After Alchemax
Posted on Tue Aug 13th, 2024 @ 9:27pm by Scott Summers & Bobby Drake & Jean Grey
8,960 words; about a 45 minute read
Mission:
Episode 5: Days of Fortune Past
Location: Baxter Building
Timeline: October 14, 1990
Bobby’s icey form remained still and almost lifeless in the dimly lit bedroom. Left catatonic from the Alchemax attack, his body turned to ice where his healing factor would go into effect. There was little more to be done for him other than waiting. A headband adorned his brow, a neural oscillations monitor lent to them by Reed which displayed his brain waves on a computer in the Fantastic Four’s lab to make sure he remained stable while he recovered.
Despite the lack of immediate care that Bobby needed while he recovered, Jean felt it hard to leave his side. She dragged one of the armchairs into Bobby’s room in their condo where Jean sat with him. Her own head still ached from the psychic attack she had endured, a long lasting migraine that was slowly fading. The darkness of the space was more for her comfort than for Bobby’s. Wrapped in a quilt and curled up in a chair, she half dozed in the awkward position as she too attempted to recover.
The world went on and continued to spin regardless of those who stumbled or lost their way within it. While Jean saw to Bobby’s care, Scott had done his best to keep the affairs of X-Factor in motion without losing any of their momentum. Jean really was born for this life, juggling appointments and files and other lobbyist activities they had undertaken of late. Truth be told, Scott felt swamped. But he knew Jean’s true calling. It kept her glued to Bobby’s bedside, giving morale support in the way that only she could, to help him bring him back from the dead.
Scott cracked the door open and slipped inside. At first he had planned to linger just a moment before slipping back out. But when Jean stirred, Scott decided to stay.
“Hey there,” he whispered in a quiet voice. There wasn’t another chair, so he slid onto the floor next to her. Their height discrepancy didn’t leave the top of his head much lower than Jean’s, especially in her slanted position. “How’s he doing? Any change?”
“No, unfortunately.” Her voice was barely above a whisper, her motions were slow and leaded but Jean still sat up to better look at Scott. She knew he was busy managing everything they had started but Jean was still happy to see him. “Reed assured me there’s nothing to do but wait. But I feel bad leaving him alone. I don’t want Bobby to feel abandoned ever again. I want to be here when he wakes up.”
Jean rubbed her eyes and rolled her shoulders as she continued to shake off the fog that her headache created. She lost track of the world in this room as she slipped in and out of consciousness. “What time is it? I should probably eat something.”
“It’s late.” Scott chuckled wryly before amending that. “Early.” Rising to his knees, he scooted behind Jean and placed his hands on her shoulders for a light rub. “There’s leftovers in the fridge. I think there’s coffee in the pot too, but it would be cold by now.”
“And you’ve been working this whole time?” Jean placed a hand over his as she closed her eyes and savored his touch. She appreciated him and acknowledged how hard it was to keep X-Factor going on his own during such a challenging time.
Looking down at Bobby over Jean’s shoulder filled Scott with pangs of regret. This wasn’t the first time Bobby was on death’s door under his watch. How many times before it was the final one? Death came for everyone eventually, but Scott wasn’t keen on being a delivery boy. Scott shook those thoughts away and focused back on Jean. “Want me to bring you something?”
“Don’t do that.” Jean squeezed his hand and Scott knew she wasn’t talking about food. “You yourself have told me to never regret a choice made in the field. And we all know the risks we take.”
Her own upset and fears had been set aside in order to better serve Scott and Bobby. Jean knew if she crumbled right now, he would fall too so she remained strong for both of them. “I’ll get up and get something to eat, moving is probably good for me. Just no lights.”
“Yeah, there's only a few on right now,” Scott said. He led her out of the room and into the hallway which was illuminated only by light reflecting from the bathroom. “I don't question my field decisions. I'm just counting the cost. We almost lost Bobby again. And…to Warren, of all people.”
“I know. I think that’s what rattled him.” Jean winced as she opened the fridge and was greeted by its light. She quickly grabbed a Tupperware with lasagna in it before shutting the door and returning to comfortable darkness. “It’s Warren but it also isn’t Warren. At least I couldn’t reach anything that remotely felt like Warren.”
Jean placed the Tupperware in the microwave before she poured herself a glass of red wine. “All of us ripped apart and reconstructed thanks to the events on Krakoa, it’s just awful.”
She took a long sip of wine before she continued, sometimes the alcohol lessened her terrible headaches. “The cost of it all? We’re trying to save lives and get each other back. Stop Essex. I would risk everything for that. You would too.”
“I know,” Scott said grimly. And it was true. He would lay his life down for the greater good. They all would. But he didn't have to like it. “I just wish the guy could catch a break.”
His thoughts returned to Warren. It had been a shock for everyone. After everything he'd seen—Bobby locked away in a Canadian black site, Jean in a horrific repeat of Auschwitz, Hank collared by anti-mutant zealots, Lorna sucked into another dimension—fate still managed to surprise him.
“How was that even possible?” Scott wondered aloud. “That didn't look like armor or…or implants. What did they do to Warren?”
