Shout out to the always amazing Linda Ku for taking the time out to beta this for me. She's a gift.

It was damn near morning when Fern returned to her room. Unsurprisingly, Sean had once again invited himself into her bed. Torn between annoyed and grateful with the company, she approached him and sat on the very edge of the mattress.

He was hardly a first-rate specimen. Snoring obnoxiously on his back with a trail of drool marring his cheek (and her pillow), Sean was trying her patience and he wasn't even doing anything...well, besides taking up too much room on her bed (uninvited) for the second night in a row.

"Attractive," she drawled sarcastically under her breath. Fondness glinted in her eyes as she reached out. Fern's fingers found his red bangs and smoothed them back.

Sean shuddered at the sensation of her setae, a smile crossing his mouth as he snuggled closer to her (damp) pillow.

Her mind drifted back to his hands on her face, his thumb nail catching between the scales on her cheek, his hips pressing into hers.

Skin shimmering with embarrassment, Fern rubbed her leg and flexed her toes in the plush carpet. Her gaze whipped away from him to focus on the lamp shining brightly on the nightstand. Fuck. She was turning into Raven; or worse, Hank. With a scowl, she stood and moved toward the bathroom. She wasn't about to get caught mooning over some stupid boy. Limbs achy and glands sore, the girl made a mental note to ask Charles if she could take the carpet out. Assuming they made it through the fight with Shaw, anyway.

Her hand froze where it rested on the door, both at the thought and the sight before her. The tiled floor was spotless. He had cleaned up. Sean had cleaned up her skin, her blood, and didn't seem the least bit disturbed.

Her expression softened as her hand fell. Turning on her heel, she moved back to the bed and stared at his lanky frame a long moment.

Sean wasn't made for fighting. He was too nice and too skinny and too...important.

Grabbing a few pillows, she began to build a wall against the boy's side.

Fern knew she and Sean didn't have a typical friendship. She may not have had many, and the friends she did have were still new to her, but she knew the difference. Sean was easily the best friend she'd ever had, but things were different with him and not just because of how he treated her. How he had always treated her, but because of how he made her feel; normal, and safe, and wanted.

Any one of those feelings were rare for her, but when they were together, she never felt...defective. Never felt like anything other than what she was; not a freak, or a monster, just a typical young woman. It was nice. New and a bit strange, and well, nice.

A quirk of a smile touched her mouth at the quiet huff Sean let out. His back arched and his freckled features screwed up fitfully a moment, but relaxed as she thumbed his temple.

Fern supposed it had started that second day. When he looked past her scales and let her sit out. She hadn't expected whatever that feeling was (this nice, scary, overwhelming feeling) to grow. She hadn't expected to want him like she did, she just...wanted to be with him. Wanted to hear his stupid jokes and touch him and have him touch her back. To laugh and bicker and hug him in the kitchen when his mother didn't know what she was talking about. Fern wanted to fight for him like she did for Josie and the idea of coming back to her bed one day to find it empty made her heart ache.

Carefully leaning over him to turn off the light, the young woman pressed a kiss to Sean's cheek before settling down beside him. After a moment's hesitation, she reached over the barrier to take his hand where it had been resting on his stomach. Thumbing his knuckles, Fern's eyes fluttered.

She wouldn't let that happen. She wouldn't ever let that happen.

It was a little after nine when Sean woke. The light streaming through the thin cotton curtains was nearly blinding. For a few moments, he simply took in the familiar scratch of Fern's setae against his fingers and her quiet breathing. It was soft and warm against his shoulder. He didn't have to open his eyes to know she had put up some kind of wall between them, he could feel it. Disappointed, the redhead sighed and slowly peeked his eyes open.

The room was just how he left it, with the exception of an extra person. Turning on his side, Sean let himself stare more openly at Fern's new form. The sunlight shone off her cheek like it was a lake; bright glimmers of pure white light that made her hard to look at. Most of her new black skin was covered in white cotton, down to her wrists and ankles. A frown flickered across Sean's mouth at the odd red speck that dotted her shirt.

Sitting up with a huff, he stretched his lanky arms out toward his feet before cracking his back. Sean let out a groan. His muscles were stiff from the previous day's training and he knew, somehow, today's was going to be worse. After a few seconds, he forced himself to stand.

