random daycare backstory ficlet
brilligspoons wanted cuddles.
***
When Emma opens the door to the Xavier guest house, she's greeted by a pile of blankets with two tufts of dark hair sticking out the top. She rolls her eyes and crosses to the pile of blankets, tugging down one of the quilts. Charles is in Tony's lap, wrapped around him and looking morose.
"I'm failing Phys Ed," he says. He blinks at her and she can tell the redness in his eyes isn't just a result of the blanket cocoon.
"So?" she asks. She gingerly sits on the carpet in front of them and accepts the blanket that Tony throws around her shoulders. "Who cares? It's Phys Ed. We don't even go half the time."
"That's the problem," Charles says, and buries his face in Tony's shoulder.
"If he fails Phys Ed," Tony explains, "he has to re-take it. Which means he doesn't graduate early. Which means--"
"Another horrible fucking year here," Charles says.
Emma tries not to bristle and stops herself from reminding them that it's all well and good that they're geniuses who get to swan off to college two years early, but Emma's still got another year of high school before she can join them. Another year here wouldn't be terrible and it would certainly make her year brighter.
Of course, she doesn't have to contend with an asshole stepfather who smacks her around when he's not too busy berating her or ignoring her, so perhaps Charles is right to fret.
Emma sighs and crawls forward, wrapping her arms around her idiot boys.
"You can fix this, you know," she says. Easily, she adds, just so Charles can't pull his usual innocent act. Charles could skip every class every day for the rest of the year, probably, and still convince everyone he was there and getting his usual stellar marks. Charles' power is a little scary, but she thinks it scares him even more than it scares her, even more than it would scare the rest of the world if they ever found out, so she also knows it's probably not even a possibility.
"I couldn't--Emma--I--"
You know what would happen, Charles says. If anyone ever found out. I'd be studied somewhere. They still study some powerful mutants, and I bet they'd love to get their hands on a minor. You know Mum and Kurt would sign me over to some lab without batting an eyelash. I just can't, Emma.
Emma sighs.
"I don't know what I'm going to do," Charles says. "I can't stay here. I can't stay here."
"Hey," Tony says. "You're not gonna have to stay here, all right? We'll figure something out. We always do."
Emma rests her forehead against the back of Charles' head and twists her fingers in Tony's t-shirt.
We have to fix this, Emma says, very carefully directing the thought at Tony.
Of course we do, Tony says. I have an idea.
***
On Monday, they learn Mr. Jacobs, their old PE teacher, has been transferred to another school. Ms. Milligan, their new teacher, is handed a roster that includes perfect attendance from Charles Xavier and Emma Frost, as well as two medical forms excusing them from class for the rest of the year.
When Tony passes Emma in the hallway on the way to Physics, they casually high-five.
When Charles sees them at lunch, he kisses them both and the three of them end up in a comfortable pile of limbs under the oak tree behind the science wing.
***
When Emma opens the door to the Xavier guest house, she's greeted by a pile of blankets with two tufts of dark hair sticking out the top. She rolls her eyes and crosses to the pile of blankets, tugging down one of the quilts. Charles is in Tony's lap, wrapped around him and looking morose.
"I'm failing Phys Ed," he says. He blinks at her and she can tell the redness in his eyes isn't just a result of the blanket cocoon.
"So?" she asks. She gingerly sits on the carpet in front of them and accepts the blanket that Tony throws around her shoulders. "Who cares? It's Phys Ed. We don't even go half the time."
"That's the problem," Charles says, and buries his face in Tony's shoulder.
"If he fails Phys Ed," Tony explains, "he has to re-take it. Which means he doesn't graduate early. Which means--"
"Another horrible fucking year here," Charles says.
Emma tries not to bristle and stops herself from reminding them that it's all well and good that they're geniuses who get to swan off to college two years early, but Emma's still got another year of high school before she can join them. Another year here wouldn't be terrible and it would certainly make her year brighter.
Of course, she doesn't have to contend with an asshole stepfather who smacks her around when he's not too busy berating her or ignoring her, so perhaps Charles is right to fret.
Emma sighs and crawls forward, wrapping her arms around her idiot boys.
"You can fix this, you know," she says. Easily, she adds, just so Charles can't pull his usual innocent act. Charles could skip every class every day for the rest of the year, probably, and still convince everyone he was there and getting his usual stellar marks. Charles' power is a little scary, but she thinks it scares him even more than it scares her, even more than it would scare the rest of the world if they ever found out, so she also knows it's probably not even a possibility.
"I couldn't--Emma--I--"
You know what would happen, Charles says. If anyone ever found out. I'd be studied somewhere. They still study some powerful mutants, and I bet they'd love to get their hands on a minor. You know Mum and Kurt would sign me over to some lab without batting an eyelash. I just can't, Emma.
Emma sighs.
"I don't know what I'm going to do," Charles says. "I can't stay here. I can't stay here."
"Hey," Tony says. "You're not gonna have to stay here, all right? We'll figure something out. We always do."
Emma rests her forehead against the back of Charles' head and twists her fingers in Tony's t-shirt.
We have to fix this, Emma says, very carefully directing the thought at Tony.
Of course we do, Tony says. I have an idea.
***
On Monday, they learn Mr. Jacobs, their old PE teacher, has been transferred to another school. Ms. Milligan, their new teacher, is handed a roster that includes perfect attendance from Charles Xavier and Emma Frost, as well as two medical forms excusing them from class for the rest of the year.
When Tony passes Emma in the hallway on the way to Physics, they casually high-five.
When Charles sees them at lunch, he kisses them both and the three of them end up in a comfortable pile of limbs under the oak tree behind the science wing.