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Erik was fast asleep when he heard the soft knocks on his door. Really, it was only thanks to him always being alert that he was capable of hearing them over the battering of the rain. He reluctantly sat up and opened the door and turned on the lights with a flick of his wrist. It was no surprise to see Charles on the other side, as no one else would dare to bother him. What did surprise him was the nervous glances and fidgeting. Whatever had brought Charles here, it must be serious, and considering how reluctant Charles was to ask for anything, Erik was sure the uneasiness in his stomach was completely justified.“What’s wrong, Charles?” he said while getting up and coming closer to Charles.“Well, I know it’s quite late, but I was just wondering if you’re up for a game of chess?”Only then Erik noticed the chess set in Charles’ hands, who was holding it in front of him like an offering.“Chess? At 1am? Did you wake me up for that? What is really going on?”“I just… want to play! And I know you don’t really need to sleep that much, so I figured that…” in that moment, a lighting shortly followed by a loud thunder interrupted him. It was impossible to miss the way Charles almost jumped, even if he hadn’t uttered the cutest yelp ever.Really, Erik couldn’t help the way his lips curled upwards. “You are afraid of lighting?”“No!” Charles denied vehemently. “It’s just that I was having trouble sleeping and…” Again, a thunder interrupted him and Charles jumped forward and crushed Erik in a tight embrace. “It’s just that I hate loud noises.” He said in a tiny voice.“It’s alright, Charles, I don’t mind sleeping with you, in fact, you should be aware by now how much I enjoy it” Erik assured him, with a suggestive smile.“Don’t be an arsehole”“But I’m serious Charles, I don’t mind sharing my bed for perfectly platonic cuddling, even if you asphyxiate me with the next thunder. Come on, let’s try to get some sleep.”Charles was slightly snoring and Erik was finally on the verge of falling asleep again when once more, a knock on the door roused him. When he opened, he wasn’t entirely surprised to find a pale faced Raven, but he didn’t expected Sean clutching a teddy bear, a sheepish looking Hank and a quite angry Alex behind her. Erik sighed and opened the door wide, letting them in.“Just look for a spot where you won’t bother Charles, or me” he said grumbling.
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Charles woke up and immediately knew it was a Bad Day. Thankfully, he didn’t remember the dream, but by now he was more than familiarized with the headache produced by his telepathy wandering into someone else’s nightmares. It was still dark outside, so Charles buried himself on Erik’s arm and closed again his eyes, falling into the bliss of dreamless sleep. An indeterminate period of time had passed when somewhere in the back of his mind he registered David’s crying, but considering that after a while everything was calm, Charles figured he had imagined it. He didn’t notice Erik’s absence from the bed at that moment.Waking up the second time didn’t feel any better than the first, even though he felt he had slept close to a millennium. At least this time the heavenly smell of tea filled the air. Wait. Tea? Charles lifted his head and saw his favorite mug filled with his favorite tea perched elegantly on his bed table. He immediately sat up and sighing with contentment he promptly drank his first cup of what he knew would be several in the day without thinking twice of how it had been magically there. Really, one never questioned perfectly made tea no matter what. Feeling much better, Charles finally got up, realizing how weird it was that Erik hadn’t woken him up. And goodness! It was terribly late! The twins were going to be late for school! He expanded his telepathy, ignoring the twinge of pain, and was baffled to find that not only the twins were already up, but they were about to finish their breakfast.Stop straining yourself and come down to eat before it gets cold. Erik sent him as soon as he felt Charles ghosting in his mind. Smiling, Charles sent him a mental kiss and got ready for the day.As he walked towards the kitchen, Charles kissed the twins good day, who were rushing to their bedroom to get ready for school. David was still perched on his baby seat, but he had already finished eating, and Erik was washing the dishes. After kissing David’s head, Charles hugged Erik from behind and rested his forehead on Erik’s back.“Thank you.” He murmured. “You make my Bad Days be only bad days.”Erik turned and hugged him properly giving him a peck on his lips and smiling. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, schatzi.”
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The smell of antiseptic. The white walls and floors. The steel instruments. The white coats. Erik wanted to run, all his instincts were screaming at him to get out as fast as possible. He took a moment to push it all down and kept going. Room 531. It was unremarkable from any of the seemingly thousand others he had passed to come here. And yet. Behind that doorHe didn’t even know what to expect behind that door. It couldn’t be that terrible, right? Erik himself had had been shot three times once, and eventually he was perfectly fine. Right? And Charles, Charles. Charles, he was strong.Right?He had been talking.
I’m sorry, my friend. But we do not.
Right.What was he even doing here? Charles now hated him. They were fighting different battles. Very soon they would be meeting in the battleground as opponents. The only reason Charles hadn’t controlled him out of the hospital was probably because of the helmet. What a providence it was. What protected his greatest enemy. And now, It would protect him. Against Charles. we want the same thing.
no
He opened the door. He was only being for once, a decent person. Visiting that who once had been his friend. Erik didn’t have friends. He had allies. Allies to be used to reach his objective.How paradoxical, that his new objective had been borne from Charles. Before, he had been ready to die once the world was free of Schmidt. Now, now, he had a more difficult mission. He was part of something greater.
Shaw has friends, maybe you could use some yourself.
Not friends. Never friends. Allies. He was surprised to see that no one was with Charles. How careless, how naïve. Don’t they realize the danger they were in now? Charles was probably not at his full strength. They should be protecting him. Secrecy was no longer of their side.And Charles. Oh, Charles. How beautiful.He looked small while sleeping. Almost fragile, despite all the power he held.He was actually relieved. He wouldn’t have to talk to Charles now. He could simply leave a note.
erik was here
He picked the chart at the foot of Charles’ bed.And his worldTwistedNoNoHe hadn’t realized he was walking backwards until he hit the door.He had to get out.The door opens inwards, you fool. You can’t open it if you don’t move forwards first.He couldn’tCharlesWhat had he doneCharles called them gifts. He was wrong. They were curses. At least, Erik’s was. No. The problem isn’t on the weapon but on the wielder. Erik was the twisted one.He can’t change time. But Charles, I will protect you. You’ll see. You will hate me and everything I do. But when I’m done, I’ll hand you over the world, so that you can rebuild it. Because believe me or not, your vision is my own. We want the same things. But right now is my turn. You just wait. Wait a little. And then, you can do your magic with no one on your way, no one to stop you. You’ll create paradise. I know you will. You’ll probably have to burn me though. I don’t belong in paradise.He was talking. Since when had he opened his mouth? It didn’t matter. He was leaving anyway.
Charles sighed and looked at Erik sleeping at his side. Even after such an exhausting evening of training and sex, Erik still looked tense.
“I wish you would stay with me. Together we could be great. I wish you would stop pushing me away.” Charles whispered while very carefully caressing Erik’s face. “But I know eventually you’ll leave. I just hope that when you do, you’ll know that you will always be welcome back.”
Charles chuckled. Now was not the time for morose thoughts. Tomorrow they’d continue training. With that in mind, Charles went to sleep with a smile.
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Erik barely heard the words, and barely felt the fingers caressing his face, so softly, as if he were something delicate. “But I know eventually you’ll leave. I just hope that when you do, you’ll know that you will always be welcome back.” continued Charles in the same whispering voice.
