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When they reached the living room, the entire group was waiting for them. Everyone who had been there the night before was there, and it looked like Logan and Kitty from the current timeline had also decided they should be a part of this. The two newer additions were sitting off to one side, with Kitty sneaking constant glances at her alternate, older counterpart.
Logan was just glaring at his.
When Charles and Jamie entered, most of the group visibly relaxed; though they all held pretty significant roles in the small community of mutants that lived at Xavier Mansion, those two were the leaders.
The futures also relaxed when they saw their Charles enter behind the young couple.
It was clear that they didn't really know what to say to each other, so the older Erik didn't waste any time in asking his Charles how they were supposed to get back to their own world.
Charles sighed wearily. "Honestly I don't know," he said simply. "I have never come across a situation like this."
Shadowcat shifted uneasily. "What if we can't get back?" she wondered, glancing at the present day group.
The younger Kitty grinned. "You can stay here!"
Shadowcat looked at her younger version, idly wondering if she had ever been that hyper when she was that age, before deciding that she grew up in a different time, with a threat of war constantly hovering. This was a different timeline, and she couldn't compare herself to this reality's version of her.
The older Erik and Charles shared a look, before Charles cleared his throat. "We have broached the topic, and have been assured that we can stay here however long we need."
Some of the present group looked uncomfortable, but they weren't going to bring it up if Charles and Jamie had already approved it. The present day Logan seemed the most upset with the knowledge, but he also held his tongue, settling on simply glaring at as many of the future group that he could.
"How are we supposed to explain the situation to everyone else?" Alex asked curiously. He shrugged when they all looked at him. "If you guys end up staying for a while, people will be wondering why there's two of some of you."
He flushed a little under the scrutiny, but the younger Charles nodded understandingly. "No, you're right, Alex. We will have to come up with something."
His older counterpart shifted in his wheelchair. "Perhaps the easiest thing for us to do is find somewhere else to reside. I am certain there are houses nearby that we could rent or buy. We do not wish to cause undue stress."
"We'll think of something," younger Charles confirmed. "In the meantime, Hank, would you be willing to work with… Shadowcat," he reminded himself to use the older Kitty's codename, to distinguish them. He didn't know that Kitty, so he should maintain some distance. "… to see if you can find a solution?"
Hank nodded quickly, glancing at the time traveler, who was watching him with an expression part acceptance, part confusion. He didn't know what that meant, but he just gave Raven a quick kiss on the cheek, before he stood up and led Shadowcat out of the room.
The older Charles watched the exchange with interest. He was used to not searching for thoughts in rooms he entered, and was quite able to keep his mind to himself, so he hadn't really picked up on that relationship. He remembered a slight crush Hank had had on his sister when they had just formed their group to combat Shaw, but then Raven had left with Erik, and with the war, nothing had developed. Hank had been killed eight years ago, from his perspective, and the grief still hadn't completely left him. Hank had been a good friend, colleague, and ally.
Since it seemed that they wouldn't be discussing anything more, the present Logan immediately stood up and walked out, without a word.
Jamie rolled her eyes. "Big baby," she muttered. Charles nudged her lightly, giving her a slightly reproving look, and Jamie shook her head. "Well he is," she protested.
Charles raised an eyebrow, and Jamie huffed, annoyed.
The Logan currently in the room felt some confusion. "Am I missing something?" he asked, wondering if it was even worth asking.
Jamie glanced at him. "He's just sulking. Ignore him."
Logan shrugged. "I remember what I was like at this point. This is pretty much what I'd expect."
Jamie snorted lightly, and ignored the incredulous glances her friends shot her. "Like I said. He's sulking. He needs to grow up and realize that the whole world isn't actually out to get him. When did you figure that out?" She looked at the future Logan intently, and the Wolverine felt himself squirming under her scrutiny.
He glanced at his Charles for some help, but found the man just watching, amused.
He turned back to Jamie and shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe a couple years after I arrived at the mansion? But then, in our time, I didn't meet Charles for another thirty years or so."
Jamie looked disappointed. "Well, it was worth a shot," she grumbled. Charles nudged her with his elbow, and she pushed him back. "On the bright side, this is a different reality, so maybe there's still hope for him."
