Erik took a deep breath as he stood on the doormat and waited for somebody
to answer. He rather feared that this was going to prove to be the hardest
yet of his missions. Not only was it going to be complicated, but it had
been a little ill thought out and indeed, he had no idea what he was going
to do or say once he was inside.
His decision to apologise to the X-Men and show off his reformed self had been very spur of the moment. It had come to him only seconds before he found himself waiting at the door of the mansion. This was very different from his other 'projects' of late, where everything had been planned meticulously and quite frankly, he was beginning to feel extremely nervous.
The rather new feeling of nerves was shocked out of him completely when the door was not opened, but blasted through with a beam of red light. No sooner had he recovered from the blow than he found himself impaled to the ground by six rugged spikes. This was not quite the warm welcome he had been hoping to receive.
"Magneto," growled the one they call Cyclops, who was currently in his Wildly Stereotypical Superhero Mode.
Confused, Erik searched for the evil Magneto before realising that the villain had actually once been a part of himself. He had been so happy lately that the 'Magneto' part of him had been pushed further and further away. Now he could hardly believe that the man in the helmet and cape had been himself, and not least because the red and purple had made such a horrid colour combination.
"Hello, Cyclops," he said pleasantly. "And Evan, what a nice surprise."
The boys in question responded by staring open mouthed at him.
The redheaded girl appeared, whose name Erik could never remember. He seemed to recall that it was a particularly dull codename. She promptly started to screech for the professor, which Erik found rather odd. Wasn't the girl a telepath, and therefore able to communicate via the mind?
"What do you want?" glared Evan, looking like a very annoyed porcupine. "Did Pietro send you here?"
To Evan's disgust, his remark was met with a smile. Not a maniacal grin or a bitter smirk, but a genuine smile!
Erik laughed softly to himself at the disgust with which Evan's pronunciation of his son's name was laced. The boys had a rivalry to rival Sabretooth and Wolverine's- only to look at the latter pair now you would never have known they were anything but the best of friends.
The professor promptly arrived, flanked by Rogue, Kurt and the girl who walked through walls.
"Oh dear, Evan," Xavier's eyes twinkled as he saw his friend pinned to the ground by spikes. "You've made an awful mess of Magneto's clothes."
Although not the brightest fairy light on the tree, Evan could tell when something odd was up. First, Magneto arrived at the mansion. No, he didn't just hover through the window as usual but appeared at the door- like a normal person with manners might! He didn't seem his evil self, didn't fight back and then smiled of all things. Professor X didn't seem worried about it at all, no, smiled and laughed, and Rogue and Kurt found the whole spectacle hilarious! Something weird was definitely happening, and he wasn't sure he wanted to be a part of it.
Now that the subject of Erik's clothes had been brought up by Xavier, it was easier to notice that they were a little odd for a man of his years. After the unfortunate incident of Pietro burning all his clothes, Erik had been content to borrow things from the fellow Acolytes. Today he was wearing one of Pietro's tops, which was more than a little snug on him; teamed with a pair of Sabretooth's kinky leather trousers.
"Don't worry, professor!" cried Cyclops, who seemed to be ignorant of Xavier and Erik's matching smiles. "He can't hurt us now."
Oh, couldn't he?
More amused than angry, Erik made a point of levitating Rogue, who was wearing a fair share of silver jewellery.
"Stand back!" Cyclops continued, aiming to blast him into submission.
"Scott, no!" shouted the redhead and hid her face in her hands.
"Actually, Scott," grinned Xavier, as Rogue and Kurt came close to hysterical laughter. "I wouldn't if I were you. 'Magneto' has had something of a change of heart. His intentions, if anything more than desiring a cup of tea, are good. Now kindly remove those spikes and follow me indoors. I believe Ororo has just put the kettle on."
*
Surprisingly, Erik found that the X-Men were almost as accepting as the Brotherhood when they heard his story. He was beginning to wonder if Magneto had ever been that evil to start with- perhaps, unknowingly, his good side had always shown through? Perhaps they all thought that underneath the costume was a man who was not adverse to dressing up as Santa Claus at yuletide and handing out gifts to all the disadvantaged little children.
