[2009 – October – Friday]
"You're adorable.", Elijah simply declared with a small laugh while gently taking her arms one after another and folding back the sleeves a bit before taking her hand and pulling her with him to leave the building.
Interlacing their fingers, Jean followed happily as she half-hugged Elijah's arm while looking up at him from the side and asking curiously: "How was your meeting with Emma and the Wakandans? Did you find out anything?"
She saw him nod at her question before he told her about the Enneads and the 'path of faith', as well as mentioning Agamotto's past exploits.
Jean knew that he was telling her things that he hadn't told his sister because of the Phoenix Force living inside of her. She was fated to become a higher being, after all, so there was no use in hiding the full truth from her.
Still, it wasn't easy to comprehend some of the concepts he talked about as they leisurely walked along the cobblestone path that led back to the Hellion Mansion since she was still 'half a mortal', given she had not yet inherited the Phoenix Force's full strength, not by a long shot.
But Jean didn't care too much as she just loved listening to Elijah's voice and knew that true understanding would come with time.
Eventually, her love finished recounting his meeting though they had still not reached the mansion since they had intentionally taken the longest route back so that they could extend the time to enjoy having a walk together.
"How about your dancing lesson? How was today?", Elijah turned towards her and asked, his thumb caressing the back of her hand as he looked at her with curiosity and tenderness in his bright eyes, which caused the blood in her veins to sing.
"It was great.", she exclaimed as she hugged his arm a bit tighter, "We started with an hour of ballet but then Madam Pérez had each of us try an improvised contemporary choreography, first as a solo and then as a group. It was kinda hard but also a lot of fun."
"Is she a good instructor?", he asked neutrally but with interest.
"The best.", Jean insisted with a firm nod, "She truly tries for us to get the basics up to the necessary standard so that all those that want to, have a chance to make it as professional dancers, but she also focuses on drawing out the individual style of everyone."
"She still demands a lot but … I don't know, it's kinda rewarding when she tells you that you made great progress because she is usually very strict in her assessments.", she added with a carefree smile, leaning her head against Elijah's arm.
"I'm glad that you have fun.", he commented, placing his lips against the crown of her head affectionately before adding, "And she definitely sounds like a good teacher who has a passion for what she does. Though I guess Emma has a talent for finding competent people."
"She sure does.", Jean agreed, "Clarice and the others all say that basically, all their teachers at the Academy are great even if the subject is hard."
Nodding, her love brought up a related subject as he asked: "What about Coach Delgado, have you decided yet if you want to join the cheerleading squad?"
Quietly humming for a few moments as she thought about Elijah's question, Jean eventually shook her head as she answered: "I think it's better if I don't."
"With all the prep work that I am doing for med school on top of the rest of my normal school work and my dance classes here at the Academy, I don't wanna cram any more mandatory stuff into my schedule."
"Otherwise, I feel like what is left of my free time isn't enough for us to enjoy together, to be together.", she stated with quiet concern, her hold on his hand tightening.
Jean knew that Elijah wouldn't mind her having a full schedule but she herself didn't want to lack the time for them to just have a quiet walk or read a book together. And she certainly didn't want to be too busy for them to relax on the couch in the afternoon, only to fall asleep and wake up snuggled together.
Jean liked cheerleading. She especially loved the team spirit and the upbeat energy that often accompanied this often-overlooked but demanding sport. But nothing in the world could make her willingly give up on listening to Elijah's strong heartbeat after having just woken up in his embrace following an unexpected afternoon nap while he gently caressed her back and sides.
Those moments were unspeakably precious to Jean, irreplaceable even.
"Still, if you join the basketball team I wouldn't object to coming to your games as your very own personal cheerleader.", she added with a smile before tiptoeing and whispering cheekily into her love's ear, "I might even consider showing you my pom-poms in private."
Jean didn't even have the time to place her weight back on her heels before Elijah spun around with inhuman speed and lifted her up, his palms squeezing her backside possessively with just the right amount of force.
"Little minx!", he accused while a surprised cry of surprise escaped her lips.
Though it quickly turned into a sensual whimper when her love's lips fell on her exposed neck, sucking on and lightly biting her soft unblemished skin as she breathlessly called out her his: "Elijah."
Jean's hands and feet reacted almost on instinct as she buried the former in Elijah's dark locks while she wrapped the latter tightly around his waist.
She didn't even try to resist this sudden assault, the mere thought of doing so did not even register in her mind as a possibility. Part of her was naturally nervous and worried about being seen by others but Jean fully trusted her love to not put her into an uncomfortable position, so this worry faded as quickly as it appeared.
And rightly so, as she saw the shadows shift around them a second later before the two of them reappeared in a small clearing somewhere deeper in the woods that covered large parts of the vast academy grounds, out of sight for all those using the laid-out paths to get around.
Pressing her back against one of the trees, his arms acting partly as cushions so she wouldn't be hurt by the rough bark, Elijah let up on her neck for a moment, which she used to connect their lips in a deep kiss, her tongue caressing his intimately while she kept a tight hold on his dark locks.
Jean knew without fail that Elijah wanted her, his desire burning intensely through the mental bond that they shared, and she also knew that everything that she could give him, she wanted to give him.
