Disclaimer: I do not own X-Men. I do, however, own Rose, Henry, and Lilly.
A/N: For my Henry on his birthday. This one-shot is a compilation of several segmants told from Hen's point of view. So sit back and enjoy while I turn things over to my Jade Leopard! Here goes!
When I was five years old my parents announced that I was going to be a big brother. Needless to say I had no idea what they meant when they tried to explain to me that my mother was pregnant and was thus going to have a baby.
"There's a baby in your tummy, Mommy?" I breathed as my blue eyes widened. I gaped openly at my mother's growing stomach that was beginning to protrude from underneath her sleeveless, silver tank top. "Are you okay? Does it hurt?"
Mom laughed before giving me her loving, gentle smile that never failed to envelope me in its warmth and bring an answering grin to my lips. "I'm fine, sweetheart," she assured me as she held out her gloveless hands to me. "Come here, Hen. I want to show you something."
I sprinted over to her. Mom picked me up and placed me on her lap so that I was facing her stomach. Mom then took one of my hands in hers and placed it on the front of her stomach.
I could practically feel my parents watching me as they waited for my reaction. At first nothing happened and then, after a few moments, I felt something press against my palm. I dropped my hand and stared up at my mother. Her golden cat-like eyes were shining. "What was that, Mommy?"
"Your baby sister."
~ Being a Big Brother~
"She's so tiny," I murmured as I sat holding my new little sister on Dad's lap. Her name was Lillian, Lilly for short. She had light brown eyes and a few strands of dark golden hair. "She looks a lot like Mommy."
"Which means she'll be quite the looker when she's older," replied Dad as he winked at my mom who laid sprawled out on the couch next to the chair we sat in.
Although Mom was clearly exhausted, she still had enough energy to roll her eyes. Meanwhile I had returned to staring down at my baby sister who was still sleeping soundly. "She sure does like to sleep a lot," I noted.
"She'll be awake soon enough," my mother assured me with a sigh as she leaned back into her pillows and closed her eyes. "Trust me."
Sure enough, Lil began to stir and cry. I glanced up at my dad for help when Lilly suddenly stopped crying. I looked back down to see my little sis staring at me before giving me a wide smile.
I laughed and smiled back. "Hello to you too, Lilly."
~Being a Big Brother~
"Henry!" called a familiar voice. "Where are you?!"
I sighed and told the computer to freeze the simulation before turning around. "I'm in here, Lil."
Lillian Rose Logan, aka my eight year old little sister, skirted into the Danger Room with her long brown ponytail bouncing behind her. "I finally found you!"
"What's up, Lilly?" I asked patiently as I pushed my sweaty hair back. "I'm kind of in the middle of something here."
"I can see that," Lilly replied as she crossed her arms making herself look like Mom and Aunt Kitty. "You used to be fun. Now all you want to do is workout. I hardly ever see you anymore."
"You and I both know that's not true besides I already told you," I reminded her. "I'm learning how to control my powers. Mom and Dad told me that in order to do that I have to train my mind and my body."
Lilly lowered her eyes. "I wish I had my powers. All I can do right now is heal."
I smiled softly and bent down to my little sis's level. I placed a hand under her chin and gently lifted her head up so that her eyes met mine. "Hey, you'll discover your powers soon enough. You just have to wait a few more years and then you'll be on your way to becoming the greatest X-Man the Institute's ever seen."
Lilly's tawny eyes brightened. "You really think so?"
"I know so," I told her with a wink. "Now what do you say we go do something you want to do?"
Lilly grinned. "Yeah!"
~Being a Big Brother~
"That's it, Lilly," encouraged Mom as Lilly aimed a well placed kick at my shoulder (man was my little sis flexible). "Just like that."
"Come on, Hen," coached our dad as he stood beside Mom with his arms crossed. "Don't let your baby sister upstage you. Counter, dammit."
I gritted my teeth and utilized my speed to dodge Lil's next attack. I kicked my sis's feet out from under her sending her to the ground or would have if Lilly hadn't used her own powers to knock me to the floor first.
Dad raised a hand to his forehead while Mom laughed. "That's my girl."
"I told you she was more like you than you thought," muttered Dad. "I'm guessing you taught her that?"
"Nope, I taught Kitty who in turn taught her," Mom replied with a smile. "You know, without the vibration since Kitty's gift is the ability to phase. Can you believe she's perfected it already and only at sixteen too?"
