Tis the Season

Posted on Thu Apr 24th, 2025 @ 5:07pm by Scott Summers & Jean Grey

50,935 words; about a 255 minute read

Mission: Episode 6: X-Fernus Agenda
Location: Baxter Building
Timeline: December 25th, 1990

“You have to wake up,” Jean murmured through the kiss she used to rouse Scott with. She hugged him and pressed herself into him until the crush of her body against his was almost uncomfortable. That is until Scott could feel the fullness of her breasts and the gentle sweep of her hips as they smashed against him. “Because it’s Christmas and I don’t want to wait to open presents.”

Whatever Scott had been dreaming was wiped from his mind, reality being far more preferable to his unconscious state. As always, he felt a surge at Jean’s touch from the inside out.

“I’m up,” Scott half mumbled, half chuckled. “I’m up.”

Of course that could be taken any number of ways first thing in the morning, but he let the humor pass as he groped for his glasses on the nightstand. Only when he had them in hand did he pull off his sleep mask. With the glasses in place, he opened his eyes and took in the almost giddy sight of Jean on Christmas morning. Her holiday cheer was second to none and this year was no exception.

“Now what’s this about presents?” he teased as if he didn’t know what day it was.

“Stop,” Jean said with a laugh before she playfully pinched him. “We have a full day of doing nothing while also doing everything Christmas.” She sat up and looked down at him, the motion pulled away the bedsheets and a cold draft invaded the cozy warmth of their bed.

A slight hiss escaped Scott’s lips at the sudden chill. “Hey, careful now!”

“We have presents and cinnamon rolls for breakfast, then Christmas movies, a walk in Central Park, and turkey for dinner.” Jean had apparently planned out everything for their first Christmas in New York City but her tousled hair and naked body made it hard to do anything else but stay in bed.

“So that means we have to get up.” Jean stole one more enthusiastic kiss from him before she got out of bed and put on a pair of red silk pajamas. Her hair and the color of her clothes through the filtered lenses of Scott’s glasses made Jean appear merry and bright. Scott, however, remained in bed.

“I mean it!” She laughed at his lack of movement before hitting him in the chest with a decorative pillow.

“But I’m cold,” Scott said in a sulk. “Start me a coffee… and a shower… and a toddy. I don’t know how you could even stand getting out of bed.” Despite his protests, Scott let the covers drop down to his waist as he sat up. “It’s got to be a white Christmas for sure.”

“You can have all of those things after presents.” Jean tossed a pair of red plaid pajamas pants at Scott. The telepathic redhead absolutely adored Christmas, the holiday cheer that many felt was especially infectious for Jean and it filled her with a bubbly sort of enthusiasm. Being able to sneak a peek at people’s minds gave her an unfair advantage that made her a superior gift giver, so Jean was just dying to finally give them to Scott.

At the mention of whether or not it had snowed Jean telekinetically opened the bedroom curtains. The sky was a gloomy, cloudy grey as a few fluffy snowflakes lazily floated past the windows of their high rise condo. It appeared that the snow had just started to fall but it was already accumulating on any flat surfaces it landed on.

“It’s a good thing we only have to go down to the garage.” Jean mumbled to herself as she watched the snow fall. It was already cold in their bedroom and the underground garage would be freezing. “You should probably wear slippers.”

“Way ahead of you there.” Scott had already hiked up the pajama pants and was sliding his feet into his slip-on house shoes. Robes were not something he had ever bothered with until Jean. Her matching set of everything meant that whatever she had meant he had one too. Wrapped in their His & Hers robes, Scott pulled Jean close to him and stole a long, sultry kiss. “Now let’s go see what’s got you so excited,” he said, pulling away and heading toward the bedroom door.

Scott’s kiss was almost too tempting to resist, almost being the key word. Jean briefly squealed in delight now that he was finally out of bed and she took him by the hand and led him out of the bedroom.

They passed through the kitchen and living room and he noticed breakfast already making itself and the lights on the tree had been lit. Jean was already planning and preparing long before they even got dressed.

Grabbing her key card as they exited, Jean practically dragged Scott down the hall to the elevator. The thirtieth floor was dark and still, the rest of X-Factor was enjoying the holiday by actually sleeping in.

Not that Scott could blame her, Christmas filled Jean with a childlike sense of joy that even without their psychic rapport was impossible to ignore. The grin on her face was wide and she squeezed his hand a little harder than necessary as they descended in the elevator down to the building’s parking garage.

“You have to close your eyes! Don’t open them until I say so!” Jean was practically vibrating with how excited she was. And as the elevator lurched to a stop she squealed in delight once more. “Keep them shut!” she demanded yet again before taking him by the hand and leading him down the familiar path to where the Jeep was parked.

Scott couldn’t help but laugh at that. Navigating the world with his eyes closed was nothing new to him. More than once Jean had served as his eyes and today was no different, except that she was elated to do so instead of under duress. Whatever this was had to be good.

“Okay! Open them!” Jean said with a bounce in both her step and her voice.

Parked next to Scott’s Jeep was a 1958 Porsche 356 1600 Roadster. Unquestionably the best of the 50s Porsches, the 356 was known amongst gearheads to be the car that started the world’s love affair with the Porsche.

It was a little worse for wear with a few rust spots across its once navy blue paint, leather seats that were sun damaged and holey in several places, and all four tires were pancake flat. There were sure to be some issues under the hood but overall it wasn’t in absolutely terrible condition.

“I found it on a farm in upstate New York.” Jean beamed as they approached the car. “It was their grandfather’s but the family didn’t want to invest in fixing it up so they abandoned it in their old barn. I saw it posted for sale in the paper while we were at my parent’s house and I knew I had to get it for you.”

As his eyes adjusted to the garage lighting, they fell on the car parked next to his beloved Jeep. At first, he blinked, unsure of what he was seeing, but then the details sank in.

“The 356…” His voice trailed off, stunned with disbelief. It was a gearhead’s dream, a slice of automotive history. And now it was his.

Scott turned to her, though just barely. He hadn’t spoken or even moved yet, as though his body couldn’t catch up to his mind. Then, all at once, it hit him—the thoughtfulness, the effort, the sheer love behind Jean’s gesture. Without thinking, he swept her into his arms, lifting her off the ground and spinning her in a joyous circle. Her delighted laugh filled the air as waves of gratitude and love poured through their psychic connection.

“Jean, this…” he finally managed, setting her down but keeping her close. “This is incredible. I love you so much. I can’t believe you did this.”

He turned back to the Porsche, already imagining late nights in the garage with a toolkit and grease-covered hands, the hum of the engine coming to life, and the satisfaction of restoring it piece by piece. Just like he had done with the Jeep alongside Alex all those years ago.

“Don’t tell Bobby,” Scott said, his dry tone completely devoid of the humor that brimmed beneath the surface. “Ever.” Nobody had ever let Bobby live down the time he had crashed the Professor’s car. After that quip, Scott turned to kiss her again, his heart filling over with joy. “Thank you.”

“Merry Christmas, Scott.” Jean hugged him and held him close for a moment. They showed each other how much they loved one another everyday but special moments like this, when their hearts were full and everything felt right, had a way of making time stop.

“Come on, let’s sit in it,” she said with that same brilliant smile that hadn’t left her face since they woke up. Jean gave him a brief squeeze before they approached the Porsche and sat down in their respective seats. She slid over and cuddled up next to Scott in the driver’s seat much like they did during their drives to and from the mansion.

“You were so jealous of Warren’s new car at Thanksgiving and I read the ad just that morning. I wanted to tell you right then and there,” Jean said with a laugh before resting your head on his shoulder. “I can’t wait to see how you fix it up, make it just as nice as the Jeep.”

“Oh, it’ll be way nicer than the Jeep,” Scott said. “That was a teenager’s rugged fantasy about wilderness adventures and tearing through the woods. This… this is a proper midlife crisis vehicle. And I have just the car babe to ride next to me.”

Scott’s mind turned into a car commercial or movie trailer for a 007 film. He was at the wheel on a sunny day, chirping gears through a windy coastal highway while Jean’s hair billowed behind her as they tossed their joyous laughter to the wind. He couldn’t hold back a giddy chuckle at the daydream. “It’s going to be great…”

As he said so, he felt Jean’s eyes on him as much as the tendrils of her thoughts skipping across his mind like bemused raindrops. His daydreams were her daydreams too. There was nothing to do but smirk at her.

“I’m glad you like it,” she said with a smile while gazing up at him. “I felt like you needed a new pet project, you just perform maintenance on the Jeep nowadays.” Jean sat up a little and kissed him, her own ideas about what they would do in the Porsche passed through Scott’s mind. “And the fact that it’s going to be beautiful when finished is a plus.”

Jean reached out and ran her fingers through his hair to help smooth it, he still had messy hair and stubble thanks to her rushing him out of the bed. Despite his disheveled appearance, she looked up at him with absolute adulation. It reminded him of when they were children, Jean had been the curious little girl at the bottom of the stairs who looked at him with such wonder and awe. No one loved Scott like Jean did, he felt it in the presents she gave him, the home she created for them, and the way her green eyes sparkled when she looked at him.

“I have another gift for you but it’s upstairs,” Jean said in a soft voice as she continued to study the familiar lines of his face.

“What a coincidence,” Scott said. “I have a gift for you up there too.” There was a lilt to his vocal fry that mirrored the joy he felt inside. “But first let me get something out of the Jeep.” There was no need to keep it locked inside the secure parking garage, so Scott opened up the driver’s side door and fished around in the center console until he retrieved a small object.

“I didn’t get a chance to wrap it yet…” Scott looked a little sheepish as he handed over a gift bag. “Merry Christmas, though.”

Jewelry was a common enough gift, and Scott was conventional enough to maintain that tradition when he could. When Jean opened the box, though, she found an emerald pendant necklace that shimmered even under the washed out parking garage light.

“Look on the back,” Scott said, a subdued smirk playing on his lips.

On the back of the pendant’s setting was an engraving, a brief quote from one of Jean’s favorite plays: ‘For where thou art, there is the world itself, And where thou art not, desolation’. There was just enough room for Scott’s monogrammed initials, an ornate S.S. near the bottom.

“Oh Scott, it's beautiful and Henry VI too.” Jean admired the necklace for a moment before she ran her fingertips across the stone in a delicate, careful manner. The diamond on her finger and this pendant both a vibrant green, she always considered the color to remind her of springtime, of growth and harmony, but more importantly of hope.

Hope was that cherished desire to want something to happen or be true. Hope had saved her life and compelled her to move forward. It created such confidence inside of her that no matter how hard life was, Jean always continued. Jean was hope.

“I love it,” she said in a soft, tender voice as she looked up at him. “Thank you, Scott.” Jean removed the necklace from its box and she turned her back to him before moving her hair out of the way. “Help me put it on?”

“Thought you'd never ask.” Scott helped Jean sweep her red locks out of the way. Once her luscious neck was exposed, Scott pushed down a sigh and focused on the pendant. He held the ends of the chain in either hand and pulled them back enough for them to join together at the nape of her neck. Once clasped, his fingers released the chain and let his hands slink down her shoulders.

“Let's have a look,” he said, his voice more dusky than perhaps he intended as he slowly spun her around. Everything about Jean was intoxicating, not least of all her joy. Even in her pajamas, the emerald looked as beautiful as he'd imagined when he'd picked it out and had it engraved. “Wow,” he said, lost for words and stunned at the sight. “It's… beautiful. You're beautiful.”

“I love you,” Jean said with such sincerity that it made his heart ache. But before he could reply, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. Scott felt that perfect balance of love and lust inside of Jean that their long kiss helped inspire.

They shifted and reclined together in the front seat of the old Porsche as kiss after kiss melted into one another and the old car’s springs creaked and groaned in protest. Scott felt a particular broken spring jab him in his lower back as Jean pressed into him.

~* ‘I need you to open your last gift.’ *~ Jean had started this moment of necking but as things heated up between them she was strangely adamant about finishing their gift exchange.

~I had exactly the same thought~ Scott let his thoughts merge with Jean's, slowly losing himself in their psychic rapport. It was a telepathic prelude to sweet things to come. ~There’s another gift that needs unwrapping~

There was a passing thought to surveillance cameras within the garage. It was a thrilling thought as Scott couldn't tear himself away from Jean or her vibrant lips.

~We might need to pull the top up if we keep going like this~ A lurid chuckle rumbled up from his chest and invaded his kisses at the unintentional double entendre within his own mind. Or was it? The sight of Jean topless without her pajamas not so long ago still stood fresh in his mind's eye. There was no denying both of them wanted this. It was just a matter of…details.

~* ‘Oh no, I can’t stand the idea of Sal finding out. He would never look at us the same ever again’ *~ The idea of their overly friendly doorman finding out they had done something more than kiss in the building’s garage made her laugh hard enough to break their kiss. “He’d give you a round of applause anytime he saw you.”

Sal had pestered Scott about marrying Jean the moment they had moved in and with their wedding less than a month away he was looking for something new to playfully harass Scott about.

“He already bumps his fist against his chest whenever I'm coming or going,” Scott said, agreeing with her logic.

“Come on, let’s go back to our place,” Jean said with a chuckle before climbing out of the Porsche. It had taken even more willpower to leave Scott’s embrace this time then it had in their bed.

Arm and arm they left the garage and managed to steal a few more kisses from one another as they made their way back home. The apartment smelled of cinnamon rolls and fresh coffee as they returned and the soft glow of the Christmas tree’s lights welcomed them.

Jean sat down on her knees next to the tree, the skirt below it dappled with gifts from family and friends. They would open those periodically throughout the day but the gifts they gave one another took priority. She reached out for a rather subdued white envelope that had been tucked between the branches of the trees. Before giving it to Scott she suddenly became incredibly nervous. “Oh gosh, I have butterflies in my stomach.”

She really did. Scott canted his head to the side in curiosity. What would make her feel so skittish? A soft smile played at his mouth as he accepted the envelope and carefully opened it. “Jean…” he drew out her name in a deep register, coyly grasping for some kind of hint. “... what are you up to?”

Well, there was only one way to find out. Scott let his smile spread into a smirk for the moment of truth. His fingers fished inside the envelope and pulled out its contents.

Inside the envelope was a stack of paper that he unfolded for examination. It took Scott a moment to realize what he was looking at, the documents inside were medical records from Jean’s long overdue fertility exam, incredibly detailed notes on her health along with the doctor’s findings. As he read through them several paragraphs caught his attention...

The uterus appears to be of normal size and shape with a smooth contour… Scarring was noted in the anterior wall. This scarring is consistent with previous trauma, infection, or surgical intervention…The scar tissue does not appear to significantly distort the uterine cavity or prevent normal implantation. However, it may result in slightly reduced uterine flexibility or minor adhesions… Despite the presence of some scarring within the uterus, the overall uterine environment remains conducive to pregnancy. The scar tissue is not large or extensive enough to interfere with the implantation of an embryo. Fertility remains a possibility, though the scarring may contribute to slightly reduced fertility potential, especially if the scarring is in areas that might affect embryo implantation or uterine contractility during pregnancy. The patient's chances of achieving a successful pregnancy may be enhanced with assisted reproductive technologies, such as in vitro fertilization (IVF), if necessary.

“They said I can still get pregnant and carry a baby to term,” Jean couldn’t wait for him to finish reading before she began to talk. “It might take a little bit more time, but they told me we should try for a year on our own first and if nothing happens during that time, then come back and see them.” Her nerves gave way to excitement now that the news had been divulged to Scott. “But I’m healthy and they told me it’s okay for us to have a baby.”

Scott stared at the papers, his eyes darting over the lines of text again and again, as if to reassure himself they were real. His mouth opened, but the words stuck, tangling in his throat. "You… this… I…" he stammered, his gaze snapping between the documents and Jean’s face.

“You’re healthy…” he whispered, his voice brimming with joy. “You’re okay. We can have a baby.”

That broke the dam. Scott let out a shaky laugh, then babbled half-formed sentences in a rush. “I… you’re saying… wait, really? I mean, this is…”

He dropped the papers from his hands, barely noticing as they scattered to the floor, and reached for Jean with ecstatic arms wide open. His expression changed in rapid waves—surprise, disbelief, relief, and finally, radiant joy. He swept her off her feet for the second time that day, spinning her in a tight circle. “Jean!” he cried before finally managing to say in one breathless, coherent sentence, “I’ve never been so happy in my entire life!”

“Yeah, I’m okay.” There were a lot of mixed and heavy emotions behind that statement. From her abduction and torture, to Scott’s demise and infidelity, then the loss of Christopher and the birth of the Phoenix. Life had been a devastating roller coaster these past few months that had been laced with uncertainty, but the constant factor that had saved her was their love.

Her love for Scott had guided him to her salvation, restored and reforged their relationship, soothed her hurt and uplifted her soul. In a few short weeks she would become his wife and Jean would forever be his partner. With the revelation that she could bear their child, there was the hope of becoming more than just two people who loved one another, they had the potential to create a new life together, an act that would manifest what ‘forever and again’ truly meant.

“I’m happy too.” Jean’s voice became heartfelt and optimistic as she wrapped her arms around Scott and held him tightly. “And we both agreed we didn’t want to wait anymore, that we should live in the now and for us because our tomorrows are never guaranteed. So right after my appointment, I threw away my birth control. I want us to start trying now, I’m sure it will take time but I’m ready… and I know you’re ready too.”

She laughed a little as the remaining stress of her revelation left her and Jean tried to reiterate the intention of her gift. “So… Merry Christmas, let's make a baby.”

“I’d thought you’d never ask.” The words were barely out of Scott’s mouth before he swept Jean off her feet and pulled her thighs around his waist. Gone was the tactician with forethought and strategy for every action. Scott lost himself in the moment and everything it represented. They were going to start a family together. Their home would be as full and happy as their hearts were. It was enough to send Scott into a frenzy.

“I love you,” he whispered into her ear before his lips took to her neckline in a burning thirst. The next thing Jean knew, she was backed against the wall, pinned by Scott’s enthusiastic advance. His hands roved up her back and down her sides, pawing at Jean in a desperate, almost clumsy bid for intimacy. That cunning, calculated mind of his became fixated on one thing and only one thing. “I have to have you… right now…”

“I didn’t mean right now at this very moment,” Jean said with a bevy of giggles as Scott advanced on her. But she had to admit that the idea of actually succeeding in their attempts to have a child created a new thrill in their lovemaking.

Jean softly mewled in response to how hungry and insatiable Scott felt as he moved across her. His want for her became so desperate and urgent that it swept over her body and mind like a gale force wind, leaving goosebumps in its wake to rise up on Jean’s skin. His lips lingered on that sensitive patch of skin on the side of her neck and Jean’s whole body shivered in delight.

“Actually right now sounds pretty good.” Jean huffed out her quip as her breathing quickened and her heart began to pound. Her skin started to flush and Scott watched as her nipples pebbled beneath the thin red silk she wore.

Although Scott had advanced on Jean, once her own passions were rekindled, there was no telling where his ended and hers began. Desire ricocheted between them in an escalating fury along with their quickened breaths. Jean’s name was carried on whispers over and over again as their clothing shed from their bodies one article at a time.

“Now is the perfect time,” Scott said right before framing Jean’s jaw with his hands and drinking her lips. “Now is great.”

Spinning around, Scott carried her the few steps to the new sofa they had delivered just six weeks prior. An idle thought passed through his mind that it might suffer the same fate as its predecessor. There had been so much grief from this year with even their victories coming with setbacks and disappointments. Today, with the news that their dreams could come true, those shadows had been scattered by a new dawn. The chains of yesterday were gone. All that remained now was hope of the future brought to them in that moment.

The following section contains mild adult content. Reader discretion is advised until the next section.

As he laid her down on the cushion and pulled free the last of her silken garments, Scott looked upon the creamy skin and supple sprawl of her lithe body for just a moment. No matter how many times they joined together, it never grew dull or tired. If anything, their union was somehow better, as if each joy and passion built on all that came before, reaching to new heights that could never be dreamed of with anybody else.

Craving Jean body and soul, Scott descended on her with every fiber of his being. His mouth pressed against the warm fleshy mounds of her breasts and lazily descended down her ribs and stomach, feasting on her abdomen with growing desire. Unable to hold back any longer, Scott mounted the sofa and Jean along with it, bracing her shoulders with his hands while their legs began to sensuously entangle. He leaned over her face low enough that he knew she could see the silhouette of his eyes behind his lenses. Scott could note the tell in Jean’s body whenever their eyes truly locked together; a faint tremble, a hitched breath as a sudden gasp turned into a gentle sigh. With their focus solely on each other and no other distractions around them, Scott took Jean once again.

“Scott…” She whispered his name as their eyes met and they held one another’s gaze. Their bond ran deeper than what most people would ever experience thanks to their psychic rapport. But despite their unique connection, it was something as simple as the shape of Scott’s eyes that created profound intimacy between them. A missing detail that when revealed to Jean changed everything for her.

Jean reached out and held his head in hands in an attempt to keep him still and close to her so that she wouldn’t lose sight of him. She thought of the warm brown color of his eyes and how they softened his intense stare. There was a kindness in his eyes that even his stoic expressions couldn’t completely mask but that soft and caring side of Scott was forever hidden from the world thanks to ruby quartz lenses. But Jean saw it now, in the gentle but intense force that changed the shape of his eye and his brow. She painted a picture in her mind's eye of the memories of his eyes and the present hold his gaze held her with, that idea took her breath away and held her captive. “You’re so beautiful, love you.”

“I love you,” Scott echoed back. His thrusts had been slow and exaggerated, the better for them both to savor the feeling of rejoining. It was when they each felt fully alive and like their true selves. With their heartfelt expression, though, came a surge through Scott that made his lungs gasp and his loins swell. He felt himself harden inside Jean, leading to longer and deeper strokes that required a faster pace to maintain the starting rhythm that had felt so right. Try as he might, he couldn’t maintain eye contact. Propped on his hands, Scott felt his head slowly raise up as if hooked by the jaw.

“Oh, Jean,” he said through a quivering chin. The sensation of their initial coupling was always overwhelming. As it abated and blended back into the burning desire that burned between them, Scott was finally able to open his eyes and return Jean’s gaze again. What he found there took his breath away.

The intensity of their connection through their psychic rapport was unlike anything else—a universe in a moment, a soul laid bare and reflected back. He could feel the echoes of her joy mingling with his own, a radiant warmth that shimmered through the bond they shared, stitching them together in ways words could never capture.

Her eyes, luminous and green as sunlit forests, seemed to hold every star in the cosmos. Looking into them, Scott felt a sense of belonging so profound it rooted him, anchoring him to the truth of who he was and who they were together. He saw their past, every trial and triumph etched in their shared gaze. He saw their future too—uncertain but filled with light, like dawn breaking over the horizon.

Through the bond, her emotions surged into him, a symphony of love, hope, and eternal promises. The depth of her faith in them, in him, overwhelmed him like a tidal wave, washing away every doubt he had ever harbored. He felt her heartbeat in his mind, a rhythm that matched his own, and the twin flames of their spirits entwined, burning brighter than ever.

Scott’s breath caught, and his voice broke again. ~You’re everything, Jean. Everything I’ll ever need, and more than I could’ve hoped for~

Jean found his sentiments and words irresistible as a fountain of love and adoration sprung forth from his heart and soul. She lifted her head and found his lips for a hungry kiss as another way for them to feast upon the other. Scott was her missing piece, her perfect partner, her beginning and her end. As their bodies entwined and rolled together in deep, rhythmic strokes she felt complete once more.

~* ‘My forever.’ *~ Her promise of timeless love as Scott thickened and his breath grew ragged.

She lifted her hips and pressed into him until he brushed against her in that way that made her blissfully moan. Jean’s breathing synchronized with his and they found themselves becoming one.

~* ‘Fall with me’ *~ Jean’s words became silky smooth in his mind as she asked him to climax alongside her. Scott felt her telepathic presence glide across his own in an electrifying caress that pulled him into her psyche as the early waves of pleasure passed through her.

The time was near and Jean’s sultry encouragement was more than enough to goad him into pushing them both over the edge. Scott’s fingers dug into Jean’s shoulders through the locks of hair still in his grasp, using her to brace himself for the ever quickening thrusts he pressed into her again and again.

~Anything~ Scott pledged from his heart of hearts. ~Ask it, want it… I’m yours~

A soft moan preceded a longer one as Scott tried to speak her name but failed. All he managed was a shout of joy and ecstasy. The crushing depths of Jean’s psyche enveloping his own would’ve torn him apart had it been an attack. Here and now, in her loving embrace which was physical and beyond, he was made alive like he could feel in no other way. Everything else in the world was an empty mirage compared to the reality of the love they held together. And so when they fell over the edge together, it was a crashing wave that swept them away from the moment and into eternity.

She gasped and moaned as her whole body shuttered and tensed from the euphoria their union created. Jean felt every trembling inch of Scott, every unspoken promise that passed through his mind, every beautiful pang in his heart from the love he felt for her. He bared his soul to her in these moments and Jean saw how perfect he was. The pleasure she found in Scott went beyond the physical and her own release was sweetened by his consummate love.

Jean sighed and murmured his name again and again as her body clenched and tightened around him and against him and Scott watched as her brow knitted and her jaw dropped from the pleasure that consumed her. As lost as he was in the throes of her psyche the blissful high he provided her with was clearly written across her face. She rode every wave of delight that was shared between them until they were left panting and spent for the exertion of lovemaking.

Her features softened and that look of hopeless devotion returned to her eyes as Jean looked up at Scott. Breathless and wordless she reached out for him and pulled him down into her embrace.

End content advisory

More whimpering than breathing, Scott heaved in and out, his hot gasps coursing down her neck. When he finally caught half a wind, the first thing he spoke was her name. “Jean,” he said, his voice cracking. “I love you so much.”

Being held so close in the afterglow of their union, Scott let the floodwaters flow free. He didn’t bawl as he had when she had forgiven him. He didn’t tremble like when she comforted his grief. He merely took in her musk, the natural scent of her hair, skin, and shampoo turning him heady with its sweet fragrance. “I won’t ever let you go.”

Scott pulled back just enough to look into her eyes, and for the first time in what felt like years, the tension that had been haunting him—the fear of losing her, of failing her, of the future crumbling before them—seemed to dissolve. Her eyes, filled with a love so pure and unwavering, reflected a hope that felt contagious.

Letting out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding, Scott released the weight of so many unspoken fears along with it. “For so long, I couldn’t see this,” he admitted softly, his thumb brushing gently against her cheek. “I couldn’t imagine a future without something terrible waiting around the corner. But right now… right here with you… I believe it. I believe in us. Not just surviving but living. Really living.”

“We have a beautiful life together and we will continue to.” Jean reached out and caressed his cheek, she saw the shape of his eyes and how soft and gentle they were and it made her stomach flip over him all over again. She felt that same relief that Scott was speaking of, as if the fire they were forged in was finally cooled and they were left stronger than ever. “First I will make you my husband and then the father of my children. I can’t think of anything else that will make my life worth living.”

Jean lifted her head and kissed him and he felt her aching want for him and that joyful celebration inside of her. They belonged together, exactly like this.

Scott felt the rush of her words hit him like a tidal wave, sweeping away any lingering doubt. The air seemed to crackle with the intensity of their bond, their psychic rapport deepening as her joy surged into him like a current of light. It was overwhelming, exhilarating, and he let himself bask in it without reserve.

“I can’t believe how lucky I am,” he murmured as their lips parted, his voice thick with emotion. His hands cradled her face, reverently tracing the curve of her jaw, his touch as tender as the look in his eyes. “Jean… my wife, the mother of my children, my everything… You make me want to be the man you see when you look at me. You make me want to deserve all of this.”

His forehead rested against hers, their breath mingling as he closed his eyes, allowing himself to simply feel her presence, her love, and the enormity of the future they were building together. “I’ll spend the rest of my life proving how much I love you,” he vowed softly, the words carrying the weight of everything they’d been through. “Every single day.”

When he opened his eyes, the doubt and apprehension were gone, replaced by a lightness and resolve that he hadn’t felt in years. He grinned—a rare, unguarded grin that made him look younger, freer. “So, Mrs. Summers-to-be,” he teased, his voice warm and teasing, “do you want your other gift?”

