Eames and Felix, just after midnight on Sunday

[om_ghost]

Eames presents Felix with a most startling birthday gift: a name that he doesn't have to hide. Intense emotions arise unexpectedly, Felix does something quite out of character, and Eames begins building his own family.


Since Felix's birthday evening was going to be extremely busy, and there was no knowing what sort of merry chase Shinobi and Cauis would have to lead him on throughout the day as a distraction, Eames made sure to seek Felix out not long after the clock struck midnight and it was officially his birthday. Felix was rarely asleep at this time anyway. He found the younger student in the library and spoke softly as he approached his corner.

"Fancy seeing you here. It's almost as if you like books or something." Eames smiled and grabbed the chair nearest to him, settling a small black travel case down on the floor next to him.


Since it was Saturday night anyway, and he had no reason to be up early in the morning, Felix had drifted into the comfortable Neverland of a nice large book, and forgotten all about the time. Little Men was somewhat more engaging for him than Little Women had been -- probably for obvious reasons -- but he was beginning to doubt his resolution to start at the alphabetical beginning of a list of classic authors and read down the line.

Owlish eyes behind his dark-rimmed glasses blinked up at Eames as the older fellow approached, and he gave one of those dreamy smiles before he was able to completely drag himself up out of the world of Plumfield. "You'd never imagine," Felix agreed, placing his bookmark in between the pages. "What time is it?"


"Five past midnight. So, I feel it is my esteemed pleasure to be the first to wish you a happy birthday, my dear Felix." Eames smiled at him warmly.


"Oh!" Felix looked startled at first, but slowly melted into a glowing smile, himself. "Oh, thank you. Wow. I forgot that people would know. You stayed up late just for that?"


"I did," Eames concurred. "And I have something for you." He lifted the case and passed it to Felix.


Felix couldn't have looked more perplexed if Eames had offered him a live chicken. The Christmas of his first year at school had been some of the first gifts he'd ever received, and the tendency of Caius and Pietro to bequeath him clothing items quite without warning hadn't gotten him used to the notion. He set aside the book and took the case, looking it over with a curious expression. "What...?" was about as far as he got, opening the bag up and peeking inside.


The top layer inside the case revealed some very simple travel necessities. There was a toiletry bag with the standard 3 oz or less liquid containers, with what did look like some swanky brand shampoos. Beside that was an eye mask, slipper socks, and a travel book for Europe. Eames reached over and flicked open a shallow compartment in the lid of the case that had been previously well-hidden. A passport was fastened inside the compartment with Felix's photo on it.

"So, strange gift that may require explanation. I wanted to know if you would like to travel for a weekend, get outside this country, see some beautiful art, and eat amazing food. Then I realized that might be difficult, so my second motivation for this gift was to make sure you have a way to bail on the states if you wanted to, no questions asked. Tessa helped me."

While the passport had most of Felix's normal stats such as hair and eye color, there was one very obvious change-- the name on the passport was Felix H. Ames.


The contents of the bag would have been very odd indeed if Eames had not shown him the one thing that brought it all together. Felix stared at the passport, at his own photo looking oh so seriously back at him, and at someone else's name sitting calmly and officially next to his face. Even after it fell into place, Felix could not quite will himself to believe it.

This was more than a dream. In his dreams he had visited Europe and Africa and the moon, and every place he'd ever read about, but this was something completely different. It was better than a dream. It was real.

Felix did not dare to try and look up. If he made eye contact with Eames, he wasn't sure he could keep his overwhelmed tears held back. Already he was struggling with composure. "You... You made me Emily's..." the boy whispered, then had to stop and try to swallow the knot in his throat. "It's real."

For a boy who had no identity, not one that he could safely claim, this was everything.


Eames watched Felix carefully and was relieved to see that he didn't think it was to invasive. Eames wanted to give him freedom. But yes, "I had Tessa lay the trail so that we can travel as siblings. I'll answer any awkward customs questions. Tessa is very, very good. I've travelled on her forgeries before. This will get us anywhere." He smiled softly at Felix. "I'll share the world with you, if you'll allow it."