Dad grumbled something unintelligable.
"Are you okay, Hen?" Lilly asked as she held out her hand to me. She cocked her head to the side and smiled. "I didn't hit you too hard, did I?"
"Uh, no," I assured her as I grasped her hand. "That was a nice move. You're really coming along, little sis."
"Thanks," she replied as she helped me to my feet. "Though I can't really take all the credit. Mom and Aunt Kitty are the ones who train me after all."
"That and you're just that good," I shot back making her grin reminding me of when she was a little girl who used to follow me around everywhere and got mad when I wouldn't play with her. I sighed.
"What's wrong?" Lilly asked, raising a dark eyebrow.
"No, it's nothing," I murmured, shaking my head.
Lilly continued to stare at me for a few moments longer before shaking her head and shrugging her shoulders. "Okay then. I'm going to go take a shower."
Lilly turned around and headed out of the Danger Room. It wasn't until the doors closed behind her that my parents turned to stare questioningly at me.
Instead of answering them, I made my own way out of the Danger Room.
~Being a Big Brother~
"You want to talk about it?" suggested a familiar voice originating from above me.
"Not really," I replied as I tossed another rock across the lake. We were miles away from the Institute. One of the perks of being mutants with the gift of speed.
I heard my mother sigh as she plopped down on the grass beside me. "I keep telling your father you're more like him than he thinks."
I eyed her curiously. "What do you mean?"
Mom smiled. "Both of you don't like to admit when something is bothering you. Oddly enough, the same thing's bothering you two right now. You're both starting to realize that Lilly has been doing some growing up lately. She's not a little girl anymore. Am I right?"
I stared back at the water. "Maybe."
Mom laughed and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "I know how you feel. It seems like it was just yesterday that you two were running outside with your Auntie Kitty and Uncle Kurt. Now you're a young man and Lilliy is a young woman. Soon you'll be having families of your own. Speaking of which, Lilly tells me you have a girlfriend. I believe her name is Molly? She just arrived at the Institute a few months ago and has the ability to manipulate the properties of objects and turn them into weapons earning her the name Armory. Was she correct?"
I blushed. "She swore she wouldn't tell anyone."
My mother laughed again and ran a gloved hand through my shoulder length black curls like she had when I was a child. "In her defense it's hard to resist your Aunt Kitty once she knows you have a secret. Kitty's always been like that ever since I mentored her, mostly because she learned how to be ruthless and persuasive from me."
"Somehow that doesn't surprise me," I muttered half-heartedly as her touch soothed me.
"Do you like her?" asked Mom. "Molly. Does she make you happy?"
I grinned up at her. "Yeah, she does."
Mom grinned back. It never failed to amaze me that after all the shit my mother went through during her twenty years as Magneto's puppet assassin she was a warm, caring person who would do anything to protect the people she loved.
"What is it?" my mother inquired after a few moments, no doubt noticing that I was staring openly at her. She cocked her head to the side, her golden locks falling over her left shoulder. "Hen?"
"I was just thinking about how incredibly strong my mom is," I admitted, smiling shyly.
"I'm only strong because of the people around me," she replied. "You guys give me strength and for that I will be forever grateful."
~Being a Big Brother~
"You know," mused Lilly. "I never really understood this game."
We were sitting in the worn out faded blue armchairs facing each other over the chess board in the game room. Why we were playing chess I had no idea, it was just nice to be able to spend some one-on-one time with my little sis after having constant back-to-back missions lately.
"Me neither," I agreed with a crooked grin. "How about we play a game of Battleship instead?"
Lilly grinned. "Now you're talking."
"Just don't complain to me when you lose," I teased making her roll her eyes.
"Yeah, like that's gonna happen," she replied, flipping her hair with a hand. "You're the one that's, like, going to lose so don't complain to me when you do, big bro."
I laughed as we set up the game realizing that Mom was right. It was the people around you that gave you strength and no one gave me more strength and courage than my little sister who wasn't very little anymore.
I guess that's what it means to be a big brother.
A/N: And there you have it! A closer look at two of my characters my readers don't really get. I hope you enjoyed. I know I did. Til next time read review and show the love! P.S. for my readers who read my other stories, Becoming a Bandit will be updated next and (hopefully) soon.