After a few minutes, Erik could tell that Charles had fallen asleep completely. His mind was still blank, he had heard the words so clearly. He had already repeated them so many times on his mind that he was sure they were engraved in his memory. He had never felt like this. He felt guilty, and sad, because yes, he was planning to leave after Shaw. This huge mansion, with happily training kids, it was not his place. No matter what Charles said, he didn’t belong here. But then, Charles had just said he could be back whenever he wanted. Did that make it his home? That’s the definition of home, isn’t it? The place you want to return to. Just like that, after all this years, Charles had just given him a home. And as the entitled brat he was, he hadn’t even had the decency of saying it to his face. The idiot.
Erik smiled and borrowed himself further into Charles. Maybe he didn’t have to leave after all, since he didn’t have any plan anyway. He could support Charles and his crazy, naïve dreams, and keep him on his toes. Charles needed someone to remind him how reality works.
“ … we want the same things. But right now is my turn. You just wait. Wait a little. And then, you can do your magic with no one on your way, no one to stop you. You’ll create paradise. I know you will. You’ll probably have to burn me though. I don’t belong in paradise.”It was only when the voice stopped that Charles realized that he wasn’t actually dreaming. But that made no sense. If he wasn’t dreaming, then how could he no feel the mind of the owner of the voice? Maybe it was a recording? Did Erik really leave a recording?With some effort, Charles opened his eyes. The first thing he noticed was that shapeless, horrible “helmet”. Charles was seriously tempted to close his eyes and pretend he had never woken up, but Erik was leaving, and after that little speech, Charles had the inkling that it would be the last time they met each other in a long time, and Charles was tired. Tired of being left behind. Tired of being alone. Tired of the hospital. Tired of the pitying glances he had been receiving from the boys. Everything was tiring. “Don’t you dare. Don’t you dare leave again.” Charles felt vaguely ashamed that his voice had broken, but right now, he didn’t care much. He was angry, frustrated, weary. But above all, he was terribly scared, and he didn’t want to be alone.Erik was still turned, with his hand on the doorknob. He had gone completely still.“Erik…” Charles said after a few seconds of uncomfortable silence. He supposed that if Erik wouldn’t even look at him, then it was all over. Just thinking about it Charles felt his insides twisting to the point of actual physical pain.Finally, Erik spoke. “I… I can’t, Charles. Sorry. If we’re going to have a chance on this war, we need to get moving now. And you’ll never approve of my methods, the same as I will always think yours will never be enough.”“Forgive me for not showing interest in your politics, but I was just fucking paralyzed!”Erik flinched, but Charles was too angry to care.“I don’t understand you. First you say you’ll protect me, but then you say you can’t be by my side. I have news for you, Erik, you can’t protect me if you aren’t here! We’re not talking about the future of mutants right now!”Erik finally turned and the pain in his eyes was so apparent that Charles instinctually tried to reach with his telepathy, only to find that ugly void. But before, he could demand Erik to remove it, Erik kneeled on his bed and took it off.Charles immediately relaxed. Erik’s mind was that feeling of home Charles had craved all his life.“I can’t stay, Charles” said Erik. “I can’t stay, but Charles, I will visit. As frequently as possible. I won’t abandon you again.”Charles had never seen Erik cry. He never wanted to see Erik crying again.“Then promise me that you’ll never block me again. Even if I don’t like your methods. Don’t leave me out, please. And Erik, I understand the need to prepare for a war, but please, don’t fire the first bullet.”“You need to rest. We’ll talk details when you’re better” was Erik’s response, while kissing his forehead. “Go to sleep. I’ll be here when you wake up.”That was good enough. Charles went to sleep.
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May 12, Saturday
Hypothesis: I suspect the information I was given about my target is incorrect. The client told me he is an empath with a range of approximately 20 meters who might be able to control other people with skin-to-skin touch. I believe, however, that he might be a telepath, range unknown.Supporting evidence: it’s been two weeks and not only I haven’t eliminated a supposedly easy target, I don’t recall any specific reason of why I haven’t.Counterargument: I accepted the job out of necessity, I don’t have any urge to complete it. Besides, the client is a complete idiot and the target is a fellow very cute mutant, a quite harmless and innocent one, on top of that. Maybe subconsciously I don’t want to complete the job.Starting this diary might be a risk, but I’m taking all the necessary precautions. Until further evidence is provided I will proceed with my usual MO. If target is indeed a telepath, I can’t let him be aware of my suspicions. That means, no shielding techniques and of course not thinking about it while in the job.
May 21, Monday
After another week of observation without any unusual movements, I’ve decided to strike tonight. Should my hypothesis be incorrect, I’ll be calling the client tomorrow informing him of the mission’s success. I think my theory is invalid and everything will go as planned, after all, my mother always said I was too paranoid.
May 22, Tuesday
I didn’t take the hit last night. Target spent most of the night masturbating fucking enjoying himself. An appropriate time couldn’t be found.I might be compromised, so I’ll take a couple of days to clear my head.
May 27, Sunday
After receiving a call from my client pressuring me to finish the job, I’ve decided to do it tonight, no excuses. I’ll write about the success of the mission tomorrow.
May 28, Monday
Target received a visit from his estranged sister. He seemed to be very happy and I couldn’t do it because he is too cute when happy it seemed cruel I didn’t want witnesses or collateral victimsAbove feelings are not common in me. Target may not be a telepath, but a strong enough empath could plant fake feelings. I’ll invest in anti-psy technology, even though if my initial theory was right and he’s a telepath, he’ll probably sense it. It’s a risk worth taking. Something doesn’t add up.
May 30, Wednesday
Without wasting more time, I went yesterday to take out the target, anti-psy blockers firmly in place. Target was sleeping.I didn’t shoot.Might have to invest on full protective anti-psy armor.Charles thumbed the report Logan had just given him.“Erik Lehnsherr, Max Eisendhart, Erik Maximoff, alias Magneto. One of the most infamous hitmen. The rumors say the bullets from his weapons never fail the target. Of course, with his mutation I’m not surprised, but I guess his status as mutant is not widely known. And what a wonderful mutation, I’ve never heard of someone with a similar one…”Charles’ eyes hadn’t left Lehnsherr’s picture all this time. Logan had a bad feeling about it. He cleared his throat, interrupting Charles’ musings.“He certainly lives up to his name, at least in perseverance. Nobody else has lasted this long. We know who sent him. I say we deal with the source once and for all,” Logan suggested.“Mmmmm…” Charles caressed the photo, like a goddamn besotted teenager. “I wonder why he’s working for my dear stepfather. Don’t you think he would rather enjoy it here with us?”And that was exactly what Logan had been fearing since Charles had taken a particular interest in Lehnsherr, almost two weeks ago.“No, Chuck, no. He’s a loose bolt, a lone wolf, only works for himself. The moment his personal interest doesn’t align with yours, he’ll turn on you. We have nothing to gain by letting him join the organization.”“On the contrary, Logan. I have the feeling that he will be the key for finally getting rid of Shaw,” Charles said with a finality that accepted no arguments, while smiling sweetly.Erik was about to seal the deal with the supplier when a hand on his shoulder stopped him. Immediately, Erik prepared to attack. He hadn’t sensed the person.“Don’t worry about buying those useless trinkets, Mr. Lehnsherr. Instead, why don’t you come with me, I have a much more interesting proposition for you than your current job,” said the person behind him.Erik immediately turned. That smile. Those eyes. Even the freckles. Except that up close he didn’t look innocent at all.
