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Dante kept Raven company for a little longer than he'd planned. She needed some company while her emotions settled. When she was ready, he opened a portal and watched her and Jean leave.
"Go ahead without me."
He waved at them and turned back toward the golden spires of Asgard visible in the distance and considered visiting Hela. After a moment, he shook his head. He had too much going on today. Maybe next week to give Silvija her first proper date. Hela had already survived over a thousand years in isolation. A few more days without him wasn't going to tip her over the edge.
Just as he turned to leave, Lady Loki materialized right in front of him, posing in front of the portal with one hand on her hip. In both of their recent encounters she had appeared in her true female form.
"Dear lord," she murmured the title, which he couldn't recall accepting, and tilted her head with exaggerated sweetness. "Leaving without even a proper greeting? How terribly rude."
He exhaled slowly. He still had no clue how to handle Lady Loki. His future self had dragged her into this universe for some reason, and it probably wasn't just to make her suffer more. Such a decision wouldn't happen without a reason.
'Is she going to become one of mine?'
Given his track record with beautiful, dangerous women… yeah, probably. A great and awful idea simultaneously. She was, after all, the God of Mischief. Every interaction could be a game with rules that shifted mid-play and every moment of sincerity carried a second layer underneath it.
He pushed it aside. Future problems were for a future version of himself who had earned them. As Death had said, they were headed toward a good future. He just had to ignore everything about this time travel shenanigans.
"Lady Loki, since when do I need your permission to leave?"
Her lips curved into a sly smile. "Not permission, my dear conqueror. Merely a tiny request for your precious time. After all, a goddess does grow lonely when her lord is constantly wandering across Midgard."
He gave her a blank stare. "I told you I'll return soon. I have a lot of work to do."
She stepped aside gracefully, but her expression became almost convincingly sad, her eyes downcast like a tragic heroine. "As you wish, my dear lord."
He walked past her toward the portal, but stopped just before stepping through. "What happened to my scythe?"
"It will be finished very soon!" Her mood flipped instantly as she showed an energetic expression. She even revealed a strange, mysterious smile. "In fact, I shall prepare the finest gift for your next return. Do look forward to it."
"Keep it simple."
"Oh, it will be basic," she assured him with a playful voice. "Simple yet sought after by both mortals and gods alike. You will truly appreciate what I have in mind."
With how much she hyped her mysterious gift, he couldn't help but be eager for his next Asgard trip. Lady Loki smirked like a merchant who had scored a big deal.
"I am not lying, lord. It will be a gift that makes your heart race like nothing else."
"Don't disappoint me."
He stepped into the portal, leaving Asgard and Lady Loki behind.
***
The first thing Dante did upon returning was have a talk with Silvija about Raven. After some discussion, they chose to lighten the receptionist's workload considerably. Giving her idle time would give the half-surfaced emotions too much room to maneuver and break her from the inside. At the same time, overwhelming her with work would stress her out. They had to give her just enough work to distract her.
Leaving Silvija's room, he found the former X-Men duo in Jean's room. They were ready to depart.
"Before we leave."
Both Jean and Ororo winced. Jean's eyes were begging him not to do another side quest that would delay them again. Ororo's posture conveyed the same thing with just more dignity.
He chuckled. "Jean, would you be alright with acting as my girlfriend? Just for show, obviously."
He explained his plan to make Xavier emotional, who had that unhealthy, obsessive fixation on Jean. Seeing the man's reaction might be the quickest way to tell if this was the real Charles Xavier or someone else shapeshifting to take his place.
Jean went quiet, contemplating on whether to say yes or no.
"I am not against it," Ororo said, crossing her arms. "If Scott sees this, he will also give up on any unnecessary hope."
Jean's eyes lit up. "The cherry on top."
Ororo arched an eyebrow. "I thought you liked him."
"A few years ago, but not now," Jean said with a shrug. "He doesn't want to think for himself. I might've turned out like him without your guidance."
Ororo smiled. "The mansion only had one girl. You got all of my attention."
They started laughing and talking about the days Ororo first joined the mansion. Suffice to say, they were delayed over twenty minutes because of their impromptu chatter. Only then did they realize the time and asked him to open a portal.
Before they stepped into the portal, he gave them a few words of encouragement. "Don't be afraid to speak your mind. I'll be there to handle anything."
***
They arrived directly outside the X-Men Mansion. Jean jogged ahead and rang the doorbell like it was any normal visit.
"I still can't believe it," Ororo muttered. "How did Xavier turn out like this?"
Unlike Ororo, Dante wasn't surprised at all. The very first release of X-Men comics had Xavier outright thinking about his crush on sixteen or seventeen years old Jean. Later arcs retconned this as Xavier's isolation and burden blurring his feelings.
Ororo let out a heavy sigh. "I might have a hard time trusting people moving forward."
"You can always trust me."
She turned and gazed at him for a long moment, as though discerning his authenticity through his eyes. A soft smile touched her lips. "What if you betray me one day?"
"I don't betray my friends." He thought of the recent incident with Natasha and sighed. "Unless they stab me in the back first."
"I hold the same belief."
"I know."
He walked ahead and arrived by Jean's side.
The door opened partway before a surprised voice came through, brimming with unguarded happiness. "Jean?!"
Dante pushed the door the rest of the way open. As expected, standing on the other side was the young man obsessed with Jean. The moment Scott saw Dante, color drained from his cheeks. His hope of Jean's return had shattered.
