O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O Disclaimer O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
X-Men Evolution and its Characters do not belong to me. I'm writing this for pure fun and selfish reasons; those being that I want to see all my crack ships do very very naughty things ;)
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O AN O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
New Year, New me! Just kidding, I'm still the same ol' boring me ;) But anyhoo, Here I am as promised! Many hugs and kisses to Clamchick (Ray is definitely going to feel a certain way about her leaving :P Hehe…John will be just fine after today's chapter. Don't be excited about the pageant cause I have no Idea what I'm doing there XD Thanks for your love and support as always! ), Book of Lilith and Ballslife12 for being awesome and leaving me feedback! You're the reason I keep going guys! I'd add a heart emoji here but this site doesn't let me lol.
There's Karaoke in this chapter guys! Somehow I don't think you're that surprised by that…*glances at chapter title* but anyhoo, I really enjoyed writing this chapter so I hope you guys like it too! There's a small announcement about next month chap at the end so you might want to read it before heading out, anyway…Read on!
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O Chapter 24 O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
Amara splashed water on her face, getting the last remains of soap off her face. After making sure that she looked presentable and awake she opened the bathroom door right at the same time that another door opened.
Roberto's surprise at seeing her went away seconds later when he remembered that the girls had had a sleepover.
"Good morning."
"Hey, you're up early."
"It's past ten."
Roberto smirked at the answer, "you guys want to bed really late. I thought you would all be up at noon to be honest."
"I knocked out pretty quick."
"Jubilee?"
"She's still sleeping. I don't know what happened but she somehow ended up on the floor."
"Are you going to go back in there or…do you want to hang out?"
"We can hang out, all I'd do in there is listen to her snore," she remarked with a teasing smile.
Roberto smirked at that, "Great, well come on, I'll cook you breakfast though I will warn you that Ray is the better cook."
"I remember, from our trip to the beach."
Roberto nodded, "That's right…" his mind briefly went to the slap the petite girl besides him had given him on said trip. "That was an interesting trip."
As if her mind was going to the same incident, Amara gave the corner of her lip a small bite before saying, "It was…"
"Anyway, how are you feeling?"
"Good! I actually didn't drink as much as Jubes and Laura so I don't have a hangover or anything like that."
"That's good, but I actually meant about Jubilee deciding to stay here until she was ready to go home."
"...Oh, you know about that."
"Laura teases me for being a blabber when I drink too much but she's the same . She usually watches herself so it doesn't happen often but, well it happened last night and she told me and Ray when she snuck into the kitchen for more snacks. You alright? I know you were looking forward to being together again."
"I'm…ok. I mean yeah I was looking forward to her being back at my house but this is ok too. I'm still going to see her all the time and hang out with her."
"Yeah, but it's a little different when she's not just a few feet away."
"True, but if you think about it, that's what it's been for the last two weeks anyway." He nodded and his lips parted to speak but he was interrupted as she added, "Guess this just means I'll be hanging out here more for the next few weeks."
He paused midstep at the words and after she took a few more steps she turned to give him a curious look. His lips were curved upwards in a bright smile and Amara hated how her heart skipped a beat as the sun rays escaping from one of the opened rooms lit him up in such a beautiful way.
Catching herself staring, she blinked, "What?"
"Nothing, just feels like it's going to be a nice day. Hey, do you like avocados? I can make a pretty good breakfast sandwich with eggs, bacon, avocado…" as he named a few more things Amara zoned him out, her focus going to how soft and warm his hand felt as he grabbed it to lead her to the kitchen.
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
When Jubilee opened her eyes she felt like the room was still spinning. She groaned to herself and wondered why the hell her back felt so achy but once she sat up and realized she was sleeping on the floor she came to a conclusion.
After her time with Ray a few hours earlier she had chosen to sleep on the floor so she wouldn't wake Amara. Thanks to her thoughtful decision she was achy all over…ok, alright so she supposed she couldn't blame the soreness between her thighs on that. Her arms went into the air trying to stretch out her back as her eyes went to her bed, it was empty.
For a brief moment she freaked out wondering where Amara had gone but after a bit she realized that she most likely would have gone off to scour the kitchen or watch tv while she woke up. There's no way she would have left without telling her. Saying this to herself she made her way up and headed to the bathroom, she might as well freshen up before going to find her.
When she finally did, she found her sitting at the kitchen table laughing, her eyes bright as she looked at Roberto. She wondered what the joke had been but before she could ask a cup of coffee was placed in front of her eyes in a gray mug.
"It wasn't that funny…"
Her eyes went to the person holding the drink and she nodded before taking it carefully to not burn herself, "Thanks," she answered and briefly wondered if she was so transparent that he was able to read her face so well. "And I guess I shouldn't be surprised…when you have it bad you laugh at just about anything…"
He let a small breath of air out but before having a chance to respond to the comment she was noticed and a loud, "Hey you're up!" Echoed throughout the room making her turn back to the Brazilian duo.
"Good morning, what did you eat? She asked Amara eying the empty bowl.
"I wanted to make her a breakfast sandwich but we didn't have bacon or avocado so we settled for.."
"Cereal," Amara finished the sentence.
"What a fulfilling breakfast," she remarked dryly before nodding and perking a brow as she turned to Ray and the plate in his hand. Without saying anything she went and grabbed a piece of toast and took a bite while walking over to an empty spot at the table leaving Ray to watch her with a surprised look. When she was sitting, she turned to him and shrugged, "That looked way more appealing than what they had"
"Lazy."
"I woke up with a headache, I deserve to be pampered for being accidentally poisoned."
"Oh it's accidentally poisoned now that you want to steal food but last night it was a good time."
Jubilee smirked but didn't answer, turning her attention to Amara, "So what time did they want you home? Do you have time for the mall?" She asked not waiting for the first question to be answered.
Amara groaned, "That is one thing I didn't miss from you being away." Jubilee stuck her tongue out at her making Amara shake her head and look at the time on her phone. "Yeah we can go I guess…"
"Yes! I just got paid and want a new pair of hoops and maybe some clothes…"
"Do you guys want to come?" Amara asked, turning to Roberto with a look that read, "save me".
Roberto grinned, "Yeah I can go for a while before I have to work at Logan's."
"Why aren't you working now? It's Monday, don't you work a full shift today?"
"I do but I changed my shift to the afternoon."
"Oh, ok…were you going to come?" Jubilee turned to the tall boy who seemed to have gotten over the fact that his food had been stolen.
Ray shrugged, "Sure I have nothing else to do."
"Great! I guess I'll go get ready."
"Aren't you ready now?"
"This is my 'casual hang out here' clothes, if we're going to the mall I need to spark a little more," with those words she bit into the last piece of toast and walked past him to head back to her room.
On the way, Ray asked, "Sparkle for what?"
"There's boys at the mall, duh!" She answered and turned once she was out of view of Amara and Roberto to throw him a grin.
Amara started getting up, "I should go change too."
"We'll meet you girls in the living room in a few," Roberto remarked, taking her plate to wash it for her.
She nodded and made to pass Ray, noticing that he was still looking in the direction Jubilee had gone with a frown on his features.
