A Pink Corner House, Bristol, Wednesday
He had taken Bernie home to his mum last night, after Fleur's party had come to a end. Everyone had been in good spirits, they'd chatted and laughed, and Mitchell had gone to bed with that nice feeling in his stomach that seemed to be becoming a permanent fixture of his day.
"You know what I can't get my head around?" Mitchell asked as he walked into the kitchen the next day, coffee cup firmly in hand.
George didn't even look up. "Quantum mechanics?"
"Bernie not knowing Laurel and Hardy," Mitchell replied, ignoring him - as he should. He leaned against the wall near the dinner table, glancing at George over the rim of his empty cup. "Immortality can make you feel so old," he mused.
It could, it really could; the looks on his students' faces when he told them about films he'd gone to watch when they'd just come out, for god's sakes, Kate not knowing any number of things...
He set his cup down on the table. "He's a good kid, though, isn't he? Thoughtful, well-mannered..." Mitchell sighed. "He reminds me a lot of me at that age, you know?" It was a bit like watching his own childhood reflected on him, not quite the same way as his students, but in the same vein. Though he dearly hoped Bernie's life would be a little easier than his own.
"Oh, so the rampaging ego came much later, then?" George snarked, and shoved the coffee pot onto the fire.
"We all build some sort of defence against the world," said Mitchell, and rolled his eyes. "Like sarcasm." He paced across the room to hold up his cup in front of George, giving him a shot to fill it up and make amends that way. "Still, I wonder which movie Bernie wound up picking. Kid needs a few laughs. We all do--"
He was jolted out of saying anything else by the banging on the door.
"MITCHELL!"
"I suppose that's yours," George said, his eyes flitting to Mitchell. Mitchell, in turn, nodded slowly, and paced out of the kitchen, into the living room.
And then to the door. Which he opened.
Fleur was breathing heavily, and she looked-- incensed. What had happened? Had Bernie gotten into an accident, or had there been-- "What?" he asked.
"I don't know how you've got the nerve to show your face!" Fleur snarled, jabbing a finger in his general direction. What? What?
"You just called me out here!" he said, incredulously.
For a few moments, there was just the feel of Fleur's eyes on him. Then something like realisation seemed to dawn in her eyes. "Oh, yeah, that's very clever. But that's how your sort work, isn't it? You turn on the charm, the wit--" What? She sounded like Sergeant Angua now, for some reason, and Mitchell blinked and nearly missed the rest of her rant, "--you sucker people in--"
He threw his hands up in self-defence. "Whoa, whoa, oh, hang on a second, will you tell me what this is all about, please?" he asked, desperately confused.
"Yeah, don't worry. I'll tell everyone what this is about!"
Oh god. Had she found out what he was--? Mitchell could vaguely feel George poking his head out through the door next to him, but somehow it wasn't registering. Had she-- he'd tried so hard to keep the vampire thing hidden, and he didn't... he hadn't. He hadn't even thought of biting anyone anymore, recently--
"I'll tell the whole world your nasty little secret," Fleur snarled back at him. "Getting close to innocent, defenceless children--"
... Wait.
What?
"Dirty bastard! Winning them over, making friends with them, and then showing them filth! Men filth! Dirty, dirty bastard!"
Okay, now he really was hopelessly confused. "What are you talking about?" he asked, staring.
"My son!" she hissed. "Making out you're his friend just so you can show him that depravity!"
"...Laurel and Hardy?" he asked, staring. He'd thought the days that those could even possibly be considered vaguely obscene were long, long behind them.
"A naked man," she said, accusingly. "Hard! Writhing on a bed!"
But he hadn--
Oh god. The porn. Lauren's video. The one he hadn't thrown out. Bernie must have taken the volume he'd hidden it in by accident-- "Oh fuck, no," he whispered, as bile rose up in his throat and the horrid astonishment to go with it. "Fleur--"
"Filth," she shouted at him again, and turned, and fled.
Ohgodfuckingno, this couldn't be happening. Nonononononono.
---
George was slightly less than sympathetic when he finally shut the door behind him again. In fact, George looked livid, and Mitchell could take a good guess as to why. "You kept the DVD," he hissed, an accusation, and a true one at that.
He-- he groped around for an excuse. Something to validate it. What came out was a feeble, "I didn't keep it so much as... not throw it out."
"But everything you said about moving on, putting Lauren, that whole lifestyle behind you, connecting with humanity..." Annie whispered, curling up into her chair in the background.
If nothing else, it was the disappointment on their faces that hurt more than anything Fleur could have said. Mitchell flinched a little bit, nearly invisibly, and gritted his teeth.
George ran a hand through his hair. "And why hide it in Laurel and Hardy?" he asked. "What else have you got up there, some German scat inside Chitty Chitty Bang Bang?! How many times have you watched it?!"
Many times. Too many times.
"I've never even seen any scat," he replied. Feebly, again. "...Well, except that one time, just to see what it was--"
"This is just what we didn't need, Mitchell," George interrupted him, irritably. "To draw attention to ourselves!"
Yeah. Yeah, he knew. "It was just a stupid mistake," he answered, pleadingly, rubbing his hand up his arm. Oh fuck, oh fuck.
George twisted around. "Then," he said, "Make it right!"
But that was easier said than done, and Mitchell watched him stomp out of the room, just watched, feeling stupid and defeated and like the floor had just dropped out from underneath him.
