to win a war • alex summers

chapter eleven

IN RETROSPECT, THEY SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN LEFT ALONE. What was worse than having a bunch of mutant teens (and a demigod) alone in a giant mansion? A bunch of mutant teens left alone in a giant mansion with easy access to the kitchen. Really, if you thought about it, the events were Charles, Erik and Moira's faults, for leaving them unsupervised. They saw what happened last time!

So, when the adults entered the building and saw the group sitting in a circle innocently, playing cards, they were suspicious. "You're all remarkably well behaved... what did you do?" Charles asked skeptically.

Teddy lazily glanced up. "Don't worry Charles, I'm the most responsible of this group," He replied, feigning innocence.

Hank gave him a disbelieving look. "You set the kitchen on fire trying to make cookies for Alex," he deadpanned.

"Yes, and I take responsibility for that."

Charles and Erik exchanged a look and made a quick dash for the kitchen. Alex cackled at that, knowing very well the cookies turned out fine, and the rest of the time was spent messing around with powers and playing board games.

Sean grinned at a smug looking Teddy. "Oh, I definitely like you!"

Teddy bowed his head, pretending to tip a fedora at the other boy. "You say that now," He joked, ignoring the hidden truth under that.

Charles was unamused by the prank the teens had put together that had awaited him and Erik in the kitchen. On the other hand, however, he did not blame them for enjoying themselves. They would be fighting to stop a third world war, after all, and there was a chance they would lose their lives. Despite this, he did scold them, which was hard to take seriously when he had whipped cream dripping out of his hair.

Not long after, once Charles, Erik and Moira got some rest, training resumed. Teddy was reluctant, as usual. He felt like a weapon. Maybe Charles did want the best for the world. But employing children? Not exactly the best way to go about. From what Teddy had gathered, Charles was someone who wanted peace. But he would not do whatever it takes to achieve it.

So, when the time came for Charles to train with him, Teddy brought it up. "How far are you willing to go to stop Shaw?" He asked. Charles hesitated to answer. Teddy narrowed his eyes. Was he getting into his head? To find out what answer he wanted to hear? "Don't go into my head," This was a command, laced with charmspeak. He was not taking any chances.

"Once we're ready," Charles started, "I am confident we will be able to defeat Shaw, and he'll end up in prison where he belongs."

Teddy chose to leave it at that, knowing he couldn't get anything else out of the man. He sighed, and got to training. Teddy was, as much as he hated to admit it to himself, definitely a favourite of his mother's. Amokinesis, in him, was different than the other children of Venus he encountered. To an extent, he could control more than just desire and love. At first, he had hated it. He never knew if people actually liked him, or he was making them feel the things they felt. Though, later in his life, he learnt to control it. Now, he saw it as a gift. It definitely got him out of situations he did not like.

Then came the evening. Teddy disappeared after grabbing a quick something for diner. So, Alex went to find him.

The blonde found him sitting by the water, staring down at the glistening liquid. If Teddy heard him coming, he said nothing about it. Alex sat beside the boy, not saying anything just yet.

"You okay?" Alex asked. He couldn't explain why he cared so much about Teddy. He was just some random kid, after all. But this was the same random kid who took a half hour trying to make him cookies. The same random kid who went to beat up CIA agents who were being assholes to them. Alex could not explain the feelings he was feeling. He hated it.

"Yeah," Teddy muttered in reply. "Just nervous, I guess." Alex was looking at him now. Teddy could feel his eyes burning into the side of his head. For some reason, he liked having the boy's eyes on him. Teddy glanced back up and met his eyes. "We're going to war, again in my case." He chuckled dryly.

Alex smiled softly. "Yeah, well, you have me," He said quietly. "We're in this together, right?"

Teddy nodded, unable to help but smile back. "Yeah," He whispered. "Together."

The pair sat in silence for awhile, eventually laying down, hands behind their heads. They watched as the moon rose up in the sky. "I used to want to be an astronaut," Alex admitted.

Teddy snorted, rather unattractively. "You? An astronaut?"

Alex laughed. "I know! But going to space was appealing. Hard to do that when you're a mutant." His tone was light, but his words were sad.

"I don't think that's just a mutant thing," Teddy told him. "I wanted to be the person to explore the ocean when I was a kid." Alex turned his head to look (read, admire) the brunette beside him. "My dad used to take me to the aquarium, and I'd see the sharks and eels and stuff, and I was really into that. I went to bookstores and took out books on the ocean, and I didn't know about my powers yet so I thought everyone gave kids free books, and I just learnt about these creatures." Alex was hanging onto every word Teddy was telling him. "I eventually got bored, and decided I wanted to find new things for other people to learn about."

There was silence for a moment, before Alex started laughing. "You were a nerd!"

Teddy flushed, and rolled over to shove his friend. Alex shoved him back, and in no time the two were sent rolling down the hill they laid on. Alex ended up on top of Teddy, their noses almost touching. And, in a moment of adrenaline and the feelings bubbling within each of them, their lips met.