Iris walked through the corridors of the school with a smile on her face. Over the last few weeks since they'd rebuilt the school, the students had returned, and things had started to feel normal again. The school felt like a safe haven for the students once more.

She felt a breeze blow past her, sending strands of her hair out of her ponytail. Her eyes narrowed.

"Peter!" She shouted, "Are you sure that leg of yours isn't still broken? You stayed still a lot more with that cast on."

Peter appeared in front of her with a grin, "Sorry, Iris, just getting back into the swing of things. Let me tell you, not being able to run made me realise how slow and boring everyone else is."

She laughed, shoving him down the corridor, "Are you sure it's been ten years since that time in the Pentagon? Because you're still acting like a teenager."

"Am I not allowed to have any fun around here?" He muttered with a grin, "Jeez, perhaps I should have left weeks ago."

Iris stopped by the doors at the end of the corridor, "You like it here, really. Now, get in there. Raven's probably waiting."

The doors slid open, revealing Raven, Kurt, Scott, Ororo and Hank standing there waiting patiently.

"Sorry I'm late," Peter called out as he walked in, "Iris slowed me down. It must be her age."

Iris started to call out after him with a laugh, but he whizzed away with a shout. She rolled her eyes and started to say something, but stopped when she heard footsteps coming down the corridor.

She spun around and spotted Jean walking towards her with a faint smile on her face. She'd changed into the gear that Hank had designed for all of them, and the sight of it reminded Iris of the day in Cairo. She dismissed the thought quickly as Jean stopped next to her. Although she was smiling faintly, her eyes were edged with worry.

"What's the matter?" Iris asked quietly, glancing at the other students standing with Raven and Hank. None of them were paying attention, talking amongst themselves instead.

"I..." Jean shook her head, "I've not used my powers as a weapon since we were in Cairo. I'm worried I'll hurt someone when we're training. You saw what I can do -"

"Hey," Iris whispered, "You're strong, Jean. Worrying constantly about your power, it's only going to make it worse. If you believe that you have control, you will be more confident with the use of your powers. You are in control of them, don't forget that."

Jean shook her head, "It's still within me. The... force that I unleashed in Cairo. I can still feel the flames."

Iris rested her hands on the young girl's shoulders, "That force cannot control you unless you allow it to. For now, you need to be the controller. You choose what you do, don't let your powers decide for you."

Slowly, Jean nodded, glancing down at the floor. After a moment, she thanked Iris, "I suppose I ought to go in there. I don't want to delay them any longer."

"You'll be amazing," Iris winked, "Between you and me? You're the most powerful one in there."

Jean's cheeks flushed as she turned and walked into the training room. Scott caught her eye and walked towards her quickly, beginning to speak to her. He reached out and brushed Jean's hand gently as their heads bent together. Iris watched them for a moment before turning away and walking further down the corridor to where Erik and Charles stood, talking quietly.

Erik had stayed for as long as he could, but he had made the decision to move on and live somewhere else. The thought of having Erik leave when he had just returned to their lives saddened Iris considerably, and she knew that Charles felt the same way.

As she approached them, she heard Erik ask, "Doesn't it ever wake you up in the middle of the night? The feeling that one day they'll come for you... and your children?"

"It does, indeed," Charles murmured quietly.

Iris was aware of Charles' nightmares – his fear that he couldn't protect the students. It was a nightmare that tormented both of them.

"What do you do when you wake up to that?" Erik asked, his eyes narrowing.

"I feel a great swell of pity for the poor soul who comes to my school looking for trouble." Charles replied, his blue eyes twinkling. Iris rested her hand on his shoulder and smiled at Erik.

"We'd never let them through the front doors, Erik. Don't you worry."

Erik dropped his head with a smile, and Charles cleared his throat.

"You're sure I can't convince you to stay?"

Erik laughed, "You're psychic, Charles. You can convince me to do anything."

Iris felt her eyes sting, and she suddenly stepped forwards and wrapped her arms around Erik, hugging him to her tightly.

"Don't be a stranger," She told him, "I expect regular visits from you, Erik. A ten year gap between reunions is far too much, don't you think? I reckon the students have taken a liking to you as well."

Erik laughed against her hair, "I'll try not to disappear completely. Just call me when you want me to visit."

Iris pulled away, watching him sadly, "Goodbye, Erik. I'll miss you."

He smiled knowingly, turning away and walking down the corridor. He paused at the end, and Charles called out, "Goodbye, old friend."

"Good luck, Professor," Erik muttered before disappearing around the corner. Iris felt her heart sink slightly, and she reached out and squeezed Charles' shoulder reassuringly, knowing how sad he was to see his old friend leave them once again.

Behind them, Raven's lesson was starting.

"Forget everything you think you know," She told them sternly, marching up and down in front of them as Hank tapped away at the buttons on the control panel, "Whatever lessons you learned in school, whatever your parents taught you. None of that matters. You're not kids anymore. You're not students. You're X-Men."

