Fic: At long last, home
Title: At long last, home
Author:mayachain ( ms_jvh_shuh)
Featuring: Logan, Storm, a bunch of students, Bobby!, St John, Scott
Rating: PG
Summary: How to cheer up an advanced math class at around 1 am.
Note: Final sequel to Gazette Day, Most Wanted, Most Wanted II and Prodigal Son. post X2, AU
At long last, home
It's almost an hour after midnight , but the fact that it's a school night is unanimously ignored by teachers and students alike. Nearly the whole school is still in the dining hall, except for Scott, whose sudden disappearance is the reason they're not in bed yet, the six youngest children and Professor Xavier. The advanced math class sits clustered around Logan, and everyone is dully watching Jubilee as she half-heartedly deals out cards for the fifth game in a row of games no-one really cares about.
Everyone's eyes turn to Logan as he suddenly cocks his head, hearing something. A not entirely irrational surge of fear runs through the student body, quelled instantly because for all the precautions, it is unlikely that there'll be another attack and even if there were, Logan and Storm are right here to protect them, and Xavier is upstairs, probably not asleep. Still, Kitty lays a hand on Jones' arm as he mutters under his breath, quietly berating himself for abandoning his post for something as trivial as a game and some company.
"Car," Logan grouses, and everyone relaxes, if not entirely. The way he says the word conveys that no, the sound he heard has not been caused by the government, quite the contrary: For better or worse, their wayward teacher has returned to them. He has not, as imagined by Rogue in a hopeless moment earlier today, gone to Alkali Lake to drown himself; he has not even tried to spend the night away from the Mansion. Relieved beyond belief, a few of the students excitedly get up to go meet him, but Logan's arm makes a decisive gesture, effectively stopping them.
Bobby watches Logan frown as he probably hears the car's door slam. He hasn't been this afraid since raid night, and today's been worse in a way because he hadn't actually had time to think back then. But the delighted grin creeping over the elder mutant's face is reassuring, as is the hand thrusting the night's very first beer in Bobby's face for freezing.
"Don't look," Kitty murmurs as soon as enhanced senses are no longer needed to hear Scott's heavy steps approach the dining hall. Bobby's suddenly glad he's sitting with his back to the door, because it means he doesn't have to pretend quite so hard to be interested in the cards he's holding.
*
Scott barely has time to enter the room before Storm is in his face. "Where were you?" she screeches, and St John instantly ducks behind Scott and backs away a few steps into the corridor again. "How dare you take off like that?", her voice rings in his ears, shrill and loud enough to be heard in the entire Mansion. "How dare you disappear without a word? How dare you not take calls, how dare you deactivate the tracking system?"
St John fleetingly thinks of all the jokes he would crack at Scott being chewed out by Ms. Munroe - any other time. As of now, he presses his back against the wall in an angle that gives him a perfect view of the doorway while hopefully having Scott block everyone's view of him.
She's out of breath now, and in the short break she takes to get some air for more screaming, Scott completely throws her off by smiling at her. It's a weak smile, still a far cry from the high wattage he would sometimes direct at people before, but from what he's seen of Scott so far and from the way Storm and the students facing the door are staring, St John thinks it has to be the first remotely satisfied expression anyone's seen on Cyclops' face in months.
"I'm sorry," Scott tells the irate woman while she goes all wide-eyed and open-mouthed. "Just took my car for a spin, and - " and Storm frowns in confusion, because Scott's not chagrined at all, he's practically bouncing up and down in excitement - "I had to pick something up."
The students around Logan's table give up their attempts to feign indifference to the adults' conversation as Scott unerringly reaches behind him. St John lets himself be pulled toward the door again, and Scott steps aside. Storm gasps, and Jubilee looses her grip on the deck of cards as soon as she looks up.
"Pyro!", she breathes, before Storm can find her voice again. St John allows Scott to gently push him forward as everyone else's heads swivel around, except for the one St John finds himself staring at. Chairs are knocked over in a general rush, but one in particular does not move.
Bobby's sitting figuratively frozen to his chair, knuckles white around his cards, back absolutely rigid.
