"Dana! Ooh, this is going to be so much fun!" Kitty exclaimed, greeting her friend as she phased through the bottom of the Midnight Runner.
Rahne opened the hatch and scampered out to greet Dana as well. "Ye look good, Dana!"
Dana ran up to give her two friends a hug. "Kitty! Rahne!" she exclaimed as they group-hugged. They'd decided to come a couple of weeks ahead of time, to help with the last-minute preparations, and she'd never been so glad to see them in her life. Then she noticed the dark figure nonchalantly slipping out of the hatch. "Pete." She greeted him in monotone, and folded her arms a little hostilely, but her lips curved, betraying her gladness to see him.
"Hawkes." He inclined his head in greeting.
"Do you want a big hug too?"
"I'd rather rot in 'ell. You'll just try and heal me ol' black lungs as soon as I'm not lookin'." He ruffled her hair instead. She scowled and smoothed it all back down. "Oh, you were so much more fun when you just wished all us men would go to 'ell. Weren't worried about your bleedin' hair then."
"Are you calling me a priss?"
"And what would you do if I was, Hawkes? Heal me?"
"I'd take your cigarettes."
"Huh." He took one out and lit it in front of her, taking a long drag from it just to tick her off.
"You better not let Ororo see or smell that, Wisdom, or you're going to be at the business end of a fire extinguishing rain cloud in no time." Pete shrugged and took another long drag.
"So, are you here to help out too?"
"Oh, yeah. I'm here to make the ruddy bouquets and sew lace on the dresses," he said sarcastically.
"He's just here to drop us off. He's going to run some errands with the Midnight Runner on the way home," Kitty said, not for the first time wondering about Pete and Dana's strange relationship. Underneath all that antagonistic posturing they really were fond of each other-- not that they'd ever admit it.
Pete shrugged again. "Figured I'd have a chat with Nate before I left, if that's all right with you."
"Fine, I'm sure he'll be glad to see you. Then you can go run your errands--just as long as you make sure you show up for the wedding. I'm making it non-smoking-- just for you."
"Just as long as there's free booze."
"Oh sure. Zima for everyone." Pete winced. "Okay, how about wine coolers?" Pete winced again. "American beer?"
"All right, Dana, you've mentioned the 'Unholy Three.' You better stop before Pete implodes," Kitty giggled.
Dana grinned. "Come here, you ol' bastard. You're getting a hug." Pete grumbled, but relented enough to give her a semi-caring pat on the back. "I've missed you. It's good to see you again."
Pete's face softened a little. "Well, yeah. I guess it's good to see you too. Muir's not quite the same without you. It's easier to get a smoke and drink uninterrupted without the bloody Junior Body Facist in Training hanging around."
***
Cable narrowed his eyes. He'd been up against many things in his life, but the only thing that really struck fear into his heart was when Domino flashed him her 'I know something you don't know' grin. It never meant any good. She was grinning at him now.
"What!?" he demanded. They were down by the lake, having decided to go for a morning walk to get away from the chaos at the mansion. It was a lovely clear morning--he'd be enjoying it immensely if she didn't have That Look.
"Hmm?" She blinked at him and gave him her best innocent look. "Oh-- I was just wondering if you knew exactly what giving away a bride entailed."
He frowned. He hadn't been to many contemporary weddings. "I assumed I was going to walk Dana down the aisle-- perhaps make a toast."
Domino's grin widened. "Oh, there's a little something else--Tell me, Nathan Dayspring Summers, in all your life, have you ever waltzed?"
"Why?" he asked tentatively, not sure he wanted to know.
"Well, there's a tradition in weddings where the bride dances with the man who gives her away. That would be you."
Cable folded his arms. He thought back to Scott and Jean's wedding.Now that he really thought about it, he did seem to remember Jean's father dancing with her. He frowned. "Well, I'll just have to talk to Dana about that," he said, a little more petulantly than he'd intended. "I can't dance. I'm sure she'll understand."
Domino chuckled. "I don't think YOU understand-- Something happens to women when they're planning a wedding. Even a perfectly rational girl like Dana. She'll use all that Askani training you gave her to haul you down to a dance studio to get you lessons." Domino laughed. "Now there's an image. You in a dance studio, with Sam probably right beside you, next to a bunch of whipped husbands. Besides, don't I remember you tell me, ad nauseam, that if you ever accept a mission without knowing all the particulars, you deserve what you get?" Cable glowered at her, and she sighed. "Look, it's really not that hard. Think of it like martial arts or something. There are a few set moves, and you just repeat them to a beat. It's easy."
