Girl Talk: 'Gettin' An Ear Full '
Disclaimer: I don't own these people, I just borrowed them from Marvel. This Girl Talk story is owned by me. If you want to put it on your page, please ask me. I HTML my own stuff, even.
Rahne sighed and stretched. Her back was killing her after a week of sleeping on the cold, hard floor with the rest of Excalibur. And she had Nate Gray to thank for it, too.
She rolled her shoulders and smiled, thinking about the right way to thank him for allowing her to sleep in the same room as the rest of the team. Moira's coffee? Too nice. That creep Meggan set her up with last week had a sister. Too mean. Or, as her friend Betty from church would advise, just forget about him and let him suffer by not getting to know her better. Almost right, but it lacked a certain style. Next time she talked to Sam, she would ask him what would be a good payback for destroying a team base, even by accident. After all his time with X-Force, he should have at least five good ideas. Rahne smiled at the thought of talking to her old friend.
Moira had asked her daughter to help her play catch-up in the lab when Kurt had finished the wiring this morning. They had spent twelve hours working on Moira's current line of research, the last four with Douglock's help, and Rahne was close to punch drunk. No wonder, she thought as she yawned, she had only been up since four A.M., since Pete's snoring woke her up, and it was almost eleven.
One more hour, she promised herself. She would focus on the task for an hour and then go to bed, after chasing Moira out of the lab. A low moan, much like someone was hurt, quickly caught her attention. She turned around, this time catching the sound of Kurt's voice and then Kitty calling out Pete's name. No one was in the lab and Dougie and Moira didn't hear any thing out of the ordinary. She turned back to the cell-culture dishes in front of her and tried to focus on her work. She was just too tired.
A moment later, it was a consistent squeak, like someone jumping on the bed, that got her attention. She dropped her pen and motioned for Douglock to come over to where she was working. "Do ye hear anything?" She turned to the intercom system and started to check it out. Kurt wasn't the best at wiring.
At that moment, several voices could be plainly heard. Rahne started to blush as she realized what she was hearing. So that was why everybody had been so eager to go to bed tonight. Doug turned to her and opened his mouth.
Rahne threw up her hand to stop him. "No' a word, no' a sound. Ask them in the morn." She felt her face grow red. "An' donnae be doin' it when A'm around." She opened the intercom box up and tore out the wires. "An' be sure that that gets fixed. A'm gonna go tae bed." Even her fingertips were blushing.
Rahne started towards her bedroom but stopped. She would have to pass Kitty's room first, and she wasn't ready for that. She blushed again and yawned. God help her, the whole incident brought back painful memories of her bond with Alex.
Turning around, she walked outside and decided to pray. God could help her.
"You want to know what!" Brian's mouth dropped open as he turned to Douglock.
"Is said position possible?" Douglock repeated his question as Pete started to laugh. Kitty elbowed him in the ribs while biting her lip. Kurt grinned broadly and Amanda was looking at an interesting spot on the ceiling. Moira, Rahne, and Peter hadn't come down yet.
Meggan asked, "Why- how did you come up with that question?" as a smile danced across her face.
"That's what I heard him suggest last night over the intercom," Douglock told him. Suddenly, Kitty blushed as she realized what had happened. Brian was needed in the lab, Kitty had turned her attention towards the computers, and Pete had been setting up the defense shields, so Kurt had volunteered to handle the task of wiring the intercom system.
Brian looked shocked and then turned to Kurt. "How could you?" It might have been his suggestion that Kurt work on the intercom system, but Brian didn't feel that he was at all responsible for the results.
Kurt looked offended. "I did the best job possible." He had carefully followed the diagram and connected the blue wire where he was told to. Or was it the red one?
Douglock watched as the two exchanged glares. "Friend Rahne looked upset. Was there something about the sounds she heard to upset her?"
Kitty dropped her fork and traded glances with Kurt. "What did she hear?" She remembered how uptight Rahne had been back when she was a New Mutant. There was a time Rahne would blush when asked to get the virgin olive oil down. And the first time she saw a hot dog was a scream.
"She heard everybody talking." Kurt blushed purple, Brian looked at the floor, Amanda and Meggan turned beet red.
Pete looked around the room. "It's not like she hasn't done what we were doin'..." His voice trailed off as Kitty kicked him under the table. "She hasn't?!?"
Kitty shook her head no. "Rahne is a very old-fashioned girl, and a Christian. It means something to her that her husband will be the only one she sleeps with. And the man that raised her took great pains to make sure she was . . . " Kitty's voice trailed off as she tried to think of the right word.
Kurt suggested, "Victorian?" It was hard to find Christian love for the Reverend, a man so filled with hate he didn't appear to know the One he was serving. Even though the two were prayer partners now, Kurt's appearance and faith had been two things that Rahne had been conditioned to hate. He was proud of the way his sister in Christ had grown.
