Quick and Sweet

Posted on Tue Jan 30th, 2024 @ 7:39pm by Connor Bruin & Bobby Drake & Bliss Hawkins

1,393 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Episode 3: X-Tra Ecclesiam
Location: Blackbird
Timeline: August 24th, 1990 - Afternoon (before "God Loves, Man Kills")

Bliss found her way across the cabin of the Blackbird to where Connor was busy with Connor stuff. She tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention.

Her usual smile was dimmed with the stress of what was to come. But her affection was clear in her emerald eyes. She tapped his chest twice over his heart, then crossed her wrists over her chest.

<. Come home to me, .> she signed.

Connor broke away from the five data streams he was simultaneously reviewing and collating for the rest of the time and grinned. <. You are home, .> he signed in returned. Without his gloves on, his device stayed silent. <. My home .>

Bliss corrected.
<.Our home.>
She tapped her sternum twice over her heart. That had become their punctuation of affirmation.
<.You owe me a coney dog.>

A coney dog did sound delicious but then Connor wondered if Bliss was being clever. <. Do you mean food or a synonym for bubble gum? .> There was a bashful grin that accompanied his question. <. Either way I will give you whatever you want when we return to the mansion. .>

Bliss's grin brightened with his question.
<.No metaphor, I'm just hungry. When am I not? But when we get home... .>
Bliss looked around for eavesdroppers, then leaned in to whisper into Conner's ear. There was a number of words he would have to check the dictionary for specifics, but he got the gist of it. She kissed his cheek then pushed off to raid the provisions locker. She looked back over her shoulder and gave him a finger wave goodbye.

Connor's jaw hung agape while he stared after her. Was... was what she said even possible? She sounded so confident. It must be. His whole body shivered in anticipatory delight before he forced himself back to his screens.

"Yo..." Bobby slid over to Connor. "Caveman, my man. Hook me up with your secret..."

Sighing that he was interrupted yet again, this time by someone who wasn't even Bliss, the look on Connor's face was pure annoyance. He threw up his hands to question what Bobby was talking about.

"Bliss..." Bobby said discreetly. "How'd you pull that? She is fine as wine and crazy as hell about your goofy ass for some reason. You gotta' tell me, dude."

Connor made a fist in a clear threatening gesture before waving Bobby off. "Ugh!" he said with annoyance.

"Fine. Sorry I asked..."

Bobby wandered away from Connor and decided to go straight to the source. He'd never said two words to Bliss yet. She was always hanging all over Connor and, well, he knew enough from Scott and Jean that there wasn't much point getting too close to that. Three would forever be a crowd. But, seeing as how they might all die soon going up against an asshole antimutant bigot who had somehow enslaved the Professor, Bobby figured it wouldn't hurt to ask.

"Hey, uh, Bliss..." Bobby walked up to the provisions locker and swiped his nose like he was about to tell her a secret. In fact, he was wanting in on a secret himself. "Can I yack at ya for a sec?"

Bliss was focused on microwaving her double burger. She was going to need every calorie she could get today. She took a swig of orange juice from her bottle before responding.
"What's on your mind, kid? "

Kid? Who was she calling kid? Bobby was almost 20. Well... he didn't know how old she was. Maybe they were the same age. Never mind. Didn't matter. "Look, I just gotta know..." He looked at her and then at Connor. "How did that happen?" Looking back at her, he knitted his brow to underscore his confusion and then chuckled at the question. "I know we got bigger fish to fry today but I don't wanna die and have that question be the last thing on my mind. Connor is alright and everything but..." He held out his hands as if to measure Bliss. "How?"

Bliss leaned against the wall and actually listened to Bobby's attempt to ask a fair question. Sure, he had all the tact of a baby rhino, but it is what it is. She took another swig and contemplated the question. Then the microwave dinged, so he took her time getting her burger. She emptied packets of ketchup, mustard, and relish onto the burger. She licked a bit of ketchup from her pinkie.

"After puberty, I've always been judged by my looks. I'm just some blonde chick with no brains but a wicked body. It's just the way it is. But Connor never, not once, made me feel like an object, a thing to lust over and then be forgotten. When I was at Muir, he wrote me a poem and made a little display for it at my door. I found it there when I came back... And it touched my heart."
She took a fresh swig before continuing. The memory of it refreshed those emotions.
"That got the ball rolling. So the short answer was Connor didn't treat me like an object. And that's how he won my heart ."

Bobby was still trying to add up the math there. "Okay. So... Yes, poem. No, object. Rolling ball wins the heart. I think I got it." The look on his face strongly suggested otherwise.

Bliss took a bite of her burger, watching the poor boys brain smoke.
"Look, if you're interested in a girl, treat her like a person. Treat her like you would like to be treated. No scratch that, you'd probably want somebody to bend you over a couch."

"Yeah, right, because you're the only person who doesn't like being treated like an object." Bobby scowled at her. "Fuck you, bitch."

When Bobby turned around, he found Connor standing right in his path. He might be nonverbal, but there was nothing wrong with the ginger giant's hearing.

"Come on, Connor. Let me by."

Connor shook his head and then pointed at Bliss.

"Ugh. Fine." Bobby turned around like a petulant child. "I'm sorry I called you a bitch even though you talked to me like one. Happy, Connor?"

Connor shook his head again.

"Yeah? Too bad." Bobby crossed his arms like Scott did when he was disapproving of others. "That's all she gets without an apology of her own."

Bliss had looked confused during the exchange, especially the harsh words from Bobby. She chewed on her hamburger thoughtfully. She held up a hand to warn off Connor. She was good.

"I'm honestly confused, Bobby. Why are you upset? What did I say to get that kind of response? Was it the couch thing? Are you upset because I guessed wrong... Or I guessed right?"

"Your girl's running her mouth again, Connor," said Bobby. "You should see to that." He glared at Bliss. "If that's the way you talk to people, it's no wonder they saw you as a piece of ass... because you won't stop talking out of it!"

Connor thumped Bobby on the shoulder with two fingers and cocked his thumb back toward the passenger cabin.

"Whatever," Bobby said. "You guys really suck. Hope you're happy together."

Bliss took another bite of burger.
" Gloriously happy. Now take that attitude and kick ass on the mission. And once we're back home again, come find me. Or I'll find you. Doesn't matter which to me. We'll continue this conversation then. Now go sit down."

<. What was that? .> Connor signed.

Bliss could only shrug in annoyed confusion, then offered the other half of her burger to Connor.

"Eeee!" Connor squealed with glee and devoured the tasty morsel in one bite. <. I should finish the mission briefing. We will be there soon. .> He leaned in to kiss her with his hamburger breath.

Bliss chuckled and kissed him back, then wiped his lips with her napkin. She had her own Burger breath to deal with.
"Stop being adorable and get to work. "

Connor blew raspberries at her with his tongue and went back to his assignment. If he wasn't ready soon, Cameron would be mad.

Bliss drained her OJ and crushed the bottle in her hand while staring at the back of Bobby's head. Kennedy had mentioned a dust up with this clown. They were going to have to have a come to Jesus moment when they got home.

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