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Arthur & Beatrice | Surprise Visits with the Luckiest Man in the Universe
Beatrice receives another surprising visitor in the form of Arthur.
There was a brief knock. It was followed by an equally polite knock when there was no immediate answer.
“Come in! It’s, uh, it’s unlocked!” Came the responding cry after another beat, finally realizing that the sound wasn’t imagined.
At the sight of the man, Bea perked up, set wariness turning to a hesitant smile. “Oh, Arthur, I- I didn’t expect you.”
Better yet, he had snacks! Arthur shouldered his way in, bright eyed and perky as usual, carrying a box of pastries that was a cheery pink.
"It has been a busy day with everything going on, but I'm not the kind of guy to forget his promises." The box was set down on the island in the middle of Beatrice's barren guest suite gently as he surveyed the room with a slight frown. "They set you up out of the way, didn't they? Must have wanted to give you privacy."
She cocked her head slowly in confusion at the words, though a polite smile remained. “I would hate to be in the way.” Bea finally settled on as she got up slowly from where she’d been resting. “I’m sorry, I don’t really know where anything is or I’d offer you a- well, I think there’s bottled water in the mini fridge? And some shelf-stables? I’ve mostly just slept, so I haven’t even thought about food-" which was of course when her stomach grumbled in agreement of her statement.
“I- are your friends okay?”
"I-" The cheer drained from his face. "No. This isn't easy to say, and I unfortunately don't have a lot of time since things are getting more complicated the more we learn. But, that's how things go here. Did David or Garrison explain to you what this place was?"
Again the back of her neck tingled worryingly as the Arthur's expression fell, and she stopped moving entirely to focus on his face, further body language, anything that she could easily read on him to deter any possible bad outcome. "I'm sorry. I- David said that is provides shelter for those who need it."
"That's very true."
Arthur nodded. Without thinking, he found himself mirroring Bea's own body language to maximize the blow of what he might say. With a deep breath, he began:
"I needed it about ten years ago. I had been mindwiped and didn't even know I had powers — there was a lot I had to learn, so this was a good fit for me in a world I couldn't trust anymore. I was a mess. Xavier's is a great place full of good people, but it also is a place that isn't always safe. However, I get that you know about risk. I can see it. Just remember, this place isn't a prison. You aren't stuck here and you aren't alone."
He tried to summon his usual smile, but it twinged at the edges and couldn't reach his eyes.
As he spoke, Beatrice's face fell, slowly, brows knitting together as her lips parted in an attempt to say something, anything, to offer some comfort to him. But nothing sprung to mind and instead she dropped her gaze. "I'm a telepath. I feel like you should know that, if someone with powers like mine hurt you like that. And if you want to leave, and not talk to me again, I understand, I really do. You've done more for me than anyone has done in a long time."
The other man was silent. Not the best sign, and there was a beat of time as the two stared at eachother before the tension was cut with a raw, sad chuckle.
"Thank you for sharing," and Arthur's eyes were smiling now in the absurdity of it all, "But time actually did heal those wounds at least a little. There's also a lot of telepaths here! You'll be in good company. My powers were harder to get a handle on."
"That's... good," she finished lamely, trying very hard to understand the man in front of her who had very quickly turned into the hardest puzzle she'd ever encountered. "May I ask? What your powers are?"
"I'm lucky."
"That seems like quite the power, Arthur. 'Larger than life' like. I imagine... it's very different than telepathy. I admit I'm curious, but, well, you know what they said about the cat."
"You have a point," he conceded, "But I've always been more of a dog person. Cats are one of life's mysteries." There was no chuckle or crack in expression to indicate this was a joke. "The fancy term is 'probability manipulator.' Things work out for me and it gets terribly complicated when you think too hard about it. All I do is pull on the threads of causality holding us all together to make good things happen."
He shrugged as if that wasn't a whole thing.
"Oh! I've found out I can read the past of objects when I touch them. That's been wild."
"...You're a weird man, Arthur." Bea repeated for the second time in as many days, before she briefly lapsed back into silence. "With a very terrifying powerset, if I do say so myself. Thank you for checking on me, but if it's not too rude, would you mind if I go back to sleep?"
"Thank you." He smiled like he honestly meant it, and began to move toward the door with purpose. "I know that this all can be a lot, but you sleep well. If you need anything, though, David and I are going to be dealing with a killer cult in Oregon. We probably won't be answering our phones."