The fact that Mystique was now visiting the institute regularly and checking that they had all washed behind their ears may also have made the news that Magneto had turned good a bit more believable. And if that failed to convince them that good was the new bad, Sabretooth and Wolverine were currently cooing over a small furry object known as Dolly.
"Man, they used to want to rip each other apart," muttered Evan, seemingly disappointed by the odd couple's antics. His frown increased when Wolverine appeared, ruffling his hair affectionately.
"Just goes to show, porcupine, rivals can be damn good friends! Ain't that right, Vic?"
The beclawed one then slung a casual arm around Sabretooth's shoulders. Evan wasn't sure, but he suspected that he might vomit all over the pair of them.
Thus began Erik's first X-Men related project- the arduous task of breaking the rivalry between Evan and Pietro. He had thought that now Pietro was a reformed boy, he might accept the idea of shaking Evan's hand and calling it a day with maturity, but it was not to be. Pietro had scowled and stomped all the way to the Xavier Institute, muttering about a 'Spyke-Boy' under his breath and exactly what he planned to do with him. From what Erik could decipher from the boy's rapid rantings, Pietro was less likely to condone and more likely to castrate the spiky one. Indeed, the only likely way his son was going to offer the olive branch was if it was placed in a rather intimate orifice of Evan's.
Erik thought he might have been a little unfair in the way Pietro and Evan were to meet. They would be nothing short of forced to apologise and forgive each other under the watchful eyes of a father and an aunt. Erik had found Storm, or Ororo as he now knew her, to be an extremely good sport. She had been the one who suggested in the first place that they be present, if not to make sure that the boys made their peace then to at least ensure they didn't kill each other.
The moment they entered they entered the room, Erik set a firm grip on Pietro's shoulders. Oh yes, the boy was quick but not quite enough for the almighty Erik Lehnsherr! Ororo, who had put her nephew under similar restraint, gave Erik a sly grin.
"Well now," she said with a sweet smile as the boys glared and bared their teeth at each other. Erik was almost sure Evan was growling. "I think the two of you have something to say to each other."
"Damn right I do," muttered Pietro, who was then sharply kicked in the ankle by the benevolent Erik.
"Sabretooth and Wolverine can do it," said Erik, adopting his saintly persona once more. For good measure, he threw in a sorrowful little shake of the head. "Can you two boys not swallow your pride and put aside your differences?"
At that moment, both Evan and Pietro realised that they had no choice. There they were, held down and watched intently by two determined and extremely powerful people. They would not leave the room without saying those fateful words to each other, the words which could have been said years ago but never were.
Evan was first to say it. Whether he meant it or not was a different story altogether, but his aunt's nails were beginning to dig into his shoulders and cause large amounts of discomfort. He was also finding it hard to bear Erik's unblinking stare- it somehow managed to be intimidating, forceful and caring at the same time.
"Sorry, Pietro," he muttered, staring at the ground.
"There, you see?" Erik said softly to his son. "Are you man enough to do the same thing, Pietro?"
Erik had been extremely crafty in choosing those words. He knew that Pietro was touchy about such things, given the boy's somewhat effeminate appearance. There was nothing Pietro hated more than being called a girl and there were very little things he wouldn't do to prove himself as a man. Erik smiled as he watched his son puff himself up, giving his shoulder an encouraging squeeze.
"S. Sorry, Evan," Pietro mumbled, also seeming very interested in the carpet.
A very awkward silence followed. Being no longer able to stand the stares of his aunt and the former super villain, Evan cleared his throat.
"So, Pietro, wanna go shoot some baskets?"
Pietro nodded.
"Anything to get away from these freaks."
And with that, the speed demon and the porcupine left the room together. It hadn't been quite as successful as Erik had hoped, but it was a start and something told him that before long the boys would be the best of friends.
"It is true then," grinned Ororo as she sat down at the piano. "You are quite the miracle worker."
"Can you play?" Erik asked, signalling to the piano.
