And So It Begins Again
mlina has a present.
Title: Better
Fandom: X-Men (Earth-626)
Rating: K+
Genre: Romance
Pairings: Tommy JonesxLee Delgado
Warnings: None
Summary: Tommy knows that the idea of better living through alchemy is true but there's more than one way to better yourself.
Better
He thinks about her all the time. It’s a force of habit and he’s stopped trying to break it a long time ago. So when Christmas started to come around this year, he automatically started thinking about what to get her. He’s never exactly been the richest guy in the world. He didn’t come from a posh neighborhood and his lot in life only improved a little when he shacked up at Xavier’s. Buying Lee Delgado a Christmas present isn’t in Tommy Jones’s financial plan. It would take a lot of money to buy her something nice and it isn’t as if he can use his powers to transmute his way into a fortune. Any alchemist will tell you that turning something into gold is against the rules and Tommy’s already had enough of that experience to last him a lifetime. He’s got his own idea though.
Tommy’s often wondered about his powers. He’s often wondered about how they work and what limits they have. He’s based his life and the use of his powers around Equivalent Exchange, a principle he got from a bloody cartoon show. Everyone has to have something to believe in though. He’s given up enough for this, or at least he thinks so. Alchemy is all about making things better than what they were. Ever since he came to this school, Tommy feels like he’s turning himself into something better. The first time he saw Lee, he knew he now had a reason to be better. Now it’s time to put theory into practice because she deserves the greatest present in the world.
He touches the pile of scrap metal that Kevin helped him gather together and Tommy feels the energy inside him flow out of his fingertips and into the pile. He can feel the metal realigning itself to match the image he has in his head. He’s memorized every contour and line in that photograph. Someone, he can’t remember who, took it when they went to the beach for a field trip. Though he’s forgotten who took that picture, he’s stared at it too many times to count. He doesn’t think Lee’s ever looked more beautiful than she does in that picture. Photographs and memories fade though. He wants to give her something more permanent.
Tommy keeps his eyes closed when he’s transmuting something. When he feels like analyzing it, he thinks it’s probably because the last thing he saw when he was transmuting was his mother. He doesn’t think about that in this moment. He just thinks of Lee, of the way she’s smiling in that photo and how wonderful it is. He thinks about how pretty her eyes are and how much he likes the way she laughs. It’s nothing new for him because he’s been in love with her for such a long time. Tommy thinks maybe this present will explain what he can’t explain with words.
The scraps of metal continue to align themselves with the vision in his head. Alchemy is about taking something and making it better. He knows Lee has problems with self-esteem. He knows she has hang-ups about honoring the family name and other rubbish that Tommy doesn’t understand. He doesn’t see that though when he looks at the photograph. He sees a better Lee and he thinks that maybe if he makes this sculpture look like that then maybe she’ll see herself that way too. Alchemy is all about making something better than what it was. Tommy thinks maybe love is like that too. Maybe love is about smoothing out someone’s rough edges while they do the same to you. It’s probably a naïve and daft way to see the world but Tommy’s not concerned with that.
He lets his power trace every single contour of the sculpture and, even with his eyes closed, Tommy thinks it’s beautiful. He opens his eyes after putting the finishing touches on it. He smiles when he looks at it. It’s even prettier than the picture. He hopes she likes it. Tommy is about to go find some ribbon so he can put a huge bow on it when he looks behind him to see her.
“Is that for me?” inquires Lee Delgado though he mouth is slightly agape at how beautiful the sculpture looks. She never took Tommy for the artistic type but he could certainly give Kevin a run for his money.
“Ya were supposed ta wait till Christmas,” admits Tommy sheepishly, “It woulda given me time ta wheel the thing inta tha foyer.”
“It’s beautiful,” says Lee, almost whispering it because her breath is gone. She knows how he feels about her but life is complicated. This gift doesn’t exactly do a good job at solving that problem. Yet strangely, she doesn’t care so much about that.
“Had some good subject material,” says Tommy in return, grinning because it’s the reaction he wanted. “Merry Christmas, luv.” He can’t say anything else because in the span of a few short seconds, her lips are on his. He’s waited forever for this, waited forever for her, and it feels better than he ever anticipated it would.
“I feel really guilty that I didn’t get you anything,” she whispers once they separate, “I’ll make it up to you.”
“Already done,” assures Tommy. “No present better than a good snog with a pretty gel.”
“Thank you,” says Lee, “I really mean that.”
“Ya can thank a bloke by helpin’ him move this thing,” jokes Tommy with his customary smile, “Of course a date would work too.”
“I’ll take the date,” decides Lee before taking another look at the sculpture of her that Tommy created. She can’t stop smiling at it. Tommy thinks that seeing her smile like that is enough of a present for him.
