Thanks to Fanfictionfan91 for the idea that inspired this oneshot! I'm still taking suggestions, they're just slow to be physically written
Alex, age 15
Alex yawned as he left his room and padded to the bathroom. He'd stayed up late talking with some of his surfing buddies the night before. Chris had had to tell him to keep it down more than once, and Alex was slightly nervous with what he'd say this morning. Or do, if he was honest with himself. Alex shook his head and did his business before washing his hands and stepping out of the bathroom. He swallowed when he saw Chris up and in his uniform.
"Hi," he said, almost timidly.
"Alexander." Alex's shoulders slunk. Here it was.
"I'm sorry."
"How many times did I ask you to quiet down last night?" Alex looked at the floor and shrugged. "You know how I feel about nonverbal answers."
"More than once," he said quietly.
"How many times should I have had to tell you?"
"Just once."
"So what should I do here, son?"
"Dad,"
"Alexander."
"It was never a problem before last night!"
"I told you several times I'd been helping with the twins and that I was in the Danger Room with the X-Men this morning. The least you could have done was be quiet!"
"How was I supposed to know you were in the Danger Room?! Scott's supposed to be back by now!"
"He has another week off- not that that's any of your business," Chris scowled.
"Ok, great. Everyone's pitching in to help Scott because he knocked up- Ow!" Alex rubbed his stinging behind. He hadn't even seen Chris' arm move.
"Your evening internet privileges have been revoked for the foreseeable future."
"Dad!"
"And, since everyone else has stepped up to help your niece and nephew but you, since you've been too busy with Lorna, that's your job for the day. Go see how you can help."
"That's not fair. I didn't ask for him to get her pregnant!"
"We're a family, Alex. We help one another. But if you don't feel like it today, then fine." Chris sat down and held his arm out. "Come here."
"Dad!"
"You disobeyed me. That usually results in a spanking. I thought you might appreciate the different consequences, but I suppose I was wrong. Now come. Here."
"Wait! I'll- I'll help Scott and the babies!" Chris stood and walked to Alex.
"If he tells me you were anything but helpful, I'll spank you before bed."
"Yes sir."
"Door's right there. Knock and help. I'll relieve you for lunch, and then you're back until dinner."
"Aw, Dad!" Chris just raised his eye and Alex groaned. He walked to the connecting door and knocked twice. It opened and Alex saw Scott with his hair sticking up every which way, bouncing one of the twins.
"Hey. Lorna's not here-"
"I'm supposed to help you today," Alex told him with what he would swear wasn't a pout. He saw Scott's eyebrows raise in disbelief.
"You. Want to help?"
"Yep." Scott looked past Alex and saw their father standing with his arms crossed.
"Is he for real?"
"He is," Chris said. "Until dinner, but with a break for lunch." Scott nodded his understanding.
"You got in trouble, didn't you?" he asked his brother.
"Are you gonna let me in, or what?" Alex growled, feeling his face heat up. Scott stood to the side and Alex stormed in, not giving Chris another look.
"Let me know if there are any issues," Chris said.
"Yes sir." Scott closed the door and looked at his brother. "You can just hang out, if you want. I don't want you to feel forced to help…"
"Thanks, Scotty." Scott gave him a tired smile and then frowned as the baby in his arms started wailing.
"Shh, Nate. It's ok. Daddy's here. Maddie?! Do you have Nate's pacifier?!"
"No!" Alex heard his sister in law call from the nursery. "But it's time for him to eat!" Alex watched as Scott struggled to wrangle Nate into one arm and make a bottle. He didn't think Chris' punishment was fair, but…
"I can hold him for you," he offered, walking to them.
"It's fine, Lex. The remote's on the coffee table if you want to watch TV."
"Scotty. I can at least hold him for three seconds while you make a bottle." Scott hesitated and then handed Nate to Alex.
"Watch his head," he reminded his brother. Alex nodded and held Nate as Scott quickly mixed the formula into a bottle. When it was mixed together, Scott held his arms out, ready to take the baby back.
