Heart Talk Part 3/4
Title: Heart Talk Part 3
Author: glimmeringmist
Rating: PG-13
Summary: To begin with, Hank was sure there was no one else he hated more than Alex Summers. But then, slowly, his views changed and he came to realise that he might just be falling in love with the energy blaster. Now, if only Alex didn't go making things so difficult then everything would be fine.
Notes: Part 3 of a series: Part 1 can be found here and Part 2 is here . Also just wanna say thank you to everyone who has left comments; it means a lot!
The argument started out as the result of what Hank viewed as a trivial matter but to Alex, it seemed, was so much more. Charles had asked the scientist to help the blonde out with his aim in training, Hank agreed to do so and Alex, in true petulant child style, flipped out.
“No way; the Bozo is not doing that!” he declared angrily, arms folded defensively across his chest whilst Charles looked on in bemusement. “I’m fine with you and Erik but not him!”
Well, that was a dramatic change of tact from the last few weeks.
“I am still here, you know!” Hank interrupted with, wisely deciding not to mention the “hey, your arm makes a comfy pillow” incidents, at the exact same time that Charles cut across saying
“Be sensible, Alex; what difference does it make. Someone stands on either side of the mannequins; does it really matter who?”
“Yes.” was the moody reply, the energy blaster refusing to meet either man’s eye as he stared determinedly at the carpet. Thank god he didn’t have laser eyes else the floor would have been cinders.
“Alex.” Charles’ voice carried a warning tone, his fingers hovering in the air suggestively, itching to move to his temple. The telepath’s patience was wearing thin with this downright childish behavior if he was threatening to resort to such measures. “Explain before I find out for myself and do not think I won’t!”
Silence. Then… “Everyone else can protect themselves if something goes wrong but he can’t! I know you can’t either but Erik’s almost always at your side; if I overshoot then he’ll protect you without fail. And the others; Sean could deflect it, Raven could shift into someone who could defend against it and I doubt Moira wants anything to do with me. But Hank…what has he got? A genius brain and messed up feet? That’s not gonna be much help when I throw a lethal blast of energy his way!”
Hank didn’t know what upset him more; the fact that he had just been referred to as all but useless or the fact that Alex possessed so little confidence in himself as to completely bypass ‘if’ and skip to ‘when’. But before he could point this out, the energy blaster had turned heel and fled, leaving Hank and Charles standing there like fools.
“You know, the telepath sighed, “, as a direct result of having all of you here, I now possess a much deeper respect for nursery teachers, primary teachers, nannies…basically anybody who has anything to do with children under the age of 10. At times I feel like I’m attempting to teach 5 year olds advanced physics. And to think Raven wonders why I’m so prone to alcohol now…”
With that, he too left and then there was only Hank left to puzzle over why things had turned pear-shaped so quickly.
Eventually he made the retreat to his lab, deciding that chemicals were better company. They, unlike people, wouldn’t abandon you.
~~~linebreak~~~
It wasn’t just the refusal of his help, Hank found out; it was the full blown silent treatment. No conversation, no acknowledgements, contact kept at minimum. Alex just swept past him as if he didn’t even exist, not even coming into the lab to watch the scientist work or flop down beside him to sleep anymore and on the rare occasion they happened to catch each other’s eye, the reception from the blonde was frosty to say the least. Basically they were back to square one and Hank was full time Bozo once more.
Sean, to his credit, waited a week before making his input of romantic advice on the matter.
“What’s with you two?” he asked with a yawn, throwing himself down onto the sofa beside Hank and warily eyeing Alex who sat at the opposite end of the room, the pair both determinedly Not Looking at each other. A lopsided grin slid onto the ginger’s face. “Having trouble in paradise then?”
Hank snorted but other than that remained silent; Alex continued to stare cantankerously out of the window.
“Come on guys; you two are killing me! It’s been quiet all week; do you know how unnatural that is? I make one noise and everyone looks at me like I’ve murdered their granny…I don’t even know who anybody’s granny is! And I swear Lehnsherr’s eyeing me up…I’m sure he’s plotting to throw me off the satellite dish again, though that may be because I accidently spilt coffee over him two mornings in a row.”
The sonic screamer paused as if waiting for a reaction then, after receiving not so much as a sympathetic blink, sighed again and slumped backwards.
