[Caped Crusader or Victim of Fashion? RP with Summers_Grey, izzy_chambers]
OOC: TM_northstar, this one's for you. Love, Sinister!Mun and Rachel!Mun. ::mwah:: (This RP is appropriate for all ages, and the only warning is for mild hilarity. Well, it made US laugh.)
Nathaniel had no idea what possessed him.
He was upstairs on a Saturday afternoon, cleaning out the room that served as their guest room. They had not had any guests as of late--Rogue had slept in Rachel's old room when she'd been in residence--but Nathaniel had a feeling they might be having more company over the summer. Beatrice had mentioned bringing some lad with her when she came to call, and Nathaniel was not certain what the sleeping arrangements for that were supposed to be. Over the year he'd been living in the house, they'd accumulated some clutter in the guest room--mostly Isobel and Rachel's off-season clothing, books, that sort of thing--and having it so disorganized was making him anxious--or as close to anxious as Nathaniel could be.
The thing which was taking up the most room in the closet was the garish cape which Apocalypse had been so insistent he wear. Nathaniel brought it from London because the cape had certain interesting properties he'd engineered over the years, and he was something of a packrat when it came to experiments or equipment. He'd actually lost count of the number of laboratories he had, hidden away beneath mountains or lakes or similar, and in each were the carefully preserved remnants of his various experiments.
Nathaniel waved his hand, re-arranging the stack of Rachel's textbooks into perfect alphabetical order by subject on the bookshelves he'd just put in the room. While half of his mind was occupied with that, he reached out and touched the cape. It responded to his touch, the material--which he'd discovered was some alien type of synthetic blend--was slick and cool. Nathaniel smiled. He was dressed casually--for him--but that didn't matter. The rest of his outfit had always been somewhat unnecessary. The cape was really the only thing that mattered.
Rachel lay in front of the couch, her eyes half-open as she watched Ultimate Fighting Championship Smackdown Santa Fe. She sipped at a large cup of water, her clothes stuck to her with sweat after her run. Going to have to run even earlier, she thought. Or after dark. The heat had gotten to her a bit this time.
Lockheed peered at Rachel from his hutch. She telekinetically slipped the latch and let him out. The rabbit hopped onto the rug, his nose wiggling. Rachel could telepathically hear Izzy in the kitchen, and Nathaniel was a cool presence in the house. She smiled and relaxed against the couch, content.
Isobel walked into the den, holding a tray with chips, French Onion dip, two Cokes, and an extra bottle of water for Rachel. "Hey, I thought we could use some snacks. Ooh, look at that guy's thigh muscles." Izzy stared at the television. "I feel like a bad lesbian for finding those kind of hot." She settled on the floor next to her friend, back against the couch, legs stretched out. "I brought you a Coke, and some more water." Isobel waggled her fingers at Lockheed, but the rabbit didn't come closer. "Why does that rabbit only like Nathaniel? How is that even possible?"
"I was looking at his shoulders," Rachel replied, her eyes glued to the screen. She took the Coke and the water absently, not noticing Izzy's mother-hen care-taking. It was merely a part of Rachel's life. "Thank you," she said. At the commercial, Rachel glanced at Lockheed. "I don't know why," she said. "Lockheed's thoughts aren't really clear? He just thinks Nathaniel is a really, really big male rabbit."
The show came back on, and Rachel turned to face the screen. "People used to make mutants do this, for money," she said, waving a hand at the screen. "And Apocalypse used to make Nathaniel duel like this." Rachel sipped her Coke and picked up a chip. "I think Nathaniel would win UFC. Or I would."
Isobel thought about that. "That's terrible. I mean, it's one thing to do it if you sign up, you know? Like, if you enjoy this kind of thing." Isobel looked sideways at Rachel. Her friend was calm, collected. No hint of her usual mania or tension. "I think you both would do really well, yeah. Unless you had to fight each other." Isobel smiled ruefully. "I actually don't even know who would win that one. Probably you, if you used the Phoenix." She laughed. "God, morbid much? And I have a feeling Apocalypse didn't let whoever lost live, so I bet Nathaniel got pretty good at it."
