A/N: Hope you'll like this one ;) And I've just seen Captain America: Civil War so if you're into getting overly excited about a comic book movie, message me and we'll geek out together
Jade4839: Thank you sweetie! Jamie and Laura are too cute and Alex and Lorna will get their 15 minutes of fame in the future ;)
Chapter 5: I Have So Many Damn Things to Do but I Have Nothing That I Want to Do
Violette didn't really like being called over to the Professor's office. It always made her feel as if she was at Bayville High, getting ready for another lecture. She knocked on the doors and opened them, surprised to see not only the Prof but also Alex in there, both of them giving her inviting smiles.
'Weird.'
She sat down in the vacant chair, waiting for them to start.
"So, Violette, I've been thinking about forming a new team, since so many of new, more experienced mutants joined our ranks" The Professor folded his hands into a triangle, something that always made her feel even more uncomfortable. "The team in question would be led by Alex with a little help from you, since you have more field experience than the rest of the New Mutants."
"Wait" She was too slow to stop herself from saying something about the very real issue she saw there. "No offense, but Alex couldn't be more green if his name was Kermit the frog."
"Hey, dude!"
"So, why exactly is he the leader? And why am I even considered for a second in command? They are all more experienced than the both of us combined" She folded her hands over her chest. "Why aren't you promoting Ray? He's got his head on straight and he's already second in command in the Newbies, he knows how things work."
The Professor sighed, leaning back in his chair. His eyes turned more serious and his hands dropped back onto his lap.
"Yes, most of the newcomers are already after basic training, but there is one problem that keeps me from promoting any of them to the status of a leader anytime soon."
"Which is?" Alex slumped down into his chair, adjusting his hair. Violette couldn't help but notice that his tan was slowly coming off.
"Almost none of the students fully trust any of them, and the key to being a leader of a smaller team during a mass operation is-"
"Other leaders trusting your decisions" Violette shook her head. "Okay, that explains that. Still, why us?"
"Well, since Alex came to the institute at around the same time it might help them form bonds" He turned to Violette, his eyes piercing her soul. "You Violette, on the other hand, seem to have already bonded with… Some of them."
"I accidentally know them" She narrowed her brows, frowning. "You mean I'm just as trusted as they are?"
"Some students still have second thoughts about you joining the X-Men out of the blue."
"It wasn't out of the blue and we both know it" She stood up, ignoring the intensive way Alex was staring at her. "Fine, I accept. But Shark-bait over there has to be the one to tell the trained assassin that he's in charge."
"So, how do you feel?"
"I didn't want a promotion, Kurt" Violette brushed his hair back, sighing. "I want time to not do anything and not to be tied down to a job at the Institute."
"Oh" Kurt shifted, his tail tightening it's grip around her calf.
She knew him well enough to know that it wasn't about her promotion anymore.
"What is it?" She sat up, kicking the blanket off her legs and turning her whole body so that she was facing him completely.
"Nothing."
"It's not nothing if it's bothering you."
Kurt started to slowly twist his body, so that none of them fell off his bed while he mirrored her pose.
"Why don't you want to be tied down to the Institute?"
The question took her aback, quite literally since she almost fell off the bed thanks to it.
"Are you okay?" Kurt pulled her upright, rubbing her arm afterwards.
"Yeah, yeah, sure, I'm fine" She giggled, feeling a knot starting to form in her stomach.
"You don't look fine" He raised his brow, putting his other hand on her knee. "Come on, tell me."
"I just…" She sighed, rubbing her hands over her eyes. "Remember back when the mansion blew up?"
"Of course."
It wasn't the best time for their relationship. He couldn't trust her and she couldn't trust herself. The biggest mess she got in during her whole life.
"I wanted to quit" She looked up, clasping her hands in her lap. " Immediately. I thought that since Jamie was gone I had no reason to stay in the mutant world" Violette ran her fingers through his hair. "What if he wants to go somewhere else? What if he finds out that this whole superhero thing isn't for him? I need to be ready to leave as soon as he decides so, not have to wait for you to find a replacement."
"So" His fists clenched around the sheets and his tail wrapped around his waist. "There's nothing holding you back right now?"
"Kurt-"
"Exactly. Not to sound rude, but what about me?" His shoulders sagged a bit, making him appear smaller.
"You know I love you."
"But?"
