Gwen
Charles Gunn pulled up outside Xavier's Institute. He got out of the car and walked through into the school, smiling, knowing that he was going to catch Gwen by surprise. He went to her room after finding out from some helpful kid who was making ice from his hands.
"Interestin' place."
He knocked on the door.
***
Gwen was lying on her bed gazing into Mordred's eyes when she heard a knocking on the door.
"Damn." She got up and opened it and her mouth fell open.
Oh crap.
It was Gunn.
"Um, hi, Gunn."
"Hey baby. You wearing LISA?"
"Um... no." Gwen lied, so he wouldn't kiss her.
"Oh, then I won't touch ya. Can I come in?" Gunn looked past her and saw Mordred on the bed. He froze. Metaphorically speaking, Bobby wasn't actually there. "Ok... who's that and why the hell is he on your bed?"
Mordred
"Mordred Llwelyn. And you would be...?" Mordred drawled, raising himself up on his elbows. "What am I doing here? None of your bloody business, orright, *mate*?" He snarled, tensing in case this guy wanted to make a fight of it.
Gwen
Gunn looked at Gwen then at Mordred.
"I'm Charles Gunn."
He stared pointedly at Gwen.
"I thought I was Gwen's boyfriend."
Gwen closed her eyes.
Damn, she knew it was going to be a bad day.
Mordred
Mordred stared at Gwen, betrayal in his eyes. "Well, that is news to me. Anything else you want to tell me, luv?"
Gwen
Gwen squeezed her eyes shut.
This was just a dream.
No, wait, they were both there. Damn.
She turned to Gunn. "Can you give us a second?"
"No, I can't. I think we both need an explanation here."
Gwen took a deep breath. "Ok, so here's the thing... I... I was sorta with Gunn."
"SORTA?!"
"Yeah, sorta, I mean, you were in LA, and I was trying hard you know? And then... then I met Mordred, and I fell in love with him and I didn't have the guts to tell you. And I..."
Mordred
"Love?" Mordred looked at her in shock. "Bloody hell, Gwen...I..." He stood up and decided to show her how he felt, kissing her possessivley. "Not so good with words. Get this sorted out, yeah? I'll be with Vort. He's painting again. Oh, and apparently he hooked up with Spike. Last night. S'all good. See you soon." He kissed her cheek. "Love you too." He 'ported.
Gwen
"So maybe we should sit down."
Gwen sat on her bed and Gunn took a seat at her desk.
"How long?"
"It's only been a few weeks."
"A few weeks and you didn't tell me?"
"I didn't know how to. And I figured if I waited long enough then you'd maybe forget about me."
"How could I? Man, Gwen, I was back in LA missing you so much, and then I find out..."
"Gunn, I am so sorry."
"Yeah so am I."
Gunn stood up and left. Gwen threw herself onto her pillow and started to cry, tears causing sparks as they rolled down her cheeks.
Mordred
Mordred chatted with Vortigern for a few minutes, and then 'ported back. "Love, please don't cry." He sat down next to her on the bed and rubbed soothing circles on her back. "You wanna talk to me about it?"
Gwen
"I didn't want to hurt him... but I did."
Gwen sat up, tears streaming down her cheeks, spakrs flying. She wiped them away.
"But I can't help what I feel for you."
Mordred
"I'm not good with words, you know that. But I love you, and I won't leave you for as long as you decide you can stand to have me around, mo cariad." Mordred reached out and brushed some of her hair from her face. "Please don't cry, otherwise I might havta go out and hurt the tosser."
Gwen
"No... don't hurt him. He has very right to be angry at me, I hurt him a lot, first with Bobby and now that he knows the truth, I'm not sure if he'll forgive me. But at this point, I'm thinking I don't even deserve it anyway."
Gwen reached over and held Mordred's hand.