“So…any chance of you guys kissing and making up soon? No? Only dinner’s now really awkward and I don’t know about you but I like being able to eat without feeling like there’s a bomb about to go off. And then Raven and Charles are too busy fawning over Lehnsherr and Lehnsherr’s too busy fending them off and Moira’s got the whole untouchable agent thing and you two have the silent and depressed act on full role, leaving me feeling like a spare part.”
Still, there was only silence.
Okay, Sean decided, that was it. They’d had their chance. “I might have accidentally knocked over some of those weird microscope thingies… They were microscopes, right?”
Hank sat up poker straight, expression beyond horrified. “You didn’t; I told you not to go in! Sean…”
The sonic screamer grinned wildly. “Relax man; I’m just messing with you! Geez… I had to check that you hadn’t fallen into some weird coma; glad you’re still with us, though I’m not sure about Captain Grumps over there.”
The scientist rolled his eyes before standing, stretching then striding out of the room, obviously off to check that his science equipment was indeed still intact. Not long after he was followed by Alex, though the teen sloped off in a completely different direction.
“Guys?” Sean called in the now lifeless room. “Oh come on! Fine, be like that; I’ll just talk to this lamp here. I’m sure it’ll appreciate me more!”
When his comment was ignored, Sean did exactly what he said he would and turned to the nearby lamp.
“This sucks.” he declared conversationally. “It’s like some lovers’ tiff, only they’re not lovers cause they’re too busy pussy footing around each other. It’s not like I care what they get up together; it’s not like Raven and Moira care. Hell, it’s not like the professor and Lehnsherr care, not with the sort of stuff they probably do when they claim to be “playing chess”… Why do I get the feeling someone’s listening?...Ah, that’ll be because someone is. Well done, Sean; just forget about the resident telepath. Satellite dish here I come.”
The sonic screamer continued to stare at the lamp for several more seconds before reclining onto the full length of the sofa, throwing his hands into the air and declaring to no one in particular:
“You know what? Lamps are actually decent listeners.”
~~~linebreak~~~
Events hit their head only a day later. Hank was hovering in his lab in full mother hen mode, fearful that Sean would somehow find a way to destroy all of his work if he so much as set foot within the room, when Charles wandered in, carefully sidestepping the various pieces of equipment to stand at the scientist’s side.
“Hank, would you mind helping down in the bunker?” the telepath asked good naturedly, examining the notepad of scribbles that passed for notes in interest. “Hmmm…I never considered that; good thinking!” He didn’t need to specify who they were helping here.
“Are you sure that’s a good idea? He’s been avoiding me all week…”
“It’ll be fine.” Charles dismissed with a wave of his hand, still studying Hank’s notes on the mutant gene. “Moira and Raven have gone out for what they term ‘retail therapy’ and Erik’s helping Sean train so there’s no one else.”
“Has Sean by any chance been pushed off the satellite dish again?” Hank asked automatically, recalling snippets of the sonic screamer’s monologue from the day before.
“Yes, actually; Erik was very insistent about getting in more practice.”
For a moment the scientist grinned before remembering just why Charles was here and sighing, wondering whether or not he’d be able to come up with a decent enough excuse quickly enough. Nope…Too late; Charles had his arm and was dragging him out of the lab, chatting animatedly all along whilst the younger mutant resigned himself to a probably grisly fate.
~~~linebreak~~~
“No.” was, unsurprisingly, the first thing out of Alex’s mouth upon catching sight of Hank. “We’ve already been through this; he is not helping.” Arms folded tightly across his chest, jaw set determinedly, he was the epitome of stubbornness. But so was Hank when he wanted to be and suddenly he was sick of this.
“Yeah, well, you don’t have a choice so deal with it.” the scientist declared angrily, taking up a stance beside to the left of one of the mannequins that indicated he would have to be unconscious first for Alex to remove him. Charles merely shot a meaningful look between the pair and at long last Alex sighed and stomped over to take his place at the head of the bunker, every inch of him screaming that he was less than pleased with this situation.
“Fine; you win. Whatever.”
And that was all he would say.
~~~linebreak~~~
Throughout the training exercise, Alex showcased control that went past the point of incredible, striking the target every time and even taking Charles by surprise, the chest plate working perfectly much to Hank’s pleasure.
“I told you you could do it!” the telepath enthused, practically glowing with pride. “You need to stop being so self-critical!”
Alex gave no response, instead running a hand through his sweaty hair and slumping, breath coming in short pants. But even so a small smile played at his lips and his eyes sparkled happily.