“That wasn’t it?!” Jean said with a wide smile and lilt of laughter. Her Christmas plans were already falling by the wayside as they tumbled into one another in a moment of heated passion. Not that she minded though, the way Scott claimed her with his body and mind, it left her breathless and awestruck.

“I mean, yes please.” She bit her lower lip and looked up at Scott with a mischievous little smirk.

Scott chuckled softly, his thumb grazing her cheek as he gazed at her with unabashed affection. “Not to downplay the moment, but no,” he teased gently. “That wasn’t your gift. This one’s… different.”

Sliding off the sofa, Scott walked to the small closet where he’d stashed the carefully wrapped package. The wrapping was plain—just white paper and a red bow—but his nerves showed as he held it out to her. “I, uh… I hope you like it. It’s not flashy, but it’s… meaningful.”

Inside the wrapping paper was a picture frame that was a piece unlike anything she’d ever seen: his old clamshell visor, pressed and fused together with the mask she’d worn as Marvel Girl. The textures and colors intertwined, their once-distinct identities melded into a singular work of art. Thin enough to fit within the frame but rich with symbolism, gleaming with polish and their shared history.

“I used Reed’s industrial press,” Scott explained. “I wanted to give you something that showed how much you mean to me. How much we mean to each other. This… it’s us. Our past, everything that shaped us. And now…” He gestured to the frame. “It’s something new. Something whole. Just like us.”

“Oh Scott… this is amazing.” Jean traced the outlines of their old uniforms that had been turned into a keepsake. They had fought hard and defended lives in these clothes, they had faced death and vile prejudice while wearing them, but
they had also fallen in love in these uniforms.
A sudden swell of emotions rose up in Jean as she thought about how much of their lives had been spent side-by-side with one another. They were each other’s past, present, and future. “This is priceless.”

Scott felt his throat tighten as he saw the emotion welling in her eyes, her thoughts and feelings echoing in his mind through their psychic bond. She wasn’t just speaking about the gift—she was speaking about them, about everything they had shared and endured together. It was overwhelming in the best possible way.

He reached out, brushing a strand of her hair behind her ear. His voice was soft and a little shaky as he replied, “It is priceless, Jean… because it’s us. And that’s exactly the kind of gift you deserve…something that shows just how much you mean to me.”

Scott leaned in, pressing his forehead gently to hers, his hand finding hers where it rested on the frame. “You’ve always been my heart, my anchor, my hope.” His lips curved into a small, tender smile. “You’re everything, Jean. Everything good and beautiful in this world.”

“I love you so much.” Jean leaned into him and kissed Scoff, a soft and gentle kiss that reaffirmed everything he said and everything they felt for one another. They had worked so hard to get back to this place, to find peace and unity in their lives. Now, as the snow fell outside and the room was filled with the warm glow of the Christmas tree lights, Jean couldn’t help but shed a few happy tears as her heart hurt from how much she loved him.

“You are the best thing in my life, Scott. You have always made my dreams come true. Loving you saved me in so many ways and I will never stop.” Jean felt that magnetic pull to him, that attraction and want that was always present but sometimes became undeniable. “You make me so happy.”

Their force of attraction between them was nuclear. There was no one without the other. Scott chuckled softly, his mind replaying Jean’s earlier words as he held her close, their foreheads pressed together. The glow of the Christmas tree bathed the room in a warm light, mirroring the warmth in his heart. He tightened his embrace slightly, marveling at how this moment couldn’t feel more perfect.

“Remember first thing this morning?” he asked, his voice gentle and filled with affection. “You laid out this perfect day for us—presents, cinnamon rolls, Christmas movies, all of it. You were so excited, so full of joy. And I thought, this is it. This is what we’ve been missing.”

He pulled back just enough to meet her gaze, his fingers brushing stray hairs away from her face. “But it’s not the presents or the movies or the turkey. It’s you, Jean. It’s the way you make even the simplest moments feel magical. You make everything merry and bright—just like you looked in those pajamas.”

She lowered her eyes and felt a bashful blush in her cheeks. Jean couldn’t deny his statement, there was a reason why Bobby didn’t follow him to New York right away, why Pietro wanted to join them, why Warren would return to the city after the holidays, and also why Hank was finally making trips out here. It had been Jean’s care and consideration, her love and affection that made them all want to stay close to one another. But it was Scott who felt the full force of her love. “I have wanted to give you everything beautiful and bright in this world since I first met you…”

Leaning in to capture her lips in a tender kiss that spoke of all the things words couldn’t express, Scott couldn’t help himself. Every moment he was with Jean was an exercise in restraint. Keeping hands and lips off of her felt like severing a bond that he never wanted to do without again. When he pulled back, he rested his forehead against hers again and murmured, “So, what’s next, Mrs. Summers-to-be?”

She smiled and that plotting and planning ambition returned to her.
“Breakfast of course.”

Propping up their framed uniforms against the wall Jean put on her robe and went to work on finishing their meal. Before Scott knew it he was seated at the table with a cup of hot coffee and a cinnamon roll the size of his palm in front of him. Frosted and still warm, it was a sweet treat that matched the saccharine mood inside their apartment.

“Do you want a boy or a girl?” Jean dared to daydream while they picked at her sugary breakfast. She had no way of knowing when they would have a child but it was an aspect of their life that she had refused to discuss in a pillow talk sort of way for a very long time. With today’s revelation, it seemed this new and exciting topic was suddenly available.

“I’d take one of both if we could,” Scott said, unable to choose. “But I guess one would have to come before the other. I…” He chuckled and shook his head at his inability to make a decision, a rare conundrum for someone so much executive function like himself. “I don’t know! I’m excited by the idea of either one. How about you? Which one excites you more?”

“A girl,” Jean said without hesitation. “Don’t get me wrong, I would be excited about either, but I would love a little girl.” She ran her finger around the rim of her coffee cup as she mentally pictured a daughter with Scott’s auburn hair who played with a tiny plastic tea set on the nursery floor. “I just love all the frilly dresses and dolls, braiding her hair and playing house.”

Jean picked up her coffee and took a sip as her fanciful smile continued. “Then again I was raised with a big sister so all I can picture is playing with her and besides who’s to say a boy wouldn’t love a tea party?”

Scott’s lips quirked into a soft smile. The way she lit up at the idea of a daughter was enough to make his heart ache in the best way possible.

“You know, it’s funny,” he said, his voice carrying the thoughtful tone that so often accompanied his rare moments of introspection. “I grew up in an orphanage, surrounded by other boys who were loud, wild, and constantly trying to prove themselves. And then I met you—a girl who could keep up with any of us, outthink us, and still handle herself with this… quiet grace. You weren’t afraid to speak your mind, but you also knew when to let your actions do the talking.”

He turned his eyes to hers, a growing joy sparking behind his ruby lenses. “If we had a son, and he had even half your strength and grace, he’d be amazing. But a little girl with your fire? Someone who could stare down the world and still bring out the best in everyone she met? That… that’d be incredible, too.”

“Let us not forget your ability to stay calm under pressure, your discipline and resilience. You guide and inspire people simply by being you.” They loved everything about one another and the idea of seeing those fabulous traits mix together to recreate someone who was so familiar and yet so unique, it was a thrill in and of itself. Jean leaned on her elbow and gazed over at Scott with that starry-eyed expression that had a way of making him blush. “Not to mention you’re gorgeous.”

“Only when you’re out of the room,” Scott said in a playful retort. “Nobody can hold a candle to you.” He chuckled, shaking his head. “Let’s be honest. I wasn’t exactly a Casanova when we first met. Brooding loner with Coke-bottle glasses and more issues than I knew what to do with? Not exactly irresistible.” His expression softened, a genuine warmth taking over his features. “But if all that led me to you, I wouldn’t change a thing. You make me want to be better, Jean. Every day.”

“Oh yes, girls hate tall, dark, and handsome,” Jean said with a chuckle before she stood up and made her way over to Scott. He would always deflect and turn the conversation back towards her and the attributes he loved but Jean delighted in pushing back on him and reminding him of all the mesmerizing things she saw in him. He may still see himself as that awkward, lonely boy but Jean saw him for the man he had become.

The following section contains mild adult content. Reader discretion is advised until the next section.

In an easy, fluid manner she straddled his thighs and sat down in his lap. The sudden lack of space between them turned the air electric as a humm of possibilities passed through both of their heads. She held his head in her hands as she gazed down at him with a glint of lust in her eyes.

“I love the way that muscle in your jaw feathers when you’re thinking about something. How your Adam’s apple bobs when you swallow hard or when your stomach muscles tense and flex when you…” Jean trailed off as her sentence became too lurid to say out loud but her eyes traveled downward as she spoke.

As if the warm press of her thighs against his own wasn’t enough, the sultry tone of her voice and her sweeping gaze set Scott’s blood to boiling.

“Don’t stop there…” Scott’s voice turned to the seductive vocal fry that he knew drove Jean wild from the first time he’d whispered it into her ear. “Tell me more of what you love.”

Scott shifted in his seat and gave Jean’s spread legs a buck from his own hips, punctuating his coy request with a straight forward gesture. The grinding motion required him to bite back a groan of pleasure. Flirtatious banter between them was part of the fun and that meant keeping himself together until one of them finally made a move. “Seems you trailed off.”

Jean bit her lower lip as she danced across the line of remaining sweet and proper. She was always shy at first while her demure outlook remained intact but with some simple encouragement Scott could get her to throw those inhibitions away. So it became a game they played, seeing how long it would take for her willpower to cave and for Jean to finally listen to what her body wanted to do.

“That voice.” She stifled the girlish giggle that wanted to appear. “That hushed tone with authority and confidence, it drives me wild.” Scott was a leader on and off missions and that take charge sort of attitude in the bedroom had a way of making her toes curl. When he used that voice with her, it made all sorts of racy thoughts pass through her mind.

“Your hands,” Jean reached out and placed his right hand across her breast before she examined it. Her quickened breath made chest rise and fall against his touch and even with the fabric of the robe between them, Scott could feel her pert arousal. “Your hands are strong but gentle, when you hold me or caress me…” She shivered as a little thrill passed through her. “... and those fingers of yours.” Now her heart was racing just from the idea of him touching her.

As she continued her seductive narration, Scott began to swell. The feel of her nipples hardening beneath his fingers only amplified the effect in himself. His own breathing became heightened while she led him along in her sultry siren’s song.

“But that mouth of yours, it will always be my downfall.” Jean pulled her eyes away from his hand as she focused on Scott’s face. “From those lopsided smiles to the way you kiss me.” She rolled her hips into him and created a brief moment of friction between them that was sorely missing. Then Scott felt it, Jean transitioned into that more lascivious frame of mind and he heard that silky purr appear in her voice. “When you slip down between my thighs and go down on me, I die and am reborn from the pleasure you provide.”

And with that, the powder keg found its spark. Scott was on his feet before he knew it, hoisting Jean from her straddle to eye level. He made eye contact with her just long enough to release the tenuous hold he had on himself. All along she knew exactly what she was doing to him. The turbulent buildup was impossible to mask, try as he might. But Scott’s look of wanton desire expressed one thing. Teasing was over.

Scott put Jean on the table hard enough to rattle the plates on the other side. While kneeling down, Scott placed a palm against her chest and guided Jean into a reclined position. His other hand grasped a handful of her thigh and pulled her lower body toward himself, a motion that guided Jean’s other leg to follow suit. In seconds, Scott was on his knees with Jean’s legs draped over his shoulders, her feet spread wide.

~From this life to the next~ Scott couldn’t hold back a grin as he took the plunge. Jean was fully aroused, much to Scott’s delight. He savored the first kiss against her feminine flower and followed it with another before descending into a voracious feast that was fueled by every moan and tremble from Jean. With his hands firmly clasped on her hips, Scott held Jean in place while letting the rest of her body writhe as she pleased.

Jean’s whole body ignited and heated as Scott’s lips moved across her in that meticulous and benevolent way that always brought her to completion. She dissolved in whimpers and gasps while he found that perfect pace as his mouth pressed and glided across her. She instinctively reached out for him, pleasurable tension causing her body to ratchet and writhe as that need to touch him overcame her and Jean’s body began to sing. She buried her fingers in his hair and she held onto him tightly as Scott felt her maddening adoration for him as it consumed her.

Euphoric pleasure filled their minds in an almost blinding glow as Jean succumbed to the perfectly devious way that Scott serviced her. Her whole body tightened and arched against him as her thighs trembled and he had to hold onto in order to keep her still enough to continue. She moaned his name as Jean’s psyche called to him and Scott found himself inundated with her awestruck love for him. She had playfully teased the traits she loved in him but in this moment of passion, he felt what every word actually meant and how deeply Jean loved him.

Scott lost himself in the maelstrom of feelings that crowded his head more than Jean’s thighs did. The sounds of her moans, the slickening of her body, the scent of her passion, even the compression of her fingers and legs around him nearly took him over the edge himself. Every sensation flowed through him from his conscious mind to his natural impulses, filling him with a satisfaction that was both primitive and sublime. Most of all, it was the torrent of her love that consumed him and fueled his eagerness into near obsession.

By the time Scott returned to himself, he found himself practically panting. He had been so caught up in bringing Jean to euphoric release that nothing else registered. Only when Jean began calling his name, her explosive euphoria turning to joy at his relentless dedication, did he come to a slow, grinding halt.

Rising from his knees, Scott leaned over to meet her gaze once again. His breath was still ragged, though more from excitement than exertion. “Forever…” he whispered, repeating the eternal promise they always made to one another.

“And again,” Jean said with a triumphant smile before she wrapped her arms around Scott and pulled him into her. She kissed him deeply as his own throbbing want remained unsatisfied and Jean found herself swept up in his desire for release. It was a hungry ache inside of him that demanded that he bury himself in her, it was a primal sort of need that made the world vanish and excited Jean all over again.

With a slight shift of her hips and a brush of her thighs against his sides, Jean splayed out beneath Scott in an invitation for him to indulge in her, to claim her, to make their dreams come true in a moment of perfect unity.

Powerless in the face of Jean’s unbridled desire, Scott gave way and took what Jean offered him. When he entered her this time, the inviting folds seized him from the very point of entry and wouldn’t let go. Scott barely had to thrust. Jean was more than welcoming. Mounting her for a better position, Scott folded her legs back and hovered over her torso with his own. He wanted to watch her face contort in beautiful agony with every smooth, glistening glide.

Jean ran her hands across the length of his chest as things became heated and lascivious between them. Her body rocked with every thrust Scott provided causing her breath to hitch and her breast to bounce in time with him. Jean looked up at him with worried awe as he ravaged her.

Soon the raging tension in Scott’s body turned from lust to gratification as his desire was met, but the yearning never soothed. Again and again, forever and always, Scott lost himself physically as deep into Jean as his mind was in her own. Their psychic bond was on fire with the shared passion and pleasure transferring back and forth between them like an electrical circuit on overload.

Buildup began in the pit of Scott’s stomach, where the tension reached a critical mass and demanded release. That demand rose up through his gullet and roared from his throat hard enough to strain his larynx. Head snapped back, Scott shouted Jean’s name before collapsing on her in a sweaty heap.

Jean gasped and hiccupped as a deep shutter of pleasure passed through her body and electrified her spine. All her muscles tightened in unison before they relaxed and blissful pleasure filled her.

The weight and heat of Scott’s body against her own was a welcomed sensation as they panted and huffed from their exertions. Glorious and beautiful satisfaction flooded their senses as they reveled in how good they made each other feel.

“I love you,” Jean whispered next to his ear as she ran her hands up and down the length of his back.

A full-body tremor passed through Scott at just the sound of her voice. The soothing run of her fingers against his back coaxed him down from peak stimulation to still serenity. There was nowhere else like being in her arms.

“Oh Jean…” Scott tried to kiss her neck but only managed a nuzzle. Even so, it was heartfelt and full of adoration. “I love you.”

After a moment of postcoital cuddling, Scott felt his skin turn clammy. He stood up to full height and offered his hand to Jean. “Come on. We’d better get cleaned up for the rest of the day.”

“Look who’s sticking to the plan,” Jean said with a chuckle as she took his offered hand. Her open robe hung loosely off her shoulders and Scott’s hair was still a mess, they were both disheveled from the moments of passion that suddenly arose in the midst of their Christmas morning. “But sometimes those plans are in place for a reason.”

She took him by the hand as they returned to their bedroom and its en suite bathroom. Jean felt like she was floating on cloud nine as they walked together, the combination of holiday cheer and postcoital bliss was a newfound high that could only be described as a perfect day.

“You can take a shower first,” Jean said while flopping down onto their bed, her red hair fanning out about her. “Consider that my next gift to you.”

Barely an instant passed by after Jean flopped on the bouncing mattress before Scott scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the bathroom.

“It’s more efficient if we shower together,” Scott said, not setting her down until he’d kicked the bathroom door shut. “Wouldn’t want to mess up your carefully laid Christmas plans, now would we?”

The showerhead was already on full blast with trace amounts of fog starting to obscure the wall mirror. Scott gave her his most carefree yet enticing smirk before he disappeared behind the curtain. A soft, knowing chuckle echoed over the sound of running water.

“Scott Summers,” she said with a gleeful little giggle before she shed her robe and stepped into the shower behind him. His proposition turned her playful as Jean followed his lead.

Scott just stared at her with a smug look of satisfaction on his face.

“Don’t you dare hog all the hot water,” Jean jokingly chastised him as she pushed past him and squeezed her way to the best position under the shower head. Her scarlet red hair turned a dark wine color as it was saturated, the change in tone made her eyes a brighter green that even Scott could pick up on.

“No, that’s your job,” Scott quipped under his breath, his mischievous smirk still plastered across his face.

“And you could use a shave,” she said with a grin before leaning in and kissing him, her body was already slick from the water. “I can feel your stubble.”

“Probably,” Scott conceded after their kiss. Despite expending their passions just moments ago, the romance still flowed freely between them. It wasn’t about chasing physical gratification, although that was always a fun and welcomed bonus. Their desire for one another stemmed from a much deeper connection that manifested in so many ways that it couldn’t be hidden, not even in a mundane moment like they found themselves now. Unlike the showerhead, there was no turning off the fountain of their love for one another and the enjoyment they found simply being in one another’s presence.

Tilting his head back, Scott ran his hand across his jawline. It did feel a little rough. “Think you might know someone who could help me out with that?”

“Maybe.” Jean played coy with him before wrapping her arms around his waist and pulling him in close to her until the shower rained down on both of them. She kissed the length of his jaw and the 5 o’clock shadow that was present, despite her teasing there was some appeal to it.

“But you’re not ready yet, everyone knows you need a good lather for a proper shave.” Her lips left his jawline and found his for a long and smoldering kiss that made Scott think Jean wasn’t just talking about soap. “I have to get you ready first.”

“Oh, you know me,” Scott said, quick with the quip. “Always ready for anything.” When he kissed her back, he gathered her hair over her shoulder so he could gain free access to the other side. “You know…”

Scott trailed off as he let the wandering fingers in his gentle but provocative caress across Jean’s body do the talking. Their playful repartee easily flowed from merry to romantic without much warning, such was their special and unique bond. “I’ve got a really good feeling,” he cooed as he began kissing down her exposed neck, “something bad’s about to happen.”

“Bad?!” Jean had shut her eyes while she enjoyed Scott’s roaming touch and the hot water that ran over them but his choice in words caused one of her green eyes to open. She made a face that was half scowl and half tease but completely irresistible. “What do you mean bad?!”

“Yeah,” Scott said, doubling down on his innuendo and his necking. “I got a feeling things are about to get filthy in this clean and pristine bathroom. Hmmm…”

When Scott reached her collarbone, he pulled back and nipped at the shell of Jean's ear. “Wouldn't that be a shame?” he whispered with a quiet rasp.

“Filthy isn’t bad.” Jean closed her eyes again as she savored each and every kiss he lavished upon her. That statement was laughable because Jean was meticulously tidy, her telekinetic hands moved through the apartment constantly to the point where she would clean before Scott was finished with things. But it was a flattering moment for Scott, hearing Jean say something so out of character thanks to his affection and passion he provoked.

Goosebumps and a slight shiver passed through her despite the heated environment as Jean inadvertently dug her nails into his lower back. “How does the saying go? A mess means it was a job well done?” She gasped as his lips lingered on the side of her neck and Scott felt her thoughts becoming hazy and singular. Much like the list of traits she had provided earlier, it was fun to watch her come so undone thanks to him. “I don’t know if that’s actually a saying.”

Scott chuckled at her bamboozled babbling. “It is now,” he said between kisses. “Good job coining a phrase.” The way she usually had him wrapped around her finger made moments like these so exhilarating for Scott.

Turning her aside and placing her back against the tiled wall, Scott felt the jet stream run down between their bodies as he sunk down even lower. His hands gathered her breasts and pressed them together while his lips deliberated between which one to linger on. Indecisive and passionate, he moved between them from one to the other and back again. Hastened breathing added light gasps to his brushing lips. By the time his mouth found her nipple, Scott felt as hot and bothered as Jean sounded, a reaction he inflamed with flowing flicks from the tip of his tongue.

“Scott…” Jean gasped and huffed his name as he moved from breast to breast, even now that wicked mouth of his became an undeniable source of pleasure. Her hands held Scott’s head to her in a request for more of him as her body began to ache and want all over again. “You drive me crazy sometimes.”

Their banter could be hokey but these feelings of lust and love were the real reason that a playful smirk or a tempting touch caused them to easily tumble into each other. These stolen moments of foreplay and sex filled them both with such undeniable and unconditional love, it healed their hearts and restored their souls but it also became the place where they celebrated one another. Their love was authentic and pure, an act of praise and worship for who they were to each other. So as Scott lavished kiss after kiss across her bare skin, Jean couldn’t do anything else but fall for him all over again.

“I love you.” Jean hissed through a sharp exhale as his teeth grazed her now firm and sensitive nipples, the pink skin beneath his lips seemed worried by the act but the way she dug her fingertips into him told him how much she enjoyed it.

Spurred on by her encouragement, Scott hefted Jean up and guided her legs into an upright straddle while he braced her shoulders in his arms. The new position left Jean leaning backwards with her breasts presented to Scott like a tray of hors d'oeuvres. Scott continued his loving kisses with a new hunger as Jean’s body undulated against him. Every twist and squirm of her body fanned the flame of his own desire. Their hearts and minds always joined together as one before they went fully into sex, so Scott was in no greater hurry than Jean was. Both savored the joy of the moment in their own way, yet also empathically together through their shared bond.

Scott ran his mouth from her sternum to her chin where he stole a long, passionate kiss. “Say when,” he said before taking a side route back to her breasts by way of the place on her neck that always drove her into a frenzy. He couldn’t help but chuckle in his return to her engorged nipple and pressed it between his lips.

“That mouth of yours,” Jean purred as she arched and leaned into every kiss and caress of his lips. Her hands traveled in slow sensual trails across any part of Scott’s body that Jean could reach and her telekinetic touch moved across everything that she couldn’t. “It’s magic.”

They fell into a tantric rhythm with one another where every kiss or stroke was countered by the other until both Scott and Jean were panting and begging for their foreplay to escalate to the next level. “When,” she finally whispered against his lips.

Without breaking stride, Scott pressed the tip of his full arousal into Jean’s feminine flower which was already opened to him from their standing straddle. Each counterstroke of their grinding rhythm now pressed Scott deeper and ever deeper. Their lips locked and pressed together which turned their moans of pleasure into passionate whimpers. Hands and limbs locked tightly around each other’s bodies against the cascading water that flowed around them.

“Jean…” whispered Scott as he stared deeply into her eyes. Now that they were firmly in position, he dug in his feet hard enough to create a suction against the draining water lightly pooled about his feet. “Jean… I love you so much…”

And he began to thrust. Their rhythm shifted from smooth to turgid as Scott’s forceful hips slid Jean’s back up and down the slick tile wall. Like a well-oiled machine, Scott railed into her again and again, his unblinking eyes focused and driving into her as intently as anything else.

Jean’s heavy breathing fell into rhythm with Scott’s exertions as every one of her exhales coincided with each deep thrust he provided. The impact and ferocity of his efforts caused Jean to cling to him as she leaned into him and rested her forehead against his. The shift allowed them to be as close to one another as possible, their lips lingering and brushing against each other as Jean whispered and moaned Scott’s name along with her praise for him. The intimate tension continued to rise as the sounds and the pace of their lovemaking turned lurid and
Jean felt herself swept away in the intensity of the moment.

She had every intention of replying to the confession of Scott’s love for her but the heated climax that swelled and grew inside of her made it hard for her to speak or even think about anything beyond their union. Her whole body ratcheted and tensed from the pleasure that flooded her senses and Jean felt her whole body and her mind soar as she rode the euphoric high that claimed her.

Taking a moment longer than Jean was just how it worked between them. The faster Jean came to climax, the longer it took for Scott. But such was not the case here and now. As soon as Jean’s ratcheting body seized him in a feverish grip, Scott’s own tension peaked from balls to bone. It was only a few thrusts later that he lost himself within her. As Scott let go, he buried his face against Jean’s shoulder and cried out a wordless shout of incendiary delight.

The moment of their passion was slow to stop, though. Scott’s thrusts downshifted to a gradual decline that eked the last bit of intimacy out of their union. Their lips enmeshed once again, words failing them in that moment. Scott simply held Jean and basked in the calming, pacifying joy that came from every aspect of her embrace.

Jean found herself dumbfounded and awestruck as the hot and heavy throes of passion faded, leaving her feeling gloriously spent. She clung to Scott for a long period of time as she felt practically boneless in her postcoital euphoria but he never faltered or rushed her as he continued to hold her in his arms with the full weight of her body wrapped and draped across him. Jean wanted to tell him how marvelous he was, how she loved every single part of him and that these sublime moments confirmed everything she knew about him and herself. He was her soulmate and perfect partner, he challenged her body and mind while still being strong and supportive, from that lopsided smirk to the command and leadership he provided, she loved everything about him. They would alway be this flawless force of nature as long as they had one another. But even as Jean was left wordless she knew that Scott knew all of these things because he felt the same wave of powerful emotions in his own mind and body.

End content advisory

Slowly and with a touch of regret she let go of her tight hold on him as her own feet returned to the warm tile floor. Jean looked up at him as she returned to her normal height, there was such dedication and love in her gaze and she reached out to tenderly caress his cheek, the impulse to continue to touch him too great to ignore. The silent moment hit her hard as she found herself still lost in him, amazed by him. Jean was hopelessly devoted to Scott.

“That…” Scott was still at a loss for words, so he used his lips again in the only way he could. His fingers nestled atop of Jean’s caressing hand. It was a moment so glorious and precious that he didn’t want it to end. Any way he could hold onto it, he would, and so his lips tugged against Jean’s in hopes of prolonging their glimpse of eternity that was held in the fleeting moment. All too soon, normalcy began to return to him.

“That was incredible,” Scott said, finally finishing his sentence. “You’re incredible.” Looking into her eyes, he added, “I’m glad we’re getting married because I want to do this forever. Every day, every year, forever with you.” He drew her hand up and brushed the back of her knuckles with his lips before guiding it back to his chest where Jean had been caressing him.

“Do we have to do anything else?” His voice was sardonic and merry, his question half joking and half serious. “We could stay right here all day, get pruney and wait for old age to take us and make it permanent.”

Jean laughed at his statement before she reached for her bottle of shampoo. “I’m sure you’ll want to do something other than shower before the day is finished and we can easily do that in other places, just ask our poor former couch.”

She lathered her hair and the steamy bathroom was suddenly filled with the main smell that Scott associated with Jean, a faintly citrus and clean fragrance. “You know if we have kids our Christmas mornings will be wildly different. We’ll have to wake up at the crack of dawn to open presents after sitting up half the night waiting for them to finally fall asleep so Santa can deliver gifts at just the right time.”

A faraway look came over Scott's face. The full gamut of emotions filled his heart along with painful, tattered reverie of the past. Longing, pain, hope, joy. Childhood Christmastime was hard to remember. Between his father's deployments and the ravages of trauma, such idyllic moments were fuzzy for him at best.

