Before (2/3)
Fandom: X-Men (Movieverse).
Characters: Charles Xavier/Professor X, Raven/Mystique.
Genre/pairing: Angst, Friendship. Gen.
Rating: K.
Summary: Because, before it all happened, they had each other.
Fairytales
Raven had never believed in fairytales; they were for pretty girls, ones with a smooth skin and soft hair. What prince would ever kiss a blue girl with yellow eyes to wake her up from a cursed sleep? And yet, when she’d seen the huge mansion beyond the ornate gates, her first thought had been that it looked just like an enchanted castle.
Sneaking inside had been easy; no-one had stopped her during her short trek among the elegant corridors - maybe the castle was abandoned? But it was so well kept, she mused, staring in awe at all the golden frames of the paintings, at the fancy vases, at the rich drapes that obscured tall windows. She walked slowly, as if afraid to disrupt the illusion. A photo hanging on the wall showed a beautiful lady in a rich dress smiling politely; next to it, the same lady stood next to a boy about her age. Raven smiled wistfully, envying the lucky boy who had a mother; she had no idea who her mother was, but surely she hadn’t loved her daughter, since she’d abandoned the blue baby at the orphanage - probably disgusted with her appearance, the other kids had teased her.
She shook herself out of her thoughts, setting back onto her task. There was a fridge in the kitchen, full of all kinds of food and drinks. It was so much, Raven didn’t even know where to start; it would be enough to feed all the children at the orphanage - but she would never share anything she found with them, because they were mean and she’d run away from them.
A noise started her and made her instinctively take the appearance of the woman in the photo. When the young son walked in armed with a baseball bat, ready to defend the house from burglars, she smiled the same smile she’d seen in the picture and sent him back to bed like she imagined a mother would.
Distrust morphed on the boy’s face.
“Who are you? And what have you done with my mother?”
She was about to repeat her offer of hot chocolate when a voice of which she couldn’t identify the source filled her mind. It sounded disturbingly similar to the boy’s.
My mother has never set foot in this kitchen in her life. And she certainly never made me a hot chocolate. Unless you count ordering the maid to do it.
Her control slipped, she could feel her body shrink into that of the ten-year-old she really was - the blue ten-year-old she really was.
The boy, though, just widened his eyes in surprise. And smiled to her.
“You’re not scared of me?” she asked. Maybe it really was just an illusion; some spell that a fairy had casted onto the castle.
“I always believed I couldn’t be the only one in the world. The only person who was different. And here you are.” The boy took a step toward her. “Charles Xavier.” He solemnly offered her his hand to shake.
“Raven,” she timidly answered.
“You’re hungry and alone,” he stated, and she wondered how he knew. “Take whatever you want. We’ve got lots of food, you don’t have to steal. In fact, you never have to steal again.”
And Raven didn’t care anymore if it was a spell. Maybe fairytales really did exist, after all.
He brought her to his room, and they slept side by side in a bed big enough to contain four more children, among fresh and soft linens that smelled of soap. In the morning, he announced he would introduce her to the staff working at the mansion; she’d assumed the look of a blond-haired, pink-faced little girl to make things easier for him, and he’d smiled at her thoughtfulness, making her feel appreciated.
The boy hadn’t needed to ask for permission to have his new friend - friend, Raven repeated that word to herself over and over, savouring its taste in her mouth; she’d never had a friend before - stay at the mansion: he’d told the maid to prepare a room for her and to set the table for two when it was time for breakfast, and the woman had just nodded and obeyed. The young prince of the castle had limitless power over his little reign.
“Do they know?” Raven asked as he’d passed her a buttered piece of toast. There was so much food on the table; did they expect two children to eat that much? Or were they expecting someone else? But no-one ever came.
“About my gift?” The boy poured tea in two china cups and offered her one. “No.” He looked sad. “I tried to tell my mother, but it was too hard to explain and I gave up,” he answered hiding a world of pain behind his words. She wondered where the pretty lady from the photo was, why she wasn’t having breakfast with her son; why she’d never made hot chocolate for him. Mothers were supposed to love their children, right? Unless they were blue and disgusting like her.
“You’re not disgusting,” Charles gently reprimanded her unvoiced thoughts, but she just couldn’t wrap her mind around that strange situation.
Maybe it’s because he too is different, she reasoned to herself, and then felt guilty because maybe he had heard that as well. But he didn’t comment; and she thought that he’d probably come to the same conclusion; there were no dragons or evil witches: the main villain to this fairytale was an unloving mother that refused to acknowledge her very child’s existence.
She ate her breakfast, and then Charles asked the maid to take the two of them to town so Raven could buy new clothes.
“It will be easier to keep your disguise if you don’t have to focus on clothes as well,” he reasoned, and for a moment Raven felt disappointed: she’d thought she could be herself with him. But he hastened to reassure her: “It’s only when there are grown-ups around. You can be blue when you’re with me.”
Maybe, with a pretty pink dress, even a blue girl could look like a princess.
(XXX)
This was actually the first chapter I wrote. As I said in the opening notes, this was supposed to be a different story entirely, but it just didn’t work, you know? So I started writing about Charles and his just manifesting powers and the two stories merged into one.