Or at least they did until Charles made a new suggestion.
“How about you try shooting several blasts at once? In the event of a fight, it’s a skill that could come in useful.”
“No, not without Erik.” Hello square one, miss us much? Oh wait, Charles was not having this.
“For goodness sake, will you please stop acting like a five year old? We’re all old enough to take care of ourselves and, contrary to your beliefs, are capable of defending ourselves.”
“How?” The blonde’s stare was piercing, making Hank feel like he was a specimen on a dissecting table with the teacher ready to slice him open.
“I’m strong; I can…lift something to use as a shield?” He really sounded like a genius who had graduated at 15, didn’t he? At least it made Alex grin in amusement.
“Only you could make that sound like a question Bozo.”
Now, if only he were to know that Hank’s actual plan of defense went more along the lines of ‘dive to the ground and hope for the best’. But at Alex’s insistence, he went and found a large panel of metal that could double as a shield if the need arose, dumping it at his feet with a grunt.
The energy blaster took his place again whilst Charles and Hank set up what remained of the mannequins, this time keeping a little closer to the side. Alex was chewing nervously on his lip, positively reeking of apprehension as his chest plate began to glow cherry bright.
No one would ever be able to say exactly what followed, it was such a blur, but what Hank could say was that three shots were fired in succession. The first flew true, striking the centre dummy in a shower of crimson light. The second, mere moments later, curved slightly but flew into another target, albeit in a sloppier manner. And as for the third…Maybe it was thrown off course by the blast forces of the first two, maybe it was just bad luck, but either way it spun wildly through the air, completely bypassing the mannequins and heading in their direction.
At long last Hank’s mind caught up with him to realise the danger and thinking was overruled in favour of simply acting. Charles was shoved gracelessly to the floor; Hank wrapped his hands around his makeshift shield (one of the spare panels he’d salvaged from Cerebro) and hefted it up just in time for the blast of scarlet to ricochet off the surface, shunting him back forcibly into the wall but leaving both him and the professor otherwise unharmed.
Silence. Tentatively Charles poked his head out from their place of refuge, eyes wide as he took in the destruction.
“Maybe that’s enough for today; Alex, are you okay?” The telepath’s voice was nothing but gentle as he carefully stood up; even so, there was no reply and that worried Hank more than the fact that he had just been inches from death. He didn’t have to look to know the energy blaster was already beating himself up about his slip up, the panel dropping to the floor with a clang as Hank picked his way through the debris to the shell shocked blonde and drew him into a clumsy hug.
For a moment, just for a moment, Alex seemed to return the gesture, resting his head on Hank’s shoulder gratefully, but abruptly he stiffened as if only just realising what he was doing and the scientist sighed as he realised what was now going to end up happening. Alex could never admit weakness after all.
True to form, several seconds later Hank was left only with the memory of a warm form against his arms and a strong sense of exasperation.
“Hank?” Charles was looking at him strangely, head tilted to one side and, the teen noticed with a jolt of horror, one finger at his temple. Seeing the younger mutant’s distress, the telepath removed it. “Don’t worry; I can assure you I wasn’t anywhere near your thoughts.” This time their gazes met and Hank nearly gasped at how solemn Charles’ eyes were, having never seen such a serious look on the normally upbeat professor. “Look, I know about…whatever you want to call it and I want to say that I hold nothing against either you or Alex. Just please resolve this. A house divided against itself cannot stand as Lincoln once said.” He patted Hank kindly on the shoulder before surveying the bunker critically. “I’ll sort this mess out tomorrow; now you go and sort out yours.”
What on earth are you talking about, Hank wanted to scream but he didn’t because, deep down, a part of him knew exactly what Charles was talking about.
He just didn’t want to admit it.
~~~linebreak~~~
Dinner that night was more awkward than that time a group of girls cornered Hank at university and proceeded to exclaim over how adorable he was before asking where his parents were. By some suspicious coincidence which Hank strongly suspected Charles was responsible for, he and Alex were forced to sit side by side, stubbornly avoiding each other’s gaze and only speaking to ask the other to pass the salt. Sean didn’t even attempt to engage them in conversation, too busy lying face down on the table and groaning every time he moved, mumbling about vertical drops and how they really weren’t good for his health. Apparently Erik didn’t appreciate suggestions that he and Charles were together, even if they probably were.
