Cheshire & Canuckle ... I'll just say thank you for the reviews. Oh ... and thanks for just about everything else ; ) these chapters are fun to write, seeing as how I never really thought I'd write them, but they still only get this great after your input and advice. So again ... THANK YOU.
"I'm not doing that." Apex rumbled for what felt like the hundredth time that morning ... no make that afternoon.
"Well then I really don't know what else to tell you because that's it. I'm done." Scott tossed his hands up in surrender. And he had thought Logan was stubborn ...
"You guys figured it out?" Jubilee asked excitedly as she tossed her bookbag on the floor and pulled up a seat next to the table Scott and Apex had been standing around in a corner of the library. Apex just growled a little bit as Scott let out a bark.
"Hardly ... everything is either 'not enough' or 'not Greer' ... and honestly, I actually have classes to teach." Scott checked his watch and giving his head a shake headed towards the doors. Apex didn't bother saying goodbye ... Scott hadn't exactly been much help. Not unless a 'teddy bear' was actually a thing ...
"But - Jean said we were supposed to help him!" Jubilee turned in her chair to give Scott a dirty look but he just gave her a mock salute.
"Missions all yours." The teenager just watched Scott until he turned a corner and was gone before turning back around in her chair with a huff. Typical ... leave two guys to figure out what a girl wanted and all they end up doing is getting mad at each other.
"Alright ... forget him. You got me now ... now let's see ..." Apex just glanced over with a raised brow as the small asian teen started pacing and listing off possibilities, practically having a conversation with herself. He had wondered more than once why Logan let her hang around with him so much and it seemed he was finding out first hand ... he likely didn't have much say in the matter.
"Well what about that? Any of those ideas sound like something Greer would like?" Jubilee had gone on for a good five minutes before realizing Colton might have an opinion on something.
"Well I ... really don't know." Apex finally rumbled. Jubilee smiled ... she loved how this guy talked.
"OK, well what's worked before?"
"I never got her anything before ..." He looked back over to see clear shock on Jubilee's face.
"How have you never - I mean not even ... this is Greer we're talking about right?" Apex just nodded his head and Jubilee dragged a hand down her face. This was going to be harder than she thought.
"Well I don't know about you but I need something to eat. Can't think right on an empty stomach. C'mon big guy." Jubilee gave Apex a nudge and considering how hungry he was he really didn't see much point in arguing.
...
Greer was in the midst of walking briskly, window-shopping, and feeling pretty damn miserable. The weather seemed to agree with her as outside the March sky was overcast and blustery. She took another pull from her hot chocolate as she gave it another look before catching sight of an empty mall bench. With a sigh, she made her way to it before plopping herself down with a huff.
'How could he forget?' she growled to herself. He was a mutant able to identify a person by their gait ... memorize the layouts of huge facilities in minutes ... recite whatever textbook he had been reading that day and yet ...
'Yet he couldn't even remember my birthday. What in the actual hell...'
The tigress groaned before lowering her head into her hands and rubbing her temples. Today had been going so well. Why did Colton have to forget? She honestly thought he'd ... God, even Billy her ex remembered her birthdays. And Billy had the memory of a goldfish. She used to joke it was too many basketball hits to the head. She had higher hopes for Colton ... Billy ... Colton ...
'Gah! No. No… Not going to be miserable on my own birthday. Stupid boys.' Greer told herself with conviction before getting back up and heading towards one of her more preferred shops.
"If Colton wants to forget, let him forget. His loss, not mine. I'll just make him pay for all the things I'm going to buy. It'll burn such a big hole through his bank account he'd never dare to forget." Greer mumbled to herself before realizing the flaws in that. First of all Colton didn't have a bank account. Second of all ... considering his background ... was getting this mad at Colton really fare?
Greer frowned.
Birthday parties in Weapon X seemed highly unlikely. The tigress sighed before finally cracking a small grin. She could see the big guy being all droopy eared and growly. That made her small grin a little wider … before giving her head a sharp shake.
