Late Night Snack

Posted on Wed Mar 13th, 2024 @ 12:42pm by Hank McCoy & Mara Ricci

Mission: Episode 0: X Lang Syne
Location: X Mansion Kitchen
Timeline: May 13, 1990 - 3:12AM

It was late at night in the mansion. Well, actually it was early morning. Rarely did Mara have a hard time sleeping, but she had been tossing and turning for hours and now her stomach was growling. She was never going to get to sleep now, so she decided to get up and look for a snack.

Padding through the halls in pajamas and bare feet, it was easy to be quiet. She didn’t want to wake anybody else up, after all. She wished she knew why she couldn’t sleep. Nothing had gone wrong with the computer updates the day before and she was ready to head back to the city in the afternoon. There was no reason she shouldn’t be able to sleep. Unless being in her 20s meant she couldn’t have caffeine before bed anymore, she really didn’t understand it.

Once in the kitchen, she searched the refrigerator, found a half empty can of chocolate frosting and immediately went to the cupboard to look for graham crackers. Finding an open box of them, she retrieved a knife from a drawer and settled on one of the stools by the island to make sandwich cookies. They were a favorite treat from her childhood. Her mother always used to make them for her when she had extra chocolate frosting. They were best when the frosting was cold because it didn’t come squishing out from between the crackers, but it did make it trickier to spread. She had learned long ago to put the cracker down and spread the cold frosting onto it. This avoided breaking the cracker under the stiff frosting.

The first sandwich finished, she bit into it and sighed happily at the chocolatey goodness.

Hank, too, could not sleep, but this was somewhat normal for him. He occasionally spent a sleepless night wandering the halls. It never seemed to matter, though, as the following night he would always sleep well. He hypothesized that it had something to do with his mutation, possibly causing a disruption in melatonin production, but he didn’t care enough to test it.

He rarely came across anyone else on his late night strolls, but tonight was an exception. He noticed the light on in the kitchen as he approached and decided to see who was about. Peering inside, he saw Mara sitting on one of the bar stools, hair tousled slightly- which only added to her appearance, he thought- and wearing pajamas. He smiled and felt his eyes darken, but quashed the thoughts immediately. She was his friend, nothing more. “Good morning,” he said as he approached.

Mara nearly jumped out of skin. “How does someone your size manage to sneak up on me so many times?” she demanded with a grin.

“I’m very sneaky,” he replied with a laugh of his own. “Mind if I join you?”

“Not at all,” she replied, spreading more frosting on another graham cracker. “Would you like a cookie?”

Hank took the barstool directly next to her and looked over what she was doing. “Is that chocolate frosting and graham crackers?” he asked. “And no marshmallows?”

“Oh that’s a good idea,” she admitted. “Is there marshmallow fluff around here somewhere?”

“I think so,” he replied, getting up and going to check. “Ah ha! Here it is!” He brought it back to her along with a second knife and began spreading some on another graham cracker, which they then smooshed together and broke in half. “Cheers,” he said as they each took a bite.

“Hank, you are a genius!” declared Mara.

“Why thank you,” he replied with a laugh. “It’s good to know you have such confidence in my culinary expertise.”

She grinned. “Do you know how to make anything else?” she asked.

”I don’t want to brag, but I pour a mean glass of milk,” he replied.

”Oh, that would go perfect with these,” she said, trying to act serious.

”Say no more!” he said, going to a cupboard to retrieve two glasses. “Any reason you can’t sleep?”

”Not to my knowledge,” she replied. “Unless I suddenly can’t have caffeine before bed anymore. I know my mom had to stop drinking it in her early twenties, so it’s a possibility. What about you?”

”It happens to me from time to time,” he said, getting the milk from the fridge. “It only ever lasts one night, though. I should be back to normal tomorrow.” He poured two glasses of milk and slid one across to Mara.

”That does look like a fantastic glass of milk,” she said, taking a sip. “Oh, yeah. Yeah, that’s some good milk. You know your stuff!”

