Title: Sunset
Series: Movies – Post X1/Pre X2
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1,600
Characters: Jean Grey and Scott Summers (with mention of X1 young recruits and the original five)
Summary: Spring bring the young mutants outside to act like teenagers, an activity they rarely have a chance to engage in anymore. Jean reflects on her students' future and her past.
Disclaimer: Don't own 'em. 'Nuff said.

XxXxX

Jean sits looking out the window from her bedroom at her young charges enjoying the early spring weather.

Peter is under the great tree painting while Kitty is attempting to lure him away to play the massive game of tag the others have started. Although considered too old to play such a game, the running and chasing takes on a new meaning during one's adolescent years. A simple game of cat and mouse becomes a mating ritual. She can always tell who the students' crushes are for the season by whom they choose to chase.

As is expected, she sees Bobby running after a fully clothed Rogue. Her reaction shows her attraction as she blushes once he pins her to the ground, her newly white streaked hair getting in her eyes. With his crush thoroughly trapped beneath him, Bobby is unable to hide a smile as he stares into her brown eyes.

An outspoken Jubilation Lee doesn't wait to be chased but rather takes matters into her own hands. She is chasing John around the fountain unsuccessfully trying to catch her target using her mutant abilities, apparently seeking revenge on Pyro for attempting to set her yellow leather jacket afire.

With the hint of a smile, Jean shakes her head at the all too familiar antics.

It seems like only yesterday she was out on the lawn during an evening such as this with her classmates. Inhaling, she takes in the smell of the newly cut grass and remembers.

Hank McCoy a strapping young man with a football player's build would be outside playing Frisbee. Although lacking his now characteristic blue fur and feline features, he was never without his abnormally large hands and feet, which used in conjunction with his uncanny agility, made him a more than respectable companion for the sport.

Joining Hank on the lawn would undoubtedly be a much younger Bobby Drake. Classified early in life as an Omega-level mutant, Bobby's powers developed pre-puberty. With parents unaccepting of his powers, the Professor did what he'd done for them all and offered him a life at the Institute. He's considered himself at home ever since and now tries to offer the same comfort for others, like Rogue.

Warren Worthington III would be in the only spot he called home – the sky. Here parental demands didn't matter, and he could truly be himself. Soaring and tumbling through the clouds brought life into Warren's eyes in a way that even his lady friends couldn't achieve.

When Hank – still not familiar with the bounds of his enhanced physical strength – would throw the Frisbee too high for Bobby to catch, Warren would swoop down ever so gracefully and grab it from the clutches of the wind, teasing Bobby all the while.

As usual, Jean would defend Bobby. She'd be on her way to visit Scott Summers, the quiet leader, who would be sitting where Peter is now under the great oak tree. Rather than painting through, Scott would be watching the sunset in shades of red, deep in thought.

Back in those days, she didn't quite know what to make of their fearless leader. She has more of a handle on him now, but he still manages to surprise her on occasion – not an easy feat when engaged to a telepath and essentially raised by another.

At that time, in the shade of the oak leafs, Jean was coy. She would stand at the tree and comment on the sunset, startling Scott out of his daydream. She would then giggle and tease him for being so serious all the time. He'd try to refute it, but both knew the young telepath was right.

She'd also been right regarding the young man's feelings toward her, but this was not the time when either of them would make a confession of the heart. This was an evening where Jean and her classmates soaked up the last few rays of sunlight before being forced inside by darkness and mosquitoes. An evening where they enjoyed being children, too young to appreciate how easy life was.

Many would laugh at the reference of 'having it easy' as teenage superheroes with secret identities, but compared to now and the pressures of teaching, resisting government legislation, and thwarting Magneto's attacks, being 17 seemed like a walk in the park.

Looking down and refocusing her eyes, Jean can't believe how young the students appear to her from the second story window. She can't help but wonder if they'll be prepared for the fight she's sure they'll have to face in their future.

Liberty Island was only the beginning. There will be many more battles to come. For that, she is sure.

