Scott accidentally adopts a child and Bobby has to deal with this.

Utopia was a bustling island of the few remaining mutants in the world. The older mutants who had a better grasp on their powers were spread thin already as it was, taking care of the children, teaching them, training them. Bobby was up in the air, flying backwards after one of the students had use a sonic type of power on him. He closed his eyes, sighing as he flew away. "Just one day," he sighed, "I'd love to not be sent flying just one day." He made an ice ramp that slowed him down enough for him to regain control. He made an ice slide back down to his students where the girl who had clapped her hands and sent Bobby on his journey was getting pats on the backs and careful fist bumps. He smiled, because he really was proud of her for getting her abilities so controlled.

However, the spot her sonic abilities had really hit him at was beginning to throb and he knew he'd have a horrible bruise when he took his shower later tonight. "Great job, kids," he said, smiling wider, because he really, really was proud of all the kids. They were all working so hard. He dismissed them and watched them run off, some of them in groups, others alone. Some laughed, others talked, and others seemed to become lost in thought. Ever since the sudden drop in mutants and the lack of more being born, Bobby had begun to really focus on each and every single one of his students. Sometimes, thought, taking care of thirty-some-odd kids without help was difficult.

He made his way down to the docks were Scott should be coming in soon, the sun was setting over the horizon, sending an array of fiery colours across the water, staining it like paint on a canvas. Bobby allowed his mind to wander and almost didn't notice the boat coming closer. At first it was a black silhouette against the splash of emotion in the sea and in the sky, but it slowly became more than a thought and took form and sound. Bobby smiled when he saw Scott leaning over the rail, waving to him. Despite the sudden decrease in mutants and the lack of new mutant births, they were still finding new mutants in every crevice of the world, unaffected by the Scarlet Witch's decision. They were a small population of about two-hundred now, but that didn't mean their survival wasn't threatened by outside forces constantly. Scott and the others were constantly out in the real world, trying to fix things that weren't quite broken and break things that weren't quite together.

Scott stepped off the boat once it docked, a small mutant trailing behind him. "Bobby, I'd like you to meet Dill." Bobby looked at the child, heart squeezing. His skin was green and covered in bumps of varying sizes, some as small as moles and some as large as silver dollars. He reminded Bobby of a pickle. His eyes were dark green as well, surrounded by an almost surreal whiteness. He had no black in his eyes, no pupil. He stepped out from behind Scott shyly, giving Bobby a tentative, hopeful smile. "We found Dill in downtown Seattle. He doesn't much care for flying so we opted to take the boat back."

Bobby knelt down, holding out his hand and smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Dill." Dill took his hand and gently shook it. His skin almost felt like scales. "Welcome to Utopia. You'll love it here." Bobby stood and smiled at Scott. "Why don't you go relax," he suggested, "I'll find Dill a room and introduce him to the students."

Scott smiled sheepishly. "Well, see, here's the problem." He laughed nervously, "Dill really took a liking to me and he kind of might be calling me Dad."

Bobby just stared at Scott with a look of disbelief, eyebrows drawn together and mouth slack. "You're telling me… that you just… accidentally adopted a child?"

Bobby ran his hands over his face, groaning slightly. Dill was sleeping in the arm chair in the room he shared with Scott. The kid was cute, he could say that much, but still… Scott just adopted a child without even consulting him. "How do you accidentally adopt a child?" He turned to face Scott who was reading a book in their bed. He raised an eyebrow over his glasses before shrugging. "No, seriously. Scott. How did this happen? What are we going to do with him?"

Scott sighed and set his book down. "Bobby, it's not that big of a deal. We practically adopted every single child here on Utopia; you never complained about me bringing a kid home before."

"Well that's because none of them were calling you Dad." He threw his hands into the air and forced himself not to groan loudly. He didn't want to wake up Dill and he didn't want the kid to think he didn't like him.

"He's just been calling me Dad and that's it." Scott played with a thread on the blanket and worried his lip. "You don't have… you don't have to think of him like your kid if you don't want to, Bobby."

