I'm catching up on what I missed last week. I promise it'll be up to date by Friday.

Book 1

Chapter Fifteen

The night before Cuba, Belle spent a long time sitting at her vanity, staring into the mirror. For the first time in years, she opened her mind and just listened to the world around her. She could feel everyone bustling around in the house doing their own thing. Charles and Erik sat across the hall playing chess while the boys were in their own rooms thinking about the coming day. Belle noticed that Raven was pacing in her room as though she was anxious about something, but they all were so she didn't think much of it. Moira was down with the television watching the nightly news before bed and Hank was down in the lab as usual. The tension in the house was suffocating and burdening so Belle rose to open the window when she suddenly felt herself being yanked back into her seat, the force of the pull so strong that Belle's vision blurred and all of the voices and emotions in her mind ceased with a quick thump. Looking up once she was stable, she noticed that she had a hand on the mirror and stared at her reflection, crinkling her nose. One blink later, and in her place through the mirror was an older woman staring back at her. She looked to be in her sixties and had a mysterious glow around her, familiar blue eyes burning through her. When Belle blinked again, the woman was gone, though her presence caused the hairs on the back of her neck to stand. She waited to see if the woman would return, but minutes passed and nothing happened, leaving her with many questions as she leaned on the vanity.

It seemed like forever when the echo of the clocks chiming sprung her to her feet. Once she came out of her daze, Belle avoided the mirror for the rest of the night, simply changing into her pajamas and Charles's bathrobe and brushing out her hair aimlessly with her fingers. She decided against braiding it, simply leaving her curls loose as to fall over her shoulders. A soft knock came against the door and Belle offered Charles a kind smile as he walked through the door. It faded when she saw him gloomy state, her hand reaching up to touch his face. Instead, he took her wrist, stopping her from letting her fingers trace his skin. At the rejection, she shifted away quietly, crawling into her bed. Charles turned off the lights and turned to lull her to sleep as usual, but her closed eyes and relaxed features made him think she had fallen fast asleep. Sure she wouldn't notice, he kissed her cheek and leaned away from her.

"Sweet dreams, my dearest," he whispered quietly before slowly walking out, closing the door behind him. Belle wasn't sure when she drifted off or how long she had been out, but she woke up with a start suddenly, her back arching her into a sitting position. It felt as though she had a nightmare, but couldn't remember any of it in the slightest. Taking a deep breath, she slid back into the sheets and faced towards the window before eventually turning away with a frustrated grunt. In doing so, she noticed a light peering through the bottom of the door. Someone was still awake. Curiosity fueled her movements as she crawled out of bed and left her room, shutting her door quietly behind her. Belle's bare feet padded lightly against the hardwood flooring of the hallway. She slowly lifted her knuckles to knock on Charles's door, but she noticed the door open and felt his sense of frustration. She shyly spread her hand on the wood of the door as she pushed it forward slightly. She could see Charles on his feet while packing up his chessboard as she slowly walked in a little, fidgeting with the lace bordering her nightgown as she stayed right by the door. Charles? Her voice was soft in his head and he immediately looked up at her, moving forward and leaving the chess game behind and forgotten. Belle? Is everything alright? She nodded quickly, not wanting to worry him. I just saw a light on. His eyes flashed toward the door. I see. He simply waved her in and quietly closed the door for her. While his back was turned, Belle looked in the mirror on the other side of the room. When she saw her reflection, a pang of dread hit her like a freight train, eliciting a gasp from her lips. Images started flashing before her eyes, all too quick to contemplate. Charles noticed the tension in her posture and gently placed a hand on the small of her back.

"Are you okay?" However, she didn't respond, simply staring into the mirror as bombs and shouting men clouded her vision, her ears filled with explosions and arguments. He noticed the distance in her eyes, the blue becoming lifeless and almost grey. "Belle? Talk to me." Some of the voices were familiar but she couldn't trace them. Nothing connected as sand covered a horizon and bullets flew. Following her eyes, he realized her gaze was focused directly at the mirror and quickly walked over and covered the mirror with one of his bed sheets, carefully watching Belle's reaction. After a moment of stiff silence, her eyes seemed to refocus as she dropped them to look at her feet and covered her mouth with her hands, a strangled cry coming forth. Charles swept across the room and took hold of her by her elbows just as her knees made to give out. He held her against him, her eyes lifting to meet his as a tear leaked and she pressed her nose to his. Her hands lowered from her mouth just enough so she could speak, the pads staying to her chin as the outer side of her fingers brushed against his.

"No one wins tomorrow," she managed. He scrunched his eyebrows, her words concerning and confusing him.

"W-What do you mean?" Her eyes began to dart across his face in a frantic manner, her hands fanning out on her face as her trembling lips parted again.

