Extraordinary Mutant (X-Men x autistic reader)

You're Not A Burden

You awoke to a voice.

"Can you please come downstairs, the president is making his address about Cuba," Charles requested in your head. You got up and got dressed. It was about 11am when you looked at your watch. After taking a few deep breaths, you stumbled tiredly towards the living room. You hung in the doorway, afraid to be seen, but you knew Charles would feel your presence so it didn't matter.

You heard the voice of the President describing how it would be considered an attack if the Soviets cross the embargo line around Cuba. He stated that if this was to occur, the US would have to retaliate with a nuclear strike. This is what you were trying to avoid.

"That's where we're gonna find Shaw," Erik stated, gesturing to the TV with the gun that he held.

"How do you know?" Alex inquired.

"Two superpowers facing off and he wants to start World War Three," Charles answered. He shook his head slightly. "He wouldn't leave anything to chance..."

"So much for diplomacy!" Erik butted in. "I suggest you all get a good nights sleep," he teased before turning and walking out. He stopped by you briefly. "Wait here when everyone else is gone, Charles wants to speak to you," you nodded and he walked away.

Everyone else slowly followed and they all noticed you as they left. It was only Hank and Raven who payed attention as they passed. Raven throwing you a glare and Hank almost shuddering back in fear.

Soon, only Charles was left in the room.

"You can come in, y/n," he stated, not looking up. He was staring at his feet. You stared at your feet when you were scared, therefore Charles must be scared. You tiptoed into the room, you too glancing down. Charles shuffled over from where he was sat. "Come here," he held his arm out and gestured towards the sofa. You did as he asked and sat next to him. Your leg began to bounce and you felt sick. Something was different today. This talk was going to be different than normal.

Different was bad.

Always.

"What happened?" Charles asked in a shaky voice. "What happened yesterday?" His leg began to bounce slightly too. "I haven't seen you like that for years," his voice broke but he quickly cleared his throat and rubbed his eyes. You felt an overwhelming sense of guilt in your stomach.

"Did I make you sad?" You asked, Not daring to look at him. In the corner of your eye though, you saw him sit up suddenly and lean over to you.

"No, never!"

"Then why are you masking?" You snapped almost instantly.

"What do you mean?" He laughed nervously. "I'm not masking?"

"You're pretending that you're not about to cry," you finally looked at him to see that one tear had escaped. "But you are," you gently lifted one hand and rubbed the tear away with your thumb. Only now did you see the blood in your fingernails. Charles glanced down to your other arm. His eyes widened in fear.

"My god!" Without thinking he grabbed your arm and lifted it to get a better look. You flinched and tried to pull away. "Please, y/n!" His suddenly stern voice frightened you and you backed down. He placed two fingers to his temple for a minute before releasing them and loosening his grip on you. "I'm sorry," he began. "You didn't make me sad, I'm sad because..." he looked away for a moment, composing himself. "I'm sad because I hate when you get hurt! I hate when you're upset! I never thought I would see you have such a big meltdown ever again!" He took a big breath and gently began to run his thumb up and down your forearm, just below the scratch marks.

Your attention was turned away by footsteps. You looked to see Hank enter the room, he ignored you and went straight to Charles. You tensed up in his presence, causing your shoulders to raise.