He couldn’t help but chuckle at that. “If you think that’s good,” he said, replacing the gallon of milk in the fridge, “you should see my bowl of chips!”

Mara laughed. “Oh, getting fancy now,” she said, finishing her chocolate frosting and marshmallow fluff on graham cracker sandwich and making another one. “Trying to impress me?”

”Always,” he replied, returning to his seat with the other glass of milk. “You know me; lady killer through and through.”

“Oh, of course,” she laughed, spreading more marshmallow fluff and sticking the two halves of the sandwich together before breaking it in half and handing half to Hank. “I’m glad to have a friend. Right now, I mean. Spending sleepless nights alone is torture.”

”Agreed,” he said. “I’ve spent enough of them. It’s definitely better to have someone to talk to.” You should tell her, Hank. Right now. But he shoved the thought aside. “Did I ever tell you about the time we got drunk and tried to help Jean cook?” he said to cover his momentary hesitation.

”You?” she replied incredulously. “Drunk? And Scott, too? I don’t believe it!”

Hank chuckled. “Bobby started it,” he said. “Jean was about to start cooking and Bobby pulled out a bottle of booze. Why did he do that?” he mused, attempting to remember. “Ah, yes, it was shortly after I turned myself blue and furry. I was only 16 and it had sapped my self-confidence. Bobby thought I needed a pick-me-up.”

”You mean you weren’t always blue and furry?” she asked, slightly surprised.

”No,” he answered. “I was trying to create a serum that would effectively hide mutants from the sentinels and accidentally activated a dormant gene. And this is the result.”

“At 16?” she replied. “Wow. You really are a genius.”

“I certainly didn’t feel that way at the time,” he told her.

“I imagine a mistake like that would make Einstein himself feel pretty dumb,” she allowed. “But even so. Accidentally activating a dormant gene is still impressive. For anybody of any age, much less someone who is 16!”

He grinned. “Thank you,” he said. She couldn’t possibly understand how much he needed to hear that. Just remembering how he’d felt after doing it brought back those horrible feelings of self-doubt and shame. She had instantly made him feel better.

”I guess I always assumed you were born that way,” she confessed. “I mean, not that it matters or anything. You’re a nice guy and I like talking to you.”

He afforded her a small smile. “Thanks,” he said. “I like talking to you, too.” And I love you. But he couldn’t say it out loud.

”Anyway, so then everyone got drunk?” she asked.

”Oh, yes,” he replied. “Bobby talked Scott into trying it. No, wait. Jean tried it first while Bobby was trying to goad Scott into it. Then Scott didn’t want to be outdone, so he also tried it. And of course I wasn’t about to be left out.”

She laughed and her eyes sparkled like diamonds. Hank could look into those eyes for the rest of his life and never get tired of it. Tell her! he thought. But, he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

”So you got drunk with your friends,” she said. “Seems like a normal teenager thing to do.”

”A normal stupid teenager thing to do,” he replied. “Did you ever do anything like that?”

”No,” she replied. “I’m an introvert and bookish. I preferred staying home and watching TV with my parents. But, then, I was not a normal teenager.”

”But perhaps a smarter one,” he pointed out. “I had a headache the size of Texas the next day.”

”I’ve never been drunk,” she replied. “In fact, I’ve never even had alcohol.”

”We’ll have to remedy that sometime,” he told her.

”Are you asking me out for drinks?” she joked.

”Well, yes,” he said, and then promptly chickened out again. “As friends, of course.”

”Of course,” she replied without a second thought. “Shall we have one more sandwich cookie?” she added with a yawn.

“One more,” he agreed, taking another graham cracker and spreading it with marshmallow fluff.

Mara did the same with chocolate frosting and they smashed the crackers together. Then Mara broke it in half and handed him one piece.

”I think for my birthday, I’d like these instead of cake,” he commented idly.

”When is your birthday?” asked Mara, realizing she actually had no idea.

