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Sugar, Iron and Wood; Closed
Topic Started: Mar 24 2014, 01:06 AM (137 Views)
Cyclops
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Punches from the Punch Dimension
February 14th
Sunset


Powerful energy coursed over Jean’s body, ripping apart fabric molecules in a blinding flash of light. Dipping into that reserve of godlike energy, for those brief moments everything was so clear; the walls of the maze of Life were like glass. Then she let go, and once again she was on the new Starjammer vessel, but now she stood in the wedding gown of her dreams.

Her heart fluttered uneasily as she rejoined the others. “I always thought,” she began, “that I’d get married only once.” Then she smiled, “At least, it’s still to the same man.” Her gown wasn’t white, this one resembled the cosmos laid over a woman’s curves – suns twinkled, galaxies spun lazily, and vibrant nebulae splashed color in the darkness. Seen on the body of Jean Grey, the universe was a very active place, full of life. “But getting married out here, by you, Chris,” she said taking her eyes from Scott to look at his father, “it just seems right. I only regret that our family and friends in New York aren’t with us this time.”


The first time Scott had proposed to Jean, it was at the bottom of a destroyed building, his body broken, his mind nearly so, but his heart had been so full when he felt her descending like a fiery angel, not seen because without his glasses he'd been blind, but Scott had never needed to see to know Jean was there. Now, so many years later, the situation was reversed. His body was strong, his mind repaired, but his heart needed a little work. Not on Jean's part, never on hers. Today would have been their sixth anniversary, if he hadn't died... or whatever exactly it was that had happened to him last March. Scott didn't even know if they were still technically married. He hadn't even gone through the paperwork and redtape that was required to reestablish that he wasn't dead. Shield knew. That was enough for him.

But out here, on his father's boat, Scott had faced the impending anniversary with trepidation. Did she expect him to celebrate? Did she want him to? It was not a subject he knew how to broach even. At his best he was liable to misspeak when it came to matters of the heart, and he was currently so far from his best that it wasn't even in sight.

So, in the end, he had simply faced things in his usual way and punched forward, hoping he hadn't lost his aim. "Jeannie," he'd said, in a quiet moment in their cabin, "I was thinking about our anniversary. It's coming up, and I was trying to figure out what to do. I looked it up. The Sixth Anniversary traditional gifts are Sugar representing sweetness, clearly not our strong point, Iron for good luck, which we've been sorely lacking, and Wood for a strong relationship, which has been on the edge... I don't think any of those are suitable, especially not with the way things have been... but I did learn that the captain of a ship can marry people legally, and we are on a ship..."

And, now, here they stood, on the deck of a semi-living ship, his father waiting patiently for him to catch the breath that the appearance of his once and future wife had stolen. "Jean," he finally managed to say, "you look amazing."


“Thank you,” she said with a smile, sensing his tongue-tied gasping. “You look pretty well turned out also,” she said as drew closer, her hands automatically smoothing down the folds of his outfit, an Asian-looking dress suit that she’d never seen in his wardrobe. “Are you sure?” she asked, it was a vague question but one he wouldn’t misinterpret. Was he sure he wanted to take this step? Was he ready?


"More sure about this than anything else in my life," Scott said, taking her hands where they stroked this rather elaborate jacket his father had dressed him in. He was a little taller than Corsair, but not as broad so, the suit had required some alterations, but in the end, he supposed it worked. After all, he hadn't brought much in the way of clothes on this trip, and certainly no formal wear, and it didn't seem right to get married in uniform. Holding her hands, he said, "You're the first thing I look for in the morning, Jean, and the last thing I want to see at night. There are no words to tell you how sure I am about this... about us..."

Corsair smiled and gave his son a wink, "And, you claim you aren't a poet." Looking to Jean, he said, "You look beautiful. Are we ready to begin?"


“That’s what he always says,” she said with a soft chuckle. “But he always seems to say the right thing.” And answered his question with a nod. “Where? Here? Or on deck?” she asked, looking from father to son.


"On deck, of course," Corsair said, offering Jean his arm, and escorting her up to the deck of his beloved ship. Looking around, nothing had been decorated, except for a few strands of lights, but it didn't matter, because overhead the setting of the sun had tinted the sky a brilliant orange and red and gold, the darkness of night just beginning to show the first few twinkling stars. It made for a dramatic contrast to the deep space view within Jean's gown. "You stand here," the ship's captain ordered, "and Scott, you stand there." Chris smiled, "There, we look almost respectable, don't we?"