"I can feed him," Alex offered.
"Lex,"
"Dude, you stink. Go shower. I've got him. And Maddie's right there with Carrie if there are issues, right?"
"Yeah… You sure?" Alex took the bottle and stuck it in Nate's mouth, ending the screaming. "Alright. Just watch him and get him to burp around half way through, or those screams will be nothing compared to what we'll deal with later." Alex nodded and took Nate to the couch, sitting to feed him more comfortably. He heard the bathroom door shut and the shower running moments later.
"Lex?" Alex looked up and saw Maddie bouncing Carrie.
"Yeah?"
"Carrie's got a small temperature. I'm going to take her to Beast for a checkup. Will you be ok?"
"Um. I guess? Scott doesn't take long showers, so it shouldn't take him long."
"I'll be back as soon as I can," she promised before hurrying out of the suite. Alex looked at the bottle and realized he needed to burp Nate. He pulled the bottle away, wincing at the screaming. He tried putting Nate on his shoulder like he'd seen Scott and Chris do, but the screaming didn't stop. The shower stopped and Alex heard the door crash open.
"What's wrong?"
"I took the bottle from him!" Alex said, suddenly worried he'd done the wrong thing. Scott grabbed a burp cloth and swung it over his shoulder before taking his son again. He started walking around the room, patting Nate's back with a gentle force until he heard what he was waiting for. He took the bottle from Alex, turning and walking again around the room. Alex sighed and looked around, trying to find some way to help.
"Where's Maddie?"
"She said Carrie had a small fever, so she took her to Beast." Scott rolled his eyes.
"Her temperature was 98 degrees. That's not-" Scott shook his head. "It's fine. She can just be overprotective for now." He turned again and Alex's eyes went wide.
"Scott."
"Yeah?"
"Holy shit… Dude. Your back. What the hell-?" Scott looked down and realized he was shirtless.
"Crap."
"What the hell?"
"Just… Give me a minute, ok? Let me get him in his bouncer and then…" Scott let out a harsh sigh. The bottle was finished shortly after and Scott put Nate down for a few moments before going into his room and throwing on a shirt.
"What the fuck is on your back, Scott?" Scott sat next to his brother and ran a hand through his hair.
"The crash-"
"Don't try that with me. I was around the same shrapnel you were and I don't have scars like that. Don't lie to me." Scott rubbed his face.
"It's not a pretty story, Lex." Alex just crossed his arms and leaned back. "Fine. I was treated poorly with Sinister. I was experimented on and hurt. I… My powers came out long enough that I blew the orphanage up and escaped. Unfortunately, I didn't have a way to… I had to steal and dumpster dive for food. One day, I got caught."
"Scotty…" Alex felt his heart go out to his older brother. He'd had no idea how hard it had been for him while he was safe and secure with his parents in Hawaii.
"So this guy told me I could go live with him and he'd keep me fed, or he'd tell the police what he'd seen me doing. I didn't think… I was ten. I was afraid. I knew how Mom and Dad felt about stealing," he said, unconsciously rubbing the side of his butt. Alex snorted and Scott smirked. "I agreed to go with him. And then my powers acted up. I was afraid…" Scott swallowed. "But he showed me how he could turn to diamond."
"Who was he?"
"Jack Winters. My foster father."
"And the scars?" Scott looked at his brother. Alex could see how sad Scott seemed.
"My powers didn't come back for another year or so. Things were ok. I was… I had a room, I had food. I went to school. He was… He was mean, but we were ok. And then when my powers returned, he showed his true colors. One night, he and a bunch of his friends took me to a jewelry store. He told me to use my powers so they could get in and ransack the place. I refused."
"Scott,"
"A strip of leather with random things attached to make it… I only made that mistake three times. But I'd still try to defy him. I'd join clubs at school and stay after, knowing he had jobs for me those days. I'd get home and he'd be in his diamond form, waiting to knock some sense into me. Once, he broke my arm so badly that even he was afraid and rushed me to the hospital." Scott rubbed his right arm, feeling the phantom pains. "The final straw for him, I guess, was when he knocked me down when I was about fourteen. I hit my head really hard and my powers just wouldn't stop."