She nodded, looking wistful as her eyes clouded over.
"Whatever's the matter?" enquired Erik, who was beginning to find the lady quite enchanting.
"It is. No, it's a silly thing," she laughed slightly. "I have this dream, you see. You will laugh at me if I tell you!"
"Laugh?" Erik raised an eyebrow and grinned at her in a winsome 'Try Me' kind of way.
The corners of her mouth curled upwards and she played a long, bluesy tune as she spoke.
"Music is so important to me, but saving the world has got to come first. That, and Evan. He's my priority. But this dream I have- I keep wanting it more and more. Please don't laugh at me," she paused and ran her fingers over the keys, letting them skim over with all the grace of a stone on water. "I have always wanted to lead a jazz band."
Erik did not laugh, but couldn't help smiling at her. He didn't find her dream preposterous in the slightest, in fact he found it rather exciting.
"But it's your dream," he cried, leaning on the piano. "You ought to follow it!"
"Oh, I couldn't," she murmured, blushing at the thought of it.
"But you must! Ororo, you are a marvellous musician and dare I say it, a very alluring lady. You wouldn't let that go to waste, surely?"
She blushed even more, but began to smile again.
"Now," Erik continued. "I have a friend who plays the trombone and would adore to be in a band. That's two musicians already. We'll place an ad in a club- no, I shall take you out to the best jazz club in town tonight and we'll sort it out there. If, that is, you'll let me?"
How could she say no?
*
Only minutes after his two successes of the day, Erik found himself confronted by a very nervous looking Cyclops.
"You- you help people, right?" he stuttered, staring at the reformed villain suspiciously.
"I do my best," replied Erik, rather more smugly than he ought to.
"Okay," muttered the boy, running his hands through his hair. "It's- well- it's- could you help me?"
Erik nodded and gave the anxious mutant a reassuring pat on the back.
"Well, I- I have this friend," started the boy. Erik grinned to himself. Anyone who started a sentence with 'I have this friend' was inevitably talking about themselves.
"And- he's kinda really in love with this girl," he mumbled. Erik nodded, urging him to continue. "But she doesn't really know it. They're real good friends, see and he's worried he's going to spoil things by telling her but he wants her to know all the same. What should I- er, he do?"
Erik sighed. One thing he wasn't very good at was giving advice on matters of the heart, considering his wife had ran away from him after only a few months of marriage.
"He should.." Erik began, before a change in Cyclops' face caught his eye. The boy was now smiling in an extremely sickly manner and had his eyes been visible, they would have become larger and rather glazed over. The cause of that smile was evident. The red-haired telepath was walking past, looking at Cyclops in much the same way and suddenly, it all fit into place.
Cyclops loved the redhead. She loved him. But neither of them knew it! And here Cyclops was, asking how to make a move on her. Erik found the whole thing quite adorable and vowed that he would help them to fall in love. He had played Cupid with Gambit before, and if he could have success with the insatiable LeBeau then getting Cyclops and the telepath together would be no problem at all.
"You- er, he," Erik shared a knowing little grin with Cyclops. "He should definitely tell her because it is evident that she feels the same. He should just go for it because he really has nothing to lose. He should do it now, whilst the sun is setting and he should pick a few of those daisies over there for her. She'll like that."
"Right," Cyclops said, growing more confident as a wide grin crossed his face. "Thanks, Mr Lehnsherr. You know, you really are a great guy!"
Erik felt a swell of almost paternal pride as the boy began to walk away, suddenly stopping in his tracks.
"Hey," he said. "You knew it was me and Jean all along, didn't you?"
Erik nodded, a wide smile spreading across his face as Cyclops approached the redhead. Whilst he had once found young love completely nauseating, he was now almost weeping for joy. He could see them in deep conversation, the flowers clenched behind his back and then held out to her in a hopeful gesture. She smiled tearily and inhaled their scent and Erik felt anticipation building inside of him. 'Go on, my son!' he willed Cyclops. 'Go on!'
