If the stars

are not aligned,

I've always found

it best to tug them

into alignment.

-Faraway

In the months following the split with the others of the Mutant Underground, they'd built upon the way station. They'd already built two smaller buildings in order to accommodate the new mutants they'd saved from the safe houses. Sentinel Services had (understandably) cracked down on them after Lorna had torn the plane from the sky…

Clarice was now leaning against the side of the main building, watching as John carried large pieces of lumber back and forth. She knew she should've been helping with the construction or even wrangling some of smaller kids to keep them from being underfoot, but she couldn't look anywhere else…

His skin glistened with sweat (a telling indicator of how long he'd been working), biceps straining against the stupidly tight t-shirt that was already stretched across his broad back. Muscles flexed underneath the dark fabric in a way that left little to the imagination…

"So Clarice…" Lauren sidled up to her, arms folded across her chest.

She hummed but didn't look away.

"I have a question for you."

If Clarice hadn't been so distracted by his smile as he leaned down to talk to Norah, she might've heard the ominous tone in Lauren's voice. Instead, she only shifted her weight, eyeing him appreciatively as he tied his hair back, "Shoot."

"Have you two slept together or what?"

Clarice's face went red and she had the pleasure of seeing John nearly drop the stack of the lumber he'd just picked up, turning to the smirking girl. "Trust me, Lauren," she watched as he adjusted the weight in his arms and continued without looking in their direction, "it isn't for lack of trying."

Lauren's expression sobered, "What's going on?"

"He says we should wait…that now isn't the time." Clarice shrugged, "I can sort of see his point though. I mean, I've basically become one of the leaders since Lorna left…and there are other things…more important things, to take care of first."

The blonde's eyes seemed focused on a far-off point, "After Andy left…I looked back at the arguments that lead up to it. At the time, I'd thought that I could talk to him after we'd dealt with Campbell…but we never did." she blinked away the tears, "You both care for each other…I can see that."

Clarice looked down at her hands.

"Don't put this off because you think this isn't the time…make time." Lauren looked back at her, the pain of losing her brother just underneath the surface as she motioned to where Norah played with Zingo, "Why should you wait?"

She held the girl's gaze, seeing the pain that came with the not knowing what would've come with her relationship with her brother. Clarice glanced over where she'd last seen John, but he wasn't there. She sighed, running a hand through her hair, "I guess I'll go hunt down our fearless leader."

Lauren smiled, "Good luck."

Clarice made her way over to where Norah was playing with Zingo, smiling as the girl's laughter and dog's playful barks echoed through the clearing. It was good to see the little sliver of joy and light brought back to the Mutant Underground. She ruffled Zingo's ears when they both ran over to her, "You two having fun?"

Norah's blue skin shone beautifully in the sun when she looked up at Clarice, lips pursed and eyes searching. She blinked seconds later, having quickly come to a conclusion, "Are you looking for John?"

Clarice breathed out a laugh, "Yeah, I am. Did you see where he went?"

The girl's eyes flitted behind Clarice, "He said he was going to his room."

"I'll go find him then. Thanks, Norah."

Norah smiled, "Let's go Zingo!"

Clarice watched to play for only a moment, seeing a couple other children join them. For a moment, the days she'd spent with Mama D flashed through her mind and she remembered the favor she'd asked of Sonya. The sharp pain of their loss still ached like an old wound but seeing Norah happy helped. It reminded her that they just might get through this…

She shook her head of the thoughts, pulling open a portal and stepping through it in the same moment he came out of his connected bathroom, one of two rooms in the whole station to have one (a luxury everyone had silently agreed was something that both he and Marcos deserved after everything) and her mouth went dry…

He wore only faded jeans slung low on his hips, water from the shower dripping from his hair and trailing down his chest, one side of his mouth lifted as he grabbed a towel to dry himself off. "You wanted to talk?"

Clarice blinked once, twice before narrowing her eyes at him. That asshole. He knew the exact moment she'd come into his room and made a conscious effort to throw her off balance… He was trying to distract her… "Yes, so put a shirt on."

He chuckled, draping the damp towel over the back of a chair and doing as she said.

Clarice sat on the end of his bed, drawing one leg up and resting her chin on her knee with a frown. She hated the small flash of disappointment she felt when smooth tan skin disappeared under thin cotton and the urge she had to run her fingers through his hair and...God, did he even own a shirt that didn't look a size too small?

His teasing mood sobered, though, and he crouched in front of her.

It took her a moment to meet his eyes and when she finally did…

His eyes were soft, one hand resting on her knee. "What is it?"

There was something she'd learned about John in the last couple of months: that for his physical invulnerability and 'soldier' façade, he had one of the biggest hearts she'd ever seen. There wasn't anything he wouldn't do or sacrifice to protect another under his care, regardless of the cost to him. After a lifetime of being abandoned by everyone, Clarice had seen the trait as one of the first things that made her truly care for him. But right now? Right now, she might've slapped him if it wouldn't hurt her to do so. "I know you were listening, John so can you just cut it with the bullshit?"

He sighed, running a hand through his hair and getting to his feet.

She didn't move from her spot on the bed. If Clarice hadn't known any better, she would've pegged his current mood as nervous or even apprehensive, two things she wouldn't have associated with him. So she stayed back, waiting to see what he was going to say…

"Clarice," he ran a hand over his face, "you know we can't…"

She reached back, grabbed a pillow, and threw it directly at his face. Clarice was proud that he seemed shocked by the action, his expression one she'd wished she'd had a camera for, grinning up at him.

He picked it up and tossed it behind her, "Real mature."

"Worked didn't it?"

John frowned. "Clarice…"

She pushed herself off the bed, wrapping her arms securely around his neck. Clarice nearly smiled as his hands immediately rested on her hips, holding his gaze as intently as she could, pouring everything into her question, "What are your feelings for me?"

Never in a million years did she think she would be the one in the relationship to ask a question like that, but here she was. Clarice watched the emotions played out in his eyes, very nearly blushing at the awe pouring out of them and the hand that reached up to cup her face, swallowing thickly as he finally spoke.

"Indescribable."

She leaned into his touch, "Would it change anything?"

He rested his forehead against hers, and he breathed out, "No."

Clarice closed her eyes and just stood with him, feeling the warmth and safety of his arms around her. "I'm not trying to push you into something…" she swallowed, not sure how to voice the sad fact that those who'd claimed to care for her in the past had thrown her away and that even though the thought of John doing the same was an impossible one, a small part of her still feared it… "It's just…"

"I know," his voice was laced with sadness, his hold on her tightening, "I know that people have been cruel to you and I'm sorry you ever had to go through that, but I swear to you, Clarice…I won't ever abandon you."

Clarice sucked in a breath, pulling back to really look at him.

Those dark brown eyes carried the same intense heat they always did when looking at her, breaking down her defenses and peeling back every layer to expose her battered heart and broken trust…"You know that, don't you?"

Clarice nodded, brushing her fingers over the high arcs of his cheekbones. She wondered what he saw in her, this amazing man who'd stayed with her as her powers nearly tore down a building, who held her while she fell apart after finding out the fate of her foster family, who shielded her from a storm of bullets… She reached up, raking a hand through his hair, "I'm starting to figure that out, yes."

He leaned into her touch and closed his eyes for a heartbeat. A smile slowly spread across his face and he pulled her closer, hands sliding under her tank top and up her bare back as he drew her into a heated, breathtaking kiss.

She moaned against his mouth as he lifted her onto the desk, her hands grasping at the fabric of his t-shirt as warmth flooded through her. Clarice almost smiled at the pained groan that rumbled in his chest as her fingers brushed along the sliver of skin between the hem of his shirt and the waistband of his jeans, breathing heavy as he pulled back…

He didn't pause, lips trailing along her jaw and down the length of her throat.

Clarice gasped as he found her pounding pulse, her fingers using the hold on his shirt to pull him even closer until his hips hit the desk hard enough for it to rattle. She felt him smile into the curve of her neck before lifting his head and regarding her with darkening eyes full of both amusement and heat.

"Eager aren't we?"

"Shut up and take off your shirt."

He laughed, leaning down to whisper in her ear, "Only if you do."

Clarice held his gaze as she slowly pulled the tank top over her head, leaving her in a plain black bra. She smiled at the hunger in his roaming eyes, reaching behind her and undoing the clasp. With bated breath, Clarice shrugged it off and tossed it behind her

A word in an unfamiliar language spilled from his mouth, "De'nzhone'…"

Clarice blushed, not needing a translation to read his body language as she leaned forward and tugged on his belt loops. She grinned as he met her halfway, gasping as his hands grasped the back of her thighs and pressed her bare chest flush against his. Wrapping her legs around his waist, Clarice's hands found purchase on his neck, his shoulder, his back…reveling in the feeling of muscles flexing under her palms…

He lifted her with ease, taking three long strides before laying her back onto the mattress. His lips never left hers as they both kicked off their shoes and socks, the rest of the clothing soon following.

For the first time in a long time, Clarice let herself sink into another person…to give herself completely in a way she'd never done before. She smiled as their kisses deepened and exploratory touches grew bolder, gasping with each roll of his hips and when her world shattered in a kaleidoscope of brilliant whites and golds Clarice came to the to the (not so startling) conclusion that she loved this man.

And she had a feeling he felt the same.