An Attempt at Packing for Home

[Ironclad]

"Alright Doll, I gotta remind you that we also gotta fit Aideen's bag in my trunk too," Mason said looking at all the shopping bags that Tracy was trying to condense into fewer bags. Even though they been at this for quite some time, it didn't look like they were anywhere closer to being finished. Tracy had bought enough stuff for herself and everyone else to fill up a small van let alone his Camero.

"You may have to carry some of this stuff on your lap Trace, and I do mean some. Cause I already got my bag in there with the leftover cash so I'm good. I got no clue how big Aideen's bag is either." Mason opened his mouth to yell for the fire bender to hurry up, but then thought better of it as Wolverine was there with her and probably wouldn't like him rushing them. "Ah whatever, they'll be out eventually," he muttered to himself, reaching out to scratch one of the Wolfhounds behind the ear. The Wolfhounds never left Tracy's side while the Doberman followed Logan and Aideen around like a lost puppy.

Mason looked at Tracy sorting the stuff out and cracked a grin at how cute she looked trying to get everything organized. "Trace, please tell me you got an idea on how we can in some way, shape, or form, bring all this stuff back with us in one trip? And we gotta do this without one of the mutts trying to stowaway with us." One of the Wolfhounds already jumped into the drivers seat of his car when he was showing it to Mike, and Tracy had to really work to get the dog to leave, or else Mason would have thrown him out.

[HeartString]

"Oh Mason it's a big car, and you have side mirrors so we can fill up the back seat right?" Tracy giggled at the image that came to her mind with stuff spilling forward whenever Mason would hit the brakes. "Okay so, I can put this and this in this bag. Oh and in this bag over here is actually a bag, so I can use it to carry this and this."

She was buzzing back and forth between packages like a happy little bee buzzing around a garden of flowers in bloom. "You know I think maybe we need a UHaul or somTHING! OH! Get Your NOSE outta my - EEEWww." Tracy turned around and shook her finger at the offending Wolfhound as she smoothed down her skirt in the back. "Now that wasn't very nice Mister. That's not how you treat a lady and besides that was cold and wet." It was far from a Disney moment, but adorable none the less, and as she grinned up at Mason across the room she felt a pang of sorrow in her own heart for having to leave.

"Mason, wouldn't it be fun to just say screw it and stay here? I mean maybe not here, but this place is kinda cute." She looked around and shrugged. "I guess maybe I just don't want this to end because it's been really great. I mean all things considered it's been really great. I've had such a wonderful time not having to be on call 24/7 you know?"

[Ember]

With the most careful and delicate precision, Aideen folded her clothes into compact and neat format. Once in awhile, she came across an article of clothing that belonged to Logan, which she dutifully folded and placed it on the pile on the bed. The folding was only something mindless to occupy herself with as she immersed herself in her thoughts, a look of deep thought and concentration on her face as she tried her hardest to figure out this whole storm of confusion within her. According to the studies, the Romantic Stage ends with the first major fight, and that moves on to the Disillusionment Stage, where both realize the others as human beings and depending on the severity of the disagreement, it should dictate whether it goes in the positive direction or the negative.

The whole process was only making her more confused as she mindlessly packed her bag, her mind far from the task at hand as she tried to break down the situation now that she had a chance to refresh her memory after peaking on the Internet for a moment. We did everything backwards though, we knew enough about each other to see the other in a further than idealized light before getting together, and what exactly is the Romantic stage? Is that just feeling happy in general? That's what it sounded like according to the website. Then that would mean we'd be past the blissful stage and on to the comfortable stage, but aren't they both? If we're supposed to be past that then that means I led us to the disappointment stage. Why would he kiss me if we were in that stage then?

The fire bender was getting extremely frustrated with herself as she tried to analyze the whole thing. Aideen was practically throwing the clothes into the bag with force as she folded them harshly, her thoughts making her about ready to give up in the whole figuring things out and trying to learn how this was supposed to work. In truth, she felt a bit stupid, like she should know what to do but had no idea where to start or end. None of this makes sense. If at this stage, he's supposed to find me less attractive due to the traumatic experience that proved unfavorable on my side. Which makes sense, he couldn't leave faster earlier, but then he missed me. Oh, why doesn't any of this make sense?! She was stewing in aggravation to the point where she got an odd burning sensation behind her eyes, and she didn't know what that meant either!

