1172/An Unlovely Night In

An Unlovely Night In
Date of Scene:	15 April 2020
Location:	Alex Summers's Apartment, NYC
Synopsis:	Emma tries to dump Alex, but those Summers boys are stubborn!
Cast of Characters:	Alex Summers, Emma Frost

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Alex Summers has posed:
    The life of a master's student is pretty predictable. You don't have class, so mostly you get up, shower, eat breakfast, then get to writing. Thus, around 10am Alex is sitting in front of his laptop, typing and scrolling as he goes through the requirements for submission, working on getting all the little fiddly bits like margins, footnotes, and spacing all set up as he assembles the final piece.

Emma Frost has posed:
Emma stands outside the door to Alex's apartment. She's in her normal 'armor', such that it is, because this is going to be a difficult conversation to have and she needs all the help she can get. Her business suit is perfectly pressed. Her hair perfectly neat. Her nails perfectly done.

She wonders if she should have texted him, but decides that boat has sailed. So she finally draws in a deep breath, and knocks.

Alex Summers has posed:
    Alex looks over, furrowing his brow, before he stands up, saving his work then moving over to the door. There aren't a lot of people he knows who would show up at his apartment...save...and the last few footsteps are a bit quicker as he opens the door, then smiles. "...hey beautiful..." he says, opening the door wider as he steps out, and tries to give her a peck on the lips. "Wasn't expecting you to stop by..."

Emma Frost has posed:
Emma steps back a half step, dodging Alex's kiss ever-so-slightly. "Alex." Her tone is... distant. Businesslike. "May I come in?"

Alex Summers has posed:
    Alex looks suprised at the half step, his brow furrowing, before he steps back. "Sure." he says shortly, sensing something is off, but not sure what as of yet. "Always."

Emma Frost has posed:
Emma follows Alex inside the apartment, and waits for the door to close behind them. She finds a place near the couch to stand, folding her hands behind her back and tapping one high-heeled set of toes on the floor. She gives him an appraising look.

Alex Summers has posed:
    Alex walks back over, stopping outside of Emma's personal space this time. "What's up?" he says after a moment, frowning faintly. And was it something he did? He's not sure, he's not seen Emma being...standoffish of late. "Something wrong?" He folds his arms across his chest.

Emma Frost has posed:
Emma lets a long breath out through her nose. Calm. Nonplussed. "I think it would be in our best interests if we end things between us," she begins all-too-calmly. Mind wiping him would be easier, but there would be too many questions. She'd have to do this the hard way.

Alex Summers has posed:
    There's a moment of genuine shock in Alex's eyes and thoughts as they just jerk to a halt, as he blinks. "What? Why?" he says, sounding a bit stunned.

Though there's a part of him that promptly whispers 'Of course she does. She's too good for you anyway. It was just a matter of time until she left you. Loser.'

"...is this because of...me saying I loved you?" he says, his arms dropping to his sides.

Emma Frost has posed:
"No!" Emma exclaims quickly, but then quickly smoothes her expression over to calm again. "No, I mean. It wasn't that."

She glances down, then away. "It's just better for us this way. Believe me. It's not anything you did."

Alex Summers has posed:
    Alex frowns more at that. "Then why?" he says, folding his arms over his chest again. "What's changed? Why would it be better?" he says, more quietly. "I don't understand."

Emma Frost has posed:
Emma sighs. "It's my father. He's... made somewhat of an ultimatim," she admits. "You're not on his agenda right now, and you do not wish to be. For now, he regards you a minor distraction that I'm going to be removing from my life. That is all you want him to think of you as. Believe me."

Alex Summers has posed:
    Alex blinks again, considering that. "...so you want to break it off, because you're afraid your father is going to target me if you don't." he says slowly. "Like what? Your dad is rich. On the other hand, he doesn't have a damn thing to do with geophysics I'm guessing. So he can't exactly blacklist me in the industry."

Emma Frost has posed:
Emma actually laughs at that. "Alex, do you not understand what the Hellfire Club //is//? He doesn't have to be a geophysicist to talk to enough people who do have contacts in that industry who can. He can make sure all the work you put into your degree is worthless and you spend the rest of your life..." she waves her hand absently, "I don't know, flipping burgers or washing cars or something. Just out of spite."

Alex Summers has posed:
    There's a moment of thought, before Alex says, bluntly. "Fuck him. I'm not living my life in fear because an asshat like him might get a bug up his ass over me. Besides, Shaw seemed cool. I bet he'd help me out if I needed it, and he's already offered me an internship. Your dad can't do a damned thing about that, can he?"

Emma Frost has posed:
Emma blinks. "Well... no, not really. And Sebastian seems to be more pleased to be dealing with me on the board than father, technically," she admits. "My father is an abrasive man. He has a lot of connections, but the highest echelons of the club... he is no longer a part of. When he retired, I took his place there--" she frowns a bit. "Technically, a slightly higher ranked one than he held, but that's besides the point." She shakes her head. "But he does still hold influence over many of the VIPs and other members outside the board. I don't want you to have to deal with this sort of thing, Alex."

