A/N: Wow. 25 chapters. Anyway, shout out to my always wonderful beta, Linda Ku! She'll be betaing my Peter Maximoff/OC, and Nightcrawler/OFC oneshots/series as well.

Despite being head to foot, the couple slept peacefully throughout the night. Even if Sean did wake up with Fern's foot on the back of his head. Groaning, he rolled onto his back. As he blinked the sleep from his eyes, he rested his cheek against her ankle; her scales scratched at his sensitive skin, waking him completely.

A deep sigh made him grimace as a sharp pain shot between his shoulder blades. With a groan, he brought a hand up to rub his face. His fingers felt odd...rougher than usual and a bit tender. A quick glance at his right one confirmed they were red and splotchy. It didn't hurt, but it was annoying. Chalking it up to an allergy from the chlorine, he pushed it to the back of his mind. He had been raised not to complain, especially not about things he couldn't change anyway. With a sigh, he lifted his head.

Fern was still sound asleep. Her short hair was sticking up in every direction, a stark black against his milky skin. She had one of her long legs kicked up to her chest and the other, of course, had been thrown over Sean's torso. She didn't seem to mind that her pillows were, in fact, the redhead's feet. Snickering, Sean rolled his ankles.

The brunette murmured and pulled his legs closer to her lithe form. "Bruno, no."

"I think you mean Sean yes," The young man said.

Fern didn't reply.

Slipping his feet out from under her, and ignoring her whines, Sean crawled over to her. "Are you still asleep? Get up! We've got training today."

"I can't train today." The grey mutant turned her face away from him to glare at her dresser. Toes flexing, she buried her face deeper into the mattress as he slipped under her arm. "I spent all night with some ginger idiot who doesn't know how to stay still."

"I was asleep!"

Fern huffed as he nuzzled into the cool skin of her neck. "So?"

"So come on." Sean offered her jaw a peck. A grin crossed his features as her skin rippled. Fingers trailing over her spine, the two of them laid in silence for a few moments. The faint sound of his nails teasing the thin material of her t-shirt could be heard, but beyond their breathing, it was quiet.

The brunette sighed and shifted closer to him as he began to stroke down her back, her shoulders, her sides. In return, her fingers found his shaggy hair. Fern wasn't sure why it was so easy to accept affection from Sean. Maybe it was because he was taking her at face value, knowing only what she told him. With Josie, everything was out on the table. Fern had always worried there was pity behind her mother's kindness; Josie had seen her when she was just a scrawny orphan, seen her nightmares and her panic attacks...but Sean didn't know about those and his affections weren't familial either. They were new, intimate, and not only was Fern curious about them, she was excited by it. She fluffed his red hair, making it even more messy than it already was.

Sean's expression went from mellow to puckered as his own brushed the edge of her t-shirt. Her skin felt...different, under it. Curious, he gathered the white material up around her waist and looked down. A patch of scales was...missing, or at least damaged, and he glanced at Fern's face.

Her mouth was tight, but she didn't stop him as he traced a finger around the edge of her scar.

"Is this what you didn't want me to see?" He brushed his thumb along the light grey skin.

The girl blinked at the sensation of another person touching it. It was queer, almost painful, the skin hypersensitive to pressure of any kind and while Sean's fingers were gentle, they were still foreign. Bottom lip between her teeth, she let him ease her onto her back.

The young man shuffled down. With his ankles crossed behind him, he laid on his stomach, his face level with the scar. Stroking it tenderly, the redhead rested his head on her stomach. "What happened?"

Fern stared at the ceiling. She could feel her hands clenching, her nails digging into her palm as anxiety rose in her. Scales twisting, Fern licked her teeth and took a deep breath as the membrane flickered over her eyes. Voice even but quiet, she told him, "I don't want to talk about it."