With a sigh, an activity that he seemed to do a lot of at the moment, Hank continued to poke morosely at his potatoes, shunting them back and forth across his place and prompting a raised eyebrow from Erik.
“Something wrong, Hank?” Of course his plate was already cleared; stupid metal bender and his drive of efficiency.
“Nothing.” the scientist answered snappily, surprising everyone with his uncharacteristic moodiness. Even Raven and Moira halted their discussion of practicality versus design in clothing to stare and he nearly stomped a foot in frustration. “Sorry; headache. I…I think I’m gonna go to bed.”
Grabbing his plate and dumping it in the sink, he left the room with what to his mind was a dignified walk but in reality was a rather pathetic shuffle that ended with him walking into the door.
Great job, Hank. No wonder people call you cute.
~~~linebreak~~~
No one bothered him after his abrupt leave from the table so he figured that projecting an air of ‘don’t come near me’ must actually have something going for it.
Angrily he punched his pillow into a more comfortable position and pretended he wasn’t going to dream of Alex again for the third night in a row.
~~~linebreak~~~
Urghh…What on earth was that noise? He’d been having a good dream, goddamn it! Was that… was that whimpering? It was.
With a groan, Hank rolled out of bed and stretched, curling his toes into the rug. The noise seemed to be coming from down the hall as he realised when he stumbled out of his room, looking around blearily with only the pale moonlight to illuminate his surroundings. It was probably Sean investigating his most likely impressive collection of bruises, he decided. Still, no harm in checking.
Half asleep, he fumbled with the door knob obscuring the sound and the mumbles formed into words, a hoarse muddled speech spoken almost desperately.
“No; get out…Don’t wanna hurt you; go ‘way….”
Hang on…He recognised that voice and it definitely wasn’t Sean’s.
“Alex?”
The only reply was a low moan but he caught a glimpse of sweat slicked blonde spikes peeking out from beneath the tangled duvet, one arm thrown protectively over a face that was childlike in sleep. The teen appeared to be in the midst of a nightmare, curled in on himself and trembling.
“Alex…” Hank stepped towards the bed, one hand reaching out to shake the boy lightly on the shoulder. “Come on; wake up. It’s just a bad dream.”
The effect was instantaneous. With a panicked cry, Alex shot upwards, hands immediately flying out to defend himself and instead meeting solid flesh.
“No; Hank!”
“Shush; I’m right here, see?” Hank had never seen the energy blaster in such a state, never seen him come so undone. He had a sinking feeling this had spanned from the incident earlier on today.
“No; I didn’t mean to, I’m sorry! Please don’t leave, please…” The blonde struggled as Hank carefully grasped ahold of his wrists before he could hurt himself, returning them to the relative safety of the mattress.
“…Hank?” Alex stopped moving, staring at him with an oddly vulnerable expression before becoming aware of the position they were in. “Oh god; sorry!” He attempted to push the scientist away but was only pulled closer.
“Stop apologizing; you have nothing to be sorry for.” Hank chided gently, cupping Alex’s face in a gesture that was more intimate than friendly. “I’m okay, see?”
“But…” Oh shit, he looked like he was about to start crying. Please god, anything but tears; Hank couldn’t cope with tears.
“It’s alright.” he said uselessly, floundering over what to do now. “It was an accident; we know you didn’t mean to.”
It was most definitely the wrong thing to say.
“An accident that almost killed you!” Alex suddenly yelled, angry tears now streaking down his face as he made another bid for freedom.
“But it didn’t and that’s what matters.” was Hank’s reasonable point, only for the energy blaster to thump him in frustration.
“You still don’t get it; none of you do! Why’d you have to always put yourself in danger, Bozo; why are you still putting up with me? I’m just gonna hurt you…”
And that was the signal for the floodgates to burst, Alex burying his head in Hank’s chest and sobbing openly, hands now bundled in the material of the other mutant’s shirt. All at once the scientist realised what had been going on, why Alex had been acting the way he had. It’s not because he hates me, it’s because he cares. He was…He was trying to protect me.
Suddenly he felt a vast surge of affection for the boy he once thought to be little more than an insensitive jerk and tentatively wrapped his arms around his shaking form, planting a chaste kiss on Alex’s forehead out of sheer instinct.
Then he paused to consider what he was actually doing, the situation he was in, and it all left him so confused.
He no longer knew how to describe how he felt. He no longer knew what to do.