"She was kidding about prowling for boys, she likes to wear the outfit she's going to buy accessories for to make sure it looks good…" Ray turned to her with a suspicious glance making her face warm up. That's right, no one was supposed to know, "not that it matters to anyone here….bye…" She added and quickly walked away.
Roberto looked after her, "…Ok…"
Ray didn't give a verbal answer, deciding to shrug and leave his plate in the sink before turning and leaving the room too.
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
Amara walked around sluggishly behind a spunky Jubilee. The petite Asian's body swayed side to side as she eyed different racks and said "I love the music in this store!" For what felt like the hundredth time since they had arrived.
Amara chose not to answer this time and leaned into a rack when her friend stopped to check out some jeans. Her hand went to her chin and she let a low but audible sigh out.
Upon hearing it Jubilee stopped humming along with the song surrounding them, rolled her eyes and looked over her shoulder to her dark skinned friend. "You knew what you signed up for when you came with me and you're usually not this miserable…if you want to go hang out with your boyfriend just say so Mara I'll be ok on my own."
"He's not my boyfriend! And shut up…" Amara answered heatedly and looked around suspiciously.
"He's like two stores down, there's no way he heard me."
Amara pretended to look through the items in front of her, "You don't know….some people have amazing hearing."
"What would be so bad about him hearing that, who knows he might like it," Jubilee turned to look at her friend just in time to see the eye roll. "The negativity…go find him cause your throwing of my shopping vibes and I know he'll at least put you in a better mood."
Amara frowned, "I'm not in a bad mood, but you've been looking for half an hour."
"Hey fashion isn't always easy, but go go…"
"But…"
"I'll be fine, it's probably your dark cloud that's clouding my judgment right now anyway."
"But…" Amara didn't get to say anything as Jubilee went to her and pushed her a few steps in the direction of the store's exit.
"Just message me when you find him so I know you're not lost."
"I live in this city, if anyone is going to get lost it would be you."
"Please, we have been here enough times that I know this mall like the back of my hand, bye now…" Jubilee gave a final push and watched her until the brown locks went out of view.
When she was gone Jubilee resumed her humming and walked a few aisles down to the side they hadn't explored. Her hands went through multiple items and it wasn't until she found the last rack that her eyes lit up. They were overcoats, varied in length and color and her eyes automatically went to the yellows.
She looked through a few and eventually pulled out a full length one, admiring the stitching before dropping it over her shoulders. The bright color contrasted well against the pink crop tank that she wore. She adjusted the collar before swaying back and forth in front of the mirror admiring herself as her lips parted so that her voice could join in with the song playing on the speakers.
"… All I know is that to me, You look like you're lots of fun…Open up your lovin' arms…Watch out, here I come…"
She stopped herself from going into the chorus as her eyes spotted a black spot at the bottom. Her hand reached down to rub it off and when she was satisfied she gave the coat one last slap before twirling around, her mouth opening once again, "… You spin me right 'round, baby, right 'round…Like a record, baby, right 'round, 'round, 'rou-AHH…"
Her yell wasn't loud enough to catch the attention of the other customers but it was loud enough that he smirked, "I wasn't aware that that song had a yell like that…and you do know that it's summer right?"
Jubilee put a hand up to her chest, her heart was beating wildly as she looked into the steel eyes watching her through the mirror. She let a low 'Fuck' out ignoring his remarks before asking, "Are you trying to kill me? That's a horror movie move right there, showing up from fucken nowhere."
"It's not my fault you don't pay attention to your surroundings."
"It's not my fault you're being a creep and creeping up on me. What are you doing here anyway? I thought you guys were checking out that Music Store," Jubilee twirled around again in front of the mirror, stopping with her back facing her reflection to see how it looked from behind.
/… I (I, I, I), I got to be your friend now, baby/
Ray walked away from behind her and toward the mirror stopping beside it and leaning an arm on it as he continued to watch her.
/And I (I, I, I) would like to move in just a little bit closer/
"Amara showed up without you so we thought it might be time to go but when we asked where you were she said you hadn't even picked anything out yet."
"Hmm, in other words you're here to expedite me?" She asked, perking a brow.
"Maybe…or maybe I just didn't want to be around while they made googly eyes at each other."
/(To move in just a little bit closer)/
The comment made her grin and let out a low chuckle, "so that's what it is." When he didn't respond she twirled again letting her voice rejoin the stereo, "… All I know is that to me, You look like you're lots of fun, Open up your lovin' arms…Watch out, here I come…"
"I had originally thought it was Roberto who was choosing the 80's stations at work but now I'm having second thoughts."
Jubilee stopped singing, "Why would you automatically assume it was him?"
"Cause he listens to everything."
"Yeah, but if it's something that was happening recently then shouldn't all signs point to me?"
Ray shrugged, "Not really, he goes in and out of moods. I'm surprised he hasn't gotten into a folk mood with how smitten he is."
She grinned at that, "Folk? That's interesting."
"After eight hours it's not. There's only so many times you can listen to different versions of Greensleeves."
Jubilee laughed at that and looked away to study her reflection mumbling under her breath, "… I want your looooooove…I want your looooooooove…"
Ray gaze stayed on her lips as she sang the words, after a moment he cleared his throat and looked away deciding to look around the store, "Roberto was impressed with the show you did last night. He thinks that maybe you should rethink a karaoke night."
Her eyes went to him and after feeling the burning gaze he turned back to her to catch the reddish tint on her cheeks before she slowly shook her head, "There is a difference between doing that with a few friends while drinking compared to doing it in a huge crowd. Especially with how many people show up there to catch glimpses of the Acolytes."
"I think a similar situation could be presented for you, it's not like there's not enough alcohol there to get you feeling good…."
"I don't know if I'm ready to make a fool of myself in front of that many people," she turned away and started swaying again.
"You won't be making a fool of yourself but if you're really afraid about that then just don't do it alone."
"Oh yeah and who should I take up there with me? I don't see Amara wanting to, I mean Kitty and some of the others offered but…"
"I'll do it." She stopped moving and turned to stare at him. "Just pick a song and tell me when you want to do it." He pushed away from the mirror and took a few steps towards her stopping when he stood beside her facing the opposite side. Without any warning his hand went up and grabbed at one of the sides of the open coat.
His fingers slid up and down on the fabric, his knuckles ghosting on the side of her breast, "It feels nice…" after the words he started walking away but not without adding, "it doesn't look bad".
Her eyes followed his figure until he got lost amongst the shelves, her lips parting to unconsciously continue singing the song.
/You spin me right 'round, baby, right 'round
Like a record, baby, right 'round, 'round, 'round (I need your love)
You spin me right 'round, baby, right 'round/
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
When Jubilee saw Ray again he was sitting on a bench outside of the store. His eyes were downcast as he looked at his phone and a small cloud of vapor escaped his lips. He didn't look away from the electronic device until he felt the shift on the bench.
"Can you do that in here?"
His shoulders shrugged up, "No one's told me anything yet…" with those words he brought the box back up to his face and took a deep inhale.
"What flavor…" as if knowing she was going to ask, he didn't let her finish the question, moving in towards her and exhaling causing a cloud of smoke to fill the gap in between their faces. The smell was fresh and minty and Jubilee hated that the first thought that came to mind was that it smelled exactly how he tasted.
