「 The Professor & I 」VOLUME II

(201) Stay Away

Lynn's POV

"Scott!" Charles yelled as Scott trudged furiously out of the meeting room but not even his mentor had the ability to halt his enraged motion.

Storm sprung up from her seat, all prepared to catch up with her distraught comrade but surely, no amount of consolation was capable of calming his nerves in that very moment and the waste of her efforts was certainly unwarranted.

"I think he needs some time alone. We'll get to him later," I asserted solemnly, instantly freezing Storm in her actions but she faced around, smiling understandingly.

"Alright. I'll check if dinner's ready then," Storm informed jovially, politely excusing herself and soon, the basement was our own haven of privacy.

Sighing helplessly, Charles sank lethargically into his chair and the dull ache thumping in the corner of his head rapidly aggravated into a sharply throbbing migraine. I winced quietly but even then, Charles noticed and adamantly refusing to soothe his own discomforts, he raised his hands towards my temples instead.

Gently pushing his arms away, I accidentally drove his worried expression further into the land of troubles but I hurriedly flashed him a kind smile, gradually easing him back into a relaxed state as I set his palms neatly back onto his lap.

"Close your eyes," I requested softly and Charles readily obliged, his heavy eyelids shutting almost like the work of gravity.

Carefully placing my thumbs on his temples, I diligently massaged them and the crumpled features on his face slowly loosened with the progressively dropping levels of pain. A satisfied moan subtly escaped Charles' lips that were now curved into a faint smile and he weakly fluttered his eyes open, gazing at me with that tender sense of affection incomprehensible to anyone else.

"Thank you, Lynn," Charles sputtered tiredly, feebly cupping my cheek.

"Come upstairs with me, will you? I think you need some rest. I'll check on the kids for you," I offered and Charles nodded in concession.

Ascending back to the top storey of the mansion, we returned to the succor provided by our cozy room, engulfing us like a warm, welcoming hug. Quickly but prudently swapping out his formal outfit into the luxury of his nightwear, I tucked Charles snugly into bed and despite his exhaustion, he was clearly reluctant to succumb to slumber just yet.

"What?" I probed curiously, blatantly judging the cheeky gaze he was giving me.

"I thought you were the patient," Charles playfully teased and I could not resist giggling at his efforts to remain chipper.

"Well, we tend to share that sort of things, my dear," I countered jokingly, chuckling with him, but not even his genuine laugh could mask the real degree of his fatigue.

"Get some sleep. I'll bring you some supper later on," I whispered, caressing the smooth skin atop his skull as I pecked a light kiss to his lips, and he soon drifted off into, hopefully, a sweet dream.

Watching serenity crawl back onto Charles amidst his hibernation, I eventually managed to lug myself back through the doors, making my way down towards the youngsters. Arriving in the corridor leading up to Logan's new abode, I found Scott rooted a couple of doors away from where his rival was supposed to stay, head hung low to the parquet with his hand planted onto his hip.