A/N: So this is in an AU situation for The Last Stand. Mystique is still hit with the cure, but Charles and Jean are both alive.
I want Raven. The real Raven.
You're not one of us anymore.
Those words, Erik's words kept replaying themselves over and over in Mystique's head. The woman laughed at the thought. She couldn't really call herself Mystique anymore, now could she? She looked at herself in the mirror of the taxi she currently occupied. Gone was the blue skin, red hair and yellow eyes that she had known for so long. Gone was the woman who had sworn her life to Erik's crusade. In the mirror she saw blonde hair, blue eyes, tan skin. She saw a face she hadn't seen in over two decades, and yet she barely looked older than she had been on that day. She supposed it was a final gift of her mutation. Her cells had aged at half those of a normal human, perhaps even less than that. Now there was no telling what would happen. No one knew her mutation well enough to tell her what would happen now that she had lost it.
No one except Charles.
Charles. Professor Charles Francis Xavier. The world's foremost expert on genetics even after all these years. The man who had taken her in as a child, called her family. The man who had cared for her before she ever met Erik Lenscher. The man who had let her go. The man who had betrayed her, and who she had betrayed.
She wondered what that man would say when she arrived on his doorstep. Would he even allow her inside? Would he embrace her and welcome her home, or would he see her as an enemy and deal with her accordingly?
"We're here."
The cabbie's voice broke her from her thoughts. She opened the door and got out, handing him the fare plus a hefty tip. If Charles viewed her as an enemy, she may at least do one nice thing before she forgot who she was.
She looked up at the mansion, memories flashing before her eyes. She remembered the first night she'd met Charles, bringing their students here, the kiss she'd shared with Hank. The night she shared with Erik that she'd rather forget. The words she'd wanted to say to Charles for so long but had been unable to.
Raven, for that was who she was now, swallowed hard. Then she squared her shoulders and walked over to the door. She rang the bell, and a moment later the door swung open.
"Can I help you?" Jean Grey asked as she opened the door.
"Is...Is Charles in? Tell him...Tell him Raven uh-"
"I've got it Jean. Go check on Kitty and Rogue, make sure Logan isn't being too hard on them."
"Sure thing Professor." Jean said, stepping away from the door.
"Hello Raven. It's been a long time."
"Can I...Can I come in? I...I don't have anywhere else to-"
"This is your home. Your room is just as you left it. Come, get settled in. Then we should talk. I think we have a lot of catching up to do."
Raven smiled, unable to stop the tear that ran down her cheek.
"Thank you Charles. I...I'm so-"
"I know. I know." He replied quietly, tears in his own eyes.
Raven walked inside, taking a deep breath.
"So, can I call you Professor now? I mean, you do have students." She said, and he chuckled, taking her hand in his own.
Neither one of them needed to be a telepath to know that there were still conversations to be had, apologies to be made, wrongs to be made right. It would be a long road to recovery. But at that moment, neither cared. Charles felt his heart beat faster as he held the hand of a woman he never thought he would see again in this life. Raven smiled as she remembered Erik's words.
You're not one of us anymore.
And she wasn't. She wasn't Mystique anymore. She was something he'd called her years ago. She was Charles' Raven, and she was home.
A/N: So I hope you all enjoyed this! I recently rewatched X-men First Class and rediscovered my love of the Charles/Raven ship. I may keep this as a one-shot or I may continue it. Please let me know what you think, and thanks for reading!