Scott and Wanda, backdated to Tuesday

[x-cyclops.livejournal.com]

After this email, Scott and Wanda wind up on the dock. He passes a message along from her brother. Then they talk a little bit about Wanda's training, and then the conversation turns to what happened after her birthday partner. Amazing, Scott manages to get the upper hand in the end.


Wanda dangled her legs off of the pier as she waited for Scott. There were a few things she wanted to talk to him about--obviously something had come up about Pietro that he had wanted to talk to _her_ about as well. It was slightly chilly out but the weather had been going through another yo-yo effect and it was warmer than one would have expected for that time of the year.

"Hi, Wanda," Scott said quietly, coming up behind her. He smiled, only a slight edge of sheepishness to it as she looked up at him. "Firstly," he said, sitting down beside her, "he's fine. Even though we had a more exciting weekend than either of us expected."

She fixed him with a look and then shook her head. "What on earth did you two get up to?" she asked after a few seconds. Not that it was that surprising, trouble and her brother always had a habit of meeting up.

"Checking on a few of your father's local contacts," Scott temporized. "He played the good, dutiful son running errands. I played the interfering X-Man and was blatant about it, so word would get back. Then we compared notes."

Wanda's lips twitched slightly at that. "Who knew you were so sneaky, Scott?" she asked, laughing as she leaned on her knees. "But he is well? And making sure that they do _not_ know that he is working with you?"

"He's being very careful. We both are," Scott assured her. "Wanda, you can count the number of times we've met on the fingers of one hand. And he's well, not to worry. Very driven, but well."

"I try not to worry, I do but it's hard. Especially knowing who he deals with." She scrunched up her face and muttered something dark sounding in another language, one she was sure Scott wouldn't know. Just in case. "I know my brother, he is very driven but sometimes...a little too fast to make decisions. He is a speedster, after all."

"He does chafe a bit at the pace of what we've been doing," Scott said obliquely. "But slow and steady wins the race." He paused, smiling a little. "He wanted me to tell you that he missed you," he said more softly. "That he's doing this for both of you, and he'll make up for all the worry he's been causing you."

The look on Wanda's face softened and she stared down at her reflection in the water. "I miss him," she said, honestly. "We've been seperated for too long, ever since he went in search of Magneto. Brief contact by letters is not enough. But he knows that I'll bide my time until he gets back--and that I get to have one good punch as well."

"Is he going to stand still for it?" Scott teased lightly.

"He knows better than to dodge the first one," she said, laughing.

"Smart man," Scott said, then let his breath out on a sigh. "So that was about it, in terms of what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Well, since I have you here...how do you think my training's been going?" The professor had told her to talk to him about what they had discussed, powers wise, and she was trying to figure out a way to bring it into the discussion.

"Very well," Scott said promptly. "You haven't been having any trouble with the exercises - " He hadn't reviewed all her sessions personally, but he had checked the reports on those he hadn't. " - and I can't imagine you're having any difficulty with the study side of things. Although I know we have yet to check you out on that score..."

"I think I am quickly going through training," she mused. "However, there's something I need to mention to you. I spoke to the Professor the other day, about a few things and that included my powers. He...believes my powers might have the ability to influence certain other mutations. Not a lot but, well, any is enough. I know he said that when I actively use my powers, that I am not on the telepathic radar, so to speak, anymore."

Scott nodded thoughtfully. "Nathan had mentioned something to me about that. Some argument the two of you had?"

A rather sheepish look crossed her face. "Yes, it turned into a childish yelling match and I accidently blew up the light fixtures. He noticed as well? Here I was hoping that it was only with the Professor--stupid idea but I do not really like this part of my power."

"It's not such a bad thing, you know," Scott said thoughtfully. "I can think of situations where it might be very useful to be... untouchable by telepaths."

"I know and it is very useful," Wanda admitted. "But it is a very unpredictable power and I do not like the idea that I have not yet learned to control, or even understand, a part of it. After all these years and it still continues to surprise me."

Scott gave her a wry look. "I can understand not liking not being in control," he said, tapping his glasses.

She relaxed a little bit and smiled back. "Do you think I will make X-Men status even while learning about this part?" she asked, sounding a bit worried.

"I think you're a lot closer than you seem to think you are," Scott said very firmly. "And I want you on active status as soon as it's feasible. I think I've told you that before."

Wanda nodded. "Oh good. I think I want to be on board almost as much as you want me there. Maybe not as much." There was a teasing quality to her voice, it had been very obvious that Scott was seeing her potential as an X-Man and wanted her there as quickly as possible.

"I'm shameless about these things," Scott said lightly. "I make no apologies." He gazed out at the lake, taking a deep breath. "Things are liable to be heating up around here very soon, on a number of fronts. We need everyone who's fit and willing on the front lines."

Wary, she turned to face him, shifting until she found a comfortable position. "Why, what's going on?" Wanda paused. "Did you discover something amongst those compared notes you were talking about earlier?"

"That," Scott said, "and Mistra, and several other potentially difficult situations that I really can't get into." He gave her a lopsided grin.

"Top secret, got you," she said, smiling back. "But batten down the hatches, all the same?"

"Constant vigilance," Scott said sententiously, then ruined it with a grin. "I sound so very pompous at times."

"You _sound_ like a Harry Potter character," Wanda said, laughing at him. "Pompous is has it's place, so does unpredictable." She paused and then raised an eyebrow slightly. "You do remember the night of my birthday party, right?" They hadn't talked about it, at all, except to chase Miles around for waking them up and then handing him back to Alison.

Scott looked back out at the lake, smiling a little, even as he felt his face heat up. "Yes, I do. Why can't I not remember what I do when I'm drunk, like normal people?"

Snickering slightly, she reached out and patted his hand. "Because then it would not be so much fun?" she asked, teasing. "Though I cannot say it was unwelcomed. And had it been a few weeks ago...well..." Thankfully, she didn't blush but it was a near thing.

Scott's smile grew a little as he looked sideways at her. "Well, I'm glad I wasn't totally offensive. Although once I was fully sober I did wonder if you perhaps liked them more... academic?"

That, however, drew a bit of a blush. "Normally, I don't," she said and then paused. "Wait, how on earth...?"

Scott gave her his best innocent look.

Eyes narrowing, Wanda reached out and poked him in the ribs. "Scott Summers," she threatened. "How did you find that out?"

"Careful observation? And listening to gossip?"

"Gossip? There's _gossip_?"

"Maybe just a little," Scott said with a bright smile.

She stared at him, slightly horrified. "Nothing has even _happened_ yet! Or at all! And there's gossip! Good grief, that's a little fast, wouldn't you say?"

Scott patted her shoulder. "Welcome to Xavier's. Where the gossip manifests on a whisper and moves at the speed of light."