"No ... you don't get off that easy you big, furry, jerk." Greer growled. Turning the corner mid-stalk only freeze in surprise as three very familiar people leaped in front of her.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"
"GAAAH!" Greer covered her mouth as the entire mall seemed to stop at the sudden roar as her friends seemed to be in a mix of shock and barely controlled giggles. Speaking of friends ... one of them was clearly out of place with the other two.
"Wow ... thanks. That was just what I needed Jean, Betsy… and Jemma?" the tigress raised a surprised eyebrow as the three just kept grinning.
"How did you get here with them? And how did you escape from Coulson?"
The brunette grabbed her friend's arm cheerfully.
"Simple actually. I was working with Fitz on this new project. It's quite remarkable actually. I mean I lay the foundation but Fitz just took it to a whole new level of-"
"Cut to the chase." The three other women said dryly, causing Simmons to blush.
"Right. Sorry. Well so we were working and then I got the strangest phone call from the Xaiver Institute. You know, a completely regular school for gifted youngsters and not for mutants with amazing powers that I would love to study and research on-"
"Oh so you two made the call." Greer cut in, grinning at Jean and Betsy. "Well this is awesome. I've always wanted to introduce you guys to each othe-"
"We didn't make the call." Betsy looked to Jean who shook her head in agreement.
"We were coming to surprise you when Betsy caught Simmons hear practically screaming your name in her head. So we approached her and since she's established that you two are pretty good friends and we know she's not some Weapon X or SHIELD solider ready to throw a net on you," Jean calmly explained.
"We thought it harmless if she, you know tagged along…" Betsy finished with a shrug. Greer arched an eyebrow before turning back to the brunette.
"So Jemma ... how did you know to find me here?"
The brit scratched her head.
"Not sure actually, I did ask for his name ... Give me a moment ... Was it Harris? Harold?"
The three other women just looked at each other in confusion before Simmons snapped her fingers when the answer struck her.
"Ah yes. Haynes. He referred to himself as Haynes," Simmons explained as Jean and Betsy looked back to Greer.
"Oh that clever boy ..." the raven haired girl was trying to fight the grin fighting to appear on her face. So even if she had forbade him from following her ... he'd still found a way to make sure she wasn't alone ... on her birthday ...
"Speaking of that ... we're really sorry Greer," Jean grabbed her best friends hand, "you know we'd never forget your birthday. Honest." The grin wasn't a problem anymore as Greer resumed her scowl.
"Don't remind me." The three friends shared a look at the tigress' tone before Simmons took control of the situation.
"Well that's why we're here ... right? Let's just forget this morning and make this the best birthday afternoon you've had!" Greer couldn't help it ... this girl's enthusiasm was contagious.
"She's right," Jean took her other arm as Betsy walked beside Simmons, "now ... where to first?" Greer pondered for a moment before the smell hit her.
"Burgers ... definitely burgers." All four laughed and started towards the food court.
"Burgers it is for the birthday girl."
...
The kitchen was basically empty when the Apex and Jubilee got there. Just a few students, Ororo and Hank talking by the window over tea, and Remy busying himself on the stovetop. Jubilee headed over to the trays to see what she could scrounge as Apex headed towards the fridge.
"What's the problem panthère? You look as if someone has stolen your tail." Remy kept his eyes on the cajun stew he was gently working in the pan as Apex just glowered, pulling out some leftover chicken from the previous day he had stuck in the back for safekeeping.
"Greer's mad at me." Apex turned to rest against the counter as Remy let out a knowing sigh.
"Yes ... that can happen. But don't be too upset ... women only really get mad at the men they like." The cajun gave his food a taste before reaching for more seasoning. Marie liked her creole spicy ...
"Does Rogue get mad at you?" Remy let out a laugh, shaking his head as he gave the pot another stir.
