InsaneJournal

I’m thinking we may need some coffee and a civilised conversation.
Who: Jean and Emma
What: Mutual shared dreams of Scott cheating with Emma. Uh oh.
when: Early June
Status: complete
Rating: Pg-13



Emma would be the first one to admit that her dream self had some glaring similarities to her own self, and maybe that came down to the fact that she was herself in each sense, just with the differences the dream world concotted. Not that she could hold any of her own ambition against herself, it was a driving force of her personality.

Still, she’d never pictured herself as homewrecker.

She might’ve been a paid whore at one point in her life, but that wasn’t her sneaking around, she was providing a service. This was just a little bit different, and Emma was a little disappointed in herself. Yes, she was used to taking what she wanted. She hadn’t expected that would extended to married men.

And Scott Summers? Really?

Didn’t she have better taste than that? Then again, how much was her actual desire for Scott and how much was it just her attempts to stick it to Jean, since it did seem dream-Emma wasn’t entirely sure just how much of her envy was jealous of what Jean had and what was jealous of what Jean was.

It didn’t really help that she was dating, and somewhat besotted with, Jean in the waking world. She had to wonder just how much of it all Jean knew herself.

“Jean, darling, are you awake?”

Fury. Fury would describe what Jean felt. Just because it was a mental state didn’t mean it wasn’t cheating. She hadn’t liked to be faced with the very real evidence that the relationship she’d worked so hard to build had been broken. In calmer moments she’d blame all three of them, herself included. But this wasn’t calm moment. She woke, her mind all but on fire and telepathic anger rolling off of her in waves. And if she’d been trying to ignore the Phoenix as it grew louder and louder in her mind, it was obvious that ignorance was a lost cause. Really, it was lucky it wasn’t a stronger influence or that fire might have been real.

”What do you think?!”

Taking that to mean that Jean was around the same place she was. Fabulous.

“I’m thinking we may need some coffee and a civilised conversation.” Curse those girls and their deviously perfect little minds. But with how Jean was clued in to her affair with Scott and just what came from it all, she doubted they should do this without at least being able to see one another.

And the mindscape might be just a little more dangerous with Jean’s understandable ire.


Trying to force herself to calm down, Jean acknowledged Emma’s suggestion then cut off the mental conversation. First, a shower to make her skin stop crawling (which was odd, since she’d been having great difficulty not giving into Emma’s charms lately), and then the coffee. Coffee would help her not do anything rash. Like murder. Which wasn’t fair and she knew it, but her dream anger was hard to let go.

She showered quickly, dressed, and came into the kitchen. “Coffee first.”

It seemed like a reasonable idea. They were both fairly volatile women, and it was an entirely volatile situation -she was having an affair with her girlfriends husband, how very Jerry Springer. But, cooler heads and everything. Emma left Jean to her solitude for her shower, pottering around in her kitchen to ensure the coffee was brewing and nibbling on some granola while she waited.

“The pot has just finished.” Since Emma was favouring some tea this morning instead of the caffeine hit. She didn’t need additional stimuli right then. “Inappropriate to offer to make it Irish?”

Jean sighed. Alcohol was tempting but she was also sure that was a Bad Idea right now, so she shook her head as she made her way over to the coffee machine. The shower had helped a little and she felt marginally calmer. But she had to ask. “Tell me you didn’t set out to seduce Scott?”

It would be nice if Emma could say it just happened, really. It would. But she was aware that things like that didn’t just happen. No, she wasn’t entirely at fault, if Scott and Jean were truly happy then she never would’ve succeeded in ensnaring Scott in her womanly wiles. However, it didn’t exactly absolve her actions either.

“I don’t think so.” And that was being honest, wasn’t it. She’d never set out with the intentions of luring Scott Bloody Summers to her bed, physically or otherwise. “I think circumstances just made it an acceptable action to my jealous and greedy mindset.” She was hurt and missing Sophie, and Scott was available and just as broken at the time.

That was….fair enough. Emma was the farthest thing from a saint and Jean had gone into the relationship knowing that. It didn’t absolve her or make Jean’s hurt any less real. “You were genuinely lucky I didn’t kill you.” She’d wanted to, in the dreams, she’d wanted to turn Emma into a lifeless vegetable. Scott too. “Or him.”

She’d wanted Scott to be happy, and the realization, the hard truth laid bare before her by Emma was that she wasn’t able to do that - and that he couldn’t make her happy either. How come her heart was breaking over a man she didn’t know? It wasn’t fair.

Emma just sighed while leaning forward on the counter to attempt to halt the building migraine. Being a telepath didn’t exactly help those. “Yes well, I think that was part of it.” Was it? Emma riling Jean to the point of ensnaring her husband to do what? Prove a point? That Jean wasn’t as perfect as everyone thought? To show all the others that their precious, sacred Jean Grey was just as fallible as the rest of them?

Foolish really, and rather pointless, Emma did hope she wouldn’t orchestrate her own death just to prove a point about a woman she just could not seem to stop envying. “She doesn’t like being second, hell, I’m not overly fond of it, but then not everything in our lives is a competition. Ridiculous as it was, she was proving a point. Although I do believe genuine feelings weren’t what she expected.”

