If Yesterday Was Tomorrow [ X-Men ]

Prologue

Victor grimaced. Should he play the ace or leave it be for another turn? He glanced at Azazel. His friend was looking at his own hand with a blank expression. However, Victor could see his red tail happily wiggling in his back. He probably had a good hand. Or a few moves planned ahead, at least.

The young man bit his lower lip. He had to stop Azazel, who was in the lead. He lifted a hand and took the chosen cards in-between his fingers. He carefully placed them in front of him. Azazel grimaced. Victor smiled. It seemed like this was a good move.

Azazel looked conflicted. He kept hesitating between a few cards to place down in order to respond to Victor's move. After a tense moment, he finally took two cards in his hand.

Suddenly, the door of the living room slammed open. They both jumped, surprised. A tall woman with beautiful blond hair walked in the room with enough confidence and charisma to drown a whale.

Victor frowned. What was Emma doing here? He'd thought she was with Shaw, enjoying the sunny afternoon in town. Left alone in the mansion, Azazel and Victor had decided to play some board games to escape the boredom instead of going out. Victor knew that Azazel never really liked going out in public because of how people reacted to his appearance.

"Victor!" she exclaimed. "I'm going shopping. And I need a bodyguard!"

"Do you really need more clothes?" asked Victor doubtfully.

"Yes, we're going after the senators at the party tomorrow, and I need some classy clothes to blow them away," she said with a shiny smile.

"Why me, then?" complained Victor with a bit too much energy than necessary. "We haven't even finished our game!"

"Gosh, you can finish it later! Azazel, is it fine if I kidnap Victor for a short while?"

"When is it ever a 'short while'?" Victor asked ironically.

Emma just grinned. They both turned towards Azazel and waited for his response.

"Do as you want," he answered simply. If Azazel had been honest, he'd had refused. Somehow, he had a bad feeling about this. His intuition told him that something was off. However, he couldn't find a reason why such an activity would be dangerous. They'd all gone out many times previously, and nothing bad had ever happened. Azazel swallowed his doubt and simply wished Victor would refuse.

Emma turned towards Victor, glad to have received Azazel's approval. It would be easier to convince him this way.

"Come on, Riptide, you're the only one with some fashion sense around here!" Emma complained dramatically.

Victor laughed. He carefully placed his cards face down on the table and stood up.

"Fine, I'll come," he accepted, "but let's try to come back for supper, yes?"

Emma nodded. Victor looked at Azazel.

"When I come back, let's finish this," he said with a smile. Azazel absently smiled back and watched him stand up.

"I'll bring you back some pastries from the bakery," Victor continued. Azazel nodded absentmindedly. Victor waved at him and followed Emma out of the room.

Soon enough, it was silent around Azazel. He wondered what he was going to do now. Perhaps go take a walk in the garden, to try to shake the bad feeling he had?

Azazel looked at the cards immobile on the table. He paused. Impulsively, he threw his hand on the set. His cards pushed down the pile and scattered apart all of them. It destroyed the placement of the game.

Azazel threw one last glance at the cards before standing up. He left the living room in silence.