Crystal quickly settled into the mansion. She had been allowed down into the danger room to develop her powers. It had taken time, but Raven finally trusted her to work with the X-men. Initially, Raven had complained that Crystal always acted on the offence and had to retrain her to consider how her powers could work as part of a team. Once she had proven she could work towards 'the big picture', Crystal began training with individual members, building up to the whole team.
She'd also settled into the school, starting correspondence courses in English literature and drama. She was also studying music (the professor thought it would help with her mutation). He had her working with the six youngest mutants in the mansion. She would paint with them, do crafts, play music. They read stories and did some writing. In the afternoon, Peter would take them outside for sport and bring them back, ready for her to give them lunch. She loved it: her job, her new life, all of it.
By the time the new academic year had started, Peter and Crystal's relationship had been fully established. They had spent almost every waking moment of the summer together. Peter had used the lack of classes as an excuse to bring Crystal up to speed with the real world. They would often wake up early and be missing until late in the afternoon, much to the professor's dismay. On more than one occasion, the professor had resorted to using Cerebro to summon the two back to the mansion. Finally, Crystal plucked up the courage to call him out on his erratic behaviour during one of their training sessions.
The professor had begun to work on her voice control; though he was immune to it, he can trace how well it was developing. They were normally accompanied by Hank or Kurt, who were always happy be to guinea pigs.
'You need to control your thoughts when projecting your emotions, otherwise, you'll lack the power you need to sustain the hold. Hank won't be able to know what you're thinking about, you're not there yet, but he should be able to pick up the general emotion. Let's aim for a sense of contentment.' Her father had been relentlessly in Crystal's need to control her emotions. She thought that she was getting better since she arrived. There had been no earthquakes or storms, which was an improvement. The lack of nightmares was also helping in her level of control.
'Should I try again?' Crystal was determined to have one successful attempt of empathy before dinner. Crystal was focusing on joy, singing a Beach Boys song that she had become fond of. As she sang, her mind wandered off to the night before. Peter had planned a movie night. They'd stuck out to the pictures, so Crystal could soak in the atmosphere. Sitting in total darkness had unnerved her, a small flashback to her days in confinement. Peter must have seen the expression on her face change because they suddenly moved to the back row, under the light of the projection room. Peter rested his hand on her knee for the entirety of the movie, as a reminder he was with her and she didn't need to fear the dark. Once it had ended, they had returned to the mansion for a late-night feast. After they had devoured the pizza, he had pulled her onto his knee, tilted her face towards his...
'Thank you, Crystal, but that is quite enough.' Her father cut her off sharply, 'Hank, could you give us a moment please?'
Crystal stared at him with a look of confusion as Hank left the room, 'sorry, I don't understand what the issue is. You told me to project joy.'
'Yes, but there are some things I would prefer not to know. You two have become inseparable lately and, I'm unsure if you're aware of the repercussions that will have. Relationships, even Peter's, should not be rushed, you need to create some space between him and socialise with other people too. I shall remind him of that fact tonight.' While Charles saw Peter had given Crystal a sense of peace and happiness, he did not like that she had become overly reliant on him. The couple was still young, and he wasn't sure of their longevity. If they were to end their relationship, Charles feared that Crystal would leave the mansion if she didn't form strong relationships with the other residents. It was selfish of him, he knew that. But he would not risk losing his daughter. Even though forcing space between them would upset her now, surely it would benefit her in the long run.
Crystal abruptly interrupted his thoughts on the matter, 'I don't know what you mean.' She had never seen her father show a slither of anger before, but it brought a new sense of panic to her, 'but please don't send him away. I don't know how but he stops the nightmares. It's the only way I can sleep.' Tears were brimming in her eyes.
'What nightmares? Why haven't you discussed this with me before?' His pride was hurt, his daughter had trusted someone before him. Crystal didn't answer in words, she just quietly flashed memories of the night terrors that had tortured her for years. Slowly, they faded away. Images of waking up in the night, sweating and gasping for breath appeared. She was in the mansion now, Peter waking up beside her, holding her close till she fell back to sleep. More dreams again, but this time it's warm and bright. She's in the grounds of the mansion. There's the sound of laughter from the children playing by the lake. A sense of calm was tethering Crystal to a happier dream world, her nightmares locked away deep in the corner of her mind. As the Professor absorbed her explanation, he understood that he'd misjudged the situation between her and Peter. It was completely innocent, Peter had clearly heeded his warning about playing with Crystal's emotions. Ashamed of his rashness and poor judgement, he gave Crystal a gift: he blocked the nightmares from her mind hoping it would give her long-lasting peace.
At dinner the same evening, Charles found himself listening in on their conversations. He wanted to get a better understanding of their relationship, see if it was as pure in reality as Crystal viewed it in her mind. Raven interrupted his musings, 'you shouldn't be listening to their conversation, it's rude. Anyway, the way you're staring at them is unnerving'.
'Their conversations amuse me, Peter's trying to explain what a circus is, to no avail I might add. Besides, I am not allowed to worry about her? I only want her happiness'.
'Look at her, Charles. She is happy - they both are.' Raven looked over at the pair, laughing at the other side of the dining hall. 'And he needs her as much as she needs him'.
Charles shot her a look of perplexity, 'I didn't think Peter was unhappy.'
'You amaze me. You can't read Peter, so you don't notice how out of step he feels with the rest of us. He's twenty years younger than us, ten years older than Jean and the others. Crystal gives him a sense of purpose, a reason to slow down. They're both outcasts in a way, but together they're more than that.'
He took more notice of the couple after that conversation. He biases as a concerned father hindered his perception, but viewing from others' eyes gave him an insight into how the rest of the mansion viewed the couple. Through Hank, he saw how Peter had become more focused in training when Crystal was around. Jean saw how they reacted to each other entering a room, their eyes lit up, and their bodies would mould to each other. Scott had a pang of jealous at how easy their relationship was, how relaxed they were with each other. Kurt had given the strangest insight though. While most people would react startled to Peter appearing out of thin air, Crystal never was. It was like she just expected him to turn up and was completely unphased by his sudden arrival. Through their eyes, Charles learned to take joy in their little habits, how Crystal would save Peter a seat at lunch. How Peter put his hand on her shoulder whenever she looked confused by something said he'd quickly whisper the information she needed to follow the conversation. While he had sensed their initial attraction on the night they recused his daughter, he had failed to notice how that relationship had grown. It pleased him to see how happy his daughter had become, and how calm she made the frantic speedster.