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“You think you could do better?” asked Dr. Shaw, in a deceptively sweet voice. Erik shivered, knowing by experience that it wasn’t a question but a demand. He focused harder, thinking on how much he would like to make the metal objects dancing around the place to hit Dr. Shaw instead. Of course, he didn’t, because didn’t want to be scolded by his mom.He focused on his anger that was born the day his father was killed, but, no matter how much he used his hate towards the driver that killed him to try to lift the heavy block on the center of the room, the block didn’t do much more than shake a little.Suddenly, he heard a voice inside his head. “You need to let go. Let go, Erik,” it was saying. Erik panicked, and in his distress, he unknowingly lifted the box a few centimeters.“Well done, my boy!” Shaw was grinning and rubbing his hands in delight. “I knew you could do it,” he said, placing his arm in Erik’s shoulder.The voice in his head forgotten, Erik focused on not making any mistake. He wanted to get out of here as fast as possible, and the only way to do it was by making Dr. Shaw happy.“Well, you really did a good job today, Erik. You can go. See you in a week,” the doctor said showing his teeth in what was supposed to be a smile. “And please, send my best regards and congratulation for having such a wonderful boy to your mother.” Erik picked his bag and walked really fast, without actually running. In the waiting room, there was a little boy, with a mess of brown hair. He was looking directly at Erik, and his eyes were almost supernaturally blue.“I’m sorry, but I could feel your distress and wanted to help. I didn’t mean to scare you” he said in a soft voice. A strangely familiar voice. It was the voice in his head from earlier! So that boy was a telepath and had been inside his head?“I wasn’t scared!” Erik was immediately on the defensive. “You just surprised me. And besides, it feels weird to have someone else in your head. As if a fly had gotten stuck inside.”To Erik’s surprise, instead of angering, the remark made the boy laugh.“Is it your first time here?” asked Erik.“Yeah. I slipped and my stepdad, who doesn’t like mutants, realized I was a telepath. That’s why he sent me to control training. You?”“I crushed the car that killed my dad. Nobody got hurt, though, but I was sent here on court orders anyway” replied Erik, nonchalantly, even though he felt like crushing a thousand cars just thinking about it.“Sorry about your dad,” said the boy, his blue eyes soft. “Mine also died, but I don’t remember much of him.”From the training room they could hear Dr. Shaw’s voice.“Charles Xavier!”The boy got up, but before he could go ahead, Erik grabbed his arm.“Listen, Dr. Shaw is a bit creepy. Just try to do as he says and keep him happy” Erik told the boy.The boy, Charles, looked at Erik for a few seconds, nodded and entered the training room.
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Erik was surprised to see Charles enter the classroom with a chirurgical mask on. He promptly stood from his desk and went to Charles’ side.“Why are you wearing a mask? Is everything ok? Did the doctor not remove the plaster? Something else happened?” Erik asked rapidly, without even giving Charles time to answer. Because if he stopped a second to think, he would get enraged again pretty quickly and go search Cain and punch him a thousand times for breaking Charles’ nose.Except Charles would get really angry if he did. Internally, Erik reaffirmed his promise to himself to do something, something that nobody would be able to trace back to him. He was going to show Cain that now Charles wasn’t alone and that he wasn’t allowed to ever hit him again. No, he wasn’t allowed to even touch him. Only Erik (and Charles’ little sister) had the right to touch Charles.“Calm down, Erik, everything was fine, I got the plaster removed and no, nothing else happened.” answered Charles with an exasperation that only a 10-year-old could muster.“You didn’t answer my first question, why are you wearing a mask?”Charles blushed and the mask did nothing to cover it, because when Charles blushed, not only his cheeks, but his whole face went red.“That’s not of your business!” Charles answered looking everywhere but at Erik.Erik was so surprised by the response that he stood there gaping for a couple of seconds, and he was ready to demand an answer again, the teacher entered and they had to go to their seats.It wasn’t after school was finished that Erik had a chance to ask Charles again, because said Charles had been obviously avoiding him all day.Erik waited partially hidden outside until Charles finally went out.“Charles!” Erik run and grabbed Charles’ hand. “Please, tell me what’s going on”Charles sighed.“It’s just that… well, because I broke my nose, now it’s no longer straight, and the doctor said it can only be fixed with surgery when I’m a grown up.”“So now you have a crooked nose? Cool!” Erik was honestly relieved it wasn’t something worst, but he knew that for some reason looking “proper” was always a priority for Charles.“It’s not funny!” Charles protested. And, oh no, he was about to cry.“Come on, let me see it, I’ll be the judge whether it’s crooked enough for you to qualify as a pirate.”Charles smiled and slowly removed the mask. As Erik suspected, it was just a small bump, and Charles’ face kept being as angelical as always.“Nope, no good,” he told Charles. “You can’t be a pirate. You have the cutest nose.”And without thinking what he was doing, he kissed it quickly, right on the bump.Charles smiled and didn’t put the mask on again.
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Charles corrected Alex’s position and took a step back.“All right. Maintain that position and focus on the objective. Do not stop looking at the objective. Now, imagine the plasma traveling through the space.”Alex’s body began to shine red.“Keep it there, take your time. When you release it, I want you to imagine it’s an arrow and you need to let it go at once, without hesitation. Ready?”Alex nodded.“Go!”Alex released a single loop of red plasma. It didn’t hit the target dead center, but it wasn’t that far off.Alex whooped in celebration.“Good job, Alex, you did splendidly!” Charles congratulated him, patting him on the shoulder.“Do you know why you can sometimes break glass and sometimes let the waves pass through it?” Charles asked Sean.“I don’t know. I just… do it.” Sean answered with a shrug.“That’s because you’re emitting a wave with the same frequency as the glass and because of that, it resonates.”“Uhuh” said Sean uninterested.“What I’m trying to say is that you could potentially break whatever material you want if you learn to control the frequency, which you already demonstrated you can. Think about that.”Charles walked away, leaving a gaping Sean behind.Charles watched with fascination as Erik set the chess pieces using only his powers.“You know? Metallokinesis has the possibility of being so much more. Can you manipulate earth if it has enough traces of metal?”“I can’t say I have tried,” Erik seemed to be amused by the idea. “Are you going to train me as well?”“I saw you teaching self defense to Raven and Hank, don’t pretend you aren’t teaching them as well.”That sight had filled Charles with so much happiness he had stayed there, unnoticed, for several minutes as Raven and Hank grew more and more confident in themselves thanks to Erik’s a little bit more rough approach.“Can I…” Charles hesitated. Would Erik react as drastically as last time? “ Would you let me in to try something?” Charles finished, motioning with his fingers.Erik immediately tensed.“What do you want to do?”“Last time, I sensed something, different, in how you perceive reality. And I’m not only talking about the feel of metal. Of course, I didn’t have much time then, but I think it’s related to your mutation.”“Would you… would you be reading my mind?”“No, unless you focus on something a lot.”“All right, go ahead. But keep out of my thoughts.”Charles was beaming. To be granted once again access to such a beautiful mind!He entered very gently, only for feeling what Erik was perceiving right now. There it was. Like a light hum on the back of his mind. He could feel that Erik thought that was normal, and something everyone else also felt.“That hum, I think it’s the Earth’s magnetic fields! That’s wonderful, Erik! When you get more powerful you’ll probably be able to levitate! And you could potentially destroy Earth with your powers! Erik, you are amazing!”And then he felt it. A warmth in Erik’s chest, accompanied by a wistfulness so strong it hurt and faintly the words he’s so cute when he’s excited.Erik realized his mistake and reeled back. He was about to stand up, but Charles stopped him by touching his hand and slowly, very slowly, approached him until they were separated by only a few centimeters. Charles looked at Erik in the eyes and unconsciously bit his lips. In a swift movement, Erik closed the distance.“I could feel that” Erik said when they separated those few centimeters again.“What?”“Like butterflies at the back of my mind” Erik explained smiling, while getting closer once again.They were all finishing breakfast together when it came up. It was Sean who first asked about it.“If the prof is helping us all, who helps the prof train?” he asked.“Charles doesn’t need training,” answered Raven tersely.“That’s right, my control is already on top notch.”“So is Erik’s, but I saw you training him on the grounds today,” kept insisting Sean.“Look, you don’t want a telepath to get stronger. Charles already has the all the control he needs. Can’t you get how creepy it is for someone to have the power to hear everything everyone thinks? If he wants he could…”Raven was screaming at poor Sean, who was astonished.“Raven,” Charles interrupted her, “it might be difficult to understand, but who cares about what they think? People aren’t as special as they believe. I don’t want to hear someone’s internal ramblings.”“Maybe so,” said Raven standing up from the table, “but then the moment you want to know something you can just do it and no one will ever notice.”With those words she left the kitchen. Charles sighed and gathered the dishes, ignoring the stares everyone was giving him.