Her devotion was naturally not a one-way street either since Jean could feel his love all around her almost like a physical sensation, like a bonfire in the deepest winter, its light brushing over her skin with a gentle caress while its warmth burrowed deep into her heart to shield her from the icy bite of loneliness.
This tenderness was mixed with a deep passion that set her nerve endings on fire, his tongue winding around hers possessively and with insatiable hunger while his hips pushed into her core with delicious precision.
Jean kissed Elijah back with just as much passion though, conveying her longing through the almost desperate intensity with which she reveled in his taste.
Eventually, though she hated to do so, she had to break the kiss as her lungs were burning from the lack of oxygen.
Breathing heavily with her forehead resting against Elijah's, Jean looked deeply into her love's eyes and what she saw surprised her for a moment as deep, ink-like darkness had replaced the white of his sclera while his irises glowed intensely.
It was a pair of almost demonic eyes that gazed back at her, yet the look in them spoke of nothing but sensual longing and tender devotion.
It wasn't the first time that Jean had seen his eyes transform like this, even if it still surprised her at times. She could also feel the malevolent darkness slumbering within Elijah, could feel that it was irreversibly part of him, but she also knew that he was still her love and life, and she accepted him for who he was like she had always done.
"I love you.", she smiled tenderly while whispering, the fingers of both her hands brushing gently over his cheeks and temples, "My very own god of darkness."
"I love you too, Firefly.", Elijah smiled back brightly, which caused her breath to get caught in her throat given how gorgeous his smile was, the darkness in his eyes receding again to give way to the natural white of his sclera.
Quickly spinning around, her love took a few steps before he sank to his knees and laid her out into the grass, his coat having vanished and reappeared beneath her to serve as a blanket. He rested on top of her, partly supporting his weight with his elbow as he reconnected their lips in a deep kiss, his free hand brushing over her cheek and through her flaming locks.
They continued with this necking for some time while both of them proved to possess very wandering hands, though they didn't actually go any further than some very intense Frenching. It did give her some inspiration for some naughty activities before or after dinner though, maybe both.
Still, Jean's lips felt wonderfully swollen after their 'battle' was over and she found herself resting atop Elijah, her head laying on his chest as she absentmindedly plucked a few strands of grass while inhaling his miraculously calming scent.
Her love, on the other hand, gently combed through her fiery locks with his fingers, causing her to hum due to an excessive amount of coziness.
She had also flipped them over some time during their 'tongue lashing', so her love was not laying on his winter coat but had instead taken the chance to drape it over her like a blanket to stop her from getting cold.
And while Jean had been worried about Elijah laying on the cold grass, despite knowing how absurd the mere thought of that was given his immeasurable strength, his reassurance and the pure content that she sensed in him kept her at ease.
"Did our costumes for tomorrow arrive?", she couldn't help but ask in a low voice to avoid disturbing the cozy atmosphere.
"I picked them up from the tailor before picking you up.", Elijah replied, his voice quiet but still carrying a somewhat faint but raw rasp in his tone that always sent this pleasant warmth to her core and a shiver down her spine, doubly so if it reached her ears through a husky whisper.
"How do they look?", she questioned somewhat eagerly, her anticipation obvious.
"Too good for a crazy Halloween party thrown by Yukio.", her love responded dryly while running his hand affectionately down her back, the finger of his other hand busy playing with her much smaller hand that lay in his palm.
"Be serious.", she urged with a laugh despite herself while she playfully slapped the side of his chest before returning her hand back to his and continuing to lovingly re-draw the lines on the inside of his warm palm.
"They look good.", he promised seriously, "You will look gorgeous. Though you do that in pretty much anything, so remind me again, why we bothered to have our costumes tailor-made?"
"That was your idea, you bumpkin.", Jean countered with fake indignance as she supported herself on Elijah's chest with her elbow so that she was able to look at him face-to-face before continuing.
"You said, and I quote, if you had to go to a costume party and dress up against your better judgement, you at least wouldn't want to wear 'cheap polyester costumes that were more suited to be used as tarpaulin than clothes'.", she recounted while using air quotes with her free hand and changing to a lower tone of voice to emphasize her point.
Though she couldn't help but laugh when she remembered how grumpily he had reacted at the mere mention of wearing costumes.
"I might have said that.", Elijah admitted, trying and failing to suppress his smile at her attempts to imitate his voice. Laughing, he gently brushed over her cheek with his fingers and stated with an adoring look: "I am still not sure how you managed to convince me to dress up."
Playfully holding her chin and tipping a finger on her lips to strike a thinking pose, Jean snapped her fingers and reasoned: "Because I am a genius!"
"Ahh, yes. Forgive me that I nearly forgot. I thought it was because you are as cute as a button.", Elijah apologized with a smile while he looked at her with sparkling eyes.
"That too.", she insisted while nodding with feigned seriousness before breaking her facade and letting out a bright laugh.
Laughing too, her love conceded and hoisted himself up on one elbow to kiss her again, their smiling lips meeting amidst laughs and tenderness while Elijah's fingers gently cupped her cheek.