Not So Romantic [Paige, Bobby]

[Iceman]

Bobby had told Paige to meet her at the start of the nature path into the woods, down the sloping hill on the other side of the gardens and shrub maze that were behind Xavier's. It was late afternoon, the sun would start to set in a couple hours, and the birds had mostly quieted down. It was quiet, so far from the sounds of life at the school. The peaceful sound of wind rustling through the leaves of trees replaced the usual sounds of children chattering and yelling, giving the place a peaceful feel.

They'd met there, with Bobby jumping down from a tree and surprising her, and then started into the woods on the path. They'd walked with their arms around each other, just chatting and enjoying the fact that they were back in each other's arms again.

Then they'd reached the clearing. It was where many students held picnics, whether for large groups or a romantic getaway. Bobby had laid out a blanket, and though it wasn't a picnic, he'd set a vase of flowers on a rock behind it. "Surprise," he said as he gestured to it. It wasn't much, but it was for them.

Paige's face betrayed how touched she was by the little gesture. Her arm slipped around his waist and she touched her forehead to his with a sigh. "How'd you end up such a romantic guy?" She asked, smiling. "Someone taught you right." And a chuckle followed it to let him know she didn't care that someone had.

She really wasn't the jealous sort.

“I try,” he said modestly, though he smiled at her show of gratitude. He led the way to the blanket and sank down onto it, his hand still holding hers. “Do you ride horses? We could always borrow a couple from the stable and take a ride through here sometime.” He’d never particularly liked being atop the gigantic, willful animals, but he knew most girls liked it.

"They're alright. My family couldn't afford horses but then, just about everyone else in town had at least one. Might be a fun thing to do sometime..."

Leaning in, she kissed him lightly on the lips.

"So I'm betting Storm and Forge talked to you about all the new training stuff, right?

“We didn’t really go into it a whole lot,” he said. “Said they wanted to give me a chance to unwind. But I heard about the pair-ups they did. Should be fun. Who are you with?” He asked innocently, not knowing the answer and having no reason to be suspicious about it.

Drawing her fingers down his chest, she laid her head back on his arm and looked up at the sky, smiling to herself. The breeze blowing through the trees made a peaceful sound and she relaxed.

[Iceman]

"Who am I training with? Oh. Gambit." Paige stretched a little. "We thought Warren but that didn't make a much sense. Wings and all."

‘Oh. Gambit.’ It was a good thing she couldn’t see his face so well how she was sitting, because Bobby was sure his face showed what he was thinking. He looked down as he felt his heart tighten a bit.

And she’d said it so casually. Which he tried to take as a sign that she didn’t have any feelings for him. It wasn’t her he was worried about, but Gambit. He’d seen the Cajun smooth-talk more than one woman during his stay at Xavier’s before. The only reason he hadn’t been swimming in women was because the women of the X-Men had been the strong-minded likes of Ororo and Jean (who had been off the market since before Bobby could remember, anyway), who weren’t easily wooed. Still, everyone had loved Gambit. Even Bobby had.

Now…not so much.

But could he really say anything? He didn’t want to start an argument, and he had a feeling she’d get defensive if he wasn’t careful.

“Ah. Okay,” he said, his voice very carefully neutral. He’d just make it clear he was worried about Gambit, not her. “So…you’re sure he understands…what you told him?”

Paige turned his face to look at her, her own full of gentle understanding. She knew what he must be feeling, and sometimes Paige wished, as hurtful as it might be, that Bobby could have seen how it all went down. He'd have seen how quickly Gambit stepped down when she told him about Bobby.

"Really honey. You have nothing to worry about. Remy's been really cool since that all happened, in fact we've hardly seen each other at all."

She bit her bottom lip. "You're really worried about it, aren't you?"

Bobby paused for a second before he shook his head, trying his best to brush it off and put on a nonchalant front. “No,” he said casually. “No.” It sounded a bit too much like he was trying to convince himself of it.

“As long as…you’re sure.”

God, he didn't believe her at all. Bobby really didn't know how transparent he could be. At least to a girl that adored everything he said and did.