And it happened. Slowly but surely, Cyclops' arm found its way around her waist and her hand closed around his and finally, after what seemed like an eternity, they kissed. Erik actually jumped for joy, screaming silent encouragement. It was then that he realised he was not the only one watching the spectacle. In fact, most of the institute were witnessing it, all sharing the same grins and promptly erupting into applause.
*
Erik's night at the jazz club with Ororo had been a great success. She was enthralling, charming and beautiful. They drunk champagne and listened to the finest of sounds, before he urged Ororo up the piano herself. Then, it was announced that she was looking to start a band and she was forced to play one of her own pieces. The sound of her music and the way she played it held the audience in complete rapture. They all knew she'd be a star.
That night, they managed to obtain a guitarist; a bass player; a clarinet player; a saxophonist; a bongo player and the most incredible deaf drummer, who could only 'feel' the music. Pyro already had a place in the band and was also present, trombone slung around his neck as usual.
And so the Ororo Munroe Experience were formed. This success had been one of the most moving for Erik as he had helped Ororo to reach her dreams. He never seen anybody look so happy as she had- radiant, in fact. That night, he found that he had fallen for the weather goddess. It had been so long since he had felt the emotions of love and lust that he felt them twice as strong. He realised what he had really missed over his years of evil- the love of a good woman.
Indeed, it seemed that he had found it in Ororo. She was more than grateful for what he had done for her and couldn't believe that anyone, especially one who had previously been so malevolent, could do something so lovely. She found him handsome and chivalrous and saw his age not as a bad thing but as a bonus. It made him that much more wiser and there was nothing in her opinion more appealing than a villain turned good. If someone had told her just days before that she would fall for Magneto, she would have told them they were crazy. But now, however, she saw that all she had ever been looking for was behind his mask.
Erik thought he had done extremely well for his first day at the institute. A lifelong dream was reached, and three new relationships were formed. Evan and Pietro had seemed much more friendly with each other when he returned home and were even calling each other 'Van' and 'Tro' as opposed to 'Asshole' and 'Pansy'. Jean (he had finally learnt her name) and Cyclops were last seen on the roof watching the stars in the sickly sweet way young lovers do. And then there was his own budding romance with the beautiful Ororo..
Something told him things would only get better.
His decision to apologise to the X-Men and show off his reformed self had been very spur of the moment. It had come to him only seconds before he found himself waiting at the door of the mansion. This was very different from his other 'projects' of late, where everything had been planned meticulously and quite frankly, he was beginning to feel extremely nervous.
The rather new feeling of nerves was shocked out of him completely when the door was not opened, but blasted through with a beam of red light. No sooner had he recovered from the blow than he found himself impaled to the ground by six rugged spikes. This was not quite the warm welcome he had been hoping to receive.
"Magneto," growled the one they call Cyclops, who was currently in his Wildly Stereotypical Superhero Mode.
Confused, Erik searched for the evil Magneto before realising that the villain had actually once been a part of himself. He had been so happy lately that the 'Magneto' part of him had been pushed further and further away. Now he could hardly believe that the man in the helmet and cape had been himself, and not least because the red and purple had made such a horrid colour combination.
"Hello, Cyclops," he said pleasantly. "And Evan, what a nice surprise."
The boys in question responded by staring open mouthed at him.
The redheaded girl appeared, whose name Erik could never remember. He seemed to recall that it was a particularly dull codename. She promptly started to screech for the professor, which Erik found rather odd. Wasn't the girl a telepath, and therefore able to communicate via the mind?
"What do you want?" glared Evan, looking like a very annoyed porcupine. "Did Pietro send you here?"
To Evan's disgust, his remark was met with a smile. Not a maniacal grin or a bitter smirk, but a genuine smile!
Erik laughed softly to himself at the disgust with which Evan's pronunciation of his son's name was laced. The boys had a rivalry to rival Sabretooth and Wolverine's- only to look at the latter pair now you would never have known they were anything but the best of friends.
The professor promptly arrived, flanked by Rogue, Kurt and the girl who walked through walls.
"Oh dear, Evan," Xavier's eyes twinkled as he saw his friend pinned to the ground by spikes. "You've made an awful mess of Magneto's clothes."