The boy was quiet for a moment, but only a moment. "When my powers were developing, I used to get nose bleeds." Sean shifted his touch to trail over the thin, barely noticeable scars on her stomach. He hadn't noticed them the night before. Tentatively, he leaned down and pressed his mouth to one of them, then another. "A nun said they happened because God was mad at me."

Fern flinched at the omission, and admittedly at the intimate touch. Her hands found his hair, his neck, his shoulders and she offered any skin she could reach a consoling rub. Her setae made him shudder, but when Sean only pushed closer to her, she offered him a somewhat tactless, "Heavy."

With a nod, he chuckled. "Yep. That's why I don't like nuns." Sean rested his chin on her abdomen. "Now you tell me what you don't like doctors."

Fern frowned at the white plaster above them. Her skin swirled with annoyance, but it softened as his index finger followed the pattern. With a smirk pulling at the corner of her mouth, she ran her nails carefully up his arm. "I never agreed to that."

"Come on, Fe. I won't tell anyone."

Knowing he wouldn't, the brunette hummed. "When I was in the orphanage, they used to let this guy come in and do stuff to me." She cringed as Sean pressed another kiss to her stomach. Ignoring him, she ran her finger over his knuckles. Jaw tight, Fern kept her tone simple and plain, like they were talking about something else entirely as she explained, "He called himself Doctor and wore a lab coat and now I'm scared of doctors and people too, a little bit."

He nodded. "Sounds reasonable."

She smiled at the ceiling and he grinned as appreciation and relief passed through her scales. After a moment's consideration, Sean's lips returned to her skin. The girl under him flinched as his mouth pressed over the sensitive scar and began to suck.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

"Giving you a hickey," the young redhead murmured into her flesh. When she made a noise, he clarified, "That way when you see it, you'll think of me and not him."

Fern gasped as he continued to suck. Teeth clenched, she couldn't really decide how she felt, but simply let him continue, because while it was a bit painful, she liked how it felt- and she liked the thought behind the action.

After a few seconds, he pulled back to admire his handy work. Thumbing the dark splotch of shiny skin, he nodded his approval. "That should do it."

Fern sat up. It was a little awkward to see, but she managed it. She poked the bruise and frowned. "How is this supposed to help again?"

The redhead lifted his brows. "What are you thinking about?"

"How you just assaulted me."

Sean beamed. "See. Working already."

Fern grumbled, but a smile wound over her mouth as he pressed a kiss to her cheek.

As he dropped back onto the mattress beside her with a huff, Sean opened his arms to her. "Come here."

"What? You think just because I let you feel me up I'm gonna be nice to you?"

"No." His smile turned impish. "Maybe. Come here."

With a sigh, the young woman slipped into his arms. As he cradled her to his chest, Sean rubbed her arm and offered her brow a peck. "Nothing like that is ever going to happen to you again, okay? Not while I'm around."

"My hero," Fern drawled sarcastically. Still, her skin betrayed her tone and shimmered with genuine gratitude.

"While any of us are around." He peered down at her to find her looking back at him. Her expression was open and hopeful and almost painfully trusting and he pressed another kiss to her forehead. "We ain't gonna let you get hurt like that ever again."

"Thanks."

"Don't dismiss me," Sean teased. He offered her arm a rub, careful not to press too hard on the glands. "I mean it."

The grey girl clutched him a bit tighter, but didn't let the silence linger. "We're supposed to start sparring today."

He cuddled closer to her. "Yep."

"I'm gonna have to kick your ass." There was absolutely no regret in her voice.

"What?!"

"What? Chances are we'll get paired up." Fern grinned and sat up. When Sean moved to follow, she pushed him back down by the forehead. "And I will show you no mercy."

He let out a chuckle as his blue eyes narrowed at her. "Thanks!"

Giggling, Fern grabbed some clothes from her drawer. When she moved toward the bathroom, Sean's curious voice followed her. "Where you goin', Ailey?"

She cast him a puzzled glance. "To get changed."

"In the bathroom?" He perked his brows up and leaned up on his elbows. A sly grin crossed his lips. "After last night?"

