Guessing (Charles Xavier)

5. Meaning

(Thank you so much for over 100 reads! That's amazing 😘 and for that I give you my favorite Cherik video on YouTube- not mine- that has given me feels every time, even after like 500 views)

I come out of the living room smiling like a complete idiot, but I don't mind. Having Charles in my mind is like eating ice cream on a hot summer day- instinctual, natural, and comfortable. The only downside is the focus it takes me to let him in.

I re-enter the room I had woken up in, because Charles told me that my bedroom was through that room, and I find Raven sitting next to Erik. She has the look on her face that tells me she's trying to flirt, so I walk past them as quickly as I can, wanting to get alone. If only I had invisibility as my mutation, things like this would be a lot easier.

"Wait, Haven," Raven says, getting up. I turn around after putting a smile on.

"Hi," I say.

"Are you feeling better?"

"Yes, darling, thank you."

"And Charles knows? He'll be elated when you tell him. He was so worried, he wouldn't come out of his room for the first day," she giggles. As her blonde curls bob in the motion, I see Erik roll his eyes.

"He was pretty composed," I say.

"He's always composed," Erik agrees quietly. "When he knows everything-"

"I almost forgot, I didn't get to tell you about our super intense agent code names," Raven interrupts enthusiastically. Erik groans on the couch, flipping a coin in the air magnetically. "So Charles is Professor X, Erik is Magneto, I'm Mystique, Alex is Havok, and Sean is Banshee. Hank is... Well, we all have different names for him, he's sort of unestablished."

"Wow, those are..." I struggle to find an accurate adjective.

"My thoughts precisely," Erik says. "Magneto. What if it actually sticks?"

"Can't stick, it would just be magnetically drawn," I joke, and he and Raven crack a smile. "What's mine, then?"

"I didn't want to decide when you were asleep, but I thought we could just keep it Haven. You protect things, right? So you're giving them a little temporary Haven."

"Excellent, I love it," I tell her quickly and happily, so she doesn't change her mind and call me like the Snow-globe of Safety or some shite even worse than that.

I quickly retire to my room, which is just beyond the door of the room I had woken up in. It's a small bedchamber, but practical, and I've always been one for practicality. My things are already on the table, so I just spend some time arranging my books on the given shelf, and hanging up my clothes in the dresser.

Someone knocks when I'm folding a pair of jeans to hang up.

"Come in," I say, and Raven comes in slowly. "Hi."

"I'm sorry for intruding," she says quickly. "I just wanted to talk to you."

"I'm all ears," I tell her, gesturing for her to sit down on my bed.

"You know Charles likes you very much."

"I suppose we're good friends-"

"No, I mean that he can't stop thinking about you. And being his only family, even if it's not by blood, I just want to tell you that you make him a lot happier."

I stare at Raven, this beautiful blonde woman, who's telling me that a gorgeous professor is interested in me. In me.

"Oh," I say, because I can't find articulate words.

"I also know that you like him back, whether you're aware of it or not. He really didn't come out of his room for the entirety of one day when you were unconscious. He cares about you immensely."

"Wow," I mutter, running a hand through my dark hair. It's tangled from not being brushed for days. "That's flattering. But I assure you that Charles and I are not romantically involved in the slightest."

"You don't have to lie to me," Raven laughs gently. "Even if you aren't, you will be. You're not just another bird that he picks up at the bar with a smooth line and a smile. You mean lot more to him."

I don't know how to respond, so I just nod and smile. I pull out a shirt and slide it onto a hanger.

"I'll get going now," she says and gets up from the bed. "But just remember what I've said."

"I will. Thank you, Raven."

She leaves the room gently and I look outside the window to see Erik, with Charles holding a gun to his head. I would be worried, but Erik is grinning and Charles looks extremely nervous, so it's unlikely that something is wrong. Charles sighs and puts down the gun, saying something before patting Erik's back and walking to the edge of the landing. He's pointing in the distance at a satellite, and I suppose Erik is trying to manipulate the metal on it somehow.

It makes me worried, since I got knocked out from keeping my force field up for less than 10 minutes, but Erik is probably a lot stronger than I am, and Charles knows what he's doing.

The look on Erik's face is brutal as he tries to move the satellite, and nothing happens. He has a sense of determination that lingers over his powers- something I've never had. I've spent my entire life hiding from my powers, so much so that I barely understand how to use it, or what I'm capable of. Erik refuses to hide. He uses his mutation whenever he can. It makes me both afraid of him and, occasionally, envious.

I stop watching once Erik's face is red and his expression contorted in focus, because it's not something I want to watch. I resume my room organizing until my suitcases are empty, and all my books are on the shelf.

When I'm about to leave the room to take a stroll around the building- I've never been to America, so Westchester, New York was quite exciting- my eyes wander back to the window. Charles and Erik seem to have left already, but I notice that the satellite is turned in a completely different direction.

There's a slight smile on my face as I open the door and cross the threshold, and Raven's words are still fresh in my mind.

You mean a lot more to him.

And I suppose I don't mind what the word 'more' means in that context, as long as I mean something to him.