9523/A Stitch In Time....

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A Stitch In Time....
Date of Scene: 10 October 2019
Location: Shannon's Room (East Halls), Xavier's School
Synopsis: Bean and Shannon have a difficult but ultimately rewarding talk, and Shannon heals Bean. HYDRA had better look out!
Cast of Characters: Nightingale, Samuel Morgan




Nightingale has posed:
     It's another quiet afternoon, with some studying out of the way, and a certain winged healer not in the medbay. So it was an improvement over most days as of late. She's holed herself up in her dorm for the afternoon, foregoing the usual pleasure of baking in the kitchen for another homely pursuit. Scraps of intense red fabric litter the table around her sewing machine, and it seems to be set up for embroidery, going full tilt with a frame in the machine. Clickity-humming fills the room, soft and rhythmic, in a very homey sort of ambience. Shannon herself is just making her way over to the sewing machine with a spool of glittering gold thread, with silver loaded up already into the machine. What could she possibly be working on?

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    If the definition of courage is not the absence of fear, but to persevere despite it, then Bean is doing one of the more courageous things in his life right now. After the talk with Older Sam, it was time to have the talk he should have had a long time ago, asking around if anyone had seen Shannon. Much to his relief, he is pointed towards her dorm room, a place where he has as of yet not set foot, but which is at least likely going to be more private than, say, the kitchen.

    Thank the lord for small mercies.

    He hobbles onto the landing, the steady THUMP of the crutch under his right arm giving him away, and into the hallway where under normal circumstances he's not allowed to go. He's pretty sure his presence will start exciting less comment in the weeks to come, but for now he's trying to be as fast as he can. And there he is. At the door. All he needs to do is knock. Just... lift his hand, form fist, tap the door. It's suddenly a very complicated maneuver, and he needs to close his eyes and breathe deeply, half rehearsing what he's going to say.

    There is a soft knock on the door. "Shannon? Can I come in?"

Nightingale has posed:
     The soft clickety-humming from inside the room stops, and she tilts her head, not sure she heard anything. "Just a sec, be right there!" She's humming a light, airy tune that has something of an air of the Emerald Isles about it, the tune perhaps recognizeable as 'Siuil a Ruin', if Bean is at all familiar with that sort of music. The door opens and she looks rather surprised to see him outside. "Bean! The heck, what are you doing on your feet? Come on, and take a load off!" Yep, if she can't heal him, she's going to fuss as much as possible.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    Wasting no time, Bean hobbles into the room, and finds himself a seat by the fireplace. Those chairs looked by far the most comfortable, and the most capable of handling his fairly heavy sitting down at the moment. "Nurse let me out a few hours ago. I'm under strict orders not to play in traffic for a while." He smiles, looking around, and leans the crutch against his chair. "I was just over to talk to Mister Guthrie about what happened and other things and... " Yeah. C'mon. Out with it. No? Coward! Say it, dammit.

    "... he suggested we should talk. And I agree."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon nods, and smiles softly. "Tell you what, you talk, I heal. Deal? Please don't go all Teutonic on me this time." She's got bits of red and silver thread clinging to her normally spotless cream cotton peasant blouse in stark contrast to the pale material; it looks as if she's been creating for at least the past hour or so. She moves one of the chairs over a little closer and in a better position to facilitate a healing, if Bean finally allows it. "What happened yesterday that had the big green guy dropping you off at the gates? He was actually pretty decent, I kind of like him."

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "I appreciate the offer, you know I do, but Cannonball suggested I'd look for Josh or Triage. That way nobody needs to end up in the medbay. Especially not now." Argh. It's so hard to just... say it. Bean wonders if he should come out with it, or... no, best to first just answer the question.

    "HYDRA." He says it simply, looks away for a moment, and then elaborates. "They tried to grab me yesterday. Four guys, hoods and masks, batons and tranq guns. Wouldn't have been much of an issue, but they ran me over with their car first. That means they know exactly who they were dealing with. The Hulk... happened to be around. Without him, I'd have been in a safehouse before anyone even realised I was gone."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon shakes her head. "Please. A broken bone or two wouldn't land me in the medbay... just on crutches for a day-ish... and if I were to handle it now, I'd be fine in time for class by the lake in the evening. Bitte?" She sighs softly, running her fingers through her hair. "I haven't seen Josh for well over a month or so. He was acting as my mentor. So I've been... having to go it on my own. Haven't seen Triage for a while either or yes, I would suggest going to him. Please, Bean. I promise this will actually be very quick to heal on me, and I've survived far, far worse things... things that should have killed a god. This would be very small."

