Eye of the Beholder

Author’s Notes: Thank you blue_lioness, Vixey and Desiree for your reviews. The muse is back in X-Men mode so it looks like my other stories are on hold again. Bother.

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“So, how was your week, my dear?” Hank asks as he helps Amanda load up the dolly for another trip out to the moving truck.

“Ok, I guess,” she answers while she hands him another box and he puts in on top of the pile. “Betty loved the fact that there were even more photos of us in Tuesday’s paper, Mr. Jones found out he’s going to be a grandfather again and Sarah’s niece just got engaged. On the down sound, Mr. Steele all but has smoke coming out of his ears every time he sees me, Annie wants me to baby sit for a weekend so she and Mike can get away for a while otherwise she’s going to show that video of me with Tilby to my parents and James has turned down my latest offer for the dress. We’ll probably have a court date sometime after the New Year.”

“And here I thought my six meetings, three luncheons and two speeches qualified as a busy week,” he chuckles as he straps the boxes to the cart.

“That was just the extra stuff, don’t even get me started on all of the research and phone calls I had to make,” she replies while she picks up another box and waits for him to head for the door. “I’d bore you to death.”

“I don’t think it’s possible for you to bore me,” he responds as he takes the box from her, picks up a couple more and lets her push the cart out of the apartment.

“I’m glad to know I have entertainment value,” she jokes while they head for the elevator.

“You are much more than entertainment,” he tells as he leans over for a quick kiss when they stop.

“Oh?” she questions with a raised eyebrow and he rests his forehead against hers.

“You have become a soothing balm to my soul,” he whispers and he smiles as she turns a lovely shade of pink.

She’s saved from trying to come up with a reply with the ‘ding’ of the elevator doors and she quickly pushes the dolly into the small compartment. He quietly follows her in, the smile still on his lips and he carefully puts his boxes on the floor as the doors shut behind him. The instant the doors shut, he pulls her into his arms and she gladly buries her face into the fur on his neck, breathing in his scent.

“Are you alright?” he asks.

“Yeah,” she sighs contentedly. “Can’t say you’re so bad for the soul either.”

He chuckles as he nuzzles her hair and they gladly hold onto each other until they feel the elevator stop. They quickly separate before the doors open and he picks up his boxes just as the doors slide apart. They step out just as Maggie and Doug walk through the front doors of the building and the friends get disappointed looks on their faces.

“Darn, I was hoping to catch them being naughty,” Doug pouts.

“Man, that wasn’t even enough time for a quickie,” Maggie teases and Amanda can feel her cheeks starting to burn.

“I can assure you, my dear Miss Maggie, that if our relationship evolves to that stage, I would most certainly not be interested in a ‘quickie’,” Hank states confidently as he marches through the lobby. “That is something that I would take great delight in spending hours to accomplish.”

Amanda nearly faints as all the blood leaves her face and heads straight for her groin. She convulsively swallows as she pushes the hand cart towards the exit on wobbly legs, hoping she can make it out of there without making a fool of herself. By the time she makes it to the moving truck, she’s regained some semblance of control and she quickly goes to undo the bungee cords that are holding the boxes in place.

“Are you alright, my dear?” Hank asks as he hands his boxes up to the people waiting in the truck.

“Oh, I’m fine,” she nearly squeaks and quickly clears her throat.

“I’m sure you are,” he purrs in her ear as he leans over to help her unload the dolly.

Her breath catches in her throat as she can feel the hairs on her arms stand on end and the spot between legs really starts to heat up even more. She swallows the groan that wants to come out and takes a firm hold of a box to try and steady her hands. It doesn’t help that her hair is pulled up into a ponytail and everyone can see her blushing so hard that even her neck is red.

“Ah crap,” says a voice from the truck and Amanda and Hank immediately look up at the owner.

“What’s wrong, Ron?” she asks.

“Nothing, I just owe Doug ten bucks now,” Ron grumbles.

“What for?” Hank inquires.

