by DuAnn Cowart
Standard disclaimers apply.....yadda yadda
yadda.
There may be naughty language and allusions here, so...
He lay his head on the table, awash in drunken happiness. They would both be observing the team during the morning session, and both agreed that they could camoflaugue any residual inebriation from the kids. She sat beside him, a slightly superior expression on her face. Their mutant physiologies increased both of their respective resistances to the effects of alcohol, so they both had to consume more to feel the same effects. Even given the significant difference in their weights, though, her alcohol tolerance was still considerably higher than his and they both knew it. He'd found that out the hard way.
He sat up and put the glass to his lips. He was drunk, the alcohol releasing ideas long suppressed, lending a dangerous cant to his thoughts. Unbidden, jealous images of her with the other sprang to his mind, but he tried to ignore them. He groaned under his breath. He'd thought he'd worked through these emotions, but the liquor had apparantly brought them all back with a vengeance.
He stared at her for a moment, and found his eyes drawn to the pale cleavage barely hidden by her gaping robe. He swallowed, and felt himself harden, thinking of their nights together, thinking of the connection that evidenced itself so strongly, so intensely last night. He let the thoughts linger for a moment, then shook his head vigourously. No, no, not her, it was Vanessa, not her! His mind taunted him with the memory of that single long-ago liason during the first days of the Wild Pack, but he blinked that away. No sense bringing that up. They'd both been so young, and in unspoken accord neither had mentioned it since. He furrowed his brow in concentration, trying desperately to erase the erotic images floating though his mind before she felt his hunger and jealousy through their psi-link.
Damn, she's flonquing gorgeous, he thought, then forced himself to look away from her breasts to her face, though that only helped slightly. She looked happy as she leaned back in her chair, eyes closed, a small smile playing on her lips. He nodded knowingly, understanding precisely how she felt, momentarily forgetting his anger. This was right, this was good, this was how it should be, not having to hide his dark side, his past. He knew she felt the same. They didn't have to hide their pasts from other. Both already knew the other's dark side, shared it. Images of Ororo flashed guiltily through his mind, but he quickly banished them. She doesn't need to know about this...I'll think about her tommorow.
He took a deep breath, and tried to enunciate clearly. "Hey, Dom..."
She opened her eyes and yawned. "Yeah, Nate?" She frowned at the empty bottle. Only two? she grimaced, and stood up to look for more. Her vision sparkled, and she abruptly sat back down again. She might have a higher tolerance than anyone she'd ever met Except Logan, she thought wryly, but even she had her limits.
Guess I drank more than I thought I did...gettin' out of practice. She turned to look at Nate, who was sitting quietly, staring at her. "What?" She asked him, grinning "Do I have a buger on my nose or somethin'?"
He shook his head. "Dom..I'm serioush. I needta talk to you about something." He reached out and delicately touched her cheek. "Something I should've said a very long time ago."
She closed her eyes. Aw, shit. I don't need this right now. Her voice shook slightly "Nathan..please..."
He traced a finger down her cheek. "So soft," he murmured, amazed that this was the same woman he'd shared inumerable battles with. "You're so beauti..." He realized what he was saying, and stopped shortly, unable to meet her gaze.
She inhaled deeply. Oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit. He's drunk, he doesn't mean this, he doesn't think about me like that anymore, he's just drunk- She felt a warmth suffuse her body, and found herself holding his hand. "Nate. I..." She swallowed. This is it, Dom, no guts no glory. She put her free hand on his arm. "Nate, are you sure this is what you..." Her voice trailed off, and she shook herself. "Why now?" she whispered, heart pounding.
His hand closed around hers. "We never talked about what happened in Israel." He drained his glass, then inhaled. "I think we need to."
Her eyes narrowed. "Yeah, it took the end of the universe to get us to talk about this before." He chuckled, but her voice was serious. "I tried to talk to you about it. You didn't want to bring it up, changed the subject every time I tried." She removed her hand from his grasp. "You haven't brought it up since, and It's been over a year. Why are you worried about it now?" She asked suspiciously. If he found out about John and is playing me... She couldn't finish the thought.
He winced at the callousness of her tone. "Dom. I know, I'm sorry. I want to talk about it now, though..."
She turned around to face him directly, all traces of contentment gone. "You want to talk about it, so we will, right? You want the team to do so and so, so we do it, right? No questions asked. What Cable wants, Cable gets. Well, Nate, let me ask you something. Why do you want to talk about this right now?" She sat quietly, arms crossed, waiting his reply.
He met her gaze directly. Can't tell her the truth...don't want her to know that I felt what I felt. If she knew I... He clenched his fist under the table, jealousy flaring, but calmed himself and continued in halting tones. "Dom, please. I know we need to ... Don't you know how I f... Shit, I don't know. I just... Isn't it just enough that I'm ready to talk about it now, ready to find out where you stand with me?"
She ground her teeth and replied, eyes flashing "Where I stand with you? What have I ever done to make you doubt my loyalty?"
He couldn't take it anymore, images of the previous nights betrayal racing through his mind. He grabbed her shoulder roughly. He barked "Oh, you'd never hide anything from me, would you? Yeah, right. Just where the hell were you last night?"
She glared at him "That's none of your damn business."
His voice whispered in her head *You're wrong. Where were you, and just who the hell were you screwing last night? He must've been pretty damn good to make you skip out on us like that.* She blinked, shocked at the venom in the thought.
"Wha...Nathan, what are you..how did you..." She bit her lip until it bled, a thin trickle of scarlet that she wiped angrily away. She hurled back *I told you, it's none of your damn business! I don't know how you found out, I don't care how you found out, but get this, you hypocritical sonofabitch, I'll do what I want, when I want to, and I don't owe anybody an explaination, especially not you!*
He lowered his head to his chest, ashamed. "Dom...I'm sorry... I didn't mean to..." He put his head to his temple, headache returned. "But I guess that isn't enough, is it?" He raised his eyes.
She took a deep breath, trying to gain a semblance of control. Finally, she tilted her head and said in strained tones "No, Nathan, it's not. You have no right."
He nodded contritely, but couldn't help the bitter thought that leaked into her mind *Who was it? Was he better than me?*
Her eyes flew open, and she snarled. "I told you, NONE of your damn business! I'm tired of this, Nathan, tired of you waiting until you see I have a life outside this damn dream to tell me how you feel! I'm tired of waiting until you're ready! But most of all, Nate," She whispered "I'm tired of you condemning me and thinking I'm stupid enough to not even notice you're fucking Storm!"
"But...I'm not...We're just..." He raised a hand, tried to tell her, but she cut him off. "I don't want to hear it, Nathan. We've been friends too long for you to insult my intelligence by lying to me like that. You've insulted me enough already." She pushed the chair away angrily, and strode to the kitchen door.
She spun around, raising an eyebrow at his bewildered expression. "I'll see you tommorrow at noon." Her voice took a sugary sweet tone, and she said calmly in a cheerful voice. "And now, I'm going to bed before I kick your fucking teeth in. Good night." With that, she was gone.
He watched her go, then put his face in his hands. That went well, he thought, then stood to leave.
To Be Continued