Introductions and Apologies

Posted on Sun Jul 7th, 2024 @ 8:57am by Connor Bruin & Bliss Hawkins & Jean Grey

Mission: Episode 4: The Savage ConneXion
Location: X-Mansion Mansion Driveway
Timeline: September 20, 1990

Jean’s back was towards the main gates of the mansion as she telekinetically arranged several large moving boxes into the back of Scott’s red Jeep. The boxes stacked themselves in an orderly and methodical manner, only for the last one to not fit properly. With a frustrated sigh from Jean, all the boxes took themselves out of the backseat to be stacked again in a different composition. She was about to start over when Jean picked up on one of her favorite mental signatures. In a world where most people’s thoughts sounded like single instruments, his were a symphony. With a smile she gently set all the floating boxes on the ground before turning to face the gates.

~* ‘Connor!’ *~ Jean’s smile brightened as she saw him and began to walk towards him for a hug. The last time she had seen him, Connor was still living on Muir. So much had changed in such a short amount of time. ~* ‘Moira told me you had joined the school, how are you?’ *~

Bliss and Connor had been walking up the driveway from the bus stop, back from one of their frequent and at times mischievous jaunts into town. There were few people whose voices were familiar in Connor's head. Out of all them, Jean's voice always stood out the most, like her thoughts harmonized together into a resonance underutilized by others.

~I am the same~ Connor replied by way of explaining his current condition during their embrace. ~But you are different, aren't you? You have passed through fire and shadow since our last meeting.~ An entire brass section of trumpets sounded off inside his mind. ~Elation only scratches the surface of my relief, Jean. Seeing you is such a surprise. I admit wouldn't have imagined it in a hundred guesses, probability being what it is. Curiosity begs you tell me your tale. Excitement, though, surpasses that impulse with another~

Connor slid his arm around Bliss's shoulders. ~Presenting Bliss Hawkins, star of the morning, jewel of the heavens, enthroned in the golden tier, my silver strand, the personification of my raison d'être. May you be as impressed as I am~

While he engaged Jean in telepathic conversation, he signed for Bliss. <. This is Jean Grey. She is nice. I have already introduced you to her because she can read minds like the Professor. .>

Bliss stood back with her hands on her hips, a relaxed and warm smile on her face. It wasn't often that she saw Connor react with such warmth to others, and she always loved to see it. When Connor put his arm over her shoulder, Bliss seemed to glow from inside

"I didn't need Connor to put a name to the face." Bliss offered her hand to the older redhead. "You're the straw that stirs the drink around here. Your pictures are all over this place."

“Hello, Bliss, it’s nice to meet you.” Jean shook the offered hand and chuckled a little at her choice in words. Stirring had the ability to bring elements together but it could also be considered an agitating action, but based on the events occurring today, it wasn’t inaccurate. “I’ve never heard it put that way before, I suppose you’re right.”

While Jean’s face was scattered across the mansion in photos, it was different to see her in person. Her physical beauty was apparent but it was her presence that added to her attractiveness. There was a welcoming and inviting air to Jean, while Xavier often provided a hopeful and sage sort of presence, she felt vivacious and vibrant. Jean was someone who chose life and to love every aspect of it, including the people she encountered. Like sunshine warming your skin, Jean often made people feel happy and optimistic. Dressed in sunshine yellow dress and off-white heels, her attire celebrated the Indian summer that lingered in late September, Jean held on to any warmth the world provided.

~* ‘She’s lovely, Connor.’ *~ Jean beamed at him. Moira had wanted him to attend Xavier’s in order to break out of his routine on Muir, to experience more of what the world had to offer him and he seemed to be doing just that. ~* ‘I’m so happy for you two.’ *~

“I apologize for excessive telepathy,” Jean said to Bliss, more than aware of how potentially uncomfortable it could be. “Connor’s thoughts flow differently than his words and there is an ease to speaking with him in that manner that I’ve yet to experience in another way.”

