March 13, 1958
"So, is the embassy ready yet?" asked Charles.
"They're going back and forth on it," Erik said, "I used to have better information on the subject, and then they got that MRD facility in Pennsylvania."
He opened a door, their footsteps echoing on the polished floor. The palace always seemed so empty to Charles. It felt like it was too big a building just to house the few diplomats such as himself who had apartments. Members of the parliament were allowed to stay in the city. Lucky them.
"Not that I'm complaining," Erik said, "I'd rather have hundreds of mutants freed from captivity than hear when the roof repairs on some building I've never seen yet are ready."
"I never said you didn't," Charles said, "They say that there may be at least one other facility. I suppose they'll investigate that next after their visit, and once they're done with Senator Kelly. I hear that he doesn't stand much of a chance."
"Good. And we're going to need to get our immigration paperwork ready by tomorrow so it can be ready Friday," Erik said, "It's heartening to see how many are coming. I can't say that the influx of sapiens is something to be grateful for though."
"By sapiens are you referring to people like Katherine Summers?" asked Charles mildly, "The wife of the man who led the raid? Of course we shouldn't have them, bringing their recently freed son along. And oh, they don't know if their younger son is a mutant. I suppose we should count him out too?"
"Your point is made," growled Erik, "But you know why I don't want to do this."
"I know, I just don't agree," Charles said, "At all. We have to meet everyone halfway. It's sort of what government is about."
Erik waved away his protests.
"I don't feel like having this conversation for the thousandth time," he said, "I actually wanted to talk about who we should pick as our ambassador."
"You finally decided on someone?" asked Charles.
"Yes. I think that we should have Janos be our ambassador," Erik said, "He's consistently shown loyalty and we won't miss his absence too keenly from our military ranks. He also seems to have a decent grasp of politics. And I figured we should send Clarice with him for back-up."
"It's a good pick. But it means we'll be down another teleporter," Charles sighed.
Teleportation wasn't too common, even among the large pool of Genoshan mutants. The logistics of the mutation seemed too complicated.
"That just leaves us with Azazel," said Charles.
"You say that like you don't like him," said Erik.
"He's alright, I just think that he and Raven are a little close," he replied.
"Come now, he's too old for her," Erik said.
"No, I didn't mean it like that," said Charles, waving a hand, "I just think that he's a little too violent and she still wants to do field work."
He sighed. His relationship with Raven was getting increasingly tense. They had gotten into a shouting match two days before. She'd stormed out, studiously ignoring him. The last time he'd seen her she'd been playing with Rahne in the back of the school. As soon as she saw him she swept off, the small girl in tow.
Charles was happy that Rahne and Raven were close, but the situation was becoming unbearably frustrating.
"You're going to have to give in sooner or later," Erik said.
"I prefer later, as in three years later," Charles said, "But while we're on the subject of the embassy…what happened with Emma yesterday…that prisoner in interrogation...she can't still be on the list to go. Having her there in the first place wasn't the best idea but now it's impossible. "
Erik sighed and rubbed his temples.
"She didn't mean to kill him," Erik said, "You saw her; she was scared when it happened."
"I know she didn't," said Charles, "which, in some ways, is worse. She loses control of her powers and she won't hold back. Erik…I don't like the situation any more than you do."
His friend smiled ruefully.
"It was easier with Creed, wasn't it?" he asked, "We all knew that he enjoyed being that way. Emma can't help it."
"No," said Charles, "We should…I don't know, find some house for her to stay in away from the city. Azazel and Clarice can come visit her. She'd like that."
"She'll realize it's a cage though," said Erik, "And I don't like imprisoning our kind."
"We're not imprisoning her," Charles said, sighing, "We're just putting her someplace where she won't be tempted to use her powers again. Removing her from office. I know it's a thin line we're walking here, but do we have any choice?"
There was a long pause.
"No," Erik said at last, "But we'll discuss it at another time."
Charles nodded, filing it away for the moment. He pulled up the next thing on his mind. It was a diplomatic ability to change gears quickly.
"In any case, the construction on the school is almost done," he said.
"So, you just wait until summer is over and the classes begin?" asked Erik.
"Yes, it's going rather well," Charles said, "I've got several applicants that are eager for the opportunity. I wish you'd let Lorna attend."
"It's not safe enough," Erik said firmly, "I know you'll do what you can, but it's a school. Different children come and go all the time, too many people."
Charles sighed, knowing that he was going to get nowhere with the argument. Even his appeals to Susanna had been difficult. She had understood her husband's position and only made tentative suggestions. In her mind Lorna could safely socialize with Rahne and be taught at the palace. The idea had its merit, but still.
"Alright then. And…"
He hesitated.
"The Acolyte program received several applicants as well," he said.
Erik shook his head.
"Your reluctance to install that does your heart more credit than your head," Erik said.
"We're training children to be soldiers," replied Charles stiffly, "Imagine if someone put Lorna on the front line."
For a moment Erik looked uncomfortable. He quickly shook it off.
"I would expect her to do her duty I suppose," he said, "But I would also expect her to be trained so that she'd actually be able to do it. We will be attacked one day Charles."
"But children Erik?" asked Charles, despairing.
"Think of it as a JROTC program," Erik said, "I highly doubt that we'll actually call them into combat. They can be trained for it though. Do you have any ideas about instructors?"
