Celery shouldn't taste this good. I stare at the green stick coated with a glob of peanut butter like it's some kind of alien technology. The same way I saw Mystique do it. The crunch echoes in the empty kitchen as I take another bite.
I hear footsteps approaching from the hallway. Kitty enters the kitchen, but something's off. Kitty's eyes dart between me and the floor, her shoulders tense.
"Hey," Kitty says, her voice too casual. "Angelica just told me what happened. Are you alright?"
I pause mid-chew. "What?" The peanut butter makes my question sound thicker than intended.
"The protesters." Kitty leans against the counter, trying too hard to look relaxed.
"Oh yeah," I say, reaching for another celery stick. "Someone threw a bottle at Firestar's face. Isn't that fucking crazy?"
Kitty's eyes narrow slightly. "Angelica says you looked like you were going to kill the guy."
I shrug, feeling something cold slide down my spine. "I was mad."
"Of course I understand why you were mad," Kitty says, lowering her voice. "But if you'd actually assaulted one of those protesters, you could've ended up in prison, Jack."
I snort, wiping peanut butter from the corner of my mouth with the back of my hand. "I'm not saying I would've gone looking for trouble, but if some asshole throws a bottle at my face? Yeah, it's fucking over. I'm not just going to stand there taking that shit."
"There's a difference between self-defense and what you were going to do."
I set down the celery with a sigh. "Look, today was my first time experiencing racism, and I gotta say, I was not a fan."
Before Kitty can respond, Mystique saunters into the kitchen, laughing as she catches the tail end of my comment.
"Welcome to being a mutant," she says, but her laughter cuts short when her eyes land on the plate in front of me. "Oh, you're having ants on vacation."
I stare at her. "What?"
She gestures at my snack with an amused smirk. "You're having ants on a log minus the ants."
"What?" I repeat, completely lost.
"It's fucking called ants on a log, Jack," she explains, rolling her eyes. "It goes celery, peanut butter, and then raisins. The raisins are the ants. But we don't have raisins, so that means the ants are on vacation."
I can't help but laugh. "Yeah, I guess I am. I saw you do this yesterday and wanted to try it."
Mystique grabs a piece for herself, looking pleased. "Good, right?"
"Better than I expected," I admit.
Kitty's eyes narrow on me. "So tell me something, did Emma Frost really stop you? When you were about to go after the protesters?"
I nod, licking peanut butter off my thumb. "Yeah. Kind of freaked me out, actually. One second I'm ready to throw hands, next second she's in my head telling me to stand down."
Mystique nearly chokes on her celery. "Wait, she reached you from the school? That's so far away."
"She was using Cerebro," I explain.
Firestar walks in, towel around her neck from what must've been a shower. "I thought it was called Cerebra?"
"Xavier just upgraded the whole system and renamed it to Cerebro," Kitty says with an exasperated sigh. "It's screwing everyone up."
Mystique leans against the counter, studying me with those unnerving yellow eyes. "So you were literally about to go beat the shit out of a bunch of protesters before Frost stopped you?"
"If I had to." I don't blink when I say it. "They weren't exactly peaceful."
A slow, predatory smile spreads across Mystique's blue face. "I like this one."
Magik appears in the hallway. "Right? Heart of a warrior, this guy."
"Am I the only one concerned that Emma Frost is basically stalking him?" Firestar asks, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge. "She's watching his every move through Cerebro now?"
"Jack," Mystique says, turning to me, "do you care?"
I shrug again, scratching the back of my neck. "Anytime I'm around Emma, she's already reading my mind anyway. So no, I don't really care. It's weird as hell, but..." I trail off, trying to find the right words. "I mean, it's kind of nice someone doesn't want me dead enough that they'll check on me with a fancy telepathy machine."
Kitty's eyes widen. "You can't be serious. Emma Frost is a bad person, Jack. Like, genuinely bad."
"She's evil," Firestar adds, her voice dropping an octave. "You don't know what she's capable of."
Mystique lets out a bark of laughter. "Haven't I tried to kill both of you at one point or another?" She gestures between Kitty and Firestar with a piece of celery. "Yet here we all are, having snacks together."