Isobel tried to tempt Lockheed over with a chip, but the rabbit remained disdainful.
They watched for a moment in companionable silence. On the screen, one of the combatants was kicked in the head and fell heavily to the mat. His opponent, lost in the rush, jumped on the fallen man before the referee could pull him off. He slammed a few elbow strikes against the other man's head. The ref restrained him, tugging him away. Rachel smiled and stretched. "Good fight," she said. She craned her head back to look at Izzy. "Who was it you were on the phone with last night? Not Raven, right?"
Isobel was slightly disconcerted by Rachel's smile at the end of the fight, but she shrugged it off. Rachel was scary, sometimes. "Nope, Raven is in...Sumatra? Something? She sent me a postcard." Isobel smiled. "I was talking to John, actually. John Allerdyce? We've been talking some, online and stuff. I really like him, and I'm so glad he didn't die. That was so terrible."
"Hmm, yeah, that's good," Rachel said. "Dying sucks." She glanced up, something about Izzy's thoughts catching at her. "You really like him?" Rachel grabbed a few more chips. "He's a friend, he matters to you?" If he did, if this guy mattered to Izzy and Nathaniel, then Rachel would pay a little more attention to him. Maybe meet him. People who were important to Rachel's friends were real in a way the rest of the world was not.
"I do, yeah. I mean, I was a little annoyed at him when he was out to kill all humans," Isobel said, munching on a dip-laden chip, "But it's not like I couldn't see his point. I mean, he was going about it the wrong way, but I know he's trying to do the right thing now, instead of the...well, thing that involves explosions." Isobel shrugged. "I think he's a nice guy, yeah. I thought he was a nice guy when he was with the Brotherhood. It made it hard to watch the news, see what they did, when I knew how he really thought he was doing the right thing. I'm glad he got another chance, I guess."
Rachel nodded and slouched back against the couch. "I'll have a talk with him," she said. "Find out what his plans are. Where he fits," she added absently. "Ooh, watch this Finnish guy. He's really a Laplander, and has a big chip on his shoulder about coming from a dying culture. I saw an interview, once. He kicks like a mule."
Isobel thought that sounded vaguely ominous, but she realized that it was Rachel's way of trying to accept the people Isobel cared about. She should probably warn John--then again, he was a big boy. If Isobel liked John and Rachel knew that, then Rachel wouldn't be a threat. Still, Isobel knew how her friend was. But it was probably best John found that as soon as possible, anyway. "I haven't ever--"
She never got through her sentence. The air went still and then Nathaniel was there, but he was wearing--
Isobel had seen pictures in Nathaniel's file, of him in the cape that had been such an integral part of his former persona. She'd gotten so used to his red-eyed and pale appearance, even to the diamond, that she barely thought of it anymore--it was simply what he looked like. But here he was, dressed in that ornate cape, and he looked completely--
Isobel bit her lip. She would not laugh.
"Hey," Rachel said to Nathaniel. She didn't look up, watching the screen. He didn't reply, however, so Rachel turned. She blinked. "Is it laundry day?" she asked, completely confused. "No -- wait. Why didn't you just wash something?"
Rachel sat up now, frowning. "Why on earth are you wearing that, Nathaniel?"
Nathaniel made a sweeping gesture, which caused the cape to make a wooshing sound and the material to sigh and slink around, like it was alive. Nathaniel was very tall, nearly seven feet, and the collar points were perilously close to hitting the ceiling fan. "I have found this in the closet," he said, the weight of the cape familiar and yet strange on his shoulders. "While I was cleaning." Remembering a conversation he'd had with JP, Nathaniel made a somewhat sudden move towards Rachel. "Are you perchance moved towards terror, and overcome with a desire to run away?"