"I know what dancing is," he grumbled, finding this whole discussion vaguely disturbing. "I just don't know how." And the idea of getting up in front of the crowd at the wedding and making an utter fool of himself was NOT appealing.
Domino seemed to pick up on his thought. "I could teach you," she said quietly, suddenly finding her fingernails very fascinating. "We've got a couple of weeks, after all. Enough time for you to learn the basics."
"You--could teach me?"
"Sure, why not?" Dom said, much too casually.
Cable suddenly got a mental image of his own. Domino, dancing while wearing a sequined purple dress, reminiscent of the dresses he'd seen on TV once, when sme of the X-women had been watching a dance championship. The women in the Latin division had worn less than Psylocke. Domino's eyes widened slightly as she picked up on the thought through their link, and Cable carefully donned his usual scowl.
"Well?" she asked patiently, though her lower lip was quivering with what he was sure was suppressed amusement. "Do you want to learn from me, or someone else?"
Cable sighed. This was a no-win situation. He could take actual lessons from someone who would make him feel like an idea, or he could take them from Dom and risk imploding at the image of her doing the Samba with some guy in a see-through shirt. He suddenly remembered something Dana had said to him once. I've got all the Askani techniques you care to teach me under my belt, and I still can't get that stupid MMMBop song out of my head!
"Fine," he sighed. However--embarassing this was going to be, he really couldn't let Dana down. "Teach me how to dance."
Domino grinned with an alarming enthusiasm. "Okay, then. Watch my feet. Right, left, together. Left, right together. Then you repeat. Easy." She put her hands on her hips, coming to a stop. "Now, you do it."
He went through the pattern once, quickly. "I feel like an idiot," he complained.
"If you feel like one, then you'll look like one," she said briskly. "Do it again. And slow down." She watched him as he repeated the footwork. "I don't suppose you know Sam and Dana's song?"
"What song--oath!" Cable cursed as he misstepped.
"Their song, Nathan. The one they'll dance to at the wedding."
"No. Should I?"
"I was just wondering." She tilted her head. "Okay, that looks halfway decent. I think it's safe for me to cut in now." She stepped closer to him and took his left hand in her right, putting his right hand on her hip and her left on his bicep. Looking him straight in the eyes, she gave him that damned grin again. "Okay. Once more, with feeling--"
"We don't have any music," he pointed out.
"Use your imagination," she said with a chuckle. "Besides, there's less pressure, this way. We can practice with music later."
As the 'lesson' continued, Cable's scowl grew darker and darker. He really wished he was holding a gun right now. In fact, running out and picking a fight with Apocalypse would be preferable to this. Dom was carrying on a running monologue, bringing up embarassing incidents from years past, as if she was testing his nerve, trying to throw him off.
"Remember Moscow? Not the first time--this was 1982. Remember? We went to that bar, and all they had was vodka, and you--Nate, stepping on your partner's foot is not a good thing."
"Sorry," he muttered.
"Or that time that Hammer lost your gun in that poker game?" she asked, some time later, chuckling. "I think that was the first time I'd ever seen you that mad--Nathan, concentrate!"
"Well, stop distracting me!" he growled, frustrated.
"Sure, blame it on me." She gave him that atypically demure look that always made him quake in his boots. "Wasn't it you who said anything you learned could come in handy later? Who knows, one of these days, maybe we'll go on a mission and you'll have to dance."
"Sure, Dom. The Dark Riders are really big on dancing."
She slapped his arm lightly. "You never know. And if it ever comes up, you'll be glad you learned."
"I'm sure," he said grouchily.
"Quit pouting."
"I suppose I should be grateful for my mutant powers," she said, once they'd called it quits for the moment. "Probably the only reason my toes are still basically intact--"
Cable glowered at her, and then glanced upwards at the sky, realizing with some shock that they'd been out here for a while, judging by the position of the sun. "I suppose we should go back," he said, somewhat reluctantly. Despite Dom's teasing, there was something bizarrely--fun about being out here with her, capering around like a couple of kids. Romantic, if he'd been inclined to use that word.
"Probably--I promise I'd help Dana with the seating plan," Domino said placidly. "We can practice again later. You're not doing too badly, you know," she grinned. "I think we can get to you to the point where you don't embarrass yourself. All you need now is a tux."
"Oh, joy--"
"Oh, come on, Nate. You look cute in a tux," she said, taking his arm as they headed back up towards the mansion. "Speaking of songs, do tell me you at least know the one YOU'LL be dancing with Dana--"
"Oath--how many 'special' songs are there?" he demanded, frustrated.
She chuckled. "Stop worrying so much. I'm sure Dana's got something really special in mind."
