driftfleet | Let's all hold hands and sing Kumbaya

[ Some of the locals - those that had picked up on the fact that she and Hank had been spending quite a lot of time with each other - had mentioned something about a tree, a tree where you go and hold hands and settle with someone and share things and you get a reward, or are blessed by it. Raven isn't too overwhelmed by the idea of there being a magical tree, all things considered, but the idea of letting Hank see something cool and investigate a so-called magical tree is a little hypnotising, so she's quick to run the idea by him.

The idea being a walk in the forest, of course, not finding a magical tree.

Her hands are being kept to herself as they walk, and it's not long until she's stepping into the path of the big tree and smiling, turning to look at Hank innocently. ]

Wow, look at that tree.

[ Deadpan. ]

[Hank had heard about it too, whether it be because he'd overheard or, later once he was following up on information he had, because he'd asked about it. He was admittedly skeptical; he always was when it came to magical anything, even if he'd experienced enough to know that it was likely true, rather than just some cultural legend.

Almost the entire walk he's had his hands shoved in his pocket, just to resist reaching out to hold hers, even as they moved away from the more populated areas and were on their own. Because knowing them, they'd never make it to the tree otherwise.

Look at that, their control is amazing]

It sure is a tree.

[equally deadpanned, before he laughs a little]

[ There's no way for her to help her laughter, not when Hank is grinning and looking as amused as she feels, and quickly enough she's making her way forward to stand in front of the tree, to look up at it with wide eyes as she drinks it all in. It looks like a mutation of three trees together, and that's enough to catch her interest, reaching out and pressing her palm flat onto the bark. ]

I thought it was meant to be a magic tree. It just looks... Normal.

[ But she knows as well as anyone that looks can be deceptive, and she steps back as she turns to hold her hand out for Hank to take, rocking on her heels a little with almost childish excitement. ]

Do you think it really works?

[he steps closer as well, and he doesn't reach out to touch it but he is looking it over, putting the tree to memory so he can describe it in his notes later. He knows better than to underestimate it based on it not looking particularly magical; that's how it always seemed to go, and it would suck if the thing backfired on them because he didn't believe.

He wanted to, he was just skeptical without proof proving the theory. He was a scientist, after all.

He finally pulls his hands out of his pockets and reaches to take hers, humming a little]

I guess we'll find out.

[ Her fingers slide into the gaps of Hank's and she huffs a noise before she moves back, letting herself slot against his body and press up against him, closing her eyes before she softens. She might think this tree thing is a little bit ridiculous, but it means she gets to drag her boyfriend around and hold his hand - and, well, that's fine.

It also means she has the chance to talk to him and tease, which is also acceptable. ]

I've been talking to Kara and Moira. You've been gossiping about me, Hank McCoy.

[ Not that she seems particularly offended; it's obvious in how she looks at him that the fact that he talks about her to other people makes her feel rather good... And a little bit possessive. ]

[he can't help but lean a little bit against her, and it's very tempting to just put her arm around her instead of just holding hands, but that would defeat the purpose of what they're doing here. Silly tree and it's silly rules.

Of course, then she goes and accuses him of being a gossip, which - well, it isn't entirely a lie, but he flusters a little anyway. And that gets shared right across the connection, so enjoy]

I don't - I don't gossip about you, I talk about you. There's a big difference.

It sounded like gossip.

[ And she can't help how she moves into his space a little more, definitely on the brink of being ridiculously possessive now. After what Kara had told her - well, she can't help herself. She wants to firmly plant herself beside Hank in practically everything; she's lost so much already and she refuses to let Hank be another number on top of that. She isn't going to let him go, no matter who else might have caught his attention in her absence.

Her guilt on that matter isn't all that important.

Tilting her head up, she fights back the flustering that settles in her own stomach, thank you Hank, before she kisses his cheek. ]

It's cute.

It wasn't gossiping. What did they say?

[oh god what did he say. He isn't worried about it, really; just flustered, that he was caught talking about the girl he loves to other people, which is honestly pretty par for course with him. He doesn't do it very often, since he's private with most things as is she, so it's rare that he actually does past a brief mention.

He looks away after she kisses his cheek, trying to push back the flustering even as he feels his ears burn a bit]

It is not. [why does everyone use that word]

Hank, I think you're making my ears go red right now.

[ Raven's hand moves and presses against his ear gently, as if she can somehow rub away some of the redness there with her own gentle exploring fingertips, but then she's shaking her head and moving to glance back at the tree, as if it might have some marvellous revelations for the lot of them. It doesn't of course, and she huffs a little noise as she turns her head back to look at Hank.

