[X-Men: Fiction] "Welcome Home" [Charles/Erik, G]
Title: Welcome Home
Author: Ami Ven
Rating: G
Word Count: 1,035
Fandom: X-Men (movie ‘verse)
Pairing(s): Charles Xavier/Erik Lehnsherr, minor Raven Darkholme/Hank McCoy, Wanda Maximoff/Kurt Wagner
Setting: immediately after Days of Future Past
Summary: After Logan returns to the future, Charles welcomes his family home.
Welcome Home
Charles watched Logan walk down the hallway, radiating surprise and wonder for each person he passed. His memories of this timeline- Charles couldn’t help thinking of it as the ‘proper’ timeline- should begin to overtake the memories of his previous life, leaving no more trace than a particularly vivid dream. And, given the images that Charles had gotten from even a cursory look into Logan’s mind, he thought that was probably a good thing.
Logan rounded the corner, out of sight, and Charles turned to wheel himself back to his desk, only to pause as a familiar presence in his mind, never completely gone, brightened with proximity. Smiling, he turned his wheelchair toward the main hall, arriving just as the front door opened.
“Welcome home, my friend.”
Erik’s mind reached out for his, even before the other man smiled in return. “Hello, Charles. Don’t tell me you missed me after only a day?”
“Desperately,” said Charles, deadpan, but they both knew that it was the truth.
He waited for Erik to hang up his coat and hat, then held out his hand. Erik took it, resting his other hand on the arm of Charles’s wheelchair as he leaned in for a kiss.
“What, no welcome for your sister?” asked an amused voice, and Erik straightened to scowl at Raven.
She just grinned back and leaned down to kiss Charles’s cheek. “Everything went well, Charles. One of the kids, the one who can sense emotions- what’d you call him, an empath?- he’s all set to start next semester. And the girl who can grow those crystals is seriously thinking about it. I left her some information, and I promised I’d call her sometime next week.”
Charles smiled. “Excellent work, Raven,” he began, then paused as the sound of heels on the hardwood floor announced another arrival.
“Did you have them fill out the right forms?” the woman demanded.
Erik smiled. “Hello, Wanda, my dear.”
“What? Oh, hi, Dad. Hi, Aunt Raven. I’m serious about those forms, Dad. There are laws about running a school, even a school for mutants, and I’m the one who has to deal with it.”
“Forms?” said Erik, feigning confusion, until Wanda glared at him. “Every last one filled out, my dear,” he said, pulling a folder from his briefcase and handing it to her.
Wanda sighed and leaned a hip against Charles’s wheelchair. “See the kind of respect I get?”
“We all respect you greatly,” Charles assured her. “The school wouldn’t run half as smoothly if you weren’t here to look after us.”
“Thank you, Papa,” she said. “That’s not true at all, but I’ll take it.”
“Of course it’s true, Wanda,” said Erik. “I’m glad at least one of our children grew up to be responsible.”
“Unlike my children,” said Raven, smiling. “Have Hank and Lottie left the lab at all while I was gone?”
“Kurt teleported them both out for dinner last night,” said Charles, smiling back. “So at least one of yours is responsible, as well.”
“I will assume you mean me, Uncle Charles,” said Kurt, teleporting in beside them.
The toddler in his arms waved tiny blue fingers at her mother, and Wanda took her. “Look, T.J., your grandfather is home,” she said. “And your grandmother.”
“Remind me why I let you marry this miscreant?” Erik muttered, even as he ruffled three-year-old Talia’s hair.
“Ah, you love me, Uncle Erik,” Kurt said, brightly. “I’m your favorite nephew and your favorite son-in-law.”
“You are my only one of either,” said Erik. “So by that logic, you are also my least favorite.”
“Our family tree is a nightmare,” Raven said, cheerfully. “I blame you, Charles.”
He smiled. “As usual, then. Talia, love, please don’t eat your mother’s paperwork.”
Erik lifted the girl by the metal fastenings on her overalls, and set her in Charles’s lap, smiling at them both.
Charles settled Talia in his arms and looked around at his family. He and Erik were old men, now, gray-haired (what few traces Charles had left, at least) and wrinkled. Raven- and she was Raven again, only Mystique when the X-Men were on duty- was conceivably ageless, the way she was able to change her appearance at will. Even in her natural blue state, in the flowing white dress that was her compromise to modesty, she looked exactly as she had several decades earlier.
Once, Charles had been sure that he had lost both of them forever, more painful than the loss of his legs, the weight of it threatening to crush him. But then, one morning no different than any of the previous mornings, he had opened the front door to find Erik standing there, helmet gone and suitcase in hand, followed by Pietro and a young woman who turned out to be his twin, Wanda.
Erik would never completely be able to give up his desire to protect mutantkind from the darker side of humanity, but after learning that the twins were his children, he was more willing to compromise, less willing to leave a trail of bodies in his wake. And once Charles had learned to let go of his anger, to accept his new limitations, he found that he was less willing to accept the slow pace of mutant acceptance, more willing to let Erik encourage their students’ more offensive skills.
They still fought, of course- how could they not, being who they were?- but now those fights only served to make them stronger, knowing that when they finally agreed, whatever they decided must be the right answer.
Charles had watched their family grow, as Raven returned with baby Kurt and reconnected with Hank, both of them having found peace in their blue skin. He saw Kurt become big brother to little Lottie- Charlotte, named in his honor- who had her father’s increased strength and the ability to change her hair color at will. Slowly, Charles found himself turning more and more of the actual running of the school to Wanda and Pietro, and to Ororo, as they grew into confident adults.
It was a vastly different world than the violent mutant-against-human war he’d glimpsed from Logan’s mind, and Charles could not have been more grateful.