***
"What if I trip walking down the aisle?" Dana fretted.
Paige sighed, glancing around momentarily at the rest of the guests at the rehearsal dinner, to make sure no one looked like they were watching the bride hover on the brink of a full-fledged panic attack. "Dana," she said firmly, turning back to her sister-in-law-to-be. "What makes you think you're going to suddenly turn into a klutz just because it's your wedding day?"
"But what if I do?"
"Well," Paige drawled in sudden amusement, "no one would laugh, at least."
Dana looked hopeful. "You don't think they would?"
"No way, Dana! Remember who's going to be walking down the aisle beside you? I don't think anyone's going to take the chance that Cable won't have a gun on him somewhere--"
Dana began to look worried, and a little indignant. "He better not shoot anyone at my wedding--" she scowled, and Paige gaped at her for a moment.
"Dana, it was a joke!"
Dana blushed, her expression growing a little sheepish. "Umm--I knew that, Paige."
"Sure you did," Paige said skeptically, and looked up as a shadow fell across her and Dana. Domino was standing there, regarding the two girls with a raised eyebrow. "Hey, Domino," Paige said, relieved to see the older woman. They didn't know each other all that well, but Paige knew that Sam and Dana both had a huge amount of respect for X-Force's former co-leader. "You want to try and talk some sense into her?"
"Sense?" Domino asked, sitting down in the chair beside Dana. "You're not getting cold feet, are you, kid?"
"No!" Dana said instantly, and a little too loudly. A number of people in their vicinity looked over at her, and she flushed, lowering her voice. "Of course not. I'm just thinking of all the things that could go wrong--"
Domino gave her a deadpan look. "What is--"
"Oh, don't do that, please?" Dana asked imploringly, and Domino chuckled, shaking her head. "Is it so wrong to try and anticipate anything that might happen? I mean, I want everything to be perfect--"
"Driving your stress levels up is not going to make that happen," Domino said dryly. "Besides, a bride with big dark circles under her eyes is not an attractive thing."
"You're a big help," Dana muttered.
***
Logan drifted over to the edge of the crowd, his attention focused on the tall, silver-haired figure that stood there, staring blankly at the wall.
"Nate?" he asked. "Hey, earth to Cable--" Cable blinked and looked over at him. Logan cracked a smile and handed him one of the beers he was carrying. "What's with the zoning out?"
"Nothing," Cable muttered. "Just thinking--"
"Yeah," Logan said wryly, taking a long sip of his own beer. "Accordin' to Neena, you've been doin' a little too much of that lately--"
One silver eyebrow arced. "Did she send you over here to lecture me?" Cable asked a little scornfully, and Logan grinned.
*Damn, I've missed this.* There was no real edge to their banter any longer--the time Logan had spent in the future had been eye-opening in more ways than one--but it was still a hell of a lot of fun. "Nah," Logan said dismissively. "Just thought I'd stick my nose in where it didn't belong, that's all."
"Witty as always." Cable took a sip of his own beer, and then grimaced. "Gah. I guess you can lose an acquired taste after a while."
"Not been doing much drinking lately?" Logan asked idly.
Cable snorted, and took another, longer sip. "Oath, Logan, I haven't been doing much relaxing of any sort, lately." His eyes went distant for a moment. "Too much to do, not enough hours in the day."
"Well, you could always make time--" Logan said with a straight face. It was an old joke, but Cable still laughed.
"It'd almost be worth it, to see how many pissed-off Askani would descend on me if I tried."
Logan shook his head ruefully. "How come I get the sense that you'd enjoy that?"
"Probably because I would," Cable said with perfect honesty, an odd glint in his eyes. "Isn't it a 'little brother's' job to make his older sisters miserable?"
Logan shook his head. Having been exposed to the culture Cable had grown up in, he could finally, after all these years, appreciate Nate's sense of humor. Appreciate it, and realize that even by the standards of the thirty-eighth century, it was on the perverse side, to put it mildly. "You know, Nate, 'Chosen One' or not, you're a natural-born shit-disturber at heart."
"Dom's been a bad influence," Cable said dryly.
***
"What!? You don't trust me?" Marcus was the picture of abject shock.
Dana narrowed her eyes. "No, I don't."
"I promise. We won't do anything illegal."
"Oh, that's a relief. That just leaves about a hundred barely legal things that you guys can do in New York. Marcus, my wedding is tomorrow afternoon. I do not want to spend all morning healing hangovers, or bailing half of the wedding participants out of jail."
"Cable's coming along too. Do you really think he'd let us do anything like that?" Roberto asked.
Domino, leaning against the wall, raised an eyebrow. "Trust me, Dana, you do NOT want to hear the answer to that question."