The thing is that she doesn't really want to tell Hank what Kara told her; she doesn't want to admit to the jealousy and the guilt she had felt in that moment, or the shock - not because she had imagined that Hank might be unable to move on, because he could, he was handsome and smart enough, but because she had still always thought of them as a 'together' even when they were apart.

She has to do her best to stop those emotions flickering over to him, but she's not certain how good a job she does. She's not exactly experienced. Instead, she shrugs a shoulder, trying to play it off. ]

We just talked, that's all.

[he leans into her hand a bit before he huffs, his voice just a little petulant and just a bit teasing] That's what you get for teasing me.

[he catches glimpses of what she feels, and it's hard not to understand nor feel a little guilty about it. Even if he had wanted to give it a shot with Kara, it was obvious that he wasn't able to - even if Raven hadn't shown up, he doubts it would've worked out. He was too caught up in how he felt about her to ever truly move on.

He doesn't address it out loud; but he does lift her hand to kiss her knuckles, something like understanding coming across their connection. Because how could he not understand, when he had his own, tiny bursts out jealousy and possessiveness when it came to what she had with Azazel?]

It sounds like you were gossiping about me instead.

[ It's hard not to laugh, and Raven shakes her head. ]

You can't make me blush just because you're blushing. That's cheating, and it looks much better on you.

[ What Raven wants right now is to practically crawl into Hank - not that she can, of course, because that's just as stupid, but she wants to be as close to him as she can manage. She wants to slide into his arms and not let go, to bask in the sense of belonging she has when she's at his side, the warmth and the comfort. It's a foreign feeling she had chased for a decade, but now it's back because of him and there's nothing she wants more than to allow herself to have it.

She gets to stay with him, too, and that means she can appreciate it all the more.

Everything about her softens when she glances up and he kisses her fingers, and Raven turns so she can respond in kind, pressing her mouth over the skin of his knuckles before she just holds it against her mouth for a moment. It's a sweet, romantic connection they're sharing and it feels wonderful; it feels like home, and she hopes that Hank can understand that, coming from her.

Shaking her head, she opens her eyes and glances up. ]

It wasn't like that, don't worry.

Apparently I can, and I'm using it to my advantage.

[he understands, very well. "Home" was a hard concept for him at times, with the only place he ever really considered it a world away. It was difficult to place the term on other places, but with people - with people it was easier. Raven felt like home, all warmth and love and everything else he never thought she'd feel for him. It was with Charles and, sometimes even with Erik. Home may have been a long time away, but it was still here in pieces, in the people he cared about and thought of using that dreaded word that seemed only to become more difficult to say.

He leans in to kiss her forehead when she looks up, and he has to wonder if the tree needs more than them sharing their feelings so openly. It wasn't as though they'd been trying to hold much back]

Mmhmm. I'm sure it wasn't like that at all.

Hank.

[ She says it with what she's sure sounds a little like a whine, and lifting herself up she draws Hank down to press a kiss against his mouth, soft and sure. One of her hands is still linked with his but the other one goes to the back of his neck, holding him in place as she offers herself entirely, not wanting to do anything else but be close to him. She doesn't even care what the tree wants them to do - as far as she's concerned it's nonsense - but she does want more of being close to Hank and, as usual, she can't quite resist the urge to smother him in her affection.

Leaning back, she softens, nudging their noses together before she turns to follow his gaze, glancing back over at the tree with a little huff. It's only when she tilts herself back up to kiss him again that she stops, taking a step back and frowning. Something feels heavy in her pocket and she's not sure what it is - and she's sure it's not Hank pressing against her, thank you, tree, they have more control than that.

Her fingers stay squeezing his before she reaches inside, pulling out a picture frame - and then she goes as still as a statue, her eyes widening and her face losing the flush of colour. ]

Raven.

[he tries to say with the same tone of voice, but it only comes out amused instead. And then she's kissing him, and there's nothing he can do but echo how she feels - that all he wants to do is be close to her, tree or not tree, bask in how she feels about him and share how he feels about her, and maybe it's taking advantage of the planet's effects but even now he can't bring himself to care. She smothers him and he returns it, and he feels like he's going to drown of warmth and love.

But then she's stepping back and his eyebrows furrow, confused. He can feel something in his pocket as well but he doesn't reach for it, not yet when he sees the expression on Raven's face. Is it good? Is it bad? Did this backfire horrendously?]

What is it?

[ Raven wants to focus on Hank, she really does, but it's hard for her to do it. It's hard for her to do anything when she's staring at the photo in her hands, the one that had appeared out of nowhere - and she wants to know what the hell the tree thinks of her, giving her this, and her heart feels a little sore and aching as she tries to breathe out and wrap her mind around it. She doesn't want to keep looking because it hurts, but at the same time she can't look away. It's impossible, really, and only Hank speaking to her snaps her out of her daze.