"There's no buts. Yes, if Jamie wanted to leave, I'd leave with him, but while I'd drop the Institute, I wouldn't drop you."
"So, yeah."
St. John smirked, watching the blonde surfer squirm uncomfortably. John forgot his name once again – he should pay more attention, the guy is their leader after all – but at least he knew Violette a tiny bit.
Piotr took being bossed around by a bunch of kids far better than Gambit did. The humongous Russian went over and exchanged a few words with them, giving both Violette and the surfer his kindest smile. Gambit started to throw a tantrum, saying how he worked best on his own and how it was ridiculous that le enfant would be giving him orders. The crazy girl who almost pierced him with her claws thrice now just huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.
John just shrugged, went over to the teens, patted Violette on the back so hard she almost fell over and set the surfer's shoes on fire.
He was more aggressive than passive, unlike the crazy slicer over there. And he didn't really have the time for fits of anger. He asked Amara to come to his room and read the email he got from a publisher. He didn't have the courage to open it when it arrived, since for the first time in forever, he felt like what he wrote was very good. He decided to forget about the cheesy romance novels he only ever got to sell and focused on a sci-fi criminal he's been thinking about for years. Once he finished the first draft he wouldn't even let Amara take a look and instead slaved over it for weeks. And now, after finishing it and sending it out to an actual publishing company, he was panicking.
What if they thought it was garbage? How was he supposed to be a writer if he couldn't write, for fuck's sake?
John opened the door to his room and immediately got wind knocked out of him when Amara launched herself at his neck.
"You did it, John!" She was laughing, squeezing him mercilessly. "They liked it!"
His eyes widened as he rested his hands on her waist, what Amara meant finally getting to him.
He was going to have his book published. The one he was actually proud of. Published.
A wide smile spread over his face as he started to twirl her around, laughing along.
Violette sat on the floor of the gym, watching the New Mutants practice combat. Jamie was doing much better than when she first joined, but he's also grown quite a bit. She tended to forget about it, but now that Rahne was back, she could clearly see it.
Ray sat down next to her, panting. She passed him a water bottle, still having no idea why he wasn't in her place right now.
"Are you mad at me?"
He choked on the liquid and she started to slap his back.
"Now that's ridiculous" He started to laugh. "Why would I be?"
"I stole your job, basically."
Ray shrugged, watching as Bobby tripped Roberto and smirked.
"Not really" He turned to Violette, playing with his fingers. "I'm leaving in August."
"What?" Violette's hands fell down and she felt her head getting swarmed with a bunch of very different but equally terrifying ideas. "Why?"
"I'm going to college" He smiled. "Biochemistry major in UCLA. Minor in Society and Genetics."
"California?"
"It's warm and just far away enough for me not to be dragged into every minor mutant conflict" Ray put his hand on her shoulder. "You'll be great."
"You're leaving."
"Yes, and you have more friends than just me" Ray waved Sam over, tapping his shoulder and running over to train with Tabby. "Besides, you'll be good at the job!"
Laura took a deep breath and corrected her stance, before lunging at the punching bag, giving it her all. She already spent the last three hours at the gym, training mercilessly.
She wasn't sure why. She didn't have to anymore. She had a training schedule, just like everyone else at the Institute, and it didn't consist of as many hours as her HYDRA schedule did. She always waited for the scheduled meals. She didn't have to anymore. She could go to the kitchen and have a snack any time she wanted, but she didn't. She wasn't at the HYDRA training center anymore, but she still acted just like they wanted her to.
It was ridiculous. No one would punish her if she took a longer shower or drank an additional cup of water, but she still stuck to the five minutes she always got and the two liters a day she was always allowed.
The fact that she started school helped her a bit. It was a place with a clear set of rules, which collided with the HYDRA schedule. It gave her something she was comfortable with and helped her break out of her habits a bit. Still, the middle of the night training sessions were there to force her back into her previous mindset.
She'd go to sleep around eight, wake up at midnight, train for four hours, shower for five minutes and then go back to sleep at four, only to wake up around seven.
The Professor told her not to try to stop immediately. To maybe start cutting the time slowly, because it can not only mess up her mind, but also her sleep schedule completely.
She planned on getting to the bathroom at three thirty. She had half an hour left.
She tended to switch off during fights to, as the Professor said, detach herself from the bloodshed. Now the only thing she could think about during training is that she would have killed anyone who stood in her way just a few months earlier.