Her skin rippled with embarrassment. Dropping a cocky hip, she crossed her arms (throwing her sweater over her shoulder in the process), and asked, "If I get changed in here, you're gonna wind up walking around with a hard on again."

"I'm not some hormonal teenaged boy, Fe!"

"Yes, you are." She grabbed her tensor bandage from the floor with her toes.

Sean sobered at the sight of it. With pursed lips, he sat up, grabbing his ankles briefly before he awkwardly rubbed his legs. "What's that for?"

"What?"

"You're binding again?" He slipped off the bed. Fern pursed her lips, but didn't try to stop him when Sean put his hands on her shoulders. As he rubbed caring circles into the sharp bones of her collar, his frown deepened. "I mean, it doesn't seem... healthy, doing that two days in a row."

The brunette shrugged. His itchy, aching hands rose and fell with the movement. "I'll be fine."

"You sure?" Sean asked, obviously not convinced.

Still, when she nodded, he let her go.

Fern offered him a tight simper before she stripped out of her t-shirt. Jaw clenched, the redhead sat back on the bed. He watched with morbid curiosity as she fixed the bandage around her chest, pushing her breasts down in an attempt to seem less desirable, less feminine and felt his stomach turn. Lips pursed, he absently smoothed a piece of it down under her ribs before she pulled a fresh a-shirt on. Leaning back from her, Sean watched as she slipped a long sleeve thermal shirt over her head.

"You really think Xavier's going to make us spar?"

"Probably." Fern shrugged as she pulled her pants down. Ignoring how his gaze flickered over her legs and ass, she slid on a fresh pair of undies. When he reached out to snap the band of them, she smacked his hand away and vowed not to go easy on him. "We're probably in the same weight class."

Sean scratched the back of his hand. "I don't want to fight you."

"Because I'm girl?"

"No, because I don't want to fight you."

"That's probably the fear talking." Her gaze fell knowingly to his crotch. At the small tent he seemed to be pitching, Fern smirked. "Or your dick."

"Why can't it be my heart?!"

Fern just stared at him. After a long moment, she gave the front of his pants a knowing, somewhat condescending tap.

Sean blushed scarlet. "The dick is attached to the heart!"

"Technically all the organs are attached to the heart."

He glared at her, and glared harder when she pulled a pair of sweats on. At least her butt had been a friend through the slander.

"Oh, and by the way," She spun to face him and gave his forehead a quick jab with her index finger. "You're never sleeping with me again."

The young man grabbed one of her sweatshirts from the floor and secured it around his waist. Erection effectively hidden (unless someone was really looking for it, but besides Fern, he couldn't imagine anyone who would), he replied in the same nonchalant, but still somehow persistent, manner, "Oh, yes, I am."

"Oh, no, you're not," Fern mocked back as they slipped into the hallway. "You take up too much room."

"I take up too much room?!" Sean shot back incredulously. His fingers found hers, but he didn't pull her to his side. Instead, he reminded her with a gentle hip check, "You were using my head as a foot rest!"

"I'm entitled! It's my bed!"

"Wow," A voice mocked from behind them. It was filled with mirth and when the couple turned, they found Alex approaching them. His smile was wide and smug and he shook his head as he gave Sean a light shove. "I didn't know you were that desperate for a bed warmer!"

Still blushing hard, the redhead shook his head. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Fern's skin wavering, her expression going hard, and he snapped, "Man, shut the hell up!"

"What?! It was just a joke, I know you and Fern would never, you know…" The blond wrinkled his nose and glanced at the girl. He offered her a smirk, but her expression didn't change. Without a word, Fern stormed off, leaving them alone. Alex frowned after her. "What's her problem?"

Sean shook his head. "You are such an asshole."

"What?! What'd I say?!"

As the redhead followed her lead, Fern made her way to down to the kitchen. Sean took off to his room to get ready for the day, but the brunette paid him no mind as she greeted Hank at the table.