Mordred
"You don't need to be forgiven for anything. If it makes you feel any better, I'll go talk to him and not with my fists. Which is I want to do, seeing as how he made you hurt. But what happens when you go back to LA?" Mordred sighed. "I don't want to never see you again."
Gwen
"I think I can sort this out with him when I go back." Gwen took a deep breath. "And I wanna keep seeing you when I go back too."
Mordred
"Good thing I'm a teleporter then. I'll do what Clark does with Dawn, come up for weekends and stuff." He traced the edge of her face, ignoring the slight sparks of electricity. "Besides, I want to meet this Angel. Basically so I can laugh, but I want to know about you. About the things you've done. And I can just ignore Gunn." He grinned. "But if he says or does anything, do ya mind awfully if he leaves the building bleeding?"
Gwen
Gwen smiled slightly.
"Don't do anything to him... he does deserve to be angry. You might not see that but I know what I did. And Angel's pretty cool. For an undead guy. I even made his heart go pity pat."
Mordred
Mordred chuckled. "I protect the ones I love. Word and deed. Loyal, I am. Wolf. And as long as he leaves you alone, I can ignore him. Won't answer otherwise. So, you kickstarted Angel's heart with a spark of your electricity. Well, you make me see stars. And heaven's in your eyes." He kissed her forehead. "Make me fall hard. And I don't know when or where I'll land, but I don't care. Make my heart skip a beat when you enter the room." He kissed the palm of her hand. "I could get lost with you. Take on the world for you. Who couldn't forgive you anything?"
Gwen
Gwen looked down at her feet shyly.
"No one has ever loved me before."
She raised her eyes to look into his.
"But then I've never loved anyone before."
Mordred
"What say we just take it one day at a time?" Mordred leant over and kissed her. "Love is hard to pin down. But I love you. And you love me, and that's all anyone else needs to know. We can figure out this thing together."
Gwen
Gwen nodded and she entwinded their hands together.
"That sounds like a good plan. So, feel like going and visiting Vort again? I'd like to hear about Spike."
Mordred and Vortigern
"Yeah. But don't expect him to make too much sense." Mordred grinned, and then 'ported the two of them. "Hey, Vort. Came to check on your painting."
"Mmm, hi." Vortigern looked up from his paint palette. "Hey Gwen."
Gwen
"Hey Vort. Heard about you and a certain blonde. Congrats."
Gwen walked around, checking out all the new paintings.
Vortigern and Mordred
"Eh. Well, what can I say?" Vortigern shrugged with a bit of a dopey grin on his face. "I've nearly finished this one I'm doing as a sort of apology for Jean and Scott too." He pointed at the painting he had on his easel. "Actually, it really is finished...now." He signed his name to it. "And when it's dry, I'll give it to them."
"You still feel really bad about that, don't you?"
"Yes, Mordred, I do. So...what happened? With the guy?"
Gwen
Gwen's attention snapped back to the twins and she fidgeted awkwardly, trying to feign interest in the ground.
Oh look, someone tracked gum in here with their shoes.
And hey, a straw.
Mordred and Vortigern
"They talked, she cried, I'm looking to maybe pound him into the floor but she asked me not to." Mordred shrugged. "And we're not gonna end this when she goes back to LA."
"Ah, cool. Hey...do you wanna pose now?"
"Kinda cold..."
"Hey, the only people here are your girlfriend and your twin, and we've seen it all before. I'll lock the doors."
"Like that really stops anyone around here."
"You're an exhibtiionist, and you love it. Strip."
Gwen
"Yeah go on, do it. Strip."
Gwen's eyes twinkled as she grinned mischievously.
"You want me to zap the heating on?"
Vortigern and Mordred
"Please. You're lucky I love you both..." Mordred grumbled as he dragged his shirt over his head. Vortigern went and locked all the doors, and then dragged up a sun lounge type of chair. He draped a sheet over it, arranging the folds so they hung correctly.