“That still sounds pretty good…” Scott got a little choked up and forced himself to smile. It wasn't insincere. If anything, it reflected his strongest emotion. Gratitude. What Jean described was nothing less than bringing into the world something that Scott himself has lost for himself. “I honestly can't wait.”

Scott helped Jean rinse her long locks as was their long held shower tradition. Gentle hand over hand ringing strained the suds from her hair. “I know it's supposed to be scary but I just can't bring myself to see it that way. I guess that's one benefit of…of everything that's happened. There's nothing left to be afraid of. We can just look forward to what's to come.”

“It is nice, isn’t it?” Jean shut her eyes as his hands moved through her hair, she reached out and touched him with still soap slick hands that glided across his body. “I’m not scared either…”

She shared her mental picture of two intentionally vague yet incredibly familiar children, a boy and a girl just as Scott had mentioned. They frantically unwrapped gifts until a tall Christmas tree before squealing in delight over what they had been given. Jean and Scott were dressed in matching robes, curled up together on the couch and laughing at the pure joy that could only be found in children on Christmas. “… It feels right.”

Jean applied rich conditioner to her hair before returning her attention to Scott. “I haven’t forgotten about you.” Phantom hands delivered a razor and shaving cream to Jean and she began to lather his cheeks with the airy foaming shaving cream. “I am admittedly a little nervous about having a baby.” Jean rose to his height with a telekinetic aid and she began to carefully shave his jawline. “It’s worth it and all but it also sounds...painful. But I guess that’s putting the cart before the horse, I really shouldn’t worry about that just yet.”

Scott let out a soft, breathy laugh as Jean carefully worked the razor along his jawline, the cool edge contrasting with the warmth of the water cascading around them. He kept still, trusting her entirely, though her admission caught his attention. He stared at her askance through the thin layer of shaving cream.

“I think you’re allowed to be nervous,” he replied quietly, his voice steady and calm. “I mean, it’s kind of a big deal, isn’t it? Bringing a whole new person into the world… someone who’s a part of you and me. But…” He paused, swallowing as he gathered his thoughts, his throat working slightly as he searched for the right words. “I think that’s what makes it worth it. The fear, the pain, all of it—it means we’re doing something real. Something that matters. And it’s not something either of us is doing alone.”

He reached up gently, careful not to disturb Jean’s work, and let his fingers trail lightly down her torso. “I mean, let’s be honest, you’re way stronger than I am,” he added, a faint grin teasing the corners of his mouth beneath the lather. “If anyone can handle it, it’s you. Besides…” Scott’s voice grew quieter, more intimate, as his gratitude bled into every word. “…I’ll be right there with you for every second of it. You don’t have to worry about being alone in any of this, ever.”

“As long as I have you, I can do anything.” Jean paused and leaned in to delicately kiss him, her chin and nose dotted with shaving cream from the gesture. “Besides, trying to have a baby is fun too.” She giggled a little from her remark as she continued to shave his cheeks. “We can just celebrate every holiday like this one… Arbor Day, President’s Day, Flag Day.”

She grew serious and focused as she focused on Scott’s chin, her eyes lingering on the absolutely adorable little grin that made the corners of his mouth turn upwards. Jean was suddenly very aware of his hands on her abdomen and how much she enjoyed being close to him.

“I forgot to tell you, Bobby found our gear and skis in the attic and took them to be waxed. They’ll be ready at the mansion for us to load into the Jeep after the wedding. I told him that it counted as our Christmas present.” Scott and Jean had originally not planned for a Honeymoon, at least not immediately after the wedding. Instead they had decided on skiing in the Catskills and staying at a bed and breakfast for a long weekend as a way to celebrate. While it would be a short trip it still was something to look forward to. “I would rather he help with a chore rather than give us socks and novelty t-shirts.”

“Or dip into the organization’s expense account,” Scott pointed out. “Maybe encouraging him to go to business school wasn't the best idea. Now we'll need to have another accountant check up on him.”

It wasn't a serious criticism, of course. Bobby had matured quite a bit in recent months. It was almost like responsibility has propelled him to make up for lost time.

“As much as I loved your deserted island idea from before, a snowy bed and breakfast sounds just as grand…” Scott's grin turned mischievous. “...and just might be more our speed anyway.”

“Oh no! I’m getting my beach in the dead of winter.” Jean said with a fake scowl, “We held off on traveling but I’ll be damned if I don’t get my fruity cocktails in a bikini. We’ll come home sun kissed and completely relaxed.” She finished shaving his face with extra care while moving across his upper lip. “The Catskills is just a quiet weekend for us to decompress and consummate our wedding vows.” Jean leaned in and nuzzled him before planting a rather messy kiss on his lips that helped accentuate how smooth his skin was. The over the top kiss made her laugh as she broke it, “Besides, don’t you want more than one vacation with just the two of us?”

“Well, since you put it that way!” Scott chuckled back as he ran his hand across his face. “Smooth as a baby and not a single cut. I think that's a new record.” A teasing thought came to him. “I could grow a beard on the beach, make it nice and bushy. Really embrace the whole castaway vibe.” He kissed before she could immediately protest and then carried on without missing a beat. “If that makes me Gilligan, then you'd be Ginger, my gorgeous redhead movie star. Sounds like a blast!”

“I think I’m more of a Mary Ann,” Jean said with a chuckle as she soaped and lathered the length of her body, an action that immediately caught Scott’s attention. The suds and bubbles easily slid down every peak, plane, and curve of her body making it impossible to look at anything else. She laughed at his ogling eye, “You’re right, we are never going to leave the shower.” Jean reached out and ran a slippery hand down the length of his body as she took a step towards him. Her sleek body glided across his as she brushed against him in an all too tempting way, now she was just toying with him. “And we really can’t stay, we have a Christmas schedule to keep.”

“Your lips say Mary Ann…” Scott smirked at her sultry flirtation and called it out. “...but your hands say Ginger.” The grinding crush of her body against his reignited a familiar flair between them, one protruded against Jean's stomach. Scott chuckled helplessly against losing the flirting game. There was no denying his condition. It was as plain as the nose on her face. But Scott could always turn the tables.

“What was next on your list? Christmas movies, if I recall. There's, uh, Rudolph with the red, shiny…nose!” Scott chuckled again, burying his innuendo behind layers of innocent forgetfulness. “And Frosty and Miracle on 34th Street and It's A Wonderful Life…you pick.”

“I think you’re the first person to use Christmas movies as a form of seduction,” Jean said with a giggle before kissing him. It was a slow and sultry kiss, the kind that stilled and silenced them with the heat it created until only the sound of running water was heard. Based on the way she kissed him, Scott’s approach of festive flirtations appeared to be working.

The following section contains mild adult content. Reader discretion is advised until the next section.

“Come on. Let’s get out of this shower before we actually spend all day here,” Jean murmured against his lips in a hush and dusky tone before they rinsed the soap off their bodies and finally turned off the water. While her proposition to leave was initially a touch disappointing, Jean quickly banished the concern from Scott’s head. Reaching out for his towel, she dried off his body in small sections before placing a soft, gentle kiss on each patch of clean and dry skin as she finished. Jean lingered on a few key areas of his body, her terry cloth covered hands and her soft lips lavishing extra attention to spots that made him groan in delight.

“Sorry… I… ugh!” Scott braced his hand against the wall to steady himself. “I missed … ah, that last thing… you s-said.”

What was meant to be a clever quip fell apart faster than the words could clumsily drop out of his mouth. For all the praise Jean gave him for his mouth, she was giving him a run for his money in that category. Jean's telepathy and telekinesis applied the right way meant every area of his body could be an erogenous zone if she were so inclined.

Right now, Scott held no doubt that she was. While his hand on the wall continued to brace him, Scott let his other hand encircled the back of Jean's neck and held a fistful of her hair.

~I don't know how you chain those together so well ~ Scott closed his eyes and reveled in the feel of her kisses that had lured him away from the inviting showerhead that he hadn't wanted to leave. The intensity of the feeling pushed him towards an overwhelm of delight which he indulged. His thoughts turned pleading. ~But I don't want you to stop~

~* ‘I’m a woman of many talents’ *~ Jean laughed through her nose as she continued to kiss and caress him. The gesture created a few warm puffs of air across his skin before her lips lavished more attention upon him. Her affection turned lascivious when kisses became long and languid and the mood between them turned from playful to passionate.

Scott’s breath caught and his grip on her tightened as the length of him was taken in by her in one easy, throaty pass. She moved across him in a maddeningly slow manner as her telekinetic touch heightened every meticulously and mesmerizing bob of her head. It was both a tease and a seduction, as every fiber of his being begged and ached for her. Jean couldn’t help but moan as she felt his passion swell and call for her.

“God’s sake, Jean!” Scott’s gasp made his exclamation far more loud than he’d intended. ~Please put it in your mouth already!~

His thoughts were more gentle than his outward demeanor. That was understandable, since the muscles in his legs flared, making his thighs bulge along with everything else. Fingers that were merely caressing the back of her head dug into the nape of her neck before gripping her shoulder for stability. The attention she lavished on him passed the line of overwhelming back when his curling toes lifted him off the balls of his feet.

“Please…” he muttered, whimpering through bated breath.

~* ‘Such manners’ *~ Jean coyly cooed as she ran a hand across the length of his thigh, a touch that was so close yet so far from satisfying him. ~* ‘How could I deny you anything, especially when you say please.’ *~

She slid him into her mouth and down her throat with one sublime, simple motion. The soft heat and warmth of her enveloped him and consumed. Jean felt the rush the sensation created in him from the way he jerked and gasped to the stupefying euphoria that filled his mind. All of that delighted her and thrilled her, feeling how good this made him feel caused her to double down and provide stroke after stroke of pleasure.

At first the sensation was a relief from the throbbing intensity that Jean’s lips had created. Scott sighed in relief at the deep throat plunge as his pipe finally had the plumbed depths he so craved after Jean’s relentless and loving stimulation. But as she worked him in stroke after stroke with the back of her tongue running the length of his shaft and her uvula put pressure on his tip, Scott found himself in a whole new level of euphoria. Sensitive as he was from their rampant morning dalliances, the magnitude was such that Jean’s excited and eager actions penetrated his mind far more than normal.

~You feel…~ Once again Scott found himself struggling to form a coherent thought. Lost in pleasure and passion, there was only Jean crashing over him like a tidal wave and forcing him out to sea in a riptide, one blessed stroke at a time. ~... it feels… like… the first time…~

Head slowly yawing backward like an early morning stretch, Scott’s mouth hung wide open. He was agape and overcome by Jean’s insatiable need to please him. From somewhere deep in his gullet came a harsh cry, a small harbinger of greater things to come. Scott’s breathing turned ragged, his voice moaning with more pleading that failed to form words, save for a breathy refrain of, “Oh… Jean…”

~* ‘Fall for me’ *~ Her words were a siren’s song tempting him to crash and crumble across the rocks. Scott felt that beckoning touch of her presence in his thoughts as her mouth and her mind glided across him in a harmonious caress.

Everything fell apart and came together in the moments that followed, Scott’s whole body stiffened and surged as he reached that glorious release and Jean escorted him through every moment of pleasure until he was left spent and emptied.

Tossed to and fro, Scott let Jean take everything he had as he came undone before her. Blissful confusion might have set in, but Jean was there with him in his mind, cradling his psyche as lovingly and intimately as she was his body. With nothing left to him, Scott slowly slinked to his knees and folded his arms around Jean’s shoulders and simply held her. The soft trembling of his body quickly subsided, but in that moment, he just wanted to be near her still.

End content advisory

“I love you,” he whispered, his voice barely audible in a soft, cracking timbre. “So much…”

Soon his breathing regulated along with his heartbeat. He slowly stood to his feet and guided Jean upward along with him. “I was just teasing you before…” He nodded to the shower. “But… wow. Merry Christmas!”

He was just babbling now, unsure of what else to say that could come close to capturing how she’d made him feel, how he still felt. When they were together, he felt complete. Yet it was more than a feeling. It was a new reality that could only be reached through their special bond, a higher vista that made everything else seem dull by comparison. “You know what I mean…”

“I know what you mean.” Jean wrapped her arms around him and rested her head under his chin. She held onto him tightly for a long moment as they melted into one another. They had talked a lot about how their lives and their relationship had changed, how this was a new chapter and new endeavor for them but at the end of the day this feeling, what they meant to one another, that was still the same.

“I love you, Scott Summers.” She kissed the faint cleft in his chin before letting go of him and heading back to the bedroom. They dressed in cozy clothes rather than their usual business casual, it was attire that suited their lazy late morning of lounging.

Jean finally opened their bedroom curtains and gasped at the sight. The early morning flurries had turned into a true snow storm, huge flakes fell and their view of Central Park was obstructed. The city was already covered in a hefty blanket of snow. “I knew it was supposed to snow but this is so much more, good thing we don’t really have anywhere to be today. I’m glad we didn’t try to drive out to Westchester, we would have had to bum a ride with Bobby.”

She looked over her shoulder at Scott, her hair was starting to dry and in the white washed light and it practically glowed through the filter of his ruby lenses. “I’m so glad we decided to stay home. You had mentioned a drink earlier, do you still want a hot toddy?”

“Absolutely I do,” Scott said as he idly strolled into the living space behind her.

Scott stepped into the living room, his socked feet padding softly against the floor. He paused at the window, taking in the sight of the storm outside—but his gaze quickly shifted to Jean, who stood framed by the frosted glass. The wintry daylight cast a soft glow around her, making her hair shimmer like spun copper and her skin radiate warmth against the cold backdrop. Her green eyes sparkled, alight with a quiet joy that made his heart ache in the best possible way.

He let out a low whistle, a playful smile tugging at his lips. “You know,” he said, his voice carrying a mix of awe and teasing affection, “I should’ve put you on top of the tree. You’d make the perfect Christmas angel.”

Jean sheepishly giggled from his compliment, that reserved demeanor returning after those racey moments in the bathroom. Two sides of the same coin, she was fit for finishing school until Scott flipped her on the dime. “I’d rather be under the tree with you,” she said with a smirk while walking past him to fix their drinks.

~The day is young~ Scott thought, knowing Jean wouldn’t miss a beat.

A few minutes later she returned with their warm drinks. Lemon and honey mixing with the heated smell of whiskey. Jean found Scott lounging across the couch in a position of half recline while he flipped through the channels looking for whatever Christmas movie cable had to offer. She handed him his drink before wedging herself between Scott and the back of the couch.

“Did you find anything good to watch?” Jean asked while taking a sip of her drink, she made a slight face over the amount of whiskey she had placed in the toddy.

Scott took the hot toddy with a grateful smile, raising it to his nose for a quick sniff before taking a cautious sip. The lemon, honey, and whiskey melded perfectly, a warm reprieve from the winter chill outside. “Thanks, Jean,” he said softly, glancing at her over the rim of his glass. “This is perfect.”

He gestured toward the TV with his drink. “Charlie Brown Christmas is on,” he said, his voice light but thoughtful. “I’ve always liked this one. Poor Charlie never seems to catch a break, but he keeps trying anyway, even when he’s completely discouraged and has no idea what to do next.”

As Jean nestled closer against him, her head lightly resting on his shoulder as she watched the screen, Scott continued, his tone turning more reflective. “I think I read somewhere that Charles Schultz based Charlie Brown on himself. Apparently, he had a pretty rough childhood—felt like the odd guy out most of the time.” He paused, letting the words linger in the air before adding with a small, wry smile, “Kind of makes you think, doesn’t it? Sometimes everyone else sees our worth better than we do.”

He sipped his toddy again, savoring its warmth before glancing at Jean. “You know, ‘Charlie’ wouldn’t be a bad name for a boy.” His voice was casual, almost idle, but there was a flicker of curiosity in his expression as he waited for her reaction.

“Well the name Charles is attached to the man who saved and changed our lives, it would be a loving tribute to him to name our child after him.” Jean took another sip of her drink, the whiskey didn’t burn as much this time. “I think that’s really beautiful and I think he would be touched by the gesture. Plus, Charlie is cute.”

She laughed a little as she recalled something she was told a long time ago. “My mom always said that you should stand in the doorway and shout the name you're thinking of calling your child like you were calling them in for dinner. If you can imagine yourself doing that, that’s how you know you picked the right name.” Jean mentally pictured a Donna Reed like daydream where dinner was on the table in a mid century modern home where two children joined them at the dining room table. “Charles Scott Summers, that is definitely a legacy of a name.”

“I like it,” Scott said. “Never did like the ‘junior’ bit, but Charles Scott Summers does have a noble ring to it. Sounds like one of those old-time poets you like so much.”

Catching her daydream in his own mind, Scott cocked his head thoughtfully to one side and broached the observation he had seen. “Two kids. And one of them wasn’t Christopher.” He cracked a curious smile. “Don’t hold out on me. How many children do you want?”

Jean frowned a little at his comment about Christopher. “I didn’t mean it like that, to exclude him. I was just thinking about the stuff we had talked about earlier.” Cold, sad guilt moved through her as she thought about the child that was gone, that child who was wanted but wasn’t hers, along with the ugly reality of what had happened and what might never happen.

“I don’t know, Scott. The things I want and what might actually happen are two different things.” He felt her mood drop and he watched the joyful daydream as it left her face and her eyes dulled. Jean had often denied herself moments like this, where she idly imagined a life for them outside of their uniforms and codenames, mostly because what they did was so dangerous and nothing was promised. Even now, reality had a way of creeping in and crushing her spirits and Scott could see why she didn’t normally think about what their future might look like because it hurt her so much to even think about not having a life with him. “Maybe, I’ll never get pregnant or it will be so hard to achieve that it takes years to accomplish... Maybe, I lose the baby or some ancient weirdo takes him.” Jean thought about Essex in that moment and Scott watched as a faint tremble of fear caused her cup to shake. “If we’re being practical, I probably shouldn’t answer that question. I’ll take what fate allows me to have, I’m grateful for any blessings that come to me.”

Scott’s expression softened, his heart aching as he saw the pain in Jean’s eyes and felt the tremor in her hand. He set his drink down on the coffee table and gently took the cup from her trembling fingers, placing it beside his own. His hands, warm and steady, enveloped hers. “Jean,” he began, his voice quiet but firm, “I don’t ever want you to feel like you can’t dream about the future. About us. About the life we want to build together.” He pulled her into his arms, holding her close. “I want you to have that joy, Jean.”

He cupped her cheek, lifting her gaze to meet his. “I know how hard it is, to even think about Christopher right now. It’s not that I’ve stopped believing…” His words trailed off, not wanting to even say it. “But I know we may have to face that reality one day... the one where he isn’t part of our lives.” His voice hitched for a moment before he continued. “If that happens, it won’t be because we didn’t love him enough or fight hard enough. It will be because the world is cruel and unfair, and none of that will ever be your fault.”

Scott’s thumb brushed gently across her cheek. “You deserve to have everything you dream of, Jean. If two kids are what you see in our future, then that’s what I see too. Not because I’m trying to replace Christopher or erase what’s happened, but because building a life with you, a family, is all I’ve ever wanted. And if that’s your dream too, then we’ll fight for it. Together.”

Jean nodded her head and buried her face into the crook of his neck. She nuzzled into him as she held onto him tightly, for all of Scott’s brooding he was an everlasting source of strength and optimism for her. ~* ‘Together’ *~ She repeated the word as his sentiments sunk in and her doubts and fears vanished. They would always be each other’s light that banished their darkness.

“I’m happy with two… or three… maybe four.” Jean giggled as she lightly tickled him, her playful mood returning. “You heard Warren, we fuck like rabbits.”

Scott couldn’t help the warmth that spread through his chest as Jean melted into him, her playful mood washing away the heavy moment like sunlight breaking through storm clouds. Her giggle was infectious, and he chuckled softly as she escalated the number of hypothetical children with each ticklish prod. But when her bold quip about Warren slipped out, he felt a sudden rush of heat climb to his cheeks. “Yeah, I guess we do…”

Recovering quickly, he tilted his head to meet her gaze with a smirk. “You know, that raises a good point. We might need to install a code lock on the bedroom door,” he teased. “Not just for Warren and his snooping, though. Bobby’s curiosity is endless, and…” He visibly cringed, unable to stop himself from adding, “…let’s not even start on our ‘fantastic neighbors’ upstairs. I don’t trust them to respect our boundaries either.”

Scott shook his head, laughing now, though his nose wrinkled at the thought. “Honestly, let’s just keep everyone out. No snooping. No sampling. No interruptions. Just us.” He leaned in, pressing a tender kiss to her temple. “You and me, and maybe… two, three, or four tiny versions of us running around someday.”

“Don’t be such a curmudgeon.” Jean poked him before her touch turned into a caress up and down the length of his side. “You never would have guessed that you grew up with people all around you, but then again maybe that’s why you like this new found privacy.”

She kissed the side of his neck and rested the full weight of her body across his, their lazy cozy time on the couch finally achieved. “I don’t think we could stay in this apartment with three or four tiny versions of us running around. We’d have to get a house… then probably a dog.”

Scott's grin widened as he imagined the scene Jean painted—a cozy house filled with love, the sound of little feet running around, even furry feet. It felt impossibly domestic compared to their usual lives, but it wasn’t unwelcome. “A house, huh?” he mused, his fingers absently tracing gentle patterns along Jean’s back. “We’d have to budget carefully to make that happen. Even a small house in a good area would be more than this apartment. But it’s doable.”

He paused for a moment, his brows furrowing slightly. “Making a fortune off of mutant activism… it feels dirty, doesn’t it? Like profiting off of people’s struggles, our own struggles.” Scott exhaled, his tone softening as he found clarity in his thoughts. “But a modest living, a safe home for our family—that’s not wrong. That’s responsible. That’s building something real and honest.”

His voice quieted further, contemplative. “And with the Professor… well, when the time comes, we’ll have to decide what to do with the X-Mansion. As his beneficiaries, his heirs… that’s a legacy we’ll have to carry. But I don’t want to think about that yet.”

Scott tilted his head down to kiss Jean’s forehead. “For now, I’m just happy here with you, thinking about that house with the white picket fence and those tiny versions of us.” His lips quirked into a small, teasing smile as his fingers tickled her under the ribs. “We can figure out the dog later.”

Jean squirmed and giggled as he tickled her. “One day at a time and we’ll adjust as we go. Who knows, we might turn out to be cat people.”

She shifted and rose up so that her lips found his for a long kiss. Their daydreams made everything rosey and bright and for the first time in a very long time they were perfectly content. “I think this is the best Christmas I’ve ever had.”

Such serenity set Scott at ease, something he sorely needed after recent events. His memory went idling away to Christmases past. “Even better than the one where Bobby thought he beat everyone in a snowball fight only for you to pummel him from all sides?” Scott chuckled at the memory from when they were still teenagers. It felt like a lifetime ago now. And after the passionate morning, he wondered how future Christmases could compare. “No contest, I know. Last Christmas we had Bobby beating down our door at the end of the hall, demanding we hurry downstairs for presents.” He scrunched one eye closed and chuckled wryly. “You know, maybe we’re better prepared for kids than we thought.”

“I did get Bobby good, didn’t I?” Jean said with a satisfied smile as she recalled the look of shock and disbelief on Bobby’s face when she mercilessly pummeled him with snowballs. He had been so cocky and arrogant that his downfall was made sweet.

“You say we’re prepared for kids, I’ll remind you of that during those midnight feedings and diaper blowouts.” Jean chuckled as she recalled the horror stories her older sister had told her. But the more she thought about it, it didn’t sound bad at all. “Playing Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny, being summoned to banish monsters under the bed or attend blanket based tea parties.” She let out a dreamy little sigh, “Never mind, I take it back. I want a baby right now.”

Scott listened to Jean with a growing smile, her enthusiasm and humor painting a vivid picture of a life that seemed almost too good to be true. Yet, as she sighed dreamily, declaring her sudden readiness for a baby, he couldn’t help but feel the weight of his own thoughts settle over him. Her words conjured images of a world so different from the one they had fought to survive in, a world filled with love and life rather than battles and loss.

He shifted slightly beneath her, looking out at the falling snow beyond their window. “All of that… it sounds like another life,” he admitted quietly. “Almost like the memories I have of the X-Mansion—full of chaos, sure, but also full of hope and family. And now, here we are… in this apartment that feels less like home and more like a stop along the way.”

Scott's hand slid up to cradle the back of her head as he turned his gaze back to Jean, his eyes soft behind the ruby-red lenses of his glasses. “I guess that’s where we are now—constant change, always in transition. But maybe… maybe that’s okay. Maybe it means we’re moving toward something better. Something like this life we’re imagining.”

He tightened his arms around her, his embrace firm and grounding. “Whatever the future brings, as long as it’s with you, I’ll take it. All of it. Midnight feedings, tea parties, snowball fights—I want it all, Jean.”

Then, without another word, he leaned in and kissed her deeply, as if trying to pour every ounce of his love, his hope, and his belief in their future into her. It was a kiss that said everything he couldn’t put into words, a promise that he would hold on to this dream for as long as they both lived.

A small moan murmured and melded with their kiss as Jean felt every emotion and promise that flowed from Scott. His love was pure devotion and exultation, it was the type of love people dreamed of and wrote endless sonnets and poems over. It made her heart sing and caused her soul to take flight. There was nothing more that Jean wanted from this life than to be loved by Scott.

Her hands came up to caress him and hold his head as her want for more of him began to whisper through his thoughts. A soft flutter of longing that was delicate and gentle like the snow that fell outside but Scott knew he would soon be inundated in Jean as she moved across him like the force of nature that she was.

~* ‘Our lives might always be changing but this is the constant that makes it all worthwhile.’ *~ Jean leaned into him as she shared her own feelings with him through their psychic rapport, his love had saved her and healed her, filled her with hope and resolve. Scott was a part of her that lived outside of her own body and mind. There was no need to promise herself to him because she needed him like oxygen, but as they held onto one another and reaffirmed their covenant everything felt right and perfect in the world.

Scott pulled her close and added the force of his embrace to her bodyweight. His caressing hands moved across her body with the spark of their psychic rapport flowing through them. Every touch, no matter how light and gentle, was charged with their mutual need for each other as well as all the love they had to give.

Adjusting their postures on the couch so as not to make Jean crane her neck, Scott pulled her into a kiss that started small and innocent but stretched out into a wordless declaration of eternal love and devotion. Hearts wide open, Scott let his soul sing to Jean's in a song only she would ever know. Their bodies couldn't help but begin to gyrate and join in dance as was their way.

~Whatever happens…~ Scott thought, thinking of the future while losing himself in the eternal now that came whenever his lips met with Jean's. ~...we need to make this a Christmas tradition. This right here. Just the two of us~

~* ‘I think we can manage that.’ *~ Jean chuckled at his easily achieved request, their pull to one another was practically magnetic in nature. It didn’t take much to bring them together, a few sweet kisses, or a lingering touch, even a naughty thought or two and Scott and Jean were entwined.

The following section contains mild adult content. Reader discretion is advised until the next section.

Scott’s touch became a bit lurid as he palmed and squeezed her backside. The gentle strength in his touch was enough to spark her own desires and Jean’s hands began to roam across his body with a few more liberties.

~* ‘We might need to be a bit more sneaky about it with a full house, but we’ve always managed.’ *~ She couldn’t help herself and Jean moaned in response to his roaming touch and how his long fingers brushed against her. The over the clothes tease reminded Jean of nights in the back of the Jeep before everything became hot and heavy.

She shifted and moved against Scott so her own hand could stroke and caress him. It was that playful game of give and take between them, a counter move that matched the other person until they finally came undone. Jean’s touch was delicate but intentional as she teased and encouraged his growing arousal.

Were he ticklish, Scott might have squirmed. Instead he just smirked. The soft, increasingly lurid movements from her hands elicited an entirely different reaction than giggling. Scott felt himself begin to swell against the warm crush of Jean's body held against his.