Tilting her head up, she hesitates, not wanting to reveal too much, but... It's Hank. What's he going to say? Nothing, probably, and she imagines he'll make more sense of it than she does, this stupid little picture that she's so stupidly fond of already. She wants to hold it to her chest like it's some kind of prized possession, some kind of anchor, and maybe it is, all things considered.

Slowly, she holds it up, turning it around for Hank to look at. It's a photo of Charles from the day of his graduation from Oxford, before they'd all started drinking and celebrating, looking utterly over the moon and completely happy. She remembers being the one to take it, she thinks, because he had been busy talking to someone else and was so happy and so charming that there was nothing she could do but capture the moment. Her brother, the professor, who had taken her by the arm and dragged her off to show just how much he could drink in half an hour.

Her hand isn't shaking, but she thinks it is. ]

Magic tree, right?

[it's hard not to look a little surprised; it wasn't as if he knew what Raven would have received from the tree or even wanted, but this wasn't something he would have expected. It was so simple and yet, he didn't need the connection to know just how important it was.

He doesn't think he's ever seen Charles look that happy. He doesn't know when it was taken but he can take his guesses - before he met them, before he even knew they existed, back before their lives had gone utterly insane. It's a good picture, and it's suiting, he thinks. That Raven would get something like this, knowing how much Charles loves her and how much she loves him.

Still, he finds himself staring at the picture a moment longer than necessary before he looks at her face, trying to gauge exactly how she feels]

Magic tree. [he repeats, his expression softening] Guess it's real, huh.

[ It's hard for her to really make sense of the things she's feeling, and for a moment she's desperately angry. She's furious that they'd give her this little taste of history that she can't touch, this thing that burns inside of her and makes her so upset she wants to snap and throw the damn thing back at the tree. She shouldn't want to remember Charles as he was, as the Oxford boy that all mothers wanted to have but theirs had ignored; she wants to know him now, as Charles Xavier the teacher.

The thing is... He's happy in this photo. She looks at it and it softens her because she's truly, desperately happy. She can remember the moment and thinking how proud she was, how happy she was that he was her brother, even if she had no idea how she would ever catch up to him, and her pride and her glee had been beautiful. She remembers it with a fond nostalgia that she doesn't mean to shove at Hank but probably goes towards him anyway, at least until she breathes out and looks up at him. ]

I get a picture of my big brother. It's definitely something.

[ Then she pauses, lowering the frame. ]

Did you get something?

[he doesn't mind the wave of fondness and nostalgia, and it even makes his smile widen, just a little. It was a good gift, he thinks. Not to keep them trapped in the past, as they've all been trying to escape it for years now, but a reminder that there were still good memories there. Even if the bad ones overshadowed them, she still had that]

You can tease him about how young he looks. [because that's what Hank would do, rather than focus on the feelings behind it at first.

At her question he finally reaches behind him to pull whatever it is in his pocket out, half-expecting a picture himself. But as he lifts it up he goes stock still, eyes widening and breath catching.

It's a book - a pun book - a little worn, like someone had kept it in a pocket and flipped through it more than once, but no less cared for as if it was something precious. He has to let go of her hand to flip it open and that's when he makes a noise, half a laugh and half something else.

He can't find his voice, so he just turns the book so Raven can see the message written on the inside cover:

Hank—

You're outta this world, buddy.
-Viva]

I'm not going to show him.

[ Charles doesn't need that. He deserves better than being forced to remember a time long ago, and the fact that the tree gave her this - well, it might not exactly thrill him. She's going to shove it into their room on the Blameless, in some corner somewhere, and then pretend that it doesn't exist. It's easier than coming face to face with memories of a Charles that doesn't exist anymore. This isn't the man that's here on the fleet and she knows that - and the tree should, too.

Hank moves and Raven follows the motions of his body, waiting for him to take the book out and show it took her. She doesn't mind waiting as his mind processes what he's been given, because if it's anything like her photo frame then... Well, it might sting or hurt and she can handle it with some patience. She's learned that, at least.

Her hand strokes over his back gently once his hand tears away from hers, and she waits until he shifts and turns the cover of the book to her so that she can read it.

Buddy. She can't help her own quiet laugh. ]

Viva - someone from the other world?

Why not? It won't upset him if you explain how you got it.

[if anyone would understand where it comes from and why she got it, it would be her and Charles, and while he can understand why she wouldn't want to show him - it'll come up eventually, whether on purpose or by accident. But regardless, that's up to Raven and how she wants to handle it.