When the clock on the wall showed three thirty, she rushed to the elevator. Her throat was parched. Maybe she should try taking a sip of water. Or a full glass.
No.
A sip, then.
Laura slowly walked to the kitchen, feeling a dull ache in her wrist. She must have overworked it. She knew the pain will be gone completely by the time she went to bed, so she ignored it for the time being.
She turned the tap and put her hand under the thin trickle of water, before sipping the small amount.
"You know you can just take a glass out of the cabinet, right?"
Her instinct took over. She turned around, claws ready to struck when she felt something wet hit her back.
"Shit, sorry!"
Jamie ran past her, turning the knobs and she realized that while turning around she must have sliced the faucet off and now a steady stream of water was hitting her back.
Her claws retracted and she closed her eyes, steadying her breath.
She shouldn't have started ignoring her senses. Yes, living with a bunch of people who all smelled differently and whose hearts were beating in different rhythms made her head ache from sensory overload, but it was better than one day accidentally hurting someone.
"Sorry" Laura opened her eyes, sighing.
What was he doing up in the middle of the night? Of course it had to be him. The door is fourteen feet away from you, the window is two feet away, but the attacker is right next to it. Stop.
"Why are you up?" He asked once he turned off the water.
"Training" Jamie's only redeeming quality was that once he got a simple answer, he didn't force you to elaborate. "You?"
"Couldn't sleep" One of his drawbacks was that while you didn't have to talk, he concluded that someone had to and babbled on. "You know, Violette left the New Mutants to join you guys and it's weird, to know that I won't see her as much. Since I started High School we haven't really spend much time together. I started to learn French with Gambit to maybe have something to talk about but I'm a pretty slow learner" Not only was he talking, his voice cracked at random and his heart beat was crazy and it was all a cacophony to her ears. "Do you think that maybe I should just give up?"
Laura didn't understand what she had to do with the issue. She looked at the clock – three forty-five, so much for going to bed before four – and then finally faced Jamie.
"I don't know" She wasn't sure what he expected from her. "Why are you asking me?"
"I feel like we're kind of friends by now, you know" He chuckled, scratching the back of his head and Laura felt something twist inside her stomach. Friends. "And you're kind of rooming with her, so I guess you kind of also know her a bit but not too much? Cause I need an opinion but not from someone who has no idea what is going on."
Laura had no idea what was going on, but for some reason Jamie thought that once she stepped into Violette's room she became a psychic.
"I guess you shouldn't give up" She shrugged. "Worst thing that happens, you learn a new language."
"Thanks Laura" He walked over to a cupboard and took out a bar of chocolate. "Want S'mores?"
"What?"
"I'll show you."
And once Laura was holding a fork with a huge marshmallow at the end over the kitchen burner, while Jamie already put his between biscuits and chocolate – he huffed when he discovered that they ran out of Graham crackers – she thought that maybe he had more redeeming qualities.
Like the fact that instead of making her feel bad about not knowing things, he showed them to her.
"I don't want to be bossed around by kids" Remy threw down his cards, swearing as Rogue's turned out to be better.
"Language" Sam handed her the Monopoly currency, waving his finger at him.
"It could have been worse" Ray shuffled the cards, smirking. "Bobby could have been your leader."
"Oh, funny aren't we, Crisp?" Bobby narrowed his eyes. "You better watch out, wire-brain."
"See" Roberto nudged Bobby with his shoulder. "Alex at least can take a joke."
"Yeah, and he's four years younger than me" Remy grabbed his cards, sensing a theme in today's game. He exchanged four of them, leaving behind only Judith. He hoped she'd bring him luck.
"Touché" Rogue exchanged two cards, before raising the bid.
Remy passed, folding his cards and watched as once again, she took the prize.
It was his turn to shuffle. Remy lets his fingers linger on Judith and blew on the cards before dividing the deck into two.
"You should give them a chance" Rogue's foot knocked into his under the table. Remy looked at his cards and cheered mentally, seeing four Dames in his hands. He exchanged the lone two and got back an Ace of clubs. "They might surprise you."
Bobby, Sam and Ray passed. When they revealed their hands, Remy's four of a kind beat Rogue's flush and Roberto's straight. Remy's foot nudged Rogue's and she smiled, giving him a stack of Monopoly cash.