Yvette and Fred: Valentine Morning

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Yvette crashes in Fred's room. Life discussions abound



Fred closed the door to his room as quietly as he could with both hands occupied by enormous mugs of cocoa. He grinned broadly at the small red sleeping face on his bed, barely visible from underneath her sharp-proof blanket. She'd fallen asleep while Fred had been showing her a lot of his old games on his laptop, and he couldn't bring himself to move her after she'd drifted off. Well, that and he had no idea how the people in and near her room would react to him hefting her sleeping form into her room. Ladies were often weird about their rooms, to Fred's understanding. Seemed like as good a justification as any, at least...

Fred had let her sleep in when he'd gone out to check the weather and grab some hot drinks. She was always so busy, with Red X and the students and everything else, that Fred was sure she could use every restful minute she could find. However, he was equally sure that she'd never forgive him if he let her sleep through hot cocoa and all this snow. Setting the large mugs on his end table, Fred spoke in the softest voice he could manage.

"Hey, Copper Top. Rise and Shine."

A small smile twitched at the corner of her mouth at the sound of his voice and she squirmed deeper into the blanket nest for a moment. Then the trademark blue glow of her eyes appeared as she reluctantly opened them and she pulled a fold of blanket away from her face. "Rise and shine?" She looked over at the window and the morning sunlight and blinked. "Did I sleep here all night?"

Fred nodded, smiling and closing the window he'd opened enough to smoke through, "Well, cept for yah woke up once and mumbled something about bandages, and then went back tah sleep." He couldn't keep him self from chuckling, remembering a bleary eyed Yvette coming in and out of sleep...

She poked her tongue out at him and sat up, thanking her powers that she didn't get bed head. Unless you counted accidentally slicing up your pillow and waking up with feathers stuck to your hair as "bed head', as had happened a few times before she'd gotten the full self-repairing cloth bedding. "I was dreaming that the Mummy was chasing me. I blame your scary movies," she replied, teasing rather than serious. "I like your bed. It is comfortable."

"Ah like you in mah bed."

Fred hadn't even thought about it. It seemed to come out of his mouth on its own accord. Fred bit his lip and popped the window back open. He lit a cigarette and wondered for a moment if he could escape via the tiny window before the words hit Yvette's ears...

Yvette opened her mouth to reply, then closed it again. Her eyes flared bright neon and she looked down, both to hide the reaction and to focus on her gloved hands, which were folding and re-folding the blanket. "I like that too," she confessed at last, before peeking back up at him shyly.

Fred chewed on his lip until Yvette looked back up and him, and he couldn't help beaming back at her. He paused, and slowly leaned down until he was sitting next to Yvette on the bed. He was of course being delicate and slow for her sake, and not because the idea of Yvette being in his bed had only just really dawned on him and was making him nervous. Desperate for any other subject, any other focus, Fred handed Yvette her one of the still steaming mugs, "Uhm...cocoa?"

"Yes, please." She took the cup gratefully, cupping both hands around it, it was so large. Cocoa was safe, cocoa was not risque and cocoa was definitely a welcome derailment of words and feelings she had no idea how to address yet. Glad to be able to hide her still-glowing eyes, she buried her face in the steam and took a sip. "It is very good, Fred. You have been hiding the cocoa making talents, have you?" she said, realising how inane she sounded and internally wincing.

Fred looked down at his mug. Had she gotten closer to him somehow, when he handed her the mug? Was he able to open his mouth with out saying something inane or making the whole thing more uncomfortable? "Uhm...it's from a package. Ah just mixed it with milk." Nope. Still inane. Dammit.

She smiled at that and scooted a bit closer to him, carefully so she didn't spill her drink or put holes in his bedding or clothes. "It is good," she repeated. "Like the person who made it."

Fred laughed in relief, thankful that the cocoa had saved them from the awkwardness he'd accidentally generated. Emboldened a little, he put his free arm around Yvette and took a long draw from his mug, "Ah, uh, figured you could sleep in some. Didn't think you had any Red X engagements or anything..."

