November 23rd, 1962

Mystique was perched in Erik's office waiting for him. She'd been noticing his regular absences over the past months, and she wasn't the only one. She just happened to be the only one in the group she figured he'd actually answer. The shapeshifter looked up as the door opened.

Erik was paying more attention to the door than his office, helmet already back in place after coming from the mansion. He stopped abruptly, noticing the shapeshifter on his desk. "Why, Mystique," he said mildly, covering up the surprise. "What's going on?"

She gracefully slipped off of the desk, "You've been gone a lot, Erik."

"Been busy," he replied, watching her movements.

Her brow arched, "Where have you been?"

"Places," he replied, moving around to sit behind his desk. "I don't need to check in with you now, do I?"

She frowned, "I don't remember saying you did. The others are noticing too, though."

"Perhaps. But since I have found neither knives nor poison in my bed, I believe it is working out well enough."

"They're growing suspicious. And honestly, I can't blame them. You go off for hours at a time without a word and barely say three words to anyone around here."

"I speak more than Riptide," he replied, shuffling through the papers. "And I've been doing more than enough work. After all, we've not only gathered intel and technology, but due to Azazel managed to take out a key operative in covert operations against mutants. What more would anyone want?"

She sighed, settling on the corner of the desk again, "Maybe a leader who's present?"

He arched a brow at her. "I'm present," he replied. "But I didn't realize my life had to be tied here."

"You know what I mean, Erik." Living with Charles for so many years had given her his verbal tic of using someone's name when irritated or soothing, "You leave frequently enough that there are questions being whispered. I don't know how to divert them if I don't know what I'm covering for."

Erik shifted at that, looking her over. "I just want something that resembles a personal life. It's hardly like I'm trading secrets with the enemy." Not technically.

"Well, they think you are. Or that bitch does, and she's got powers to influence."

Erik narrowed his eyes. "And would it be possible for me to say anything to waylay those suspicions?"

"You're not exactly subtle, and as much as you like to think it sometimes, not an especially good liar. So probably not."

"I never claimed to be a good lair," he replied.

"True enough." She looked him over sighing again, "You come back in far better moods than when you leave—most of the time. What's going on, Erik?"

He frowned, looking at the papers in front of him. "My moods are that obvious?"

"Only to someone who knew you before. Maybe better isn't the right word. More efficient might be closer to the truth."

He frowned and leaned back, considering her for a long moment. "Charles still misses you," he said finally.

She sighed, dropping her gaze to her blue hands, "I miss him too. Tell him 'hi' next time you see him, would you?" Her golden eyes scoped over the German's face.

"Alright," he said. "Anything else or just that?"

She considered for a long moment and then shook her head, "How is he?"

"He... the shot paralyzed him from the waist down, so most of his energy is working with Hank to correct that, and rebuilding the mansion into a school," Erik replied, slowly, realizing this would be the first time she heard this.

Her eyes widened and her breath caught, "P-paralyzed?"

Erik nodded slowly.

"Oh, God...he-he's alright otherwise though?"

Erik nodded again. "As much as he can be, yes."

"Good," she nodded decisively, rising again. "Tell him not to overwork himself, you know how he can get. And for God's sake, go carefully, Erik. We don't need the others getting suspicious enough to start prying."

"I will," he said softly. "And yes, I've noticed how he gets."

She offered him a faint smile, "Well, I wish you luck then."

Hesitating for a moment, he offered her a smile in return. "Thank you."

The shapeshifter nodded and slipped out of the office, closing the door softly behind her. Erik sighed, resting his head in his hands. Well, brilliant.

November 28th, 1962

Hank glanced up from the braces he was still working on when he heard someone enter.

Sean came over, looking the braces over, "Hey."

"Can I do something for you?" he asked, adjusting the spectacles he finally managed to make to fit his new face.

The redhead shrugged, "Not really, just wondering if you've heard anything more about the professor's idea of starting this place up as a school."

"Ah, yes," Hank said. "I believe we are working on several issues, one of which is even how to find students."

"What d'ya mean?"

