Prompt Post: ROUND FIVE
ROUND FIVE IS CLOSED
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<< ROUND FOUR | ALL ROUNDS | ROUND SIX >>
Rules post.
Posting Guidelines.
Flat view.
Updates Post (WIPs only)
Fills Post (completed Fills only)
damalur's firstclasskink on Delicious.
Volunteers always welcome.
There is a delay on comments appearing when there is a URL in the message body. This is due to an LJ anti-spam ( Read more... )
“Hey, professor. Did you call for me?” Sean approached Charles with swagger, a walk Hank tried desperately to ignore.
“Yes, Sean. I wanted to inform you that unfortunately I cannot help you train today. Alex was having a few issues this morning that need to be worked on.”
Sean put his hands in his pockets and shifted to one side. “You called me out here just to tell me that?”
“Well, no, that’s not all. I was going to say, before you interrupted, that I’d like you to work with Hank today.”
“What? Why? I don’t really think science is gonna help at this point. No offense, Hank.”
Hank looked down sheepishly. “None taken.”
Charles looked at Hank closely and tried to contain a grin. “Sean, I really think you should go with Hank. He’s got a lot of experiments going on that could help you. Plus, he’s not just a scientist. He’s one of us.”
Sean blushed, “I know - I mean, I didn’t mean anything bad about it. I just don’t know what you could do.”
“You’d be surprised,” Hank said before he could stop himself.
Sean smirked, crossing his arms. “I’m sure I would be.” Sean kept his gaze as Hank felt a blush creeping up his neck, before Charles cleared his throat and began walking away. “Splendid. I’ll leave you to it then.” Hank could have sworn Charles winked at him as well.
As they walked back to the mansion, headed for Hank’s lab, Sean reached up and swung his arm around Hank’s shoulders. “So what’s goin’ on, Hank?”
“What?” Hank asked, obviously distracted by the boy’s touch.
“I said what’s going on. What crazy experiments do you have lined up for me?”
“Well, actually I’m currently working on a polymer I can use to construct a pair of wings, of sorts, that will help you fly. It will certainly be more durable and lightweight than other materials, but you’re not really listening to me anymore, are you.”
Sean looked at him as if he were lost in thought, “What?” but then laughed, adding, “I’m just kidding. Wings, flying, durable, yes. I like it. Let’s do it.”
“Well, unfortunately, it’s not finished yet so we’ll just have to do something else today.”
“I’m okay with that.”
Hank blushed and looked at his feet as Sean opened the door for him. “Ladies.”
“Ha, ha. Very funny.”
“Hey, I know you’ve got a sense of humor in there somewhere. We’ll find it eventually.”
“I have a sense of humor, thank you very much.” Hank racked his brain for a moment before he came up with a joke. “Oh, I’ve got one. So, gold walks into a bar and Potassium says, ‘Au, get outta here!’” Hank grinned widely as Sean tried to suppress a grin.
“Oh, K.”
It took a few seconds for Hank to realize what he’d done there but when he did, he did he began to chuckle - almost guffaw, really - and his hair shook free. “That was very clever, Sean.”
Sean pushed Hank’s hair back into place and replied, “Hey, I can be smart. I mean, obviously not as smart as you, but who is?”
Hank tried to recuperate from his touch and blushed more than a little as Sean followed him into the lab. He wanted to be angry as Sean’s hands ran over every beaker and tube, exploring everything, but he thought his endless curiosity was actually rather endearing.
“What’s this?”, “And this, Hank?”, “What does this do?”, “Dear god, what is this?” There was a constant look of awe in his eye, and Hank felt proud that Sean cared about listening to and learning from him. No one ever wanted to know, they just wanted Hank to do whatever it was that he did.
As Hank continued to work, the questions slowed, though, then completely stopped. After a significantly long period of quiet, Hank finally looked up to find Sean asleep on the only open countertop. Hank grinned, wondering why he hadn’t just left when he got bored.
“Sean… Banshee.” Hank softly shook him before deciding that he was truly out and slowly slipping his arms underneath the tall, lanky ginger who still seemed somehow miles smaller than him. With Hank’s abilities and Sean’s weight, it was the easiest task in the world to take Sean to his room and place him in the bed.
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“What are you making?”