"Hey, Scott. Hope I didn't injure you that day."
His smile was friendly, almost angelic, yet it made Scott grimace like he was staring at his worst enemy. "Why are you here?"
Dante casually put a hand around Jean's shoulders. She knew the assignment and gently leaned into his side, playing the role perfectly. The intimate sight made Scott visibly upset. His mouth opened, but no sound came out at first.
"Jean wanted to visit her friends." Dante kept his voice warm and friendly. "As her boyfriend, I figured I'd tag along. There have been a lot of incidents recently, you know?"
"Boyfriend?" Scott swallowed hard, moving his gaze to Jean. "Since when? Jean… tell me this is some kind of joke. Please."
"Recently. It's not important," Jean replied as she put her hand around Dante's back. "Is Professor home?"
Jean's indifference hit him like a punch. Scott clenched his fists so tightly his knuckles went white. His chest rose and fell in short, shaky breaths.
"You said you came to protect her. Jean can defend herself. She's more than capable!" His voice trembled as he stared at Dante through the visor. "Clearly you don't know her at all."
Dante raised his eyebrows. When the direct approach failed, Scott pivoted to use the classic tactic of making the boyfriend look like an idiot.
Jean rolled her eyes. "Stop it, Scott."
"No, he is right," Dante said in a warm, sincere voice. "Jean, I haven't known you for too long. But everything I've learned so far… has been more than worth the time."
Jean looked confused, unable to find a proper response. Even Scott was momentarily caught off-guard.
Dante smiled. "That's why we should do a couple's trip. It'll be a perfect opportunity to know more about each other."
"Ah, that's right." She nodded with a bright smile. "I say we go camping."
"We can go anywhere. I'll be there to protect you."
"Thanks, Dante—boyfriend," Jean said, awkwardly improvising to stay in character. "My telepathy is useless against many. Having you with me means a lot."
Dante gently stroked her hair, which might be pushing their agreed-upon terms. "Don't worry about it, Jeannie. It's a joy to protect a great woman like you."
Scott lowered his head, his shoulder slumping dejectedly at the sight of his crush flirting with another man. He reached up and wiped the tears from his face.
"The Jean I know, the Jean I grew up with…. is kind and compassionate." He choked on the words, overwhelmed by emotions. "She doesn't take shortcuts or compromise who she is just because someone offers her an easy way out. She wouldn't sell her… soul."
The dust around Jean began moving, swirling with her rising emotions.
"Jean, I… I should've said it sooner. I've loved you since we were kids. All those years training together, I thought we had something real," Scott continued, lost in his own world. "God, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I let it get this far. Don't do this. Please don't throw us away."
Dante knew Jean was about to explode, so he gripped her shoulder. "He doesn't decide who you are. You do."
She closed her eyes and breathed deeply, letting it all go. The simple words had calmed her emotions, because they were the exact words she needed to hear right now. "I know."
He nodded and looked at Scott with open disgust. "Trusting someone isn't the same as selling your soul. Even if she did, she did it to protect everyone and prove SHIELD wrong. But what do you know about that, Scott?"
He really didn't want to get dragged into this argument, but Scott was clearly trying to paint Jean's choices in the worst possible light. Dante wasn't about to let that slide.
Scott had no response. He just stood there, tears slowly trickling down his visor.
"All you've done is follow Xavier like a pup," Dante chuckled. "But Jean thought for herself and made a choice. Who the fuck are you to criticize her for that?"
Jean took another deep breath. "I thought we could still be friends, Scott, but you… You don't have a single ounce of respect left for me or my decision."
Dante's words had softened Scott's heart, and Jean plunged the dagger through to deliver the final blow.
Scott lunged forward instinctively and tried to reach out to Jean, but she kept him away with her telekinesis.
"Jean, wait! Listen to me for a second!" His voice cracked with raw emotions. "Please! I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean any of it like that. We can fix this. I'll change. I'll do anything. Just… just don't leave me."
Jean trembled, feeling guilty about the desperate young man. Jean's strongest point and her greatest weakness had always been her empathy. "Mr. Summers. This is it for us."
She dropped a bomb out of nowhere.
Scott staggered back a step, his face going deathly pale. The argument he had prepared in his mind evaporated into thin air, leaving only a young man who looked utterly defeated that only came from watching his love slip through his fingers.
The redhead took Dante's hand and brushed past Scott, stepping into the mansion. Ororo, who hadn't spoken a word, jogged a few steps to catch up to them.
"It's over," Jean whispered, wiping her tears with a cloth. "Over ten years I've known him…"
He squeezed her hand, quietly telling her that he and Ororo were still here. "Don't bottle it up. You can talk to us when you're ready."
Ororo, Gwen, Felicia, Silvija, Laura, and him—many would willingly listen to her.
Jean nodded slowly. "I have to move forward."
They began walking through the mansion. To anyone watching, it probably looked like Jean was giving her "boyfriend" a casual tour of the mansion. In reality, they hadn't taken a single detour from the path to Xavier's room. The mansion was just that big.
After about fifteen minutes, they reached their destination.
Ororo went ahead and opened the door without knocking. Xavier sat in his wheelchair, gazing at the painting of a serene landscape. He pressed the control on his chair's armrest, and the chair rotated smoothly with a soft whir.
Xavier merely glanced at Jean holding Dante's hand and greeted them with that same calm smile he always had.
"Jean, Ororo, you've returned… with a guest."
***
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