Unspoken: One Is One

One Is One
by anonymous

Rating: PG-13 for implied slash

Summary: Sometimes you can't do anything for the ones you love but watch and wait.

Notes: Well, since this seems to be a free-for-all I thought I'd have a go, although I've not written any X-Men fic before. Don't know if I got the character right but at least I can do the accent! Think this will fit in after jengrrrl's 'Strange Comfort'

Date: September 26, 2001

There was no one in the kitchen as he warmed the pot while waiting for the water to boil. Not surprising considering the lateness of the hour, but often when his students were troubled they ended up seeking solace in this room. Hot chocolate seemed to be a particular favourite, or ice cream among the younger members of the school, but he found the familiar ritual of tea-making to be calming. And calm was badly needed tonight, by him as much as anyone. An ethical telepath never went uninvited into another mind, and those who had been in the mansion for a while were experienced in protecting their thoughts. But the strong emotions that leapt from people today were like someone suddenly shrieking in his ear through a megaphone. He was able to tune it out after the initial shock - which was just as well since it wouldn't help the strained atmosphere of the school to find him gibbering in a corner somewhere - but it was tiring and he couldn't forget those first despairing cries.

He had come here with the idea that perhaps there would be someone who needed an ear to listen to them or even a shoulder to weep on, but it appeared he had taught them to be too strong and independent. The water was boiling so he made the tea and placed the pot on the tray he had readied. The room seemed soulless when empty, so he deserted it to return to the familiarity of his study.

As he passed along the shadowed corridors he felt the raw edges of a mind and could just make out a figure in the distance slipping outside. Almost he called to her mentally to come back to share his tea and his calm, but then saw a shimmer of white following her and recognised Warren. Not the most obvious choice for offering wisdom and sensitivity, but, even though he tried to hide it, he did have a tender heart. She would not be alone, yet Warren could shield well enough that she could keep the seclusion of her mind. Yes, it was a good solution to one problem and he couldn't fix everything.

As he entered his study and moved the tray to his desk, he mused that trying to fix everything had always been his failing. When his powers had come to him, he had raised up barriers instinctively, the strength of his telepathy making it simple. Then he had delighted in peeping out from behind them and seeing what people were thinking. The next small step had been to alter what they were thinking. An angry parent? Remind him how much he loved his child. A forsaken woman? Show her the eyes of the man who first kissed her. A shy lover? Make them confident. Oh, he had been very young and foolish in those days. He had skimmed from mind to mind, changing sorrow to joy, lust to love, hatred to tolerance and then someone caught him at it. He had found a mind that jerked away as he brushed by it, and he had looked across a gallery to find a pair of eyes that were all dark fire and ancient youth. The owner was tall and much too thin, his face carved with lines of sorrow but when Xavier had smiled at him, the lips had softened into a tentative curve. That had been the beginning.

How ironic it was that it had been Erik who made him realise the immorality of his actions. He would never have been able to trust that love if he had been the one to introduce it. All the emotions he had forced on people were as unnatural as prosthetics; they might help the person to function but they weren't the real thing. He had thought himself godlike in his abilities but Erik had suffered at the hands of those who had deemed themselves above other humans. God did not twist people to his bidding but gave them choice and wept when they turned away from him.

He wanted to be able to reach out through the entire mansion and grounds and wrap people in his love and protection. His lips twitched as he contemplated Logan's reaction if he ever realised this, a snort, at the very least, and more probably a low warning growl. Yet he longed to reach into that lonely mind and convince him that this was home, where he would always be welcome. He thought of Rogue, seemingly so fragile, but sheltering within herself the steel core of Marie who strengthened with every tempering. If he let himself, he would show her Scott's love so she would know herself always treasured even if that love should change. He grieved for Scott, so desperate to do right but torn now between two rights and seeing only the wrong that would be done on either path. How easy it would be to simply cut off one of those paths as if it had never been. And Jean, that gallant soul who had entered his life so recently, but already he felt an affection for her to match that of those he had known for many years. He rejoiced in the rich diversity of mutant gifts, but telepaths always slipped easily into his heart along familiar ways. He would remind her of how, all unknowing, she had used her talent to help those she treated, and spread out before her much more she would be able to help in the future with her new knowledge. Ah yes, a nudge here, a snip there, something blanked out, something added and it would all be resolved. As pretty and as false as a papier mache mask

Restless, he wheeled over to a small table where a chess game was in progress and switched on a light to illuminate the pieces. He studied the positions and then shook his head admiringly as he realised Scott was going to win again. What a keen mind he had; what a fine man he had become. A man he would have been proud to call son. The love he felt for Scott and every person who came to his house washed over him like an incoming tide, filling all the empty spaces. His finger reached out and lingered on the black king for a moment before tipping it over in surrender. Well, nearly all.

~*~

The Taming by Shana

Back to Unspoken Index

Back to X-Men Stories Index

Back to Main Stories Index

~*~

Disclaimer: All X-Men characters belong to Marvel and Fox; this piece of fan-written fiction intends no infringement on any copyrights.