[Wolverine]

Logan sat off on the side of the room, on top of the desk, beer in hand, his boot set squarely in the center of the chair... watching. "Eh? Angel Eyes? You uh, feelin O.K.?" He wasn't concerned about the packing so much. In truth he didn't have much to pack since he made sure to travel light. His homemade saddlebags sat propped up against the foot of the bed just about as packed as they got, which meant there was still plenty of room in them.

"I mean yer lookin incredible as always" he stood and inhaled her scent "and ya smell great too, but this thing yer doin with yer face. It's lika sorta frown with a mix of angry, and maybe, confused in it." He set his beer down on the desk top and walked over to stand next to her. Slowly he took hold of her chin between his sandpaper rough finger and thumb, and lifted her face to take a better look. "What gives?" He inquired with a gruff but tender tone, a tone only he could create, a tone that showed his heart through the harsh world weary exterior and a tone he only shared with her.

[Ironclad]

A grim smile crossed Mason's face as he let out a slight sigh, still scratching the other Wolfhound's head. "I know Trace, I wanna stay longer too. It's the first time in awhile I been this relaxed, and you too for that matter. You know that coming back, its gonna be a whole mass of shit that went down this weekend, that all of us are probably gonna have to deal with. And wasn't this the weekend where the swarm of new kids was supposed to come in? Shit I'll be surprised if the school is still standing," he said with a sigh while taking a slow sip from the bottle of coke.

He knew how Tracy felt about going back, hell he felt the same way. Both of them had responsibilities at the school that they couldn't avoid. Mason had a responsibility as a the Team Captain of the Corsairs, and not to mention the endless other things that Cyclops was prepping him for. It was like a never ending stream of things he had to do, as well as Cyclops pushing him to mentor one of the younger kids. Rarely did he get a weekend as awesome as this one, and he was especially sad to see it end.

"Don't worry Dollface, we'll be in Vegas in a month or so and give everyone another break. That being on the grounds that Logan or Aideen don't snap and kill Brock beforehand, cause I think they'll be okay after that," he smirked slightly and leaned back on the chair, watching his girl run around and fit everything from one bag to the next. "We'll pull through one more month doll, don't worry. 'Sides you get to see Joce when we get home, and knowing life I won't see you for two days straight cause the two of ya are gonna be catching up and gossiping and all that damn stuff you do." He wasn't the biggest fan of Joce, but Tracy and her have always been close and he knew she took it really hard when Jocelyn left for Atlantis. "Look on the bright side then, things won't be so horrible."

[HeartString]

"Yes, I guess I can hold off until then" She cocked her head and smiled at him, letting the tension fall away and her shoulders slunk back down to their normal position. She took a deep breath and shook her hair out before she placed her hands on her hips and said "and Vegas is an amazing place to look forward too. The last time I was there I didn't even get to see the place just some emergency triage for that shelter that got torched by some arsonist because somebody thought there was a mutant family staying there. It was awful, there were like twenty or thirty families in there."

She walked over to her Knight and wrapped her arms around him placing her head against his chest to her the powerful beat of his heart. "I can't wait to make some new memories of that place, just to get rid of the old. Yes, to vacation there will be delightful." She lightened up with the embrace of her man and giggled at the thought of "Jocelyn. Yes it will be good to see her" Her smile widened with thoughts of Wolverine and Ember dealing with Brock. "I have got to say though, that Logan and Aideen 'having a word' or two with Brock is a funny image, and one that- Oh My God.. Mason!?!"

She peeled herself back from him and looked into his eyes. "What about those two? What about when people find out about them? I mean, you and I can keep their secret. I have for some time actually, but you know how hard it is to turn off emotions one you've let them go like they did this weekend. It's not like they aren't capable, but oh I just don't have a good feeling about it all."

"And what if one of these new kids has a way of learning about them? Or one of the wolf kids smell their scents on each other? What if Emma takes a more discerning look into one of our minds? Or if Brock follows her, or him? Oh, there are so many 'what if's' that the odds are shifting out of their favor. I for one don't want either of them hurt in the way that kind of a scandal will hurt them, that's not something easily healed." She looked down at their feet and then back at the packing left to do and then returned her gaze to the floor beneath them. "Home is looking worse all the time. What do we do?"

