Sid stood staring over the
grounds surrounding the home of the mutant outlaws known as the X-men. Several
dozen feet away a couple was engaged in a quarrel. Sid had to hand it to old
Xavier, disguising the mutant home under the guise of an institute was a
brilliant idea. The place was isolated enough to provide privacy and peace to
its occupants. Salem center, the sleepy suburb several miles out, thought of the
place as simply a private school for special individuals so did not trespass.
Meanwhile Xavier was free to scout the world for budding mutant talent. Free to
house them. Free to train them, without anyone being the wiser.
It was that very freedom
that gave Sid peace now.
With a soft sigh, he turned
and caught the hand that would have landed on his arm. He ran his blunt fingers
along the other’s slender ones and traced the curve of the small gold band on
the third finger; the ring similar to the one he also wore on the third finger
of
his left hand.
"Sid, what is
wrong?" Ororo Monroe asked worriedly.
Trailing a finger up
Ororo’s smooth forearm, Sid chucked when the skin became goose flesh beneath
his touch.
"I was just thinking
about family, Angel," he replied.
"You miss your
family," Ororo made the question into a statement. Of course, Sid missed
his family. They were great people. Goddess, she missed them especially his
mother. Meeting them all was a memory she would always cherish.
Nodding slowly, Sid stepped
aside and pulled his wife forward a step so she stood between him and the view
he’d been enjoying. Pushing her hair to one side of her neck, he slipped an arm
around her waist and laid a hand on her stomach. "I miss them, yes. But I
am apart of another family, now, Angel. You belong to the X-men and so do I.
And
soon," he began
placing a kiss on her neck, making her sigh. When Sid heard the sound he
caressed her stomach. "We’ll have a family of our own. I’ve left my past
behind me. I’ve found peace here, with you." Sid spun her in his arms till
they were face to face. Her sky blue eyes meeting his steel gray ones. All of
the events of the past several
weeks leapt one after
another though his mind as he looked into her eyes.
He remembered how he first
met her, falling from the sky literally into his arms. He remembered fighting
for her. Confessing his love for her. He remembered the fear of almost losing
her to the sentinel. He remembered the pain in his chest when he
next awoke and found her
gone. He remembered the rain and storm that followed. He remembered a world he
never thought he’d ever see again. The face of a woman scorned. He remembered
Ororo professing her love for him. How magnificent she’d looked wielding the
wind and the rain.
He thought of how he’d
almost lost her a second time. He remembered seeing her amongst his family.
Standing at her side as the priest pronounced them husband and wife. He
remembered the look in her eyes after he kissed her that day. The following
look as they consummated their promise to one another. He remembered how she’d
fought for his life. How they’d stood together when she explained that he was
now her husband and the man whom she would spend her remaining days. But most
of all he remembered the day she’d told him that she was ready. That she was
going to have his child.
Out in the field the
quarrel between the couple had escalated. The sound of a slap echoed across the
field reaching the ears of the two occupants standing over the rise.
"He never gives
up," Sid stated with a slight smile of silent glee that Ororo could not
possibly miss.
"Remy? No, not likely.
He tends to go after what he wants and equally tends to ignore the
consequences," she replied knowing Sid referred to the couple, Remy and
Rogue, arguing not far away.
"Angel... about Remy
and I..." Sid began feeling guilty and angry at the same time.
"Shhh, Sid please.
There is no need to apologize. I think you and Remy will always disagree where
I am concerned. But you trust each other and I love you both. We will get
through this together... as a family," Ororo finished.
"You’re right, Angel.
We’ll get through this, together, as a family... and no one’s going to tear us
apart."
The End
Valegra2@aol.com
David Briganti renegade@ipsnet.it