Thanks for your patience! Please enjoy this final chapter!
Scott was numb as he stood above the pale still form of Bellion. He reached forward and held the slender man's hand firmly in his own, trying to ignore the fact that he was trembling as he did so. He had carried Bellion to Hank as fast as he was able and it almost wasn't fast enough.
The Professor had met them in the lab and seemed as disturbed as the rest of them at Bellion's actions. He shook his head "How did this happen…he didn't seem so…" He wasn't able to finish the sentence as they looked down at the weak young man.
Hank was able to give them some insight as he said softly "It is possible that he didn't appear in great distress because he wasn't…to him it was a matter of course, he had his regrets and that's what you picked up on professor…" He shook his head "It is something ingrained in him through culture; I doubt that anything will change the way he thinks."
Scott heard that and tightened his lips but said nothing as he thought that one way or another he would change Bellion's way of thinking. He took a seat and absently heard Hank say that all Bellion needed now was rest. The two left the room leaving Scott alone with his thoughts and Bellion.
Scott took the time and silence to study over Bellion and he realized that the dead were dead. There was nothing he could do for them except come to terms with the loss and be there for those who were still living. What if he had lost Bellion today?
That thought stopped him cold. He had only now realized the amount of time in his life Bellion consumed. They had their talks, they walked through the garden, they spent many hours together even before Jean died. His grip tightened as he tried to come to terms with what his emotions were telling him.
A gruff voice broke his line of thinking when it said "Hold that hand any tighter and you'll end up breaking it bub."
Scott looked up and was not surprised to see Logan standing there, or that he apparently entered silently. He said nothing and turned his attention back to Bellion still struggling with himself.
Wolverine studied him for a moment and was surprised at the anger that the picture before him evoked. He growled and said roughly "You know he wouldn't be in here now if you hadn't ignored him…" It was crueler than he usually was, but being human even Logan couldn't control the darker parts of his personality.
Scott looked up sharply and his lips pressed together furiously as he said tightly "I know… I'm going to fix that."
Logan stepped closer and narrowed his eyes as he said angrily "Or maybe you'd be better off leaving him alone." He shook his head and gestured to the bandages around Bellion's midsection "He's banged up big time because of you…he did that for you."
Scott stood up in one fluid motion and grabbed Logan by his collar and pushed him against the wall in a surprising show of strength "How about you back off?" He said furiously giving Logan a shake to warn him off.
Logan however wasn't going to back down and said "What so that you can kill him off with the way you treat him? We all see how that worked for Jean didn't it?"
There was a cold silence echoing in the room before Scott saying slowly "Are you saying that Jean thought sacrificing herself would save us all because I ignored her?" He didn't raise his voice but the tone conveyed his feelings perfectly.
Logan took a step forward and said "Well maybe if you hadn't ignored her she would have found another way. Now you're doing the same thing to him and it almost ended the same!"
As they argued they were not aware that they were no longer alone as Bellion slowly became conscious. He was surprised by the amount of pain he was in. He had always comforted the dying saying that death was peace from pain. Had he lied? Now however he realized he was not in the afterlife but in Hanks Lab once again. He frowned, how had he gotten here?
He looked up when he heard harshly spoken words and saw Scott and Logan baring their teeth at each other and wondered what had been the cause of this feud. He had never met any other people who were more inclined to constantly aggravate each other. He was weary and so he relaxed back against the bed still trying to understand how he managed to get here.
Scott had noticed the movement and turned his attention away from Logan for a minute and instead focused it on Bellion. He sat down next to the Shaman and was careful not to startle him as he reached forward and touched his cheek "How are you feeling?"
Bellion took a slow breath as he said softly "I am filled with shame that I did not manage to atone for your loss."
Scott blinked at the truth he could hear in the Shaman's words and his anger returned to him in full as he reached forward and said firmly as he forced Bellion to look at him. "I still don't understand why you did that…did you think that would make me happy?"
Bellion was surprised at the anger he heard in Scott's tone, but instead of him being upset for Bellion failing to atone it seemed that he was upset that he had tried to atone. Now more than ever he missed the simplicity of his home and life in the village.
While this exchange was taking place Logan had been watching closely and sighed as he shook his head. It seemed as if it was useless to ever think that there would be a way to change the Shaman's nature to take all blame unto himself whether or not it was truly his fault or even if there was no possible way for him to stop it.
Logan continued to watch their exchange and decided to leave, he was in no mood to talk civilly to Scott any longer and he was very sure that his foul temper would do nothing to reassure Bellion that they were truly happy that he was still amongst the living.
Bellion saw Logan leave and wondered if his presence disturbed the warrior that much. He was once again pulled out of his train of thought when Scott's firm grip forced him to look at his face again. He could feel the fury through those eyes even though he couldn't see them. What surprised him was also the aura of concern that was permeating the entire warrior's tense form.
There was a cosmic moment that passed between the two as they stared into each other's eyes and Scott said simply "The only thing that would make me happy is if you stayed here with me…"
Bellion's eyes went wide and much to his confusion he was on longer able to think as Scott lowered his lips slowly to the Shaman's. As if he was afraid that to move faster would make him panic and he would lose his chance to touch him forever.
After the moment passed and Scott pulled away he was surprised that there was only warmth and understanding in the Shaman's eyes as Bellion whispered softly, almost so softly that Scott couldn't hear him even though he was mere inches from those lips "So that's what she meant…"
Scott didn't understand what that meant, but it seemed as if the Shaman's panic had been eased and something inside of him was satisfied by this turn of events. That theory was confirmed when Bellion moved forward and gently initiated his own kiss, "Thank You." He whispered.
Their lips moved slowly, testing this new ground and slowly Scott began to increase the pace as the desire and want he had been keeping tightly reigned began to slip free.
Outside the window an owl that had been watching the entire exchange flew away and returned to its base.
Mystic returned to her usual form and looked at confusion at Magneto "They were kissing." Her tone revealed the disbelief she felt.
Magneto's eyebrow rose when he heard this and then withdrew into himself to think deeply for a moment. "How is this possible…?" He thought to himself. "He should despise them…they took him away from his home and refuse to allow him to return? We even had that telepathic place those false visions into his mind…how?"
Mystique was just as puzzled as her master, but then again, neither of them would ever be able to understand the limitless goodness and faith the human spirit could possess.
THANK YOU So much for enjoying this story! I hope that everyone enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!