Yo people, Sketchy here (for once).
Okay, Four things, One: Do you realize how hard it is to come back and proofread a fic when it's not only embarrassing to see how badly you wrote then, but also because you just don't like to backtrack into it? IT'S HARD. But I really love you guys, so I took it upon myself to make sure this darn thing gets finished!

Two: Kchuu is the main editor of our stuff, but she has better things to do these days…No, I mean it, she's pretty swamped. So from now on you'll have to tolerate my sub-par editing.

Three: There are three (two since this one just went up) chapters of 'Like Father like Son'
left. We do actually have a lot more than that written, maybe three more fics worth, but I don't wanna go to the trouble of editing it unless you guys seriously want to see it. So I don't care how you let me know, but let me know if you actually wanna see anything past LFLS.

Four: We kinda used a certain name for someone in this chapt that we used for someone else in Fractured Crusade. Don't be confused, the fics aren't related, we just use that name a lot in roleplay stuff due to…Well, any canon comic fans/WatXM fans will know.

Five: To readers of Fractured Crusade…Uh…Not very likely you'll begetting anymore chapters in that…Sorry. Kchuu and I dropped the ball a while back on that…It's hard to pick up those balls man, it's like it's glued to the floor.

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The gates to the Xavier institute were wide open. This was rare, since they didn't normally have a lot of visitors. But today, all kinds of visitors-a dump truck, cement mixer, and some sort of crane contraption, along with a whole lot of workmen and tools-were entering through the massive barred gates. The garage had to get fixed somehow, and this company was very reliable about keeping secrets.

Kurt sat in a tree overlooking the work project. He had helped set up with the morning crew, and was taking a short break. His eyes flicked over to the driveway, where Jean's rental car was just pulling in. Out of the back stepped four very disgruntled Brotherhood members, no doubt 'persuaded' into coming and helping out.

The Brotherhood boys hadn't been all that surprised when Jean had come to their house. Though it had been a shock to find that what she wanted was for them to come pay for the damages by 'helping the construction workers' fix the damage.
Though he hated the idea, Lance had agreed to it. It was better to pay for it now and not have it come back to haunt them later.

Jean turned to the Brotherhood members, and gave a gesture to a table behind her.
"Go over there to get your hard hats, then just ask the workers how you can help, and remember, no powers."

Todd moved towards the table nervously, looking around the construction site. Big burly men were carrying equally big wooden beams. Todd wasn't sure if he could be much help with that.

He sighed, he'd given up all his money, but he'd still have to work anyway.
Though, somehow, he was okay with having lost his savings. He'd done the right thing, he was sure of that, and it made him feel…good.

He and the other B'hood members all grabbed one of the yellow pieces of headgear. Then started looking around for someone to ask for instructions.

Most of the people around the site appeared to be doing a specific job, and Todd had a hard time trying to single out someone who could tell him what to do…The others could do lifting, and just asked the men already working, but he would need something a bit lighter.

One man over on the edge of the construction site seemed to know what was going on, though he seemed busy, he was talking to-

"Oh shit."

Todd ducked his head down, and franticly searched for a hiding spot.

There was a tree a few meters away, and at the base of it were some bushes. Trying to move slowly, as to not draw attention to himself, Todd backed towards the shrubbery. He ducked into it, silently cursing his luck for his recent discovery.

Kurt's breath had caught in his throat when he saw Todd get out of that van. Immediately, his mind flashed back... His head hitting the wall with a sharp crack, the fist smashing into his cheek with uncanny force, the feeling of betrayal... When his eyes cleared, he saw the rest of the Brotherhood boys walking towards the construction site... But Todd was running right at him!

As Todd leaped into the shrubs, Kurt's disguised face hardened. -Dodging work already? It's you're fault, you should be over there...- The blossom of anger in his chest overcame the numb apathy he'd been floating in all day, and he leaned over the branch, hissing at the hidden boy. "Aren't you supposed to be vorking..?"

Todd gave a start, and looked up to find-"Kurt?"

Todd's face went red with embarrassment for a moment, partially due to being caught hiding, partially because it was Kurt who had found him.

"I-I can't go out there yo! Isn't there some other place I can work? I'll scrub the freakin' jet with rubbing alcohol if I need tah!"

"Vhat, are you embarrassed? Because you left this at the crime scene?" Kurt said, slightly cruelly, pulling out Todd's olive-green lighter. He threw it down to the younger boy, and returned to a sitting position on the branch, looking away. "Because I didn't tell anyvone. You can just go over there and work without worrying." This would normally escape the fuzzy elf's lips with a tone of sensitivity, but his heavy heart reduced the sentiment to a near monotone.

Todd caught the small piece of metal, staring at it for a moment before realizing what it was. "My lighter? I didn't even realize I'd lost the thing. Thanks yo." Todd looked back up to Kurt, a small grin of appreciation on his face. But then he saw Kurt turned away, and he remembered how things between them were far from okay.
Todd's expression sank to one of shame, and he looked at the ground.

He shifted to crouch inside the bush, his voice becoming soft as he said
"I still can't go out there dawg, I'm not trying tah get outta work or nothin'. I just can't go anywhere near those guys, not alone at least."

Kurt tried to look uninterested, still facing away. "The X-Men? They von't hurt you, even if you are alone. I'll admit, Scott was pretty p.o.'d about vhat you did to his car... but me going with you vouldn't make any difference..." He closed his untouched lunch box, and hung it on a tree branch for later. Seeing Todd had wrecked his appetite, and he had to get out of there soon. Why, though, did it still feel uncannily natural to talk to him? Even when...