He pulled away seconds later and outstretched his hand to her. She eyed the box curiously like she had the previous times he had offered it to her but any hesitation she had had those times was gone and she grabbed at the small object.
Brown met bluish gray as her lips puckered to take the small opening into her mouth. He watched carefully as she inhaled and seconds later the box was back in his hands as he watched her exhale without a single cough.
"You are so full of surprises…" he murmured, allowing a small smile to curl onto his lips.
"Aren't I?" She asked with a smug look before getting a curious expression, "Are you serious about the Karoke thing?"
He nodded, lips parting but words staying stuck in his throat as a "There you guys are! Are we all set?" made both of them turn to see Amara and Roberto walking towards them.
"What did you buy?" Jubilee asked, noticing that Amara had a small bag in hand.
"Some cd's."
"People still buy CDs?" Ray asked, perking a brow and making Jubilee shove him afterwards.
"Ha! That's what I said and she attacked me too…"
The girls ignored the boys while Amara took a peek into Jubilee's bag, "What did you get?"
"It's a coat, it's super cute."
"...It's summer…"
"Told you," Ray remarked, making Jubilee turn to glare at him telling him to shut up without saying the words.
"It was on clearance. Plus, everyone pumps up the AC right now," she answered, turning back to Amara.
Amara's mouth opened but Roberto interrupted her by hooking his arm around hers, "Great! You got a deal, can we go now? I really want to take you guys to try that ice cream place at the other exit…" as he said the words he started walking, taking Amara along with him.
The other two watched them before turning to look at each other. Jubilee grinned at him making him roll his eyes, the words trouble making matchmaker running through his head as he took a hit of his vape before exhaling it into her face and following the Brazilian duo.
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O Wednesday O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
Anna's hand rested against the car as she looked thoughtfully at the Audi A8. The driver had stated that the car just turned off on him. Her first thought was that it was the battery but when she tested it, it came out still posting out a positive charge.
Her head leaned inward to take a closer look at the engine. She heard the garage door open and close but didn't bother looking up, figuring it was Logan coming to check on the report or Ororo to give her an update on the status of the previous car she had examined. What she hadn't expected were hands on her hips pulling her backwards until her butt made contact with a pair of firm legs and an all too familiar pelvis.
"Anyone tell you, you're hot when you're focused," the Cajun drawl asked as his hands slid up to go to her waist.
"Yeah, all the old pervs that see me fixing up their cars."
"Watching a girl know her way around a car is hot," he responded.
"Is it now?" She asked while grabbing a towel to clean her hands of any oil and dirt. He gave a small mhmm as she turned to face him. Before saying anything else her hand went up in between their bodies and she gave a slight push that made him take a step back. "What are you doing here?"
"Playing messenger, you've been summoned," he answered while taking a step forward so they were toe to toe.
"Summoned?" She asked, perking a brow.
"Pietro needs you and Wanda at the lounge for practice."
"Right now?" She asked and quickly added, "I can't, I'm working…"
"It's fine."
"What do you mean it's fine? You think they'll really just be like 'sure go ahead and leave for the rest of the day'."
"I don't know about the rest of the day but you're definitely excused until your rehearsals done." Anna perked a brow in question making him smile and add, "they have a stock in this too…"
"That's right, Nocturnal Madness is supposed to put money in everyone's pocket."
"Mhmm…" was his response as his head leaned forward towards her. He stopped as her head turned, making his nose poke into her own.
"Stop, someone could come."
"And?"
"And…we wouldn't want to give people the wrong idea…" she responded, giving him a slight push that didn't do anything as his hands went to rest on the car behind her boxing her in.
"Hmm, I don't know if I mind. My whole image is about giving the wrong idea," he answered back, his voice low and husky doing its job in entrancing her as their noses bumped against each other again.
She closed her eyes and let him close the gap between them. As he moved in to press his whole body into her and opened his mouth to let her in, the sounds of the door knob turning broke the spell.
Logan had been looking down at a clipboard as he walked in, when he looked up he found both southerners looking inside the hood of the car. Anna was pointing at something, her voice barely audible as Remy nodded and looked fascinated by whatever she was showing him.
"I thought you'd be gone by now."
"Oh, hey Logan, we were just leaving. I was just explaining to Gambit how the expanding combustion gasses push the piston, which rotates the crankshaft so I got sidetracked. I'll go check out with Storm and head out and be back when I'm done at the lounge."
She spoke the words so fast that he only made out every other word but he got the gist and nodded at her as she sped walked out of the garage. Remy walked at a more leisure pace, nodding and mumbling a 'Wolverine' as he passed him by. Before he was too far away from him, a hand grabbed at the voodoo priest with red eyes causing the Cajun to freeze in place.
"Didn't you take auto mechanics in school?"
Remy grinned at the question, "Oui, mais… that was so long ago. I needed a refresher…"
"Hmm," Logan grunted. "You also need a cleaning rag." Remy perked a brow at the statement. Logan's eyes narrowed as he looked up at the taller boy, "Looks like you got some oil on your mouth. Must have gotten a little too close to that engine…"
At the words Remy's lips pursed inwards, rubbing against each other and hiding from sight. The Cajun male cleared his throat before continuing his walk, mumbling a "Nice day…" once he reached the door.
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
Remy should have been worried about the interaction with Wolverine but he couldn't help smirking all the way to the Mercury lounge, his eyes avoiding looking at the southern beauty walking beside him who kept throwing glares at him. Her first words after being completely alone after the incident being, "I told you."
When they made their way inside they could hear soft music and as they went deeper into the venue, Anna paused at the entrance directly in front of the stage causing Remy to stop beside her.
His attention went to the stage.
Pietro sat on a stool at the center, an acoustic guitar in his hands, his pale fingers drumming it softly. A microphone stand was set to the side, getting the sound of the guitar but also high enough for him to tilt his head downward to sing.
Laura sat in front of him in a stool of her own, a microphone in her hands that was brought up to her lips. The distance between them, less than a foot.
/In the flicker of the twilight days
Colored grays
We both love/
From where he was standing Remy could see that her eyes were closed as she put all her energy into the song. Pietro on the other hand didn't bother looking down at the instrument in his hands, his sapphire eyes staying focused on the young woman before him.
/You tear me apart and you lead me to the truth again/
He looked completely smitten. He smirked and briefly wondered if he looked like that much of an idiot when…
His train of thought stopped and he looked to the side of him. Anna was still watching the pair in front of her, a sweet smile on her face but as if feeling the gaze on her, her head turned to him.
Her eyes connected to his before dropping down to his lips. Her smile somewhat dimmed as her expression became one he couldn't name, she blinked and as fast as it had appeared it was gone. She then turned away and started making her way towards the stage. He waited a few steps before following.
When they reached the front they realized that they weren't the only audience.
Wanda was leaning against a rail with John standing beside her as they watched the pair. Hearing the soft footsteps they both turned simultaneously to watch the southern pair approach.
Anna spared John a glance before standing next to her sister, "You got fetched too."
Wanda glanced at Remy and nodded, "He knows just the right person to send doesn't he?" She muttered sarcastically.
