Chapter 11

Sean is in the sitting room at the back of the mansion, large bay windows facing out onto the rolling green lawns of the estate. It's one of his favorite places to retreat; a quiet oasis from his chaotic day to day responsibilities for the School's upkeep. It's a place where Sean can come to kick back and relax; to watch television relatively undisturbed or to enjoy the view of the grounds while nursing a cup of the Professor's favorite Earl Grey tea.

The view is particularly interesting today and Sean would find it hilarious if he wasn't so worried. He can see Alex and the Professor on their daily stroll of the grounds, winding around the gardens along the gravel path. His friend is pushing Charles' wheelchair, an allowance the Professor has given no one else since his accident. It's a reflection of the bond the two men share, an acknowledgement of Alex's key role in helping their beloved friend and mentor battle his depression and deteriorating health post Cuba.

He's well aware of Alex's feelings for the Prof. and knows just as well that Charles does not reciprocate. Hank, Alex and Sean may have all grown into their roles as teachers to the younger generation but to Charles they will always be his students, his First Class. He feels badly for his friend, to love a man who could never see him as a true equal. A man who's heart has always belonged to someone else.

He can see Erik wandering around outside with Max and Ororo, the children laughing and chattering excitedly as they sprint across the wide open space. The older man is clearly distracted, only answering their questions and indulging their curiosity with an occasional word or slight show of his powers. Sean watches Erik's eyes follow the Professor, gaze intent and expression tight and he does not miss the narrowed eyes of grey-blue steel when Alex leans down to whisper something in Charles' ear.

Hopefully, Alex knows better than to wear any metal on him these days.

It's been two weeks since Erik and Raven's arrival at the School and what little interaction there's been between the former partners has been fraught with tension. Erik wanders the mansion and the grounds aimlessly when he's not with Max, stormy countenance warning anyone and everyone to stay far away. Charles has buried himself in his work, coming out only to teach his classes and then retreating to his office for meals. The air is thick with uncertainty; even the children have picked up on the strange mood rolling off the two men in waves.

Sean takes another sip of his tea and looks out the window again. This time, he catches the Professor watching Erik with the children, a wistful look crossing his face before it shifts to placid neutrality. He sighs, wondering if he should tell the two most powerful mutants in the world that they're acting like lovesick teenagers.

Or better yet, maybe he should lock them in a room until they either fight it out, or fuck it out of their systems. It's an option he's willing to consider more and more every day.

Alex is practically counting down the minutes until Magneto decides to leave.

He's out with the Professor on their daily walk on the grounds, a ritual they established a few months after Cuba. At the time, Alex didn't know that Charles was battling depression, in addition to the ill effects of his pregnancy. He only knew that the cheerful, optimistic man who had saved him and earned his trust was a shell of his former self. Alex was determined to see him get better, even if he had to threaten and cajole the Professor relentlessly before the other man agreed to join him outside for some much needed fresh air.

Alex wishes he could find it in his heart to forgive Magneto; he knows the right thing to do for his friend is to help Charles find a way to deal with his unresolved feelings. He knows that the Professor will never love him back; knows the older man has never gotten over his relationship with Lensherr. And he cares enough for Charles to want what's best for him, even if it means letting him go.

He's old enough now to acknowledge his own issues with what happened eight years ago. He had admired Erik from the start, had wanted to learn from someone who could teach him to channel his anger and pain into power and single minded purpose. There's a small part of him that even agrees with his thoughts on humans; that their fear of mutants will eventually turn to hatred and war. And if things had happened differently, perhaps Alex would have left with him and Raven and joined their fight.

But every time he thinks about that day on the beach, he sees the bullet fly through the air and hit Charles in the back. Remembers how they left their friend and lover, their brother, lying broken and bloody on the sand. Maybe if Alex was a better man he could forgive their betrayal; perhaps if the bullet had hit him it might have been easier. But it was Charles they abandoned that day...and Alex isn't sure how anyone who claimed to love the Professor could have treated him so callously and faithlessly.

"You're awfully quiet today Alex. Is something troubling you?"

"Just thinking about the new curriculum Prof. Are you sure the children are ready for Shakespeare?"

Charles chuckles and reaches up to pat Alex's hand, "I don't need to be a telepath to know you're not thinking about the new reading material."

He sighs and turns along the garden path, in the opposite direction from where Magneto is playing with Max and Ororo. "I keep hoping he's going to get bored and leave so things can get back to normal." He pushes his feelings of concern towards Charles and adds, "Everyone's walking on egg shells waiting for the dam to break."

The Professor is quiet as they continue along, Alex pushing the wheelchair slowly under the swaying trees. "Erik can't stay indefinitely. He'll have to go back to the Brotherhood soon I imagine." He hears Charles take a deep breath and raise his arms above his head for a long stretch. "And I'm sure we can hold off from breaking any furniture until then."

Alex laughs out loud and squeezes the Prof.'s shoulder lightly. "Well at least we can be thankful that Logan's not here right now. I can just imagine how those two would get along." There's a couple of minutes of silence before Alex asks, "Do you know when he'll be back?"