Although not the brightest fairy light on the tree, Evan could tell when something odd was up. First, Magneto arrived at the mansion. No, he didn't just hover through the window as usual but appeared at the door- like a normal person with manners might! He didn't seem his evil self, didn't fight back and then smiled of all things. Professor X didn't seem worried about it at all, no, smiled and laughed, and Rogue and Kurt found the whole spectacle hilarious! Something weird was definitely happening, and he wasn't sure he wanted to be a part of it.
Now that the subject of Erik's clothes had been brought up by Xavier, it was easier to notice that they were a little odd for a man of his years. After the unfortunate incident of Pietro burning all his clothes, Erik had been content to borrow things from the fellow Acolytes. Today he was wearing one of Pietro's tops, which was more than a little snug on him; teamed with a pair of Sabretooth's kinky leather trousers.
"Don't worry, professor!" cried Cyclops, who seemed to be ignorant of Xavier and Erik's matching smiles. "He can't hurt us now."
Oh, couldn't he?
More amused than angry, Erik made a point of levitating Rogue, who was wearing a fair share of silver jewellery.
"Stand back!" Cyclops continued, aiming to blast him into submission.
"Scott, no!" shouted the redhead and hid her face in her hands.
"Actually, Scott," grinned Xavier, as Rogue and Kurt came close to hysterical laughter. "I wouldn't if I were you. 'Magneto' has had something of a change of heart. His intentions, if anything more than desiring a cup of tea, are good. Now kindly remove those spikes and follow me indoors. I believe Ororo has just put the kettle on."
*
Surprisingly, Erik found that the X-Men were almost as accepting as the Brotherhood when they heard his story. He was beginning to wonder if Magneto had ever been that evil to start with- perhaps, unknowingly, his good side had always shown through? Perhaps they all thought that underneath the costume was a man who was not adverse to dressing up as Santa Claus at yuletide and handing out gifts to all the disadvantaged little children.
The fact that Mystique was now visiting the institute regularly and checking that they had all washed behind their ears may also have made the news that Magneto had turned good a bit more believable. And if that failed to convince them that good was the new bad, Sabretooth and Wolverine were currently cooing over a small furry object known as Dolly.
"Man, they used to want to rip each other apart," muttered Evan, seemingly disappointed by the odd couple's antics. His frown increased when Wolverine appeared, ruffling his hair affectionately.
"Just goes to show, porcupine, rivals can be damn good friends! Ain't that right, Vic?"
The beclawed one then slung a casual arm around Sabretooth's shoulders. Evan wasn't sure, but he suspected that he might vomit all over the pair of them.
Thus began Erik's first X-Men related project- the arduous task of breaking the rivalry between Evan and Pietro. He had thought that now Pietro was a reformed boy, he might accept the idea of shaking Evan's hand and calling it a day with maturity, but it was not to be. Pietro had scowled and stomped all the way to the Xavier Institute, muttering about a 'Spyke-Boy' under his breath and exactly what he planned to do with him. From what Erik could decipher from the boy's rapid rantings, Pietro was less likely to condone and more likely to castrate the spiky one. Indeed, the only likely way his son was going to offer the olive branch was if it was placed in a rather intimate orifice of Evan's.
Erik thought he might have been a little unfair in the way Pietro and Evan were to meet. They would be nothing short of forced to apologise and forgive each other under the watchful eyes of a father and an aunt. Erik had found Storm, or Ororo as he now knew her, to be an extremely good sport. She had been the one who suggested in the first place that they be present, if not to make sure that the boys made their peace then to at least ensure they didn't kill each other.
The moment they entered they entered the room, Erik set a firm grip on Pietro's shoulders. Oh yes, the boy was quick but not quite enough for the almighty Erik Lehnsherr! Ororo, who had put her nephew under similar restraint, gave Erik a sly grin.
"Well now," she said with a sweet smile as the boys glared and bared their teeth at each other. Erik was almost sure Evan was growling. "I think the two of you have something to say to each other."
