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In a mansion packed to the brim with students and teachers and all their various gifts, it was difficult to find a place to call your own. Bedrooms were shared between two or more kids at a time, communal areas were occupied from dawn till dusk, the gardens could be overrun by impromptu games of sport at any given moment, and even the library was filled with studious minds eager for fresh knowledge- as well as the panicked few just trying to scrape together their essay in time for the due date.
Time alone was a rare concept for most students at Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters.
Fortunately for Kitty Pryde, she was an exception.
The ability to phase through matter had many advantages, but as a teenager in need of space from her many boisterous peers, it was nothing short of a blessing that she could retreat where nobody else could. Beneath wooden floors. Up into locked attics. Huddled between walls. There, she found a haven of peace and quiet, safe within the depths of her home but shielded from the chaos it so often harboured.
On this particular day, Kitty was tucked cosily into an air vent above the lower floors of the mansion with her nose practically buried in the pages of a novel. She could have gone and read in the library, sure, but there was something about the writing of Stephen King that seemed far more immersive when laying inside a dusty, metal air vent. Kitty figured if she really shouldn’t be there then the Professor would have given her a warning by now, or at least gotten one of the other teachers to scold her instead.
So far though, nobody had disturbed her vent-turned-reading-nook, so Kitty continued to get lost to fictional worlds without a care in the world.
It was only as she neared the two third’s mark of her book that she noticed the sound of voices echoing from further down the vents, not loud enough to distinguish words but enough to draw her attention away from the plot out of sheer curiosity. Kitty knew better than to snoop, especially when she was hiding out above the operating rooms of the X-Men, but something about those voices seemed different to the ones she had heard before. More aged and sharp. Colder than any of the teacher’s voices she was familiar with.
Sliding a bookmark into place, Kitty placed her novel aside and ever so carefully began to crawl forward, making sure she didn’t make a sound as she approached the steadily growing voices. What once were muffled words had grown into disgruntled snaps and remarks, making the teenager’s heart pound as she wondered what argument she might be about to stumble upon. Should she turn back? Should she let one of the teachers know there were intruders in the Danger Room? Or maybe she should keep going, gather intel and then report back to the Professor, just like a real X-Man would.
Yeah, that was a great idea!
At least that’s what she told herself as she reached the Danger Room vent and peered through the grates of the cover, blinking back her surprise when she spotted a head of familiar silver hair. There was only one mutant in the entire school with natural metallic hair like that: Mr Maximoff, every student’s favourite gym teacher.
“-God, pops, we’ve had this conversation a thousand times before,” Mr Maximoff sighed as he scrubbed at the lenses of his iconic goggles with the edge of his shirt. It looked like he had just been on a run -probably using the Danger Room’s simulator to give himself a proper challenge- and was more than displeased that he had been interrupted.
“We shall have it a thousand times more if it means you might reconsider.”
There came that unfamiliar voice once more, but this time, the speaker stepped into view and revealed themselves to be none other than the feared leader of Genosha himself, Magneto. It shouldn’t have been a surprise to see him, especially wherever Mr Maximoff was concerned. The two were father and son after all- that was a secret to nobody. For as long as Kitty could remember Magneto would visit the school every few months, and on the flip side, Mr Maximoff would leave the school for a few days in between, presumably to stay with his father in Genosha.
None of the students ever questioned it. It was just… normal, to see them together. It was all any of them had ever known.
As Kitty watched on nervously from the vent though, she realised she had never paid too much attention to their interactions. Had simply assumed they were close- that they always had been. On the few occasions they were out on public grounds together, they were often seen smiling and laughing together as they walked through the gardens. No-one had ever seen Magneto’s fiery in the presence of his son, and no-one had ever seen Mr Maximoff injured under the care of his father. There was never any reason to believe things could be otherwise…
But now, as Magneto paced around the chair his son had collapsed into with a yawn, Kitty saw something she had never seen before. She saw the steadfast father and son locked in an argument, and one that Kitty feared had started long before today.
“I don’t know what you want me to say,” Mr Maximoff muttered as he began fiddling with the laces of his boots.
“Say you agree,” Magneto said without hesitation, his voice demanding an authority that Mr Maximoff managed to shrug off with practiced ease.
“You already know my answer,” Mr Maximoff replied. “Just give it a rest, alright?”
Pausing, Magneto placed a gloved hand on the man’s shoulder to catch his wandering stare and said, “I cannot rest while you are so far from reach, my son.”
After a softened look, Mr Maximoff hooked his fingers over his father’s wrist, as if in reassurance. “You’d only have to call… I’d be there in a heartbeat- literally.”