Anyway, I LOVED the kitchen scene at the beginning of XMFC. I want an entire movie on that scene XD
Characters: Charles Xavier/Professor X, Raven/Mystique.
Genre/pairing: Angst, Friendship. Gen.
Rating: K.
Summary: Because, before it all happened, they had each other.
Fairytales
Raven had never believed in fairytales; they were for pretty girls, ones with a smooth skin and soft hair. What prince would ever kiss a blue girl with yellow eyes to wake her up from a cursed sleep? And yet, when she’d seen the huge mansion beyond the ornate gates, her first thought had been that it looked just like an enchanted castle.
Sneaking inside had been easy; no-one had stopped her during her short trek among the elegant corridors - maybe the castle was abandoned? But it was so well kept, she mused, staring in awe at all the golden frames of the paintings, at the fancy vases, at the rich drapes that obscured tall windows. She walked slowly, as if afraid to disrupt the illusion. A photo hanging on the wall showed a beautiful lady in a rich dress smiling politely; next to it, the same lady stood next to a boy about her age. Raven smiled wistfully, envying the lucky boy who had a mother; she had no idea who her mother was, but surely she hadn’t loved her daughter, since she’d abandoned the blue baby at the orphanage - probably disgusted with her appearance, the other kids had teased her.
She shook herself out of her thoughts, setting back onto her task. There was a fridge in the kitchen, full of all kinds of food and drinks. It was so much, Raven didn’t even know where to start; it would be enough to feed all the children at the orphanage - but she would never share anything she found with them, because they were mean and she’d run away from them.
A noise started her and made her instinctively take the appearance of the woman in the photo. When the young son walked in armed with a baseball bat, ready to defend the house from burglars, she smiled the same smile she’d seen in the picture and sent him back to bed like she imagined a mother would.
Distrust morphed on the boy’s face.
“Who are you? And what have you done with my mother?”
She was about to repeat her offer of hot chocolate when a voice of which she couldn’t identify the source filled her mind. It sounded disturbingly similar to the boy’s.
My mother has never set foot in this kitchen in her life. And she certainly never made me a hot chocolate. Unless you count ordering the maid to do it.
Her control slipped, she could feel her body shrink into that of the ten-year-old she really was - the blue ten-year-old she really was.
The boy, though, just widened his eyes in surprise. And smiled to her.
“You’re not scared of me?” she asked. Maybe it really was just an illusion; some spell that a fairy had casted onto the castle.
“I always believed I couldn’t be the only one in the world. The only person who was different. And here you are.” The boy took a step toward her. “Charles Xavier.” He solemnly offered her his hand to shake.
“Raven,” she timidly answered.
“You’re hungry and alone,” he stated, and she wondered how he knew. “Take whatever you want. We’ve got lots of food, you don’t have to steal. In fact, you never have to steal again.”
And Raven didn’t care anymore if it was a spell. Maybe fairytales really did exist, after all.
He brought her to his room, and they slept side by side in a bed big enough to contain four more children, among fresh and soft linens that smelled of soap. In the morning, he announced he would introduce her to the staff working at the mansion; she’d assumed the look of a blond-haired, pink-faced little girl to make things easier for him, and he’d smiled at her thoughtfulness, making her feel appreciated.
The boy hadn’t needed to ask for permission to have his new friend - friend, Raven repeated that word to herself over and over, savouring its taste in her mouth; she’d never had a friend before - stay at the mansion: he’d told the maid to prepare a room for her and to set the table for two when it was time for breakfast, and the woman had just nodded and obeyed. The young prince of the castle had limitless power over his little reign.
“Do they know?” Raven asked as he’d passed her a buttered piece of toast. There was so much food on the table; did they expect two children to eat that much? Or were they expecting someone else? But no-one ever came.
“About my gift?” The boy poured tea in two china cups and offered her one. “No.” He looked sad. “I tried to tell my mother, but it was too hard to explain and I gave up,” he answered hiding a world of pain behind his words. She wondered where the pretty lady from the photo was, why she wasn’t having breakfast with her son; why she’d never made hot chocolate for him. Mothers were supposed to love their children, right? Unless they were blue and disgusting like her.
“You’re not disgusting,” Charles gently reprimanded her unvoiced thoughts, but she just couldn’t wrap her mind around that strange situation.
Maybe it’s because he too is different, she reasoned to herself, and then felt guilty because maybe he had heard that as well. But he didn’t comment; and she thought that he’d probably come to the same conclusion; there were no dragons or evil witches: the main villain to this fairytale was an unloving mother that refused to acknowledge her very child’s existence.
She ate her breakfast, and then Charles asked the maid to take the two of them to town so Raven could buy new clothes.
“It will be easier to keep your disguise if you don’t have to focus on clothes as well,” he reasoned, and for a moment Raven felt disappointed: she’d thought she could be herself with him. But he hastened to reassure her: “It’s only when there are grown-ups around. You can be blue when you’re with me.”
Maybe, with a pretty pink dress, even a blue girl could look like a princess.
(XXX)
This was actually the first chapter I wrote. As I said in the opening notes, this was supposed to be a different story entirely, but it just didn’t work, you know? So I started writing about Charles and his just manifesting powers and the two stories merged into one.
Anyway, I LOVED the kitchen scene at the beginning of XMFC. I want an entire movie on that scene XD