In Sean's opinion, the professor was great. He was smart, he was kind, and he provided them with a place where they could be themselves. Sean couldn't remember ever feeling this sense of belonging before (well, except for when he first arrived, and there'd been a lot more of them — but that was a different time, before Erik had gone crazy and abandoned them, and before Raven had decided that clothes weren't a thing).

So yeah, the professor was brilliant, and Sean wouldn't change him for the world (well, if he had the opportunity, he'd give him back the ability to walk, but Sean couldn't do that…and thinking about it probably wasn't the best idea when said paralysed individual was a telepath). But, as great as he was…none of them could deny that he was having a hard time adjusting. He'd lost the ability to walk, and both his sister and his…Erik had abandoned him. And the professor was obviously missing them — in different ways. In very different ways.

He missed Raven. He missed Erik. He…missed the things he used to do with Erik. And they all knew it, because, well, when the professor missed something, he tended to think about it. And then he tended to dream about it; and then he tended to project those dreams into the minds of the poor, unfortunate souls sleeping nearby.

At this stage, Sean already knew how Erik looked like with his shirt off, with his pants off, with his shirt and pants off…god, he'd seen too much, and he'd never thought he'd miss that hideous helmet and cape quite as much as he did now. He was done — sure the professor liked a naked Erik, but Sean didn't even like regular Erik at the moment, let alone an Erik who was butt-naked, and doing things to the professor.

No, no, this needed to stop…and Sean had an idea of how to do just that.

"So, I need a favour," he said, wondering into the kitchen. Hank, who had been sipping from a glass of water, glanced up and frowned slightly.

"Okay…" he said hesitantly.

"Contact Raven," Sean said immediately, and then paused, his brow furrowing. "I mean Mystique…it's Mystique now isn't it? God, that's confusing — anyway, tell her — "

"I don't know where Raven is!" Hank cried, a little too quickly. "Why would I know where Raven is?!"

Sean blinked. "Because you write her letters," he replied slowly. "And she writes back. Remember — that's what you said the other day at breakfast."

Hank stiffened, and lowered his gaze. "I have no idea what you're talking about," he muttered.

Sean frowned. "You said," he insisted. "The other day, I asked you what you were laughing about, and you said — "

"I didn't — "

" — "oh, just something funny Rav - uh, that someone said."

Hank opened his mouth to argue, and then shut it, choosing to stare with wide, embarrassed eyes instead.

"…I don't think we know anyone else who's name starts with 'Rav'," Sean added, and ignored the glare Hank shot him in response.

"What are you talking about?" They turned as Alex entered the room. Despite the question, he looked fairly disinterested.

"How Hank writes letters to Raven," Sean told him, while Hank spluttered in denial.

Alex nodded, unfazed by the statement. "Oh yeah, he was laughing like an idiot over that letter the other day."

"It wasn't from Raven!"

"…You almost said Raven," Alex said slowly. "Who else has a name that starts with — "

"Okay, I get the idea!" Hank snapped, glaring. "I'm talking to Raven, okay?! Happy now?!"

Alex shrugged. "I don't really care," he replied. "I mean sure, she betrayed us and decided to follow that asshole Erik, but hey — you're both blue and kind of scary looking, and you can't beat those odds."

"I just like talking to her okay?" Hank growled. "It's nothing. And it's just a few letters, that's all."

Sean frowned, because it seemed like they were losing focus here. He was here on a mission, and while it was great that Hank was apparently starting something with Raven (sure she was supposed to be their enemy now, but if everything went to plan, they'd be screwed anyway), he didn't want them losing track of the real problem here.

"So, the favour," he pressed.

Hank looked like he wanted nothing more than to leave the room, but simply sighed, and nodded his head. "Fine, what do you want?"

Sean leaned forward eagerly. "So, you know how the professor keeps projecting — "

"No!" Hank and Alex simultaneously cried, their eyes widening in alarm.

Sean blinked.

"Do not bring that up, dammit!" Alex snarled, a slightly crazed look in his eyes. "It's bad enough we have to deal with that at night!" Beside him, Hank nodded furiously. Sean couldn't help but think that this was one of the few instances where the two would actually agree with each other. He then remembered that he agreed with them too, and that he was just as mentally scarred as they were.

