Disclaimer – I don't own G.I. Joe Sigma 6 or X-Men Evolution. This ties into my other crossovers, but was written for the ChickLit profile over on Wattpad for challenge number fourteen, but I didn't finish in time. We had a picture prompt of an ice-cream shop. I don't know if this will go AU or not. This works with a very specific headcanon I'm using for my crossover series, hence the character tags.

Lies We Tell

"Why did you and Snake Eyes divorce?"

Scarlett startled from her thought, her eyes darting up to take in Logan's words. She swallowed, having not expected such a confrontation when the mutant suggested the two catch up. Very few people understood Snake Eyes, yet even fewer knew about the on and off again romantic liaisons which went on behind everyone's backs. Few knew what lay under the mask like she did.

Of course, Logan was one of those exceptions. "I thought you two were going to get out of the business, settle down and have a family. I thought you two would succeed, at least in the staying together part."

Scarlett glanced up at the sign in the ice-cream shop window, the painful memories rushing back. 'Exactly who told you Snakes and I got divorced Logan?"

"Duke. Who else?"

"God. I had a feeling he'd let that slip, as he's the only one who knows. Why else ask to meet me here? This is, after all, the small town near where we built our cabin."

"I saw the cabin's been burnt down. Did Snake Eyes do that when you broke his heart, again?"

"Oh!" Scarlett turned her head, irritated slightly upon remembering Snake Eyes and Logan's military ties went far beyond the Joes. In fact, their ties went beyond the military, both being members of the same ninja clan. "I get the fact the two of you are brothers in arms, but seriously! Snake Eyes is the one who divorced me."

Logan crossed his arms, his eyes narrowing. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me Logan. Snake Eyes divorced me."

"Are you bitter about it, or something? Doesn't sound like the Snake Eyes I know either, unless I'm missing something."

"Am I bitter, and are you missing something."

~B~

The bell on the small ice-cream shop jingled. Scarlett held a sticky hand in hers, which would soon be even stickier, yet she didn't care. She set their bag down onto the table before turning to lift the toddler up into the chair. She watched his facial features twist slightly, his eyes glued to his ice-cream. "What's the matter, sweetheart?"

"Daddy likes ice-cream."

"Yes. We're going to buy some after we finish ours and take it to him up at the cabin. Okay?"

"No. Not okay." The child crossed his arms, his mouth twisting into a pout.

"What do you mean not okay?"

"Here, I want him here."

Scarlett took a deep breath. "Here? You want daddy to eat with us?"

"Yes."

The request might seem childish, and yet Snake Eyes never went anywhere with the child. Scarlett took a deep breath, brushing a lock of brown hair away from her son's chocolate brown eyes. They delighted both her, and his father, particularly since such color was unusual for parents with their eye color. So was the child's hair color.

Of course, some who'd seen pictures of Snake Eyes prior to his accident thought that was the reason he hid away, because he wasn't the boy's biological father when he was. The real reason lay with the scars on the man's face, but how people stared whenever he wore the mask. The fact their son asked why his daddy looked different in a manner that left the "other daddies" part out didn't help.

"It's complicated." The child's mouth formed a pout. "How about we just go ahead and get daddy's ice-cream, and take it back to the cabin, my little Lancelot."

The child's eyes brightened, and she took his hand. When they arrived back at the cabin, she heard Snake Eyes moving, then saw his hands signing. "You're home early."

"Daddy!" The child hurried over, climbing right up into the soldier's lap, his hands tracing the scars on the man's face. The child smiled, not caring, before placing a kiss onto the man's scarred lips. The boy proceeded to wrap his arms around the neck, not seeing what others saw."

~B~

"And your timing sucks, Logan."

"Because this is around the time the cabin burned down?"

Scarlett let out a deep breath, her fingers tapping the table. "If you're trying to guilt trip me over what happened, don't. There is nothing I feel guilty about. If anyone does, it's Snake Eyes." The anger softened, her chest tightening. "And he shouldn't. It wasn't his fault. It wasn't his fault at all."

Logan's own facial features softened. "Scar, what happened?"

"We lost our child. That's what happened."

~B~

Few things excited Snake Eyes. As such, she wasn't sure how he'd take the news. They sat at the small ice-crème shop in town, the owner having allowed them a chance to come in after hours knowing they were both vets, but also the fact Snake Eyes didn't want people seeing his face.

"So?"

"What's the bad news?"

"Bad news? Why?"

"You treat me to ice-crème when you've got bad news. Is Joes calling us back?"

"No, and no." Scarlett let out a laugh, watching his scarred facial features contort with surprise.