“I don’t know.” Jean shook her head in sad, disbelief as she hopped up on the kitchen counter to eat her meal. “The nightmares I was subjected to. My own face staring back at me, the machines I was placed in. All of it was so advanced and so brutal. If it’s all connected, who’s to say what they’ve put him through and if we can even get him back.”
That last thought made her stomach turn and for a moment Jean thought she might be sick. It hadn’t even occurred to her that Warren might be lost forever to whatever had been done to him. It filled her with such overwhelming sadness that it was impossible for her to stop a few stray tears from running down her cheek. “Who are these monsters? Can’t they see that we’re people? They treat us worse than animals.”
Scott had already been kicking the pieces around in his mind. As busy as the last 24 hours had been, they were also very revealing.
“Senator Peter Krane firmly links the Friends of Humanity to Alchemax,” he began. “But Project Wideawake was implemented by the federal government. As popular as Graydon Creed and his followers are in the nightly news, they don't have the pull to swing multibillion dollar national defense initiatives. So I did some more digging and found something.”
A tight smirk passed over Scott's face. He wasn't an arrogant person, but he clearly felt pride over discovering whatever he had found.
“Turns out that Alchemax is a wholly owned subsidiary of Oscorp, the national defense contractor that took over for Stark Industries when it dissolved. But here's where it gets interesting.” Scott couldn't hold back a mirthless grin. As clever as he felt, he wasn't jumping for joy over the discovery. “When Alchemax was bought out by Oscorp, its name was Allen Chemicals but that didn't last long. Oscorp rebranded it and contracted the name. Allen Chemicals was a startup IPO that bought everything under the sun before getting bought out themselves. Alchemax Tower? It was originally an R&D facility for Shaw Industries, and Sebastian Shaw was awarded the manufacturing contract by Project Wideawake. Bolivar Trask designed the Sentinels, but Sebastian Shaw built them. After Magneto killed Shaw, his entire empire got liquidated and pieced out to the highest bidders. Now guess who is the majority shareholder of Oscorp.” Scott grimaced. “S. Shaw. It looks like history is repeating itself in every way, except the bad guys got smarter this time around.”
“S. Shaw?” Jean furrowed her brow as she considered everything Scott had uncovered. “Who is S. Shaw if Sebastian is dead?” Jean took another liberal sip of her wine as she began to ponder all of this and what it could mean.
Scott shrugged and shook his head.
“Do you think it’s a false name? Or his estate reclaiming his lost assets? Shaw isn’t alive, is he?” She shook her head after asking that last question. Resurrection no longer felt like an impossible feat thanks to everything they had seen and experienced lately.
“We still have a few things to pursue…” Scott said, already looking ahead.
“It’s a good lead, Scott.” Jean stopped her troubled contemplation and looked up at him again. “Nice work.” He didn’t need her praise but she wanted to give it, Scott had been working hard and it had paid off.
“Thanks…” He gave Jean a squeeze before continuing his train of thought. “Trask has to be involved somehow. They clearly have a working knowledge of his designs. But that Master Mold frame was missing a head. I thought maybe it was Trask giving commands over the intercom, but maybe it wasn’t. If Shaw is back somehow, then he would have the schematics or know where to get them. That might mean Trask is on the out for some reason. If we find Trask, he might be more cooperative than we ever thought going into this.”
“Trask.” Jean hissed his name in her near whisper and it made the word sound all the more deplorable. “He has friends in high places; he won’t be easy to find.”
She finished her meal and her glass of wine, both of which were making her feel better. But the information Scott had managed to uncover did little to ease her mind. These new Sentinels were far worse than anything they had ever encountered and they need a person inside of them in order to work. Jean poured herself a second glass of wine.
“Finding him will be like finding a needle in a haystack.” Jean telepathically checked on Bobby before she took another sip of wine. His still unconscious state seemed to grant her permission to relax a little. “He could be anywhere. What are we going to do?”
“Keep following the paper trail for now,” Scott said with grim determination. Discouragement was a slough that he couldn't allow himself to fall into or else it was a hard trudge to get out. “Maybe bring Sean and Interpol into it now that we have some names. The Professor is running searches himself, but I don't want to hang our hat on that. If Shaw or Trask or anybody connected to Alchemax, Oscorp, and whoever turns out to own that is doing international business under the table, then we might be able to sic the authorities onto them for a change.”
“Hopefully.” Jean attempted to remain positive but the idea of justice being served wasn’t as satisfying as it should have been. “We’ll keep digging.”
She was still worried about Warren and if they could do anything for him, for Bobby and how long it would take him to wake up, for Scott who considered all of these shortcomings to be his fault, and to some degree for herself and that crippling fear that death created inside of her.
“I should check on Beat Street as soon as I can.” A new wave of concern washed over her and how bad that attack had been. “That boy was killed during the attack. I shudder to think how much worse it could have been if the Alternate Class X-Men hadn’t been there.”
“They did well, all things considered,” Scott said. “Collateral damage was kept to a minimum. The lives that were saved are the headline, not the ones that weren't. Professor Xavier gave them that very speech.”
A wry chuckle came out as Scott remembered all the post-mission powwows they had as teenagers.
