The Best Way

Disclaimer: Not mine, unfortunately. All characters and settings belong to Marvel and/or Fox. Only the muse is mine!

Warnings: This is a slash story. Nothing explicit, but it does chart a male/male relationship so please, don't like don't read.

AN – Ok, here I go! First story I'm actually going to put up here. I have no idea where this came from, I've been trying to write an Alex/Sean multi-chapter fic but I'm finding it hard going. This, on the other hand, just hijacked me and wrote itself :)

Hope you enjoy – Alex and Sean need all the love they can get!

Anger

"You're such an asshole," Sean spits, storming through the door of the unofficial den.

"Me? Don't turn this on me! You're the one who's acting like a prissy little bitch. Got your knickers in a twist, have you?" his boyfriend shoots back snidely, following him in.

"I was just trying to have a conversation with you! Why is it we can never talk without you getting all defensive? For God's sake Alex, I'm not asking you to friggin' marry me!"

"Then what were you asking? Because it sure sounded pretty serious to me!"

The younger boy spins to face the windows, staring out at the darkness pressing in on the warmth of the mansion. "You know what, it doesn't even matter. You obviously aren't interested in anything I have to say. Hell, sometimes I wonder if you're interested in this relationship at all."

The words are barely out of his mouth before strong hands grasp his shoulders and he finds his back slammed against the nearest wall, staring up into dark blue eyes which are simmering with rage.

"Don't say that. Don't you dare say that!" Any response he could have mustered is swallowed by the lips which press to his with brutal force, and the hands which had been on his shoulders drop to drag his body flush with the one in front of him.

The last thought that crosses his mind before he loses it to the whirlwind of wicked pleasure is that this is the best way to resolve fights.

Serenity

To Sean, this was the best part of his day. Those few sleepy moments just after he wakes up, before all the worries and stresses and responsibilities of the day creep in, when it's just him and Alex wrapped around each other with soft breaths and soothing fingers. Most of the time, Alex rouses long before he does – a throwback from early mornings in prison, perhaps – and by the time the redhead has fought his way out of the cocoon of sleep his partner is watching him with half-lidded eyes, a small smile on his face and his hair like a halo across the pillowcase.

Sean treasures every moment spent like this; all the gentle kisses, the warm hands and familiar touches. It's rare to see Alex so relaxed – to the rest of the world the blonde is a whirlwind of power and sarcasm and brooding looks, so much so that many of them would probably not believe he could be so at peace in himself. If Sean is honest, there's a part of him that's glad of that; he likes having pieces of Alex that no one else gets to see, sides of him reserved for them alone. He knows it's probably selfish but he can never really bring himself to care.

On this particular morning, he awakens to the press of lips against the back of his neck, the hand resting on his stomach already rubbing soothing circles into his bare skin, sending a thrill of lazy excitement down his spine. He hums into the silence and tilts his head slightly forward, smiling when the boy behind him chuckles lowly and takes the hint, kissing a slow trail across his bare shoulder.

"Morning." The voice is husky and mumbled, and although speech is unnecessary at this point in their relationship, it still warms Sean to hear it.

"Morning to you too. What time is it?"

"Dunno. Early."

"Mmmm." The younger boy finally cracks his eyes open as he feels a warm thigh shift slightly between his, and watches the shadows of dust motes dance in the streams of sunlight projected onto their bedroom wall. "What are you doing today?"

He feels the lips on his shoulder curl against his skin, and knows his own hitch up into an answering grin when he hears the quietly voiced reply of "You" and the hand covering his stomach slowly slides lower.

Sorrow

There's not much that can get a man like Alex Summers to cry – so much so that in the years they've been together, the closest Sean's ever seen him get were tears of pain that time he broke his ankle, and those didn't even fall. So when he finds his boyfriend curled up in the third floor library, several days after they've lost one of the kids to a hate attack during a visit home, the tears streaming down his cheeks throw him for a moment and for the first time in a while he's not sure what to do.

"Alex…" he whispers sadly, padding over to the chair by the window. The blonde looks up startled and immediately tries to scrub the water marks from his cheeks.

