Work Text:
Haunting you
I can smell you
Alive
Your heart pounding
In my head
"I can return it back to you. If I die the powers I took will return to their owners." Charlie says with the most serious of looks taking in Babe's confused one.
"I can die for you." Charlie says plainly.
Babe's eyes snap up to his. "No. No. No! Don't joke like this, Charlie. I am Pit Babe and I can win with or without my powers, but without you...," Babe can't finish the sentence because he knows what comes next. He knows what would happen should his younger lover ever cease to exist.
Babe knows that should Charlie ever leave this world, he would only last long enough to avenge the younger before following the boy into the afterlife be it by his own hand or someone else's.
Charlie watches as the tears fill Babe's eyes as the elder turns away from him.
"I can't stay here without you, Charlie. I can't...so don't ask me to." Babe finally says in a tiny, shaky voice; and it's at this moment that Charlie knows that his plan will have to change because he is not willing to take a gamble on Babe not behaving rashly.
So as he slowly wraps his arms around the elder's midsection, he goes back to the drawing board to start his plan all over again, but he does make a promise.
"I won't."
But he did.
Babe sits in the dark in dead silence with the footage of Charlie's crash watching the car flip, turn, and roll. He watches the car come to pieces around the younger.
Wonders how this could have happened.
The accident had obviously hit the entirety of the X-Hunter team hard, but it had absolutely crushed Babe. So much so that Jeff had insisted that he move into Alan's house with the rest of the team.
Having seen the way Babe had pleaded with the other to wake up. Begged him to squeeze his hand, to do something to let them know he was still alive ultimately culminating in the elder needing medical assistance himself after passing out. Jeff knew it wasn't logical to leave Babe alone lest they were ready to plan another funeral.
Even then, Babe would hole up in his room and watch this same footage over and over again with different members of the team stopping by to check on him Babe hearing them long before they ever made it to his door.
But today was different. Not the darkness of the room and the crash video playing on repeat, no...it's Jeff knocking on his door.
When did he get here?
Babe never heard him coming.
Never smelled him coming.
When did he get here?
Yesterday, North threw a fruit at him and he didn't catch it. He never even heard it coming.
I can return it back to you. If I die the powers I took will return to their owners...