Touching his face, she pulled him into a kiss. "Bobby... I've never been more sure. I wouldn't be around him if he didn't respect you, me, us. I promise you."

Paige’s words were reassuring, and though they didn’t entirely quell all his doubt (it would take a lot of work to do that, since the doubt was rooted in his own lack of self-esteem), he felt a bit better about it. He returned her kiss, slow and searching, and slid his arms around her.

“Can’t wait to see you in that black leather,” he muttered between kisses, a note of mischievousness apparent in his voice.

Paige giggled against the kiss, pulling him closer down towards her as she deepened the kiss. She had been afraid to think they might be able to do this again someday. It had been a very real possibility that Bobby was never coming back.

Running her hand under his t-shirt, her fingernails teased lightly around to his back. She missed his coolness, and figured he did too. He -had- mentioned wanting to freeze everything around him after they got that collar off. She just hoped he'd wait a few more minutes.

Bobby put a hand on her chest and another behind her back, directing her gently down and leaning down with her so the kiss wouldn’t be broken. He was a little hesitant about going much farther where they were; they were away from everyone, sure, but they were out in the open, and who was to say someone wouldn’t decide to take an evening stroll through the woods?

But he remembered how Paige had acted before he’d left; much more aggressive than she’d been before; and he didn’t want to say no. Besides, he wanted her right then as much as she wanted him, and he didn’t have the patience to go all the way back up to one of their rooms.

He held himself up in almost a push-up position, almost over-top of her, one hand on the ground on either side of her head. The first time he’d been around a sink the day of his return, he’d beefed himself up again, and he was back to being quite ripped.

He lowered himself onto her slightly, certain parts of his anatomy (which were having certain reactions to their chemistry and his anticipation) pressing against her. His tongue slid into her mouth and against her tongue.

A little nervous because of their locale, it almost added to the excitement of it, particularly since it seemed to be all Bobby's idea. Gasping as he kissed her, her arms went around his chest and her back arched, wanting to feel herself pressed against him.

[Iceman]

"Oh god... Bobby..." she laughed softly, wanting badly to show him she -was- a good girl sometimes and that even -this- was a little adventurous for her, but also wanting just to enjoy herself and show him something else entirely.

Taking one of his hands without breaking the kiss, she directed him beneath her tshirt, gasping again as his cool palm connected with the warm skin of her ribcage.

A laugh rumbled in Bobby’s throat at her innocent-sounding reaction. He rested one of his knees on the ground beside her as she took one of his hands. As she slid his hand up her shirt, he let himself onto the ground completely, breaking the kiss in favor of other things.

He remembered about the scars before he saw her bare stomach. He’d thought about it a couple of days before, in the hotel; how weird it was that he hadn’t noticed. It didn’t seem possible. And the resemblance to the wounds Wolverine made with his claws. With both hands he slid her shirt up, pulling it over her stomach and then her chest, expecting to see the scars and wanting to get a better look at them.

There were no scars on the surface of Paige’s stomach.

Bobby’s expression immediately changed. His brow furrowed, and he trained a look of disbelief and shock on her stomach. He put his hand on her side as his eyes searched her skin. Then looking to her face, he asked accusingly, “Where are you scars?” If one of her powers was a healing factor, and she hadn’t told him, he was going to feel pretty stupid. But if not, then he had no idea what was going on.

Paige blinked, her heart lurching at the tone in his voice.

"What...?" She almost whispered, cut that he would speak so angrily at her, for no reason.

Her hand ran over her stomach where he had touched, she looked down. "What are you talking about? The only scar I have is the one I got when I fell out of Daddy's walnut tree when Sam and Jimmy were throwin rocks at jaybirds... what do you mean, scar?"

Paige frowned, confused.

Bobby saw the hurt in her face, and he felt a pang of guilt at being so short with her. But he was determined to get to the bottom of the disappearing scars. He softened his tone some, but was still insistent. “Your scars. Before I left—you had three scars,” he said, turning his eyes to her stomach. With his finger he traced where each one had been. “Here. Here. And here.”

“You said you got them wrestling with your brothers too close to the radiator,” he reminded her, his eyes locking into hers again.