She should never pass on teasing Charles, though.

He can't help but let his fingers touch the message written on the cover, ducking his head as he tries to get a hold on the rush of emotions it brings forth. He had very, very few possessions that he treasured, and the most important one was in his hand, as if he'd never left it back home in his office.

When he finally talks his voice is a little weak and rough]

Yeah. She's - she's family.

[ Raven ignores Hank's words, focussing on him instead. She's not the most important person in this moment and she's sure of it, especially when she watches his face. The way that he looks at it, the way that he speaks; she understands that this is something that means more to her than maybe words could express, and she steps into his space and wraps her arm around him again, drawing him close and offering him herself - for support, for warmth, for comfort, whatever he might desire.

It's hard to be a support for something you don't understand, but Raven can be a pillar even if she's blind to it. She can move closer to him and turn her gaze away from the book, something so special and important to him, and let herself hold him instead. She loves Hank, and she focusses on sending that through their connection, her love and concern and the warmth she feels in his arms, the way that her eyes are always drawn to his face, the way that her heart is so completely and utterly his.

Leaning up, she leaves a soft kiss on his cheek. ]

She must have been amazing.

[ It's Hank; she's sure that his judgement on people is sound. If he thought this person was special enough to be family, to be seen as that... Then that's good enough for her. ]

We'll have to find a special place for it.

[it's hard to settle on an emotion, because while he's thrilled to have this back, because it means so much to him, it also reminds him of how much he misses her. It's an ache that always comes back whenever he talks about Kyriakos, and while he didn't have a deep connection with his team, he did have one with a few people outside of it - and the most important one being Viva. Viva who'd bonded with him over mutations and being different and acting as each other's support when they needed it.

He leans against her and sighs out a little shakily, before he closes the book]

You'd like her. You two would've gotten along really well.

[and after a moment . . . he offers her his hand, a wordless offer to show her, because he can do that. He can share a memory of her]

[ It's another one of those things that Raven can't possibly understand, but the sting isn't really there, not in the way that it could have been. Raven knows that she's never going to really wrap her mind around Kyriakos or what happened there, but - she can try to sympathise, or support whatever is in Hank's mind. She slips closer, letting her arms hold Hank close, letting herself be his support, before she softens and tilts her gaze up to look at him, expression soft.

Raven is soft when she holds him, tilting close and pressing her mouth to the side of his head, closing her eyes and leaning against him. ]

Maybe I'll be able to meet her one day.

[ Maybe. And then Raven pauses, hesitating for a moment before she breathes out and reaches to take his hand into her own. ]

[there's a lot of memories he could share with her; both good and bad and both, some so personal he isn't sure he can or if he's allowed. Maybe one that involves the pun book, and the two of them going back and forth? Or maybe just them hanging out, doing what was as close to normal as it got in Kyriakos.

Instead, when she does take his hand and his fingers curl around hers, he focuses on when he and Viva met. He'd just remembered how he got like that and then he was like that, with very little answers or context and it'd been terrible - and yet his teammates and more importantly, Viva, had come along and had treated it as if it was the coolest thing they'd ever seen. He didn't know how to handle it, and sometimes thinking back he still doesn't. But it had left such an impression on him, so early on. It was certainly why he was more comfortable now.

He ducks his head, his hand squeezing hers the memory as well as the fond feelings that come from it are shared across their connection, but he's quiet. There's nothing to say about it, nothing to explain. It was just the beginning]

[ The memory comes gently, more like a gentle wave on a calm beach than the storm she might have been expecting, and Raven can't do much more than brace herself for a second before she leans close and accepts the memory for what it is - something sweet, and nice, and welcome, and it washes over her even as it relaxes her, not even realising the effect it's had on her until it's done.

The thing is... Of course it would be a stranger that would make Hank feel better about his mutation, especially when she wasn't sure how much he actually knew about it at that point. The people around you, your friends and family... They were supposed to accept you and supposed to love you for just the person you were, so you almost expected their comfort and their kindness. It wasn't true for her, of course, but she thinks that most families were a little bit different from the terrors that she had as parents before she met Charles.

Strangers are different. They have no obligation to tell you the truth or try to hide how they feel behind a sweet lie.

Slowly, Raven tilts herself up and, just as carefully, draws Hank down against her. She presses her forehead against his and she closes her eyes, leaning into him and holding him gently all at once, her smile soft and hidden before she speaks. ]

Thank you for showing me.

C AT THE TREE

read this as CAT TREE and got very confused for a moment

i just snorted my diet coke

you're welcome

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