"No one will win tomorrow. Not us, not Shaw, not humanity. Tomorrow, we're starting a war no matter what we do." She brought her hands to his chest and balled them up against his nightshirt. "Please, you have to listen to me-"

"Belle-" he tried to comfort her, but she shook her head insistently.

"Please, we can't go. There's nothing we can do anyway, so let's not put ourselves at risk-"

"Indifference is the essence of inhumanity, Belle. We can't just do nothing." Her breath caught in her throat for a moment and she simmered down, her fists releasing some of their tension.

"So what? We just...put ourselves on the line?" Charles carefully brushed his hand up her spine, using his thumb to draw comforting circles on her back.

"We are the better man...we have to at least try..." he whispered carefully. She slumped slightly as though she lost her will to fight before gazing into his eyes with pure vulnerability.

"Charles, what if something happens to you?" Her voice quivered. They were face to face, staring at one another. Neither of them tried reading each other even though they wanted to and held their breaths. They simply studied each other as Charles licked his lips.

"Nothing will happen to me, my dear. What-"

"If." He hesitated, unsure what was going on but wanting to comfort her nonetheless even though he didn't know what would come. Charles just couldn't stand to see such sadness in her eyes.

"I will be just fine." Her teeth sucked in her bottom lip, trying to read him in her shaken state.

"And if you're not?" His furrow returned, clearer than ever as he tightened his hold on her.

"Belle?" She looked at her fists and let go of the shirt, moving her hands instead to his cheeks and staring him directly in the eyes and for a moment, they were connected. It was in that stillness that he felt her fears causing her entire body to tremble, her eyes begging for help as she took in a breathe.

"Charles...what if you die?" He watched her carefully before closing the connection, taking her hands in his and gently pulling them away from his face. He dropped eye contact with her and started to turn away.

"You should get some sleep," he said as he walked back towards the mirror and removed the sheet. Looking in it, he saw Belle's reflection staring at him from where she stood, her hands slowly falling to her side. She made to leave but paused as she rested her hand against the handle of the door.

"And what if I do?" She whispered, his mind feeling the weight of her conflicting inner demons. After she finished her question, Charles looked down at the sheet in his hands and began folding it, keeping his focus away from her as he took a shaky breath. He wouldn't think of her death. Not her. As much as he wanted to be prepared for the possibility, he couldn't imagine losing her.

"Nonsense. You're not going to die. Your mutation wouldn't allow it." He paused and looked up at the reflection of her back to him and her face down before continuing in a soft tone. "I wouldn't allow it. And I won't. I promise you, Belle...I won't let you die." Quick as lightning, he looked back down and saw his hands shaking, fiddling with the blanket to make it less noticeable.

"Charles?" Her voice was a whisper, but it echoed in the room. His eyes lifted once more and stared into her doe-like ones, which looked back at him sadly as she must have turned to him when he wasn't focused. "You can't promise that." A chill went through the room. It was true. He couldn't. But he never wanted to think of her death. He couldn't bear the thought of not having her in his life. His eyes were fixated on her as she slowly turned around and reached for the door again. In an instant, he dropped the sheet and turned on his heel, his back to the mirror.

"Belle." She froze at his husky tone before slowly turning toward him and staring at him with pleading eyes, silently asking him to make it all go away. As if complying in slow motion, Charles walked back to her, their eyes connected once again. He reached his hands out to cup her face, pulling her into a kiss as he pressed his lips to hers. Belle didn't realize that she had leaned forward when he approached nor that she had released a dreamy sigh as his nose brushed hers. She was living in the moment and that moment promised her a kiss with Charles, something she had anticipated so many times before. The kiss was soft but passionate, something Belle had never experienced before. She had never felt a caress so sweet but so powerful as his lips touching hers, their strokes fluid and connected as they let them pass over one another. After a few moments, he carefully pulled away and stared into her eyes with an emotion she hadn't seen in an unbearably long time: love. "You can't die on me," he whispered softly, his thumbs brushing hair out of her face. Not saying a word, she simply kissed him again, this time allowing her hands to rest against his chest. The act of separation was slow as he hovered mere centimeters from her lips, his eyes darting to read her face.

"Neither can you, professor." Her voice was gentle as her hands moved to grasp his cheeks. He gave her a soft smile and nodded, pulling her into a tight embrace and brushing his lips against her shoulder. Neither of them knew how long the embrace lasted, but neither wanted to stop, only doing so to look at each other.

"Would you like to stay the night?" he asked her gently. A shy smile crossed her lips as she traced his jawline.

"Yes please." They slowly separated and turned their attention away from one another, Charles going back to the sheets and folding them again as Belle padded over to the chessboard Charles had been packing away when she originally entered. She picked up one of the longer pieces, admiring the way it slimmed as it got taller and tracing the crowned top. The piece was vaguely familiar to her, but she couldn't remember where from.

