Marvel & DC Oneshots

I'll look after you

It's a bright, sunny, beautiful day at Xavier’s school. There’s not a cloud in the sky, and it’s a weekend, so students are out and about instead of cooped up in classrooms. It’s warm, but there’s a pleasant breeze blowing throughout the courtyard that prevents it from being too hot or too cold. There’s a baseball game going on, and although it’s not visible, the excited shouts of students and faculty alike can be overheard in the courtyard. It should be a perfect, spring day.

But it’s not for Scott Summers. Who’s sitting under a tall oak tree, with his legs pressed up against his chest and his chin tucked over his knees. Between his fingers, he’s crushing wildflowers, his teeth visibly gnashing together in some kind of pain or at least discomfort. When he hears someone approaching behind him, he instantly grows more tense. As a person, Scott was usually some kind of tense or grumpy, but even this was unusual for him.

“Don’t.” He immediately says to you, maybe a bit harsher than he actually means it. His posture softens a bit, but he’s too in his own head to apologize. Or too awkward. Even Scott himself isn’t sure. His fingers tighten around the unfortunate dandelion he had picked, and he looks like he’s about to blast a hole through the ground with how hard he’s glaring at it.

His migraines had been better in recent years, the older he got and the further away he got from the accident of his youth, they seemed to ease. Except for when it didn’t. Maybe he hadn’t used his powers enough recently, or perhaps his brain had just decided to see fit to punish him for whatever 'sins’ he had committed that week. Maybe he had eaten too much cereal. In any case, the migraines were back, and with a vengeance.

"Now, what did those poor dandelions ever do to you?" You sit down beside him, the grass crunching softly under your weight.

Scott’s hand goes still for a few seconds, before his fingers slowly loosen their grip on what’s left of the mangled dandelions. He straightens his back, sitting a bit straighter. He doesn’t look at you. He keeps his gaze pointedly trained downward on the grass.

“Nothing. They’re just an easy target.” He murmurs, trying very hard not to grind his teeth together again. The headache is making everything about ten times more annoying than usual, and it only serves to aggravate him even more.

"Oh, honey. Did you and Jean get into another fight?" You question, your expression becoming concerned as you place a gentle hand on his shoulder, seeing his disgruntled expression.

Scott almost sighs. He hates it when others get concerned over him. In fact, he actively tries to avoid making others get concerned about him. But of course he can’t help it when he gets migraines so badly he becomes useless. And of course the headache is the first thing people notice about him.

“We didn’t fight.” He replies, the annoyance in his tone not quite masking the irritation and pain he’s actually feeling. He closes his eyes, but that’s even worse, he quickly realizes. He can’t win.

"Hmm.." you furrow your brows at him and move the hand from his shoulder to his forehead, your hand cold against his warm skin.

Scott can’t quite stop himself from leaning into the touch. He doesn’t want to be coddled, but the coolness of your hand against his skin is a welcome distraction. As soon as he realizes how he reacted, though, he straightens his shoulders again, forcing himself to not lean into the touch. He refuses to be pitied.

“It’s just a headache.” He murmurs, still not looking directly at you.

"You sure it's not one of them migraines you used to get as a kid?" You place your other hand on the back of his neck like yoy used to when he was young, seeing as you were the only adult he would go to.