Flare (xmen)

Chapter 8: "101 Dalmatians is not scary"

Disclaimer: I believe that love at first sight is dumb, so I will not hook the endgame characters up in this book. This happens over a week, no one can form a lasting relationship in a week.

"Get settled. We don't have a lot of time, and you need to be well-rested in order to train tomorrow." Charles ordered after the group was led into the house. The place was fucking huge. If Charles wanted, the place could probably hold like a hundred people in there.

"This is where you grew up, huh?" Ali looked up at the chandelier. "Looks more like a hotel than a house."

"I thought so too as a kid." Charles replied, with a touch of sadness. Ali didn't really pity people like Charles, but she did understand what abandonment felt like. Hell, Ali Nichols came from the orphanage she lived in until she was five. "Well, that got a bit personal. The east wing is available for use. Please try to avoid the west wing."

Ali's first response was to ask why, but Sean beat her to it. Charles' eyes hardened before assuring them it was nothing. She wasn't convinced, but didn't feel like pressing was such a good idea. Charles had trauma that he didn't want to share. Neither did she.

Raven decided that it was a good idea to drag her to her old room. "We can be neighbors!" Ali didn't have the heart to tell her that being her neighbor was probably a bad idea.

Ali put her stuff away in one of the polished drawers. Raven smiled at her before realizing her demeanor. "I'll go now." Raven was about to close the door before Ali stopped her.

"Stay." Raven brightened. "Right now, I don't think being alone with my thoughts is a good idea."

"Great!" Raven flopped onto the bed next to her. "Girl talk?"

"Sure, I haven't had a girl talk in a while. Excuse me if I'm rusty." Ali deadpanned.

Raven laughed and dragged her outside. "You are actually the first girl that-"

"Please don't say "is my friend"." Ali mockingly begged.

"Actually the first girl, other than Angel." Raven's eyes darkened. "Bitch. Well, the first girl that was you know, like me."

"A mutant." Ali finished. They both walked down the hall. "Well, if I was a human, trust me Raven, I would definitely give anything to have your mutation."

"No you wouldn't." Raven cut her shortly. "No one wants to look like me."

"Oh please." Ali scoffed. "You can change into anyone you like, and you're seriously beautiful Rave-" She turned and gasped. Raven looked like Raven, but she had blue scales and skin and red hair. "Okay."

"Horrible, right?" Scales went over her body changing back to the blonde form.

"What? No, no, Raven." Ali grasped her hands. "You look amazing. I was just surprised."

"You're just saying that." Raven looked down sadly.

"No, seriously. If I could look like you and I had to be blue, I would take that anytime. It's certainly an improvement over what I look like everyday." Ali smiled after she saw Raven blush slightly. They both walked into a random room.

"Don't be ridiculous. You look amazing." Raven complimented, making Ali blush.

Ali put her hand on her shoulder. "Oh please. I am nowhere close to-'' Raven and she froze. They are awfully close. Super close.

Raven put her hand on her cheek and they both leaned in. Raven was surprised. For a girl who imagined herself straight, and had a few boyfriends, she sure likes kissing a girl. Ali's lips were soft and tasted of mint. Ali wrapped her arms around Raven's waist and opened her mouth, deepening the kiss. Raven decided to be bold and pushed Ali back onto the couch. She climbed on top of her and would've continued making out if a small clatter didn't startled them. They both broke apart expecting Charles or someone else, but instead a stack of books. Raven cursed. Cock-blocked by a bunch of random crap.

"Wow." Ali looked surprised. "This was-"

"Interesting." Raven finished. They both looked around awkwardly.

"You know what is weird," Ali picked up a book. "Is that you and Charles have a copy of a book that came out when I was 11." She held out One Hundred and One Dalmatians. "And neither of you strike me as the type to read children's books given that you're like three years older than me."

"Hey, that book was kind of scary." Raven defended. "The evil chick tried to skin a bunch of puppies! Sweet adorable puppies!"

"101 Dalmatians is not scary." Ali scoffed. "And Cruella de Vil is an iconic villain." They both started walking away from the room.

"The bitch is terrifying." Raven argued, rolling her eyes.

"She was the only thing worth reading about." Ali retorted. "I would rather have paid for a book that was about her doing psychotic things and generally being evil."

"You are seriously messed up." Raven raised an eyebrow.

"Took that long to figure out, huh?" Ali smirked. She relaxed. After her screw-up with Raven, she was glad to have a civil conversation. What the hell was she thinking? Raven was pretty, sure and she was the one who kissed back, but she wasn't sure she wanted to bring her emotional baggage and dump it on her.

"Raven? Ali?" They both turned to find Charles behind them. "What were you both doing up?"

They both froze. She wasn't sure about Charles' opinion on the fact that his sister just got kissed by a girl, but she did not need another reason to get her ass kicked. "Ummm I uh we were." She turned to Raven in a help! gesture.

Raven smiled and slung her arm over her shoulders. "Girl talk."

"Alright, but go to bed. Both of you." Charles went past them and walked to his room. Raven unwound her arm from her shoulders and they both walked in silence.

They both reached their rooms and just before Raven could say good night, Ali interrupted. "Why didn't you tell your brother?"

"About?" Raven shrugged.

"About, you know?" Ali looked around before whispering. "The kiss."

"Charles has enough to deal with." Raven slumped. "My sexuality shouldn't be one of his top concerns."

"Raven, I-" Raven covered her mouth.

"It's fine. We'll talk later." Raven smiled. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." Ali mumbled before pushing her door open and flopping on the bed. Tonight was an absolute disaster. Raven was such a nice person and they could have maybe been friends and she had to go and screw up. Now, her life would be awkward. She groaned and pulled the covers over herself. She shut her eyes, hoping that she wouldn't send out pulses tonight.

She doesn't dream of Shaw or her past or anything like that. But she did dream of something she wished she hadn't.

She dreams of blue skin and red rings.

A/N: I figured that I would have some fun with my characters. For all you haters, Mystique is Bi even in the comics. She had a girlfriend named Destiny who she co-parented Rogue with. Destiny's real name is Irene Adler, who is actually Ali's foster mom. So yeah, just a few Easter eggs.

Mystique and Ali are going to have a complicated relationship. They both will feel some amount of attraction, but they repress it constantly because of outside circumstances and other feelings for others. By avoiding the whole dating thing, they'll both build a friendship so strong it'll rival even a few romantic bonds. 

Long story short, Mystique and Ali will be BFFs. Maybe should've just typed that.

-Lonelyhuman out