Suite of Summers/Dane

[x-polarisstar.livejournal.com]

Alex does his best to cheer up a suffering Lorna. She's just a little to cranky for it to work well and they proceed to talk past each other for a while. Backdated.



There were lots of cool things about her power. Never needing to carry keys, always having enough metal around to shape a spoon or fork and screwing with a radio station she hated until someone felt compelled to change it for example. But every now and then her power sucked heartily and one of those times was during a period of solar activity. Whenever something, like a solar storm, messed with the Earth's magnetic field, Lorna ended up with a migraine that made her wish for a railroad spike to the temple.

Miles had rescued her, of course, but the kid couldn't be expected to sit still forever and Lorna had finally shoved him out the door, demanding he go play. She was sure he'd be back eventually. There was still a lot left to read in the books he'd brought even with judicious editing for age inappropriate content. But he was gone for now and so Lorna was lying on the couch with a pillow over her face trying to pretend she was an unfeeling rock.

Unbeknownst to her, Miles had saved her yet again by grabbing Alex from where he was lifeguarding some kids in the mansion pool and helped him find the ice cream in the massive freezer. So now armed with a tub of vanilla and a tub of strawberry, plus two spoons of course, Alex softly opened the door of the suite, still dripping slightly from his hair and trunks. "Lorna, sweetie...how ya doing?"

"Mmmffmm," responded Lorna from below her pillow. She lifted it slightly. "Ow," she told him, sitting up. She was favoring her shoulder again, having been scolded for wrenching it the night before. "Hi, love. I'm not going to be much fun, I'm afraid."

Alex wrinkled his nose as he grinned. Moving to kneel beside the couch, he moved the coffee table over so he could set the ice cream down. "Who said anything about fun? I just want to pamper my beautiful girlfriend."

She smiled though her expression was somewhat pained. "You brought me ice cream?" It might not help her headache but it still sounded like an awesome idea. She bent and kissed his forehead, still cool from the pool. "Sit with me," she tugged on his arm.

Alex let himself be pulled onto the couch, cradling the strawberry in his lap. He cuddled against her while with one hand he opened the tub and spooned out some, offering it to her. "My dear?"

She nibbled from the spoon then arranged herself comfortably against him. "You're all chlorine-y. Watching the littles swim?" Happily settled, she took the spoon from him and kept nibbling away. She closed her eyes because it seemed to hurt less then.

"Someone has too." He nodded slowly as he curled up into her. Once she'd eaten everything on the spoon, he leaned in and kissed her gently.

She smiled against his mouth and gave a contented sigh. "I think it's great. I like that you took on the responsibility." She didn't say that it made her think of him playing with their kids. That was too far off to even think about, particularly since he still thought he was too young even for talk of marriage.

He moved her so her head was in his lap and moved between spooning ice cream for her and rubbing her temples. "I can't help it, I like that little squibs. I don't feel like the blonde of the group with them."

Her eyes fluttered open. "You like them because you're smarter than them?" she blinked, "Or because you don't have to play blond around them?" If there was one thing that irritated her about him, it was the persistent game he played that he was somehow stupid. She rarely brought it up, only at times like this when she was already distracted and snappish.

Blinking in surprise, Alex stopped what he was doing. "I...I don't play blond. And why are you bringing this up when I'm trying to pamper you on your off day?" Slowly, he began again to message her temples. "I just don't feel like I have to be so grown up with them. After having to be my own adult for years...I miss just being a kid."

Lorna sighed and closed her eyes again. "Sorry, love. I told you I wasn't going to be much fun. I just...I don't know. I think I'm thinking too much about college and stuff. And the thing Nate and I did last night was brutal. It's all too adult. I miss being a teenager and not having a job. Or lives that depend on me." And she hurt but that went without saying. "So it's just...whatever. You let people underestimate you."

