Title: Close Encounter
Characters Involved: Erik Lehnsherr; Kaeha Malik
Stage in Storyline/Relationship: In the midst of Kaeha's training; basically the time gap before Aldaine's interrogation.
Brief Summary: Training with Erik is a dreary affair that's tolerable at best and absolutely deplorable at worst. Today is a startling exception.
Kaeha wants to murder someone. While her logical mind points out the sand bag a couple of feet away, she prefers slapping the hell out of the smirking man looming above her. Bronzed fingers bat aside the offered hand in a crude smack. She may be gasping for air but Kaeha can damn well get up by herself, thank you. Another bout of sardonic chuckles set her teeth on edge.
Propping herself up on wobbly elbows, the brunette clambers back on to her feet in a graceless string of motion. The world spins for a brief, dizzying moment. Irk crackles through her veins when the sensation is familiar enough after mere days of fending off the gruff giant. Constant visits to the medical ward have now been slotted into her life at Xavier's Institute too. Of course, her injuries didn't trouble Hank for more than an hour, at the very most, but still.
God damn you to hell and back, you ridiculous Sasquatch. The energy mutant swears.
Her mental voice is the epitome of bitterness and Kaeha isn't ashamed of it. Bandaged knuckles, now bruised and sore, swipe the beads of sweat trickling down the side of her face. Despite her efforts, minute cuts and scrapes still sting from salt-stained droplets. Tiny flares of muted pain merely fuels the burning annoyance she harbors towards Erik.
For the past couple of hours, the sadistic metal bender has been wiping the floor with her battered frame. It was all under the pretense of 'training' and her imminent recovery as well as to enable her participation in future missions. Kaeha, however, deemed his reasoning as rubbish and nothing short of a flimsy excuse to flaunt his temporary physical advantage.
Regardless, her protests carried undertones of a petulant child and Charles was forced to sanction it. Plus, Hank was too gentle and she easily triumphed over him even without her abilities. Tightly clenched fingers abruptly slam into the bottom of her jaw, snapping her thoughts apart like a gust of wind scattering leaves as toned arms windmill wildly. The metallic twang of rust and copper blooms in her mouth. Aggravation swiftly follows when she stumbles then trips to the ground.
"Again." Erik simply states, face expressionless while pale eyes glow in faint amusement.
Palms grasp aching shoulders to easily haul the slender woman upright. In a rare moment of mercy, Erik doesn't release his grip until her balance is restored. Wintry irises flick across her limbs, cataloging every bruise as he reminds her to keep her arms up and guard her left flank. Auburn locks sway in absent nods only to cease mid-motion when his voice fades into silence.
She glances up and again there's that look. Days have come and gone with a section of her mind agonizing over that one peculiar expression. Kaeha can't begin to make sense of his odd gaze and a (terrified, sane, all-knowing) part of her refuses to try. Erik mercifully snaps back into focus; palms lifting off of her upper arms to turn away and reclaim his original position. Teeth sink into her tongue to withhold snarky remarks on how stiff his typically fluid steps were.
Her jostled world shifts back into its rightful orbit when they melt into their usual routine. Soon enough, Kaeha forgets the imprint of callous fingers lingering on her skin when she's too busy burning through her arsenal of insults in the confines of her mind. A swift jab to her briefly exposed side shadowed by one brutal kick to her knees sends her toppling to the ground. Again.
Erik doesn't exhale in tired vexation. No, he does this pretentious thing instead where he flashes a glimmer of disappointment before schooling his face back into a stern yet somehow deadpan mask. When the stilted gesture is repeated with an almost imperceptible shake of his head, Kaeha's dwindling patience snaps.
The brunette is certain it's her sudden yell than rusty militant skills that finally catches Erik off guard. Voice rumbling in a battle cry and white teeth bared, Kaeha jumps before she thinks by lunging at him. Erik, still hilariously bewildered, lacks the ability to think, deflect or even use his powers on the metal loops dangling from her wrists. Instead, he mimics a half-formed wall; offering some resistance when she slams into his torso but inevitably tumbling to the ground in a tangled heap of limbs and screams.
Triumph flares through her veins at his frustrated grunt before quickly disappearing like a doused flame. Unlike Hank, dear and precious Hank, whom always cushioned her fall and delicately untangled her limbs from his, Erik holds nothing back. Fierce tugs and precisely aimed fists rain down on bruised skin but Kaeha stubbornly gains back every inch Erik wrestles into his grasp.
