The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

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

A/N Goddess Foxfeather, Queen of Mad Plotbunnies, BUSIEST WOMAN ALIVE ™, Prophetic Muse, Hamster Witch, Uberbeta and German Kitty Poker… BOOM! InterNutter, TC, Maxwell Pink and Dracena are cookie-worthy for archiving/hosting! ProPhile… check your email. ;) Morgan: *GLOMP * Readers/Reviewers: Thank you so much for reading and reviewing when you have the chance. I really appreciate it and want to give you all muse cookies for it. ;) In the mean time, the goose is building a Lego sculpture in your honor…



Rahne had piled everything she could into the shoebox and was disappointed to see that she had room left over. It had looked so forlorn in the middle of her bed, as if it were waiting for something more to fill it up. She rested her head against the warm car window and sighed. The white shoebox back at the mansion currently held her entire history of being a Catholic, from the stub of her baptismal candle to the certificate and medallion she had received at confirmation. It had been upsetting, she had thought, to realize that an entire portion of her identity, and a fairly sizeable one at that, could fit into a shoebox with room left over. She had not heard back from anyone in Scotland—not her parents, not the priests of her parish, not even her aunts and uncles… She tried not to let it upset her, she tried, God help her, to take Todd’s advice, but it just did not work. The car rumbled down the road leading to the highway and she sighed anew. She had wanted to stay behind, wanted to wait and hope that maybe someone would return her phone calls, give her an answer. She knew that they could not just send word to the Vatican that she was a mutant, though, she reflected bitterly, they probably already knew about such things and just chose to ignore it on the grounds it was heresy. She winced as Sean took the vehicle over a particularly large pothole, making her bang her forehead on the glass. “Watch it,” she muttered.
“Sit up,” he rejoined, his ears keener than she had given him credit for. “You sit like that, you’ll get a crick.”
Rahne grumbled under her breath and sat up straight. “Better?” She raised an eyebrow at Sean’s amused expression in the rearview mirror. Beside her, Rogue made a muted noise similar to choking. “What?”
“Nothing at all,” the Southern girl grinned. “Not one damned thing.”
Rahne glanced sideways at her friend and then leaned back a little to see into the back seat. Todd was staring at the back of Rogue’s head with a nearly hungry expression on his face, his fingers clenching convulsively on his knees each time Rogue so much as inhaled noisily. She nodded subtly to Todd before pressing her forehead back against the window. If she turned, she could still see the Institute disappearing behind them and she would know that her entire life was now enclosed in four walls, in four sides of a box. Voices swelled and fell away around her, but she could only think of one thing, that she was not wanted by God or man, that she was the worst thing she could ever think of being: alone.

Todd felt for Rahne. He really did. But he had other problems at the moment. Specifically, Rogue’s continued cold shoulder and Jamie’s elbow in his ribs. “Move the elbow,” he gritted between clenched teeth, “or you’re not gonna have one to move in a minute.”
Jamie just blinked at him, obviously distracted, before folding his arms across his midsection and sinking lower in his seat. He muttered something under his breath and looked straight ahead, his face reddening slightly.
Todd rolled his eyes. “Look,” he whispered, just loud enough for Jamie to hear, “this is kinda life and deherehere. Rahne’ll jump your bones any time! Rogue’s really pissed off at me!”
Jamie glared at his friend. “It’s not always about you, you know! I’m here too!”
“What’s going on back there?” Logan asked over the music, early Elvis because, as he insisted, that’s the last time music was any good.
“Nothing,” thtiretire carload of mutants chorused.
Logan raised an eyebrow. “Right.” He focused on Jamie and Todd, shifting in his seat to pin them with a sharp gaze. “You two keep your voices down, right? I don’t want to hear it.”
Todd simply nodded but Jamie looked something akin to mortified. “Oh my God,” the younger of the two groaned softly. “He knows I want to… you know…”
“Dude, everyone knows you want to, you know,” Sam put in from behind them. “You’re not exactly subtle.”
Rahne’s head snapped around. “Shut the fuck up, the lot of you! So help me, I’ll bite each and every last one of you!”
A tense, sudden silence fell. “Sorry,” Jamie squeaked after a moment, sliding as far down as his seatbelt would allow.
Sean sighed and pulled the car into a roadside rest stop. “Okay, everyone out to stretch their legs,” he ordered. “Now.”
“But we’ve only been in the car an hour,” Rogue protested, frowning.
“Now,” Sean repeated, a shade more loudly.
Logan glanced at him and nodded, sliding out of the passenger seat and moving to stand beside the rear door where most of the students were exiting. He grabbed Jamie by the shoulder as he passed. “Except for you,” he murmured. “We’re gonna go on a little walk, alright?” Jamie nodded mutely and let Logan lead him away from the rest of the group going towards the suspicious bathrooms and ancient soda machine. Logan headed for a verging-on-dilapidated picnic table with a convention of squirrels nearby. “Sit,” hderedered as soon as they reached the weathered bench. “And listen.”
Jamie opened his mouth to speak but thought better of it quickly. He nodded again and tried to look Logan in the eyes but managed only to focus on the pointy hair and it’s distraction.
Logan was silent for a moment as if weighing his words. Finally, he said gruffly, “You two are too young but there’s nothin’ I can do to stop ya. Hell, I was probably the same way at your age… I guess. If I ever was your age. Just do me one favor and I’m gonna stay out of your hair… Lord knows you kids will find a way even if we put our foot down. Just don’t do this in Boston, okay? This is Emma’s place and you don’t want her going wrath of God on you.”
Jamie felt as if his face was going to burst into flames, Logan’s frank discussion of his sex life or lack thereof almost too much to bear. “Okay,” he squeaked, then cleared his throat and tried again. “Okay.”
Logan nodded tensely. “They’re gettin’ back in the car… Better hurry up or you’re gonna have to sit next to Sam and his beef jerky.” He paused, then added, “Jamie, don’t feel like you gotta do this. Hormones don’t have the brains in your body, ya know?”
Jamie was fairly certain that his weekend could not get any worse.