She frowns slightly, and lets out a small sigh, nodding. "You did say that day would come. Now it's here. Have you told Jean or Scott so they can help you, too? If not... I'd really very strongly suggest it, or Kitty if you can't find either of them."

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "Sam is handling that part. I'll probably have to explain a few things to a few people a few times, but... essentially everyone who needs to know will know pretty soon." Bean hopes that doesn't include SHIELD too soon, because they might start to develop second thoughts about having him in the school. "There's... something else we need to talk about. And after that, you might not be so eager to help me heal, although I suspect it won't make a difference. I hope it won't make a difference."

    Now he actively tries to take her hand, looking at the same time more contrite and more nervous than he has ever before. "Shannon... I owe you both an apology, and an explanation."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon can't help the smile as Bean takes her hand, relaxing more than she has for a little while since the whole mess with Loki. She seems quite content to simply maintain that contact, not pressing for anything further. "But you haven't done anything wrong to apologize for. Except maybe worry me a little when you didn't show up in classes again. For that... apology accepted."

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "That's not... I mean, yes, I also owe you an apology for that." Hoo boy. Not off to a great start here, Bean. So it's time to pull together that half speech he's been working on while hobbling over, and looks squarely into Shannon's eyes.

    "Shannon, you've been kind to me the moment I arrived. You have been, quite literally, my angel. You're the light in my darkest days. And lately, I feel like I've led you to believe something that is..." Nope, try again. "... Lately it seems like, things that I've done, may have led you to believe that I was looking for..." Gah! Not like that you idiot! Okay... one last sally.

    "Shannon. You are wonderful. You are amazing. You are kind, you are beautiful, you are everything a boy could wish for. Any boy that likes girls would have to be blind not to see those qualities in you. I'm... I... may have led you to believe that I am that kind of boy. That was not my intent. I'm sorry."

Nightingale has posed:
     For several long moments, there's dead silence, as the implications of Bean's words sink in. Shannon's brows furrow, and she gives him a long, searching look. Her eyes begin to glisten and there is a slight hitch to her breath, but the tears do not spill their banks. When she does finally find the words to speak, she squeezes his hand firmly, unwilling to let go even now.

     "The boy that breaks your heart will have to deal with me." It's a tone he hasn't heard from her before--quiet, deadly, and with a steely resolve brooking no opposition, even through the slight quavering that bespeaks a heart that is breaking.

     Briefly, she brings Bean's hand to her face, the gesture nearly undoing her right there. Alright, not nearly. A bit of searing, salty dampness trickles down her cheek to land on Bean's hand, though she tries to hold back the worst of it. "Right from the start, you've been one of my greatest joys here. You always will be. You are and can be so much more than you know, and to have you in my life is a treasure I hope to continue to cherish. Even if it's not as I'd originally hoped. Even if it's not... romantic... my caring for you will always be there."

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    For a few moments, it's like the abyss is opening up underneath Bean. He expects to be swallowed whole, to be condemned for eternity for hurting a close friend, for ... wait? What? Of all the reactions he had been expecting, anger disappointment, disbelief... this wasn't one of them. Immediately Bean squeezes back, carefully but firmly, and tries to move himself out of his seat to give Shannon a hug.

    It's clumsy, awkward, even more so when his hand is held up to her face, and he can feel those tears. That will not do, will never do! His own eyes burn but the tears are still locked behind those emotional barriers, and he overbalances, landing on his good knee in front of Shannon's chair like a repentant sinner. "Anyone who hurts you, anyone at all, they will have to deal with me." And having said that, he hoists himself up by sheer strength, ignoring the feeling in his knee, his ankle, his arm... All so he can wrap his one good arm around Shannon, and bring her into a comforting hug.

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon gasps as he falls to his knees in front of her chair, immediately bolting to help him up, lending her strength to augment his own; it's plain that the morning runs and the extra strength training have been doing quite a bit of good, leaving her markedly more fit and toned than she had been when they first met. She tries to get to her feet, holding on to Bean, and help him back to his chair. Perching on the arm of his chair, she leans into that hug, trembling as she struggles to hold back the tears.