"In a few months, it will be just you and me in Hawaii and we can be just ourselves. Try thinking about that instead of worrying about right now. " He bent down to give her a quick hug and refill the ice cream spoon. He waited a few moments before he asked, "You really think people underestimate me?"

She licked ice cream off her lips before answering, "Yes. I think they see the sweet, blond surfer and never look beneath it. It's like no one expects a jock to be the valedictorian." Particularly in a school populated by geniuses. "You've done a lot in two years. I don't think most people realize how much."

Alex was silent for a good long while, just rubbing her temple mechanically. Then he spoke again softly. "I haven't done nearly as much as other people, like Nathan and Alison and Shiro and well, you. I don't even have the desire to become an X-man." The he sighed and shook his head. "There isn't much underneath the surfer, I'm afraid. It's why I'm happy just playing with the kids rather than actually teaching or saving the world."

"I don't know why you think that," she said without opening her eyes. She lifted a hand and found his face by feel, her fingertips tracing his jaw. "I wouldn't want you to fight. It's horrible every time we have to come up with another stupid codename because another kid is throwing themselves at a fight I don't think we're going to win." She sighed and opened her eyes, sitting up. "But I wouldn't be here if you were just a surfer. I couldn't have stayed with just a surfer for three months let alone nearly two years."

Blushing, Alex ducked his head and turned away. "I guess I'm not doing a very good job at cheering you up, huh?" He tried to smile but the attempt was rather pathetic.

"You don't have to cheer me up." She nudged the ice cream out of the way and crawled into his lap, tucking her head on his shoulder and closing her eyes again. "I'll be okay when the magnetic storms end. They just drag me down for a little bit is all."

Wrapping his arms around her, he drew his legs up so they were both curled up on the couch. "Yeah well, it's one of the few things I'm usually good at. You know how much I hate seeing you down." He kissed Lorna's forehead before resting his chin on her head and closing his own eyes.

"You also hate seeing me fight." She sighed. "Are you excited about college, love? Is it what you want?" She didn't seem to notice the non-sequitor.

"Of course I hate seeing you fight. Whenever you and Scott go out on one of your damn missions..." Alex bit his lower lip to stop himself and took a few long breaths to clam down. "Yes, very. I want to get you and me away from the place, so you don't have to be Polaris for a while and alls we have to worry about is normal things...and each other."

She hugged him and tilted her head back to look up at him. "But for school too, right? This isn't just about you not wanting to be here. You want to go to school too." She considered asking him to finish what he'd started to say about their missions.

He nodded slowly. "Of course. I want to get an education so I can finally become more than just that blond surfer, than just being a dangerous mutant." Then Alex kissed her forehead again. "I want to make a life that I can share with you."

It made her heart flutter whenever he said something like that. Something that sounded so permanent and normal. To avoid mushing like the sappy girl she was, she smiled a bit cheekily though it made her headache worse. "Someday when we're older, you're going to ask me to marry you, right? Because my parents are only going to go for the cohabitation thing so long."

Alex paused a moment before grinning cheekily in return. "I'll think about it." He leaned in to kiss her on the nose so he wouldn't burst into giggles. "Do you think your dad will threaten me with his shot gun if I didn't if we waited long enough?"

"You wait too long and my mother will threaten you with the shotgun. And I'll have to listen to endless nagging about how she and Dad are so old and they really don't want to die before they have a chance to spoil their grandchildren. Of which we are expected to have several, by the way." She snuggled against him, face hidden in his shoulder, because talk of marriage and children had to have her longing for him to ask written all over her face.

"Oh, I think Hank and Scott expect the same thing. They want lots of nieces and nephews to spoil...plus I think it's been proven that I adore little squibs." He hugged her close, taking her hiding as sudden fear at the thought. "But not until we're ready..." Alex whispered softly.

"Whenever that is." She could be patient. They were, after all, still young. Nothing was going to break them up. She kissed him softly, making it a silent promise. "I love you."

"As I love you."