"I Tried"
Furor Paxx )
Chapter 26- Setting the Stage
Scott sat at the table in the kitchen and watched Lance stumble around the kitchen with a bemused smile. It took Lance a long time to coordinate himself in the mornings, and since Scott was used to getting up early, he came down to watch Lance at his worst. Lance knew perfectly well why Scott was always the second person to wake up, and as much as it annoyed him, he decided it was worth watching Scott try to stay up late. Such attempts had been marked by failure, no one in the Brotherhood went to bed before midnight except Scott. He barely lasted until ten. Lance suspected that if he took a page out of Summer's book and went to bed earlier, he wouldn't feel like hell in the mornings, but couldn't bring himself to change.
After Lance spilled the coffee grounds for the fourth time in a row, Scott shook his head and took the scoop out of his hands. "Maybe you shouldn't stay up so late."
Lance glared at Scott. Maybe Jean's mutant power had rubbed off on him... "Quiet."
"Seriously, Lance. Caffeine and little sleep isn't good for your health."
"Said quiet." Lance grumbled and dropped into the chair that Scott had just gotten out of.
"How about you take out your anger on the others. Breakfast will be done in about 45 minutes." Lance grumbled some more, but got up to wake the other mutants up.
It had been almost a year since Scott and Kurt left the Institute. Since then, they all had fallen into a routine. Lance got up first to make coffee and then wandered into the garden until Scott, the second up, got done fixing breakfast. Freddy was usually in the kitchen by then and Todd followed a little while after. Todd got the dishes out, Freddy distributed food and by the time the four of them got done eating, Pietro and Kurt came downstairs. The clean-up was left to them and everyone else left to do whatever Brotherhood-ly things they did every day. That usually involved rushing to get the last bit of homework done and racing to school, but on weekends, life slowed down slightly. Wanda came and went- she seemed to live off junk food and Scott kept a cupboard filled especially for her. Needless to say, she adored Scott. He stayed out of her way, and when she happened to start a conversation with him, he didn't make up dumb excuses to escape. Most of his excuses were legitimate. The food only made him rise in her eyes and he was the only person in the house who hadn't been on the bad end of her hex bolt. The X-Men left them alone except for when Rogue visited Kurt and sometimes they got a glimpse of Kitty and Lance on a date.
In fact, the Brotherhood had calmed down tremendously and fallen into a series of habits. The household ran by rote on the weekdays, but weekends and holidays were another story entirely.
Scott was just thinking about that as he took the toast out of the toaster when Todd came in the kitchen.
"Hey, what day is today?" Todd asked Scott in a vague voice. Todd's eyes were unfocused and the way he was walking made Scott wonder if he had been smoking or something.
"Saturday. Are you alright? I mean, usually it's someone asking you what day it is, not the other way around."
"Um... Yeah." Todd said with absolutely no conviction.
"Hey, Scott... I think Kurt's sick. He's hiding under the blanket and Pietro said he's been acting weird since Thursday." Lance stumbled back into the kitchen and glared his hatred at the pot of coffee on the stove.
"Huh? Kurt's sick?" Scott looked at Todd, trying to tell if he looked sick too. The problem was that Todd always looked sick. "How about you Todd? Think you're sick?"
"Oh no... not at all. I haven't been there in ages."
Scott and Lance eyed the wobbly, glassy eyed mutant with trepidation. It wasn't flu season, allergy season was almost over... there wasn't any reason for the two of them to be sick. "If it's contagious, we're doomed. You know that right?" Lance winced and scratched his arm. It was a nervous habit he had developed a long time ago, but worked hard to hide.
"If it's contagious, we're going to have to hope Pietro either got it and recovered fast, or that he gets it next. I suspect that we'll all get it before long, and 'Tro's the only one who can take care of us. We should quarantine them, just in case. Call Rogue and tell her there might be something going around. I'll go check on Kurt." Scott headed to the door, but paused. "Have you seen Freddy?"
At the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters, Rogue put the phone down and sighed. "Kurt and Todd are sick." She said to Jean, who had been next to her when she picked up the phone. "They can't figure out what's wrong."
"Maybe we should take them some medicine." Jean suggested.
"No, I would have offered, but Lance said whatever it is might be contagious, since he's still feeling like..." Rogue paused before she could quote Lance directly. "bad. Still feeling bad."
Jean frowned slightly. "Well, I guess we should tell the Professor that something's going around."
"Right." Rogue agreed. They both eyed each other, waiting to see who would make the first move, either to the door or to the Professor.
"You realize you could just tell him telepathically, right?" Rogue suggested with a hint of malice in her voice.
"Oh, I could, but I think you need the exercise." Jean's voice was just as deadly.
"Actually, I've noticed you gaining a little weight, Red. Might be why Scott left you for that stripper. Very streamlined..."
The temperature dropped a few degrees as Bobby walked through the hall behind them.
"At least I had a boyfriend, Skunkstripe, unlike some people I know who just stare at other people's boyfriends with puppy-dog eyes."
"That would hurt, except for the small little detail that you ran your boyfriend straight into the enemy's arms, darlin' and guess what. You don't what happens at the Brotherhood, so you don't know who your precious Scott's been doin."
That struck a nerve in Jean. "What's that supposed to mean?" She hissed at Rogue through clenched teeth.
Rogue turned away and flicked her hair at Jean. "Nothin, Red. Nothin."
Jean whirled in the other direction, and they both marched away. Jean was halfway to her room when she realized that Rogue had gone straight to the Brotherhood, just like she was planning on doing. With a curse that was most unlike her, Jean raced to her room and slammed the door with as much force as she could.
