STACKS OF PAPERS were laid neatly atop Eleanor's desks and each of them were the written essays of her students. Currently, she was rubbing her temples after reading a lot of errors within their explanations of the new lesson, but given that it was somehow a difficult one, she decided to give some consideration.

After marking her 28th essay with an A plus, the brunette dropped her pen and paused for a little while. Her eyes fluttered to her fireplace, just observing how the flames lick up the firewoods. It provided her a feeling of security, of certainty. It was as if her life was finally complete, as if the last missing piece of her puzzle was finally found.

A year and a month had passed for all of them and a lot has happened since then. Erik was recently given the presidential pardon because of his heroic deed in Cairo, Charles and Valerie were finally engaged and getting married soon, and the school had received hundreds of new students within the last few months.

Eleanor herself at the moment was working to convince the government to give them an island that would serve as a sanctuary for mutants, where they can live in peace far away from the prosecution of humans.

She smirked. Actually, it was Erik who came up with the idea about it. Just after he had exhausted himself with their children's birthday, he suddenly had an epiphany. He voiced out how their fellow mutants should have a place they can live in and immediately the next day, Eleanor wrote the petition to establish the island nation of Genosha.

The soft click of her door removed her from her train of thoughts and a smile instantly worked its way to her lips as she recognized Erik's presence.

Sauntering over to her desk, he smirked. "Missed me?"

She playfully rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "I just saw you this morning so, no, I don't."

"You can deny all you want, but your eyes always betray you."

"Whatever." breathed out the woman before focusing back on her papers, rereading the last sentence of the paragraph of her student. "So, how are the kids?"

At this, Erik sighed before taking the chair in front of her desk. "Well, it's always the same. They still hate my guts though Nathan's a bit more responsive now, but Ana... she's, well, you know how she is."

"They still need time, love." sighed Eleanor, putting down her pen once again. "Trust me, they'll soon accept you in their life once they get to know you more."

Her children did voice out that they were willing to give him a chance, but they were still adamant to have Charles around. She couldn't blame them. They really did love him as their father even if they weren't related by blood.

Erik pursed his lips, then furrowed his eyebrows a little. "Have you eaten?" He glanced at his watch. "It's already dinner. You've been in this office for hours. I didn't even see you outside."

Eleanor grimaced. She didn't notice the time since she was so immersed in her work. Her lover caught this and tsked twice, shaking his head. "You have to eat. Come on, let's go." He said as he stood up.

"But, I still have like twenty-five -- "

She watched helplessly as Erik stacked all of her papers and set them aside before taking her hand. He pulled her up from her seat, bringing her to him. It was futile to argue or even object once he had set his mind on something and right now, she knew it was full of thoughts about taking care of her.

"You just never give up, do you?" Eleanor asked, remembering how he asked that as well to her.

She watched Erik tilt his head to the side, smiling. "Never." He replied. "Never to you."

And with that, she let him take her away, but not until his eyes caught sight of something near her coffee table. "Where'd you get this?" he picked up the baseball bat, staring at it with a smile that Eleanor registered as nostalgic.

"Oh, I confiscated that from a student earlier. I'm going to give it back tomorrow."

Erik smirked. "Do you remember the first time we met?"

The woman paused for a second before her mouth formed into an 'o' and she was taken back to their very first meeting. She placed a hand over her mouth as she bursted into laughter. "Yes! I hit you with my baseball bat several times!" Eleanor then bit her lip, trying to gain ahold of herself. "I... I even kicked you in your balls that day, but then, I thought you were intruders so you can't blame for that..."

"I got bruises from you that day, El. I even considered placing an ice bag on my balls because of what you did."

"But, hey," she tapped her finger to his chest. "I saved you and your team's lives that time. Those CIA agents would've caught you had I not interfered."

He smiled, fondly. "And I... wouldn't be standing here with you tonight."

She grinned, wrapping her arms around his neck to pull him closer. Their foreheads tenderly touched and they slowly swayed as if dancing. "What did I ever do to deserve you?"

"Liebling," he exhaled, his breath fanning her cheeks. Eleanor pushed the heat that threatened to rise in her lower abdomen. Everything in her was forcing her to look away from his intense gaze, but as always, she stared back with equal strength. "I should be the one asking you that. How did I ever deserve someone as forgiving, as passionate, as loving, as caring, and as beautiful as you?"