THE END
Current Mood:
frustrated
Author: Ami Ven
Rating: G
Word Count: 1,035
Fandom: X-Men (movie ‘verse)
Pairing(s): Charles Xavier/Erik Lehnsherr, minor Raven Darkholme/Hank McCoy, Wanda Maximoff/Kurt Wagner
Setting: immediately after Days of Future Past
Summary: After Logan returns to the future, Charles welcomes his family home.
Welcome Home
Charles watched Logan walk down the hallway, radiating surprise and wonder for each person he passed. His memories of this timeline- Charles couldn’t help thinking of it as the ‘proper’ timeline- should begin to overtake the memories of his previous life, leaving no more trace than a particularly vivid dream. And, given the images that Charles had gotten from even a cursory look into Logan’s mind, he thought that was probably a good thing.
Logan rounded the corner, out of sight, and Charles turned to wheel himself back to his desk, only to pause as a familiar presence in his mind, never completely gone, brightened with proximity. Smiling, he turned his wheelchair toward the main hall, arriving just as the front door opened.
“Welcome home, my friend.”
Erik’s mind reached out for his, even before the other man smiled in return. “Hello, Charles. Don’t tell me you missed me after only a day?”
“Desperately,” said Charles, deadpan, but they both knew that it was the truth.
He waited for Erik to hang up his coat and hat, then held out his hand. Erik took it, resting his other hand on the arm of Charles’s wheelchair as he leaned in for a kiss.
“What, no welcome for your sister?” asked an amused voice, and Erik straightened to scowl at Raven.
She just grinned back and leaned down to kiss Charles’s cheek. “Everything went well, Charles. One of the kids, the one who can sense emotions- what’d you call him, an empath?- he’s all set to start next semester. And the girl who can grow those crystals is seriously thinking about it. I left her some information, and I promised I’d call her sometime next week.”
Charles smiled. “Excellent work, Raven,” he began, then paused as the sound of heels on the hardwood floor announced another arrival.
“Did you have them fill out the right forms?” the woman demanded.
Erik smiled. “Hello, Wanda, my dear.”
“What? Oh, hi, Dad. Hi, Aunt Raven. I’m serious about those forms, Dad. There are laws about running a school, even a school for mutants, and I’m the one who has to deal with it.”
“Forms?” said Erik, feigning confusion, until Wanda glared at him. “Every last one filled out, my dear,” he said, pulling a folder from his briefcase and handing it to her.
Wanda sighed and leaned a hip against Charles’s wheelchair. “See the kind of respect I get?”
“We all respect you greatly,” Charles assured her. “The school wouldn’t run half as smoothly if you weren’t here to look after us.”
“Thank you, Papa,” she said. “That’s not true at all, but I’ll take it.”
“Of course it’s true, Wanda,” said Erik. “I’m glad at least one of our children grew up to be responsible.”
“Unlike my children,” said Raven, smiling. “Have Hank and Lottie left the lab at all while I was gone?”
“Kurt teleported them both out for dinner last night,” said Charles, smiling back. “So at least one of yours is responsible, as well.”
“I will assume you mean me, Uncle Charles,” said Kurt, teleporting in beside them.
The toddler in his arms waved tiny blue fingers at her mother, and Wanda took her. “Look, T.J., your grandfather is home,” she said. “And your grandmother.”
“Remind me why I let you marry this miscreant?” Erik muttered, even as he ruffled three-year-old Talia’s hair.
“Ah, you love me, Uncle Erik,” Kurt said, brightly. “I’m your favorite nephew and your favorite son-in-law.”
“You are my only one of either,” said Erik. “So by that logic, you are also my least favorite.”
“Our family tree is a nightmare,” Raven said, cheerfully. “I blame you, Charles.”
He smiled. “As usual, then. Talia, love, please don’t eat your mother’s paperwork.”
Erik lifted the girl by the metal fastenings on her overalls, and set her in Charles’s lap, smiling at them both.
Charles settled Talia in his arms and looked around at his family. He and Erik were old men, now, gray-haired (what few traces Charles had left, at least) and wrinkled. Raven- and she was Raven again, only Mystique when the X-Men were on duty- was conceivably ageless, the way she was able to change her appearance at will. Even in her natural blue state, in the flowing white dress that was her compromise to modesty, she looked exactly as she had several decades earlier.
Once, Charles had been sure that he had lost both of them forever, more painful than the loss of his legs, the weight of it threatening to crush him. But then, one morning no different than any of the previous mornings, he had opened the front door to find Erik standing there, helmet gone and suitcase in hand, followed by Pietro and a young woman who turned out to be his twin, Wanda.
Erik would never completely be able to give up his desire to protect mutantkind from the darker side of humanity, but after learning that the twins were his children, he was more willing to compromise, less willing to leave a trail of bodies in his wake. And once Charles had learned to let go of his anger, to accept his new limitations, he found that he was less willing to accept the slow pace of mutant acceptance, more willing to let Erik encourage their students’ more offensive skills.
They still fought, of course- how could they not, being who they were?- but now those fights only served to make them stronger, knowing that when they finally agreed, whatever they decided must be the right answer.
Charles had watched their family grow, as Raven returned with baby Kurt and reconnected with Hank, both of them having found peace in their blue skin. He saw Kurt become big brother to little Lottie- Charlotte, named in his honor- who had her father’s increased strength and the ability to change her hair color at will. Slowly, Charles found himself turning more and more of the actual running of the school to Wanda and Pietro, and to Ororo, as they grew into confident adults.
It was a vastly different world than the violent mutant-against-human war he’d glimpsed from Logan’s mind, and Charles could not have been more grateful.
THE END
Current Mood:
frustrated