Chapter 157 – Our Brother, The Most Dangerous

[2009 – October]

Looking into her soft bright eyes, her smile full of affection, I wasn't shy to admit that I found it almost impossible to reject Jean's whispered invitation.

Leaning down, I stole myself a kiss from her rosy lips before I took her hand and moved in Emma's direction.

I knew that despite her theatric gestures, Emma liked social gatherings and parties as those were exactly the places where her manipulative schemes and mind tricks worked best.

The people present might only be rather insignificant characters in the broad scheme of things but I had no doubt that Emma could find a way to make her time here worthwhile.

Still, I wouldn't interfere in her plans for the party as I didn't really care if she was breaching the mind of every person present or not, I just wanted to pass Arya to her while Jean and I were dancing.

I had already placed a shield around the little cutie so no one present could consciously perceive her presence. Others could see her but they would never be able to remember her or consciously interact with her. She was basically invisible, even though she wasn't.

Admittedly, it was a rather interesting type of ethereal shield, one of my favorites even.

Approaching Emma, I leaned forward after excusing myself for interrupting her conversation and asked her with a whisper if she would mind Arya's company. With a smile, she readily agreed which didn't surprise me considering how much she enjoyed the tiny owlet's company.

After setting the little princess down on Emma's shoulder, Jean seemingly couldn't wait any longer as she pulled me towards the terrace.

…

Holding onto Elijah's hand as she made her way through the crowd, Jean stopped when she felt that they had gone deep enough into the mass of dancing people.

Turning around, she couldn't help the flirty smile that settled on her lips when she looked at her love, her hips starting to move to the rhythm of the music while her hands traveled down her sides sensually.

Jean could see a spark igniting in Elijah's eyes, turning his deep gaze into a blaze of love and desire as he just stood there for a few moments and looked at her.

Like a monolith, he seemed immovable, wholly unaffected by the dancing crowd around them.

His stillness didn't last long though, as his lips slowly curled up in a roguish yet loving smile that made her heart skip a bit.

And then, from one moment to another, it was as if Elijah had become part of the rhythm, his whole body moving as if flowing.

Every popping beat of music echoed within his movements perfectly, his jacket discarded in one smooth motion as he danced.

There had been a few occasions when Jean had managed to coax Elijah to dance with her but they had just been fooling around carefreely back then, aside from the times when things had gotten heated too quickly which turned their dancing into foreplay.

Never had Jean seen him like this though, it was as if her love was all rhythm, all music. His movements popped and flowed in a way that just seemed otherworldly.

The people around them also took note of them and made some space as they looked on in admiration, cheering on her love with shouts and gasps.

But Jean's focus wasn't on them and neither was Elijah's. She hardly noticed them while her love approached her and drew her into his embrace, her back pressed against his strong chest.

One of his arms was wrapped around her waist while his right hand had gently taken hold of her own right hand, his lips brushing over her neck as he shared with her his rhythm and his music.

And then they danced.

…

From the moment that he had met them, Christian had known that Elijah and Jean were special. Not because of their rather incomprehensible powers and potential as mutants but because of the connection that they shared with each other.

He wasn't even sure if they noticed it themselves but even with other people around, the two of them seemed to live in a separate dimension as if they looked at the world with one eye, while with the other they could only see each other.

The way that they understood one another without words, the many small gestures and looks that seemed almost too natural when they were around each other, Christian couldn't quite comprehend what it was that the two shared, the bond between them simply beyond his understanding.

And yet as he watched Jean twirl around, her hips gyrating in tune to the music with Elijah by her side, who moved as if his own heart was beating at the same rhythm as the song that sat the atmosphere ablaze, booming out from the speakers with electric force, he was entranced.

The two of them danced together in beautiful harmony as if they had never done anything else.

Objectively speaking, Elijah might be the better dancer but even a blind man could see that he worshiped the gorgeous redhead in the way he danced around her, his every move accentuating her grace and sensuality, her youth and beauty.

Christian had never seen anything comparable and he couldn't help but want 'it', want what they had.

He had been in love before but he just knew that he had never felt for another person what they felt for each other – true and utter devotion.

Captivated, Christian continued to watch them dance as he stood on the balcony of the topmost floor, just above the terrace. He didn't turn around but he could see from the corner of his eye that Emma had appeared next to him.

"Am I a bad big brother for being envious of them?", he asked quietly as he sighed, seeing no point in hiding his thoughts from Emma, even though most of it was spoken in a self-mocking tone.

He knew everything there was to know about his younger sister and it was the same for her when it came to him. In fact, even though he was two years older, they were more like twins as they had shared almost everything with each other since young.

Sadly though, a lot of that had been pain and suffering.

"No.", Emma replied quietly and he could almost hear the inaudible sigh in her voice as she shook her head, "I think everyone that sees them together feels like that, that's just how special they are."

On that point, Christian had to agree with Emma as he found it hard to even find words to describe the impression his young brother had given him in all their interactions.

He knew that Elijah cared for them as his family as he had shown this with his actions, not to mention how much he cared about Jean. Christian had also seen hints of the same distant coldness in his eyes that Emma sometimes carried with her, making it clear that Elijah was no saint.

But there was something else about him that he couldn't really grasp. Something intangible, something dangerous.

"What kind of person is he really?", Christian asked the only person, besides the gorgeous redhead currently in Elijah's embrace, that might have an answer to this question.

He had already wholeheartedly accepted Elijah as his younger brother and didn't ask because he was still evaluating him as a stranger, he simply wanted to understand this young man that had become part of their family.

Emma's answer though surprised him as she replied quietly, gentleness in her tone: "He is our brother, and the most dangerous being you will ever meet."