[OPEN POST] vivaaaaa las vegas

[kickasstelekine.livejournal.com]

Characters: Julian Keller, you!
Setting: Your dorm room door.
Content: Look this is the start of an epic vacation. Get in line.
Status: Open and incomplete.
Thread-jacking: JACK AWAY.
NOTE: Those tagged are the doors he's knocking on. If your character is not tagged, you're free to throw them in the mix another way.


[Sometimes... Julian is impulsive, rash, and just plain extravagant for the sake of being extravagant. This doesn't necessarily explain why he's knocking on your door, but it's about to.]

Comments

[canstillkickass.livejournal.com]

Touch? Make love? Be a normal couple? [There's a great deal more than just a touch of emotion in Rogue's voice. Some of it's tension, some of it's irritation, some of it's anger, and a lot of it is self loathing. She grits her teeth for a moment, hands curling into fists for a brief moment before flattening against her thighs.] Yeah. I know.

[kickasstelekine.livejournal.com]

[His gaze lifts to find hers at the sound of her reply. His expression is quiet, unassuming, but his jaw is tight. Each one of her words feel like the memory of blow - what's more present to him is the look in her eyes, the tenor of her voice.]

Don't say it like that. [The words are firm, even agitated.]

[canstillkickass.livejournal.com]

There's another way to say it? [The words are sharp but the anger within them isn't directed at him. It never is when this particular issue comes up.]

[kickasstelekine.livejournal.com]

[He never thinks that anger is directed at him, but sometimes he wishes it was. He holds her gaze unflinchingly, his fingers flexing in and out of a fist. Sometimes he wishes it was so he could own some of the blame and loathing in her voice.]

Yeah, you could say it like it's not your fault.

[canstillkickass.livejournal.com]

My mutation, my fault.

[Some of the blame and loathing has been reined in favour of a more matter-of-fact tone but it's still there. She can't hold his gaze anymore and drops it to the floor for a moment before shifting it to some random point to the side.]

[kickasstelekine.livejournal.com]

[He's a little angry too now, but not at her. Not really. His breath shakes on an exhale, something switches in him at how she looks away, doesn't want to face him.

He closes the space between, reaches down to gently grab her fingers.]

Your mutation does not make it your fault. It's no one's fault. You didn't choose this, so don't act like you did.

[canstillkickass.livejournal.com]

[The touch draws her eyes back up to his and she gives a resigned little sigh.] But that doesn't change anything, Julian. It doesn't matter if I blame myself or not, the problem's still the same.

[kickasstelekine.livejournal.com]

It matters. It matters to me. [He squeezes her hand, holds it against his chest, the look in his eyes reassuring and pleading and determined all at once.] If you think that doesn't change things, you're kidding yourself. You can't blame yourself for what's happening here. I won't let you.

[canstillkickass.livejournal.com]

[She shakes her head a little, pushing away her frustration with his insisting words.] It doesn't matter. Look, can we not talk about this? [The 'this' is very deliberate and a punctuated with a squeeze of his hand.]

[kickasstelekine.livejournal.com]

[Her plea makes him pause, along with the squeeze of her hand. It does matter; of course it matters, but he hears her. This is not the whole problem. Just some piece of it.

He looks down at her relentingly, keeps ahold of her hand as he quietly acquiesces to her question, and sits down besides her. His body is angled towards her; one of his knees presses against hers. He looks down at their folded hands, trying to for the right words.]

We are a normal couple. We just can't-

[canstillkickass.livejournal.com]

[Rogue just gives him a look, cutting off any more words that might follow those. It's a moment before she says anything, her tone has a hint of bitter amusement in it.] Normal? We're mutants, we're X-men, and we can't actually touch. I think we can just take the word 'normal' out of the equation, sugah.

[kickasstelekine.livejournal.com]

[A breath leaves him: it's a resigned, frustrated sigh. Fine, she's right.] Whatever, so we're not normal. We're not just some regular homo sapiens living our boring lives and getting our rocks off. I've never been normal, sweetheart. I don't want to be normal. And I want you, whether I can touch you or not.

[canstillkickass.livejournal.com]

But I want to.

[Her voice is small, void of its previous bite, and her eyes drop to their entwined hands as well.] And I want to be with you too. You were right before. This... this has all just gotten so much harder lately.

[kickasstelekine.livejournal.com]

[He hates hearing her say the words - because it hurts him. It hurts that he can't give her this. Give her what she wants. Give her normal.

His eyes close for a brief few seconds; he lets out a heavy, short breath. His voice is low, soft, rough.]

I know. We need to... figure something out.

[canstillkickass.livejournal.com]

[Rogue nods, trying to force some of the tension out of her body. She doesn't mean to take out her anger on him, doesn't mean to hurt him unintentionally. There's a moment before she manages a brief half smile and shrugs.]

Well, I'm open to ideas. The last time I tried... it didn't exactly go real well.

[kickasstelekine.livejournal.com]

[He looks up to manage a smile back at her - but it's still a sad one. There aren't many options for her - for them, not that he can think of so far. And he's been thinking.

He reaches for her, threads his fingers through her hair, leans in to brush his lips softly against hers. And then pulls his hand back and looks down, partly because he can't keep kissing her but mostly because he wants to. He rests his hand on her thigh instead.]

Look, we both knew this wasn't going to be easy. But short of bribing Forge and blindsiding Miss Frost, I don't know what we can do besides live with it for now.