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“Charles, you’re rich, you can pay for that, right?”“Are you crazy? My stepfather doesn’t give me money for books, he won’t give me for a ridiculously expensive jar that you broke!”“I didn’t break it! I mean, yes I did, but only because you pushed me!”“Ahemmm. If you don’t have the money then you’ll have to work here until your debt is paid.”“Are you crazy, Alex? Work here? As in the host club here? I thought you only accepted pretty blond boys.”“No, Erik, I’m not crazy. You both are good looking enough to enter, you’d only have to dye your hair.”“What!?! No! I don’t want to work in this absurd club, and I’m definitely not going to dye my hair!”“Well, Charles, then it’ll be 20 thousand dollars”“F*ck”“You look ridiculous.”“Ha, because you look any better?”“I think I look dashing. I can’t wait to see what my dear mother and estimated stepfather will say when they see me. Stop fiddling with it, it won’t change color!”“I look like a rent boy. I don’t want to know what my mom will say.”
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Charles wanted a baby. This fact was known to everyone who had met the man. However, because they were not only a gay couple, but also both mutants, getting an adoption was proving close to impossible. It didn’t matter that Charles was the founder and principal of the only mutant-focused High School and Erik the most famous lawyer of mutant cases, it didn’t matter that they had adopted without much fuss two teenage girls (both mutants), they simply wouldn’t give them a newly born, and Erik knew it was because there was no way to determine if a newly born would manifest as a mutant or not.So, things being like they were, Erik had to put up with sad sighs from Charles every now and then, and coos and longing stares every time they encountered someone with a baby.However, no matter how much Charles wanted a baby, Erik never imagined that when he came back with the girls from shopping (which had taken all day), he would find his house invaded by baby toys and clothes.“Charles?” Erik called.Erik saw how Jean went stiff and brought her hands to her mouth in surprise, dropping the bags. She then screamed, “Dad, did you kidnap a baby?”“What?” Erik must have heard wrong.From the back of the house came Charles’ voice, muffled, “It’s not what it looks like!”However, when he finally entered the living room, there was a baby in his lap. A baby with green hair.“Baby!” Ororo screamed and run to Charles’ side.“So, remember when you confessed to me once that you were a sperm donor for a couple of years? Well, apparently, they didn’t like the result. Her name is Lorna. She’s about to turn one year old,” said Charles, coming closer and showing the baby to Erik. Charles’ voice had been serious, but his eyes were brimming with emotion. Erik was speechless.Ororo, who had always resented the fact that Jean was two months older than her said, “Does it mean I’m finally an older sister?”Erik nodded, finally taking the baby in his hands. Lorna. She was beautiful.
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Everyone was ignoring him again. It wasn’t fair. He was the great Magneto, his name alone caused humans to tremble and mutants to have enough strength to fight. He was feared and respected. He was awesome. They had no right to talk over him like this.“The Brotherhood isn’t a place for a child,” Raven was saying. Wanting to know his displeasure known, Erik stopped trying to accommodate his helmet and from where he was perched on Charles’ knees he exclaimed, “I’m not a child!”Of course, in his current, let’s say, appearance, it came out quite childish and he was brushed aside once again. Really, it wasn’t fair.Charles was talking about using Cerebro or something when Erik interrupted again, “Charles, tell Raven I’m not a child!”Charles sighed very profoundly. Erik was sure Charles had a lot of practice in sighing, because apart from Hank, Sean and Alex, now there was also Scott who was a complete brat and a couple of girls, Jean and Ororo. With so many immature children, Charles must be an expert sigher. “Erik, how about you remove that helmet so I can tell how much of a child you are?”While Charles talked, he was already removing the helmet that was too big to be practical anyway. Erik felt that warm sensation at the back of his mind he had been sure he would never feel again. It made him laugh, because it tickled. He didn’t realize the astonished silence that followed his laugh, nor all the glances Raven, Hank and Charles shared.“Well, he has all his memories, but he obviously thinks like a child. However, even though his body looks about four years old, I would say that with all his memories, his mind is much more mature, but somehow patchy. Most things are just not relevant anymore in his mind, so he doesn’t think about them.”Erik was about to protest again. He was Magneto! He was powerful! But the metal in Charles’ chair distracted him. It was sleek and cool, and Erik was sure that he could make it even better.After more words and goodbyes, Erik was given his old room, and one of Ororo’s pajamas. He didn’t want to wear girl clothes, but Charles promised to play chess with him if he did, so he just showed he wasn’t a child by not complaining more.“Do you need any help changing?” asked Charles.“Despite what you think, I am completely capable of taking care of myself” answered Erik and felt very proud of his words. He regretted them very soon, though. Since when getting dressed was so difficult? His limbs just wouldn’t cooperate.When he finally finished, he set up the chess board and waited for Charles, but not five minutes had passed when he felt his eyelids grow heavy and the world become blurry until he at last closed his eyes and fell asleep.
