ataraxionlogs | Alive and Well [Closed]

CHARACTERS: Alex (Havok) and Raven
LOCATION: The Pool
WARNINGS: ...probably not? Maybe some mild warning for talk/thoughts of gore/trauma
SUMMARY: Raven wants Alex to go swimming with her. He reluctantly agrees.

Alex had only said yes to this because he couldn't figure out any way to get out of it without hurting Raven's feelings. It wasn't that he didn't want to spend time with her, but going to the pool, where wearing pants would look more than a bit ridiculous, wasn't what he normally wanted to do with his spare time.

Though he had to give it to himself--before going to Promenade, he would have told Raven off, and refused to go, upsetting her in the process.

So instead, he had locked up Bozo in his room, and headed down to the coordinates that the young mutant had provided. The dressing room area seemed to have an abundance of swim trunks...lucky him.

Letting out a break, Alex slowly stripped, getting into the swimsuit quickly. There would be no way to hide the long scar on his back, and the red, angry, twisted scars that climbed his lower legs--obvious claw marks (but from no animal). It wasn't that Alex was ashamed of them, that he kept them hid--it was more the questions that came with them that caused him consternation.

They were memories that had bubbled up during the manticore attacks, but he had fought them back, then. Didn't mean they were gone, completely.

But Alex tried to push them into the back of his head as he moved into the pool area, a towel draped over one of his arms as he went sit down on the edge of the pool, letting his feet dangle in the cool water, waiting.

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No. I... respect people's wishes. Not that anybody's even said anything to me about it. ..I guess maybe I could forego clothes. Though, like I said, I did promise Charles I wouldn't.

[ fumbling a little, because it might be about her own personal preferences too. either way. she laughs, sort of, tucks her hair behind her ears. ]

You weren't exactly jumping up to make me notice-- them.

[ but he's already slipping into the pool and under the water, and a moment later - coming in or not? - she's diving in as well. she takes her time kicking to the surface, pushes her hair back off her face and gets a decent footing before adding anything. ]

Are you going to tell me what happened? You don't have to, but I am curious.

[Alex moves to where his feet can touch the bottom before speaking again, giving a slight shrug.]

Not all dreams are nice.

[He had once explained to her that Promenade was a city of dreams--that week it had been a place of nightmares]

The scars on my legs are from skeleton hands.

[Which explains the way they tug and curl around his calves.]

Did you blast them?

[ look, she's- that's really scary?? and her mind immediately goes to did you fight back, because honestly, if any one of them were going to be thrown into a situation like that, it absolutely calls for an offensive attack. the kind that only they, as mutants, can accomplish. it didn't matter if anyone else was around, if he was trying to protect someone or if it was just him alone in a room with some ..skeletons, it doesn't matter. she's finally gotten to the point where she's not ashamed to talk about their mutations like an advantage, in that kind of situation. and she knows it's different for Alex, but-

well. ]

I mean, is that- Are you okay? Were you? It was probably a long time ago. Still. [ she c a r e s, Havok. now you get to deal with Raven mamabearing you. ]

No, I fucking gave them a hug.

[He rolls his eyes.]

Of course I blasted them. But they didn't just go away. They weren't like that. And there were other things, too.

I was trying to get back to the Mansion--I didn't care what they did to me.

[And that, is true. He had avoided them until Charles had screamed in his head, to get back to the mansion. He had run immediately, not caring what got at him.

And it hadn't mattered. Charles still died.]

The Mansion. [ not just repeating him, but she's not really asking for clarification either. because. that's. her home? why was it in Promenade? hm. does it even matter? she's honestly more concerned about the fact that Alex had to deal with monsters before coming here, though it's that weird sort of twist in your gut you feel when you have no control, when someone you know has gone through something terrible and you can't change it or fix it... it's just- what it is.

so she dunks back under the water for a second, blows bubbles and clenches her hands into fists until she's sure she can actually talk to him without asking but are you okay fifty billion times. ]

I'm glad you're here now, and not there.

[ it's the first thing she blurts out when she comes back up to the surface, even before she blinks her eyes open and wipes off her face. and once she does that she just nods, a few times, licks her lips and pushes her hair back. ]

I know this place is awful sometimes, a lot of the time recently, but I- We'll be okay, you know, with all of us here. We stand a better chance. I'll always look out for you, you know that, right?

[Alex just watches her, listening, and he knows he shouldn't say it, he knows he shouldn't be defensive, but he can't help it.

Old habits die hard, and sometimes the old Alex comes rearing up. At her words he snorts gives her a pointed look.]

I don't need you to look out for me.

And you might be glad I'm here? But I'm not--I had a lot of good friends there. I was a leader, I --

[He shakes his head.]

I'm starting over here. With no one who knows what I went through. So forgive me if I don't share your excitement over me being here.

[ well that- wasn't- what she was expecting at all. her cheeks burn dark because it's embarrassing, okay, whether it's because he misunderstood her or called her out or whatever the case, she wasn't ready for him to get mad over what she said. ]

It's not excitement, Alex. It's- It's relief. It's knowing I can actually be there if something bad happens. And that you're here for me. We're a team, remember? Or does what happened at home, our real home, not count anymore?

[ and now she's feeling defensive because that wasn't- it wasn't what she meant! ]

You don't honestly think I would try and babysit you, or undermine what you're capable of? I didn't mean that.

[ and now she's a little bit closer to him, just so she can look him in the eyes. her hands bunch into fists under the water again and she feels like a kid, like that little girl that was trying to defend herself and prove herself worthy at the same time. ]

I'm sorry I don't live up to the expectations your friends from that other world set. And that I can't read your mind to know what you've been through. [ HUFF. LIKE A FIVE YEAR-OLD. and also showing that she's more hurt than angry, but she won't be admitting that to anyone. ] You're a jerk, you know that?

You were there, you know. Another version of you. And you couldn't do anything.

[Except paint Charles's chair a horrible shade of pink when he was blind for a while after coming back from the dead. That was amusing at least.]

I'm not telling you to live up to some damn expectations, Raven. But it's called shared experiences.

[He rolls his eyes.]

And yes, I know I'm an asshole.

Alive and Well [Closed]

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