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Just Lucky, I Guess 32/?
Closing the door behind her, Domino surveyed the room
cooly, trying her best to put her very private feelings
aside and deal with the situation like a professional.
Walking across the spacious room, she felt rather than saw
the stares of the others trained at her. Plastering an
expression of calm composure on her face, she took a great
deal of comfort from the fact that her outward expression
belied none of the fury she felt at having to explain the
intensely personal situation to the others.
'It's going to be hard enough to tell Nathan about
Tolliver... I don't...' The idea of spreading open her
private pain for all to know and see -'Like a friggin'
salad bar,' she winced- was completely and utterly
repugnant to her. She'd spent most of her life maintaining
her privacy, and now, if things went as Pete feared,
everyone in this room would know her most private agony.
Facing the bluntly curious gazes of everyone in the room,
she nevertheless squared her shoulders against the burning
embarrassment and walked over to the couch where Logan was
sitting. She was a professional. This was a job. She
could- no, she *would* do this. 'Keep tellin' yourself
that, Dom,' she muttered to herself, 'But there's no way
I'm gonna just spill my guts about everything...they'll
learn what they need to for the mission, and that's all.'
Beside her, Logan favored her with a reassuringly crooked
smile, and she had to avert her eyes to maintain her
composure. She couldn't bring herself to speak.
Across the room, Ororo and Betsy sat on either side
of a long, elegant sofa. Ororo parted her lips to speak,
but before any sound issued forth she felt the telepathic
equivalent of an elbow in her ribs. 'What is the meaning
of this, Elisabeth?' Storm, shocked, questioned Psylocke
'We must be briefed on the situation before we can
continue.' 'That may be, Ororo,' Betsy answered, returning
her attention to the fascinating interplay of emotions
coming from the others 'But why don't we give her a few
moments, hmmm?'
Cable pivoted sharply and resumed his pacing in front
of the huge central window, fuming at Domino's silence.
He'd thought that as soon as Domino opened the door that
she'd tell him what happened, dammit, to either relieve
his fears or realize them, but no... She just sat there,
looking for all the world like she'd just had a pleasant
afternoon stroll while he'd been in here ripping his soul
apart worrying about her, thinking about whatever news
Pete had, thinking about the still unsettled events of
last week. His thoughts darkened- her obvious
unwillingness to share the news, whatever it was, with
him, with them, just added to his already dangerously high
level of frustration and impotent anger, and finally he
couldn't take it any more.
Unable to hold his peace any longer, his soft voice
pierced the silence. "Just where the hell have you been,
Domino?" he asked quietly, every word slicing through the
air like daggers.
Domino's eyes narrowed, and it took every ounce of
self-control she possessed to refrain from jumping up and
telling him just what she thought about the whole
situation. One glance at the others stopped that reflex,
though. Beside her on the couch, Logan tensed, and she
could see the shiny tips of his newly readamantiumed claws
poking though the outlets on his hands. Though she
appreciated the gesture, she gently placed a restraining
hand on his arm. The last thing she needed was for Logan
and Nate to get into yet another of their testosterone
contests, especially when the news about Tolliver, the
sorest spot of all between them, was revealed.
Ororo and Betsy, though...they looked like flip sides
of the same coin. Ororo was leaning forward, unabashed
curiosity at the situation coming out of every pore.
Domino supressed her own growl, and quickly forced herself
to look past the other woman to Betsy. At first glance,
Psylocke's expression revealed nothing, but to Domino,
highly skilled at reading body language, she appeared
equally interested. 'At least she had the good manners to
hide it,' Domino snorted, then returned her attention to
Nathan, who was point-blank staring at her.
"Well?" He asked, his voice reverberating with
command authority. His pale grey-blue eyes bored into her
coldly, and she met his flinty gaze with her own icy
violet stare. He didn't flinch at all, but she thought she
heard a wispy chord of jealousy leach into her thoughts.
"What do you have to report?" He looked like a general
demanding a status report from an underling.