Charles swallowed. As the doors to the throne room opened he said;
"I was thinking Logan."
His friend stopped in mid-step.
"Logan?" he asked, "As in James Howlett?"
"There's only one Logan on Genosha," Charles said, his apprehension briefly overcome by his annoyance.
Erik shook his head.
"And you say that I'm taking risks with Genosha's youth," he said.
"No, hear me out," said Charles, "As you said, you would expect the people in question to be trained. He'll train them. It won't be easy, I'll grant that, but they'll be prepared."
"He'll prepare them alright," said Erik, "I never thought that teaching would be his chosen career path when the fighting had died down though. I assume he wants to give up his cabinet position?"
"I think so, although he said he'd be willing to be an advisor," Charles said, "But he wants to have a stable, normal life now. He actually suggested himself for the position."
"Really?" asked Erik, raising his eyebrow, "Do you know what brought this on?"
He thought about Kayla, the way Logan had looked at her when she left. His words about her echoed in his head. Logan had always struck him as being thoughtful and tired. He thought about Logan's increasing distance from his brother, of his slow realization that not all life was about fighting, that it could be about more.
"The usual for all of us I suppose," Charles said.
"You applied for a job at the school?" asked Kayla amused.
Logan shrugged, rolling his shoulders back. She smiled and rested her head on his shoulder. It was one of the few nights they had alone together. Raven had agreed to babysit Rahne; practically jumping at the chance. She would be well taken care of at Charles' house. Rahne was close to both of the Xaviers, Charles especially.
"Figured it would be better than the bodyguard business," he said, "It's boring."
"But you met me during it," Kayla said, "Can't be all bad."
He grinned and twined his hand in her hair, pulling her to his lips. She kissed back before pulling away and propping her chin on the couch. He turned to face her.
"No," he said, "It isn't."
Kayla got up and stretched. She looked outside at the full moon. Her eyes glowed with its light. For a minute she just stared, entranced.
"Somethin' wrong?"
She shook her head, still looking at the moon. Out of the corner of her eye she looked back at Logan and hesitated. He'd given so much of himself for her. He'd told her about the wars and the uncertainty he felt about his own life. Logan had said that he'd killed his father, and Kayla had told him she'd killed hers too. There had been no more details about her after that.
She took a deep breath. It would only be fair to give him something back.
"Logan," she said, turning her head slightly, "I'm going to tell you a story that my mother used to tell me when I was little. And I...I told it to my sister once."
She choked out a laugh.
"But I've got to warn you; it's sad."
Logan looked up, confused. Kayla looked away, directing her eyes back to the moon.
"Why the moon is so lonely?" she asked.
"Why?" he murmured.
She tilted her head.
"Because she used to have a lover," Kayla said, "His name was Kuekuatsu and they lived in the spirit world together."
"Oh, this is a true story," said Logan.
Kayla managed another laugh.
"Mm-hm," she said, "And no interrupting."
Logan said nothing but grinned.
"And every night, they would wander the skies together," Kayla said, "But, one of the other spirits was jealous. Trickster wanted the Moon for himself."
The next part was hard for her to say. She remembered being a little girl, her arms clutching her knees and looking at her mother with wide eyes. Kayla remembered speaking the precious syllables to her small sister in the car the night she lost her, cradling her. She hadn't known how much time they had left.
"So he told Kuekuatsu that the Moon had asked for flowers; he told him to come to our world and pick her some wild roses," said Kayla.
"But?" asked Logan.
Kayla forced down another deep breath. The story was almost over, precious as it was. Every line brought back many memories. Her sister had burst out into tears when she heard what was coming next. It had amazed her, that after all the tragedy they had faced, she could still be made sad by an old legend.
"But Kuekuatsu didn't know that once you leave the spirit world, you can never go back," Kayla said, smiling sadly, "And every night, he looks up in the sky and sees the Moon and howls her name. But... he can never touch her again."
Silence descended around the room. Kayla thought of her own siblings, long gone now in a place where they might finally be safe.
"Wow," Logan said, breaking the silence, "Koo-koo-ka-choo got screwed."
From somewhere she found annoyance, followed by a wave of love. This was why she loved him, the challenge, his ability to find something in a situation worth laughing at.
"Ku-e-ku-at-su," she corrected, "It means the Wolverine."
He'd nodded and she walked over and kissed him. He kissed her back for a minute, taking in her expression as she sat down beside him. Somehow she knew that he knew.
"It's sad," she whispered, "But the sadness isn't all there is. The real truth of the story is that no matter how far away someone was, you can still love them."
Kayla took a deep breath.
"You can still call out their name and they'll still hear you."
His gaze became intense. One of his hands cupped the back of her head and he studied her. After a few minutes of silence he said;
"You should marry me you know."
Kayla blinked.
"What?"
"Marry me," Logan said bluntly, "I know I should have a ring or some fancy proposal planned out, but to be perfectly honest I just realized."
His other hand framed her face and she stared, her mouth slightly open.
"I'm not the kind of man who lets good things get away. And you're the best damn thing that's ever happened to me," he said, "So, what do you say?"
She started laughing, a somewhat hysterical sound. A flicker of apprehension crossed his face, one that she hurried to soothe.
"When you put it that way," Kayla said, "I can't really say no now can I?"
He grinned and pulled her close.
"Good."