Chapter Three: Wedding Announcements and Shouting, Lots of Shouting
The X-Mansion's Front Hall
"We weren't expecting y'all to come to dinner for another few nights. Did y'all get sick of fast food so soon?" Rogue asked with a smile to their new dinner guests. She returned the hug Angel gave her, being careful not to touch her, then moved on to hug Tara.
"Actually...we have another reason." Tara held out her hand to the X-woman, allowing her to see the small jewel set into the ring. It caught under the light and glittered slightly while her other hand remained in Landon's.
"Finally!" Jean ran down the stairs and wrapped her arms around Tara in a hug, studying her hand. "Oh, it's beautiful, Tara. You'll make a lovely bride!" she gushed, repeatedly.
Landon looked uncomfortable.
"Rogue, when will dinner be ready? I'm hungry." Angel rested one arm against her stomache with her hand over her ribs. She didn't look that sick or like she'd almost stopped sleeping completely; her attention was fully on whatever Rogue was saying. "Where's Remy?"
"He and Storm had a mission of some sort, sugah. Ah think he'll be home before y'all leave..."
"Good."
Tara frowned at her friend, knowing she wasn't planning to make the announcement until both her guardians were present. She wished they could have come to dinner under better conditions then a wedding and pregnancy announcment. She tightened her hand around Landon's hand until she felt the slight return of pressure, signalling that she had squeezed much too tight.
"Tara, if you squeeze any tighter you'll break my hand," he said before taking his hand from hers. He offered his least harming smile when he noticed himself being watched carefully.
"I'm sorry. Where's Logan at, Rogue?"
"He had to pick something up. I doubt he'll be gone very long..."
"I have an announcement to make and I want him to be here..."
X-Mansion's Dining Hall (during dinner)
"Jean, get that kid to put that thing up before I turn it into a mesh of wires," Logan commanded, glowering at the Game Boy engrossed thirteen-year-old and his partner. His attention settled on Nanaki. "Make your kid behave, too."
He almost laughed when Nanaki simply smacked Santiago in the back of the head. He'd grown used to having his enemy's neice and grandson living at the mansion, but the girl was good with her own kid, better then the Summers' with their demon child.
"David, put the game boy up." Scott waited for his order to be obeyed; it never was.
"I have to beat Santiago's score, Dad! He finally got higher then me on Tetris," David complained, pushing his almost full plate away and becoming intent upon his game. He pressed buttons repeatedly.
"I've been higher then you since I was seven."
"Santiago!"
"Sorry, Mom."
"Stop playin' with ya food, swamp rat." Rogue's voice was one of the loudest and the smack she gave her husband's hand was audible as well. She'd toned down her violence to smacks on the hand rather then against his head; she'd even learned to deal with his 'habits'. "We have guests."
"Aunt Angel and Aunt Tara ain't guests."
"Shut up and eat your chicken." Scott's order.
"Uh, I have something that I need to say," Tara started off, dropping her fork and standing with one hand resting against the table top. It was, obviously, shaking; a bad sign since not much got her on edge. "It's uh, about me and Landon."
Logan's expression turned grim. He'd been expecting the announcement since he'd overheard Angel and Natasha talking earlier that month. He'd have to play off sympathetic since she thought she loved him.
"What is it, kid?" he asked without standing. The others followed his example and didn't get up.
"I, uh....Landon and I are getting marired." She blurted the words out then met his eyes, watching for the first emotion that would cross his face.
"You are not marrying him!"
"The hell I'm not! I already got the ring!" Tara held out her hand and he noticed the jewel with it's gold band that shimmered in the light. The others clapped for either their choice of language or the announcement; Logan wasn't sure. "I was going to ask your permission..."
"Would you have listened to my answer?" he asked, standing and facing the stubborn woman that had grown from the fearful child he'd adopted. He scowled at her future husband.
She shrugged, squirming slightly. "If it fit with my answer, yes. Otherwise, no."
