The way Xavier’s eyes lit up at the mention of the work lifted Faraday’s mood. The only other person to ever do that was DiMA, eager to always see what the third-gen had thought of or built. The same warmth spread through him, watching as the human held the papers in hand and looked them over like precious stones. And maybe they were to him, a preview into what was to come — something he had helped built.
Faraday chuckles when his friend can’t seem to focus even when speaking on his soon to be limb. Pride has him rolling his shoulders, but shyness raises his hand to rub over his neck.
“ I’m glad those little tidbits are to your liking. I don’t think I’d be able to self from making only one attachment with how ama— woah!! “
Suddenly off the ground, he quickly grips onto Xavier’s bicep and his opposite shoulder. He doesn’t know which is more astonishing: that he’s being lifted, or that the other has so much strength in a single arm after losing the other. How powerful human beings were, or specifically how powerful Xavier was; a wonder to know and be with so closely.
There’s no use hiding the redness on his cheeks, nor the wide-eyes on his face. He’s not even upset to still be in his arm, only dazed with awe gleaming in his hazel eyes.
“ Uhm, yes, I’m glad you, uh….like it so much. “ Awkwardly he pats the other man’s bicep.
“ heh, if this is how you thank me now, I don’t know how you’re gonna thank me after when you have it on. “ And he reaches the arm on Xavier’s opposite shoulder over to grab the paper with the base arm sketches on it, holding it so they both can examine it.
“ A nice sleek grey would look attractive. “
Xavier’s face was quick to hide the redness, but the rest of his body wasn’t, freckled skin turning red hot to the fact that the other himself became red from the gesture, brightening up once the other stood oh so close to him. Xavier has had feelings like these before, sure, but they were very passing. One day, he’d feel this connection that felt soothing and caring, and then, the person was merely another friend.
But this felt different. He caught himself looking at Faraday more than normal, ever since he set foot in Acadia. The way the other worked, the small mouth crooks whenever something works out as planned, the stiffled giggles when DiMA said something that confused Xavier. It was all there. Xavier, since day one, couldn’t take his eyes off Faraday and it felt... Weird. In a good way. Felt like what he felt towards the other was more than just work interest. At the end of the day, he didn’t spend constant time with Faraday to gawk at how the other worked...
He did it to gawk at the person the other was.
Clearing his throat and using his hand to straighten the schematics, Xavier’s mind and heart were pretty much racing, to the point where the other could most likely listen to the small thumps coming from his chest. Didn’t help that the other’s head perfectly aligned itself with the giant’s chest.
❝ I like that. Maybe one of the replacements can even be a dark blue. Almost black. I have to represent the Minute-Men back home. ❞ He couldn’t help himself to shimmy ever so slightly closer to the other.
