Generation: X-Men

Westchester County, New York

Scarlet looked out the window of the black limo and stared at the large mansion they were drawing up in front of. As the long vehicle rolled to a stop, she opened her door before the chauffeur could get around to it and stepped out onto gravel. Sean, Raven, Hank and Alex got out and stood next to her. Scarlet rocked back and forth on her toes, eager to get moving inside. The sky was threatening rain and she wanted to get into the warm and dry before it all came down on their heads. She heard a faint laugh and glanced over the other side of the car at Charles. He was smiling at her, having read her mind. Scarlet glowered at him and tapped her temple with her forefinger.

“Stay out of here, Charles Xavier. Before I make you” she said clearly, raising one eyebrow at him.

“I’m scared” he teased, walking round to stand just in front of her.

“You should be” Erik said, following him.

He grinned at her, but she ignored him, as usual. He frowned, staring at her back as she followed Charles up onto the front terrace. Why didn’t she like him? Most young women did…

“You’re not her type” Charles called back over his shoulder.

Raven snorted and smirked over at her brother. He smiled at her and opened the front door. Scarlet skipped up in front of him, moving into the mansion first in line. Upon reaching the centre of the cavernous entrance foyer, she stared at the ceiling and spun round on the spot, her sea eyes wide. She heard footsteps come up behind her and then felt a hand slide into hers. She glanced down and saw Alex now attached to her. He seemed to have appropriated the role of her older brother, and somehow she didn’t mind. She hadn’t seen her true brother in two years; a replacement could be a good thing for her. But then she looked up and saw Charles watching them. She met his gaze head on, as she usually did, and he looked away from her yet again. He had been correct, though; Erik Lensherr was not her type at all.

“This way. I’ll show you your rooms” Charles said, brushing past her, his shoulder only just touching hers.

Scarlet scowled after him and pulled Alex along with her. He held onto her hand and Raven kept an eye on them both. She knew her brother well enough to know when he liked something or someone; and Scarlet Moore she knew he liked. She kept pace with Scarlet.

“This place is massive” Scarlet commented conversationally. “Have you lived here long?”

Raven shrugged.

“Not as long as Charles. He isn’t really my brother; I broke into his house when I was ten and he was twelve. I’ve been with him ever since” she replied, looking ahead to make sure she didn’t lose Charles.

Scarlet nodded thoughtfully.

“Uh huh” she murmured.

Charles beckoned them onwards and she let go of Alex and ran to keep up. She came to a halt beside Charles and glanced into the room he was standing just inside of. She sucked in her breath and pushed past him into the bedroom. The wallpaper was a warm shade of red and the four poster bed had burnished bronze head and foot rails and skirting. The walk in wardrobe stood open and her luggage was sitting in the middle of the bed, unopened.

She turned to look at Charles and he smiled slightly at the joy on her face. She was a bit like a child in a toy store, but he reminded himself that she hadn’t grown up with much. And all that she carried with her now were the bare necessities. He had seen inside her mind what her childhood had been like, and knew it was somewhat akin to his own, except for the obvious differences in financial circumstances. Since she was ten years of age, the only person she’d ever been close to was her older brother Miles. But she didn’t see him anymore, so she was alone in the world without anyone to understand.

He stepped inside and stood beside her, not quite touching her. Scarlet became instantly aware of him, his solid presence right next to her.

‘You’re not alone anymore, Scarlet. You are surrounded by those who know. We know what it’s like to be shunned, especially my sister. And me. You’re all okay now’ he murmured to her.

Scarlet turned to the side to face him again, her eyes welling with tears.

“Thanks. But you can go now” she muttered.

And she put her hands on his chest and pushed him. She wasn’t using any real force, but he received the message good and clear: she was going to cry and she didn’t want him to see it. He turned around and left the room, closing the door quietly behind him.

When he had gone, Scarlet sat down on the bed and covered her face with her hands, finally letting the tears fall down.

Late that night, she emerged from her bedroom to find that the outer hallway was dark. There was nobody nearby; she couldn’t hear any voices. She carefully shut the door after her and began her trek down the blackened corridor. She soon came to the end of it and turned into another. Two voices reached her ears then and she followed them, gradually coming to recognise the owners: Charles and Erik. Scarlet grimaced, but she kept going until she arrived at a doorway leading into a room lit by several candles. She knocked softly on the door and stood awkwardly where she was. But, thankfully, Charles knew she was there and got up to bring her in.

“Come in. We’re just playing chess” he said, allowing her to pass him.

Scarlet wandered over to the little table they had set up and sat on one of the free sides. Erik glanced at her once, and only briefly, before returning his concentration to the game before him. Charles reclaimed his seat and continued on with the contest.

“Do you know how to play?” he asked of her, without turning his head to look at her again.