The Tetris theme music filled the room over voices. It was much too loud for just two gray Game Boys that were being played by pre-teens. The songs were at different tempos and sounded like two people fiddling with a radio on different stations.
"Why don't you two go ask Bobby to help you play?" Jean asked, pulling both their chairs back and waiting for them to stand. Her voice allowed no time for arguement.
"Does it have to be him?" Logan asked, addressing the man beside her as him instead of by using his name.
He wanted to see the kid happy but not with a member of one of their oldest enemies' new team. Landon was probably the best of Apocalypse's new team of idiots but he still wasn't a first-rate choice for the kid.
"Logan!" The shout came from several different people who were looking at him in mock or sincere anger; he wasn't sure which. Rogue's expression was amused.
"It's okay, sugah. Ah'm sure ya invited to the weddin'," she said, giving Tara a smile as she sat back down, stirring her food around. Her head didn't lift from staring at her plate.
"Okay, kid, you can marry him." He had barely gotten the words out before she was up and around the table to hug. He returned one of the hugs that he'd grown used to recieving from Tara since she'd found his alcohol stash and gotten drunk at five. "Hey, it could be worse! You could be pregnant."
He noticed that Angel visibily paled and had a sudden feeling of dread. There'd been something odd about her when they'd arrived, but he hadn't bothered to analyze it until then. Something was wrong with her especially since she now seemed worried and was eating even less.
"Pregnant? Tadpole's pregnant?" Toad looked rather alarmed but slightly happy at the news.
Nanaki sighed. "He said she could be, not that she was, Mort."
"Oh."
"Congradulations, Tara. I'm sure you two will be happy," Jean said with a quick pat on the top of her head. Tara cringed away.
Angel was the next to speak. "Rogue, remy, can I see you guys in the professor's study after dinner? I kind of need to talk to you both..."
"Of course, hon."
"Remy be done, mon ange."
"I was afraid of that..."
Outside the Professor's Study
Bobby Drake crouched outside the door with one eye pressed into the crack left by the slightly open door. He swept the room, taking in Rogue and Remy sitting together on the couch, holding hands, after Angel's request. The latter was pacing in front of them but stopping every few moments to sit on the desk, frowning.
"I want you both to promise you won't freak out. I kind of have an annoucement, too. It's different from Tara's," Angel started out, stopping to bite down on her bottom lip, hard. It was a nervous gesture that she'd picked up a few years back; a sign of something wrong. "I wouldn't exactly call it a celebration."
"Mon ange, y'can tell Remy anyt'ing." Remy started to stand but sat when she shook her head, walking further away from him.
"This isn't like when I wanted to play the trumpet or bleach my hair to dye it green...." There was silence for a moment then she blurted out her announcement, speaking so rapidly that it wasn't quite clear the first time. "I'mpregnantandJuliusisn'theretotalkto."
Rogue was up in an instant. "What did you say?" she asked, catching hold of her shoulders.
"I...I'm...I'm pregnant, Rogue."
"Ya be what, mon ange?!"
She's pregnant. Angel's pregnant. I have to let the others know that David won the bet... Bobby walked backwards slowly until he reached the stairs then bolted up them, yelling for his friends.
"Jubilee, Hank, David!" He ran through the halls, banging on the doors until his buddies and the others were assembled in the hallways. Several were glaring at him or looked ready to kill him. "It's official. David's won the bet."
Jubilee just frowned at him, rubbing at her short hair with the towel she held over her head. "Which bet?"
"The baby bet."
"Oh no, this is terrible. Terrible, terrible, terrible. I have to give away my twinkies and I can't buy another box until tomorrow. What have I done to deserve this curse?" Hank walked off, mumbling and muttering to himself.
"Baby bet? What are you talking about?" Storm asked, studying their fuzzy blue docotr before turning her attention to the guilty parties- Bobby, Jubilee, David, and Santiago.
"We were betting on who would be the first to have a baby," David said, looking only a little guilty. He continued without looking at either of his parents. "I picked Aunt Angel. Bobby picked Aunt Tara. Jubilee picked Nanaki would get pregnant again. Hank picked Natasha and Santiago picked..." He mumbled it.
