Fic: Faults for Fixing, X-men 1st Class, Erik/Charles, NC17/18, Ch4
Title: Faults for Fixing 4 of 4
Author: Beren
Fandom: X-men First Class
Pairing: Erik/Charles
Rating: NC17/18
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Marvel et al. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Warnings: light bondage, movie canon only, timeline AU
Summary: Charles sees the events of the missile crisis and subsequent weeks when he uses Cerebro to touch the mind of a mutant with the power to see the near future. When he wakes up he is determined that he will not allow them to happen and he will not lose the people he loves.
Author's Notes: See ch 1
Word Count: 25,615
My Fanfic Listings (LJ) | My Fanfic Listings (DreamW)
Links: Ch1 | Ch2 | Ch3 | Ch4
Chapter 4 Towards the Future
The fourth day after he first woke up Charles decided he was going to breakfast. He was feeling a lot stronger and he was fed up of lying around. He was almost into his clothes when Erik opened his door and peered in.
"I'm getting up," he said before Erik could say anything.
Erik had made it a habit to come and find out what he wanted for breakfast and then bring it to him on a tray, but he wasn't having that today.
"Did Hank clear you?"
"Hank can go jump off a bridge," Charles snapped back and then winced apologetically. "Sorry, I sometimes get peevish when I'm ill."
Erik closed the door and then leant next to it, just watching him.
"You're not going to tell me I can't?"
"Would it do any good?" Erik asked in response.
Charles smiled, for once it didn't look as if Erik was going to be difficult about something.
"If you can make it downstairs you're perfectly welcome to eat with everyone else."
Charles narrowed his eyes; he didn't overly like Erik's tone.
"If you're trying to say something you'd better just tell me ,because I'm staying firmly inside my own head at the moment," he said, picking up his pullover.
"I didn't know you had it in you," Erik replied, apparently in a mood to just watch him and smirk,
"I am quite capable of walking down to breakfast," Charles protested and stood up.
It took every ounce of will he had not to wobble as he realised he had climbed to his feet too fast, but he was not failing on this one. The gauntlet had been thrown down and he couldn't back out now, even if he did have to blink away the spots in front of his eyes.
He strode out of the room as confidently as he could manage and then turned and waited for Erik to follow him. The fact was, he was perfectly fine and that's all there was to it.
By the end of the landing he was winded and he had to stop completely at the top of the stairs to give himself a chance to recover and stop his legs shaking.
"I can help you back to your room," Erik suggested at his elbow at which point he straightened up and glared at his lover.
There was no way in hell he was going back to bed.
The stairs were interesting to say the least and he did feel a gentle tug on his person more than once when it looked as if he might take a header straight to the bottom. Erik was a nice safe presence behind him and he was well aware he should just give up, but his stubborn streak was fully engaged. Hanging on to the banister at the bottom the walk down the corridor to the dining room looked like a hike up Mount Everest.
"Charles," Erik said and he refused to look at the other man.
He was going to breakfast if it killed him. When he let go of the banister he discovered that his legs were not really au fait with the idea. His knees felt like jelly and he wobbled precariously.
"You are the most stubborn man I know," Erik said, gently catching him around the waist and under one arm.
"Looked in the mirror lately," he replied, but leant into Erik none the less.
"Come on then," Erik said and took quite a lot of his weight for him, "you cannot make a big entrance from here."
He was a little surprised, Erik didn't usually give ground when his lover had laid down the rules.
"Thank you," he said, blushing as he realised quite what an idiot he was being.
"Just promise me that after breakfast I can install you in the library and you won't go trying to check up on everything through the house," Erik replied and brushed a kiss over his temple.
Charles smiled and nodded; he might not enjoy being laid up, but he did rather enjoy Erik looking after him. Erik's protective tendencies had even led them to decide that they weren't going to hide their relationship anymore either. They hadn't made a grand announcement, but neither of them was trying to seem to be anything they were not.
They made their way down the corridor at a gentle pace and Charles felt a lot less wobbly by the time they reached the dining room. Raven, Alex, Sean and Hank were all already inside having breakfast, apparently under the watchful eye of Emma Frost. There was no sign of any of the mansion's other residents.
"What are you doing down here?" Raven asked the moment she saw him.
"He's a stubborn bastard," Erik filled in for him.
He couldn't exactly argue with that, although he might have contested the language if he hadn't had his eyes fixed very firmly on what looked like a nice comfortable chair.
"I was bored," was the best comeback he could manage as Erik guided him across the room and he collapsed into a seat.
"Do not move," Erik told him, "I will get you some food."
"Not sure I could if I wanted to," he admitted with a sheepish smile and let Erik mother him.
"You look like you just ran a marathon," Raven said, as tactful as ever.
"Yes, well the stairs were a bit of a challenge solo," he replied and reached for the tea pot that was in the middle of the table.
Raven turned her glare onto Erik.
"You let him come down the stairs on his own in his condition?" she sounded as if she was ready to launch into a full on scolding.
"My condition is fine," he said, cutting her off at the pass, "and I'm pretty sure Erik made sure I didn't end up at the bottom the fast way at least three times, so leave him alone."
[Irresponsible, stubborn men,] Raven sent at him very directly.
[Over protective, nagging, women,] Charles sent back.
Raven glared at him some more and he could feel everyone around the table tensing for the explosion, but instead Raven's lips twitched. Then she laughed.
"Just tell me you are not intending on going for any long walks in the near future," she said, shaking her head.
"Oh, not you too," he replied and rolled his eyes; "I just needed to get out of my room, I am not that stupid."
The look both Erik and Raven sent him said otherwise and made Alex laugh, which he decided to accept with good grace. Emma made no comment whatsoever except to raise her eyebrows when he looked in her direction and Sean was apparently keeping well out of it. When Erik placed a plate of food in front of him big enough for at least three people he just sighed and set about eating as much of it as he could.
~*~
Sitting in the library with a good book, but so that he could see out into the grounds when he wanted to, was relaxing and liberating at the same time. He had begun to think the walls of his room were closing in on him from looking at them so much. Raven had tucked a blanket over his knees so he didn't get cold and he hadn't had the heart to say no, so on his knees it still was.
People kept stopping by just to chat as they put it, to check up on him was the way he interpreted it. Several times he had to wonder if they had forgotten he was a telepath, because Sean barely managed to hide any of his irritation at having been sent on Professor X duty, as the young mutant so cheerfully thought of it. He really was going to have to start teaching them to shield their minds from random broadcasting.
Even so, he was surprised when it was Emma Frost who walked in as his third visitor.
"Hello," he said and smiled, "don't tell me Raven and Erik have you on babysitting duty as well."
Emma did not smile, but she did move to sit down.
"No," she replied very formally, "I wanted to speak to you and this is the first chance I have had to get you alone."
That was very upfront and Charles put his book aside.
"How can I help you?" he asked.
"I wasn't going to come here after everything was over," she told him, her gaze never wavering from his eyes, "then I felt what you did to Shaw."
A chill ran up his spine.
"I thought you were a weak idealist," she told him very bluntly, "you have a very good disguise."
"It's not a disguise, Miss Frost," he said, not liking where this conversation was going.
"But it is, Professor," she told him, seemingly perfectly sure of herself, "if it weren't I would have taken Shaw's money, Azazel and Riptide and gone my own way. You may be an idealist on the outside, but I felt how you reacted, felt what you did. You have the strength to do what needs to be done if the situation arises."
He opened his mouth to protest.
[That was a compliment, Professor,] she placed directly into his mind. [You might not like it, but it's the way of the world.]