Oh, he was definitely going to cry, and no amount of hard blinking could keep it at bay. Felix didn't want Eames to see him get emotional; they were already too close, Felix's abilities too dangerous, but Eames just wouldn't stop being kind to him. There were no words, absolutely no possible words at all, but he was overflowing with something and sitting still just wouldn't contain it.

Abruptly, Felix turned in his chair and leaned over the arm, reaching in even such an awkward position to wrap an arm around Eames' shoulders. Felix hadn't hugged anyone in years, so he was terribly out of practice in how to do it.


After the rough month that Eames had up until this point, this moment was like balm. While he'd never expected this exact reaction, he felt blessed for it. He slid one arm around Felix, returning the hug gently.

"I'm glad you approve," he whispered.


Felix only sniffled in response, but the sudden impulse to reach out to another human being was startling enough to his system that he at least no longer felt as if he might burst with indescribable feelings. After just a few brief moments, he untangled himself and drew back into the embrace of his armchair instead, trying to be surreptitious about blotting the corners of his eyes with his sleeve. " 'f course. I just... I never thought I'd go anywhere, and... never really thought I'd... "

Rejected or neglected by anyone who'd ever taken him in, Felix never truly dreamed anyone would want him as a part of their family, even just to pretend.


"I am a fervent believer that everything should be possible, so let my outrageous ideals rub off on you."

It helped to have skilled friends like Tessa as well, but you started with a good mindset and collected your assets along the way.


Reaching in to the satchel, Felix carefully drew out the passport, staring at it for a little while longer, like he might have misread it, like it might change and no longer be his picture alongside a new name. A safe name. No one in the country was looking for a missing boy named Felix Ames. He sniffed again. "Is this... real? I mean... can it be me? I can't use my real name, outside of school..."

He faltered, his words trailing off, not quite willing to explain why. With as much as Eames already knew, Felix supposed he could probably assume the reasons.


Eames didn't Felix to go into details. He knew that he was hiding, and he'd gone out of his way to make sure he could have safe passage. One didn't have to be a shifter to conceal an identity.

"Tessa is a miracle girl. That identification will hold up, and you can be a new Felix whenever you want to be. I get it. Honestly, Emily is as much me now as the Eames you see before you. You spend enough time as someone... People can change, as much as they need to."


"You're the same you, either way," Felix observed without hesitation. Meeting Emily had been odd at first, he remembered, but it was only a matter of minutes before he understood there was no essential difference, and the person was the same.

Felix caught his lower lip between his teeth, and glanced up, his growing red curls nearly curtaining his eyes. "You know I don't have any money," he said softly. Even if they went somewhere together, Felix would be totally dependent on Eames. It was hard for him to accept that no strings would be attached -- even from Eames.


"Money is overrated," Eames said, thinking immediately of his father. "Let me do one trip as a birthday present, and the next time I offer you something lavish you can talk me out of it? "


After a quiet moment regarding Eames, Felix finally gave a small nod and a tiny smile. He doubted he could talk Eames out of anything, but at least they could agree that this unprecedented gift was a one-time thing.

Speaking of ill-advised travel ideas... "Hey, Eames? Did you and Arthur really run away to New Zealand to get married?"


Eames smiled wryly at that. "Oh god, is that where the rumor is at? It's going to be set in hobbit den before you know it." He was actually amused by the tales that were circulating, because wild eloping was far more amusing than the truth. If it was anyone other than Felix he would simply add fuel to the fire and leave the mystery intact. "How do you feel about secrets you can't share with Cauis? It's not a very fun secret, so if you'd rather not have to hold it you can just assume that what happens in Phuket stays in Phuket."


"I think that was what I heard," Felix confirmed, though it might have been embellished by his imagination and a few television commercials. He did not note that, but he did elaborate, "I don't tell Caius everything. He's a worse gossip than I am, anyway, so his version is probably even wilder. I won't let him know even if he happens upon the truth."


