Fic: "Until the Stars Die", Rachel/Sinister, Rated T.
Title: Until the stars die
Author: Sionnain
Character/Pairing: Rachel Grey Summers/Nathaniel Essex (Marvel Girl/Mr. Sinister). 616, though the timeline is deliberately vague (Rachel’s in space at the moment).
Rating: T for adult themes
Summary: Just a little tale of abduction and seduction.
Warnings: As this is a 1sentence claim, semi-colons, dashes, and commas have been most grievously abused.
AN: Thanks to willowaus and Schmoo999 for the beta! This story was written for 1sentence, where my claim was Rachel Grey/Mr. Sinister. Just a quick note; Mr. Sinister’s ability to suppress psychic and telekinetic powers is documented in 616 canon-he once did the same to Rachel’s mother, Jean Grey. He’s obsessed with the genetic line to which Rachel belongs, hence my reason for having him kidnap her. Rachel’s “Deathmark” on her back was placed there by the Shi’ar, who wish to know how to find her after nearly obliterating her entire bloodline.
1.Comfort: “I only want to see how your genes relate to those of your parents, and then I’ll let you go,” he tells her smoothly, and the chains that bind her to the cold metal make his comforting words a lie.
2.Kiss: The needle kisses her skin with a perfect moment of pain, and when the darkness comes she thinks she hears her mother screaming and enshrouded in flames, but maybe it’s just her.
3.Soft: Later, he moves her to a room with a bed and a comforter made out of goose down, soft as a cloud; when he leaves her alone she buries her face in the white and cries.
4.Pain: He apologizes most profusely when he has to hurt her; hearing that smooth accent and his strange Victorian speech in her ear hurts far more than the pain.
5.Potatoes: He feeds her stew, some amalgamation of meat and vegetables that is surprisingly very good, though that’s not why she eats a second helping; she needs to keep her strength up so she can escape.
6.Rain; The only time she sees the outside is through the window in his study, which he permits her to visit if she has been good and cooperative; it’s worth holding her tongue just to see the splash of raindrops on cold glass, and know the outside world still exists.
7.Chocolate; One night she awakens screaming from a nightmare of being torn asunder, and he says nothing but brings her a mug of hot chocolate; it’s strangely kind, and for the first time, she wonders what his name is.
8.Happiness; As a child. she thought of happiness as something fleeting and easily doused, like a flame flickering in the wind; now, it would make her happy just to feel wind, to feel anything other than sterile metal and his cold, impersonal touch.
9.Telephone; He’s managing to control her powers somehow, and it irritates her that she can’t just call out for help; she’d have to find a telephone, and she’s pretty sure Mister Sinister doesn’t have one of those.
10.Ears; He pushes her hair back one day, telling her about genetic superiority and why he’s always been so interested in her family; his fingers ghost across her ear, and she shivers with something darker than fear, and the worst of it is that he notices.
11.Name: When she finally asks him what his name is, she’s surprised when he answers; he pauses with his back to her, his head bowed, and whispers it like a secret too long guarded-Nathaniel Essex--and she wonders how long it’s been since he’s said it out loud.
12.Sensual: She wonders if living so long has given him this ability to make his movements so graceful and assured; she hopes it’s that, because it’s almost unthinkable that she’d notice the sensual way he moves, the way his strange eyes linger where they never did before.
13.Death: She thinks of her teammates-surely they are looking for her- and the Shi’ar Deathmark tattooed on her back, and wonders who will find her first, and what will become of her and this man who has captured her.
14.Sex: She dreams one night about Franklin, her lover from another reality, but his features shift above her and change until his eyes are red and glowing and there is a mark like a diamond on his forehead-she wakes up, aroused and frightened, staring in horror at the door.
15.Touch; His touch lingers just a shade too long after he removes the needle; Rachel meets his gaze and wonders if she’s the only one who’s been having dreams that she shouldn’t.
16.Weakness; She tells herself it’s only because he’s the only other person there; that’s why she succumbs to this curious weakness and asks him things, speaks to him like a man instead of a monster.
17.Tears; His mental tests are designed to pull the worst memories from the depth of her soul, and that is exactly what they do; when she cries in agony, he apologizes sincerely and traces the trail of her tears on her cheeks with fingers no longer so cold.
18.Speed; She stares up at him, angry and scared and tired, and his fingers brush over her mouth with slow deliberation; before she can act, he leaves the room quickly, slamming the door behind him.
19.Wind; The wind outside sounds like crying, and she sits on the table and shivers, waiting for him to come back-but he doesn’t.
20.Freedom: She rises from the table and crosses to the door, her heart pounding at the thought of freedom; she pushes carefully and it swings open, unlocked.