Her cheeks flushed red and she could only release a sigh of contentment. One of the things she noticed with Erik was that he was open and more in touch with his emotions with her. She was the only one who got to see who he really was beneath his cold, hard exterior. Erik was the type of man who preferred action than words, but never did he once falter in telling her how much she means to him.

Eleanor remembered how rigid and stern he was the first time they met. As soon as their eyes met, her mind already screamed for her to run away, but she couldn't help be drawn to him. He was intimidating, emotionless, powerful...

To everyone else, he was the feared, ruthless Magneto. To her, he was Erik, the brilliant man who just didn't want what happened to him to also happen to his fellow mutants. Vengeance was his fuel, his motivation, but now, he lived for others.

But, he was nothing against her baseball bat attack that day. Who wouldn't react in that way though? He and his team entered her house while she was in the basement and once she had sensed their presence, she displayed no mercy towards them all.

Erik gently ran his hands down to her waist, looking all over as if trying to decipher what's inside her mind. Pulling her closer to him, his lips brushed hers, softly, delicately, like butterfly wings, just long enough that she could inhale his breath.

"I love you so much," he said quietly, and Eleanor smiled at him with a hundred words behind her emerald eyes. With that, he kissed her and she responded with such enthusiasm. She fit into him like a glove, his kiss like the beating of a butterfly's wings, soft until it became addictive. She would stay forever in that moment if she could.

But her stupid, stupid lungs still had to find air, and she was forced to separate from her with the feeling of gravity being torn out of her core. They leant their foreheads together, just breathing slowly.

"Come on," she then slapped her hand to his chest, breaking her long train of sensual thoughts. "I'm now hungry and I want to sleep early tonight too. The wedding's tomorrow." She needed to distract him immediately because honestly speaking, if she didn't stop him now, she might as well just kiss him and then lead them into some fun human activity in her office. Kinky? Yes.

A moment later, he nodded and she smirked upon knowing that she will always have him wrapped around her little finger.

"Sígueme señora..." he winked and Eleanor almost melted at his voice speaking in Spanish. "Déjanos comer..."

Oh, holy fucking shit. What is air?

His words alone sent shivers down her spine. Oh, the things this man did to her everytime.

May God help her survive the rest of her night.

━━━━━━━━

THE WEDDING RECEPTION was a garden party held upon a night of a beautiful night sky and sweetly rising heat. Love was in the air as if it were a new kind of electricity, so palpable and real. Amid the flowers, amid the petals in romantic hue, they were all renewed that day.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I present to all of you, Mr. and Mrs. Xavier!"

Everyone cheered just as Valerie and Charles appeared in the middle of their gathered circle. The brunette was sat atop his lap and their foreheads was leant against each other, smiling widely. Everyone threw petals in the air as they both whirled around.

Funny how months ago, it was supposed to be her and Charles. She then recalled Logan's description of her blissful marriage with Charles. She wondered how the old man would react if they ever meet again in the future and he remembered everything. She chuckled a bit to herself as she joined the others in throwing the petals.

Eleanor felt no regrets at all. She finally had everything in the world, everything was right. She felt a slight ache in her heart at the thought that her son with Charles, Nathaniel, was gone because of a choice she now made. Was there going to be a repercussion for that?

After all, every choice had a corresponding corollary.

Her eyes fluttered to the sight of her twins hovering in the air, their hands raised to their side as if it lifted them. She chuckled to herself. Eleanor now recognized the gesture and moved her way to Erik who was at the back, watching everyone else. His arms were crossed and as always, he radiated the 'don't approach me' energy. Yet, as soon as he caught sight of her, his steel eyes softened a bit.

"Why, hello there, Mr. Best Man." She winked before reaching out to straighten his necktie. "Don't you look dapper."

He smirked. "Well, I have to keep up with the beauty of the Maid of Honor."

Eleanor grinned, feeling a blush creep up to her cheeks. "Look at our children." she then pointed up to them and his gaze followed. "That's how you lift yourself up from the ground, right? They got it from you!"

