Chapter Text
Charles was very skeptical about this. But what else could they do?
They both know that neither of them would stand for throwing "Jessie" on the streets.
A little mutant girl, walking around at night? Of course not.
So- they came to a conclusion, she had to stay.
Surprisingly enough, Jessie was polite and had apologized to Hank for her actions.
"I was grumpy and tired, and it was late. Sorry," the girl had muttered with the awkwardness of someone who wasn't used to giving apologies.
Jessie tended to keep to herself, only asking for some gum and books to read.
Both men were fine with this. After all, she did just show up on the doorstep and start living with them within a few hours!
It was all rather abrupt.
Besides, Charles couldn't take care of a child in his state! Maybe two years ago, with the boys to help him, he could have... no, not even then. Charles obviously wasn't the role model that she needed. He didn't know her story, but it had ended with her outside his house with nowhere to go.
Clearly, something wasn't right.
Hank had also agreed with this thought, but they decided not to push her. For now, he was perfectly content to hide in his office and panic. In fact, Charles hadn't come out of his study since Hank had introduced them. This very fact just made him panic even more.
Their sculpted routine was broken, around a week later, when Jessie decided to go exploring in the manor.
Charles had been lying on his bed, questioning his existence- which happened to be his main occupation these days- when he heard a knock on the door.
Charles narrowed his eyes in alarm before he sighed as he realized who exactly it was.
"Come in," he called.
The door opened to reveal Jessie. She blinked as if surprised to see him there.
"Hank said this was the library?"
Charles stared back.
Curse Hank trying to get him to socialize!
"No," he said slowly, "This is my study."
Jessie looked at him curiously for a few moments before something akin to realization dawned on her face.
"Are you- no way! You're the Charles Xaiver!?"
Charles looked at her rather dully. She squinted back at him, "What happened to you? In the pictures, you looked... different."
A few silent moments passed.
When it became apparent that Charles wasn't going to respond, she declared, "Well, since I'm going to be living here now, we should know each other! Here. I'll ask you a question, and then you can ask me a question, and so on!"
Charles didn't respond.
undeterred, she started cheerfully. "Are you Professor Xaiver?"
The professor sighed, resigned. "I used to be."
Jessie frowned. "What does that mean? You used to be? I don't see how you can lose the title."
Charles shook his head as if in disagreement. "My turn. What were you doing outside in the middle of the night?" he asked wearily.
So he was going to play it that way? Fine! Jessie huffed silently.
"I was looking for a place to stay."
When Charles scowled at her, she could only grin smugly back.
"Fine, if you give a clear answer, then I'll give one," Jessie bargained. It was clear that Charles wasn't amused.
He rolled his eyes at her childish attempt to get information and kept silent.
"Alright," Jessie said, admitting defeat. "What happened to you? In the picture, you were..." she made an all-encompassing hand gesture as she struggled to find words. "Happier."
Charles glared at her response, although it wasn't entirely directed at her. "The love of my life put a coin through my head, shot me in the back, and left me to die. My mutation allows me to hear the thoughts of those around me, whether I wanted to hear them or not. Then, almost everyone I've ever loved went off to fight a pointless war and are most likely dead in ditches while I'm stuck here," he snapped.
Jessie opened and closed her mouth before finally settling with an "I'm sorry."
Charles simply shook his head, brushing off her pity as he stared out the window.
"Well, you know," Jessie started with a thoughtful tone, "I'm sure your friends wouldn't want you to stay and mope around. You closed your school ages ago, from what Hank's told me."
This time Charles did glare at her.
"What do you know about it?" he snapped.
Jessie just shrugged.