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Erik had known from the beginning that going to the party was a bad idea. He hated loud noises and obnoxious people, he didn’t particularly care about dancing and he certainly had no intention of hooking up with anyone, the only salvageable thing being the alcohol. So, what was he doing here, you ask? As always, it all boiled down to Charles. Charles, who had never gone to a party before and now that the oppressive presence of his stepfather was no longer in the picture (thank god), was eager to test his new freedom, and had dragged him here. Well, to be fair, it hadn’t taken much convincing. There’s no way Erik would leave Charles alone among these rambunctious and often cruel people who were their classmates. Speaking of Charles, where was he? Erik craned his neck, trying to discern the faces in the dim light. He had gone dancing about an hour ago, leaving Erik alone, who had not moved ever since, drinking alcohol to quench the urge to just go home, which increased every minute. Finally he spotted Charles. Erik couldn’t help but grind his teeth. Of all people, he was dancing with Sebastian. Emboldened with alcohol, Erik pushed people without caring about their complaints until he reached Charles’ side. He grabbed him firmly by the arm, and without a word he dragged him through the dance floor to a secluded space in a corner. Instead of angry, Charles seemed delighted.“Erik!” he screamed against the loud music, throwing himself against Erik and wrapping his arms in Erik’s neck. “Are you going to dance with me?” he asked with a pout, while plastering himself even more against Erik’s front.Erik had been lusting after Charles for so long, that he couldn’t help but grow hard in his pants. To his embarrassment, Charles noticed. Charles opened his eyes comically wide and look at Erik disbelievingly, but before Erik could apologize, his expression changed to a smirk.“Wow Erik”, Charles said, placing one hand on Erik’s bulge “what a huge schlong dongadoodle you have!” Erik felt paralyzed. On one hand, he couldn’t believe he had just heard the words ‘schlong dongadoodle’ with his two ears – how much beer had Charles had? – but on the other hand, he was so overwhelmed by Charles’ physical touch that instead of the laugh he had intended, all that came out of his mouth was a pathetic whimper.Charles smiled filthily. Erik put his mouth just beside Charles’ ear and he whispered, “The better to bow-chick-a-wow-wow with you.”And fuck, if he was saying those words then he too was more drunk than what was wise. It was that last thought that made him pause. What if Charles regretted this next morning and would avoid talking to Erik again? Erik would do anything not to lose Charles ever.He gently grabbed Charles’ hands and disentangled himself. Ignoring Charles’ pleas, he searched the way out of the house. Taking a few deep breaths in the brisk, cold autumn air, Erik willed his erection away. He couldn’t leave without Charles, but he couldn’t go back inside and risk getting entrapped by Charles’ ridiculous flirting, for fear that he wouldn’t have the will to escape again.So he waited outside. It wasn’t until an hour later that the first people started to leave. Charles must be completely wasted by now, or maybe, Erik hoped, he sobered after Erik left.He spent twenty minutes looking for him, each minute that passed without finding him, he felt like lead settled on his stomach. Finally, when he was starting to seriously worry, Angel grabbed his hand and said, “He’s in the kitchen.”Indeed there he was, in a corner of the kitchen, besides the garbage bin, but instead of passed out or happily drunk, he was hugging his knees and crying. It was as if someone had punched Erik in the stomach and all the air had deserted him. He had never seen Charles openly cry. Not with his mother blatant indifference, his stepfather’s absurd expectations or even with all the shit he had had to take from Cain when he was younger.“Was it Sebastian? What did he do?” Erik asked, kneeling besides Charles and gently taking Charles’ face in his hands. He wiped Charles’ tear stained cheeks with his thumbs.“No,” said Charles sobbing, though he was making obvious efforts to calm himself.“Then tell me what is wrong. We’ll fix it together, I promise. Everything will be alright.” Erik wrapped his arms around Charles and brought him close to his chest. Charles grabbed his shirt and buried his head in Erik’s neck, still sobbing.“I’m sorry.” His sobs incremented and he began crying again.“Hey, hey, there’s nothing to feel sorry about,” Erik said, his hands moving up and down Charles’ back, trying to confort him.“I don’t want to lose you.”Charles looked directly at Erik’s eyes, and Erik felt his stomach drop. He looked so miserable.“You’ll never going to lose me, I promise. Charles look at me. I didn’t reject you because I don’t want you, but because you were clearly too drunk, and so was I. I left because I don’t have any self-control.”“Really?”“Really. I’ve been thinking on nothing but kissing you for the last couple of years, but I was also too afraid.”At that Charles laughed wetly.“What a pair we make.”He rested his head against Erik’s shoulder.“Charles?” Erik asked after a few minutes of silence, feeling that his legs were cramping, but he received no answer. He looked down and saw that Charles had fallen asleep, the little shit. Erik tried to stay still, ignoring the needles in his legs. He didn’t realize he was smiling.
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It had been more than five years since Erik had seen Charles. After his mother died, Germany became suffocating and Erik decided that it was time for a change of scenery, again, so he went back to the States. At first he had thought on avoiding New York, but then, when he visited Raven and she told him how she had never talked with Charles since that night, Erik grew a little worried. He had tried contacting Charles’ friends, but both Sean and Alex had left the country, and Hank was proving as difficult to locate as Charles himself.Finally, Erik arrived to the front gates of Charles’ imposing mansion. It was the only place he had as a clue, though he suspected it would be futile, considering how much Charles hated the place. Why would he leave his confortable place downtown to come live here of all places?His suspicions were confirmed when he saw the state of the gardens. It was obvious it had been years since anybody lived here. Nevertheless, Erik left his car and waled up the mansion. He rang the bell and waited. He was pleasantly surprised when he heard someone shuffle on the other side after a few moments. However, the one to open the door wasn’t Charles but Hank, who was obviously even more surprised to see Erik.After a minute, Hank finally reacted, closing the door on Erik’s face.“Hey!” Erik protested, thumping his fists against the door. “Open up! I just want to talk!”“Go away, he won’t want to see you!” was Hank’s answer.“I know, but please, at least tell me he’s okay.”At that, the door opened again, and Erik was startled to see how much fury was in Hank’s eyes.“Okay?! He’s far from okay, and you have no right to come now after all this time demanding answers!”“What do you mean he’s not okay? I thought he would be coping, it’s already been five years…”“Well, sometimes five years are not enough to ‘cope’ with getting paralyzed!” growled Hank.Erik couldn’t believe what he had just heard.“Paralyzed?” he repeated like an idiot.Hank opened his eyes wide.“You didn’t know,” he said faintly. “No wonder you never came back.”Erik, exasperated, grabbed Hank by his shoulders and shook him.“What do you mean by paralyzed?”Hank opened the door, sighing.“It was a car accident, five years ago. He was distracted, talking by the telephone.”Erik had no words. He wondered how soon since they had broken up it had happened.“He’s sleeping. Second door.” Hank said, signaling a corridor in the first floor.When Erik opened the door to Charles’ room, he wrinkled his nose. The room reeked of alcohol and recycled air. It was dim inside, but the he could still see the wheelchair clearly.He sat besides Charles in the bed and caressed his long and uncared hair.“If you had asked me to stay, I would’ve,” he whispered.In that moment Charles opened his eyes.“Erik? Am I dreaming?” he asked.“No. I’m really here,” Erik felt his eyes tearing up, “I’m really sorry. I swear I didn’t know.”“I know,” said Charles, “I didn’t want you to.”“Why?”Charles closed his eyes. His breath was coming ragged, but when he opened his eyes again, there was a determined look in there.“The accident. It happened right after we hang up, that last time. I was so angry with both you and Raven that I didn’t want you to come back out of pity.”Erik felt like he had lead at the bottom of his stomach. It had been his fault. Everything had been his fault.“I’m sorry. I know it doesn’t mean anything, but I’ve never stopped loving you. That kiss with Raven was just something I thought she needed, but I…”Charles stopped him, putting his hand on Erik’s mouth.“I… Just, don’t talk about that anymore. I’m tired.”And with those words, he closed his eyes and went back to sleep, leaving Erik without knowing what to do.
