X-Men Fan Fiction ❯ State of Mind ❯ Waning ( Chapter 5 )

Notes: An exercise in a little surrealism. I like writing for crazy people. It's lots of fun to work with. I'm taking a little from cannon and a little from a slightly different track. All I can ask of you is please, please stick with it. I'm experimenting a little.

 

Synopsis: Jean-Paul Beaubier was killed and resurrected by the HAND and Hydra. He was brainwashed. His mind is in pieces. Someone must be able to put him back together.

 

Warnings: Mental Issues, AU-ish Cannon hybrid. Foul language. Mental/Physical Torture. SPOILERS.

 

Category: Slash overtones (obviously - Northstar's gay!), Mental problems, surrealism, romance/obsession. Hurt/Comfort.

 

Disclaimer: I won't insult your intelligence, you know the score.

 

State of Mind

By Doctor Megalomania

Chapter Five: Waning

 

The hall's light clicked on.

Bobby's laughter was low and warm as Jean-Paul gasped. “Is this… Is this really ours?”

“Yup.” Bobby put their bags down, beaming as Jean-Paul looked around the place. Most of the furniture had been moved in, and the rest of their belongings would arrive tomorrow. They'd been so desperate to get out of the facility that they'd left as soon as the small house had been declared cleared for living. It wasn't the small place in Montreal that Jean-Paul had wanted, but after two years in the X-Men's containment bay and then a further six in a S.H.I.E.L.D. confine, Jean-Paul was happy to call anywhere that was without a constant twenty-four hour watch, home.

It had taken S.H.I.E.L.D. five years to finally get a hold on his problem, and in that time both he and Bobby had changed so much. Bobby had quit the X-Men finally, so that he could devote his time to Jean-Paul. As soon as he had gotten away from the X-mansion, it was revealed that his secondary mutation was receding. They'd laughed so much when they realised that Bobby was actually having an allergic reaction to a student at the school.

Now, both of them were free to do as they wished.

In the last six months, the doctors at S.H.I.E.L.D. had revealed that Jean-Paul was close to being completely healed. Northstar had disappeared some time after they had been transferred to S.H.I.E.L.D. But Bobby had stayed. When it was confirmed that Northstar was completely gone, Jean-Paul had been allowed to move into a shared room with Bobby. Jean-Paul hated being alone. Even though Northstar had been so violent, Jean-Paul at least appreciated the company. Bobby though took Northstar's place. They slept together, but never shared their bodies. Bobby had said that as much as he wanted to, he wanted to wait until Jean-Paul was healed.

It had made Jean-Paul smile.

Soon, he had been allowed visitors. Few came, of course. None of the X-men. Annie came one time, bringing along Marilyn, the cook. They'd stayed for an hour. It was wonderful. The only other person, who visited, surprisingly was Jeanne-Marie. She had sobbed a lot when they first met, but then she got better at seeing him in his strait jacket.

The best thing was the night when Bobby kissed him and gave him the key to this house. Engraved on a key-ring were the words; “Somewhere nice.”

And here they were.

Somewhere nice.

The perfect home, with a man who'd stuck by him through the worst of things. Jean-Paul wanted to cry. He looked around the beautiful little place, noticing all the little things that needed doing. The walls were a pale green, and the movers had left all the plastic coverings in a pile. It was so beautiful and he was finally free of everything.

Bobby closed the door and locked it. He smiled at Jean-Paul, “I made sure that the fridge was packed and that the kitchen was ready. We won't have to leave for a long time.” He turned and leant against the door. “I can't believe that any of this is real!”

“I can.” Jean-Paul laughed happily, “If it means I'm better again, I can believe anything!”

Bobby wasn't wearing his uniform anymore, and Jean-Paul thought him to be more handsome than any other he'd ever seen in his life. Bobby had recently cut his hair, and for once it wasn't just an adorable floppy mess. Though thankfully, Bobby had given up his love affair with gel. His hazel brown eyes sparkled warmly.

“Stop looking at me like that, lover.” Bobby blushed slightly, and looked away with a smile on his face.

“I cannot help it, my dear silly Bobby, you're so very beautiful.” Jean-Paul spread his arms and moved to embrace the former x-man. Bobby ducked his head into the crook between Jean-Paul's head and shoulder, and pressed a cool kiss against Jean-Paul's neck. Jean-Paul shuddered as he felt Bobby's cool tongue slip out and flick over his sensitive neck.

With a fond giggle, Jean-Paul turned his head and pressed his lips against Bobby's ear to whisper huskily. “I love you.”

Bobby pulled back slightly to meet his eyes, his hazel eyes crinkled at the corners. “Let's go somewhere nice…” Above them, the lights frizted and shorted out. They were plunged into darkness. Bobby continued warmly, “You'll love it. We'll go together.”

Jean-Paul chuckled in the darkness. He clasped his hands together and concentrated on the palms of his hands, a soft glow emanated from him. He looked up at Bobby, and it seemed for a moment that there was nothing but the two of them left in this world. Bobby stared at his hands then looked up, the soft glow making the colour in his eyes really stand out.

“I suppose I need to go get some light bulbs.” Bobby sighed, “And I'll check the electrics on my way out.”

Jean-Paul's smile faded slightly, as he glanced around worriedly, “But it's snowing outside.”

Outside the wind kicked up and howled. Bobby shook his head, “All the more reason to check. Besides I'll be fine. Remember? The mutant who controls ice here?”

Jean-Paul nodded, “Yes, yes, I suppose so.” He sucked in his bottom lip and chewed on it for a moment, “Be careful, my darling Bobby.”

“I can't be hurt.” Bobby winked. “A little snow can't kill me.”

“Still…” Jean-Paul sighed, and then shook his head, “No, you're right.”