While Jean kept Bliss from feeling left out, Connor replied to her compliments. ~They say love is where you find it but almost never where you look for it. I've never known love before. I hope this is it. We're going to find out together~ Connor made no effort to hide his memories of floating away with Bliss into the night air, kissing while she held them aloft with her power after fighting over a bottle of Bobby's stashed scotch whiskey.

~* ‘Love is the easiest thing and the hardest thing that you will ever do.’ *~ Her smile became winsome over his exuberance, falling in love was an exciting time especially when it was your first.

Connor grinned right in Bliss's face and let out a chuckle before he signed some more. <. I think differently than I speak. It cannot be helped. I am only thinking nice things. .> He couldn't hide his guilty look, though.

Bliss rolled her eyes at Connor with a saucy smirk. "Connor, you couldn't keep a secret in a safe." She ruffled her fingers to his hair with affection. "You're just lucky you're adorable and available." She cupped her palms over his ears and looked to Jean with a grin. "A girl has to keep her boy in line. You know, keep his ego in check. Any suggestions?"

“I don’t know if I have any advice for keeping an ego in check. I wouldn’t consider egotistical as being one of Scott’s personality traits.” Her response was an answer to an unasked question of who her boy was. Jean was packing boxes into Scott’s car and she said his name with endearment not scorn, they appeared to be on good terms. "I wouldn't try to check his ego anyways, self-worth is important."

Jean's response created a moment of doubt and insecurity in Bliss. Jean seemed to be perfect and composed in her response, selecting the higher ground of compassion rather than commiseration. She couldn't help but notice how differently she was dressed when compared to Jean. The redhead was dressed like a finishing school graduate, totally fashionable from head to toe. Their choice in clothing seemed to mirror their outlook on life. Bliss was wearing her beat up keds, very loose distressed jeans held up by suspenders, and a cut off Xavier school t-shirt exposing her belly. Bliss felt like a teen runaway whose edges were rough when compared to the polished perfection of Jean.

"No need to apologize, Jean. If I could get inside Connor's head and understand him better I would do it in a hot second." Bliss brushed off the moment of insecurity, these low spots were showing up more often and frequen since their time in the Savage Land. Trying to move past it, she slid her arm around Connor. "He's a keeper."

The redhead smiled at how happy they were together, she could relate to their developing relationship. “Having a relationship with someone on your team can be precarious at times, it can create some challenging situations and dynamics. Knowing them better is essential." Jean continued, “I could allow the two of you to communicate telepathically. I would have to be present but you could at least have a conversation together.”

Bliss's eyebrow Rose in curiosity. "Wow, I don't want to know everything about Connor inside and out, that would take away the mystery, right? But I wouldn't mind a peek under the hood, just to see how things are connected."

“Not inside and out. I don’t think anyone but Connor could know his mind fully.” Jean glanced at him with a small laugh, it was a pleasant sound. “I could take you both to the astral plane. Non-telepaths can access the first level of the plane when dreaming and it's a fairly harmless place. I can take both of you to that plane while awake, it would be like a shared, lucid dream. But, Connor can speak there without inhibition.”

Bliss chuckled at the wisdom of dating people on the same team. "Honestly who else am I supposed to date? The dating pool is pretty shallow around here. I'm lucky I found the treasure when I did. I suppose I could go to the high school across town and see what I can dredge up. Somehow I don't think anybody over there could hold a candle to my Bubblicious here." She leaned in and gave Connor a kiss on the cheek saucily.

“I didn’t say you shouldn’t, I would be a hypocrite if I said that.” Jean telekinetically placed a single box into the back of the Jeep. “I just mean you need to be careful, more aware of how that relationship changes things.” Jean pursued her full lips as she thought of the best way to explain it, the way loving someone in a moment of crisis changes everything. “There will be times when you will have to make choices, who to help and who to ignore. The obvious choices aren’t the moments I’m talking about, it's more the smaller choices that are based on instinct. When you have the option to spare the person you love from pain or distress, it becomes the preferred choice. That preference will not go unnoticed by your teammates and it has the potential to build animosity and to be dangerous, especially when it’s unexpected.”