Iris and Charles watched as Hank released a group of sentinels, and the students prepared to fight back. The door to the training room slid shut, and Iris hoped that Jean would be alright.

She hoped that all of them would be alright. Mostly, she hoped that they would never have to fight again. But in her heart, she knew that wasn't likely. Raven and Hank had spoken to Iris and Charles, and they'd made the decision that they had to prepare for a world that still wasn't quite ready to accept them. Raven and Hank needed to train their older students to fight, because the world needed them.

They needed the X-Men.

*

It was a late summer afternoon, and the sun was sitting low in the sky, bathing the grounds outside the school in golden sunlight. Iris had idly picked up a newspaper as she'd made her way outside to sit by the lake. Charles was already there, sitting on the ground with his back against a tree and a book on his lap. He glanced up at her and smiled. She dropped down beside him and kissed him on the cheek.

"How was your last lesson?" He asked, and she laughed.

"Exhausting," Iris pinched the bridge of her nose, "Something about hot summer afternoons and teaching do not mix."

As Charles chuckled beside her, she opened up her newspaper and began to read. After a moment, she stilled. In cities across the world, anti-mutant rallies were taking place. People were afraid after En Sabah Nur's attack, because they didn't know the details of the situation. Their fear was being expressed as anger and hatred.

Iris felt something twist in her heart. She didn't want the world to be full of hatred like this. She wanted mutant children to grow up in a world where they were treated equally. She'd wondered if she had been getting somewhere with her journalism, but then everything had happened in Cairo and she'd barely spared it a thought since.

But now...

"What is it?" Charles asked her, and she wordlessly passed him the newspaper. His eyes skimmed the page. They lingered there for slightly too long, before he finally raised his head to look at her. She was surprised to see his eyes were shining with tears.

"Can I ask you a question?" His voice was low. With a frown, Iris nodded in silence.

"Are you going to leave again?" Charles whispered. Iris leant back, staring at him in shock.

"What?" She couldn't think of what else to say.

Charles put the newspaper down and sighed, "You left before. Part of me worries that you're just going to leave again. One day I'll wake up, and Hank will be standing there with a note in his hand, telling me you've gone..."

"Charles!" Iris felt anger flare up inside her, "I didn't just leave on a whim! I left because I was afraid of hurting you, or the students. You know that."

There was a moment of silence, and Iris felt herself breathing heavily as she looked at him. They hadn't talked about this yet – not since she'd returned.

"You looked so well when you came back after Hank called you," Charles shook his head, "It seemed like you were happier there then you'd been here with me. I could tell you really enjoyed your journalism – that was what you'd always set out to do. You were really making a change with what you wrote, too. You were changing people's perceptions of mutants for the better."

Iris felt like she couldn't speak. She stared at her hands, clenched together in her lap.

"Iris..." Charles spoke softly, "When you left, it was so hard. I really thought you'd stay. I lost you twenty years ago when I wiped your memory, and for those ten years, and even now, I can't forgive myself. Not having you by my side for ten years, and knowing that you were out there not having any idea who you were or who any of us were... I can't believe I did it. I can't keep losing you like this. But if you want to go, if you want to pursue a career in journalism and leave this behind... please tell me before you go."

Iris squeezed her eyes closed for a moment, "I thought I was happy when I left. I thought I'd done the right thing. You have to understand, Charles – I was so scared." She took a deep breath as she carried on, "I loved writing, and I really thought I was happy. And perhaps I was. But then I came back here, and I saw you for the first time in months, I realised how much I missed you. I thought I'd ruined everything between us."

There was a long pause – too long, because Iris was struggling to say what she needed to – before she continued.

"I thought you died, Charles. After we defeated En Sabah Nur, in Cairo. I really thought you'd died. I felt my whole world fall apart then. I felt like I'd wasted those months without you. How could I possibly leave you now? When for a minute, in Cairo, I thought I'd never see you again? I could never leave you."

She finally looked up at him, and reached out to take hold of his hand. He squeezed her fingers gently.

"I can carry on writing from here. I can travel for interviews, but I can write here and still teach too."

His lips twitched into a smile, "You can. I think that would be a really great idea."

He leant forwards and kissed her softly, and she relaxed into him.

"So in answer to your question," She murmured gently, "I'm not going to leave again. Because I love you, Charles. I really do."

He studied her, the way the sunlight turned her face golden, and something sparkled in his eye for just a moment. He kissed her again before he spoke.

"You're the best thing that ever happened to me, do you know that? I've never felt happier than when I'm with you. I feel like I'm... whole. You make me laugh, you make me feel loved, you understand me when you're not even the one who can read minds... I don't know how I got so lucky. I want to be with you for the rest of my life."

Iris felt herself beaming, and she leant her head against Charles' shoulder and closed her eyes.

"Life without you is incomplete, Charles," She murmured softly. He turned his head and kissed the top of her hair softly.

"I have another question for you, then." He whispered to her.

Iris laughed, "What would that be then?"

Charles paused, running his fingers idly through Iris' hair. For a moment, he didn't say anything.

And then he did.

"Will you marry me?"