~You’re managing me right now~ That thought made Scott chuckle. His body began to tense and throb in anticipation of what it instinctively knew was to come. ~Maybe I should return the favor~

Scott slid his hand between them, a feat in itself for the lack of space between them. Jean wriggled just enough to make way before parting her legs enough for wandering fingers to make their gradual but purposeful descent to where she and Scott both wanted them to end up.

Not that Scott made it so easy as a straight line. Meandering circles, soft touches, graceful walking back after deft probing teased Jean until her own anticipation and tension rose to meet Scott's. Their psychic rapport surged with the mutual buildup between them and Scott couldn't help but hold his breath for the growing heat.

Jean’s kisses turned hungry and urgent as Scott’s touch coaxed her into her own blushed and heated state of excitement. She squirmed and writhed against him as that wild part of her began to creep to the surface, that part of Jean that was unbridled and eager to find her pleasure.

She tugged on his lower lip with her teeth as her touch became just as flustered and reckless as the rest of her. Jean’s thoughts burned and pined for Scott as love turned into that aching desire for more of him, for all of him.

~* ‘We manage...’ *~ Jean said with a touch of internal laughter but her banter was starting to fall apart as their hands continued with their teasing touch. He felt her growing impatient as her free hand began to paw at his clothes in a desperate attempt to feel the warmth of his bare skin.

Clothing was soon shed like the falling leaves after autumn’s turning. One benefit of pajamas was how they were not difficult to remove. Now liberated and unencumbered, Scott and Jean were free to continue as they had been without barriers to their petting.

The echoes of Jean’s internal laughter resonated inside Scott’s mind, adding a profound sense of joy to the excitement of the moment. It made for a beautiful combination, just like the two of them. As much physical pleasure as they took from one another, it was that deeply abiding and fulfilling connection that kept them glued to one another in nonstop acts of intimacy.

For that reason, when Scott gently but firmly clawed between Jean’s legs, his eyes clenched shut with a rush of pleasure that was nearly as intense as it was for Jean. Her stimulation was his stimulation, whether good or bad. Feeling her reaction in real time through their psychic rapport brought a gasp to his own lips. He kissed her deeply for the dire need that filled him to do so. Whenever their bond activated at this level, the daylight between their psyches always began to fade as no space could be found between them. Moment by moment, they were truly becoming one.

Jean gasped and shuttered as Scott’s hand moved across her without the dulling sensation of cloth between them. Slick heat welcomed him as his fingers glided across her smooth, soft skin. She rose and shifted until she was straddling his waist, a change in position that created all the opportunity they craved.

More. It wasn’t a conscious thought from Jean but an instinctive plea from her body and her mind that called to Scott. Her want for him pulled Scott to her and she felt his hips intuitively buck underneath her in an attempt to facilitate their union.

“Every Christmas,” Jean playfully purred as she leaned forward and kissed him. Her lips remained curled into a joyful smile even as their bodies continued to align and the anticipation rose. “We’ll manage to do this.”

She slowly lowered her hips and in an easy, gloriously manner they joined. The sensation created a shared gasp between them as the world vanished and the shared pleasure of their bodies became the only thing that mattered.

Scott couldn't hold back a moan as he felt himself slide inside Jean. Everything about the sensation was gratifying. Beyond the immense physical pleasure, though, was that feeling of home that he only ever knew when they were together.

The time for words slipped away. Now they were showing each other the depths of their feelings for one another. Scott's hands slid up Jean’s abdomen, first scooping and then cupping her breasts which jostled in time with her hips. The supple handfuls were satisfying in their own respect, but they also enhanced the rhythm that was struck between the two of them. Hands braced even as they fondled, Scott joined his hips in the rowing motion Jean had settled into on top of him. Together they merged into a flow that pressed and pulled them ever closer together.

As their passion built up, Scott leaned his head back with a sharp jolt. The movement stretched his taut neck muscles and exposed his Adam’s apple in a flexing bulge. He gasped from the sweet satisfaction that multiplied with every roll of Jean's hips. Being touched in such an intimate way also opened the locks of his heart, releasing parts of his core self that only Jean ever saw, let alone felt. Scott let his outer defenses crumble away as he embraced total vulnerability beneath Jean's blazing straddle..

“Almost,” Jean panted as her hips rolled and undulated in long, heated strides. The movements were hot and heavy not just in their pace but in the torrid passion that burned between them, it left her breathless and heaving from each stroke.
Her word was a request to hold on and to make this perfect, erotic moment last as long as possible.

She reveled in the touch and feel of him beneath her as Scott’s hands palmed and cradled her while his body filled and satisfied her. Jean couldn’t help but lasciviously moan as she allowed herself to indulge in the carnal pleasure that was the union of their flesh. Combining that sensation with his bared heart and soul and those raw feelings of steadfast love and devotion, Jean never wanted this to end.

But her body betrayed her as the throes of passion took over and Jean’s whole body began to shudder and quake. Her head turned skywards as pleasure ratcheted and rippled through her body in a long lasting moment of tortured bliss. The sensation made her fists ball and her toes curl as Jean was swallowed whole by their lovemaking.

Try as he might, Scott couldn’t hold on any longer himself, not with Jean’s ecstatic clenching riding him hard and putting him up wet. Like a deadfall dragged over a waterfall, Scott was dragged over the edge where his finish collided with the tail end of Jean’s incendiary climax. The friction of their grinding psyches meshed together broke them through into a whole other level of euphoria beyond the physical. Their cries of ecstasy harmonized together like an orgasmic choir of full-ranged vocals.

Flushed and out of breath, Scott let his already noodle-like limbs fall limp. Normally he would hold Jean tight against him, but the connection between his mind and body was momentarily out of service. All that was left for them both was to enjoy the creature comfort of their exhausted bodies slowly fusing together under the extreme heat and pressure of their burning, all-consuming passion.

End content advisory

“A new number three, for sure.” Jean huffed and laughed as she carelessly tumbled into Scott. Their bodies were hot and sweat covered as they became an exhausted pile of tangled limbs. It was a sensation that Jean enjoyed for a multitude of reasons but mainly because it was in this position that the drug-like euphoric high appeared.

“You’re amazing, Scott Summers.” Jean said before placing a large, over the top kiss on his cheek.

“Seems you did most of the work that time,” Scott teased with a huffing sigh. “I like that you started ranking them too. Means I’m rubbing off on you… in more ways than one.”

The two of them were normally too prim and proper to be lewd in front of others, but that only made their private antics all the more appealing. Nobody would ever believe the two of them talked that way, making it yet another special thing that was just for them. And Scott was far too male not to laugh at his own tawdry humor.

“Top three it is,” he confirmed, “standing on the shoulders of a fantastic morning.” He looked at their hot toddies they’d abandoned on the coffee table. Only the faintest wisps of steam lifted off of them. Already the day was getting away from them, but in that moment, Scott wouldn’t have had it any other way.

Jean chuckled a little as Scott stared at their drinks on the table. You didn’t have to be a mind reader to know he wanted it back. “Here.” She shifted a bit so they could both sit up before telekinetically delivering their mugs back to them. Scott merely had to pluck the drink from the air once he was ready to sip it.

“I’ll admit that I was against the ranking system at first but I see its purpose now.” Jean said with a smile before taking a drink from her own hot toddy. “And don’t sell yourself short on the achievement of today’s score, I can assure you that you do your part. I couldn’t make it there on my own.”

“Just giving credit where it was due.” Scott stole a kiss from her cheek between his sips. “Thank you. Still warm.”

While context would suggest he was talking about the drink, Jean had the benefit of Scott's inner mind which always told the whole story. He smiled at feeling her body heat radiating into him, and more than just her arms and her legs. She was practically broiling from her…

“Did I mention that I love you?” Scott grinned at her, both enjoying their time together and the fact that her telepathy meant he could toy with her in ways that no one else knew about. It was yet another way that their time together was perfect, where even lounging together was still an activity uniquely suited to them as individuals and as a couple.

“You may have mentioned it once or twice.” Jean returned his grin as she looked up at him. She punctuated the sentence with a squeeze of a hug to convey that his feelings of love were mutual. “I guess we’ll just have to get married and live happily ever after then.”

She snuggled into him and remained draped across Scott as they basked in the afterglow of their love. They could have continued to openly express their feelings for one another but sometimes letting their emotions flow through their bond was more effective.

Today was definitely a different and special day, a lot of darkness had been removed from their lives and a newfound feeling of excitement and optimism had taken its place. Their love had always been a support system and a place of strength when the world attempted to tear them down, now it was this carefree feeling, an easy sort of euphoric cloud that cradled and uplifted them.

“I just realized something…” Jean said in a dreamy voice from her position across his chest. “I never asked you what you wanted to do today.”

“Already doing it,” Scott murmured into the top of her head.

And it was true. The last two months had been beyond surreal. They had seen the rise and fall of the MRA, the return of the Sentinels and the Hellfire Club, the downfall of an island nation, and even closed shut the gates of hell. All of them needed a little downtime. Enjoying the hard won victory was what made it all worthwhile and allowed the sacrifices to be bearable. Recharging his batteries with Jean was the one thing he had wanted out of the day.

“I like your list, though.” He paused a moment to chuckle and let the sincerity of his statement bleed through their bond before continuing. “What comes next?”

“I was thinking we could go for a walk in the park but it might still be snowing.” Jean lifted and craned her neck so she could look out the window. The sky was still a drab gray but she couldn’t see any actively falling flakes. “It looks like it will be cold outside… Maybe we should stay like this?”

The feeling of Scott’s body against her own had a calming effect on Jean and being in his arms was an inviting place to be. So often they lamented leaving this exact position for their responsibilities outside of the home. Despite Jean’s desire to have the most picture perfect day, she had to admit that just savoring the moments as they happened also had their own appeal. Life was what happened in between the planning.

“I like staying like this.” Jean nuzzled his neck and lavished a few small kisses on him.

“You make a compelling argument…” Scott felt his breath catch in his throat as he couldn’t help but swallow against her lips. “But you made Christmas in Central Park sound pretty good too. I also heard something about a light show from Sal. Why don’t we take a walk and see how far we get?”

“Okay.” Jean smiled at his response, sometimes she worried Scott would just go with the flow for her sake when he actually wanted to relax. Hearing him saying he wanted to go too made her feel better. “Let’s finish our lukewarm Toddies and get dressed.”

They bundled themselves up and made their way outside to a shockingly pristine New York City that was covered in pure white snow. It made the streets appear like something out of a movie, too perfectly seasonal, so even though the air was crisp with a bit of a bite to it, it was still a beautiful scene to walk through.

“Careful, it’s a little slippery,” Jean warned him as they walked together arm in arm through Central Park. But it was a funny warning on her part, Jean wouldn’t allow either one of them to actually fall and Scott was so sure footed from his martial arts that he rarely lost his balance. It was just her fussy need to take care of him and watch out for Scott even in an environment that was safe.

Scott smiled at Jean's gentle warning, her protectiveness as unnecessary as it was endearing. “I’ll be careful,” he promised, his tone light but sincere.

Their boots crunched softly through the fresh snow, the sound underscored by the faint hum of distant holiday music wafting from a nearby street performer’s speaker. The city seemed hushed by the snowfall, its usual clamor muffled into a serene quiet. Street chatter was at a minimum as they made their way along.

Central Park was a winter wonderland. Snow-laden trees arched gracefully over the paths, their branches glittering in the glow of strings of festive lights that hung from lampposts and cast soft, colorful shadows on the white ground. Families and couples meandered through the park, some pulling sleds or stopping to pose for photos beside snowmen with mismatched scarves. The faint smell of roasted chestnuts wafted through the air, carried by a vendor parked near one of the bridges.

As they approached the park's center, the light show Sal had mentioned came into view—a dazzling display of synchronized lights illuminating the trees and reflecting off the snow. The colors shifted and danced in time with the cheerful strains of holiday music. The sight drew murmurs of delight from onlookers.

Scott glanced sideways at Jean. Through their psychic rapport, he felt her joy mingling with a quiet, overwhelming gratitude for this moment. It warmed him more than any number of layers could in the chilly air.

“Worth leaving the apartment for?” he teased gently, slipping an arm more firmly around her as they stopped to watch the show.

“Yeah, this is pretty good.” Jean’s voice was soft and appreciative as they watched the light show with the brilliant white of the snow behind it. She wrapped an arm around his waist and rested her head on his shoulder, their winter coats were thick and muffled their touch but Jean still managed to squeeze him with her arm.

~* ‘Life is pretty good.’ *~ Jean said with a twinge of emotions to her thoughts, she was happy and grateful, humbled and inspired by what they had together. Life had been so incredibly hard at times but right now it felt like all their efforts were worth it because they had this beautiful thing together.

“I love you, Scott.” Jean tilted her head up and kissed him in a moment of blissful joy that warmed her from the inside out.

Perfection was a rare thing to find in life, but that moment in the snow, surrounded by Christmas cheer, connected as soulmates on the world's happiest day of the year… Scott decided that it qualified.

“I love you, Jean,” he replied as he cupped her face. “Today couldn't be any more perfect.”

The clackity-clack of horse hooves echoed up the street adjacent to their walking path. Scott's gaze darted to the side where he caught sight of a horse drawn carriage. Twin horses whinnied as the coachman brought them to a halt and let off his passengers.

“I stand corrected.” Scott chuckled and cocked his head to the side, nodding toward the carriage. “What do you think?”

“Oh, they’re so sweet!” Jean gasped as she noticed the white horses and their carriage all covered in garland and sleigh bells. There was more childlike joy in her voice as she looked at the horses with wide-eyed wonder. “Can we go? Do you think he’ll take us?”

They walked towards the carriage together and the hansom cabbie greeted them with a smile. “Afternoon folks, care for a ride around Central Park?”

“Yes!” Jean replied with a touch more enthusiasm than was necessary. It was cute to see her so excited over something so simple.

“Hop on in then,” the driver said with the same unfaltering smile. He offered Jean a hand to climb in but she didn’t need the help and was halfway in before he even finished his sentence.

Scott climbed in after Jean, smiling at her excitement as he settled into the plush seats of the carriage. The warmth of the wool blankets draped across the seats was a welcome contrast to the frosty air. As the horses began to trot forward, the sound of their hooves against the cobblestones provided a rhythmic backdrop to the gentle jingle of sleigh bells.

The carriage entered the heart of Central Park. Slowing to a leisurely pace, the horses weaved them through pathways framed by snow-laden trees beneath branches which glistened under the soft glow of festive lights. Families skated on a nearby ice rink, their laughter carrying over the crisp air.

Scott turned to Jean. The sight of her cheeks flushed from the cold and her eyes sparkling with happiness stole his breath away. “You know, every time I think I’ve seen you at your most beautiful, you prove me wrong.” His voice was soft, barely above the sound of the bells, but it carried the sincerity of his words.

“And just when I thought you couldn’t be any more charming…” Jean leaned in and kissed him, it was a sweet gesture that reminded Scott of their stolen kisses in the mansion hallways between classes or training. It was passion that was so pure and innocent that she couldn’t help but steal a moment with him.

With a content sigh Jean rested her head on Scott’s shoulder and took in the sights of Central Park and New York City. It was a new skyline and a different setting than what they had grown up with but the bustling city turned winter wonderland seemed like a refreshing change for them, maybe because this was the first time that they had ever had a Christmas that was truly just for them and no one else. “You’re right, today is perfect.”

As their psychic rapport linked them more deeply, Jean’s nostalgic thoughts triggered memories of his own, filling him with a bittersweet longing for the simplicity of their youth.

~That mistletoe…~ Scott recalled the image sharp in his mind’s eye. They were just 15. He could still see the small green sprig with bright red berries hanging above the entrance to the rec room. It wasn’t much, but it had taken him all morning to figure out the right spot and make sure no one else would stumble upon his scheme.

He smiled wryly at the memory. “I must have paced that hallway a dozen times, waiting for you to walk by…” Scott laughed, shaking his head. “If only I’d known how close we’d become, I would’ve mustered the courage to hang the year before.” His hand brushed against hers under the blanket. “But I guess it worked out in the end.”

Rather than merely brush her hand against his, Jean reached out and took Scott’s hand in hers. She laced her fingers with his and squeezed his hand tightly. “You were so nervous…” Jean laughed at the memory and she immediately recalled him standing there with his hands in his pockets as he hunched his shoulders and attempted to look casual while being so worried. “And your thoughts were just screaming about mistletoe.”

Jean recalled how flustered and awkward that kiss had been. Scott was already so tall and she wasn’t quite sure which way to tilt her head but there was this sweet bashful desire emanating from both of them that trumped any nerves or hesitation they may have felt. The mistletoe had been the perfect excuse to take a chance and do what they both wanted to do and there was an undeniable spark between them.

“And yes, I would say it worked out in the end.” Without hesitation, Jean kissed him again. An act that was second nature now, their kiss was perfect, practiced and still managed to create fireworks between them.

Scott exhaled slowly, the faintest smile curving his lips as he reluctantly pulled back from the kiss he had indulged, his forehead resting lightly against Jean’s. The cold winter air nipped at their flushed cheeks, but the warmth between them seemed impervious to the chill. He glanced around briefly, catching sight of the coachman, who was studiously not looking their way. Even so, discretion tugged at him—not because he cared much for what others thought, but because this moment with Jean felt private, even sacred.

His eyes, veiled behind ruby quartz, softened as he turned his full attention back to her. “You’re right, it worked out better than okay,” he murmured, his voice low and rough with emotion. He squeezed her hand as their fingers stayed intertwined beneath the blanket. “Because I can’t get enough of you, Jean. And I can’t imagine I ever will.”

Their psychic link thrummed softly between them, amplifying the sincerity of his words. Jean’s heart swelled at the depth of his affection, the unspoken promise that had always existed between them now shining brighter than ever. That shared knowledge between them made him grin. ~Is there anything that I think you don’t already know?~

~* ‘No.’ *~ Jean replied with a deadpan delivery but her smile remained.

Scott chuckled softly, the sound vibrating low in his chest. “You’re impossible, you know that? Impossible, and perfect, and somehow still choosing to put up with me.”

“Put up with you?!” She seemed offended by his choice in words. “Scott Summers, never once in my life have I ever just put up with you. You are my best friend, my partner, and my lover. You have never been someone I’ve merely tolerated because I have to.” There was that touch of redhead sass in her voice that he found so endearing but Jean’s voice softened before she continued. “I understand that you have barriers and boundaries with a lot of people. That the person they see is a professional who is making hard choices and because of that you can be a little firm or stoic with them. But that has never been the case with me, maybe I had an unfair advantage in the beginning but you have always shown me who you really are and how you really feel.” Jean shook her head in disagreement over his statement, “I don’t just put up with you, I love you.”

Scott pursed his lips as he tried not to smile. If it had been anybody else, he would’ve retreated behind the claim that he had only been joking. But that was only partly true. There had been some essence to what he said. Scott knew he was nobody else’s favorite person except for Jean. He was at peace with that. More than at peace. He adored Jean for helping him be the person others needed him to be even when they didn’t like it because she allowed him to access his true self with her in ways and with depths in himself he never knew were there until she had excavated them.

“I know,” Scott said at length, grinning in surrender. “That's why I can say things like that. I'm glad that I can share everything with you, the good, the bad, nothing held back. You get it all.”

“Good, because I want it all.” Jean returned her head to his shoulder as the horse drawn carriage continued to clip-clop through Central Park. It had started to snow again, making the scene even more picturesque. “You see my good and my bad too, it’s only fair that we share everything with each other. We’re stronger together and better because of each other. Who knows how long it would have taken me to leave that bedroom and to finally stop crying had you not supported me.”

“All I did was show you myself,” Scott said. “Somehow…that was enough.” He crossed his arm over his body and pulled Jean against him even tighter. “You were more than enough for me. There's so much bonus with you. Nobody could ever make me so happy. You blow me away and ground me all at the same time.” Thinking back to when they first met, Scott knew it was true. “I don't know if I would've ever talked to anybody else if it hadn't gone so well with you.”

“I’m sure you would have yelled at Bobby sooner or later…” Jean teased as Scott pulled her in close to him. The change in the weather had added a frigid bite to the air and his embrace was welcomed and warming. “Or punched Warren for a totally different reason.” She nuzzled her cold nose into the side of his neck as she giggled from her own comment. “It is kind of amazing how it all worked out, who would have thought that boy I met at the top of the stairs would become my husband.”

Scott chuckled along with her. “I never believed but always secretly hoped. Maybe that worked in my favor.” He nudged against Jean's nuzzle in a gentle gesture that was both affectionate and teasing. “You always did know how I felt before I did.”

“I tried not to.” Jean squeezed him tightly, control and consent were two areas related to her telepathy that she worked on diligently as a teenager. But there were a lot of unintentional gleaning of thoughts in those early years, something that Scott had always been incredibly understanding of. Some people would get angry or embarrassed when they learned Jean knew what they were thinking or feeling, but not him. “I still try to let you process and understand your feelings on your own terms and with some degree of privacy. But yes, I desperately wanted you to kiss me long before you even considered it an option.”

“Not your fault I was a late bloomer,” Scott said. “You waited for me when you had your pick of other guys. Prince Warren Charming, Bobby ‘Too Cool For School' Drake, even Hank who was brains and brawn. I never even thought I stood a chance against any of them.” He kissed her forehead as her nose was still siphoning warmth from his neck. “And I've never been so glad to be wrong. I figured it out eventually.”

“Yeah after I just came out and said it.” Jean laughed. “I couldn’t have been anymore forward about it. I kissed you, bloody lip and all. I don’t think there was room for any other form of interpretation after that.” She turned her head slightly upwards and he felt her lips and the warmth of her breath against his skin. “As far as I am concerned, there was no contest. You saw me in a way no one else ever has, I couldn’t look at anyone else after that.”

Scott practically giggled at her spot-on assessment. “Yeah, well, you confirmed what I was already thinking.” His eyes glimmered hard enough behind the ruby quartz lenses that it nearly shone through. “I can't help that when I look at you, I forget everything else that ever was. You're like the entire world wrapped up in a single person. How could I not make you my whole world?”

She laughed through her nose and he felt the puffs of warm air against his neck. “Like I said earlier, just when I thought you couldn’t be anymore charming.” Jean held onto him as her thoughts turned a little less innocent and she wanted to do more with him than stroll down memory lane. “How could I not fall madly in love with someone who thinks I am their whole world?”

“I’m just glad I have every day to show you…” His tone was sweet but his sentiments were a little blended between admiration and desire. “Maybe just not every day on a horse-drawn carriage, though, so let’s make every moment count.” He lifted her chin and drew her lips to his own.

~To hell with gawkers~

In the back of his mind, Scott knew the impulsivity wasn’t one-sided and that he was responding to Jean’s own desire as much as acting on his own, but that knowledge only emboldened him. Some things just couldn’t be veiled. The love Scott and Jean held for each other was just that. Obvious. Eyes closed, succumbing to the overpowering draw of each other’s lips, they shared a romantic moment for all to see. Despite the picturesque Christmas scenery all around them, it couldn’t compare to the joy and wonder that came alive in their hearts.

~* ‘Scott…’ *~ Jean giggled against their kiss as her mental tone was joyful with a touch of sheepish delight. She leaned into him and tugged on his coat to pull him into a long, deep kiss that quickly became racey and heated. A thrum of want and the desire to claim one another was an overwhelming force moved through both of them. ~* ‘Our poor driver, he’s trying so hard not to notice.’ *~

~I’ll give him a generous tip~ Scott hummed a joyous response into their shared kiss. ~When’s the next chance I’ll have to kiss you in the back of a carriage?~

Memories of that terrible night at the county fair where their demolition derby vehicle was ransacked before they’d even had a chance to compete came to mind. Mutant prejudice was at an all-time high. A single act of sabotage had put an end to weeks of work. While Hank drove them back to the mansion, Scott and Jean had consoled one another in the backseat as only teenage lovers could. The feelings they had shamelessly exchanged then were not so different from what was happening now.

~I’m trying to contain myself but I can’t~ Scott confessed between them as his next kiss turned more heated. ~You make me feel like a hopeless and helpless boy in love~

~* ‘Like a horny teenager?’ *~ Jean teased but he felt that building need inside of her as her hands suddenly became a bit more liberal under the confines of the blanket that covered them. Her hand brushed across the inseam of his jeans and what she discovered made Jean gasp then giggle. ~* ‘Yes, definitely like a teenager.’ *~

~That too~ Scott conceded as his hands began to rove as well. Bundled as Jean was, though, much of his exploration had to be left to the imagination. The curve of her thighs felt good in his hands even through the layers of clothing. ~Because I love you… in every way… with all that I am~

A bump in the path jostled them both and sent them bouncing in their seats.

“Pardon!” the coachman called back without looking over his shoulder.

Scott laughed. “No worries,” he said to the coachman, but to Jean he expressed his suspicions.

~Part of me wonders how unavoidable that really was~ Scott smirked at the beautiful wintry tableau she struck in his eyes. It was little wonder he had nearly lost himself in her again.

~* ‘Cut him some slack, I’m sure he has to deal with all sorts of nonsense.’ *~ Jean chuckled as she settled back to merely resting her head on Scott’s shoulder. She laughed at her own mental picture. ~* ‘He doesn’t want to have to hose the carriage down after he drops us off.’ *~

“I’m glad we got out of the house for a little bit, it’s cold but this is nice,” Jean said out loud knowing that too much silence in the back of the carriage would be just as awkward as then necking. “What do you think they’re doing at the mansion right now?”

“Oh, I imagine there’s a ton of squabbling and bickering and everybody having the time of their lives.” Scott couldn’t help but smile wanly at the bittersweet memories of their adolescent years. His reverie was broken by a sudden curious thought. “Actually… I’m wondering how Rahne is taking to Christmas at the mansion.”

“Oh that poor girl, anything is better than where she came from. I hope she finds it magical, she’s young enough that there is still the potential for her to find some childhood joy at the mansion. I hope she finds that.” The snow that fell was sticking to Jean’s hair and eyelashes, it made her rub her nose from the slight tickle the flakes created. “The Professor told me Connor is taking her under his wing, treating her like a little sister. I think that’s the sweetest thing.”

“Connor Bruin as an older brother…” Scott shook his head in disbelief. “Can you even imagine? He seems to be doing well as team leader. I guess he needed more to fill his day.” His mouth twisted at that. Tame as it was, that wasn’t a kind thing to say about either one of them. “I know, I know, that wasn’t fair. I’m just not regretting our decision to do Christmas in the city.”

“I’m not either, this is the best Christmas I’ve ever had.” Jean squeezed him again, “I just can’t help but wonder about them, but I guess if anything really wild happens we’ll hear about it.” She thought about the future and the next time they would be back at the mansion was for their wedding. That filled her with excited and nervous energy, rather than let herself get too head over heels over that date, she thought about the more immediate future. “Do you want to do anything for New Year’s Eve? Time Square?”

Scott’s eyes darted sideways as he searched his memory. “You know, I’ve never been. Isn’t it supposed to be pretty wild? We could be there when the big ball drops, though. That would be something. We could give it a try. There’s always home if it’s no fun… or too much.”

Glancing over the side, recognition took hold. Scott pointed in the distance. “Hey, look. That’s where I proposed… and you said yes.”

“That means we’re close to home because I didn’t get very far into that run before you stopped me.” Jean laughed and leaned forward a bit to look over at the stretch of park that bordered the reservoir. It was covered in snow and ice right now but she recalled the early fall colors for last season. “It is a pretty view though, it will make for a good place to show our kids one day.”

The carriage slowed to a halt where the coachman patiently waited for his custom. Scott flipped him some cash from his billfold before helping Jean down from the carriage.

“Thank you, sir,” Scott said.

“No, thank you!” the coachman said with a jovial tip of his cap where he stashed the money. “And Merry Christmas!”

Left to the cold, a sudden breeze chilled then again. Scott clutched Jean close to brace her from the worst of it.

“Speaking of children,” Scott said, trying to take Jean's mind off the chill, “we talked about boy names. What about for a girl?”

“Oh I don’t know.” It was no longer just slow flurries as they walked home, the weather could now be defined as true snow that was sticking to everything and covered both of them. “I‘ve always liked the name Rachel…” Jean thought about Scott’s mother for a moment, the distant memory that she was but some parts of her were never forgotten “Or Anne is nice.”

