Chapter 21 - A Little Bit of X: Chapter 21

A Little Bit of X
Chapter 21

By Volpone

          Two hours later, Quinn and Natalya were spooned up together in his somewhat soggy bed.
          Since asking her to accompany him when he had to leave, the time had been taken up by a certain amount of conversation, but the vast majority had been occupied in Natalya trying to show Quinn how she felt about him the only way she was capable, leading to the damp state of his linens.
          (Quinn was both surprised and delighted to find she was now actually more intensely orgasmic than any time since they'd become lovers, proving rather thoroughly to him how much of her pleasure was emotional rather than purely physical.)
          The stunned emotional state Natalya had gone through earlier had worn off long since, but she was still rather incredulous that she had somehow found a man who truly loved her in spite of all the things she had always believed made that impossible.
          “Though I can't refuse to accept it intellectually, I'm still having trouble on a primitive level accepting that you are literally from another universe,” she admitted. “When you spoke of how things are where you are from, I thought you were joking to make me feel more comfortable. How did you not laugh in my face when I said it sounded 'like a different world'?”
          She felt his happy chuckle against her back, and she couldn't help but press herself against him more tightly as if she could somehow get closer to him by this.
          Quinn was far from insulted by her lingering problems in acceptance.
          “I've been though every shade and variation of my story so many times... how much can I admit?.. what facts can I share?.. who I can trust with the knowledge of Phoenix Group?.. who can know about the Circle of Ouroboros? Honestly, only the Professor knows as much about me and my situation as you do, and that's because he would never have risked his members to a stranger unless he knew as much as he does. I've become rather guarded by nature simply because of how outrageous my situation is.
          “But don't assume that all the women I love are married to me. The biggest tragedy of my life is I simply don't have as much time for each incredible woman I'm madly, passionately in love with as she deserves. There are several women outside my marriage I am just as much in love with as any of my co-wives. You've already met one of them.”
          He felt her stiffen involuntarily. Clearly her old emotional habits were not entirely under control yet.
          Who else was he in love with? Jean? Ororo? Tabitha? Someone else she was unaware of?
          He went on as if he was oblivious to her flash of jealousy.
          “But then again, you can hardly blame me for being in love with Columbina. I spend far more time with her than I do with any of my protein wives. And besides, everything she has become has been with the sole purpose of making me happy. How could I not fall in love with her?”
          When he felt her give a chuckle in return, he realized she might have overcome the last major hurdle in her acceptance of his world. If she could laugh over his being in love with a woman who was actually a computer, nothing else he told her would seem outrageous.
          She admitted, “I can't take exception to that since I think she's quite lovable myself. It still amazes me that she isn't a person hiding behind the walls of a starship. She is just so...”
          Her statement stalled as she groped for an adequate term that didn't sound insulting or prejudicial.
          “'Human'?” he prompted. “Actually, Collie is better than most humans I know. For her, the truth is always the truth. She may refuse to answer. She may answer in a manner that is intentionally misleading if she feels it's important enough, but you can be certain she will never lie to you. She understands how much I hate lying even when it's necessary, and I've always encouraged her to never make that mistake. I told her that no matter what else, she should always be better than humans in that regard. And she has been. It's one of the reasons I'd die for her.”
          Something in his voice made Natalya roll over to face him, and she saw his face was wet with tears as he spoke of the non-woman he loved so deeply.
          Her hand went to his face, and in spite of his display being for the sake of another, she found herself unable to fault how deeply he felt for his beloved companion.
          She couldn't help but speculate, “It must be amazing... for a woman to have you willing to die for her.”
          The wistful smile he gave in reply didn't prepare her for the words he said next.
          “I don't know. Is it?”
          The incredible blonde in his bed stopped and ran his words through her mind several times to see if she had misunderstood him.
          Tears welled up in her own eyes as she asked, “How do you do that?”
          “Do what, sweetheart?”
          “How do you walk past every defense I've built up my whole life and pierce my heart?”
          Quinn was a smart man. He knew when words weren't enough, it was time to shut up.

          The next twenty minutes would have likely led another couple to spend it making love. Having just gone through two hours of that earlier, Natalya asked something else of Quinn.
          “Will you show me again? Show me that you love me?”
          And so he'd simply held her and opened his heart, letting her lay there and just bask in the sensation of his love for her.
          She broke in on his reverie by telling him, “You don't need to marry me, you know? No woman who has felt this could ever need anything more to have you prove your love.”
          “I didn't need to marry any of my wives,” he responded. “But I'm glad that my Talent lets you know I want to.”
          Knowing she could afford to tease him this way, she asked, “And just how many co-husbands will I need to convince to get a proposal from you? A girl needs her beauty sleep... sometimes.”
          He actually stopped and counted... on his fingers.
          She slapped him on the shoulder for his teasing her back, then she upped the ante by speculating, “Perhaps I should go into business and become one of these great... what did you call them where you live? 'Hetaera'? Should I become a great hetaera while I wait?”
          How much he was from a different society was marked by the absolute sincerity of his reply.
          “You would make a magnificent hetaera.”
          The way he said it, she realized that from him, this was a supreme compliment.
