Sorry, I'm not good with long chapters. Maybe it has to do with me not being a native English speaker… or me being impatient. Whatever it is, at least I'll try to update recently if you want to read it.

Anyway. Warning, Disclaimer and all that stuff is back at the first page.

Enjoy.

Planning Ahead

The idea started not long after Northstar… Mr Baubier started to teach in the Xavier Institute. The man was as uptight as they could get, and as arrogant as Julian. And that irked him. Julian instantly got a dislike for the man, and vice versa. The man saw him as a possible danger that had to be righted, and he had some very… strict methods he wanted to carry out. It was a great load of good luck he changed his advisor. Miss Frost at least understood him, and saw his ambition as an asset, and not something that would bring the next apocalypse… Not that it was so uncommon nowadays.

So he changed advisors, and not long after that… maybe in a days or twos time he got the idea. The guy always had some problem with him, so why shouldn't he give as good as he got? Sure, it would be a bit degrading and he would have to give up on Sofia for a little while, but offing Mr Baubier was all he wanted right now. Oh, he was out for his blood all right. And fate, it seemed, gave him a wonderful weapon.

It was no secret that Jean-Paul Baubier was gay. Everybody seemed to know everything about him the moment he arrived, and the rumors just seemed to multiply day by day. Of course, the man had written a book about being a gay superhero, so the school's gossip mill was only occupied with the whom, as in for whom he came here and accepted the job offer as a teacher. Julian snooped around a bit, and came up with virtually nothing. No preferences, no love interest, just the snappy attitude. And lets admit it, who wouldn't notice that attitude? The guy acted like he was the greatest gift from heaven, and you damned well appreciated it or he came swooping down and gave you hell for it. Julian knew this from personal experience, and that's why he decided to give back as good as he got. With a twist to it, of course.

Julian knew, that he couldn't do it straight. Northstar was a member of the teaching staff and going against him in front of the others wouldn't achieve a thing, and he also wanted to humiliate the bastard, and humiliate him as a teacher. He wanted to disgrace him and feed him his own medicine. He wanted him to let go of that disgusting pride of his, and he wanted it bad. So bad that he was ready to do technically anything to achieve that.

So he decided to do just what no other sane person would have done. He decided to start an affair with the man, and when they went far enough and Northstar was sure of his intentions, Julian planned to tell the staff about their affair and see him thrown out of school for starting an affair with a student.

The problem was, that Julian had no intention of getting close to the guy. He liked girls. He liked their curves, their fragility, their soft, high voice, long hair and breasts. And Jean-Paul Baubier had none of the above. Ok, maybe he had a slight build, but there were muscles, manly muscles, and no breasts. And Julian couldn't really imagine getting touchy-feely with a man, not to mention one who was at least ten years older than him. But as he seriously thought about it, he became quite sure, that keeping a distance while trying to seduce the guy was the best he could do.

Julian decided to think about it. He even went as far that he spent an afternoon at the library and had a good look at the book the guy wrote. The thing he realized was, that Baubier was not the type who got swept off his feet by getting groped and mauled – Julian guessed that the man was attracted to those who "treated him with respect and courted him like well respecting gentlemen". And as much as his skin crawled just by thinking about things like that, the idea had a certain appeal. If he courted the man from afar and kept his distance, he would be able to pull it off, and collect some courage for the time he had to get close to the guy. And, of course, he could do the first part secretly, sending roses to the man or some other sick girly stuff, and earning his affections without having to show his face. Which would be good, considering that the man would never believe his story of sudden infatuation nor the "I loved you secretly and masked my feelings by showing hate" tale. The man was a stuck-up bastard, but not a stupid one, so Julian knew that he had better to be careful, or he would be found out even before he started this little charade.

So he left the library and went back to his room, laid down on his back and started constructing his plan. He knew he needed roses. Guys like Baubier liked it. Chicks liked it, it was classy, so he must like it. So. Start with a rose, follow with other roses… and gifts. Gifts were important… He knew he wanted to give him gifts he would like, so he wouldn't have to fight for the guy's affections later. He had to secure his place before they met face to face, otherwise he wouldn't have a chance.

But he couldn't string this out for too long, as Baubier would get suspicious anyway. So he had to plan it carefully, and time it perfectly, otherwise he wouldn't be taken seriously. He had to watch the guy carefully, and plan at least a dozen scenarios, so he won't be surprised if the man did something unexpected. Or his reactions differed from the expected.

He stretched out his arms, then squirmed back in the comfortable position again, and started out planning. He had some free time on his hands, and he was anxious to start it all. So he decided that he would begin on the next day, and start it with a rose, just to get the man interested enough. And after getting his attention, it would be easier. Maybe he'd leave him a box of chocolates the next time, or a book filled with some fancy poems… They all would work.

Or… Maybe he could draw it out and send just a rose each day for a week, maybe leave it in different places each day, so he would be constantly surprised and off-balance, and waiting impatiently for the next gift and "token of love"… and maybe, he'd be just a little bit expectant. That was what he had to achieve. If he got Northstar interested, he had a chance to succeed.

He grinned to himself as he got more and more sure of himself. He could definitely pull it off.