[Ember]

Aideen stopped folding clothes, throwing down the leather corset she was meticulously wrapping on the bed and didn't even bother to hide her frustration. "I have no idea. Nothing is making sense to me anymore. I don't think I am good at... well this," She indicated between the two of them and pulled her chin out of his hold, feeling quite defeated at the moment. This had been plaguing her mind all morning and in the end she had only been left with more questions than answers. To someone who always had logic on her side and consulted all unknown sources to studies and books, this was a situation guaranteed to frustrate her.

"Every thing's been backwards from the start, and now it just doesn't fit into any of the studies or theories. We're supposed to be now out of the Romantic Stage and into the Disillusionment stage after that fight, but I don't know if we were in that stage to begin with. I didn't see you in an idealized and infallible view, I just, well I don't know what I was supposed to see you as, just as you, and I didn't know what I was supposed to see it as anything else," Aideen said in exasperation, pacing between the window and the bed. The burning sensation behind her eyes was increasing and that only made her more frustrated.

She pulled out of the side pocket of her bag a copy of The Pocket Anthology of Psychological Theories and Case Studies of the Human Mind. She had brought the small book a couple of months ago off the Internet and had been using it as a reference whenever she felt something odd and didn't have a name for it. "Alright so, please tell me what I am not understanding. Our relationship completely mixed Romantic stage and the Acceptance stage, and none of the stages of emotional or physical attraction apply at all either, and those that do aren't supposed to come until a later time. I looked it up on the Internet earlier to make sure to learn the traits the book didn't cover." She leafed through the pages quickly and looked for the sections on the stages of a relationship.

"We just had our first fight, and it was a rather traumatic one. At this turning point in the relationship because I'm at fault, I lost the desire and appeal that I previously had, but you're not a pitying man, so I can't figure out why you kissed me earlier. That alone conflicts with the stages of the relationship turning into a convenience factor, and there is just so much that I can't comprehend or compute how to go about it. I've been doing it wrong from the start, I didn't follow any of the things I'm supposed to." Her shoulders slumped in defeat and her head dropped slightly as her vision got slightly blurred, staring at the pages of the book.

"I'm sorry, I should have looked it up before and studied it better. I'm not cut out for this thing. Everything is backwards and I don't know what I'm supposed to do and... I just can't do this, I'm sorry." Aideen had a hard time admitting when she couldn't solve a problem that seemed as simple as relationship psychology. She had all the theories and processes in her hand and no matter how much she studied them, she just couldn't get it.

[Wolverine]

"Hm.. I don't think I understood one word of what you just said, except fer maybe book." His face softened into a smile it was all he could do not to laugh, but he knew that would just hurt her feelings. "Well, I guess this answers the age old question of who wrote the book of love," he took the book gently from her grasp and looked at the cover. "There's just one problem Angel Eyes, ya can't learn about love from a book."

He tossed the little thing on the bed and shook his head in an amused sort of way. "I don't get it. You are a girl who has learned everything she does that has to do with the body, by doing. You learned how to fight, how to shoot, how to use your powers, hell you even learned how to eat by doing. And now you come to this and you pick up a book? You are one confounding creature baby. Long as I live I don't think I'll ever get women. You.?. I gotta say you were the closest I ever got to understandin, but hey I love a mystery."

"I don't have any clue what it says in that book, or any other book written on the subject of love. You wanna know why? I'm gonna tell ya. Cause it ain't for another man to tell ya how to love someone. Ya got that?" He looked deep into the chocolate pools of her soul and saw the spark of the flame within. "You think my heart cares what is says in that book? Does yours? Ya know, you got the same problem a lot of soldiers got.. I call it brain over-ride. Yeah I said it, yer brain is in charge and it ain't letting yer heart have a say."

"Most time ya see it as some hard ass who's just got a foul mouth and says all the wrong stuff cause his brain wont let his heart stop him from hurtin somebody's feelins. But with you?" He scratched his chin "With you I guess since yer so selfless you took it on yerself to be the one in pain. God I love you girl, you are more beautiful to me now than the moment I first layed my eyes on ya. I want to make love to you now, and never stop.. an ya know I could do that. Heh, I spent some time in the Orient.. I know things." He wiggled his eyebrows at her and grinned as he pulled her into him close.

