Sating appetites

The trip back to New York state was quick, taking only half an hour with Scott putting the afterburners to the blackbird to get home. Everyone was quiet about the whole thing, not saying a single word on the flight back to the Institute except for one tiny thing.

“grrrrr….”

Clutching at her stomach and pouting under the long wait returning home, Emma sighed and looked out the window as the sight of the landscape below her whizzed by in a supersonic blur. Ever since she got back into the Blackbird and took off, she had been feeling starved. With her thoughts distracted, she looked down with a frown when her stomach growled again.

“You got an angry chihuahua over there or what?”

“Shut up Logan.”

Hugging herself more tightly, she tried to block out her sudden pang of hunger, thinking on other things she’ll be doing once she returned to the mansion. Delegating the school schedule for the next month, her aerobics sessions in the gymnasium, about that pot roast left in the refrigerator after that staff dinner, just sitting there waiting to be…

Frowning with a pout, Emma hugged herself tighter as if doing so would calm her stomach, turning to face the window, Emma simply counted the minutes between now and when the Black Bird finally lurched and landed in the hanger bay of the Institute. The engines cooling down as the back ramp descended for them to depart.

“FINALLY!” Scoffed Emma, getting to her feet and tossing her platinum white hair over her shoulder as she walked down the ramp like a runway model with the rest of her team following under their own pace.

Up ahead they found Xavier sitting in his chair, looking up to the X-men approaching and leaned back in his wheelchair while Storm stood behind him.

“Welcome back, I take it the mission was a suc…”

“Scott can tell you about the proverbial horse and pony show you sent us on Charles, sigh… Leave it to Canadians to make the most mundane of tasks into something disappointing.”

Watching the woman quickly exit the hanger bay, Charles looked back to the rest of his team who shrugged back to the Professor.

“I take it then things did not go as planned?”

Exiting the hanger back and making her way up to the main floor, Emma Frost could hear her stomach growl again and nearly bit her lip as she marched her way over to the school’s kitchen and opened the fridge, finding the pot roast she had been thinking about for over 30 minutes on the Black Bird. Unceremoniously dumping it onto a plate she pulled from the cabinet, she placed it into the microwave oven and stood, her arms crossed as she tapped her foot impatiently. After an eternity measured in 2 minutes and thirsty seconds, the second the ‘ping’ of the oven’s alarm signaling the cooking was done, Emma pulled the roast out and ate it right then and there on the kitchen counter with knife and fork at the ready.

The moment she took her first bite, chewed, and swallowed, the woman repeated the same steps again, and again, and again. She felt starved! Like she had not eaten in days, she barely registered the seasoning on the roast as she shovelled another forkful into her mouth and moaned silently as her stomach’s demands dimmed from a screaming demand to be filled to a calmer barking for more. It was only halfway done the entire roast was she finally able to appreciate its flavour, but even then, it did nothing to slow her pace.

“Want some salad to go with that roast, da?”

Blinking out of her mindless feasting, Emma looked up to the ceiling where the voice came from to glare up at the smiling face of Nightcrawler sitting upside down on the ceiling with a cup of coffee in hand.

“HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN HERE?!” She accused with rosy cheeks yet continued to eat.

“Been here drinking mien coffee since you stormed in like a hungry poodle, rough mission to Canada?”

“YES! I’m looking for some comfort food after such a terrible ordeal.” She barked back at the blue man, smirking back as he sipped from his drink.

“Won’t be so comfortable after you eat that roast, no? Logan wanted meat for hoagie sandwich… He loves his sandwiches.”

“Yes, well I doubt Logan will be complaining too much about me stealing his dinner once I implant the thought in his head that he should cut down on some of his vices.”

“Da… Good luck with that.” Disappearing in a puff of black smoke, Emma frowned at the spot where Nightcrawler once sat and went back to her meal, putting the empty plate in the side of the kitchen counter and sighing in relief that her hunger had abated, ignoring the truth she had just eaten more cooked beef in one sitting than she would have dared to eat in 2 weeks.

“Annoying little glow worm, while I’m working on Logan, maybe I should make Kurt take on a hobby that doesn’t involve sneaking up on people…”

Leaving the kitchen, Emma made her way over to the living room where she found several student chatting on their break between classes and some of the faculty talking at a nearby table drinking coffee. Seeing Scott amongst them, she smiled when he spotted her instantly and waved her over to join him, Rogue and Storm.

“Hey Sugah.” Called out Rogue, moving over to give Emma room to sit next to Scott while the southern woman sipped at her drink. “Scott’s been tellin us how you got into a bear fight with a Wendigo. Bet you felt like a big’ol dog’s chew toy.”

“We WERE pretty worried about you after I blew him across province lines. You’ve been quiet since we got back. You’re not hurt, are you?” Asked Scott.

“Pff… As if, love.” Smirked the blonde beauty as she tossed her long hair over her shoulder and raised her chin, giving off an air of superiority. Pointing back over to her shoulder where the monster bit her there was not a single scratch on her unblemished skin. “My diamond skin protected me the entire time… As did my knight in shining armor.”

Jumping slightly in his chair as Emma pinched his thigh under the table, the others there chuckled as the man tried to hide his blush by sipping at his drink again.

“Still… We’ve heard terrible things about that man-eating monster, do you feel any different?” Asked Ororo as she leaned forward from her chair. “No sudden mood swings, hunger, rage?”

Tapping her lip with her finger and feigning to be deep in thought, Emma’s smile grew dark when she grabbed hold of Scott’s free hand and got up from her seat.

“No… But I’ve got some OTHER appetites that are making demands. My hero deserves a reward for saving his queen, doesn’t he Scott?”

Getting dragged out of his chair, the two ladies jeered and cat-called the couple as Emma dragged Scott with her down the hall and up the stairs to their shared bedroom.