Wedding Dresses, Frills and Spills

By: Princess Erika

Chapter 7:

'He shouldn't have bragged about knocking a woman out before marriage like that,' Jean told herself stubbornly as she took a sip of sweet wine. She was debating the pros and cons of what had happened the previous day, from when she saw Scott till the moment she had left him. 'But maybe slapping him wasn't the best idea…'

Jean waited for Ororo in the hotel restaurant. They were supposed to have dinner together that night, bonding over exquisite Italian food, exchanging thoughts and advice, like they used to when Jean lived in Xavier's.

'That's weird… Ororo's never late,' Jean said to herself when she realized she has been waiting for almost half an hour. 'I wonder what held her back…' But all the answers seemed to pop in her head when she saw a familiar dark-haired man enter the restaurant… And he was approaching!

"Hey Jean," he smirked as he reached her table. "Ororo's not coming tonight. May I sit?" he asked, gesturing to the chair in across Jean. She nodded, looking a bit puzzled.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, trying her best to be polite. He smiled.

"Well, I told Kitty about what happened yesterday, and she told me how you were supposed to meet Ororo tonight. So she told me to come here and she'll take care of the rest. Surprisingly, she did." Jean simply rolled her eyes.

'Kitty,' she sighed. 'I should have known… So things haven't changed much since high school… Oh, I gotta apologize…' she told herself. After gathering up her courage, she started to speak. "Listen, about yesterday-" but she was cut off.

"Yes, about yesterday, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said the, er, things that I said." He paused for a moment, and called the waiter. He whispered something to the waiter, who nodded and went off to fiddle with the restaurant's music system. Not long after, the intro of Robbie Williams' "Better Man" started playing. "But you can show you apology by dancing with me." He smirked and held out his hand. "May I have the honor?"

Jean rolled her eyes and took his hand. He led her to the dance floor and they started moving to the music. 'My god, the last time we did this was… the Graduation Ball.' She recalled. She remembered every single thing that happened that day sadly, especially the part when it finally hit her that it was over.

Send someone to love me
I need to rest in arms
Keep me safe from harm
In pouring rain

They moved as one, in silence for a while. They were both in absolute bliss, and it didn't take a genius to figure that out. Neither of them spoke during the first few lines of the song, as if they wanted to enjoy the moment raw, just like that.

They seemed like the perfect fit, too, not too big an age or height difference, and they equaled each other out. His brown hair seemed to balance her flaming red hair and his dark chocolate eyes contrasted her deep emerald ones. Everyone else in the restaurant, from the customers to the waiters, watched them in awe, and everyone thought they were together. They really did seem like the perfect couple.

Give me endless summer
Lord I fear the cold
Feel I'm getting old
Before my time

The both of them seemed to feel extremely comfortable in each others' arms, and they were obviously enjoying spending time with each other and pretending like nobody else existed at that moment. But Jean decided to break the silence.

"Cute kid you have," Jean said, leaning back a little so she could look at Scott's eyes.

"Thanks," he smiled, his eyes lighting up. He obviously loved his daughter very much.

As my soul heals the shame
I will grow through this pain
Lord I'm doing all I can
To be a better man

"What's her name?" Jean asked curiously. She definitely found his daughter adorable, and she wanted to know more about the offspring of the man she once considered spending her whole life with.

He had a far-off look on his face, as if he was thinking deeply about whether to tell her or not, for some mysterious reason. He took a deep breath, and on his next exhalation, he said "Scarlet,"

Jean looked puzzled, trying to figure out why someone would name their daughter that, especially if Rogue was the child's mother. "Why Scarlet?" Jean asked quizzically.

Scott gave her a lopsided smile, a shy smile that a little boy who wanted something but was too shy to speak his thoughts might've gave. "Because she reminded me a lot of you, Redd…"

Go easy on my conscience
'Cause it's not my fault
I know I've been taught
To take the blame

Jean was trying to piece everything together and tried her best to hide her blush. She just let out a simple "oh".

"See, Rogue's real parents might've had red hair and green eyes too, because it's definitely not from my side of the family," he explained. "And she said she wanted me to name the baby so I gave her the first name that popped in my head…" Jean nodded.

Rest assured my angels
Will catch my tears
Walk me out of here
I'm in pain

He pulled her closer to him once again and breathed her in. 'She still smells like roses and rain with a touch of honey… A unique smell that's sophisticated and classic with a hint of sweetness… It's so unique to her, nobody else smells this good… Damn, Scott, you're getting married in 2 days! But I just hope this would last…'

As my soul heals the shame
I will grow through this pain
Lord I'm doing all I can
To be a better man

Jean wanted to nuzzle his neck so bad, but she had excellent self-control, thank god. She hasn't been that comfortable around someone in ages, and as much as she hated to admit it, he was the only guy she wanted to slow-dance or waltz with the past 12 years.

Once you've found that lover
You're homeward bound
Love is all around
Love is all around
I know some have fallen
On stony ground
But love is all around

'He still smells like he did back then,' she smiled and leaned in a little closer, trying to remember just how it smelled. 'Looks like some things never change.'

Send someone to love me
I need to rest in arms
Keep me safe from harm
In pouring rain

Nobody said anything at all, and they were both fine with that. They both enjoyed the silence, as if they thought the silence would make the feeling they were both enjoying linger for a while longer, even after the night was over.

Give me endless summer
Lord I fear the cold
Feel I'm getting old
Before my time
As my soul heals the shame
I will grow through this pain
Lord I'm doing all I can
To be a better man

After the song was finished, they both hid their disappointment and headed back to their table and finished ate their meals and sipped their wine while chatting about random things. When they finished, Scott paid the bill and walked Jean up to her hotel room.

"Can I see you again tomorrow?" he asked as soon as they reached the door of Jean's apartment. She lifted an eyebrow in confusion and tilted her head to the side. He then realized his blooper and tried to cover it up. "As friends, you know, to talk."

She smiled meekly and nodded. He mumbled something about picking her up at 10 in the morning and her waiting in the lobby, and with that, he left. She smiled a contented smile and entered her hotel room.

She took a bath and pulled and got ready to go to bed. After brushing her hair, she jumped on the bed and turned the lamp off. 'I think that tonight, after twelve years, I'll finally have a good night's rest.' She thought gladly before she drifted off to sleep.