"Well, last time we found the lot of you out of Cerebro, which was destroyed rather thoroughly by Riptide during the attack on the CIA. The only other obvious mutants tend to be picked up by the police for causing damage, whether they meant to or not. And since we no longer have the backing the government, getting said mutants out of prison is much more difficult than it was when they went to fetch Alex. Thus, until we get a Cerebro up and running again, it is difficult to even find the students. Let alone how to refurnish the mansion to function as a school."

"Wouldn't the refurnishing come first? I mean...he'd need Cerebro or whatever right? And he can't use steps like I think that last one had. So...it would need to be something he could get to, right? Am I following so far?"

"I believe so," Hank replied. "One of the biggest things we need to deal with are putting in subbasements and lifts, which takes a lot of work on a location supposed to be secret."

"Well, we've got us, so we can see what we can find, right? I mean, the Professor understands the blueprints, you'd know what would need to be put in, and Alex's power maybe would work for excavating? I might be able to locate weak points...not really sure if I can do that, but I could try. We'd just need help with the constructing bit."

"Possibly a lot of it," Hank said and paused for a long, long moment. "... Erik's help would move the process along much more quickly, however... I am loathe to bring it up with him, let alone the Professor."

Sean thought about that for a bit, "Well, you don't want to, and we know Alex won't...I could suggest it. I mean, it's no skin off my nose if the Professor says yes or no to it, and even less if Erik does."

"I suppose so," Hank murmured, fidgeting with his tools.

"We'll need his help, or at least it would make it easier. Would also maybe mean we wouldn't need to deal with the risks of people who don't know about us, right?" Sean tilted his head on one side, almost bird-like as he asked that.

"For once, I strongly disapprove of the use in logic."

He shrugged, "Well, it's there. I can mention it anyhow. They both have to say yes after all."

"Very well," Hank said with a sigh.

"Well, really I just wanted to see where we were on that." He looked at the braces, "What are those?"

"Leg braces for the Professor," he replied and made a face. "Ratchet joints and all."

"Ratchet joints?"

"They allow the person in the braces to sit down," Hank replied. "Which assumes he can stand in the first place. Not to mention it makes the entire frame weaker and just..." he shook his head. "More difficult to manage. But he's not really the type to argue with."

"Guess that's true. Well, you have solid back-ups right?"

"Yes," Hank replied. "I suppose we do. He's a remarkably stubborn man though."

Sean shrugged, "It can be a good thing, though. After all, it might actually get him on his feet again."

"That is the goal," Hank replied, offering him a smile. "One we might just reach as well."

"See, so there are good things to that stubbornness."

"Yes, no matter how frustrating it is to try and talk to him while he's being such."

Sean laughed, "Well, good luck with him then."

"Thanks," Hank said, smiling wryly.

The younger mutant offered him a grin before slipping out of the lab, "See ya later."

Hank waved after him.

December 2nd, 1962

Alex got out of his car, locking it and looking around. It wasn't often he came into the city—New York wasn't exactly somewhere you went by yourself unless you lived there after all. He looked around the area. It had taken him forever to track down a place where he might be able to get something that Hank might like for Christmas. There was some part of him that questioned why he was doing this, but the fact that he'd already done so for Sean and the Professor was enough to silence that. Then again their gifts hadn't been this hard to find. He entered the bookstore, glancing up at the bell over the door—old fashioned brass, huh.

The blond came out of the store a few minutes later with the book he'd purchased wrapped in brown paper and carried carefully in his arms. God it was heavy. He considered if there was anything to add to the gift and grinned slightly at a thought, but he could get that in Westchester, fifteen minutes from the edge of the estate rather than an hour. He was almost to his car when he thought he saw someone he recognized. Turning, he came face to face with Angel—her dark hair swept back away from her face and a winter coat around her shoulders, but there was no mistaking her. Alex scowled as she approached him.

"Hey, Alex."

"What do you want?"

"Don't be like that. I saw an old friend and wanted to say hi."

"We're not friends, and we never were." He turned to continue on his way, but she reached out, catching his arm.

"Oh, don't be like that. We were all friends back when they found us."

"Yeah?" He yanked away from her, "Seems to me the only people you got along with were Raven and Darwin. And let's see…Raven's on your side and Darwin? Let me think…oh, yeah," The fake smile that he'd been wearing vanished, "your old boss killed him."