“Doug said that she’d be blushing within an hour of us getting here this morning,” Ron answers, waving a hand towards Amanda. “I didn’t believe him.”

“That’ll teach ya,” she snorts as she hands her box up to Ron.

“I know, I know,” Ron moans as he takes the offered item. “Never make bets with a stock broker.”

Hank chuckles and then goes perfectly still, he sniffs the air, his hackles rise and an involuntary growl escaping his throat.

“What’s wrong?” she asks, immediately concerned and Ron looks a bit nervous.

“It’s Jeff,” Hank nearly snarls with displeasure.

“Great,” she groans.

She steps away from the moving truck to look up and down the street and immediately spots her ex-boyfriend. To add insult to injury, she can see Bobbi is with him and she lets out a small growl of her own when she sees that Jeff is hauling along Bobbi’s luggage. One quick glance at Bobbi and it’s obvious that she’s been crying and Jeff looks like he’s ready to spit nails.

“Mandy!” Bobbi yells and Hank can see the muscles in Amanda’s neck and shoulders bunch up in anger.

“Bobbi,” Amanda replies coolly.

Bobbi lets out a dramatic sob and hurls herself at Amanda and Amanda barely gets her arms out of the way as the shorter woman wraps her arms around the lawyer’s torso, burying her face in the other woman’s chest. Amanda has a look on her face as if she’s being hugged by the Creature from the Black Lagoon and Jeff gets a smirk on his face that Hank wants to rip off. Both Bobbi and Jeff are so intent on Amanda, that by some strange twist of fate, they don’t notice the big, blue furry man standing behind her.

“He doesn’t love me any more, Mandy,” Bobbi sobs and the look of revulsion on Amanda’s face doesn’t change.

“So what are you doing here?” Amanda demands. “As if I didn’t already know the answer.”

“She’s moving back with you,” Jeff sneers slightly out of breath.

“What an interesting coincidence,” Amanda says with false cheerfulness. “I’m moving today too. So, if Bobbi wishes to rent my old apartment, I’m sure the building manager would love to talk to her. Of course, she’ll have to prove that she has a source of income and since I doubt Bobbi has a job that might be a bit difficult.”

“No way, bitch,” Jeff snarls as he dumps Bobbi’s bags on the ground. “You’re taking her.”

“I’m afraid that won’t be possible,” Amanda replies, still holding her arms up since putting them down means touching Bobbi. “My new apartment has only one bedroom.”

“But then where will you sleep?” Bobbi asks.

“In my bed, in my bedroom,” Amanda answers coldly.

“But you told me you don’t do girls,” Bobbi states, still confused.

“By myself,” Amanda grinds out between her teeth as she grabs the other woman’s arms and starts trying to peel her off. “You are not moving in with me again, Bobbi.”

“But Jeffie doesn’t want me anymore,” Bobbi whines, holding on tighter. “He says I gave him a sexually transmuted disease.”

“That’s sexually transmitted disease, you dumb slut,” Jeff corrects angrily. “I’m out of here. She’s all yours, Mandy.”

Jeff turns and makes a break for it, running smack dab into Hank and knocking himself onto his butt. Amanda’s not sure when Hank moved or how he did it so quietly or so quickly, but she has a very strong desire to kiss the man. Of course, that will require the removal of the human sized barnacle currently attached to her.

“Going somewhere?” Hank congenially asks with a raised eyebrow and towering over Jeff.

“Holy shit, not you again,” Jeff gasps.

Jeff starts trying to crab walk backwards to get away from Hank just as Bobbi turns around to see who he’s talking to. The instant she lays eye on Hank, she lets out an ear piercing scream that has Jeff, Amanda and Hank slapping their hands over their ears. Suddenly, Bobbi releases Amanda and then dives to the ground to try and hide behind Jeff.

“Protect me, Jeffie, it’s one of those horrible muties,” Bobbi shrieks and it takes a great deal of restraint for Hank not to growl at the woman.

“What did you just call my boyfriend?” Amanda demands in a threatening voice, getting right in the other woman’s face.