          Finding herself oddly uncomfortable discussing her possibly becoming a sex worker again (in spite of his world being far more mature in such matters) when the only man she wanted at the moment was here with her, she again turned his words back on him.
          “Perhaps we should go into business together, nyet? We could be very, very rich if I were to manage you.”
          He gave her another chuckle and disabused her of that idea quickly.
          “You're still thinking in this world's terms. Sex is the smallest part of a hetaera's calling. First and foremost, they're psychologists. Talking is the thing they do most often.”
          “Trust me, beloved,” she responded, “you make a woman feel far more wonderful by what you say than by your marvelous 'хуй'.” (She used the Russian word for dick, which somehow made it sound classier than in English.) “But please don't think there is anything wrong with your 'хуй'.”
          He visibly assumed another character, his expression changing as his lips pursed and his eyebrows went up, his silly smile finishing the caricature he was presenting.
          “Oh, I'm so glad you like it. I had it installed just for you.”
          While she laughed at his sudden fit of silliness, she told him with a smile, “Oh, please! If I were to try to claim you for mine while you're here, I'd meet with some terrible accident before the day was out. There are far too many women here who intend to collect this particular pound of flesh from you, angel moye.” She ran her fingers over his 'хуй', leaving no room for error which pound they were referring to. “Besides, if I am to be loved by you, I can't start getting possessive now, can I? Would you ask me to be 'faithful' only to you just because I've told you how much I'm in love with you? I know you better than that. You give freedom. Your people are wiser this way. And I would not change who you are, even if I could.”
          He dropped the character and admitted, “I can't believe it took me this long to ask you. No matter how long I live, I still make the mistake of thinking people know what I feel without my telling them in so many words.”
          “That's a common failing, belovéd. There are so many females here who desire you, but how many have admitted it? Tabitha is far more infatuated with you than she would ever admit. Both Jean and Ororo are having troubles deciding between their regular lovers and stealing more time with you. I think the only reason they don't is they are afraid it will cause jealousy and hard feelings. Paige is terribly smitten but lacks the confidence to approach you with so many beautiful women orbiting you constantly. Neena was clearly hoping for much more time with you earlier. Even Betsy, who is so private usually, but even she admits she...”
          The gorgeous blonde stopped herself, realizing she might be revealing things that the woman involved might not want to admit to him.
          But there was one person she was NOT going to stay silent about.
          “And you must have realized how much Rogue wishes she could be with you. I think she must love you almost as much as I do, and she is probably the person who has helped your love life more than any other since you have been here. I would never be able to ask you to stay away from her... if it were possible.” Natalya looked wistful. “I feel sorrier for her than any other person I know... to always have love stay out of reach.”
          Quinn was listening to her and reached out to stroke her cheek in appreciation. He was considering whether or not to tell her about how he had steered Hank into the lab boys creating a suppressor that could be worn. He'd done it with Natalya in mind, thinking how it would be a relief for her to not worry about having her mutation triggered by her fight or flight response...
          ...And then it hit him.
          “I am so stupid some times! I can't believe I missed that.”
          Natalya thought he was replying to her observation about Rogue.
          “You cannot blame yourself very much for that, Quinn. She has tried so hard to not to behave as some schoolgirl with a crush...”
          He kissed her to interrupt her going too far down the wrong rabbit hole.
          When he broke the kiss, he told her, “I'm not saying that about how Rogue feels, even though she has been very reserved when alone with me. I'm saying I'm stupid because I forget what my job is occasionally. Especially when I'm distracted by falling in love.”
          This time, she kissed him, but when she stopped, she asked him for clarification.
          “What do you mean you forget what your job is?”
          He grinned and said, “I'm a troubleshooter. I'm here to help Charles and the X-Men and the mutant society at large get over this cusp, but I keep getting distracted by all the wonderful people I've met here.”
          She still wasn't getting how this tied into what they were talking about before.
          He went on.
          “Okay... maybe 'stupid' is too strong a word, but when I'm surrounded by heroes, I find myself thinking like a hero. I think of what I can do personally to stand between the Black Hats an those I care about. Heroes think like... like human shields.
          “But I'm really a troubleshooter. I figure out how to stop things from getting too bad. The less I can do to achieve the desired end, the better.”
          He realized he was getting excited talking about his passion: to change things for the better. He actually sat up and faced her on the bed rather than lie there with her and enjoy touching her.
          Considering how much Quinn liked skin, it was downright remarkable.
          When Quinn began explaining, he did what he often did and fell back on metaphors and parables to get his point across. When talking about n-dimensional geometry and temporal alterations, it was easiest.
          “Okay... a ball rolls along...” He gestured, indicating something about the size of a billiard ball rolling away from himself. “... and so long as the way is level and smooth, it keeps rolling along its path as long as momentum can carry it. Now, consider you are wanting to change where the ball ends up. You can wait until the ball is nearly at the target and suddenly try to...” He gestured batting the ball to his right with the back of his hand. “... alter its course. By waiting so long, it takes a lot of force to change the trajectory, and if you do it wrong... the ball either refuses to go where you want, or it can even stop... dead.