Erik raised his eyebrow and snorted. "You only noticed that now?"

She shrugged. "Well, I didn't pay much attention to it."

"Mommy!"

Eleanor and Erik's focus was then turned to Nathaniel and Anastasia who had just landed in front of them. The brunette happily carried her daughter and kissed her cheek. "Oh, you're so heavy now!"

"Look at my flower crown! It's pretty, right? Auntie Valerie made it for me before the wedding!" giddily explained Anastasia.

Eleanor was relieved that Nathaniel and Anastasia had accepted that she and Charles were no longer together and though they were a bit hesitant at first, they welcomed Valerie and Jacob with open arms. "Yes, it is, darling! I love the color combination!"

"She also told me some stories about these flowers while she was doing it. She's like a walking encyclopedia!"

"Well, I'm glad you two get along."

"That's a pretty flower crown, Ana. It suits your dress." complimented Erik, trying to reach out to her. Eleanor knew their daughter would only ignore him and pretend he didn't exist, but this time, she didn't.

The azure eyed little girl stared up at him before mumbling, "Thank you, Erik."

Erik's lips broke into a relieved smile. It was a progress. Anastasia then jumped down from Eleanor and asked her permission to play with the other students. Nathaniel, on the other hand, remained with them, his eyes surveying the scene in front of him. As always, he was stoic, just watching everything.

"Weddings are boring." he concluded, yawning. "Will you and mom be doing this too, Erik? If yes, then when and why?"

"Nathan!" scolded Eleanor, pulling him close to her. She heard his thoughts about weddings and he was curious if they were getting married as well.

"What, mom? I'm just asking something valid."

The brunette sighed, pinching her nose. "Just go play with your friends or talk astrophysics with Jacob, okay? Go."

At this, Erik spoke up. "Nathan," he then moved closer. "To answer your question, yes, we will. When? If your mother agrees to it already." He momentarily gave Eleanor a look. "And why? I don't think I have to answer that question, son. It's obvious why."

Nathan slowly nodded, shrugging. "Fine by me."

Eleanor sensed her son's thoughts. Not only did he approve of it, but he was happy for them. She smiled. Again, another progress for them. The couple shared a glance, smiling a little as they reached out to each other's hand. Baby steps, baby steps.

Later on, the whole reception was filled with laughter, music, and loud chatter around. Eleanor found herself sitting in the table together with the bride, casually talking about everything.

"Did you know that the first recorded evidence of marriage ceremonies uniting one woman and one man dates from about 2350 B.C. in Mesopotamia?" informed Valerie as she sipped her champagne.

Eleanor chuckled. "My god, where do you store all this knowledge, Valerie?"

"I don't know. I just read and then I remember them spontaneously when the situation comes in. Here's one more: Queen Victoria was credited with starting the Western world's white wedding dress trend in 1840." She imbibed her drink. "Even though Mary Queen of Scots wore a white wedding gown in 1558 when she married her first husband, Francis Dauphin of France, it was when Queen Victoria debuted a white silk-spun gown at her wedding to Prince Albert that the look really took root."

"Okay, that's it!" Eleanor set aside her glass and raised her hands in the air. "I bow down to your intellect. I swear, you and Charles are the perfect pair. He's like this too all the time."

Valerie chortled as she shook her head. "Thank you, Eleanor, really for being my Maid of Honor along with Raven. I couldn't choose between you two so I invited you both."

"Of course!" Eleanor tsked, nudging her companion's side. "Charles couldn't even choose between Erik and Hank. Also, we're friends, right?"

"That we are." Valerie smiled. "So, how are you and Erik?"

The brunette let her eyes wander over to Erik who was talking with Charles at the moment. She could hear their thoughts from where she was. Charles was currently trying to convince Erik to teach in the school, but he would decline everytime, saying that he was not meant to teach students.

"We're good," told Eleanor. "We're steady, taking things slow like that."

"And he's not yet done anything stupid?" questioned the bride. "I mean, sorry. It's just that he's Erik, so..."

The brunette laughed, placing a hand over her mouth. "Look, I know he's rash and always lets his anger get the best of him. That's why he does things like that. He's an idiot, yeah." She affirmed and then sighed as her and Erik locked gazes along the crowd. "But, he's my idiot."