"Rogue get's mad at ol' Remy everyday. Let's me know I'm doin' somethin' right ... course it helps that I know what the femme wants." Now the cajun had his attention ...
"And what is it that Rogue wants?" Remy gave the panther a sidelong glance and a smile.
"Well food of course."
"Food?" OK now Apex was confused. I mean sure food was necessary and could taste good but ...
"You ever hear the phrase, 'the way to a man's heart is through his stomach?'" Remy reached behind him for some bowls.
"No ..." Apex rumbled. He was always not getting these ridiculous sayings.
"Well good. Cause that bullshit. Remy knows that the way to anyone's heart is through their stomach. You feed a girl somethin' she loves ... something she craves ... and you make with your own hands ... there ain't nothin' betta." Remy emptied the pot into the two bowls, sprinkling on some final pieces before heading towards the door.
"And that really works?" Remy paused for just a moment to look back at the tall feral, his well known smirk in place.
"Everytime," and with a quick bow of his head the cajun headed up to his waiting amant, leaving Apex with his thoughts. After considering it for a moment he went upstairs to grab his tablet before quickly returning to the kitchen.
"Jubilee ..." the teen slurped up a noodle as she looked up at Apex.
"Yuh hu ..."
"Do you know where to get these things?" Jubilee reached out and took the tablet as she kept munching on her pasta, her brows furrowing as she ran down the list. Duck ... vegetables ... rosemary ... potatoes ...
"What on earth is ..." her question died out as she scrolled up to see the title of the webpage she was on. Her face going from momentary confusion to uncontrollable excitement in seconds.
"Oh my god that's perfect!" Jubilee had her eyes closed ... oh god Greer was gonna lov - "wait ... you can cook right?" Jubilee had seen Colton prepare food before but there was a big difference between putting something on a grill and actually cooking something. And giving the recipe a quick look ... it was fairly high level stuff. Apex however just gave a shrug.
"I can handle it." That was good enough for Jubilee who dove right back into planning mode.
"OK ... OK this has to be perfect. Most of this stuff we already have here ... the rest we can grab from Ororo's garden. And obviously you can't just eat it in here ... no - no we need to find something else ..." Jubilee tapped a finger to her chin as Apex waited. He actually hadn't considered where to do this ... he was still processing the cooking part.
"Alright, you just worry about cooking for your girlfriend. Leave the rest to me ... hey Kitty!" Jubilee was out of her chair and chasing after the bubbly brunette before Apex could even agree. Picking back up the tablet, he slowly scrolled through his mission again.
"How hard can it be?" He growled to himself as he walked over to Ororo to ask about her garden.
"Jean ... Jean where are we going?" Greer was doing her best to not simply dig in her heels and drag her friend back towards the main part of the Mansion as her closest friend grinned.
And what a pair of heels they were ... Greer took a moment to glance away from the fiery red head and down at her new purchases with a pleasant smile. Today hadn't been a total waste.
While the foursome had been enjoying themselves in the food court, Jean had seemed to space out for a minute before suddenly pushing for the girls to get moving. Betsy and Jemma hadn't seemed very enthused until Jean had leveled both of them with a look. Almost instantly the two women seemed to get with the program. Now it was just Greer that needed convincing. She was happy they were all there to make her feel better but ... she still wasn't really feeling very festive. Now without something to make up for a 22nd birthday flop.
But then they had mentioned going dress shopping - Jean pointing out Greer had been complaining about a lack of a proper cocktail dress. Not that there were any major parties but ... when had that ever stopped her from wanting something? And then Betsy had brought up the spa and her incredibly talent masseuse - the rock treatment really did lighten her mood AND remove a few knots that had mysteriously appeared since breakfast ... and eventually the tigress had let out a sigh of mock defeat and followed her friends into what had really been a pretty good day.
The spa had been phenomenal and the salon had each girl feeling stunning. Then it was off for dress shopping. Of course, she hadn't been planning on having Jean and Betsy around when it came to choosing said dress ...