After fixing the pillows away from Fern and covering her with a sheet, Sean closed the curtains and made his way down to the kitchen.

To his surprise, Hank and Charles were already there. The young redhead greeted them with a smile and a nod before he stuck his head in the fridge. "Mornin', folks."

Hank and Charles shared a small smirk before the latter spoke, "We were wondering when you'd be up."

"Me?" Sean straightened up. Curious, he hesitated before he rose the bottle of milk to his lips. "Everythin' went okay with my test results, right?"

"Oh, yes, of course." Hank nodded with a chuckle. "A clean bill of health all around."

The redhead let out a sigh of relief and took a gulp.

Charles smirked and told him, "we were hoping you'd be willing to try flying today."

"Really?!" Sean sputtered, choking and coughing behind his hand. His cheeks red and eyes bright, he looked between them as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

Hank didn't bother to try to suppress his grin. "If you're interested, I have a prototype ready."

"Hell yeah, I am! Lemme get changed! I gotta tell-"

"Sean." The young man paused at the Professor's voice. Blue eyes wide, he spun to face him as the older brunet pointed a stern finger at him. "Let her sleep."

With a sympathetic, but not quite pleased, nod, Sean left the kitchen. He had intended on going straight up to his room, when he remembered Alex. A bit sheepishly, Sean shuffled into the lab.

Sitting behind the desk was the young man in question. His head was back, glaring at the ceiling, and he didn't bother to look directly at the redhead when he asked how he was feeling.

"Like shit."

Sean winced. "Oh." Rubbing the back of his neck, he let out a sigh and moved to stand next to him. Hip against the desk and gaze low, he shook his head. "Look, man, don't blame Fern, okay? She-"

"It was an accident, I know. We've already moved onto new things to fight about." Things, which unlike nearly killing him, Alex would be holding a grudge over. Mostly because he'd been forced to let Hank help him, because buttons were no one's friends when their hands were numb.

The taller man chuckled, not completely surprised by the news. "Good." He sobered slightly as Alex sat up. At the slight pain in the blond's expression as he moved, Sean frowned. "It was my fault, ya know."

For a few seconds, his friend was quiet before he took a guess, "The chlorine thing?"

Sean nodded. Knowing that his last words to Alex would have been...less than kind, the young man swallowed. The guilt from their spat was almost worse than the guilt of actually causing the entire mess.

"You prick!" Alex gave him a shove that clearly hurt him more than Sean. Hissing through his teeth, he leaned back in the plush chair, his hand on his lower back.

"I'm sorry."

The blond just frowned at him.

Unable to take the guilt, Sean asked, "Would watching me jump out of a window make you feel better?"

"...Maybe." A smile twitched at Alex's mouth.

At the sight of it, the gangly boy scowled. "Don't get your hopes up! Hank says it's gonna work."

"And we're believing him?"

"You wanna see me jump out the damn window or not, Summers?!"

"Yeah," Alex nodded and stood. Clapping his friend on the shoulder, he gave the redhead a slight shake to let him know all was forgiven. "I really, really do."

A more relieved smile came across the ginger man's lips. "Good. Let me go get changed so we can get this show on the road."

-Several hours later-

It had been a long day. A long, painful day of jumping out windows, ridicule, and far too much laughter at his expense, and Sean was ready to give in and eat his feelings. His feet dragged as he made his way down to the kitchen. Fingers tugging at the metal buckles, he cursed under his breath. If there was one upside to the bruises and headache and sore throat, at least Fern wouldn't get to see him in the stupid suit.

The thought had barely passed through his head when he flicked the kitchen light on.

And there, of course, sat Fern. It was kind of hard to tell where her skin ended and her hair began, but there was no mistaking her large radiant blue eyes- even if they were half lidded with sleep.

Thrown by her seemingly sudden appearance (never mind that she had been there first) Sean shrieked, "Why were you in the dark?!"

"Why are you covered in grass stains?" She shot back, too tired to pretend to be anything but. Scooping another bite of salad in her mouth (straight from the leftover bowl, Sean noticed), the young woman regarded him. With her eyes fully healed and the bright lights overhead, she had no problem seeing him.

Frankly, he looked like hell. His hair was messy, his grey work out clothes matted with sweat and dirt and the previously mentioned stains. Beyond the series of small nicks and cuts, a bruise marred the left side of his jaw.

