Galatea

Galatea Chapter Twenty Seven (NC-17)
Disclaimers Apply

A/N Goddess Foxfeather, Queen of Mad Plotbunnies, BUSIEST WOMAN ALIVE (tm), Prophetic Muse, Hamster Witch and Uberbeta...there's something to be said for jingle bell socks... InterNutter, TC, Maxwell Pink and Dracena are extra good for archiving/hosting. * G* ProPhile...nice smut, lol. Readers/Reviewers: Thanks!!!!


"What the Hell is wrong with your hair?"
"Nothing."
"It's...weird."
Rogue ducked her face to hide her flaming cheeks as Emma stared at her. "It's a rinse."
Emma reached out and fingered the newly brown strands fronting the younger woman's hair. "It's the wrong color for one."
"It's brown!"
"It's brassy. Your white strands took the dye badly."
Rogue bit her tongue on a swear and instead replied grudgingly, "I've never dyed my hair before."
"So why start now?"
"Dunno."
"Where's your make up?"
"I'm wearing it."
"It's not black and red and white..."
Rogue sighed and hit save on the computer. "Emma," she said after a moment, "you're smart..."
"I try."
She rolled her eyes and pressed onwards. "What do you think about changing in a relationship?"
Emma rolled her tongue in her mouth, thinking. "Why do you ask?"
"Just...wonderin'. I mean," Rogue turned in her chair to get more comfortable. "Is it a bad thing? Should everyone do it? Or is it a cop out?"
"If you change to please someone, it's a cop out. If you do it to please yourself, it's fair and right."
"How do you know which iich?ich?"
"Rogue," she said carefully, thinking of Sean and his accusations that she was brash and pushy, thinking of her earlier idea to change herself to be more pleasing, "did you change for Todd?"
"No," she answered quickly. "maybe. Kind of. I wanted to be less...less."
"Why?"
"Never mind," she sighed, shoving the diskette into her school bag. "And it is a rinse."
"Mmmm." Emma stood as Rogue did, following her to the library door. "Don't change for anyone. Ever."
"I didn't."
"Rogue, if you wantwearwear vinyl and a dog collar, go for it. If you really want to look like a taller, slightly scarier version of Kitty, well...that's your deal."
"Kitty?" she moaned. "I look like Kitty?" She dropped her bag and covered her face with her hands. "Gods no..."
Emma laughed softly. "It's not so bad. At least you didn't pierce anything."
"I wanted to. Tabby wouldn't let me."
Emma choked on a hard laugh. "Tabby? From the little bit I've seen of her, you could have done a lot better for your Svengali!"
Rogue was now officially embarrassed. "I gotta go..."
"Wait, wait," Emma called, trailing her into the hall. She nearly ran smack into her, though, as Rogue drew to a sudden halt.
"What the fuck..."
Jubilee shifted uncomfortably, her escape to her room cut off by the two women in the hall. "Um, hi."
"Jubilee," Rogue said, almost laughing, "what's with the Madeline in Paris outfit?"
The youngest girl frowned and glared first at Rogue then at the silently suffused EmmaI juI just wanted to dress nice, okay?" She twitched her knee-length skirt and sighed. "These shoes hurt."
"Where's..." Emma paused to collect herself, a giggle rising most immaturely before she could stop it. "Where's Remy then?"
"He's in the kitchen. Belladonna," she snarled the name before she could stop herself, "wanted to make gumbo. We're in New fucking York. Who makes gumbo in New York?"
Rogue smiled faintly. "Good to know it ain't just me," she murmured. "Is that a turtleneck?"
"No, it's an actual turtle. What the Hell kind of question is that?"
"Whoa, Jubes, Rogue..." Kitty blinked in surprise as she phased out of her room, arms laden with books. "Did I miss a memo?" Three sets of eyes pinned her. "Erk..."
"How can you stand this?" Rogue demanded suddenly. "I feel like I'm wearing a costume!"
"You feel like you're in a costume?" Jubilee sniped. "Look at me! I'm wearing plaid!"
Emma snorted inelegantly. "Which begs the question why the Catholic school girl look?"
"I'm trying," Jubilee snapped, "to look mature."
"You're doing it wrong," Kitty said simply. "And Rogue, wrong colors."
"Huh?"
"You're a winter. Those are spring..."
"English, please."
"Oh, hell..."1 Kitty looked askance at Emma.
"You're on your own, dear."
Kitty glanced down at the books in her arms then up at her friends and the mentor. "Um..."
"Umm?" Rogue and Jubilee chorused, looks of relief and interest mingling on their faces.
"Where's Amara?"
"What does that have to do with anything?" Rogue demanded.
"Well, I figure if this is going to turn into a hen party, might as well have all the hens."
Emma's eyebrows crept up in something near amazement. "Kitty Pryde's Seminar On How To Borg Into Acceptability?"
"Hardly," she sniffed. "I'm helping my friends so ha."
Rogue blew a hank of limp hair from her eyes. "I'll find Jean."
Jubilee tugged at her too-tight turtleneck. "I'll get Amara..."
"Whoa," Kitty exclaimed, "not right now! I've got homework to finish!"
"When then?"
She sighed. "Tonight. After lights out. Meet me in my room. Oh, may as well get Paige and Theresa and Rahne while we're at it. Emma, you coming?"
"Why should I spend my evening in the company of teenaged girls?" she sniffed.
Kitty raised an eyebrow. "Invitation stands." She sagged against her door as everyone dispersed, calculating how much time she could spend with Kurt before having to come up with some reason to end the evening early. The object of her thoughts popped into existence before her as she turned to go back into her room. "Hey, Fuzzy!"
"Katzchen, about tonight..."
"Are you canceling?"
"Er...nein." He shifted uncomfortably and bit his lip before saying in a rush, "Would it be okay if we met early? I have a lot of homework to do and I wanted to get some studying done before bed..."
"That's fine," she smiled, gesturing with the books in her hands. "Me, too."
Kurt's grin was full of awkward relief. "Danke, Liebes," he kissed her quickly and stepped back, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Why do you look so worried?"
"Oh, uh, I just put off this report till the last minute. Over estimated my own Study Ninja Skills," she laughed lightly.
"Ah, got it. Tonight then."
"Seven?"
"Sounds good to me," he smiled, disappearing.
Kitty sighed with relief. _Maybe things are going to go better than I think... _