Scarlet shook her head and smiled slightly ruefully.

“No. My parents did and they taught my brother, but no one ever got round to showing me how” she replied quietly, staring down at the checkered board.

They both glanced at her then, Charles with his eyebrows raised slightly.

“Did your mum and dad teach you very much after your tenth birthday?” he inquired casually.

Scarlet looked sharply at him, her eyes shaded and dark, half hidden by the shadows thrown by the flickering candle flames.

“No, not much. My brother taught me a bit because he knew I would never be able to survive without knowledge. He brought books to me so I could read. I’ve been reading since I was three, so I didn’t have to worry about being shown how to do that at all. But it was sad just being left on my own all the time. Miles had his own friends, so he couldn’t spend all his time with me. And I never would have asked him to; it wouldn’t have been fair on him” she told him, lowering her voice even more.

Erik flicked his gaze to Charles, than back down at the board. He moved a pawn and waited some more.

“What about what was fair on you?” Charles asked then, glancing down at the chess board and shifting one of his queens.

Scarlet shrugged at him, not permitting herself to meet his eyes.

“Not much was, but I had to learn to live with it. My parents loved me and all, but when it became known that I was different, they chose to not see me as much as they used to. They were there at my graduation and that’s the last time I ever saw them. Let’s just say that for the last decade, my parents haven’t been a huge presence in my life” she said bleakly, leaning forward and propping her chin on her hand.

Charles patted her hair, leaving her slightly confused as to why he was touching her again. He was gentle, but he exuded a quiet strength that she never had the good fortune to possess. She was far too hot headed and stubborn to have silent strength.

She sighed and focused on the board, watching as Erik made his next move.

A minute or so later, he groaned with frustration and pushed his chair back. Charles grinned triumphantly at him and put his hands behind his head.

“I won” he crowed, and Scarlet couldn’t help but smile at his rather childish reaction to winning.

Erik scowled and Charles laughed at the face he was pulling.

“Sourpuss. Don’t be a sore loser, Erik” he chided lightly, smiling sideways at Scarlet.

Erik stood up and walked out, mumbling a quiet goodnight to them both. Charles looked at Scarlet more closely then.

“Would you like to learn?” he inquired, nodding his head towards the chess board.

She squirmed on her seat and shook her head, joining her hands in front of her and twisting them round into awkward positions.

“No, thank you” she muttered. “I’m really impatient and I’m not good with learning how to play complicated games. I’m the kind of person who, if I don’t get it right the first time, I give up in a random fit of anger and knock everything over.”

She smiled sheepishly at him and started to stand up. But Charles reached out and took her right hand, gently tugging her back onto her chair.

“Lucky for you, I’m patient” he said calmly. “I’ll teach you how. Even if it takes all night long.”

Scarlet snorted indelicately and he grinned, unsurprised by her scoffing reaction.

“It’ll take longer than that, Professor Xavier” she retorted, sitting back and crossing her arms over her chest.

He raised an eyebrow at her curiously.

“How did you know that I’m a professor?” he asked.

Scarlet grinned slyly at him.

“I have my own secretive methods, sir” she told him, fidgeting with her dogtags again.

Charles rolled his eyes and smiled back at her. He shook his head and reset the game board.

“I will teach you how to play chess, Scar. Stop arguing with me, for goodness’ sake” he told her, gesturing for her to switch seats to sit across from him on Erik’s vacated chair.

She did so and he proceeded to explain to her all the rules of playing chess. Scarlet could feel her brain trying to go to sleep, but she fought it so she could listen to his voice a little bit longer…

When Raven came into the study to say goodnight to her brother, she found him sitting on the couch, with Scarlet sprawled across his lap. She was clearly asleep, her eyes loosely closed and her hands free on either side of Charles. He smiled up at his sister.

“Hmm?” he inquired sleepily.

Raven shook her head at him and walked quietly further into the room, being careful not to wake the sleeping female.

“What happened?” she whispered softly, indicating Scarlet with a nod of the head.

Charles shrugged lightly.

“I was teaching her to play chess and she fell asleep. She’s really tired from the flight and all that’s been going on lately” he explained, glancing down at the girl sleeping practically on top of him.

Raven rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, right. It’s more likely that she fell asleep because you were boring her to tears” she replied.

Charles mock glared at her and shook his head once.

“No. She’s actually dead tired. I’ll just let her stay here until she wakes up. I can manage to remain awake until she opens her eyes” he said, assuring himself as well as Raven.

She smiled up at him, aware of the look in his blue eyes.

“Okay” she said quietly, and she stood again, walked to the doorway and disappeared through it.

Charles moved his hands up to stroke Scarlet’s long hair down her back. He rested his chin on top of her head and closed his eyes. Maybe he would go to sleep, too…