"What was that?"
"He picked that you and Dad and would give me a little brother or sister." There was a visible twitch to the boy. After a few moments of lecturing from his parents and tuning out Nanaki and Toad's lecture, both were dismissed and retreated to their rooms to play Game Boy.
"Wait a minute.." Scott stood still a moment then his eyes widened and he looked shocked. "If David won the bet..."
"Oh, the heavens! Angel's pregnant."
Inside the Professor's Study
"You're WHAT?!"
Angel frowned, trying not to let her guardians know how much their reactions to her announcement meant. "I'm pregnanat, Rogue."
"Juilus de father?" Remy stood and walked over to stand in front of her. She nodded like a robot, slow and measured. "Where de boy at?"
"He's doin' somethin' for his boss. I'm sorry...I know it's not exactly a good announcement. I thought we were careful, butnowI'mpregnantandhedoesn'tknow," she said, beginning to speak rapdily. Her words began to slip out of English and into what little Spanish and French she knew.
"Sugah, calm down." Rogue walked over and hugged her, giving Remy a look that had him being quite, though he kept charging and uncharging a card. The charge almost leapt from the card several times.
The door to the office burst open and the others piled in except Nananki who lounged against the doorway, shaking her head.
"You're what?!"
"You're what?!"
Remy scowled at the overly perky couple. "Mon ange be pregnant."
"You're what?!"
"You're what?!"
"She's pregnant. Leave it at that," Nanaki said, drawing their attention to the doorway. She still looked symapthetic but behind her Bobby and Jubilee were more then a little guilty.
Bobby told everyone. I'm going to kill him.
Jean spoke, quietly. "Angel, killing him won't help..."
"It'll help me." Angel pulled herself free of Rogue's arm and bolted toward the door second before the two behind Nanaki took off down the hall. She shoved the others out of her way but stopped when she almost collided with Kurt a few doors down; she caught herself against the wall, feeling dizzy.
"Vhat's vrong, Angel?" Kurt asked, stopping beside her. He studied her then went to move her hand from her stomache. She pulled away and closed her eyes, beginning to cry.
"I want Rogue. Please get Rogue."
Bobby appeared in the place of Kurt, looking down at her with real guilt. "I'm sorry, Angel. I didn't mean to tell everyone you were pregnant. It just kind of slipped out..."
At least he apologized this time. It makes a new first in my book...normally I have to apologize to him.
She gave him a weak smile. "You're going to baby-sit this kid when it's born and I hope, I really hope, it's just like me."
Bobby suddenly looked even more apolgetic. "Uh...Angel...that's a bad thing...to, uh...wish on a person..."
Apocalypse's Housing for his 'Henchmen'
"We are not playing unless we're safe." Natasha Creed set her bottled drink down and flipped the tv channel, stopping an some talk show. She watched it on mute for a few moments then flipped the channel.
"Why not? Nothing's 100 percent safe, Tasha. What's changed this time?" Jax demanded, glaring at her from across the room where he was heating up a container of something.
She sighed. "I don't want to end up like Angel."
"Angel? What's ending up like Angel have to do with us playing Scrabble or not?"
"Nothing. The only Scrabble you'll be playing tonight comes in a box and involves little white cubes with letters on them, Jax," she said, smiling sweetly before changing the channel several more times.
"No, back up a setence. You said and I quote,'I don't want to end up like Angel'. What's wrong with Angel?" He turned away from the microwave while behind him the knob continued to turn, slowly.
She hesitated. She'd promised Angel, Tara, and Nanaki that she wouldn't mention the test's results or even her suspicions to Jax. It wasn't a suspicion anymore; he was also commanding and persuasive at the same time.
The microwave dinged. Jax opened it up and removed the container, pulling out a rat and dangling it over his mouth. He held there for a few moments as if debating then opened his mouth, dropping it in and sucking the tail in, too. He sunk his fangs into it with a smile.
