9/1 Instance: The Garden of Good and Better

[fourpawsonthefloor]

((Timeline after “A Performance of Flirtation, Key of Tipsy”))


Cessily: Cessily sat cross-legged in the patch of grass in Professor Munroe's sunroom, tugging at a few blades of grass. It felt good to be out of her room. Staring at the same posters and pictures all the time was really making her even more depressed. She sighed, looking around, taking in the beauty of her little refuge.

Tessa: Tessa blew out a breath, nervous to the bone. Rogue had pointed her to the sunroom, telling her that Cessily would likely be there. She'd carried the picture of her father with her, because she knew she'd have to tell Cessily sooner or later...and she'd rather it be sooner.

Tessa: "Cessily? I have to tell you something."

Cessily: Cessily's head turned around and she stared at Tessa for a few seconds, like in a deer in the headlights. She had come? To her? Why...? She felt countless emotions flaring up inside her, all at once. Panic and faint hope, pain and love. She opened her mouth to say something, but no sound came out.

Cessily: She closed her eyes, lowering her head. Then looked up at Tessa, right into her eyes. Her beautiful eyes. How much she loved her... Pulling together, she tried to speak again. "Te... Tessa?"

Tessa: "It's me. I came because I had to tell you...why I made that ultimately stupid mistake of breaking up with you and Japh." She saw the emotion flicker across Cessily's face and for a moment wasn't quite sure she could go through with this. She drew in a shaky breath.

Tessa: Tessa sat in the grass next to Cessily, and took out her picture to set it on the grass in front of her. She tapped the glass in front of her father's face. "That's my dad."

Cessily: The desire to run away to prevent herself from hurting Tessa even more died down as she heard Tessa's words. Had she just said that she thought it was a mistake. Before she could continue the thought, the picture was placed before her. "You... your dad?"

Cessily: She glanced up at Tessa again, looking sad and puzzled at the same time. "What has your dad...?"

Tessa: "My dad's dead. I....I killed him five years ago." Tessa felt a weight lift off her shoulders when she said it, but then felt the one guilt settle back down in its place.

Tessa: "He was trying to teach me how to put up shields. He was a mutant like me." She bit her lip hard. She wouldn't cry again in front of someone. "This is part of why I did what I did."

Cessily: Cessily tried to follow Tessa's words, then her eyes widened in shock and worry as their meaning finally settled in. "Oh my God! I'm... I'm so sorry!" All of her own pain was momentarily wiped away, replaced with sympathy for Tessa. "That's... that's so... I'm sorry."

Cessily: She hesitated, unsure of what to do. But she couldn't resist the desire to comfort her, no matter what had happened between them. She leaned forward and hugged Tessa tightly, holding her for a moment. But what had she said? "But... that's why you broke up with us...? I don't understand." She looked her in the eyes again. This was so confusing.

Tessa: When Tessa felt Cessily hug her, the dam holding her back broke in two and she started to cry. "He was trying to teach me how to protect myself because I'd been feeling what everyone felt and seeing what everyone around me thought, and it was driving me crazy. I coudn't think on my own and I couldn't concentrate....it was killing me, that connection."

Tessa: "I never did learn how to put up a shield properly. The one time I got close to getting it right, my dad blocked it, but he wasn't strong enough to keep me out. I could see through his eyes and I knew what he felt, and for a split second I knew--I knew--that he was going to die. I couldn't help it. And when I felt that again, hearing everyone's thoughts and feeling their emotions, I didn't want the same thing to happen to you and Japh." She traced her fingers over the picture glass and let her head drop to one palm.

Cessily: "Tessa... I... I had no idea. I'm so sorry." Not knowing what else to say, she hugged Tessa again, holding her for longer this time, gently rubbing her back. "Shh..." She breathed into her ear, looking for the words that would help her to console Tessa. "Shh..." Cessily put her head on Tessa's shoulder, feeling that her friend's grief brought forth her own tears.