She swallows hard, silent for a few more moments, thinking what to say. "This... isn't the first time I've loved and lost. But that time, too, I gained something wonderful and truly lasting. Even if it wasn't romantic." She pauses, quirking a small smile. "Instead of a boyfriend, I gained a brother. I had the world's biggest crush on Cannonball. It was eating me up alive, not telling him. Finally, it all just kind of tumbled out, and he told me he looked at me more like a sister. It hurt, really bad. Probably one of the worst hurts I've ever experienced, next to thinking I let down one of my heroes during that whole Loki mess. Still feel pretty rotten about that." She rests her head on his shoulder and takes a deep, shuddering breath, letting out a sigh deeper than a girl her age ought to do. "This didn't turn out to be romantic, but there's still something very beautiful and pure there. Something worth holding on to. I can accept that, and look forward to it."

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "I was so worried about hurting you." Bean begins, when he is back in his seat and keeps a close hold of Shannon, supporting her head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry it's not what you were hoping for, but... I promise, as far as I'm concerned, this changes nothing." He puts two and two together, and comes to the conclusion that one of the people Sam had been talking about was Shannon, but now he has confirmation. It only makes him hug her more.

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon nods and tries to smile for him, though another tear leaves a glistening, crystalline trail down the other side of her face. "It does hurt. I won't lie. It makes me wonder if I'll ever mean that much to anyone. Maybe I never will." There's the first hint of a hollow note to her voice she's betrayed since this whole thing began, a sliver of raw grief peeking through each syllable. "But as long as I have my Sam's, I'll never be alone. And hey... look at it this way." She tries to add a little note of humor, lightly nudging Bean's good shoulder. "You're probably the safest date in the world for me at this point."

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    Luckily that's his good shoulder, and Bean smiles back in return. It's a brittle smile, but it's there. At least he appears to be in a much better mood today. "As I told Cannonball, we're still going to see that movie."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon tries to nudge the corners of Bean's mouth upwards a little bit more. "Oh come on, you call that a smile? Yeah, you'd better believe we're going to see that movie. And completely pig out on enough junk food to add an extra two miles on to the next morning's run."

While her eyes are still misty, the more familiar, gentle smile has returned. "You were right about one thing. I still do want to heal you if you'll allow it. These aren't the kind of injuries that'll land me in the medbay, and honestly, my healing factor's actually been improving. Kind of a pleasant surprise."

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "In that case..." Bean smiles, a bit more properly now. "It's been bugging me that I can't hug you with both arms. Just... enough so I can move it. Don't mess up your own piano play, or your lessons with Mister Logan tomorrow."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon shakes her head and smiles, turning her chair to face him. "These injuries won't take but maybe a day to heal on me. I do have to advise you, I'm not certain of being able to stop partway. But even at that, I'd be able to be up and about, since you were able to. I'd just have to get any broken bones set properly and let nature take its course." She smiles and rests her hand gently on his arm, looking at him for a moment longer. "You will always be very precious and dear to me. This is a small thing."

She closes her eyes and takes a few deep breaths, much like he had witnessed on the security footage of her healing Loki. So he knew full well what was going to happen next. There's a light gasp, a soft hiss, and the sickening crack of not only her left arm breaking, but her breathing becomes more labored, and smaller crackling sounds as her ribs are next. The color drains from her face, and a spot of red appears just below her heart, staining her blouse. Her left leg shifts to rest in an odd position that suggests not a break, but dislocation. Unfortunately, she has been unable to halt the healing partway this time.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    Bean nods, but warily. He was perfectly willing to meet Shannon halfway, but still... he wouldn't want her to end up as hurt as he was through no fault of her own. He watches her, carefully, but the relief when his arm and ribs stop hurting... oh the relief! It's enough to make him forget how they got to be that way for a moment, and then watches with horror what happens next. "Nonononooooo..."

    He's out of his chair like a shot, the closest thing ever seen to panic in his expression. Disentangling his arm from the sling takes too long, so he gives it a few yanks to make it come loose, ripping the fabric. "Why did... I'm taking you to the nurse, now. No arguments!" And down he goes, kneeling, one arm carefully under Shannon's right knee and the other under her shoulders, lifting her up. Looks like he's going to carry her over the treshold after all.

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon is in no position to argue with Bean and she nods, wincing slightly, her voice dazed as the connection is forcibly broken by being swept up and slung over his shoulder. "You're worth it." At least she knew she'd be alright. She always would be, with such an amazing friend and guardian.