「 The Professor & I 」VOLUME II

(208) Sacrifices

Charles' POV

The blustering roar exploded into the underground as an aggressive rumble, instantaneously jolting Lynn awake from her rest. Her eyes sprung wide with more than just fear and jitters, frantically gasping for air as I, too, suffered from a mild choking sensation. The transparent mask strapped around her nose and mouth misted intermittently with the erratically drawn breaths, simply adding more white to her already colourless complexion.

Jean scurried to the furiously beeping machines, watching closely the blinking figures, but noting they were still rather healthy, she turned around with a firm nod, asserting her safety when we were blasted with another deafening clap.

Insolent tears streamed from Lynn's eyes as the thunder continuously howled despite the supposedly fine weather and her hand slipped out shakily from the duvet in a voluntary attempt to reach towards me. Hurriedly, I took it in mine, hating that it was cold as ice, and leaned snugly over her trembling frame, trying not to grimace at the sight of her terribly pale face.

"It's alright, love. I'm right here. Everything's going to be alright," I coaxed softly, gently caressing her cheek as I rubbed away the droplets of liquid fright.

"Ch- Charles," Lynn sputtered difficultly, her pleading gaze practically begging for me to remove the obstacle of plastic as she faintly squeezed my palm.

I was more than aware it could have been detrimental for her, yet simultaneously, I knew exactly what she wanted and nothing could stop me from giving it to her. Carefully undoing one of the elastic bands from around her ears, I set aside the medical apparatus and tenderly pressed my lips onto hers. She moved, albeit strenuously, to reciprocate the favour, and mustered a small smile while her eyes mirrored mine that gleamed in a bright beam of relief, yet it was only momentary.

"What's going on, Charles?" Lynn probed tiredly, fixing her worried gaze on me.

"You almost drowned-" I explained, the fact and her watery eyes shredding me apart internally, and even more so when she interrupted me.

"No... What's wrong with you?" Lynn clarified with an extremely concerned tone.

Inevitably, the sounds of detonations had intimidated her, but it was actually a fleeting suffocation of my throat that had us craving for oxygen bare seconds later. Even in her sickly condition, her mind was incredibly alert and observant, and surely, I could not bring myself to put a lie in order.

"Rogue's gone. Storm and Scott have gone after her, but I think... I think they might be in danger..." I revealed, keeping my sheepish eyes away from the both ladies in the room.

"Then go. They need you," Lynn urged kindly yet I could not share her graciousness.

"So do you. I'm not leaving you, Lynn," I argued selfishly.

"You're not," she plainly reassured, feebly taking back her own hand and skimmed her fingers across my vest until she paused them atop my pounding heart.

"Please, they need you. And right now, more so than I do," Lynn stressed, maintaining a generous smile despite her exhausted face that perpetually served as the root of my undying apprehension.

"I can take care of myself, Charles. I'm not a girl," Lynn reiterated jovially, looking at me with a gaze of pure sincerity, when Jean destroyed the beautiful silence with a blurted giggle.

"What's so funny?" Lynn prodded curiously.

"Nothing," Jean dismissed casually, albeit not quite hiding her amusement for the precise lines that strangely repeated themselves.