Wanda was spending a lot of time at the house with Kurt. Moira was happy that her son had such a good friend. The girls always seemed to be out with their friends. Azazel had not been on any missions recently, so they were getting a lot of time together. It was a perfect day, and they decided to go take a walk together into town.
He took her hand, as they left the garden and headed to the main street. The people who were milling around smiled at him, but Moira noticed no one really looked at her much. The ones who did scowled at them, though Azazel didn't seem to notice.
"Beautiful day," he pulled her hand up to kiss it.
"Yeah," her attention was drawn by a woman who glared at them together. "It is."
He turned his head to her. "What is wrong?"
Moira shook her head. "Nothing," she told him. She didn't want him to know about it. She knew he'd bring up them leaving again, and she didn't want that.
He quirked a brow, but they continued walking. Moira tried to simply enjoy the day and ignore any looks they were given. It was so weird to be on this side, and she had a new understanding of what her family had to go through living in her world. It made her sad that they'd ever had to experience this.
Her mind drifted to Margali in this moment as well. They hadn't even tried to reach out to her since they'd left. Moira had brought it up to Azazel a few times, but he shot her down. She left the ball in his court, though she worried for the woman. They'd been so close for so many years.
Azazel squeezed her hand, bringing her back to the present. She smiled up at him, and he smiled back. She was growing a bit uncomfortable from a few of the stares. "Let's head back to the house," she bumped up against him a bit. "How about we lay out by the pool?"
"How about we skinny dip?" he raised a brow at her with a smile.
She raised her brow back. "Let's see if we can convince Kurt to go play somewhere else."
He nodded and pulled her close, teleporting them back to the house. "Kurt!" Azazel called. The boy jogged down the stairs, Wanda following behind. "You guys go play at Wanda's house," he looked to Moira. "Mom and me have private time."
"Ugh," Kurt rolled his eyes. "Gross. Come on, Wanda." The two of them walked to the door and headed out. Moira went to see them out, about to close the door, when she saw a few people moving in to the house next door. A young girl, seeming to be about Kurt's age, and a woman wearing sunglasses. Kurt stopped with Wanda on the front lawn, staring at them. Moira stepped outside to get a better view. "Irene?"
The woman with the glasses smiled. "We'd heard you were here." Moira ran over and gave the woman a hug.
"It's so wonderful to see you!" she said. It had been far too long since they'd seen each other. A letter here and there was exchanged, but for the most part they'd lost touch. Azazel joined them, greeting Irene as well.
Moira's eyes turned to the girl. "Is this Marie?"
Irene nodded. Moira smiled and called to her son. "Kurt! Come here," the boy walked over, Wanda trailing behind hesitantly. "Do you remember Irene and Marie?"
He made a thoughtful face for a moment, then his eyes widened as Marie came over. "Marie!" he smiled at her, and gave her a hug. "I remember you, from when we were little."
Marie was a bit cautious as he hugged her, but smiled wide. "Kurt, I remember you too!" She pulled away. Moira caught a glance at Wanda as the two old friends greeted each other, and the smaller girl seemed to make an irritated face. She turned her attention back to her son, happy he was able to reunite with his friend.
"How have you been?" Irene asked them. "My God, what a silly question. How many years has it been? How are your daughters?"
"They're wonderful," Moira replied. Azazel put his arm around her. "Why don't you and Marie come over for dinner tonight? You can see the girls, you haven't even met Cynthia yet. And Christine has grown so much."
"We'd love that," Irene bit her lip. "But it's not just the two of us here."
As if announced, Mystique appeared in the doorway. Moira scowled, and she could feel Azazel tense beside her. The blue woman sauntered over and put her hand on Marie's shoulder. Her eye traveled over Kurt, and her facial expression softened just a bit. She turned to Azazel. "I didn't believe it when Magneto said you'd come back."
"Only to protect my family," he said, his voice emotionless. Kurt was looking between Mystique and his father, and then his eye glanced to his mother. She moved over to him.
"Why don't you and Wanda go on?" she suggested. He nodded and the two of them left, on the way to Wanda's home.
Mystique watched after him. "Handsome boy. What is he, twelve now?"
"Thirteen," Moira corrected.
She shook her head. "I can't believe it's been thirteen years."
Azazel turned away, heading back to the house. Moira watched after him, and then turned to Irene. "The offer stands for you and Marie," she said. With one small glance to Mystique, she turned to follow her husband.
~&Q~
The rest of the day wasn't exactly as they'd planned. Running into Mystique put Azazel into a sour attitude, and their skinny dipping plan was nixed. Which was a shame, considering this was a rare time that they were in the house alone, just the two of them.
Irene and Marie had taken them up on dinner that evening, Mystique having to meet with Magneto. It was wonderful catching up, and Moira loved that her daughters got to meet them. Especially Christine, as she'd been an infant when they'd all last seen each other. Moira loved being able to have a friend in Genosha, as to everyone else she was essentially a pariah. Mystique, for the most part, kept her distance from Moira's family.
Moira started the laundry machine and headed back up the stairs from the basement. It seemed like it was never ending. She thought as the kids got older this would subside even a bit, but it seemed to keep on at the same pace. At least it was something to keep her busy.
With a sigh, she opened the basement door into her first floor. She was a bit surprised to see Magneto's daughter sitting alone at her kitchen table. "Hi, Wanda," she greeted with a smile. "Where's Kurt?"
"He went somewhere with Azazel," she said.
"Oh," Moira replied. She was a bit surprised to see the girl here when her son wasn't.
"Actually," the girl shifted slightly. "I wanted to talk to you, Mrs. Wagner."
"Ok," Moira nodded. She moved to the refrigerator. "Do you want something to drink?"
Wanda nodded and Moira brought over a pitcher of iced tea with glasses. She grabbed a package of cookies as well. The way the girl seemed, she might need a bit of comfort. "What's up?"
She paused, and looked to Moira. "Um, Mrs. Wagner. What's it like being a human?"
She was taken aback by the question and had no idea how to answer. What was it like being a human? She didn't know what it was like to not be a human. "Why do you ask?"
"Pietro got his powers," Wanda told her. "Dad's so proud of him. He's really fast, like super fast." She shrugged and looked down. "Our mom was a human. She died when we were born. But it makes me wonder, like, me and Pietro are twins and he got his powers. I didn't. He's had them for months now. If Mom was a human, maybe I am too? What if I never get my powers?"
Moira reached over and gave the little girl a squeeze of her hand. "There's nothing wrong with being a human, Wanda."
"Dad says there is," she told her, her lip beginning to tremble. "I heard him talking about me. He was saying if I don't get powers he might have to send me away. I don't want to go anywhere, I want to stay here."
Her heart broke for the girl. It seemed Magneto's politics were coming between himself and his daughter. She didn't understand how someone could do that to her child. Her mind went to when she was pregnant with Christine, and her discussion with Azazel over whether their child would be mutant or human. She remembered his response, his dedication to his child no matter what. How could a father turn his back on his daughter?
Moira didn't know what to say. She couldn't promise that Wanda wouldn't be sent away. She couldn't promise that Wanda would get powers. Moira stood and moved over to the girl, just pulling her into her arms. "It'll be ok, darling," she told her. She felt guilty even saying that. But what else was there to say?