"Do you play?" Charles asked as he plopped the folded sheet on the bed and approached her. She cast him a side glance as he stood close beside her.

"No, but it brings back some kind of memory," she whispered, turning the piece in her hand.

"You don't remember?" he asked cautiously, slowly taking the other pieces and setting them aside.

"I think..." she paused as an image flashed in her mind and she broke out into a chuckle, a soft smile coming forth on her lips. "My brothers from the orphanage played a lot after lights out. I heard their hushed whispers and started joining them up down in the bomb cellar." Charles watched the flicker of happiness in her eyes and suppressed a smile of his own.

"Did they teach you?"

"No, no. They knew if they did, I would whoop their butts so they left me in the dark and let me watch."

"Were they that afraid of you?" The question seemed to ask many things at once and she shook her head softly, putting the piece down.

"I was a six-year-old learning about photosynthesis, writing fully developed essays, and reading graphs, charts, and maps. They knew I could learn by just being there and let it happen anyways," she recounted, her eyes shining as she recalled the memories. "They wanted me to be the best I could be...and they protected me with their lives." He sensed the weight of her comment and picked up the white queen she had been fiddling with.

"Do you miss them?" he asked gently. She simply took it from his hand, brushing her fingers against his palm as she stared into his eyes.

"I don't dwell on it because I know they've all moved on after the war." He didn't ask any more about them, her eyes telling him that he shouldn't worry so much. When she broke her gaze, she traced her fingers over the curves of the piece one last time before putting it back and helping Charles clear the table in silence. Once the set was put together and stowed away, Belle traced her fingers of his shoulder blades through the fabric of his pajama shirt before looping her arms around Charles's neck. He responded by pulling her closer by the waist and kissing her sweetly, smiling against her lips. Parting for a moment, he walked her over to the bed and went to turn the lights off as she took off his robe and hung it on one of the bedposts. Once in the dark, they climbed under the sheets on their backs, each of them staring up at the ceiling. Her hand found his and they clasped one another, the coolness of the sheets encapsulating them. Belle couldn't help but look over at him despite not knowing where he was exactly.

"...Charles?" she whispered.

"Yes, Belle?" She turned on her side to face him, managing to distinguish his vague silhouette in the darkness.

"...What does this mean?" She could feel him shifting to face her as well and fought a smile.

"What are you referencing?" A blush crept against her cheeks as she swallowed audibly.

"All of the flirting and tension and...and kisses. I'm asking about us..." He lifted her hand and felt him press it to his lips carefully.

"I tried to avoid it, "he muttered against her skin, "and I tried to hide these feelings I have for you, but now...I'm tired of tiptoeing around this." Her heart fluttered slightly as she shifted closer, hanging onto his words.

"...say it," she asked of him, her breathing shallow as she felt him shift forward, his other hand finding her arm and rubbing circles on it.

"Belle Yanos, I have feelings for you," he confessed gently. In her excitement, she went to say something, but Charles rambled on nervously. "When we first met, I felt something there. Maybe it was just me, but I wanted to know you. And-and you inspired me. You are so beautiful and brave and kind and patient and strong and you amaze me every day and...and you've changed everything. Maybe tonight, your fear made you do things you don't mean tomorrow, but I just-I-"

"Charles Xavier, I've caught feelings for you as well," she giggled, interrupting his ramblings before he got too ahead of himself. "There's nowhere else I'd rather be than here with you." Her soft voice caught in the air and Belle almost feared he hadn't heard her. It wasn't until his hand moved from her arm to her waist that she let out a sigh of relief, feeling him pull her closer to him. In the darkness, she made out the shapes on his face as he bumped his nose gently against hers. She pressed forward and let her lips press against his with a sense of caution and sensitivity.

"...what is it?" he breathed, his mumblings brushing her lips like a ghost.

"I just...I wish we had more time," she answered, pulling back just slightly. "I just found you and now I might lose you. What if-" His thumb pressed against her lips, the words on her lips being sucked back into her lungs as she held her breath.

"Belle, I can't promise what tomorrow will bring, but I know that we're together right now and I don't want to waste that…" Belle smiled weakly and moved closer, planting a peck on his lips.

"Me neither." With that, she pulled him into another kiss, this one smooth and passionate and longer than their previous one. As the moon reclaimed its place in the sky and shoed away the cloud cover that had been blocking its view, they fell to rest with their arms wrapped around one another and their feet tangled together, a layer of deep sleep gracing them in the silence of the night as their words and worries stilled.

Tuesday and Friday Updates, although I am not punctual so it's loosely Bi-Weekly Updates at least.