「 The Professor & I 」VOLUME II

(300) Never Forget Her

Lynn's POV

Understanding, without a doubt, that absolutely nothing I spoke right now could suffice to mollify, I basically remained silent.

Also mostly because I had to.

My eyes stung, my heart ached, and my throat burned, determinedly striving to contain the outburst of warring emotions.

Terribly riddled by pain, I struggled to defy the torrents of tears threatening to rain down my face. I looked at him through a blurry sight clouded by a collection of salty water, recognising with ironic clarity every ounce of his torture.

Agonizingly, all I managed without completely crumbling was to gently caress his face as Charles did to me exactly the same. He stared deeply into my eyes, as if fixating his gaze longer would permanently etch my image into his head, and I helplessly watched the doleful crystal blue glisten with nothing but unadulterated fear.

"I don't want to forget your face, your smile, or your voice," Charles remarked wistfully, shakily skimming my lips, and they trembled, strenuously mustering a positive curve for him.

"I don't want to forget to hold your hand," he asserted in a worried tone, gradually lowering his and took my gimpy one tightly into his grasp.

"I don't want to forget to tell you how much I love you. I don't want to forget how to love you. I don't want to forget to love you," Charles ranted in a miserable tone and it was evident we both bore no more strength to act like figures of stone.

Charles plopped his skull lethargically back to the headboard, bawling his eyes out for the second time tonight. It was undeniably heartbreaking and severe, just not quite as hysterical as the first.

His torso vibrated vividly as he harshly bit his lip, obviously incapable of resisting his grief from succumbing to the work of gravity. I gritted my teeth, genuinely battling to contain my own anguish, but vigorous streams flooded my face unyieldingly as I diligently wiped his.

Glancing up feebly, Charles looked at me with a great sense of longing. Yet, layered intricately between the shackles of his desperation was equally colossal amounts of hesitation.

Firmly, he squeezed my palm and it was horribly excruciating that I thoroughly failed to reciprocate the simple favor. Instead, I delicately slipped off my gown and took the liberty to unbutton his shirt, hoping to reignite his passion and enthusiasm.

Slowly leaning in, I kissed him generously and he was surely skeptical initially but as I seduced him with our bare skins slithering tastefully against each other, everything that followed was just natural.

I pressed my forehead forcefully onto his as he breathlessly rocked his hips and our bodies concurrently spasmed, peaking in a wondrous tandem. I grinned in delight and Charles grunted in satisfaction but his expression of contentment compared to mine was contrastingly transient.

"I don't want to become a grumpy old man who doesn't know to love you in all the ways you deserved to be," Charles lamented grudgingly as he gingerly tucked away my bleached fringe, gazing at me remorsefully.

"I don't want to forget you, Lynn," he repeated and despite that his voice had been glazed with considerable exhaustion, it still beamed with everything sincere.

"I know," I whispered, kindly pecking him before pulling away slightly.

"And I don't want you to forget me," I affirmed, staring earnestly into his eyes sparkling with fright.

"But if you really do, I will be here everyday to tell you how much I love you," I assured with confidence, stroking his cheek softly with my thumb, but my bright smile and brave tone were seemingly nullified by the cascading tears I was frantically wrestling to dry.

"I know it's incurable and I know you're scared," I admitted honestly but Charles just gawked blankly as we both wept.

"But you're stronger than this, you must know that," I reminded in a tender tone but his doubts, stubbornly rooted, presented more challenging to eradicate than the countless weeds in our garden.

"You've always said there is nothing we can't face together," I rehashed, staring resolutely into his eyes until his own words functioned to bring them back to life.

"And you've got to remember, it's not just you and me, but this extraordinary family," I reiterated humorously and Charles actually chuckled as I brushed off the moisture from our faces.

"We will find you someone. Someone good. Someone who can help you," I stressed in a devoted tone.

"We will fight with all our might and we will do the best we can. As long as we know that, we will have no regrets," I convinced with a proud smirk and witnessed a small one sneak onto his lips before he hurriedly hurled me into his embrace.

"Thank you. And I love you," Charles croaked, cradling my head as he planted a lovely kiss onto my neck.

"I love you, too," I declared, inadvertently spying something jutting out from the corner of his pillow as I soothingly rubbed his back and I cautiously peeled away from him, noticing only now how achingly giant his eye bags were.

"You've been tired, Charles. Why don't you lie down and get some rest?" I appealed politely as I levitated our garments back onto the bed.

"You go ahead. I really don't get blessed with a lot of that nowadays," Charles replied in a nonchalant tone as he conscientiously dressed us back into our clothes.

"Then lie here," I urged, happily tapping on his favorite spot on my numbed lap as I carefully dismounted him.

"I promise, you'll feel much better," I guaranteed with an unreserved smile.

"No. I don't want it to be hard on you, Lynn," Charles refuted obstinately.

"Don't worry about me. Just try to get some sleep," I pleaded, directing him to lay onto my deaden thighs.

Perhaps too fatigued to unleash another objection, Charles obediently obliged. Snaking his arms securely around my knees, he peered up at me with untainted appreciation as he snuggled himself comfortably into position. Yet, still a flame of apprehension shined through, unaltered as I utilized my intrinsic talents to drag on the covers.

"Everything is going to be alright, Charles," I consoled, emboldening him with a faithful smile, and he sheepishly nodded, shutting his eyes, as I pampered his back with rhythmic pats.

"Trust me, everything is going to be just fine," I encouraged quietly and was glad that his distressed fidgeting eventually vanished into thin air, finally granting me some respite.

As his vitals stabilized to a dormant rate, I discreetly peeped over to the peculiarity strangely protruding from his fluffed cushion, stealthily retrieving it with my mind. Floating it towards my eyes, I curiously unveiled the mysterious item to be a recent photograph of me.

Charles had, lately, developed this new hobby and it was now not unfathomable in relation to his sudden but extreme interest in the area. He had snapped so many with that vintage camera of his, concocting random excuses I funnily recalled naively believing in.

Even then, I was moderately surprised that he would really carry around my picture, not to mention its apparently aged condition decorated by water stains and jagged creases but the overleaf graced by his unique handwriting was truly the one that left me wholly astounded:

Lynette Lauren Benjamin-Xavier
Birthdate: 24th May 1939
Wedding Anniversary: 24th July 1975
Mutant. Telepathic. Telekinetic.
Allergic to smoke.
Asthmatic; with a history of heart problems.
Laughs in the most adorable way possible.
You love her more than anything in this world.
Charles Xavier, no matter what you do, never forget her.