The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea Chapter Twenty One (NC-17)
Disclaimers Apply

A/N Goddess Foxfeather, Queen of Mad Plotbunnies, etc… You are now German Kitty Poker! InterNutter, TC, Maxwell Pink and Dracena are fantabulous for archiving/hosting. ProPhile is a loverly smutmuse and gets extra *GLOKES* for using his powers for good rather than evil. ;) Morgan: *poke* Readers/Reviewers: THANKS!!!!!!!!!

Todd did not give much consideration to where he was going, just that he could not stand to be in the house one moment longer. He barely registered the slapping of wet weeds against his legs as he strode down the slope towards the lake, pulled by some instinct within himself towards the safety of water. He did not stop until he reached the last post of the pier, sunk deep into the shore’s mud. Even then, he would have kept walking had he not been expected to be ready to leave within the hour. “Damn Boston,” he muttered. “Fucking Boston.” He stared out over the lake, his eyes narrowed and fists clenched deep in his pockets. He was so angry that he did not hear the steps over his head on the boards of the pier and as such nearly cried out in surprise when Jean spoke.
“Early morning walk?” she asked blandly, holding a pillowcase full of things that he could only guess at.
“No,” he retorted, “I’m jus’ monitoring tide levels for my doctoral thesis.”
“Your come backs are getting more erudite,” she observed dryly, a faint trace of humor in her voice. “The Professor knew you would adjust well to life here.”
Todd raised both of his brows before realizing that she was teasing him. “What the fuck is up with you anyway?” he demanded, seeking to turn attention away from himself and towards a safer target, one that could hide vulnerabilities better.
Jean debated simply walking off or actually answering him. She found herself speaking before she could start moving. “I just need some space, some time to figure things out… I needed to be on my own again.”
“Again?” Todd snorted, leaping easily onto the pier itself and dropping into a crouch next to Jean. “When’ve you ever been on your own, man? Er… woman.” He folded his arms around his bent knees and shook his head. “You ain’t ever been on your own. You went from mommy and daddy to here to Scott and haven’t looked back, ya know? Scott to here, no living on your own, no trying to survive outside the gates.”
Jean had the distinct feeling that this was a more personal subject than Todd would want her to believe, but she did not scan his mind out of the odd respect she had for him. Instead, she said as neutrally as possible, “On my own as in taking care of my own needs first.” She colored slightly at the idea of being selfish but she shook it off as the silence fell. The sun had just risen above the tree line and was spilling over the woods and clearings of the Institute’s property, lending the entire communication a feeling of being watched, of urgency… “I need to go put all this up before Scott comes back here,” she sighed. “He slept outside my room all night.”
“Yeah, I know. Damn near stepped on him when I had ta go pee last night,” Todd muttered, rising to his feet. “Jean, God knows I ain’t the person to talk to about this sort of shit but… well…” Jean nodded, her eyes welling with tears. She tightened her grip on the pillowcase and marched up the pier to the lawn, turning left to head for the mansion. Todd gave up and sank down on the wet wood, his tongue snapping out almost automatically to capture a dragon fly mid-flight. He winced, the taste unwelcome and somehow different than what he remembered. He made a face and wished he had a drink but instead contented himself with composing new poems and speeches to Rogue. Lance had tried, Todd knew, at least for the first hour or so the night before. He had tried to explain to him why Rogue was upset and how the comment had sounded to a female, but the best Todd had gotten from him, between all the talk about setting him up with “this chick I know with a bolt through her nose,” was that a.) he had fucked up royally (that seemed to be Lance’s favorite phrase about him lately, Todd reflected ruefully) and b.) he had to apologize like no one had apologized before. He sighed and laid back, stretching out in the early morning light on the pier, staring blindly up at the thick white clouds losing their tinge of sunrise coloring. “This fucking sucks,” he announced t one one.
“Tell me about it,” a tiny voice announced from under the pier.
Todd became very still, not even blinking as the sound of someone mucking through the lake mud sounded from beneath him. His first thought was Kitty and her theological hallucinations. _Great… I’m gonna see that freaky goat thing from South Park…_1 Slowly, Todd sat up and turned to face the source of the noise, nearly laughing with relief when he saw who it was. “Rahne, what the Hell?”
She was muddy and looked tired, dark circles under her eyes and a leaf in her hair. “Don’t ask,” she muttered, climbing up onto the pier. “I got too worn out last night after my run and curled up here… just be glad this is where I left me clothes,” she added, sitting down next to him in a half-lotus position. “What’s wrong with you?”
“Want the alphabetical list or just randomized?” he sighed. “Heard about that thing…”
She sighed again, loudly this time. “If they don’t want me, why do I want them?” She glanced sideways at him and, seeing that he was not going to interrupt, pressed on. “It’s like someone breaking up with you but you don’t break up with them, you know? Like someone kicking you out of the house but you refusing to leave…”
Todd blinked. “Next time ya wanna make analogies, eat something first. I think your blood sugar’s too low to make sense, ya know?” He winked at her, assuring her that he was teasing, and she smiled faintly, picking the leaf from her hair. “Look, it’s been a long while since I really been Catholic, ya know? I ain’t gone to church in forever an’ I barely made confirmation, only cause I had to, ya know. I don’t think I’m the best one to be givin’ advice about religion or nuthin’ but I’m gonna say this… Just cause you ain’t got an affiliation with some big group like that doesn’t mean you’re less of a person. You just gotta have faith, not religion.”
Rahne stared at him for almost a full minute before sighing again. “I’m sure I’ll take some comfort in that later but right now, I just can’t, Todd.”
He nodded. “No big.” He shoved himself to his feet and dusted vaguely at his jeans, offering her a hand up. “Quid pro quo, Wolfie. I give you advice, you give me advice.”
She snorted, taking the hand up. “I didn’t ask for yours.”
“Tough tits, ya got it,” he grinned. “Now your turn…”
“This about Rogue?” she asked, starting to walk back down the pier towards the slope to the mansion.
“Bingo,” he sighed, following.
“Okay, here’s what you need to do…”


1 On South Park, God was this critter made from all these other critters… makes sense in an odd way. ;)