Angel and Raven laughed, while the rest looked amused.
After another minute, Raven excused herself to go watch Hank work, and see if she could help at all.
Azazel and Riptide decided to leave as well; they promised to come back soon, saying their goodbyes quickly, almost ignoring the future group, still unsure about the whole situation.
Moira followed them out, intent on heading up to her room to catch up on some much needed rest and relaxation.
The rest of the group settled in once more, unsure of what to do with themselves, but not having a ready-made excuse to get out of the room, since they didn't really have any pressing concerns at the moment.
After a few minutes of awkward silence, Logan turned to Alex. "So you're Alex Summers, right?"
Alex nodded slowly. "Yeah…" There was an implied question there, as he wondered how he knew Logan in the other timeline, and if they had a cordial relationship, something he doubted by the way the man was looking at him now.
Logan tilted his head slightly to the side. "Your brother talked about you a lot."
Alex's expression didn't clear. "You know Scott?"
Logan nodded. "Yeah." He frowned, remembering Scott. And of course, when he remembered Scott, he couldn't help but think of Jean.
Alex leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "Did he do something to you? You don't seem to have fond memories."
Logan shrugged, his gaze falling to the floor. "We had a… complicated relationship. He was a good man, we just didn't really get along too well."
Alex pursed his lips. "Was. I take it he didn't make it?" He looked around at the futures, and they all nodded sadly. He turned back to Logan. "I take it I didn't make it either."
Charles was the one to answer, his voice sad as he thought about all of the friends he had lost over the years. "I am afraid that we lost you rather early on, Alex. Your last request of me was to find your brother and keep him safe." He looked away, focusing instead on the far wall. "I always felt guilty that I failed in that request, in the end."
Alex swallowed. "What happened?" he asked, hoping his voice didn't sound as shaky as he thought it did.
None of the futures answered immediately, but after a moment, Jamie bit her lip. "You don't want to know," she said quietly.
The futures looked at her sharply, but she just shook her head sadly. She could see the events as they had played out in their timeline, and Alex didn't need to know everything.
Alex looked at her, wanting to snap at her to stay out of it, that it was his brother. But seeing the look on her face, he decided not to push. She was one of his best friends, practically like his honorary sister. If she was telling him he didn't want to know, she probably had a good reason.
Logan was surprised when Alex didn't push for more information. It was just more evidence of how important Jamie was to these people and this timeline. He swallowed, and forced himself to remember the good things about Scott, and try and find something he could share with Summers' older brother. He had never known Alex, but Scott had mentioned him a few times, always things about how much he missed his older brother, and how Alex had been his best friend. How much he wished he could have had a chance to see his brother again.
"Can you tell me anything about him?" Alex asked curiously. "I mean, I know what he's like here, I'm just curious about the differences. This is just… weird," he finished lamely.
Charles and Jamie shared a look as they tried not to laugh, remembering how Jamie had been describing the experience just a little while ago.
The future Charles looked at Logan, before he leaned forward slightly. "Scott was a fine young man," he assured Alex. "He was a great friend and a powerful ally."
"Did he have a lot of friends?" Alex asked.
Charles smiled softly, remembering the man he had spent many years fighting alongside. "He did. He taught at the school for a while, and many of his students and colleagues praised him. He also –" Charles cut himself off and glanced at Logan. When the Wolverine nodded resignedly, the telepath continued. "He had a fiancée. From what I could see, they were very much in love."
Alex swallowed. His brother was currently a teenager. Alex wasn't quite ready to deal with girlfriends, let alone fiancées. "What was her name?"
"… Jean," was the soft reply, from Logan. When Alex looked at him, he cleared his throat. "Her name was Jean. She was a wonderful person."
Alex frowned. It was pretty obvious to him that Logan had had feelings for this 'Jean' as well. Was that why he wasn't the biggest fan of Scott?
As if sensing his thoughts, Logan looked up, and shrugged. "That's part of why I respected him so much," he admitted. "He knew how I felt about his fiancée, but he never let that stop him from having my back. We did get along, after a while. We just never became great friends."
Alex nodded slowly. "Thanks for telling me," he said softly settling back into his seat. His expression was nearly unreadable, but Jamie hoped he wouldn't brood about the information he had just learned.
