Scott and Alex, late Wednesday night

[x-cyclops.livejournal.com]

After his discussion with Shinobi, Scott heads upstairs. He makes it about halfway there and decides that stopping is good. Alex, who's been looking for him, happens upon him there and does his little-brotherly duty, involving hugs and judicious kicking-of-ass.



Alex shoved his hands into the pockets of his hooded sweat shirt, grumbling because of his lack of finding one big brother. Scott hadn't come by and Alex was too worried to let this slide, so he'd gone looking. And now, he headed for the main stairs to go back to his room and admit defeat.

Scott had gotten halfway up the stairs when it had struck him that going back to his room involved walking past Betsy's door. And he didn't want to get too close, not when he was still this unsettled, too many different conflicting impulses racing around in his mind. It wasn't fair to her. He had to sort it out, figure out what needed to be done and do it.

Which was why he was sitting on the stairs, swinging his water bottle idly between his hands. The sorting out was taking a little longer than he'd expected.

Alex was looking down at his feet untill he reached the stairs, when he finally looked up so he wouldn't trip. He started when he found the object of his search, sitting deep in thought halfway up the stairs. Not wanting to startle him, Alex walked up softly, then sat next to him. He waited a few moments for Scott to notice him, then got impatient and poked him.

"Ow," Scott said in token protest, managing a slightly wan smile for Alex. "Packed for Japan yet?"

"We're not leaving for a few weeks, dude. And you know I didn't go searching the entire mansion for you to talk about that." At first Alex's tone had been kidding, but now it turned serious. "What's up, man? Your post worried me, bro."

Scott reached out a hand, patted his knee almost absently. "It's okay," he said quietly, trying to ignore the way his head was still throbbing. "Needed some air. Don't worry, okay?"

Alex frowned and moved away from Scott's hand. "Come on now, I know it's more than that. Don't try to protect me, especially when I wanna help. Plus, it's my job as a little brother to worry." He cracked a small smile but then got serious again real quick.

Scott sighed heavily. "I screwed up, Alex," he said simply. "Someone... trusted me with something really important, and I let them down. Might as well have slapped their face while I was at it."

Alex blinked. "And...?" The blonde shook his head. "Scott, you're not the only one who's done that. Shit, I still feel like that whenever I think about when I left you and Lorna without a word. Yeah, whatever you did...must have sucked. But have you talked to them? Have they told you you let them down? Specifically? Because they might see it differently...they might have understood." He shrugged a bit. "You never know."

"Shouldn't be her responsibility to sort this out," Scott muttered, swinging his water bottle between his hands again. He had told her that he would do his best, as team leader and the man who loved her, and he'd failed just miserably at both. "I feel so selfish, Alex..." The words slipped out before he could stop them, and he pressed his lips together almost angrily, looking away.

Alex wrapped an arm around Scott's shoulders, hugging his brother. "No, it shouldn't, but she's the one who has to decide if you've hurt her or not. You can't decide that for her, and I tell you, wondering that is hardest part. I spent some of the worst moments of my life wondering if Lorna would ever even look at me after what I had done to her. Or if you would ever forgive me." He looked down at his lap, blushing a bit. "Yeah, it feels selfish, but the only way to make it stop...is to talk to whoever it was." He squeezed Scott's shoulders again.

"Since when do you get to make that much sense?" Scott asked with a faint smile. "Thought I was supposed to be the old and wise one here..."

"I tell you, the blond thing is only a ruse. It gets girls and Lorna loves it." Alex winked at him with a grin. "And you are the old one, way old!"

"Yeah, well, you don't need to rub my nose in it," Scott said, the smile growing into something that was almost a grin as he swatted playfully at his brother. Alex dodged, and Scott chuckled tiredly as he got a firm grip on the bannister and pulled himself upright. "Mind walking your old and decrepit brother upstairs, youngster? I think I need a handful of aspirin and my bed."

Alex ducked under Scott's arm, happy to oblige and see a smile on Scott's face. "Yes sir, just let me know if I'm going too fast, alright?" He dodged another playful swat, laughing.

"You get me a cane or anything for my birthday and I'll do something awkward with it," Scott vowed.

"Come on, would I do something like that?" He gave Scott an innocent look, trying very hard to hide his giggles.

"Gleefully. I know you, brat."