”March tenth,” he replied.

”That’s ten months away!” she said. “Or I missed it. Oh, well. Happy Birthday, Hank.”

He chuckled. “Thank you,” he said. “When is your birthday?”

”June 27th,” she answered.

”I’ll have to remember that and send you flowers or something,” he said.

”Aw, that’s sweet,” she replied with a smile. “Send them to work so my coworkers think I have a boyfriend. The men are always hitting on me and the women are always trying to fix me up with their brothers. It’s annoying.”

Hank chuckled. “Done!” he said. “You know, you could just buy a plain gold band and start wearing it. And just not say anything to anybody. And then just watch the rumor mills.”

”That sounds so entertaining,” she laughed. “Although, they’d probably just be angry that I didn’t invite them to the wedding.”

”Just tell them you eloped,” he suggested as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

”Today!” she added. “I just eloped today!”

Or we could actually elope today, he thought, but brushed it aside quickly. “You have to have a name ready,” he said. “What about Robert Thompson?”

”Perfect,” she said with a nod. “I’m Mrs. Robert Thompson. He’s a… Dentist. In Queens.”

Hank laughed. “In Queens?” he asked.

”I don’t know,” she replied with a laugh of her own. “I just tried to think of a place nobody would try to check for a dentist. How did we even get on this subject, anyway?”

“I don’t remember,” he laughed.

Which only made her laugh harder. “Okay, we’ve named my hypothetical spouse,” she said. “What about yours?”

You, he thought. But he couldn’t say that. “Oh… I don’t know,” he said. “I’ve never thought about it.”

”Here, I’ll help,” she said. “Her name is Stephanie Hemlock and she’s blond with blue eyes. And… a kindergarten teacher.”

He chuckled. “A kindergarten teacher?” he asked.

”Why not?” she asked.

”If you say so,” he replied, drinking the last of his milk.

”Do you have a better idea?” she asked.

Say it, Hank. Just say it. Tell her you want her. Tell her you’ve loved her since day one. Tell her she’s beautiful. Tell her you’ll treat her like a queen. But when he turned to look her in the eye, the old fear came back and reared its ugly head. No, she could not be interested in him. She might even laugh at him. And then he wouldn’t even have her as a friend.

So, he simply grinned. “I’ve got nothing,” he said finally.

If she had noticed anything, she didn’t react to it. “Well, then,” she said, finishing her own milk. “Stephanie it is. I should probably get to bed. Now that my stomach’s not growling, I’m getting sleepy.”

”I’ll take care of this stuff,” he told her, trying not to sound depressed. “You go get some sleep.”

But, she noticed this time. “You okay?” she asked.

”Yes!” he said with a deep breath. “I think I’m getting sleepy, too, actually.”

”Well, that’s a good sign,” she said, taking their glasses and knives to the sink. “Maybe we’ll both be able to get some rest.”

He gathered the frosting, marshmallow fluff, and graham crackers and went to put them away. “I said I can wash those,” he reminded her.

”It’s okay,” she said. “You’re tired, too. It’s not fair to make you do everything if you want to go to bed, too.”

He gave her a smile. “You’re a good friend,” he said. And that was as close as he dared to get to the subject.

“Well, I do try,” she replied, washing the glasses quickly. “You’re a good friend, too.”

He grabbed a towel and began wiping the glasses to replace them in the cupboard. “I try, too,” he replied cheekily.

She grinned, borrowing the edge of his towel to wipe her hands dry. “Well, I suppose I’d better get some sleep,” she said around a yawn. “See you in the morning, Hank. Well, in a few hours, anyway.”

Last chance Hank, he told himself. But he couldn’t. He didn’t want to risk losing her as a friend. “Goodnight, Mara,” he said, resigning himself to his fate.

With that, she was gone.

With a sigh, Hank resumed his late night walk through the halls, this time trying to figure out the best way to tell Mara how he felt about her. He would have to try again tomorrow.