"You know you love it. And Gwen will get to show you off, all the time. Better then a photo." Vortigern set up a large canvas on his easel and dabbed in his paints as Mordred lay down on the couch. Business-like now, Vortigern went over to his twin and arranged him the way he wanted to paint him.
"You know I wouldn't do this for anyone else..."
Gwen
Gwen grinned as she turned to the heating control and put her hand over it, zapping it to life.
"Hey, you're the only one who can pose naked, coz you're the only one who's brave enough to do it. Besides, I'd love to take a life size naked Mord home with me."
Mordred and Vortigern
"That's becuase I know I have a fantastic body. Thank god for genetics, and then again, I've been sparring with Nyx and Wolverine." Mordred rested his cheek on his hand.
"Yeah, all toned. Good muscle proportions..." Vortigern mumured as he started to sketch in the reclining figure.
Gwen
Gwen grinned slyly.
"Yeah, you do. Certainly makes my heart go pity pat."
Mordred and Vortigern
Mordred grinned lazily. "I think you're pretty good looking youself, love."
"You can talk until I start painting his face, but careful not to move too much." Vortigern had finished his prelimary work on the canvas and started to paint.
"Yeah, I know the drill."
Gwen
Gwen giggled.
"Gee, Mr Paint Nazi."
She watched as Vort started to paint Mordred and she smiled as she looked back at him, comparing him to the picture.
Mordred and Vortigern
"Paint Nazi?" Vortigern grinned. "Well, that's something I haven't been called before. Don't move!"
"Wasn't gonna, you paranoid artist."
"My art is my life. Don't move."
Gwen
Gwen thought about giving Vort an electric shock to annoy him, but she opted against it, seeing his look as he painted.
She giggled at the thought, and cocked her head slightly, looking at the painting.
Vortigern and Morded
"Like it so far?" Vortigern asked as he bent down to put more paint on his brush.
"It's kinda blank at the moment."
"Well, I haven't started shading yet. Just basic outline. all that stuff comes later. At least Nyx did a spell for me so my paint dries faster, otherwise we'd be here for days."
Gwen
"I like it... it's very..."
Gwen struggled for the right words.
"Well proportioned?"
Vortigern
"Eh. You can't tell much about it yet. See any you like over there?" Vortigern jerked his head at several paintings leaning against the walls.
Gwen
Gwen went over to the paintings and looked them all up and down. She spotted some nasty looking ones and shuddered.
"That guy... not lovin him."
Vortigern and Mordred
y.
"You want me to zap "That would be Cain, or Frenzy. He threw a knife that went through my chest. He killed a girl. Tore open Nyx's throat. Snapped Wolverine's neck. Bit Dawn and Rogue. Killed Pink. And now we find out he's allied himself with a god." Vortigern stopped painting until his hand could stop shaking.
"I will kill him. I find him, I will kill him."
"He'd probably kill you first. Please, wolf, let Nyx and Sigurd take care of it. Madic is their thing."
Gwen
Gwen gasped.
"That's... that's awful."
She backed away from the painting quickly.
Vortigern
"Yeah. I paint it out, you see. That...I'll probably burn that. Later." Vortigern breathed deeply, then started to paint again.
Gwen
Gwen created sparks in her hand.
"If you need help with that..."
She returned her attention to Vort's current painting.
Or more correctly, the subject.
"Mmm, nothing like a spot of nakedness to make me feel better."
Vortigern and Mordred
"Thank you, Gwen." Vortigern looked around the easel at his twin. You picked a good one here, wolf.
Don't I know it? I was a bit worried when the other bloke came in, but she's staying with me. Mordred smiled at Gwen. "And I love to watch you too, sweet."
Gwen
Gwen smiled back.
"I love you too."
She turned to Vort.
"Ok, you know what? It's killing me. What happened with you and Spike?"
Mordred and Vortigern
"We talked. We kissed. And that's as much as I told Wolf."
"It's true. He won't tell me what happened."
"Don't move!"
"I wasn't moving, you git!"
