thisavrou_log | The Son Never Shines on Closed Doors

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The Son Never Shines on Closed Doors

Who: Erik Lehnsherr and Peter Maximoff
When: Day after Peter's arrival
Where: Erik's workshop
What: Peter reunites with his father. Erik reunites with that kid who did him a solid ten years ago but is kinda annoying
Warnings: If estranged father plots aren't your bag, proceed with caution

[ It's taken longer than he anticipated, mostly because of how much raw material he needed to accumulate, and how much other work he needed to do in order to obtain it. But finally, Erik is putting the final touches on the workshop.

As finished as it's going to be, at this time. The greatest area of need at this point is power tools. Erik can create whatever hand tools they need, and have fully stocked a standard set in each work station. But creating power tools is much more complicated, and requires using materials other than metal. Perhaps one of the other engineers will be able to supplement where he is lacking and they will be able to make what they need. Otherwise, they will have to share what little they have until they are able to find more.

There are lockers near the door with the scavenged theater blacks folded and set on the shelves, organized by size. Several modular workstations, stocked with hand tools and a few power tools. Retractable safety shields in the walls and the floor, though not as many as Erik would like and he makes a note to see if any of the other engineers can construct power shields. There's a stockpile of broken appliances that he intends to use to occupy children and young people who need something to do. The lighting is acceptable, that's another thing to fix, though. Mostly it's just the ceiling lights which aren't as useful when doing fine work. Another thing to work on moving forward.

He starts taking notes on his A.C.E. ]

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[Charles did warn him that Erik was here. And for a short while, Peter didn't know what to do with that knowledge - it was as exciting as it was nerve-wracking to know that his father was walking around these same halls, liable to turn any corner and be in front of him unexpectedly. He was and still is eager to learn more about his father, but not about to rush it. And plainly, avoiding him forever wasn't going to be possible.

He's not obliged to force the father-son reveal but he better at least get used to hanging around dear ol' dad. Dear ol' president targeting, end of the world initiating (but to his credit also stopping,) and quite the architect dad. The X-Mansion was looking fly, at least the last time he saw it. And it seems he's been at work here too, so far as Peter guesses as he comes to walk by the workshop and does something of an electric slide style move to back up and linger in the doorway.

Yeah, that looks like Erik alright.]

Cool room. [Peter hears himself speaking before he even really thinks of what he's saying, momentarily creasing his brow before rolling with it. Could he have thought of a smoother opener? Probably. But he feels a little more off-kilter in front of Erik, a little tense and in all honesty? Nervous.]

[ Erik is so absorbed in his work that he doesn't notice the comment at first. He looks, and then looks again. Somebody he actually recognizes, and doesn't (to his knowledge) want to kill him. At present. To the best of his knowledge. ]

Ah, Peter. I was not aware you had arrived.

[ He heads over to the locker where he has stored his ever-exciting water and nutrition cubes. It's been some hours since he last ate. He takes the container and canteen and makes his way over to where Peter is hovering near the door. ]

I made this workshop for the other engineers on the station. It seemed a prudent course of action. Hungry?

[ He offers the food, but does not expect an enthusiastic response. It is hard to be enthusiastic about these things and Peter is hardly one to fake it for politeness' sake. ]

[A few things happen in a short period of time but Peter's just the kind of guy who can overthink each one in just under the blink of an eye yet still seems distracted by the time he's being offered food. ("Food".) What's so distracting? Oh, a few things - namely Erik just said his name which feels rather surreal, paired with the fact he was just given a small tidbit of information about Erik.

Engineer? Is he one? He's crafty, that's for sure. Look at this place.] Uh, thanks... but I'll pass. Surprisingly.

[He eyes the container and still can't quite find any excitement in him for the food options here. He'll have to get over it, he knows but he's going to drag his heels for just a little while. He wrinkles his nose a bit and walks further into the room.]

Is this uh, the sort of thing you did back home? When not... [Shit. He looks to the floor, studying it for a quick hot second as he reroutes what he was about to say and sends it through several filters.] You know. Busy doing other things.

