AN: Here it is folks! You finally get a taste of what Claudia been up to over the years.
She was laying on their shared bed with nothing on but one of Charles' shirt, her legs tucked slightly to let the natural curves of them lead up to her thighs and to more scenic places, reading a book. Charles was reading a novel of his own, leaning against the headboard of the bed, but he found it hard to concentrate on the text in front of him when there was a beautiful woman laying opposite of him.
Claudia caught Charles' eyes on her, and broke out into a grin that almost made him reach across the bed and drag her mouth to his, kissing away that smile and make it his own forever.
"Why are you staring at me like that Charles?" Claudia asked, a soft grin pulling at her lips.
"Because you're breathtaking love," He breathed, giving a lopsided smile.
Claudia rolled her eyes, feeling her face flush with heat, "I'm only in one your button ups Charles," she replied, slightly laughing.
"Hmm, and you wear it so well darling," Charles purred, running a finger up and down her ankle.
Snapping her book shut, not caring where she left off, Claudia righted herself and crawled over to Charles and he gathered her in his arms and held her to his body. She burrowed herself into Charles and he nuzzled his nose into her hair, inhaling deeply.
"Sometimes I think to myself of how lucky I am to have met you," Charles murmured, against Claudia's ear. "To be with you," he added, using the back of his finger to caress her cheek.
Claudia lifted her head slightly from Charles' shoulder, "I love you Charles," she breathed, bumping her nose with his.
"And I love you," Charles smiled, his words ghosting over her lips.
Their noses bumping into each other until Charles lowered Claudia back onto the bed, capturing her lips in a fiery kiss.
~~~x~~~
"Hank I still can't believe you kept Claudia's address a secret for all these years," Charles fumed, glaring at Hank and then out the backseat window.
"Do you honestly think she would even want to see you after everything you said to her?" Hank asked back, letting out a scoff.
The trees passed by as they drove down a side road in Richmond, Virginia. The car slowly came to a stop as they reached a local park. As all the men piled out of the rental car, they began to observe the serene environment. The trees bent softly with the wind, the wind carrying the laughter of children running around the playground, being princesses and mighty warriors in their own worlds. Erik gazed across the street, seeing only children and their parents, and became confused.
Charles' brows furrowed, "Are you sure this is the right neighborhood?" Charles questioned, doing a slow 360 turn as his eyes swept their surroundings. The neighborhood had elegant, Victorian-style homes lined on each side of the street in various colors, manicured lawns and ample yard space. "This seems too...suburban for someone like Claudia," Charles stated.
"Claudia was always one for the city," Erik added, staring at a sign informing residents that the neighborhood watch worked round the clock.
"This is the type of place where you would settle down and start a family..." Charles voice faded, at his own assessment.
Hank unfolded a piece of wrinkled, almost yellowing paper, "She gave me this address in 1967, I called the number she gave me, but no one answered. There's no telling if she still lives there or not," Hank said, smoothing the paper out. "This way," Hank announced, walking down the sidewalk and everyone followed him.
Several times, they had to stop before they collided with humans half their size, smiling kindly as the children took off giggling.
"So you and Claudia split up then," Erik began, just loud enough for only Charles to hear as Peter, Hank, and Logan walked ahead.
"Obviously," Charles bit back, not wanting to talk about it.
Erik shook his head, "Never thought I'd see that happen, she thought the world of you," Erik started, but was interrupted by shrieks of laughter as they passed a yellow two story home, the sprinklers were on and three children under the age of eight, raced through the water in swimsuits. "Such a shame isn't it, you had a woman like Claudia and you let her go," Erik mentioned casually, letting out a tsk before quickening his pace to catch up with the group.
Erik's statement pierced Charles like a twisting knife through the heart. A frown lined Charles' forehead as he let out a deep breath, he had no idea what he was going to say once he saw her.
"Here we are," Hank notified, stopping in front of a house. "1342 West Main Street," Hank read, looking down at the piece of paper and glancing up at the front door.
The house was beautiful, a three story updated cream colored Victorian mansion, leading to the garage to the road is a brick driveway. The front of the mansion had a tan painted wooden porch with five sturdy and wide steps. The porch cover had white shingles and a comfortable beige two person porch swing hanging from the ceiling. It was spacious enough for one or more people to stand on the wide front porch with ease to overlook the large front yard with tall oaks that displayed their rich, green foliage and beautiful shrubs carefully trimmed.
"Is your friend rich?" Peter asked, staring in awe at the house.
Erik slid his hands into his pockets, "If she wills it so," he quipped, hinting at her power.
