Corazon is not just a girl. She's Spider-girl. (beat_and_break) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2013-09-28 18:59:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | !complete, anya corazon (spider-girl), nathan summers (cable) |
WHO: Nate, Cora
WHAT: Avoiding people
WHEN: During the Kryptonite plot
WHERE: On board Graymalkin
WARNINGS: n/a
Nate smiled as he sat in the monitor womb in Graymalkin, a room no one else had thus far seen. It was new, and he was glad to have it.
He settled back and dialed Cora’s number. He hoped she was willing to come up.
“Hello, this is Cora.”
“Hello, sexybutt. How’re you doing?” His smile reached his cheekbones and he chuckled as he lay back, chair swiveling as he did so, to let him recline fully.
The happy sound of his voice made Cora smile, too, and she hugged herself, sending that feeling into their link. “I’m okay. Missing you a little less, now.”
“Good. How would you like to miss me a lot less, and come up to Graymalkin? I was thinking and realized that it would be a lot easier for you to shut out lots of minds if you were removed from them by several thousand miles…”
Nate grinned to himself, wishing he could send more, despite his stupid malfunctioning powers, but his love was strong in his mind and he hoped she felt it.
“Yes!” She tried not to shriek into the phone, or into Nate’s head, but she couldn’t help it. She was part nine-year-old, part sixteen, and life was intensely emotional. At least today was a happy day. “Right now? I’ll tell mom. What do I need to bring?”
Nate laughed and then grinned. “Whenever you are ready. And anything you want. A change of clothing or two, if you want to stay overnight. You can come to work with me tomorrow and stay in the white room, a shielded room, or stay here and Professor will keep you company then, or even head back down.”
He blushed as he grinned. “Professor finally finished your room.”
“I get my own room on your space station?” Cora was fairly bouncing up and down. “Can I see it?” Maybe it was a silly question. “Five minutes. I can be ready in five minutes.”
“Well, yeah. I mean. it’s where I live when I am not with my parents. Would I live here and not have a room for you?”
He grinned at her. “Of course you can. It’s where you can sleep if we don’t hang out in the movie room and fall asleep there watching things.”
“Tell them I said hi and about the room. And use your comlink when you’re ready, Professor will bring you up.”
“Okay.” She bid him see-you-soon, and went to talk to her mother, and then stuff a few things in her backpack, just in case. Five minutes later, she called back on her comlink ready to beam up.
Professor politely answered and a moment later, she shimmered into being on the observation deck. Nate grinned as he stepped forward. “Hello, beautiful.”
Cora smiled, and bounced toward Nate, as if she were ready to leap into his arms. “Hey.” She knew things were weird for him, with his powers acting all goofy, but that didn’t change how she felt. Or how he felt, as far as she could tell. “How are you?”
He slid his arms around her and kissed her forehead. “I am doing awesome! Better now that you are here.” He smiled widely, and hugged her, this woman he loved. She was amazing.
“Good.” She hugged him, breathing deeply, and sighing softly. She didn’t mind hearing Nate’s thoughts. She was kind of used to him sharing with her, and she hoped they could get things straightened out again so they could do the telepathy thing properly. But it would be all right, either way. “So what’s new?”
His warmth and love were flowing if it was working, and he smiled to her. “Oh you know, working on helping the sick, helping mom from talking on the net while on meds, and generally making the days brighter with thoughts of you.”
“Did you figure out what’s making people sick?” she asked, “Is there anything I can do?” She was always eager to help.
“Yes. It’s Kryptonite. Some forms of it fell to Earth and were changed by the OC. Now they affect everyone and even when they are not in proximity to it.” The Agency knew and was collecting it, and all would be well.
He smiled to her, and hugged her again, then led the way out into the hall and down one way. “How’re you and your family doing?”
“Crazy.” But it made a crazy kind of sense. It had all started when she’d found that pretty, pinkish rock in her sandbox. She was just glad it only played tricks with their powers, instead of making them sick. And she was both relieved and a little disappointed that it would all be over soon.
“We’re okay,” she said, “We make Charlie Brown Teacher noises in our heads, and laugh a lot. I unplugged all the small appliances in case I mess up their powers, too. Everything seems to be okay.” She smiled. “I can understand Mouse and Mister when they talk, again.”
“Good. That’s a good thing.” He hugged her as he led the way, and then he was standing before a doorway. “Next door there? That’s my room. And this one… He produced a key for her, “this one is yours…”
And it opened smoothly, revealing a room with a great similarity to her room at home, but bigger, with a bathroom of her own off of it, and space for more things. The bed was larger, and there was a magical picture of her house, and of the Earth, and of space, on different walls. Other ways, it was, in many ways, almost identical to her room at home. “I wanted to make it as comfortable as possible.”