Thoughts?
Author: glimmeringmist
Rating: PG-13
Summary: To begin with, Hank was sure there was no one else he hated more than Alex Summers. But then, slowly, his views changed and he came to realise that he might just be falling in love with the energy blaster. Now, if only Alex didn't go making things so difficult then everything would be fine.
Notes: Part 3 of a series: Part 1 can be found here and Part 2 is here . Also just wanna say thank you to everyone who has left comments; it means a lot!
The argument started out as the result of what Hank viewed as a trivial matter but to Alex, it seemed, was so much more. Charles had asked the scientist to help the blonde out with his aim in training, Hank agreed to do so and Alex, in true petulant child style, flipped out.
“No way; the Bozo is not doing that!” he declared angrily, arms folded defensively across his chest whilst Charles looked on in bemusement. “I’m fine with you and Erik but not him!”
Well, that was a dramatic change of tact from the last few weeks.
“I am still here, you know!” Hank interrupted with, wisely deciding not to mention the “hey, your arm makes a comfy pillow” incidents, at the exact same time that Charles cut across saying
“Be sensible, Alex; what difference does it make. Someone stands on either side of the mannequins; does it really matter who?”
“Yes.” was the moody reply, the energy blaster refusing to meet either man’s eye as he stared determinedly at the carpet. Thank god he didn’t have laser eyes else the floor would have been cinders.
“Alex.” Charles’ voice carried a warning tone, his fingers hovering in the air suggestively, itching to move to his temple. The telepath’s patience was wearing thin with this downright childish behavior if he was threatening to resort to such measures. “Explain before I find out for myself and do not think I won’t!”
Silence. Then… “Everyone else can protect themselves if something goes wrong but he can’t! I know you can’t either but Erik’s almost always at your side; if I overshoot then he’ll protect you without fail. And the others; Sean could deflect it, Raven could shift into someone who could defend against it and I doubt Moira wants anything to do with me. But Hank…what has he got? A genius brain and messed up feet? That’s not gonna be much help when I throw a lethal blast of energy his way!”
Hank didn’t know what upset him more; the fact that he had just been referred to as all but useless or the fact that Alex possessed so little confidence in himself as to completely bypass ‘if’ and skip to ‘when’. But before he could point this out, the energy blaster had turned heel and fled, leaving Hank and Charles standing there like fools.
“You know, the telepath sighed, “, as a direct result of having all of you here, I now possess a much deeper respect for nursery teachers, primary teachers, nannies…basically anybody who has anything to do with children under the age of 10. At times I feel like I’m attempting to teach 5 year olds advanced physics. And to think Raven wonders why I’m so prone to alcohol now…”
With that, he too left and then there was only Hank left to puzzle over why things had turned pear-shaped so quickly.
Eventually he made the retreat to his lab, deciding that chemicals were better company. They, unlike people, wouldn’t abandon you.
~~~linebreak~~~
It wasn’t just the refusal of his help, Hank found out; it was the full blown silent treatment. No conversation, no acknowledgements, contact kept at minimum. Alex just swept past him as if he didn’t even exist, not even coming into the lab to watch the scientist work or flop down beside him to sleep anymore and on the rare occasion they happened to catch each other’s eye, the reception from the blonde was frosty to say the least. Basically they were back to square one and Hank was full time Bozo once more.
Sean, to his credit, waited a week before making his input of romantic advice on the matter.
“What’s with you two?” he asked with a yawn, throwing himself down onto the sofa beside Hank and warily eyeing Alex who sat at the opposite end of the room, the pair both determinedly Not Looking at each other. A lopsided grin slid onto the ginger’s face. “Having trouble in paradise then?”
Hank snorted but other than that remained silent; Alex continued to stare cantankerously out of the window.
“Come on guys; you two are killing me! It’s been quiet all week; do you know how unnatural that is? I make one noise and everyone looks at me like I’ve murdered their granny…I don’t even know who anybody’s granny is! And I swear Lehnsherr’s eyeing me up…I’m sure he’s plotting to throw me off the satellite dish again, though that may be because I accidently spilt coffee over him two mornings in a row.”
The sonic screamer paused as if waiting for a reaction then, after receiving not so much as a sympathetic blink, sighed again and slumped backwards.