“Still, we might want to see about relocating them. That building was half condemned before there was a Sentinel bullseye on it.” Scott frowned, remembering Callisto’s adamant resistance to moving the Morlocks even after their massacre nine months ago. “Think any of them would go for that?”
“It’s their home, Scott.” Jean said with a twinge of sadness. “They wouldn’t leave for the school, I don’t think they’ll leave for even this.” She took a sip of her wine and Scott watched as she curled into herself, a physical reaction to the overwhelming work that was laid out in front of them. “It may not look like much but those city blocks belong to them. They fought for them and defended them.” Jean shook her head, even in the darkness her red curls picked up the dim light as they moved. “If they want to rebuild, then we’ll help them rebuild.”
Scott frowned at that, but in concentration rather than contempt. It was another theater of war for him. Not every battle was won through combat or infiltration. Many of them would require diplomacy, negotiation, and other implements of peace. Beat Street was just such an instance.
“That's going to be a heavy lift,” Scott said at length. “Developers have been jumping at every opportunity to snatch up old property and remodel it in one urban renewal project after another. We might need someone who can help with… I don't know…historic preservation? Find a sympathetic alderman, get the ball rolling to keep reconstruction simple and traditional. Maybe that blind attorney’s firm could help. Nelson and Murdock, right? Or one of Hodge's people to help keep his rates down.”
“Murdock.” Jean replied very matter of factly. “It has to be Murdock.” She took another sip from her glass and Scott could tell Jean knew something that he didn’t. She waited for a moment in order of Scott’s curiosity to pique. “He’s blind but he can still see. He’s a super through an accident and he goes by the name Daredevil in Hell’s Kitchen. He understands, so it has to be Matthew Murdock.”
Scott just chuckled and nodded. “I knew something was off about that guy. He was far too at ease in a new environment. Are you sure he isn’t a mutant? No, because that conference was the time and place to come out in order to get instant buy-in from the rest of us. He’s something else, like the others.” A lawyer who can’t see by day, a crime-fighting superhero by night. Blind justice. That brought a smirk to Scott’s face before he moved on.
“We do have Cameron Hodge’s firm on retainer…” As much as he didn’t want to come out and say it, Scott was worried it might consume all of their efforts. Delegating the matter to lawyers and other white collar mercenaries would ensure that X-Factor assisted in all the right ways without getting drawn off the main focus, which was helping combat mutant registration before the grace period ended. “I still might call his office and see if he has any young associates to throw at the effort,” he said. “Many hands make light work.”
“Hodge’s office is better suited for the corporate level legal work while Murdock is a public defender who isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty.” Jean leaned back, “I’m sure they’ll both serve their purposes.”
She chuckled a little at her own comments, it was the first time he had heard her laugh in a couple days. “Listen to us, investigating financial paper trails and undercovering corporate corruption all while assigning legal counsel to different proceedings. Never in my wildest dreams would I have guessed we would be doing this.”
“We almost sound like adults.” Scott joined her in a little belated chuckling of his own. “Speaking of being adults… Moira is on the schedule this week. Should I keep it?”
The question was a huge buzzkill but it needed to be asked anyway. Scott never kept his guard up with Jean, so he left it down. Still, he braced himself for a response that might be understandably charged with emotion. “We can postpone…”
“No. You shouldn’t postpone. We… you need to go.” Jean finished her glass of wine in three large gulps rather than delicately sipping. Scott felt the sadness that filled her as it dulled any light that had started to shine from their musings.
“It’s important for everyone’s health.” Her response was even keeled enough but he could tell how hard she was struggling. The feeling clawed at her heart and made her stomach drop. “Besides, there is so much to do. I can manage here while you’re gone.”
Scott already felt conflicted and Jean’s discomfort only added to it. His obligations being what they were, he saw no other choice than to go. But he needed to know where Jean stood on the matter.
“If you’re sure,” Scott said with clear reluctance. “I hate being apart from you, especially under the circumstances.” He glanced back down the hall to Bobby’s room. “I’m honestly not looking forward to the flight. It’s… going to be awkward.” He gave a wry chuckle. “I honestly wish you could come along.”
“I’m not wanted there.” She shook her head in disapproval as she set her wine glass down. “And it’s not my decision if you should go or not. We both know you have to and to some extent I know you want to go.” Jean paused and took a stabilizing breath as she fought to suppress the rising emotions inside of her. “It’s okay to be excited about having your son, I want you to be happy about him.”
Her personal opinions were absent from Jean’s responses. She offered him the selfless and supportive answer despite how hard it was for her to say. Jean loved him and she didn’t want to deny Scott something that was so important to him and what would be so important to that child. She couldn’t stand in the way of them having a relationship, of loving one another. So because she loved him, Jean would take a step back so they could come together.
Jean wiped a few stray tears away before she continued, she was unhappy with herself for getting this emotional. “I know what having a family means to you, Scott. Someone who truly belongs to you and is part of you. You’ve wanted that for so long. It’s a good thing and I want you to be allowed to feel that way.”
