X-Men One-Shots and Preferences

Mud Bath- Hank McCoy

This idea was inspired from when I used to work at the local groomers. Sometimes when bathing the dogs there, particularly the ones that shed a lot, we'd have this mud like mixture with minerals that would lock in the hair and reduce the shedding. I imagine with the kind of fur Hank has he would have similar problems so the reader would suggest the mud treatment.

Enjoy.

"Hank?" you knock on the door to Hank's lab, no doubt he had some important work to do, but he had a tendency to skip meals when he was in the middle of a breakthrough. So you took it upon yourself to pack him a lunch with a sandwich with veggies and a bag chips and a Twinkies for afterwards. This was something you would do occasionally whenever the mutant was in the middle of his studies. Charles and Raven had both question you on these little gestures. You would tell them you were just concerned for Hank's well-being and wanted to make sure he was still taking care of himself. Honestly though, you weren't what was the point of hiding the real reason when of your "interrogators" was a telepath.

"Hank, you there?" you knock again. You open the door and let yourself in.  Sure enough, Hank was hunched over a telescope, examining whatever specimen was underneath. You did notice the small difference being that he was in his human form. You sighed a little at the sight. Normally he would be blue and covered in fur like he was meant to be; you thought he was spending more time in that form, forgoing the pills that kept the beast in check. Seeing him this way right when you thought he was beginning to accept himself the way he is was a little disappointing.

You tap Hank on the shoulder to get his attention. You jumps back startled and turns around to see it was just you. "Oh, sorry, I didn't see you come in," he hastily apologizes. "It's fine," you assure, still slightly taken aback that he was in human form. You hand him the brown bag, "I brought lunch. It's a sandwich, the way you like it." "Turkey and Swiss with lettuce and tomato?" "Of course," you nod. "Thanks," he accepts, "I was actually getting hungry."  

You smile as he takes the lunch bag from you. "So," you begin, "Uh, have you been feeling okay lately?" "About as good as I can be," Hank shrugs, taking a bite of the sandwich. "You sure?" you raise an eyebrow, "Nobodies been giving you a hard time or anything?" "Hard time about what?" "Oh, I don't know," you shrug nonchalantly, "maybe it's the glasses, or the brains...or maybe, and I'm only taking a wild guess, it might have to do with a certain tamed, furry beast that appears to be kept under wraps for whatever reason." "And here I didn't think anyone would notice," Hank says sarcastically, "Or say anything about it either."

"What happened, Hank?" you question, "I thought you were starting to get comfortable in your own skin, what went wrong?" "Well, I..." "I mean I know it can't be easy walking out in public all blue and covered in fur," you continue, "especially with the stigma attached to mutants and all, but you can't let any of that get to you. Mutants come in a different shapes and sizes, and you should be proud of that. It shouldn't matter what anyone else says or thinks, as long as you can be the person you're supposed to be." "(y/n)-" "Mutant and Proud, that's what Mystique always says right? You're here. You're covered in hair. Get used to it. You have nothing to be ashamed of." "It's not about that!" Hank exclaims to finally catch your attention.

"Excuse me?" "No one said anything about my Beast looks," he elaborates, "It's just...I just...it's a little embarrassing." You could see a tint of red in his cheeks. "Hey," you takes his hands in yours, "whatever it is, you can tell me. You have to be embarrassed about. I promise I won't laugh." "You promise?" You nod in confirmation. "Okay," Hank takes a deep breath, "I'm...I've been recently shedding a lot more than usual." "Oh," you respond, trying hard to contain any giggles that might spurt out.
"Yeah," he nods, "This usually happens in the spring when I shed my 'winter coat,' if you will, but I guess with all the hot weather we've had the last several weeks, it gets a little uncomfortable having all this hair everywhere. And when I get up from the couch or even out of bed, I see all that hair that came off from just sitting or laying. Even when I walk around the halls I see blue hair start to accumulate at the corners." "You sure none of that hair is Kurt's?" You suggest, "he's pretty hairy too with all that fur." "No it's mine," Hank confirms, "Kurt doesn't shed, and his hair is shorter and not as thick as mine."

"I think I get it now," you nod in understanding, "Is that why you've been taking those pills? To get rid of the shedding?" "It helps," Hank nods, "I don't have to worry about tracking hair everywhere I go." "What if there was a way to reduce the shedding in a more natural way?" you suggest, which got Hank's attention. "How do you mean?" "You remember I used to be a dog groomer before I came to work in this school?" you ask him to which he nods, "I still keep some of the hair care products and I think I have something that could help."
You motion for Hank to follow you to your room.

Once there, you rummage through your belongings and finally find the box of products and equipment you used as a groomer. You pull out various dog shampoos until you pull out a large squirt bottle filled with brown substance that looked similar to mud. "What is that?" Hank questions. "We called it mud," you explain, "Whenever clients would bring in dogs that were heavy shedders we would work this little mixture into their hair. The minerals in it lock down the hair and significantly reduce the shedding. Now results varied, but after the first several washes, you should be able to see the difference." "So your solution to my problem is a hair care products that's designed for dogs?" Hank frowns a little. "Admittedly, it did seem a little insulting in my mind," you answer, "but it really does help. If I was in your shoes, I'd give it a try myself and see if it's for me. If you want to stick to the pills, I'll understand. I just...I just wanted you to be able to fully embrace who you are."

Hank knew you meant well, and you did have some points. He'd been trying to fully embrace his mutant form, hair and all, and no longer rely on the pills just so he could fit in and be considered desirable by society's standards. He also knew that part of accepting his true self also meant accepting the quirks that came with it; if he couldn't accept the fact that he sheds, then how is he ever going to be able to truly accept the Beast inside.
He takes the bottle from your hands, "I'll give a try," he concedes, "Are there any further instructions I should know about?" "Just really work it into your fur," you tell him, "Treat it like conditioner. And you don't need to use a whole lot. A dollop should do the trick. And once the shedding goes down, you can use the mud like once a week or even every other week would do it too."

In the next week that followed, Hank did indeed see there was a big difference. When you met up with him in the lab again, you saw he was working and in his true form as he hung upside down tinkering on equipment. "Wow, look at you," you speak, getting his attention, "there's something different about you, I just can't quite put my finger on it." "It's probably my eyes," Hank jokes as he comes down to accept the lunch you made, "You were right," he admits, "The mud really did help. I can rub myself against the wall and not see a single hair fall right off." "I'm glad it worked for you," you say with a smile, "And your coat actually looks a lot shinier as a result too." Hank smiles in response. "So, you're not having any second thoughts about the pills?" "Well since, the shedding crisis has been absolved, I think I'll lay off the meds for the time being," Hank replies.

"That's good," you smile again, "I always thought this look suited you a lot better than your 'human' look anyway." "Really?" Hank seemed surprised you actually liked him this way. "Well yeah," you say like it's obvious, "this is who you are. This is the person you're meant to be...and I always like him a lot."

Before Hank could say anything you place a kiss on his cheek and quickly exit the lab.