Jean placed another box in the Jeep as she spoke. “Let your teammates know that preference exists and a good team will compensate for that preference.” The redhead’s voice softened at touch as she continued. “I will always pick Scott and Scott will always pick me. Because of that, the rest of our team knows to watch each other over either one of us, a balance created by that shared knowledge and a cooperative relationship.”

While the girls deliberated on the dynamics of team relationships, Connor was too busy blushing from Bliss calling him by his pet name. He couldn't help but remember the oral fixation on Bliss's part that had led to her naming him after her favorite stick of gum.

"ARE YOU SURE GOING TO THE ASTRAL PLANE IS A GOOD IDEA?" Connor asked through his device. "YOU MIGHT SEE THINGS." But when he looked at Bliss, his eyes grew wide with longing. Just having a conversation with her would be worth any embarrassment. "I DO WANT TO TRY."

Bliss had been pondering Jean's words with due diligence. She hadn't considered how their relationship would impact team dynamics. She didn't want to cause issues with the others over her affection for Connor. The more she worked to be the best X-Men she could, the more she found that this was what she wanted to do to help not just her people but her friends and herself ultimately. Working at Chuck E Cheese paled in comparison to trying to save the world on a regular basis. If not her, then who? Connor's mechanical words jostled her out of her own thoughts. "It's up to Connor. My life has never been sunshine and rainbows and unicorns. But it's like a tapestry, you can't pull on a thread to remove it without destroying everything that comes after."

"Yeeeeah," Connor forced out of his mouth with a vigorous nod. He looked at Jean. ~Please, Jean. But only if you are comfortable. I will do my best not to recall the time Bliss performed fellatio anymore. Certainly you do not want to see that~

Jean half grimaced and half smirked from Connor’s mental oversharing, he wasn’t as bad as some people when it came to explicit details but it was the innocent way that it was delivered that made it a touch more forgivable. ~* ‘Just don’t think about that sort of stuff when you’re talking to me and you’ll be fine.’ *~ Jean gave him a moment to consider her statement and to put two and two together.

“All right, we can get together the next time I’m here.” Jean turned the conversation verbal so Bliss could hear. “I’ll be back soon enough.” Jean glanced towards the house, a brief and silent conversation occurring that neither Bliss or Connor was privy to. “He finally found that last missing box, why was it in the Solarium?” She muttered more to herself than to them but it confirmed who she was talking to. “We’re just about ready to head back to the city. Do you two have any other questions?” She asked while telekinetically stacking the boxes in the driveway into the back of the Jeep, a single sweeping gesture of her hand that caused them to neatly stack on top of one another.

Bliss held up a hand. "I gave Scott hell before he left. I'm glad he's getting his shit together, I'll tell him myself if I see him. Steer him my way, please. As for you? I mean we just met, but I'm glad the two of you seem to be on the right track. I don't know if I could forgive my boyfriend for finding another blue-eyed floozie a few weeks after I take a vacation from the world. Ya got chutzpah. I like that."

“Scott is more than my boyfriend… we’re teammates, he’s my best friend, and he’s my family. There is more to our relationship than a romantic one, there is too much history to just walk away from.” Jean attempted to describe what he meant to her, that Scott was so much more than someone to warm her bed. “He used every resource he had and risked his life to bring me home and when he saw how damaged I was, he stayed by my side. All of that is proof of what I mean to him.”

"But also thanks to this...” Jean gestured to her heart “And a little of this.” She touched her temple. “I know what I mean to him and how he truly feels. So thank you, but a touch more than chutzpah went into my forgiveness of him. I have no doubt he regrets his actions and that he loves me. That reassurance makes it much easier to forgive him. I only hope with time, everyone here can forgive him too.”

Looking back and forth between them, Connor could tell there was more being expressed than was being said. The complexity of it all would require a ton of introspection. Bliss had been acting weird since their return. Their date in town had been fun but not the same magical experience as their first date. Now she was apologizing to Jean when she should be apologizing to Scott. Just what in the world were they really talking about? It was captivating in a way.

