August 17, 1992
"She's coming back?" Carly asked.
Hank smiled at the look on his wife's face. He'd missed Sharon too, and he hadn't expected to have her come home soon with everything that had been happening at the Institute. He had even briefly considered throwing away his obligations for a day or two and getting her himself.
"They should be here in a day or so," Hank said.
Carly sighed in relief. Hank sat down next to her and put his hand over hers.
"It seems like it's been longer than a few weeks," he said.
"She's always stayed so close to home," Carly said.
She cocked her head.
"But...David's bringing her, isn't he?" she asked.
"David and Kurt apparently," Hank said.
"Hm," Carly said.
"What's the 'hm' for?" Hank asked.
"Well, Kurt could just teleport her down here if they were in a hurry," Carly said, "And I hope it means...well...you know how she feels about David, don't you?"
Hank gave her a blank look.
"What?" he asked.
Carly laughed softly.
"She's loved him since she was fifteen," Carly said.
Hank stared at her, feeling stunned. His mind slowly processed his wife's words. She continued to look at him, her expression patient.
"I'm not sure I was ready for that," he said, "You didn't tell me."
He knew how pouty it sounded, but Carly just put her hand on his shoulder.
"It wasn't really up to me to tell," Carly said.
"She seems young to be dating," Hank said.
He continued before his wife could say something, her lips already turning into a frown.
"Not that she is too young, just that she seems young," Hank said.
Carly nodded, understanding. Hank sighed.
"Well...David's a fine young man," he said, "If it had to be someone, I'm glad that it's him."
"Me too," Carly said, "Me too."
David glanced over at Sharon. She was asleep, her head tilted back and her thick hair acting as a pillow. She looked peaceful, and David wished that he could get some sleep himself.
It wasn't in the cards though. David didn't really mind: this wasn't the first time that he'd had to drive all night. Being a law student had also gotten him used to staying up late.
There were other reasons why he didn't sleep often, but all of them seemed irrelevant now. The voices were there, and always would be, but David felt a little differently about them.
He hated them, of course he did, but there wasn't a way to get rid of them. It was better to focus on the things that he had instead of the things that he didn't because of it.
If he had been an X-man, then it was likely that he would have been off helping Scott and the rest in their investigation. Instead he was driving down the road, the woman he loved sleeping soundly next to him, and dealing with problems as easy as a lovesick brother. Life would get more complicated he knew, but there was joy to be had in this moment.
He still wished that he could have been an X-man. His talk with Max had opened up the wound again, but each time it hurt a little less. He'd meant what he'd said: there were other ways to make a difference.
Sharon stretched, her head tilting backwards. She yawned and looked over at David.
"Aren't you tired yet?" she asked.
"I've done long road trips before," he said, "I just need some more coffee. I'll be ready to go after that."
"You could always let me drive," Sharon said.
"No. You're the guest," David said.
"Oh?" she asked, "So does that mean that I get to do anything?"
David tried to say something, but Sharon flipped on the radio. Smells like Team Spirit roared through the speakers and David winced. He hated grunge. Sharon laughed.
"What?" she asked, "I'm the guest."
"Is that going to be how it is?" David asked.
He grinned as he spoke. Sharon cocked her head to the side. David forced himself to keep his eyes on the road. There were some rolling clouds out there, and he would need to be careful if it rained. They had only been together for a few hours, but it made him feel free to know that she knew how he felt.
David was aware that part of the strange nearness he felt, the desperate pleasure in talking about anything, was the fact that she was going home soon. David would return to Westchester, and then he would be off to Connecticut to finish his schooling. Sharon would stay in Washington. They didn't have much time.
For now though, now he just wanted to enjoy the moment.
"Yes," Sharon said.
David blinked and the radio flipped channels. Life is Highway came on.
"Then perhaps you shouldn't play that game with a telekinetic," he said.
"Chivalry is definitely dead," Sharon said.
David laughed as he reached for his tumblr of coffee.
"You never needed anyone to protect you," he said.
Sharon chewed her lip. She looked out the window and David took a sip of his coffee.
"You always tried to anyway," she said.
David almost choked on his coffee.
"I...what did I protect you from?" he asked.
She shook her head.
"I keep telling you that you never gave yourself much credit," she said, "And that's because you don't seem to notice the little things you do that make people feel special, like they can do anything."
Sharon smiled.
"You protected me from a lot of pain back when I was little," she said, "You were the one who seemed to realize that I needed someone who wasn't related to me to tell me that my mother was going to wake up. You gave me space when I needed it, and friendship when I didn't."
Sharon sighed.
