Stumbling Along the Path
"Does it ever wake you in the middle of the night?" Erik asked, "The feeling that one day, they'll come for you? And your children?"
Xavier wheeled around, "I feel a great swell of pity for the poor soul who comes to my school looking for trouble."
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or universe. They belong to Marvel and FOX Studio.
A/N: Sorry for the lack of posts and this shorter chapter, I'm currently moving and getting ready to restart college so I've been quite busy. Gonna be able to write more though now J
Scott and Ororo headed back to the boat, it was far into the night and their legs were throbbing and Ororo was almost positive she had blisters on both her feet from her unbroken in boots. They hadn't seen Kurt or Peter or anyone they knew since they headed into the town and began leading people back on board.
Scott gave a silent nod to Ororo, she nodded back, they were far too exhausted for words. Scott unlocked his door and walked in to see Jean still asleep in the bed, she was above the covers, just curled up in a ball with a pillow in her grasp. He grabbed the blanket off his bed and covered her up. He was too hot for blankets anyway.
He stripped out of his uniform and went into the shower, the water stung his skin at first, but soon the heat began to feel soothing, he sat down in the shower and just let the water hit him for a while before his legs finally stopped pulsating for him to stand back up and wash off his hair.
He wrapped himself up in a towel after he shook his hair dry and stepped out followed by a trail of steam, he let out a deep breath as the cold air hit him. He quickly put on a shirt and some sleep pants and laid down in his bed. The rocking of the ocean felt uneasy after being on land all day.
He turned on his side and looked at Jean, she looked so peaceful, he hopped she would stay out for the night and that the ocean would be the only thing rocking the boat. He felt a sting of guilt for not telling Magneto sooner that it was a bad idea to push her like that. He sat up and walked over and gave her a kiss on her forehead, which was met with a little murmur and her turning onto her other side.
Scott was just about to lay back and down and close his eyes when there was a soft knock on the door. He got up and sighed as he made his way to the door before giving it a slight twist and creaking it open a crack.
"We just vanted to let you know we are back." Kurt whispered, Peter leaning against the wall behind him.
"Have either of you see Magneto or your sister since we docked? I haven't seen them get back on the boat." Scott said, stepping outside the door and shutting it.
"Dadneto was talking politics with some people, Wanda and Lorna were staying with him to council. Don't know why he needed them with him, Lorna's idea of politics is war and Wanda doesn't seem interested in any of it anyway. Seems ridiculous to me." Peter rambled.
"Oh okay, I just wondered. I wanted to talk to him a bit about some of these destinations, I mean we have mutants from Africa to Germany and Scotland and Japan. I mean I'm all for getting them home, but I don't think I can handle that much time on this boat. Plus this could take weeks and school is going to be starting up before we know it and I still don't have that stuff sorted out." Scott said, in between yawns.
"Yeah I know that feel, man." Peter said, yawning as well.
"I am going to bed, I am exhausted. Blinking hurts right now." Kurt said and then vanished in a cloud of blue smoke.
"Think we should take a note from blue man and hit the hay, Cyke." Peter said giving Scott a pat on the shoulder before just walking behind Kurt, he was too exhausted to run.
Scott creaked open the door to find Jean sitting back up in bed.
"Sorry I didn't mean to wake you." Scott said, going to the edge of her bed.
"Oh no, you're fine, really, I just needed a glass of water, the medicine they gave me knocks me out but it also makes me really sick." She gave a half hearted sigh and a half smile at Scott.
"How are you feeling though? I'm sorry I didn't speak up to Magneto sooner." He said as he put his hand on hers.
"I'm pretty stubborn, even if you had said something, I might not have listened." She gave a chuckle and leaned her head onto his shoulder.
"That is true." He laughed and kissed her on her forehead.
"I'm still exhausted though, and I want to go out and help you guys tomorrow. There's someone out there who I think we've seen before, their thoughts just feel familiar, like I've heard them before. I want to find them." Jean said as she began to lay back down.
"Alright, Jeanie. Good night, I love you." He blurted out and quickly covered his mouth as he got up and started heading back to his bed awkwardly.
"Scott, I'm a telepath, I already knew. I love you too. Do you think you could hold me until I fall asleep, there's not much room over here but I'm just a bit afraid to go back to sleep?" Jean confessed as she patted her hand on the edge of her bed.
"Oh okay. Sure." Scott said, his face turning tomato red as he climbed into bed under the covers as Jean turned and rested her head on his chest. She could hear the beating of his heart, it was beating so fast Jean thought it might burst from his chest. She held back a giggle and instead yawned as she closed her eyes, soon falling back to sleep.
Scott began to pet her fiery red hair, until he too began to get tired and his eyes began to flutter. He reached out and flipped the lights off and soon fell asleep with his head resting above Jean's, dreaming of her melodically saying "I love you" over and over again, until the words sounded more like a song than a phrase.
Magneto walked Lorna back to her room, giving her a kiss on her forehead before turning back to Wanda.
"You and Lorna are more than welcome to stay here by my side and lead with me. I want nothing more than my children to enjoy the world I am making here for them and for you. If you do wish to stay, I will need to know by tomorrow night before the boat leaves." Magneto said, before kissing Wanda on her forehead and turning to walk back to his room.
"Father, I do want to stay. I want Pietro to stay too… I don't want to go back to a world that fears and hates us. Not when I can live here in peace and help others like me. I've spent my whole life forced to hide in my room. I wish to see the world and take part in it. And here I can. My answer is yes, but can you talk to Pietro? I don't think he wants to stay… and I fear for his safety if he stays with the X-Men." Wanda said, looking up at her father with wide tear filled eyes.
"I will do whatever I need and can for my children, Wanda. Fear not." He rested a hand on her shoulder before turning and leaving.
Wanda walked past Pietro's room, she had only known her brother a short period of time but already felt closer to him than any family she had known before. The X-Men were not safe for him. The X-Men were fighting a losing war against a world that hated them, Magneto was right about that. She didn't want to see Pietro on the news captured trying to rescue mutants, or fight Sentinels or trying to rescue others, no matter how noble it may seem.
She knew Pietro was stubborn though, sometimes to the point where making deals with walls were an easier idea. She would have to come up with something good to get him to stay here, something better than whatever the professor had told him time and time again that had turned him into a foolish puppet in a war he shouldn't have to fight in.
She wanted to stay on Genosha, but she didn't want to stay alone. Yes, she had Lorna, but Lorna was far more accustomed to this than she was, she wanted her brother, her friend. She had to come up with a reason to keep him here, to keep him safe.
And she only had 24 hours to do so. She looked up at the clock in the hallway, the tick tock meeting her heart beat, beat for beat.