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“Feel? What do you know about what others feel? Tell me, Erik, can you feel this?” screamed Charles, clutching his legs. Erik immediately fell to the floor. At first, Raven didn’t understand why, but the awkward way Erik was trying to accommodate his legs, pulling at them with his arms untill he could sit, made her stomach drop. She had never seen her brother use his telepathy this way.“Charles, stop it!” she hated that her voice wobbled, betraying how much all this was scaring her. Charles didn’t even acknowledge her.“Huh? Answer me, Erik. How do you like the feeling of not feeling your own legs? Or perhaps you would prefer to have first hand experience with the pain of having your head pierced? Huh?”Erik began screaming, clutching his head. Charles’ eyes were obscured by his unkempt hair, but she could see clearly that he was smiling. This had to stop. She tried to make a step, intending on rendering Charles unconscious, but to her horror, her body wouldn’t move.What was going on? They had come to the mansion after Sean had contacted them, begging them to come back, saying that Charles needed help. Erik had caved.When they finally got to see Charles, Raven could see why Sean had come to them. His appearance was haggard. His hair filthy and unkempt, his clothes wrinkled from sleeping in them, stinking of alcohol. He had taken one look at them and simply had laughed and turned his chair, ignoring them.“Or would you prefer to feel the terror of hundreds of people facing their imminent death? I wonder, if one people being killed made you scream like that, how would it be to feel all of them blowing up? Mmm?” said Charles currently.Tears were streaming down her face. To her side, the boys were equally horrified, and equally unable to move. Erik was clutching his chest, sprawled on the floor, probably still unable to move his legs. His breath was coming ragged.Erik had left the helmet back in the base as a symbol of good faith. Oh, how foolish they had been. But how were they supposed to know? This… This wasn’t Charles. Charles would never.After the cold welcome they had received, Erik had used his powers to turn Charles’ chair and forced him to face them.“Stop being such an arrogant prat. We came because your boys are so worried about you they had to beg us for help. Stop being so selfish and try to understand how they feel!”And that, that’s when Charles had snapped.“Please, Charles, stop,” Raven tried again, back to the present. This time Charles turned to look at her. The seconds passed, and Raven started to hope that her Charles would finally come back. But when Charles finally spoke it was a simple “why?” that fell from his lips. It was without intonation, as if he were a curious child asking why the sky was blue.He turned back to face Erik and repeated his question.“Why?” he then smiled. “Give me one reason why I should stop.”This was wrong, so wrong. This wasn’t Charles.Erik opened his mouth, but no answer came.Raven could feel her vision going black.“Don’t look at me like that, I’ll make everything alright again,I promise,” was the last thing she heard Charles say....Raven woke early next morning. Early for her at least.On her way down to the kitchen she crossed Erik coming out of her brother’s room. Ugh, she didn’t want to know, thank you very much.Apparently today was an early morning for everyone. Angel was making her famous arepas, while Sean and Alex “helped” her by eating the dough. Hank was already sitting in the table, reading today’s newspaper.A few moments later, Charles rolled in, saying good morning to everyone and giving Erik a sweet kiss.“Oi!” Raven protested. “Not in front of the kids!”Charles simply rolled his eyes, while Alex threw a bit of dough that smacked her right in her forehead.While they were eating, Raven couldn’t help notice the shadows under Charles’ eyes. He looked so tired. Had he looked like this yesterday? Huh… that was weird. She didn’t remember seeing her brother yesterday.“Everything alright?” Charles’ voice cut through her ruminations. She shook her head trying to dispel the strange feeling that something was amiss. She chuckled at herself, she was just overthinking, as always. She let the feeling of peace and happiness wash over her, and with a look at everyone in the table, she realised this was probably the happiest she had ever been. Picking one arepa and buttering it generously, she smiled at her brother.“Yes, everything is alright.”
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The moment one of the crewmembers recognized the pirate ship, the fear spread like wildfire. It was the Cerebro, so named after its odd shape resembling a brain. It was the flagship of the infamous x-men.The fight was sloppy from the beginning, and when they were attacked by an unknown electrical pulse that rendered all of the functions in their own ship useless, Erik knew that no matter what he did, they were doomed. He didn’t particularly care about the ship or the other people aboard - they were mostly dirty rich men that had benefited from the war, but he couldn’t die here. He was posing as Max Eisendhardt, an expert on spaceship’s weaponry, an alias that had taken years in cultivate in order to get close to Shaw. Right now , however, he had two options: maintain the alias and trust his good luck to make it alive, or lose all those years of work and show proof of who he really was, which, by the way wouldn’t guarantee his safety. But no, if the pirates decided to tell the world that Erik Lehnsherr was still alive, all would have been for naught.Erik fought hard, but he was the only one trying to and too soon was overwhelmed and captured.“I like how you fight,” said a burly man with a cigar in his mouth, “I’m sure the captain would like to see you.” He was taken then to the Cerebro. Inside it was nothing like Erik would have imagined a pirate’s ship to be. As a matter of fact, it looked suspiciously similar to a standard Military Ship.“I see you recognize the design, wouldn’t expect less from Max Eisendhardt, the man who designed the latest upgrades of the Military’s weaponry.”The voice came from a boy that had stopped in front of them. The burly man that had taken him prisoner touched his forehead in a sign of respect.“Captain,” he said. Captain? That blue-eyed boy was the captain? Of the x-men? The most feared pirate on the Federation space was a freckled boy?“What you probably didn’t expect is that he fought like a hellion,” continued the man. “Nothing like the bullshit style the aristos use, I thought you would be interested.”The captain smiled devilishly. There was a glint in his eyes that made a shiver run through Erik’s body.“Oh, in that case, Mr. Eisendhardt, I have a proposition for you.”
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The first thing Charles felt when he opened his eyes was the frigid cold of the air. The room was illuminated by an eerie light. Immediately, Charles knew the winter had finally come. Effectively, when he approached the window, the only thing he could see was a white sheet, expanding wherever the eye could reach. He breathed profoundly, letting his body adapt to the cold. His head leaning on the window, he closed his eyes and for a second let himself imagine he was back at the mansion, having woken up to the screams of the kids instead of this eternal silence. Maybe Sean had made another prank on Alex, who was now chasing him, looking for revenge. Hank would be looking from afar, trying not to get involved but already plotting plans to win in case they turned to him. Raven would be still asleep, or just waking up. Maybe the screams woke her and she’s going to make the boys pay for disturbing her. Erik of course would be in his morning run, already finishing it, probably. It would be seconds before he entered the room, ready to take a shower. He would see Charles awake and say good morning with a short kiss, except Charles would not let go.Before it became to much, Charles cut his line of thoughts. He wasn’t surprised to feel a tear running down his cheek. It still hurt too much. No matter how much time or distance he put, there was no running away. He was breathing heavily, his chest as if it had been caved out. For a few seconds he let the pain take over, he let his body shake with agony.Once he composed himself again, he realized there was a numbness in his toes that had nothing to do with the freezing floor. He hurried back to the bed and opening the drawer by its side, he took out one of the little vials and the needle. Filling the needle and injecting himself was done in a matter of seconds, the ritual something he was more than used to. He felt the liquid enter his veins and expand through his arm. The effect was immediate. His body relaxed completely, his breath calming down. The numbness that by now had expanded to his calves receded and any morose thoughts he might have had when waking up left, his mind an empty bliss. Sluggishly, he checked the drawer. There were still enough vials for a month, but with winter settling in, it would be better to ask Hank to send more before the road became impassable. He was also running out of alcohol, so he had to do the trek down to the town soon anyway. He would have to buy a lot. He had been warned that there would be snow storms that might last days.Hank had been vehemently against Charles leaving the mansion or at least to let him come with Charles, but Charles knew that as long as they were together, he would be holding Hank back. He had already failed Erik, driven Raven away, been too weak to protect Darwin, been unable to help Alex and completely useless to Sean. The least he could do was to give Hank part of his freedom back.Unexpectedly, a bitter laugh left his mouth. It would be funny to see what Erik would think of Charles now. An addicted lone man up in a mountain, doing nothing all day but drink and stare at the ceiling. It was a moot point anyway, Erik undoubtedly would not be thinking about him.He wondered, where all had gone wrong. To place the fault entirely upon what happened in Cuba would be lying to himself. It had been coming and it had been inevitable by the time Raven and Erik left, he just had been too arrogant to see it.He wondered, if he could travel back in time, what could he do different to fix this? How could he steer Erik away from a path of war? When had he stopped being a sibling to Raven?He wondered, how long more he could stand this. Would he spend the rest of his life hidden away, wallowing in his own misery?If only he could start over again, he would do it better, he would be stronger, he wouldn’t let his arrogance stand in the way. But now it was too late, now it was glaring obvious he was not suited to lead his fellow mutants, he was not meant to teach them. At least here he would not hurt anyone else.