A slight shake of his head before Charles answers, "I'm not sure. He doesn't usually say where he's going or when he's coming back. But he hasn't been gone longer than six months at a time so I'm guessing he'll be back soon."

"Oh, goody," Logan isn't his favorite person in the world but at least the maniac hates Lensherr almost as much as Alex does, "I can't wait."

Max is in the kitchen grabbing a snack from the fridge for himself and Ororo. He pours them each a glass of apple juice while Ororo places two bananas and a plate of cookies on the table.

"I like your Vati, Max. His gift is really cool. And he really liked that I could make it rain!"

He smiles and takes a drink from his cup and then takes a bite out of his cookie. "I knew you'd like him 'Ro! He's smart and strong and he loves everybody's gifts! Daddy says Vati is proud to be a mutant and he thinks all mutations are amazing!"

Ororo smiles brightly at his words, but Max can tell that she's a little sad. "What's wrong 'Ro? You can tell me."

The little girl nods her head slightly and takes a bite of her banana before answering, "Is your Vati moving back for good? With your Aunt Raven? Is he getting back together with the Prof.?"

Max furrows his brow at her words and takes a moment to think about it before he answers. "I don't know. Vati doesn't seem to know what he wants to do. His thoughts are all a jumble. I can tell that he wants to, but he feels like he can't? And he thinks Daddy doesn't want him to stay."

Ororo's eyes widen and she whispers, "You think the Prof. is mad at Mr. Erik? Do they fight a lot?"

"No," Max shakes his head, "We play chess every night in the study and Vati and Daddy are always very polite to each other. But they act really weird...they don't really talk to each other very much. They ask me lots of questions about my day and sometimes Vati asks Daddy questions about me but that's it. They don't talk about anything else."

She hums quietly under her breath for a moment, seemingly deep in thought. "Is your Daddy still mad at Mr. Erik for leaving?"

Max can't help but shrug at the question. "I don't know 'Ro. You know I can't read Daddy like I can everyone else. He shields his thoughts about Vati from me." He sighs and gives Ororo a small smile, "I really hope Vati stays though. I want us to be a real family."

Ororo stares at Max before reaching over to grab his hand. "I like your Vati and I want him to stay too. And I want the Prof. to be happy. So I'm going to help you get them back together okay?"

He rolls his eyes at her and pulls his hand away to grab another cookie. "Thanks but how are we going to do that? We're just kids...they're not going to listen to us."

She grins and Max is reminded of sunshine and bright skies, "Well, we're going to need some help."

If Hank is being honest with himself, he'll admit to spending even more time than usual in his lab since Erik and Raven's return to the mansion.

He's not particularly concerned about running into them himself; in fact he's spent a few quiet afternoons catching up with Raven about their respective lives. Their conversations had always been easy and he's pleased to find that a remnant of their previous camaraderie still exists. With the Professor's illness and then his subsequent, self imposed exile, Hank had been happy to share some of his less confidential research updates with another adult.

Hank keeps himself busy – hides – in his lab so he doesn't have to watch the painful dance between the Professor and Magneto. He's never been great with relationships or dealing with the type of emotions that are churning between the two men; Hank's always been better with facts than feelings. But even he can see how badly the two of them need to talk, to deal with the many issues that have been festering between them for eight years.

Plus it doesn't take a genius (ha ha) to see how much his friend and his ex-mentor still love each other. Erik spends an inordinate amount of time just watching Charles, staring at him with a hunger that's almost frightening in its intensity. And though the Prof. hides it better, Hank knows him well enough to see through the seemingly detached facade to the uncertainty and turmoil bubbling just beneath the surface.

"Hi Hank!"

"Hello Max, Ororo. What are you two doing here?"

The two children wander into the lab hand in hand and stop in front of Hank with big smiles on their faces. It's easy to see that they want something, though he can't find it in himself to feel anything but charmed by their giddiness.

Max grins, his smile wide and toothy, "Hank, we need your help."

"Oh? And what is it that you need help with?"

Ororo jumps in with a breathless laugh, "We're going to get the Professor and Mr. Erik back together so Max can have a real family. But we need an adult to help us."

Hank looks at them both and sighs, "And what do you think I can do? Charles and Erik are incredibly stubborn men. They can barely stand to be in the same room with each other right now and you think I can help you get them back together?"

The little girl tilts her head up to look at him, a piece of her long white hair falling into her eyes as she speaks. "Well Max and I figure that the problem is that they won't talk to each other. So we just need to give them a good reason to talk."

"Vati wants to talk," Max interjects, "After he tucks me into bed at night he always goes right back down to the study. I can tell he's hoping to find Daddy there waiting for him but it never happens. Daddy always goes to his room the minute Vati and I leave even though I know he doesn't go to sleep that early."

Hank sighs, "Alright, so you're telling me Charles is the one refusing to give Erik an opening? So you...want me to talk to your Dad? Get him to give Erik a chance? I'm not sure that's going to work."

Max smiles and walks over to Hank's desk, picking up the blueprints to the new Cerebro. "No I've got a better idea."

"You want me to what?"