Not sure quite how to reply, he sat there and thought about it for a while. She was right, he didn't like it, but he had seen too much not to understand her point of view. He remembered seeing into Emma's mind in the alternative timeline, he knew she had had a life much harder than his own. He did not agree with her perspective, but he could empathise with it
"Please call me, Charles," is what he eventually decided to say.
~*~
Being up and about, even with limited mobility, was definitely good for Charles. He was using a lot more energy, so he was eating more, which in turn was boosting his strength, so he was quickly pottering about the mansion and the terrace. His chat with Emma had been very enlightening and he'd also managed to have conversations with Azazel and Riptide or Janos as Charles had discovered.
Azazel was definitely much older than he looked and very, very angry about something, but Charles had chosen not to broach that subject yet. Janos, on the other hand had been almost chatty. He had found the other mutant covered in grease trying to fix one of the cars in the garage. Janos hadn't actually said anything out loud, but they had had a very lively mental conversation.
He still couldn't work out if Janos didn't speak because the other mutant couldn't or because Janos chose not to. The wind spinner was much more complicated than Charles had given the man credit for.
Of course there was one more person at the mansion left to see after that and he knew he couldn't put it off forever.
"I was thinking of seeing Shaw this afternoon," he said casually as he walked to lunch with Erik.
The way Erik actually twitched gave him a hint that his lover was not comfortable with the idea.
"Why?" The question was terse and hard, much like the Erik Charles had first met all those weeks ago.
"I need to see him with my own eyes," he admitted, because that was most of it, "and then I need to scan him to make sure he is completely gone."
According to Hank, Emma had done the honours as well, but Charles needed to do it himself.
"Then what?"
"Then, if his mind is destroyed, we deliver him to the CIA," he replied. "They can figure out what to do with him."
He felt a momentary stab of shock from Erik at his callous tone.
"You don't want to rehabilitate him?" Erik sounded genuinely surprised.
[I want that bastard as far away from all of us as physically possible,] he replied, not bothering to hide his complete loathing of the idea of Shaw being in his house. [Good riddance to bad rubbish.]
He prided himself on his compassion for others, his empathy, but what Shaw had done to Erik was unforgivable. Shaw deserved nothing from them.
"I will come with you," Erik said without further comment and it was settled.
One of the cellar rooms had been turned into a secure room for Shaw and as Charles approached it later on his knees felt a little weak for an entirely different reason to fatigue. Shaw could have cost him everything. Shaw had almost taken away what was his. Shaw had made him into a killer.
No matter how he tried to rationalise it, that was what he was. Shaw's body might be living and breathing, but Shaw was as dead as it was possible to be. According to Hank only the autonomic nervous system actually still seemed to be functioning in Shaw's brain, everything else was devoid of electrical activity. Charles didn't doubt Hank's word, but he just had to see himself.
"Breathe, Charles," Erik said quietly as he opened the door.
Charles did his best to remember how and stepped into the room.
Shaw was lying in the bed connected to various machines, eyes just staring at nothing. There was a feeding tube up the man's nose as well as an IV in his arm and he looked small and helpless.
Even so he felt Erik tensing beside him. When he glanced at his lover, Erik had unconsciously put his hand in his pocket where the Nazi coin always sat. Charles reached out and touched his arm gently; it appeared they were both having trouble with this meeting.
[You would only be killing a shell,] he said silently, [he is not worth it.]
Erik's jaw was set in a tight knot, but Charles felt a small mental touch back which reassured him.
"Hello, Hank," he said, because the young scientist had been waiting for them, "is it okay if I just get on and do this?"
"Um, yes," was the usual, somewhat hesitant reply.
Placing his fingers to his temple, Charles refused to let himself doubt or falter and pushed his mind towards Shaw. What he found was rather shocking.
"Charles?" Erik asked when he had been standing there several seconds.
"Nothing," he said quietly, "absolutely nothing."
With human beings there was always something there, even those in comas, but looking into Shaw's head there wasn't even a mind to find. He was not looking at a human mind put back to square one so everything needed to be relearned, he was looking at the absence of all thought.
"Hank's right," he said, swallowing hard as he suddenly felt slightly nauseous, "there are no higher brain functions. I think we should arrange to have Mr Shaw deposited on the CIA's doorstep. Making it look like a KGB job will give them something else to think about other than us. They'll probably spend months trying to get information out of him."
Erik didn't say a word, just nodded and then turned and left.
"Thank you, Hank," Charles said before following. "I'll talk to you tomorrow about studying my new additions, if that's okay."
Hank gave him a half smiled and nodded, at which point Charles let himself flee the room.
"I need a drink," he said as he met Erik in the corridor.
There was no argument from his lover and this time he was glad to head back to his room and the bottle of scotch he had on the sideboard.
~*~
"I don't know why it happens," Charles confessed and looked over at Hank, "I'm not sure I can do it to order."
Hank had him wired up to several impressive looking machines, but so far there wasn't a lot of data to record, at least not from his brain. He had started off sitting in the chair beside the table, but that had made him uncomfortable because he remembered the wheelchair, so he was sitting cross-legged on the table now. He'd received a very odd look from Hank, but the young genius had not complained.
"Twice when I've seen you do it you were coming out of sleep," Erik said and Charles turned to see his lover standing in the doorway.
He was totally aware that Erik seemed to show up wherever he was sooner rather than later. Erik was keeping an eye on him and he couldn't say he really minded.
"Do you object to chairs now?" Erik asked, walking up beside him.
"Only ones like that," he said and looked at the chair in question. It was utilitarian, squarish and had arms and it had been too close for comfort. With Shaw dealt with he was managing to push the memories of that alternative future away, but only slowly.
Erik gave him the look, but did not push. He was going to have to tell Erik the truth about the future he had seen, eventually, but he was putting it off.
"Hmm ... I could try meditating I suppose," he said, flipping back to their original subject. "Maybe it only happens when my mind is in a less active state."
"It's worth a go," Hank agreed, looking at yet another reading.
"Just so you know, Raven says you have another half an hour, then she's coming in here to get you if you don't appear and eat something," Erik told them with one of his half smiles.
Charles grinned, Raven was actually turning into a very responsible young woman, at least when it came to making sure he was kept in line. Hank was really going to be in trouble when Charles was completely better and Raven turned her attentions to her almost boyfriend.
"We will do our very best to be there," he said, reaching out and letting his fingers dance across Erik's hand.
If he had been allowed to meditate on Erik he would have been a very happy man. His lover had finally deigned to do more than just share his bed for sleeping the previous night, although it had been little more than some heavy petting, and it had put Charles into a very good mood. He let his mind drift back to their early morning awakening which had been gentle and loving as Erik woke him with a kiss and his eyes drifted shut. Erik was so beautiful when he was unguarded.
"That's it," Hank said excitedly, "keep doing that."
Charles snapped his eye open again to find that his surroundings were black and filled with bright edges. It felt very strange, alien, but he fought the urge to push back to normality. He turned and allowed himself to study Erik properly for the first time like that. It was utterly strange, but Erik still looked amazing to him.
[Your eyes really are stunning,] slipped into his mind and he smiled.
[You're getting very good at projecting at me,] he replied, doing his very best to keep his mental voice gentle.
The sudden jump in his range and volume was still giving him a little trouble.
"Charles, you're messing up my results," Hank complained and then seemed to remember who he was talking to.
"Sorry," Charles said, doing his best to keep a straight face as Hank looked incredibly embarrassed.
The room around him really did look strange, but the more he held onto the bizarre vision the more it seemed to make sense.
"Any idea what I'm doing?" he asked as he watched Hank play with his machines.
"I think you might be accessing some form of energy spectrum not at the visual level," Hank said, sounding lost in the science again. "I've never seen readings like these before. Do you feel any different?"