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Erik watched into the interrogation room as the witness finished signing the agreement to have her mind read. Across her, Charles sat with a kind smile, apparently completely comfortable even though he was wearing that horrible contraption that was the suppressor. He felt a twinge of uneasiness as officer McTaggert entered and with her fingerprint, unlocked the suppressor. Erik knew perfectly well that a mere glass wouldn’t stop Charles’ power. He could be in Erik’s mind right in this moment, prying away all his secrets and weaknesses. This thought was immediately followed by disgust at himself. How could he think of a fellow mutant the same as the baselines? He had seen the humans recoil from Charles and refuse to be in the same room even though he was wearing the damn suppressor. Erik gritted his teeth. He had to do something to get over his fear, no, not fear, Erik never feared, his, discomfort with telepaths. After all, it seemed like he was going to work long term with one.Charles massaged his neck and scalp before turning to Moira and nodding for her to put on the bloody helmet back on. He hated the thing. He wished he could use his own small and discreet suppressor, but the whole idea of wearing it was for it to be visible, to send the message: ‘Do not worry, I’m not dangerous’. Charles snorted. As if anyone who hated telepaths would stop hating them if they wore suppressors. It only made him a clear target for their hatred and fear, but at least no one could accuse him of illegally reading their mind. To make matters worse, his partner didn’t seem to care about him an iota, and regarded him with disgust at best. He wished he could quit, but this was the fastest way to find Raven, and maybe at the same time, unravel what had happened to his father. That’s why he was completely taken by surprise when that said partner invited him to have something after work.“I won’t be wearing suppressors,” Charles said slowly, as if explaining to a child.“I know,” said Lehnsherr, his face as impassive as always.Charles squinted, trying to figure out if this was some kind of joke.“Sure,” he finally answered, dragging the word to show his uncertainty. “Excellent, see you at six.”And with that, he turned and left to his office.
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It had been no one’s fault. Really. An honest accident. Even if the only one to think so was apparently Charles himself. He could feel the minds of everyone blaming him, asking for mind bleach of all things. The truth, it all had been a series of terrible coincidences. Well, only a couple, but still. Not his fault. In fact, if it was anyone’s fault, it was Erik for getting up so early.It had been in all appearances, a normal morning. Erik had gotten out of bed early for his morning run, like all mornings, leaving Charles still soundly asleep. So sue him, he wasn’t a morning person, that still didn’t make it his fault. When Erik came back, he took a shower, like always.Meanwhile, Charles was having a lovely dream. Erik was opening him slowly, taking his sweet time. Charles was against the shower’s glass door. He was about to tease Erik about how useful was the big shower he had scoffed at, but just in that moment, Erik’s fingers brushed against his prostate, and all the words just flew out of his mind. Erik chuckled behind him, knowing it took effort to shut Charles up.That’s when Raven had barged in his room, waking him with screams.How was he to know it wasn’t a dream? How was to know he was inside Erik’s fantasy? And how was he to know he had projected it to all the inhabitants of the house? He had been asleep! It wasn’t his fault! Thank goodness there was no one underage.
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Charles pursed his lips. He didn’t know how he should be feeling. He was obviously hurt, but a strange calm had invaded him since he stopped feeling his sister’s mind. It had been dim ever since Erik and Azazel arrived with her, bleeding and unconscious. Hank had done the best he could, but her mind had flicked on and off like a switch, until it didn’t turn on again. Hank was still trying, but Charles knew it was useless. There were no traces of his sister anymore. Azazel was grabbing her inert hand, while Erik simply stared at his bloody hands. Neither of them had said a word.Hank lowered the defibrillator and shook his head dejectedly. Without breaking the silence, he left.After the door closed, Erik lifted his head and looked directly at Charles, his eyes were full of guilt and tears about to fall.“You said you were done with the terrorism, that’s why you came back,” said Charles, overly conscious of how calm his voice sounded.“Charles…” Erik began.“Don’t worry,” Charles interrupted him, “this will be the last time you lie to me.”Charles let his mind expand, like relaxing a muscle that had been cramping so long he didn’t notice anymore. It hurt at first, but the longer he spread his telepathy, the more he felt at ease, until the hurt was but a faint echo.He embraced Erik’s mind, calming all his fears and anger. He glossed over the night’s events and focused on the happiness they had together, here at the mansion, dimming all that made him itch to keep going out at night. His place, after all, had always been by Charles’ side.Once that was done, Charles rolled to Cerebro and went further. He found the men that had shot his sister. They were security guards at a facility that experimented on mutants. He made the scientist there free the mutants, and then sent everyone home, their jobs forgotten. He kept going, facility to facility, until there were no more. He then went to those who had been behind the facilities, the ones who had put the idea into action, the ones who had had the idea, the ones who had approved it. He erased it, and was about to leave instead the seeds of the opposite, ideas that would protect mutants, when Cerebro suddenly shut off.Charles turned around to find Erik, his horrible helmet in its place, fingers spread, using his powers. He had been careless. Erik was quite intelligent. Even if Charles had calmed his mind, Erik had realised there was something wrong, and came to the right conclusions.“What are you doing, Charles?”Charles could see there was something wild in Erik’s eyes. Maybe he was scared. Charles had never seen Erik scared.“I’m just doing what you wanted,” said Charles, tilting his head to the side in curiosity. “There are no more facilities experimenting on mutants, and if you let me finish, there won’t be ever again. Now you don’t have a reason to leave. I should have done this years ago, before… before… “ Charles didn’t want to think about Raven.“That’s not,” Erik seemed to be short on words, which was odd for Erik. Erik always had something sharp and clever to say. “Not like this.” He finally settled for.“Why not? I used my powers the same way you’ve been using yours each time you slipped away in the night, every time you said you were recruiting more students, every time you said you needed to be left alone.”“Charles, you’re not in your right mind. Surely you realise waving metal without touching it isn’t the same as altering someone’s thoughts.”Charles laughed. “Waving around metal, Erik? You killed them. I let them continue with their lives, only they won’t partake on harming mutants. Aren’t you happy?”“Charles, this isn’t you. I know Raven’s death…”“Don’t talk about her!” Charles screamed, his breath ragged.“But we need to, Charles, you’re lashing out because…”“I don’t want to hear it!” Charles closed his eyes and put his hands over his ears. Suddenly, he was ten years old, hiding in a cupboard in the kitchen, trying to block Kurt’s angry screams, Raven curled up against him. Except Raven wasn’t there. He didn’t want to think about Raven.Charles knew what he had to do. He had just done the same with thousands of people. He took everything Raven inside his head and folded it. He kept folding it until it was a little square. He wasn’t able to erase it, but it didn’t matter, he simply put a lock on it and buried it. It was so small that he would never be able to find it, even if he wanted to.Erik saw with concern as Charles’ body froze and then he slumped in the chair. He didn’t remember exactly what had happened, but he knew Raven was dead, had seen her body, even though if it hadn’t been for Azazel he wouldn’t have noticed it. It was Azazel who had realised something was wrong, who had taken Erik out of his stupor and brought the helmet.He was terrified and awed at Charles’ casual display of power. It had been as if his self-restrain was gone. With that amount of power Charles could do whatever he wished. Erik felt he finally understood why Charles was always so adamant about control. And Erik had foolishly thought it was to pass as human.He approached Charles, who, even though he had his eyes open, was not there at all. He gently cooped his cheek and tried to rouse him. When nothing happened, he quickly removed the helmet and placed it on top of Charles’ head, modifying it so that he wouldn’t be able to remove it. It felt wrong, to stifle so much power. If only he could be sure Charles wouldn’t go out of control again.When he went back to the infirmary, Azazel hadn’t moved from Raven’s side. He looked at Charles, practically unconscious on Erik’s arms and asked, “What are you going to do with him?”“Bring Emma,” was Erik’s response.Charles woke up with a terrible headache. Again.He wondered if there was something wrong with him that all those scans and tests they’ve done couldn’t pick up. After all, he was a telepath, he wouldn’t be surprised if it was some kind of disease that only telepaths could develop. Maybe he should ask Emma to give a look, even though she gave him the creeps.“Another headache?” Erik’s voice came from his side. He sounded worried, but Charles couldn’t be sure, with the blocker in his way. He wished he could remove it every now and then outside the battle field, but he knew it was futile. His telepathy was too dangerous and he could end up hurting an ally.“Maybe you should stay today,” Erik continued, placing a kiss on his cheek.Charles frowned. “No, you’ve said it yourself, today can be decisive, we can’t afford to lose. You let me handle all the people that don’t have a blocker and you can go for the big fish. Maybe we will finally catch Trask.”“Alright, but don’t strain yourself.”They kissed properly this time and got ready to battle. Something was nagging inside Charles’ brain, as if trying to get free, but Charles shook his head and ignored it. They had a war to win.