"Amen! Cheers to that!" Valerie yelled, raising her glass. Eleanor picked up her own glass and clinked it with hers. "You know, Charles and I were thinking of having another kid so that Jacob will have a sibling. We already talked about positions -- "

"Jesus, Valerie!"

"What? As if you and Erik don't fuck..." Her companion rolled her eyes just as the brunette opened her mouth. "Try to even deny it and I'll push you off your chair, Eleanor."

"You've already had too much drinks, Val. I think you need to rest." She chuckled and sighed, brushing her hair back. "So, Athena's vessel?"

Valerie licked her lips as she squinted her eyes. "More like her eighth great-grandchild."

"You could've just said descendant, you know."

She shrugged. "I wanted to be specific."

"How's that working out for you?"

"I'm still me." She casually answered. "I'm still... Valerie Swan-Xavier. Being Athena's descendant just explains some things about me."

"I'm glad that -- "

Exactly at that time, a soft whirring sound was heard at their side. "Ladies," Charles' beautiful accent interrupted them. "What's the conversation over here?"

The brunette took another sip of her drink and casually shrugged. "Oh, we were just talking about nicknames, you know..." Eleanor smirked, giving Charles a knowing look as she wiggled her eyebrows. "Baldy."

At this, Valerie hummed and set aside a strand of her hair. "I'll do you one better. Eggy." She then laughed together with Eleanor. "Great, right?"

"Oh, shit! I love that! Great minds think alike! Eggy!"

Charles rolled his eyes and shook his head. "You two are impossible." he mumbled then glanced at Erik. "You approve of this, old friend?"

Erik stepped in, his hands clasped behind his back. He snorted. "You know better not to fight a losing battle, Charles. We already know we won't win against them."

"Correct! You really won't! So, don't even attempt to do so." taunted Valerie and the four laughed altogether. Peace filled Eleanor's heart, all was well with them all.

It was then that Erik stood beside Eleanor, discreetly taking her hand in his. "Come with me. I have something to show you." He then turned to Charles and Valerie, nodding. "Please excuse us for a moment."

The brunette let her man take her far away from the reception, his hand tightly entwined with hers as if he held promises within them. "Where are we going?" Eleanor softly asked, looking around the vast trees around them. When he didn't answer, she added another question. "Is this the part where you're going to murder me?"

This caught Erik's attention for he looked at her incredulously. Eleanor almost laughed at the thoughts whirring inside his head. He was already rethinking why he was with her. "What are you..." He paused and frowned. "Don't be ridiculous, Eleanor."

She grimaced and continued to follow where he was taking her. A moment later and they stopped at the lake of the school where they both observed the moonlight reflecting on the water. Eleanor then looked up to the sky, smiling. The deep blue canopy was covered with thousands of pinpricks of cold light. The evening sky was absolutely stunning.

Erik shrugged and sighed. "Glorious, isn't it?"

"Yes, indeed."

The two stood close to one another, their arms on each other's waist and the fair brunette laid her head on her lover's shoulder. Her eyes wandered to the three stars close to one another and she was brought back to the past.

"Is it possible to miss someone you have never met?" Eleanor mused. "I miss our first daughter. She really grew up fast. It was part of her mutation, you know... other than telepathy. The doctors were amazed that she developed a full brain by the fifth month and whenever I was asleep, she would enter my dreams as a six years old or as an adult."

"I also feel this heaviness in my heart like I'm grieving..." she continued. "And whenever it happens, my thoughts go over to the son Charles and I had. His name was Nathaniel too. I named our son after him."

Erik stayed quiet for the whole duration of her narration as if he was giving her the time to grieve for her loss. A few minutes later, he voiced out his own thoughts. "I wished you met Nina. She would have liked you very much." He sighed. "They all deserved so much more."

"Wherever they are, I know they're alright." Eleanor tightened her hold around her lover's waist. "Erica, Nathaniel, and Nina..."

To those we lost, may the stars guide you.

The two watched the clouds slowly move across the sky, just loving the silence and the peace of it all. It had been quite some time they had a moment like this for they were always involved in some kind of catastrophe from time to time.

