Pietro and Blaine

[om_anthem]

Pietro comes across a very angry Blaine, who vents at him for a little bit. Boxing also happens.



Blaine's day had started with an email from his dad, which he skimmed for a moment, but closed without replying as he saw it was yet another apology with the word 'but' attached. He'd been irritated ever since then, turning off his phone when he was sure Kurt wasn't going to text him, and as soon as he'd finished his homework, he was headed down to the gym. He'd been there nearly every day since the fight, fitting in a workout in addition to his normal morning one and his sessions with his group in the danger gym even though his muscles ached constantly from the extra work. It felt good, while he was doing it, and it kept his frustration when around others to a minimum. He put in his earphones, turning up his rock playlist louder than he really needed for his powers to work, and focused intensely on the bag as he began running through a series of punches.

Pietro emerged from the locker room already winding tape around his hands. The gloves didn't hold up to his brand of exercise on the bag--the bag only did because, after long chewing-out sessions, Pietro and Judd had come to an understanding that they needed to special-order something more durable that wouldn't destroy the other kids' hands. Hey voila, or what the fuck ever.

He did not expect to see Blaine working over the bag. He actually paused for a full two seconds, watching him work, wondering what the fuck was pouring out of those earbuds to keep him so revved up (enhanced strength--something rock, totally). Pietro strolled up to him, brow furrowed, and said, "I'm sensing some hostility here, Blaine."

Blaine, noticing that Pietro was coming up, had tugged out an earbud just before he spoke. He laughed a little humorlessly as he wiped the sweat away from his forehead, tugging the other earbud out and draping the cord over his neck. His mouth was dry, so he used tugging off a glove and taking a swallow of water as an excuse to consider his options, before finally wetting his lips and glancing up at him. "Is it that obvious?" he asked, taking another small sip before setting it down and flexing his taped hand.

"Probably only to those of us with intense hostilities of our own?" Pietro offered, a tiny, crooked smile appearing.

Blaine couldn't help but give him a small grin. He'd had time to consider what he sensed was an offer to talk, and, well, he needed to talk to someone, preferably before his muscles gave out on him. "I told my parents about Kurt," he admitted finally, pulling off his other glove and running a hand through his hair. "They knew we were friends, but I told them that I'm dating him, and what he looks like. With his permission, of course."

Pietro pulled a disgusted face, resting the hand that was full taped against the bag and leaning there. That was more than he needed to figure out the focus of the hostility, yeah. "Ugh, lemme guess. They're totally open minded about mutants and queers and brown people, but blue and fuzzy is where they draw the line?"

Seriously, fucking people with their arbitrary bullshit. People wondered why he was so goddamn paranoid? This. Right here. Even their goddamn families couldn't be trusted, half the time.

"Well, they're actually not totally open minded about queer people or mutants," he said with a sigh, running his hand through his hair. "Well, my mom is, but my dad and I don't really talk about it. We've barely talked at all since I came here, actually." Blaine frowned deeply, crossing his arms against his chest. He and his dad had never been exactly close, but the awkward silence between the asking about his grades and saying goodbye sucked, almost as much as the way he seemed to never be home for his weekly phone calls. "So, it's not exactly like I was expecting overwhelming support, but apparently now I'm just trying to be different for attention. Or something." He scowled and rolled his eyes, but his arms wrapped around himself tighter, and he chewed at his lip. "Which, yes, I'm dating a guy who can't go out in public without wearing a hologram for attention."

"Oh yeah, totally, best way to get attention." Pietro rolled his eyes, joining in the irony wholeheartedly, then applied himself to taping his other hand. "That's some arbitrary bullshit, man. I wish I could say it surprised me. You get to talk to your mom alone, at least?"