Isobel made a sound. Nathaniel turned to her, interested in noting her reaction. She did not look afraid. She looked... "Isobel, has my appearance in my former terrifying visage moved you to hilarity?"
"Uh huh," Isobel said, clapping her hand to her mouth. Her eyes were wide. She was shaking with silent laughter. "Maybe it's 'cause you're wearing it with pants and a t-shirt, though."
Nathaniel altered his clothing so he appeared to be wearing his former armor-like uniform in addition to the cape.
"No, that's not it," Isobel said immediately, looking towards Rachel.
Rachel stared at the edge of the cape. It wriggled. "Your clothes are coming between me and UFC, Nathaniel," she said. "And you're almost in the onion dip, here." She tilted her head and stared up at him. "I was just saying you'd be good at UFC, to Izzy, here. But the pointy collar on that gives me some doubts."
She ate a chip. "The armor pants are kind of hot, though." Rachel picked up another chip and considered Nathaniel's outfit. "No," she said, shaking her head. "No, they're not, sorry. Too 1990's."
Nathaniel spread his arms and looked down. "I used to think this was blue," he said conversationally, as if he were not a red-eyed, immortal mutant with a glowing diamond and a tentacle-like cape encircling a very uncomfortable sort of body armor, "But now that I see it in the light, it appears more purple. One wonders why Apocalypse was so fond of jewel tones."
Isobel finally lost her ability to hold in her laughter, at precisely the minute when the rabbit, happy to see his favorite human in the house, hopped over to Nathaniel. The rabbit sniffed Nathaniel's cape, then stood up on its hind legs, its front paws held in front of him. Nathaniel looked down at the rabbit and sighed. "If I had any doubt my reputation was officially ruined, it has been completely eradicated." Nathaniel reached down and scratched Lockheed, and when he straightened, the collar points hit against the fan. Nathaniel looked at Rachel again.
"JP asked me if I chased you about in this for kinky sex," he said bluntly. "I do not know if it would be possible for me to perform the act while wearing this, though I suppose the armored pants would present the most difficult obstacle."
Isobel choked and buried her face in her hands, overcome with sudden horror and hilarity.
"I'm pretty sure I couldn't have sex with you while you wore that," Rachel replied. Lockheed hopped closer and took an experimental nibble on the cape. Rachel pointed at this. "Is the cape, like, an alien symbiote, or bad for rabbits in any way? In any way? Because I will be upset if your clothes possess, poison, or disturb Lockheed."
"Oh, my god, you guys are killing me," Isobel gasped, because she was laughing so hard she couldn't breathe.
"Ah, there we have it. The unforeseen true terror of my cape." Nathaniel shook his head. "No, it's alien but it is not harmful in anyway to living creatures. If it is ingested, that is. I have previously used it for infections with the Legacy Virus, but there is no need to worry. It does not affect lagomorphs." He waved a hand, which made the cape lift and settle as if there were a wind behind him. "And I have the antidote for the Legacy Virus in the lab."
Nathaniel made a threatening sort of gesture at Rachel, but he caught his appearance in the mirror on the other side of the room. "This does look ridiculous, does it not? If I require a costume in the future of any sort, I am going with a more muted color scheme."
"Please," Isobel said, wiping tears off her face. "Please go without the pointy things by your head. You look like some kind of pilgrim who fell into a purple dye factory."
"I do, rather," Nathaniel said, sighing. "I did used to be very scary," he lamented, his voice somewhat apologetic. "Even whilst wearing this."
Rachel kept her eyes on Lockheed, making sure he was fine. "You are scary," she said. "Most of the world that knows you is terrified of you. You give Lorna fits, and Jean loathes you, and my dad still has nightmares about you, I expect. You're just not scary to the people you love is all."
