xp_logs | Forge and Crystal

Crystal tells Forge of her plans to leave the school, resulting in both the inevitable question and an unexpected request.

Forge dribbled the basketball casually as he walked backwards past the free-throw line marked on the outdoor court. Passing the orange sphere from hand to hand, he bounced it once more off the ground, catching it smoothly on the rise and jumping with it, rolling the shot off his fingertips. The ball sailed in a smooth arc, slamming into the backboard and swishing through the hoop, the sound echoing around the yard.

Briskly, he skipped to the side, picking up the ball as it rolled toward him. He raised his head and set his feet for another shot when he noticed that he had a spectator. Smiling at her, he turned his attention back to the basket, bending his knees and sending a free throw through the hoop again. "I'd ask if you were going to challenge me to a little one-on-one, but I get the feeling basketball isn't all that popular in Attilan, huh?"

The ball never hit the ground, moving up and around in the air instead, first spinning in place and then circling Forge. "I was never very into playing sports, at least not the way they were meant to be played," Crystal replied as the ball, guided by moving air, found it's way through the hoop once more.

"Touché, princesa," Forge agreed, stretching for a moment, then jogging over to Crystal. "Although you have a distinct advantage here, I must admit," he commented as the ball returned, orbiting the two of them on a small thermal updraft. "How goes the Flight class?" he asked nonchalantly.

"It is going very well," Crystal said. "It is a very small class, not that any of the classes here are large, of course. It is always interesting to see the different methods of flight of the students."

"I was in the class the first year I was here," Forge said, reaching out to grab the basketball with both hands. The fact that this put his arms neatly around Crystal just happened to be an added bonus. "Back when Sam and Haroun taught it. Mostly just for personal curiosity, but then again, I've always been a bit of an aeronautics geek. Hey, I ought to break out the squirrel suit again sometime, maybe we could go flying again? Like we did off the radio tower in Attilan, remember?"

"As long as I have proper warning this time," Crystal informed Forge. "People are not supposed to leap off buildings without some sort of a safety net or backup plan.

Smiling impishly, Forge leaned in and kissed Crystal quickly. "You caught me, didn't you?"

"Yes, and you are very lucky that I happened to see an obviously insane person jump off of a radio tower," Crystal replied, frowning a bit as she remembered those moments. Still, she returned the kiss.

"Tsk. Silly people, always mistaking genius for insanity. I suppose they're easily confused, some days," Forge chuckled, guiding Crystal over to a nearby bench so they could sit. "I haven't had a chance to get back to Attilan for a few months now, what with being so busy here. I should schedule some vacation time."

Crystal nodded. "That would be very nice. I believe that I will be spending a lot of time in Attilan during the summer. I will also do a bit of traveling, I think, but I have not spent much time at home since I began teaching at Xavier's."

Something in the tone of Crystal's voice - a bit of hesitation, perhaps? - caught Forge's attention. Cautiously, he reached out and took Crystal's hand in his, running one metal thumb over her knuckles lightly. "How much time are we talking here?" he asked.

"In Attilan? I am not sure yet." Crystal looked away for a brief moment, then looked at Forge. "As I said, I would like to travel for a while. I was unable to do much traveling while Attilan was away from the rest of the world, and I have not had the chance to travel very much even after we returned. However... I am not planning on returning to the school when the next term begins."

"...oh."

Slowly, Forge let his hand slip from Crystal's, quietly lacing his fingers together and looking out past the basketball court. He thought in silence for a few moments, then spoke again. "What's that mean for us?"

"We both know a teleporter, and there are mechanical means of transporting people long distances, even across an ocean," Crystal said.

Forge nodded. "I'm not going to pretend I'm gleeful about the situation," he admitted, finally looking back at Crystal. "But I understand. I really do. And..." he blushed slightly, and reached over to lay his hand on Crystal's leg. "I want to make this work. This... us... stuff. And if that means hopping a plane, or the Pixie Express when she's well... then we'll make it work. I mean, if you still want..."

There were no thoughts of "All right" this time. Instead, Crystal leaned closer to Forge and kissed him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Well, that said everything succinctly, Forge thought. After a long while, he pulled back for a breath and just looked at Crystal for a few seconds, then brushed a lock of hair away from her face and smiled. "Stay with me tonight," he said quietly.

"You did not wish to stay in your suite after you, ah, ran into a certain Canadian numerous times," Crystal pointed out.

Forge blushed slightly, looked away for a moment, then met Crystal's eyes again. "I'm not battered and bruised now," he clarified. "And I do not mean, well... that is, I mean... sleepingtogether," he half-mumbled.

"Sleeping together," Crystal repeated, eyes widening a bit. "And by this you mean...?"

"I... um... what it sounds like," Forge managed to compose himself enough to say. "Nothing more, unless... well, I'm not going to pretend I don't want to, but there's a lot to talk about before that, and... I just would like you to stay with me. Tonight, at least. Just to... see how things go?"

Inwardly, a significant portion of his brain was trying to hunt down the particular part responsible for translating thought into speech, in order to take it out back and give it a good kicking.

"I..." Crystal paused, then nodded. "All right."

"All right," Forge echoed, before doing a barely-perceptible double take. "All right? All right, then. Yes. I... well then we should... I could, um... hey, have you eaten yet? There's... dinner and stuff. Or..." He ran a hand over his face to compose himself, then laughed and took Crystal's hands in his. "I would like to go clean up and take you out to dinner, if that would be acceptable?"

"That would be acceptable," Crystal agreed. "I have not had dinner yet."

With a nod, Forge stood up, helping Crystal to her feet. "Twenty minutes?" he asked with a quick grin. "If you wear that dress from the other week, I might even let you drive."