Was it right to talk about them as if they were separate people? Emma understood just why she’d focus on Scott. For his flaws, he had a good heart, he was stubborn and opinionated, perhaps too sanctimonious, but at his core, he was something of an enigma. A man living in their world, facing those bigots and the ignorance and hate they dealt with, but still managing to remain somewhat hopeful for the human race. “I am sorry, Jean.” Not that it changed much.

It didn’t change what had happened, and it didn’t really make it any better, but there was sincerity in Emma’s words. Jean felt a little heartbroken at the admission of feelings, though whether that stemmed from her stealing Scott or from their own relationship here she couldn’t quite tell. She sank into a chair and rested her face in her hands. “All the evil stuff you’ve done and this is the thing that gives me a moment’s pause.”

It felt so selfish, but Jean reasoned that Emma had been trying to do good, or at least less bad. So maybe this just hurt more because of that. She looked up at her. “That was there, and this is here.” and maybe given a little bit more time she’d forgive Emma. And who was she kidding, she probably would. “Lets just promise not to let any one come between us. And talk if things get…. Bad.”

“I suppose husband stealing is slightly more personal than attempting to rule the mutant population with a narcissistic asshole.” Because when you came down to it, the X-Men were probably always sure they could unravel Shaw’s plans simply because his ego made it entirely possible. Not that she doubted them in any way now.

“I can honestly say, here I have absolutely no designs on any of your ex’s.” Although she did understand that the feelings were hard to compartmentalise. Often times she found herself scoffing at just how difficult it was to remember not to let the jealousy build here. She wouldn’t let her dream-insecurities meddle with her feelings for Jean. Not in the waking world. “But I do agree, about the talking. Should we be saddled with yet more of this nonsense.” Presumably that was what caused the breakdown between Scott and Jean, at least when they’d once been so close that the connection between them was practically a physical cord from their minds. Hiding from that, closing it, she couldn’t see that doing either of them any good.

And she was not looking to make those mistakes here.

“One of those exes is Logan, I’m sure neither of you want that,” Jean joked. It would be okay. She’d make it okay. She wasn’t going to let her dreams ruin something good. Even if at times she felt like there was a sword over her head and she was going to die any moment. “We’ve seen what...keeping things hidden can lead to. We don’t have to repeat that.”

Emma just scoffed again, turning to lean on the counter with her arms crossed. “Butting heads with the Wolverine is more interesting than anything else. Besides, he’s a bit too hairy for my tastes.” Mostly the truth, but in reality, Emma had no designs on the one man who, in her dreams, never really judged her past. She supposed if anyone could understand it was the Wolverine.

“Jean I have no intentions of letting my petty jealousy endanger this. I care far too much for you.”

“Okay,” Jean said. She had to swallow her pride, which was hard enough. Now that she had some coffee in her, she could think a little more clearly. She got up and approached Emma. “...hug it out?” And maybe a kiss, to remind herself of what she had.

Okay. Emma could take that okay, for now. She didn’t mind taking steps to make sure that Jean understood how serious she was about this. “I dare say we could manage that.” Emma moved to slide her hand over Jean’s wrist, stepping closer to the redhead with a smirk. They could hug it out, with a few wandering hands in the process.

Maybe more than a few. Jean was feeling possessive, but there was the question of if making such a move in their relationship was at all appropriate at this juncture. And there was also the question of if she actually cared. They’d flirted and pushed the boundaries so much already, and the dreams had shown her that she and Emma were forever at odds. If not now then soon. She deepened the kiss and held her closer.

In the dreams there was the constant urge to fight Jean, to push and do better, show off, prove she was better. Here, it was less about putting Jean down, and the urge was rarely to fight. With Jean putting their little spat aside, Emma wrapped her arms around Jean’s waist, hands settling rather possessively on her rear while she allowed Jean to dictate the kiss, just for now, since she was the one seemingly needing to make a point right then.

Her anger and hurt fueled her desire and her need, but she still didn’t quite push things any harder than she was already. She wasn’t angry at Emma while awake, or at least that's what she kept telling herself. “I wish the dreams would leave us alone.”

Leaning their foreheads together, Emma gave a soft smile, “It would be nice, wouldn’t it. Some peace.” Although Emma was sure that the dreams only stopped when you died in the other world, which would make sense, since that would be the end to your existence there, nothing more to see, move along. She wasn’t sure how keen she was on that idea all things considered.

But the uncertainty of things was such a pain in the butt. “Alas, I don’t think that’s on the cards for us just yet.”

“Probably not. At least … At least I hope we can eventually be friends there. I don’t really see that happening. In that case I’d at least be willing to see Scott happy.” Which wasn’t really fair to herself but who was counting? Jean always put everyone else first, and that was something that was unlikely to ever change.

Emma wanted to point out that it wasn’t like Jean was happy herself, if Scott had made her happy the breaks wouldn’t be there, and that Jean deserved to be just as happy as anyone else. Maybe that was with Scott and they’d find their ways back to each other, or maybe it was with someone else, it wasn’t like there was a shortage of people infatuated with Jean Grey -Angel held a torch for the woman almost as badly as Logan did. But still, it wasn’t the time. “Maybe, eventually. Perhaps one day we bury the hatchet,” and not in one another’s back. “But, I think I’ll take all I can get here and now.”

Jean smiled, a fragile, hopeful expression. She took Emma’s hand, squeezing it and nodding. “I know where we stand here, at least. I won’t let this poison us.”