"And then Professor Xavier found you?"
"A few months after that, yeah."
"What'd you do those few months?"
"I survived," Scott said with a sad shrug. "Got jumped a few times. Some kids took off the shirt I'd wrapped around my eyes and one of them got blasted into the wall. The coppery smell still…" Scott shook his head.
"I'm sorry, Scott. I didn't… I knew you'd said you'd gone through hell, but I didn't…"
"Better me than you," Scott said, giving Alex a small smile.
"Does Dad…"
"Dad knows. Maybe not every detail, but enough. Gabe saw the scars and asked after graduation, but I gave him the bare minimum. Maddie knows some. Jean…"
"You told Jean, but not Maddie?"
"After Xavier brought me here, the nightmares were constant. Once Jean arrived, she was hit with them night after night. I never told her, but she saw. And from what she's said, she… She felt it during my nightmares. Not after she woke up, but… yeah. So Xavier helped me block the worst of them so I could get over what'd happened."
"Why didn't he do that with the nightmares from Sinister?"
"I was embarrassed, and then Dad said no." Scott stood as he heard the door open. Maddie and Carrie came in. "How is she?" Maddie blushed.
"She's fine. I was apparently suffering from 'new-mommy paranoia.'" Scott walked over and took Carrie from her, kissing Maddie's forehead.
"It's better to confirm that she's fine than do nothing and something be wrong. You didn't do anything wrong, love." She gave him a small smile and then looked at Alex.
"Alex? Would you… I meant to grab the cookie dough I'd made yesterday in the kitchen, but I forgot it. Would you mind getting it from the fridge for me?"
"Sure, Maddie. I'll be back in a second." Alex hurried out the door and down the stairs to the main floor. He entered the kitchen and froze. Chris was in there with Hepzibah.
"Alex," Chris greeted.
"I'm- Maddie asked me to grab the cookie dough she made yesterday. I'm still helping, Dad, I swear. I even fed Nate so Scott could shower."
"Alright, kid. You don't need to get so defensive." Alex opened the fridge and grabbed the requested dough before looking back at Chris.
"Dad?"
"Yeah?" Chris looked at Alex and Alex knew he had his full attention.
"I'm sorry. I should have been more considerate last night with you needing to sleep. I… I'm really sorry."
"I'm sure you are, son. And after today and maybe a week of no internet at night, you won't repeat it."
"Yes sir. I won't." Alex put the dough down and hugged Chris. Chris raised his eye at Hepzibah, but hugged Alex back.
"You ok? I figured I'd be on your crap list for a while."
"I'm just… Thank you."
"You're welcome?"
"Thank you for not hurting us. Even when I'm sure you'd like to. I didn't understand…" Chris frowned, suddenly remembering Alex saying Scott had showered.
"You saw his back." Alex nodded into Chris' chest.
"Why would someone hurt him, Dad? He was a kid." Chris sighed and held Alex tighter to him.
"I don't know, Alex. Children are meant to be treasured, not treated like that. And while I know I physically reprimand you and your brothers, I could never hurt you boys. I love you three too much."
"Yeah. So I'm not going to complain anymore about helping Scott and Maddie today. I just wanted you to know that I'm sorry, and that I appreciate you." Chris kissed Alex's head and Alex pulled away, wiping at his eyes with the back of his hand.
"I love you, Alex. And I'm glad you're not too upset with me anymore." Alex sniffed.
"I'd better get this to Maddie. Maybe she'll make cookies while I'm in there and ask me to taste test." Chris chuckled and ruffled Alex's hair.
"I'm sure she'd love that. Go on then. I'll see you at lunch, son." Alex grabbed the cookie dough and took off for the third floor, feeling a bit lighter than he had since Chris had first scolded him the night before.