Disclaimer: I own none of the characters within.
Author's Notes: And Melting Point comes rising out of the grave, a newly-awoken vampire with a thirst for reviews!
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When night comes, there's nothing to be done. No amount of human effort can bring back the sun. No amount of wishing, hoping, working, fighting, screaming, or crying can make the dawn come any faster than it normally does. The darkness will settle, the stars will come out, and night will rule the earth. For ten hours or so, the moon is the ice queen, ruling from the sky, holding back her cousin the sun and keeping the world in shadow. Her servants, the stars, watch impassively, diamond-cold and diamond-hard, but also diamond-beautiful, a daunting maze of constellations. Hundreds and hundreds of years ago, someone somewhere looked up into the pit, and instead of being afraid of eternity, he said, "I see a dragon." And there were others, perhaps encouraged by this act of bravery, who said, "I see a crown." "I see a hunter." "I see a big dipper."
So humankind learned to endure the night by making it into a spectacle, a time to be enjoyed. There were telescopes and midnight rendezvouses, and children craved the opportunity to stay awake as late as possible, not knowing that really the best part of sleep is that one does not have to face the night.
Even with all of this, night is still a looming shadow over the world. There's no escaping it, there's no denying it. Night will come, no matter who you are or where you live. Night will find you. And night will turn out the lights.
- - -
Night was approaching. Her herald, dusk, was performing his duty and driving the sun down to the horizon. Inexorably, sun had no choice but to retreat, forced off the edge of the world.
When it was time for a late dinner, very little had been accomplished. Erik spent a long time in the med lab with Hank. The idea was that a powerful tranquilizer might be able to slow Pietro down long enough for them to lay a hold on him, but even once they accomplished that, they had no idea where to go next. Tensions were high; Hank was clearly furious with Erik for his abuse of his own child, and Erik was so furious with himself that every other sentence out of his mouth was something bitter and self-degrading.
In the meantime, after a curt phone call from Wanda, Logan had driven the boys back to the Brotherhood house to reclaim her. She said nothing to them while they packed their bags for a stay at the Mansion, she said nothing to them on the drive back, and while they were getting settled into the guest rooms, she said, "I miss him."
And nothing more.
Dinner was as silent as the grave.
Most of the X-Kids ate quickly and quietly. Only Kitty said anything, and it was, "Rogue, it's your turn." It was movie night. Everyone took turns choosing films, and apparently, Kitty was the only one who kept track. Rogue said, "Okay." The silence came again, accompanied by the gentle percussion of forks clinking on plates.
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There was a boy
A very strange, enchanted boy
They say he wandered very far
Very far
Over land and sea
And then one day
One magic day he passed my way
And while we spoke of many things
Fools and kings
This he said to me:
"The greatest thing you'll ever learn
Is just to love and be loved in return."
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Almost all the kids gathered in the enormous television room to watch the movie. Rogue put in the DVD, and up came the title menu for Moulin Rouge!
"No." said Wanda flatly, rising to her feet. "I can't watch this."
"What's wrong?" Scott also stood, his hands out in a placating gesture. "Is something wrong?"
"I can't watch it." she insisted, eyes riveted on the screen, on the Green Fairy.
Everyone shifted uncomfortably. Most of the new recruits didn't even want to be in the same room as the Brotherhood but had been lured by the smell of freshly-microwaved popcorn, and were now seated in clumps on several different couches. Todd and Freddy were sitting on the floor, while Scott, Jean, Wanda, and Lance had all been seated on the same couch. At the back of the room lurked Johnny, his hands jammed in his pockets, standing in a corner with his head ducked down like it could turn him invisible.
"Why can't you watch it?" Jean asked gently.
"I can't, not without him."
"Him..." echoed Todd bitterly, and then he said, "Can-can dancers."
The Brotherhood had an almost telepathic moment, as the same memory came to all of them. It was from just the day before, in the morning, when Pietro sprang onto the kitchen table and performed as a can-can dancer while insisting enthusiastically to Wanda that she absolutely must see Moulin Rouge!
"He wanted to show it to me." Wanda insisted, her voice trembling. "I can't watch it now."
And then a silence seized everyone like a strangling hand closed around their throats. The new recruits exchanged fearful glances. Scott looked at Jean, helpless. Todd and Freddy looked at Lance, helpless. And Johnny growled, "Russian roulette." in a voice so low that only Evan and Lance heard him.
Suddenly, and without anyone seeming to see her walk over there, Rogue was standing next to Wanda, taking her arm and saying, "Sugar, I think he'd say it's okay." When the twin gave her a stricken look, she continued. "It's a movie that'll make you think of him, right? Don't you think he'd like that?"
No answer. Then, a tiny nod.
"I thought so. Let's watch the movie. You can sit next to me, okay?"
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Wanda thought, this isn't that great. She sat between Rogue and Lance, trying to focus on the kaleidoscope of the film, but her mind was elsewhere. One hand was in her pocket, fingering the mysterious note from Pietro. It said: Come What May. But what did it mean? She didn't know. She tried to think if she'd heard him say it before, in a poem, in a riddle, in a song...