Dana muttered a curse or two under her breath. "Probably not--and DaCosta, I don't like that grin--"
"I'll--just be heading out to the plane now," Roberto told Marcus, beating a hasty retreat.
"I swear, Dana," Marcus said placatingly, "Roberto, Bobby, all of these guys-- none of them influenced my decision making. I planned it all myself." Dana glared, but Marcus still felt overwhelming pride at the fact that he'd planned the bachelor party without needing anyone's input.
Dana quite clearly did not like like the impressions she was getting from him. Domino came over and put her arm around Dana's shoulder.
"Let 'em go," she said easily. "It's not like they're especially good at keeping secrets as a group. Once we find out what happened, we'll just borrow some of Cable's guns and hunt them all down. That'll be almost as much fun as getting married, right?"
"Right. Well, we gotta go. See you tomorrow morning." Marcus grinned and started backing out the door. Dana followed him out the door.
"You better not leave any of my wedding party in New York, Marcus!" She yelled after him as he jogged to the jet. "And I'm not healing any hangovers! I swear! Even if one of you idiots comes crawling on his hands and knees and kisses my feet!"
Domino chuckled. "Come on, Dana. You've got your own party to go to." The two women walked together to the living room of the Guthrie farmhouse, which had been decorated in streamers and flowers for the event. There was quite a crowd of women here already, although most of the guests wouldn't be here until tommorow.
"There she is. What took you so long, Dana?" Paige asked, leading her over to an armchair in the center of the room.
"I was reminding my brother that I am getting married tomorrow and that I'd appreciate the entire wedding party being there--especially the groom."
Paige chuckled. "I don't know about the rest of the guys, but Sam won't miss it! He'll fly himself back if he has to--and he's the only neccessary guy. The rest of them are optional."
"I know. I've got to stop stressing myself out." Dana ran her hands through her hair.
"Well, I think that's what this party is for." Paige smiled and hugged Dana, before taking a seat on the couch. "All right, now for the traditional portion of our program..." Paige stood up. "Dana, do you have something old to wear tomorrow?"
"How old is 'old'?"
"Fifty years?" Terry suggested. She and Dani had arrived this afternoon with the rest of their team--with the notable exception of Tabitha.
"Then no, I do not have anything old," Dana said, smiling at her.
"How convenient then, that Marc brought along these." Paige handed Dana a small box. Dana opened it to find a pair of silver and pearl earrings inside.
"Where did these come from?" she said, before blinking from the bright camera flash. "Hey! Warn a girl, next time!"
"Sorry," Paige said, not sounding particularly apologetic as she lowered the camera. "Marc said he wanted to see your face. Apparently they belonged to your grandmother on your mother's side. He thought they fit the bill."
"They're lovely. I may have to forgive him for whatever he's doing now with my fiancee."
"Somethin' new, now?" Moira put in helpfully.
"Well, I have lots of new stuff--" Dana mused. "The dress, the shoes--"
"Ladies, I don't think we have to worry about this category." Betsy grinned. "An anonymous source has reported that our little Dana was seen leaving a Victoria's Secret in New York with a rather large bag."
Jean raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really?" she said with a grin. "Spill it, kiddo. What did you get?"
Dana blushed and hid her face in her hands. "Oh, Lord. I'm not telling."
"Can you tell us how much you got?" Kitty asked, grinning.
Rahne elbowed her. "She dinnae have to tell us."
"Thank you, Rahne. I got one little thing. Your informant exaggerated a little."
"'Little' bein' the operative word," Rogue commented. "Just how much material is in this little item?"
"No, Rogue, the words that concerns me is 'one." You only got one thing?" Betsy asked. "One thing for the whole honeymoon? Dana, dear, that simply won't do!" Betsy checked her watch. "It's early yet. Time enough for a field trip. Where's the nearest mall, Paige?"
"Oh. My. God." Dana gripped the armrests of the chair. "We're not--not all as a group--oh, geez."
"Rogue, you bring along Dana--" Jean ordered. "Everybody, to the mall!" Rogue pried Dana away from her chair, and threw her over her shoulder.
"The nearest big city is Nashville. That's about 100 miles." Paige said.
"Kurt and the other guys left the Midnight Runner here when they went with Sam," Kitty said briskly. "That's the fastest way."
They left the farmhouse and went out to the plane, Dana still slung over Rogue's shoulder. "Guys?" she said plainitively. "Really--I appreciate this and everything, but it's totally unneccessary. Really, we can just stay here and watch a couple of movies--I brought 'Sleepless in Seattle--guys?"
to be continued...
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