“Rachel is nice,” Scott agreed. “Anne sounds like a nickname for something longer, or maybe a middle name. Rachel Anne…” After putting the names together, Scott smacked his tongue against his lips as if sampling a flavor. “I don't know about that one. When the time comes, I'm sure we'll think of something.”

It was only then that Scott realized that if asked to identify a maternal figure in his life, he'd be hard-pressed to do so. There had been Moira when he first came to the X-Mansion, but she had only ever been around in connection to the Mutant Research Center. Once that had taken off on Muir Island, she hadn't been around much at all.

Not that Scott particularly felt the need for parentage. Living at the orphanage had adultified him pretty early on. What he lacked in familiar support, he made up for in street smarts. That experience had allowed him to thrive in the role of leading the X-Men team by example. It wasn't the learning curve for him that it had been for the others. Still, though, having no maternal or even feminine inspiration to fall back on was a little sad.

“Yeah, Rachel sounds good,” he repeated a little glumly. “We'll have to remember that one.”

“We’ll know when it’s right.” Jean looped her arm with his as she had to look down to avoid the falling snow. She leaned against him and held onto him as a reminder that he wasn’t alone in any of this. “Besides, we have plenty of time to decide, there isn’t any rush. I’m not pregnant right now and even if I was there would be months to decide.”

They turned the corner and made their way back to the Baxter Building. The lobby was empty and quiet thanks to the holiday and the weather. The weekend doorman merely nodded at Scott and Jean and let them walk to the elevator without the fanfare that Sal would have provided. They swiped the key card and went back upstairs.

“I was thinking…” Jean continued their conversation once they were alone again. “I don’t want to know the gender until they’re born. It’s so hard to surprise me and I kind of like the idea of not knowing until they arrive.”

Scott pondered that proposition. It meant he would have to be surprised as well. There was no way he could keep that kind of secret from Jean even if he tried. She was too ingrained in the fiber of his being. Their psychic rapport wouldn't allow for it.

“We can do that,” Scott said at length. “Let's be surprised together. Do you think you will be able to keep from gleaning though? Professor Xavier, Moira, the baby? You touched Christopher's mind after all. Wouldn't you want to do the same?”

“I’d like to keep Charles and Moira out of my uterus unless absolutely necessary. It’s like I said earlier this month, I want everything about my pregnancy to be as mundane as possible, including seeing Dr. Allen here in the city and not going to Muir.” Jean’s hair turned dark and damp as the snow melted and they happily shed their wet winter clothes once they were back at their apartment. “I read Christopher’s mind but that doesn’t have a gender associated with it. It was just a… I dunno… a buzz of consciousness. All of that was a very long way of me saying, I think it’s possible.”

“And I think if we make those wishes known, then everyone else will respect them and support our decision.” Scott pointedly used plural pronouns. Even though this was Jean's wish, he was putting his full support behind it. There would be a united front on the matter. “Nobody gets near your uterus except me and the doctor.” He smirked as he returned some levity to the conversation. “But mostly me.”

Jean laughed at his response before she reached out and wrapped her arms around him. “Yes, mostly you.”

She kissed him again now that they were alone together and he felt the happy, hopeful warmth inside of her. Scott felt how much she wanted this, wanted him. “Thank you for indulging my heart’s desires even if they’re just pipe dreams.”

“They're not pipe dreams,” Scott countered, pausing their kiss long enough to do so. “You have reasonable wants and needs with achievable goals.” After kissing her again, he squeezed Jean's shoulders. “I'm not humoring you. I fully support you here because I see a path to see it through.”

“Life just has a way of turning our plans upside down and inside out,” Jean said with a touch of worry. “I am so happy with you and life has never been better. I’ll admit that I want this quiet life and a family with you more than anything. I’m just scared that something will come along and wreck our plans yet again.”

She rested her head under his chin in a brief moment of comfort seeking. Jean’s fears weren’t unwarranted but they couldn’t consume their lives either. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t fret over nothing. I have hope for the future and for us. We want this, so let’s make it happen.”

“Don't fault your instincts,” Scott said as he gently rubbed little circles on her back. “Vigilance is a good thing. We should protect the things we care about. That isn't fretting. We can do that while keeping hope.”

Scott clicked his tongue as he heard his own voice resound in his ears. “Hey, that has a nice ring to it. Hope.”

“Hope.” It was a word Jean said often and a concept that helped make up her core beliefs. It was a beautiful word that meant a lot to her. “Hope is a lovely word, it holds so much optimism and positive anticipation.” She pondered it for a moment longer, before saying it out loud. “Hope Anne Summers.”

She smiled after saying the name. As Jean had mentioned before, when it sounded right they would just know. “I like that name. It's a tribute to the future we’ve worked so hard to create and defend while still reminding us of where we came from.”

“Or we could take a page from Professor Xavier’s book and go full classical,” Scott said. “Antiope. Cassiopeia. Persephone.” He chuckled through his grinning teeth at the ridiculous suggestions. “Who knows what names might be popular in the next century? They could catch on like ‘Amber’ or ‘Ryan’ did.”

For the first time in so long, the future was bright and full of promise. There was nothing that could discourage Scott. In that moment, he was confident in their ability to respond to whatever came their way. The appropriate word to accurately describe that feeling, though, was indeed hope.

“You do make a good point,” he said once his uncharacteristic silly streak had passed. “Hope does capture everything we would ever want for our children and for the world they live in.” He thought again for a moment. “Is that Hope Anne with an E? Like Green Gables?”

“I suppose so, I would spell it the way your mother did,” Jean said with a small smile, she felt for Scott and his disconnection from his family. They were a distant memory, lost when he was so young. But there was some lingering love and fondness for them that Jean didn’t want him to forget. “A connection to the past while creating a future.”

“Right, like…” Scott almost mentioned Christopher’s name, but grief chucked in his throat. No, they had committed to hope. He would not give in to despair. “You’re an incredible woman, Jean. Don’t ever let me go.” Conversely to his words, Scott held her close and squeezed her in his embrace like there was no tomorrow. Whether it was her psychic touch or her warm flesh, or more likely a combination of both, Scott felt the sudden surge of grief melt away like the frost on their boots. “I’ll never let you go.”

“Forever and again,” Jean repeated their personal mantra as she returned his tight hug. She felt his twinge of sadness and the resolve it took to move past it. Christopher would always be this sad whisper of someone who never was for them but he had inspired them to continue and move forward and because of that she would always be grateful for him.

“We will both hold onto one another until we no longer can. You are my anchor and my safe place. I couldn’t imagine life without you. I will never let go.” She hugged him tightly as she let her love for him pass through their bond, a shining light inside of both of them that banished all the dark feelings that dared to encroach.

“Good.”

Scott hoisted Jean off her feet and pulled her even closer. The crush of her legs as they wrapped around his waist by reflex sent a thrilling rush through his body. Tingles ran down his lips to the tips of his fingers, toes, and other extremities from the flurry of kisses that he couldn't hold back.

~Jean, I need you~ It was more than desire. It was a confession, a cry of his heart that came from his adolescent loneliness, his fear of being alone. Jean was his light in the dark and he was forever drawn to her as a moth to flame. ~I need you to be Mrs. Summers~

~* ‘I said yes.’ *~ Jean couldn’t help but laugh at how impatient Scott was for their wedding day. Her enthusiasm and excitement created its own buzz of anticipation but add in his and those feelings between them became palpable.

~* ‘We’re almost there.’ *~ She tilted her head back and exposed her throat to his feverish kisses. Scott’s lips were warm on her skin and she closed her eyes to better savor the sensation. ~* ‘And I will say I do.’ *~ Jean hadn’t really practiced or said those two words until just now and it made her practically weak in the knees as she thought about what they meant.

“I do,” she said with genuine sincerity and the words created a thrill inside of her. Jean looked down at him as she reached out to hold his head in her hands. Pulling his lips away from her skin she held his head still so that she could look Scott in the eyes. “I do.”

The following section contains mild adult content. Reader discretion is advised until the next section.

What had been an overwhelming feeling before took on laser focus with those words. His dire need for her took a singular course as it usually did. Setting her down on the nearest piece of furniture—the wrong side of an armchair—Scott took a few seconds to shed his clothing before he dropped to his.

Her thighs parted for him like stage curtains, revealing the object of his desire. It was a small thing to pull her panties to one side. Pausing to pull them off was simply too long for the demands his heart and soul made upon his body.

Scott leaned in and buried his face into her flesh, displaying a near desperation to touch Jean in the most intimate way. His usual manner was slow with a gentle wind up. That was gone with the glimpse into the future Jean had given him. Soon and very soon, she would say those words and be forever his. He would do the same. And they would be together forever. Just the very thought had Scott grasping Jean by the outer thighs and pinning her quivering folds against his open mouth. Nothing would sate his hunger except her intimate pleasure.

Jean felt herself awash in Scott as his desire demanded action. It was the determination and resolve she often felt in him but when his attention turned solely to her, it made her whole body tremble with excitement. It left her breathless and consumed by him in the best way possible.

“Oh Scott…” She gasped and sighed as he parted her thighs and moved across her. Jean had to reach out and hold onto the frame of the chair to maintain her position perched on the arm of the chair.

The intensity of his desire nearly had Jean bent in half with himself crouched along with her. Scott pressed swift and sure with muffled moans slipping through his reckless indulgence. Every caress of his hands and flick of his tongue was a sensation he savored, knowing full well he was taking Jean to the edge of ecstasy.

~I’ll take you there~ Scott promised within their special bond. Her mewling encouragement only fueled his fire. ~Let me take you there~

“Yes.” Jean panted and nodded her head in agreement with his words. She wanted that release and that ecstasy he promised, she just had to let go and let it happen.

She leaned back further and shifted her hips until her thighs splayed out and Jean unabashedly spread before Scott. If his face hadn’t already been buried between her legs, he was now free to glide and roam across the full length of her sex without any hindrance. The change in position made Jean moan with carnal delight.

Jean shut her eyes and allowed herself to succumb to the hungry rhythm that Scott provided. He was focused and ravenous, tender but passionate. It didn’t take long for her to arch and stiffen from the pleasure he provided. Long throaty moans escaped her lips as euphoria took hold of her.

The blissful tension that shot through Jean’s body hard enough to make her spasm and convulse put a smile on his face. He hesitated just a moment to enjoy the thrill and satisfaction of bringing her to climax before he resumed once more, pushing her faster and faster toward and over a second cliff into ecstasy. Only then did he pause and await her cue while she caught her breath.

“God damn, Scott.” Jean happily huffed and laughed the words as she finally regained the ability to speak. She was blissfully disheveled and undone from the heated and immediate action he had taken. She felt like a flash bang had gone off inside of her and she was left dumbfounded and blindsided by his urges. If this was any indicator of what their wedding night was going to be like, it made Jean shiver in anticipation.

“I’m glad you know what you do to me, how good you make me feel.” Jean sat up then slipped off the arm of the chair so that she was face to face with Scott. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she kissed him and crushed her body against his before rolling her hips into him as a reminder that they were by no means finished. “How do you want me?” She whispered against his lips before kissing him one more. “Let me thrill you.”

Without a word, Scott pivoted around on his feet with Jean still wrapped around him. He sat down on the chair where she had just been sprawled, half reclined himself while letting Jean undress and reposition herself over him. Even just sitting down, Scott felt himself throb against her warm, slick body.

“I just try to give you the same feeling you give me,” Scott said, his voice a little breathless from anticipation as well as from the brush of his sex against Jean’s. “You make me so happy. You fill my life with joy and gladness and…” He closed his eyes and winced against the subtle pressure of Jean’s body and the biting surge of pleasure it brought. “Oh, damn…”

“I know it’s good, isn’t it?” Jean playfully agreed with his exasperated praise as she very slowly lowered into his lap and let them both savor the sensation of their union. It was a gentle and easy motion but it still made her heart race until her pulse was heard in her ears. “All of it is good…”

Jean brought his hands up to cup and caress her naked body, letting his hands roam across the beautiful lines and curves of her figure. Jean embodied that idea of feminine strength, her body was both firm yet soft under his hands and that pure, milk white skin of hers practically glowed in a way that made touching her feel almost like a sin. The mere sight of her body was usually enough to thrill Scott but in these moments where he was allowed to freely touch and hold her, things had a way of heating up quickly between them.

“So… good…” Scott agreed even as he was turning breathless. Jean knew a thousand ways to kindle his passion, but when she reeled him in just to surrender herself to his wanton touch, it aroused him like nothing else. Feasting on Jean’s soft, creamy skin with his hands as well as his eyes ignited his desires to the point of bursting inside. “So… beau…tiful…”

Another spike of pleasure as her grip took hold, which shut Scott's eyes in sensual overload. He bit his lower lip to hold back his breath but his gasp came anyway. When Jean’s slow, exaggerated motions took flight into swifter broad sweeps of her rolling hips, Scott gave in to the onrushing tide and just held onto her backside with both hands for all he was worth. Each breath came more ragged as the seconds wore on.

~Kiss me~ The plea came from his heart of hearts where his longing for her originated. Everything else was rapidly falling undone within him in body and soul with Jean quickly bringing him toward delightful ruin.

There was no hesitation or playful tease from Jean as Scott called out to her and earnestly asked for her, instead she firmly planted her lips against his and provided that sweet yet hungry kiss that he begged for.

Things escalated quickly between them as tongues and teeth clashed and their bodies began to move in time with one another. Heated, unbridled passion flooded their bodies and filled their minds and both Scott and Jean felt themselves swept up in the ocean of their emotions. They drowned in one another until nothing else mattered except for this moment.

This moment. Their lips. His strong hands and her deft touch. The rhythm of their joined bodies. They were consumed by the beauty of their love and the pleasure it provided.

~* ‘Scott.’ *~ Jean called out for him as her body began to sing and he felt the tension that tightened her from the inside out.

The more firmly she gripped him between her pelvis, the more Scott groaned through his teeth and into her lips. Insatiable desire and boundless satisfaction collided together as Jean and Scott both filled and enhanced one another’s needs. His hands slipped around from Jean’s backside and slid up her abdomen to take hold of her breasts, freeing her hips to glide with greater speed and simply to take hold of her as she leaned backward against his thighs.

“Jean!” he cried out, feeling his zenith nearing. “Oh… Jean… I…”

Jean moaned and arched as his hands returned to her breasts, the erogenous touch combined with her already rising pleasure was enough to push her over the edge. From her core outwards, Jean ratcheted and tensed until her breath ceased and she turned mute.

Toe curling, mind numbing, total body pleasure rippled through Jean and she became helpless and awash in it as stroke after stroke made her tremble and jerk from the absolute euphoria that coursed through her body. It was sublime and divine in nature and could only be described as a perfect and complete release.

Feeling her entire body turn from taut to gelatinous, Scott clutched Jean close against his body and let them melt away together while his arousal thrummed its last pulses before fading dormant again. His notched breathing settled to a dull roar as he counted Jean’s heartbeats against him like sheep in the night. It was the only way he could track one moment from the next.

“You’re… incredible,” Scott managed to say. “That was a thrill of a lifetime.”

“You’re incredible.” Jean said in a dreamy, breathy voice as she turned boneless and collapsed against him. Her body became soft and relaxed as Scott felt the total calm and euphoria that overcame her. It caused the hold of her thighs to ease around his waist and her thoughts turned into a gentle breeze, Jean returned to the gentle lamb she usually was, that hellcat inside of her now slumbering.

End content advisory

“You make me feel…” She had a hard time selecting the right word as a multitude of emotions passed through her. In the end, Jean selected the simplest but most comprehensive choice. “Alive.”

“I know what you mean,” Scott said. “Life is… dreamlike when you’re not around. Without you I’m like the living dead.” He kissed the top of her head and played his fingers through the red strands of her hair. “I guess that makes getting married a no-brainer, right?”

It was such a corny joke that Jean might not have gotten it without the benefit of telepathy. His zombie movie reference was something straight out of their school days where they ate popcorn with the lights off and hid their romantic petting beneath a blanket in the mansion’s rec room. While Scott always dreamed of a family with Jean, it was fun moments like that which stood out to him as the model for the rest of their lives. Grand adventures were something they shared with their friends and teammates, but the beautiful moments were theirs alone to cherish.

“If you’re having second thoughts now, it’s too late,” Scott teased. “You already said yes and we already gave a deposit to the florist.”

“And the caterer, and the DJ, and the bakery.” Jean said with a slight laugh, it had been a lot of work organizing and executing such an elaborate wedding in such a short amount of time. People usually spent years trying to set up weddings of this magnitude. “Just by the budget alone I can’t back out.” She squirmed a little as Scott tickled her in response to her comment and a brief mew of laughter escaped her lips.

“I will say yes to you every day of my life.” The sincerity returned to her voice as his hand went back to gently caressing her. “You are my happiness, Scott, if there is one thing in my life that I will never question or second guess, it is how much I love you.”

Those words spread a boyish grin across Scott's face that he didn't bother hiding. Jean always brought out the bright side in him. There was no point in suppressing what she already knew. Besides, he enjoyed how Jean always managed to strip away his outer armor and let his true self shine. The way it was so effortless made it that much more endearing.

“After the way this year went…” Beyond just Krakoa and the resulting hardships, there had been other problems beforehand. He and Alex being on the rocks, the Morlock Massacre at the beginning of the year and the failed investigation afterward, even Cameron training the team and partially sidelining Scott in the Danger Room even before Professor Xavier had him benched in July—it all added up to a year of difficulty. “I'm excited to start the next one with the next chapter of our lives. It's a whole new beginning and I just can't wait.”

“It has felt like longer than twelve months, hasn’t it?” Jean replied as she began to idly caress the length of his arm. “Like it’s taken years to get here, to come back together.”

She nuzzled his neck and placed several small kisses across his skin in a brief pause to appreciate all that they had overcome and accomplished. The feats were no small efforts but she wouldn’t expect anything less from them, they were a force to be reckoned with, especially when they were together.

“I’m excited for the future too.” Jean smiled as she thought about what tomorrow would bring. “We’ve hardly ever put ourselves first, there has always been something or someone else taking priority over us. Making these choices that further our lives… It's a different kind of fulfillment.”

“Right,” Scott agreed, subtly nodding his head as she nuzzled him. “I like putting you first. It’s not something that I often ever have the chance to do and it feels right.”

It was a decision Scott had made a few months prior, one that Jean was unsure about at the time. The two of them took the weight of their responsibilities and their callings in life seriously. Having found a way to blend their values, their mission, and their hopeless need and adoration for one another together felt like a fairy tale come to life.

“Just look at all the good things that are already coming from that. I guess if this year has taught me anything, it’s that lesson.” Scott kissed the top of her head. “I’ll remember it well and for all time. Keeping the right priorities will sort everything else out.”

~I will never give up hope again~ Scott promised her. ~You are my life~

“Our love saved me. It saved us.” Jean fought against that cold chill that ran down her spine when she thought of Sinister by hugging Scott tightly and letting his warmth soak into her bones and the very fiber of her being. “I think that counts for something and everyone will agree we deserve to take the time and create space for us to prioritize our life together. I believe in our work as X-Men and I see the enormous potential X-Factor holds but this…” Jean pauses and kissed him. “This is what gives me the strength to endure and survive.”

She squeezed him tightly and never wanted to leave this exact position. “It does feel like change, like we aren’t the same people anymore but I like who we’ve become and I’m so excited for our future that I’m impatient for it to happen.”

Scott basked in the joy of her embrace and the comfort she drew from it. Hugging her night terrors away had become a special role that he had come to cherish over the last four months. Now that she had conquered those nocturnal demons enough to face them in the conscious light of day, Scott felt a tingle of pride in Jean for all she had overcome. He returned her tight squeeze and gently rubbed her back.

“For what it's worth, I like who you are,” he said with quiet assurance. “And I'm crazy about who you are becoming. Everyday I wake up excited to see more of that person revealed.”

A flash of her naked body went through his mind, triggered by the warm press of their embrace. It made him chuckle with delight.

“Your thoughts betray you, Scott Summers.” Jean teased as he briefly fantasized about her.

“I don't just mean that either, though I'm a big fan.” His hand slinked down to goose her backside. “You're a beautiful mystery to me that I get to unpack one day at a time and each layer is more beautiful than the last. I know I keep saying it but I've just never been so excited for tomorrow before.”

“I shouldn’t be a mystery to you.” Jean said with a laugh, “You out of all people have access to my personal thoughts and my feelings. We spend almost all of our time together, what kind of surprises are you finding?”

Scott chuckled at that. “It’s not a surprise kind of mystery, it’s more of a same song, next verse kind of mystery. Every day is something new and I love every minute of it. You know my every thought and somehow I still inspire awe in you, right?” He rolled his tongue against his cheek, considering his point. “Just every day I love you more and more, and I think that’s why. There’s more to you than even I see right now. Every minute we spend together just makes it more clear to me so I can see you even better.”

He tilted her chin up and kept his lips hovering just in front of hers long enough to say, “You might say I’m addicted to you… there’s always more to see and I can’t stand not seeing it.” By the time his words were out of his mouth, his lips were already brushing against hers.

~* ‘Well you did promise to never stop looking.’ *~ Jean leaned in a touch and turned the brush of his lips into an actual kiss. That familiar spark ignited between them but it never ceased to thrill her.
~* ‘I find myself in your gaze, without it I feel lost.’ *~

There were few people in this world who had ever seen Scott’s eyes, but Jean was the only one ever to gaze into them. That sentiment from her took hold of his heart and seized it hard enough to constrict his diaphragm. He gasped in a sudden burst of emotion.

~I find myself in yours~ Scott returned her kiss with renewed vigor from their unending passion. Just the thought of her eyes staring into his set him afire, but knowing that she knew his eyes and felt the same made him feel invincible and weak in the knees at the same time. ~I’ll never stop looking at you~ His promise was pledged with a whorl of his tongue against hers.

“Then let me look at you.” Jean murmured in a soft tone as she sat up straight and looked down at him. It wasn’t an act she usually cared to perform but Jean could hold back his optic blasts with her telekinesis. Most of the time she felt it diminished him or at least slighted the restraint and control he worked so hard to maintain. Jean felt that Scott’s behavior was commendable and deserved praise, to take that away from him often felt like an insult.

But in this moment she wanted to see him, to experience his gaze and his love without that ever present filter that was required. Today had been so special and perfect and for the rest of her life she would remember this Christmas as being the start of their new life together. Jean wanted to see Scott totally and completely, stripped bare and exposed in every way possible because she deeply loved every part of him.

“Please.” Jean asked for his permission as she delicately placed her fingers on the sides of his frames.

The breath sucked out of Scott’s lungs for an entirely different reason. The number one rule of gun safety was also the same one that dictated every action of his life since his eyes were more powerful than any firearm: always keep them pointed in a safe direction. Looking at anything without ruby-quartz lenses in the way went against every ounce of his training, but looking at Jean with the naked eye was downright terrifying.

“I…I…” Scott stabilized his breathing and slowly nodded. There was nothing he would ever deny her. If Jean was confident, then he would trust her even when he could not trust himself. “If you’re sure…” He nodded his consent and bit his trembling lower lip.

“It’s okay. I can do it.” Jean didn’t want him to be scared or worried, she wanted him to enjoy the moment with the same wide open heart that she had felt inside of him earlier today. “I trust you and you trust me.”

She moved slowly, with delicate and deliberate movements so that Scott wasn’t surprised or caught off guard by her actions. Jean’s shoulders squared and her expression became serious and focused as she removed his glasses.

The world went from ruby tinted to full color for Scott as Jean removed his glasses from his face. It was a tense moment at first and Jean felt his fear and expectation for the worst. That he would rip a hole through her and destroy their home with a passive glance. But none of those terrible things happened and after a long quiet moment Jean finally felt Scott exhaled.

“That’s not so bad.” Jean dared to speak and he watched the deep focus in her face ease up a bit. “It’s like a strong shove but I can push back against it.”

Scott could feel the gentle fingers of Jean's mind kneading the synapses of his psyche along with modulating the apertures of his eyes with her telekinesis. The whole process was undoubtedly more complex than she let on, yet she made it look so effortless that Scott couldn't help but believe it to be so. His anxious smile slowly turned into a broad grin while he took in Jean with Hi-Def.

Her features softened and her shoulders relaxed as she became comfortable once more. Jean looked down at Scott’s unobstructed face. This wasn’t the first time she had seen him without glasses, Jean would never forget those warm brown eyes and the love they held. But to see them after such a powerful and beautiful day, it made her heart ache in the best way possible.

“I love you, Scott Summers,” Jean whispered as her emotions took hold of her and humbled her. She gazed down at him with such adoration and joy before reaching out to caress his cheek.

Her fingers caught a stray tear that broke free from his watery eyes. A few more trailed in its wake. Scott had to blink them away to keep from blurring the nearest thing to Heaven he had even seen.

“You are so beautiful,” Scott murmured almost as if in a daze. The eyes of his heart had always more than made up for the red tint his lenses put on the world. Jean's beauty couldn't be muted by anything. But there was just something about seeing his love fully in the flesh, naked in every way without filters or obstructions. It touched him deeper than any orgasm. “You…are just…so…beautiful.”

“Don’t cry,” Jean cooed even though she knew they were happy tears. She held his head in both her hands now, as if him moving would spoil this moment. Her eyes were such a rich and layered green, he saw the shadows and highlights of a forest canopy in her eyes. Such a sharp contrast to the red tint that muted and muddled them most of the time. And while the color was breathtaking it was her deep and longing gaze that captivated him.

“I see my future in your eyes,” she said with a smile and he watched her face blossom from it. The pink of her lips was usually lost for him among the shades of red he lived in and he noticed how her cheeks flushed with that same pale pink as she smiled. Details that had been lost on him before that gave her so much more depth and warmth. “But you’re right, it is beautiful.”

“Like paradise,” Scott said, calling back to the song Jean had quoted. “Nothing ‘almost’ about it.”

Leave it to Jean to reference one of his favorite movies, Footloose, or at least its soundtrack. The way Kevin Bacon danced around and stole the show was so contrary to himself that he couldn't help but be inspired by a protagonist whose zeal and charisma stole the show and won the girl without being an excessive dirt bag. It was the love story he secretly admired most, though, a secret he had harbored to which only Jean was privy. And she'd pulled it out here and now just to show him that Scott was the heroic love interest of her own story.

“We really are forever,” he whispered, as much to himself as to Jean.

The following section contains mild adult content. Reader discretion is advised until the next section.

Scott cupped her face and watched her reddened cheeks radiate into his palm. What had been a powerful sensation before was now a wonder to behold. His other hand slid down her neck like to her chest where his eyes turned wide. What had before been beautiful breasts were now revealed to be pert, milky mounds topped by strawberry red nipples that seized his gaze like a lasso around the neck.

“God… just… wow…” Scott's mouth fell slackjaw. His eyes slowly, almost reluctantly diverted back to Jean's loving jade eyes. “Jean… I…”

He closed his eyes, overwhelmed by the visual of her body and soul on full display without any barrier between them.

~I don't know how I deserve someone so amazing as you but I love you. I love you more than words can say~

“You can look at me, I want you to look at me.” Sweet words that suddenly took on a more erotic tone as Jean placed one of his hands on the length of her thigh. The touch brought his attention further down her body to the parts of her he had never seen without a ruby tint.

“I already said ‘yes’. I’ve pledged my heart and my forever to you so I want you to see me and to know me in ways that no other man ever will.” Jean leaned back a bit so Scott could take in the full extent of her naked body. It was an open invitation for him to gawk and gaze at her.

Her fair skin and that waterfall of crimson hair that had been tossed over her shoulder, made her look more like a china doll than a woman but that soft patch of red between her legs reminded him that Jean was real and exposed for him and him alone.

“Look at me. Touch me. Taste me. Have me.” Jean leaned in and kissed him until passion roared and burned between. “Take all of me in because I give it all to you.”

Scott was still a little scared of the situation but Jean had proved her mettle. He trusted her implicitly, even more than he trusted himself. Slowly his eyes opened and followed his trailing hands to take in the beauty that was Jean Grey.

