It had been three days since the White House "incident" as Hank had to privately begun to call it in his mind. Charles had broken his leg in two places, had a concussion and was suffering severe emotional and mental exhaustion. Hank had gotten Charles home to the mansion and Charles had promptly fell asleep for a good 13 hours. He had spent that time cleaning the mansion and reflecting.
The past few years had been difficult. It was excruciating to watch his beloved friend and mentor fall into a spire of depression and self-loathing. The loss of Erik and Raven (Mystique, he mentally reminded himself) drove Charles to the brink of the cliff, only to have him jump with the deaths of so many friends. The dosage he used to control his mutation was hijacked by Charles. It seemed that Charles was drowning and all he could do was throw rope to keep him slightly afloat.
He had to get out. Remembering easier days when Charles had taught him to embrace his inner beast, he threw his shoes off and began to run. He allowed the Beast to take over, blue fur replacing white skin as he tried to run away from the memories of the past few days, of Logan and fighting Erik. Erik was such an asshole. Why did he continue to insist on trying to kill the few friends he had left? Seriously, the next time, Hank wanted to throw the first punch.
There was no doubt in his mind that he would see Erik again. Erik and Charles were connected, be it because of their past or their future. Hank learned three things from Logan; Eric and Charles destinies would be intertwined, he would have been killed by the Sentinels and Logan had no idea that he had been in love with Raven. He had seen the shock in Logan's eyes as he uttered Raven's name. That meant one of two things. One, he either got over her (doubtful) or more likely, buried it.
If you had asked him a week ago, he said that he had buried his feelings quite nicely. Raven was a beautiful women, but he had to wonder if she was redeemable. Charles had never lost hope in her. He had. That guilt was almost as painful as his role in Charles's decline. For everything that happened, Raven never fought him. He had failed both of them. Tired, he returned to the mansion, still cloaked in his blue fur. As he neared the front door, he saw her.
She was standing at the top of the stairs, her blue skin a beacon to all. Hank couldn't help himself. She looked nervous. Hank stood at the bottom of the steps, his face nervous as well. The words fell out of his mouth before he could think.
"Forgive me," he breathed.
Raven looked shocked. "Why are you asking for my forgiveness?" It was as if she could not comprehend his guilt.
"I told Charles to shut you down when you held the gun. I lost faith in you."
She tilted her head, the way she always used to. "Hank, you were always practical. And to be honest," she paused, "I didn't have faith in myself. How is Charles?"
"He's resting, but should be awake. His legs are even more damaged and he was tired after the last few days. And you, how is your leg?"
"It was a clean shot." She replied curtly. It was obvious she did not want to discuss it. "I missed you."
Hank walked up to her. Smiling, he took her hand in hers. She made no move to remove it. "And I you, it's good to see you Raven."
She shook her head, "Hank I haven't been Raven in years."
"What's in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet."
"You don't get to quote Shakespeare to me." She scoffed, but still held on to his hand.
"It doesn't matter if your skin is blue or if you choose to be Caucasian. It doesn't matter if you are Raven or Mystique. In the end, you are the same. You're Charles's sister. You chose not to kill." He smiled, "You saved us all."
Hank knew he was rambling, but he pushed forward. He placed his furry hand on her cheek. She leaned into him.
Hank drew a breath and spoke slower. "And you are the woman who smiled at me and even after 10 years still made my palms sweat. I was holding Charles's and when you smiled, I became breathless; I couldn't think of anything but you. I know that it was a combination of dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin-probably added with the adrenaline of nearly dying, but regardless, you are still the most beautiful and captivating women that I have ever known."
"And you are still that kind man who made me laugh. After everything happened, you brought a feeling of calmness after everything. You forgave me. By all rights, you should still hate me."
"None of us, not you or me, Erik or even Charles, none of us can truly hate on another. We are all connected."
She leaned in and placed her hand on his face and pulled him in until their noses touched. Smiling, she leaned in and kissed him. Two blue figures embracing, looking for warmth, comfort and peace.
"What is this?" he quietly asked.
"It was a moment, a great moment." She pulled away. "But all great moments pass."
"Because we're on separate paths." Hank smiled sadly. "Will you see Charles?"
"It was why I came. If," she paused, "If I find mutants who need a home can I bring them here?"
"Always. You will always have a home here." He squeezed her hand. "Never forget that."
She pulled away, but surprisingly did not let his hand go. Together they walked into the house. Hank showed her where Charles was resting and allowed them some privacy.
An hour later, he and Charles watched as she walked away. Charles smiled at Hank. "She's not gone forever. She will come back."
Hank smiled, he knew that she would. They might be on different paths, but he had hope that one day their paths would combine into one. Until then, he would wait and care for the children that she would bring. And who knows, perhaps on day, it would be their children playing and laughing.