Fern pointed her fork at the latter. "What happened to your face?"

"What happened to yours?" The young man shot back with a scowl. At her frown, he sighed. Approaching the table on stiff, achy legs, Sean slid into the seat across from her. "I tried flying today."

As he rubbed his face, her gaze fell to the metal buckle across his chest. "Is that right?"

"Yeah."

"And I take it everyone was in on the show but me?"

"I was supposed to let you sleep."

With a hum, Fern stabbed a piece of tomato and offered it to him. This was less an act of kindness and more one of practicality; she hated tomatoes.

Sean did too, but he appreciated what he thought was the sentiment and ate it anyway. As he fought back a grimace and chewed, he watched her pick through her salad. Fern's movements were slow and her eyes half-lidded. With a swallow, he asked, "How'd you sleep?"

"I would've slept better if some moron hadn't spent the whole day screaming outside my window."

The redhead winced. "You heard that?"

She sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. The short locks still felt foreign to her. Pushing the bowl away, the young woman slumped slightly in her seat. "No. I'm just still tired."

"Wanna go to bed with me?"

After starting to nod, Fern paused. Her eyes narrowed on the splotch of mud along his hairline. Staring at it, she asked, "You're gonna shower first though, right?"

"Yeah."

"Than sure, why not?" Standing, the young mutant slipped out of her seat and over to his. Sean stared at her, watching her skin flicker in that strange new oil slick pattern over her chest as her hand touched the metal buckle wrapped around his torso. The colors shifted as she met his gaze, flowing over her entire body like a wave. She smiled. Her fingers drifted from his chest to his neck as she pressed a kiss to his cheek. At the heat of his blush, the girl let her lips drifted across his skin to brush the corner of his mouth. "Sean?"

His eyes fluttered at the whisper. "Mhm?"

"You really need a bath."

Cackling, Fern shoved his face away from her and made her way upstairs. As she ascended toward her room, her expression sobered. Sean had been wearing metal buckles. Hackles high, she stalked toward Erik's room. Jaw clenched and scales shimmering, she gave the door a boot. When the noise went ignored, Fern kicked it again, and again, and once more for good measure before snapping.

"Open the fucking door, Lensherr!"

Eyebrows high, Erik obeyed. His eyes widened at the sight of her, at her new inky skin and bared teeth, but he composed himself quickly. "Evening, Fern."

Hackles high, she grit out, "Why didn't you catch him?"

"Who?"

"Sean!" The brunette growled as her sharp nails dug into her palms. "Why didn't you levitate his harness before he hit the ground?"

A wide smile cracked over the man's lips. It made her stomach turn, and the jovial, nonchalant lilt in his voice almost made the young woman flinch. Sneering, he leaned an arm above her head against the door frame. "To remind him of his failure, to give him a reason to try harder...and frankly, because it's funny."

Fern didn't share his mirth. Disturbed by how casually he leaned into her personal space, she leaned back on her leg. Teeth bared once more, she sneered, "He could hurt himself, and when he does, I'm putting it on you."

"My, my." Erik crossed his arms over his chest. Chuckling at her (less than intimidating) threats, he teased, "Does your precious little idiot know your out fighting his battles?"

"You're a sick man, Erik." The young woman stepped back, putting some space between them as she shook her head. "And it worries me that Charles has so much faith in you."

"Likewise." At her flinch, the man pressed, "Tell me, how does it feel being a hypocrite, Fern?"

Voice soft, she dropped her gaze as her scales twisted with shame. "I'm not a hypocrite."

"Really? You question the use of my powers when you don't even have the slightest control over yours."

Not quite steady on her feet, her skin blazed as she shrieked, "I have control!"

"Really?" He smirked. "Tell that to Alex."

The door closed in her face. Fern stared at it for a beat before she turned and stomped up to her room. She didn't even notice Sean on the staircase below.

The young man waited for her to be out of earshot before slowly easing into the hall. Frowning, he considered confronting the man, telling him off and maybe knocking him out a window, but decided against it. Fern could fight her own battles. She wouldn't want him interfering. A snort left him at the irony, but he merely kept on his way. A shower was waiting for him, and he wasn't about to leave his lady love waiting.

Not twenty minutes later, Sean appeared before said lady.