“I feel that way with you,” Scott said quietly. “And I know what this is doing to you. I'll be happy over my son but…” He lowered his head and stared at the floor. “... not how he came to be. That will be an eternal reminder that I cannot ever make the weak choice, that I have to stay vigilant, to sacrifice whatever it takes in order to keep and protect who and what I really love.” He looked up again and closed the gap between them. “Who and what's really important,” he said with an emphatic hand placed over her heart.
~I love you, Jean, and I'm not putting anything ahead of you ever again~ The sentiment triggered a sniffling gasp which Scott bit back against his upper lip.
Jean shut her eyes as she attempted to stifle the hard feelings that were moving through both of them. She knew they needed to face this and to come to terms with all these heavy feelings, the ticking clock of a due date put pressure on them to resolve their trepidations sooner rather than later.
“He should be before me. Your child should be your first priority,” Jean said as she wiped away a few more tears. “That’s what I’m trying to say to you, it’s okay that he is. I’ll step back and stay behind because I don’t want to get in the way of your love for him. Aurora doesn’t want me there, she doesn’t even want me to help raise your son. I don’t want to create conflict for you as you take care of him, I want you to see him and to meet him.”
“I appreciate all of that, I really do…” Scott choked up a little with how selfless Jean was being and it made him love her all the more. “But he's not here yet and you are. If he needs me at night and I can't be with you, that's the time for putting him first. Right now?” Scott waved his hands around in broad sweeping motions. “Now is just keeping Aurora healthy and supported. She ran away from the mansion, dyed her hair, and is doing who knows what else. I promised I would support her but the baby does not put that promise before you.”
No longer able to hold back, Scott swept Jean in his arms and held her tight.
“I'll go and I'll even try to win Aurora back over so that things stay pleasant,” he whispered into the top of Jean's head. “And I'm going to fish for you coming on future visits.”
~Because you are my one and only family here and now~ Scott released his pent up concern for her, making the thought particularly poignant. ~Nothing will stop me from being your man ever again~
Jean leaned into him and silently savored the solid warmth of his body and his touching affirmations of his love for her. She never doubted where she stood in Scott’s heart. He would move heaven and earth for her if she asked him to, Jean had always been his sun and his moon. In these hard moments of their lives, he remained that constant loving presence that guided her back home and to what mattered the most. Scott would always be her lighthouse on a stormy night.
~* ‘I love you, Scott Summers’ *~
“I want to love this baby too.” Jean had said as much before, but there was a touch more resolve in her words this time. “He’s a part of you and he’ll be a part of our family. I love both of those things so much, he just needs to become a part of that.” She didn’t want to make Scott pick or choose between his feelings for her and his role of fatherhood. They were a team and they would do all of this together. “It’s like you said before, we’re better together. So we’ll do this together too.”
Scott just nodded. If only he could take back the past. If only he could reverse the mental breakdown he had suffered. If only he could have not led them on that damned mission to that damned island. But that wasn’t going to help them now. He needed to make the right choices for the right reasons going forward. Regret had no role to play there. If anything, it would only hold him back.
“Together, then.” It was a simple thing for Scott to shift Jean’s leaning against him into a full embrace. He swept her up from the counter and held her body firmly against his own. “No more regrets. Just us against the world.”
A small squeak of surprise and excitement caught in the back of her throat as he picked her up with effortless command. Out of instinct, Jean wrapped her legs around his waist as Scott gallantly lifted her into his arms. The tension and remorse from their previous conversation began to dissolve as the space between them lessened.
As he said those words, he leaned in for a soft, tender kiss that both lightly brushed her lips and pulled against them, a loving gesture and a passive request for more affection. What soft pressure there was remained, allowing their feelings to mingle and sort as their strengthened connection dictated. The familiar, magical spark from their first kiss as scared kids ignited and joined their hearts together to carry each other’s stress burdens as one.
~* ‘Just us.’ *~ Jean repeated his words as her lips met his and matched their gentle request for more. She felt his yearning for a moment of intimacy after the mission he had deemed a failure and the conversation that reminded him of his personal demise.
Scott was very good at making himself feel small and worthless thanks to his criticisms of his own merit. His gaze could cause mass destruction both externally and internally. But when he was with Jean, those harsh words and judgmental thoughts were silenced and her own opinion of him was heard. She loved him exactly as he was and she helped him see all of his attributes and strengths. He asked for that now, in the way his arms held her close to him and in the tender kisses he adorned her with. Scott needed to feel loved and valued. Jean gladly provided him with that silent request, she merely had to open her heart to him and all of that beautiful radiant light filled his soul and banished every ugly thought that dared to linger.
“I love you,” she whispered against his lips in the near dark kitchen before her kisses traveled the length of his jaw and the side of his neck.
[Warning - Mild Adult Content Below]
A sigh passed through Scott’s lips as Jean lavished his neck with kisses. It never ceased to amaze him how a single touch from Jean could turn away the darkness. Like his own personal morning dawn, Jean brought an end to the terror of night. And all he’d wanted was to hold her near in hopes of casting away her own sadness. Moments like these revealed how good and right they were together, for in one loving the other, both were made whole.