Title: Better
Fandom: X-Men (Earth-626)
Rating: K+
Genre: Romance
Pairings: Tommy JonesxLee Delgado
Warnings: None
Summary: Tommy knows that the idea of better living through alchemy is true but there's more than one way to better yourself.
Better
He thinks about her all the time. It’s a force of habit and he’s stopped trying to break it a long time ago. So when Christmas started to come around this year, he automatically started thinking about what to get her. He’s never exactly been the richest guy in the world. He didn’t come from a posh neighborhood and his lot in life only improved a little when he shacked up at Xavier’s. Buying Lee Delgado a Christmas present isn’t in Tommy Jones’s financial plan. It would take a lot of money to buy her something nice and it isn’t as if he can use his powers to transmute his way into a fortune. Any alchemist will tell you that turning something into gold is against the rules and Tommy’s already had enough of that experience to last him a lifetime. He’s got his own idea though.
Tommy’s often wondered about his powers. He’s often wondered about how they work and what limits they have. He’s based his life and the use of his powers around Equivalent Exchange, a principle he got from a bloody cartoon show. Everyone has to have something to believe in though. He’s given up enough for this, or at least he thinks so. Alchemy is all about making things better than what they were. Ever since he came to this school, Tommy feels like he’s turning himself into something better. The first time he saw Lee, he knew he now had a reason to be better. Now it’s time to put theory into practice because she deserves the greatest present in the world.
He touches the pile of scrap metal that Kevin helped him gather together and Tommy feels the energy inside him flow out of his fingertips and into the pile. He can feel the metal realigning itself to match the image he has in his head. He’s memorized every contour and line in that photograph. Someone, he can’t remember who, took it when they went to the beach for a field trip. Though he’s forgotten who took that picture, he’s stared at it too many times to count. He doesn’t think Lee’s ever looked more beautiful than she does in that picture. Photographs and memories fade though. He wants to give her something more permanent.
Tommy keeps his eyes closed when he’s transmuting something. When he feels like analyzing it, he thinks it’s probably because the last thing he saw when he was transmuting was his mother. He doesn’t think about that in this moment. He just thinks of Lee, of the way she’s smiling in that photo and how wonderful it is. He thinks about how pretty her eyes are and how much he likes the way she laughs. It’s nothing new for him because he’s been in love with her for such a long time. Tommy thinks maybe this present will explain what he can’t explain with words.
The scraps of metal continue to align themselves with the vision in his head. Alchemy is about taking something and making it better. He knows Lee has problems with self-esteem. He knows she has hang-ups about honoring the family name and other rubbish that Tommy doesn’t understand. He doesn’t see that though when he looks at the photograph. He sees a better Lee and he thinks that maybe if he makes this sculpture look like that then maybe she’ll see herself that way too. Alchemy is all about making something better than what it was. Tommy thinks maybe love is like that too. Maybe love is about smoothing out someone’s rough edges while they do the same to you. It’s probably a naïve and daft way to see the world but Tommy’s not concerned with that.
He lets his power trace every single contour of the sculpture and, even with his eyes closed, Tommy thinks it’s beautiful. He opens his eyes after putting the finishing touches on it. He smiles when he looks at it. It’s even prettier than the picture. He hopes she likes it. Tommy is about to go find some ribbon so he can put a huge bow on it when he looks behind him to see her.
“Is that for me?” inquires Lee Delgado though he mouth is slightly agape at how beautiful the sculpture looks. She never took Tommy for the artistic type but he could certainly give Kevin a run for his money.
“Ya were supposed ta wait till Christmas,” admits Tommy sheepishly, “It woulda given me time ta wheel the thing inta tha foyer.”
“It’s beautiful,” says Lee, almost whispering it because her breath is gone. She knows how he feels about her but life is complicated. This gift doesn’t exactly do a good job at solving that problem. Yet strangely, she doesn’t care so much about that.
“Had some good subject material,” says Tommy in return, grinning because it’s the reaction he wanted. “Merry Christmas, luv.” He can’t say anything else because in the span of a few short seconds, her lips are on his. He’s waited forever for this, waited forever for her, and it feels better than he ever anticipated it would.
“I feel really guilty that I didn’t get you anything,” she whispers once they separate, “I’ll make it up to you.”
“Already done,” assures Tommy. “No present better than a good snog with a pretty gel.”
“Thank you,” says Lee, “I really mean that.”
“Ya can thank a bloke by helpin’ him move this thing,” jokes Tommy with his customary smile, “Of course a date would work too.”
“I’ll take the date,” decides Lee before taking another look at the sculpture of her that Tommy created. She can’t stop smiling at it. Tommy thinks that seeing her smile like that is enough of a present for him.