However, she quickly loses ground when her sharp hearing catches the brief flicker of a laugh. It's barely a wisp of sound; lost in the next collision of tensed muscle but it was there and Erik fucking Lehnsherr just laughed. Later, with a much less addled mind, Kaeha is coherent enough to justify it as nothing short of an adrenaline rush. After all, Erik is rarely challenged.
Now, however, she's just dumbstruck and riddled with some form of emotion the energy mutant ignores with a tad too much desperation.
Defeat is imminent with her focus tossed out of a figurative window and Kaeha already expects the floor to meet her back in a dreadful embrace. What she doesn't expect is for Erik to turn perfectly still akin to the marble statues Charles keeps littered about his lawns. Long seconds tick by with the metallokinetic perched above her, arms caging her head against the mats and both knees effectively trapping a leg peppered with blue-black marks to the pliant ground.
Logic reminds her that there is an entire body's span of distance between them. That if she feels the physical press of heat, it's all in her delusional mind. That time does not magically cease and desist on anyone's whim. That the air crackling in electricity not borne from her fingers is an illusion at best. That emotions swelling in an unfamiliar rhythm is ludicrous.
When there's a familiar thunder of footsteps - Sean, of course; no one else sounds like an armada of lumbering men - rolling towards their hallway, Erik finally pulls away and rolls onto his feet. Envy stabs at her heart at his feline grace and she nurtures the negativity to conjure a frown. It's enough to fool one deceptively astute Sean Cassidy as he whoops that lunch is ready.
"And this time, Alex didn't cook anything!" The red head squeals in delight.
Breathless chuckles spill out of chapped lips when Alex appears behind Sean, scaring the boy and eliciting a high-pitched shriek. Their careless laughter and faux threats echo down the hallway as Alex chases Sean down to mess up scarlet locks. It never fails to break the sonic screamer's heart and Kaeha feels warm and privileged to know that little tidbit of information.
Erik stops once he hits the border between training mats and wood paneled floors. Twisting his head slightly to the side, he arches an eyebrow in silent question. Hazel irises flash when she's intelligent enough to detect the vein of contempt threaded in his gaze. Bronzed hands wave in nonchalance, dismissing the man as fingers occupy themselves with removing bandages.
"Go, Lehnsherr." She drawls when he fails to move.
A few agonizing seconds pass before Erik obliges, head dipping in a small nod before he collects his meager possessions and exits the training room. Succumbing to temptation, Kaeha taps into her powers and tracks his departure all the way into the dining area bustling with energy. Then, and only then, does she inhale a shaky breath to grant her burning lungs some much needed air. Fingers tremble faintly, weak tremors far too noticeable against stark white bandages.
"This needs to stop." Kaeha declares to herself.
Her voice sounds tired and unconvincing even to her ears. Honestly, the energy mutant doesn't have time to spare such trivial feelings. The dream from days ago of delicate caresses, chestnut strands and burning debris still haunts her mind. Not a day goes by where she stops fretting about her mother's life and safety. Emotional sentiments have no place in her present realm and Kaeha is certain these feelings would be easy enough to dismiss.
Nodding in agreement, she forces herself back onto her feet despite the protest of aching muscles and darkening bruises. Onyx fabric clings to her skin without hindering her movements as she limps out the door. Her posture straightens to conceal the actual amount of damage before pushing open infirmary doors. Hank glances up, disgruntled frown melting into a shy smile.
Cool fingers are a welcomed relief as the medic expertly mends every little scrape and cut. By the time he's done with her medical treatment and lecturing spiel, Kaeha is right as rain and sliding into her seat at the dining table beside Charles. She laughs when Sean slides her a plate filled with a mountain of food. She beams in gratitude when Alex quietly nudges her favorite cup of tea over. She smiles endearingly at Charles as he rambles about the new genetics article he just read.
Above all, she ignores the way Erik quietly eats his meal opposite her and the way pale lips quirk in something that isn't a smile but closely resembles one. She ignores the way he offers up his portion of dessert in exchange for her ginger biscuits. She remains impervious to the occasional brush of their fingers and retires to her room early despite Sean's desolate whining.
Now, if she lied to herself by claiming she didn't enjoy the way they seamlessly worked together, none were the wiser to call her out on it.
Author's Rambling:
For you, my dear readers, the vague sort of romance which is the only sort that my writer's brain just barely manages to compute. *sprinkles confetti*
Pardon me if the characters are slightly out of character as the thought of Erik loving ginger cookies has slightly skewed my thoughts. *grins sheepishly* Do drop a few words as a review if you have the time to spare and thanks again for reading as always! C: