Author's note: Thank you to NotMarge, NicoleR85, KEZZ 1, Paige Charles, partygirl98, and ZabuzasGirl for the reviews! That chapter was actually a lot of fun to write. I hope I conveyed that Raven was not really a bad guy in that situation. She was just pointing some stuff out that needed to be said. I mean, she could've been nicer about it, but then she wouldn't really be Mystique, would she? And Zoey had some valid points too, right? It's just two sides to the same coin.

Today's chapter is not a happy one, but it's something that needed to happen on Hank's journey towards self-acceptance. I actually teared up when I wrote the end. Call me emotionally invested in these characters, I guess. Don't worry though, this isn't the end! Just stick with me, please. It'll be ok.

The Storm

I found Zoey leaning against a wall in the garage, clutching at the locket around her neck and staring blankly at nothing. She looked a little shell-shocked.

"Zoey, I-"

I didn't know what to say. "I'm sorry my ex-girlfriend dropped in?" "I'm sorry she was naked?" "I'm sorry you were subjected to all of that, but your compassion is awe-inspiring and I'm honored you even give me the time of day?"

My ineptitude in regards to expressing myself had never weighed more heavily on me.

"Please take me home," Zoey said quietly, after an uncomfortable pause.

"Ok," I agreed immediately.

The ride to her apartment was quiet. Too quiet.

Silence was never awkward between us anymore, but today, after that run-in with Raven, it was unbearable.

I felt the ground shifting under my feet, the uncomfortable, staticky feeling that comes before a storm. Something was wrong between us, and I was left anxiously waiting for the other shoe to drop.

I helped Zoey out of the car and followed her up the stairs to her apartment.

"Zoey, what's wrong?" I blurted as soon as we were sitting on the sofa.

Her cats immediately descended on us, seemingly unperturbed by the tension in the air as they settled in our laps.

I wish my life was that uncomplicated.

"Did Raven upset you?"

"Well, she was very naked, which was a surprise. And I didn't appreciate the things she said to you, if that's what you mean," Zoey replied, petting Lucie. "But those are just words. I'll get over it."

"Then what...?"

Please help me out. I'm dying here.

Her eyes met mine, pure green and beautiful. "When are you going to show me Beast?"

All of the air escaped my lungs in a whoosh, like she punched me. Again, I got that feeling that I was standing on a cliff face, about to slip off.

"W-why do you ask?"

"The look on your face when Raven accused you of hiding from me," she explained. "You looked so... guilty."

My ears got warm, and I had to look away.

Guilty? Yes, I was guilty.

"Hank," Zoey pleaded, reaching for my hands. I squirmed under her gaze. "I've been patient, waiting for you to be ready to show me your other side. I thought that eventually you would understand that I love you, and I want to accept you for everything you are. But somehow I get the feeling that you're never going to let me see."

She was right, of course. Zoey always saw right through me.

If I had my way, she would never see the Beast. We would continue on as we had, happy with the small amount of intimacy our relationship afforded us. Yes, I would still be hiding, but that was fine. We would be together.

And then Raven showed up and brought my issues to light, curse her.

I stared at our hands entwined between us. Zoey's fingers were long and tapered, the nails painted a dark blue. Her hands were so small, so soft and delicate.

A monster shouldn't be holding them.

"I can't," I whispered.

Her face crumpled in hurt, and she pulled her hands away.

"Why not?" she asked, now on the verge of tears. "Don't you trust me?"

"Of course I do," I replied quickly.

"Then I don't understand," Zoey said. "If you trust me, you should be comfortable showing me."

"You'll be afraid of me," I told her. It felt like my internal organs were turning to ice. "I would lose you. I couldn't bear it if that happened."

"But how do you know, Hank?" she demanded. "How do you know I'll be afraid of you?"

"Because it's too much for anyone to handle," I retorted, bristling and defensive. "I disgust myself. You wouldn't understand, Zoey. You've never been afraid of who you are."

Oh no. I shouldn't have said that. I take it back, I take it back-

"Hank, you know that when I was little I set random things on fire whenever I threw temper tantrums. I nearly burned down my father's house and killed us all. I told you that before," Zoey snapped, her voice getting louder as the cats fled in fear.

I wished I could run away too. Somehow we'd stumbled from an uncomfortable discussion straight into an argument. I felt sick to my stomach, and there were angry tears running down Zoey's face.