Face to face, noses barely touching he asked her "How do ya think people knew how to love before there were books? Ya ever ask yerself that question Angel Eyes?" He picked her up by her bottom with one hand, the other held her to him at the small of her back so she could wrap her legs around him as he sat down on the bed. "I think ya know what to do just fine. Hell, ya ain't messed up any worse'n anybody else ever in the history of livin and lovin. So what's the big deal? You know ya got feelins, you feel em right? So tell me about em if ya want, or just act on em if you ain't got the vernacular.. but don't bottle em up. That's the worst thing ta do."

[Ironclad]

"C'mon Trace, you really think those two give a rat's ass at this point if someone finds out?" Mason said in a steady voice, mainly to calm Tracy down. "Look, bottom line in everything is that Aideen is legal age, and she can see whoever she wants. I doubt they'll be easily swayed by any scandal that might come out of it, you saw her go off on Mike last night. I don't think I've ever seen her that forceful and sure of herself. Na Dollface, I think of all people that might get pissed about the whole thing, those two will be fine. Neither of them I think give a shit if someone agrees with their relationship or not."

He rubbed her back comfortingly, not as concerned for their friends as Tracy was, but only cause he had already thought on it when he first found out. "At the same time Trace, realistically you really think anyone could ever wrap their minds around her being with him?! I woulda never imagined it until I saw it with my own eyes and you pretty much confirmed it to me. I think everyone's first reaction is gonna be more like mine, where they don't believe it. That I wouldn't be too worried about. Brock though." Mason clenched his jaw slightly at this part, partially for his newly developed hate for the guy and also because this was one area where he really wasn't sure of what to think or predict. He'd known Brock since he first came to the school, and for awhile one might have even called them friends. The one thing that Mason had learned about him was that he was truly unpredictable.

"Alright, so that area is a bit shaky for me to be honest about. He's a... well hell I don't have to tell you, you know he's more dangerous than a lot of people suspect," he said looking down at her knowingly. Mason was a witness only several times to be able to form only a slight idea what this guy was capable of when they used to hang together and go out. He'd see what he did to other men whenever they got in bar fights, how he treated the women that fawned over him. In truth, Mason wanted to forget that time, as he knew there were times when he should have done something, but he didn't. It was Cyclops that did pull him away from all that, and as much as he hated it then, Mason couldn't be more grateful to the guy than he was today.

He sighed and rested his chin on top of her head. "Aideen will handle him, she's more than managed so far, and she's at the point where she's not having it either. I think Logan will sooner get shit for slicing Rumble to bits than he will for being with Aideen. I don't know Trace, I can't say for sure what's gonna happen, but those two will be fine. Logan ain't gonna give her up for anyone anymore than she will. As for us? Well in the end it ain't none of our business to say anything to no one. We'll be good just as always, and if anything happens we'll be right there. Ya dig Dollface?" Mason smiled slightly down at her and kissed her forehead. "Come on, I'll help you finish up the packing."

[HeartString]

"Well, I know they have both had a rough morning, and I wonder what kind of resolve they'll have when it comes to actually facing the people that will undoubtedly make a stink about them being together. That's more than I should have said about their feelings boo, so please don't let on. I know I can trust you not to break that confidence, but I just sense such insecurity from Aideen, and something different.. like, more protective maybe from Logan." She shrugged a little in his grasp.

She had been nestling herself against him as he rubbed her back, and when he placed his head on top of hers her heart melted even more. "Mason? I don't think I'll worry about them anymore. Well, at least I'll try not to. I'm going to trust you even though you are just a guy and most times you guys are a bit dense." She laughed a little, more so let him know she meant it playfully than because it was funny. "But I think you know the way Logan is wired, and since Aideen is like your best friend- but it's okay, I'm like totally not jealous or anything, you know I'm too cool for that - So yes, I suppose you just might have an idea with her as well."

Tracy mushed her face a little into Mason's chest and hugged him harder. She knew her Knight in his armor skin loved her and there was no reason to be jealous about his friendship with their team mate. She was actually quite grateful to him for taking such care as to concern himself with Aideen. Since, tough as she was, the firebender could be like a lost puppy dog at times, especially times like today.