"Not really," he replied, "it's just a little odd and I feel slightly off balance, as if my inner ear isn't quite working correctly."
"Fascinating," Hank said and Charles shared a grin with Erik.
Hank was making notes like they were going out of fashion.
"Would you mind putting these on for me, please?" Hank asked and Charles found himself being passed what looked like goggles.
It was difficult to tell exactly, given that he could only see outlines, but he slipped them over his head and onto his face. Then he looked around a bit more and tried to figure out what the goggles were supposed to have done.
"Not seeing any difference," he said and looked over to Hank for clarification.
"None at all?" Erik asked from beside him.
"No, nothing, why?"
"The goggles are polarised in both directions, Charles," Hank provided the explanation.
"Really?" he asked and managed to lose his focus, at which point everything really was just black.
He slipped the goggles off, quite excited.
"Sorry," he apologised, "I lost my concentration, but this is very interesting. We're going to have to test this out after dark, see how useful I am if I can do it to order."
He grinned at Erik who was giving him a long suffering expression.
"Not tonight of course," he said and laughed, "or I think Erik might lock me in my room for my own safety."
"You are not up to full strength yet," Erik pointed out.
"I have to agree," Hank said, siding with Erik, "you really shouldn't push yourself for at least another couple of days. You've always had quite extreme energy spikes and lows, but you're not settled back to even that yet."
"See," Erik said, rather too smug for Charles' liking.
"Yes, Mummy," he replied and gave Erik his most innocent, wide eyed look and watched his lover blush.
It was hard to make Erik blush, so he scored himself a point and then licked his lips, just to see if he could make Erik blush for an entirely different reason.
"Right, well," Hank said awkwardly, "I think that's probably enough for today. I recommend some light exercise later if you feel up to it to increase your stamina."
Charles was enjoying himself so much he didn't feel the least bit bashful about outright flirting. He had been in many, many people's minds; he knew quite how much of a sexual animal human beings were and he refused to apologise for what he felt for Erik. He gave Hank a grin and then turned his attention back to his lover.
"See, Erik," Charles said, making himself the picture of innocence again, "Hank wants me to build up my stamina."
He had never seen Hank flee a room quite so fast.
"And people think I am the evil one," Erik commented, but leaning down to kiss Charles anyway.
~*~
Charles turned up bright and early the next morning at Hank's lab for more tests and found Hank bent over the microscope.
"Working on your serum?" he asked as he walked down the room.
"No, looking at your cells actually," Hank replied absently, "although the serum is coming along nicely, I've retargeted the mutant cells and added an adaption quotient."
"To do what, precisely?" he asked, unsure of quite what Hank was telling him.
"Well I thought about what you said," Hank told him, looking up and turning, "and it made me reassess the general principle. In the other timeline I must have pushed my mutation to the limit, probably something very useful in the long run, but I'm really not sure I want to be blue all the time."
Charles could understand that.
"So you want to increase the mutation without the extreme physical form?" he asked, still unclear on the principle.
"Actually I was more interested in attaining a variable mutation, one I could turn on and off," Hank explained, eyes alight with scientific curiosity, "like Miss Frost's diamond form."
Charles had never considered it from that angle before.
"And you think you can do that?" he asked, genuinely amazed at Hank's daring.
"It's quite difficult to isolate all the factors," Hank replied, "and I'm not there yet, but I think I'm close. Mutant adaptability really is spectacular, it's amazing what are cells are capable off even disassociated from our main mutations."
Charles could feel a long discussion coming on, but he really didn't have time for that right at the moment. Nearly all the preparations were ready to give Shaw back to the CIA and he wanted to get back to them once the lab session was over. He wanted Shaw gone.
"So, what's so fascinating about mine, then?" he asked, easily diverting Hank back to the topic at hand.
"Oh," Hank said glancing back at the microscope, "I think you're younger than you used to be."
"What?" he asked, far more shocked by the fact than Hank seemed to be. "How is that possible, and how can you tell?"
He wasn't aware of any test that would be able to show that.
"Oh, I checked the regeneration potential of your cells," Hank said, as if it was something everyone knew how to do. "As we age it decreases, yours has increased since I tested that blood sample you gave me at your first physical."
Charles was a little stunned.
"Miss Frost explained that Shaw absorbed energy to stay young," Hank continued to elucidate. "I theorise that when his energy blast hit you it had a similar effect. I'd like to set up a series of tests to see the progression if you don't mind."
"No, not at all," he replied, still a little dazed. "Just remember my blood supply is not unlimited," he added, just for good measure.
Hank was sometimes overenthusiastic.
"How much younger?" he asked when his brain finally caught up again.
"A couple of years at least I would estimate," Hank replied and Charles had to smile.
From losing his sister as well as the man he loved and being crippled, he had gone to keeping everything and was younger to boot. He was going to have to tease Erik about taking advantage of younger men later; it was too good an opportunity to pass up.
~*~
Charles could not move. His arms were stretched out in front of him, almost to their limits and his ankles were spread and held firmly in place. He could barely shift, held helpless with his arse in the air and completely vulnerable.
"Erik, please," he begged, so strung out he could barely think.
"Not yet, Charles," Erik all but purred at him, "I don't think you've had enough."
He whimpered as the metal dildo moved in and out of his arse with torturous slowness and the metal chain tightened ever so slightly around the base of his aching cock. The key hanging from it tinkled gently and did nothing to help his need. He had never realised he could feel so desperate.
Teasing Erik had some interesting consequences it seemed and revenge was a dish best served cold. It had been two days before Erik had made him pay up.
When Erik had produced the dildo, Charles was pretty sure he had blushed scarlet, but the evil twinkle in Erik's eye had had his cock hardening so fast he'd felt dizzy. Apparently Erik had been practicing with his powers; the dildo had once been several pieces of stainless steel cutlery from the drawer in the kitchen which were now all welded into one perfectly smooth device.
Sexual aids were not something Charles had much experience with personally, but it hadn't taken more than Erik's inquisitive look to convince him.
The fact that he was being held in place and beautifully tortured, all while Erik was leaning casually against that wall, stroking his own cock slowly, right in Charles' line of vision was absolutely bloody marvellous. In all honesty, Charles had never considered that he might like being dominated; he definitely didn't outside the bedroom, but he was becoming kind of a slut inside it. He could not get enough of Erik's cock or anything Erik wanted to do to him; it would have been embarrassing if it hadn't been so damn good.
The dildo was moving in and out with smooth efficiency, every single time hitting what he knew anatomically was his prostate, but in his head was now just a button that lit up most of the nerves in his body every time it was pressed.
"Please, Erik, I'll do anything." He needed Erik's touch, that connection that the physical brought with it.
"You sound desperate, Charles," Erik said, without moving from his position.
Erik was never really very vocal when they had sex, but his voice always took on such gravelly tones that Charles was helpless each time his lover spoke.
"I am," he said, spreading one hand and reaching for Erik, even though he was still held firmly in place, "I need you. Please."
He was pretty sure he could never explain it to a non-telepath, not even by showing them. The dildo was stimulating him, but it could never be enough, not when Erik was just out of touching distance and Erik had forbidden him from reaching out with his mind.
He actually whimpered when Erik finally laid a hand on his back and shuddered at the contact.
"No telepathy, Charles," Erik told him even as he was reigning himself in, because he so wanted to touch mentally as well. "Later."
It was only the promise of later that helped him hold on.
Erik climbed onto the bed, stroking down his back while moving down behind him. Then the dildo was removed in one swift motion and the chain tightened again for a moment, as if to make sure that didn't make him come.
"Oh god," he said, more one explosive sound than two words as Erik replaced the dildo with himself.
"So open, Charles," Erik whispered, "so ready for me."