Jubilee and Kitty and some other girls he's barely ever spoken to almost throw him off his feet, hugging him, and St John has to look away from Bobby for a second to grin at them. The younger boys scuffle among themselves to be the first to shake his hand, and Sam and Pete pound him on the back in a way that's going to leave bruises.
Rogue's still hanging back at the table, looking at him like she knows something she's wanted all her life and even had for a short time is now ending, but she's smiling at him, and now Bobby's turning around,
cautiously,
hesitantly, looking at St John like he's a miracle, his presence here an act of God he's prayed for and hoped for but never actually believed he would get.
Jubilee's started using her fists on his arm, yelling at him for taking so long, but he can barely feel it, and with the voices of his friends fading into the background, St John gives Bobby an equally laden look back.
Epilogue
Later, much later, when they've all been sent to their rooms hours ago and only now actually conceded to go, when Bobby has retrieved his bedspread, pyjamas and tooth brush from Sam's and Pete's room, they're sitting on St John's bed, not quite touching, idly talking. It's starting to get light again outside when Bobby asks
"So what's the other reason you came back?"
as if he's guessed about the conversation St John had with Scott in the car, as if he knows - and he should know, does know - that John's only back in the first place because they asked. As if he knows, which he most likely also does, that St John had needed another reason to leave, because he would've been back weeks ago otherwise.
St John is silent for a long moment. He's tired, feels like he could sleep for a month, but he wants to explain to Bobby so that they never have to talk about it again.
Two short sentences. Well, maybe four.
"You know that list of names they printed, of all the people that got killed? Magneto kept it, for some reason. We were in a safe house a few miles away from Oak Ridge, and I read it, just because I could. ...One of them was called Anna."
Bobby nods, and lies down on the bed without comment.
**
*While they've gotten a lot of repairs and technical improvements done at the Mansion, Cerebro is still out of commission, which is why the X-Men had limited options to track Scott down.
*If anyone asks, I will explain what the second reason is all about (maybe someone all awesome can guess?), but for now, let Bobby keep his monopoly on inside information.
*I never intended to have a WIP hanging around with no idea when all the parts would be done :) Yet it happened, and it's finished!!
Author:mayachain ( ms_jvh_shuh)
Featuring: Logan, Storm, a bunch of students, Bobby!, St John, Scott
Rating: PG
Summary: How to cheer up an advanced math class at around 1 am.
Note: Final sequel to Gazette Day, Most Wanted, Most Wanted II and Prodigal Son. post X2, AU
At long last, home
It's almost an hour after midnight , but the fact that it's a school night is unanimously ignored by teachers and students alike. Nearly the whole school is still in the dining hall, except for Scott, whose sudden disappearance is the reason they're not in bed yet, the six youngest children and Professor Xavier. The advanced math class sits clustered around Logan, and everyone is dully watching Jubilee as she half-heartedly deals out cards for the fifth game in a row of games no-one really cares about.
Everyone's eyes turn to Logan as he suddenly cocks his head, hearing something. A not entirely irrational surge of fear runs through the student body, quelled instantly because for all the precautions, it is unlikely that there'll be another attack and even if there were, Logan and Storm are right here to protect them, and Xavier is upstairs, probably not asleep. Still, Kitty lays a hand on Jones' arm as he mutters under his breath, quietly berating himself for abandoning his post for something as trivial as a game and some company.
"Car," Logan grouses, and everyone relaxes, if not entirely. The way he says the word conveys that no, the sound he heard has not been caused by the government, quite the contrary: For better or worse, their wayward teacher has returned to them. He has not, as imagined by Rogue in a hopeless moment earlier today, gone to Alkali Lake to drown himself; he has not even tried to spend the night away from the Mansion. Relieved beyond belief, a few of the students excitedly get up to go meet him, but Logan's arm makes a decisive gesture, effectively stopping them.
Bobby watches Logan frown as he probably hears the car's door slam. He hasn't been this afraid since raid night, and today's been worse in a way because he hadn't actually had time to think back then. But the delighted grin creeping over the elder mutant's face is reassuring, as is the hand thrusting the night's very first beer in Bobby's face for freezing.
