Constantly, Charles doubted his ability to really love a woman. Sure, he had a few one night stands but nothing more than that. Of course, any man has his own reasons as to why he doubts his abilities . . . just not at a horrible time like this.
But here he was, standing outside the door of a girl he thinks he loves. He brings his fist up to knock on the door only to bring it back down, not knowing what to say or do. He runs a hand through his hair and taps his foot, trying to think of something to say.
He cared very much for Aurora, even if he had only met her a few days ago. (Being a telepath meant that he could easily know everything about her, so bonds are easily made quickly.) He quickly fell in madly love with everything about her, just as Erik said. Just where he started, he was back again.
Was him falling for her possibly toxic?
Out of the blue, Aurora's melodic voice popped out wearily from inside the room.
"For a telepath, you think very loudly. It makes it difficult to sleep, you know."
His cheeks flush, but he feels glad that she couldn't see him now. He stutters a reply to her, asking her if he could come in. She complies with his request and moves to open the door for him. Charles grins at her, seeing the corners of her lips quirking up slightly. Her eyes twinkled playfully as she ushered him in.
"Why is it that whenever we need to converse, we always end up in a bedroom?" Aurora muttered.
He chuckles at her before his smile fades. She notices his suddenly go serious and takes it as a hint to take a seat on the edge of her bed.
"What's going on, Charles?" She questions.
He looks at her confused face, taking in a deep breath to make time to find the right words.
"Are you feeling alright after the, erm, incident?"
"Stupid way to put it, Charles!" said a voice in his head.
"Oh, I'm alright, Charles. I just needed to rest a little afterwards,"
"That's wonderful. I was worried since it was my fault. . ."
"It wasn't your fault. Like before, you didn't know,"
That was one thing he didn't want to hear. He wanted to hear that she blamed him for everything. He wanted to know that she blames him and never wants to see him ever again.
The same voice, which sounded much like Erik's, continued to doubt him. He couldn't be the paperweight that destroys the fragile flower. He couldn't bear the thought of being the reason she broke.
He didn't realize it, but he was silent for an oddly long time. Aurora's soft voice punctured his rough thoughts. She called out to him and softly laid a hand on his knee. He snapped out of it and looked at her.
"Charles, seriously, what's going on?"
"I'm a paperweight, Aurora."
"You're a what now?"
"I'm a paperweight and all I'm going to do is break the delicate flower that you are,"
He shakes his head slowly as he moves away from her. She takes away the hand that was on his knee. Charles doesn't dare look at her for fear that he might burst. A tense silence flows freely between them now. Aurora stares at Charles, slightly hoping that he'd explain himself.
". . . No one ever said that the paperweight was supposed to break the flower,"
Charles still looked away angrily, not exactly sure as to why. Again, Aurora cautiously inched closer to him, giving him time to make her stop.
"Although a paperweight is heavy and can easily break things, it can also hold things together. A flower can lean on the paperweight and the paperweight will continuously support it without a fault."
"I'm toxic Aurora. Erik even said so himself, and hell, he has barely met me!"
"If you're toxic, then why do you think some flowers have thorns?"
Charles stays quiet, but slowly turns to face the judging expression of his love interest.
"Some flowers have thorns to protect it from other predators, but once they get picked by a special person, the thorns can be cut off. It doesn't hurt either of them anymore."
Charles studied her closely. She was smiling softly at the metaphor that she just made up. Charles chewed on the inside of his bottom lip and narrowed his gaze at her, once again at a loss for words.
". . . And sometimes, we become immune to the toxins that try to harm us." He softly continued.
She looked at him, the smile on her lips gone. Charles moved closer to her now, nearly closing the small gap that was set between them.
Questioningly, he moves his lips closer to hers. She stayed where she was, just waiting for him to come to her. A shiver runs down his spine as their lips were now centimeters away from each other. Finally, they met.
Charles felt Aurora soft pink lips against his, kindly returning the motion. He felt a little firework pop in the background as more shudders ran up his spine. He found his arms snaking around her waist and her hands entangling themselves into his short hair.