Cora smiled as the room was revealed, and she drank it all in. It was familiar enough that Nate’s efforts to make it feel like her room did not go unnoticed, and yet different enough that it felt new at the same time. She spun around, once, and then threw her arms around Nate’s middle, hugging him tight. “It’s great. Thank you!”
Nate laughed and hugged her tight, grinning as he snuggled her close. “All yours! And you’re welcome!” He was glad she liked it, that it suited her. She was the one person in all the world he wanted happy.
I’m always happy with you, she thought, answering the unspoken feeling that she felt from him. She couldn’t think of one time that he’d ever done anything to make her unhappy. She supposed they would eventually disagree on something, sooner or later, but she didn’t think that she would ever love him any less.
He smiled softly. loving and warm toward her, eyes alight with happiness. Somehow, she dispelled all the bad things. “Love you.” And with the shields up, and only Neena and Thomas here, sometimes, and no one else, he was sure she would have an easier time here.
Cora smiled up at Nate or a moment, then pulled him down to kiss his cheek. Surely that was something she could safely do, when no one was around but friends and family. “I love you, too.”
Nate blushed and nodded to her. “And as long as that’s true, we’ve got a good thing going here.” He grinned wider. “Wanna see the swimming pool?”
He had been working to make Greymalkin as fully featured as possible while he had the time.
“There’s a pool?” Cora grinned. “Is there anything it doesn’t have? Now that I’m here.” She giggled. Flirting a little? Maybe. Trying. Just to see how it felt.
“With a jacuzzi, a sauna, and a bouncy room.:” He smiled at her. “Now that you’re here? This place is perfect.” A shy grin, color in his cheeks. Flirting back? Youbetcha.
“Should I change?” she asked, “I have a suit in my bag. If you have time for a pool break.”
“Definitely. I have all the time in the world for you, maybe more.” He grinned at her. “I’ll change into my suit, and meet you in the hall?” He smirked and kissed her hair, then headed for the door.
“Okay,” she said, setting her backpack down, and opening it up to fish out her swimsuit. She was glad she’d thought to put it in, even if she hadn’t really known she’d need it. “See you soon!”
Nate grinned and retreated to his room, dressing in his one piece quickly, and then was outside, in his flipflops and suit with a couple of large towels, waiting.
Cora's suit was the same, modest one piece that she'd worn to the beach party in June, but this time there was no sundress over it. She tried not to worry about how she looked, but her cheeks were pink in spite of herself. Nate already knew exactly how she looked, with or without the bathing suit. And she knew how he looked, too.
Nathan turned when she came out. And he shivered. He had known what she looked like, yes, from when he was in that body, but it still… this was the woman he loved, even if he kept the physical side in check most of the time, sometimes, the fact that he liked that side too shone out. He quickly shuttered those eyes and held out his hand. “Shall we?”
He smiled to her.
She took his hand, and nodded, trying not to think about what he'd look like wet, with his suit even more clingy. She was becoming more and more aware of that side of things, but she still wasn't ready to dive in yet. But maybe she could dip her toes in just a tiny bit.
Down the hall and around a corner or two, he walked with her, and let himself just feel her warmth, and her care. “Wanna watch a movie after this? Popcorn and the works?” Greymalkin had a real theater in it, full sized, and he wondered how she would reach to that.
“Okay,” she said, “Sure!” She was happy just to spend time with Nate, whatever they did. And it was exciting to explore new parts of the space station that she hadn’t gotten to see yet back when they were searching for his mom. “Whatever you wanna do.”
Nate smiled to her and opened a door, grinning as a pool was revealed, one with warm water and rails around the side, and places to lay down near it. “There are lockers and showers through that door.” he pointed one out. Someday, he would show her all of this place. Someday.
He dove in and grinned, waving at her. “Come on in!” Today was a good day, and one he would be glad to spend with her.
Cora sat down on the edge, and dangled her feet into the pool, then pushed off and jumped in. She sank down until she was submerged, then popped up, shaking water from her hair. And swam after him.
Nate popped up, grinning and hugged her, then lazily swam along next to her. “Hey you. I’m glad you’re here, you know that?” He nodded.
“Me too,” she said, rubbing up against him a little as she swam. He made everything look so easy. At least, in the water, she felt light and graceful. Hopefully, someday soon, she’d feel that graceful again in her own skin. Spider-sense and all.
He stroked her back and her hair and smiled, swimming. Somehow, they connected, even walking a fine line to not cross things yet. And somehow… he was willing to wait. For her. He knew she loved him, and he loved her. Everything else could wait.