"Sounds strangely ominous," Logan commented, glancing Erik then back at the house.
"There's a car in the driveway, so someone's home," Erik observed, before walking up the porch steps. "Come on, let's go, no need to prolong this any longer than we have to," he stated, climbing the stairs.
Everyone walked up the stairs without hesitation, but Charles remained at the bottom of the porch still looking up at the mansion. His stomach was twisting itself into knots, he couldn't shake the feeling of restless nervousness that's been building up within him since D.C. The thought of walking up the grand staircase leading to the door frightened him, what if she didn't want to see him?
Claudia was never one to forgive easy.
"Did I tell you why Claudia has to be involved?" Charles questioned, trying to find some excuse not to face his ex-fiance.
"No, you didn't mention," Logan answered. "But you have to do this. You insisted, like I said," he reminded.
"Why? She dies, but so will I someday. We all will," Charles pointed out lamely.
"Her dying should be reason enough Charles," Erik stated, narrowing his eyes at him.
Charles threw his hands up in a gesture of surrender, "You're right, you're right," Charles conceded, making his way up the steps giving himself a constant pep talk as went.
Hank raised one of his thin fingers and pressed the doorbell, the ringing of the bell echoed through the house, but no one came to greet them. Hank waited another thirty seconds before he pressed the doorbell a second time, still there wasn't a sign of movement from within the home.
"Maybe she's not home," Hank suggested, cupping his hands to peer through the front door window, but the glass was frosted.
"Or she's ignoring us," Charles reckoned.
"I'm one to never turn down the opportunity to use my powers," Peter offered, getting ready to take off until Erik clasped his hand on his shoulder.
"Not if you value your life," Erik cautioned, letting him go. "Claudia, is the last person to be trifled with," he added.
Logan raised his eyebrow at this, "Who was this woman?" he thought.
Suddenly, Logan's ear perked up at the sound of music playing faintly.
"Do any of you hear that?" Logan asked, craning his neck as he moved away from the front door.
"Hear what?" Charles asked.
"There's music being played," Logan answered, walking down the porch steps. "It's coming from the backyard," he continued, making his to the gate.
They followed behind the man and as they got closer to the gate the sound of orchestral music could be heard wafting from the backyard. Logan unlatched the back gate, walking across the plush green lawn now being able to fully hear the crooning of Andy Williams singing A Summer Place.
There's a summer place
Where it may rain or storm
Moving further into the backyard Logan was stunned by its opulence. There was a stone patio attached to the home designed with veranda arches, an in ground pool was centered in the middle of grand, park-like backyard. The pool was surrounded by tan stone tiles which extended from the deck against the house. To the left side of the deck was a grill and a round white table with a white umbrella and a couple of garden chairs and on the right had an in-ground jacuzzi. If anyone stood on the deck and looked up they would notice a balcony.
For within that summer place
Your arms reach out to me
Logan's gaze halted as he spotted a figure of a woman in a pool chair underneath an umbrella, lounging with one leg outstretched and the other pulled in immersed in her reading. The woman was not far off from the backyard gate, but she didn't move, seemingly unaware that there were guests with her. The record player was playing right next to her, the music must of masked the noise of the gate opening as she kept absently swaying her foot back and forth to the song.
There are no gloomy skies
When seen through the eyes
"Well, if that's her, she's certainly living lavishly," Erik observed, simply amazed at the wealth of the homeowner.
Charles' eyes swept around the backyard newly in amazement. He was speechless as a matter of fact. If the woman under the umbrella was Claudia, Charles began to wonder who was the rich man that swept her off her feet and married her. As the men approached the woman they suddenly felt their legs lock up, except for Hank's. Logan, Erik, Charles, and Peter all looked down to see violet wisps surrounding their lower limbs.
"What the hell?" Logan muttered, as Erik and Charles both glanced at each other.
"Now Hank," a familiar female voice called out over the music. "When I invited you to stop by my house whenever you please, that invitation wasn't extended to a stranger, a wanted criminal, a drug abuser, and a..." the woman paused, and loudly sniffed the air twice. "A dog," she finished, never turning to face them.
"I wouldn't have brought them along if this wasn't important," Hank explained, taking a step closer.
"We need your help Claudia,"
AN: A 1973 sighting of Claudia has appeared, even though it was a tease. As you can see, Claudia is living her best life right now. I don't know why, but for some reason A Summer Place seemed to fit in with this chapter to give you a feel of how carefree Claudia is living. Anyways, buckle up people it's going to be wild ride!