“It’s not the same, and you know it,” Magneto nearly growled, looming over Mr Maximoff like a shadow with that dark cape hanging from his shoulders. Sometimes it was hard to believe the two were related when their personalities were so fiercely opposed, contrasting like sunshine amidst storm clouds. But as Mr Maximoff folded his arms and shot his father the most stubborn, unphased stare in existence that was met with an equally unwavering glare from the man, it suddenly seemed clear where he had gotten his bull-headed confidence from.
For a moment it seemed as if neither of them were going to back down, but with a resigned exhale, Magneto lifted his hand from the man’s shoulder and -with a curl of his fingers- brought one of Mr Maximoff’s hands along with it. The watch around Mr Maximoff’s wrist was no doubt the reason Magneto was able to draw his son’s hand into his own with such ease, but Mr Maximoff made no move to resist, nor did he seem surprised by such an action. For a moment Magneto just stared down at the hand cradled within his own gloved one, clearly lost in thought- or perhaps memories long past.
“I want you by my side, son,” Magneto spoke, his voice gentler than anything Kitty had ever heard from the mutant leader before. “We are family, are we not?”
“Of course we are,” Mr Maximoff answered with a caring squeeze of his father’s hand.
“Then why do you avoid me so?”
Rolling his eyes in something between exasperation and fondness, Mr Maximoff’s lips tilted into a smirk as he teased, “You’re always so dramatic pops. I don’t avoid you, I’ve just got other stuff on. Kids can’t teach themselves gym class, after all. And that’s not even mentioning the X-Men- you know Summers would never survive without my wonderful contribution to the team.”
Slowly, Magneto turned his gaze towards the far wall, and Mr Maximoff’s smile faltered when he noticed the misery painted over the man’s features.
“You didn’t show up for your usual visit last month…”
Mr Maximoff’s dark eyes widened in realisation. “Oh, pops… I-“
“Or the month before that,” Magneto said, cutting short anything Mr Maximoff had been about to say as he stared up at his father with blinding remorse.
“Dad… You know I didn’t mean to…” Mr Maximoff murmured softly.
“Right,” Magneto huffed a dry, humourless laugh. “You just ‘got busy’, I’m aware.”
Silence rushed in so thick with tension that it was almost suffocating, and suddenly, Kitty became acutely aware of how much she shouldn’t be there. This was a private moment, not just between her teacher and a renowned leader, but between a father and their son. She had no right to intrude on such an intimate thing, but for fear of alerting them to her presence if she moved, Kitty forced herself to remain perfectly still, hardly daring to breath as she watched on in guilt.
As little as she may have known about their connection, it still pained Kitty to see them at odds with each other.
But then, softened by guilt of his own, Mr Maximoff leant forward in his seat and encased his father’s hand between the two of his, startling the older man with the gentle action. “I’m sorry, Father,” Mr Maximoff spoke, his voice oddly soothing. “You know I love you, right? That doesn’t change, regardless of where I am or how much time passes.”
Sighing, Magneto’s frustrations were quick to unravel in the face of his son’s loving remorse. “And I to you, my dear boy,” the man hummed in a way that made even Kitty’s heart shudder with warmth. “Please know, I don’t say these things to make you feel bad or to berate you into joining me, I just… I miss you, Pietro.”
Blinking back a flash of pain in his eyes, Mr Maximoff replied “I miss you too, Father.”
For the first time since their argument had started, Magneto’s features eased into a smile, small and weary but a smile, nonetheless. “As much as your absence may pain me though, I would never tear you away from the life you so clearly love- or the people in it who need you.”
“They aren’t the only ones who need me though, are they?” Mr Maximoff smirked.
Smiling in return, Magneto answered softly “No, they are not.”
With a final reassuring squeeze, Mr Maximoff released his father’s hand and leant back in his chair with a pleased glimmer in his eye. “I promise I’ll visit more often pops,” Mr Maximoff swore firmly.
“Please,” Magneto implored, the closest the warrior would ever get to begging in his life.
“And who knows,” Mr Maximoff added with a shit eating grin. “Maybe one day when I’m old and decrepit like you, I’ll join your Genosha retirement plan.”
“Kleiner scheißer,” Magneto muttered, about to turn away before the man caught his wrist and cooed, “Aw come on, you love me.”
Huffing to hide the smile that was no doubt tugging at his lips, Magneto rested a hand over his son’s jaw and pressed a fond kiss to the crown of his head. “Luckily, I do,” he said as he pulled away, the two sharing a gaze filled with so many years of understanding and respect that it overflowed in sheer adoration.