"No."
"Absolutely yes!" and five minutes later Greer found herself in the extremely tight cocktail dress. It was… Much to the tigress's exasperation sleeveless, with fitted bodice embellished at the back with distinctive cut-out décolleté… Giving anyone a very clear view of her neck, shoulders and especially her back. The skirt slightly gathered at her waist, enhancing its narrowness and she couldn't decide whether she loved or hated the slit that showed off her long legs. Well only the left one ... this dress only had one thigh slit. Greer sighed ... at least the dress was floor length.
Glancing at the mirror she couldn't help but admit that the dress was growing on her. It looked elegant, feminine ... not as trashy or slutty or downright terrible as she had envisioned. But she would never buy something like this for herself. Jean had said it was just a bit of fun when she had caught hey eying it in the store ... it was after yet another twirl in the mirror that Betsy and Jean had slipped back into the dressing area with wide smiles to let her know it was already paid for. She had tried getting them to take it back but they were adamant. Greer had been about to growl she'd tear it off when Betsy had simply come forward,
"And now for the pièce de résistance…" Betsy had said confidently, not even allowing the tigress to object as she slipped on two extremely elegant looking elbow length black gloves onto Greer.
The two women grinned at their handiwork.
"I think she's ready ..."
"Not quite!" Jemma had said she was running off to some computer store but unless said computer store sold heels, she'd obviously been in on things with the two psychics and after succumbing to a mixture or puppy dog looks and threats of psychic manipulation, Greer had slipped on the delicate pumps. The look on her friends' faces were pure excitement and when Greer had finally turned back to the mirror ... she'd been a little shocked. She hadn't seen herself with her inducer on ... and this dressed up in years.
She was beautiful. Jean had said as much and threatened her with certain doom if she didn't wear the outfit home. Something about the store not having any hanging bags ... and it was that precise outfit that Greer was currently admiring. It had certainly helped to perk up her mood.
But the red head wasn't particularly focused on Greer's admiration and she simply tightened her grip as she dragged the confused tigress along.
"Not much further ... besides, I told you it was a surprise" Jean sounded confident but Greer could clearly hear her muttering, "Jeeze could they make this place any bigger ..."
"Jean c'mon. You got me all dressed up but I think it's time for a very long bath, dinner and making Colton grovel for forgiveness. Your surprise can wait." Greer might not have been mad anymore but that didn't mean she wasn't going to make that panther work to get back into her good graces.
"Yea ... we'll see." Greer let another minute pass but took one look around the now cobwebbed surroundings and called it quits.
"Alright, that's it. Whatever this surprise is it can ... wait ..." Without warning Jean had stopped in front of a rather ornate set of wood doors and pushed them open, standing back with a very satisfied smile as she watched Greer slowly walk into the room.
It had been the old wings master study. When Jubilee, Kitty and Amara had first stumbled into, they had been welcomed by decades of dust, abandoned furniture and what all of them hoped was their imagination making them think was the scattering of something furry. Kitty had told them about this place ... she would phase through it every so often as a shortcut to the east part of the grounds.
After three hours of emergency crash cleaning, lots of dusting, some organizing and polishing and ... Greer was seeing the final results. The office was a close resemblance to Xavier's, warm oak being the main furnishing, bookshelves lined the room and a stone fireplace dominated the far wall, a small fire filling the air with its smell. And that didn't take into account the numerous candles sprinkled throughout the room.
And standing by the ornate desk now converted into a table was Colton, dressed as nice as Greer had ever seen him, inducer in place to complete the almost fairytale like setting. Greer had a hand to her chest as she just kept taking everything in, not even noticing as Jean slowly closed the doors.
Apex felt like an idiot just standing there but ... Greer hadn't said anything. She just kept looking around and staring ... but he decided to follow Katherine's advice on what to say. As far as he knew, he was still in trouble.
"Happy Birthday."