With one hand he scooped her breast and watched it bounce in his hand while his fingers thrummed her nipple clear to the knuckle. The way her already pebbled nipple hardened even further and pushed through his fingertips turned his latent fear into a scintillating thrill. Even just the way her milk-white skin flushed dark with her racing heartbeat turned Scott’s mind away from danger to everything he had been missing.

Meanwhile his other hand drifted along her outer thigh, down to her knee, and slowly up the inside until he reached her pelvis. The thin tuft that greeted him was soon eclipsed by the slick folds that enveloped his fingers with each pass. It was a familiar feeling that somehow felt entirely new with this fully live and in-color view.

“Oh, Jean…” Despite the vast number of times they had been intimate that day, Scott found himself reawakening as never before. Desire consumed him in more than just aftershocks. A whole new sensation overtook him, one compelled by every sense at once.

As his fingers began to dig between legs, Scott returned to his other hand and the breast it held aloft. Normally he closed his eyes to savor the taste of her almost brittle hard nipples, but in that moment Scott was captivated with both eyes wide open, watching the texture shift and turn between his lips as he bobbed to and fro, licking and suckling like a man possessed.

With eyes locked on him, Jean watched every hunger movement of his mouth. Jean was normally so mindful when she reached out and touched Scott, she had created careful patterns that had become muscle memory over the years of being with him and his glasses. But without that limitation she too became fervent with her touch. Her hands reached out to caress him and hold him to her as Scott supped and devoured her. Her body began to grind and undulate against him as instinct and desire took over. The rhythmic rocking of her body caused Scott to be briefly smothered by the soft crush of her breast with each rise of her hips into his other hand.

He felt her building desire as her body bloomed and her mind began to race with all the heated and lust-filled acts she wanted to perform with Scott. That wild and wanton force passed through them both. Jean lowered her head and met his roaming mouth where she claimed it with a deep and urgent kiss.

As much as he wanted to learn to control his powers, going so far as to make his entire life one of discipline, Scott abandoned all of that. He met Jean’s reckless urgency with equal measure. With every kiss, he pulled at her lips, wanting to keep every inch of her in sight that he could. Soon the old familiar trail he always carved from her lips along her jaw to that spot on her neck below her ear called to him, but he reveled in it with new delight. The frenzy he knew how to awaken in her took on a whole new dimension.

The way her worried flesh reddened under his lips, such delicate skin so slightly bruising from his loving kissing and caressing, redefined all the days and nights they had spent together. Whatever unspoken hurdle that had existed between their physical expression was lain waste. In that moment, there was nothing but a sweet, lurid, sensual connection.

“I want you,” Scott whispered, his breath too pitched for bold utterances, “I want to be…” His words trailed off, leaving him to express his sudden newfound desire within the safety of their psychic rapport.

~I want to watch you put it in~

Jean huffed out a breath that wasn’t quite a laugh as his request suddenly turned bashful and internal. It wasn’t so much that she found humor in what he wanted but more that he suddenly became so shy with her. They had done everything together, shared everything with one another, given all of themselves to each other.

But this was all so different for him, a world of color was mundane to most but for someone as detail oriented as Scott it was a completely new experience. He saw what he did to her, a new layer and greater understanding of her arousal and her pleasure. All of it was so alluring and provocative, no wonder he became quiet. For Scott to suddenly become sheepish over something that he wanted so desperately, it made Jean want to give him his heart’s desire.

~* ‘Watch’ *~ Her voice was breathy and laced with anticipation as Jean sat up straight and leaned back on his thighs so there was a gap between them. She felt his eyes as they traveled down the length of her body. Jean had alway felt the intensity and focus of his gaze but to actually see how his eyes smouldered, it made her quiver in delight. ~* ‘See how good you make me feel’ *~

Jean ran a hand down the length of her body, a slow and sensual caress that lingered on the full curve of her breast and the gentle dip of her navel before she reached out and stroked him. She felt him shudder and jerk beneath her fingertips before Jean carefully guided him into her. The sensation caused both of them to gasp after they had held their breath in anticipation of the act.

Scott's jaw quivered throughout the entire display. With such full definition, everything became like new. Every time he entered Jean, it felt fresh. But here and now it was out of this world. More than just color was full texture and clarity that he had never known before, at least not outside the Astral Plane.

~Is this how it is for you every time?~ It was a rhetorical question, for Scott already knew the answer. He could feel from his stiffened member to his beating heart to the core of his being. As much as he had loved Jean from the moment he saw her, Scott realized that it wasn't until now that he finally and fully see her.

Jean's soul was a fiery inferno that set his heart ablaze, but realizing just how breathtakingly beautiful she was in her body was a pleasant punch to the gut. An unobstructed view of the way she not only took him inside her but glided up and down to push him through as much of her bloomed feminine flower unlocked a new level of pure sensation for Scott that made him throb in a poignant blend of urgent need and supreme delight. It was all Scott could do not to close his eyes and let the feeling take him. But this was a special moment, one he would cherish for ages to come—the first time he witnessed their union with his own eyes.

“That's so good,” Scott moaned. His tone shift to a grunt as he added, “Jean, you feel so good!”

The rolling waves of Jean’s hips became positively pornographic as she arched and leaned back for Scott’s viewing pleasure. Her whole body ebbed and flowed in smooth easy strides that Scott felt with every stroking pass of her body.

The moment was racey and heated as their bodies began to grow tense and yearning. Jean began to moan with every rhythmic pass of her body and the slick friction it provided.

“Touch me,” Jean begged as her pace began to quicken and her brow began to knot with blissful worry.

Scott’s hand was anchored at her pelvis in a heartbeat. The tips of his middle and ring fingers slid around her engorgement, pressing, tugging, in all ways keeping pace with the gliding cadence of Jean’s hips. Such erotic synchrony pushed them both to new heights. Every flick of Scott’s wrist only tightened Jean’s hold on him, which spurred a repeating cycle until they were both gasping and crying each other’s names.

Everything else began to fade. The apartment, the Christmas wonderland outside, even the greater world beyond slipped away into oblivion. As enticing as Jean’s splayed form was, with her jostling, jiggling features that turned Scott thicker and thicker inside her, his eyes remained locked onto hers in a near trance of desire and devotion.

Soon Scott felt his eyes begin to bulge. An overwhelming rush was signaling the point of no return. His jaw hung agape, wide and ecstatic.

~Jean… so close… I love you!~

~* ‘I love you’ *~ Jean wanted to crumble and succumb to the pleasure that pulled at her and thrummed inside of her, to throw her head back and shut her eyes as she lost herself to everything that Scott made her feel. But at the same time she wanted to be present and remain focused on Scott, she wanted to see him and to share in his release.

Her moans turned shrill and labored as beautiful worry contorted her face. Jean gasped and tensed as her body rippled with early ecstasy. Using all the willpower she could muster, Jean’s eyes remained locked with his as her mind and her body began to sing his praises.

“Oh god, Scott.” There was wonder and awe in her gaze as passion claimed Jean and Scott saw the flicker of flames amongst the dazzling green of her eyes as her body tightened and gripped him with each now frantic roll of her hips.

“Jean…” he whimpered in reply. Through sheer strength of will, Scott kept his eyes locked with Jean’s as their mutual gaze complemented their sexual congress and brought it to completion. “Jean!” Their lips slammed together only slightly less forcefully than their hips, but only for a moment. Scott leaned his forehead against hers, letting them ride each other into the most explosive finish of the day while eye to eye. He could taste her breath mingled with his own as he gasped deep enough to satisfy the shout that welled up within him. “Oh FUCK!”

Once release came, Scott fell limp beneath Jean, though his arms and legs twitched at random. His eyes blinked long and hard as he fought to focus them. Never before had he maintained such a visual fix on Jean before, but doing so had merged the psychic and sexual link like never before. His body and mind were both at peak stimulation yet still fell dormant in the wake of such a powerful moment.

“Stay,” he murmured, nearly babbling. “Stay with me. Love. I love you. Oh, damn. My Jean…” His quivering voice turned inaudible from there as he professed his love through sweet nothings.

“I’m yours,” Jean spoke softly as they both dropped into their hush bedroom voices. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly. “I’m not going anywhere. I love you Scott.” She had never felt so close to Scott. With everything they shared with one another and how unbreakable their bond was thanks to their psychic rapport, it was a surprise to her that they had managed to find new ways to amaze one another. Another piece of her heart and her soul was given to him at that moment as deeper connections were forged between them. “You are my forever.”

She tilted her head down and kissed him long and slow, the frenzy of lovemaking had cooled and they were free to revel in the intimacy and afterglow that followed. Heated passion over the lusty use of their bodies became devotion and adoration for how beautiful they were to one another. Jean had wanted to give all of herself to him, to show him her body and her love without any filters or barriers. Stripped down and free of all limitations all she felt was pure and perfect love for him.

Such a perfect moment couldn’t be ruined by anything, especially not a display of emotion. Scott felt his eyes tear up and he made no effort to stop them. Jean had held back his destructive power in order to give him every part of herself. Even though he had plumbed the depths of her psyche and her body, seeing her beautiful feminine form in all her full, unfiltered glory had a far greater impact than either of them could ever have guessed. It was a corner of his being that had been untouched, and as they shared all things together, Jean was as equally moved herself. It was a new level they had reached together, one they had thought attained a long time ago.

End content advisory

“Forever starts now,” Scott said quietly, not wanting to break the almost sacred air that had settled over the moment. He rubbed his hands in wide, slow circles against her back and indulged the idle illusion of them melting together like two snowmen.

~Should I put my glasses back on?~ Loathe as he was to remember reality, there were some habits that were hard to break. Jean should be allowed to enjoy the moment, too, without having to keep her finger on the button that kept him from smashing her through a wall and every building for about a mile behind her.

“Give me one more minute,” Jean replied out loud to his mental question. She held his head in her hands as she looked upon him with such love and devotion. He saw that starstruck girl who gazed at him from across the classroom or from the passenger seat of the Jeep. Jean looked at Scott with such heartsick longing and adoration that it was clear he was her one and only love, Scott was her crush turned sweetheart turned soulmate.

She finger combed his hair from out of his eyes as Jean took in his gentle, warm brown eyes for a few more fleeting moments. Scott really was perfect and she was selfishly happy that only she got to see him like this because the world didn’t deserve to see him like this. She kissed him once more and Scott felt her heart as it skipped a beat.

“Okay, I’m ready,” Jean finally said as she reached out for his glasses that had been carefully set aside. She placed them on his nose and with a cautious exhale of her breath, Jean let go of the prolonged flex of her powers that had kept his at bay. “Back to your rose colored world.”

Scott sighed and opened his eyes. Familiarity soon returned, which was just as well. It wasn't a bad thing. In reality, it only seared the memory of Jean's Technicolor undulations into his mind in perpetuity. Just thinking about it made his body tingle again.

“You're the one who colors my world in red,” Scott said, “not the ruby-quartz.” The heartfelt truth of that statement made him grin. But the lingering delight of their passionate lovemaking added a lecherous twinge to it. “But thank you for giving that…experience. I've never seen you like that. I liked it.”

“Maybe that’s our Christmas tradition.” Jean grinned back at him as she continued to fawn over him. Nothing changed now that the glasses had returned, her sentiments remained as they would stay from now until forever. “A moment of just us and nothing else, time for us to cherish each other.”

Jean kissed him yet again and Scott felt how hopelessly head over heels in love she was with him. For all their words and affirmations of how much they loved one another that stomach flipping sensation was the one that really hit the hardest.

“I like the way to think,” Scott said, returning her kiss along with the full measure of his own adoring sentiments and all the love his heart had to give.

“Or maybe we save it for special occasions, like the Astral Plane.” Another kiss shared between them as all the marvelous ways they could make love flashed their collective thoughts. A racey but endearing montage of how they could love one another.

Scott's grin turned more sly at the slideshow Jean put through his mind. Jean was nothing if not creative and inventive. Just like the moment, though, their kiss could not last forever.

“I really like the way you think.” Even through his glasses, Scott's eyes were still starstruck for her. “Special occasions just might be my new favorite thing. Does it count if I find an excuse for one?”

“Absolutely. I’d even accept any day that ends in the letter y.” Jean giggled as they slipped into their playful candor. Her smile continued through the quick kiss she planted on his lips. “I guess I don’t really need an excuse, I can barely keep my hands off of you.”

Jean sat up straight and ran her hands up and down the length of his chest and torso, savoring the feelings of the muscles that flexed under her touch. Her gaze and her caress remained that of fondness and appreciation rather than sensual. “But who can blame me? You’re… how would Lorna say it? A total hunk.”

~If you say so~ Scott's internal response was somehow between blushing and skeptical. But he didn't argue. The best part of their relationship was how Jean saw all the things in himself that he didn't.

“What name did she call you that one night?” Scott's eyes darted to one side in recollection. “Betty. I don't know what that means but you're a total Betty.”

As silly as it sounded out loud, beneath the absurd layer of humor at Lorna's expense was the lingering vestige of the provocative desire with which Jean had saturated their psychic rapport. Whatever ‘Betty’ meant to others was irrelevant. Scott had a singular definition all his own.

“And you're all mine…” He pulled her against him so he could whisper that into her ear along with a trail of loving kisses.

Jean shut her eyes and melted into him as he kissed his way down her neck. It made her giggle as it created a shiver that traveled down her spine. She allowed herself to succumb to his steadfast love, the sensation was as warm and welcoming as his arms wrapped around her.

“Every inch of me belongs to you.” She sweetly cooed as she curled into his embrace. “I am yours to love, which is good because that’s all I want to do.”

“Are you sure we aren't married yet?” Scott's voice turned to the dusky rasp that he knew always drove Jean wild. His hand pulled her head back, giving him free access to her neck. “Feels kind of like a honeymoon,” he quipped once he's made his way to her other ear.

~And I can't imagine loving you any more than I do right now~

Scott pulled against her neckline with his kisses, but his soul pushed an emotive force from his heart to Jean's that electrified their psychic rapport. Even though it wasn't the lustful display from before, it was no less emotionally charged for it. The slow burn was hottest and it was igniting within him kiss by kiss.

“I’m sure I’ll think of something.” Jean joked but her voice became distant and distracted as she focused on the heat from Scott’s emotions. The way he opened up to her and pressed himself against and across her mind. It created an irresistible high that made Jean drunk on him.

~* ‘For a non-telepath, you are very good at that.’ *~ She shifted and pressed against him as her skin became warm and flushed. ~* ‘You’re making my head spin.’ *~

~Only because you showed me the way~

Even though he was no telepath, Scott's passive inducement in Jean's powerful mind made him a part of her. Exciting her in body and soul was as natural for them as the way they came together like drops of water.

~I’ll spin with you~

Scott let himself go. His thoughts intertwined with Jean's where her passion for him flowed into his inner mind and catalyzed a deeper desire for her within himself. Moving in and out of his own head, Scott lost himself in the whirlwind romance that had always defined their love. It was a little death in itself, but their shared love made for a cocoon of light and life that resonated around and through them.

~There is no life away from you~ Scott was still kissing Jean from her temples to her shoulders but his awareness was far and away in a higher love within their psychic bond. ~Without you I only exist~

~*‘Then I will keep you and love you, I will cherish you until the end of my days.’ *~ Jean’s words sounded like dreamy vows as she waited with eager anticipation for each sweet kiss he placed upon her skin. Her hands reached out to caress him in slow tender motions that matched the pace in which he kissed her.

It was so easy to drift away with Scott as they endlessly tangled in their love. Jean’s head and her heart felt so light and hopeful, their closeness affirmed every part of her that dared to love because with Scott she knew nothing was impossible. He was better than any drug and his touch was a potent aphrodisiac. ~* ‘My forever’ *~

~That means no end~ Scott rounded Jean's chin and found her lips again. They pressed and flowed together in rhythm with their caressing hands. ~Endless days, endless love~

Gradually their lips widened into open kissing. Tongues flicked and rolled together in a gentle but fervent clash. Scott heaved a satisfying high, enjoying every aspect from the feel of her slick tongue against his to the taste of her moist breath exchanging with his own.

~Forever…~ Just the concept of a deep bond like they had, where the sheer euphoria of the moment would burn everlasting, made Scott dizzy in the best way. ~Again and again~

It was enough to send them spinning indeed. Little had he known it, but they had turned airborne, slowly spinning through empty space like a comet passing through the solar system. Arms and legs were enmeshed just as their lips were, leaving them nearly oblivious if not for the shifting pull of gravity against their levitated state.

She murmured and softly moaned as their kisses became deeper and Jean felt that all too familiar pull to be closer to Scott and her body asked for them to entwine once more. She leaned into him and felt the fall of her hair as they slowly turned, the unexpected sensation caused her to take note of their levitating. The realization made her laugh as she stopped and steadied their slow spinning. ~* ‘Sorry. I didn’t mean to do that.’ *~

Scott’s head was a few inches away from the popcorn ceiling and the star on the top of the tree was an arm’s length away from Jean. ~* ‘I would wake up floating when I was younger and my telekinesis was first manifesting. I would literally fall into bed when I woke up from my alarm clock going off. It only happens when I’m really relaxed.’ *~

~No complaints here~ After what Scott had given her, somehow holding back the weapons of mass destruction that were his eyes in order to give him what might have been the best sex of his life, he was elated in knowing that Jean could have the same freedom. ~Let yourself go. If we make a mess, we’ll clean it up later. If we fall, I’ll catch you. Just be free~

With that put forward, both an offer and request from Scott, he resumed his passionate necking.

~Show me how you want me~ Not that Scott waited for prompting. Jean would direct him soon enough. He already knew how to get started.

The slow spin shifted Jean’s hair to alternately fall away or drape across his face. It had a sort of metronome effect that added a sense of timing to an otherwise timeless moment, turning their passion into something almost musical. Not for the first time, Scott compared giving Jean pleasure to playing an instrument. Knowing which keys to strike, which strings to pull, which frets to press, which holes to blow were all like muscle memory to him which all came together to play his favorite song. His hands and lips were already going to work.

~* ‘I don’t know, you do alright on your own.’ *~ Jean shut her eyes and went back to savoring his touch in the weightless space they traveled through. ~* ‘Or I trained you well.’ *~ She laughed a little more than was necessary with that comment, they were both aware of the impact her telekinesis and her empathy had on their relationship. Every heady kiss or soaring climax created a mirrored ripple in the other making it easy to figure out what the other liked.

~We’ve had a lot of time to practice…~ Scott punctuated that thought with a hard press of his lips against her neck that was sure to be a hickey in the making. ~...together~

A slight collision with the ceiling sent them spinning back the other direction but Scott barely noticed. He was still all eyes for Jean. The strings of his heart were wrapped around her proverbial and psychic fingers. While they might be adrift in midair, on the inside he was dancing.

~Might need to be a little creative~ Scott reached out to brace them both with a faint grasp against the popcorn ceiling. From there he was able to reorient his body behind Jean’s where he could still caress her from top to bottom.

“Let’s give this a try,” he whispered into her ear from behind.

The following section contains mild adult content. Reader discretion is advised until the next section.

Without a surface to rest on, Jean found herself aloft with nothing to ground her except the anchor point formed with Scott’s hips. That center point was made even firmer when he entered her, merging their balance even further.

~How’s that?~ It was a rhetorical question, of course. Scott knew full well it felt pretty damn good. He just couldn’t help but reach out to Jean within their psychic bond, to feel and know her pleasure as his own. The sympathetic delight they felt was also a perfect gauge to know when to slow, quicken, or change up in an instantaneous exchange of passionate awareness. It took a different level of coordination to generate his power from his shoulders pressed against the ceiling while Jean began to splay out in front of him, but it was far from a challenge. If anything, it became yet another first experience on this astonishing day.

~* ‘It’s ah..’ *~ Jean’s thoughts were interrupted but a short, breathy moan as Scott dared to attempt a single thrust into her. The sensation was raw and primal in nature and the idea of turning rough and ravenous thrilled her a little.
~* ‘It’s good.’ *~

With a cat-like arch of her back, Jean found a way to passively press herself into him and their union deepened. The sensation caused her to moan once more as Scott felt her yearning for more of his touch. ~That’s really good, actually.’ *~

“Uh… huh…” Scott moaned aloud in time with his slow thrusting. Without any resistance whatsoever, the angle was exactly what they wanted it to be. It was just a matter of Scott bracing Jean’s hips in his vice-like grip and letting it rip.

~Somehow today keeps getting better and better~ Scott rested his chin atop her shoulder as Jean flexed her body to keep their new borderline contorted position. It was a rapid undulation from shoulders to hips on his part that rocked Jean and sent the motion straight back. The coordination was complicated but nothing their psychic rapport couldn’t handle, especially with the level of connection they had activated already.

Their bodies flowed together like twin eddies in a current, moving in and out of one another’s rhythm in perfect sync. Slowly getting faster, Scott let instincts carry him from there. He let go of the intentional calculation and gave himself over to the reckless abandon that his raging arousal demanded. Thrust after thrust, he railed Jean in their experimental position, taking hold of her pleasure from each movement and clutching it deep down in his own inner being where he could treasure it for all time.

Jean’s moans turned into gasps of awe and approval as Scott became frantic and fervent with his efforts. Each one of his deep thrusts caused her whole body to bounce and jostle in a lewd manner that added to the building passion between them.

She closed her eyes as she listened to the instinctual call that sounded inside Scott, it lacked the logic and meticulous measure his thoughts normally possessed. Instead she found this reckless, hungry man who wanted nothing more than to seek pleasure.

She groaned his name as that primal want began to call to her too, there was a savage rhythm and melody to it that Jean could feel in her bones and in the very fiber of her being. It left her gasping and panting as her whole body found and matched Scott’s hurried pace.

Like otherworldly apparitions, Scott and Jean coupled together at the top of the ceiling, moaning and gasping each other’s names. The utter lack of any sensation except for each other was not new, though the position was. It allowed them to let go and give in to their primal lusts for each other that went beyond their minds and directly into their animal selves.

It was a pace they couldn’t keep up forever. Barreling full bore into their mutual demise, their climactic release was as explosive as it was unrelenting. Only after they were totally spent did Scott register the feeling of falling.

End content advisory

“Oh shit!” Scott pushed himself fully below Jean, which propelled him directly downward onto the coffee table. Its legs and joints flexed along with his own as he stuck a crouched landing just in time for Jean to fall into his arms. “Got you,” he said with a grin. His breathing haggard from their lovemaking as well as the adrenaline-laced reaction he had to their sudden free fall.

“I would have caught us…” Jean laughed at the momentary thrill the drop created and the sensation of falling into his arms. They hadn’t been in any serious danger and like always, Scott was more than capable of handling the situation. “I just needed a minute to regain my composure.”

That was a nicer way of explaining her dumbstruck lust induced fog. Jean had been left panting and whimpering from their shared climax and any control or awareness she had involving her telekinesis had disappeared. It had made them fall like stones from the sky.

“It looks like we need to go furniture shopping, again.” Jean looked down at the flattened coffee table below Scott’s feet. “Are you okay?”

“Never better…” Scott smirked at his display which was as much dumb luck as it was good reflexes. He set Jean to her feet and picked his way out of the shambles of broken wood. “Just glad it was oak and not glass.” He actually blushed for a moment. “I wonder what Sal will have to say about this one.” As he took a step, though, he let out a yelp. “Ah! Splinter!”

“Forget Sal, our poor neighbors below us. I’m too embarrassed to introduce myself.” Jean giggled but she grew concerned when Scott cried out. “Oh no, sit down and let me see.”

Scott made his way over to the couch and Jean picked up his affected foot. She examined it for a moment and furrowed her brow when she found the splinter in question. “I‘ll take it out.”

Her expression grew serious and somber as she focused on his foot. With a slight scrunch of her eyes while holding her breath, Jean telekinetically plucked the piece of wood from his foot. Several minutes ago she had been holding both of their panting, thrusting bodies in the air and now she wielded her abilities with a surgeon’s dexterity. Her control over her telekinesis was amazing at times.

“There!” Jean said in triumph as the splinter was removed. “Do you want a bandaid and a kiss?”

“Ow!” Scott had been chuckling over the awkwardness of ever meeting their downstairs neighbors. The sudden prick of the splinter leaving his foot hurt more than he’d expected. “Yes, but not necessarily in that order.”

Leaning in to steal a kiss, Scott let out a satisfied hum that was soon overtaken by a rumble in his stomach. “Heh. I guess we haven’t eaten much today, have we? What was the next meal on your Christmas schedule?”

“Now that you mention it, I’m hungry too.” Jean plucked the summoned bandaid from the air and quickly opened it. With deft fingers she applied it to his foot. She leaned forward and kissed him one more before considering the rest of their Christmas plans.

“I had planned on making a Christmas feast but I think I’m off schedule now.” She looked over her shoulder to the cable box’s clock and frowned at how late in the day it was. “I’m hungry now… there is stuff for sandwiches in the fridge. Would you settle for a fine Christmas meal of roast beef and cheddar?”

“That sounds perfect.” Scott followed her to the kitchen but made a detour toward the pantry while she continued to the refrigerator. At first he reached for a bottle of red wine by habit, but there was Cognac on the upper shelf where they’d hidden it from Bobby’s reach back when he’d stayed with them. “It’s not day-drinking if we pour it in eggnog, right?”

“Isn’t that what Christmas is for?” Jean said while shoving a piece of chocolate into her mouth before she even attempted to make them sandwiches. “Don’t forget to grab the potato chips.”

She turned her back to him and began to gather all the needed supplies for their meal. When Jean was finished, each sandwich was piled high and needed a toothpick to keep it together.

“Let’s eat on the couch, really slouch and snuggle while we watch another movie.” Jean carried both of their plates back into the living room but stopped short when she saw the broken coffee table. “Rats, I forgot we just broke it.”

Scott was already unfurling a blanket and laying it across the floor. “Here we go. Picnic style. We’ll even see the TV better.” Seeing as how they hadn’t bothered to clothe themselves again, having a blanket at the ready wasn’t a bad idea. “And all the better for cuddling.”

Settling himself down, he arranged their drinks, complete with Cognac and eggnog, along with a bag of potato chips before offering to take the sandwich plates off Jean’s hands. She could use her telekinesis as she likely would have on her own. It was just doing things for one another that could be done themselves that made their time more special. “Come on,” he said. “Not sure if it’s A Christmas Story or It’s A Wonderful Life playing.”

“It’s A Wonderful Life, obviously.” Jean said in a dreamy tone with a sublime smile and Scott wasn’t sure if she was talking about the movie or not. “This is actually kind of perfect.”

Picnics under the willow tree had been a fairly common activity for the two when they were first courting, sitting on a blanket together was where a lot of firsts had happened between them. While this blanket was in the middle of their living room with a softly lit Christmas tree rather than a weeping willow, it still created feelings of fondness and nostalgia in Jean.

Taking a seat next to Scott she took a sip from her drink and glanced at him as she swallowed. “Mr. Summers, are you trying to get me tipsy? The eggnog is at least half cognac.”

“I am a gentleman,” Scott said with a smirk, “so I am obligated to tell you yes.”

Clearly he had already dipped into it before laying the blanket down. The empty stomach meant it was going straight to his head. “Uh…maybe I should get something in me before I have any more though.”

He bit down on the roast beef sandwich Jean had loaded up for him. It made his eyes roll in an all too familiar way. “This is so good,” he said with a mouthful. “What did you put on it? It’s a…what do you call it… Beef Manhattan?” He chewed vigorously as the rich flavor awakened his appetite and soaked up the eggnog in his belly.

“It has giardiniera on it from the deli around the corner, that’s what’s stealing the show,” Jean said with a smile before taking a bite of her own sandwich and nodding her head in agreement. “Either that or we’re just famished and anything would taste good right now.”

She opened the bag of chips and continued to nod her head in approval of every bite she took. “It’s like when we go camping, even Hamburger Helper tastes good.”

There was a long silence as both of them devoured their sandwiches, it was a true testament to how hungry both of them really were.

“We never opened our gifts from everyone else,” Jean lifted her glass and gestured to under the tree where a few more presents were waiting to be opened. “I’m kind of curious but also scared to see what Reed and Sue gave us.”