The bespectacled young man glanced up from his oatmeal. "Hey."

Jaw tight, Fern considered a few moments before she decided to offer an olive branch. It was the right thing to do; after all, they lived together, they were on the same side, and she couldn't really blame him for his low self-esteem. "So...thanks for helping me with my hair." She licked her teeth. "And making me a suit to keep my insides from turning into scrambled eggs. I appreciate it and I'm sorry I got so defensive."

Hank offered her a limp shrug. His features were passive, but not completely open and his voice suggested a bit of hesitance as he told her, "It's fine."

"I meant what I said." The young woman sat in the chair in front of him. "But I guess it's not my place to judge want you want to do with your own body."

"It's not mine, either. I'm sorry if I crossed a line-"

"Me, too. Let's just leave it at that, okay?"

He smiled at her and nodded. "Okay." His eyes flickered over her face. "You did your bangs. They look good."

She absently primped the short black strands "It feels so weird, like my head's lighter."

"Well," Hank straightened as his tone took a decidedly more excited tone. "It is. An inch of human hair weighs approximately fifty micrograms so with the six inches cut off that's 0.0003 grams of hair."

Fern stared at him a long moment before offering a slow nod. "Right. Well, I saved you some. For science, I mean. Not like, to keep, that'd be weird, but I know you're doing some kind of DNA stuff, so I thought that could be a start."

Hank grinned at her, but it was bittersweet. "That's a really nice gesture, but they wouldn't contain any DNA."

Her brow furrowed. His oatmeal smelt really good and it was kind of distracting her. "They wouldn't?"

"No. DNA is found in the hair follicle, not the strand."

"Oh." What was in there? Cinnamon? It smelt like cinnamon. Absently, she plucked a strand of hair from her head and offered it to him. "Just don't rush me into anything else."

When he beamed at her, Fern felt a bit of guilt for her ploy, but it quickly ebbed away as he rushed off to test her and left her with a mostly full bowl of delicious oatmeal. Grinning to herself, she pulled the bowl in front of her and set in on it...just as Alex entered the room.

Her gaze sharpened at him, but besides merely canting her body to protect her meal, Fern offered him no acknowledgement. She watched as he gathered a box of cereal and set a jug of orange juice in front of her. Grabbing it, the young woman ignored his scowl as she began to chug it directly from the container.

The moment it left her lips, he snatched it back from her. Taking a swig, Alex seemed to consider his words a moment before he told her, rather bluntly, "Your boyfriend's too damn touchy."

"Yeah?"

Alex's eyebrows rose at the lack of denial. "Yeah." As he dropped into the chair across from her, he stuck his hand in the cereal box. After a pensive moment, he cleared his throat. He thought of how annoyed Sean had been, how the usually unflappable young man had sneered at him and felt a pang of guilt. Not a big one, but still. "Look...I know I rag on you a lot, 'cause you know, look at you, but I don't...mean it. You know that, right?"

"Wait-" Feigning stupidity, Fern blinked. "Do I look weird? Am I abnormal looking? No one has ever mentioned that before!" As he rolled her eyes at her fake smile, she went on with a snarl, "Wow, Alex, you must be really observant, you fucking tool."

Gaze levelled, the blond pursed his lips. "I'm trying to apologize."

"You're not very good at it." She reached over and took the container back from him before she squinted at him. "And which, of your many, insults are we talking about?"

Alex squinted right back. "This morning. When I took that shot at Sean for sleeping with you."

Unwilling to let him get off so easily, she arched a near invisible brow. "What about it?"

"I don't care if you guys...you know." Eyes on the table between them, Alex scratched the back of his neck. "It's none of my business. Sometimes I just like to get a rise out of people. I didn't mean for you to take it so personally."

"I didn't," Fern replied. She had been a bit embarrassed, sure, but she hadn't taken his words to heart.

The young man pursed his lips. "Sean did."