Furor Paxx )
Chapter 26- Setting the Stage
Scott sat at the table in the kitchen and watched Lance stumble around the kitchen with a bemused smile. It took Lance a long time to coordinate himself in the mornings, and since Scott was used to getting up early, he came down to watch Lance at his worst. Lance knew perfectly well why Scott was always the second person to wake up, and as much as it annoyed him, he decided it was worth watching Scott try to stay up late. Such attempts had been marked by failure, no one in the Brotherhood went to bed before midnight except Scott. He barely lasted until ten. Lance suspected that if he took a page out of Summer's book and went to bed earlier, he wouldn't feel like hell in the mornings, but couldn't bring himself to change.
After Lance spilled the coffee grounds for the fourth time in a row, Scott shook his head and took the scoop out of his hands. "Maybe you shouldn't stay up so late."
Lance glared at Scott. Maybe Jean's mutant power had rubbed off on him... "Quiet."
"Seriously, Lance. Caffeine and little sleep isn't good for your health."
"Said quiet." Lance grumbled and dropped into the chair that Scott had just gotten out of.
"How about you take out your anger on the others. Breakfast will be done in about 45 minutes." Lance grumbled some more, but got up to wake the other mutants up.
It had been almost a year since Scott and Kurt left the Institute. Since then, they all had fallen into a routine. Lance got up first to make coffee and then wandered into the garden until Scott, the second up, got done fixing breakfast. Freddy was usually in the kitchen by then and Todd followed a little while after. Todd got the dishes out, Freddy distributed food and by the time the four of them got done eating, Pietro and Kurt came downstairs. The clean-up was left to them and everyone else left to do whatever Brotherhood-ly things they did every day. That usually involved rushing to get the last bit of homework done and racing to school, but on weekends, life slowed down slightly. Wanda came and went- she seemed to live off junk food and Scott kept a cupboard filled especially for her. Needless to say, she adored Scott. He stayed out of her way, and when she happened to start a conversation with him, he didn't make up dumb excuses to escape. Most of his excuses were legitimate. The food only made him rise in her eyes and he was the only person in the house who hadn't been on the bad end of her hex bolt. The X-Men left them alone except for when Rogue visited Kurt and sometimes they got a glimpse of Kitty and Lance on a date.
In fact, the Brotherhood had calmed down tremendously and fallen into a series of habits. The household ran by rote on the weekdays, but weekends and holidays were another story entirely.
Scott was just thinking about that as he took the toast out of the toaster when Todd came in the kitchen.
"Hey, what day is today?" Todd asked Scott in a vague voice. Todd's eyes were unfocused and the way he was walking made Scott wonder if he had been smoking or something.
"Saturday. Are you alright? I mean, usually it's someone asking you what day it is, not the other way around."
"Um... Yeah." Todd said with absolutely no conviction.
"Hey, Scott... I think Kurt's sick. He's hiding under the blanket and Pietro said he's been acting weird since Thursday." Lance stumbled back into the kitchen and glared his hatred at the pot of coffee on the stove.
"Huh? Kurt's sick?" Scott looked at Todd, trying to tell if he looked sick too. The problem was that Todd always looked sick. "How about you Todd? Think you're sick?"
"Oh no... not at all. I haven't been there in ages."
Scott and Lance eyed the wobbly, glassy eyed mutant with trepidation. It wasn't flu season, allergy season was almost over... there wasn't any reason for the two of them to be sick. "If it's contagious, we're doomed. You know that right?" Lance winced and scratched his arm. It was a nervous habit he had developed a long time ago, but worked hard to hide.
"If it's contagious, we're going to have to hope Pietro either got it and recovered fast, or that he gets it next. I suspect that we'll all get it before long, and 'Tro's the only one who can take care of us. We should quarantine them, just in case. Call Rogue and tell her there might be something going around. I'll go check on Kurt." Scott headed to the door, but paused. "Have you seen Freddy?"
At the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters, Rogue put the phone down and sighed. "Kurt and Todd are sick." She said to Jean, who had been next to her when she picked up the phone. "They can't figure out what's wrong."
"Maybe we should take them some medicine." Jean suggested.
"No, I would have offered, but Lance said whatever it is might be contagious, since he's still feeling like..." Rogue paused before she could quote Lance directly. "bad. Still feeling bad."
Jean frowned slightly. "Well, I guess we should tell the Professor that something's going around."
"Right." Rogue agreed. They both eyed each other, waiting to see who would make the first move, either to the door or to the Professor.
"You realize you could just tell him telepathically, right?" Rogue suggested with a hint of malice in her voice.
"Oh, I could, but I think you need the exercise." Jean's voice was just as deadly.
"Actually, I've noticed you gaining a little weight, Red. Might be why Scott left you for that stripper. Very streamlined..."
The temperature dropped a few degrees as Bobby walked through the hall behind them.
"At least I had a boyfriend, Skunkstripe, unlike some people I know who just stare at other people's boyfriends with puppy-dog eyes."
"That would hurt, except for the small little detail that you ran your boyfriend straight into the enemy's arms, darlin' and guess what. You don't what happens at the Brotherhood, so you don't know who your precious Scott's been doin."
That struck a nerve in Jean. "What's that supposed to mean?" She hissed at Rogue through clenched teeth.
Rogue turned away and flicked her hair at Jean. "Nothin, Red. Nothin."
Jean whirled in the other direction, and they both marched away. Jean was halfway to her room when she realized that Rogue had gone straight to the Brotherhood, just like she was planning on doing. With a curse that was most unlike her, Jean raced to her room and slammed the door with as much force as she could.