"It's why I knew I wanted to be friends with you," she said, "And...over time...I realized that you understood me. You know what my IQ is: it didn't take long for me to make the conclusion that I understood you just as much as you understood me."
David had put his coffee cup down and was looking at her with a serious expression on his face.
"I was fifteen when I figured out how I felt about you," Sharon said, "And I didn't know how you felt about me but...I guess I knew that no one would ever understand me like you did."
Outside the clouds continued to roll in. David used his spare hand to take hers. He ran his fingers over hers.
"And you didn't understand what you did for me," he said, "Having someone there, telling me that I wasn't an idiot, was brave, wasn't a failure even though I felt like it every day of my life."
"You weren't," Sharon said.
"No, I wasn't," David said, "But for the longest time I couldn't understand that. Having you tell me that, unprompted just...it meant a lot. You think I knew what you needed? You were the one who knew what I needed."
His grip on her hand tightened.
"You were protecting me much more than I was protecting you," he said, "And you didn't even know it."
Sharon coughed, a small way to disguise that her throat was tightening. David knew her too well. One of David's hands left hers and touched her cheek, his eyes still on the road. It was a gentle touch, and his fingers ran up the side of her face.
He let go and put his hand on the wheel.
"I'd best keep my hands on the wheel," he joked, "There's a storm on the way."
As soon as he finished speaking a few fat drops of rain came down. David turned on the windshield wipers and Sharon laughed.
"Looks like the storm's already started," she said.
She leaned over and kissed his cheek.
"You know," she said, "I never said I loved you back."
David forced himself to keep his hands on the wheel. There weren't many cars on the road, but he wasn't going to bet his life on that.
"I sort of inferred that," he said, "Was I wrong?"
"No," Sharon said, "But don't you want to hear me say it?"
There was a pause. David could feel his chest tightening.
"As a telepath," he said, his voice quiet, "I've never put as much stock in spoken words as other people have. They seem superfluous at times but..."
He swallowed.
"I'll never go into your mind without your permission though," he said, "Especially not to find something like that out. So, yes, I would. But I won't force you."
Sharon cocked an eyebrow.
"It's not forcing when I feel it," she said, "David, I love you."
She kissed his cheek. David felt something inside him release.
"We're going to have to stop this before I kiss you and crash this damn car," he said.
Sharon laughed. She was doing a lot of that lately.
Erik knelt down. His back hurt him slightly, a curse of his aging body. He couldn't believe how many years had passed since he had first become Magneto, what had transpired since then. It irritated him.
"Now then," Erik said, "I'm not sure if I made the terms of our deal clear to you."
Sabretooth snarled, but it was weak. Emma stood behind him, her arms crossed and her brow furrowed. Erik knew that she was having a difficult time in his mind, but he was confident that she would win out. Mystique stood a little ways off, a smirk on her lips as she prepared another tranquilizer.
He was impressed at the speed with which she had been able to drug Sabretooth and bring him out. The X-men's attack had created enough chaos to give her the time to extract him. Now it was a simple matter of questioning.
The rest of the Brotherhood was in the back, watching and learning. To some extent Erik was dismayed at their membership. Toad was loyal, but he was still somewhat inept. Boom-Boom was still timid, and Lance was still rash. They had lost other members along the way, and the only one that he could say with any certainty who would be competent was Senyaka. He was currently taking care of Toad at the moment.
It was no matter. He had already completed most of his education.
"Now then," Erik said, "Discipline is always needed for those who stray from the path, but you've done a little more than stray, haven't you?"
He smiled. Mystique walked up and injected the tranquilizer into Sabretooth's shoulder. With anyone else they might have considered other methods, but to Sabretooth helplessness was its own torture.
"Now then," he said, "You can either tell us what it was you were planning, or I can have Emma find out for me. Which would you prefer?"
Sabretooth growled, but the sound was getting weaker. Erik waved his hand.
"Emma," he said.
Emma gritted her teeth. Her hands dug into her forearms and Sabretooth howled. Erik waited, his face patient. He noted that Boom-Boom flinched but Lance kept staring ahead. It appeared that his arrogance was giving him strength.
After a few minutes Sabretooth dropped. Emma leaned a little more heavily against the wall and relaxed.
"Well?" Erik asked, "What's going on?"
Emma let out a long breath.
"Magneto," she said, "how much do you care about Westchester?"
Her eyes opened. Erik met her icy blue eyes with his own. He knew that there was more to that question than it appeared. Emma had always been derisive of his old loyalties. She might have thought that she was hiding it, but she wasn't. Erik knew that she had always wanted him to become like the man who had murdered his mother.
He got to his feet.
"It depends what it is you have to say," he said.