"Thank you," Eames said sincerely. "Arthur and I went home to my father in London over the break. My parents separated years ago when Mum moved us here, and I haven't seen him very frequently since that time. I hadn't seen him at all since coming to Xavier's." He paused to consider his words before continuing. "He's afraid that what I am will harm his image. My family is a great deal more posh than I am. He disowned me, and I reacted impulsively and decided to take a vacation instead of facing the situation. I don't need him, but I wasn't prepared for the turn of events. Arthur and I had a beautiful time in Thailand, in a secluded beach house, enjoying the warm weather."


There was a good deal of shame and humiliation in Felix's past, and more than his own fair share of rejection and ill treatment from men in a position to be a father figure to him, but none of that cruelty had been directed at Felix for any specific reason. He had never been abused because of who he essentially was. It was a terrible thing to hurt a person callously simply because he was nearby or because he was small and unable to defend himself. It seemed almost worse to attack someone just for being.

"Was he mad that you're a mutant, or that you're not specifically gendered, or that you're with Arthur? Or all of it," Felix conceded, his fair face still and solemn.


"Oh, I've been changing my shape for a long time. He's known, and maybe it's always horrified him. I don't think he understands the fluid gender, or that the shapes I take are more than mimicry. His biggest concern is that I'm not normal, and it would reflect poorly on him. If he can't control me, he wants nothing to do with me." Eames lips twisted. "He actually really liked Arthur. I think he was considering him a valuable future son-in-law---not that Arthur and I are really that committed. That is simply rumor. We're still figuring out dating 101."


"They don't really teach that here," Felix mumbled, mostly to himself. He hadn't yet let go of the passport, but he had set the satchel beside him instead of on his lap, so he could better hold a conversation. "So you turned your back on him and left. Good. He doesn't deserve you. I'm glad that all you did was run."

The situation with Vance was still quite fresh at the school. Eames was smarter than that, Felix knew, but another incident like that one could have been awful for all of them.


Eames figured now was a bad time to mention that he'd also stolen from his father via his sister. Felix currently had good opinions of him. What he'd done was deliberate and controlled, though. He knew that once he was out of reach they wouldn't pursue him because they wouldn't want anyone else involved. It was a vindictive move, but his father could afford the hit. Think of how much he was saving by cutting off his youngest child.

"It's an end of an era. I never fit in that mold anyway. You should see me dressed up and well-mannered. It's completely unnatural. I was like a baby penguin as a child. You can't slide down banisters in that costuming."


The image of Eames as a small fluffy penguin made Felix smile in spite of himself. "You're much more suited to being a great lazy cat with colorful markings," he agreed with just a shy hint of fondness. The preference for bold attire was something they had in common. "I suppose you're all ours now."

Fathers, it seemed, were useless kinds of things. Felix's might well not have existed, and his surrogates had been worse. Vance's and Shinobi's were violent and abusive, Caius' was manipulative, Remus' had locked him in a cage, and Eames' was horrid in every way. The nice ones, like Philip's, went away. The kind and funny fathers on television seemed more and more like a giant lie.


"Absolutely." Eames smiled. "I'm going to mold life exactly how I want it, and that will be that."


Felix's nod was small and stuttered, unable to express the fullness of his agreement -- and his admiration. Choking back the surge of indefinable warm feelings seemed an insurmountable task inside Felix's poorly-cultivated heart. They were dangerous and deadly; his entire life had taught him that. The relative safety of the school and presence of mutants far stronger than he had not quite yet unraveled those long-held beliefs. If he could keep it silent and small inside, then he could keep it controlled.

"Everything's changeable, isn't it," he observed, the tiniest of teases for his friend the shape-changer.


"Everything is," Eames said with the sound of promise.


With Eames, Felix was inclined to believe anything was possible. Tentatively, he smiled. "When do we leave?"


"I didn't want to rush you, so what do you say to later this month? I thought we could make a four day weekend of it. It shouldn't be too hard on the class schedules."


Europe, in less than a month, when Felix had barely dreamed of even leaving the school for the next two years. It was almost too much. He nodded, enthusiastically, but mutely, because every word he'd ever learned had escaped his head all at once just then.


Eames smiled. "We'll have a great adventure."