Colton's rumble got Greer to finally turn her full attention to him but she was still somewhat overwhelmed by what she was seeing.
"Colton ... did you ... is this ..." Greer almost sounded out of breath.
"Is everything alright? Jubilee said -" Apex didn't get to finish his thought as Greer covered the distance between them and kissed him with everything she had, all the anger dissipating as she pressed herself into him, her arms around his neck as his wrapped around her. It took a little while before they separated, Greer not giving up much space to let them breath.
"I don't think we need these," Greer purred as she clicked off Colton's inducer along with her own. Apex noticed how much better Greer looked in that outfit with her back in her orange and stripes ... and that she had that look on her face ... and while he was strongly considering acting on it, he thought he'd at least try and follow the plan the girls had repeated to him a dozen times.
"I cooked you dinner ..." the flushed tigress looked down towards where he was nodding and saw that the table was indeed set for dinner, the most delicious looking roasted duck she had seen waiting along with a bottle of wine. Apex was once again left to wonder what exactly Greer thinking ... Sure it had took more than one try to get the recipe right. In fact he had five tries before he arrived at a product he was satisfied with ...
But Greer gave her head a little shake before giving Colton another kiss, a huge smile on her face.
Outside, Jean, Jubilee and Kitty gave each other triumphant high fives while Betsy just shook her head in disbelief.
"C'mon… Let's leave this two love birds to do their own thing shall we?"
"But we want to know what's going to happen…"Kitty begged while Jubilee nodded eagerly.
"Oh I'm sure that'll be real entertaining, peeking at a keyhole for an hour or so, watching them eat…" Betsy smirked sarcastically. "Well don't let me stop you…" she waved before walking off.
"Actually that does sound rather boring ... I'm going to go thank Scott for helping me out today. I owe him that much." Jean muttered, missing Jubilee roll her eyes, as she also made her way down the stairs and back to the main building. The two younger girls stared at each other in the darkened hall.
"How exactly does Jean 'thank' Scott…" Jubilee asked innocently.
"Good question ... let's go find out." Kitty smirked before grabbing her friends hand and phasing the two of them through the floor.
...
Greer leaned back against her seat, full beyond relief and somewhat regretting the fit of the gown.
"I think that was the best meal I've ever had. And trust me… I've had a lot of them." she grinned before leaning over to Colton.
"Thank you." she said softly. The panther only nodded ... he wasn't completely assured that he was out of trouble yet. How long did these birthday things last?
"What do you want to do now? Whatever you want" he rumbled, again remembering the litany of suggestions that had been thrown at him. The tigress frowned for a second as if in deep thought before slowly looking back over at Colton.
"Well ... there was always something I've wanted to do ... at least with you but never got the chance to," the tigress grinned before grabbing Colton's hand.
"C'mon…" she smiled before yanking him out of the room and leading him down the staircases. Colton did his best to keep up but it was difficult running in a suit. How Greer did it in heels bewildered him to no end. Luckily it was a school night and late enough that the mansion was sound asleep as the two felines ran through the halls until they stopped and Colton couldn't help but raise an eyebrow as they arrived at the mansion's indoor swimming pool.
"Shut and lock the doors." Greer instructed and Apex did as he was told although he wasn't exactly sure if that was really necessasry, it wasn't like they were allowed ...
**SPLASH!** and that's when he turned around to see Greer's clothes scattered on the ground (the dress the only thing laid out on a table) and the tigress partly submerged in the water, her eyes staring intently at him while she grinned from under the water.
"So are you just going to stand there or are you going to come join me?" she asked coyly. Colton could only smirk before he discarded his clothes before leaping in after Greer. The panther barely had the time to come out to take a breath when he found the tigress wrapped around him, nuzzling his neck gently, her wet fur mixing with his… it felt amazing.
"Hey…" she said it at a whisper as she rest her thighs against his.
"Hey." he rumbled back wanting to wrap his arm around her but looked at her in surprise as she suddenly jumped backwards and swam away from him.
