Crystal and Forge - Kiss and Tell
Jan. 8th, 2008 03:12 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsForge pays a visit to Crystal's suite to interview her about her experiences with Fabian Cortez. Afterward, conversation turns to their communication skills, or lack thereof, a point pretty much proven when yes, the topic of their New Year's Eve kiss is brought up.
One of the nice things about having a suite of her own at Xavier's was that when someone knocked at the door, Crystal knew the person was knocking for her. That, or someone had the wrong door or was playing a prank, but those weren't the norm. Not that many people knocked on her door in the first place. Crystal placed her book down on the end table and stood, making her way to the door. A moment later, the door was open, revealing her visitor.
"Hi," Forge said simply, waving one empty hand. The other held a small tape recorder and he glanced down briefly at it before clearing his throat. "Do you have a few moments?" he asked. "I know this is kind of unannounced, but... well, since we've both had run-ins with Fabian Cortez, I wanted to be able to get your experiences with him added to our files... if you're okay with that?"
"Oh, yes of course," Crystal said, moving to the side to allow Forge to enter her suite. Unlike her half of the room she had shared with Jennie, which she had personalized very little, Crystal had actually brought items and decorations with her from Attilan. The shared suite when she had been a student had never been home to her. This was her own suite, and while she still didn't truly feel at home in the mansion, this was, at least, her own space. For now. "Would you like something to drink?"
"Um, yes, water if you please," Forge replied, walking in and looking around. While not the royal chambers of Attilan, Crystal had managed to give her suite a sense of class that most of the other dormitory-style accommodations lacked. He set the recorder down on an end table and perused some of the art Crystal had decorated the suite with. A definite departure from the organized bachelor chaos that he and Angelo enjoyed, he thought.
Crystal entered the kitchen area, returning a minute later with two glasses of water, handing one to Forge. "Please place the glass down on the table should you feel the need to make a fist," Crystal said, smiling slightly.
"Ha ha," Forge responded dryly. "Most of the tactile desynchronization has passed now. But to the point," he said as he picked up the recorder and sat down in a nearby chair. He placed the recorder between himself and Crystal and pressed a button. "This is Forge, recording for security appendix, file reference Cortez, Fabian. Interview subject is Princess Crystal Amaquelin." He took a quick sip of water and glanced over to Crystal.
"If you would," he began, "concisely describe the circumstances under which you first encountered Fabian Cortez..."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
She hadn't known much, she'd been sure of it. There had only been one meeting between the two of them when she had not been under the effect of Maximus's power. Still, there had been those other meetings, the little tests which had taken place before the main event. In addition, Crystal had been privy to Maximus's plans. Why wouldn't he share them with his mind-controlled cousin? Wasn't that the stereotypical action of a villain; share your plans and intentions before they take place? Plus, the mental backlash in her final confrontation with Maximus... it had all been there. How and when he first met Cortez, how long he'd been planning everything... maybe Crystal had known more about Fabian Cortez than she had thought. She certainly hadn't tried to think about him.
Crystal toyed with her mostly-full glass, sitting on its coaster on the coffee table in front of her, a bit of wind pushing it here and there. "Was that enough?" she asked after the recorder had been turned off.
Swallowing with some effort, Forge nodded. He drank down the rest of his water, then glanced down to the recorder. "I'm sorry you had to remember that, but any information we have can be useful."
Crystal nodded. "Are you planning to go in search of him, or is this just to have information in case he happens to turn up somewhere in view of the X-Men?" It was still a bit odd for her to think of Forge of an X-Men, even if she had been aware of his trainee status when they'd been trapped on Attilan. Having an X-Man on "her" island had definitely not been part of her plans.
Forge shook his head. "There's little I could do, even if I knew how. Not to mention that my first choice if left to my own devices would be to shoot him from a respectable distance and then go up and kick him a few times and arrest the remains." He paused and laughed, short and self-conscious. "That's why they don't let me come up with mission parameters, one supposes," he said quietly.
"Arresting the remains would be silly," Crystal informed Forge, "especially when it would be so much easier to burn the body. I could do that."
"I've no doubt," Forge said flatly, recalling the moment he'd burst in on Crystal's... "dealings" with her cousin Maximus after his acts of regicide. If he and the Royal Guard had been only minutes later...
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Forge picked up the recorder and tucked it into one of his many pockets. "Regardless," he announced, "every little bit will help. So, how're... I mean... how are things back here? I don't actually think I've been in your new place here, it's... nice."
"Thank you. I thought that perhaps this time around, I should actually decorate the area. I do have multiple rooms to myself, after all." Crystal eyed Forge for a moment. "'How are things back here?' Meaning what? We returned from Texas at the same time, yes? We have both been at the mansion for the same amount of time, then, unless you have been on another secret mission in the meantime."