Bobby slumped, a sound leaving him that wasn't quite a sigh and wasn't quite a cry. "Scott, don't… don't do that. Don't…" He sat on the bed, looking over at Dill was sleeping so peacefully. "Tell me how this happened, please"

Scott shifted and turned to look over at Dill. "He was living in an orphanage. One of the few people not affected by Wanda's magic." Orphan, the magic word that always tugged at Scott's heartstrings. "I saw him in the courtyard when the kids were playing and I knew it wasn't some medical mutation but instead one of our kinds of mutations. I went into the orphanage and asked… I asked to meet some children because I was thinking on adopting." He sighed, leaning back. "They took me through every single child eligible except for him. When we were done, I was sitting there and they were asking me what I had thought about the children and if I had made a decision and…" He rubbed his face with his hands, groaning. "I asked them where he was. I said 'I want to see the child that's green,' and they looked at each other with so much worry and… disgust." Scott sounded angry. His jaw twitched and he balled up his fists.

"And when they brought him out, the… the fucking caretaker wouldn't even look at him. And they said that they didn't know why I would want him but that his names was fucking-" He took a deep, angry breath. "They said that he had been there for eight years and according to their physician, he was only eight. He just showed up on their doorstep one night with a note and it… it fucking… It said," Scott's hands were shaking and he was red in the cheeks. "It said 'we don't want him and no one would. Do with him whatever you have to do' and they told me his name was Dill because... " He looked over at him. "Well, you're no idiot, Bobby, you can figure that part out on your own."

Bobby felt his heart sink into his stomach. That was such a horrible thing to hear. "So I… I couldn't help it. I asked how much it would cost to adopt him and they… They didn't even ask for clearances they were just so happy to have him out of their hands and they were practically cheering. I couldn't help it, Bobby. They wouldn't just let me take him, even though they didn't want him. They wanted their payoff." He let out a tense breath. "So I adopted him and my God, Bobby, you should have seen the way his eyes were lighting up and he was so excited to go get his stuff and to come home with me. And he was saying how happy he was to finally have a dad and he couldn't wait to make friends and that he could finally have his own room and he'd live with people that wouldn't make fun of him. Bobby, I've never been so moved by something I've done. He's so happy with a dad now and I don't regret it."

Bobby laughed lightly, leaning over Scott to kiss him. "Oh my god, you bleeding heart. I'm not mad at you. I never was, I just… Just didn't know how you accidentally adopted a child. Fine, be his dad, but I get to be the super cool dad. Gettit? Cool? Because I'm ice?"

Scott groaned, laughing. "Shut up, Bobby." They laid there, tangled in each other, savouring the moments of happiness they were granted so kindly by the world. "Do you think he'll be happy here?" Scott frowned, running his fingers through Bobby's hair.

"I think he'll be happier once he starts to make some friends and has his own room." He rested his head on Scott's chest, letting the worried fingers pull knots out of his hair. "Come one, what are you worried about? We have people here with blue fur, scales, four eyes, blue skin, green skin, purple skin, people who have snakes for hair, and people with tentacles. He'll fit in fine. He'll make friends. And, if anyone gives him any shit, he's got two dads to back him up."

Scott smiled and to Bobby, it was more beautiful than any painting done by Van Gogh or Monet or Picasso or Da Vinci or anyone else in the world. It was more beautiful than the sun setting over the sea. More beautiful than dew drops on grass in the misty early mornings before the sun has risen and the sky was a comforting grey. The beauty was devastating and Bobby didn't think he would ever stop finding that smile beautiful, but they were mutants, and of course, something bad always had to happen to mutants.

It wasn't long before Scott was embracing the Phoenix and Bobby was snatching Dill into his arms, swearing at Scott and running to the Blackbird, trying so hard to get Dill away from the evil that had suddenly become Scott. The evil that was killing and destroying everything every single one of them had ever worked for.

Of course, that hadn't happened yet, so Bobby was blissfully unaware. Blissfully ignorant and in love.