"Race you!" she called out and Colton let out a playful growl as he tried his best to keep up with her. Although a few seconds later he realized he didn't mind being a little slower for once. It gave a great view of the tigress's legs… How long they were… How beautiful she was. He kept it up for a few minutes before finally cornering her and with a shout of laughter finally holding her to him.
"Happy birthday." he rumbled one more time before bringing his forehead to hers. A gesture she approved by rubbing hers against his.
"Thank you," she purred before kissing him once again.
"Ok I'm finally done." Greer grinned with a triumphant growl. Collapsing against her questionably sized luggage in exhaustion. Apex could only stare at her in amusement. It was like she shoved her entire wardrobe into that thing ... they were only going to be gone three days.
"Congratulations," he rumbled before easily lifting it onto his shoulder. Greer's still recovering legs looked as if they would snap should she attempt the same maneuver so he had no problem carrying everything.
"What are you doing?"
The panther looked at her slightly confused.
"Moving our stuff downstairs." The tigress stared at him.
"Our stuff? Colton ... Where is your stuff?"
The panther simply shifted to the left slightly. Revealing a modest sized gym bag as an explanation. Greer blinked a few times before she shook her head.
"Colton ... Please don't tell me that's all your bringing. Right?" Greer looked almost hopeful though deep down she knew that was a lost cause. Her boyfriend's answer didn't disappoint.
"Is it too much?"
The look on the tigress's face made Colton want to reconsider what he just said.
"Colton, you need more than this," Greer got back to her feet and took a look inside the small bag, "Some underwear ... another t-shirt ... your toothbrush ..." she kept moving things around as if that would somehow make more things appear before shaking her head in disgust.
"No ... Go repack! Go repack right now!" and that was when Greer started to shove Colton back into their room ... albeit with minimal success.
"But I have all that I need."
"Which is not going to last you an entire weekend! My house isn't a mansion alright?! We don't have facilities like the laundry room and all that. Now go pack again ... actually you know what," Greer slipped the bag off his arm and marched back into their room, tossing it onto the bed and reaching for her spare suitcase and quickly pulling things out of drawers, "I'll take care of this. You just get your inducer on. I need to take a photo of you."
The panther froze.
"Photo?"
"Yeah… The professor and I need to make an ID for you…." Greer shrugged like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"ID? Why would I need an ID?"
"I dunno ... to have one I guess. Case you want to drive or we need to go somewhere or want to drink something," the tigress answered distractedly as she quickly worked to fill up the suitcase ... she could have sworn he had at least a little more clothes.
"We are definitely going shopping ..." she muttered before turning to see the look Colton was giving her.
"Drive?" Apex tilted his head to the side.
"Well yea of course. Wait … you weren't expecting us to take the black bird… Right?"
"That was what I assumed."
Greer couldn't help but roll her eyes .
"Colton, I live in a suburb. Where do you want me to land the damn thing? The drive way?" she joked as she zipped up the far too empty bag.
"No ... you have a high school less than a mile from your home. I was going to land it there, engage the cloaking and we'd reach the objective -
"No! No jets ... no objectives," Greer pushed off the bed and came to stand right in front of her boyfriend, a serious look on her face, "we are driving to my mom's house. Just a normal couple ... going to the girlfriend's house for the weekend ... to meet her family. OK?"
Apex let out a sigh ... Greer and her 'normal' ...
"OK," Greer smiled and gave him a quick kiss before taking a small step back and eying him critically as she ran a hand through his mane.
"What?" Apex didn't like that look ... it was Greer's, 'I want to go shopping look.'
"Nothing ... just don't go anywhere," and with that Greer slipped around him and headed out the door.
"I thought I needed an ID?" Apex called after her.
"You do ... but not before a haircut!" Greer called behind her as she went hunting for Hank. Apex raised an eyebrow before taking a look at himself in the mirror.
"A haircut?"