"Then what?"

"I'm pregnant."

"…"

Her eyes blinked, wondering why he didn't sign. "Snake Eyes, did you hear me? You're going to be a father."

"I'm really going to be a daddy?"

"Yes."

"Really, really?" He then went into a string of signing, far more than his usual communication. Panic, excitement, everything was there, along with the wonder of whether he would be a good father. Being a good father, that was important to him, something he didn't want to fail at, but something she never thought he would.

~B~

Logan let out a curse. "Scar. Does Duke know? I mean…"

"The only one who knew was Hawk. He tried helping…" Scarlett closed her eyes. "Snake Eyes didn't burn down the cabin. Cobra did."

Another curse escaped the man's mouth. "If I'd known…"

"I know, but I haven't even told you half of it. It's so much more complicated than just…" Scarlett paused, the emotions she felt pounding in her brain.

~B~

The ice-crème sat on the tables in the small shop, half-eaten, starting to melt. Scarlett frowned at the paper in front of her, her finger tracing the line which clearly spelled out the results. Glancing up, she watched Snake Eyes lift the small infant into the sky, causing a fit of giggles. The man let out his own sound, almost like a mangled giggle.

The shop owner smiled, as Snake Eyes making any sound rather than signing was a rarity, and yet the smile on his face indicated the child was helping the scars of the past heal in ways nobody ever expected. He lifted the child down, gently kissing the boy on his brow, before setting him onto his lap to bounce the child lightly. He couldn't sign easily from that position.

"So, he has the X-gene."

Snake Eyes nodded his head. One hand wrapped around the child's waist, while he signed rather awkwardly. "If he has powers, what kind will they be?"

"I don't care, so long as he's healthy." Scarlett frowned. "We did this so if it happens, we can be prepared, and so he'll know it's okay, unlike the others." She referred to the mutants they'd encountered in their lives who'd ended up ostracized.

Snake Eyes nodded his head, continuing to love on their son, his mind finally focused on the here and now, rather than the past or future.

~B~

Scarlett glanced at the table, unsure how to continue the conversation. "The child had the X-gene. They wanted our child because of this. The worst kind of revenge, one worse than simply killing the child."

"Snake Eyes blames himself, because he's a carrier of the gene?"

"How'd you know? His X-gene is inactive."

"Is it? I'd always suspected his uncanny luck even for a ninja was his superpower."

"Luck?" Scarlett shook her head. "What's lucky about Cobra taking advantage of the fact Snake Eyes would do everything to protect his child no matter what. They also took advantage of the fact he'd finally decided to do the reconstructive surgery, so he could spend more time with his child in public. He wasn't up to his normal standards. They left him outside the burning cabin for me to find. He remained in a coma for months, only to find out what happened."

"What happened? There was no attempt to rescue the kid? Where is yours and Snake Eyes kid?"

~B~

Scarlett felt numb.

So many children, kidnapped by Cobra lay on the hospital bed. Even her own lay on the bed, pale as a ghost. The staff ran tests on the children, yet the thought of Cobra getting their hands on the children again made her want to vomit.

"What are you going to do? Snake Eyes is still in a coma, but they don't think he's going to make it. Even if he does, there is no telling how long it will take for him to wake up. This decision, it's got to be yours, and yours alone."

"I know. These children won't be safe unless they're given new lives, but I trust you Hawk. I trust you'll make sure nobody knows about them, so they're safe. Snake Eyes and I would just draw attention to him."

Hawk patted Scarlett on the shoulder. "It's one of the hardest decisions a parent can make."

~B~

"I don't know." Scarlett frowned. "The only one who does is Hawk. I made sure of that. I had to. Snake Eyes wasn't supposed to make it out of that coma. I did what I had to do."

"Yet he blames himself?"

"He…" She took a deep breath.

~B~

She knew she needed to tell him, when he managed to wake up. He looked around yet found himself unable to find the child. He signed to her. "Where is he?"

"He's gone."

"Dead?"

"Snake Eyes…"

"I failed him, didn't I."

"Snake Eyes. Don't say such things and listen."

"No." The sound was glutaral. Rarely did Snake Eyes speak, as doing so amounted to a struggle. He then said. "Out."

"Snake Eyes…"

"Get out!" He yelled with his fingers. "Get out before I ruin your life any further than it already is!"

~B~

"He pushed me away before I could say anything, but as more time passes it becomes harder to tell him." Scarlett took a deep breath. "He pushed me away, but I'm not the one hurting the most. What's the point, when I don't know where the child is?"

"I'm sorry. Sorry that happened to you. I would have loved to have met the kid."