(Y/n) looked out onto the darkness that lay beyond the bedroom window. She had fallen asleep in the arms of Charles. The two talking and laughing softly, as they had lain there above the covers. She had to admit, that even though she had felt a little guilty, being back in the empath's embrace was right. It felt like home. Charles and Erik had always been different. Erik was an adventure. A wild ride. He had been fun, and life had never been boring. Charles on the other hand, was comfortable and calming. He was the eye of the storm. The only solid thing that you could hold onto, as the world around you was torn to pieces. And that was what she needed now. She no longer wanted to fear for her life. She no longer wanted that roller coaster that Erik had offered. She wanted, no, needed the calm that only Charles could give her.

She still loved Erik. Despite everything that he had become, nothing would ever change that. But she was no longer in love with him. And even though it saddened her, (Y/n) knew that that feeling was long gone. Despite the fact that outwardly she looked barely any older than she had done the last time that she had seen Charles. Inside, sometimes, she felt every year of her true age, and wished that she didn't. For she knew that she had to be as strong now as she had ever been. That she had to fight for what was right. To do what was right. She deserved a quiet and happy life. And if that life was only achievable without Erik in it, then so be it.

(Y/n) knew that sooner or later Erik would come for her. He would know where she had gone. Who she was with. That it would be perfectly obvious that there was only one man that she would turn to. And when he did come, whether it was alone or with others. (Y/n) knew that she would do everything in her power to protect not only Charles, but also every inhabitant of the school from her former love.

"(Y/n)?" A soft voice suddenly said. (Y/n) turning to look at a sleepy Charles.

"Is everything alright?" The empath added. Charles smiling as she came back to the bed and sat by his side.

"Everything is fine, Charles. I just woke, and I didn't want to disturb you, that's all. But now that you're awake, perhaps we can talk a little more. We have so much to catch up on." (Y/n) explained, as she climbed back on the bed and lay down by the empaths side. Charles wrapping his arm back around her, as they once again began to tell one another what had been happening over their long years apart.

                                                              >>------------------------------<<

Erik made his way towards the room. The magnetic field manipulator pulling his helmet from his head, and throwing it unceremoniously to the side. Mystique had informed him of (Y/n)'s latest activities. How she had once again been trying to undermine the Brotherhood from the inside. Despite how many times he had tried to convince her that his way was the only way. That humans could never be trusted. That it was mutants like he and (Y/n) that were the next level of evolution. No matter what he had said. No matter the arguments that they had had, Erik knew that (Y/n) would always be more like Charles than he would ever like to admit. That she would always be able to see the good in humankind. That she would always tell him that it was possible for mutants and humans to live together. And the part of him that was still the young man that had stood in the rain in Huntersville, loved her for it. But no matter what, had happened in the past. No matter how much she meant to him. No matter how much he feared her true abilities. Erik knew that he would not let her destroy what he had worked so hard to achieve. And he would do whatever it took to stop her from achieving her ends, no matter how much he hated the thought. What he wanted to achieve was bigger, and more important than his feelings for (Y/n).

The door to the room was thrown open. Erik's brows furrowing as nothing met him but darkness. Normally, the room would be filled with light. (Y/n) sitting quietly, reading one of her many books, as some music played softly in the background. The woman that he had searched far and wide for. The woman that he had promised to love for the rest of his day, not even bothering to look up from the pages, as he would enter. Not wishing to get involved in yet another one of their arguments about how he had changed. Yet tonight the room was cold and seemingly empty.

"(Y/N)!?" Erik exclaimed as he turned on the light in the room. It now obvious that the space was completely bereft of life.

In a way, Erik wasn't shocked. He was actually surprised that is had taken so long for her to break free from her confines. (Y/n) had always had far more powers than anyone had ever known. Far more abilities. And despite all the years that they had spent together. Despite their long, intimate relationship, Erik had still never fully discovered what the woman he loved was truly capable of. So, the fact that she had suddenly been able to vanish from her room was less of a revelation, than the fact that she had stayed with him for so long. Especially when it became obvious that their views on the world, had begun to differ so much.

With a heavy sigh, Erik made his way over to the chair in which (Y/n) would always sit. The fire in front of it, still crackling happily as if she had only just walked out of the room. He didn't need to wrack his brains to know where she would be making her way to. To whom she would have gone to ask for help. Even though he and Charles had somehow always managed to remain the strangest of friends. Even though this friendship had been strained given their very different beliefs. The one thing that they had ever truly fought over, argued over. Was (Y/n). The empaths admission that he was still in love with her, not long after they had returned from Huntersville, the final push that Erik had needed to take her away from the mansion. Yet now, it would appear that she had returned to Charles. That she had gone back to the man that had introduced them to one another in the first place. Yet no matter their disagreements. No matter their varying views. Erik was not about to give (Y/n) up as easily, as Charles had all those years before. She was his, and until she told him in person that that was otherwise, then she would always be his. Erik making his way back out of the room. Knowing that it was high time that he paid a visit to his old friend.