Alex & Shiro, Sunday morning

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Set the morning after Alex spends the night comforting Scott, he goes to visit Shiro and apologize for his comment. Shiro accepts, but then they get into another disagreement, and generally act like a pair of teenage boys.


Shaking his head softly as he padded down the hallway, Alex was still worried about Scott, even though this morning his brother had insisted he'd be fine for a while. Not one to crowd, though he really didn't like the idea of leaving Scott, Alex had started to make his way towards his and Lorna's suite. But on the way, he passed Shiro's suite and he did owe his friend an explanation so with a sigh, he knocked on the door.

The TV in the common room was on, tuned to some special on the History Channel about some aspect of American history that nobody cared about. Shiro wasn't watching it, though. He had fallen asleep on the couch and was snoring softly. But hardly being a deep sleeper, the knock at the door jarred him awake, and he grumpily got up to answer it. "Oh, hey," he said, yawning.

Alex gave his friend a small smirk at the yawn. "Hey...I didn't wake up did I?"

"Oh no, I was simply fascinated by . . ." Shiro turned around to check what was on the screen, "The history of the Department of Education. Come in."

Walking in, Alex's eyes went wide. "The history of the Department of Education...of this country? Are you feeling alright Shiro?" Then he shook his head before Shiro could answer. "Wait don't. I wanted to apologize for yesterday. I...wasn't in the best of moods."

"That was sarcasm, baka," Shiro said, flopping back down on the couch and turning off the TV with the remote. "Apology accepted. It is not everyday that you swear at me so venomously, so I must have deserved it."

Shaking his head again, Alex dropped down beside him on the couch. "I still shouldn't have...I was just so scared about Scott and what Jean's return would do to him...I would have cussed at anyone who mocked it. I'm sorry it was you..."

"Point of fact, I was not mocking Dr. Grey's return, I was mocking the student body, which I do on a regular basis." He shrugged, not looking at Alex. Even though he was shrugging off what Alex had said, it had hurt quite a bit, but he wasn't quite in the mood to discuss his feelings.

Even though Shiro didn't say it, Alex could tell. He wasn't Shiro's best friend for nothing. Anxiously, he stood up and began to pace. "I know, I know...And me of all people should know better...I wasn't even made at you or anything...I just used your post as an outlet. I'm really really sorry..."

Shiro rolled his eyes and threw one of Leyu's coloring books, which she'd left on the coffee table, at Alex. "Sit down, Alex, I get it."

Alex stopped his pacing but didn't sit down, only turned to look at Shiro. "Do you? This is causing enough tension in the mansion and, dude, I'd totally cave if there was any between us as well..."

Shiro sighed and shook his head, finally looking up at Alex. "Yes, your words stung, alright? Quite a bit, in fact. But given the circumstances and its effect on your brother, and therefore on you as well, your reaction is explicable and I do not hold it against you."

With a determined look, Alex crossed back over to the couch and gave Shiro a hug. "I'm so sorry. You know that last thing I would do is hurt you. But, thank you for understanding...that means a lot too." Then he pulled away and blushed. "I'm sorry, just everything has me so emotional..."

The hug took Shiro by complete surprise, so he returned it by awkwardly patting Alex on the back. "How is your brother faring, if I may ask?"

Alex closed his eyes and shook his head. "Could be better. I think he's mostly still in shock. It's hard to watch Shiro...he's always so strong..."

Shiro nodded grimly. He'd heard a lot about Jean Grey since he'd arrived at the school, and the rumors had intensified a thousand-fold over the weekend. Given what he'd heard, Shiro figured that it was a good thing that Logan was off in Canada and not here. "Have you spoken with her yet?"

Snorting, Alex's expression turned to one of disgust. "Now why would I want to do that? She's the source of all this trouble..."

"She is also the love of your brother's life, or at least was," Shiro mentioned. "She is almost family, ne?"

"Was being the key word there..." Then he rolled his eyes. "I thought you were on our side dude!"

"'Side'?" Shiro repeated questioningly. "I am not on anyone's side, Alex. I am merely trying to show you that maybe if you can speak with Dr. Grey and get her to confront your brother, then his psychotic episode will be resolved."

Alex's reply almost came out like a snarl. "I don't want her anywhere near my brother. The further the better, in fact." He closed his eyes and shook his head. "Sorry for how that came out...but I still don't want her near my brother...not yet anyway." He couldn't deny the inevitable...

"~Were you always this dumb?~" Shiro muttered darkly in Japanese. "Do you honestly believe that she came back for the sole purpose of torturing your brother?"

"Please I'm not that stupid..." He rolled his eyes, unintentionally answer part of his muttered question. "Doesn't mean I have to like her for it..."

There was an awful lot of eye rolling going on. If he did it any more, Shiro was sure that his eyes would simply pop out of their sockets. "Fucking Americans." He didn't even bother to say that in Japanese. "Like her or not, she is nearly family, so you had better get used to the idea quickly."

Glaring at Shiro at the 'fucking Americans', the fact he even noticed was in testament to how upset he was, Alex only shook his head this time. "She may be, though I don't think she is, but that doesn't mean I have to like her!"

"Fine!" Shiro conceded, unwilling to argue the point any further. "I do hope, though, that if she and your brother resume their relationship, then you will not act so obstinately."

"I'll deal with that when I damn well have to. But right now, this works fine for me." Alex sighed and leaned back into the couch, closing his eyes and rubbing his temples.

Shiro shook his head and turned the TV on again. As he surfed through the channels, a tsunami of obscenities left his lips, a few of which Alex might even have understood. The word "baka" was uttered a half-dozen separate occasions.