"Damn right I do," muttered Pietro, who was then sharply kicked in the ankle by the benevolent Erik.
"Sabretooth and Wolverine can do it," said Erik, adopting his saintly persona once more. For good measure, he threw in a sorrowful little shake of the head. "Can you two boys not swallow your pride and put aside your differences?"
At that moment, both Evan and Pietro realised that they had no choice. There they were, held down and watched intently by two determined and extremely powerful people. They would not leave the room without saying those fateful words to each other, the words which could have been said years ago but never were.
Evan was first to say it. Whether he meant it or not was a different story altogether, but his aunt's nails were beginning to dig into his shoulders and cause large amounts of discomfort. He was also finding it hard to bear Erik's unblinking stare- it somehow managed to be intimidating, forceful and caring at the same time.
"Sorry, Pietro," he muttered, staring at the ground.
"There, you see?" Erik said softly to his son. "Are you man enough to do the same thing, Pietro?"
Erik had been extremely crafty in choosing those words. He knew that Pietro was touchy about such things, given the boy's somewhat effeminate appearance. There was nothing Pietro hated more than being called a girl and there were very little things he wouldn't do to prove himself as a man. Erik smiled as he watched his son puff himself up, giving his shoulder an encouraging squeeze.
"S. Sorry, Evan," Pietro mumbled, also seeming very interested in the carpet.
A very awkward silence followed. Being no longer able to stand the stares of his aunt and the former super villain, Evan cleared his throat.
"So, Pietro, wanna go shoot some baskets?"
Pietro nodded.
"Anything to get away from these freaks."
And with that, the speed demon and the porcupine left the room together. It hadn't been quite as successful as Erik had hoped, but it was a start and something told him that before long the boys would be the best of friends.
"It is true then," grinned Ororo as she sat down at the piano. "You are quite the miracle worker."
"Can you play?" Erik asked, signalling to the piano.
She nodded, looking wistful as her eyes clouded over.
"Whatever's the matter?" enquired Erik, who was beginning to find the lady quite enchanting.
"It is. No, it's a silly thing," she laughed slightly. "I have this dream, you see. You will laugh at me if I tell you!"
"Laugh?" Erik raised an eyebrow and grinned at her in a winsome 'Try Me' kind of way.
The corners of her mouth curled upwards and she played a long, bluesy tune as she spoke.
"Music is so important to me, but saving the world has got to come first. That, and Evan. He's my priority. But this dream I have- I keep wanting it more and more. Please don't laugh at me," she paused and ran her fingers over the keys, letting them skim over with all the grace of a stone on water. "I have always wanted to lead a jazz band."
Erik did not laugh, but couldn't help smiling at her. He didn't find her dream preposterous in the slightest, in fact he found it rather exciting.
"But it's your dream," he cried, leaning on the piano. "You ought to follow it!"
"Oh, I couldn't," she murmured, blushing at the thought of it.
"But you must! Ororo, you are a marvellous musician and dare I say it, a very alluring lady. You wouldn't let that go to waste, surely?"
She blushed even more, but began to smile again.
"Now," Erik continued. "I have a friend who plays the trombone and would adore to be in a band. That's two musicians already. We'll place an ad in a club- no, I shall take you out to the best jazz club in town tonight and we'll sort it out there. If, that is, you'll let me?"
How could she say no?
*
Only minutes after his two successes of the day, Erik found himself confronted by a very nervous looking Cyclops.
"You- you help people, right?" he stuttered, staring at the reformed villain suspiciously.
"I do my best," replied Erik, rather more smugly than he ought to.
"Okay," muttered the boy, running his hands through his hair. "It's- well- it's- could you help me?"
Erik nodded and gave the anxious mutant a reassuring pat on the back.
"Well, I- I have this friend," started the boy. Erik grinned to himself. Anyone who started a sentence with 'I have this friend' was inevitably talking about themselves.
"And- he's kinda really in love with this girl," he mumbled. Erik nodded, urging him to continue. "But she doesn't really know it. They're real good friends, see and he's worried he's going to spoil things by telling her but he wants her to know all the same. What should I- er, he do?"