And then the moment passed, and Magneto let his hand drop back to his side as he glanced towards the exit and asked, “Will you join me in the dining room, or have you more work to attend to?”
“I’ve got a few more things to pack up in here, but you know I never miss a meal,” Mr Maximoff smirked as he rose to his feet and stretched. “I’ll meet you up there, pops.”
Nodding, Magneto left without another word and disappeared from Kitty’s view, his departure only confirmed by the sound of the Danger Room doors sliding shut. With her main cause of worry now gone, Kitty let out a shaky breath and let the tension she hadn’t even realised had been building loosen across her shoulders. Sure, there was still guilt bubbling away in the pit of her stomach for eavesdropping in the first place, but all had ended well and they hadn’t even noticed she was there. All she had to do was crawl back to her nook and pretend nothing had ever happen-
“Kitty, I know you’re up there.”
Kitty’s heart plummeted like a stone at the call of Mr Maximoff’s voice. Glancing down through the grates, she prayed she had misheard, but there in clear view she could see the gym teacher staring straight up at her with his arms crossed impatiently across his chest.
Seized with terror, Kitty couldn’t seem to move at first. She considered floating up through the roof and maybe hiding out in the forest for a few days until the horror of this moment passed, but seeing as Mr Maximoff had called her out by name, there was no chance of escaping him now. At least he was the one to find her and not his terrifying warlord of a father. Small mercies, she supposed.
So, after finding the courage to lift the vent cover and meet her teacher’s questioning stare, Kitty called out softly, “I’m sorry, Mr Maximoff.”
Immediately softening at the sight of the frightened girl, Mr Maximoff replied “It’s alright kid. But next time, try not to eavesdrop on other people, yeah? Not everyone is as relaxed as I am.”
“So… I’m not in trouble?” Kitty asked cautiously.
“Nah, just don’t do it again and we’ll call it even, alright?” Mr Maximoff smiled, which was met with an enthusiastic nod. Seeing that Kitty was still nervous however, he quickly shrugged his shoulders and added, “Lord knows I was doing a lot worse at your age anyway. So as long as you’re not breaking active terrorists out of the Pentagon, you’ve got nothing to worry about.”
Giggling at the ridiculous notion, Kitty offered her teacher a grateful smile before asking, “How long did you know I was up here?”
“Oh, since I started my run about… an hour ago?” he said, checking his watch with mild surprise. “The Danger Room reported an obstruction in the air vents, but when I saw you up there reading ‘Misery’ -great choice by the way- I thought I’d better leave you to it.”
Feeling slightly mortified that she’d been caught but also grateful to have a teacher so tolerant of her antics, Kitty said with a smile, “Thanks Mr Maximoff. You’re the best.”
“You know you can call me Peter right? Everyone else does,” the man assured.
“I know, but it feels rude!” Kitty reasoned, hoping he understood that she only wanted to show him the respect that he deserved.
With a light-hearted roll of his eyes, Mr Maximoff waved his hand and said, “Whatever you say you little raccoon. Just hop out of the vents soon will you? Dinner should be ready by now anyway.”
“Okay,” Kitty laughed, about to crawl back and grab her book, before she was struck with a thought that made her freeze in alarm. “Mr Maximoff?” she called, relieved to see that the man hadn’t left as he returned the girl a curious glance.
“Yeah Kit?”
“Are you… are you going to leave us, one day?” Kitty asked, trying not to let the worry seep through her voice but knowing she was failing miserably.
Mr Maximoff’s face was incredibly warm as he answered, “No. At least not for a long time, anyway.”
Smiling in relief, Kitty felt a tug of guilt as she thought about the father who so clearly missed his son as much as the students would miss their teacher. If Magneto felt as sad as Kitty did just now at the thought of Mr Maximoff leaving, how on earth must he feel to have him so far away for most of the year?
“It… it’s okay if you want to visit Genosha more often too, Mr Maximoff,” Kitty felt the need to say, making the man blink back at her in stunned silence. “I mean- I’m just saying that us students won’t be upset, you know? We can share you.”
Letting out a short laugh, Mr Maximoff shook his head and offered the girl a smile of appreciation. “Thanks kid. I’m sure old Mags will appreciate it.”
Chuckling, the two gave each other a final wave and parted ways, Kitty crawling off to retrieve her book while Mr Maximoff no doubt joined his father in the dining room, just like he always did.
Kitty had a feeling that no matter what, those two would always find their way back to each other.