'That's it,' she decided, her black mood flaring into
dangerous red. Tiny ruby sparkles framed her vision, and
she had to bite her lip to contain the stream of
obscenities that wanted to pour from her lips. She
contented herself with sending an acid thought through
their psi-link. 'You sonuvabitch. I cannot take this shit
any more. I am not in the *mood* for this today, and
there's no way in hell I'm making this thing into a bloody
bed time story for the gossip mill at the mansion. I'm not
saying anything until they get out of here.' She'd
intended to try to break the news about Tolliver with a
modicum of sensitivity, but Nate had pushed her far past
that point now.
She was rewarded with his mental flinch and, though
his facial expression didn't change, she thought she saw
the coldness in his eyes thaw slightly. By that point, she
really didn't care. Without taking her eyes off Cable, she
addressed the room, her voice amazingly calm. "I believe
Nathan and I have a few things to discuss, if you all
don't mind."
Logan, sitting beside her, rumbled his approval.
'Good girl, Neena,' he thought. 'Ain't none o' our damn
business. Tell us what you want to later.' Wolverine's
keen senses, almost as good as telepathy in determining
emotional states, were almost reeling at the swirling
maelstorm of emotion-laden scents emanating from everyone
in the room. Anger, jealousy, frustration, worry- they'd
blended into a heady mix that had kicked his own dark
thoughts into overdrive. Whatever it was between Domino
and Cable wasn't good, wasn't good at all, and he for one
wanted to get out of the way and let them sort it out
between themselves. He knew he was dangerously protective
of his women friends, and didn't want to test the tenuous
new tolerance between himself and the elder younger
Summers. "Allright, darlin'," he agreed amiably, rising up
from the couch. "You just let us know when everything gets
sorted out- we'll be right next door." He hovered near the
sofa, waiting for her to acknowledge his words.
Domino didn't take her eyes off Cable, but her
expression did soften slightly at Logan's understanding.
"Thanks, old man," she whispered gratefully. Nodding, he
walked across the room to the door to the hallway,
shooting Cable an openly poisonous look as he passed.
Cable didn't even look up at him, his pale blue-grey eyes
locked in a furious battle of wills with his partner.
Betsy rose smoothly to join him. "Certainly, Domino.
Simply let us know when you're ready."
Storm, still seated on the sofa, didn't move. "You two
go ahead," she waved her hand negligently, in command
mode. "I need to hear this briefing."
Taking a deep breath, Domino ventured a terse thought
through her shared psi-link with Cable. 'You want to
handle this or should I?' she sent, and couldn't help a
small rush of satisfaction when Cable, flustered, broke
eye contact first. 'Good,' she thought grimly,
'Hypocritical bastard.'
Betsy, aware of the delicate situation, turned to
Logan beside her. 'Play along with me,' she sent, rapidly
outlining her plan to him. He grinned at the simplicity of
it. 'You got it, Betts.'
Cable, his face set, took a deep breath to ask Storm
to leave. Before he could speak, though, Betsy strode over
to her teammate and friend and whispered something in her
ear. Ororo's eyes widened in surprise, and she rose
swiftly in one smooth motion, heading towards the door
with fluid grace.
"Never mind, Nathan" she said abstractedly over her
shoulder as she headed towards the door. "I do expect a
full briefing when I return...." Before Cable could
answer, she was gone, Logan walking behind her with a wide
grin on his face.
Nathan stood speechless for a moment, and then turned
to Psylocke. "What the hell did you just tell her?" he
asked in awed gratitude. Maybe Betsy wasn't as big of a
bitch as he had thought.
Betsy gave him a smug smile before she turned to
leave the room. "Oh, I lied to her," she told him
blithely. "Told her I sensed Kitty and Pete in the lobby.
We'll play if off when we get down there, say we must have
missed them."
Domino, still seated on the plush couch, chuckled
throatily. "Good job, Psylocke," she smiled, the first
genuine one since she'd left the Crown.
"Thought you'd like that one," Betsy's lips twitched,
and she turned to follow her teammates out of the room.
She caught Nathan's gaze before she stepped completely out
of the door. "That's two you owe me," she whispered, and
then she was gone.
They were finally alone. Cable shut the door, and
locked it for good measure. Leaning his forehead against
the cool door, he stood like that a moment, gathering his
strength. Finally, he turned to face Domino, and the look
on her face made him almost wish he hadn't.
To be cont'd
===
-DuAnn
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give unto you. Not as
the world gives, give I unto you. Do not let your hearts
be troubled and do not be afraid.
-John 14:27
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