Erik sighed. One thing he wasn't very good at was giving advice on matters of the heart, considering his wife had ran away from him after only a few months of marriage.
"He should.." Erik began, before a change in Cyclops' face caught his eye. The boy was now smiling in an extremely sickly manner and had his eyes been visible, they would have become larger and rather glazed over. The cause of that smile was evident. The red-haired telepath was walking past, looking at Cyclops in much the same way and suddenly, it all fit into place.
Cyclops loved the redhead. She loved him. But neither of them knew it! And here Cyclops was, asking how to make a move on her. Erik found the whole thing quite adorable and vowed that he would help them to fall in love. He had played Cupid with Gambit before, and if he could have success with the insatiable LeBeau then getting Cyclops and the telepath together would be no problem at all.
"You- er, he," Erik shared a knowing little grin with Cyclops. "He should definitely tell her because it is evident that she feels the same. He should just go for it because he really has nothing to lose. He should do it now, whilst the sun is setting and he should pick a few of those daisies over there for her. She'll like that."
"Right," Cyclops said, growing more confident as a wide grin crossed his face. "Thanks, Mr Lehnsherr. You know, you really are a great guy!"
Erik felt a swell of almost paternal pride as the boy began to walk away, suddenly stopping in his tracks.
"Hey," he said. "You knew it was me and Jean all along, didn't you?"
Erik nodded, a wide smile spreading across his face as Cyclops approached the redhead. Whilst he had once found young love completely nauseating, he was now almost weeping for joy. He could see them in deep conversation, the flowers clenched behind his back and then held out to her in a hopeful gesture. She smiled tearily and inhaled their scent and Erik felt anticipation building inside of him. 'Go on, my son!' he willed Cyclops. 'Go on!'
And it happened. Slowly but surely, Cyclops' arm found its way around her waist and her hand closed around his and finally, after what seemed like an eternity, they kissed. Erik actually jumped for joy, screaming silent encouragement. It was then that he realised he was not the only one watching the spectacle. In fact, most of the institute were witnessing it, all sharing the same grins and promptly erupting into applause.
*
Erik's night at the jazz club with Ororo had been a great success. She was enthralling, charming and beautiful. They drunk champagne and listened to the finest of sounds, before he urged Ororo up the piano herself. Then, it was announced that she was looking to start a band and she was forced to play one of her own pieces. The sound of her music and the way she played it held the audience in complete rapture. They all knew she'd be a star.
That night, they managed to obtain a guitarist; a bass player; a clarinet player; a saxophonist; a bongo player and the most incredible deaf drummer, who could only 'feel' the music. Pyro already had a place in the band and was also present, trombone slung around his neck as usual.
And so the Ororo Munroe Experience were formed. This success had been one of the most moving for Erik as he had helped Ororo to reach her dreams. He never seen anybody look so happy as she had- radiant, in fact. That night, he found that he had fallen for the weather goddess. It had been so long since he had felt the emotions of love and lust that he felt them twice as strong. He realised what he had really missed over his years of evil- the love of a good woman.
Indeed, it seemed that he had found it in Ororo. She was more than grateful for what he had done for her and couldn't believe that anyone, especially one who had previously been so malevolent, could do something so lovely. She found him handsome and chivalrous and saw his age not as a bad thing but as a bonus. It made him that much more wiser and there was nothing in her opinion more appealing than a villain turned good. If someone had told her just days before that she would fall for Magneto, she would have told them they were crazy. But now, however, she saw that all she had ever been looking for was behind his mask.
Erik thought he had done extremely well for his first day at the institute. A lifelong dream was reached, and three new relationships were formed. Evan and Pietro had seemed much more friendly with each other when he returned home and were even calling each other 'Van' and 'Tro' as opposed to 'Asshole' and 'Pansy'. Jean (he had finally learnt her name) and Cyclops were last seen on the roof watching the stars in the sickly sweet way young lovers do. And then there was his own budding romance with the beautiful Ororo..
Something told him things would only get better.