[ Erik sighs. ] It's not surprising. These ... things are uniquely terrible and yet utterly bland at the same time. I'd like to tell you that you get used to it, but I've been here for a month and it hasn't gotten any better.

[ He eats one because he has to, washes it down with some water, and then offers the canteen to Peter.

He walks with Peter as he comes further into the workshop. ] Sometimes. I like to keep busy. [ He says in a wry tone as he eats another cube. ] Why? Do you have any engineering experience?

[Peter politely declines the canteen as well with a shake of his head, looking around the workshop for something to occupy himself with - it's pretty neat, honestly. Good open space, not that he'd really have anything to contribute to it. He might be staring at the walls but he's listening, eyes somewhat unfocused as he records the little details.

He's been here a month.] Just wondering.

I've screwed around with some vending machines, arcade game or two - more like some small engine repairs. Fixed my mom's washer, y'know? That kind of handy stuff? [Gotta pay for the basement somehow - not that he didn't keep her stocked in dishsoap and other amenities too. He's caught with a pang of longing when he realizes for the first time he's not able to check in on her.

He huffs out a breath and due to that momentary distraction, isn't thinking of his words:] Gotta be curious what Magneto does on his off days. [But then again, when is he ever thinking of his words?]

[ Erik is pleasantly surprised. He had never exchanged much more than pleasantries with Peter, and had no idea he had any sort of aptitude for... anything, really. ] Ah, excellent. You have more experience than most.

[ He looks at Peter sidelong. The boy is up to something, though exactly what isn't clear. ] I like to read. [ But there was another thing that caught his ear. He drinks more water. ] Do you have a true name yet?

[Yeah, don't get your hopes up yet Pops, Peter just neglected to bring up just how many years he was a basement dweller and how any and all skills he picked up were mostly self-serving. Steal a stop light, learn how to change a bulb. Or steal another stop light. That said, the reason he neglected to spotlight that part of himself is a strange mix of reasons but the main one being that... he kind of hopes for a bit of approval? It's stupid, he acknowledges it as such, but nonetheless it persists.

But fuck if he doesn't catch himself outright snorting at the seriousness of the phrasing true name. It's not that he means any disrespect but it's - man, it's a bit much here.] Ah - shit. You mean like, codename wise?

Kinda. But Peter's just a lot easier half the time? Honestly. But Quicksilver's been what I've been writing in the margins of my notebooks since I was twelve.

[ He turns his full attention to Peter. When he speaks, his voice is as quiet as it usually is, but the conviction in his words is unmistakable. ]

Names have power, Peter. We are not like them. Using a human name with the humans makes it easy to forget that as soon as they know what we can do. As soon as they remember what we are and what we represent. They will turn on us.

Our brothers and sisters can call me Erik. To them I will always be Magneto. So they do not forget, and I do not wonder if my new "friends" will turn on me when they know the truth.

Others, like Kurt, will never have the ability to blend in with the humans. We owe it to them to make our alliance clear. Together, we are stronger than them.

[He's still got laughter on his breath and his smile lingers, but he listens. His father's still something of a mystery, what really makes him tick under that helmet of his and so he sucks in a breath and idly listens to what his Erik says with mixed emotion. On one hand he wants to differ in opinion simply because of Erik's notoriety and the impression that he and his opinions are extreme. But on the other... he knows all too well what it's like to grow up sticking out like a sore thumb, having to hide who or what you are from the world out of a fear of the unknown. Out of being the unknown.

He's still on the fence about the divide. Charles seems to believe in the good, yet Erik always seems to first acknowledge the bad in humanity. And while in an ideal world the good is great to focus on... it's usually the bad that hits you first. The bad you should be prepared for? He doesn't know if he truly just wants to believe in his father or if he honestly can see truth in what he says.

His smile fades and he fiddles with a tool off a table nearby, flipping it back and forth in the palm of his hand.] Nobody's going to forget you any time soon, I'll give you credit for that.

What do we represent? Being different? Or being better. [That's the hump Peter isn't so sure about - are they trying to act as if they're just a variant of humanity, fighting for equality or is there superiority here that prevents true equality. It'd be easy to be sucked into the mindset of "we're better than them", but how's that help in the end?]