Anna grinned and turned back to the stage as Pietro's voice now mingled with Laura's.
/You keep your head held high
Don't need a reason why
I've tried a million times/
Laura's eyes were now opened watching the silver haired male in front of her with her head tilted as her voice echoed strongly in the room almost overpowering his.
/My love will keep on burning
My life's changed at the sight of you/
"That's so sappy…" Wanda turned to glance at John who smirked and added, "I didn't say it was a bad thing." Before she could comment a loud explosion came from behind them and the four turned to see the brotherhood bursting through the door laughing.
Whatever moment was happening on the stage died at the sound of them and Laura and Pietro soon got off their stools. Pietro moved to put his instrument away while Laura walked towards the side of the stage to go down the stairs. A few seconds later she was beside both her friends who were watching the Brotherhood members start conversation with the two Acolytes.
"Hey, I didn't know you guys were next."
"Me neither," Anna and Wanda answered at the same time.
"You guys sounded pretty good up there. I didn't know you guys were doing a ballad and an acoustic one at that," Anna remarked with a perked eyebrow.
"Yeah, so romantic," Wanda added, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.
"Shut up, it's only because I didn't want to perform with that circus," Laura answered and nodded towards the boys. "So good luck, I'm going to head back and make sure Roberto and Ray aren't overwhelmed."
Both sisters nodded and watched her go, only turning to look back at the males when she was out of sight. Toad was bouncing up and down excitedly around Blob and saying come on pull my finger. Pyro was elbowing Avalanche who was red in the face and trying to get away from the orange haired male but was unfortunately being blocked by Gambit.
"Idiots," Wanda mumbled and headed towards the stairs.
Anna nodded but smiled anyway, "Some things never change."
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
"That's sounding really good!"
"What the Fuck? Why are you saying it like that? Did it sound bad the first time you saw us do it or what?"
Pietro rolled his eyes at his twin, "no but you seemed a little tense then. You were a lot more into it today."
"I guess I'll take it as a compliment."
"It was," he answered back in a snarky tone.
Anna ignored both of them as they bickered back and forth, her attention on her phone as she typed out a message before looking to the opposite side of the room.
Remy's head had been tilted sideways to listen to whatever Gorgeous George was explaining to him and Hairbag. His attention was pulled though as the platinum blonde of the Nasty Boys suddenly appeared and wrapped an arm around his.
His red on black eyes turned to Vertigo, nodding to her in greeting and slowly but surely trying to get out of the grip. It would be the vibration of his phone that would give him the best excuse to get her off and put his hand inside his pocket to pull out the small electronic device.
'I'm going to head out' his eyes looked away from the phone to make contact with the emerald green before looking back down at the phone.
'You're not going to stay and watch me?'
'-_- you want me to stay and put up with Vertigo's shrill excuse of a voice? I'll pass…plus I should get back to work anyway.'
'XD…mmkay…call me when you're off?'
She reread the message and looked back to him, he was staring back but before she could turn her attention back to the phone to answer, Vertigo laughed at something Rukus said and turned to the Cajun charmer, running a hand up his arm to get his attention. He didn't look at her though, keeping his eyes on the southern beauty who decided to roll her eyes and put her phone away in answer.
"Ignorance is bliss I guess because she doesn't seem to get the clue that he's not interested."
Anna's eyes widened and she turned to stare at the orange haired member of the Acolytes. She hadn't noticed he had rejoined them and was staring at his bandmate.
"More like desperation don't give a Fuck," Wanda stated adding, "she fucken knows he doesn't want her…"
Pietro smirked, "Let me go save him. You're not going far right cause after them it's our turn with the hood members."
John shook his head, "Don't have plans to be anywhere else."
Pietro nodded in understanding and then gave a small head tilt to his sisters before walking away toward the other group.
"Alright well i'm going to go back to work. I'll see you at the house."
Wanda nodded and watched her step sister make her way out. When she was out of sight she turned to John whose gaze was on her. "Do you have a moment?"
His eyes widened at the question and he slowly nodded. She mimicked the action before making her way towards the door that led to scarlet ink. He followed her quietly and expected to make the turn down the hall when they passed the door but to his surprise she led him to her office.
When they were both inside he stopped at the center to look around. It was very different from the last time he had been there. Many of the frames were filled with her work, the one he was staring at the moment made his fingers slide up his arms as he looked at the dark flames.
If Wanda was noticing him stare at his own tattoo she didn't make it obvious as she went to her desk, opening the center drawer and pulling a few pages out.
"I have something for you…."
At the words he walked over to her as she put the papers on separate parts of her desk. His eyes widened again as he looked at the sketches before him, the main one grabbing his attention being the one at the center.
She was beautiful. Short black hair with the smallest tint of red at the ends. She wore a button up jumper in a deep red color with a matching short sleeve trench. On her arms were fingerless gloves that went to the elbows. The pose was simple. Her feet together, her arms splayed out while her face was tilted up with piercing blue eyes looking at the sky. Her hands also held a blue glow.
"Holy shit…"
"Yeah?"
"Fuck yeah! This is…" he turned to her his eyes shining bright with excitement, "amazing."
"Thanks. After doing some of the reading from your novel I couldn't get some of the imagery out of my head so…"
His eyes looked away from the woman cladded in red to look at the picture beside it with a building at the center. The details on the metal fence were immaculate along with the windows.
"The insane asylum…" he mumbled more to himself than her but she nodded either way taking a seat at the corner of her desk as he inspected the others. Her eyes would periodically go from him to the drawings with a small smile on her face.
"What are you going to do with them?" He asked after a bit.
She cleared her throat and looked away to one of the walls of the room, "Nothing, they're for you to keep so really the question is what are you going to do with them?"
There was silence for a few seconds and when she turned to face him again he had walked significantly closer to her. Her body stiffened as his arms went around her moments later. His breath was warm and skimmed her neck as he whispered the low "thank you" and at the word she felt her body relax. Her chin lowered to rest on his shoulder and her treacherous hands slowly lifted to lightly grip his sides as she semi returned the hug.
"Hey boss I got the receipts ready for…oh shit! Sorry, sorry, sorry! I'll be back later!
Both move slightly away to turn to the doorway to see a flash of yellow.
When Wanda turned back to look at him, his fingertips were already sliding down her arms and pulling back. His gaze had returned back to the drawings, "They're really great. I appreciate it."
Wanda found herself nodding and pushed away from her desk. "You're welcome. I…um better get back to work."
"Right, I'm up next too so…" he gingerly started picking up the drawings. By the time he was ready she was at the doorway waiting for him to close the door.
"I guess I'll see you around," he remarked and started heading toward the door that led back to the Mercury lounge.
She's not sure if he hears the small 'yeah' that escapes her lips but soon after the word she's already walking down the hall towards the Scarlet Ink lobby.
Before she reaches it there's a "Hey" behind her making her turn to find him jogging towards her. One of his hands grabs for her and she made to pull away but before she gets a chance he puts something in it.
"It's my most recent chapter, if you find the time I'd love to pick your brain about it…"
"Uh, sure…" he nods at her again and then jogs away. When he is gone she looks at the orange and black usb in her hand before pocketing it and making her way to the front.