Scott met his wife's eyes in that way that was theirs, despite his glasses, despite his inability to ever look at her without the shield between them, or a cuff to seal off what he truly was. She knew he was looking only to her.

Corsair said, "Would you like to speak, Scott?"

"Yes," Scott said, his voice strong, like it always was, even when he didn't truly feel it, "Everything I have to say, Jeannie, you know. You've always known. Last year was monstrous, I was monstrous, and I stand before you now, no way the man I was at our first wedding. I've known such darkness, I've been so lost and alone... but you gave me light, and you found me. I remember like some kind of bad dream what I did to you through the Hand, the bruises on your throat, the mania that possessed me... I can never take those back, but if you'll let me, I can move forward with you, and I can take on any trial, any danger, any impossibility, if you're beside me, if you're mine as much as I am yours." He gently squeezed her hands, "I can be better, I can get better if you're with me. Alone... I don't fare all that well."

Corsair nodded his head, and beamed before turning to Jean, waiting her response.


She returned the squeezing pressure of his hands; his words filling her heart with sorrow and joy at the same time. “Neither of us are those people – young, carefree, innocent, with the unshakeable belief in ourselves and the world. We’ve been tested by the World and lost that shine of innocence of who we were before. You’re path was through darkness, mine was through the pain of being alone, then wading through fire. Through it all, all the pain and lonely days and nights, we learned something – we learned we could survive it and emerge unbroken, still in love and trusting each other. I love you, Scott Christopher Summers. For months during that year, I had to look into a future without you, and I saw nothing, just a dark void empty except loneliness and despair; it’s a future I don’t want to face again.”

“This last year showed us that we can survive anything, and come together stronger.”


Corsair said, "Kids, I don't know how these things are supposed to go. My only wedding was a long long time ago, so probably, I'm not supposed to make a speech, but my boat, my rules. Scott, Jean, you haven't much peace in your life, but no one has. There's never a guarantee that we'll have happiness, but there's never a guarantee of a life full of misery either. When, I look at you two though, and I have hope. I have hope." He looked to his son, "Scott, do you take Jean to be your wife... again?"

"I do, sir," Scott said, his eyes not leaving Jean's. "I do, sir."

Corsair nodded and turned to Jean, "Jean, do you take Scott to be your husband?"


Scott’s eyes were, as always, hidden behind his ruby lenses but she looked into them, as she knew he was doing the same. “I do,” she said, her heart pounding in her chest, the ghost of their first wedding circling her mind, so different than this one. But still beautiful, and perfect, and treasured in her heart.


Smiling, Corsair said, "Then with the power invested in me as the captain of this good ship, The New StarJammer..." The ship let out a trumpeting sound in a pleased response at being recognized, and Chris laughed, "I guess she approves. So, now, I pronounce you husband and wife, now and forever. Life is going to be hard, and there's going to be struggle and strife, but together, I think you'll be able to handle it. I think you know what comes next."

Scott pulled Jean into his arms and kissed her with every bit of passion that was in him.


Throwing her arms around Scott’s neck and leaning into the kiss, she lived in that moment, not brooding over the past or fretting over what heartbreak was in their future. And smiled so broadly and for so long, her cheeks ached, but she couldn’t stop herself. She flicked her hand and from the palm something like a firework soared into the air above them, popped with a crackled and showered the wedding couple in sparkles.

“There’s always fireworks with you,” she whispered into his ear.


Not to be outdone, Scott tilted his head back, and flipped up his glasses, allowing twin beams of scarlet to crease the sky between bursts of her fireworks. Slipping his glasses down, he turned to Jean and kissed her again, "Show off," he whispered against her lips.

Watching the superpowered display, Chris shook his head fondly and whispered to himself, "Hope you saw that, Kath... That's what saved our son..."

Scott, not hearing his father's words, kissed Jean again and then turned to Corsair, offering him his hand, "Thank you, Sir."

Corsair took the offered hand and pulled him in for a hug, "It was my honor, Son."

Scott submitted to the hug and said, softly, "Thanks, Dad."


When Scott stepped back, Jean stepped into her father-in-law’s arms. “Thank you so much. It was beautiful. And… the new beginning that we needed.” Under their feet, the living ship bobbed happily in the water.
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