Scott wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and licked his lips before looking at the Christmas tree with newfound concern. “You know, I had put that out of mind for so long that I had just kind of forgotten about it. I’m a little worried now, to be honest.”

Getting up, Scott walked over to the tree and picked up the gift with a 4 plastered all over it. “Custom wrapping. Right.” He had to resist the urge to give it a shake. “Should we open it outside?”

As he looked at her, Jean could tell he was only half joking. There could be anything in there.

“Who are the rest of these from?” Scott wondered aloud. “Warren, Bobby, Hank, Professor Xavier, the Fallen Angels… I assume that one’s from Tandy.” It was a small collection but it represented so many achievements they had made this year. There was just one problem. “Did… we get them anything?”

“Of course we did!” Jean said with a laugh but she felt a little bad that Scott was so clueless about it. Then again the month of December had been terrible for them so it wasn’t surprising that details were lost. “I picked stuff out for them and wrapped them.”

Jean’s telepathy and telekinesis made that task rather simple, she could have taken care of everything in one afternoon.

That made Scott heave a sigh of relief. He remembered hasty conversations and deliberations but there was a distinct lack of recalling the actual gift wrapping and delivering. Once again, he was grateful for Jean to catch these things before they became a problem.

“I’m hoping that we don’t have to open it outside.” Her attention returned to the Fantastic Four labeled box. She reached out and began to unwrap the box but she was overly cautious as she did so.

Jean opened the box and a softball sized silver sphere was inside. She picked it up and held it in her palms. “What is it?”

Scott, standing beside her with a mug of eggnog in hand, peered into the box and pulled out a thin, folded booklet labeled User’s Manual. The text was dense with diagrams and technical jargon that made his head spin after a few seconds.

“What the hell is a ‘portable media player’?” he mumbled aloud, flipping through the pages. “Is it like a Walkman? I don't see where the CD goes.”

Jean ran her fingers across the seams of the smooth sphere and suddenly it began to play music, it was a soft lullaby that she didn’t recognize.

“Oh that’s kind of sweet,” she said while continuing to poke at it. Jean found another button on its side and the projection of stars appeared from a small display on the top. The stars filled the ceiling and walls of the living room, creating a serene and soothing environment.

“That’s actually pretty amazing… I wonder if it will change.” Jean muttered before shaking the sphere like a Magic 8 ball.
The music changed to upbeat disco and the lights became a multicolored display.

She shook it again and the music became a romantic serenade and the lights mimicked firelight.

“Here, you try!” Jean handed the sphere to Scott.

Head cocked to one side, Scott was still trying to make heads or tails of it. “Sure…”

It was light enough in his hand that he could toss it like a baseball. When he tossed it up and it landed in his hand, the music changed to a squawking sports announcer.

“First down! First down! The defender can't believe it! The quarterback came right up the middle and—”

When it landed again in his palm, the audio changed again to instrumental Christmas music played by a full symphony orchestra.

“Oh, it's some kind of radio,” Scott said. “One you…throw around?” He laughed at it, though he admired the holographic snowflakes it projected against the ceiling in time with “The Carol of the Bells,” which was admittedly rather captivating. “This is actually pretty rad.””

“Yeah it is.” Jean turned off the TV and the living room light before she closed the curtains. The room was dark and it allowed for the snowflakes and Christmas lights to illuminate the room. She watched the snow fall for a minute with a serene smile on her face. “I’ll admit it, Reed did good with this one.”

Between the music, the lighting, the dimmed ambience, Scott felt an overwhelming urge to steal a kiss from Jean.

“Yeah, he did,” Scott agreed with a surprised grin. “Merry Christmas, Jean.”

In the back of his mind, he couldn't help but wonder what the others had given them. “I am a little skeptical about how neatly wrapped Bobby's present is. There aren't even any jutting corners.”

Historically Bobby wrapped presents with the scraps left over from other people's wrapping. To see something normal from him was, frankly, surreal. Scott picked that one up and gingerly tugged at the paper. It came apart easily, as it was helped together by only a few pieces of tape. Definitely a professional wrap job.

“Okay, moment of truth…” Scott said as he opened the box.

“Oh wow!” Jean said with a gasp as she reached into the packing peanuts stuff box. She pulled out a crystal champagne flute with an elaborately filigreed steam. Their names and wedding date were etched into the side of the glass. Jean removed a second one, they were a perfect set for their first toast. “These are so beautiful… who helped Bobby?!”

“Whoa…” Scott was taken aback along with Jean. “Does he have a girlfriend…or boyfriend even that we don't know about? That's really nice!”

And it was yet another reminder of their dream come true which was only weeks away now. Scott felt so giddy that he could fly…which was a recent sensation not forgotten. Their upcoming wedding felt even more real.

“I want to display those somewhere…” Scott looked around, his eyes hunting for a suitable spot that would draw the eye but would not be at risk of accidents. “But where?”

“You can put them on the bookshelf.” Jean suggested while reaching for the quilt that was folded on the edge of the couch. She wrapped it around herself while nodding at the built-in shelving unit. They were slowly adding books, plants and knickknacks to the oversized shelves.

“After the wedding they can go into the china hutch.” They didn’t have a china hutch or fine china - yet. But Jean had her way of knowing things.

Scott foresaw even more furniture shopping in their future. “Alright, how’s this?” Scott set them on the highest shelf where nothing else had been placed yet. Centered and positioned side by side, they made quite a sight. “Looks pretty sharp to me.”

With a nod from Jean, they moved on to Warren’s gift. It wasn’t wrapped in paper, but rather set inside a gift bag. It came open with a pinch. Once opened, it appeared to be a gold placard with Warren’s initials monogrammed on the back with an elegant W-W. Scott held it up for Jean to get a better look as he scoffed in disbelief.

“Of all the arrogant, pompous…” The string of insults stopped short when Scott saw what was on the other side. Embarrassed, Scott slowly turned it around to reveal a group picture taken of the First Class from the previous Christmas.

The tree stretched clear to the top of the vaulted ceiling within the main hall. Holiday decor was strung from floor to ceiling as well. At the center of the picture, though, were seven smiling faces, emblems of a simpler time before one tragedy after another had befallen them. It might have been the happiest time for all seven original X-Men.

“Aww… look at how happy we all are.” Jean invited Scott to cuddle under the quilt with her as she continued to examine the photograph. They had been an unstoppable force as X-Men and their relationships had all been so good. There had been a lot of peace and focus last year.

“Do you miss this?” Jean asked him as she ran a finger across their smiling faces.

“Yeah,” Scott said softly as his gaze lingered on the photograph. “And I don't think we're alone in that.”

There had been a comfort in knowing their place in the world. That was what the X-Men and even Xavier’s had represented. Now they were on their own, making their own way, yet still dependent on the Professor’s guidance and the lessons he had given them. The old days where he gave them mission briefings and encouraged them on their return home were far more nostalgic than Scott had anticipated.

“This was a more thoughtful gift than I would've expected from Warren.” Scott turned pensive. “We've all lost a lot but we have each other again. That really is the best gift of all…and it's nice to know Warren feels the same way.”

“He’s not all bad,” Jean said while leaning into Scott in an attempt to steal some of his warmth. “Sure, he’s a self-absorbed jerk most of the time but he does care about us and our cause. We mean more to him than you think we do.”

She set down the picture and reached to squeeze his cheeks. “Not everyone can be as selfless, pragmatic, and handsome as you.” Her squish of his lips and cheeks made Jean giggle before she let go and kissed him.

“Yes, those are my three defining qualities,” Scott said with no small amount of sarcasm. He wasn’t going to argue with Jean, as he knew better than that, but there was a gulf deep and wide in their opinions of Scott Summers. If anything, Scott’s sense of duty stemmed from a chronic belief that he was not any of the things Jean described and so had to work hard to exercise them. Nobody else had accused him of being more handsome than Warren Worthington III either. “Our friends do all right, though.”

Scott returned her kiss before she could pose a rebuttal to his unspoken sarcasm and held it for just a moment. The action made him chuckle at his dirty pool tactic. Being with Jean was assurance enough. He didn’t need to be persuaded of anything else, not when she already completed him. “I love you, if you didn’t know. You’re kinder, smarter, and prettier than Warren, too.”

The good humor between them was just as bonding as their romance. It reflected the genuine joy and happiness they found just in each other’s company. No matter the circumstance or life event, they found fulfillment together. Scott kissed Jean again, this time not for play or sport but purely for the spontaneous burst of affection he felt for her.

“Come on, let’s see what Hank got us.” The box was a perfect cube wrapped in intersecting plaid Christmas colors. Scott gently pulled open the paper and lifted the top of the gift box.

“He wrapped it so perfectly.” Jean commented from her position next to Scott. She was probably the only person who would notice and appreciate that Hank lined up the patterns on the paper so they were complete and continuous.

He opened the present slowly and discovered inside there was a blue piece of fabric, neatly folded and bound in twine. Scott removed the bundle and offered it to Jean. “What do you suppose this is?” he wondered for the both of them.

A piece of paper tucked into the twine fell onto the floor. Scott picked it up and read it aloud.

”Dearest Scott and Jean,
May this gift find you both well on a day best known for exchanging gifts. I had this made a month ago, long before recent events. For a time, I had considered withholding the gift, but I decided against it in the end. Names hold power, dear friends. They tether us to the ones we love, even across time, across loss, across uncertainty. The name Charles Xavier is synonymous with hope, as it is the one trait he instilled in us above all others. And so that is the gift which I have to give this festive season. I pray the day you have need of this comes to you soon, and on that day may it bring warmth and hope to the future you both deserve.
Most Sincerely,
Hank"

Looking up from the note, Scott was about to ask what the fabric was, but there was no need. One look at Jean holding up the gift took the breath out of him. It was a light blue blanket with the logo of Reed’s Future Foundation on one corner and the name “Christopher” stenciled in cursive across another.

Scott gasped like he’d been punched in the gut. It was such a beautiful gesture made heart-wrenching due to the uncertainty of not knowing little Christopher’s fate. Despite the anguish, though, the message of hope did not fall on deaf ears. It was a bittersweet balm in the pain he felt.

“Wow, Hank…” said Scott, shaking his head. It wasn’t closure, but it was still, in some small way, a comfort and a reminder that all was not yet lost.

“I want to use it someday,” Jean said with a hint of sadness in her voice. She ran her fingers across the embroidered name, a baby she never got to meet but still loved so deeply. The fabric was made of unstable molecules, she recognized the strange stretch of the cloth but it was much softer than any uniform made from the novel textile. “It’s a shame to just tuck it away and forget about it. Hank’s right, we shouldn’t give up hope. Not for him, not for us.”

They both tried to find the positive in the moment, to be grateful for one another and the future they had together. But Jean still felt the need to reach out and hold Scott as they acknowledged the wave of grief that followed. They remained quiet and still in each other’s arms as an unknown stretch of time passed. Eventually, comfort and peace returned to their thoughts.

“There are a few gifts left,” Scott whispered. “Do you want to open another?”

“I guess so.” Jean agreed with him but in reality she was more than happy to stay cuddled up with Scott.

Rather than get up she summoned the gift to her. This one was a thin small box that was neatly wrapped. “This one is from the Professor.”

Jean examined it for a moment, the shape was odd and it was incredibly light but curiosity got the best of her and she finally opened it. Inside was a pair of plane tickets, a brochure, and reservation on hotel letterhead. “It’s for Kamalame Cay, a private island resort in the Bahamas.”

She opened the brochure and looked at the standalone bungalows on beaches of white sand next to turquoise water. “It’s exactly where I wanted to go for our Honeymoon.”

While Jean flipped through the brochure, Scott just stood there speechless. They had been to a number of exotic locales while on mission. But the nature of missions does not allow them to stop and smell the roses, as it were. Being alone with Jean in a bungalow in the Bahamas sounded like a fairy tale.

“That… that’s amazing.” Even the fact that the reservations included airfare was exciting. Capable pilot though Scott was, it always required a weather eye on the horizon and instrumentation panel. Now that wouldn’t be an issue. Scott and Jean could travel as newlyweds should—with eyes only for each other. “And so generous. Now I feel embarrassed about not opening gifts right away.”

“It’s still Christmas! It counts.” Jean replied while gently putting the tickets away, she treated them like they were fragile.

Scott had never been a Christmas humbug, far from it. It was just the connection with family and friends that mattered to him more than things. Exchanging gifts was only ever thrilling when in connection to that. Or maybe recent events had given him perspective and made him even more grateful for what mattered most. “We need to send out thank you cards, right? Isn’t that what married couples do? Or is that just for the wedding?”

“I don’t know if we need to write thank you notes for Christmas…” Jean hugged him and took a minute to reflect and appreciate Scott’s gratitude along with her own. Today had been a happy and celebratory day but it was only because they had these people in their lives and each other. “But then again who says that we have to follow traditions.”

She smirked as she thought about their own previously determined traditions. “We can make our own.”

“Yes…” Scott's voice dropped to a sultry register as he stole another kiss. “Let's do that.”

Their lips came together in a steamy collision of warm, moist affection that drew out for an entire minute. Scott's head canted from one side to another as things began to take another turn toward the romantic. Just before their lips joined together again, Scott whispered, “There's one more present, you know.”

Teasing each other was a game that would never grow old. No matter who won, they both always came out on top in the end. That only amplified the thrill of the moment even more. Scott grinned as Jean pondered the thoughts he put before her.

~* ‘Is there?’ *~ A titter of laughter fluttered through her as Jean leaned into his new kiss. She ran a hand across the length of his chest as she became eager to touch him. Scott’s thoughts were fuel for an everlasting fire that burned between them. His suggestions merely caused the flames to grow once more.
~* ‘Is it something I have to unwrap?’ *~

~I don’t know~ Scott shrugged at the question, allowing himself to ride the fence between innuendo and honesty. ~I think it was from your charity project~ Enjoying the growing friction all too much, Scott stretched out her bottom lip ever so much to keep their banter within their psychic rapport. ~But the other thing sounds good too. I always did like the way you think~

~* ‘Me?’ *~ Jean turned coy as Scott began to shrug and turn bashful. She countered his hedged response with a swirl of her tongue and lingering fingertips across his bare skin. ~* ‘Scott Summers, your thoughts are positively obscene, if one of us is thinking about the next move it’s you.’ *~

~Guilty as charged~ Scott closed in for the kill, seizing her first by the shoulders and pulled her close before sliding his hands down to grasp her around the posterior. ~So what are you going to do about it?~ He met her tongue with his own, refusing to let any part of her wrestle free from his grasp. Even their rapid heartbeats began pounding in sync with one another. ~I’d hate for your cute, little list to get…out of order~

~* ‘I don’t always need to follow what’s on the list.’ *~ Jean rose up onto her knees as his hands gripped and squeezed her backside. Her whole body shifted and pressed against his as Scott’s firm hold on her demand they remain close to one another. His greedy touch made her hungry for him in a way that turned their kisses lascivious. ~* ‘I can be flexible.’ *~

~I know that for a damn certainty~ Scott peppered their kisses with chuckling. Humor aside, visual aids reminding him of just how flexible she could be flooded his mind. Some of them even came from his own memory. ~And I also know I’m not the only one with obscene intentions. That’s okay, though…~

Scott’s lips broke away first, pulled away from her ruby mouth by the soft but angular cut of her jawline that always smelled of citrus and pomegranate, especially as it drew him toward her neck. The way her cascading scarlet hair fell over her shoulder made for a tantalizing hunt as he brushed her locks aside with his nose and teased the shell of her ear. Burying his face in her hair, Scott pressed his lips lower, savoring the taste and feel of her neck in a slow, measured pace along the sensual spot that was so erogenous that it was hard to tell who enjoyed his attention there more. ~... your dirty thoughts are safe with me~

“You are the source of all my dirty thoughts.” Jean’s voice was throaty and sultry, her words almost moaned. “Every single part of you evokes such lust in me, such heated want for you.” She closed her eyes and savored the feel of his lips on her neck, Jean shivered in delight as he lingered on that patch of skin that drove her wild. Scott felt that pull inside of him, her telepathic summons to burn along with her. “I want you every way possible, I want to know every part of your body and your soul.”

He felt that dizzying rush of her thoughts through his mind, a medley of mental pictures of their bodies entwined as panting moans and body quivering pleasure moved through them. Her love for him was like a drug, it left Scott euphoric and stunned.

“You are my pleasure.” Jean rolled her hips into him and the change in physical contact brought Scott back to the present and her naked body pert and primed before him.

“And you are mine.” Though Scott had meant to reciprocate Jean’s own sentiments, the words still came across far more possessive. In that moment, it didn’t matter because it was true. They were given to one another in ways so few people ever were or even wished to be. Rather than reiterate what Jean had so perfectly described between them, Scott acted. It was better to show than to tell.

The following section contains mild adult content. Reader discretion is advised until the next section.

Scott’s hands slid around her sprawled knees and gripped them tightly, anchoring her open hips in place while he claimed her. No matter how many times or in how many different ways, there was always the invigorating excitement they had come to expect, the thrill of a gift and the elation of the holiday rolled together in a single, simple, perfect gesture that never failed to elicit a moan on first contact.

“Jean…” Her name rolled off Scott’s tongue in a fervent whisper, his voice hushed by an onset surge of pleasure. “You’re my dream come true.” It was the closest he could describe the feeling that arose from his slow thrusting, like he was reaching through the cobwebs between sleeping and waking for something too perfect and pure for this world, yet fell further into reach with every buck of their bodies together. Jean’s name rose up through his throat once more, but his squall was drowned out when his lips found hers again, enmeshed together in a passionate kiss that rolled in slow rhythm with their hips.

Scott’s hold on Jean remained tight as he continued to grasp and clutch her to himself. That demanding want for her, his claim of her body and her soul, still resonated in each roll of his hips up and into her. All she could do was succumb to that resounding assertion, because it was true, Scott owned every part of her. Long, languid strokes helped to affirm that proclamation as every inch of him delved into her, touching her in ways that made her quiver and moan. He made Jean’s flesh ache for his as her heart sang his praises.

~* ‘Scott’ *~ She whispered his name in a way that sent a shiver down his spine. A breathy little voice that told him how lost she was in his heated lust for her. Jean’s telepathic presence could roar and quake but it could also tremble and sigh, she was as diverse as the season in that way. Whether she was a lion or lamb, Jean still managed to keep her own hold on him, her mental grasp as firm as his physical touch. ~* ‘You feel like the changing tides.’ *~

Jean softly moaned before she bit his lower lip with her teeth, a brief moment of mild pain that was soon relieved by a fresh kiss that turned as heated as the last. Scott felt her body shift and press against him in a way that deepened their union. ~* ‘I want to drown in you.’ *~

A wave-swept beach was a perfect picture. Ripple marks from the receded low tide being reclaimed line by line by the ever rising high tide aptly matched the way Scott pushed deeper, bit by throbbing bit, his tip’s reach grasping for their total satisfaction. His chugging breath caught in his throat and dragged out in a rasping moan. But he never stopped. Jean’s internal voice filled his mind and soul with sultry whispers and passionate promises, fueling him onward.

~I’ll give you that~ Scott promised. So often Jean thought of their climaxes together as a little death, a poetic euphemism that Jean was more than qualified to use. Everytime they embraced in such intimate fashion, a little piece of themselves died and was reborn in the unity of their psychic bond. In that way, there was never any sense of loss. There was only a beautiful awakening that could only be found together. ~I’ll give you everything~

Scott redoubled his efforts, ignoring the fatigue of the day and the copious amounts of activity they had already indulged. Such things were a paltry price for the surging pleasure that seized him through his middle and surged through the rest of him from his head to his toes and back again. He simply needed Jean, like air in his breath, like air on a dry and thirsty ground. And, most of all, he needed her to know that. It was a message, assurance, and reminder he drove him one pounding thrust at a time.

The tension turned torrid between them as they both began to grasp at the euphoric high of climax. Scott flooded her senses with his need for Jean and the pleasure she provided, it made her whole body ignite with such urgent need to give herself to him. Jean wrapped her arms around his neck as she clung to him as their thoughts became singular and focused on release.

Scott’s tight hold on her remained and he felt the rolling waves of pleasure as they moved through her. Jean would normally writhe and arch as her orgasm claimed her but in his arms those tremors passed through him like little earthquakes. Every shutter and quiver of her body was felt against his own in a way that mirrored the bliss that flooded her mind. His claim and his need for her created this beautiful release inside of Jean, her entire existence sang his praise.

Such release within Jean demanded the same from Scott. He felt himself swept away in the waves of passion that shook him and finally claimed him as he drowned in the well of her love. A chorus of ecstatic whimpers pushed through his grit teeth until he collapsed atop her in a heap.

End content advisory

“I don’t know about ranking that one,” Scott said, breathless and loving it, “but today has got to be some kind of record.” Their skin clung together with a perspiring sheen, though it didn’t stop the soft kisses Scott laid against Jean’s face and temple. “I’m glad we have forever because even the most perfect day isn’t enough. I don’t ever want to be away from you.”

“We’re just really committed to making a baby,” Jean teased as she leaned into him and became comfortable in his lap, the full weight of her body pressed into him along with the feeling of her soft thighs and hips. “We’re good at making things happen.”

She nuzzled Scott’s neck as endorphins buzzed and flowed between them. Jean welcomed that feeling of total bliss and satisfaction. She too never wanted to be apart from Scott, he made everything better. “A whole week of this on our honeymoon, nothing but surf and sand and tans without lines. You better prepare and start training, Summers, I don’t need you getting a charlie horse.”

“Or a sunburn…” Scott involuntarily cringed at the mention of tans without lines and the risk it posed. There was the time they had fooled around on a boat at Breakstone Lake in the heat of summer and it had not gone their way in the end. “We better keep you lathered.”

It was a joke that actually touched into something far deeper. Whatever the Phoenix Force was, Jean had nearly been taken over by it completely. The events of Genosha were not easily forgotten, nor were the blasts of nuclear fire that heralded the death and rebirth of the entire island nation. For almost everyone, it was a horrifying moment where they saw Jean become death, the destroyer of worlds. For Scott, though, who lived on the edge of destruction every day of his life, it had changed nothing. Jean was still the love of his life and if there was a power within her that could destroy everything at a glance, then, well, that was just one more thing they had in common.

While all of that briefly passed through his mind, it made Scott chuckle at the thought of Jean getting a sunburn, not when he had seen her engulfed in a firebird and remain unscathed. Whatever this turned out to be, it was another reason Scott wanted to tie their knot. Jean would go through this alone over his dead body.

“Then again, I burn a little easily myself.” Not that he was worried, not anymore than Jean was worried that he would bring her harm. They were good together and brought calm to each other’s fears just as much as they lit each other’s fires. “I’ll need you to get my back.”

“I’ll also get your front,” Jean said with a giggle as she ran a hand down the length of his torso, her fingertips faintly tickled as they moved across him. She couldn’t help but laugh at Scott’s fretting over hypothetical scenarios on a beach, he was always practical even in daydreaming. Jean couldn’t help but love him for it, there was something so endearing about his slight scowl of disapproval especially when she made it disappear.

She tried not to linger on his thoughts of fire and the Phoenix Force that lurked inside of her. Jean feared that awful cosmic power, it had saved their lives but at such great costs. The way it whispered to her whenever she dared listen, even now, it called to her in a voice that had become familiar.

Scott saw a moment of distance in her eyes, it was subtle and fleeting but he knew that it meant something was telepathically distracting her. But Jean blinked it away and he saw that radiant light return as her gaze returned to him.

“We’ll have to find some shade then,” Jean continued with her tease. “Maybe a beach umbrella or a swaying palm tree. Does that solution meet your sun standards?”

“Making more memories with you beneath a new type of tree? Yes, please.” Scott gave her a wink that she'd only know by the twitch of his cheek and the tickle it sent through their psychic rapport. “We also have tropical nights to consider too. Beautiful stars, beach bonfires, we might never sleep the entire time.”

By the smirk on Scott's face, he had no qualms with that. None whatsoever. “But…maybe that's the idea?” His brow made a subtle suggestive wag. Teasing was fun and flirting was better, especially if it pulled her away from the darkness that called to her. That was another way they mutually helped one another. “I'm sure we'll find time at some point.”

“I’ll sleep on the flight home.” Jean laughed, “And maybe in a lounge chair in the afternoon.” Her hands traveled up and down the length of his sides, her nimble fingers and polished nails faintly tickling him with each pass. “Or if I’ve had one too many fruity cocktails with an umbrella in it.”

Jean kissed Scott once more and he felt her happiness. It glowed and radiated from inside of her in a way that was impossible to ignore. Jean was sunshine made flesh and all it took to make her feel this way was being in Scott’s arms with the promise of a tomorrow. “Are you going to make me go parasailing or snorkeling?”

“I won’t make you do anything,” Scott said, lapping up the loving rays she was putting out. “We’ll do whatever you want to do… because you might say, at the beach, the world is our oyster.”

It was all Scott could do to keep from bursting out laughing at his painfully stupid choice of words. Lips pressed together, Scott forced a stoic expression that barely qualified as a smirk, at least on the outside. Inwardly he was churning with layers of humor that ranged from the corny joke itself to his ploy to pretend that it wasn’t. Part of their psychic rapport and knowing each other’s feelings was the frequent game of pretending it wasn’t so. Whether flirting or playing, it was a game they fell into early and often.

“Wouldn’t you agree?” Scott asked with a casual tone that betrayed none of his ulterior antics.

“Absolutely,” Jean returned his thinly veiled smirk with one of her own. Her fingertips now tickling more than caressing. “We will really seas the day.”

“You bet,” Scott agreed. “Lounging on the beach with drinks and snacks and a big sandwich if we can find a witch.”

Jean shook her head in disapproval as she tried to stifle the smile on her face. “Oh no, that one was particularly bad. You win.”

“Won what?” Scott asked innocently. “More importantly, what do I win?” He rubbed his hands across her back, putting the gloating feeling into his touch that he was purposely keeping off his face.

“A trip to the punny farm.” Jean chuckled as she arched and leaned back into his touch. His hands were warm and filled with a gentle strength, she couldn’t help but close her eyes as she savored his touch. That sense of self-pride in Scott just made his caress a bit more keen.

“That feels good.” She rolled her shoulders before they squared and relaxed. “Maybe I won’t send you to the punny farm.”

“But I won it fair and square.” Scott turned his light caresses into a deeper massaged that dug just deep enough into her muscles to ease out any latent tension. “Don't deprive me of what's rightfully mine. That would be wrong.”

As he messaged, he planted a soft kiss against her bare skin. It was more affectionate than anything but it was still charged. “Farm life might be my new calling. Would you want to deprive me of that?”

“I’m sure you would have sow much fun.” Jean smiled as she delivered the line but was easily distracted by the action of his hands. She was slowly melting before Scott’s eyes, he watched as the lines of her neck and collarbone softened and her thighs that still straddled him relaxed against him, her thoughts took on this gently dreamy humm that was reminiscent of when Jean slept but she still managed to speak in her dolcent state. “You don’t even water the houseplants, you would be a terrible farmer.”

“I farm puns, remember?” Scott's tone was low and raspy, fully committed to the playful seduction now that Jean was coming apart at the seams. “Puns are my crop.” Kissing her neck once more, he said, “They're a bumper crop all on their own.”

At the mention of “bumper,” Scott filled his mind with other areas of Jean's body where his hands could massage, caress, and rub. There was no holding back, not when he knew how susceptible she would be in scanning his mind and the images she would see. “Just ripe for the taking…” he added, his voice barely above a whisper.

Jean tilted her head back as she murmured something that was inaudible to Scott, he could decipher it was something along the lines of ‘then take it’. She could make his head spin with the rush of her telepathic presence but Scott could disarm her with his touch.

He watched as her full lips parted and a whisper soft moan passed through them as his caress turned sensual. Jean’s body responded in turn, her nipples grew firm and pert while her stomach quivered from the deep breaths she took.

“No, I think you have to stay here.” Jean reached out and ran her hands across the length of his arms, her touch was faintly possessive and longing but she remained serene as she savored his touch.