“I love you…” Scott whispered back. The scent of wine that he’d tasted on her lips now seeped around his face, mingling with the already intoxicating combination of her hair, skin, and breath. Scott could feel himself giving way to the turn of passion, the spark of love between them beginning to kindle the moment from sweet affection into something more.
“Should we take this… ugh… to the other room?” It was a hesitant question, as Scott didn’t want to shatter the enchantment of the moment. But if Jean kept kissing him like that, the situation would take a turn no matter where they were. The spot she’d found had stolen his breath away.
“Uh-huh,” Jean agreed as her lips remained close to him. The heat of her breath mingled with the soft touch of her kisses as she lingered on that patch of skin that made his pulse race and caused his breathing to hitch. Jean sucked and nibbled on the side of his neck before soothing the troubled flesh with more delicate kisses.
She indulged in his passion in the same way she drank wine, with a languid pace that allowed for her to savor each moment. His happy sigh and his hard swallow, the heat of arousal and his building want, all of those sensations were enjoyed as she delivered kiss after kiss. But in the end, Jean was drunk on him too.
Without any further hesitation, Scott hoisted Jean to straddle his waist a bit higher and carried her down the hall to the master bedroom. Bobby’s door was closed but all was well with the monitor. He would get no further thought from either of them.
As they passed over the bedroom threshold, Scott abandoned the calm and measured pace from the kitchen. He laid Jean down on the bed, and, attached as she still was to his neck, allowed himself to be pulled down with her.
Propped up on his elbows, the muscles on Scott’s neck and shoulders grew taut. He pulled back from Jean’s kisses just enough to meet them with his own. Each press of his lips against hers churned his heart with turgid passion. It rose up and demanded release, compelling Scott to become more forceful than he’d intended. His tongue slid across her lips, searching for an opening, pressing for an invitation.
Jean eagerly welcomed his request for a deeper kiss as desire created an urgent demand inside of Scott. The clash and dance of her tongue against his own only stoked that building fire between them. Jean merely tightened her grip around his neck as Scott’s potent lust began to flood her senses.
~All I want is you~ More than a declaration made in the throes of passion, it was a heartfelt truth. Scott knew, now more than ever, that anything he ever had could only be enjoyed and made full so long as Jean was there to partake in it with him. His left hand slid around the back of her neck and braced her head while his right arm embraced her. ~Everything else comes out of what we have together~
And he kissed her again, this time taking his fill of her delicious neckline. His hand went from bracing her head to tilting it back for full exposure. His lips traipsed and danced in circles around her pulsing throat until centering in on the sensual bullseye that never failed to take her breath away. It was the spot that he could find with his eyes closed, half-asleep, and intoxicated. When Jean gasped, Scott couldn’t hold back a tight, satisfied smile before starting all over again.
Her gasp turned into a soft moan as Scott seduced her with kiss after kiss. His familiarity with her body and all the magical spots across it caused Jean to writhe and squirm in delight beneath him. Jean whimpered his name again and again as his lips passed over her. It was a melody that he had played countless times before but the music it created was still so sweet to his ears.
Scott moved across her with the intent of claiming her and filling her with the same fervent desire that made his heart race until the sound pounded in his ears. He projected an all consuming need to have her and hold her and it made Jean’s skin hot with lust. She wanted to succumb to his love, to let it flood her senses and fill her because Scott was right. Everything that mattered came from this. As long as they loved one another everything else would fall into place.
So Jean tilted her head back as she arched and leaned into his embrace. An offering of fair, soft skin along with her consent for more.
Their embrace tightened as Scott compressed the squeeze of his arms until his elbows met beneath Jean’s body. Arms crossed above the wrists, Scott clutched Jean’s back and held her firmly in place as he began to feast on her exposed body. Jaw, neck, lips, chin, hollow of her throat, Scott’s loving itinerary was amorous as it was thorough as his kisses lingered wherever they fell.
A pang of desire surged within him. Eager though he was, though, Scott held back claiming his pleasure. There were so many things besetting them at the moment, more reasons to give into despair than ever before. Prolonging the cuddling indulgence was more than foreplay. It was losing themselves in each other, pressing the world away in a private retreat where only that which truly mattered could be given sole focus.
Jean tried her best to maintain her calm and steady demeanor as Scott slowly kissed his way down the length of her body. Her hands merely caressed him as he moved, brief moments of affection that tempted him and teased him with her touch. Her composed but eager restraint was just more of an invitation to keep going.
And so Scott inched his way downward from Jean’s neckline to her torso, tracing a familiar trail as he had so many times. Familiar yet novel, Scott’s excitement rose to a pique every time he descended Jean’s abdomen. The thrill of anticipation was a shared tingle between them. With a love like theirs, it was almost better to give than to receive.
He felt her shiver from their shared anticipation and her ability to remain composed slipped away. Jean slinked out of her pajamas beneath him, the slightly worn and oversized Guns n Roses shirt and the old sweats turned into cutoffs were easily shed in the close confines of his embrace. Stripped bare, Jean stretched out her naked body beneath him as her solicitation for more continued.