21.Life; Outside the door is a room with a thousand different drawings and findings written in longhand on small pieces of paper; her family’s life, mapped out in perfect genetic sequence, attached with little red pins to a wall.
22.Jealousy: It is unthinkable that he knows more of her ancestry that she does; for a moment she is jealous of this knowledge he has, that she would never know were it not for him and his infernal devotion.
23.Hands: She ignores the door that must lead outside and goes instead to his study, where he sits behind his ornate wooden desk, his head resting in his hands.
24.Taste; Her mouth tastes dry as she forces herself to speak to him; “Nathaniel, look at me.”
25.Devotion: “I sold my devotion to Apocalypse, to find a way to destroy him-you and your family, Rachel, are that way,” he says, and it’s the first time he’s ever used her name.
26.Forever; “Maybe you just wanted to live for forever,” Rachel says quietly, moving closer, her breath catching in her throat.
27.Blood; He stands up, moving closer to her, and as they stand but a hairsbreadth away he reaches out to caress her blood-red hair-“Maybe I did.”
28.Sickness; She’s suddenly pressed against him and his mouth is on hers, his hands tangled in her hair, and it’s a sickness that she can’t get rid of, this strange fascination and arousal he causes within her.
29.Melody; Her rough breathing and the frantic, pounding of her heart form an incessant melody--wrong, wrong, wrong…
30.Star; She pulls her head back and stares at him; inside the Phoenix burns, and his eyes glow like stars newly dead.
31.Home; She’s never seen the rest of his home, save the lab; she follows him now, up wooden stairs steep and winding, into the darkness above.
32.Confusion; As her nails tear his flesh like rapiers, she smiles and feels the phoenix rise within; the darkness confuses until she is no longer sure who lies beneath him-woman or Phoenix?.
33.Fear; All she can see in the thick shadows is the glow of his eyes; fear slow-drips down her spine and she writhes, pushing at him, though she doesn’t want him to stop.
34.Lightening/Thunder: The pleasure is like the first sharp burst of a storm; all flashing lightening over skin and cries breaking like thunder in pregnant air.
35.Bonds: His fingers are pressing her wrists into the mattress, and his mouth is close to her ear as he speaks; “I am no longer holding you by any bond you cannot break.”
36.Market; In the morning, she wakes up alone and wonders if he’s gone for good; there’s a note, in his neat precise handwriting, saying he’s only gone to the market.
37.Technology; She dresses and goes downstairs, examining his home; it’s a curious mixture of cutting-edge technology and Victorian aestheticism, a gleaming flat-screen computer monitor rests next to a Victrola.
38.Gift; He returns and finds her in the study, a Jenny Lind record playing, and when he hands her the coffee she thinks it’s almost like a gift, this time, instead of a prisoner’s breakfast.
39.Smile; He smiles at her when she murmurs hello, and it’s a gesture she’s sure he’s almost forgotten; it looks strange on his face, like he’s wearing one of those masks favored in Greek comedies.
40.Innocence; They drink coffee together and she can almost think it’s an innocent moment between them; then his fingers brush hers and the heat returns, sharp and hot and immediate.
41.Completion; She asks him if he intended to seduce her all along and he laughs; “Poppet, the completion of this assignment was to erase your mind, not take you to bed, though I must admit I find this particular scenario far more enjoyable.”
42.Clouds; They eat dinner outside, and she spends most of the time looking up at the sky and breathing in the scent of ozone-heavy clouds.
43.Sky; “I wonder if they’re looking for me,” she murmurs, looking skyward, thinking about the Shi’ar and her teammates both.
44.Heaven; The heavens offer no answer, and neither does he; she wonders what sort of welcome her teammates would receive from him if they were to find her here, if she were to call them with the telepathy he is no longer restricting.
45.Hell; His eyes glow like hellfire, and she finds herself staring at them, wondering what they looked like before the pupils bled to red-she uses her powers and he lets her, and she sees that his eyes were lovely and green, the color of spring grass.
46.Sun; The next morning she awakens to sunlight pouring in the window, and turns away from the warmth to where he sleeps beside her.
47.Moon; His skin is moon-pale and etched with silvery scars; she touches her lips to them with the briefest of caresses, and thinks of the black mark burned into her flesh, and wonders who it was that wished him dead, and if they still did.
48.Waves; When he asks if she wishes to leave, she waves her hand and says no, though she doesn’t offer him a reason.
49.Hair; She rakes her hand through her hair nervously as she speaks to Charles with her telepathy, as she tries to explain her decision; “I know you don’t understand, but I’m tired of living my life for everyone else,” she says, thinking of her mother and vendettas and a lifetime of burning.
50.Supernova; She asks her question with nervous hesitation--I’ve given up everything for you, what will you give me, how long until you tire of this-his arms go around her waist and he pulls her back against him; “Until the stars die,” he murmurs, and it is enough.