She drew back at that, "It's not like that was my fault."

"No? If you hadn't gone near Shaw, Darwin wouldn't have felt the need to go after you."

"You don't get to point fingers, Summers! You were the idiot who gave Shaw enough power to blow Darwin up."

He tensed, drawing his hand back to hit her, but she just smirked and left.

Alex got in his car, tossing the book onto the passenger seat and trying to calm down. It wasn't working. He pulled away from the curb and drove back to the mansion, ignoring things like speed limits and the like. Once there he stopped the car and took off through the mansion into the bunker. He'd left the book in the car, but he really didn't care. Slamming the bomb shelter shut Alex fired off one of his blasts, not really caring what it did to the inside of the bunker at the moment, his adapter was upstairs but damn it he couldn't wait to grab it. He let off shot after shot until his energy was all but gone. He sank to his knees, the heels of his hands pressed against his eyes and flames licking the sides and floor of the bunker.

Hank's ears had perked from the kitchen when he thought he heard Alex return. When the other didn't appear for almost an hour, and thus long past the normal dinner time, he made up a plate and started poking around the mansion for him. He took note of something that looked like a book in Alex's favorite car, but no sign of the other mutant himself. After that he weaved his way down toward the bunker, pausing when the door was shut. He knocked hard on it.

Alex startled at the sound, quickly running his hands over his eyes and getting to his feet to grab the fire extinguisher. He got to work on putting out the flames, calling just loud enough to be heard through the door, "Yeah?"

Hank poked his head through the door, and raised his brows at the flames. "Is your adapter not working?" he asked softly and held out the plate. "You missed dinner."

"I forgot to put it on," he replied. He glanced at the other, "Lost track of time."

Hank shrugged. "It's no problem. Do you want help with the fire extinguisher?"

"No. I got it. You'll get your fur lit up if you come in here too far."

"True, I suppose," Hank said, looking around the bunker. "Did... something happen?" he asked, taking a closer look at Alex's face.

He shook his head, turning his back under the pretense of dealing with a bit more of the fire, "No."

Hank leaned against the doorframe. "Are you certain?"

"Yes."

The blue mutant just frowned at him, still holding the plate and waiting for him to finish. "Did you at least have fun? You were going to New York, yes?"

He finished, though it took him slightly longer as his hand was shaking, "Yeah."

Hank frowned more at that. "Well. Anything interesting in our bustling city?"

"Would you leave off?"

"I..." Hank paused and just held the plate out.

Alex finally turned to face him, eyeing the blue mutant warily, but took the plate.

"It was small talk," Hank replied, crossing his arms. "I'm sorry, I wasn't aware it was going to set anything off."

"Sounded a lot like prying."

Hank shrugged. "Alright, a little. I can't help it. I talk to all of three other people on the majority of my days. The fourth one that comes around I'd prefer to kick out on the curb. It's been a long time since I've been to a big city, and I suppose I just wonder if I'll ever have the chance again. I miss the opera. I'm sorry it sounded like prying."

Alex looked away, "Sorry. Yeah, the city was fine."

"I think I've already said this, but if you ever need to talk, I am here for that. I mean, as I said, it's not like I have that much communication with people anymore."

"Yeah, I-I got that." He settled down on the floor, leaning his back against an un-scorched part of the wall and setting the plate down next to him. He drew his knees up to his chest.

Hank hesitated before sitting down next to him.

"I hate this."

"This?" Hank asked. "The bunker? Dinner? Living here?"

He shook his head, touching his chest where he usually wore the adapter. "This. I can't control it anymore than my temper."

Hank let out a long breath. "Oh Alex. You're learning to control it though. Yes, you got a very short stick in terms of powers, but at least you can walk into a street now. You've gotten so much better about it, and someday might not even need the adapter, though for now it's certainly a safer plan."

Alex laughed bitterly, shaking his head, "Yeah, dandy. I can go out in public where it can do a hell of a lot more damage if I let my control slip, or if someone gets in my head or...the list goes on."

Tilting his head slightly, Hank considered him. "Perhaps. You seem to hold up rather well about it usually..."

"Saw that bitch today."

Hank blinked. "That bitch?" he asked, unsure which one Alex was actually referring to, but taking a couple guesses.