Storm stared into her now-cold coffee as Scott disappeared across the street. She scarcely noticed him at all to tell the truth. She was too wrapped in the events of the night before, the strange car ride with the unseen driver all the way to some deserted sewage treatment plant, being blindfolded and led by a slimy hand into a dank cement culvert where her eyes were uncovered.2 She was ashamed to admit she had cried out in shock at the array of misshapen and in some cases downright horrifying faces staring back at her. Children, adults and in between-all ages were represented, all races and probably, she thought numbly, all creeds were there. Some had faces that looked like half melted candles, eyes covered in folds of flesh or on stalks. Some appeared normal until she looked closer and then they had gills, or extra limbs or even, in one case, no limbs at all. She felt psychic fingers probing her mind and she let them in, opened herself to show she meant no harm. Out of this miasma of abnormalities, Evan stepped forward. "Evan," she cried sharply, "thank the Mother!"
"Aunt Ro," he said so quietly he could barely be heard, "I'm not coming back. I'm...I'm unreliable."
"Don't be ridiculous," she said urgently, rushing towards him to capture him in a hard embrace. "I love you, Evan. You're my blood. What happened was nothing compared to what could have been..."
"Aunt Ro," he said more loudly, "no. I don't belong there."
"Why on Earth do you think that," she demanded, still embracing him. "Evan, please..."
A very pale, very odd looking man stepped out of the throng. "He has made his choice. If, one day, he changes his mind, he can come to you freely. Until then, his home is with us."
"Aunt Ro, this is Caliban. He's the one who called you."
"Evan, no," she cried, feeling the hands that had led her down pull her back. The cloth came back over her eyes and wind whipped through the tunnel, sparks of ice cutting delicate skin as her temper rose. "Evan!"
"Please, Aunt Ro!" he cried. "Please..."
She did not know how she got back to Bayville, just that she sat outside the gates until dawn and her bladder drove her towards the house. She did know, though, that she was not going to go back without Evan.
1 If you've seen my avatar on the Nutboard or on my blog, you'll know why this is funny.
2 A bit different than what happened in the series but...eh. Roll with it.