Oh no, please don't cry-

"So don't tell me I don't know what it's like to be afraid of my powers," she continued, practically yelling at me now. "And don't tell me what's going to frighten me. You don't get to decide what scares me, I do. You-"

She cut off, her breasts heaving vehemently as she struggled to put her emotions back in check. She glared at a patch of carpet for a moment.

Wow. I really made her mad. Should I worry that something is about to burst into flames?

I'd never seen Zoey even remotely this angry, and certainly not at me. I felt sick to my stomach.

Finally she met my eyes again, no longer furious. Now she just looked... broken.

"You really disgust yourself?" Zoey whispered.

I gave her a curt nod- I thought this was old news. My throat was so tight I couldn't speak.

"I love you, Hank," she said softly. "I want you. You don't disgust me. Do you think there's something wrong with me for that? Do you hate yourself that much? Would you think I was some kind of pervert if I still wanted you in your Beast form?"

Yes. No. Wait- I don't know.

Everything was so muddled and confused in my mind, I couldn't think straight.

"What do I have to do to show you how wonderful you are?" she pleaded. "Please, give me the chance to love all of you. It won't change how I feel about you. Just take a chance and show me."

On the surface what she was asking for seemed so simple. A leap of faith, that she could still love me after seeing the Beast.

But in reality, it was much more complicated. Zoey wanted to see my other side, the side of myself that I hated and was afraid of. I chose to be human- or at least as human as I could be. I didn't want to be a beast. Why was she trying to make me?

"I can't," I croaked, shaking my head. "What happened to what you said to Raven, about choosing our own self-identifiers? Our mutations not defining who we are? Well, this is my choice. You're trying to force me to be something I don't want to be."

Zoey looked stricken.

"You're right," she whispered, horrified. "I am."

For a brief, shining moment I thought that we would be able to move forward from this. Zoey would understand and accept that this issue wasn't something I would compromise over. We could go on, just like before, and be happy together again.

How delusional I was.

"Do you ever see us getting married?" she asked, out of the blue.

I blinked.

Marriage.

It was something I'd fantasized about, seeing Zoey looking beautiful and walking down the aisle towards me in a lovely white dress. Eating her terrible cooking every night. Waking up next to her every morning. Growing old and gray, together.

But I'd always ignored the mechanics of marriage. All of my realistic visions of our future together ended at the bedroom door- though my more quixotic, ungentlemanly daydreams were definitely a different story. In my fantasies I could be with Zoey completely and still be human. But in reality, physical intimacy like that wasn't possible for me without my feral, instinctual side taking over. I'd shied away from such thoughts accordingly.

It was part of the reason why I'd been so afraid of starting a relationship with Zoey in the first place. Who would want to go to bed with a monster?

And now I was here, facing impossible questions with heartbreaking answers.

What have I gotten myself into?

My long silence seemed to be reply enough for Zoey.

She let out a choked sob. "Hank, I want a future with you," Zoey said in a strained whisper. "Marriage, children, the white picket fence, all of it. B-but we both know we can barely make out without you almost losing it and changing into Beast. And that's not who you want to be. We're- we're at an impasse."

No. Don't say it. Don't say it, Zoey-

She began to cry in earnest. "I- I think I'd rather end this now, if there's no future for us. Maybe it'll hurt less than d-dragging it out," she sobbed, head in hands.

And there it was. I'd lost my grip on the cliff's edge, and now I was free-falling to the ground below and the painful oblivion that awaited me there.

"Zoey, please- don't do this," I begged.

"I have to," she whispered mournfully.

My eyes stung painfully, forcing me to blink away tears. Against my better judgment, I pulled the weeping mess that was the woman I loved into my arms.

It didn't help, though she melted into my embrace. If anything, Zoey began to cry even harder as she sobbed into my chest. Each of her tears was like a sharp knife, eviscerating me into a thousand, miserable pieces.

"I love you," I told her desperately, smoothing her curls.

"I love you, too," she choked out, clutching at my shirt. "I- I thought- I thought you were-"

Your Prince Charming.

But there was no glass slipper here, no spell to be broken by a kiss or a declaration of love. Such magic didn't exist.

Beast had lost his Beauty, and all hope of a happily ever after.

"I know. I'm so sorry," I whispered brokenly.

It was excruciating to pull myself away, but somehow I did. Staying longer would only hurt Zoey further, and I couldn't do that to her.

She'd been hurt by me enough, when I started something I knew was doomed and hopeless from the very start.

So I kissed her on the forehead-

And walked out on the best thing that ever happened to me.