Wait!
The morning of can-can dancers and singing boys... Pietro and Lance had gotten into a sort of competition, singing all the songs that were apparently in this movie, and Lance had sung, "Come what may!"
She sat up straighter, nudged Rogue and hissed, "Is there a song in the movie with the words 'come what may'?"
Lance glanced at her sharply, and Rogue said, "Yeah." A pause. "It's in this next scene, if you just wait a second."
Waiting had never been so difficult. Wanda fidgeted like a five-year old on Pixie Stix, impatiently willing the star-crossed lovers to hurry up with their declarations of devotion and start with the singing already!
Her ears caught the beginning of a wistful piano chord. Her whole body went rigid with anticipation, and she grabbed Lance's knee in such a vise-like grip that he gasped in surprise.
The picture blurred before her eyes, and there was Pietro reaching across the void, sending her a message with a song because he couldn't tell her face to face. A voice sang clear and strong:
Never knew I could feel like this
Like I've never seen the sky before
Seasons may change, winter to spring
But I'll love you until the end of time
Come what may
Come what may
I will love you until my dying day
Suddenly the world seems such a perfect place
Suddenly it moves with such a perfect grace
Suddenly my life doesn't seem such a waste
It all revolves around you
And there's no mountain too high, no river too wide
Sing out this song and I'll be there by your side
Storm clouds may gather and stars may collide
But I'll love you until the end of time
Come what may
Come what may
I will love you
The greatest thing you'll ever learn
Is just to love and be loved in return
Come what may
Come what may
I will love you until my dying day!
By the time the song was over, Wanda's face was buried in Lance's shoulder and she was crying so hard that she could hardly breathe. Todd was crying but trying to hide it because big boys don't cry. Lance wept openly, his tears falling into Wanda's hair and becoming lost. Rogue looked like she wanted to weep but was unable to. Evan was staring at them, trying to understand, trying to decode the secret message. Scott looked away, embarrassed. Jean put a comforting hand over his. The rest of the new recruits pretended that nothing was happening, just kept watching the movie. In his secret corner, Johnny's eyes were glassy and his hands were twitching. He was in the middle of problems of his own.
Then Wanda was bolting from the couch and Lance was bolting after her and Todd was curling up on the floor like a lost puppy and Rogue was laying back and closing her eyes and Scott was clearing his throat and Bobby was saying, "This is a depressing movie."
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Out in the hall, Lance caught Wanda's arm and used her own momentum to spin her into his arms, where he caught her and held her like a bird he was terrified would fly away. There was a split-second of this feather-light containment. Then Lance was crushing her to him, his embrace fierce and protective. For a few minutes, everything was tears. Deep, gasping sobs and desperate streams of tears that seemed to have no end and could have certainly watered a whole garden. Only after all of this emotion had released its steam could they speak.
"He was sending me a message..." Wanda said softly.
"Tell me." Lance asked.
She looked up at him and he lowered his eyes respectfully, a silent acknowledgment that if the message was too personal, she didn't have to tell him anything. This respect warmed her heart.
"He left me a note." she explained. "He left you a note about the X-Men, and he left me a note that said 'come what may.'"
"Oh." said Lance quietly.
"I had never seen the movie, so I didn't know what it meant." she confessed. "I thought I might have known and forgotten. But just now, it was like, it was like..." A short, overwhelmed laugh. "It's like he was talking to me! He was telling me that... that it's all gonna be okay."
"I'm glad." he said honestly, voice thick with emotion.
And they went back inside to watch the movie.
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Listen to my heart: can you hear it sing?
Come back to me and forgive everything!
Seasons may change, winter to spring
But I'll love you until the end of time
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When the movie was over, there were very few dry eyes in the room. Most were crying over the emotional finale of the movie, but one person was not.
Wanda was crying in fear. She was terrified, absolutely terrified. Pietro's message took on a whole new meaning when coupled with the ending of the film. She hated it, wished she had never seen it in the first place. Then "come what may" wouldn't be joined by the horrific "I'll always be with you." and death, separation, and loss.
Once again helpless, Lance could only put his arms around her and shush her uselessly, saying in a stupid voice, "It's gonna be okay."
Everyone departed to their rooms. The Brotherhood boys had been piled into one guest room. Wanda and Erik each had a room of their own. The two of them met in the hallway, him coming up from the med lab, her heading up to sleep. A simmering glare passed from daughter to father. A heartfelt gaze reached back in the opposite direction, but she broke the connection before his message could get through.
Pajamas were put on. Bedside lamps were turned out.
Scott went into the kitchen to put the popcorn bowls in the sink, to be washed out tomorrow morning by someone other than himself. Maybe Jean would do it. As he turned to leave the kitchen, he saw the pantry doors were open. There were empty bags and boxes all over the place. A note was taped to the pantry door. He crossed over to it on stocking feet, sneak, sneak, sneak. Plucked it off the door like a petal off a flower. This is what it said.
Still here.
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