“So…any chance of you guys kissing and making up soon? No? Only dinner’s now really awkward and I don’t know about you but I like being able to eat without feeling like there’s a bomb about to go off. And then Raven and Charles are too busy fawning over Lehnsherr and Lehnsherr’s too busy fending them off and Moira’s got the whole untouchable agent thing and you two have the silent and depressed act on full role, leaving me feeling like a spare part.”
Still, there was only silence.
Okay, Sean decided, that was it. They’d had their chance. “I might have accidentally knocked over some of those weird microscope thingies… They were microscopes, right?”
Hank sat up poker straight, expression beyond horrified. “You didn’t; I told you not to go in! Sean…”
The sonic screamer grinned wildly. “Relax man; I’m just messing with you! Geez… I had to check that you hadn’t fallen into some weird coma; glad you’re still with us, though I’m not sure about Captain Grumps over there.”
The scientist rolled his eyes before standing, stretching then striding out of the room, obviously off to check that his science equipment was indeed still intact. Not long after he was followed by Alex, though the teen sloped off in a completely different direction.
“Guys?” Sean called in the now lifeless room. “Oh come on! Fine, be like that; I’ll just talk to this lamp here. I’m sure it’ll appreciate me more!”
When his comment was ignored, Sean did exactly what he said he would and turned to the nearby lamp.
“This sucks.” he declared conversationally. “It’s like some lovers’ tiff, only they’re not lovers cause they’re too busy pussy footing around each other. It’s not like I care what they get up together; it’s not like Raven and Moira care. Hell, it’s not like the professor and Lehnsherr care, not with the sort of stuff they probably do when they claim to be “playing chess”… Why do I get the feeling someone’s listening?...Ah, that’ll be because someone is. Well done, Sean; just forget about the resident telepath. Satellite dish here I come.”
The sonic screamer continued to stare at the lamp for several more seconds before reclining onto the full length of the sofa, throwing his hands into the air and declaring to no one in particular:
“You know what? Lamps are actually decent listeners.”
~~~linebreak~~~
Events hit their head only a day later. Hank was hovering in his lab in full mother hen mode, fearful that Sean would somehow find a way to destroy all of his work if he so much as set foot within the room, when Charles wandered in, carefully sidestepping the various pieces of equipment to stand at the scientist’s side.
“Hank, would you mind helping down in the bunker?” the telepath asked good naturedly, examining the notepad of scribbles that passed for notes in interest. “Hmmm…I never considered that; good thinking!” He didn’t need to specify who they were helping here.
“Are you sure that’s a good idea? He’s been avoiding me all week…”
“It’ll be fine.” Charles dismissed with a wave of his hand, still studying Hank’s notes on the mutant gene. “Moira and Raven have gone out for what they term ‘retail therapy’ and Erik’s helping Sean train so there’s no one else.”
“Has Sean by any chance been pushed off the satellite dish again?” Hank asked automatically, recalling snippets of the sonic screamer’s monologue from the day before.
“Yes, actually; Erik was very insistent about getting in more practice.”
For a moment the scientist grinned before remembering just why Charles was here and sighing, wondering whether or not he’d be able to come up with a decent enough excuse quickly enough. Nope…Too late; Charles had his arm and was dragging him out of the lab, chatting animatedly all along whilst the younger mutant resigned himself to a probably grisly fate.
~~~linebreak~~~
“No.” was, unsurprisingly, the first thing out of Alex’s mouth upon catching sight of Hank. “We’ve already been through this; he is not helping.” Arms folded tightly across his chest, jaw set determinedly, he was the epitome of stubbornness. But so was Hank when he wanted to be and suddenly he was sick of this.
“Yeah, well, you don’t have a choice so deal with it.” the scientist declared angrily, taking up a stance beside to the left of one of the mannequins that indicated he would have to be unconscious first for Alex to remove him. Charles merely shot a meaningful look between the pair and at long last Alex sighed and stomped over to take his place at the head of the bunker, every inch of him screaming that he was less than pleased with this situation.
“Fine; you win. Whatever.”
And that was all he would say.
~~~linebreak~~~
Throughout the training exercise, Alex showcased control that went past the point of incredible, striking the target every time and even taking Charles by surprise, the chest plate working perfectly much to Hank’s pleasure.
“I told you you could do it!” the telepath enthused, practically glowing with pride. “You need to stop being so self-critical!”
Alex gave no response, instead running a hand through his sweaty hair and slumping, breath coming in short pants. But even so a small smile played at his lips and his eyes sparkled happily.
