly off the empty walls. "Ree-lax. I was kidding," he assured. "So, what's wrong?"
"You were sleeping, and then there was this big explosion," Alex flung his arms around for emphasis, complete with personal sound effects. "And then the plane started shaking and then-"
"Whoa, slow down, bro. I'm sure Dad's already on it. He's the best pilot in the whole air force, remember?" His brother nodded meekly, but before anything could happen, Katherine Summers burst into the cabin, fear and alarm clearly etched in her face.
"Hurry!" the woman cried, rushing past the children to the two backpacks hanging on the far wall.
The two boys looked on with shock. Those were parachutes. But that would mean something really bad happened...and there were only two of them. A slow sense of dread crept up Scott's spine at the sick notion of knowing what's going to happen next. No, this can't be happening...
"Mommy?" Alex squeaked, voice dripping with confusion and renewed fear. He jumped when his father's voice rang out from the cockpit.
"Kate! The controls have seized! This is as good the plane's going to get. Both engines are out, and its only a matter of time before...just tell the boys to jump when I say so!"
"Quickly, strap these on," their mother ordered, hands trembling with fear. Both boys quickly strapped the packs onto their backs, buckling them securely in place as their mother instructed them on the use of the parachutes, pointing out their rip-chords. Quickly yanking open the door, the woman hastily pushed her children towards it. Scott quickly turned around and held onto her arm, his knuckles turning a pearly white.
"Mom, I am not leaving without you or dad," he shouted over the wind exploding through the door. Things started thrashing violently about, banging loudly against the metal hull of the plane, as his mother struggled to keep her long brown hair out of her face.
Katherine sighed, bending down to kiss each of her children tenderly. "Scottie, you have to. We are going to be fine. Just promise to take care of Alex in case anything goes wrong, okay honey?"
The boy still looked reluctant, silently begging her with his beautiful green eyes. Slowly, she reached out with her other hand and cupped his face fondly, rubbing his cheek with her thumb. Scott and Alex had the most striking eyes she'd ever seen - the most beautiful pairs of forest green and sky blue emeralds in the world. If only...
"Scott," his father called out from the pilot's seat, sensing his wife's resolve waning. "You have to be strong. You have to be brave, my son. We are counting on the both of you."
"But dad!" he pleaded, his hand already searching out Alex's even as the younger boy started to sob. However, Christopher Summers barrelled on, ignoring his protests.
"Make me proud, son. Take care of your brother, okay?"
This wasn't happening to him. This can't happen to him. He was only eight - up until a few minutes ago, his whole life had been laid out before him. There was so much he didn't see, so much he still wanted to do - with his family. He wanted to be a fighter pilot, just like his father. He wanted to fly with his father. Suddenly, Scott doubled over as a streak of pain tore through his head, and for a brief instant, all he saw was red. Crimson red.
~Make me proud...~
"Scott, I'm scared." The voice of his brother brought him back to reality. What was he doing? This was an emergency - he needed to be strong. His family needed him to be strong. Besides, he reasoned, blinking away his headache, grown-ups know better.
It was time.
With renewed confidence, Scott turned to Alex. "Don't worry, everything's going to be okay." He then turned to his mother and his father. "Mommy and Daddy must know what they are doing."
His father smiled. "That's my boy. Now on my mark..." They were past 8000 ft AGL, a good height from which they could jump. Above 8000 ft, his boys would surely pass out due to the lack of oxygen. The Major of the U.S. Air Force slowly stabilized anything he could as the plane sunk lower, until everything held at 5000 ft.
"Anytime now, Kate!" he shouted from the cockpit. Everyone could feel him straining to keep the plane as level as possible as his wife made the final preparations for their jump.
"We love you." Hastily, she shoved something into both of her son's hands, before gently pushing them out the door.
The sudden roar of the wind was deafening, and Scott's eyes stung as the air whipped across his face. As the stricken plane streaked across the sky above them, trailing a thick line of smoke, he caught sight of Alex, only an arm's length away. Slowly, he reached over and grabbed his hand, responding to his surprised face with a reassuring smile.
Slowly, Scott counted to eight potatoes before...
"Alex! Pull your cord!" he shouted. However, he could barely hear his own voice over the fierce wind, and seriously doubted Alex could.