From each rib to the mounds of her breasts, Scott savored every lick, bite, and nibble. Every inch of Jean’s body was his to cherish. Sinking ever lower, Scott made a slow loop around Jean’s navel until he reached the bones of her hips, kissing them more softly than ever before, coaxing her outer thighs in a request for Jean to part for him. As she had offered herself to him, Scott wished to give her an offering in return.
Scott had barely touched her yet Jean’s breathing was already heavy thanks to the building tension between. She knew what he planned to do to her even without her telepathy or their rapport and Jean also knew how good it would feel. It made her whole body tremble against him as lust and restraint battled inside of her.
Jean sat up slightly and looked down at him, a brief glance that was equal parts yearning and adoration. Scott was her steadfast knight, her champion and her salvation. He would give her anything because she was his everything. Because of his total devotion to her, Jean parted her thighs just as he had asked. Pale, slender legs splayed out before him exposing the blush of pink and the delicate swath of scarlet between them. It was the greatest gift she could give to him in thanks for what he offered her.
Taking her pleasure for his own, Scott’s lips delved between her thighs and descended from Jean’s raised right knee down to the tender folds she had presented him. His touch was soft and fastidious with each press of his mouth a featherlight touch that passed more breath from his lips than direct contact. Between each puff of his mouth, Scott made another pass, one after another in a gradual increase that sped up with the rhythm of his own pulse.
Every nibble and peck sent a twinge through Jean’s limbs, much to Scott’s delight. He began adding the tip of his tongue to his passing. Each flick flared his senses, summoning a greater desire to show his love in the most intimate of ways.
As he hastened his oral pleasure, Scott’s hands coursed over Jean’s body, following the natural contours of her sensuous curves. Each hand flowed over her body like cascading water, moving around in circulating movements that overlapped in their paths. From her breasts to her posterior, Scott’s caresses compressed every curve, delighting him in her supple form.
Jean’s body began to respond to his furtive loving expression. Her chest began to flush and her erogenous zones began to radiate body heat from the blood rush. The engorgement which bloomed within Jean’s feminine flower presented Scott with the crowning opportunity for which he’d desired.
~I crave you~ It was sinful in the way of a confession but a demand expressed from intense longing. ~Feel how much I want you. Take my mind and know that I need you. I can’t live a day without loving you~
And then Scott took Jean’s pearl between his lips. The suckling was soft at first. Scott eased into his adoration until the full shock and sensation settled into Jean’s body. His hands resumed their caressing across every surface of her body while his tongue began whorling and encircling in alternating corkscrew patterns. Scott’s lips drew upon her aroused flesh with every breath. In time, his hands found hers, leading him to press their palms together so their fingers could interlock.
Jean tensed and arched off the bed as the slowly building pleasure took hold of her. The careful way that he lavished pleasure upon her combined with the racy tone that his internal thoughts projected created a maelstrom of excitement inside of Jean. Scott could hear it in the urgency to her moans and how tightly wound her whole body had become.
Then his hands found hers and their fingers intertwined. It was a gesture that was affectionate and supportive, a subtle but common way that they held onto one another when facing the impossible. Scott and Jean often reached for the other’s hand when they needed to feel the other’s presence. The act created a powerful swell of devotion and adoration inside of Jean that made her gasp and shudder.
She didn’t fall or tumble into her climax, instead Jean felt herself plunged into a sea of pleasure. Vast and deep, the feelings of love and lust practically drowned her as everyone of her senses was filled with the delicious rapture Scott provided.
~Yes!~ Scott was flooded with joy at Jean’s climax. His entire head pivoted on his neck, adding a final push that fanned the flame of her pleasure into an oscillating crescendo. ~Yes, Jean! Let it all go! Feel me!~
His own desire had piqued nearly beyond containing. Giving in to the all-surpassing carnal desire fueled by the passionate love he had made with his mouth, Scott pressed Jean’s legs backward and prepared to drive her to the next level. The slow insertion of the tip was more gratuitous than cautious, though there was still consideration for Jean’s comfort. Some habits never died, no matter the overwhelming, compelling desire.
This dance they shared was an old one, long since familiar but never dull or stale. Sliding and stretching together, Scott lost the breath he’d been holding. Jean’s sudden grip on him nearly broke his stride, but he persisted nonetheless, searching for that steady, optimal pace that sent them both to their zenith without rushing straight to the finish.
Eyes blazing behind his glasses, Scott nearly stared a hole through Jean with the intensity of his inner feeling. “Jean… feel… ugh…” Once again, Scott had reached the place where he had to demonstrate his love because words began to fail him.
Jean lifted her head up and found his lips for a heated kiss. The pounding need for completion and the release it brought with it was an all consuming force that caused Scott to begin to unravel. It was a blaze of passion that consumed both of them until it became the only thought that mattered. Jean slipped into that simple place along with him where everything else disappeared and only the two of them existed. She held him in that deep and fervent kiss as they claimed each other and their bodies moved together until their duality ceased and they were singular in body and mind.
She whimpered against his lips as the waves of pleasure started in her core and traveled through her, it was a shared feeling of delight as they reached that apex. Euphoria filled their psychic rapport as they felt that divine sensation of oneness that these moments provided. Before she was too far gone, Jean reached out for his hands again. Interlocking of their fingers once more she attempted to unify every last inch of them as they peaked together.