With a small groan, Forge dropped his head into his hands. "I am no good at the small talk," he explained. "I meant to ask how you're getting along with your work here, away from Attilan. But I already know how you're getting along with it, it was supposed to be an opening to make conversation, and... see, I'm not good at this."
"I am good at faking it," Crystal replied. "For parties, big events." She put on a beaming smile, and turned to look at an imaginary person next to her. "How lovely it is to see you! That necklace is gorgeous! Paris? Oh, the French countryside is breathtakingly stunning. Why yes, they do make a rather lovely couple! You simply must come for a stay in the palace the next time you are on our side of the globe!"
The smile faded and Crystal turned to look at Forge, a hint of amusement on her face before turning serious. "However, for actual conversations and small talk, I believe that I am not any better at it than you are."
Forge's eyebrow raised in disbelief. "I... really? I mean, I've seen you with people. You're so... natural. You charmed my parents in seconds. It doesn't... I mean, you aren't..."
He sighed and shrugged his shoulders, looking down at his empty water glass. "I wish it was easier to get what's in my head into words without sounding stupid."
Crystal nodded. "In a way, it is natural, Forge. It is what I have learned, how I was raised, skills I was taught until they became second nature to me. However, it is all an act, really. Yes, I can hold conversations with people in power and people I have never met before, but actual, repeated conversations, ones that go beyond 'How is the weather' pleasantries, with people I interact with on a day-today basis?" She let out a small laugh. "I can do that with very few people."
"Huh," Forge said quietly, cocking his head and looking at Crystal. "I never would have suspected. It almost sounds, well, lonely."
Crystal raised an eyebrow. "Oh yes, Forge, I was Miss Popularity during my year as a student here, always surrounded by people and in the middle of things. I participated in all of the events the students organized, never purposely avoiding such things by retreating to my room or being outside somewhere. Forge, really."
Forge chuckled and raised his hands in mock surrender. "Point taken. It's just strange to think that there are probably tons of people in the world who'd envy the life you have - the royal treatment, the palace, et cetera - but until I actually saw some of what it was like, I wouldn't have thought it came with the same difficulties everyone else has. You just manage to hide them better."
"I would say that both of us are quite good at hiding things," Crystal answered. "You seem quite good at it."
"I... how do you mean?" Forge replied, puzzled.
"You..." Crystal hesitated for a moment. "You kissed me. I am still not sure if that is something you wanted to do and you took the opportunity, or just something you thought about at the moment, I... I just know that you were there and I was there and you kissed me." There. It was said.
"Ah," Forge said, reddening slightly. "That. It's... not easy to explain. I mean, there was no premeditation there, I assure you. It was simply that... I don't know, I felt the moment was right?" He groaned quietly and dropped his head back into his hands. "I don't have to fight one of your cousins for offending the family honor now, do I?"
Crystal shook her head, giving Forge an intense, serious look. "Oh no, Forge, do not be silly. You do not have to fight one of my cousins; you must deal with my sister."
A distinct "meep" came from Forge, before his shoulders shook in laughter. "Maybe if I got a good running... hopping headstart?"
"No, that would not work. Medusa would send her hair after you." Crystal pondered a thought for a moment. "I suppose, perhaps, for something that happened only one time she would not need to do this... was this a one-time occurance or do you think that there might be another time you will find the moment to be 'right'?"
"Oh, be direct about it, why don't you..." Forge said under his breath before steeling himself and looking at Crystal. "I think... that I would regret letting such a moment pass, but... also that I would not want to just presume on any such future moments." He cleared his throat and averted his eyes for a moment. "That is, I would not mind."
Crystal could be direct or she could act in a completely flustered manner. She might feel uncertain and, but she was doing exactly what she had told Forge she could do just a few minutes earlier. For days, she'd been wondering what was going on. Why had Forge kissed her? Had he wanted to do that before? Would he have kissed her earlier had he had such an opportunity before? Did he like her that way? Could she like him that way? Crystal hadn't been sure how to broach the topic, and hadn't been sure she even could, but Forge was right here sitting in her suite, and while she wasn't at all sure how to handle such conversations, she could fake knowing what to say. Pretend she hadn't been shocked; pretend she wasn't at all flustered now. Except... what exactly was one supposed to give as a reply to 'I would not mind'?
"Oh." A pause. "All right."
All right? Forge thought, her response is 'all right'? He sat quietly for a moment, then cleared his throat. "So!" he announced, a little louder than intended, "I'll go and enter this interview into the database, and that'll be... well, thank you. I'm sure it'll be helpful."
Crystal nodded, not quite sure whether she had made Forge uncomfortable or had upset him. She just wasn't any good at this, whatever 'this' was. "You are very welcome."
Forge stood up and gave an awkward half-nod, half-bow. "I'll, uh, I suppose I'll see you. Around. When you're... around. Sometime. Right now I have to... with the thing. Yes."