"Always ready for you," he replied, even as Erik began to move just as smoothly and accurately as the dildo had.
It was so different though, because he could feel Erik, even with his telepathy dialled right down, Erik was present and just there. Beyond everything else, that was what he needed the most. He was right on the edge, had been for ages, but the chain helped him keep back from going over. Erik was pushing him closer and closer, pumping into him again and again and he wanted it to go on forever.
That was why when it suddenly stopped he made a very obvious sound of disappointment and loss. He found that he was free to move as well and his sex soaked brain couldn't work out what was going on.
"I want to see you," Erik told him, "all of you," and promptly lay down on the bed.
Charles got the idea when Erik motioned to him to climb on and he pulled himself together enough to lift himself up, swing his leg over and lowered himself down onto Erik's waiting cock.
"Now you can touch me," Erik told him, helping to hold him up with arms and mutant power. "Take it slow."
It was a complete switch from being helpless to being virtually in control, but it took every ounce of willpower Charles had not to let the flood gates open. He settled onto Erik's cock, placing his hands flat on Erik's hard abdominal muscles and began to move as slowly as he dared, using the pace to gradually touch his mind to Erik's as well.
After the hard and sure pounding Erik had been giving him, this was almost a meditation and he put his head back and closed his eyes. He let his mind stroke around the edges of Erik's as he rocked his hips, slowly, ever so slowly allowing his thoughts to trickle into his lover's and vice versa. He was still on the edge, but it was as if he was floating there now rather than clinging on by the skin of his teeth. He was light headed and needy, but somehow serene at the same time.
"Look at me, Charles," Erik told him and he opened his eyes.
It was only half a shock to find the room black with neon edges and he looked down at Erik, taking in his lover's naked form.
"So beautiful," Erik whispered, reaching up one hand to touch his face.
"All yours," he replied, sinking further into Erik's mind, showing him, feeling him and loving him.
He let his instincts lead, allowing his arousal to build until it was almost too much and then leaning forward. Erik met him halfway for the kiss, moving to hold his shoulders to bring them together and as their lips touched he let the connection complete. He sank onto Erik's cock, into Erik's mind and everything kind of shifted.
It was impossible to tell who came first and it wasn't instant and explosive, more like a burn that went on and on as their bodies gave in to orgasm. Charles felt energy move within him and he felt more complete than he ever had in his entire life. He couldn't breathe and he couldn't consciously move, but in those many seconds it didn't matter in the slightest.
Of course when reality flipped back in, he reared back gasping for breath as Erik fell back to the bed doing the same. His whole body was shaking and his eyesight had flashed back to normal and he wasn't quite sure what had just happened. That had been the strangest orgasm of his life and given what he and Erik had been up to recently that was saying something.
[What?] was about as far as he could get with sensible thought and he didn't even consider speaking out loud.
"I think," Erik said, carefully helping him off his body and onto the bed, "we may have found out what happens when I push you too far."
[Didn't feel like too far,] he said, doing his best to put his thoughts in some semblance of order.
"How many fingers?" Erik asked and held up one hand.
Charles would have laughed, only it was really hard to count even when he did focus. He realised he felt a little punch drunk.
[I think I'm going to sleep now,] he said and closed his eyes without even waiting for Erik to reply.
"Charles," he heard, but that was about all before he sank happily into blissful oblivion.
~*~
"Hank," Charles said, dragging Erik behind him, "can you do that test you did on me on Erik?"
They had woken up half an hour ago and Erik had been able to persuade him to wait long enough to take a shower before dragging them both to see Hank. As soon as he had opened his eyes he had remembered the previous evening and he had realised what he had actually done.
"Sure," Hank replied looking at them both, "but why?"
"Because last night I think I dumped some of the energy in me into Erik," he replied with complete openness.
"Why? When?" Hank asked, ever the scientist.
"Hank, trust me when I say you do not want to know that," he said, even as Erik laughed. "Just believe that I think I did and go from there."
Erik did not seem to think the situation remotely a problem, but Charles wanted to be totally sure.
Hank went a lovely scarlet colour.
"I'll need a blood sample," Hank said, covering his embarrassment with science.
Two hours later, Hank had put both of them through a rather large number of tests.
"You're showing the same de-aging as Charles," Hank told Erik eventually, "but none of the residual trace energy."
Hank then turned to Charles.
"Nothing about your tests results have changed."
Charles was relieved and yet very unsure at the same time.
"See," Erik said, eyebrows slightly raised and as open as it ever got when they weren't alone, "nothing to worry about."
Charles opened his mouth to reply, but really wasn't sure he had anything to say.
"Thank you, Hank," Erik said and calmly steered Charles towards the door, "I think he needs tea, he hasn't had any yet this morning and I don't think his brain starts properly without it."
Now Erik was making jokes at his expense and he still didn't know what to say.
"Charles, relax," Erik told him as they stepped into the corridor, "I am well, you are well, leave it at that."
"But I ..." he started to reply.
"Gave yourself to me in every way possible," Erik said and smiled, "do not over think it."
"Oh god, I did not need to hear that," Alex's pained voice came from the open library door, out of which the young mutant was just stepping.
The look he was giving them was enough to crack Charles' worry and he actually laughed. Subtle hints were well in the past it seemed.
~*~
"I have a plan," Charles said to the assembled group.
He called everyone together now that he was back to full strength.
"Is that a good thing?" Alex asked and Charles grinned.
"This time, yes," he replied and looked over to Erik who was watching him carefully, "at least I think it is, which is why we're having this discussion. It will take time and it will mean we have to live double lives, but I believe it can work."
"More hiding, Charles?" Erik asked, clearly not impressed.
He hadn't needed to use his gift to know that objection was coming.
"Yes and no," he explained, totally serious again. "The first job will be to wipe knowledge of who exactly we are and what we are capable of from the last remaining CIA members."
Erik raised an eyebrow.
"You can do that, but won't they know they've forgotten something?" Emma asked, grabbing his attention.
"I'm not going to remove everything and I'm going to leave them me," he replied with a smile, "I'm just not going to let them remember what I do."
"Surely that leaves you exposed," was Erik's instant response.
"Since I plan on being the face of mutant relations, that's not really a problem."
"You can't do that," Raven all but exploded; "they'll come after you."
"And through you, us," Hank pointed out.
Charles smiled.
"I was thinking more of it as hiding in plain sight," he began to outline his plan. "The government is afraid of us, they will want the country to be afraid of us so they can control us. Humanity is afraid of what it does not understand, so I intend to explain."
"But if they know what we can really do they'll be even more afraid," Sean said, looking worried for the first time.
"Which is why we lie."
That stopped all the objections in their tracks and he sat back in his chair pleased with the reaction. No one was really used to him being the one to instigate outright deceit, misdirection yes, complete falsehood no.
"Go on," Erik said, speaking for everyone it seemed.
"I've had quite a lot of time to think lately," Charles said, grinning, "and I believe we should fight misinformation with our own misinformation. I'm good at speeches and if I go on television and explain how mutants are humanity striving to survive with all the pollution governments are throwing into the atmosphere and how we're all harmless and loveable I think I can swing it. Well as long as we don't let Erik on TV as well that is."
[You will pay for that remark,] Eric told him silently and he just let his grin grow wider.
[I hope so.]
"Will you two stop flirting for one minute," Raven complained and Charles rolled his eyes at her.
"But we're not all harmless," Darwin pointed out and dragged them back on topic.
"They don't know that," he replied, feeling quite pleased with himself. "I have a whole paper planned about the natural forces that can gather around a mutant when their mutations first appear and cause strange phenomenon. It would be like blaming a bunny rabbit for a thunderstorm and no one could possibly do that."