Kitty smiled gratefully at Kurt. "Close enough." The word she had been searching for was closer to frigid. "And after the hell she went though with Alex and that bond..." Her voice trailed off as she made a mental note to fill Pete in on Rahne's history later.
"Somebody needs to talk to her," Meggan suggested as Brian started to sink in his chair.
Kitty stood outside the door to Rahne's room and sighed. This wasn't pleasant. But someone had to talk to her about what had happened, and Kitty knew she was the best one to do it. Face it, she would have never wanted to talk her own mother about this. But among them all -- Brian, the conceited; Meggan, the nature-child; Wisdom, the totally tactless; Amanda, the witch/sorceress; and Kurt, who Rahne probably felt was sinning -- she seemed the logical choice to have this talk with rahne. Unless, of course, Lockheed really did talk...
Cautiously, Kitty knocked on the door. "Go away!" Rahne shouted.
"It's me or Moira," Kitty warned, hoping the bashful girl would choose to talk to her.
<P> She could hear Rahne sigh and hit her pillow. "Come in." Kitty opened the door to find her teammate in the process of getting dressed for church. "Just move me dress and get the lecture over with." Rahne pointed for Kitty to sit on her bed as she fastened her prayer bracelet.
Kitty noticed a dark blue nun-style dress on the bed. "This is what you're wearing?" The shade would clash with Rahne's red hair and it would do nothing for her figure.
"Aye," Rahne said guardedly. Kitty shook her head and reached into Rahne's closet.
"Try this one," she suggested as she pulled out a dress that Moira had picked out for her. The forest green would look great with Rahne's complexion. Rahne politely nodded and slipped that dress on.
"Thank ye," she said. Kitty sat back down on Rahne's bed and looked at her hands. "A'm sorry," Rahne offered.
Kitty wasn't surprised at the apology, but Rahne didn't have anything to feel sorry for. "I'm the one that's sorry. I should have known better than to let Kurt handle the wiring." She smiled ruefully.
Rahne blushed deep red. "But A'm the one that —"
Kitty stopped her. "You heard all of us. Believe me— I don't think we would have been doing what we were doing if we knew we had an audience." Kitty blushed as she remembered the night before. "Trust me!"
"A donnae think we covered this situation in the New Mutants," Rahne started to smile.
"I would have payed good money to see Xavier set this one up--" Kitty fought the urge to laugh. "Or the blush on Sam's face!" Rahne smiled at the thought.
The smile faded as Rahne got out a pair of heels. "Maybe it happened with the Hellions..." Rahne suggested. Kitty giggled at the thought, you never knew with Emma Frost. Rahne returned the giggle.
After a second, Kitty asked, "Is this as awkward for you as it is for me?"
Rahne turned around. "More," she admitted.
Kitty nodded, "I can understand that, what with your background and all..."
Rahne eyes flashed. "A'm teaching me Sunday school class about the importance of sexual purity...." She laughed as she admitted the absurdity of the situation. "And aye, the Reverend's teachin' are another part of why A feel uncomfortable," she continued after a moment.
Kitty touched her fingertips to her forehead. "It's great that you have morals and all..." Kitty's voice trailed off, remembering what she had learned about the time that Rahne had been bond to Alex. "But do you have any ... <I>um</I>... conflicting feelings?"
Rahne had picked up her Bible but then set it down. "The Reverend's only part of the reason A was sae upset," she repeated as she opened her Bible and absent-mindly flipped though its pages. "A've read ‘<I>Song of Songs</I>' enough tae know that sex isn't dirty- it's God's gift tae men and women. And A ken enough that when A give maself tae a man, it will be on my weddin' night."
Kitty smiled. Rahne had really grown up since they had first met and for the first time in a long time, Kitty knew that they could become good friends. "But you think..."
Rahne smiled gently. "A think A cannae judge ye without judging me. What ye do is between ye and God." She sat down on her bed and forced a smile. "A just didn't want tae get a crash course on the birds and the bees."
Kitty relaxed a little. This was going a lot better than she had hoped. "Well. . . any questions?" It was the quickest way to find out what Rahne had heard and dispel any misunderstandings she may have gotten.
The smile became a little less forced as Rahne relaxed a little. She wasn't a total innocent, she had read every book Danielle Steele wrote. Quickly, Rahne looked for an easy answer. Yes, she had questions, but when she got married she'd learn the answers. "No, A donnea think sae."
Kitty raised an eyebrow, "You sure about that?"