When she passes through the door, she finds Jubilee at her desk, her head facing down at a piece of paper. When she looks up her cheeks flush and her lips curl upwards in a knowing smile.
"Stop, that was nothing."
"I didn't even say anything!"
"You're thinking it."
"Thinking what?" Ray asked, coming up to them while outstretching a hand out to Jubilee to give her something.
"Nothing," they both answered quickly, Jubilee looking to a wall as Wanda watched her with narrowed eyes.
"...Ok…" Ray looked from one to the other before backing away from them.
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O Monday O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
Jubilee stirred in her sleep. It wasn't until she moved in a particular way that caused the sun to hit her in the face that she realized she had fallen asleep after fooling around with Ray, and that she was in his bed, again! She sat up quickly and looked around for her phone to check the time but she had slept by the wall this time and her phone was somewhere on the ground on the edge side. She blinked a few times before her eyes made out his figure, he was on his side facing the edge instead of her and after a moment's hesitation she made to get off the bed but froze in place when she heard his voice.
"It's Monday, they're both at work."
Talk about Dejavu.
She made a small sound of acknowledgement before slowly sinking back into his mattress. Instead of laying back on her back she laid on her side mimicking him and moved in closer to steal some of the heat radiating from his body. Her eyes closed and she tried drifting back to sleep now that she knew it was safe to do so but after a few minutes she realized that it was a no go. She was awake and the small ray of light making its way through his blackout curtains wasn't helping.
Her eyes roamed the area that it could in this position and after looking at the walls and the shadow of his droid machine her eyes went to the tan skin directly in front of her. The outlines of his tattoos were sharp in the lighting and before she knew what she was doing a finger was at his back. She heard the sharp inhale of breath as she started tracing the patterns.
"Can I ask you something?"
"You just did."
She ignored the smartass reply, "What do they mean?" The room got eerily silent and when it remained that way after a few minutes she thought she was going to be ignored. Her hand stopped tracing the branches of the tree at the center of his lower back and slowly slid down to stop touching him all together when he spoke.
"The X is for X-men." Her eyes went up to the X in between his shoulder blades. She refrained rolling her eyes at the fact that he chose the easiest to decipher. "The muscles in that area help protect your heart and lungs from behind…"
Her hand skimmed up his skin to the X that was encircled in a bold circle and noted that it was closer to his left side.
"Do you know the tree?"
She shook her head even though he couldn't see her, finding her voice her "No," was low and barely audible, but they were so close he heard it anyway.
"It's called the Tree of Life. It's found in many cultures, it basically represents the changing of seasons. The birds are Ravens…"
Jubilee's fingers dropped to the birds that were flying away from the tree. There were a few on the branches but he had a few scattered ones, all of them traveling upwards to his right shoulder where they formed into one big one. As she looked at the large raven she felt goosebumps on her skin, things ravens were associated with coming to mind.
Ill Omens, Death and Loneliness.
"The card is the tower tarot card."
Her eyes went to the left shoulder. She had definitely picked up on the fact that it was card due to the design but she didn't know what the huge tower surrounded by lighting was supposed to mean and it seemed like he was not going to elaborate as he shifted and grabbed his phone from the bedside table.
Before she knew what she was doing she found herself leaning towards him and her lips found the X at his center and pressed themselves into him. He stilled at the action, the light from his phone going dim as he stopped messing with it.
After a few seconds her lips left his skin but hovered so close he could still feel her breath on him, "I think I'm ready."
"To get up?"
"No, though I suppose we should. I think I've thought of a song…"
"Oh…you've been thinking about it? I thought you not bringing it up after I mentioned it last week meant that the answer was a no."
"No…I was just deciding."
"So, what did you pick?"
"Barbie Girl by Aqua."
The tense atmosphere that had enveloped the room broke as his laughter rang in the darkness. "Shut the fuck up."
He could feel her lips quirk upwards on his skin, "Hey, you said whatever I choose! It's not my fault you gave me that power and you might look like an idiot."
The room got quiet again and he mumbled a loud, "Fuck" while tunring around towards her. "I did that, didn't I?" She nodded as her smile grew even more. "You suck…"
"I thought you enjoyed that?" she asked her expression, going to one of faux innocence.
It was his turn to smile, "We're not talking about the same thing anymore, but I don't mind the subject change," before she had a chance to respond his lips found hers not giving her the chance.
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O Tuesday Night O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
Roberto knew that he should have looked towards the door when the bell rang but he couldn't look away from Wanda and his current client. She wore a black shirt with words and a picture that he hadn't quite made out when she walked in. It matched with her black shorts and the red leather jacket which also combined well with the red headband that kept her dark hair in place.
She was beautiful…
"Should you really be staring like that?"
The whisper made him jump up off the stool like a startled cat, catching Wanda's attention. She eyed him before her gaze flicked to the newcomer, an eyebrow arching before looking back at the girl's caramel skin who hadn't noticed a thing.
Roberto turned towards the front of the counter as well. "Sometimes a view is too beautiful to look away from," as he said the words his eyes glazed over her own figure. Amara didn't notice, her eyes going to Wanda and the woman in her chair, the only hint that she had heard him being the soft low, "Hmm."
"So to what do I owe this pleasant surprise?" he asked, grabbing her attention back as he moved to walk around the counter to head into the lobby.
"You say that as if you haven't seen me in so long…I was just in your class this morning."
He grinned, "Just because it wasn't so long ago doesn't mean I don't think it's pleasant."
"Jubilee invited me over to the lounge, said it was a night I didn't want to miss," she remarked, answering his previous question.
"Oh that's cool…" he answered while going to stand by her.
"...Are you going to go over too?"
"Hmm, we're closing today."
"Fun," Amara remarked with a soft smile.
"Not really, but ya I'll try and go over on my lunch" he responded and dragged the towel in his hand on the counter in front of where she stood, putting him at a close proximity as his outstretched hand leaned against her arm and stopped.
Amara tried to ignore the way her heartbeat spiked at the contact and her eyes sought him out only to find him watching the dark skinned girl in Wanda's chair. She turned to stare at her as well and she found the curve of her mouth slipping down into a pout as her heartbeat thundered in her ears for a completely different reason than excitement.
She was so busy staring that she didn't notice when Roberto turned back to her. "Have you ever seen true love?"
Her eyes widened at how close his voice was and her head slightly moved to the side to find that he was standing closer than before. The warmth of his body heat seeped into the arm that was still making contact with her and despite herself she found a tingle crawling down her spine as his deep brown met her cocoa.
She somehow found the energy to shake her head 'no' and watched as his eyes dipped down to her lips for a brief second before looking back to Wanda. This time as he turned, he let the arm that had been dangling by his side move onto the countertop, opposite of the one still holding the rag trapping her petite figure in between his arms.
She watched his face lower and held her breath as she felt his chin rest on her shoulder. His breath was warm against her earlobe and the little hairs in the back of her neck stood at attention as his low whisper reached her.