"GIRLS ARE COMPLICATED," Connor said through his device. It wasn't a complaint. If anything, it was a point of fascination.

“People are complicated.” Jean corrected Connor’s statement “And don’t be afraid to ask them questions and get to know them, it’s the only way to figure them out.”

"IT WAS A COMPLIMENT." Connor grinned as his device spoke out his clarification. ~When do you think we will proceed with the telepathic joining you had mentioned?~

“I’ll escort the two of you to the astral plane the next time I stop by the mansion.” Jean repeated in response to Connor’s mental request. “Today is an emotionally charged day for me and while it’s nice to be back, I also shouldn’t hang out for too much longer. Once tempers cool down a bit, I can spend a little bit more time here, okay?”

~You cannot say when! But how will I sleep? Perchance to dream of knowing Bliss in the subliminal way you know Scott, knowing all the while it is but an imaginative rendering of the unknowable reality that I long for with bated breath? For I cannot ever predict what Bliss will do or say. She is a living paradox wrapped inside an insatiable body with a soul of fire and ice. Do not tarry, Jean! I wish to know her and for her to know me!~

Outwardly, Connor dropped his shoulders in a sulk. "O-kay," he forced out before blowing his lips.

~* ‘I do oppose my patience to his fury, and am arm'd to suffer with a quietness of spirit, the very tyranny and rage of his. Patience is sottish, and impatience does become a dog that's mad. Though patience be a tired mare, yet she will plod.’ *~ Jean countered Connor’s melodramatic remarks with a touch of Henry V, a favorite of Xavier’s.

~Quoth not the Bard to me!~ Connor began to sulk.

“Think of it as something to look forward to and take some time to think about how to get the most out of the experience.” Jean raised a hand as she paused and reconsidered her statement. “As long as it’s PG interactions.”

Connor started giggling through his blushing cheeks.

The redhead turned to face the mansion as Scott appeared with the final and misplaced box of their things. She smiled at him, the greeting lit up her face and a faint sensation of joy was shared with Connor and Bliss. Scott and Jean seemed like two halves made whole, complementary and complete now that they were reunited.

Although he'd been focused on loading up the pesky last box, Scott's keen eyes noted the charged exchange happening between everyone. "What'd I miss?" he asked plainly.

“I’m going to let Connor and Bliss speak to one another on the astral plane the next time we’re here. Connor can speak with Bliss a little more freely there, allowing her to hear his thoughts as they occur rather than needing some form of interpretation.” Jean watched as he shoved the last box into the back of the Jeep, it was a tight fit to get everything inside. He felt her give the other boxes a slight push that allowed his box to fit a little better. “So it’s something exciting to look forward to.”

The difficulty of making the box fit was a little exaggerated. Scott was just buying time before he had to reply.

~Is that something you really want to do?~ The question came unbidden from the common sense section of Scott's brain. ~Do you really want to do that?~

"Sounds....swell," Scott said rather unconvincingly.

"I DO NOT BELIEVE YOU," Connor said.

"Yeah?" Scott made the smirk that always preceded a clever one-liner. "It's a better idea than you getting drunk in order to talk."

Connor blushed but didn't say anything. At least not out loud. ~That is a long story with details you would rather not know~ His thoughts were expressed for Jean's benefit.

~* ‘I don’t mind helping them’ *~ Jean answered Scott’s question, slightly thrilled by how easily their mental conversations occurred as of late. She had always had to keep a channel open between them, now he could speak to her without her conscious effort to facilitate it. ~* ‘Connor's situation is unique and I want to give them the opportunity to know one another better. Besides, don’t you remember when we were falling in love? It’s a magical time.’ *~

Scott gave an indifferent shrug but he was smirking inside. When Jean had a point, she really made it well.

~* ‘I’m sure I’m going to hear all about it.’ *~ Jean replied with a suspicious smirk towards Connor. ~* ‘There aren’t a lot of secrets when it comes to being with a telepath. It can be a blessing and a curse.’ *~

~Scott purchased alcohol on my behalf~ Connor told Jean. ~Be sure to ask him about that later~

“Scott Summers!” Jean said his name out loud in that half-outraged, half-amused tone that immediately told him she had learned something. “You purchased alcohol for Connor so he could get drunk!”