          “A universe has an amazing amount of momentum. This universe... it has a course set by the rules written into its foundations. It has conflict between mutants and non-mutants woven into its fabric. It thinks it needs that conflict. And who knows? If you removed that conflict, would this universe simply merge with the one next door... a universe where mutants don't exist? Is that the...” Again he swatted the invisible ball with the back of his hand. “... the alteration that would take place?”
          He sat up and his eyes went positively steely. It was a look she'd only seen on him a couple of times before... one of which had been when he'd gone into the Danger Room after the robbery at Florentine.
          “That's unacceptable to me,” he said with quiet intensity. “I won't let this universe lose something that makes it what it is. A universe that created Jean, and Ororo, and Tabitha and Betsy and yes, even Logan and Hank and Scott... and YOU... I will not accept that a universe that generated YOU is one I will allow to change in that way without a fight.”
          His expression softened, and he leaned forward to bring his face near hers so he could whisper, his breath warm and gentle on her skin, “But sometimes... if you barely touch the ball at all... just brush it with a finger early enough... back when it barely takes any push at all to move the ball ever so slightly into a new path... a path that takes it where it should go rather than where it wants to go by its nature... that's what a troubleshooter does.”
          And he kissed her bare shoulder before sitting up again.
          Natalya smiled and rubbed at the goosebumps that his kiss conjured on her arm, but then she looked puzzled.
          “And what does this have to do with Rogue?”
          He realized he'd gotten so metaphoric with his explanation that he'd neglected to bring it around full circle to where his ball had been going.
          “Part of what's best about being a troubleshooter is sometimes I get to help people I care about.  I don't have to save the whole world... just help make one person's life better. And so I asked Collie to help Hank and Tony and Forge make something that would help you suppress the way your mutation takes over. It was part of what they were looking at anyway, so it wasn't a big ask. The need for it is pretty big. Small... portable... wearable. You simply have it next to your skin, and your mutation is on pause. Not gone. Take off the suppressor and you're ready to rock and roll again. But while you wear it, you could safely stroll right through a Friends of Humanity rally without ever worrying that your mutation would give you away.
          “I originally thought of it because I wanted it for you.”
          He spread his hands as if something just dropped into his lap through serendipity.
          Natalya thought just a second and suddenly realized what he was suggesting.
          From the way she kissed him, you'd think he actually had done something just for her alone.
          “I can hardly wait to tell her!” she told him breathlessly after they broke.
          He held up a finger to get her to slow down a moment.
          “Let me check with Collie and find out what's happening.”
          She sat up to face him with an expression like a high school girl who had just learned the best secret... ever, but she was willing to wait for him.
          ::Collie, my dear... can I bother you a moment?::
          ::I'm glad to hear from you, Quinn. I want to try something.::
          Her reply was different from what he expected. Instead of her voice continuing in his head, he suddenly felt what seemed the strongest wave of deja vu he'd ever experienced. He was just a couple of hours before, Natalya's legs around his waist as she urged him on and keened out her sexual joy into his ear. He had just let himself go, and his cock was bucking so hard it seemed he wanted his jizz to squirt out her ears...
          Suddenly, the episode vanished and he was back in his own head, wanting to know, ::Bella... what just happened?::
          He got the distinct sense of her being amused.
          ::Did it work?::
          ::If I didn't just have an acid flashback, I'm guessing yes. What did you do?::
          ::I didn't want to say anything, but it seems that when you are particularly distracted, your feelings seem to trigger your interface... and that's what I got about an hour ago. It actually played back successfully? You could tell what was happening?::
          Realizing his body had reacted to his re-experiencing his earlier climax, Quinn heard Natalya suppressing her laughter.
          Opening his eyes slightly, he looked at the spectacular blonde opposite him as she blinked and fought so hard not to break into gales of laughter as a ridiculous amount of his cum dripped off her face and chest.
          She bit her lip to get herself not to laugh, then said sincerely, “I'm flattered you find me so exciting, but a bit of warning would be appreciated.”
          He couldn't hold out either and laughed as he leaned in and kissed her for being such a good sport over his unanticipated reaction.
          He explained what had just gone on, and Natalya couldn't hold out any longer. She fell back onto the bed, eyes closed and laughing the kind of laughter that only comes from the most utterly absurd thing going wrong in the most absurdly appropriate way, clapping her hands in applause that she couldn't suppress any longer.
          Quinn told Columbina, ::Sweetheart, next time you do that, let me know so I can have a towel handy. I'm afraid Natalya just found out that your demonstration can cause a kind of... feedback.::
          Then he realized he was definitely sensing Columbina's laughter.
          ::Oh, Quinn! I'm terribly sorry!:: There was a moments pause, then, ::When can I do it again?::
          Rather than reply, he brought them back to the reason for his contacting her.
          ::How are things going on Tony's gizmo?::
          ::I delivered a dozen units to them about half an hour ago.::
          ::Would you be so kind as to make three more and beam them down to my quarters? I'd appreciate it greatly.::
          ::Of course, Quinn. And please believe me... I am very sorry.::
          She broke the connection before her amusement could bleed over their channel again.
          Oh, I am very sorry. Sorry I wasn't there to record it.