"I'm not afraid of Summers yo. An' I'm used to the X-geeks not likin' me. What I don't want is for...For..." Todd looked up at the blue mutant, fear and hesitation written all over his face.

"Please yo, just don't make me go out there alone."

Kurt, still not looking at the smaller mutant, leaped out of the tree. He landed in his normal posture, tail out, which looked odd with his disguise until he pulled the spaded appendage back in and straightened up. "Okay, I'll go with you. Vasn't very hungry, anyway." He started walking towards the tool station, not looking at Todd.

Todd practically dashed to hide behind Kurt as he walked. He kept a bit over a foot of distance away from the taller boy, but he ducked his head so most of his face couldn't be seen.

Todd muttered out a thanks, careful to not let his voice be heard by anyone but Kurt.

The 'director' of the construction was shouting orders left and right. But he noticed the two teens walking towards him. "Back from your break already?"

Kurt nodded, a huge, fake smile plastered on his face. "Ja! I was really hungry, so I finished early! What vould you like us to do next?"

The director looked past Kurt to see Todd, scrunched up and hiding his face. "Well, neither of you seem like heavy lifters, but we have some guys working on nailing beams together, both of you can run nails to them when needed, an' just do any other odds and ends someone has for you."

The director looked at Todd again, frowning. Even without seeing his face, the small boy seemed...Familiar.

Kurt saw a glimmer of recognition on the man's face, and intuitively ended the conversation. "Oh, nails, right, we can do that! Come on, let's go!" The goofy fake smile still on his face, he pulled Todd over to a bucket of nails by a supplies area a little ways away. As he filled his hands with nails, his face grew cold again. "Do you need to use me for anything else? Because it'll go faster if I take nails to the workers on the left side, and you take the right."

Todd lifted his face to check who was on what side...

Damnit.

"C-can I take the left side yo?"

Kurt gave Todd a deadpan look. "Vhateveh. I don't care." He stood, cupped hands full of nails. "I'll take the right, then." He started to walk over to the workers. He was a little curious about what Todd's issue was, until he handed some nails to about the fourth or fifth worker. His eyes widened in shock, and a short, involuntary gasp escaped his throat.

Mortimer Tolensky turned to frown at the German student that for some reason was helping with the construction. His amber eyes glared at the teen.

"What? Stab yerself?"

Several yards away, Todd was scurrying from worker to worker, handing out nails as quickly as possible. The sooner he could finish this, the sooner he could find a job where he could work further AWAY from his father.

Kurt smiled nervously, and pulled his cupped hands back. "Oh, ja, only a little, though! Sorry!" He scurried away quickly, not catching his breath until he was back at the nail bucket. -How could I not have realized?- He thought back to the night of the rave, where Todd had heard his dad... A construction site. -No VONDER he's acting strangely... His father's working on this project! ... but vhat to do...-

Mortimer, a bit off-put my the strange kids behavior, scowled and turned back to his work.

Todd had emptied his hands of nails, so he went back to get a refill.

But as he reached his hands into the bucket, he met ones that, though pale and smooth looking, felt like fur.

Todd's hands shot back, and he looked up to Kurt, who had apparently been thinking about something.

"S-sorry dawg. Didn't see you." Todd took a nervous glance over his shoulder towards his father. If the man noticed him here...It would not end well. Not after what had happened the last time they had met.

When Todd turned his gaze back from looking over his shoulder, Kurt's eyes met his for the first time. "I'm... I'm sorry, Todd. I didn't realize..." Kurt glanced at the muscled back of Mortimer. "I didn't realize -he- vas here..." All the painful emotions inside of Kurt were being overcome by an overwhelming sense of pity for the younger boy.

Todd took on a shocked look for a moment, then let it fade to a sad smile. "I guess we look alike, huh?"

The smaller boy dug his hands into the bucket, pulling out a large amount of nails.

"It's fine, if I can just get through all this without him seeing me, it'll be fine."

He gave a hesitant look to Kurt, as if he was going to say something more, but he dropped his gaze and went off to give the workers their nails.

So the work continued for the rest of the day. Kurt and Todd brought nails, fetched water, sanded boards, any odd job the director could think up. By the end of the day, with the help of the Brotherhood, the X-Men and construction crew had erected a bare-bones structure. It was bigger than the previous one, and more complex. A note on Beast's blueprint (he couldn't come help, of course), read "And why not upgrade it while we're at it?"

When it came time for the Brotherhood boys to go home (they'd decided to decline Scott's generous offer to drive them home, for fear of the X-leaders wrath, and simply have Jean drive them again), Kurt averted his eyes from Todd's and said nothing.

While the other Brotherhood members got into the jeep, Todd hesitated for a moment, looking back at the disguised German. He plodded over quickly, and said in a low voice, "Thanks for...For helping me keep on the down-low, dawg. I know yah didn't have to, I... I really appreciate it.

Lance yelled from the car, "TOAD, GET IN HERE, WE CAN'T LEAVE WITHOUT YOU, AND ALL WE WANT IS TO FRIGGIN' GO HOME!"

Todd turned, "I'm coming yo, I'm coming!" He gave one last hesitant look over his shoulder, and said softly, "Seeya tomorrow Fuzzbutt." before dashing to the jeep.

Kurt's heart wrenched, but his face showed nothing as the car pulled out of the driveway. He hated to admit it, but... He had enjoyed being around Todd that day. It was a mere shade of the old feelings... But they had talked a bit, and the situation with Todd's dad had softened Kurt's heart... But the feeling he still felt above all was the deep numbness. The numbness was like an endlessly dark room... but a candle had been lit.