The empath couldn't bring herself to share the depth of her true concern with the man she loved. She would trust that what he said was true, true enough to a certain extent at least, but she would be around to avail herself to either of their friends if things became overwhelming. She didn't think Logan would take her up on it, but there was a chance Aideen would if the need arose. "How did I get so lucky to land such a smart, fun and sexy-sweet guy as you?" She said playfully, biting onto his chest and looking up at him giggling.

[Ember]

Her eyes widened as she looked at him, arms loosely around his neck as she leaned back just a little bit. "The book said the same thing! That guarded feelings are one of the biggest causes of failed- Logan! Don't laugh, I'm being serious!" Aideen exclaimed, unable to keep the small smile on her face at the sight of him giving that frustrated laugh. She felt slightly better now than she did a moment ago, mostly because of how Logan didn't seem slightly bothered by anything she said to be true. She trusted him to tell her if something was wrong between them, and the way she saw it was that if he was at ease, then she should be as well.

Aideen bit her lip to keep her smiling from widening and shook her head. "I rarely learned anything on my own though. I had trainers, a sensei, a Master and a governess to teach me everything." She smiled gently and moved her hand from behind his neck to his face, threading her fingers gently into the hair on his face. "And a wonderful teacher to teach me mantis style Kung Fu. My powers... well I admit I had no choice but to learn it on my own, but I still can't let go of the control the way I did in a desperate attempt in Limbo. I don't know anything about relationships though and I can't have someone teach that to me, and... well I didn't want to mess up... again." The last part she said a bit quieter and shifted just a little bit in his lap to make herself comfortable.

"I literally know nothing about any of this, I thought the experts could answer or at least help me understand what to do," Aideen said the corner of lips turned up in a slight smile. "It doesn't matter anyways, it seems that the two of us are an anomaly. We don't fit a single study that I could find, and when I tried to combine studies to match us, well it ended up with me thinking that I lost all my appeal and this became a relationship of convenience with the only appeal being the physical relations, which I'll admit are more than enough of a reason." Not even a blush tinged her cheeks as she spoke private matters so plainly. She would have gone on if it were not for the look on Logan's face.

She leaned her forehead against his, calmer now without the burning feeling behind her eyes. "I do like us though, and what we have." Aideen leaned into him and gently brushed her lips against his, sighing softly. "What are we going to do when we get home?" She asked in a low soft voice. "I like sleeping next to you, and I like just being with you." It was a simple statement, but words like that did not come lightly from the fire bender. Aideen dreaded going back home and sneaking around like they did before, though it was fun having a secret. "Logically, keeping our business private is what makes these moments all that much better, but pardon me for being a tad selfish about it," she said in a matter-of-fact tone while nuzzling his cheek gently with her nose.

[Wolverine]

"Hmm," he purred and closed his eyes as she stroked her fingers through his whiskers "let go of the control... yea, I like that- it's kinda like whatcha gotta do with love." He said it softly as his mind drifted. He was thinking about it all, trying to put her life into perspective and see things as she might. He imagined a narrow window, almost to high for a little girl to look out of, then as she grew the window became the scope of a rifle and the course of her life had been set for her before she ever had a chance to admire the world around her.

"I get that you were highly trained when you were little," his words had a bit more crispness now as he gave respect to her younger days for the intensity they had retained and still showed in her. "Ya had to have been ta be as good at what you do now. The trade off bein that ya never got ta have a real childhood, and ya gotta forgive me cause sometimes I forget that." He let his eyes open slowly and took in the smile she wore. "It's never too late to learn about love though, but like I said.. ya can't learn it from no book. It's gotta come from inside, and ya gotta be able to let go of everything that's holdin ya back and let it sweep you away."

He grinned, despite himself. "If anybody besides you ever heard me talkin like this I have to kill em, but I do trust you. I'm sorry for making ya doubt that, and for makin a mess of yer family life. It's not really my place to try and change that, or ta change who you are, but I can't help makin it my place since I love you too much not to. And even though I love you just the way you are, I only wanted to open yer eyes to what was going on. I don't scare easy, but the control that guy has over you scares me, and I'm surprised it don't scare you too." He looked into her eyes for a moment as he rocked her on his lap a bit.

"Thing is too, we are gonna make mistakes. No way around that. Guess it's how we test the limits of what we can take. Not like we're tryin ta make it hard on each other, but just findin out what the other one wants and likes and needs and hates." He let his head cock off to the side slightly as he raised an eyebrow "And yer right too ya know. Ya can't have anybody teach you how to have a relationship. Love don't work that way kitten, it's a trial and error thing. Good thing is ya got somebody who wants ya ta keep trying, no matter the errors, cause like I said.. ya know I'm gonna make em too." He let a smile again soften his features.

"Tell ya what.. when we get home we won't hide anymore if ya don't want to. I mean, sure.. it's fun, but it can be a pain in the ass too. So fer me, hey I don't care either way- since I'm proud of you and I want the world to know I love you and that we belong to each other. But if you want to keep alley cattin around like we been doin I'm good with that too." He reached a hand up to cup her cheek and brushed his thumb gently across the edge of her bottom lip. "I like the physical, oh yea you know I do, but ya also know theres more to us than that. Much more. We connect on a deeper plane, it's an easy natural thing. I understand you inside like no other woman I've ever known.. sure yer still a mysery, but at least I can find the trail with you. Find it, and follow it to the place where ya keep my heart."

[Ironclad]

"Don't spread around the sweet part Dollface, I still got an image I gotta keep up," Mason said with a grin, rubbing the small of her back gently. "Besides, I'm lucky that you even bothered to deal with me after all the shit I pulled. I ain't trying to be humble or nothing when I tell you that you deserve better, but shit what's a good girl like you doing with a guy like me anyways?" He grinned and slid his hands to the back pockets of her skirt, pulling her closer to him. It had been a long time since he had an actual girlfriend, and even though he always had a thing for Tracy, it was still hard to believe that he ended up with her. They were complete opposites in many ways, but stranger things have happened... like the couple that was several rooms away for example.

The nice time that Mason was having with Tracy was quickly cut short by the furry beasts that surrounded them. Both of the wolfhounds started whining and yipping when they were ignored, one of them even going as far as to jump on both of them. The dog's large size was enough even for Mason to take a step back to keep his balance. "Alright, ALRIGHT!" He let go of Tracy so the dogs could swarm around her and get the attention that she seemed to love to spoil them with. "One thing is that I'll be glad when we get home to an animal free place. This is ridiculous," he said throwing his hands up in the air in frustration.

Mason stomped over to the chair and plopped down, grabbing the coke and finishing it as he glared at the dogs while they jumped all over Tracy. He liked animals, but his girl was like a god damn Disney princess. He was surprised that birds didn't follow her around and hand her clothes to wear in the mornings. "You only gotta fit in a couple of more bags anyways. He grumbled, hand brushing against the slight burn on the chair from yesterday. He looked down and grinned a bit, looking back on what happened yesterday. He knew that it would be a bit rough for the two of them, but he had been exposed to a new side of his friend yesterday and if she stood that firm, then he knew they'd be fine.

"Pssh I don't think it's possible for Logan to get more protective. I'm still surprised that he didn't pop a claw out on Mike yesterday, though I think he was getting a kick outta Aideen ripping him apart." He grinned again and looked over at Tracy. "We're gonna have a hellova night Trace, getting back and all. I can't even imagine the stuff that we musta missed, and the crazy swarm of new kiddies that were supposed to come." He went quiet for a moment, sipping his coke. "They better not touch my car," he grumbled to add on, cringing at the very thought of it.

[HeartString]

Standing back up from lavishing some petting on the doggies Tracy dusted her hands off of the dog hairs and looked over at her man. "Nobody in their right mind will touch your car boo. I think the look of it alone would scare off anybody with any sense. I mean, not that it's ugly at all, but just like how things in nature with those dynamic and dazzling colors warn predators off.. you know your car actually has this thing about it that lets people know that the owner is one tough hombre." She winked at him with a nod of her head. "I think it'll be just fine and besides didn't you install poison tipped darts to shoot out from underneath if somebody tries to break into it or something?" She giggled.

"I am so glad you told me to check my cares at the door when we left the mansion, but you know even though I tried to keep my mind from going back there I just couldn't. I wish sometimes I could be as oblivious as Kelly or Mike, or just not give a crap about the down side of things like Jocelyn, but you know me Mason, I can't. So, yes.. I couldn't help it, and I can't help now but to worry what we missed and who got hurt, and what new kids came in and what their powers are and oh.. the list goes on and on, but mostly I worry who needed me and who I let suffer for some time for myself with my friends and my love, because you know as well as I that someone always gets hurt.. especially on a weekend. Am I selfish? I mean was this selfish of us.. to get away from it all? Did we abandon them back home?"

She looked over at him sitting there enjoying his coke and feeling the arm of the chair where Aideen had let Mike get under her skin and she knew that whatever answer he had for her she wouldn't have traded this weekend with him for anything in the world. She felt his emotions stirring under the surface as they always did and she smiled soft and pretty at him. Stepping over she took his hand in her own as she leaned over to kiss him. The spike in his emotion reminded her of how low cut her blouse was and she felt her face flush a little at what he was feeling. "Hey you, I felt that.. am I blushing?" She grinned stroking a piece of his hair to lay behind his ear.

"Aww, you know something? I have to say that I've loved you from afar for a while now, and even though every girl wants that picture perfect guy, like a prince out of some fairy tale, we just can't help falling for the bad boy. So to answer your question boo, I decided that I'd just watch and wait for you to decide what kind of a man you would become, and I love who you have turned into. You are that Knight in shining armor, but... you're a bad boy underneath. So I guess good things really do come to those who wait and I did get what I deserved, I got the best." She squeezed his hand as she stepped over to try and finish up with the packing.

"I wonder if Lai has that kind of patience, because Mike is a mess." she giggled over her shoulder at him. "Even though he's trying, and Ingrid? Well she seems content to have Dylan as that rock steady guy she can lean on." She remembered how she needed that kind of guy when she was younger. Her life was such a mess of an emotional whirlwind and Dylan had been a steady consistent aspect, if a bit too stiff and polite for what she really wanted deep down. It just took her some years to admit that to herself, as all the while Mason was becoming more and more appealing to her. "He hasn't really changed much, heck they both haven't changed all that much really. Wasn't it great to see them again?"

[Ember]

The serene smile that she wore on her face while leaning her face into his hand fell as her mind reeled in thought. Aideen looked down at his chest, thinking hard for a minute about that prospect of no longer keeping a secret once they get to the school. She had been conflicted on the whole thing for awhile, but now when confronted with the question of her preference, it was a hard decision for her to make. "I don't care what people think or say," she began slowly, looking back up at him. "I don't think Cyclops will keep silent with his objections, especially with the obvious animosity between the two of you."

Aideen looked at him with raised eyebrows knowingly, as it was no secret throughout the entire school that Logan and Cyclops weren't exactly buddy-buddy. "I don't see Emma as the type that would let it be either. The mansion is your home, and I don't want you to lose it, and no I'm not worth that. I don't have a home there, that place is only my home until my schooling and training is complete, and then I'm on my own. I can afford to be asked to leave, but I would feel horrible and guilty should you be asked to leave. I'd lose you either way, and I don't want that, but I am the more logical choice if someone had to leave. It would probably be best if we were to keep our business private." She tightened her arms around his neck while touching her forehead to his lightly. A soft breath left her as there noses touched, her uneasy feeling on the whole situation still stirring in her.

"It's not going to be easy with us, and I don't need a book to tell me that." She smiled slightly and let her hands roam over his shoulders, tracing lazy circles with her fingertips. "I will try my best to not be so guarded, and as for my Uncle... I know the control he has, and I'll tell you one day how I became aware of it. He's not exactly family though, he told me that family ties are weaknesses and should only be used for confirmation of identity. I should have prepared you for it sooner, then maybe things would have been different this morning." Her lips found his in the close space of their faces and Aideen indulged herself in what she knew realistically would be the last intimate moment in awhile.

"I do trust you, and please tell me if it comes out otherwise," she said softly, her eyes opening as she pulled her head back again with the same wide eyes she had earlier. "That means we're on the right track, everything I read emphasizes trust in the relationship and acceptance and-" She stopped herself and bit her lips to hold herself back. "Pardon me, I forgot myself and got excited. Well that all sounds right and not all the books could be irrelevant." A small shy smile came on her face for a fleeting moment. "I'll try not to depend on those so much either, and thank you for putting up with me." The space between their faces closed again as she took advantage of their position and alone time before they were 'back in the arena' as it was so eloquently put. "The one thing I do look forward to about going back," Aideen said, smiling against his lips as her eyes stayed closed. "Is exploring alternative uses for some more empty classrooms."