Midas Touch ➸ Taekook

- Ninth -

Everyone had gathered in the Institute's meeting room, including Professor Xavier and Hank. Night had fallen and all the X-Men were deeply exhausted by the mission. Especially as the youngest of them had classes the next day, but to be honest, Taehyung wasn't sure he'd have the courage to get up. Especially as the night was far from over.

"So, to sum up," said Charles, "the hostages weren't in the warehouse?"

"Yes. And as a bonus, we were greeted by a hundred mercenaries armed to the teeth. Namjoon added, clearly slightly annoyed by the situation."

Hank sighed, looking deeply devastated.

"It's catastrophic. This warehouse was our one and only lead. This gang literally came out of nowhere, we know nothing about them."

He buried his face in his hands, rubbing them nervously.

"I should have been more careful... But I was so frustrated that my superiors refused to act that I lost all rationality... Now we'll never find the hostages..."

All eyes turned to Jungkook, the mysterious stranger whom Jin had presented as 'their last solution'. An action that did not escape Professor Xavier.

"So, can we know who our guest is and why he's here?"

Jungkook couldn't suppress a smile, pleased that attention was finally returning to him.

"I'm glad you asked, monsieur...?"

"Charles Xavier." replied the professor with a serenity that disconcerted all his students; he wasn't in the least disconcerted by Jungkook, either by his unjustified presence or his slightly too relaxed attitude.

"Hm, Xavier. As I was saying to your friends earlier, it so happens that you and I have a common goal"

Xavier arched an eyebrow, almost amused. The man couldn't have been more than twenty-five, yet he spoke with such confidence that he looked ten years older.

"Which is?" continued the professor.

"To find the hostages. Or, in my case, one of them. I obviously know more about this whole affair than you do. But as things stand, I'm no match for a whole gang."

"So what you're proposing, Mr Jeon, is an alliance?"

Jungkook winced at the word.

"Let's be honest for two minutes, Mr Xavier. We're not talking about an alliance. I use you to achieve my ends, and in exchange, I let you use me to achieve yours. However, once I've got what I want, you'll be on your own again."

He wants to remain in a position of strength. the professor thought with a smile. He may be nonchalant, but he distrusts us just as much as we distrust him.

A hoarse laugh echoed through the room.

"I like that kid!" exclaimed Logan with a laugh, which was extremely rare and sent shivers down everyone's spine.

Namjoon didn't agree, however. He was wary of this "Gambit", who seemed to look down on them so much. He was a little too confident for that not to be suspicious. But the decision was not his to make.

Professor Xavier turned to Hank, raising a questioning eyebrow.

"What's your decision, Hank? Even if you called on us, this mission is still your initiative..."

Hank didn't look entirely convinced either. Entrusting the mission to the X-Men was already an enormous risk, so to rely on a total stranger, about whom they knew absolutely nothing, and whose intentions were still uncertain...

Seeing the hesitation on Hank's face, Jungkook quickly spoke up.

"I'm not forcing you to do anything." he reminded him. "If you refuse, I'll manage on my own. I just think that working together would save us all a lot of time."

Xavier had to admit he had a point. Hank asked him to follow him into a corner of the room, to share his concerns without prying ears.

"The truth is," whispered the man, "after tonight's failure, there's no chance of the CIA lending any credence to this case, Charles. And without their help, we can't investigate any further. We're at a standstill."

"All the more reason to accept this Jungkook's proposal. At this point, we've got nothing to lose. He may really be our only option."

Taehyung watched the two men talk for a while, but wasn't able to hear what they were saying. He finally looked away, returning his attention to the mysterious mutant they had met tonight, and was startled to see that the man's eyes were already on him. Those red irises were piercing, and Taehyung had the impression that he could read him like an open book. It was disconcerting.

Seeing the effect he had on him, Jungkook smirked and even winked at him. Surprised by the gesture, Taehyung felt his cheeks heat up in spite of himself.

"Is it me or did he just wink at you?" Kitty asked, just as shocked as he was.

Taehyung, his eyes slightly wide, nodded softly. So he hadn't been dreaming. Jeon Jungkook had indeed winked at him.

"I think so..."

Kitty couldn't help but whistle, impressed. She even smiled a little teasingly.

"Well done, mate, he's fucking hot."

This time Taehyung was sure he was as red as a poppy. He turned to the girl, taking his eyes off Jungkook for a moment. And the teasing smile hadn't left Kitty's lips.

"W-What are you talking about?!" Taehyung snapped. "This guy is clearly suspicious! This is no time to be drooling over him!"

But to his surprise, Kitty shook her head, putting an arm around his shoulder to pull him away.

"On the contrary, now's the best time!" exclaimed the teenager. "Think about it: that idiot Chris has left you, all to go chasing after girls at school who don't even want him! Don't you think the best revenge would be for him to see you with someone handsome? To see that you've moved on and he hasn't?"

Taehyung tried to ignore the fact that apparently everyone knew about his love life.

"What do you mean he hasn't moved on? He's the one who left me!"

Kitty couldn't help but roll her eyes at the boy's naivety.

"He obviously did it to get you interested in him! Unlike him, you've always been super discreet about your relationship. He's clearly not as mature as you, I'm sure he thought you didn't care about him or your relationship!"

Now that Taehyung thought about it, it was true that Chris had often reproached him this.

"Oh shit..."

"You're not going back to him now that you've realised he's still interested in you, are you?" Kitty suddenly worried.

"No, I'm not! On the contrary, he hurt me for something so stupid. I'm even angrier than before!"

"So you can see why my plan is brilliant-"

"That, however, is out of the question. Jungkook is still very suspicious. I don't trust him."

Kitty sighed, but said no more. At the same time, Professor Xavier and Hank approached, back from their little chat.

"So?" Namjoon asked. "What's the next step in the plan?"

"For the moment, it's a bit early to say." explained Xavier. "I think it would be better if we all took a night to think about it."

He then turned to Jungkook.

"As for you, Mr Jeon, we accept your proposal, and invite you to stay with us in the meantime."

"It would be a pleasure."

Taehyung felt his heart race. This man was going to live under the same roof as him. For an indefinite period of time. And for some reason, his body was reacting strangely to the news. At the same time, his gaze met that of the handsome stranger again, and Jungkook's smile widened.