i.
Ding dong, the doorbell goes. DingdongdingDONGDING.
"Alright," Alex says crabbily, to himself, and prises himself off Hank. He goes to the door, expecting it to be one of the kids that somehow got out and now wanted back in. It's hard to hold a curfew when some kids can walk through walls.
What he wasn't expecting was his dead ex-boyfriend, wearing the clothes he died in.
"Hey Alex," Armando says, "how's it going?"
ii.
Armando, as it turns out, did not technically die.
"But- I saw you- Shaw-" Alex splutters, stuttering as bad as Hank does. Armando calmly accepts a glass of water from Charles, although he eyes the wheelchair oddly. "I adapt to survive, remember?" he says. "I always survive one way or another. Shaw did blast me to bits though. I had to put myself back together at like, a molecular level. How long was I out? I'm sorry Alex, were you worried?"
Alex gapes at him. Hank gapes at him. Even Charles' mouth is hanging open.
Armando, unfazed, looks around the kitchen. "Did you guys redecorate or something? Seriously, how long has it been? And what's with the facial hair professor?" His gaze slides right over Hank, like he doesn't even know him, which is fair enough, because blue Hank does not resemble the human-looking guy Darwin used to know.
"Darwin-" Charles says, and then grimaces, and for once, Alex won't let the professor go ahead and botch this one up. He steps forward and lightly lays his hand on Darwin's arm, just enough pressure to be reassuring.
"Armando man, maybe we should sit down and talk about this."
Worry works its way into Armando's flawless features, and Alex feels a stab of pity for him. "Why?" he asks plainly, and reads the truth of it off Alex's face. "How long has it been?" he asks quietly, for a third time, and Alex can't lie to him.
"Eleven years," he says, and Armando's face just crumples, and he falls into Alex's arms and Alex just stands there and holds him as he sobs, and says things to him, anything, soft things that he didn't even know he had in him, gentle reassurances. He holds Armando and talks to him softly, and forgets all about Hank, who stands behind him, utterly silent.
iii.
It's a long time later before Armando calms a little and they get him onto the couch.
Pietro, the hyper-active teenager who is oddly friendly with Hank, has of course implanted himself right in the middle of this emotional scene.
"This is unbelievably cool," Pietro is saying, bouncing on his heels. "This is just the coolest thing I've ever heard, ever."
"Yeah," Armando says weakly. "Well, it's a touch disorientating for me. It's like no more than an hour has past."
He looks at Alex again, like he wants to say more, like he just wants to collapse into his arms again and stay there for a long, long time.
"I'll make some tea," Hank offers.
"Fantastic idea," Charles says.
"Alex will help me," Hank says.
"Will I?" Alex shoots back. Darwin has his eyes on Alex like he's the only thing he trusts in a world gone mad, and Hank can understand Alex's hesitation at leaving him, even for a second, but on the other hand, he and Alex really, really need to talk.
"Yes," Hank says firmly, and Alex gets up, even his body language screaming that he's doing this reluctantly.
They go to the kitchen. Hank boils the kettle and Alex stares at him sullenly, hands shoved in his pockets.
"Well?" he prompts.
"Look," Hank says, "I get it. You and Darwin, you had something. You and me, we're just a thing that happened, that happens. I'm not blind, Alex."
Alex's face softens, just for a second. "Don't make it like that man."
"I'm not," Hank says. "There's no hard feelings. You have nothing to feel guilty about, okay? As of now, we're both completely unattached. And I'm not saying that you should start up with him again right away, though go for it if you want to. I'm just saying I'm not going to hold you back."
Alex looks relieved, and that's what kills Hank, absolutely tears his heart out. He may be a huge blue monstrosity, but he stills feels things.
"Thanks man," Alex is saying, though Hank only hears it dimly, "I better get back. You don't actually need help with the tea, do you?"
"No, I'm fine," Hank says. Alex nods once and leaves him to the kettle, which is rumbling like thunder.
I'm fine, I'm fine, he repeats in his head over and over again. His hands are shaking so badly that when he pours the boiling water, some splashes onto his arms. It doesn't even hurt, not so badly as the relief on Alex's face did.
But Hank is a good guy, and he won't let his feelings get in the way of someone else's happiness. They don't need to see him being as blue as his fur, so Hank will make himself smile, and carry the tea into the front room, so he can ask Darwin if there's anything else he needs, other than the love of Hank's life, that is.