"It looks like that…" Her eyes sought what he was looking at but nothing had changed before her. Wanda's face was looking at the calf she was piercing, wiping it every few seconds to clean the combination of ink and blood. Noticing that she wasn't looking where she was supposed to, his head nudged against hers slightly moving her gaze to the corner. "The way he's looking at her…"
And that's when she finally noticed the him he was referring to was. There was a man sitting at the corner of Wanda's space, his eyes glued to the young woman on the tattoo chair, his hands up in the air moving at a rapid speed.
"He looks at her like she's the only one in the room…like she's the only one in this world…that's pure adoration. And it's reciprocated."
She turned back to the woman who was in fact watching the pale men intently. The smile on her lips was bright, so bright that for a moment Amara had to wonder if Wanda was really punctoring her leg with needles.
"It's beautiful…and it's really hard to look away when they come in."
Amara nodded and found that she couldn't look away from the duo anymore either.
"Here's to hoping that someday we get a taste of that."
Well if anything was going to steal her attention it would be that. Her head moved to the side to face him and he found himself mimicking the movement to the point that their noses skimmed each other.
Her lips parted to speak but before she could say anything there was a loud, "Hey!" that made her jump in place which caused his body to tense as well.
"Roberto have you seen Amara? I asked her to meet at the end of my shift and I thought she'd already be here by now but…"
Roberto looked over his shoulder as Jubilee rambled on and in a swift movement swung his body to the side stopping when his elbow landed on the counter top putting him in a pose as Jubilee's eyes widened as Amara appeared before her.
"She's here…"
"Hi," Amara greeted slowly, turning to face her.
Jubilee looked between them before smiling, "Hey…sorry I didn't mean to interrupt you guys conversation I just…"
"Oh no it's fine, I was looking for you actually," the dark skinned girl turned to look at Roberto who turned to her as well. "I guess I'll probably see you next door later…"
He nodded, "Yeah…I'll see you both," he answered and turned to Jubilee who just perked an eyebrow at him. Amara nodded and walked towards the Asian girl, letting her intertwine her arm with her as they started walking away together. He watched them go, not bothering to look away even when Jubilee's whisper reached him.
"So I'm curious, did you really think you were going to find me there?"
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
Ray shook his head as Bobby came towards him and brought a hand up for a high-five. Deciding not to leave him hanging, his hand made contact with his.
"Tell me we didn't kill it?" he asked, taking the empty seat beside him as he nodded at the many other members at the table.
"No comment."
"Dick."
Ray smirked at the insult, "The only thing I will say is that I wasn't expecting that song."
"Tabby chose it and you know how it is, you gotta do what the woman says," as if being summoned Tabitha appeared and took a seat on the blonds lap.
"Actually I don't know how that is."
"How what is? What are you guys talking about?"
"Ray is saying that he loved your choice of Scream and Shout."
"Sure I was."
Tabotha scoffed, "Don't even, I saw you singing along with the oh we oh's."
"Your eyes were deceiving you, pretty sure that was Jub…what they hell! where did those come from?" he asked as he turned to look at Jubilee who was sitting on the other side of him deep in conversation with Amara and some of the female members of the X-men.
She stopped her conversation to turn to see what he was talking about, "What?"
"I got you two shots and the beer…where did these come from?" he asked and pointed to another two shot glasses.
"Uh…" she shot a guilty look at Anna who smirked, "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know she had a limit."
"She doesn't but…" Ray's mouth closed, not sure how to explain that he had just wanted to give Jubilee a small burst of liquid courage, not full on getting her drunk. He hadn't told anyone that they were possibly going up on the stage waiting to see if she was really going to go through with it, she hadn't backed out just yet.
Before he could say anything else the dance music playing started to fade as a voice talked over the remaining beats asking the next karaoke act to come up.
"I repeat, can Are and Jay come up to the stage?"
Jubilee's eyes widened and her head turned to him in a whiplashing speed. Ray stared back at her, "You good?"
After a few seconds she nodded and bit her bottom lip, "Yeah, ok…"
They blinked at each other before he let out a small, "Fuck…alright," and got up. As he did Kurt was showing up to the table with a huge smile and two shots. Perfect.
"Hey where are you…" Kurt didn't finish the question as Ray took both small glasses and chugged them one after another.
He shook his head as the taste of tequila burned his throat, "Thanks, I needed that." Kurt's mouth dropped open in shock and was going to verbalize his thoughts but before he could Ray turned and looked at Jubilee, "Come on Barbie let's go party."
Jubilee giggled at the words, "Holy shit, I really have to do it now," she mumbled more to herself than anyone else before turning to Amara and grabbing one of her hands, "Wish me luck." She then got up and followed Ray who was already a few steps in front of her.
Amara watched them go confused, "Wait…what's going on?" she asked and turned to some of the X-men.
"They're going up…" it wasn't an X-men who answered. Anna glanced over her shoulder at the table behind them. Remy returned her gaze before looking back towards the stage.
"Oh my god I think you're right," Kitty remarked, jumping out of Lance's lap to go towards the rail.
Rahne went to stand next to her, the monitor that was on the stage so that the crowd could sing along at certain points had Are and Jay in big letters. "R and J…sneaky sneaky."
"Well this is a bizarre turn of events," Kurt remarked, forgetting about his stolen shots as he put the glasses down on the table. "Especially because the last time Ray was on that stage to sing was…"
"Forever ago, probably since the last time just us Jr. X-men were up there before we were fused to be X-dolls," Bobby cut in. "This should be fun," he added and shook Tabby in his arms in a playful way.
"I wonder how this went about, we suggested going up there with her too but she said no to us."
Anna looked at Dani before looking at the empty shot glasses on the table, "Sometimes you just need a little nudge" she remarked while adding in her head that maybe that wasn't all that Jubilee was getting to go up there.
"And possibly a dare on Ray's behalf right? Either that or he lost a bet cause why would he be going up there?"
Tabitha looked at Sam who asked the question. Multiple answers were yelled out but she didn't pay attention to them, instead she stayed quiet and her eyes went to the stage.
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
"I can't believe I'm doing this…this is insane there are so many people here…"
Ray smirked and looked over his shoulder, "You've had four fucken shots, you'll be fine. Once you're up there and the lights blind you it all kind of just fades away anyway."
"You're awfully calm for someone who's about to sing everyone's favorite one hit wonder."
"It's what I get for opening my big mouth."
She didn't respond to the comment as they both made their way onto the stage. A brown haired Asian girl was waiting for them. "Well this is an interesting surprise, Berzerker."
"Taryn," Ray nodded in greeting.
"I don't think I've seen either of you participate before." Both shook their heads giving her their answer. "Right, well pretty straightforward. Pick a song, there's different categories…the words will pop up on this monitor," she pointed to a small screen in front of them. It was large enough for the words to be read but small enough that the crowd could still see them. "They will also appear on that large screen behind you in case you want to engage the crowd to sing along…most of them do anyway. Any questions?" she asked, bringing up the menu and handling Ray the control.
"Nope," he answered while giving the remote to Jubilee while taking a few steps forward to look into the crowd. Shit, Jubilee had been right, there were a lot of people there, worse yet many of them cheered as they recognized him. His eyes went to where the Acolytes, Brotherhood and other X-men sat. Many of the girls were at the rails now and waving at him excitedly. He was never going to live this down.