Or at least they did until Charles made a new suggestion.
“How about you try shooting several blasts at once? In the event of a fight, it’s a skill that could come in useful.”
“No, not without Erik.” Hello square one, miss us much? Oh wait, Charles was not having this.
“For goodness sake, will you please stop acting like a five year old? We’re all old enough to take care of ourselves and, contrary to your beliefs, are capable of defending ourselves.”
“How?” The blonde’s stare was piercing, making Hank feel like he was a specimen on a dissecting table with the teacher ready to slice him open.
“I’m strong; I can…lift something to use as a shield?” He really sounded like a genius who had graduated at 15, didn’t he? At least it made Alex grin in amusement.
“Only you could make that sound like a question Bozo.”
Now, if only he were to know that Hank’s actual plan of defense went more along the lines of ‘dive to the ground and hope for the best’. But at Alex’s insistence, he went and found a large panel of metal that could double as a shield if the need arose, dumping it at his feet with a grunt.
The energy blaster took his place again whilst Charles and Hank set up what remained of the mannequins, this time keeping a little closer to the side. Alex was chewing nervously on his lip, positively reeking of apprehension as his chest plate began to glow cherry bright.
No one would ever be able to say exactly what followed, it was such a blur, but what Hank could say was that three shots were fired in succession. The first flew true, striking the centre dummy in a shower of crimson light. The second, mere moments later, curved slightly but flew into another target, albeit in a sloppier manner. And as for the third…Maybe it was thrown off course by the blast forces of the first two, maybe it was just bad luck, but either way it spun wildly through the air, completely bypassing the mannequins and heading in their direction.
At long last Hank’s mind caught up with him to realise the danger and thinking was overruled in favour of simply acting. Charles was shoved gracelessly to the floor; Hank wrapped his hands around his makeshift shield (one of the spare panels he’d salvaged from Cerebro) and hefted it up just in time for the blast of scarlet to ricochet off the surface, shunting him back forcibly into the wall but leaving both him and the professor otherwise unharmed.
Silence. Tentatively Charles poked his head out from their place of refuge, eyes wide as he took in the destruction.
“Maybe that’s enough for today; Alex, are you okay?” The telepath’s voice was nothing but gentle as he carefully stood up; even so, there was no reply and that worried Hank more than the fact that he had just been inches from death. He didn’t have to look to know the energy blaster was already beating himself up about his slip up, the panel dropping to the floor with a clang as Hank picked his way through the debris to the shell shocked blonde and drew him into a clumsy hug.
For a moment, just for a moment, Alex seemed to return the gesture, resting his head on Hank’s shoulder gratefully, but abruptly he stiffened as if only just realising what he was doing and the scientist sighed as he realised what was now going to end up happening. Alex could never admit weakness after all.
True to form, several seconds later Hank was left only with the memory of a warm form against his arms and a strong sense of exasperation.
“Hank?” Charles was looking at him strangely, head tilted to one side and, the teen noticed with a jolt of horror, one finger at his temple. Seeing the younger mutant’s distress, the telepath removed it. “Don’t worry; I can assure you I wasn’t anywhere near your thoughts.” This time their gazes met and Hank nearly gasped at how solemn Charles’ eyes were, having never seen such a serious look on the normally upbeat professor. “Look, I know about…whatever you want to call it and I want to say that I hold nothing against either you or Alex. Just please resolve this. A house divided against itself cannot stand as Lincoln once said.” He patted Hank kindly on the shoulder before surveying the bunker critically. “I’ll sort this mess out tomorrow; now you go and sort out yours.”
What on earth are you talking about, Hank wanted to scream but he didn’t because, deep down, a part of him knew exactly what Charles was talking about.
He just didn’t want to admit it.
~~~linebreak~~~
Dinner that night was more awkward than that time a group of girls cornered Hank at university and proceeded to exclaim over how adorable he was before asking where his parents were. By some suspicious coincidence which Hank strongly suspected Charles was responsible for, he and Alex were forced to sit side by side, stubbornly avoiding each other’s gaze and only speaking to ask the other to pass the salt. Sean didn’t even attempt to engage them in conversation, too busy lying face down on the table and groaning every time he moved, mumbling about vertical drops and how they really weren’t good for his health. Apparently Erik didn’t appreciate suggestions that he and Charles were together, even if they probably were.