Cessily: "I don't know what to say. I wish I would, but... I'm sorry." Cessily kept her head on Tessa's shoulder and softly spoke in her ear. Slowly she got what else she had said. "You... did it because you... you thought it would happen to Japh and me?" Cessily tried to sort the thoughts that began to wildly fly through her mind.

Tessa: "That's what I was trying to tell you both...it just wouldn't come out. I don't want to hurt either one of you because I can't control this." Tess scrubbed the heels of her hands over her forehead and her eyes. "I don't want to hurt anybody here with what I can do."

Cessily: Cessily sat back again and gave Tessa a long look. She grabbed her forehead with her hand, glancing around. "So... so... you said that you couldn't be with us... because you didn't want to hurt us with your powers? Because you were scared you'd do this again?" She looked back at Tessa through tear filled eyes.

Cessily: Cessily realized how much Tessa was like her, and how much more she loved her because of it. But she just had to know. She had. "So... this wasn't because of what I did? Because I hurt you? Because... you don't love me any more?" She wiped her tears away with the back of her hand.

Tessa: Tessa fisted her hands in her hair. "I had no problem with what you did. You didn't hurt me, and I never stopped loving you. Ever. But I didn't want to kill you two."

Tessa: She pulled her fingers down the sides of her face, almost trying to pull the skin off. "I don't want to have to stay away from you. But I was afraid I would have had to if that was what's going to happen."

Cessily: Cessily stared. She was certain that if she still had a heart it would be racing now. But so the agitation and the myriad of emotions that washed over her merely caused her metallic skin to ripple. "You... still... love... me?" She asked meekly, hope flickering up inside her. She reached out to grab Tessa's hands as she saw what she was doing to her face. "No... no, don't do this."

Tessa: Tessa stared at Cessily, her mind confusedly blank for a half second. "Of course I still love you. I never stopped." God, why can't you make this easy? She looked down at Cessily's hands around hers. "Don't do what?"

Cessily: "Hurt yourself. Don't hurt yourself." She said automatically, managing a small smile. Her mind was blown to Nirvana by Tessa's words. "It's okay. It's okay. It's not your fault. You didn't want to hurt us... that's perfectly okay." She tried to collect herself, but still found herself crying. "I didn't realize this. I was so stupid. The way I acted... towards you and Japh... I'm so stupid."

Tessa: "I was an idiot to not have told you. I'm sorry...I really am."Tess sighed and combed a hand through her hair. "Rogue talked to me last night about this. She says I should go to Dr. McCoy to see about it, but...I don't know." She glanced away before saying, "I'm scared of doctors."

Cessily: Cessily nodded eagerly, smiling now. "Oh, you definitely should. That's good advice Rogue gave you there. Dr. McCoy is really smart. He helps us all with our powers. And... that's why we're here in the first place, no?" She reached out to gently stroke Tessa's cheek. "And no need to be scared. He's a really nice man. And not like other doctors at all."

Cessily: "I mean... would you want me to come? I've seen him a few times already to figure out how my body works now."

Tessa: Tessa latched her arms around Cessily's neck. "Oh thank you. So much. I'd love it if you'd come with me."

Tessa: "Please,"--her words were muffled by Cessily's shoulder--"Please don't let me be that stupid again."

Cessily: Cessily held Tessa and stroked her hair, crying tears of pure joy now. "Shhh... no, you weren't stupid. Don't say that. I was stupid. For overreacting like that." She pressed her face against the top of Tessa's head. "I'm sorry I did that... I was so shocked, so miserable because I thought I hurt you both. I felt... so worthless for ruining what we had. It's not you who's stupid here."

Cessily: "And it's gonna be alright, I'm perfectly sure of that. Perfectly. They will... no, we will help you control it."

Tessa: Tess swallowed hard. we? "We?" She looked up to Cess, trying not to let the leap of hope show too much on her face.