He gave them his best big-eyed sell.
"Shit," Alex said, blinking at him, "it might actually work."
"Here and places like here," Charles continued...
"You are thinking big," Emma interrupted him.
"Will be havens; places mutants can be who they are," he just nodded at her question; "out there we encourage humanity to recognise us, to understand us and hide anything too alarming. By the time they realise there is more to us it will be too late and we will already be right where we want to be."
"But what about governments," Erik said, "they have known about people like us for years; they have experimented on us."
"Even a harmless bacteria occasionally produces a mutation which can be deadly," Charles replied, "and just like in nature these strains usually burn themselves out very quickly. Isolated incidents have been reported in the past, but with mutation becoming more widespread such evolutionary dead ends are few and far between."
He gave the whole speech as if talking to a concerned citizen and Erik actually smiled.
"You have thought of everything."
Charles inclined his head at the acknowledgement.
"It won't be easy," he admitted, because he had thought of a hundred pit falls, "but I think we can do it. We need to make humanity accept us, no matter what we look like, and then we need to spread into every walk of life. When homo superior can be found in politics, big business, medicine, the military and everywhere else; then they will have no defence against us."
"It will take decades," Angel said, sounding slightly in awe.
"Yes," Charles replied, "but our children will be free."
It was a high goal, but as he looked around the table he could see each person beginning to accept it.
"No more superhero stuff?" Sean asked and sounded somewhat disappointed.
"Oh, now that's a whole different question," Charles said and grinned again.
"Oh lord, what's he thinking now?" Raven said and put her hand to her head.
Charles just laughed.
The End
Author: Beren
Fandom: X-men First Class
Pairing: Erik/Charles
Rating: NC17/18
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Marvel et al. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Warnings: light bondage, movie canon only, timeline AU
Summary: Charles sees the events of the missile crisis and subsequent weeks when he uses Cerebro to touch the mind of a mutant with the power to see the near future. When he wakes up he is determined that he will not allow them to happen and he will not lose the people he loves.
Author's Notes: See ch 1
Word Count: 25,615
My Fanfic Listings (LJ) | My Fanfic Listings (DreamW)
Links: Ch1 | Ch2 | Ch3 | Ch4
Chapter 4 Towards the Future
The fourth day after he first woke up Charles decided he was going to breakfast. He was feeling a lot stronger and he was fed up of lying around. He was almost into his clothes when Erik opened his door and peered in.
"I'm getting up," he said before Erik could say anything.
Erik had made it a habit to come and find out what he wanted for breakfast and then bring it to him on a tray, but he wasn't having that today.
"Did Hank clear you?"
"Hank can go jump off a bridge," Charles snapped back and then winced apologetically. "Sorry, I sometimes get peevish when I'm ill."
Erik closed the door and then leant next to it, just watching him.
"You're not going to tell me I can't?"
"Would it do any good?" Erik asked in response.
Charles smiled, for once it didn't look as if Erik was going to be difficult about something.
"If you can make it downstairs you're perfectly welcome to eat with everyone else."
Charles narrowed his eyes; he didn't overly like Erik's tone.
"If you're trying to say something you'd better just tell me ,because I'm staying firmly inside my own head at the moment," he said, picking up his pullover.
"I didn't know you had it in you," Erik replied, apparently in a mood to just watch him and smirk,
"I am quite capable of walking down to breakfast," Charles protested and stood up.
It took every ounce of will he had not to wobble as he realised he had climbed to his feet too fast, but he was not failing on this one. The gauntlet had been thrown down and he couldn't back out now, even if he did have to blink away the spots in front of his eyes.
He strode out of the room as confidently as he could manage and then turned and waited for Erik to follow him. The fact was, he was perfectly fine and that's all there was to it.
By the end of the landing he was winded and he had to stop completely at the top of the stairs to give himself a chance to recover and stop his legs shaking.
"I can help you back to your room," Erik suggested at his elbow at which point he straightened up and glared at his lover.
There was no way in hell he was going back to bed.
The stairs were interesting to say the least and he did feel a gentle tug on his person more than once when it looked as if he might take a header straight to the bottom. Erik was a nice safe presence behind him and he was well aware he should just give up, but his stubborn streak was fully engaged. Hanging on to the banister at the bottom the walk down the corridor to the dining room looked like a hike up Mount Everest.
"Charles," Erik said and he refused to look at the other man.
He was going to breakfast if it killed him. When he let go of the banister he discovered that his legs were not really au fait with the idea. His knees felt like jelly and he wobbled precariously.
"You are the most stubborn man I know," Erik said, gently catching him around the waist and under one arm.
"Looked in the mirror lately," he replied, but leant into Erik none the less.
"Come on then," Erik said and took quite a lot of his weight for him, "you cannot make a big entrance from here."
He was a little surprised, Erik didn't usually give ground when his lover had laid down the rules.
"Thank you," he said, blushing as he realised quite what an idiot he was being.
"Just promise me that after breakfast I can install you in the library and you won't go trying to check up on everything through the house," Erik replied and brushed a kiss over his temple.
Charles smiled and nodded; he might not enjoy being laid up, but he did rather enjoy Erik looking after him. Erik's protective tendencies had even led them to decide that they weren't going to hide their relationship anymore either. They hadn't made a grand announcement, but neither of them was trying to seem to be anything they were not.
They made their way down the corridor at a gentle pace and Charles felt a lot less wobbly by the time they reached the dining room. Raven, Alex, Sean and Hank were all already inside having breakfast, apparently under the watchful eye of Emma Frost. There was no sign of any of the mansion's other residents.
"What are you doing down here?" Raven asked the moment she saw him.
"He's a stubborn bastard," Erik filled in for him.
He couldn't exactly argue with that, although he might have contested the language if he hadn't had his eyes fixed very firmly on what looked like a nice comfortable chair.
"I was bored," was the best comeback he could manage as Erik guided him across the room and he collapsed into a seat.
"Do not move," Erik told him, "I will get you some food."
"Not sure I could if I wanted to," he admitted with a sheepish smile and let Erik mother him.
"You look like you just ran a marathon," Raven said, as tactful as ever.
"Yes, well the stairs were a bit of a challenge solo," he replied and reached for the tea pot that was in the middle of the table.
Raven turned her glare onto Erik.
"You let him come down the stairs on his own in his condition?" she sounded as if she was ready to launch into a full on scolding.
"My condition is fine," he said, cutting her off at the pass, "and I'm pretty sure Erik made sure I didn't end up at the bottom the fast way at least three times, so leave him alone."
[Irresponsible, stubborn men,] Raven sent at him very directly.
[Over protective, nagging, women,] Charles sent back.
Raven glared at him some more and he could feel everyone around the table tensing for the explosion, but instead Raven's lips twitched. Then she laughed.
"Just tell me you are not intending on going for any long walks in the near future," she said, shaking her head.
"Oh, not you too," he replied and rolled his eyes; "I just needed to get out of my room, I am not that stupid."
The look both Erik and Raven sent him said otherwise and made Alex laugh, which he decided to accept with good grace. Emma made no comment whatsoever except to raise her eyebrows when he looked in her direction and Sean was apparently keeping well out of it. When Erik placed a plate of food in front of him big enough for at least three people he just sighed and set about eating as much of it as he could.
~*~
Sitting in the library with a good book, but so that he could see out into the grounds when he wanted to, was relaxing and liberating at the same time. He had begun to think the walls of his room were closing in on him from looking at them so much. Raven had tucked a blanket over his knees so he didn't get cold and he hadn't had the heart to say no, so on his knees it still was.