“It’s a - well, it’s a cure.”
“A cure for what?”
“For my mutation.”
Sean looked at him like he had just spoken in tongues. “But… Why?”
Hank blushed. “Because…”
Sean left it there, not responding or pushing it any further, but a frown was plastered on his face as he drew his knees to his chest and glared out the window. Hank felt it, the anger - or was it disappointment - radiating off him until, in one moment, it was gone.
Sean had somehow magically fallen asleep just like that, tucked in on himself, head crooked against the window. Even angry, it was where he wanted to be. It only made Hank feel worse for upsetting Sean, but he didn’t understand. Raven understood. She was like him. She knew what it was like to try and hide. Or… at least he had thought so, until he tried to give Raven the solution to their problems. Yes, in hindsight, he may have been utterly horrid to Raven, but you don’t just change your mind about something like that. Hank almost growled to himself. Even she doesn’t really know what it’s like.
When he returned to the lab, Sean was gone but a note sat next to his microscope, a single word scrawled.
“Don’t.”
Hank looked only for a second before he crumpled it and sat down, needle in hand.
That had been a week ago. One very long week ago. Hank was no longer Hank. He was now Beast, a name fitting for a freak such as himself. Sean… he could tell Sean was upset with him. It was probably the fact that he was big and blue and drove everyone away and why was he so stupid - Hank couldn’t get out of his own head, he just kept swirling all the thoughts together to make a depressing narrative.
After he ruined a third test because of his distraction, he was almost relieved to hear a knock on the door. He opened it slowly only to have it completely pushed open by Alex.
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“Because you are an idiot,” he growled. Hank thought he was the one supposed to do the growling here, but Alex continued, “Are you not even gonna check on him?”
“I constantly monitor Charles and we play chess whenev - “
“No, not Charles, bozo. We all visit the professor. We all know that he got fucked up. We all know that you got fucked over. And we all know that I’m just fucked,” Alex motioned that he was crazy. “See anyone missing from this equation?”
“Sean?” Hank answered meekly.
Alex continued on his tirade, “By God, you are a genius! Did you know that he dislocated his shoulder that day on the beach? Did you know that he cries every time he goes to see the professor? Did you also know that he’s constantly exhausted because you don’t let him sleep in here anymore? Hell, you don’t let him come in here at all!”
Hank didn’t know Alex could say so much at one time, and the volume and anger with which his Alex spit his words put Hank’s whole body on edge. “He doesn’t want to see me. He hates me. I’m even more of a freak now…”
“More like a freaking idiot. Yeah, he’s mad at you, but not because of what you look like. You think he cares? Hank, he could give a shit less. He told me he asked you not to take the serum, though.”
Hank focused even harder on the floor, his ears dropping and his eyes stinging with almost-tears. When did Alex get so good at being the better man…
“Hank,” Alex said softly this time. “He’s my best friend. It’s just us now, man. We gotta stick together.” Alex patted him on the shoulder and gave him a look that said ‘don’t fuck this up’, then pulled Hank closer to the door. Hank poked his head around and his heart dropped as Sean slept on the floor in front of his lab. The most eloquent thought he could muster was ‘Well… Shit.’
“Good luck, man.” Alex grinned, sauntering away.
Hank dropped down and scooped Sean up. He seemed lighter. Too light, even. Or maybe Hank was just that much stronger. Sean was definitely asleep but his fingers instinctively wrapped themselves in fur as his face nuzzled into Hank’s neck.
“Missed you…”
Oh, well, maybe slightly awake but asleep enough to say things he certainly wouldn’t normally say, even if it was Sean. Hank would blush if he could but instead pulled Sean closer. “I’m sorry.” He used one of his feet to open Sean’s door and kicked a path through all the clothes and half-eaten food and empty packs of cigarettes just to make it to the bed.
Definitely lighter… Hank worried as he lay Sean down on the bed. The room was trashed like he hadn’t been taking care of it, and his body was gaunt like he hadn’t been taking care of himself. He shivered even as Hank threw the blanket over him, and Hank’s breath hitched in his throat along with the wish that he’d looked after Sean sooner. He removed his glasses and placed them on the side table before climbing in next to Sean, pulling him in tightly. He quit shivering and Hank sighed. At least his new form was good for something.
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