"Angel's pregnant."
He gagged, spitting guts, blood, and clumps of fur onto the counter. He actually looked shocked at the mere thought of her pregnancy. He hadn't even noticed that his dead prey was all over the counter.
"Julius is the father?"
"Unless Angel's asexual."
"What are the odds of that?"
"Jax!"
"Now I'm going to have nightmares about the little terror until I die. Thank you very much. That was a perfectly good rat wasted on your stupid announcement, Tasha," Jax hissed, wiping his mouth on his sleeve before wiping the rat remains into the garbage.
"That's digusting. I don't care if you only do it twice a month; it's disgusting. It doesn't alarm you that those two are going to have a kid?" She clicked off the tv and stood.
Angel and Juilus are having a kid. The couple that throw spoons at each other and argue in different languages. Who understands anything when one argues in French and the other answers in Spanish? It was pointless and usually ended with both stalking off.
"Not really. Julius isn't a bad guy; Angel just brings out his worst."
"What about Angel?"
"I doubt that kid would screw her up that much more."
"Jax!"
Jax ate another rat.
X-Mansion's Gates (just beyond the front yard)
"Are things always that eventful here?"
"Sometimes worse." Tara smiled, slightly, remembering the look on each of the X-Men's faces at the announcement of Angel's pregnancy. She'd never seen Rogue so quick unhesitant to touch someone or Bobby so freaked. Bobby hadn't left his room since she'd given him her 'threat'. "I'm sorry about Logan. I don't think he's figured that I'm no longer a smart ass seventeen-year-old determined to ruin what little patience he has..."
"I think the guy has some issues to sort out. Does he always react that violently to your decisions?"
"Yep. I'm supposed to get his consent on everything especially anything that would change the course of my life. I'm also really sorry about Santiago. I didn't bring you over to spend three hours playing Nitendo."
Landon shook his head. "It's better then watching your brother catch flies or Nanaki clean her knife collection or my favorite, listen to Logan's explanation of how he'll kill me," he said, though there was little humor in any part of his statement.
Nanaki had cleaned her knife collection in front of him on several occassions while Mort caught flies by the dozen. It had been their first time together out of the Unreal World house. It almost made him want to end the relationship; they had split up for several months after the first time Logan threatened his life. They'd showed up at two a.m., semi-drunk and hardly understandable.
"Sorry...I was raised by people who condone violence. Mort and Nanaki think nothing of throwing a knife at me or Santiago if we deserve it; more often at their son. Mort took it rather well, didn't he?"
"He thought you were pregnant."
"I never said he was the brightest crayon in th box or the sharpest tool in the shed. He has Nanaki for that."
Landon looked worse if possible. "I'm actually more afraid of Nanaki then Celesta. Celesta normally has a reason or's just pissed off...Nanaki would make up a reason."
Tara scowled. "Nanaki's just protective."
"She's crazy, Tara."
"Protective."
"Crazy."
"Protective."
"Crazy."
"Protective; now shut up and go home."
"Crazy. Night, Tara."
"Protective. Good-night, Landon."
Tara? Angel's voice quiet and held the plaintive tone that was often used with Remy or someone else she wanted to charm into thinking she was sweet, innocent, or both. It failed.
Yes, Angel?
Remind me to kill Julius when he gets back from Canada.
Killing him won't help anything except make you a single mother and your child fatherless.
Fine. Remind me to let Remy kill him. We'll work on your wedding later. Rogue confinded me to stay the night here and I'm about to get rid of dinner.
I'll stay, too. Maybe I'll talk to Logan...later...yeah, a lot later.
Tara walked back inside but stopped at one of the bedroom doors, knocking loudly on it. "You two have done quite enough spying today. Santiago, whatever's on your mind, don't even think about it. Do you want me to call Nanaki?" She waited for an answer then smiled when the light went out. There was a beep from the inside, signifying that the two had at least tricked her self-created alarm into believing they were asleep. "Good-night, David, Santiago."
"Good-night, Aunt Tara!"