They hadn't seen him in a few months. They'd moved out and moved on. But they knew he'd been sick when they left, but they knew he was in good hands at the hospital.
That was why it hit them like a tonne of bricks when they found out. They'd been sitting in the living room of their apartment, watching some stupid show. They never really watched anything interesting.
Kurt had heard a knock at the door and went to answer it. He had been holding a glass of water, and he cracked the door open a little to check who it was. He stepped back and pulled it all the way open when he saw it was Storm.
Storm had stepped into the apartment, a solemn look on her striking features and her white hair looking dishevelled, like she hadn't been sleeping. A look of concern had soon stretched across Kurt and Scott's faces, wondering what was wrong. The words that came out of the weather witch's mouth caused them to freeze.
"It's the Professor." she had said softly. "He... he passed away this morning." That was all it took for the woman to begin crying again. Kurt wasn't able to move. He had dropped his glass of water and just froze up. Scott had managed to get up and rush over to her, letting her cry on his shoulder.
Scott would never admit it openly, but while Storm was crying, a few tears strayed down his own cheeks. He wasn't much of a crier, but this was different.
When Kurt finally unfroze, he joined the group hug, feeling tears welling in his golden eyes. The Professor had meant so much to him; Charles had taken him in as one of his students, gave him a home, and treated him like a normal person and not a blue demon.
Finally, Kurt broke down. Storm had begun to calm, but Kurt just went off. Both Scott and Storm wrapped him in a tight hug and let him cry. He was shaking badly as he cried, a few sniffles making their way out of him.
Once he had calmed down, Scott invited Storm to go sit on the couch with them to talk. He knew they all needed it.
"When... when did it happen?" Kurt asked, voice waivering.
"4:11 this morning." Storm told them. "It was... almost peaceful, the way he died. No pain, no anguish. Just like he was falling asleep."
Scott nodded slowly as she spoke. "At least he's at peace now."
Kurt leaned heavily on Scott, wiping his eyes on the back of his hand. "When's the service?" he asked, knowing he had to go. He couldn't bring himself not to. He knew that Scott would want to go too. The Professor was the closest thing he'd had to family since the accident, even if Alex was actually alive.
Storm nodded softly. "In his last few hours, we had made plans for his funeral, if it came to his passing." she told them, voice gentle. "He would like you two to speak, as well as Jean. Evan won't come away from the Morlocks, and Rogue and Kitty are too shaken up to even try."
Kurt and Scott nodded at the same time. "Of course." they said, both voices sad and broken.
They sat and talked a while longer, until Storm had to leave and return to the Institute, where Logan was no doubt locked in a room somewhere. The Canadian would never admit it, but he'd had a soft spot for the Professor all those years. Probably saw him like a brother.
After Storm left, Kurt teleported into the closet of their bedroom and returned with an armful of old photo albums Kitty had put together for everyone. She was a shutterbug, that one. He sat them on the coffee table and turned off the TV, which they forgot to turn off.
Scott picked up the top one, which was Kitty's first year at the Institute. It was full of pictures of the six of them laughing and having fun. They spent a good hour pouring over that one.
The next was the year the New Mutants came to the Institute. There were so many pictures of Bobby and Amara being too close to be friends, and Sam and Ray trying to one-up each other. The pictures brought happy memories to mind. However, the third on the pile was the hardest on them both.
The third album was all candid shots of the Professor, with various guest stars. The first picture was the Professor on the day Kitty had moved in. He was talking to Jean, his back to the camera. Scott gave a watery chuckle at the angle. It was tilted slightly, making it look like the floors were slanted, and that Jean was almost horizontal.
A few pictures later, and Scott was fighting back tears. It was a picture of the Professor smiling broadly, and if Scott remembered correctly, he was watching the baseball game that turned to powerball. Bobby and Jean had started it, but Amara had ended it. It had been a fun day, and even the Professor was laughing.
The next picture, and Scott had lost it. The picture showed Charles, sitting in his chair next to Scott, the angle slightly skewed. Scott remembered that day. That had been the day he found out about Alex. He looked shocked in the picture, almost angry. The Professor had a calming look on his face, and his hands were folded neatly in his lap.