"What?"
"The cord! Your cord!" Grunting in frustration, he reached over himself and ripped Alex's parachute open, the sudden loss of speed seemingly jerking his younger brother up and away from him. Satisfied, he pulled his own, groaning loudly as he was yanked to a much slower speed.
Abruptly, their parents' plane exploded in a fiery cloud of dust and debris. Scott looked on in horror as his parents disappeared in a flash of flames, not even noticing the piece of burning metal that pierced his chute, burning a large hole in its nylon structure before slicing off some suspension lines on its way through. Alex cried out in horror as his brother spiralled away from him, faster and faster, disappearing into the overcast below them.
"SCOTT!"
With a gasp, Jean jolted awake, the impact of the dream leaving her nerves rattled and breathing heavy. Slowly, realization settled in: that wasn't some ordinary dream - it was a memory. God, that actually happened. Suddenly, being several thousand feet up in the air in the X-jet didn't seem like the safest place to be. As she listened to the light hum of its engines and the muted roar of the air rushing over its titanium hull, the redhead visibly shrivelled into herself, unconsciously latching onto the warm body beside her for comfort.
Which was moving; Scott was awake. ~Oh no...he's going to kill me~
"Jean..." there was a slight edge of irritation in his voice, but Scott let her hold him, which she took as a good sign. His own body was shaking terribly, and she noticed that his breathing, like hers, was also heavy and ragged. "Did you just see what I think you did?"
"Uhh, see what?" Jean replied nervously. Her best friend saw right through her act and felt something tighten in his chest.
"I can't believe you!" Scott cried frustratingly. He quickly pulled away from her arms and ran a shaky hand through his hair, not really knowing what to do; not sure who, or what, to be angry at, but badly wanting something to vent his anger on. "Can't you at least try to stay out of my head? I know that you have trouble and still training, but sometimes I get the impression that you want to get in my mind!"
"Scott, it was an accident!" Jean stammered, tears in her eyes. Please no, not again, she begged silently, not wanting to repeat that incident a week before. "I fell asleep, and then it happened...but I was asleep...I didn't mean to, really...and then-" The telepath started to babble on with apologies and excuses, the fear of losing him clearly reflected in her eyes.
"It's okay," Scott interrupted, feeling bad for making her all teary-eyed. However, Jean didn't seem to hear him as she continued to ramble on. "Jean! It's alright!"
Abruptly, her babbling stopped. "What?"
"It's okay. I...understand. It's just that, sometimes, I like my...privacy, you know? And I know you don't mean to, but..." Feeling his self-control returning, he waved it off with a deep sigh.
"I'm not mad at you." His best friend exhaled deeply in relief.
"Really?" Scott nodded faintly, and Jean could tell that his eyes were closed by the way his goggles were so dark. This must be really hard on him, although it shouldn't be. Friends are supposed to share things with each other. Slowly, she slipped her fingers between his, squeezing his hand for comfort.
"Yeah," he assured, squeezing back. An uncomfortable silence settled over the cabin for several minutes, until finally, Scott couldn't take it anymore.
"It's okay. You can ask me something about it - the dream - I don't mind." He squeezed her hand comfortingly again, and, even with his eyes closed, Scott knew that Jean was wondering whether she was 'permitted' to ask him something about the memory. Since she already saw it, she might as well know the rest, he supposed. He hated cliff-hangers himself.
"I thought I was the telepath here," Jean giggled, playfully smacking him in the arm. "How did you how did you survive? I mean...most people don't from a free-fall dangling from a burning parachute with half its lines cut, so..." she trailed off, nervously playing with her hair.
Scott looked away, taking a moment to consider his response, having not really thought about that particular aspect of that memory before. All he really remembered was the end of it signalled the beginning of another nightmare, this time washed over in red hues. "My powers kicked in at the last second. At first, I didn't know what was happening - things just started to explode - but then, for some odd reason, I looked at the ground and my eyebeams slowed my fall. Destroyed half a mountain in the process, but at least I made it."
The look of sadness that flickered over his face didn't escape her. "You look like if you would've been better off had your powers not manifested - if you had died."
"Well, it's not like my gifts did anything to save my family, and then they go haywire right after."
