Chapter 066 – Waking Up

[2009 – July]

Her eyes still closed, Jean slowly came to herself, regaining consciousness while surrounded by tender warmth. She didn't have to take a guess to know that she was laying in Elijah's embrace, her instincts had told her this already.

Her slender hands slowly dived underneath his sweater as Jean pushed herself deeper into his embrace, knowing of no other place that could grace her with this sense of belonging and comfort.

Slowly opening her eyes and turning her face upwards, Jean saw Elijah's handsome features carrying a peaceful expression, a few locks of his dark hair having gone astray over the night and shadowing his face.

Lifting her right hand, she tenderly brushed back his hair, leaving a path of soft kisses from his neck up to his jaw, her eyes having a gentle glow to them.

Jean knew how rare and precious this moment was, to see Elijah relaxed and vulnerable, when normally his eyes were filled with concerns and calculations, his future visions clearly a weight on his shoulders.

She also wasn't ignorant to the events that had played themselves out on the academy grounds last night, the Phoenix having projected the happenings into her consciousness while her body and mind adapted to the changes her awakening had brought.

Jean had seen Elijah's ruthlessness, his willingness to enact violence on those standing in his way, though she had also seen the way he had held back, not using the most lethal aspects of his barriers against her former teammates.

There was something dark and violent in his heart, but different from what others may think, Jean was not scared off by this. She had seen into the hearts of others her whole life and she knew that everyone carried darkness within them.

The difference between good and evil was the ability to control one's own darkness and not to be controlled by it. At least that was how she saw it after years of looking into the minds of friends and strangers alike.

Elijah clearly was in control of himself, and he was honest in the way he carried himself too.

Jean still remembered the shadow of violence in his eyes when he told her that he would have killed the parents of the mutant girl she had saved with her team a few weeks ago. For Elijah, the world wasn't just black and white, or grey, he saw the world as it was. Nothing more, nothing less.

He knew that sometimes hard choices were necessary, but he was also aware of the fact that everyone had to make those choices themselves and live with the consequences of such.

And that was what he did. Elijah had made his choices and he was willing to walk his path until the end. Always advancing, never faltering.

And Jean loved that about him, felt drawn to the strength he carried himself with. It was as if he carried this inner light in his heart that guided his path and she was just a small firefly drawn to this light, unwilling to leave its warmth and protection.

Burying her head in the crook of his neck, Jean decided to savor every blissful moment at his side she could before the aftermath of last night's events demanded their attention. Inhaling his scent that reminded her of sandalwood.

"Morning, Firefly.", a loving whisper reached her ears a few moments later, one of Elijah's hands brushing over her back softly while the other gently grasped her bum, pressing her lithe curves against his well-muscled physique.

Wearing nothing but a pair of lace panties and one of Elijah's comfortable shirts, something he had clad her in after bringing her here, Jean could feel their bodies interlock in perfect harmony, like two pieces of a puzzle.

"Morning.", she replied softly, while moving her head back a bit so that she could place a soft kiss on Elijah's lips, channeling a tiny drop of her inner fire into the soft touch and banishing both of their morning breath with it.

She heard Elijah sigh in quiet contentment, muscles all over his body relaxing as he brushed aside her fiery locks and caressed her cheek gently.

"You came back to me.", he whispered, a look so tender in his eyes that it tore at Jean's heart.

"Always.", Jean assured, reconnecting their lips in a slow but desperate kiss, her tongue dancing around Elijah's in search of even greater intimacy.

It wasn't long before Jean found herself nude and on her back, pressed into the sheets by Elijah while he drew low moans from her with every thrust of his lower body, his lips and hands dancing lovingly over her heated skin.

…

"You don't want to go and see him?", I quietly asked the gorgeous redhead, whose naked body was currently draped over my own, my fingers drawing soft circles on her lower back and in between her shoulders, our passion slowly fading to a bearable level.

"No, not yet at least.", Jean replied, her eyes closed as she seemed to listen to my heartbeat, "As long as I don't meet him, I can still pretend that he tried to find me. Tried to find his daughter. If I meet him though and see in his mind that he just abandoned me … I don't want to know, not yet at least."

"Okay. We will go whenever you are ready.", I assured her, knowing that pressuring her to face her father was definitely not the right thing to do.

Too much had happened in the last few weeks and Jean had had to face too many harsh truths, I understood that she wanted a break before having to face another one. It was enough that she knew that her father was alive and that the truth about her stay with the Professor was out there waiting for her to uncover it.

I knew that she would do so in due time, as Jean wasn't a coward in any sense of the word. In fact, she was probably many times braver than I myself was. She would eventually face her father, but she would do so on her own terms and I respected that.

"How about we take a shower, get dressed, and have a talk with Emma? She is probably anxious to hear about your situation.", I suggested with a light kiss on Jean's neck, strands of her fiery hair tickling my nose.

"Hmm.", Jean hummed in agreement, her hands softly brushing over my sides, before she placed them flat on my chest and used them to lift up her upper body, a small smile gracing her full lips and flawless features.

…

"They lost and even the Blackbird was destroyed?", Erik mused after listening to his subordinate's report about the X-Men's latest failure.

"Yes, Sir. But there was something else.", Hawk replied, his nickname earned by his mutant ability Farsight, "There were parts that I couldn't see, like a blank spot. I could see things happening around it, but I couldn't see 'it'. Or more accurately him."

"You mean there was a mutant able to hide from your vision?", the master of magnetism questioned, his brows furrowing minutely.

"Not just any mutant, but Elijah Frost. From the intel we got from our spy in the mansion, he was the only participant in the fight that I could not see, even his actions were nothing but blank events. I only saw broken parts of the fighting because of this.", Hawk explained.

"Hmm. You may leave.", Erik acknowledged before dismissing the man.

"Elijah Frost, what an interesting young man.", the world's most sought-after villain whispered to himself, "Pietro was right. He is worth watching out for, especially if he is with Jean."

Erik knew from his old friend that the girl had potential even beyond his own, so he had always been eyeing her, waiting for an opportunity to recruit her for his cause. Now that a new mutant had appeared with definite Omega-level potential, who had even managed to charm the girl and bring her to leave Charles' school, Erik was even more interested in him.

Still, he was as patient as he was powerful, knowing full well the virtue and value that lay in such a quality.