"You didn't kill my horse," Firestar snaps back, her eyes briefly flashing that dangerous amber color.
I frown "Yeah, that is fucked up."
Mystique seems completely unfazed. "I don't care one way or another."
Then she points a blue finger directly at Magik, who's leaning against the doorframe with that permanent smirk of hers.
"You were too loud with him last night," Mystique says bluntly.
My eyebrows shoot up as she turns her yellow eyes on me. "You're only allowed to keep me up like that on nights when it's my turn."
"What?" I manage to sputter, my eyes darting between Mystique and Magik.
Firestar steps forward, her copper hair practically glowing under the kitchen lights. "For God's sake, Mystique. He's not a piece of meat to be passed around."
I feel my face burning. "Yeah, I'm not some... slut."
Mystique's lips curl into that predatory smile again. She pushes herself off the counter and saunters toward me, each step deliberate. "I saw your file, Jack. I know where you're from." Her yellow eyes bore into mine. "Would you really say no to me?"
I swallow hard, suddenly very aware of every woman in the kitchen. Mystique gestures around at Kitty, Firestar, and Magik. "Is there anyone here you would even say no to?"
The kitchen falls silent. I can hear the hum of the refrigerator, feel everyone's eyes on me. For a second, I'm back in the ring, surrounded, with nowhere to go.
I stand up straight, squaring my shoulders. "No."
The kitchen goes quiet again.
"I mean…" I look around at all of them, these impossibly beautiful, dangerous women, and let out a frustrated breath. "You're all hot. I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to fuck all of you."
Mystique's smile returns, wider than before.
"HOWEVER," I continue more forcefully, holding up a finger, "I'm not looking for anything complicated. I don't want drama. I don't want a relationship. I've had enough complications in my life."
I grab another celery stick, needing something to do with my hands. "If someone wants to have some fun, great. But honestly? I want friends more than I want sex."
Kitty looks surprised, like she wasn't expecting that level of honesty.
"I barely know Magik," I say, gesturing toward the doorway where she's still leaning, that infuriating smirk on her face. "Yeah, I slept with her because she's hot as hell. I don't feel bad about it."
Magik nods, looking pleased with herself.
Firestar steps closer, her expression softening. "Jack, you're hurting though. I can feel it. You're using physical connection to avoid dealing with everything else that's happening."
I meet her eyes. "Two things can be true at once. I can be hurting and still know what I want."
Mystique claps her hands together once, decisively.
"Dibs on tonight, then," she announces, looking directly at me.
"Hold on!" Firestar blurts out, panic flashing across her face. "You can't just… we can't just…this isn't how this works!"
I can't help but laugh, the tension in my chest easing slightly. "Is this really happening right now? Are you guys fighting over who gets to sleep with me?"
"No one is fighting," Kitty says firmly, though her cheeks are slightly flushed. "And no one is calling 'dibs' on anyone. This isn't a frat house."
"Speak for yourself," Mystique mutters.
"Can we just..." Firestar takes a deep breath, collecting herself. "Can we all agree that Jack is a person who deserves respect and consideration? Not a toy to be passed around?"
Mystique rolls her eyes at Firestar. "I don't want friends," she says, leaning closer to me, her blue skin almost luminescent under the kitchen lights. "I have no need for those."
Her yellow eyes lock with mine. "But I've seen the way you look at me, Jack."
I swallow hard. "You're literally blue. I mean, come on. Who wouldn't want to sleep with a blue girl?"
"Is that racist?" Firestar asks, looking genuinely concerned.
Mystique chuckles, not taking her eyes off me. "Probably," she says with a smirk. "But it's fine."
Kitty huffs, stepping between me and Mystique. "Alright, that's enough," she says, crossing her arms. "I don't care who sleeps with who around here. A little fun is fine, and honestly, bonding between teammates is a good thing."
Her eyes narrow as she looks around at all of us. "But we need to remember why we're actually here. We have mutants disappearing, remember? People who need our help? That should be our priority, not... whatever this is."
Magik nods, her smirk fading into something more serious. "Kitty's right," she says, pushing off from the doorframe. "Work before play. Always."