She lifted a passive shoulder. "He's a bit touchy about people making fun of me, especially after what Hank said."

"Why? What did Hank say?"

"Doesn't matter."

Alex eyed her skeptically. He wouldn't pretend to know Fern very well, and he hadn't made much of an effort to, but he knew something was going on with her. The blond wasn't sure if it was some kind of identity crisis but she had been acting kind of cagey. Or at least more cagey than normal the last few times he saw her. With a hum, he pushed back his chair. "You wanna see something cool?"

Fern pursed her lips. "It's not your penis is it?"

She had seen enough of those in the last twenty four hours.

Alex reeled back. Cheeks pink, he snapped, "No!"

"Then sure." Fern shrugged and dropped her, well, Hank's, spoon into the bowl. As she stood, she nodded. "Lead the way."

And so he did. The bunker was cold, probably too cold to swim comfortably in, but Fern didn't seem to mind. A grin broke across her face at the sight of the pool. Her skin, her whole body, went from her usual flint grey to a pearl color, almost white, as happiness radiated through her. Grabbing Alex by the arm, she demanded, "What. Is. That?"

"You've never seen a swimming pool before?"

"No I've never seen a swimming pool before!" The girl broke into a sprint toward it. Skidding on her knees, she peered into the clear blue water and bounced in place a moment before she called over her shoulder, "Why's it smell so weird?"

"That's the chlorine." Alex wrinkled his nose. As he approached her, he stuck his hands in his pockets. "Smells like Sean went a little heavy on it."

Fern turned to face him. Smile still wide, she asked, "Did you do this?"

He shrugged as he stood over her. "Well, me and Sean."

"For me?"

Alex forced down a smile and instead offered her a simply, somewhat smug nod. "Yep."

With a quiet squeak of glee, Fern gave his calf a quick squeeze before she stood. Crossing his arms, the young man didn't fight the smirk that pulled at his lips. Alex chuckled as she yanked her thermal over her head. A taunt had been on the tip of his tongue when it smacked him in the face. Grumbling, Alex tossed the shirt to the floor but stayed quiet as she dove into the pool. For a few seconds, the surface was still and calm before a muffled scream broke through the water.

Alex's smile dimmed. Edging closer to the water, he offered a quiet, "Fern?"

The girl began to thrash. Her long limbs spasming and shaking as she kicked and screamed in a frenzied panic.

The young man grabbed her, only for her to slip from his hold. Her scales damn near tractionless when wet, Alex could only manage to catch the back of her white a-shirt. Heaving her toward the surface, he looped a strong arm under her and all but threw her out of the pool.

Her scream was laced with coughing and choking as she convulsed on the tiled floor.

"Fer-Fern, stop!" Alex snapped at her. When she didn't, he grabbed her by the shoulders and pinned her down, or at least tried to. Sharp fingers clawed at his face, his hands, his neck. He flinched as her elbow shot out and snapped back, catching him hard in the jaw, but he barely noticed. In fact, a good portion of his body had gone numb.

Disturbed, Alex dropped his gaze to his hands. His palms were covered in sticky black tar, clinging to his skin and making it feel...strange. Tingly. He tried to swallow as the world around him seemed to tilt. Nausea pulled at him and he listed back. Vaguely, he wondered what was happening to him, why he couldn't breathe right and why his hands hurt so much. The faint itch growing into a searing pain as he began to seize.

Upstairs, Sean was just about dying from embarrassment. Apparently, not only did Charles know what had transpired between him and the grey skinned mutant the night before, but he approved of it. Or at least, that's what the box of condoms on his bed that greeted the redhead suggested.

He had only just tucked them into a drawer when the sound of frantic foot falls gave him pause. Frowning, he slipped over to the door, just in time for Erik and Charles to race past him. With a chuckle, the redhead called, "Where's the fire?!"

"Tell Hank to ready the med bay!" Charles screamed over his shoulder. "Do it now!"

Sean blanched, but did as he was told.