Author: Sionnain
Character/Pairing: Rachel Grey Summers/Nathaniel Essex (Marvel Girl/Mr. Sinister). 616, though the timeline is deliberately vague (Rachel’s in space at the moment).
Rating: T for adult themes
Summary: Just a little tale of abduction and seduction.
Warnings: As this is a 1sentence claim, semi-colons, dashes, and commas have been most grievously abused.
AN: Thanks to willowaus and Schmoo999 for the beta! This story was written for 1sentence, where my claim was Rachel Grey/Mr. Sinister. Just a quick note; Mr. Sinister’s ability to suppress psychic and telekinetic powers is documented in 616 canon-he once did the same to Rachel’s mother, Jean Grey. He’s obsessed with the genetic line to which Rachel belongs, hence my reason for having him kidnap her. Rachel’s “Deathmark” on her back was placed there by the Shi’ar, who wish to know how to find her after nearly obliterating her entire bloodline.
1.Comfort: “I only want to see how your genes relate to those of your parents, and then I’ll let you go,” he tells her smoothly, and the chains that bind her to the cold metal make his comforting words a lie.
2.Kiss: The needle kisses her skin with a perfect moment of pain, and when the darkness comes she thinks she hears her mother screaming and enshrouded in flames, but maybe it’s just her.
3.Soft: Later, he moves her to a room with a bed and a comforter made out of goose down, soft as a cloud; when he leaves her alone she buries her face in the white and cries.
4.Pain: He apologizes most profusely when he has to hurt her; hearing that smooth accent and his strange Victorian speech in her ear hurts far more than the pain.
5.Potatoes: He feeds her stew, some amalgamation of meat and vegetables that is surprisingly very good, though that’s not why she eats a second helping; she needs to keep her strength up so she can escape.
6.Rain; The only time she sees the outside is through the window in his study, which he permits her to visit if she has been good and cooperative; it’s worth holding her tongue just to see the splash of raindrops on cold glass, and know the outside world still exists.
7.Chocolate; One night she awakens screaming from a nightmare of being torn asunder, and he says nothing but brings her a mug of hot chocolate; it’s strangely kind, and for the first time, she wonders what his name is.
8.Happiness; As a child. she thought of happiness as something fleeting and easily doused, like a flame flickering in the wind; now, it would make her happy just to feel wind, to feel anything other than sterile metal and his cold, impersonal touch.
9.Telephone; He’s managing to control her powers somehow, and it irritates her that she can’t just call out for help; she’d have to find a telephone, and she’s pretty sure Mister Sinister doesn’t have one of those.
10.Ears; He pushes her hair back one day, telling her about genetic superiority and why he’s always been so interested in her family; his fingers ghost across her ear, and she shivers with something darker than fear, and the worst of it is that he notices.
11.Name: When she finally asks him what his name is, she’s surprised when he answers; he pauses with his back to her, his head bowed, and whispers it like a secret too long guarded-Nathaniel Essex--and she wonders how long it’s been since he’s said it out loud.
12.Sensual: She wonders if living so long has given him this ability to make his movements so graceful and assured; she hopes it’s that, because it’s almost unthinkable that she’d notice the sensual way he moves, the way his strange eyes linger where they never did before.
13.Death: She thinks of her teammates-surely they are looking for her- and the Shi’ar Deathmark tattooed on her back, and wonders who will find her first, and what will become of her and this man who has captured her.
14.Sex: She dreams one night about Franklin, her lover from another reality, but his features shift above her and change until his eyes are red and glowing and there is a mark like a diamond on his forehead-she wakes up, aroused and frightened, staring in horror at the door.
15.Touch; His touch lingers just a shade too long after he removes the needle; Rachel meets his gaze and wonders if she’s the only one who’s been having dreams that she shouldn’t.
16.Weakness; She tells herself it’s only because he’s the only other person there; that’s why she succumbs to this curious weakness and asks him things, speaks to him like a man instead of a monster.
17.Tears; His mental tests are designed to pull the worst memories from the depth of her soul, and that is exactly what they do; when she cries in agony, he apologizes sincerely and traces the trail of her tears on her cheeks with fingers no longer so cold.
18.Speed; She stares up at him, angry and scared and tired, and his fingers brush over her mouth with slow deliberation; before she can act, he leaves the room quickly, slamming the door behind him.
19.Wind; The wind outside sounds like crying, and she sits on the table and shivers, waiting for him to come back-but he doesn’t.
20.Freedom: She rises from the table and crosses to the door, her heart pounding at the thought of freedom; she pushes carefully and it swings open, unlocked.
21.Life; Outside the door is a room with a thousand different drawings and findings written in longhand on small pieces of paper; her family’s life, mapped out in perfect genetic sequence, attached with little red pins to a wall.