"Scott...there was nothing you could've done."
"How can you be so sure?" For an instant, his mask of confidence disappeared, leaving behind a figure of doubt. "I couldn't even protect the people I cared most about. How can I possibly be an X-man?"
"Slim, stop talking like that!" Jean hissed, twisting him around to face her. "There was nothing you could've done to save your parents. Gosh, I don't know how you could be so witty and in control one moment and the next you become this...scared, brooding little boy.
"I've seen - actually, more like felt - some of your thoughts, and, like, I've never felt someone so alone. It's almost like you feel unwanted or something. Scott, I'm not trying to play your shrink or something, but you are worth it, Slim, despite what you might think. You could've done nothing to save your parents."
He snorted in disgust. "Whatever Jean. I still don't see how you can jump to conclusions when you barely even know me." Pause. "I swear, if I ever feel that helpless again, I'll kill myself."
"Maybe not," Jean admitted, grinning devilishly, "but I already know you better than anyone else, and we had only known each other for a few days. I think I have a fairly good idea figuring out how your mind works - at least, I'm the best at it."
Her heart jumped as Scott almost smiled. "Fair enough," he conceded. Climbing to her knees on her seat, Jean leaned over to hug him, but he pulled away.
"Uh, what are you...?" Scott stared at her blankly and with a little tinge of fear.
Jean sighed overdramatically. "What do you think, stupid? It's called a hug, and friends share them to feel make each other feel better." Her arms were still outstretched.
"Guys don't," he replied flatly. The boy instantly regretted his words as the smile on Jean's face fled, replaced by a slight frown.
"Do I look like a guy, Summers?" She sighed again, a spike of hurt - real or fake, Scott couldn't tell - in her voice as she dropped her arms to her sides and sat back in her seat. "If you don't want to, then that's okay. I...understand."
"No, it's..." Scott frowned, suddenly at a loss. Before, he could've saved some of his male pride by simply accepting the hug. Now, he had to make the first move, and, being the aloof and socially intolerable person that he was, this was an extremely uncomfortable idea for Scott. Damnit, he knew that this was just one of her ploys to get him to 'lighten up,' but it was working. This girl had been getting to him since day one.
"Fine," he mumbled, more to himself than to Jean. Steeling himself bravely, he casually lifted his arm and slipped it around her shoulders, exhaling deeply in relief when she didn't pull away. "Happy?"
Jean giggled, her emerald eyes glinting with a hint of mischievousness that made Scott dizzy and light-headed. "Yup, you can say that. Although this isn't really a hug..." she sighed, resting her head on his shoulder.
"Oh, I don't know," Scott muttered exasperatedly, blushing profusely. "I've never did...Is something wrong?"
Her breathing was still unnaturally heavy and her head felt a lot warmer than usual. However, Jean dismissed his concern casually. "I'm fine. Just...a bit airsick."
Scott looked at her dubiously, but said nothing more about it.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, this is here, right after exams just as I promised. Feedback is appreciated!
One more thing. In this chapter, there is one line that is virtually identical (? Not really sure exact conditions) to one in Minisinoo's AioF, the 'red hair' and, subsequently, the flirt, line. This doesn't even include the very distinct similarities between fics that deal with the Summers brothers' parachute jump, and is very hard to avoid this unless you set an AU. I didn't set an AU.
I really didn't mean to, but by the time I noticed it, it was really too late. I tried hard to avoid it, but the best I could come up with was 'redheads.' Since I wanted to move onto the next chapter, and I'm not really talented enough to accomplish a complete re-work, I just posted this.
In light of recent reuses of popular lines from popular JOTT fics such as Jen's Snow and EB, EvoJean's Amazing(s) and Minisinoo's other fics, without permission, I just felt that I should include this.
Really, this is a serious issue: In my school, when once I was simply just *suspected* to have plagiarized, I got an automatic sixty. I didn't even know there was a Sparknotes website! (I do now, Mwuhahahahah!!!) Moral of the story - give credit where credit is due, even if it was unintentional and, 'imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,' and all that.
Hey, I just figured something out with the formatting of the story! You don't need to double space!!! (but it makes revision so much harder) I never knew that.
Cheers :)