round 3 overflow post

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Round 3 Overflow Post

This post is for Round 3 fills only. We ask that when a round hits 8500 comments, fillers begin moving their fills to this post.

Format:
SUBJECT LINE -- Round #, short description of fic (ex: "Alex/Hank, lab partners")
--- Link to the prompt
--- Text of the prompt

--- Link to the fill
OR
--- Entire text of the fill

EXAMPLE:
Prompt: http://xmen-firstkink.livejournal.com/6437.html?thread=1038472#t2038174

Charles/Erik -- Charles is a bakery owner whose most frequent customer is Erik.

Fill: http://xmen-firstkink.livejournal.com/6437.html?thread=0139482#t4502942

Charles started off the morning the same way he always did...

Comments

FILL: "The Very Best" - 02 A Legendary Game! 2b/?

[(Anonymous)]

"--veee?" Eevee asked confused. Charles patted its head. He had also just realized Erik's problem.

"Must everything be about winning and power to you? That's why you can't defeat Cain, you focus too much in your attacks and leave yourself vulnerable. Your Pokémon are so intent on coping with your blinding hunger for victory on the field, pouring every ounce of their power in each hit, that they are left either too tired or too distracted to defend themselves."

Erik and Charles glared at each other.

After a minute or so, Charles hunched his shoulders and shook his head. "Just another victim of Sebastian Shaw, I suppose," he said ruefully.

Erik's eyes sharpened, his mouth twisted dangerously. "Do you know him? Shaw?" He sneered. A shiver ran down Charles spine but he composed himself quickly and replied.

"Not personally, no. But he's a horrible trainer, you know? He's written dozens of books on Pokémon psychology and behavior as well as training handbooks. All of them terribly misguided, if you ask me, his research methods are inhumane, his facts completely wrong. A hack if I've ever read one yet he's adored by the masses, upstanding scientific minds even take his lies seriously! Gah!" Despite his best efforts, Charles grew angrier the more he talked about that despicable self-proclaimed Pokémon Behaviorist Genius. All bull, bull and ever more! He threw his arms in the air and continued with his tirade.

"People take his words at heart, they truly believe everything his crazy books spew and then you have trainers hurting their Pokémon, misunderstanding their very real, very fragile necessities! He's all 'Power', 'Supremacy', 'Victory', 'Survival of the fittest'." By this point Charles was making faces with every quote, mocking caricatures of Shaw's face, his voice was pitched at a ridiculous level in parody of Shaw's.

And Erik was smirking, guardedly amused.

As Charles rallied on about how he and Hank would debunk Shaw's ridiculous theories and expose him for the hack he was once Cerebro was fully functioning, Raven appeared through the steel door that had brought him and Erik to the patio.

"You got him started on Shaw?" she asked laughing once she joined them. Erik flinched slightly at the name but it was so fast that she didn't notice. He shrugged for lack of a better response.

Charles stopped mid-rant, sheepish and hurt. "Raven," he chided but said no more. Raven smiled.

"Listen Erik," she said seriously, although the uplifted corner of her mouth betrayed mischief, "If you are going to be Charles' boyfriend you've got to know about the 'Forbidden Conversation Topics' list. Any mention of any of those and Charles will go on a nerdrage," she winked.

If Erik were one to make such observations, he would describe Charles' blushing face as 'cute'. But since he wasn't that absurd a person, it was more humorous than anything to see him grow red as a beet. He felt his anger subside, much to his chagrin.

"Number one," Raven began, "Professor Oak's laaaaaaame poetry; second, Shaw the Hack; third, Tea versus Coffee; fourth--"

"Oh, dear sister, please. Stop embarrassing me, would you?" pleaded Charles as he tried rather unsuccessfully to shut Raven's mouth with a hand.

Batting her brother's hands away, Raven made to the Lab's door. "The Game is about to start, I just came to fetch you. Hank's already at the stadium so let's go." She motioned them to follow and left.

Erik and Charles walked side by side on their way to the stadium, Eevee and Wanda trailing behind.

At one time during their walk, Charles whispered to Erik: "I'm sorry about before. I thought you were one of Shaw's awful fans, you know? Didn't mean to explode like that."

"It's alright," replied Erik. "For the record, I hate the guy too." Charles smiled to him, a playful little smile. Erik averted his eyes quickly.

"So, 'Tea and Coffee'..." he teased instead.

"Oh, my friend, you don't really want to go there, believe me." Charles laugh was loud, vibrant and warm.

--(o)--