She looked up, smiling, her eyes glowing faintly. "Me too. That's how I am. And Izzy will be, once she decides to stop following the rules." Rachel peered past Nathaniel at the television. "UFC Dublin is on now. Are you going to watch it with me?"
"Certainly, I do enjoy how you get very eager to fight with me once these programs are finished." Nathaniel looked over at Isobel. "Shall I keep this? I could make a smaller version out of the material, for you."
"Please, god, no," Isobel sat up, shaking her head. She reached out a hand, as if she were going to touch the cape, thought better of it, and moved towards the door. "I'm just gonna...um. Go." She giggled again. "You should show up in that outfit at work during a staff meeting."
"I think that is forbidden in my contract," Nathaniel said, deadpan.
Isobel smiled, but she looked at Rachel with a thoughtful expression. "You're wrong about that," she said quietly. "You're scarier to the people who love you, because we know how dangerous you really are. I think everyone else underestimates you."
Nathaniel agreed wholeheartedly with that, but it was unnecessary to mention--he'd told Rachel that before. With that, Isobel left the room, with one last shake of her head at his outfit. She was wise to leave--Nathaniel and Rachel got a bit carried away watching UFC on the television, and it usually ended with things being broken in the den--but Nathaniel rather thought she was trying to spare his feelings by not laughing at his former villainous ensemble any longer.
Nathaniel vanished the armor and sent the cape away to his laboratory, then sat on the couch. "I think I shall deconstruct that, and then be done with it. I cannot think of any reason why I should need it any longer, and it is only taking up space in the closet."
Rachel crawled up onto the couch to sit by her lover. "No, you don't need it," she agreed absently. "If you go evil again and have to scare the hell out of people, just keep me on a leash. That'd be scary." She curled up against Nathaniel as he sat on the dark leather sofa and rubbed her face against his arm. "But don't do that, m'kay?" Rachel added, resting her head on his thigh.
"I would never put you on a leash," he said, reaching down to trace the curve of her jaw with his fingers. "I should rather have you by my side, standing, looking fearsome and defiant." Nathaniel smiled his small, contented smile. "Perhaps we could have matching capes. In a more subdued color." Rachel looked up at him, and he winked. "Only joking, Rachel."
Nathaniel had no idea what possessed him.
He was upstairs on a Saturday afternoon, cleaning out the room that served as their guest room. They had not had any guests as of late--Rogue had slept in Rachel's old room when she'd been in residence--but Nathaniel had a feeling they might be having more company over the summer. Beatrice had mentioned bringing some lad with her when she came to call, and Nathaniel was not certain what the sleeping arrangements for that were supposed to be. Over the year he'd been living in the house, they'd accumulated some clutter in the guest room--mostly Isobel and Rachel's off-season clothing, books, that sort of thing--and having it so disorganized was making him anxious--or as close to anxious as Nathaniel could be.
The thing which was taking up the most room in the closet was the garish cape which Apocalypse had been so insistent he wear. Nathaniel brought it from London because the cape had certain interesting properties he'd engineered over the years, and he was something of a packrat when it came to experiments or equipment. He'd actually lost count of the number of laboratories he had, hidden away beneath mountains or lakes or similar, and in each were the carefully preserved remnants of his various experiments.
Nathaniel waved his hand, re-arranging the stack of Rachel's textbooks into perfect alphabetical order by subject on the bookshelves he'd just put in the room. While half of his mind was occupied with that, he reached out and touched the cape. It responded to his touch, the material--which he'd discovered was some alien type of synthetic blend--was slick and cool. Nathaniel smiled. He was dressed casually--for him--but that didn't matter. The rest of his outfit had always been somewhat unnecessary. The cape was really the only thing that mattered.
Rachel lay in front of the couch, her eyes half-open as she watched Ultimate Fighting Championship Smackdown Santa Fe. She sipped at a large cup of water, her clothes stuck to her with sweat after her run. Going to have to run even earlier, she thought. Or after dark. The heat had gotten to her a bit this time.