"Yeah, me too," Blaine said, a little quietly, then brushed his hair off his forehead and nodded. "Yeah, I told her first, at least. She handled it well. Surprised, but said it was fine, that she still wanted to meet him sometime. I feel like she gets it more. I mean, she knows what racism feels like. But she also just keeps apologizing for him and saying that he just needs time and I don't want her to apologize. I want him to apologize, without adding how I can't expect him to just 'be okay with this' or 'it is sort of out there, son'." He made his voice the mocking of something deeper, the rolled his eyes with a frustrated huff.

He opened his mouth as if to say something else but stopped, only to have it spill out a few seconds after, too frustrated to stop. "And I don't even expect him to be okay with it, not all at once. I just want him to act like he's trying, and not like it's my fucking fault he can't be, if you'll excuse my language." He huffed again, running his hand through his hair, then laughed a little when he realized what he'd said, as if Pietro would have cared. "Sorry, I've been really frustrated since...a while." Because it wasn't one thing- it was every little thing put together, piled together, until the whole thing broke.

Wow. Okay. Pietro knew Blaine's dad was a dick, but that whole thing about his mother apologizing for his father and shit... that was just way disturbing. He managed to keep his mouth shut, though, because if there was one thing Pietro could not stick his foot into his mouth over, it was other peoples' families.

But just. Wow.

"Okay, dude, if you weren't saying fuck right now, I'd be more worried." Pietro kept wrapping his hand, but if the knuckles on the other one had been visible, they would've been white with how hard he was gripping the roll. "As it is, I'm just worried that we don't have enough destructible gym equipment to burn off the kind of frustration you're dealing with right now. That is like ultimate douchery--sorry, not to talk shit on your old man, but damn."

Pietro suddenly felt like a huge shit for being such a dick to his own. Who was... pretty epic, actually. Lately, not even just by comparison. Damn.

Blaine laughed a little as he ran a hand through his hair. "No, it's fine. You're right. I know this year has been a lot for him to take in, but, I don't know. It doesn't feel like too much to ask." He shrugged and smoothed the end of his tape, where it had started to peel away at the corners. "Working out helps. I should probably spend more time in the danger gym, but I like boxing." Danger gym workouts required a presence of mind, and boxing, like running, just let him fade out and get lost in it.

He took another sip of water and wiped his mouth on the back of his hand. "Thanks for letting me vent about it. Usually I'd talk to Kurt, but...yeah."

"Yeah, I don't think he'd take it bad or anything, but I feel you. Feel free to vent." Pietro sighed. "We should do some extra squad stuff, maybe. We are pretty much Team Awesome; I'll bet some of the others wouldn't mind a little extra, if you ever want something to really focus on."

"Yeah, he wouldn't mad or anything, just. You know. No one likes to hear their boyfriend's dad disapproves of them for how they look. Mom says he's just worries something is going to happen to me again, but if he just said that instead taking it out on me and Kurt, it'd be fine."

He rolled his eyes and shrugged, rubbing his knuckles with the heel of his palm. "But yeah. Extra squad stuff would be good. I really need the practice, anyway."

Pietro considered the new information typical, but also kinda not, considering Blaine's mom. Being all, you know, not white. Wasn't that a thing interracial families should be sick of hearing? Oh we're just worried about you getting hurt, and what about your kids, and all our other stupid racist bullshit?

But hey. Parents. Pietro sighed. "We all do. And you can channel your anger and frustration and crushing disappointment with your father into it. And you will be epic. Totally worked for me, while I was all pissed off at my old man for keeping Wanda tucked away."

Okay, maybe now was not the time for jokes. Blaine all sad... this was so not right.

Blaine let out a laugh, running a gloved hand over his hair. "Perfect. And besides, I've seen the movies. A crushing backstory is basically a key to success."He shrugged, like it didn't matter then gestured to the bag with his had. "Do you want a turn?"

"I can keep myself busy until you're all bashed out," Pietro promised, still chuckling about the crushing backstory theory. Shit, if that was true, this place was probably housing a dozen Nobel Laureates, at least five future self-made billionaires, and a President or two.