People didn’t really talk to the former leader of the X-Men like this. His decisions and the absolute way that he delivered them left little room for retort or imprudence. But Jean was different, the candor and sass that came from her had been established between them a long time ago and their relationship allowed for that free flowing speech outside of missions that Scott desperately needed.

“A whole bottle, he didn’t need a whole bottle! What were you thinking!?” Her lips curled into a quirk of a smile as she spoke.

Scott stared at Jean with an unreadable expression, though he might as well have grinned at her. There was no way he could be anything less than transparent with her. "You were young too once," he said evenly. "And you try arguing with Connor."

He closed his eyes and focused on the memory.

"Connor..." Scott groaned because he hated the fact that Connor was making an insane sort of sense. "I'm not buying you alcohol, buddy. You're not a kung fu master. You're not a drunken boxer. I'm glad you had a good time with a special person, but this—"

Whatever Scott was about to say got interrupted by a wordless shout. Connor's face was beyond pleading. There was a touch of rage to it. At first Scott thought it was meant for him, but Connor began typing at a lightning pace to explain. "IF YOU DISCOVER THAT A FEW GULPS OF SCOTCH WHISKEY ALLOWED YOU TO WALK AROUND WITHOUT YOUR RUBY-QUARTZ GLASSES, WOULD IT BE WORTH TRYING TWICE?"

The question cut Scott to the quick. He had to swallow the lump that formed in his throat. "That's not fair and you know it, Connor." Scott bit his lip. "Damn you. I'll think about it."

"I'd love to be a fly on the wall with your rebuttal." Scott crossed his arms and smirked. Sometimes their flirtation was sexy and romantic, but usually it was playful with occasional pointed moments like this one. It all came together in the end.

Jean folded her arms across her chest as that look of provocation appeared on her face, the slight knitting of her brow, the neutral yet amused curl of her lips, that undeniable glint in her eyes. Scott knew when he had her.

“There’s a difference between testing boundaries and pushing limits in a controlled and supervised environment and allowing a student to wander through potential dangerous scenarios unattended.” Her voice was stern and authoritative, a tone Jean used in public speaking when debating or advocating. “You should have been present when he drank and made sure that nothing happened.”

Bliss had been watching this weird combination of telepathic and unspoken words circle around her like clouds of bats. She felt unbelievably exposed and quite vulnerable in the moment. Those same ugly feelings from the Savage Land returned once more and it made her feel like she was the subject of the conversation and she couldn't understand the words.

"You know that feeling that people are gossiping all around you and all you can hear are the whispers and you can't make out anything? And you're sure you're the subject? I've got that feeling right now."

Connor flashed her a quick hand sign.

Bliss sighed and rolled her eyes.
"Connor, we're going to have a talk about the word discretion later."

"Nobody's talking about you, Bliss." Scott's reassurance came with a wary side eye. Bliss had always been a squirrelly one with him. They'd last parted on good terms, but they'd had their differences in the past.

Bliss looked at Scott for the first time with his return. "Scott? Good to see you again. "

~Jean, remind me to tell you about the time Bliss handed me a scrap of paper with the National Domestic Abuse Hotline written on it~ The memory was actually a little funny to Scott in hindsight.

While Jean was good at holding both a verbal and mental conversation at the same time, Scott’s telepathic comment actually produced a visible reaction in her. ~* ‘What?’ *~ She scoffed ~* ‘You’re kidding, right? No, no you aren’t.’ *~

But Jean’s distraction quickly ended when Bliss mentioned her discomfort. “I’m so sorry, Bliss.” She immediately apologized. “Both Scott and Connor are comfortable with telepathic communication so we have a tendency to use it more, simply because it is easier not because of malicious intent. At no point were we discussing you.”

Bliss waved off her negative feelings once more. "I just didn't want to miss out on a great conversation. Like who knows when I'll get to see you and Scott again."

