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Two hours of sleep this time. With Gabe possibly asleep as well, and Logan out on the town, the cabin nearly shook like an earthquake due to nightmares. The little girl that they rescued laid in a field of rubble, and Jean saw herself snap. Fire.. death.. people running. A full blown apocalypse by her own hand.
It was the breaking of a glass that woke her with a start, the first tendrils of fire licking at her face as she begins to smack herself free. She was hot, sweaty, and through the burst of the front door she reaches outside, the cool air calming her senses. With nothing but a tank-top and some cute heart pajama pants, she drags herself over towards her favorite tree stump, flopping down to bury her face within her hands.
*
As he slept, Gabriel began to feel more alive. What he did not know was that as Jean's nightmares brought forth her energy, he was absorbing it within his sleep; feeding his power and body with new found energy levels. The noise and her bursting out brought him from his slumber and he sat upright, freshened. Being as well a light sleeper and one that did not even sleep that much it was no surprise that her movement caught his attention.
His eyes looked over to the open door and realizing that Jean had fled out in the middle of the night he pushes himself up off his mat on the floor and starts out after her with calm steps. Even though it was night, it felt fresh and bright to him, vibrant.
"Jean?" He asks, concern in his voice as he walks to her. The cold of night feeling like nothing against his skin, which was heavily exposed due to only wearing a pair of shorts. "Is everything alright?" The question sounds so.. Gabriel.. To bad his eyes are glowing purple as he asks it, otherwise it would be completely normal.
*
She draws in a breath, letting out a long blow of air in a deep shudder, her shoulders bobbing as she quietly sobs into her hands. She barely even heard Gabriel over her own crying, but his voice rings through the fog which has her immediately tugging up the neck of her shirt to wipe away at her face. "Ye..yeah.." She stammers out, trying to hide the fact that she was troubled, fixing her hair a little as she stands to turn and face him.
But what she sees draws out a shock, his purple eyes.. the way they glow in the half light, her own widen in a bit of shock as she takes a step back. Was this a nightmare? "G..gabriel.. your eyes.. they're .. am I dreaming?"
*
A dream? He looks confused and reaches down, touching his arm and then his chest before Gabriel shakes his head. "I do not think it is a dream. I feel awake. What about my eyes?" So it is clear he doesn't know. Looking around he attempts to see if there's something behind him or to determine why Jean is acting the way she is. Finding nothing he looks back to her as the color remains but does begin to dim some. "Is everything ok?"
*
Jean takes a slow step forward, her eyes lowering a bit, her head tilting ever so slightly. "You want to see?" She asks quietly, her hand slowly reaching out to lightly touch along his cheekbone..
That little connection allows him a peek inside of HER mind instead of his. The way he stood there just a mere seconds ago, his eyes a-glow… even now, his eyes still carried that dim.
"I'm.. I'm fine but you.." She stammers out, a little smile curling her lips. "I was right. You're not human. Not fully. I think you're a mutant, Gabe.."
*
Seeing himself through her eyes causes a bit of a shock, not enough that he jumps away but certainly enough that his brow furrows. "But… I don't have any abilities like the rest of you do." For example, like sharing one's mind with him. He shakes his head a bit and looks around, not quite wild; he's past that phase and is rather calm while glancing about in the middle of the night at the forest then going back to Jean. "You ran out of the Cabin." Yes, quick, change the topic.
*
"We're all different.." Jean states, preparing to explain. "I.." She lifts her hand, focusing upon it for a moment.. the leaves around the area gather and float into her hand. And then, she allows the flame to ignite the leaflets, which were soon tossed to the ground. "Others can do more.. others look different.. I think you're one of us. Why are your eyes glowing, if you weren't.."
Though, as he changes the subject, her bottom lip begins to tremble. "I.. I had a nightmare.. it was bad. I .. felt the cabin move.. I didn't want to hurt you."
*
"You should not be afraid of hurting me. If you run when you are frightened away from me, then how will I be there for you?" Gabriel asks it, believing his own logic to be rather sound. Plus it keeps him from thinking about the possibilities that his eyes are glowing, what that might mean. It is something he might look into later. "You would not want me running away if I saw myself in a mirror, my eyes like this. You would want to be with me to help figure out what was happening? Even if it could hurt you?"