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General Stryker left, leaving a trail of rage behind.“Your Majesty, if I may,” said Counselor Trask in a soft voice. “I think we could reach a compromise.”Charles sighed. He knew the Council would be against his decision, but even he couldn’t have predicted the way Stryker had exploded, screaming at him with barely suppressed insults while more than half the Council nodded their agreement. Charles had already had plans to replace most of the Council members, but after this, those plans would definitely need to be prioritized. He couldn’t afford to still be treated as a child, especially not now that they were on the brink of war.Rubbing his forehead with one hand, he made a gesture for Trask to keep talking.“I understand that we need allies if we want to have a chance to defeat Schmidt,” continued Trask confidently, “but for Your Majesty to marry a barbarian… surely you must understand that it would undermine you in front of the eyes of your people. If it were to be instead someone without royal blood, but with all the standing, someone, like your sister, perhaps…”“That’s enough,” Charles interrupted him. Only the suggestion of Erik marrying someone else enough to make him angry. He shouldn’t be surprised, though. The Council didn’t have all the facts. And if they did, they would probably think him crazy. What could he tell them? That he fell in love with the barbarian that infiltrated his household in order to kill him?Charles took a deep breath, making sure no emotions were on his voice when he spoke. “I’ve already made the decision. I was only informing you, not asking for advice.”With that, he stood up and left, the room behind him erupting in angry voices.He only allowed himself to relax when he reached his chambers and saw Erik sprawled on his bed, as naked as he had left him, reading one of Charles’ books and, if the quill on his hands was any indication, correcting and adding his own opinions. Erik lifted his eyebrows when Charles entered the bedroom.“I take it the meeting with your council didn’t go too well,” he said dryly.Charles huffed. “That’s an understatement.”Erik frowned an stood up. “You know we don’t need to marry.”Charles couldn’t stop his eyes from roving all over that expanse of naked skin, unconsciously licking his lips. He couldn’t help it, Erik was just gorgeous. He looked up to see worry and sincerity on Erik’s eyes. That only served to harden his resolve.“I’m going to marry the man I fell in love with and that loves me in return, public opinion be damned.” He reached with his hand and cupped Erik’s cheek, before kissing him sweetly.“I’m sorry falling in love with me has brought you so many problems,” was Erik’s reply.“Oh, darling, the easiest part of this whole thing was falling in love with you.” Erik grinned, kissing him more profoundly.Erik always accused him of being an optimistic fool, but Charles was confident that as long as they were together, everything would turn out alright.
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The air was clogged with dust, making it difficult for Erik to breathe. He couldn’t believe he, the great Magneto, was in this position: on his knees, defeated. And to add salt to the injury, he had been brought down in less than five minutes.The woman in front of him had an air that made him think of royalty. He remembered having heard of her and her group, the Justice League, but he hadn’t paid much attention, thinking they were Avengers wannabes. Clearly he had been wrong.“Speak, Magneto, what were your intentions in coming here? What were your plans?” she asked.The strange cord around him, that not even the sharpest metal could cut, began to shine, and before he could even process what was happening, he found himself talking.“I wanted to take Charles on a date.”What? No, no, no, no. That was wrong. He was here to kidnap Professor X to have an advantage against the x-men, there were no dates involved!The woman and the man, all clad in black, in front of him seemed startled. They shared a look and the man in black huffed and turned away, muttering something Erik couldn’t hear.The woman was now sporting an amused smile.“I’m pretty sure the Professor would appreciate it more if you left that helmet behind. Also, maybe you should consider going incognito so to not terrorize the people around you.” With those words, she released him. “Good luck!”Erik was fuming. He didn’t need any dating advice, thank you very much.
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“You know, it’s a miracle we hadn’t met before,” said Charles to his jail partner while futilely trying to remove the helmet that had been put on his head with his shoulder, seeing as his hands were handcuffed behind his back and thus completely useless. “After all, if I’m not wrong our companies have had several deals.”Bruce hummed non-committal. Charles didn’t let the apparent lack of interest from his companion deter him. “And I used to party quite a lot a couple of years back. I wonder why we never met in one of your renowned parties, Mr. Wayne.”Instead of the please, call me Bruce Charles was expecting, the only thing he got was a sarcastic “Yeah, what a mystery.”Charles huffed and furrowed his brows. As far as he knew, there was nothing wrong he had done to deserve this cold treatment from the famous socialite.It took only a couple of hours before they began hearing noises from outside their holding cell. When the door finally opened with a bang it revealed the one and only, Erik Lehnsherr, with Charles’ wheelchair trailing behind. Charles wasn’t surprised he had arrived before the x-men team. In fact, he had expected as much.With a wave of his hands, Erik removed Charles’ handcuffs and the horrendous helmet. Charles let his mind expand with a deep breath, feeling himself relax. A tang of panic besides him made himself focus on Wayne’s mind.“Oh, my, Mr. Wayne. No wonder we hadn’t met before, you have been purposely avoiding me. Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me.” he said while transferring to his chair.Bruce Wayne scowled.“No offense, Mr. Xavier, but just with saying that, I’m sure Magneto here already knows, and I’m sure more than one of your x-men will know as soon as you’re back. I was keeping my distance for a reason.“Charles laughed.“Oh, don’t be such a spoil sport. In fact, why don’t you and your boys, who are about to arrive by the way, come to the mansion these holidays?” Charles added his most charming smile for effect.“Let’s go, Charles, and stop bothering the man,” said Erik in an exasperated voice while turning already to go. Charles followed him but turned before exiting, “Do consider it, it’ll be fun!”