Cessily: Cessily nodded, smiling through tears. "Of course. Everyone will be there for you. I will be there. I'm not going to let you go through this alone. I... love you too much to ever let you down."
Cessily stroked her face again. "I'm... I'm sure Japh will be there for you, too. Although... I... said some stupid things to him back then." She bit her lip. "But... that's my problem, no?"

Tessa: Tessa let out a breathy laugh. "I think we both said some stupid things back then. But maybe we can work it out." She reached up and ran her thumb down Cessily's chin. "It's not your problem. It's ours...if you'll have me back." A lopsided smile curved one corner of Tess' mouth up. Please say yes, please...

Cessily: "Have you back?" Her smile widened, her features lighting up. "For my part... I'd never let you go. Ever!" Cessily famed Tessa's face with the palms of her hands.

Tessa: Tessa launched forward and enveloped Cessily in a tight hug, mumbling against her neck. "God, I never wanted to let you go....ever...I love you so much, Cessily." She sat back, resting her foread against Cessily's. "God I missed you."

Cessily: "I missed you, too." Happy tears were streaming down her cheeks ans reabsorbed into her body. "I love you, Tessa. Always will." Cessily kept on smiling, but the temptation was growing too strong for her to resist any longer. She pushed her head lightly forward, letting her lips gently brush against Tessa's, too scared that she still might mess up to go further on her own.

Tessa: Tess cupped her hand around the back of Cessily's head, threading her fingers through the red hair. She broke the gentle kiss for a moment and stroked her hand down the side of Cess' cheek. "I love you too. I was so afraid you'd never want to talk to me again after what happened."

Cessily: "I could never do that." She smiled kindly. "Never was I mad at you. I blame myself. I shouldn't have reacted the way I did." She stroked over her. How much she had missed her. How much she had wanted her.

Cessily: Feeling more secure, Cessily couldn't hold back any more and wrapped one arm around Tessa's waist and cupped the back of her head with the other, leaning in for another kiss, more passionate this time.

Tessa: Tess leaned into the kiss, resting her hands on Cessily's waist and her shoulder. She smiled inwardly, thinking that she was so incredibly lucky to have a girl that wouldn't shut her out because she had that sort of power. And then it occurred to her that she was supposed to be seeing Dr. McCoy in an hour.

Tessa: She pulled away and nearly smacked herself in the head. "I can't believe I forgot...I'm supposed to see Dr.McCoy today!" She sucked in air. "Would you come with me?"

Cessily: "Why yes, of course I would." She beamed at Tessa reassuringly. "When do you have your appointment?"

Tessa: Tess looked at her wristwatch. "In about an hour and a half, it looks like." She gave a cautious smile at Cess. "I'm glad you decided to take me back."

Cessily: "That has been the easiest decision in my life." Cessily played with strand of Tessa's hair, then leaned over to put a trail of light kisses along her neck and cheek. She gathered her courage. "And... an hour and a half is plenty of time..." She breathed into Tessa's ear, expectantly sucking on her lower lip afterwards.

Tessa: Oh. Oh wow...god. Tessa automatically tilted her head to the side that gave Cessily the best access to oh yeah, there...

Cessily: Cessily nibbled on Tessa's neck, then trailed the way back over her cheek with little kisses until reaching her lips. Seeing that Tessa was doing anything but objecting, Cessily gave her a reassuring smile as she wrapped her arms around her waist, gently pulling her down into the grass with her.

Tessa: "Mmmmm, yeah...." Tessa let herself be pulled down to the grass bed, winding one arm around Cessily's neck and tickling the silver girl's hip with the other. Plenty of time, indeed... She chuckled when Cessily kissed her again.

[Edited on 1/9/07 by fourpawsonthefloor]

[Slarti]

D'AWWWWWW!

[Esynthia]

I second the Slarti-ness:

D'AWWWWWWWWWWW

[Starfish]

We talked about how the D'Awww-factor of this instance is through the roof while playing it.