“You’re boyfriend!?” Bobbi squeaks. “You mean you’re actually sleeping with that thing?”

“Just because you have the morals of a cat in heat, doesn’t mean the rest of us do,” Amanda snarls. “Now get your things and get out of my sight. If either one of you comes near me again, I’ll have a restraining order placed on both of you.”

“What’s a restraining order?” Bobbi asks, visibly shaking.

“It’s a court order saying that if you come within five hundred feet of me, you can be arrested,” Amanda tells her heatedly.

“You’d have me arrested?” Bobbi whimpers.

“In a heartbeat,” Amanda growls back.

“You can’t put a restraining order on us,” Jeff shoots back, finding a little bit of bravado despite being in Hank’s shadow.

“Care to test that theory?” Amanda challenges with eyes narrowed.

Jeff stares at those cold, hard green eyes glaring back at him for several seconds before he scrambles to his feet and then drags Bobbi to hers. He quickly gathers up her luggage, shoving a couple of the pieces into her arms, grabs her and then takes off the way they had come from. The sound of people laughing and cheering startles Amanda and she realizes that her friends have been watching this little altercation.

Without a word, she returns to the back of the moving truck and finishes unloading the dolly. When that’s done, she marches back inside, Hank following quietly in her wake. He watches her pensively, her face a cold hard mask and her stony silence have him a bit worried. Once they’re back in the apartment, she goes into the spare bedroom and sets the hand cart off to the side.

“Hank, can I speak to you in private for a moment?” she asks, not quite looking at him.

“Of course,” he replies.

She leads him into the master bedroom and quietly shuts the door behind him. He turns to face her and suddenly finds her arms firmly around his and her lips on his. He quickly gets over his shock, wraps his arms her and deepens the kiss.

He none to gently pushes her against the wall next to the door and they both moan with need. He starts to grind his hips against her and a small part of his brain knows that this is completely improper, but the smell of her arousal has The Beast taking over. He pulls away from her lips and starts to work his way along her jaw down to her ear and neck as she gasps for air, trying to keep from letting out loud groans of desire.

“Hank,” she whispers in a strangled voice.

His only response is a possessive growl that sends shivers down her spine and straight to that magical place between her legs. When one of his hands brushes the side of one of her breasts, all coherent thought is lost and he takes advantage of it by grabbing her legs and wrapping them around his waist. He continues to grind his hips into her and even though they’re both wearing jeans, she can feel his excitement.

“Hank, we have to stop,” she pants quietly when she’s able to force her brain to work.

He just snarls as he bites her neck hard enough to make her gasp and cups one of her breasts in his hand.

“Hank, please stop,” she softly begs and his body suddenly goes still.

The Man battles with The Beast for dominance as he continues to pin her to the wall, his breathing heavy and uneven. His body trembles with pent up energy, fighting the need to give in to his primal urges and only barely managing to succeed. She’s not doing much better and she buries her face in the fur on his neck as her fingers sink into his thick main.

“I’m sorry,” she whispers. “I didn’t mean for that to happen.”

“Then why did you ask me in here?” he asks, the strain evident in his voice.

“I wanted to thank you for helping me with Bobbi and Jeff without getting teased by my friends,” she answers sadly.

“You can still thank me properly,” he teases. “The bed’s right over there.”

“Not possible,” she replies, the smile evident in her voice.

“Why not?” he questions.

“Well, for one,” she starts, suddenly slamming her fist against the door and several muffled ‘ow’s can be heard from the other side, “the door has ears.”

“And two?” he prompts, slowly stepping away from the wall and letting her feet return to the floor.

“We don’t have hours to spend on a ‘quickie’,” she grins, leaning back to see his face.

“No, I suppose we don’t,” he agrees with a dramatic sigh before grinning himself.

They both have a good chuckle and then she turns serious.

“We should talk about us and where this relationship is going,” she says in all seriousness.

“Agreed,” he replies as he cups her cheek in his hand and she closes her eyes, reveling in his gentle touch. “But I don’t think this is the time or the place.”