Throwing his head up, Scott let out a roar that demanded release. Their mutual pleasure had merged together into a combustible explosion that their individual bodies were unable to contain. Only together, moaning in joint ecstasy, could their physical forms give expression to the joyful cry of their commingled souls that had merged as one.
Once his throat had cleared, Scott’s lips returned to Jeans’s, clinging in almost magnetic attraction. The signals across his body were still crossed from yet another out of body climax Scott and Jean had shared together. He continued his thrusting in a measured pace that slowly wound down to a gradual stop rather than a quick halt.
Scott’s attention turned to kissing Jean again, his focus solely on her face that had been kneaded in the throes of passion and now held an expression that left her hovering somewhere between heaven and earth.
“Wow…” Scott whispered between kisses. ~Let’s have deep talks before every time~
[End Content Advisory]
Jean reached out to hold his head in her hands as clarity returned to her mind and a mixture of thoughts and emotions rose up inside of her. She sought out his eyes behind those red lenses and Scott could feel the gravity of the feelings that overcame her.
He had promised to put her first, to place her above all others. Jean ultimately deflected that declaration, looking to put others before herself in that selfless manner that she viewed as an act of love. Standing on the sideline was the right thing to do so she denied them what they really wanted.
But in this moment, when their bodies and minds became united she felt his devotion to her, she experienced that powerful force inside of him that drove him to please her and care for her. In moments like this Scott practically worshiped her. She was his home and his family, Scott’s love for her unwavering.
Jean had heard him and she understood him but now she would accept him. She wouldn’t brush off or disregard his desire to put her first because it was what he wanted and in this moment of newfound perception Jean wanted that too.
“Together.” Her voice was barely above a whisper but he could still hear the emotion in it. A single, happy tear ran down her cheek as her heart overflowed with her love for him. The word had already been spoken and the sentiments behind it had been agreed upon but Scott could feel the newfound sincerity behind it. She would honor his want to place her above all others, Jean wouldn’t forfeit her place in his heart because it was beautiful and true. They loved one another above all others and that wasn’t something that she should be ashamed of because it made them stronger and better people.
“Forever.” Scott rolled onto his side and pulled Jean into another embrace, this time more restful than passionate. In their psychic rapport, Scott could feel the recognition and acceptance of what he’d been expressing earlier. The only way he was any good to himself, much less others, was when he had Jean firmly in his sights. She was the microcosm of everything that was good and worthy in this world. His North Star, his memento mori, the raison d'être for his every ambition. Being untrue to that ideal brought instability to the rest of his outlook. Being true to himself meant being true to Jean. Never again would he make the mistake of not doing so.
In their embrace, Scott let their kisses fade into affectionate nuzzles. Listening to the sound of her breathing while unspoken sentiments flowed between them like an electrical circuit was soothing and reassuring like nothing else. It put him at ease to know that Jean wouldn’t resist his priorities or argue with his need to keep her first. Her acceptance wasn’t a major milestone as compared to some others in recent history, but it was still a burden off his back.
Jean entwined her limbs with his as she settled into the familiar lines and contours of his body that she fit into so well. She stilled and relaxed in his embrace as they basked in the radiance they provided for one another. It didn’t take long before Jean’s breathing became slow and deep as her mind quieted to the restful state that sleep brought.
Scott woke up the following morning to an empty bed and the smell of coffee coming from the kitchen. It was slightly unusual for Jean to get out of bed before him but the reason why was soon discovered.
“Mmph’more pan’cakes pwease!” Bobby shouted with his mouth full of food from his bedroom.
At first the sight of Bobby stuffing his face at breakfast meant nothing to Scott. It was something he’d seen for the better part of a decade. But then his morning fog cleared from around his mind and he did a double take.
“Bobby!” Scott could barely believe his eyes. “You’re awake!”
Bobby grunted an unintelligible response and kept the fork moving.
Scott was too incredulous to act. Should he stand there? Should he go to him? Was Bobby fragile? He was mowing down the shortstack like all was well in the world.
~Jean? What happened?~ Scott shook his head in bewilderment. When Warren, or whatever was left of him now, impaled Bobby, it might’ve nearly cut him in half had he not been in his ice form. ~He looks… fine!~
~* ‘I know, it’s amazing.’ *~ Jean said with a wide smile as she stood over the griddle in the kitchen watching the next batch of pancakes as they cooked. ~* ‘He woke up a few hours ago, he was a little groggy at first but as you can see, he’s just normal Bobby...hungry… but still Bobby.’ *~
Jean flipped the now golden brown pancakes over. The mood in the condo had dramatically lightened since last night. Scott could see the relief in her eyes, her personal discomfort was gone and her worry over Bobby had eased.
~* ‘I think it has to do with his ice form, the same thing happened after Krakoa. But it would be nice to have Reed or Hank take a look at him and investigate it further.’ *~
“Do you want some coffee?” Jean asked out loud so they didn’t raise too much suspicion with their extended silence.
“Yes…” Scott was still in a state of stunned disbelief, but he managed to take a seat. “Yes, please.” He stared at Bobby who didn’t look up from his plate. “Hey, Bobby. How are you feeling?”