"There, now I'm all clean and fresh and ready for-" He faltered in the doorway. Pointing a finger at her, he snapped, "What the hell are those?"

"What?" Fern didn't look up from her book. Her attempt at nonchalance was...not very nonchalant. Her skin rolled and swirled as she pursed her lips.

"Your gloves…" Sean shut the door behind him. "What's with the gloves?"

The young woman faltered as he took a knee on the bed. "I just thought-"

"You thought wrong," his tone was gentle and so were his fingers as he tugged the leather off her hands. After dropping them on the nightstand, he slid the book from her fingers and tossed it carelessly over his shoulder. She arched a brow as Sean purred, "Wanna fool around?"

A harsh laugh was knocked from her chest; half at his attempt at bedroom eyes and half from shock.

"Come on," the young man leaned forward. "Kiss me."

Fern stiffened, recalling Erik using the same posture only minutes before. She squirmed onto her side. "No."

Mistaking her agitation for coyness, the redhead chuckled and pressed his mouth to her shoulder, her neck. "Don't fight it, babe, it's- ow ow ow!"

Unable to stand being expected to perform, Fern scowled and twisted his nipple harder. "Don't get fresh with me, Cassidy." She let him go with a shove that almost knocked him off the bed. "Just because I like you doesn't mean you have a monopoly on my body."

Rubbing his tender chest, Sean frowned. He watched her pull a pillow to her chest, her long limbs coiled around it like a boa, as her skin shimmered with something he couldn't place. "I know."

"Hm."

"I was just teasing, Fe. You know I'd never expect anything for you."

Some of her doubt ebbed away as he touched her arm. His features were flushed, but sincere and open and the hopeful "really?" slipped from her lips before she could stop it.

"Honest." A bit cautiously, he leaned down and kissed her cheek. He felt her scales shift under his mouth, but didn't linger. Pulling back, Sean watched her a moment, but couldn't read her expression. He hated that. Lips pursed, the young man eased closer to her. "He's wrong, ya know."

Her brow furrowed. "What?"

"Erik."

Fern's skin shifted- quick, harsh spasms around her chest and face as she held the pillow with clawed fingers.

Sean watched her scales shiver with sad eyes, but kept his voice firm, "You're nothing like him."

"I could be." The young woman sat up, her back pressed tight to the headboard as she went on with a hint of hysteria, "We're not that different!"

Ever the epitome of calm, the redhead shook his head. "Yes, you are."

"No, Sean, we're not! We're both paranoid freaks who can't-" She paused as he touched the back of her hand. With a deep breath, Fern tried to calm herself. She didn't want to get worked up, she didn't want to have another accident, not with Sean. Swallowing, the young woman sighed. "I don't want to end up like him."

"You won't," he promised. His fingers tipped her chin up. "I won't let you."

Her eyes sparkled and a smile pulled at her lips at his earnestness. Looking up at him, she fought her grin down to a simper and asked, "What did I just say?"

Sean jerked back, shielding his nipples with his arms. His freckled arms were a stark contrast to his white t-shirt. "Don't you dare give me another purple nurple!"

"Another what?"

Blue eyes narrow, Sean crawled into the bed. Settling back against the headboard beside her, the redhead considered putting his hand on her leg, but thought better of it. "Don't pretend you don't know what they are. You'd kick my ass if I tried yankin' on your tit like that."

She chuckled. "Yeah, probably."

"Come on," the boy whined, "be nice to me. I've had a long day."

Rolling her eyes with a false sense of annoyance, Fern wrapped her arm around his shoulders. "Ugh. Fine."

"Can I kiss you again?"

"Of course, I just…" Her scales twirled with embarrassment. "It caught me off guard. I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry." His lips brushed against hers. "You ever feel uncomfortable, we'll stop, okay?"

Her features darkened, but only slightly, as Sean brushed his nose against her own. "So you don't end up like Alex?"

"So you don't end up like Erik." At her frown, the young man sat up straighter. His fingers tipped her jaw toward him, but she wouldn't meet his gaze. "I don't wanna see you get jaded like him because of what people have done to you. I don't ever wanna be one of the people that've hurt you, Fe."