“Of course I am.” Bobby turned away to unlock the door. He pulled the key from the door and handed it to Jean-Paul. “Don't go anywhere, don't leave the house. I left my keys in the bags. You can't leave.”

“Of course,” Jean-Paul wrapped his hand around the key and put it in his pocket for safe keeping. Something smacked hard against a window, and Jean-Paul turned his head at the noise. “Bobby…” He began, “Maybe you should take the key after all…”

Jean-Paul pulled the key out of his pocket and turned to offer it to Bobby. He frowned as he noticed that Bobby was already gone. He sighed and opened his hand. His frown grew deeper as he realised that the key had fallen off the key ring.

He turned the key ring over, and brought his other hand closer to shine more light on the fob. Jean-Paul cried out and threw the key ring into the darkness of the hall as he realised the words had changed.

It no longer read “Somewhere nice.”

He sped away from the fallen key fob, and moved to light every candle he could find in the house. He only stopped when the master bedroom was fully lit and he could sit in the middle of the bed. Jean-Paul wrapped his blankets around his shivering body, and folded over until he could press his face against his knees.

He breathed in and out hard.

The key ring had read “Let me out, you dumb fuck.”

 

It was already morning when Jean-Paul woke up.

Light streamed through the window. The yellow blinds gave the light a warm tint. Jean-Paul looked over and saw that Bobby was still sleeping beside him. Beyond Bobby, the key ring - complete with key again - lay on the bedside table. Jean-Paul reached over Bobby tentatively, and picked up the key ring. The engraved words were right again, “Somewhere nice.”

Jean-Paul sighed and shook his head as he set the key down again quietly; perhaps something had shaken loose last night because of the sudden dark. He looked down at Bobby. The light reflected dully off his golden-brown hair's shiny highlights, and his eyelashes fluttered open.

Bobby smiled sleepily, widely at him.

“This is such a beautiful dream,” he whispered huskily, “Don't you think?”

Jean-Paul reached out, and ran his hand through Bobby's silken hair. “It is. I'm so happy.”

Bobby closed his eyes and reached out to pull Jean-Paul toward him, “Let's spend today in bed, love. Let's not go anywhere for now. Let's stay like this, my dear love.”

Jean-Paul squeaked as Bobby pulled the blankets over their heads. “But the walls! The house needs to be decorated! The movers will be coming!”

Bobby chuckled quietly, “Shh… don't worry about that right now.” He landed a cool kiss on Jean-Paul's bare shoulder, “Talk to me about something.”

“What shall I talk about?” Jean-Paul moved to twist his legs with Bobby's. He stroked his hand down Bobby's side, loving the smooth, warm skin as it moved under his hand. He moved until he was lying above Bobby, spreading his legs so that his knees could press against Bobby's strong thighs. “Can't you start?”

“Tell me about Joanne.”

Jean-Paul blinked and looked down at Bobby. Under the covers, the light was a dusky grey. “Why do you want to know about her?”

“I just want to understand you more. We need to discover the reason behind this rage that the brain washing has triggered.”

Jean-Paul frowned slightly, and was about to reply when he heard strange voices. He stiffened as he realised that there were strangers in his house. Bobby below him smiled warmly. “Don't worry, it's the movers. Remember? They're dropping stuff off. I gave them the key so we wouldn't have to get up.”

“Bobby!” Jean-Paul blushed hotly, “What if they come in here?”

“I locked the bedroom door.” Bobby continued to smile, though his expression jarred somewhat with his voice. “Talk to me about your time with the X-men. Do you remember any hostility toward them?”

“No, of course not!” Jean-Paul sat up until he was straddling Bobby's torso, and the covers slid off his shoulders. “You're asking such strange things…”

He stared at Bobby as the strange voices grew alternatively louder and quieter. Bobby's smile was brilliant and warm, his beautiful hazel eyes sparkling. Jean-Paul heard a high and constant beep, and snapped his head toward the alarm clock. It was so loud and sudden that he put up very little resistance when Bobby suddenly rolled them over and landed a hot, wet kiss on his lips. Bobby pulled away, holding Jean-Paul's wrists down tightly. He stared into Jean-Paul's face intensely before whispering sadly.

“Time's up. Wake up. Wait for the Dawn.”

The alarm clock's beeping grew louder. The movers outside started to argue.

“When you're better,” Bobby promised in a whisper, “We'll go somewhere nice.”

Jean-Paul twisted his head; the digital display on the alarm clock was warping. The bright green numbers were racing along the display and jumping.

A hand grasped his chin and dragged his head away from the alarm clock. A bright light shone into his eyes, blinding him.

“He's responding favourably to the scenario. What have you been imputing?”

“We don't actually know; he processes everything so quickly. We've just been letting his mind work through everything, and it's selecting its own reality. The machine is compensating for the speed that his brain works at.”

“Jean-Paul?”

The light clicked off.

He blinked, suddenly lost in the darkness.

“Oh, you dumb fuck.”

Jean-Paul looked up. Sitting above him, in a mirror image, Northstar sat crossed legged on the ceiling. He had his hands clasped together and they were glowing as he concentrated on pushing the light into the surface of his palms only. Northstar looked remarkably calm for a man who was covered in blood and gore. Even though he was sitting on the ceiling, it seemed that gravity wasn't touching him. His hair didn't flop down as it should have done.

Jean-Paul blinked as he realised he was sitting in the exact same position, with his hands clasped together, glowing.

“What's going on, Northstar?” He asked, looking around the darkness around them fearfully. “Where have you been?”

“Time's up.” Northstar said, and then he laughed brightly, “Wake up, you dumb fuck!”

He threw his hands apart, and Jean-Paul was blinded by the bright lights.

 

+ Waning +