With that, he was gone.
There was a brief knock. It was followed by an equally polite knock when there was no immediate answer.
“Come in! It’s, uh, it’s unlocked!” Came the responding cry after another beat, finally realizing that the sound wasn’t imagined.
At the sight of the man, Bea perked up, set wariness turning to a hesitant smile. “Oh, Arthur, I- I didn’t expect you.”
Better yet, he had snacks! Arthur shouldered his way in, bright eyed and perky as usual, carrying a box of pastries that was a cheery pink.
"It has been a busy day with everything going on, but I'm not the kind of guy to forget his promises." The box was set down on the island in the middle of Beatrice's barren guest suite gently as he surveyed the room with a slight frown. "They set you up out of the way, didn't they? Must have wanted to give you privacy."
She cocked her head slowly in confusion at the words, though a polite smile remained. “I would hate to be in the way.” Bea finally settled on as she got up slowly from where she’d been resting. “I’m sorry, I don’t really know where anything is or I’d offer you a- well, I think there’s bottled water in the mini fridge? And some shelf-stables? I’ve mostly just slept, so I haven’t even thought about food-" which was of course when her stomach grumbled in agreement of her statement.
“I- are your friends okay?”
"I-" The cheer drained from his face. "No. This isn't easy to say, and I unfortunately don't have a lot of time since things are getting more complicated the more we learn. But, that's how things go here. Did David or Garrison explain to you what this place was?"
Again the back of her neck tingled worryingly as the Arthur's expression fell, and she stopped moving entirely to focus on his face, further body language, anything that she could easily read on him to deter any possible bad outcome. "I'm sorry. I- David said that is provides shelter for those who need it."
"That's very true."
Arthur nodded. Without thinking, he found himself mirroring Bea's own body language to maximize the blow of what he might say. With a deep breath, he began:
"I needed it about ten years ago. I had been mindwiped and didn't even know I had powers — there was a lot I had to learn, so this was a good fit for me in a world I couldn't trust anymore. I was a mess. Xavier's is a great place full of good people, but it also is a place that isn't always safe. However, I get that you know about risk. I can see it. Just remember, this place isn't a prison. You aren't stuck here and you aren't alone."
He tried to summon his usual smile, but it twinged at the edges and couldn't reach his eyes.
As he spoke, Beatrice's face fell, slowly, brows knitting together as her lips parted in an attempt to say something, anything, to offer some comfort to him. But nothing sprung to mind and instead she dropped her gaze. "I'm a telepath. I feel like you should know that, if someone with powers like mine hurt you like that. And if you want to leave, and not talk to me again, I understand, I really do. You've done more for me than anyone has done in a long time."
The other man was silent. Not the best sign, and there was a beat of time as the two stared at eachother before the tension was cut with a raw, sad chuckle.
"Thank you for sharing," and Arthur's eyes were smiling now in the absurdity of it all, "But time actually did heal those wounds at least a little. There's also a lot of telepaths here! You'll be in good company. My powers were harder to get a handle on."
"That's... good," she finished lamely, trying very hard to understand the man in front of her who had very quickly turned into the hardest puzzle she'd ever encountered. "May I ask? What your powers are?"
"I'm lucky."
"That seems like quite the power, Arthur. 'Larger than life' like. I imagine... it's very different than telepathy. I admit I'm curious, but, well, you know what they said about the cat."
"You have a point," he conceded, "But I've always been more of a dog person. Cats are one of life's mysteries." There was no chuckle or crack in expression to indicate this was a joke. "The fancy term is 'probability manipulator.' Things work out for me and it gets terribly complicated when you think too hard about it. All I do is pull on the threads of causality holding us all together to make good things happen."
He shrugged as if that wasn't a whole thing.
"Oh! I've found out I can read the past of objects when I touch them. That's been wild."
"...You're a weird man, Arthur." Bea repeated for the second time in as many days, before she briefly lapsed back into silence. "With a very terrifying powerset, if I do say so myself. Thank you for checking on me, but if it's not too rude, would you mind if I go back to sleep?"
"Thank you." He smiled like he honestly meant it, and began to move toward the door with purpose. "I know that this all can be a lot, but you sleep well. If you need anything, though, David and I are going to be dealing with a killer cult in Oregon. We probably won't be answering our phones."
With that, he was gone.