Repair And Resolve

[mystique]

Mystique sat in her room, turning the flash card in her fingers. It was sticky with her own blood, and she carefully wiped it clean.

The door opened and she didn't look up, red hair half wet down the back of her neck, water still lingering on the small of her back, the curve of her bare calves.

She thought of telling him about what had happened in the lab, but just couldn't get herself to talk about it.

Turning in her chair to look at him, the open, quiet expression immediately shifted when Nightingale followed behind. It was neither a welcoming nor admonishing expression. She waited to see what John would say.

And carefully closed her laptop.

[Pyro]

"Hey," he said, an uncertain smile on his face. "I know you said you didn't want any help or anything, but well, I thought it might help you sleep better." The hesitant smile faded away at the look of her totally neutral gaze and he moved into the room to set the coffee mugs down, along with the bottle of Black Velvet.

Not for the first time in the past few days he suspected he'd just done something very wrong when all he'd wanted was the opportunity to help.

Anxious to fill up the awkward silence in the room, he continued talking. "Besides, I should probably let Angie - uh - Nightingale - take a look at these burns, they're getting a bit stiff and uncomfortable now. If she's got the energy left, maybe you'll let her heal you up properly."

He successfully managed to make it sound stern.

[mystique]

Mystique's yellow eyes shifted to Nightingale. Her form was relaxed, and she nodded. It was almost nice to have someone insist she care for herself. It also meant she could demand the same of him.

"Go ahead and close the door." She turned in her chair, rolling it a bit towards John. She pours the whiskey her coffee with a sigh.

"Angie. Short for Angela I'm assuming?" She glanced up at Pyro. There wasn't a moment now she didn't want to be wrapped in his arms, but that wasn't something she was willing to share with this young woman. Not now, maybe not ever.

[Nightingale]

Looking from one to the other slightly nervously, Angie was ready to leave when Pyro mentioned her healing his burns. She pulled off her mittens, sticking them into the back pocket of her jeans, but before she could make any move, Mystique was speaking to them. She moved over and closed the door, feeling more than a little uncomfortable standing there.

"Yeah." Feeling all of about twelve and petulant, Angie had to resist the urge to say, 'Weren't you... not blue the first time I saw you?' Instead, she apologised.

"I'm sorry that I didn't finish the job the first time." Not just because it would have meant that she didn't have to stand here feeling awkward and wondering what had gone on in the room before she'd arrived, too.

[mystique]

It didn't bother Mystique that Angela seemed uncomfortable in her room. In fact, she preferred the girl not become accustomed to being here. But it also spoke badly of her that she'd be cowering and trembling in their presence. She was going to have to have a talk with John about his recruitment practices.

"You saved my life, Angela, no need to apologize." A curve of a smile hit her lips, even if it didn't reach her eyes. "Have a seat."

[Nightingale]

Looking from Mystique to Pyro and back to Mystique, Angie gave the blue-skinned mutant a small smile. "It's ok, I won't be here that long." No-one but her mother ever called her Angela, and she wondered what point the woman was trying to make by using her full name.

Wanting to just get it over and done with, so that she could get the hell out of there and leave them to... whatever it was they'd been doing, Angie stretched her fingers out to touch Mystique's blue cheeks. She hadn't finished the job, and she felt the rest of the injuries still there with a slight feeling of shame. I should have been able to. Though she'd been so overworked that she'd passed out, the young mutant couldn't help but feel she'd failed. Flattening her hands so that she was almost tenderly cradling the woman's face, Angie felt her power rush out of her.

Broken ribs, lacerations, her nose and her eyes - they all started to heal as Angie and Pyro watched, until finally Mystique's skin was unmarred, her body back to it's original state - in more ways than one. The first time she had seen the other mutant, Angie hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary - but now Mystique was a smooth blue that was beautiful in it's own way. Taking her hands away, Angie looked cheerfully tired, like a person who'd stayed up til morning chatting to her best friend. She still had plenty of strength left, though that lasagne was definately calling out to her now.

[mystique]

Mystique drew in a breath as the healing began, and let out a sigh just as it finished that was an audible moan, somewhere between someone sinking into a hot bath and...something else.

Her eyes stayed on the young woman the whole time.

"Such a feeling..." there was distinct awe in her voice. "That is an incredible gift you have."

Mystique's eyes turned to John. "Now him."

[Pyro]

He had watched her heal Mystique like a hawk, anxiety evident in his eyes. When she seemed to be fully healed, some of the tension flowed out of him like someone had turned on a tap. When Mystique indicated that he was next to be healed, he shrugged his shoulders. "If you're still tired, Angie, then it can wait. It's nothing life-threatening."

John sipped at his coffee.

"Your call," he said, and gave Angie one of his smiles. "I'm just glad you managed to fix Mystique up. Really glad."

[Nightingale]

Mystique was the third person in the last couple of days to have told her that her mutation was something special, rather than the dangerous, freakish ability that her mother had been trying to fix for years. Angie shrugged almost imperceptibly, turning to look at Pyro as he spoke.

"I'm fine. I'll fix you up and get out of your hair." She flashed another small smile, this time at him, and she advanced at John with hands steady as a surgeon's.

The burns were only superficial, nothing really to worry about, and they disappeared quickly. She held her hands on his face only as long as she needed to, her green eyes fixed on his. When she'd stopped touching him, she looked around to look at Mystique again.

"Well, if you two don't need me for anything else...?"

[mystique]

Mystique looked from Angie to Pyro with a vaguely amused expression.

It was *exactly* the look she used to throw between Magneto and him.

"You're not being shuttled out of here, but I believe someone was waiting with dinner?" She chuckled.

[Pyro]

If Pyro was aware of the look that came from Mystique, he showed no signs whatsoever of noticing it. He reached over and squeezed Angie's shoulder.

"Thank you," he said, simply. "You've been invaluable. I'll sit and talk with you more tomorrow, I promise. Explain who we are, what we're about - although you've probably already guessed from Baltimore."

Give you the chance to change your mind... Unconsciously he realised that's what he was doing, much as he had done with Jane only a day or two previously.

Another quick smile and he drained his coffee. "You enjoy that lasagne," he said. The smell of it had made him hungry, which was unusual, but he didn't think his stomach would appreciate food right now. She may have healed him, but there was still a sick feeling deep in the pit of his gut that he didn't think was caused by anything physical.

[Nightingale]

The shoulder squeeze and the words made Angie smile again, though she didn't linger. "No worries, I'll see you then." She looked down at Mystique, smiling again.

"If either of you need me again, I'm ... well, I'm in the room that someone stuck me in when I was passed out." Very descriptive. Blinking at herself, she gave them both a small, embarrassed smile. "I hear lasagne calling out to me."

And with red cheeks, and an awkward thought of 'Oh, that went well,' Angie left the room and tried to remember the way they'd come, eventually giving up and following her nose back toward the kitchen. How the hell am I going to find my room again?