[ He's surprised by the question. ]

We are better. We represent their extinction.

[ It is a fact that neither gives him pleasure nor causes him grief. It is a fact to report, like the sun rising in the east. ]

[Yeah, this is the gray area alright. He understands - he thinks he does, anyway - what his father's saying but there's still some part of him that isn't ready to commit to the concept. An uncertain part of him that's still skittish, afraid to truly stand in the sun rather than the shadow.

We are better.

To overthink it, what does better mean? Is humanity the baseline to which mutants are measured? That just skews in relation to who draws the comparisons. Genetically, they've evolved. But the humans might also say they've become defective. But what's the true neutral and non biased opinion? Can that even exist?

We represent their extinction.] Is that why you didn't really care about 'em in Cairo? They're gonna get extinct eventually, might as well help axe those humans now?

[He looks back to Erik and this is not going the way he planned, but he can't help the pointed look - the bite of anger that has his teeth clenched because it's all over and dealt with now, but lives were lost. And so many others were at risk. You changed your mind and that's great, Erik. But that doesn't change the fact you did what you did. And that you could so easily do it again.]

[ Erik bows his head slightly, feeling tired. And ashamed. And disgusted with himself. ]

I should have been stronger in Cairo.

[ And Poland. Before Apocalypse ever found him. When Nina needed him. ]

[That's not an answer Peter really knows what to do with because it doesn't answer his question - only sort of blossoms more. He stares at Erik for a moment trying to get a read of what he's thinking, feeling like a kid in front of the TV again. Always just seeing the one mystifying side of Magneto and having zero insight to why he does what he does.

Maybe he shouldn't hold him to Cairo so tightly, but Peter's got misplaced feelings of anger and desperation.] Well, you came around in the end. Only took some of us to nearly die to convince you, but...

[He sighs, that didn't come out the way he wanted it to. None of this is.]

[ He owes Peter an explanation. A better one than that. He never really explained it to Charles, either. Or any of the others. Storm understood, she had experienced the same thing he had. ]

When Apocalypse found me I was... angry. [ A better explanation. ] I was enraged, and grieving, and seeking vengeance. It was a weakness. Apocalypse preyed on it.

[ The first time he truly felt that his anger had left him weak and vulnerable.

He looks Peter in the eye. ]

Apocalypse had powers of the mind but it was different than Charles. He could not control you so directly. It was more subtle, more seductive than that. [ Even now, the ability to describe it slips away from him, like trying to hold a fistful of sand. ]

He took me to Auschwitz before we went to Cairo. I haven't been there since... He took the pain and used it against me.

He did not put any ideas into my head or make me do anything I didn't already want to do. He just... encouraged it. Silenced the parts of me that would realize I was going to kill all of us. I was weak.

[ He sighs and drinks some more water. ] Charles was stronger than I was.

[Further proof that Apocalypse was a douchebag; Peter keeps listening and finds himself fidgeting with the tools again to occupy himself while doing so. It's a vividly painted picture of a scene Peter knew nothing of, just like Peter knows nothing of Erik. Any time he thinks he's getting a grasp on some aspect of him, he loses it and has to start again.

Peter takes a long pause - undecided at what to say until the words are coming out of his mouth on their own.] You did come around though, that's... that's what matters. You helped stop that bastard in the end.

[Which is admirable. Can't deny it.]

[ Erik's mouth twists in a wry almost-smile before it's gone again. ]

I did.

[ It was love that overcame it. Love that others had for him, that Charles and Raven had for him, though he hardly deserved it. He never has. ]

I was reminded of the family that I've found. [ He smiles again, faintly, but this time more genuinely. ]

Edited 2017-11-07 09:49 (UTC)

[Peter finds himself nodding even though those words feel thick in the air, nothing he feels up to commenting on so he just keeps a straight face and keeps on toying around with a metal wrench against the table.] Yeah, it's like Mystique said - you've got more of that than you know.

We all do. [Mutants; not just Maximoffs.]