22.Jealousy: It is unthinkable that he knows more of her ancestry that she does; for a moment she is jealous of this knowledge he has, that she would never know were it not for him and his infernal devotion.
23.Hands: She ignores the door that must lead outside and goes instead to his study, where he sits behind his ornate wooden desk, his head resting in his hands.
24.Taste; Her mouth tastes dry as she forces herself to speak to him; “Nathaniel, look at me.”
25.Devotion: “I sold my devotion to Apocalypse, to find a way to destroy him-you and your family, Rachel, are that way,” he says, and it’s the first time he’s ever used her name.
26.Forever; “Maybe you just wanted to live for forever,” Rachel says quietly, moving closer, her breath catching in her throat.
27.Blood; He stands up, moving closer to her, and as they stand but a hairsbreadth away he reaches out to caress her blood-red hair-“Maybe I did.”
28.Sickness; She’s suddenly pressed against him and his mouth is on hers, his hands tangled in her hair, and it’s a sickness that she can’t get rid of, this strange fascination and arousal he causes within her.
29.Melody; Her rough breathing and the frantic, pounding of her heart form an incessant melody--wrong, wrong, wrong…
30.Star; She pulls her head back and stares at him; inside the Phoenix burns, and his eyes glow like stars newly dead.
31.Home; She’s never seen the rest of his home, save the lab; she follows him now, up wooden stairs steep and winding, into the darkness above.
32.Confusion; As her nails tear his flesh like rapiers, she smiles and feels the phoenix rise within; the darkness confuses until she is no longer sure who lies beneath him-woman or Phoenix?.
33.Fear; All she can see in the thick shadows is the glow of his eyes; fear slow-drips down her spine and she writhes, pushing at him, though she doesn’t want him to stop.
34.Lightening/Thunder: The pleasure is like the first sharp burst of a storm; all flashing lightening over skin and cries breaking like thunder in pregnant air.
35.Bonds: His fingers are pressing her wrists into the mattress, and his mouth is close to her ear as he speaks; “I am no longer holding you by any bond you cannot break.”
36.Market; In the morning, she wakes up alone and wonders if he’s gone for good; there’s a note, in his neat precise handwriting, saying he’s only gone to the market.
37.Technology; She dresses and goes downstairs, examining his home; it’s a curious mixture of cutting-edge technology and Victorian aestheticism, a gleaming flat-screen computer monitor rests next to a Victrola.
38.Gift; He returns and finds her in the study, a Jenny Lind record playing, and when he hands her the coffee she thinks it’s almost like a gift, this time, instead of a prisoner’s breakfast.
39.Smile; He smiles at her when she murmurs hello, and it’s a gesture she’s sure he’s almost forgotten; it looks strange on his face, like he’s wearing one of those masks favored in Greek comedies.
40.Innocence; They drink coffee together and she can almost think it’s an innocent moment between them; then his fingers brush hers and the heat returns, sharp and hot and immediate.
41.Completion; She asks him if he intended to seduce her all along and he laughs; “Poppet, the completion of this assignment was to erase your mind, not take you to bed, though I must admit I find this particular scenario far more enjoyable.”
42.Clouds; They eat dinner outside, and she spends most of the time looking up at the sky and breathing in the scent of ozone-heavy clouds.
43.Sky; “I wonder if they’re looking for me,” she murmurs, looking skyward, thinking about the Shi’ar and her teammates both.
44.Heaven; The heavens offer no answer, and neither does he; she wonders what sort of welcome her teammates would receive from him if they were to find her here, if she were to call them with the telepathy he is no longer restricting.
45.Hell; His eyes glow like hellfire, and she finds herself staring at them, wondering what they looked like before the pupils bled to red-she uses her powers and he lets her, and she sees that his eyes were lovely and green, the color of spring grass.
46.Sun; The next morning she awakens to sunlight pouring in the window, and turns away from the warmth to where he sleeps beside her.
47.Moon; His skin is moon-pale and etched with silvery scars; she touches her lips to them with the briefest of caresses, and thinks of the black mark burned into her flesh, and wonders who it was that wished him dead, and if they still did.
48.Waves; When he asks if she wishes to leave, she waves her hand and says no, though she doesn’t offer him a reason.
49.Hair; She rakes her hand through her hair nervously as she speaks to Charles with her telepathy, as she tries to explain her decision; “I know you don’t understand, but I’m tired of living my life for everyone else,” she says, thinking of her mother and vendettas and a lifetime of burning.
50.Supernova; She asks her question with nervous hesitation--I’ve given up everything for you, what will you give me, how long until you tire of this-his arms go around her waist and he pulls her back against him; “Until the stars die,” he murmurs, and it is enough.