She almost felt herself pale. They didn't have a radiator back home.

All she could do was shake her head. What was he talking about? Was he insane? Did he...

This time her gasp sounded totally different. Pushing his hand away, she sat up on one hand.

"Bobby Drake you best explain yourself right now... so help me if you're telling me you can't tell the difference between me and another woman, I..." she shut herself up, trying her best to be calm, hurt already whirling behind her blue eyes.

Bobby sat back on his heels as she pushed away from him. “What???” He exclaimed, the shock and anger creeping back into his voice. “Are you crazy?! No—It was you,” he said with a sharp shake of his head, as though there were absolutely no doubt in his mind.

“We were in my room, and I saw your scars, and I didn’t remember seeing them before, and you said they were from wrestling with your brothers too close to the radiator. It was the night before the cops came,” he added, to give her a timeframe in hopes she’d remember. Why couldn’t she remember?! He hadn’t even given a thought to the fact that she’d been drunk—hadn’t smelled it on her breath at all. He didn’t want to think that she could be on drugs.

[Iceman]

Paige's mouth dropped open a bit, and she got up, yanking down her shirt and pushing hair out of her face. It might have been nice to think Paige would be the one to keep things calm and reason things out, but she was just not that sort of girl.

"Bobby," she said accusingly. "I wasn't -with- you that night. You damned fool." She sounded like her mother. It made her eyes well up, but she turned away so he couldn't see.

"Who were you with then?" Her voice trembled. Sure it hurt, a lot. But she was far more angry than she was hurt.

“What are you talking about—I wasn’t with anyone else!” Bobby argued loudly, putting his hand on her shoulder to turn her around as he stepped toward her. “You came to my room in the middle of the night, in some red satin—“ he cut off; things were awkward enough already, he didn’t really want to go telling her what she’d been wearing.

“Why would you automatically accuse me of cheating, anyway?!” he asked, looking into her eyes. “I’m the one that’s been getting the confession letters.”

If she hadn't already been prepared to slap him for turning her about as if she were to look her lord in the eye when he spoke to her, she certainly felt no reason to hesitate when he laced into her about their past.

Slapping him clean and quick across the face, her voice was a rough mess as she tried desperately not to cry.

"How dare you. How DARE you." Too late, a few angry tears stole their way down her face and she pushed them away angrily. "I don't own anything in red satin. You pig. You disgusting pig. How dare you throw this on me."

Oh god.

Paige put her hand on her chest, her heart feeling stabbed straight through. "If you got too drunk to know WHO YOU FUCKED that night, I suggest you ask Forge for the security tapes."

She held her breath, not wanting to cry further. Remy had kissed -her-. She thought he'd forgiven her...

Bobby’s head whipped to the side with the slap, and he staggered away from her, out of swinging range, his hand leaving her shoulder. He turned his head slowly to look at her, a different kind of shock registering on his face. A hurt shock.

Her words made him start to question himself, but he knew he hadn’t been drunk. “I haven’t been drunk in—more than half a year,” he argued. The last time he’d gotten drunk, shortly after Rogue had left, Warren had found him out by the lake, empty bottles of Logan’s favorite beer littered around, just staring out at the still water. Warren had flown him back to the school, but Ororo had run into them in the hall, and the next day, she’d had a meeting with him in which she told him if he was found drinking on school grounds again, his status as an X-Man would be suspended.

He knew it was a weak argument, however, but he didn’t know what else to say to argue her. He knew it had been her, nothing short of someone slipping him drugs without his knowledge could explain why he’d thought it was her.

“Fine,” he said roughly. “We’ll watch it together. Come on.”

He didn’t even bother to pick up the blanket; it was the last thing on his mind, and their romantic encounter seemed far in the past now. He turned and stalked down the path back towards the school.

"Like hell I'm going anywhere with you, ya hypocrite bastard!" She screamed at his back.

Stomping off in the other direction down the trail, she kept her control- at least as much as she had already- until she knew he was out of earshot. Then she let herself cry, sitting down on a stump and bawling until she didn't have any more energy.

Sam was going to have a field day with this one.