[ It's not that he's ungrateful for his mutant family. He's keenly aware that Charles saved his life all those years ago. And continues to do so, despite Erik giving him every reason not to. And protecting them has given his life a purpose after he had his vengeance on Shaw. A purpose ultimately more fulfilling than vengeance, even if his brothers and sisters didn't understand what he was doing or why he did it, and greeted him with the same anger that Peter did, if not more. He didn't do it for accolades, or acceptance. Their continued existence is enough.

The contrast between that and his profound, total failure to protect his wife and child cuts deeply. Compounded by the fact that Nina herself was a mutant, so he failed to protect not only his family but also his fellow mutant. The new generation of mutants will grow together, and that is a good thing. His child will not be among them, and that is his sin.

He clears his throat softly and shakes off the latest bout of melancholy. ]

Yes. It is... good, not to be alone.When I was your age I thought I was the only mutant in the world. That sort of isolation is a hard way to live.

Edited 2017-11-07 22:01 (UTC)

I think that's par for the course growing up as a mutant, at least - maybe not so much for kids these days. I hope not. [Peter's got a certain seriousness to him right now, walking a few steps away to keep admiring tools like they're anything other than a distraction. He skims his fingers along the walls and surfaces, brow creased in idle thought.

He doesn't talk much about this kind of stuff, not when living in the present's easier. It's more fun to crack a joke than it is to talk about how stressed out your mother was when your sister's abilities manifested in class. How your teacher called you a freak that one time, before you switched school districts. How other kids and their parents are assholes you learned to hide away from.

Yeah, it felt lonely. Only.] I guess I'm lucky - I had my sister.

[There, it's back - his faint smile and lighthearted expression as he looks back to Erik.] So it felt like us against the world most of the time.

[ His face softens a little. ] I didn't know you had a sister. Have I met her? Was she at the mansion?

[ He is quiet a moment. Then adds, a little quieter. ] My sister wasn't a mutant.

[ Maybe she would have survived if she was, like he had. But what sort of woman would she have become? What would she make of the man he was?

He goes to put the food and water back in the locker. ]

No, she wasn't there. [And probably for the best it was only him chasing after you, he thinks. He's not sure how it would've gone down if she'd been around to see him nearly kick it or what he would've done had she been hurt somehow as well.

Peter leans against a table, arms crossing.] She uh, is here though.

[His eyes dart to the side in thought. It doesn't go unnoticed that he had an aunt, once. But he doesn't press for details.] Kind of.

To quote our best explanation of it 'it's complicated' and I don't know if we're still technically twins if we're from different universes.

[ Erik sighs as he closes the locker. ] I'm still trying to comprehend time travel, instantaneous intergalactic travel, wireless technology and the fact that I apparently have a doppelgänger who was here before me. But I have not had to deal with family members from alternate dimensions.

[ He chuckles softly and shakes his head as he returns to where Peter is lingering awkwardly. ] I used to know a woman who was a twin. [ He jokes, echoing something Peter had said to him so long ago.

But something seems to be weighing on him. This is already the longest conversation Erik has ever had with Peter, and he's been unusually somber. Erik's brow creases in concern. ]

Is there something on your mind?

[It would be so simple to say it aloud right now, to tell Erik the truth and explain this whole rollercoaster of emotion but Peter can't push the words off his tongue. It's like Cairo again where they're barely there, but something holds them back. Talking like this isn't bad, so maybe getting to know his father before complicating their relationship further is the way to go.

He shrugs.] A lot of the same stuff, plus one other universe twin to get to know. Her name's Wanda, by the way. I know she's been here a while, like some of the others.

Uh, so - anyway. [This got heavy, and fast.]

Like I said, I don't know shit about a lot of big stuff but if you could use a hand with anything around here... there's gotta be some idiot-proof thing I can do.

[ Erik nods. ] Ah, yes, Wanda. I've met her, here. Lovely girl. I'm assuming the whole being from Sokovia instead of America thing is part of this alternate reality you're talking about.

[ Erik gestures to the pile of broken appliances. ] We have those, if you'd like to try your hand at anything. Mostly I've been collecting them to use as materials to teach the younger people. Practical application is always beneficial. [ He gives him a look. ] I know you could go through that entire pile in short order, but I'm going to ask that you refrain so we can use them for that purpose. Also if you decide to do any teaching, try to keep that in mind as well.