*
She frowns a little. "Gabriel.. I can't help it. I want to protect you. And I'm not going far.." She almost felt like she was being scolded, even though she knew she wasn't. "No, I wouldn't want you to run away, but this is different.." She states quietly, turning away from him to return to her perch.
"I.." How could she say she doesn't care about herself much more than she does the others? It sounds horrible! "I'll never let you go through anything alone as long as I'm around. But with me? I'll burn you. There.. there is something inside of me that'll shred you to pieces. Eat your soul. Burn the world.. I don't know. But she's there. I can't and won't let her do anything to anyone i care about. And that includes you."
*
He steps forward to kneel at her perch, hands reaching out, one to take one of Jean's, the other to reach for her cheek unless she pulls away. "I don't care." Gabriel whispers to her. "I don't care if there is something inside you that would burn me alive, eat my soul, whatever it is. I don't care." The look in his eyes communicates more than his limited words can.
*
She keeps her eyes away from him as he kneels, ashamed of her power and the lack of know how to properly use it. All of it, all of the things she could do, she just -didn't- know how to do it. As he takes her hand, and rests his palm upon her cheek, she glances up to look into the dim glow of his eyes, a little frown touching upon her lips.
"But I care.." She says quietly, her eyes drawing shut for the slightest of moments, opening to allow the ring of fire to line her eyes. "..doesn't that matter?"
*
"Yes it matters. It matters very much. But it can't be fear to cause us to run away. At least, not from me, ok?" He pauses, Gabriel knows what he feels, isn't certain how to translate it so just gives up and follows what seems to work when one's mind doesn't communicate it well. Instincts.
His voice quiets to a bare whisper, her eyes are flaming at him and he doesn't seem phased. Instead that bare whisper forces him to lean closer. "Everything about you matters." Then he leans forward to kiss her, to show that he is not afraid. It is as if he is pulled instinctively… to the power she is emenating.
*
She was already tired. But the feeling was slowly growing. It was almost as if she didn't have a voice in the moment to speak. Even as he leans in to kiss her, she dives into it, her fingers grasping against his bare shoulders, her lips working against his own as fire slowly beginning to line her own bare shoulders. But it was a light that was once bright, slowly dimming.
*
The flames and fires over her shoulders are brushed by his hand, gently soothing them as it leaves her cheek with no effect that he shows to the touch. For long moments Gabriel lingers the kiss before he pulls away to whisper. "I did not know about the electricity thing at the store. I got shocked. It did not hurt me, but made me feel better." He's suspected something was different, but couldn't face it. "You shouldn't worry about me, I think. Not like that… Should we go back inside? Try to get more sleep?"
*
He was safe from her! He actually touched her and didn't burn! The soft whisper was barely heard as he breaks the kiss, her body falling limp against his chest, shivering briefly as she sucks in a breath. She shouldn't worry. She doesn't have to worry. But right now, she was too drained to care.
"Yes.. I'm so tired.." She says quietly, her arms attempting to curl around his neck. "Pick me up.. please?"
*
Slowly he rises, bending some to scoop Jean up… Ugh, Gabriel needs to learn to lift and not do it with his back, but it was tough in that posture. Once he's up however, he cradles the smaller woman in his arms, slung between them and starts to carry her back towards the Cabin. "No more running?" He asks it quietly to her before adding, "At least.. not without bringing me with?"
*
Her arms bunch against herself as he picks her up, her body still a slight shiver as she hitches her breath repeatedly. Wanting to cry but lacking the need to even hold herself against him. She lets him do all of the work!
"I promise.. where you go, I go.." She says quietly, her eyes closing. "If I run, we run."
*
Figuring this is what the future holds, him doing all the work and Jean just laying there, Gabriel carries her back to the Cabin to get her settled in comfortably and restfully as he can manage. A long night most likely ahead to ensure she rests and recovers after the nightmare, the revelations, and the future chaos.
*