And on that particularly awkward note, he actually managed to make it out the door without tripping over his own feet.
One of the nice things about having a suite of her own at Xavier's was that when someone knocked at the door, Crystal knew the person was knocking for her. That, or someone had the wrong door or was playing a prank, but those weren't the norm. Not that many people knocked on her door in the first place. Crystal placed her book down on the end table and stood, making her way to the door. A moment later, the door was open, revealing her visitor.
"Hi," Forge said simply, waving one empty hand. The other held a small tape recorder and he glanced down briefly at it before clearing his throat. "Do you have a few moments?" he asked. "I know this is kind of unannounced, but... well, since we've both had run-ins with Fabian Cortez, I wanted to be able to get your experiences with him added to our files... if you're okay with that?"
"Oh, yes of course," Crystal said, moving to the side to allow Forge to enter her suite. Unlike her half of the room she had shared with Jennie, which she had personalized very little, Crystal had actually brought items and decorations with her from Attilan. The shared suite when she had been a student had never been home to her. This was her own suite, and while she still didn't truly feel at home in the mansion, this was, at least, her own space. For now. "Would you like something to drink?"
"Um, yes, water if you please," Forge replied, walking in and looking around. While not the royal chambers of Attilan, Crystal had managed to give her suite a sense of class that most of the other dormitory-style accommodations lacked. He set the recorder down on an end table and perused some of the art Crystal had decorated the suite with. A definite departure from the organized bachelor chaos that he and Angelo enjoyed, he thought.
Crystal entered the kitchen area, returning a minute later with two glasses of water, handing one to Forge. "Please place the glass down on the table should you feel the need to make a fist," Crystal said, smiling slightly.
"Ha ha," Forge responded dryly. "Most of the tactile desynchronization has passed now. But to the point," he said as he picked up the recorder and sat down in a nearby chair. He placed the recorder between himself and Crystal and pressed a button. "This is Forge, recording for security appendix, file reference Cortez, Fabian. Interview subject is Princess Crystal Amaquelin." He took a quick sip of water and glanced over to Crystal.
"If you would," he began, "concisely describe the circumstances under which you first encountered Fabian Cortez..."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
She hadn't known much, she'd been sure of it. There had only been one meeting between the two of them when she had not been under the effect of Maximus's power. Still, there had been those other meetings, the little tests which had taken place before the main event. In addition, Crystal had been privy to Maximus's plans. Why wouldn't he share them with his mind-controlled cousin? Wasn't that the stereotypical action of a villain; share your plans and intentions before they take place? Plus, the mental backlash in her final confrontation with Maximus... it had all been there. How and when he first met Cortez, how long he'd been planning everything... maybe Crystal had known more about Fabian Cortez than she had thought. She certainly hadn't tried to think about him.
Crystal toyed with her mostly-full glass, sitting on its coaster on the coffee table in front of her, a bit of wind pushing it here and there. "Was that enough?" she asked after the recorder had been turned off.
Swallowing with some effort, Forge nodded. He drank down the rest of his water, then glanced down to the recorder. "I'm sorry you had to remember that, but any information we have can be useful."
Crystal nodded. "Are you planning to go in search of him, or is this just to have information in case he happens to turn up somewhere in view of the X-Men?" It was still a bit odd for her to think of Forge of an X-Men, even if she had been aware of his trainee status when they'd been trapped on Attilan. Having an X-Man on "her" island had definitely not been part of her plans.
Forge shook his head. "There's little I could do, even if I knew how. Not to mention that my first choice if left to my own devices would be to shoot him from a respectable distance and then go up and kick him a few times and arrest the remains." He paused and laughed, short and self-conscious. "That's why they don't let me come up with mission parameters, one supposes," he said quietly.
"Arresting the remains would be silly," Crystal informed Forge, "especially when it would be so much easier to burn the body. I could do that."
"I've no doubt," Forge said flatly, recalling the moment he'd burst in on Crystal's... "dealings" with her cousin Maximus after his acts of regicide. If he and the Royal Guard had been only minutes later...
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Forge picked up the recorder and tucked it into one of his many pockets. "Regardless," he announced, "every little bit will help. So, how're... I mean... how are things back here? I don't actually think I've been in your new place here, it's... nice."
"Thank you. I thought that perhaps this time around, I should actually decorate the area. I do have multiple rooms to myself, after all." Crystal eyed Forge for a moment. "'How are things back here?' Meaning what? We returned from Texas at the same time, yes? We have both been at the mansion for the same amount of time, then, unless you have been on another secret mission in the meantime."
With a small groan, Forge dropped his head into his hands. "I am no good at the small talk," he explained. "I meant to ask how you're getting along with your work here, away from Attilan. But I already know how you're getting along with it, it was supposed to be an opening to make conversation, and... see, I'm not good at this."