Erik is in his new (old) bedroom, staring at Hank and the blueprints in his hand. At Max's insistence and Charles' somewhat reluctant agreement he had moved back into his old bedroom across from Charles' and Max's in the west wing. To say that he was surprised the room was unoccupied would have been an understatement; it still looks exactly the way he remembers it from his original stay at the mansion.

Hank lets out a low growl and rubs his face impatiently, "I want you to help me build a larger Cerebro. We've had plans to do it for years. It's taken us this long to source all the metal that's required to build this new version underground. And it'll take a lot longer still if we have to put the paneling up ourselves, whereas you can probably do it in the matter of weeks or even days."

He sneers at the man in front of him and snaps, "And why would I help you do that? I'm not a glorified lackey for you to order around so you can take advantage of my gift!"

"You are such a pompous ass," Hank snarls, "I'm trying to help you with Charles!"

Erik stops and stares, "Help me with Charles? How?"

"Let's not kid ourselves that this visit has been going particularly well for you." Hank levels a glare at Erik who has no qualms glaring right back. "Charles doesn't trust your intentions and that's why he won't talk to you. If you help us with Cerebro you can show him that you mean well and it'll give you the excuse you need to really talk to him. Cerebro is important to the Prof.; he won't discount anything you have to say about it."

He doesn't respond for a long moment, gaze level as he takes the blueprints from Hank and looks them over. "Why are you helping me? What's in it for you?"

Hank scratches the back of his head and sighs, "I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing this for Max and for Charles. Max wants you to stay or at the very least to fix things with his Dad. And Charles needs closure, whatever that may be."

Erik wants to accept that Hank has good intentions but he's having trouble believing that the younger man would willingly help him. "You would trust me with something like this? To build Cerebro for Charles' use? You're not afraid that I could do something to hurt him?"

Hanks scoffs at the other man's words, "I don't trust you, which is why I'll be there to supervise the construction." He turns to exit, only stopping at the door when he hears Erik's next words, "Thank you."

"Don't, I'm still not sure that I'm doing the right thing." He sighs and his shoulders slump slightly as he leans one arm against the door, "You know if your situations had been reversed he would never have left you like that." Hank turns to face him and gives him a long look. "Charles trusts people until they give him a reason not to and that's what we all love about him. But it's our job – mine and Sean's and Alex's - to protect the Prof. so we don't trust anyone until they give us a reason to. And you Magneto, have a long way to go before any of us will think about trusting you again."

Charles catches the excitement radiating from Max as he makes his way to the elevator. He knows from both Hank's and Max's thoughts that they are in the new installation, watching Erik put the metal structure of the new Cerebro together with his powers. He punches the code impatiently, wishing for a moment that he could move metal and make the damned elevator go faster.

He stays by the door to watch unnoticed as Erik stands at the center of the raised platform, arms outstretched, lifting the floor-to-ceiling metal panels effortlessly around the cavernous room. It's a sight that Charles never tires of seeing, Erik's mastery of his gift exemplified with such elegance and control. He clamps down viciously on the swell of love and affection threatening to pull him under and then rolls quickly into the room.

"Daddy, look! Vati is helping us build Cerebro! Isn't that great?"

He smiles at his son and then turns to look at Hank, "Would you mind taking Max upstairs while I have a word with Erik please?"

Max pouts and crosses his arms, "But I want to stay and watch Vati move the metal!"

Charles gives the boy a stern look and then tugs him closer to give him a hug. "Run along with Hank and I'll see you shortly. Your Vati and I are just going to talk right now; you're not going to miss him moving any more of the metal around."

He waits until Hank and Max are well out of hearing range before he whirls around to face Erik and snaps, "Just what do you think you're doing?"

The other man doesn't react, though he shifts slightly and crosses his arms before answering. "I thought that was quite obvious Charles. I'm helping you build Cerebro."

He narrows his eyes at his ex-lover and rolls closer until he's right in front of Erik. "Why are you helping us build Cerebro?"

"Hank explained it quite well. It would take your team months to do what I can simply do for you in a matter of days." He grins and bares his teeth at Charles, "It's a gesture of my good intentions."

The Professor scoffs and waves his hand distractedly, "You never do anything without a good reason; you only care how something or someone will benefit you and your particular cause. So tell me, do you want me in your debt so I'll agree to find an army for you?"

Erik's face is thunderous at his accusation, "I'm not helping you so I can recruit more mutants for the Brotherhood! Mein Gott Charles, I've been doing just fine for the last eight years! Can't you just take this as a gift from me? A small way for me to start making amends for what's happened between us?"

He smoothes the features on his face and looks up at Erik with a wry smile, "Of course. Thank you for your help it's much appreciated. Why don't I go and find Hank and let you get back to it." He turns his wheelchair around and starts to make his way towards the exit.

Erik's voice is rough and low as he snarls, "Are you going to run away again? Are you so afraid to face me that you can't even talk to me? Can't be in the same room with me without Max around? The Charles Xavier I knew may have been an arrogant fool but he was never a coward."

Charles spins his chair around and glares at the brash, impossible man standing in front of him. "You want to talk Erik? Fine, let's talk."