Yvette and Fred (BACKDATED)

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Yvette walks in on Fred doing something he isn't supposed to be doing in the Danger Room. Feelings ensue



In all honesty, someone was supposed to be spotting Fred whenever he used the Ram.

A large device built as a testing tool for some of the stronger, hardier amoungst the X-Folk, the Ram was exactly what it sounded like: a large, reinforced pneumatic device that slammed forward with a controllable amount of force. It was a relatively safe piece of equipment, but there were certain safety concerns that one should take into consideration when using it.

Fred just wasn't bothering.

Having discarded his jacket and boots, Fred stood in front of the Ram, button in hand. He closed his eyes, exhaled, and his feet sunk a little into the floor as a migraine settled over his head immediately. He flipped the button, and the Ram shot forward quick as a shot. There was a sickening THWACK! as the Ram barreled into Fred's gut; the only change was a small humorless smile on Fred's face...

The Ram pulled back again, preparing for another impact, but half way on its journey back towards the young man it abruptly halted, screeching as the safeties engaged. Over by the door, a small, red-skinned figure took her hand down from the manual override, frowning at her friend.

"Where is the spotter, Fred?" she asked, walking over to him. She looked as normal as Yvette could look, aside from the crop of fuzz that had grown back on her head. "You could be hurt!"

Fred sagged his shoulders a little as he turned to Yvette. Hopefully, he could sidestep the small issue of improperly using the equipment, "Vette, yah really should be in bed at this hour. How yah feelin...?"

"I could not sleep," she replied. She was wearing her leathers, as she had made a habit of since they'd returned, being the toughest clothes she had. "I decided to come and do the work out, since it is raining tonight and the woods are not so pleasant." She poked a finger into his broad chest. "But that does not matter. What matters is you were doing something dangerous, without the supervision!" She sounded upset, her eyes blazing and her skin rippling slightly as she fought for control.

Fred held up his hands, "Ah'm sorry, alright? It's late, Ah didn't wanna bother anyone...an it ain't like tha thing is really gonna hurt me anyhow..." he said, trying to muster a laugh...

"You don't know that!" Torn between tears she couldn't actually shed and spiking out, her powers decided to leap to the fore, spikes and ridges erupting wherever there was bare skin and underneath the uniform as well, if the sudden lumpiness was anything to go by. Plates of hardened skin covered her arms, while outcroppings appeared to protect her eyes and nose. In moments, Fred was looking at the nightmare creature from Genosha - albeit much smaller and less bulky, the eyes blazing with intelligence instead of the feral brutality that had been overlaid on her genetic makeup.

Yvette's change took Fred back to Genosha as jarringly as it did quickly. Fred couldn't help what happened next; He was nine feet tall and his girth was straining his uniform before he could stop himself. While he couldn't stop himself from responding physically, he did hold his arms out and speaking slowly and calmly, "But I didn't get hurt, Vette, and I won't do it again, alright...?"

Fred's instinctive reaction fuelled Yvette's, and she dropped back into a defensive crouch before she realised, long dagger-hands open and ready to slash. There was something so familiar about this, something she couldn't quite see...

Then his words registered and with a small gasp, Yvette looked down at herself, realising she'd let her powers take over. Awkwardly she straightened, trying not to stumble over her own feet. "Oh no," she murmured, holding up her hands, long and deadly, before hiding them behind her back, as if that would help. "I am so sorry, Fred, I did not mean... I was just..." She couldn't seem to say what she wanted to.

Fred shushed Yvette a little, moving closer to the smaller, sharper mutant, "Hey hey hey, no harm done, Copper Top. See?" Fred gently placed his palm over a small patch of Yvette's hair, "Yah couldn't hurt me iffen yah tried yah damndest..."

A noise like a hiccup escaped her and abruptly Fred found himself being clutched at rather desperately as Yvette buried her face in his shirt. She shook with sobs, even though her eyes remained dry.

Fred ignored the fact that his Pitfall t-shirt was getting sliced up. He clutched Yvette, doing his best to stroke her hair, though he doubted she could feel it. He did he best to soothe the tiny crying ball of spikes and feelings, "Hey hey, c'mon. Yah alright...what's up Copper Top...?"

Normally she wouldn't have felt much, but with her hair still growing back as fuzz, it was more sensitive than usual - between that and Fred's voice, she started to calm. The spikes remained, but the hard edges softened a little as the sobs subsided. "S-sorry," she managed to stutter after a while, still hiding her face despite the mess she was making of his shirt, out of embarrassment now than from being upset.

"No sorries. Save 'em for when yah do sumthin wrong." Fred didn't let go of Yvette; he was afraid if he did, she'd just fall over, "Yah alright now...?"

A small snort, full of bitterness, escaped her. "All right? Fred, look at me. I am the monster now." As if realising for the first time the damage she was doing to his clothing, she tried to pull away. "I did not want you to see me like this. Not yet, any way. I thought if I spent time alone practicing, I could get more control and not have this..." She gestured at her face. "This."

"Yah don't look like the monster, Vette." Fred spoke firmly, and didn't entirely let go of the spiky mutant when she looked up at him, "Yah ain't ever looked like tha monster. It's just...added texture...?" Yup, Fred was pretty objectively bad at this.

"People are frightened of me. I can see it, how they react. Even you," Her shoulders slumped. "When you saw me like this, you changed."

"Frightened for yah, Copper Top," Corrected Fred, giving Yvette's head another small rub, "Very important difference."

"And I was frightened for you, when I saw you here." She sniffled a little. "I know you are hard to hurt, but everyone has the limits and if you had reached yours without anyone here..." She shivered a little. "I did not like to see you being so careless, after how difficult it was to get everyone home from Genosha, I suppose." Under the calming influence of him rubbing her head, her skin was beginning to smooth out again.

Fred patted Yvette's shoulders, and held his palms out to show her his unscathed skin, "Difficult or not, Ah reckon we did it pretty well. And we ain't even, like, senior X-People."

"Even the strongest and most invulnerable person can be hurt." Yvette pointed out. "The thought of you being hurt or killed... it frightened me. That is why I was so angry with you. Why I... changed."

"Ah'm sorry for causin that, Vette. Honest injun." Fred held onto Yvette for probably longer than was necessary, before coughing a bit and pulling away, "Ah, uh... "

Her eyes glowed brighter and she looked down for a moment, embarrassed at her outburst and his obviously uncomfortable reaction to her honesty, but she kept hold of his sleeve. Contact was good. "It is fine, Fred. Just do not do it again, yes?" Then her gaze fell on his shredded t-shirt. "Oh, dear. I think I am owing you the shirt. I hope it was not the favourite?"

Fred looked down at his ruined vintage Atari t-shirt he'd been given by his uncle, "...nah. It's just an old shirt. Ah can probably fix it anyhow." He chortled and rubbed the stubble on Yvette's head again, "The Sinead O'Mutant look goes well with yah leathers. Yah look like yah stepped outta that Doc Whom show Dori likes so much..."

Yvette giggled despite herself. "And if anyone needs the metal brush, they can just use my head, right?"

"Hey, Ah think it looks cool. Makes yah look grown up and dangerous and tha like." Fred patted himself down for his cigarette pack, sure he'd lit one up at somepoint. "Yah feel better now, Vette...?"

Her? Grown up and dangerous? Perhaps it was the remainder of her hysterics, but Yvette felt a warm tingle at the thought. And it was definitely the aftereffects that made her stretch up on tiptoes and pat his cheek with her fingertips. "I do, Fred. Thanks to you."