Kurt placed the album on the table, flipping away from that picture, and turned to Scott. He silently pull Scott into a hug as the taller mutant cried on his shoulder. Kurt knew this was seriously affecting him, because Scott never cried. Kurt had never seen Scott cry in the eleven years he had known him, so this was serious. Who was he kidding? Of course this was serious! The Professor was dead; Kurt had a hollow feeling in his chest, like something had been removed.
Scott's glasses began to fog up as he cried, but he didn't care. He just needed to get it out of his system. Everything felt surreal, like it wasn't actually happening. Deep down, he knew it was real, but surface Scott was numb.
Scott finally stopped crying after a good half an hour of Kurt rubbing his back calmingly and trying not to cry himself. Scott pulled away and gave Kurt a peck on the cheek to convey his gratitude as best he could towards the blue mutant. Kurt was always there for him, which was part of the reason he loved him.
It had been five days since the Professor had died. The students of Institute, dressed in various black outfits, stood out on the back lawn as Logan began speaking.
"Before anything else goes down, Scott, could you come up?" he said, his voice horribly masking his sadness.
Scott stood from his seat and adjusted his glasses, heading for the place Logan had been standing. The funeral was only mutants, some from outside of the Institute. There was one cloaked in all black no one could identify standing alone at the back of the pack, not moving.
Scott finally reached the spot where Logan had vacated and cleared his throat.
"The Professor... he... he was the closest thing to family I had after my parents died. He took me in, he raised me, and he trained me. Just me and Jean for the longest time. We were like a little family. He helped me learn to be a leader, and to defend my morals and rights." he began. A few sniffles could be heard from the crowd, but no one was crying fully yet.
"Then, he introduced me to Kurt, something I would forever be grateful for. He brought Kurt into our little family, and soon after came Kitty and Evan. Rogue eventually came along too. Our little family got bigger, but the Professor never changed. He was still the strong, father-figure I knew and admired. He trained everyone and taught them to be leaders. He made sure everyone was a leader in their own right, preparing us for the backlash of our eminent exposure." he went on. He spotted Kitty rubbing her eyes, as if to dry them.
"Even after our exposure and the prior addition of nine students, he was the same. The Professor never changed, I don't think. Even during the threat of Apocalypse he was still himself. After he got sick, he stuck it out as long as he could. He refused to leave the Institute for three years after he got sick, sticking around for the students who just kept coming in." he continued. By this point, Kitty and Jean were crying softly.
"Finally, six years after he got sick, just two years ago, he let himself be admitted to be taken care of. He was in good hands, I think. The many nurses and doctors who helped him, and the near-constant presence of someone who loved him would've made him happy." Scott's voice was cracking now, wavering in sadness.
"Two years, he was being treated. Actually, two years to the day." he said, checking his watch. "He was a fighter, always fighting for or against something. He never gave up, but this time, I don't think he had a choice. He was sick, we all knew that. But he never told us with what. He wanted a private battle with whatever was hurting him, and I can respect that." Scott's eyes were starting to water at that point, and nobody could see it through his glasses.
"22 years I knew the Professor. Not once did he ever give up. I can assure you, he didn't give up on life willingly. He probably fought it to the end, until he was too weak to fight." Scott broke down. He couldn't go on anymore. He wrapped his arms around himself and just cried. Kurt went up to him to hug him tightly so he would calm down. Seeing Scott crack made a few other members of the crowd, including the mystery man at the back, to cry. Kurt was sticking it out for his speech.
Scott pulled away from Kurt and went to sit down. He just couldn't finish.
Kurt stood where Scott had, hands clasped behind his back. Clearing his throat awkwardly, a few of the crowd looked up at him.
"So, Scott can't go on, so I guess it's my turn." he said awkwardly. "Well, I met the Professor 11 years ago. He took me in after I couldn't stay in Neurhzl anymore. People were trying to kill me for just being me. The Professor didn't care that I was blue and fuzzy with a devil's tail; he accepted me for who I was, who I am. I'm going to admit this now, after 11 years. If the Professor hadn't been there for me, I probably wouldn't be standing here today." A soft gasp rang through the crowd. It's always so hurtful and weird when you find out a close friend, or in Scott's case fiance, was suicidal at one point. Especially one as bubbly and fun as Kurt.