Lockheed peered at Rachel from his hutch. She telekinetically slipped the latch and let him out. The rabbit hopped onto the rug, his nose wiggling. Rachel could telepathically hear Izzy in the kitchen, and Nathaniel was a cool presence in the house. She smiled and relaxed against the couch, content.
Isobel walked into the den, holding a tray with chips, French Onion dip, two Cokes, and an extra bottle of water for Rachel. "Hey, I thought we could use some snacks. Ooh, look at that guy's thigh muscles." Izzy stared at the television. "I feel like a bad lesbian for finding those kind of hot." She settled on the floor next to her friend, back against the couch, legs stretched out. "I brought you a Coke, and some more water." Isobel waggled her fingers at Lockheed, but the rabbit didn't come closer. "Why does that rabbit only like Nathaniel? How is that even possible?"
"I was looking at his shoulders," Rachel replied, her eyes glued to the screen. She took the Coke and the water absently, not noticing Izzy's mother-hen care-taking. It was merely a part of Rachel's life. "Thank you," she said. At the commercial, Rachel glanced at Lockheed. "I don't know why," she said. "Lockheed's thoughts aren't really clear? He just thinks Nathaniel is a really, really big male rabbit."
The show came back on, and Rachel turned to face the screen. "People used to make mutants do this, for money," she said, waving a hand at the screen. "And Apocalypse used to make Nathaniel duel like this." Rachel sipped her Coke and picked up a chip. "I think Nathaniel would win UFC. Or I would."
Isobel thought about that. "That's terrible. I mean, it's one thing to do it if you sign up, you know? Like, if you enjoy this kind of thing." Isobel looked sideways at Rachel. Her friend was calm, collected. No hint of her usual mania or tension. "I think you both would do really well, yeah. Unless you had to fight each other." Isobel smiled ruefully. "I actually don't even know who would win that one. Probably you, if you used the Phoenix." She laughed. "God, morbid much? And I have a feeling Apocalypse didn't let whoever lost live, so I bet Nathaniel got pretty good at it."
Isobel tried to tempt Lockheed over with a chip, but the rabbit remained disdainful.
They watched for a moment in companionable silence. On the screen, one of the combatants was kicked in the head and fell heavily to the mat. His opponent, lost in the rush, jumped on the fallen man before the referee could pull him off. He slammed a few elbow strikes against the other man's head. The ref restrained him, tugging him away. Rachel smiled and stretched. "Good fight," she said. She craned her head back to look at Izzy. "Who was it you were on the phone with last night? Not Raven, right?"
Isobel was slightly disconcerted by Rachel's smile at the end of the fight, but she shrugged it off. Rachel was scary, sometimes. "Nope, Raven is in...Sumatra? Something? She sent me a postcard." Isobel smiled. "I was talking to John, actually. John Allerdyce? We've been talking some, online and stuff. I really like him, and I'm so glad he didn't die. That was so terrible."
"Hmm, yeah, that's good," Rachel said. "Dying sucks." She glanced up, something about Izzy's thoughts catching at her. "You really like him?" Rachel grabbed a few more chips. "He's a friend, he matters to you?" If he did, if this guy mattered to Izzy and Nathaniel, then Rachel would pay a little more attention to him. Maybe meet him. People who were important to Rachel's friends were real in a way the rest of the world was not.
"I do, yeah. I mean, I was a little annoyed at him when he was out to kill all humans," Isobel said, munching on a dip-laden chip, "But it's not like I couldn't see his point. I mean, he was going about it the wrong way, but I know he's trying to do the right thing now, instead of the...well, thing that involves explosions." Isobel shrugged. "I think he's a nice guy, yeah. I thought he was a nice guy when he was with the Brotherhood. It made it hard to watch the news, see what they did, when I knew how he really thought he was doing the right thing. I'm glad he got another chance, I guess."