Aurora pulled away to gasp for some air. Their foreheads stay touching. She looked at him, hoping and waiting that he will say something. He stared right back at her and gulped, trying to process the new feeling in his chest.
"You don't know how long I've waited to do that," Charles muttered.
"I've gone full circle, Charles Xavier," Aurora pressed one quick, chaste kiss to his lips.
"I really am in love with you. . ."
He grabbed her hand and interlaced his fingers with hers. He pulled her into his chest protectively and wrapped his free arm around her. She leaned into him and hugged him back. Enjoying the cozy warmth between them, he unconsciously kissed her hair.
"I'm in love with you too,"
[ Aurora ]
It has been about three hours since Charles came into her room saying that they needed to talk. They were now lying on her bed. She was happily wrapped in his arms, enjoying the soft warmth that came from his chest. Charles' hand was on top of hers as his fingers traced shapeless forms onto her hand.
They stayed silent, taking in the new feelings of love. Aurora sighed sadly, realizing the horrible timing of their confessions. They were just on the wage of a mutant war and now they are faced with the fact that their love might get in the way of their actual plans.
Aurora shifted around and propped herself on her elbows. She turns her head to look at Charles with a solemn expression. He meets her brown orbs with a questioning gaze.
"How are we supposed to manage this if we're supposed to be working with the CIA?"
Charles looks like he is in deep thought for a moment before he grabs her hand gently.
"We can always find a way, Aurora." He smiles at her gently.
Charles brings her hand to his lips to kiss her knuckles. She smiles lovingly at him, lying back down. They stare at each other's eyes, getting lost.
Unexpectedly, the door to her room swung wide open. A loud gasp is emitted from whoever opened the door. Charles looks up to see who barged in. Hank stood there with a blush creeping up his cheeks. He turns away and apologizes awkwardly, sidestepping his way out the door.
"Hank, it's alright, we're not doing anything…touchy feely," Charles said, chuckling.
Hank walked back in, still beet red in the face. Aurora turns around in her bed to face him. She giggles quietly at his embarrassment then sits up, lotus style. Charles is propped up on his elbows, watching Hank.
"I apologize. I shouldn't have had, uhm, barged in without, uh, knocking. I-I needed to come and tell you something important," Hank stuttered nervously. "I was just walking around and I just remembered that I wanted to show you both Cerebro."
"Cerebro?" Aurora asked curiously.
"He's one of my inventions. It's a machine that amplifies brain waves and since you and Charles are telepaths, you can possibly use it to find other mutants."
Charles swings his legs over the edge of the bed and stands up, suddenly interested in the conversation. He tilts his head slightly to the side and grins at Hank. Aurora scoots towards the edge of the bed. Charles holds a hand out to her and pulls her up to stand next to him.
"Where is this 'Cerebro' invention of yours, Hank?" Charles asks.
Hank smiles and walks out the door, looking over his shoulder to make sure they're still following. The pair of telepaths are escorted to the backyard lawn of the facility. They make their way into the dome shaped room/machine and are met with a waiting Raven and Erik.
Hank walks towards a helmet looking device that's connected to many wires and tubes. Charles steps up first and Hank hands him the expedient. Charles puts it on and stands in the center of the room.
"Are you sure we can just shave your head?" Hank asks.
"Don't touch my hair."
Aurora laughs discreetly from the corner of the room. Raven cocks her head in her direction and smiles.
"Who knows Charles, you might go bald in the near future," Raven says jokingly to Charles.
He sends a weak glare at her as Hank switches on buttons, turning on Cerebro.
"Get ready Charles!"
The minute the machine is turned on, Charles' eyes widen. He lets out a 'WOOHOO!' as he begins to enjoy the amplifying of his brain. In the far corner of the room, a typewriter taps coordinates and locations onto a long sheet of paper.
"I hope you're ready for more traveling, Erik! We've got mutants to find!"