“Agreed,” she quietly echoes. “We better get out there before they get a camera and come bursting in.”

He reluctantly lets her go and with a sad sigh, she steps away from him. She opens the bedroom door and there’s the conspicuous sound of people suddenly being very busy. She just rolls her eyes and shakes her head as she steps into the main living area of the apartment and people are very studiously helping her move.

“My friends,” she mumbles.

“Have come to help you move,” he quietly points out from behind her.

“Yeah, but real friends help you move bodies,” she shoots back with a grin over her shoulder and he has to laugh at that one.

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Hours later, Amanda, Hank and her merry band of moving helpers are sitting around in her new apartment after eating more pizza and beer than should be humanly possible. She’s cuddled up next to Hank on the couch, ignoring the latest embarrassing story that her dear friends are telling her boyfriend. He’s gently stroking her now loose hair and she’s practically asleep when Doug claps his hands together.

“Ok, girlfriend, it’s time for dessert,” Doug announces and Amanda cracks an eye open to look at her best friend.

“And what’s for dessert?” Amanda asks, already knowing the answer and biding her time.

“Twinkie sundaes,” he happily states.

“Oh, well, then I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint,” she tells him closing her eye again.

“Why’s that?” he demands.

“Well other than the ice cream and the toppings that have to be refrigerated, I have no idea where the Twinkies, bowls, spoons, ice cream scoop and the rest of the toppings are,” she replies

“We cleared out your old apartment,” he states. “So which box are they in?”

“I think they’re in one of the boxes marked ‘kitchen’,” she answers and Doug and a couple of others quickly get up and charge to the other side of the spacious living area to find the appropriate boxes. “Or were they in the box marked ‘food’?” A couple more friends get up and dash over to help the first group. “Of course they could be in one of the ‘miscellaneous’ boxes. It’s been a long day and I don’t remember any more.”

The last of the friends get up and trudge over to the others, grumbling the entire way.

“You’re being wicked again,” Hank quietly teases after the others leave.

“Just getting back at them for all those embarrassing stories they’ve been telling,” she mumbles.

She snuggles in closer to him, resting her head on his chest and listening to his heartbeat. With a sigh of contentment, she relaxes and starts to drift off. He continues to stroke her hair, not even the promise of a life time supply of Twinkies will get him up off that couch and away from her and in the back of his mind he can hear Beast purring.

“Found it!” Maggie cries gleefully, causing the couple on the couch to jump.

“You found everything?” Doug asks excitedly.

“No! Just the ice cream scoop, but it’s better than nothing,” she answers and the others groan and go back to opening more boxes. “Hey, it’s not like you guys have found anything yet.”

“You spread them out between different boxes didn’t you?” Hank softly asks and his only response is an evil snicker.

In due course, all of the ingredients and equipment are found and Amanda reluctantly gets off of the couch to make the desserts. Hank gets up to help, refusing to take no for an answer as he follows her into the kitchen. If everyone has to wait a little bit longer to get their sundaes than is really necessary, well, that’s their own fault for leaving those two alone.

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Tired and dusty, but satisfied of a job well done, Hank steps into his apartment and freezes the instant he shuts the door. There’s someone else in the apartment and he takes a deep breath as all of his senses kick into high gear. As soon as he identifies the person’s scent, he relaxes and steps into the living room, not bothering to turn on a light.

“Did it work?” Hank asks a shadow in the corner by the window.

“Non,” comes the quiet answer.

“Very well,” Hank sighs. “I’ll let you know when I’m ready for another try.”

The shadow simply nods and then is gone, the window barely opening and closing to allow passage. Hank turns on a light and picks up the small box sitting on the coffee table. He doesn’t bother opening it up, but instead heads for the spare bedroom that he turned into a combination lab/workroom. He leaves the box on the work bench and heads for bed, hoping that he’ll have the project completed on time.

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‘Friends help you move, real friends help you move bodies’ – actual bumper sticker

Anyone care to guess who our shadowy visitor is.

Non - French, no