Fic: "Perspective" (Marvel Movieverse)

[inlovewithnight]

Another little thing for romanticalgirl's Getting Lucky challenge-a-thon-thing. Marvel Movieverse, Scott Summers, Reed Richards, um...I don't know if the slash belongs there or not. You tell me?

I meant to do useful things today, this is as close as I got. /o\



"I think the problem is perspective," Reed says, frowning down at his hands.

Scott blinks and does a mental retracing-of-steps through the conversation they just had, trying to find where that fits in. It doesn't take very long, because in fact they have been sitting in silence for ten minutes.

There's a default question to begin conversations with Reed. Scott defaults to it now. "What?"

"Perspective."

Scott takes a careful breath. Sometimes in order to get to the beginning, Reed has to be led by the hand. "In what sense?"

"Well, it depends on your point of view, I think." Reed reaches over across Scott's legs to grab a some rocks off the ground. He holds up one and places it beside his left knee. "Lucky?" He sets the other by his right knee and gestures. "Or unlucky?"

And sometimes admitting defeat is the better part of valor. "I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh." Reed blinks and frowns down at the rocks for a minute, then pushes them aside and turns to face Scott. "Well, take our situation right now."

Scott would like to point out that he doesn't really have a choice but to take it, given that it shows very few signs of changing. Chances are, however, that that would lead to yet another conversational detour that would take some time to resolve. And so he settles for an intelligent nod.

"Are we lucky?" Reed asks, grabbing the "lucky" rock again and waving it under Scott's nose. "In this category, we have 'defeating the bad guy' and 'being alive.'"

"And in the other category? Which I'm going to go out on a limb and guess is 'unlucky'?"

"If we're unlucky," Reed says, dropping the rock and hugging his knees to his chest, "it's because we destroyed a significant chunk of local real estate and also we're trapped here until someone comes to get us."

Scott looks down off the edge of the cliff they're sitting on, which used to be a gently sloping hill before the battle redid the surrounding landscape. "I'm sure Jean will come looking, if nobody else does."

"I hope so. It's kind of cold up here."

They sit in silence for a moment, staring down at the various emergency-response vehicles milling around below. "If it's a matter of perspective," Scott says at last, "then we have a choice, right? And I'm going to go with thinking that we're lucky, because if I get a choice I'm going to pick the one less likely to make me want to drink myself to sleep tonight."

"Oh, sure, there's a choice," Reed says. "There's always a choice. But, you know, the question isn't just limited to the situation at hand. You can apply it in a broader view."

Scott firmly pushes aside the feeling that he's going to regret asking. "How so?"

"Lucky," Reed says, picking up that damn rock again. "We have superpowers and survived the process of acquiring them."

"And unlucky?"

"We're a couple of freaks who regularly are complicit in massive-scale property damage, and we have to serve humanity instead of minding our own business, which I have a hunch we would both honestly prefer."

"God," Scott sighs, rubbing his forehead, "what I wouldn't give to be a recluse."

"Exactly." Reed sets the rock down again. Scott reaches over, takes it, and throws it off the edge of the cliff.

Reed stares off after the arc it made as it fell. "Was that symbolic of a rejection of the affirming perspective?"

"No, I was just sick of watching you play with it."

Reed folds his hands together and gives Scott a disapproving look. "We've already established that we're going to be up here for a while. Are you really sure that getting rid of potential sources of entertainment is a wise strategy?"

"It wasn't a potential source of entertainment," Scott says evenly. "It was a rock."

Reed's mouth twitches as he tries not to smile. "All right, I guess I have to give you that one."

Scott squints down at the emergency vehicles again. "We could talk about...something. There's an endless variety of topics out there."

"Sure." Reed nods. "There's...politics, for one."

Scott wrinkles his nose. "I'd prefer to steer clear of politics, if it's all the same."

"Religion?"

"How about sports, Reed?" He holds up his hands in surrender at the look Reed gives him. "Right, right, sorry. My bad."

"That's like me asking if you want to discuss theoretical physics."

"Hey, I'm a smart guy, I could keep up with a conversation about theoretical physics."

"Yes, but would you want to?"

Scott has to laugh. "No."

"Exactly."

"Well..." Scott pauses and runs his hand through his hair. "Geez, what do people do in this sort of situation?"

"From what I've seen on soap operas," Reed says with utmost seriousness, "they have sex."

Scott blinks. "You watch soap operas?"

"Thank you for focusing on that part and not the other."

"Oh, I'm getting there. You want to have sex?"

Reed sighs, the gentle, put-upon professor's sigh that he's been doing since he was about sixteen. Scott's been calling it out as bullshit for just as long. "You asked a question and I answered it. Projecting motives onto my response is--"

"It's just that we've been friends for a long time and you've never shown an interest."

Reed thinks about that for a moment. "I haven't?"

"No."

"Well. We've never been in a situation like this. Also, I'm afraid of your girlfriend. But I figure she'll be inclined to give a special dispensation for the circumstances."

Scott tilts his head, studying Reed curiously. "You're serious."

"I'm pretty much always serious, Scott."

"Right." Scott adjusts his glasses, turning the information around in his mind. "Well, this isn't going to make things awkward, just so you know."

Reed shoots him a puzzled glance. "I didn't think it would. I mean, you and Logan--"

"What?"

"You and Logan--"

"Oh, God." Burying his face in his hands serves no purpose for Scott, but it's a gesture he's picked up anyway. "No. Not ever. There is no me and Logan. Why does everyone always assume that?"

"Well. I think it's because--"

"Rhetorical question, Reed." Scott drops his hands and glares at him. "I mean, I grew up in a boarding school, why not just rely on that stereotype?"

Reed's brow furrows deeply. "I'm a little lost."

"That's not news, Reed." Reed glares at him and Scott shrugs. "Hey, you walked right into that one."

"You could just say you're not interested, you know."

"Why does picking on you have to mean I'm not interested?"

Reed raises one eyebrow and gives him a stern look. "It's highly likely to make me decide that I'm not interested, for one thing."

Scott bites down on his tongue, fighting a smile. "You sure? We could try making out a little, see how it goes."

"Now you're just mocking me." Reed slumps back against the wall, jaw setting sulkily.

Scott sighs. This is obviously a situation that is going to utterly fail to resolve itself without a display of leadership on someone's part. He's been told that he's good at those situations. Once again, everything is up to him. Reaching across the space, he grabs Reed's arm, yanks him close, and stifles his squawk of surprise with a kiss.

They stare at each other for a long, silent moment, until Reed clears his throat. "I think I might have some gum, if you want."

Scott frowns. "Where would you keep gum in that outfit? And are you saying that I have bad breath?"

"Hidden pockets. And, well, yes."

Scott lets go of his arm and sits back, drawing his knees up to his chest and resting his chin on them. "This isn't going to work, is it?"

"No." Reed sighs and looks down off the cliff again. "Damn."

"Now what are we going to do?"

"We need to remember to stash some cards in our uniforms, or something."

"I'll add that to the emergency preparations list." Scott sighs and runs his hand through his hair. "Well. So."

"So."

"Politics, huh?"

"Sure." Reed leans back against an outcropping of rock and nods solemnly. "Amusingly enough, that's pretty much all luck and perspective, too."