"Don't look," Kitty murmurs as soon as enhanced senses are no longer needed to hear Scott's heavy steps approach the dining hall. Bobby's suddenly glad he's sitting with his back to the door, because it means he doesn't have to pretend quite so hard to be interested in the cards he's holding.
*
Scott barely has time to enter the room before Storm is in his face. "Where were you?" she screeches, and St John instantly ducks behind Scott and backs away a few steps into the corridor again. "How dare you take off like that?", her voice rings in his ears, shrill and loud enough to be heard in the entire Mansion. "How dare you disappear without a word? How dare you not take calls, how dare you deactivate the tracking system?"
St John fleetingly thinks of all the jokes he would crack at Scott being chewed out by Ms. Munroe - any other time. As of now, he presses his back against the wall in an angle that gives him a perfect view of the doorway while hopefully having Scott block everyone's view of him.
She's out of breath now, and in the short break she takes to get some air for more screaming, Scott completely throws her off by smiling at her. It's a weak smile, still a far cry from the high wattage he would sometimes direct at people before, but from what he's seen of Scott so far and from the way Storm and the students facing the door are staring, St John thinks it has to be the first remotely satisfied expression anyone's seen on Cyclops' face in months.
"I'm sorry," Scott tells the irate woman while she goes all wide-eyed and open-mouthed. "Just took my car for a spin, and - " and Storm frowns in confusion, because Scott's not chagrined at all, he's practically bouncing up and down in excitement - "I had to pick something up."
The students around Logan's table give up their attempts to feign indifference to the adults' conversation as Scott unerringly reaches behind him. St John lets himself be pulled toward the door again, and Scott steps aside. Storm gasps, and Jubilee looses her grip on the deck of cards as soon as she looks up.
"Pyro!", she breathes, before Storm can find her voice again. St John allows Scott to gently push him forward as everyone else's heads swivel around, except for the one St John finds himself staring at. Chairs are knocked over in a general rush, but one in particular does not move.
Bobby's sitting figuratively frozen to his chair, knuckles white around his cards, back absolutely rigid.
Jubilee and Kitty and some other girls he's barely ever spoken to almost throw him off his feet, hugging him, and St John has to look away from Bobby for a second to grin at them. The younger boys scuffle among themselves to be the first to shake his hand, and Sam and Pete pound him on the back in a way that's going to leave bruises.
Rogue's still hanging back at the table, looking at him like she knows something she's wanted all her life and even had for a short time is now ending, but she's smiling at him, and now Bobby's turning around,
cautiously,
hesitantly, looking at St John like he's a miracle, his presence here an act of God he's prayed for and hoped for but never actually believed he would get.
Jubilee's started using her fists on his arm, yelling at him for taking so long, but he can barely feel it, and with the voices of his friends fading into the background, St John gives Bobby an equally laden look back.
Epilogue
Later, much later, when they've all been sent to their rooms hours ago and only now actually conceded to go, when Bobby has retrieved his bedspread, pyjamas and tooth brush from Sam's and Pete's room, they're sitting on St John's bed, not quite touching, idly talking. It's starting to get light again outside when Bobby asks
"So what's the other reason you came back?"
as if he's guessed about the conversation St John had with Scott in the car, as if he knows - and he should know, does know - that John's only back in the first place because they asked. As if he knows, which he most likely also does, that St John had needed another reason to leave, because he would've been back weeks ago otherwise.
St John is silent for a long moment. He's tired, feels like he could sleep for a month, but he wants to explain to Bobby so that they never have to talk about it again.
Two short sentences. Well, maybe four.
"You know that list of names they printed, of all the people that got killed? Magneto kept it, for some reason. We were in a safe house a few miles away from Oak Ridge, and I read it, just because I could. ...One of them was called Anna."
Bobby nods, and lies down on the bed without comment.
**
*While they've gotten a lot of repairs and technical improvements done at the Mansion, Cerebro is still out of commission, which is why the X-Men had limited options to track Scott down.
*If anyone asks, I will explain what the second reason is all about (maybe someone all awesome can guess?), but for now, let Bobby keep his monopoly on inside information.
*I never intended to have a WIP hanging around with no idea when all the parts would be done :) Yet it happened, and it's finished!!