"Hey!" The false brightness in the young man's voice is fooling no one, and Sean takes his hand as he crouches down at his side. "What are you doing awake?"

"I could ask you the same thing; this is the third night in a row I've woken up to find you gone. Are you ok?"

Alex seems to deflate in front of him, and drops his legs to the floor so he can pull Sean into the seat, half on the arm rest and half in his lap.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just… thinking about Tyler, you know? He was in my class…"

Sean keeps silent, bringing his arm up to wrap around his partner's shoulders, giving a gentle squeeze and trying to pour as much love and support and comfort into the gesture as possible.

"It makes me so angry. He was only 15, what kind of monsters were they? And… I keep thinking… did you know he liked potato chips? He was always bringing them to class, and I always took them off him. Seems cruel now, pointless… I should have just let the kid enjoy his chips… It's such a waste. He was so young, the bastards…"

The redhead sighs, his own heart aching, and drops his head down to rest his cheek against the hair which smells uniquely of Alex; like smoke and fresh air and the crackle of electricity. The scent always comforts him.

"And I can't help thinking… It's horrible, but… I'm just so glad it wasn't you." The last part is barely whispered, breathed into the silence like an unforgivable sin, but as Sean shuts his eyes and matches Alex's tears with one of his own, he can't help but feel the same.

Joy

When Sean shuffles into the bedroom he shares with his boyfriend of 6 years after a long day of chasing kids and supervising training and mediating teenage arguments, the only thing he wants to do is crawl into bed, curl around Alex, and sleep for a week. He loves teaching at Charles' school, he really does, and the mansion is his home, but sometimes he misses the good old days when the hallways were almost empty and the idea of him being put in charge of children was laughable. What he finds when he walks in the door, however, throws his quiet evening plans for a loop.

Because Alex is standing in the middle of the room, looking absolutely delectable in that shirt he knows Sean loves, with a look on his face as if he's about to face down his worst nightmare. Behind him a small table is set up by the window with what looks like dinner for two, along with a few bottles of beer and a single candle, unlit.

"Alex…?" Sean suddenly feels nervous, and is hit with a sharp flash of panic as he franticly tries to remember whether it's his birthday or there's a special occasion he's forgotten and should have prepared for. His mind briefly considers the idea of an anniversary, but he and Alex have never set much store by that tradition and besides, they got together in September, not June.

Alex, for his part, looks caught in the headlights and shuffles his feet in a manner that Sean recognizes as meaning he isn't sure what to do next.

"Hey, uh… I brought dinner up here tonight. I hope you don't mind. I wanted to, um… talk to you about something. Y'know, alone. Or uh, in private."

"Oh." For some reason, the sight of Alex anxiously rambling has a calming affect on the redhead, and he finds himself smirking slightly at the older boy's obvious apprehension. "Yeah, I can see that. You want to talk? That sounds vaguely ominous," he jokes.

Alex looks even more out of his depth. "No! No, it's… nothing bad."

"I guessed. All you're missing is rose petals on the bed or I would have thought you were trying to seduce me." Sean's teasing seems to calm his boyfriend somewhat, and a shadow of his wicked grin flashes across his face.

"Like I need rose petals to get you into bed." He glances back at the covered plates on the small table before turning to face Sean again, his eyes full of an emotion the younger boy can't name, and draws a deep breath. "No, I wanted to talk to you about us. About… our future. Because I want us to have one, and I really hope you do too. These past few years with you have been the best of my life, so much more than I ever imagined I would find when I was sitting in an empty cell in solitary. And I know… I know that I can't… that we can't make it official. This isn't a proposal, don't worry. It's… a promise. I promise to be here for as long as you want me. Because I love you. And I wanted to make sure you knew that I wasn't going anywhere. You know we aren't big on the sappy romantic crap, but I wanted to tell you. I just, felt like it was important you knew. I'm here for the long haul."

He breaks off, and all nervousness and apprehension is now gone from his eyes. All Sean can find in that azure blue gaze is adoration, and devotion, and love. His heart feels too full, and he allows a broad grin to steal across his face, his cheek muscles almost hurting from the force of it and his own eyes bright with emotion. And damn if that isn't the best moment of his life.