With a sigh, an activity that he seemed to do a lot of at the moment, Hank continued to poke morosely at his potatoes, shunting them back and forth across his place and prompting a raised eyebrow from Erik.
“Something wrong, Hank?” Of course his plate was already cleared; stupid metal bender and his drive of efficiency.
“Nothing.” the scientist answered snappily, surprising everyone with his uncharacteristic moodiness. Even Raven and Moira halted their discussion of practicality versus design in clothing to stare and he nearly stomped a foot in frustration. “Sorry; headache. I…I think I’m gonna go to bed.”
Grabbing his plate and dumping it in the sink, he left the room with what to his mind was a dignified walk but in reality was a rather pathetic shuffle that ended with him walking into the door.
Great job, Hank. No wonder people call you cute.
~~~linebreak~~~
No one bothered him after his abrupt leave from the table so he figured that projecting an air of ‘don’t come near me’ must actually have something going for it.
Angrily he punched his pillow into a more comfortable position and pretended he wasn’t going to dream of Alex again for the third night in a row.
~~~linebreak~~~
Urghh…What on earth was that noise? He’d been having a good dream, goddamn it! Was that… was that whimpering? It was.
With a groan, Hank rolled out of bed and stretched, curling his toes into the rug. The noise seemed to be coming from down the hall as he realised when he stumbled out of his room, looking around blearily with only the pale moonlight to illuminate his surroundings. It was probably Sean investigating his most likely impressive collection of bruises, he decided. Still, no harm in checking.
Half asleep, he fumbled with the door knob obscuring the sound and the mumbles formed into words, a hoarse muddled speech spoken almost desperately.
“No; get out…Don’t wanna hurt you; go ‘way….”
Hang on…He recognised that voice and it definitely wasn’t Sean’s.
“Alex?”
The only reply was a low moan but he caught a glimpse of sweat slicked blonde spikes peeking out from beneath the tangled duvet, one arm thrown protectively over a face that was childlike in sleep. The teen appeared to be in the midst of a nightmare, curled in on himself and trembling.
“Alex…” Hank stepped towards the bed, one hand reaching out to shake the boy lightly on the shoulder. “Come on; wake up. It’s just a bad dream.”
The effect was instantaneous. With a panicked cry, Alex shot upwards, hands immediately flying out to defend himself and instead meeting solid flesh.
“No; Hank!”
“Shush; I’m right here, see?” Hank had never seen the energy blaster in such a state, never seen him come so undone. He had a sinking feeling this had spanned from the incident earlier on today.
“No; I didn’t mean to, I’m sorry! Please don’t leave, please…” The blonde struggled as Hank carefully grasped ahold of his wrists before he could hurt himself, returning them to the relative safety of the mattress.
“…Hank?” Alex stopped moving, staring at him with an oddly vulnerable expression before becoming aware of the position they were in. “Oh god; sorry!” He attempted to push the scientist away but was only pulled closer.
“Stop apologizing; you have nothing to be sorry for.” Hank chided gently, cupping Alex’s face in a gesture that was more intimate than friendly. “I’m okay, see?”
“But…” Oh shit, he looked like he was about to start crying. Please god, anything but tears; Hank couldn’t cope with tears.
“It’s alright.” he said uselessly, floundering over what to do now. “It was an accident; we know you didn’t mean to.”
It was most definitely the wrong thing to say.
“An accident that almost killed you!” Alex suddenly yelled, angry tears now streaking down his face as he made another bid for freedom.
“But it didn’t and that’s what matters.” was Hank’s reasonable point, only for the energy blaster to thump him in frustration.
“You still don’t get it; none of you do! Why’d you have to always put yourself in danger, Bozo; why are you still putting up with me? I’m just gonna hurt you…”
And that was the signal for the floodgates to burst, Alex burying his head in Hank’s chest and sobbing openly, hands now bundled in the material of the other mutant’s shirt. All at once the scientist realised what had been going on, why Alex had been acting the way he had. It’s not because he hates me, it’s because he cares. He was…He was trying to protect me.
Suddenly he felt a vast surge of affection for the boy he once thought to be little more than an insensitive jerk and tentatively wrapped his arms around his shaking form, planting a chaste kiss on Alex’s forehead out of sheer instinct.
Then he paused to consider what he was actually doing, the situation he was in, and it all left him so confused.
He no longer knew how to describe how he felt. He no longer knew what to do.
Thoughts?