People kept stopping by just to chat as they put it, to check up on him was the way he interpreted it. Several times he had to wonder if they had forgotten he was a telepath, because Sean barely managed to hide any of his irritation at having been sent on Professor X duty, as the young mutant so cheerfully thought of it. He really was going to have to start teaching them to shield their minds from random broadcasting.
Even so, he was surprised when it was Emma Frost who walked in as his third visitor.
"Hello," he said and smiled, "don't tell me Raven and Erik have you on babysitting duty as well."
Emma did not smile, but she did move to sit down.
"No," she replied very formally, "I wanted to speak to you and this is the first chance I have had to get you alone."
That was very upfront and Charles put his book aside.
"How can I help you?" he asked.
"I wasn't going to come here after everything was over," she told him, her gaze never wavering from his eyes, "then I felt what you did to Shaw."
A chill ran up his spine.
"I thought you were a weak idealist," she told him very bluntly, "you have a very good disguise."
"It's not a disguise, Miss Frost," he said, not liking where this conversation was going.
"But it is, Professor," she told him, seemingly perfectly sure of herself, "if it weren't I would have taken Shaw's money, Azazel and Riptide and gone my own way. You may be an idealist on the outside, but I felt how you reacted, felt what you did. You have the strength to do what needs to be done if the situation arises."
He opened his mouth to protest.
[That was a compliment, Professor,] she placed directly into his mind. [You might not like it, but it's the way of the world.]
Not sure quite how to reply, he sat there and thought about it for a while. She was right, he didn't like it, but he had seen too much not to understand her point of view. He remembered seeing into Emma's mind in the alternative timeline, he knew she had had a life much harder than his own. He did not agree with her perspective, but he could empathise with it
"Please call me, Charles," is what he eventually decided to say.
~*~
Being up and about, even with limited mobility, was definitely good for Charles. He was using a lot more energy, so he was eating more, which in turn was boosting his strength, so he was quickly pottering about the mansion and the terrace. His chat with Emma had been very enlightening and he'd also managed to have conversations with Azazel and Riptide or Janos as Charles had discovered.
Azazel was definitely much older than he looked and very, very angry about something, but Charles had chosen not to broach that subject yet. Janos, on the other hand had been almost chatty. He had found the other mutant covered in grease trying to fix one of the cars in the garage. Janos hadn't actually said anything out loud, but they had had a very lively mental conversation.
He still couldn't work out if Janos didn't speak because the other mutant couldn't or because Janos chose not to. The wind spinner was much more complicated than Charles had given the man credit for.
Of course there was one more person at the mansion left to see after that and he knew he couldn't put it off forever.
"I was thinking of seeing Shaw this afternoon," he said casually as he walked to lunch with Erik.
The way Erik actually twitched gave him a hint that his lover was not comfortable with the idea.
"Why?" The question was terse and hard, much like the Erik Charles had first met all those weeks ago.
"I need to see him with my own eyes," he admitted, because that was most of it, "and then I need to scan him to make sure he is completely gone."
According to Hank, Emma had done the honours as well, but Charles needed to do it himself.
"Then what?"
"Then, if his mind is destroyed, we deliver him to the CIA," he replied. "They can figure out what to do with him."
He felt a momentary stab of shock from Erik at his callous tone.
"You don't want to rehabilitate him?" Erik sounded genuinely surprised.
[I want that bastard as far away from all of us as physically possible,] he replied, not bothering to hide his complete loathing of the idea of Shaw being in his house. [Good riddance to bad rubbish.]
He prided himself on his compassion for others, his empathy, but what Shaw had done to Erik was unforgivable. Shaw deserved nothing from them.
"I will come with you," Erik said without further comment and it was settled.
One of the cellar rooms had been turned into a secure room for Shaw and as Charles approached it later on his knees felt a little weak for an entirely different reason to fatigue. Shaw could have cost him everything. Shaw had almost taken away what was his. Shaw had made him into a killer.
No matter how he tried to rationalise it, that was what he was. Shaw's body might be living and breathing, but Shaw was as dead as it was possible to be. According to Hank only the autonomic nervous system actually still seemed to be functioning in Shaw's brain, everything else was devoid of electrical activity. Charles didn't doubt Hank's word, but he just had to see himself.
"Breathe, Charles," Erik said quietly as he opened the door.
Charles did his best to remember how and stepped into the room.
Shaw was lying in the bed connected to various machines, eyes just staring at nothing. There was a feeding tube up the man's nose as well as an IV in his arm and he looked small and helpless.
Even so he felt Erik tensing beside him. When he glanced at his lover, Erik had unconsciously put his hand in his pocket where the Nazi coin always sat. Charles reached out and touched his arm gently; it appeared they were both having trouble with this meeting.
[You would only be killing a shell,] he said silently, [he is not worth it.]
Erik's jaw was set in a tight knot, but Charles felt a small mental touch back which reassured him.
"Hello, Hank," he said, because the young scientist had been waiting for them, "is it okay if I just get on and do this?"
"Um, yes," was the usual, somewhat hesitant reply.
Placing his fingers to his temple, Charles refused to let himself doubt or falter and pushed his mind towards Shaw. What he found was rather shocking.
"Charles?" Erik asked when he had been standing there several seconds.
"Nothing," he said quietly, "absolutely nothing."
With human beings there was always something there, even those in comas, but looking into Shaw's head there wasn't even a mind to find. He was not looking at a human mind put back to square one so everything needed to be relearned, he was looking at the absence of all thought.
"Hank's right," he said, swallowing hard as he suddenly felt slightly nauseous, "there are no higher brain functions. I think we should arrange to have Mr Shaw deposited on the CIA's doorstep. Making it look like a KGB job will give them something else to think about other than us. They'll probably spend months trying to get information out of him."
Erik didn't say a word, just nodded and then turned and left.
"Thank you, Hank," Charles said before following. "I'll talk to you tomorrow about studying my new additions, if that's okay."
Hank gave him a half smiled and nodded, at which point Charles let himself flee the room.
"I need a drink," he said as he met Erik in the corridor.
There was no argument from his lover and this time he was glad to head back to his room and the bottle of scotch he had on the sideboard.
~*~
"I don't know why it happens," Charles confessed and looked over at Hank, "I'm not sure I can do it to order."
Hank had him wired up to several impressive looking machines, but so far there wasn't a lot of data to record, at least not from his brain. He had started off sitting in the chair beside the table, but that had made him uncomfortable because he remembered the wheelchair, so he was sitting cross-legged on the table now. He'd received a very odd look from Hank, but the young genius had not complained.
"Twice when I've seen you do it you were coming out of sleep," Erik said and Charles turned to see his lover standing in the doorway.
He was totally aware that Erik seemed to show up wherever he was sooner rather than later. Erik was keeping an eye on him and he couldn't say he really minded.
"Do you object to chairs now?" Erik asked, walking up beside him.
"Only ones like that," he said and looked at the chair in question. It was utilitarian, squarish and had arms and it had been too close for comfort. With Shaw dealt with he was managing to push the memories of that alternative future away, but only slowly.
Erik gave him the look, but did not push. He was going to have to tell Erik the truth about the future he had seen, eventually, but he was putting it off.
"Hmm ... I could try meditating I suppose," he said, flipping back to their original subject. "Maybe it only happens when my mind is in a less active state."
"It's worth a go," Hank agreed, looking at yet another reading.
"Just so you know, Raven says you have another half an hour, then she's coming in here to get you if you don't appear and eat something," Erik told them with one of his half smiles.
Charles grinned, Raven was actually turning into a very responsible young woman, at least when it came to making sure he was kept in line. Hank was really going to be in trouble when Charles was completely better and Raven turned her attentions to her almost boyfriend.
"We will do our very best to be there," he said, reaching out and letting his fingers dance across Erik's hand.