“I wasn’t going anywhere…” More kisses rained against Jean’s skin, though they drifted toward her middle.

The following section contains mild adult content. Reader discretion is advised until the next section.

~Not when I have a plentiful bounty right here~ Committed as he was to their banter, even Scott couldn’t hold onto it forever. Not when there was something so much better in front of him. He slipped Jean’s pebbled nipples into his mouth one after the other like strawberries, framing them with his lips and relishing the taste and texture.

Her head rolled back in a slow easy motion as Scott’s lips traveled down her chest. Jean’s red hair cascaded down her back as she exposed more of her neck and shoulders to his roaming lips, it was a delicate blooming of her body as he worshipped her with his deft touch.

She softly moaned as Scott sucked and nuzzled her breasts, a slow seduction that made Jean smoulder in his arms. Her thoughts whispered through his mind as he moved across her body, lurid words of praise and encouragement that added to their sensual foreplay. Jean coaxed and tempted him towards peak arousal without having to lay a hand on him.

Again and again, Scott lavished his adoration on her. His response to the siren’s call sung out from her was irresistible. From body language to psychic rapport and everything in between, everything about her screamed to be indulged. And indulge he did. Spurred on by Jean’s sultry whispers, Scott felt swept away in the tidal current he knew so well. His hands were drawn to her sides with a magnetic pull all of their own, caught up in the anticipatory dance that preceded the final union that pushed the two lovers to their greatest heights.
~More~ The word was as much desire as conscious thought. It throbbed between their psychic bond on every frequency. ~Can’t get enough~

Scott shifted to sit upright while pulling Jean to straddle him, all the while keeping her in position for his love feast. His hands slid up her back and coaxed her to fall limp, leaning backward into his strong arms. Besides the way it made her pert breasts jut forward into his face, it felt right. The weight of Jean in his arms gave Scott the familiar feeling of all being as it should be in the world.

But the slick shifting and grinding was not for nothing. A soft, hungry growl escaped Scott’s lips. As much delight as he took in worshiping Jean’s beautiful form and fueling the fire of her passion, there was no denying the growing heat between them that made for tight quarters and an ever burgeoning desire. Scott couldn’t hold back a fevered pitch that took hold of him. His kisses soon returned to Jean’s lips, closing around them like a fountain with the thirst of a man parched of water.

Things turned from slow and sensual to hot and heavy between them as Jean began to roll and buck her hips in time with Scott. Leaning back and being supported by his arms, she was free to undulate and grind in a manner that could only be described as voracious. It turned his meticulous foreplay into an almost animalistic display of ravenous sex.

She leaned forward and into his kiss as their lips clashed and collided with such intense fervor that it made her gasp then moan against him. Scott became ravenous and demanding as his body and mind sought out their release, like a fast moving storm he crashed upon her with such focused and urgent want that Jean couldn’t help but follow him. Their bodies moved together and with each rough stroke the tension the required release grew closer and closer.

Jean’s whole body tensed and remained taunt as she succumbed to the climax that claimed her. This was no gentle waves or ripples of pleasure but a single, drawn out moment that made every inch of her rigid and tight. Her breath stopped and her eyes rolled back into her head as she found herself helpless to the prolonged pleasure that claimed her.

Such an explosive climax from Jean pulled Scott downward into his own like an anchor at sea, plunging him into a beautiful and disorienting moment of overwhelming euphoria. One second after another ticked by. Scott knew none of them, taken as he was by the warm press of Jean’s body against his own. He fell to one side with ragged breaths fueling his lackadaisical chuckles.

End content advisory

“We’re ridiculous,” he said, happy as could be. The smile on his face radiated pure joy. “And I love every minute of it.”

Scott stole a kiss from the top of her head while they both returned to themselves. After a moment, his stomach growled again. Despite their sandwiches earlier, Scott felt like he hadn’t eaten in days.

“Hey, you mentioned a turkey earlier… we’re not having guests for Christmas dinner, are we?” He looked down at themselves and the mess they’d made of their living room. “If so, we might need to clean up before they arrive. The place looks…” Scott chuckled as he searched for the right words before finally deciding on a coy euphemism. “... lived-in, we’ll say.”

“No one is coming over.” Jean affirmed their previously established plan. They had already decided to spend the holiday at home and with the events of Genosha still fresh everyone was more than compliant with leaving them alone. “It’s just a breast, not the whole bird.”

Scott had toppled them over so they could stretch out across the blanket that had been laid out. Jean rolled onto her back and placed her hand up and over her head as she relaxed and allowed the euphoria to move through her.

“It won’t take me too long to make dinner but I need a few minutes.” She felt spent in the best way possible. “Do you want a few cookies before dinner? Dessert first.”

“Always.” Scott grinned at the innuendo, though how he had any gas left in the tank to flirt and joke was anybody’s guess. Scott let his head rest against Jean’s shoulder, his grin still firmly in place. "You know I love your cookies. If you let me, I'll stuff myself until I can't move. You might have to roll me to the table."

He laughed at the thought. "But seriously, what can I do to help? Set the table? Peel something? Supervise the cookies to make sure they don’t, you know, disappear?" He gave her his best innocent look. "It’s an important job, Jean. Quality control."

“I’m sure I’ll find a way to put you to work,” Jean briefly kissed him and Scott felt that firework of how much she loved him. Jean cherished these moments with Scott, when his mood was light and he was jovial. It wasn’t a side of him that most people saw which made it all the more special. “Or you’ll just distract me.”

~Distractions are important too~ Scott teased in the psychic link between them.

Their robes had been telekinetically floated to them and Jean slipped into hers after she stood up, all while two oversized chocolate chip cookies were delivered. “But first, a snack.” Jean plucked them from the air and handed one to Scott. The cookie was larger than the palm of his hand and was chewy and soft. She took a bite from her own and smiled while she chewed. “That definitely hits the spot.”

“Yeah, it does!” Scott devoured it nearly as ravenously as he did Jean when the desire took hold. His lips smacked with crumbs as he did his best to keep it all in his mouth. “This is so good. Did you make these?”

“Of course I made them!” Jean was known for her chocolate chip cookies, they had to be hidden somewhere in the kitchen in order to save some for later. “I just made them bigger since we didn’t have to share them with everyone.”

While Jean was handy in the kitchen, he’d never tasted anything so good. Of course, they had been rather busy with high caloric expenditures. A cold, untoasted Poptart would probably have tasted divine. “That’s what I figured,” he said as he licked his fingers. “You really outdid yourself.”

“Have one more while I get everything ready.” Jean offered him another cookie as she began to organize all of her ingredients and cooking equipment. Very since they were young and washing dishes together, Jean had been meticulous and prepared when it came to the kitchen.

Scott devoured the second cookie with as much zeal as the first one, it made her chuckle to see him devour anything she made. “Can you make it to dinner now?” Jean asked before leaning in and stealing a brief kiss from Scott before she started mincing herbs.

“Somehow I'll manage.” The stolen kiss set off butterflies in Scott's stomach. There was no way comparison to how Jean loved him. Every touch, whether kiss or caress or playful hip bump, made him come alive. “I can already imagine how it smells though.”

Scott sidled up behind her and wrapped his hands around Jean's waist while she minced and chipped away. Leaning down to rest his chin on her shoulder, he whispered next to her ear in that way of his, “Are you sure there's nothing I can do to help?”

Jean giggled and shivered slightly from his whispered words. She always enjoyed the feeling of his arms around and of the press of his body against hers. Combine that physical touch with hushed words next to her ear and Jean was practically weak in the knees over him.

“Stop…” She playfully replied in a tone that told him she wasn’t serious. “If you’re starving then I have to make dinner.” Jean leaned back and into him until her curves pressed into Scott, making it hard to think about anything else. “How about you peel those potatoes by the sink if you want to help?”

Scott exhaled a laugh, nuzzling his nose against the curve of Jean’s neck. “Alright, alright,” he murmured, his lips ghosting just beneath her ear. “I’ll behave. For now.” His hands gave a lingering squeeze at her waist before he finally stepped back, peeling himself away from her warmth with the reluctance of leaving paradise.

He moved toward the sink, rolling up his sleeves before grabbing a potato from the pile. "Peeling potatoes. Got it. No problem," he said as he picked up the peeler and got to work. A beat passed before he added, "You know, this is actually a lot less fun than holding you hostage at the counter."

Jean smirked and looked up from her cutting board. No words were necessary. Her tickled side eye said it all.

Scott peeled another strip of potato skin, tossing it into the sink with an exaggerated flick of his wrist. "Can you blame me? It’s not my fault my wife-to-be is distractingly gorgeous and smells better than the actual food she's cooking." He shot her a look, playful but earnest. “Like I said, though, I’ll behave.”

~For now~ The flirtatious thought floated between them like pollen in spring. It tickled the nose and flared the senses all the same.

“I’m sure you’ll work up an appetite all over again.” Jean remained composed but coy as she folded her herbs into butter before covering the turkey breast in it. Once it was seasoned she popped it into the oven then moved on to the rest of the meal. Water boiled for the potatoes and a pan was prepared for sauteed green beans.

“Are you done yet?” Jean teased as she took her turn distracting him. Her delicate hands traveled up and down the length of his chest as she stood up on her tiptoes in order to rest her chin on his shoulder.

There was no resisting the flutter that sprung from Scott’s midsection and sprouted its way north and south. His heartbeat quickened and the less he concentrated on the other end, the better. Unlike Jean, his game wasn’t to feign indignation but ignorance. So long as he could pretend to be oblivious, the game would continue.

“Nothing wrong with finishing after the lady,” Scott quipped as he turned the potato over in his hand to peel the other side. “As you know, I’m nothing but thorough.” He bit the inside of his cheek to keep the mischievous grin off his face. “If you’re in a hurry and want to be quick about it, you can grab the ones on the bottom there. I’ll be finished in just a minute.”

“No, I’m good,” Jean said in a silky smooth whisper as she continued to caress the length of his torso. The soft curves of her body pressed against him as she tightened her hold on him. “I know you’ll finish, you always do.”

“I'll make it quick,” Scott said, matching her tone. It was becoming increasingly difficult to maintain his composure with the crush of her warm flesh against him. Rather than resist it, Scott took in Jean's caresses and melted into her embrace.

“See?” Holding up the last potato like a trophy, Scott smirked at Jean over his shoulder. “All done. Ready to take it all?”

“That’s too bad,” Jean sounded disappointed in his accomplishment before she gave him one final squeeze then let go of him. She took the peeled potatoes and quartered them before placing them in the now simmering water on the stove. Falling into the rhythm of cooking a meal, she started cleaning green beans by hand, snapping off their ends before breaking them in half. “Come over here and help me,” Jean teased with a smile on her face, the two of them turned just about everything into a low stakes competition, including meal preparation. “Just try to keep up with me.”

“Your wish is my command.” Scott pivoted on his heel and hovered just over Jean's shoulder. “Just tell me where you want me. I'll dive right in.” Then, in a lower tone, he leaned in just enough to let his breath tickle the shell of her ear. “The real question is… can you keep up with me?”

He flicked a loose green bean from the counter. It ricocheted against the backsplash and landed on Jean’s shoulder, teetering precariously on her collarbone. “Ha!” Scott cheered at his accomplishment. “Don’t know if I could do that twice.”

“Hey!” Jean protested as she flicked the piece of green bean at Scott. “Curse you and your math skills,” she said with a lilt of laughter. Scott’s ability to line up shots and trajectories was a crucial part of his combat skills, it also made him fantastic at trick shots. “I want to eat green beans and not wear them.” Despite her complaint the small pile of green bean ends she had created whizzed through the air and pelted Scott in the face and chest like soggy little beads.

“Oh, but you think they'd look good on me?” Scott shook out his robe and let the half-cooked mess fall to the floor. “If you wanted to play dress up, you could've just said so.”

The butter dish on the counter came up with a swipe of Scott's hand. He pressed the soft, room temperature stick right into Jean’s nose. Greasy butter mashed across her face and dripped down her robe.

“Just practicing for the wedding cake slice at the reception,” Scott quipped, backing away slowly as he readied himself for the inevitable retaliation to come.

“Oh my god, Scott.” Jean gasped and reached for a paper towel to wipe her face, “I will skin you alive in front of all our guests if you even tried that with wedding cake.” Her green eyes narrowed and Scott knew that he was in for it, especially with someone who didn’t have to physically move in order to retaliate. Without any clue or indication other than Jean’s eye fixed on him, a snowball sized ball of flour crashed into the size of his face, dusting his head and shoulders in white, including the front of his glasses leaving him messy and blind. “I’m your fiancée, you're supposed to be nice to me,” she said before laughing at the state he was in.

Scott stood frozen, lips pursed, nodding slowly as he exaggerated a long-suffering sigh. He reached up, removed his glasses and gave them a dramatic shake. The action sent a small puff of flour into the air. His facial expression, though barely visible behind the dusting of white, was pure, wounded dignity.

"Alright," he admitted, setting his glasses gingerly on the counter. "I had that coming."

Then, before Jean could react, he lunged forward and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her flush against his flour-coated chest. "But so do you."

Jean yelped, laughing as Scott rubbed his cheek against hers like a cat marking its territory, leaving streaks of flour in his wake. His lips found the curve of her neck, pressing playful, doughy love bites along her skin as he chuckled against her. "How’s that for being nice to my fiancée?" he murmured, grinning as he tightened his hold, ensuring maximum flour transfer.

“This robe is silk!” Jean squealed before losing herself in a fit of giggles. Scott felt the weight of her body in his arms as she almost slumped down onto her knees from how hard she was laughing thanks to the way he rubbed and dragged himself across her.

“It’s sticking worse to the butter,” Jean groaned as she hiccuped for breaths between waves of laughter. Still at his mercy she attempted to reason with Scott. “You’re going to make me burn dinner.”

Scott hummed thoughtfully against the crook of Jean’s neck, his lips curling into a sly grin. “You always make me burn,” he murmured, pressing another warm kiss just below her ear. “And I turn out just fine.”

“Yes, despite being a little crispy around the edges.” Jean teased while reaching out and cleaning his glasses before returning them to his face.

His fingers traced idle patterns along her waist, lingering just enough to send a shiver up her spine. “Besides,” he added, tilting his head so his lips brushed against her ear, voice low and teasing, “I think we both know you can handle a little heat.”

Seeing a piece of butter-coated flour on her shoulder, he plucked it up and popped it into his mouth. “Huh,” he said with a thoughtful chew. “Needs salt.”

“Ewww, Scott.” Jean squirmed in his arms and continued to laugh, “I knew you were hungry but not that hungry.” Her robe had fallen down slightly and exposed the gentle curve of her shoulder to him, fair skin that contrasted against the dark blue of her robe and the red of her hair. Jean felt his eyes linger on the lines of her shoulder and the side of her neck. Then they both thought about what a thrill it was to place his lips on that part of her body.

“You.” She playfully shoved him but Scott knew Jean was falling victim to the same lurid thoughts. Her eyes found his behind his ruby lenses and that magnetic pull to her to him. Instinctively, she kissed him in response to that feeling and the heat he teased about returned. “Dinner first,” Jean murmured against his lips.

“I am hungry,” Scott murmured back, his lips tickling against hers. “Think it will be too long?” While his question was ostensibly about the dinner wait, the lurid thought he held in his mind for Jean to pick up was certainly not. It turned his innocent question into filthy innuendo. “I might need something more to nibble on.” His lips brushed across her cheek to blow warm breath across her ear as he added, “More cookie, maybe?”

“You’re insatiable.” Jean giggled and squirmed while leaning into him, her arms wrapped around his waist and she pulled Scott into her. She wasn’t sure if the time before a wedding could be considered part of the honeymoon phase of a relationship but that was the best definition Jean could find to describe their connection. Their thoughts were singular in nature to the point of obsession over one another and when they were apart, all they wanted was to return to this.

~*‘I’m sure we can find you something.’ *~ She kissed him with zeal thanks to the tension that was building between them.

Scott drank in her kisses with the thirst that was never sated for long. Her love was sweet wine and fresh water to his parched soul. Without her constant immersion, he turned dry and desiccated inside. She was his light and life.

Briefly his thoughts turned to the turkey dinner, consuming him with a flurry of impulses. A smirk played at his mouth as even his appetite gave way to his overarching need to be intimately connected with Jean. Everything became a metaphor for their eternal connection which bypassed time and space.

~Want me to baste it?~ Scott made no effort to veil the double entendre. Letting go and allowing every feeling and desire mix together was a freedom that could only be found in their ultimate depths of intimacy. He chuckled with the base satisfaction of being free with his true love. ~Or should I sneak a taste test first?~

Jean couldn’t help but falter and start laughing at all of Scott’s metaphors. It was a playful little wave of giggles that floated through the air and made her tremble against him and Scott felt that champagne sort of high that effervesced from Jean when something humored her.

“Scott Summers, we both know you have the willpower to wait until everything is absolutely ready.” Jean kissed the length of his jaw as she tugged on the collar of his robe and straightened it. “Let me mash the potatoes and let the turkey rest and then we can eat.”

She didn’t let go of him as the kitchen sprang to life behind them. Dinner continued to fix itself as Jean sweetly kissed the side of his neck and nibbled on his ear. Her powers were amazing and awe inspiring at times, while at other moments they made life incredibly easy. “You need your strength if you’re going to continue with our Christmas plans.”

“That's, ugh, not fair…” Scott let out a moan as the kitchen sprung to life around them like the world of Fantasia. All that was missing was a horde of marching broomsticks. Even if there had been, Scott would not have noticed. The play of Jean's lips against the side of his head and neck was far too captivating.

~And I absolutely love it~ A soft hum of delight floated between them from Scott's lips.

Not everything was foreplay. Sometimes it was just amorous affection which filled their hearts' wellsprings all the same. Nobody loved Scott like Jean did. There was no one else who could.

“You give me strength,” Scott murmured, eyes closed and heart open. “Yeah, keep doing that.” His voice fell to a hoarse whisper so far it began to crack. The slow and sensual pattern of Jean’s kisses was the combination to the lock of stoicism around Scott's stony disposition. Jean would have him eating from the palm of her hand before long if she kept it up.

“Mm-hmm…” Jean agreed as her soft kisses began to linger across his skin. The brush of her tongue and a grazing of her teeth were always followed by the sensation of her full lips against his neck. Her hands slung down low across his waist and with a casual hug Jean pulled his hips into hers and she felt the effect she was having on him.

~* ‘Your dinner will get cold.’ *~ Jean’s tone was painfully coy as she nibbled on his earlobe. Scott felt her body call to him as she feasted on his flesh and kiss by kiss she consumed him.

~You know, if you really wanted dinner first, this isn’t helping~ Scott clutched his fingers through the locks of Jean’s hair, desperately trying to hold on but knowing it was futile. Resisting what he truly wanted was never going to be successful.

Of course he knew what she really wanted. Their psychic rapport laid her desires open to him with little to no mystery. From the moment when she had first awakened him that morning, Jean had wanted a magical day of just the two of them celebrating their love in their first real home together. It had been just the two of them all day. ~We could leave it on the warming rack~

Whether or not she did so was something Scott left to Jean’s discretion. With no other warning than the surge of desire within him, Scott lifted Jean off her feet and laid her across the kitchen island. Assorted cooking implements clattered to the floor, their percussive chaos only punctuating the raging desire within.

The following section contains mild adult content. Reader discretion is advised until the next section.

Sprawled before him was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. No matter how familiar he was with every curve of Jean’s body, the novelty never wore out. She thrilled him through and through. He sank to his knees and took a nibble of his own from between her legs.

~I don’t know… dinner seems quite warm to me~ Scott let out an amused sound somewhere between a chuckle and a hum. His mouth was soon muffled by the indulgent press of his lips against the slick folds of Jean’s most sensitive flesh. Once his tongue made contact, all thoughts of any other desire were dispelled. This was what he had wanted. This was what he craved. Everything from the taste to the scent of his beloved drove him wild with an insatiable lust that drove him to devour her. Fingers clenched into her thighs, Scott lost himself yet again in the garden of delights that forever called to him.

Jean groaned as his lips found her and his thoughts focused on her. The way that Scott simultaneously could devour her and be consumed by her made Jean’s whole body ignite with such heated and wanton passion. Scott was her beginning and her end and Jean happily succumbed to that perfect pleasure he provided.

She splayed her thighs as one of her feet found the counter and the other rested against Scott, it was a lewd shift of her body that caused the last of the kitchen supplies to fall to the floor, leaving Jean the only item perched on the island.

“Scott…” She hissed his name as quick pleasure found her thanks to the way he knew her body. He was merciless in his technique, his lack of teasing foreplay merely confirmed how much he wanted this, how badly he needed her. The fog of lust made her own body reckless and hungry and Jean couldn’t but arch and buck in time with him. “You drive me wild.”

Such encouragement only prompted Scott onward. He leaned his shoulder into the foot pressed against it, adding resistance and pressure for her to push against. The drag and pull of his tongue worked from every side, forcing Jean ever closer to the edge. Rolling waves of pleasure washed over Scott’s mind from Jean’s. His thoughts were pulled into hers, enveloping him inside the vast presence of her mind. Even her telekinesis randomly pricked and prodded at him like sparks on a fuse. No aspect of his being was untouched by her gradual loss of control and he wouldn’t have it any other way.

~Lose yourself with me~ Scott exploded with voracious energy, excited to the point of nearly bursting himself. The tidal forces of Jean’s pleasure had long since become his own. ~Let go. Let me feel you release~

Jean hiccupped and gasped as their efforts worked in tandem and she found that divine release that Scott had so lovingly asked her to find. The sensation made her toes curl and body stiffened as they both partook in the pleasure that had been achieved.

He felt every tremble of her core as her thighs quivered against him and her mind reached a euphoric high. Jean’s satisfaction was shared with him from the inside out, it was pure and beautiful in its creation. Moments like this reinforced everything they meant to one another, what their unity could do.

Jean’s head fell back as the throes of passion began to slow. Her robe had come undone and her body was now prone and exposed to him, her chest still rising in falling in heavy breaths, her fair skin was porcelain smooth with a faint blush of flustered color to it. “God, I love you., Jean proclaimed as her thoughts returned to her.

“You do make me feel divine in moments like these,” Scott mused aloud, his voice as shaky and breathless as Jean’s was. He felt a little giddy from the overwash of emotion and psychic resonance in their shared bond. Reaching forward, Scott scooped Jean up into his arms and cradled her. So much passed between them in the afterglow from micro-expressions to even deeper bonding and he didn’t want to miss one bit of any of it. He rested his chin atop her head and took in the citrus scent of her hair while bracing her against him. Her mewling sighs of satisfaction set his heart ablaze. “I love you too….”

Pulling back just enough to look Jean in the face, Scott cupped either side with both hands. “... and I’ll never stop showing you.”

Jean leaned into him and stole a long and heated kiss from Scott, the passion he felt in that moment was her affirmation of his own sentiments. She too would never stop loving him. Scott was like oxygen and sustenance for Jean, she would die without him.

He felt that magnetic pull of her psyche and it told him how much Jean wanted to show him her love. She wrapped her legs around his waist as her body rose and shifted against him and Scott felt her brush and beckoned him to claim her once more.

“Show me.” Jean rolled her hips and a shallow taste of their union caused them both to gasp. “Have me.” She kissed him much rougher now, as the promise of more became clear and present. ~* ‘Fill me.’ *~ Jean was always too timid to say the lurid parts out loud but her thoughts were loud and clear in Scott’s mind.

Scott had already started before the request was expressed. Slow and languid motions to start, allowing them both to focus and savor the stretching before they tented together. Leaning forward, Scott cupped Jean’s face again and kissed her as before, though this time he was pushing himself ever deeper inside her. Another gasp escaped his lips as his tip brushed against the end of her canal.

“Jean…” His gasp took the form of her name carried on bated breath. The tension amplified the glorious squeeze as he swelled to full thickness within her. At first his broad, deliberate swaths forced the entire length of himself within her, but now each thrust was only partially withdrawn before the next one began. Soon the cadence found a flurrying stride, both of their hips anchored together with Jean’s wrapped legs pinning Scott in place with their consummate rhythm.

“I love you, Scott.” She whispered the words next to his lips as he still held Jean's head in his hands. The tension continued to mount between them as they clung to one another while performing the single act that confirmed everything they were and would be for each other. It was in these moments of passion that they found themselves. Jean was his and Scott was hers and nothing else mattered. Already heated and primed from his foreplay, a sweet moan of easily found pleasure passed her lips and he felt her writhe and arch in his arms.

Before long, Scott found his senses drowned out by the same intensity of pure connection they had chased together. Lights dimmed, colors dulled, sounds muted. The entire world faded to gray before the rush of passion. He surrendered to it, closing his eyes and throwing his head back to the ceiling while his soul pushed out of his body through his pounding heart and throbbing girth.

Jean leaned into him as Scott grew rigid and found his release, she whimpered and mewled from the rush of delight that overcame them both in those beautiful moments where they stopped being two and became one. As Scott lost himself in their union, she buried her face in his neck and rested against his chest. Listening to his ragged breaths and pounding heart, the tidal wave of euphoria began to flood their senses and Jean wrapped her arms along with her legs around his body, she held onto him tightly as she savored every part of him.

~* ‘You are my home, my safe harbor, the owner of my heart.’ *~ The rush of lovemaking had Jean drunk on him and she absent mindedly babbled as he felt her rosy high mixing with his own. ~* ‘I am incomplete without you.’ *~

~No leaving~ While Scott's conscious mind struggled to pair two words together, his inner self was bright and resonating in starstruck jubilee. Jean did more than chase his demons away. She was the very break of dawn that closed out the night and introduced the hope of a new day. ~Always together~

There wasn't anything more to be expressed through language. Scott communicated the rest through the only means known to him. Clutching her jaw, Scott drew Jean in for a kiss that would've stripped the balm off her lips. Sobs and whimpers gurgled up from beneath the surface. It wasn't inadequacy or a fear of vulnerability which held them back. Scott was an open book and didn't bother hiding his feelings whatever they were. The sheer magnitude of how he felt was simply too great for that moment to contain. Like a pot set to a rolling boil, his feelings bubbled over the top into outward expression.

~Take me and never let me go~ The kiss had snapped him back enough to form a coherent thought and amidst the ocean wave of euphoria that had bowled him over. From his troubled upbringing to the burden of leadership that he took far too seriously, there were too many opportunities for him to give up on himself for him to handle alone. Jean was his bedrock and his fair wind. She kept him standing when he would have faltered on his own.

~* ‘Never,’ *~ Jean replied and Scott felt the rush of her psyche mixed with his. Their rapport was ever present thanks to the bond she had created between them after her return from Krakoa but it’s degree varied from situation to situation. Most of the time, there was a closeness between them that felt like they were sitting in the same room together regardless of distance. It allowed them to easily read each other’s thoughts and emotions without an overwhelming impression on their own psyche. In moments of intimacy, those separations blurred and feelings and thoughts became deeper and interconnected. A touch, a thought, a surge of pleasure all became a shared event that helped to unite and comfort them.

Then there were moments like this when Jean dominated Scott with her telepathic presence and he was lost in her. It was a vulnerable state for any non-telepath to be in, one where their free will could be removed and any ideas or actions could be forced upon them. But when Jean approached Scott in this manner, all he felt was her love for him. He had asked her to never let go, to hold onto him with everything that she was. In this mental state, Scott could feel how precious he was to her but he also felt infinitely small and helpless in stature when she opened up and let him experience the full effect of her power. This was an act of trust between Scott and Jean as they both laid themselves bare in these moments, it could only be described as their souls holding onto one another.

Jean’s hold on Scott tightened and he felt the shift and heft of her weight leave the kitchen counter. With arms and legs wrapped around him she clung to him in an attempt to mirror her psychic hold on him with one in the physical realm. They would hold onto one another with whatever strength they had, letting go would never be an option.

There were other things to do that day—another present under the tree, a delicious turkey dinner to share, more television specials to watch together, new Christmas traditions to form as the new chapter in life took shape. But none of it mattered. When they were joined together in total openness and full vulnerable view of each other, the world itself could pass away. Even in oblivion, they would always have each other.

 

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