"Uh…anyway," he said quickly, "I want you to write to Raven and tell her that the Professor is dead."

There was a moment of silence, and Sean wondered if he should have phrased that better.

"Um, I'm sorry?" Hank managed.

"Uh, I think maybe that's going a little too far," Sean said quickly, flushing in embarrassment. "Maybe just tell her that he's dying."

The other two continued to stare at him blankly.

"…Why would I do that?" Hank said at last. "He isn't dying, and — well, he's not, is he? You don't know something that we don't?" His pitch raised, and his expression shifted to one of panic.

"No," Sean replied.

Hank stared. "…Then why would I tell…?"

Sean grinned. "Oh, well that's simple!" he exclaimed, evidently excited to reveal the details of his plan. "If we tell Raven that the professor is dying, she'll tell Erik, and then he'll come back!"

Alex raised one eyebrow, looking unconvinced. "You do realise that this is the same guy who left the professor lying on a beach with a bullet in his back, right?"

Hank chose to ignore Alex's statement, and focused on Sean. "So, what's your plan?" he asked. Despite the question, it was obvious that he didn't have much faith in whatever Sean was planning. "Let's say Erik does show up — what then? We lock them in a room together, and hope they don't break anything?"

"Images!" Alex yelped.

Hank grimaced. "Sorry," he muttered.

"No!" Sean cried. "I'm not that clueless you know! We need something more; something that will bring them together, and help them — help all of us — work through our issues."

The other two stared at him, waiting for him to continue. When he didn't, Alex let out an irritated sigh. "And that is…?" he pressed.

Sean beamed. "Family therapy!"

Alex slapped his forehead, and Hank groaned.

Sean flushed. "Well, we're kind of a family, aren't we?" he said defensively. "And we're all split up right now, but that's what therapists are supposed to do — help us work through our issues, and arrive at a better place!"

"You…you want to call a family therapist?" Hank asked, trying very hard not to groan again, or say something insulting.

Sean nodded firmly. "Yes."

"…For Erik and the professor."

"And the rest of us too!" Sean insisted. "They'e not the only ones with issues — we all kind of hate Erik, don't we?"

Neither Hank nor Alex hesitated before nodding. Had Charles been there, he probably would have been disapproving of their attitude, but they couldn't help it — a lot had changed since that day at the beach.

"So," Sean continued, "if the professor gets back together with him, we'll really have an issue."

Alex frowned, evidently perturbed by the idea. "Who says the professor's getting back with…" His voice trailed off, and he cocked his head to the side. "…Actually, you know what?" he said at last. "Actual sex means no more projections, so why not? This idea sounds horrible, but it's Sean's fault — "

"It's not a bad idea!"

" — so we can just blame him if it all goes wrong."

"I don't know," Hank argued, frowning. "I don't like the idea of Erik coming back here."

"Yeah, well think of it this way," Alex retorted. "We either get creepy, naked, projection Erik, or real Erik, who has actual clothes! …And that ridiculous cape and helmet, but we can laugh about that later. Tell me Hank, which do you prefer?"

Hank sighed, his shoulders slumping slightly. "Fine," he muttered, sounding resigned. "We'll call Erik and Raven here."

"…No one said anything about Raven coming."

Hank shot Alex a sharp glare. "We'll call both of them here!" he snapped, trying to ignore Alex's amused smirk. "I'm sure the professor would like to see both of them — and also, no therapists!"

Sean frowned. "But — "

"Look, he's right," Alex interjected. "We can't take those two to a therapist's office, and we can't just bring some random human here, so we'll just tell them the professor is dying, and hope they don't kill us when they get here. How does that sound?"

"…Fine," Sean sighed.

…

AN:

Soooo…my first X-Men fanfic, but I've recently become reacquainted with the fandom, and I really wanted to write one of my own. I've read a heap of Xmen: First Class fics, but I'm still a bit nervous about writing my first fanfic for this fandom (particularly one with pairings), so any feedback would be great.

Hope you enjoy!