The push for the Mutant Registration Act is growing in popularity after Magneto illustrated the harm some mutants pose. She's sure her recent testimony to Congress did little to sway their firmly held anti-mutant beliefs, but it wasn't through lack of effort.

She'd spent endless nights preparing for Washington, trapping herself in her office and only stirring to get more coffee or to visit the restroom. It had gotten to the point that she'd requested Ororo pick her up an extra coffeemaker one Saturday when running into town, just so she wouldn't have to take the time going upstairs to the kitchen.

Scott hadn't been pleased by her unhealthy addiction she'd picked up – again. It had taken him years to get her to ease off the coffee after medical school, but he knew the gravity of the situation and did little more than drop occasional hints of his displeasure, which she politely ignored.

She had hoped to convince Congress that not all mutants were destined for acts of the most despicable and unethical nature. How could Congress believe her adolescent students before her are a threat to society? All they want out of life is the same thing all teenagers crave: love and acceptance.

Magneto is using these sought after emotions to recruit his Brotherhood. These disgraceful tactics are all too fruitful. His numbers are growing quickly, and Xavier is beginning to refer to the Brotherhood as an army.

Often she's walked into the Professor's office and heard Scott and Charles discussing the issue. There have been efforts to up recruitment in hopes of getting to the X-gene teenagers before Erik. But she fears even the enrolled students will soon have to make a choice and pick which side of the line they choose to stand. Magneto offers power through force; whereas, the Professor promotes peace through educated acceptance.

Long ago Jean and her classmates were faced with the same decision. It had been an easy one for her, thanks to the teachings and guidance of Professor Xavier. Without him, she's sure she'd still be trapped in a million other people's minds in a psych ward somewhere upstate.

With arms crossed, hugging herself, she watches the last few minutes of the setting sun. As the young mutants head inside for the night, Jean now knows the trepidation and fears the Professor must have had for his first class. She shares the same now for her new recruits, and hopes she's doing enough.

"There you are."

The sound of her lover's voice, now deeper and more confident than the boy's she used to watch the sunset with, startles her off Memory Lane.

"The sun is setting," she says.

The wistfulness of her voice causes Scott Summers to approach the window, knowing her comment is not really about the impinging twilight. Facing her, he raises a hand and brushes away a loose strand of hair as an excuse that he doesn't need to touch her. He still has nights where he wakes up surprised to see her slender body in bed curled up next to him.

"Only here. The sun is rising somewhere else, and it will be back again tomorrow. A new day brings new possibilities."

"That's true, I guess." Tucking her hands under her chin, she leans into his embrace, letting the warmth of his arms surround her. He is her rock, her unwavering support. "Do you think we're doing enough?"

He tries to hide his smirk without releasing his hold of her. "Enough of what exactly?"

"For the students. We owe so much to the Professor for all he's done for us. Are we doing the same for John and Rogue? The others?"

"What else would you like to do?"

"I don't know," she sighs. "It just doesn't seem like enough."

Scott knows she has fears for the future. There have been nights where he's awaken to the whole bedroom shaking, their personal belongings floating around the room as a result of another one of her nightmares. He lifts her chin up with his fingers so he can look into her eyes, "Now that sounds like something I would say."

A forced smile crosses her face, because he's right. She doesn't like feeling this way.

"What would you say to me?"

She smiles. "You've dedicated your heart and soul to the Institute, and it shows. So stop being a worrywart?"

He nods once. "Sounds about right." Pulling her back into his arms, he continues. "The same goes for you, you know."

"How does the Professor do it? He makes it look so easy."

"He opened the door for us all, but we had to be the ones to walk through."

"Love and acceptance," she muses.

"Exactly." He kisses her forehead. "Now, the kids are insisting on game night. Kitty's threatening Trivial Pursuit, and the new guy – Remy – wants to play cards. But if you ask me, he's really hoping for strip poker once we go to bed. Though I think we can talk them into something everyone will play. Maybe Scattergories or Taboo? Are you interested?"

Jean laughs. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."