Alex Summers has posed:
    Alex frowns, then walks over to stand in front. "Do you actually want to break things off, Emma, or are you doing it because you're afraid of the trouble your father will cause me?" he says steadily. "And how much trouble will it cause you if we don't?"

Emma Frost has posed:
She looks away from him for a moment. "I think this is just going to cause us both more trouble that we want," she says carefully.

Alex Summers has posed:
    Alex reaches up and rests his hands on Emma's shoulders. "Is that what you feel, or is that what you're afraid of?" he says, more quietly. "I don't want to wreck your life Emma. But I don't want to give this up either."

Emma Frost has posed:
Emma doesn't shrug him off. "You don't know what happened to Christian when he... brought someone home Father disapproved of. It wasn't enough to disinherit him, Father destroyed him by sending him to that 'mental institute'. And I really don't want you to ruin your career before it even begins." She sighs deeply. "Things aren't as simple as I'd like them to be."

Alex Summers has posed:
    "I'm not your father's son." He smirks a bit. "Fortunately for us." He frowns a bit, thinking. "Life isn't simple. Anyone who tells you is is selling something." he says after a moment. "It might be troublesome....but really, if your father runs me off...what else is he going to threaten you with if you do anything else he doesn't like?"

Emma Frost has posed:
Emma snorts. "You're the first thing I've done that he doesn't like." She blushes suddenly at that, realizing the way it came out. "I mean.. not like that. I mean, yes, like that, but. Ugh."

Alex Summers has posed:
    Alex chuckles a little, then shakes his head. "How's that make you feel? Nervous? Scared? Angry? What? What he did to your brother...he doesn't have the same power to fuck with me like that. And he shouldn't get away with just being an asshole to anyone he doens't like either. I'm disclined to accede to his request." he says, with the tone of someone quoting something.

Emma Frost has posed:
Emma just stares at Alex, absolutely gobsmacked. "...so are you saying you're not letting me break up with you?" There's a mixture of surprise and admiration for him in her tone.

Alex Summers has posed:
    Alex says solemnly. "I am not letting you break up with me, yes." He hesistates. "I mean, as long as that's still okay with you...because I really don't want him to go after you, either."

Emma Frost has posed:
Emma looks at him and can't speak for a few moments. She briefly skims his mind, finding it resolute. "You are a stubborn, stubborn man, Alex Summers."

Alex Summers has posed:
    Alex hehs. "Can be, if it's something I care about." he agrees, leaning down to kiss Emma's forehead gently. "Been pushed around enough in my life." And he is...angry. Frustrated. Aimed at Winston, of course, but there's some relief as Emma seems to be not that set on breaking things off as he was afraid she might be.

Emma Frost has posed:
Emma smiles slightly, sighing in that 'I give up' way. She leans against him, folding herself up against his chest. "So you realize this is going to get really rough for both of us."

Alex Summers has posed:
    Muscular arms slide around Emma, hugging him to that chest as Alex rests his chin on top of her head lightly. "Considering all the other stuff going on, one more thing doesn't seem like too much to carry." he murmurs softly. "It does narrow things down in some ways though. I need to talk to Shaw about that internship and get it pushed through, if he's still for it, so by the time your dad realizes we didn't split, it's too late for him to do anything without going against Shaw."

Emma Frost has posed:
"Mm. So you're suggesting hiding our relationship until you get hired on by Shaw?" Emma asks, considering. "It's possible to manage if I don't go around my sisters..." She snuggles up against him. "I can talk to Shaw on your behalf, but... I think... it might go better if you approached him yourself. I can let you know when and where to talk to him but..."

Alex Summers has posed:
    Alex considers that, then nods, a bit reluctantly. "We might have to be low key in public until that gets set up. Though if you can set up an appointment with Shaw for me, that might speed things up? I'm still not sure exactly what I can do for him, but I'm willing to go with what's available, under the circumstances. At least in the short term, this'll hopefully shortcircuit your dad's attempt to fuck with it."

Emma Frost has posed:
Emma nods. "I'll... arrange something. Soon." She shifts in his arms literally just enough to fish her phone from her pocket. She shoots off a text.

"There. We'll see. Are you coming to the Oktoberfest tomorrow night?" she asks quietly.

Alex Summers has posed:
    Alex hmmmms, rubbing Emma's back then shifts to let her fish out the phone and type away. "Well, I was...should I stay away for the moment?" he admits. "I don't mind if we take a little time to look like we've broken up while we set things up, at least in public."

Emma Frost has posed:
Emma's phone buzzes. She skims the message, then smirks. She holds up the phone to let Alex read.

/-/SHAW: Made my decision quite some time ago. Just some paperwork required. Tessa can handle it. As for your father, he no longer sits on the Board. By the by, he'll find his access to the Club's security systems removed the next time he tries. If he has a problem with it, tell him he can take it up with me./-/

"I really, really think you might want to come by tomorrow," she says dryly.

Alex Summers has posed:
    Alex reads, then grins big. "Hmmm. Seems like I should." he says amusedly. "Wow, wasn't expecting Shaw to...be on that so quick." he admits. Makes him feel kinda good that he made that good of an impression with him, considering how often they've spoken.

    And, you know, accidentally shooting him with a plasma bolt and all that.