"Angel." He spat out the name.

"Oh that one," he said, his own expression darkening. "You saw her?"

"Yeah. Ran into her on my way to my car."

"And was that what prompted... this?" he asked, waving a furred hand around the bunker.

Alex shrugged, finally nodding.

"I'm sorry," Hank said.

Alex shrugged again, "Doesn't matter."

"I would disagree, but would rather not be prying."

"It..." He shook his head, "I don't know. I've been blaming her, but what if it wasn't her?"

"For what?" Hank asked, guessing but rather not making assumptions.

"Darwin," the younger man spoke quietly.

"How could that possibly have been your fault?" Hank demanded.

"This damn power. Y-you remember what Shaw could do? Did you ever see it?"

"I knew he could absorb energy, but we were generally too panicked to see anything at that point," Hank said.

Alex drew a shaky breath, "I wasn't... He absorbed my blast. Compressed it down to the size of a big gumball a-and made Darwin swallow it."

Hank blinked in shock. "Our, Alex, I... we didn't know. I mean, we knew it was Shaw but you never told us and..."

He shrugged again, "It happened. Not the first time my power's done something I didn't want to. Probably won't be the last..."

"Not the first?" Hank asked softly.

"I-I..." He shook his head, curling further in on himself, his forehead coming to rest on his knees.

"Was..." Hank paused. "Something to do with where they found you?"

Alex hesitated, but nodded very slightly, "Y-yeah."

"Oh, Alex," he said softly.

"It...I killed a guy. When it first showed up I mean."

Hank shifted slightly closer to him.

"Just about took off my sister's head too...my folks turned me in."

"I'm sorry," Hank said, voice much lower.

"It happened. Isn't like they were my real folks anyhow," he was still mumbling into his knees.

"What?" Hank turned to look at him abruptly.

Alex flinched slightly at the motion, "It was my foster parents, and sister."

The larger blinked for a long moment, before hooking an arm around Alex's shoulders. "You weren't responsible for Darwin's death. I'm not sure you really were for the other man either. Foster parents or not, that was still wrong of them."

He shuddered at the touch, but leaned into it slightly, "I...I still killed them. M-maybe not directly, but I did."

Hank let out a breath, and gently tugged Alex closer, into an actual embrace. "Maybe. I'm not very good at philosophy or assigning blame to anything, I'm just a scientist. But I do know that you're caring, and very brave, and I'm glad to know you."

"I'm a danger to everyone around me and it was better for all concerned when I was in solitary."

"You're not, and it's not."

"I almost didn't make it back here before letting go." He glanced at the scorched walls, "I don't have any control over it."

"But you made it," he said. "It's a fairly long drive and you made it. That's what matters. You're learning that control."

Alex shook slightly, "Yeah, great, I can keep from blowing up for an hour. Doesn't do me any good if I can't use the power outside of a damn bomb shelter."

"Not yet," Hank said. "You're young, Alex. You're learning."

"I'm sick of this. I'm no further than I was before. Not without that adapter."

"Alright, so you have to rely on something else, and I'm sorry for that. But at least you have something. You give me a bit of time to finish with the Professor's leg braces, and I can see about streamlining the adapter a bit more. It's an obvious weakness, yes, but I think I might be able to get it flat enough to fit under clothing, so long as it's not, say, skin tight," Hank tried, moving his hand very slightly in small circles where it rested on Alex's back.

"It's metal, Hank. Did you forget who's been roaming around the mansion for a while now?"

"Yes, alright, it's terrible and I'm so sorry you had to deal with this," Hank sighed softly.

Alex started to draw away again, "I...God I sound ungrateful don't I..."

"No, I mean, a little, but it's understandable," Hank replied.

He sighed, "I...I should, I dunno, go get my stuff outta my car or something."

"You could," Hank agreed. "But... It is alright to cry, or scream, or lose your temper sometimes."

"Yeah we can see how well that goes," Alex motioned to the wall they were leaning against.

"Well, preferably under controlled circumstances," Hank said, offering him a faint smile and something rumbling in his chest. He didn't even notice. "But if you pent it up too much, it will come out in uncontrolled ways and well, that wouldn't end so well."

Alex swallowed hard, "I..."