Yeah, sometime like that. Sokovia... [He repeats the word, briefly raising his brows because ain't that a mouth full.

He looks over to the appliances, letting out a deep breath slowly as his eyes flick over them. With a salute-like gesture he affirms he won't go playing with all the toys before other younger people get a chance to too. Truth be told he's still only invested for something to do around Erik, but it might come in handy to learn a thing or two. Especially about newer or unfamiliar tech.] Cool.

Don't think I have much to teach but we'll see. It's pretty neat what you've done, it should turn into something sweet.

I don't think there's a Sokovia in our world. But the part of Europe where it is located has always been volatile.

[ More recently because of the Soviets, but there's always something.

He shrugs at Peter's compliment. ]

This isn't altruism. Idleness breeds discontent. The discontent seek scapegoats. I've spent enough time serving as a scapegoat in my life. It is an experience I would prefer not to repeat.

[ He starts to sort through a crate of scrap metal. ]

Plus, the more helpful I appear, the more reluctant the others will be to try to exact punishment for transgressions than if I were more recalcitrant.

[This isn't altruism.

Would that have been too much to ask for? Peter's not sure what feeling that flares up inside him, but he's not surprised. If anything, it feels almost too familiar - his father never seemed to be a man without some sort of a plan in action. How else do you become one of the most infamous mutants of your life time? It's moments like this that give Peter a bit of an insight at just how complex the workings of Erik's mind must be.

He's always thinking ahead but in the mindset of a mutant. Peter wants to admire that but he can't help this feeling that one day this will just come to another head, culminating in some space equivalent of a baseball stadium dropped around the White House.]

I see. [He thinks he does, anyway.] Act nice, get a good rep then stir shit.

[He bobs his head forward, brows raised. No, he's not trying to assume Erik's up to shit but it just feels that way. He's gotta work at not sounding so accusatory but it could be worse - he's actually not all that judgmental right now.] I get it.

[ Erik smirks. ] That's the general idea, yes. I don't have any particular plans to cause problems at this point, I just expect at some point my opinions on what needs to be done will diverge enough from the norm that such measures will be necessary.

[ He is quiet a moment, considering how much of his life has been spent trying to stave off the inevitable. And wondering why he's the only one who sees it coming. ]

Plus, I hope to learn from the other engineers here. It's a rare opportunity, some of them have technology and skills that are decades ahead of what we have.

Yeah, there's a lot to catch up on. [Peter's already dreading the inevitable day the batteries on his walkman run out and yeah, that's kinda low on the chain of necessities around here but it would be nice to do something about it eventually. Maybe some kind of rechargeable battery? They're in space, anything's fucking possible.

But right now Peter's aware that he's lingering and although he has a good half dozen questions he'd love to ask Erik, none of them have much relevance to the situation at hand. So instead he just puts a tool back that he was messing around with and rolls out his shoulders.] If it's cool, I'll come tinker in here sometime - look at the stuff you got here and practice or whatever. Get familiar with all this new space age stuff.

'Cause honestly there doesn't seem to be much else to do. [Anything interesting, at least. As not to draw this out:] I heard about the greenery, I think I'm gonna go check it out.

[ Erik nods, smiling slightly. ] You are welcome. I will be announcing it as open for use very soon, with any luck you'll find something interesting to occupy yourself with here once it is being utilized.

And Peter. [ He says just before the young man leaves. He had always kept himself apart from the others. Until Cairo. Whatever his reasons, mutants are always stronger when they band together.] It is good that you're here. For all of us.

[Peter looks back, tilting his head with an expression that swims subtly between a few emotions as he listens to what Erik says. He sets his jaw, swallowing hard and giving something of an aloof nod in return - it's funny, Erik doesn't have any clue just how much that means something to Peter.]

Thanks. Here's hoping it stays that way. [He has a habit of mischief, intentional or otherwise. He smiles though, giving a tip of his head before peacing out of the room. He rubs at his chest as he leaves, feeling like there's a rock stuck there for some reason.]

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The Son Never Shines on Closed Doors

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here comes the big speech

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