A/N: I like many different pairings in the Evo-verse. This fic has both M/F and F/F relationships depicted and I have paired Tabby/Amara together for this story. If you are not interested in that pairing, feel free to skip this chapter. If you are, I hope you enjoy it! :) Trigger warnings for reference to parental death (Amara).
Professor X gave Tabby a pretty sweet deal. She got to live at the mansion, free cable and food and stuff, but she wore her own clothes and didn't have to join the squad. Tabby liked the X-Geeks and she was down for helping out when they needed a little bada-bing, bada-boom to get the job done - but she thought teams were stupid.
And the best part? She got to room with her best friend. The first time she met Amara, girl just got off the plane from Brazil, showed up at the mansion in a chauffeured car, and didn't even know how to work a washing machine. Tabby learned later that her dad was mad rich, and she'd never had to do chores before 'cause she had maids and a chef that did all that stuff for her. It was nothing like the way Tabby grew up.
But Amara wasn't a snob. She didn't act like she was better than other people. She was real, and she was sweet, and she knew how to have fun once Tabby got her out of her shell. Boom Boom had a lot of friends, and a lot of 'boyfriends', but she could take or leave most of 'em. Amara was different. She was the one person that Tabby trusted to always have her back – no matter what.
So when somebody messed with 'Mara, they messed with her.
"Hey." Tabby's scowl softened when she closed the door and spoke to her roommate. Amara wasn't crying anymore. She was sitting on the bed cross-legged with her back against the wall, a pillow in her lap. Her long brown hair was in her eyes. "How are you doing? Did it wear off?"
Amara shook her head slightly, and she closed her eyes briefly to pull herself together. "It's not like that. She didn't hurt me, I was just… surprised." Tabby arched a brow dubiously. Amara wasn't a crier so she didn't buy that.
"'Bout what?" Tabby crossed the room to sit on the edge of the bed, facing the other girl.
"It's nothing," Amara managed, but she wouldn't look at her.
Tabby leaned forward until they were eye-to-eye, even through the curtain of hair. "You can tell me, 'Mara." She knew she could trust her, right? Tabby would take it to the grave, whatever it was.
"I know," she glanced up and it looked like she was trying really hard not to cry. It made Tabby want to bomb that girl's – Luna's – breakfast. "I just feel… embarrassed, I completely froze. I let everybody down."
"No, you didn't," was she crazy? That was a load of crap, "Those losers let you down." Bobby tried to sniff around earlier and Tabby told him to get lost. If he wasn't gonna help 'Mara when it counted, he could get somebody else to make him feel better about what a jerk he'd been.
"It's not their fault," Amara replied, "I mean, not really. Magneto was the one who said they had to finish the training."
"The Caped Douchebag?" Following his orders? She rolled her eyes, "Yeah, that's such a good call, guys." Tabby didn't listen to anybody who'd wear such a goofy-ass helmet as a fashion statement (even if he shelved it after moving in). Plus Magneto was a total dick of a dad.
Amara almost laughed which made Tabby smile – a little – because that was a glimpse of her girl. Her shoulders hunched a little but she didn't say anything. "Do you wanna talk about it?" the blonde asked. The only thing 'Mara had said when she got back to the room was that she'd seen her mom. She never talked about her. Tabby had never met her, or seen a picture of her – and she didn't ask.
"I've never seen papai like that," she admitted softly.
"Like what?"
"The way he was when my mother died." Amara glanced up. "I barely remember her. She died when I was six. I didn't… I didn't know I was there, and now it's all I can think about. I can't believe I forgot about her, Tabitha." She squeezed the pillow in her lap and pulled it to her chest. Tabby scooted forward on the mattress.
"You were a kid, 'Mara," and who remembered what they were doing at six years old? Nobody. Tabitha didn't remember jack. "You didn't do anything wrong."
"I felt like I did," she replied, words muffled by the way she pressed her face against the pillow, "I remember feeling like it was my fault that she got sick."
"But you know it's not," Tabby insisted, and she put a hand on the pillow, pushed it down to look at Amara. "Your mom got sick, and that's shitty. And it happened because life is shitty sometimes, and bad things happen to people who don't deserve it," 'cause the world wasn't fair. "And it's not anybody's fault." And it definitely wouldn't have been Amara's.
"I know," she agreed ruefully, "I know that in my head, but what I feel is guilty, and scared, and… alone."
That chick's powers really did a number on Amara, and Tabby pulled her into a hug, wrapping her arms around her friend and pulling her close. "You are not alone, okay?" she said against her hair, blowing a raspberry when the brunette nodded and she got a mouthful of hair. Tabby drew back with a lopsided smile. "You're my girl, remember? I'm not going anywhere." If Amara ever decided to split from the X-Men, she'd go with her – but if she was in it for the long haul, so was Tabby.
"Thanks, Tabitha."
She winked in response to Amara's watery smile. "You know I love ya, right?"
She nodded. "I love you too."
Tabby was pretty impulsive – anybody who knew her knew that, she did what she wanted to do when she wanted to do it – so she didn't think twice when 'Mara said that. She leaned in and kissed her on the mouth. It wasn't a long kiss. It was a peck, that's all.
But it startled Amara, who gasped, "Tabitha," in a way that almost made Tabby embarrassed – or it would have if she ever got embarrassed (she didn't).
She flashed her a big grin – one of those unapologetic, yeah-I-know-what-I-did-what-are-you-gonna-do-about-it? grins that was her specialty – but before she could top it with a smug reply, someone knocked at Amara's door. A flash of irritation crossed her features and she turned, "What?"
"It's Kurt," Blue. Tabby wasn't ticked off at him, and she relaxed. "Just thought you'd want to know – Jean's on her way home."
"Cool. Thanks!" She didn't offer to let him in, but her tone brightened. She glanced at Amara, "What do you think? Feel up to saying 'hey'?"
Amara still looked… Tabby couldn't put her finger on it, so she pretended not to notice. She hopped off the bed and put her hands on her hips expectantly. "Sure, I guess," Amara replied tentatively, "I'd like to see Jean." She gave a real smile that time. "I just need a couple minutes."
"Say no more." Tabby saluted her, "I'll see you downstairs." She yanked open the bedroom door and yelled, "Hey Blue, you still up here? How about giving a girl a ride?"
Kurt popped back into view from who knows where and complained, "I'm not a taxi service."
"You know you love it, cutie," she dismissed casually, tapping him on the nose. "Take me to the party!"