"When A git married, A'll git me answers... But the way that's goin' it's gonna be a long time." After a moment, Rahne continued, "A wouldn't be half sae upset if A had a man of me own..." Rahne checked her watch and sighed. There was no way she was going to be on time for her class, but Betty would take over. And if she was going to be late for Sunday School, there was no reason to show up for the service.
Kitty misinterpreted that sigh. "Your dating life that bad?" Rahne nodded, ruefully. Kitty started mentally ticking off the single men she knew. Something about Rahne screamed "match-make-me." It was hard to imagine setting up Rahne with any of Pete's friends. And honestly, of the men on the various X teams, there were maybe three men she could see Rahne happy dating. Jubilee would kill her if she set her up on a date with Ev, who was too young. Rahne's and Rictor's time had passed, so that left one person. "Sam!" she squealed, only to watch Rahne turn pink.
Rahne tried to hide her blush. Her feelings for Sam were so special they did not deserve to be discussed in this conversation. Besides, after the earful she had gotten last night, it would be a long time before she could imagine her and Sam doing something as chaste as kissing. "After what A heard from Brian's and Meggan's room last night- no' a chance!" The words tumbled out before she had a chance to stop them. Her blush deepened.
Kitty leaned forward and smiled. This was good gossip, even if part of her was mortified. "What did you hear?"
Rahne covered her face with her hands and sighed. She knew this was supposed to be totally embarrassing, but it was also a little . . . fun. It had been eons since she had the chance to talk openly and honestly with a female of her age. "All I really hear you and Pete say was ‘A think A see a puddy cat' and some sounds."
Kitty quickly covered that one with a half truth. "I bought him some Loony Tunes underwear." Thank goodness Rahne was choosing to misunderstand what she heard.
"Kurt and Amanda - A heard talk of his . . . tail." Kitty blushed along with Rahne. She had never wanted to know that detail.
"Do you want me to explain that one?" Kitty leaned back and enjoyed the chance to clarify something to her friend.
Rahne shook her head, "Nay, A've spent too long on me knees gittin' me feelings about sex and men proper." Kitty chuckled at the unintended double entendre. Rahne looked puzzled and then nodded. "Kindof..," she admitted. "But A donnae want ta know, ye know?"
Kitty smiled at her. She knew Rahne couldn't be as pure- minded as she seemed. "And what did you hear from Brian and Meggan?" Rahne blushed and whispered it to Kitty. Kitty felt her ears turn pink. Evidently, Brian had picked up a few ideas from his time with the Hellfire club.
After a moment, Kitty tried to speak. "I didn't want to know that!" she finally managed to say. There were things she would have to ask Pete about in what Rahne just told her. And Pete would be happy to give the answers, if only to know that Brian wasn't the stuffed shirt he seemed to be.
Rahne smiled at her, "A dinnea either." Suddenly, she started laughing. "A'm glad ye came tae talk tae me though. A couldn't imagine talking this over with me mum, or Dani, or Guido, or-" Rahne blushed again, "Sam."
Kitty gladly returned to the easier topic. "You really like him, don't you?"
"Aye, but there's nothin' cannae be done about it. A've liked him for a long time, but all he sees me as is his friend." Rahne slumped against the back of her bed and sighed.
Kitty's mind started racing. If she called Jubilee and had Jubilee find out from Paige how Sam felt about Rahne, then she might just be able to set Rahne up on a good date. "Don't be too sure of that now." she whispered softly, while smiling at the junior high idea.
Rahne turned to Kitty and laughed. "A never imagined us havin' this talk!" If one good thing had come of this whole situation, it was that she and Kitty had become better friends.
"We couldn't have back when we were younger," Kitty acknowledged. "We were in two different worlds then. I was more interested in doing the adult thing and the other girls were more into ‘who has the cutest butt?'" Rahne laughed, remembering the great debate that had threatened to tear the girls apart. "Who won, by the way?"
Rahne smiled as she answered. "We could never settle on one, so we made categories. Kirk Cameron, George Micheal, Tom Cruise, Kurt, and Dougie."
Kitty laughed. "Doug did have a cute one," she said as she remembered her friend. She shot Rahne an amused look and to her delight, Rahne nodded.
"Hey!" Rahne protested, "Ye were just his friend." It was nice to remember Doug with laughter instead of tears.
Kitty pulled Rahne off the bed and shoved a pair of jeans and t-shirt in her hand. "A cute butt is a terrible thing to waste, Furtop." Rahne held up the clothes inquiringly, "Pete suggested that I take you away for a bit, until they get the wiring fixed. Now get dressed and let's go shopping, since you're not going to church. Brian gave us a lot of money." Rahne smiled and started to change.
Kitty floated out of the room and made a quick stop to check some details with Pete. Once armed with the information to answer any and all questions Rahne could ask, she pulled her Porsche around. Today she was going to spend time with her new friend.