Rachel nodded and slouched back against the couch. "I'll have a talk with him," she said. "Find out what his plans are. Where he fits," she added absently. "Ooh, watch this Finnish guy. He's really a Laplander, and has a big chip on his shoulder about coming from a dying culture. I saw an interview, once. He kicks like a mule."
Isobel thought that sounded vaguely ominous, but she realized that it was Rachel's way of trying to accept the people Isobel cared about. She should probably warn John--then again, he was a big boy. If Isobel liked John and Rachel knew that, then Rachel wouldn't be a threat. Still, Isobel knew how her friend was. But it was probably best John found that as soon as possible, anyway. "I haven't ever--"
She never got through her sentence. The air went still and then Nathaniel was there, but he was wearing--
Isobel had seen pictures in Nathaniel's file, of him in the cape that had been such an integral part of his former persona. She'd gotten so used to his red-eyed and pale appearance, even to the diamond, that she barely thought of it anymore--it was simply what he looked like. But here he was, dressed in that ornate cape, and he looked completely--
Isobel bit her lip. She would not laugh.
"Hey," Rachel said to Nathaniel. She didn't look up, watching the screen. He didn't reply, however, so Rachel turned. She blinked. "Is it laundry day?" she asked, completely confused. "No -- wait. Why didn't you just wash something?"
Rachel sat up now, frowning. "Why on earth are you wearing that, Nathaniel?"
Nathaniel made a sweeping gesture, which caused the cape to make a wooshing sound and the material to sigh and slink around, like it was alive. Nathaniel was very tall, nearly seven feet, and the collar points were perilously close to hitting the ceiling fan. "I have found this in the closet," he said, the weight of the cape familiar and yet strange on his shoulders. "While I was cleaning." Remembering a conversation he'd had with JP, Nathaniel made a somewhat sudden move towards Rachel. "Are you perchance moved towards terror, and overcome with a desire to run away?"
Isobel made a sound. Nathaniel turned to her, interested in noting her reaction. She did not look afraid. She looked... "Isobel, has my appearance in my former terrifying visage moved you to hilarity?"
"Uh huh," Isobel said, clapping her hand to her mouth. Her eyes were wide. She was shaking with silent laughter. "Maybe it's 'cause you're wearing it with pants and a t-shirt, though."
Nathaniel altered his clothing so he appeared to be wearing his former armor-like uniform in addition to the cape.
"No, that's not it," Isobel said immediately, looking towards Rachel.
Rachel stared at the edge of the cape. It wriggled. "Your clothes are coming between me and UFC, Nathaniel," she said. "And you're almost in the onion dip, here." She tilted her head and stared up at him. "I was just saying you'd be good at UFC, to Izzy, here. But the pointy collar on that gives me some doubts."
She ate a chip. "The armor pants are kind of hot, though." Rachel picked up another chip and considered Nathaniel's outfit. "No," she said, shaking her head. "No, they're not, sorry. Too 1990's."
Nathaniel spread his arms and looked down. "I used to think this was blue," he said conversationally, as if he were not a red-eyed, immortal mutant with a glowing diamond and a tentacle-like cape encircling a very uncomfortable sort of body armor, "But now that I see it in the light, it appears more purple. One wonders why Apocalypse was so fond of jewel tones."
Isobel finally lost her ability to hold in her laughter, at precisely the minute when the rabbit, happy to see his favorite human in the house, hopped over to Nathaniel. The rabbit sniffed Nathaniel's cape, then stood up on its hind legs, its front paws held in front of him. Nathaniel looked down at the rabbit and sighed. "If I had any doubt my reputation was officially ruined, it has been completely eradicated." Nathaniel reached down and scratched Lockheed, and when he straightened, the collar points hit against the fan. Nathaniel looked at Rachel again.
"JP asked me if I chased you about in this for kinky sex," he said bluntly. "I do not know if it would be possible for me to perform the act while wearing this, though I suppose the armored pants would present the most difficult obstacle."