Bobby choked down the last mouthful and finally looked up at Scott. “Hungry!” He licked the syrup off his empty plate and chugged the glass of milk Jean had left beside him. “Feel like I haven’t eaten for days!”
“You haven’t,” Scott confirmed. “Do…” He was about to ask if Bobby remembered anything but then thought twice.
~What does he remember?~ Scott put the thought out there where Jean would catch it. If he’d been up for awhile, then Jean would’ve at least gotten a superficial assessment of his state and would’ve flagged any potential landmines to avoid, at least conversationally.
~* ‘It’s not a missing memory like Krakoa was.’ *~ Jean delivered a cup of coffee to Scott before taking Bobby’s empty plate and placing the fresh stack of pancakes on it. ~* ‘We haven’t really discussed it but we might as well.’ *~
“Bobby?” Jean refilled his glass of milk before she went back to making pancakes. “Do you want to talk about what happened? We just want to make sure you’re okay. Physically and mentally.”
“Sure…” Bobby stuck his fork into the next pile of pancakes and started tearing them apart. “We found Warren and then he tried to kill me because some stupid asshole told him to.” He might as well have been giving the weather forecast. “I couldn’t move and then I woke up starving to death.”
Scott looked at Jean. From Bobby’s perspective, that more or less represented the pertinent details. “We couldn’t help him, Bobby, but we were able to help you. Pietro got you out of there as fast as possible. Warren escaped, though, and he took Mara of all people.”
“Mara?” Bobby swallowed the next bite and worked on the other one. “Hank must be freaked.”
“He’s not doing great,” Scott confirmed. He looked at Jean. This wasn’t sitting right with either of them. “We’re just glad you’re alright.”
“Yeah…” Bobby gulped another two bites. “Me too.”
“If you want to talk…” Scott began.
“What’s there to talk about?” Bobby interjected. “Warren tried to kill me and then flew away. Sounds about right. What more should I expect?”
“To clarify, it was Warren but it also wasn’t Warren. Nothing about his psychic signature felt like Warren, at least it didn’t feel like him before I was attacked.” Jean doubted herself a little at that moment, she had convinced herself he was no longer their friend so it was easier to come to terms with how violent he had been. “But regardless of how much free will he has, it’s still upsetting to see him like that. He was our friend and our teammate. We grew up together.”
Jean didn’t want to bring up the elephant in the room, that Bobby had once had very strong feelings for Warren. He had until their demise on Krakoa. He was terribly nonchalant about this.
Jean set a plate of pancakes in front of Scott before she took a seat at the kitchen table alongside them. “They turned him into a Sentinel, a machine designed to kill mutants. It’s awful. It’s okay to be disturbed by it… I am.”
“Think we'll have to fight him?” Bobby asked nonchalantly.
“Maybe,” Scott said honestly. “We don't know where he is and Alchemax Tower is cordoned off by the MRD, so…”
“...so we have to fight our way through an army of Mardies to find any answers,” Bobby said, then chuckled. “Ha! Mardy Army.”
“Yeah, it rhymes,” Scott said dismissively in order to press the matter. “Why don't we get you upstairs and let Reed take a look at you. Or we could go to the Mansion, talk to the Professor…”
Bobby shook his head. “Nope. Just pancakes.” After he finished his last one, he eyeballed Scott's plate. “You gonna eat that?”
“By all means…” Scott flung the top pancake onto Bobby's plate. “Humor us though. Let's get checked out.”
“Mmmm…no.” Bobby began mashing the pancake into tiny chunks too small for the fork to grab.
Looking at Jean, Scott shot her a pensive look that wondered what to do with their friend. He was obviously not okay, his miraculous recovery notwithstanding.
“Bobby.” Jean took that firm almost maternal tone with him. “Running from what you’re feeling right now will only give it the power to chase you later on.” She reached out and put a hand over his, a touch that would have made him recoil and reel not so long ago. “We’re all here together, let’s face this together.”
“Fine! I’ll get the stupid scans!” Bobby shouted. As soon as he’d done so, he saw Jean’s hand on top of his and looked back and forth between Jean and Scott. Clearly that was an overreaction. The fear of the consequences was all over his face. “I’m sorry… I… I don’t know wh—what…” He looked down at the table but didn’t pull his hand away. “I’ll get looked at. Whatever you think, I’ll do it.”
Scott shook his head. “No, Bobby. Not whatever we think. You’re not okay. You went through a major ordeal. We want you to be okay, but you have to want you to be okay. This is your choice because you want it, not because anybody made you.”
Damn it. Scott was right and Bobby knew it. “Okay…” Bobby sighed at his friends. It would’ve been so much easier if they’d just let him follow instructions. But maybe that was the point. Taking the easy way all the time wasn’t helping. “Can I finish eating first?”
“Yeah…” Scott gave Jean's shoulder a squeeze. ~Grab a plate and sit with us~ “Let’s eat.”
Jean nodded her head in agreement and a plate of pancakes was delivered to her seat at the dining room table. She poured syrup on her breakfast before offering the two of them a small. They were back together and on the mend, a First Class family restored once more.
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