"I am good at faking it," Crystal replied. "For parties, big events." She put on a beaming smile, and turned to look at an imaginary person next to her. "How lovely it is to see you! That necklace is gorgeous! Paris? Oh, the French countryside is breathtakingly stunning. Why yes, they do make a rather lovely couple! You simply must come for a stay in the palace the next time you are on our side of the globe!"
The smile faded and Crystal turned to look at Forge, a hint of amusement on her face before turning serious. "However, for actual conversations and small talk, I believe that I am not any better at it than you are."
Forge's eyebrow raised in disbelief. "I... really? I mean, I've seen you with people. You're so... natural. You charmed my parents in seconds. It doesn't... I mean, you aren't..."
He sighed and shrugged his shoulders, looking down at his empty water glass. "I wish it was easier to get what's in my head into words without sounding stupid."
Crystal nodded. "In a way, it is natural, Forge. It is what I have learned, how I was raised, skills I was taught until they became second nature to me. However, it is all an act, really. Yes, I can hold conversations with people in power and people I have never met before, but actual, repeated conversations, ones that go beyond 'How is the weather' pleasantries, with people I interact with on a day-today basis?" She let out a small laugh. "I can do that with very few people."
"Huh," Forge said quietly, cocking his head and looking at Crystal. "I never would have suspected. It almost sounds, well, lonely."
Crystal raised an eyebrow. "Oh yes, Forge, I was Miss Popularity during my year as a student here, always surrounded by people and in the middle of things. I participated in all of the events the students organized, never purposely avoiding such things by retreating to my room or being outside somewhere. Forge, really."
Forge chuckled and raised his hands in mock surrender. "Point taken. It's just strange to think that there are probably tons of people in the world who'd envy the life you have - the royal treatment, the palace, et cetera - but until I actually saw some of what it was like, I wouldn't have thought it came with the same difficulties everyone else has. You just manage to hide them better."
"I would say that both of us are quite good at hiding things," Crystal answered. "You seem quite good at it."
"I... how do you mean?" Forge replied, puzzled.
"You..." Crystal hesitated for a moment. "You kissed me. I am still not sure if that is something you wanted to do and you took the opportunity, or just something you thought about at the moment, I... I just know that you were there and I was there and you kissed me." There. It was said.
"Ah," Forge said, reddening slightly. "That. It's... not easy to explain. I mean, there was no premeditation there, I assure you. It was simply that... I don't know, I felt the moment was right?" He groaned quietly and dropped his head back into his hands. "I don't have to fight one of your cousins for offending the family honor now, do I?"
Crystal shook her head, giving Forge an intense, serious look. "Oh no, Forge, do not be silly. You do not have to fight one of my cousins; you must deal with my sister."
A distinct "meep" came from Forge, before his shoulders shook in laughter. "Maybe if I got a good running... hopping headstart?"
"No, that would not work. Medusa would send her hair after you." Crystal pondered a thought for a moment. "I suppose, perhaps, for something that happened only one time she would not need to do this... was this a one-time occurance or do you think that there might be another time you will find the moment to be 'right'?"
"Oh, be direct about it, why don't you..." Forge said under his breath before steeling himself and looking at Crystal. "I think... that I would regret letting such a moment pass, but... also that I would not want to just presume on any such future moments." He cleared his throat and averted his eyes for a moment. "That is, I would not mind."
Crystal could be direct or she could act in a completely flustered manner. She might feel uncertain and, but she was doing exactly what she had told Forge she could do just a few minutes earlier. For days, she'd been wondering what was going on. Why had Forge kissed her? Had he wanted to do that before? Would he have kissed her earlier had he had such an opportunity before? Did he like her that way? Could she like him that way? Crystal hadn't been sure how to broach the topic, and hadn't been sure she even could, but Forge was right here sitting in her suite, and while she wasn't at all sure how to handle such conversations, she could fake knowing what to say. Pretend she hadn't been shocked; pretend she wasn't at all flustered now. Except... what exactly was one supposed to give as a reply to 'I would not mind'?
"Oh." A pause. "All right."
All right? Forge thought, her response is 'all right'? He sat quietly for a moment, then cleared his throat. "So!" he announced, a little louder than intended, "I'll go and enter this interview into the database, and that'll be... well, thank you. I'm sure it'll be helpful."
Crystal nodded, not quite sure whether she had made Forge uncomfortable or had upset him. She just wasn't any good at this, whatever 'this' was. "You are very welcome."
Forge stood up and gave an awkward half-nod, half-bow. "I'll, uh, I suppose I'll see you. Around. When you're... around. Sometime. Right now I have to... with the thing. Yes."
And on that particularly awkward note, he actually managed to make it out the door without tripping over his own feet.
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Date: 2008-01-09 01:53 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-10 04:00 am (UTC)