His eyes left them as music started and he turned around to give Jubilee a puzzled look. It wasn't the promised song.
She bit her lip in amusement while handing over a microphone, "I wasn't really going to do that to you but props on not backing out when I said it, though…I don't think this song is any better. Sorry I was listening to an 80's playlist and I drew a blank…" her hands went into the air and he couldn't help but smile at the perfect imitation of the shrugging emoji.
The instrumental part of the song was still going but as if knowing it was going to jump into the lyrics any moment her eyes left his figure to turn to the monitor. Her eyes were wide as the hand that held her own microphone went to her mouth and he could see her gulp before her lips parted, "Goddess on the mountain top," at the sound of her voice the corner the others were at exploded with noise as they cheered and rooted for them.
"Burning like a silver flame. The summit of beauty and love…" she turned away from the monitor to look at him, her eyes still wide and visibly shouting 'help'. "And Venus was her name…"
Without any thought his hand went to his mouth, the black head of the microphone hovering centimeters away from his lips as he turned to look at the monitor, "She's got it…" Jubilee stopped singing as his voice echoed in the room. It exploded with noise as the female portion of the crowd yelled in excitement. She wasn't sure what she had been expecting his singing voice to sound like, with his personality she might have imagined it as a growl like Remy's but in reality it was somewhere in between his and Pietro's tone. Soft yet hard if that made any sense at all, "Yeah, baby, she's got it."
She gave a small smile as she noticed that he didn't seem out of his element at all. There was no nervousness to him even if he might have thought the song seemed a little too silly for him to be singing.
Her lips parted and she joined him for the chorus, both of their voices merging together in perfect harmony, "I'm your Venus, I'm your fire…And your desire…"
As they repeated the line her eyes went back to where Amara and the others were. Her smile widened as she saw a lot of them dancing. Kitty had her fingers in a sideways V and was dragging them across her eyes, Rahne who was next to her was pinching her nose with a hand high in the sky and making it look like she was taking a dip into a pool. Dani was beside her with her hands in the air dragging them down as if she was pulling something from the sky, and then there was Jamie who seemed to be doing the Robot. The last one she could see from where she was was Laura. She was pointing at her hips before swaying them back and forth making the message the others were trying to give her loud and clear.
DANCE
She shook her head and turned back to the monitor but she found herself swaying back and forth, "Her weapons were her crystal eyes Making every man a man…"
Ray was nodding to the song, his eyes never leaving the monitor, "Black as the dark night she was…Got what no-one else had…" he then surprised the whole room, Jubilee included as he yelled out a loud and enthusiastic , "Wooow."
It surprised her so much that she stopped singing to stare at him, a semi surprised smile on her face. Noticing the lack of her voice he turned to her and perked a brow. "I'm your Venus, I'm your fire…And your desire."
They repeated the verse again and then took a moment to catch their breath as the instrumental played. She also took this moment to look back at the X-men's table and grinned as she noticed that some of the boys had started either dancing or waving their hands up in the air. Even Amara was up now and Laura was showing her how to swing her arms in a circle.
"Your friends want us to dance…" she remarked making sure her mic was pressed into her stomach so nose could escape into it.
At the comment Ray looked away from the monitor to look at the usual table he sat at. Sure enough they were all swaying around erratically, "I don't know them," he responded after a beat making her laugh. She then surprised him as her hands went up to her face in the sideway V dragging them across her eyes. "Oh, you're feeling those shots now aren't you?"
She shrugged, "We're already up here doing this song. Might as well go all out…" her hands went to the center of her body and waved upwards as he moved to look away from into the crowd.
Ray could have sworn that the corner where the others were got louder and shook his head. It was a wonder what alcohol could do.
They continued the song with Jubilee now feeling comfortable and energetic. Towards the end she had turned to him and her shoulders shook side to side while her body moved forward and backwards from him. His eyes studied her carefully, her brown eyes were blown out with a hint of mischief he was starting to get very familiar with.
A silent dare telling him to move. He rolled her eyes making her grin at him but he humored her anyway by allowing feet to step side to side. "She's got it…Yeah, baby, she's got it…"
She stopped moving back and forth to stay in place letting her hip bounce up and down as one of her hands went back to do the batsui. Her dark eyes stayed on him, "I'm your Venus…" her head tilted to the side, "I'm your fire…" knowing what she was asking for he shook his head at her while still singing, "...And your desire."
Her lips twitched up higher and she nodded, "Well, I'm your Venus…" he found himself rolling his eyes again and without much more thought his hand went up to his face, "I'm your fire…" he refused to put them in the sideways peace sign but dragged the hand across his face, "And your desire…"
She laughed and looked away from him to look back at the crowd. One of her hands went up into the air while the other kept the mic at her lips as she finished the song off with "Yeah baby she's got it," until the music stopped.
When they went back to the table they were greeted with loud cheers and applause.
"Like please tell me that was an audition cause if it was you are totally in. I like just finished snapping Jean and Scott…" Jubilee blushed at the words and took a seat besides the young brunette who kept talking. Amara eventually went to her and threw an arm around her shoulder while mumbling, 'You guys looked really good up there'.
Ray watched with a hint of a smile before looking away as a, "I can't believe you gave me shit about our song but then you went and did that…" was directed at him making him turn to Bobby.
"In all fairness I didn't have any say in it."
Bobby smirked and repeated his earlier words, "You know how it is…" Ray had no response to it making the blond add, "hey did anyone record that for black mail purposes?"
"Got it!" Ray turned and glared at Anna who shrugged and then tapped her phone making the song explode from the small device.
Soon the whole table was singing , "I'm your Venus, I'm your fire, And your desire."
Ray shook his head and pushed Bobby playfully making both boys laugh, neither of them realized that there was a missing blond from their group.
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
Laura laughed to herself as she walked through the crowd of people heading towards the junction that connected Scarlet Ink and the Mercury Lounge. Anna had sent her the video of Ray and Jubilee and she was on her way to show Roberto and Wanda, something this good couldn't wait.
Once she reached the door she took a few steps into the hallway but stopped when she heard a voice. It could have been almost anyone else and she would have happily walked away not giving it a second thought but it was his voice, so she stopped midstep. The door to his office was slightly cracked letting his voice travel out. She had wondered where he had run off to because she hadn't seen him in about an hour and suddenly she realized that he had missed that performance too.
It definitely wouldn't hurt to make that pit stop first. She walked towards the door and gave a slight push letting it up without a sound. His back was to her as he leaned on his desk. From where she stood it looked like one of his hands was crossed in front of his chest while the other held up his phone to his ear.
"And you're sure?" he nodded at whatever answer was given to his question. "Alright…I need you…" as he said the words he turned to look at something from his desk and that's when he caught sight of her. His eyes widened and after a brief pause he added, "Hey, you know what let me call you back."
After a quick bye the phone was hung up and placed on his desk before saying, "Hi…"
She perked a brow, she was getting a feeling that the abrupt way he had finished his phone was due to her and not in a good way. "Hey, sorry I didn't mean to bother you. I just heard your voice and…you just missed a good show."
"Oh, really?"
