Parents' Day. Kyle and Tyler Gibney.

[x-wildchild.livejournal.com]

Kyle and his father have a talk about the last several incidents, Kyle's decision to join the X-men and even manage to talk around the Sabretooth thing. There's resolution even if they don't directly address the issues. Sometimes you don't have to.



"I think next time, I'll stay kidnapped until after Mom leaves." Kyle grumbled from where he sat on the edge of his bed. "I liked it better when she was in Montana and not giving me crap about my hair. Or my shoes. Or my roommates. Or my -teachers-. Or giving my teachers crap."

"Don't talk that way about your mother," Tyler Gibney scolded his son, although it was obvious that his heart wasn't completely behind the words. "I'm sure she'd rather be home as well. You know how she is about flying."

"I'm sure the airplane people liked it better that way." Kyle muttered under his breath. "Dude, she didn't even wait to let me say, like, anything before she got on me about the hair. And I mean, okay, was it totally necessary for her to ask me if I was really responsible enough for the cat? I totally saved that cat's life." He flopped over on his back, visibly annoyed. "I was totally fine with visiting in a couple weeks. You guys didn't have to come out here."

"Kyle," Tyler made the two syllables into a sentence as he shook his head. "They told me about the last few months and everything that's happened. I just... we just want to know you're okay."

He leaned over to rest his hands on Kyle's windowsill, looking out over the backyard. "We were hoping your teachers would tell us you've been keeping out of trouble here. I expected fights with classmates, not... crazy serial killers." The full details about Kyle's encounter with Sabretooth had chilled Tyler to the bone, and he was thankful that Midge hadn't been in the room for that discussion.

"Hey, I am keeping out of trouble -here-." Kyle said. "And it's not like, you know, I go looking for this crap to happen. And the crazy guy... I mean, okay, seriously? That wouldn't have been half as freaky if you guys had, you know.." His voice dropped lower, not quite a growl. "told me -anything-."

"Look, it doesn't matter," Tyler said forcefully, not looking at Kyle. "I've done the best I can raising you, me and your mom both. We were planning on telling you when you were old enough, but then you had enough problems with school, and those friends of yours, then the mutant thing and... shoot, Kyle, there never was the right time."

Lord did he understand -that-. He'd never told them about Jay, and probably never would. "Okay, but can we just clear up right now that there aren't any other weird family secrets? Because if there are? It'd be good to know. Right now. I mean, Mom didn't sleep with Magneto or anything, did she?"

"Watch your mouth," This time Tyler was firm with his admonishment to his son, turning around to look him in the eyes. "Your mom's got her faults, but she's a good woman. She just wants what's best for you is all."

He sighed and sat down next to Kyle, shaking his head. "So then I hear about this X-Men thing. When you were a kid, I worried about you wanting to join the Marines or something. You trying to give me grey hair?"

"She wants what she thinks is best for me." Kyle argued. "And you already have grey hair." He ran a hand through his hair and then pointed down at his feet. "You don't have to worry on the Marines thing. They won't take me. Can't wear combat boots." The implication that he'd already talked to a recruiter hung for a moment.

Tyler chuckled, giving his son's feet a glance. "I can see that. But seriously, Kyle. Talk to me straight here. Not father to son, man to man." He put a hand out and laid it on Kyle's shoulder. "Is this something you want to do? Haven't you been hurt enough?"

"Yeah, and .. that's kinda why I'm doing it." Kyle said solemnly. "How many phone calls have you guys gotten about me since I came here? What, like, nine, ten? I'm not the only one with these kinda problems." He paused, holding up a hand, trying to think of how to explain without giving away people's personal business. He was -not- telling his dad about Julio being the one to have destroyed San Diego. "Used to be a kid here named Miles. Little short green dude, like, maybe ten, and he could turn off other people's powers. And just because of that, he got attacked. I'm tired of the world crapping on me just because I'm a mutant, and I'm tired of it crapping on other people. And I have a chance to do something about it."

Tyler sat quietly for a moment, before lightly slapping his son on the side of the head. "Watch your mouth," he said. But this time, it was with a proud smile. "If this is what you want... then I'll go talk to whoever and give them the okay. I'll explain it to your mom later."

Kyle coughed, and stared up at the ceiling. "Mom knows. She told me that if I died that she wasn't going to talk to me anymore." The phone call had been more than awkward, but if he'd waited until summer vacation, it would've been worse than awkward. He'd have gotten shrieked at. He rubbed the side of his head where Tyler had cuffed him. "And dad, seriously. Watch the hair. I just grew it back."

Tyler nodded, then playfully slapped Kyle on the side of the head again, standing up to hold his son at arm's length by his forehead. "You sound like your mother after one of those horrible-smelling perms. Come on, we've got to go save whatever one of your friends or teachers she's backed into a corner this time."

Kyle had a brief horrible mental image of his mother and Crystal in the same room before remembering that Crystal and Medusa had left and were spared the encounter. "Yeah. hopefully it's not Forge. Neither of them will ever speak to me again." He bent to grab his torn-up sneakers from under the bed, reconsidered and pulled the modified Teva sandals out instead. They could deal with seeing his feet a little bit longer. "Do we have to have some kind of after-school special moment now? Because if we do, I'm jumping out the window."

"Come here and give your dad a hug before I beat you, twerp."