Telepathy made a lot of people uncomfortable and in her casual conversation with two people who were comfortable with it, Jean forgot one of the first rules she should follow - be inclusive. “Once again I apologize, we will all speak verbally to ease your uncertainty. I believe I had asked if you had any questions for me before I left.”

Bliss checked her hip and rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "I got questions all right, but you're on a time crunch. So I'll keep it short. If you had it all to do over again ... Knowing all the pain and sadness waiting for you ahead... Would you do it all over again?"

The past several months had been the hardest of Jean’s life. Her mind, body and soul had been savagely abused in the pursuit of a still unknown goal. And when she finally came home, she found that part of her that lived outside of herself was just as damaged and destroyed.

“Would I do it all again?” Jean repeated the question as she reached out for Scott’s hand and looked up into his eyes. A look of absolute certainty and affection on her face as she feigned a moment of contemplation. “I would do it all again and again and again.” On the surface it was merely a recitation of Bliss’ question but the choice in words meant so much more to Scott and Jean, a secret promise to never stop loving each other. ~* 'Forever and again.' *~

Scott looked hard at Bliss for a moment before he took Jean in one arm, tilted her back, and planted a firm kiss against her lips. After standing her back up, Scott looked back at Bliss with a tight smirk on his face. "What do you think?"

Bliss watched Scott's antics with an unimpressed smirk. She crossed her arms over her chest.
"Overcompensation for your previous missteps, or just marking your territory?"

“Bliss…” Jean remarked on her curt comment. While the bombshell may have had friction with Scott, Jean was new to her. “Please. It’s been challenging enough.” A request for some compassion for her sake more than his. In that moment, Jean felt Bliss' internal struggle with a dark part of herself that made her insecure and mean. It was a small cry for help but one that Jean still managed to hear. "Maybe you and I should talk about challenges the next time I'm here?"

Bliss felt a rare pang of guilt about how her words to Scott had hurt the frail Jean. Her life had been far from easy, and she hid her pain behind a cheeky attitude full of bravado. She could be sarcastic and caustic at times when she got her dander up. But she didn't mean to hurt the telepath. It made her feel like he had kicked a puppy. She sent an apology to Jean in her thoughts. She shrugged slightly at the vague offer of help, it wasn't a 'no' but it also wasn't a 'yes'.

Bliss once again returned to the present and the topic at hand. "In any case, I'm just happy for you, Scott, and you, Jean. You may not have liked what I said and how I said it a few weeks ago, but I said it from an honest concern for you. But what do I know? You gotta run your own railroad." With that, Bliss offered a hand for Scott to shake.

"You're a real piece of work, Bliss." Scott clapped her hand with a hearty shake. "But you've got to be for what comes next. Good luck to the both of you."

"Guilty as charged." Bliss nodded with a refreshed and honest smile. She was glad that he didn't seem to hold a grudge. She actually liked him and had been disappointed with what had happened when he left originally. But now thing seemed to be on track for the two of them. "Same for you and Jean. I know you guys got to find your own path, but don't be a stranger around here. You're family."

"This place will always be part of us," Scott said. "We're just going out to make another place like it in its honor. When we do, you both are welcome there anytime."

Connor frowned in thought. "YOU ARE MAKING ANOTHER SCHOOL?"

"No, Connor," Scott said with a shake of his head and a light chuckle, the variety he reserved for conversations with the burly Dutchman-turned-Scotsman. "Not exactly. When it's ready, I'll give you the tour myself though."

Jean placed a hand on Scott’s chest and looked up at him with a smile. The swell of enthusiasm inside of him while he spoke about their next endeavor made her proud of him. “Let’s get going, we’ll be arriving into the city just as rush hour is starting. The longer we wait, the worse it’s going to be.” She let go of Scott and started to round the Jeep to the passenger’s side. “We’ll be back soon, you’ll have fair warning before we arrive. I’ll talk to you both soon.”

"You two have fun storming the castle!" Bliss waved with a genuine smile for the pair of them.