If he had been allowed to meditate on Erik he would have been a very happy man. His lover had finally deigned to do more than just share his bed for sleeping the previous night, although it had been little more than some heavy petting, and it had put Charles into a very good mood. He let his mind drift back to their early morning awakening which had been gentle and loving as Erik woke him with a kiss and his eyes drifted shut. Erik was so beautiful when he was unguarded.
"That's it," Hank said excitedly, "keep doing that."
Charles snapped his eye open again to find that his surroundings were black and filled with bright edges. It felt very strange, alien, but he fought the urge to push back to normality. He turned and allowed himself to study Erik properly for the first time like that. It was utterly strange, but Erik still looked amazing to him.
[Your eyes really are stunning,] slipped into his mind and he smiled.
[You're getting very good at projecting at me,] he replied, doing his very best to keep his mental voice gentle.
The sudden jump in his range and volume was still giving him a little trouble.
"Charles, you're messing up my results," Hank complained and then seemed to remember who he was talking to.
"Sorry," Charles said, doing his best to keep a straight face as Hank looked incredibly embarrassed.
The room around him really did look strange, but the more he held onto the bizarre vision the more it seemed to make sense.
"Any idea what I'm doing?" he asked as he watched Hank play with his machines.
"I think you might be accessing some form of energy spectrum not at the visual level," Hank said, sounding lost in the science again. "I've never seen readings like these before. Do you feel any different?"
"Not really," he replied, "it's just a little odd and I feel slightly off balance, as if my inner ear isn't quite working correctly."
"Fascinating," Hank said and Charles shared a grin with Erik.
Hank was making notes like they were going out of fashion.
"Would you mind putting these on for me, please?" Hank asked and Charles found himself being passed what looked like goggles.
It was difficult to tell exactly, given that he could only see outlines, but he slipped them over his head and onto his face. Then he looked around a bit more and tried to figure out what the goggles were supposed to have done.
"Not seeing any difference," he said and looked over to Hank for clarification.
"None at all?" Erik asked from beside him.
"No, nothing, why?"
"The goggles are polarised in both directions, Charles," Hank provided the explanation.
"Really?" he asked and managed to lose his focus, at which point everything really was just black.
He slipped the goggles off, quite excited.
"Sorry," he apologised, "I lost my concentration, but this is very interesting. We're going to have to test this out after dark, see how useful I am if I can do it to order."
He grinned at Erik who was giving him a long suffering expression.
"Not tonight of course," he said and laughed, "or I think Erik might lock me in my room for my own safety."
"You are not up to full strength yet," Erik pointed out.
"I have to agree," Hank said, siding with Erik, "you really shouldn't push yourself for at least another couple of days. You've always had quite extreme energy spikes and lows, but you're not settled back to even that yet."
"See," Erik said, rather too smug for Charles' liking.
"Yes, Mummy," he replied and gave Erik his most innocent, wide eyed look and watched his lover blush.
It was hard to make Erik blush, so he scored himself a point and then licked his lips, just to see if he could make Erik blush for an entirely different reason.
"Right, well," Hank said awkwardly, "I think that's probably enough for today. I recommend some light exercise later if you feel up to it to increase your stamina."
Charles was enjoying himself so much he didn't feel the least bit bashful about outright flirting. He had been in many, many people's minds; he knew quite how much of a sexual animal human beings were and he refused to apologise for what he felt for Erik. He gave Hank a grin and then turned his attention back to his lover.
"See, Erik," Charles said, making himself the picture of innocence again, "Hank wants me to build up my stamina."
He had never seen Hank flee a room quite so fast.
"And people think I am the evil one," Erik commented, but leaning down to kiss Charles anyway.
~*~
Charles turned up bright and early the next morning at Hank's lab for more tests and found Hank bent over the microscope.
"Working on your serum?" he asked as he walked down the room.
"No, looking at your cells actually," Hank replied absently, "although the serum is coming along nicely, I've retargeted the mutant cells and added an adaption quotient."
"To do what, precisely?" he asked, unsure of quite what Hank was telling him.
"Well I thought about what you said," Hank told him, looking up and turning, "and it made me reassess the general principle. In the other timeline I must have pushed my mutation to the limit, probably something very useful in the long run, but I'm really not sure I want to be blue all the time."
Charles could understand that.
"So you want to increase the mutation without the extreme physical form?" he asked, still unclear on the principle.
"Actually I was more interested in attaining a variable mutation, one I could turn on and off," Hank explained, eyes alight with scientific curiosity, "like Miss Frost's diamond form."
Charles had never considered it from that angle before.
"And you think you can do that?" he asked, genuinely amazed at Hank's daring.
"It's quite difficult to isolate all the factors," Hank replied, "and I'm not there yet, but I think I'm close. Mutant adaptability really is spectacular, it's amazing what are cells are capable off even disassociated from our main mutations."
Charles could feel a long discussion coming on, but he really didn't have time for that right at the moment. Nearly all the preparations were ready to give Shaw back to the CIA and he wanted to get back to them once the lab session was over. He wanted Shaw gone.
"So, what's so fascinating about mine, then?" he asked, easily diverting Hank back to the topic at hand.
"Oh," Hank said glancing back at the microscope, "I think you're younger than you used to be."
"What?" he asked, far more shocked by the fact than Hank seemed to be. "How is that possible, and how can you tell?"
He wasn't aware of any test that would be able to show that.
"Oh, I checked the regeneration potential of your cells," Hank said, as if it was something everyone knew how to do. "As we age it decreases, yours has increased since I tested that blood sample you gave me at your first physical."
Charles was a little stunned.
"Miss Frost explained that Shaw absorbed energy to stay young," Hank continued to elucidate. "I theorise that when his energy blast hit you it had a similar effect. I'd like to set up a series of tests to see the progression if you don't mind."
"No, not at all," he replied, still a little dazed. "Just remember my blood supply is not unlimited," he added, just for good measure.
Hank was sometimes overenthusiastic.
"How much younger?" he asked when his brain finally caught up again.
"A couple of years at least I would estimate," Hank replied and Charles had to smile.
From losing his sister as well as the man he loved and being crippled, he had gone to keeping everything and was younger to boot. He was going to have to tease Erik about taking advantage of younger men later; it was too good an opportunity to pass up.
~*~
Charles could not move. His arms were stretched out in front of him, almost to their limits and his ankles were spread and held firmly in place. He could barely shift, held helpless with his arse in the air and completely vulnerable.
"Erik, please," he begged, so strung out he could barely think.
"Not yet, Charles," Erik all but purred at him, "I don't think you've had enough."
He whimpered as the metal dildo moved in and out of his arse with torturous slowness and the metal chain tightened ever so slightly around the base of his aching cock. The key hanging from it tinkled gently and did nothing to help his need. He had never realised he could feel so desperate.
Teasing Erik had some interesting consequences it seemed and revenge was a dish best served cold. It had been two days before Erik had made him pay up.
When Erik had produced the dildo, Charles was pretty sure he had blushed scarlet, but the evil twinkle in Erik's eye had had his cock hardening so fast he'd felt dizzy. Apparently Erik had been practicing with his powers; the dildo had once been several pieces of stainless steel cutlery from the drawer in the kitchen which were now all welded into one perfectly smooth device.
Sexual aids were not something Charles had much experience with personally, but it hadn't taken more than Erik's inquisitive look to convince him.
The fact that he was being held in place and beautifully tortured, all while Erik was leaning casually against that wall, stroking his own cock slowly, right in Charles' line of vision was absolutely bloody marvellous. In all honesty, Charles had never considered that he might like being dominated; he definitely didn't outside the bedroom, but he was becoming kind of a slut inside it. He could not get enough of Erik's cock or anything Erik wanted to do to him; it would have been embarrassing if it hadn't been so damn good.
