March 7, 1964 – X-Mansion
"Alright, close your eyes." Charles said as he led Zezelia to the newly built garage.
"Really?" she asked with a sigh, following beside him.
"Really." He said, with a sly smile. "And no cheating either. Keep your mind to yourself."
She rolled her eyes but followed his command, none-the-less. She let him guide her along, following the sound of the wheels of his chair as they rolled onto the new concrete. The smell of fresh timber and paint filled her senses as she walked blindly through the room. She obediently kept her eyes shut as she heard him moving around the room followed by the sound of a tarp snapping in the air. "Alright, you can open them." Charles said from across the room.
She peeked her eyes opens one at a time until they shot open in surprise. There sitting before her was the beautiful, sleek metal of the same motorcycle she had been drooling over a few weeks ago. They had been driving back to the mansion after Charles and Sean had picked her up from campus for the weekend when she had seen it. The ripping of an engine drew her attention to the back window and she watched in fascination as a sleek motorcycle began weaving smoothly through the traffic behind them. It let out a particularly loud roar from it's engine as it enclosed quickly upon them before it's driver leaned to the side and whipped around them. Zezelia's head whipped around, too, as it past them like a bullet out of a chamber and was soon lost in the traffic ahead of them. She remembered looking over at Charles with a grin and telling him that she wanted one. As she looked down at the machine, she couldn't believe that he had actually done it.
"It's a Ducati 450 Scrambler." Charles told her, moving himself around the two-wheeled vehicle. "A Juniper, I believe the salesman had called it."
She looked from the black and chrome beast sitting before her to Charles, not knowing what to say. "This is for me?" she asked, shocked.
He smiled before tossing her the set of keys. She caught them with her powers, mid-air, bringing them all the way to her hand gently. "Happy birthday." He told her.
She froze. She hadn't celebrated a birthday since she was very young and, honestly, she didn't expect to celebrate one again. But, of course, Charles had known when she was born and it was only in his nature not to let it pass without acknowledgement. "You realize that I stopped aging over a decade ago, right?" She asked with a raised brow.
"Well, technically yes." He said as Zezelia walked up to her new bike, reaching out a hand and running her fingertips across the cold metal frame. "Zezelia." He said, drawing her attention back to his face. "I hope you know that, despite everything, I am glad that you're here with me-with us. We're all very lucky to have you as a friend. You are a remarkable person. You deserve this, and so much more." He told her with a level of seriousness that left her blushing intensely.
"Er. Thanks." She mumbled, looking away in shyness. "I-I am grateful for everything you've done for me, too, Charles." She said, looking back over to him. "I don't think I could ever find the proper words to express how much this place….how much you mean to me."
"Well, luckily for you, you don't have to." He said, bringing his fingers up to his temple. "I know exactually how you feel." He said into her mind. She walked over to him, bending herself down to wrap her arms around him and pressed herself tightly against him.
"Thank you for finding me, Charles Xavier." She told him, pulling back from his hold enough to press her lips against his cheek. "Thank you for saving me."