Kurt took a minute to look at the ground to avoid the odd looks before going on. "He introduced me to amazing people, ones that would stick by me to this very day. You know who you guys are. You guys are like my family, all thanks to the Professor. He fostered unity, teamwork, and respect in every heart he touched. It's been two years to the day that the Professor was admitted, as Scott said. I was there that day, the day he was admitted. He had been really sick, could barely do anything more than breath and blink. But yet, he stayed positive, stayed happy and was just himself. Once a week, for those two years, I visited the Professor and told him new stories about what was happening around the Institute." His voice was cracking, but at least he was almost done.
"He kept his head up, kept being an optimist. I guess what I'm getting at with this is that the Professor was someone people should've looked up to and respected. I know I wanted to be more like him, so ich danke Ihnen, Herr Professor. Du warst mein Held. Mögest du in Frieden ruhen." he finished, just as the tears he was holding back came cascading down his face. He went back over to Scott, leaning heavily on him as they both tried to stop crying.
Jean hadn't been able to get up and speak after Kurt and Scott. From there, the service went along normally. The white cloth was draped over his coffin, and Logan, acting minister, gave some words about his life and normal funeral stuff. By the end of the service, after Storm had gotten up and sang a tearful 'Amazing Grace' with the aid of everyone else, Kurt and Scott had calmed down. Everyone was getting up to leave, but the man in black stayed.
Kurt and Scott stayed behind, just sitting there. The man in black paid them no mind as he stepped forward after everyone else had headed inside. He knelt beside the coffin and slipped off his hood, revealing the silvery head of hair that belonged to Magnus. Magnus had left the Institute after the Professor had been admitted. He hadn't been doing any villainy, but he wasn't doing any heroics either. It seemed he was laying low.
Kurt picked up on him muttering in German, giving a play-by-play translation.
"Charles, ich habe Sie seit mehr als einem halben Jahrhundert ist bekannt. Du warst das wertvollste Freund, den ich je gemacht habe, und du warst meine bessere Hälfte, in einem gewissen Sinn. Zwei Hälften auf ein und derselben Medaille, weißt du?" Magnus was muttering.
'Charles, I've known you for over a half century now. You've been the most valuable friend I have ever made, and you were my better half, in a sense. Two halves to the same coin, you know?' As Kurt translated, Scott frowned microscopically.
"Ich weigerte mich zu glauben, dass du tot, alten Freund. Die Nachricht hinterließ ein Loch in meinem Herzen. Ich habe nie das Gefühl, fühlte vor, auch nicht mit Magda. Wir teilten uns eine besondere Bindung, eine, die nicht in Worte fassen konnte. Ich denke, es gibt nur eine Sache, die ich sagen möchte." Magnus was getting quieter as he went, but Kurt had rather good hearing with his pointed little elf ears. His eyes were widening slowly as he translated for Scott.
'I refused to believe you were dead, old friend. The news left a hole in my heart. I've never felt this feeling before, not even with Magda. We shared a special bond, one that could not be put into words. I guess there's only one thing I'd like to say.' Scott's frown deepened ever so slightly. What could Magnus want to say?
"Ich liebte dich, Charles Xavier." Magnus finished, slipping his hood back on. He was crying now, silent tears falling down his ageing face. He wouldn't let Scott nor Kurt see his weakness, nor did he want them to hear. But he knew of Kurt's extraordinary hearing and fluency in German, so he had condemned himself.
'I loved you, Charles Xavier.' Kurt's eyes were wide, his face shocked. Even he wasn't believing his own translation, and he had been speaking German since he was a small boy. Scott was blinking rapidly after Kurt finished translating. Had Magnus actually said that? He knew Kurt wouldn't mess up the translation on purpose, he just wasn't in the joking mood. That just meant Magnus had been serious. He had loved the Professor. But what kind of love was it? Scott knew, judging on his reaction, it had been love, the kind Scott felt for Kurt.
Magnus stood and walked over to the couple. "You heard nothing." he said, voice slightly sharp, words directed at Kurt. Kurt nodded.
"I would never say anything without permission, Magneto." Kurt said softly. Magnus nodded sharply and left quickly. Kurt and Scott stood, hand in hand, heading back into the Institute.
"Ich liebe dich." Scott said, screwing up the pronunciation horribly. He had been slowly trying to learn German, and had started with simple things like 'dear', 'friend', and the line he just delivered.
"Ich liebe dich, zu." Kurt responded, leaning softly on Scott's arm. "Though, liebling, your pronunciation could use some work."
Scott just chuckled, leaning his head on top of Kurt's.