She shook her head before cuddling up to him. "Not this morning, no. I need to get things ready for the Red X training for the end of the month, but at least I do not have so much homework this week. Even the part time school has been busy lately, after the holidays." She sipped at her cocoa again and made a happy noise. "Thank you for letting me sleep. I did not realise I was so tired."

"You needed it, Copper Top." he tucked away a long, stray crop of hair from her face, "Ya run on all cylinders so much..." 'not that I'm trying not to sound worried' he almost added at the end. "How is Red X goin, anyhow? Anything Ah could help on?"

"So much to do, so little the time to be doing them in," she replied wryly - she was very aware of how much workload she had taken on, with the X-Men as well as her other work and school. "Actually, you can help me with the February information evening," she continued, perking up a little. "I thought I would show the bad disaster movie afterwards, for the laughs. Perhaps you can suggest something?"

Dante's Peak. The Towering Inferno. Meteor. Volcano. There were so many fun ones he already knew he had saved on some DVD buried somewhere in his room, "Ah...think Ah can find a few movies that would be fun to watch." Fred tipped more cocoa back, "Sorry Ah can't help any with yer school stuff..." he'd taken a peek at some of her homework when they'd been sitting together the other week, and Fred had understood maybe every other third word in it.

"The movies are definitely help enough - it is hard, making things interesting to the students." Yvette sipped her cocoa some more, still only half-way. It was a big mug. "Fred," she said after a moment. "Do you ever think about going back to school? Perhaps the community college at Salem Center? The Professor is very good with the support for people."

Fred hesitated for a moment, and then nodded, "Ah thought about maybe taking some Automotive Courses, or American Studies classes...sort of just interesting stuff Ah noticed in the catalogs, yah know?" And it was hard not to notice, as every few months like clockwork the Mansion seemed to be growing collegiate literature out of end tables and countertops, "But...Ah dunno..."

"What is it that you do not know?" asked Yvette, squirming a little so she could look into his face. "What is the worry for you?"

"It just...Ah dunno. Ah got no idea what Ah'd do with it. All Ah'd be doin is lookin at stuff Ah thought was interestin. No real money or future in it, Ah'd wager...so why bother anyone with it or throw any money at it, yah know? Ah don't think Ah'd get a diploma or anythin like that." Fred winced a little. He hadn't ever really thought of himself as collegiate, and thought he was fine with it, but explaining it to Yvette was more embarrassing than he'd really expected.

"Education is more than what is 'useful'." Yvette put her mug down on the nightstand and turned so she was facing him, holding his hands in hers and peering up at him seriously. "If you want to do it, then you should do it. Take one or two classes to be starting, to see if you like it, and then, who knows?" She squeezed his hands encouragingly. "As for the cost... we risk our lives every day for the Professor, as X-Men. He knows that, and is happy to do anything for us to help make us happy in our lives."

Fred looked away from Yvette's eyes, but only for a moment, and when he looked back he didn't bother trying to hide his apprehension, "Yah maybe right, an Ah should just see what Ah might like, but...Ah'd just...hate askin him for more, Copper Top. The Professor. Ah already feel like Ah don't do near enough here an it just...Ah don't wanna be a charity case for somethin' that may not even work..."

"I understand." She thought for a long moment, wondering if there was a way around Fred's pride. Then she smiled, her eyes lighting up in response. "How about the loan?" she asked. "From the Professor. I know you do not want to take the charity, but if it was the loan, would that make it all right?"

Something he could pay back? The Professor had always talked about investing in them...and Fred could always take on more work at the Mansion if he felt like he wasn't contributing enough...

Slowly the look of worry turned into a small blossom of a grin, "Yeah...Ah think that's definitely an idea, Vette. A downright good one. Ah can ask em bout it after Ah talk tah Kane about X-People stuff." he chuckled a little, "Why didn't Ah just ask ya in tha first place?" Fred was still smiling when he leaned closer and kissed Yvette, the earlier awkwardness long since evaporated.

Yvette returned the kiss , wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling herself, blanket and all, into his lap. "Because sometimes, you are silly," she replied when the kiss broke. "But that is all right, because so am I."