"...Yeah." He nodded at the response and they stared at each other for a few seconds before her eyes went to his phone, "So, who was that?" His mouth opened and closed repeatedly in a hesitant way. After a few more seconds of silence her eyes widened, "OHHH…Ohh…hey it's ok. You can talk to other girls. I mean we never said we were exclusive…"
She kept talking but at the moment she had said the word 'girls', Pietro had already sprung into action and was across the room. "What?" he asked.
"Your phone call…we never made anything exclusive so if it was a girl you don't have to be all weird…" she didn't finish the sentence. His head had leaned forward closing the space between them and his lips found hers. The chaste peck wasn't enough for him though, not this time and he pressed his tongue in between her lips causing them to open inviting himself in.
When they parted he pecked her lips one more time for good measure before pulling away, "Did you want to?"
"What?"
"Be exclusive?" Her mouth opened in surprise and she hated that she could feel her cheeks go warm. He waited a few seconds for a response but when she didn't say anything he licked his lips, "I didn't really want to bring it up before cause I didn't want to scare you off by rushing things…I know saying yes to a few dates was a hard enough and you were adamant about nothing happening before so…I guess I'm a little worried about rejection. Which now sounds really stupid when I say it out loud," he puffed out that sounded like half a laugh and half a groan.
She blinked a few times and watched him before answering with, "That is the weirdest way anyone has asked me to be their girlfriend."
He let a small chuckle out before smiling at her, "Will you officially be my girlfriend?"
The heat she felt in her cheeks elevated, "I'm already sleeping with you so…"
"That is the weirdest way anyone has ever said yes to me," he responded before moving in for a kiss. This was a short and sweet one and when they parted he added, "That was a yes right?" making her laugh and nod before moving in for another kiss.
When they parted she allowed her hands to wrap around his waist and hugged him close, getting a good whiff of his cologne and multiple scents he handled. She felt his lips at her temple and the warm feeling seeped into her whole body making her face bury itself in his chest.
After a minute of hugging his arms tightened around hers, "Hey…are you doing anything this weekend?"
Her head moved back to look at him, "Work but other than that no…"
"Do you think you could get days off if you asked?" Both her brows perked upwards in question. "The person I was talking to on the phone was… Jason Wyngarde." Her head tilted to the side, he could tell that the name sounded familiar but she didn't fully recognise it. "He's the manager for the Acolytes."
Her eyes widened as she stared into his sapphire orbs and the grip she had on him started to loosen.
"I found Sabertooth."
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
When Ray opened the back door to the building he hadn't been expecting company. Especially not the one he found.
"Hey, when did you sneak out here?"
"A while ago."
"I thought you stopped vaping?"
"I did."
"Oh, then what are you doing out here?"
Tabitha shrugged nonchalantly against the wall she was leaning on, "Just getting some fresh air…and thinking."
"Oh oh, that's never good, you were always an over-thinker," he teased.
She gave a small nod, "Bobby hates it too."
He nodded and took his vape out of his pocket giving it a good inhale. They both stayed in silence for a few minutes, he wasn't sure if he'd consider it a comfortable one. After a bit longer he asked, "Should I ask?" And took another hit.
"How long have you been sleeping around with Jubilee?"
Ray coughed out the vapor before turning to his blonde ex, the look on his face a mixture of surprise and annoyance, "What the Fuck Tabitha?"
She turned to face him, her face serious and determined not planning to back off even with his reaction. "Don't get it twisted this isn't coming from a jealous ex point of view."
"I fucken hope not, cause Bobby's good for you."
"He is," she agreed. "Again this isn't coming from there…it's coming from the first hand experience I have drowning in you. Don't fucken do that to her, I actually like her. She's fun and sweet and bubbly…don't ruin her with your bullshit."
His eyes narrowed as he stared at her. He took another hit of his vape and blew the smoke opposite from her and started making his way back inside.
"I'm not just worried about her." He stopped walking to look at her over his shoulder. "I saw the connection the first time I saw her, you remember that day? Your hands in that bowl mixing dough…"
"…" an image of Jubilee in a plaid skirt and long sleeve shirt came to mind.
"She's leaving…even if things start off as a game it's so easy to catch feels."
"You don't know what you're talking about Tabitha, especially cause I don't know what you're talking about… there's nothing going on."
She let a breath out that sounded in between a chuckle and a scoff. One of his eyebrows arched upwards as her hand went up to her face and dragged down. He didn't have a response to that. So he walked away without another word.
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O TBC O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
I'm not going to lie to you…I LOVED that scene with Tabitha and Ray at the end. I felt the tension, I can see the scene so clearly in my head and I absolutely adore it. There's just something so powerful to me about some calling him out on it, noticing it and crazy enough or maybe not since she would know him in that romantical setting, it's his ex. I loved it.
In case you didn't catch the couple that Roberto and Amara stare at during their scene at the parlor, it was Druig and Makkari of the Eternals. I loved them so much that they ended up with a cameo ;)
Jubilay- They are so freaking cute! The cuddles after sex have started, and again they're just getting into a place where they're very comfortable with each other. I loved all their interactions in the chapter from the flirting at the mall to the singing on stage. They're just neat! We'll see if it all continues after Tabitha's outburst ;)
Amarto- I love that everyone sees that they like each other but these two losers are in denial about it. Like they can't believe that the other would like them, they're so funny.
Romy- Jealous not Jealous Rogue is fun ;) Um…yeah I guess at least one person knows what's up with them and it's so hilarious who it is XD Poor Logan has to deal with all the hormones around him LOL. They had their cute little moment at the car shop ;)
Xietro- We got a glimpse into their song for Nocturnal Madness and an official girlfriend request! Yay one of our ships is now official! It just took 24 chapters! XD I guess we'll be meeting Victor Creed soon :P
Jonda- I loved this moment between them. There's something so special to me about them doing something in their craft for each other. You know John making a character based on her and then her drawing it for him, it just feels so intimate because it's things they love you know? They're using their artistic abilities which they love for the people they're in love with…I said love a whole bunch of times there but you guys get it right? It was a special moment which leads to a hug which means we're getting closer to where we need to be. You guys have noticed that this is the only ship now that hasn't had a sexy moment yet right? Cool, I'm just going to leave you with that thought…
Bwahahaha, I didn't use Barbie Girl after all, I just liked the imagery of Ray saying the title of this chapter to Jubilee and decided to trick you all ;) The karaoke song is of course "Venus" by Bananarama (While writing the scene tho I actually listened to shocking blues original version) , the song playing at the store was another classic "You spin me Round (like a Record)" by Dead or Alive, and Laura and Pietro's duet is "Photo Voltaire" by Julian K feat Chibi (from the Birthday Massacre).
Announcement: So I took the last month off to get my ideas for the end of this fic together and to write…and then…I watched Netflix's Wednesday and became completely, overtly, obsessively in love with Wavier (Wednesday x Xavier) and didn't do shit but read fanfics, make an edit, start a little drabble…yeah…long story short I'm not promising you guys a chapter next month. It's very 50/50…and I'm still in love and obsessed with Wavier now so….BYE!
Lol. Happy New Years guy! Thanks for spending another year with me and I hope that you stick with me until the end. See you soon!
-UHW