"Hm?" Hank tilted his head slightly.

He leaned against the other again, his shoulders shuddering very slightly, "I don't know if I can keep this up."

Hank let out another breath, chest rumbling again. "You can," he tried to protest.

"I'm so tired of it," he swallowed again. He was not going to break down in front of the other mutant. He could do that when he was locked away by himself

"I... I don't know, but I suppose I can imagine," Hank said softly. And I still believe you can."

Alex smiled bitterly, "Thanks..."

Hank shifted again, gathering Alex into an actual embrace, both arms around his back.

Alex started to pull back, but hesitated as it sunk in exactly how much of a risk this could be for the other and Hank still did it. There was a safety and trust in the touch that he didn't expect, and certainly didn't think anyone would offer him—a ticking time-bomb—since he couldn't return it. He swallowed hard before leaning his forehead against the larger mutant's chest and letting the tears he could feel pricking the back of his eyes finally fall.

Hank blinked at that, pulling the other a bit closer. "You're alright," he murmured softly, and his chest rumbled again, and continued to do so.

The blond teen allowed himself to cry, feeling his emotions fade back into a dull ache after far longer than he liked. He blinked rapidly to clear his vision, managing a weak grin after a moment. "Are...are you purring?"

"Am I...?" Hank paused and glanced down. "Oh. I am. I wasn't aware I could do that."

Alex started to pull back again, wiping his eyes, "Guess you can. We knew you could roar, so I guess this isn't too far out there."

"I suppose not. If I start playing with cat-nip toys however, please stop me."

That got a laugh as Alex remembered the second half of the Christmas gift he was considering, "What, I can't take photos first?"

"One photo. If you swear to god you won't show it to anyone else. And even then you might find it mysteriously shredded."

Havok pulled back, grinning, "Right, like you could stop me taking more than one."

"At that point? You're right, I probably couldn't. They would definitely end up shredded then."

"You'd have to find them first."

"What? I couldn't sniff them out?" Hank asked, teasing.

"I'd hide them well. And make copies," Alex replied, still grinning.

Hank narrowed his eyes slightly. "You wouldn't dare."

"Wanna bet?"

"Actually, let's not," Hank said. "Ever. I'm still hoping to avoid such a fate."

Alex grinned, almost saying something else before realizing that he was teasing at least as much as Hank had been. He drew back abruptly, "Well, anyhow. Thanks for this."

Hank blinked at the abrupt mood change. "Yes. You're welcome. I know it's not much, but if you want me to start working on a new adapter design, I can. And I'm sorry about Angel."

He shrugged, "The current one's fine. It's more streamlined than the original anyhow. And I'll get over that eventually. I always do." The younger man hesitated, "Can we maybe not mention this to anyone?"

"I wasn't planning to," Hank replied with a small sigh.

"Thanks." He finally got to his feet, "I'd better go unload my car."

"Do you want help?"

Alex shook his head quickly, "No, it's not much."

"Alright," Hank said, rising. "Good luck with everything then."

"You too." He paused for a long moment, "Hey, have you considered trying to work up something to hide your fur?"

Hank glanced up. "Yes. The only thing I've really found possible would be something to... cover my appearance. Something to create an illusion, and I'm not sure if I can do it. After all, this started because I... wanted to look normal."

"I'm not knocking the blue look—it's you—but even just so you can go out for a while."

Hank offered him a small smile. "Yes. I am working on something. And... thank you."

Alex nodded before slipping out to get the book from his car. Hank sighed again, before rising and taking the plate back to the kitchen and retreating to the lab.

Alright, so... Alex and Hank appear to be attempting to take over. We promise this is not the case (Erik and Charles are still the main thread holding this story together) but as the story expands from it's original one-shot status, we're dealing with a larger cast of characters, and building up different relationships, so we hope you all bear with us on that and enjoy the other characters as well.

Also, your playlist for the fic so far:

"Antebellum" by Vienna Teng, "Hell to Your Doorstep" from the Count of Monte Christo Soundtrack, "Doorway" by IO Echo, "Eric's Song" by Vienna Teng, and "The Only Hope for Me is You" by My Chemical Romance. Among others. But that's to start you all off.

Cheers all, and thanks so much for your support and reviews!