[[ nfb, nfi, ooc-okay, taken from Being Human 1x04. Warning: mentions of a minor being exposed to pornography ]]
"You know what I can't get my head around?" Mitchell asked as he walked into the kitchen the next day, coffee cup firmly in hand.
George didn't even look up. "Quantum mechanics?"
"Bernie not knowing Laurel and Hardy," Mitchell replied, ignoring him - as he should. He leaned against the wall near the dinner table, glancing at George over the rim of his empty cup. "Immortality can make you feel so old," he mused.
It could, it really could; the looks on his students' faces when he told them about films he'd gone to watch when they'd just come out, for god's sakes, Kate not knowing any number of things...
He set his cup down on the table. "He's a good kid, though, isn't he? Thoughtful, well-mannered..." Mitchell sighed. "He reminds me a lot of me at that age, you know?" It was a bit like watching his own childhood reflected on him, not quite the same way as his students, but in the same vein. Though he dearly hoped Bernie's life would be a little easier than his own.
"Oh, so the rampaging ego came much later, then?" George snarked, and shoved the coffee pot onto the fire.
"We all build some sort of defence against the world," said Mitchell, and rolled his eyes. "Like sarcasm." He paced across the room to hold up his cup in front of George, giving him a shot to fill it up and make amends that way. "Still, I wonder which movie Bernie wound up picking. Kid needs a few laughs. We all do--"
He was jolted out of saying anything else by the banging on the door.
"MITCHELL!"
"I suppose that's yours," George said, his eyes flitting to Mitchell. Mitchell, in turn, nodded slowly, and paced out of the kitchen, into the living room.
And then to the door. Which he opened.
Fleur was breathing heavily, and she looked-- incensed. What had happened? Had Bernie gotten into an accident, or had there been-- "What?" he asked.
"I don't know how you've got the nerve to show your face!" Fleur snarled, jabbing a finger in his general direction. What? What?
"You just called me out here!" he said, incredulously.
For a few moments, there was just the feel of Fleur's eyes on him. Then something like realisation seemed to dawn in her eyes. "Oh, yeah, that's very clever. But that's how your sort work, isn't it? You turn on the charm, the wit--" What? She sounded like Sergeant Angua now, for some reason, and Mitchell blinked and nearly missed the rest of her rant, "--you sucker people in--"
He threw his hands up in self-defence. "Whoa, whoa, oh, hang on a second, will you tell me what this is all about, please?" he asked, desperately confused.
"Yeah, don't worry. I'll tell everyone what this is about!"
Oh god. Had she found out what he was--? Mitchell could vaguely feel George poking his head out through the door next to him, but somehow it wasn't registering. Had she-- he'd tried so hard to keep the vampire thing hidden, and he didn't... he hadn't. He hadn't even thought of biting anyone anymore, recently--
"I'll tell the whole world your nasty little secret," Fleur snarled back at him. "Getting close to innocent, defenceless children--"
... Wait.
What?
"Dirty bastard! Winning them over, making friends with them, and then showing them filth! Men filth! Dirty, dirty bastard!"
Okay, now he really was hopelessly confused. "What are you talking about?" he asked, staring.
"My son!" she hissed. "Making out you're his friend just so you can show him that depravity!"
"...Laurel and Hardy?" he asked, staring. He'd thought the days that those could even possibly be considered vaguely obscene were long, long behind them.
"A naked man," she said, accusingly. "Hard! Writhing on a bed!"
But he hadn--
Oh god. The porn. Lauren's video. The one he hadn't thrown out. Bernie must have taken the volume he'd hidden it in by accident-- "Oh fuck, no," he whispered, as bile rose up in his throat and the horrid astonishment to go with it. "Fleur--"
"Filth," she shouted at him again, and turned, and fled.
Ohgodfuckingno, this couldn't be happening. Nonononononono.
---
George was slightly less than sympathetic when he finally shut the door behind him again. In fact, George looked livid, and Mitchell could take a good guess as to why. "You kept the DVD," he hissed, an accusation, and a true one at that.
He-- he groped around for an excuse. Something to validate it. What came out was a feeble, "I didn't keep it so much as... not throw it out."
"But everything you said about moving on, putting Lauren, that whole lifestyle behind you, connecting with humanity..." Annie whispered, curling up into her chair in the background.
If nothing else, it was the disappointment on their faces that hurt more than anything Fleur could have said. Mitchell flinched a little bit, nearly invisibly, and gritted his teeth.
George ran a hand through his hair. "And why hide it in Laurel and Hardy?" he asked. "What else have you got up there, some German scat inside Chitty Chitty Bang Bang?! How many times have you watched it?!"
Many times. Too many times.
"I've never even seen any scat," he replied. Feebly, again. "...Well, except that one time, just to see what it was--"
"This is just what we didn't need, Mitchell," George interrupted him, irritably. "To draw attention to ourselves!"
Yeah. Yeah, he knew. "It was just a stupid mistake," he answered, pleadingly, rubbing his hand up his arm. Oh fuck, oh fuck.
George twisted around. "Then," he said, "Make it right!"
But that was easier said than done, and Mitchell watched him stomp out of the room, just watched, feeling stupid and defeated and like the floor had just dropped out from underneath him.
[[ nfb, nfi, ooc-okay, taken from Being Human 1x04. Warning: mentions of a minor being exposed to pornography ]]