Eleanor's other hand crawled up to Erik's wrist where she knew his tattoo was. She let her nimble fingers trace the area softly, trying to feel it. One of the many reasons why he preferred wearing long sleeves was because he wanted to conceal it. "I still don't understand why you hide this. You shouldn't be ashamed of it. It shows how strong you are."

"I know."

Another moment of silence.

Eleanor could almost see the gears inside his head working as if he was heavily contemplating on what to do. She wanted to read his thoughts, he was greatly resisting her telepathy and that meant he wanted her not to know about it. She understood this and gave him his space.

"I'd move heaven and earth for you, you know that, right?"

Erik began to speak and this time, Eleanor gave him her full attention. He tilted his head towards her. He looked agitated for a while, but then also calmed down.

"I'll go directly to my point." he cleared his throat. "It's you who I want to wake up next to everyday. If there is a life for me after this, I want you to be in it. I want you, Eleanor. I want you and our children to be with me. I don't want to go back to a life without you. I don't want to see a future without you."

Eleanor already knew where it was all going, but she didn't expect what happened next. She watched Erik pat his pockets and furrow his eyebrows, frowning. Something was definitely wrong since he was so worried. It was clear in his features that he was.

"Where is it?"

"What are you looking for, Erik?"

He patted his back pockets and the inside of his pocket before cursing in German and in English. "Fuck!" he hissed. "I lost the ring!"

"What?" Eleanor almost shouted in disbelief. "You lost the ring?"

"Don't laugh." he instantly warned, but the woman couldn't stop herself from laughing.

"How could I not? You lost a metal ring, you idiot!"

"It was in a box, okay? I must've misplaced it!"

"I can't believe this shit right now, Erik! You lost the fucking ring!"

The German shot out his hand to the side, fingers splayed as if he was trying to magnetize the metal ring if it was near them. "Well, it would've been in your ring finger now if you said yes last month! You rejected me twice, Eleanor!"

The woman bit her lip to stop laughing again. "But, it's fun, isn't it? Your persistence shows that you really love me."

At this, Erik paused and glanced at her, his eyes fixed on her as if she was the only person in the world. "I'll even turn the world upside down just to be with you, Eleanor." He affirmed before returning to look for the missing jewelry. "Shit. I guess this'll have to do." He fished out a small object from his pocket and soon, Eleanor found out it was a gold ball bearing, similar to her steel ones.

With a slight curl of his fingers, he lifted his gold metal in the air and took a small part away from it. Another wave of his hand and he reshaped the taken portion into a ring, capturing Eleanor's full attention who watched the whole event with great admiration. Because honestly, who wouldn't be amazed anyway by what he had done? Here was Erik fucking Lehnsherr showing off his ferrokinetic powers.

He then presented it to her with his shark-like grin, obviously delighted with her reaction. The brunette then clapped her hands. "Wow, it's official! You're now a jewelry maker!"

She then crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. "You don't have a ring, but you have a bearing ball. What is it with you and bearing balls, anyway?" At this, Eleanor brought out his gifts to her, her two steel metal balls and showed it to him.

"You still had that after all this years?"

"Of course, I did! It's from you!"

It was then that she caught a string of his thoughts that she frowned and lightly punched his chest. "Wait, hold on, you didn't really lose it, did you? You wanted to show-off!"

"Of course I did." It didn't even take a second for him to admit it. "After you rejected me twice, I knew I had to impress you somehow."

"Jackass!" laughed Eleanor and then shrugged. "But, yes, I'm very impressed. That was amazing."

"Good," he licked his lips and raising the ring once again. "Marry me, Eleanor."

The brunette found herself staring at the gold ring in front of her. No, Erik didn't bend down on one knee. He had already done that twice and it didn't work. To be honest, she rejected his proposal twice to make him see that she was something he will lose if he messes up again. She made him feel her value and it worked.

Eleanor couldn't help gaze at his sparkling eyes. They were irresistibly charming, glowing bright under the stars, and she felt her skin grow hot as if bathed by warm sunlight. They were open and honest as any child, a warmth and safety and in that exact moment, she found her home, her place to find company when the cold winds blew.

In him, she found her safe place.

And so, with all the emotions swirling in her chest, she found her answer.

She smiled.