Isobel choked and buried her face in her hands, overcome with sudden horror and hilarity.
"I'm pretty sure I couldn't have sex with you while you wore that," Rachel replied. Lockheed hopped closer and took an experimental nibble on the cape. Rachel pointed at this. "Is the cape, like, an alien symbiote, or bad for rabbits in any way? In any way? Because I will be upset if your clothes possess, poison, or disturb Lockheed."
"Oh, my god, you guys are killing me," Isobel gasped, because she was laughing so hard she couldn't breathe.
"Ah, there we have it. The unforeseen true terror of my cape." Nathaniel shook his head. "No, it's alien but it is not harmful in anyway to living creatures. If it is ingested, that is. I have previously used it for infections with the Legacy Virus, but there is no need to worry. It does not affect lagomorphs." He waved a hand, which made the cape lift and settle as if there were a wind behind him. "And I have the antidote for the Legacy Virus in the lab."
Nathaniel made a threatening sort of gesture at Rachel, but he caught his appearance in the mirror on the other side of the room. "This does look ridiculous, does it not? If I require a costume in the future of any sort, I am going with a more muted color scheme."
"Please," Isobel said, wiping tears off her face. "Please go without the pointy things by your head. You look like some kind of pilgrim who fell into a purple dye factory."
"I do, rather," Nathaniel said, sighing. "I did used to be very scary," he lamented, his voice somewhat apologetic. "Even whilst wearing this."
Rachel kept her eyes on Lockheed, making sure he was fine. "You are scary," she said. "Most of the world that knows you is terrified of you. You give Lorna fits, and Jean loathes you, and my dad still has nightmares about you, I expect. You're just not scary to the people you love is all."
She looked up, smiling, her eyes glowing faintly. "Me too. That's how I am. And Izzy will be, once she decides to stop following the rules." Rachel peered past Nathaniel at the television. "UFC Dublin is on now. Are you going to watch it with me?"
"Certainly, I do enjoy how you get very eager to fight with me once these programs are finished." Nathaniel looked over at Isobel. "Shall I keep this? I could make a smaller version out of the material, for you."
"Please, god, no," Isobel sat up, shaking her head. She reached out a hand, as if she were going to touch the cape, thought better of it, and moved towards the door. "I'm just gonna...um. Go." She giggled again. "You should show up in that outfit at work during a staff meeting."
"I think that is forbidden in my contract," Nathaniel said, deadpan.
Isobel smiled, but she looked at Rachel with a thoughtful expression. "You're wrong about that," she said quietly. "You're scarier to the people who love you, because we know how dangerous you really are. I think everyone else underestimates you."
Nathaniel agreed wholeheartedly with that, but it was unnecessary to mention--he'd told Rachel that before. With that, Isobel left the room, with one last shake of her head at his outfit. She was wise to leave--Nathaniel and Rachel got a bit carried away watching UFC on the television, and it usually ended with things being broken in the den--but Nathaniel rather thought she was trying to spare his feelings by not laughing at his former villainous ensemble any longer.
Nathaniel vanished the armor and sent the cape away to his laboratory, then sat on the couch. "I think I shall deconstruct that, and then be done with it. I cannot think of any reason why I should need it any longer, and it is only taking up space in the closet."
Rachel crawled up onto the couch to sit by her lover. "No, you don't need it," she agreed absently. "If you go evil again and have to scare the hell out of people, just keep me on a leash. That'd be scary." She curled up against Nathaniel as he sat on the dark leather sofa and rubbed her face against his arm. "But don't do that, m'kay?" Rachel added, resting her head on his thigh.
"I would never put you on a leash," he said, reaching down to trace the curve of her jaw with his fingers. "I should rather have you by my side, standing, looking fearsome and defiant." Nathaniel smiled his small, contented smile. "Perhaps we could have matching capes. In a more subdued color." Rachel looked up at him, and he winked. "Only joking, Rachel."