Gwen
"Come on, details, Vort. I'm young and impetuous and dying of curiousity."
Gwen got on her knees into a praying stance.
Vortigern
"He doesn't need to breathe. I do. But he's so good at kissing, I almost forgot I needed to..." Vortigern couldn't help smiling as he thought about Spike.
Gwen
Gwen giggled.
"Does this mean we'll be seeing naked pictures of Spike painted?"
Mordred and Vortigern
"Nah. I'll be keeping my vampire to myself, thanks very much."
"So, what's it like to kiss a dead guy?"
"He's cold, but it's interesting. More like room temperature. And of course, he doesn't need to breathe." Vortigern's grin went sly. "Can see where that would come in handy."
"Oh, you're being positively wicked today. What got into you?"
"I'm not answering that."
Gwen
"Ooh someone was naughty."
She paused.
"Kissing a vampire is kinda weird. But I kickstarted Angel's heart."
Mordred and Vortigern
"Wasn't particularily naughty. Not yet."
"But over a hundred years of experience has to count for something, right?"
"Probably. Mmm. He just ahs the best arse."
"You check out Spike's and I'll stick to Gwen, ta muchly. So. Angel. Can I beat him up?"
Gwen
"Angel, champion of justice and all that? Better not. Besides, he's a good guy. Mostly. Well, he was to me. He helped me a lot. With the whole 'I'm a freak' thing."
Gwen turned her attention to Vort and grinned. "Yeah, lots of experience... and vampires are very sexual creatures. I'd say you were in for the ride of your life."
Vortigern
"Noticed. Very high on the touch thing." Vortigern grinned back. "And I'm counting on it. We've both agreed just to see where it goes. Based on mutual lust, not love, really."
"I still need to give him the talk."
Gwen
"Mmm lust can take you to some fine places."
Gwen nodded at Mordred.
"I give you leave to like Spike. He seems alright."
Mordred and Vortigern
"You know Nathan? He freaks over vampires, but he;s the one that really got me and Spike together. Said he wanted to see Spike how I see him. Which is as basically a good person, who's done some bad things but regrets them now."
"Vort always was too noble for his own good."
Gwen
"Noble indeed."
Gwen nodded.
"If he makes you happy, then all power to it."
Vortigern and Mordred
"Yeah, well...we'll see. After all, he is immortal. And he won't turn me. Anyone. This can only be a lust thing." Vortigern shrugged. "I wouldn't want to make him watch me grow old."
"As I said, too noble for his own good."
Gwen
Gwen nodded.
"I get that... but I'm sure you could find some magical loophole to that. If you really wanted to, that is."
Mordred and Vortigern
"Maybe..." They talked for a few hours while Vortigern painted. Mordred didn't move. Although Vortigern did let him get up and stretch a few times, he always settled back into the same pose. "Be done soon. I think."
Gwen
"Cool... I better go up and tell Bobby where I am. I was meant to meet him for lunch. He still needs help with Physics. I'll be back soon."
Gwen gave a little wave and left.
Mordred and Vortigern
Vortigern finished the painting, and Mordred got up and dressed. "So. I'll keep this down here until it dries."
"And then I think I'll take it to Gwen's place in LA. Or wherever she wants it. I'm going to go give Spike 'the talk'."
"Don't be too harsh."
"Eh, well. Try hard not to." Mordred went to find Spike while Vortigern cleaned up.
~*~*~*~
"Spike. A word?" Spike turned around and nodded.
"Yeah, what about?"
"Hurt my brother, and I will kill you slowly and painfully. I don't care how long it takes, I will find you and kill you. Orright, mate?"
"Not planning on doing it all, mate."
"As long as you understand."
"Crystal."
"He's in the garage." Mordred turned and walked off. Spike grinned, and went to see Vortigern.
"So, pet...what are you doing?" Spike came up behind Vortigern and leant his head on the boy's shoulder, hands on his hips.
"Painting..."