Her eyes met his. Sean seemed serious, somber even, despite the fond smile he offered as she touched his mouth. His soft, raspy voice was a stark reminder of how fucking in love with him she was, and not wanting to deal with that, she let her hand drift. Fingers winding through his damp hair, she yanked him into a kiss.

Sean moaned as his mouth hit hers. Without a moment's hesitance, he slid into her arms. His hand ran up her thigh; he could feel every bump and ridge of her glands and scutes through the thin material of her pajama pants, but all he could focus on was the bold, shameless broach of her tongue against his own.

Proud of his response, of how his fingers dug into the pillow next to her and his hips shifted so restlessly, Fern let a small smirk stretch across her lips. She could feel his blush, warm and bright against his pale skin, and couldn't resist touching it.

A shudder coursed down his spine at the sensation of her saete stroking his neck. Arching into her touch, Sean blinked at her hoarse chuckle. A crooked grin crossed his lips at the sight of her smile. "What?"

"Nothing."

"Oh yeah?" He kissed her once, twice, before giving her thigh a squeeze. "You sure about that?"

The nod she gave him was quick and teasing, but her lips stayed pursed in an attempt to fight a grin of her own.

"Well, that's something we'll have to work on," Sean replied as he moved to crawl over her, to blanket her form with his and feel her scales shift under his touch- assuming of course, she let him strip her out of her sweatshirt.

She just might have, had the young man not winced. Alarm shot through her and she quickly sat up. "What's wrong?!"

"Nothing-" At her obvious doubt, Sean sighed. "It was just a twinge."

"Where?"

"My side- hey!" He blushed as she pulled his baggy white t-shirt up. At her gasp, the redhead huffed. "It's not as bad as it looks."

"Really? 'Cause it looks pretty bad." Fern's big blue eyes narrowed on the patchwork mess of purple and green that was Sean's stomach. Her clawed fingertips brushed over them as she tutted sympathetically. As someone intimately familiar with bruises, she knew how much of a pain they could be.

His shrug did little to ease her worry. "I just put a bit too much weight on one of my bruises."

"What weight?!" Fern snickered. "You're like 90 pounds!"

Offended, he jerked his shirt down. "I'm 158!"

"Seriously?" Her nearly invisible brows rose. "That is so sad."

"Hey!"

"Lay down, Sean."

He frowned. "But we were gonna-"

"No we weren't."

"What, not even hand stuff?"

She tilted her head. "What kind of hand stuff?" At his impish smile, the brunette quickly cut him off. "Save it for when you're healed up."

Huffing with disappointment, Sean shimmied down to rest his head on her breast. Arms looping around her lithe body, he sighed. "Play with my hair and tell me you love me."

Fern considered a few moments. He smelt like Dial soap. Carding her fingers through his hair, she absently checked for any bumps he might have acquired testing his new (incredibly stressful), before she told him, "I love your hair."

"Close enough." Unsurprised, but not thrilled, Sean pulled her closer. Her scales zigzaged under his cheek, shifting from cool to warm and back again. The setae of her fingertips was soothing and stimulating at the same time. Lips quirked, he nestled closer to her and closed his eyes.

As he drifted off to sleep, the young woman smiled to herself. Peering down at him, she could only see the top of his head, but she recognized the easy slow pattern of his breathing and let her head fall back to rest against the headboard. His words drifted through her head; how Sean wouldn't let her end up like Eric. His words were nice, but not exactly reassuring, because no matter how he denied it, she could absolutely see it. She and Eric already had so much in common; the same paranoia, the same fear, the same world views, the unrelenting rage just under the surface, and Fern knew if she let it, it would control her, too. Worse, Fern knew it wasn't a matter of if, but when.

Kissing the top of Sean's head, she ran her fingers down his pale arm before she began the monumental task of trying to wiggle down the mattress. The redhead let out a grunt, but let himself be shifted.

The moment her head hit the pillow, Sean threw his arm over Fern's chest. Ignoring her scoff, he placed a peck to her cheek and nuzzled into her neck. Her scales faintly scratching his skin, the young man ran his fingers down her arm and wove them with her own.

"Night, babe.

"I thought you weren't gonna call me baby."

"Babe ain't baby, babe."

Rolling her eyes, Fern looped her arm around him and absently stroked his spine. "Go to sleep, Sean."

With a smirk on his lips, he did, and she soon followed suit.