The younger Charles cleared his throat. "We have yet to find this Jean," he commented idly. "We will certainly keep an eye out."
"If Alex doesn't get to her first," Sean chuckled.
Alex glared at his friend, while Jamie rolled her eyes, only slightly amused. She could see the events as they had played out for the Charles and Logan of the future. It hadn't been pretty, and she could see how this Jean had affected all of them, even after her death.
"So what happened to her?" the present Erik asked curiously.
The older Charles shared a look with Logan, before he sighed wearily. "She was killed many years ago," he admitted. "Her death hit us all, and is not something we wish to discuss."
Erik didn't look satisfied, but glanced at Jamie, and when she shook her head slightly, he dropped the subject.
Logan appeared to be very relieved, as he stood up and muttered an excuse that none of them heard, before he left the room.
After another moment, Angel stood up as well, and headed off in search of something interesting to amuse her for the rest of the day. Jamie knew that meant she was going to go bother some of the other mutants with similar powers, until they agreed to a version of aerial tag. Sean, also knowing what the older woman was planning, quickly followed her out, pointedly ignoring Jamie's badly hidden snort of amusement.
When the futures looked at her, she shook her head.
The younger Charles rolled his eye and placed an arm around her shoulders, smiling contentedly. He didn't really know how to react to the whole idea of another reality out there, where so many of his friends were gone. But there was one thing he did know, and that was that being faced with a much more world-weary and lonely version of him had made him grateful for all that he had in this timeline.
Jamie, hearing his thoughts, looked up at him and grinned. She leaned up to give him a kiss, which he accepted and returned eagerly.
The present day Erik coughed pointedly, and then resorted to shoving Charles when the couple ignored him.
Charles leaned back and glared at his friend, but Erik just shrugged. "If you two are going to have make out sessions based on mental conversations, you can do it somewhere else."
Charles and Jamie looked at each other for a moment, and then stood up and left the room.
Erik rolled his eyes. "They'll be occupied for a while," he informed the futures.
"I take it they do this often?" Charles asked, trying not to smile.
Erik huffed, annoyed. On the other sofa, Alex wore an expression halfway between annoyance and amusement. "I thought they'd calm down eventually. They've been together for three years."
"When is the wedding?" Charles asked, curiously. He hoped he could get to know the woman the alternate him was so in love with, since she appeared to be such an anchor in this timeline.
Alex shrugged. "Don't ask them that. They don't seem to be in a huge rush." He and Erik shared a knowing look, remembering how they had found out about the engagement. It had been nearly four days after the fact, and the only reason they even knew at all was because Raven had spotted it on Jamie's finger and made a big deal out of it. After a moment of silence, the younger man sighed. "They're not really big into labels. I was actually a little surprised Charles even proposed; that doesn't mean I think they'll break up or anything, I just wouldn't expect an actual wedding any time soon. The way they see it, they're together, they're in love, and that's all that matters."
Charles nodded slowly; he supposed that wasn't too different from himself. He wasn't huge on the concept of marriage, even if he had managed to find someone to share forever with.
Erik growled, glaring at the door, even though the couple was long gone. "They should have the decency to at least think of us, as well."
His older counterpart glanced at him, concerned and a little confused. He had thought that this reality's Erik and Charles were better friends than he and his Charles had been at this point in time; he wasn't sure why the younger man was so disgruntled right now. Wasn't he used to it?
Erik returned his gaze to the group in the living room. "If we have to put up with it all the time, we should get something out of it. How many chances am I going to get to be best man?"
Alex snorted, and then covered his mouth with one hand. A second later, he appeared to give up trying to control it, and started laughing.
The future Erik and Charles looked at each other, bemused.
After a few moments, Alex managed to get himself under control. "It must be difficult for you, Erik. Please, you should let them know how you feel. Can I be there when you do it?"
Erik's glare intensified, but the younger man just shrugged it off, still amused.
With a nearly inaudible huff, the metal bender stood up and stalked out of the room.
Alex rolled his eyes. "If you guys are good, I'm going to go find Scott. He promised me his History report was finished, but I have a feeling he's lying to me."
Charles inclined his head, and watched as Alex walked out, leaving him and Erik alone.
"Were we ever that youthful?" Erik asked absentmindedly.
Charles sighed. "We were too busy fighting each other and the world to enjoy what we had in front of us," he admitted. "It was a mistake, but perhaps coming here was the best thing we could have done. It is refreshing, and I will admit to no small amount of jealousy over the life another me is living."
Erik chuckled dryly. "I am relieved to know that somewhere out there is a me who made the right choices. You are right, of course. No matter what happens when and if we get back to our own time, I will take comfort in the knowledge that there is a reality where our friendship survived, as did our friends."
Charles nodded his agreement. "I find myself unable to decide whether or not I want Kitty to find us a way back."
"I think we all feel that way, my friend," Erik assured him. "But until we know whether or not it is possible, there's no use worrying. Shall we explore our former home?"
Charles agreed, and the pair left the living room, deciding to spend the day outside, enjoying the relaxed and peaceful atmosphere, after spending so much time hiding and running, always wary of being outdoors.
XXX
After a week of experimentation and research, Hank and Shadowcat had to admit defeat. There were only so many times they could go back and forth discussing the same failed solutions before succumbing to the fact that they just couldn't get the future group back to their own time.
Of course, none of them were too worried about it, since quite frankly, they were much happier in this timeline, without all the war and death.
Once they accepted that they couldn't go back to their own reality, the younger Charles made an official announcement to the school, explaining the situation. Surprisingly – or not, considering – no one questioned it, and accepted the fact that there were a group of people who had come from the future, and would be staying pretty much permanently.
The older Charles and Erik agreed that they didn't want to stay in the mansion full time, since it wasn't their timeline, and they really didn't belong. Together with the younger Charles, they worked to find a suitable house nearby, and within a month, the group from the future had moved out of Xavier Mansion. They still visited from time to time, but they were busy acclimating themselves to a peaceful world.
Shadowcat spent more of her time at the mansion, as she had indicated her desire to return to a teaching position, something she had enjoyed before the school had closed many years earlier in her own time.
The two Logans definitely did not get along, but thankfully, the future Logan understood, and stayed away from the mansion as much as possible, so as not to alienate the current Logan, who, for all his grumbling, still hadn't left Westchester, something Charles and Jamie considered progress.
It wasn't exactly comfortable, but it worked.
It was strange, knowing that there were two of you living in one reality, but all in all, Charles and Erik thought they were handling it. It helped Erik to know that he had made wiser choices than his counterpart, and was, in fact, living a far better life.
Charles just tried to avoid engaging in lengthy conversation with his, since it mostly just gave him a headache.
Jamie thought it was amusing, but those who knew her well – mostly Charles – knew that she was more affected than she let on. It was sobering to hear about how badly things had ended up in that other reality, but Jamie had seen it, experienced it through the eyes of those who had lived it.
They talked about it a little, but for the most part, they just tried to get used to it and move on.
And after a while, they did. As a few weeks passed, and then a few months, the hype of having these time travelers in their midst calmed down, and the students refocused on their studies.
Kitty was still excited about the idea of being taught by a future her, but the newness of the idea had died down. Within six months, it was almost as if these people had always been around.
Even though they weren't living at the mansion, they came by frequently, so the students and teachers were used to their presence.
Logan made it a couple more months before he left, feeling very uncomfortable with the idea of another him nearby. But, he did leave some of his belongings in the room he used whenever he was in residence, so Charles and Jamie knew he would be back.
So it was strange, and awkward, and none of them really knew what to say when they ran into each other – and they did run into each other; even if they weren't living in the mansion, they spent their time there, embracing a happy scene, without the pain and fear and death that had surrounded them in another time, fifty years down the road.
They stopped trying to find a way back, even the cursory research that had sprung up when Hank and Shadowcat had admitted that they couldn't do it. After all, what did they have to return to?
And even if they did, there really was no way to get back.
So they moved on. The group from the future resettled themselves into life, working hard to remember what things were like at that time, and being careful not to divulge any future knowledge that could have disastrous effects. Only the core group from the present knew the details of the war, and they weren't pushing for more information.
The present-day Charles implored them to refrain from asking questions, citing the dangers of having that information.
And because they trusted Charles, they obeyed his request.
So yeah, it wasn't easy, but it worked.
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