The dildo was moving in and out with smooth efficiency, every single time hitting what he knew anatomically was his prostate, but in his head was now just a button that lit up most of the nerves in his body every time it was pressed.
"Please, Erik, I'll do anything." He needed Erik's touch, that connection that the physical brought with it.
"You sound desperate, Charles," Erik said, without moving from his position.
Erik was never really very vocal when they had sex, but his voice always took on such gravelly tones that Charles was helpless each time his lover spoke.
"I am," he said, spreading one hand and reaching for Erik, even though he was still held firmly in place, "I need you. Please."
He was pretty sure he could never explain it to a non-telepath, not even by showing them. The dildo was stimulating him, but it could never be enough, not when Erik was just out of touching distance and Erik had forbidden him from reaching out with his mind.
He actually whimpered when Erik finally laid a hand on his back and shuddered at the contact.
"No telepathy, Charles," Erik told him even as he was reigning himself in, because he so wanted to touch mentally as well. "Later."
It was only the promise of later that helped him hold on.
Erik climbed onto the bed, stroking down his back while moving down behind him. Then the dildo was removed in one swift motion and the chain tightened again for a moment, as if to make sure that didn't make him come.
"Oh god," he said, more one explosive sound than two words as Erik replaced the dildo with himself.
"So open, Charles," Erik whispered, "so ready for me."
"Always ready for you," he replied, even as Erik began to move just as smoothly and accurately as the dildo had.
It was so different though, because he could feel Erik, even with his telepathy dialled right down, Erik was present and just there. Beyond everything else, that was what he needed the most. He was right on the edge, had been for ages, but the chain helped him keep back from going over. Erik was pushing him closer and closer, pumping into him again and again and he wanted it to go on forever.
That was why when it suddenly stopped he made a very obvious sound of disappointment and loss. He found that he was free to move as well and his sex soaked brain couldn't work out what was going on.
"I want to see you," Erik told him, "all of you," and promptly lay down on the bed.
Charles got the idea when Erik motioned to him to climb on and he pulled himself together enough to lift himself up, swing his leg over and lowered himself down onto Erik's waiting cock.
"Now you can touch me," Erik told him, helping to hold him up with arms and mutant power. "Take it slow."
It was a complete switch from being helpless to being virtually in control, but it took every ounce of willpower Charles had not to let the flood gates open. He settled onto Erik's cock, placing his hands flat on Erik's hard abdominal muscles and began to move as slowly as he dared, using the pace to gradually touch his mind to Erik's as well.
After the hard and sure pounding Erik had been giving him, this was almost a meditation and he put his head back and closed his eyes. He let his mind stroke around the edges of Erik's as he rocked his hips, slowly, ever so slowly allowing his thoughts to trickle into his lover's and vice versa. He was still on the edge, but it was as if he was floating there now rather than clinging on by the skin of his teeth. He was light headed and needy, but somehow serene at the same time.
"Look at me, Charles," Erik told him and he opened his eyes.
It was only half a shock to find the room black with neon edges and he looked down at Erik, taking in his lover's naked form.
"So beautiful," Erik whispered, reaching up one hand to touch his face.
"All yours," he replied, sinking further into Erik's mind, showing him, feeling him and loving him.
He let his instincts lead, allowing his arousal to build until it was almost too much and then leaning forward. Erik met him halfway for the kiss, moving to hold his shoulders to bring them together and as their lips touched he let the connection complete. He sank onto Erik's cock, into Erik's mind and everything kind of shifted.
It was impossible to tell who came first and it wasn't instant and explosive, more like a burn that went on and on as their bodies gave in to orgasm. Charles felt energy move within him and he felt more complete than he ever had in his entire life. He couldn't breathe and he couldn't consciously move, but in those many seconds it didn't matter in the slightest.
Of course when reality flipped back in, he reared back gasping for breath as Erik fell back to the bed doing the same. His whole body was shaking and his eyesight had flashed back to normal and he wasn't quite sure what had just happened. That had been the strangest orgasm of his life and given what he and Erik had been up to recently that was saying something.
[What?] was about as far as he could get with sensible thought and he didn't even consider speaking out loud.
"I think," Erik said, carefully helping him off his body and onto the bed, "we may have found out what happens when I push you too far."
[Didn't feel like too far,] he said, doing his best to put his thoughts in some semblance of order.
"How many fingers?" Erik asked and held up one hand.
Charles would have laughed, only it was really hard to count even when he did focus. He realised he felt a little punch drunk.
[I think I'm going to sleep now,] he said and closed his eyes without even waiting for Erik to reply.
"Charles," he heard, but that was about all before he sank happily into blissful oblivion.
~*~
"Hank," Charles said, dragging Erik behind him, "can you do that test you did on me on Erik?"
They had woken up half an hour ago and Erik had been able to persuade him to wait long enough to take a shower before dragging them both to see Hank. As soon as he had opened his eyes he had remembered the previous evening and he had realised what he had actually done.
"Sure," Hank replied looking at them both, "but why?"
"Because last night I think I dumped some of the energy in me into Erik," he replied with complete openness.
"Why? When?" Hank asked, ever the scientist.
"Hank, trust me when I say you do not want to know that," he said, even as Erik laughed. "Just believe that I think I did and go from there."
Erik did not seem to think the situation remotely a problem, but Charles wanted to be totally sure.
Hank went a lovely scarlet colour.
"I'll need a blood sample," Hank said, covering his embarrassment with science.
Two hours later, Hank had put both of them through a rather large number of tests.
"You're showing the same de-aging as Charles," Hank told Erik eventually, "but none of the residual trace energy."
Hank then turned to Charles.
"Nothing about your tests results have changed."
Charles was relieved and yet very unsure at the same time.
"See," Erik said, eyebrows slightly raised and as open as it ever got when they weren't alone, "nothing to worry about."
Charles opened his mouth to reply, but really wasn't sure he had anything to say.
"Thank you, Hank," Erik said and calmly steered Charles towards the door, "I think he needs tea, he hasn't had any yet this morning and I don't think his brain starts properly without it."
Now Erik was making jokes at his expense and he still didn't know what to say.
"Charles, relax," Erik told him as they stepped into the corridor, "I am well, you are well, leave it at that."
"But I ..." he started to reply.
"Gave yourself to me in every way possible," Erik said and smiled, "do not over think it."
"Oh god, I did not need to hear that," Alex's pained voice came from the open library door, out of which the young mutant was just stepping.
The look he was giving them was enough to crack Charles' worry and he actually laughed. Subtle hints were well in the past it seemed.
~*~
"I have a plan," Charles said to the assembled group.
He called everyone together now that he was back to full strength.
"Is that a good thing?" Alex asked and Charles grinned.
"This time, yes," he replied and looked over to Erik who was watching him carefully, "at least I think it is, which is why we're having this discussion. It will take time and it will mean we have to live double lives, but I believe it can work."
"More hiding, Charles?" Erik asked, clearly not impressed.
He hadn't needed to use his gift to know that objection was coming.
"Yes and no," he explained, totally serious again. "The first job will be to wipe knowledge of who exactly we are and what we are capable of from the last remaining CIA members."
Erik raised an eyebrow.
"You can do that, but won't they know they've forgotten something?" Emma asked, grabbing his attention.
"I'm not going to remove everything and I'm going to leave them me," he replied with a smile, "I'm just not going to let them remember what I do."
"Surely that leaves you exposed," was Erik's instant response.
"Since I plan on being the face of mutant relations, that's not really a problem."
"You can't do that," Raven all but exploded; "they'll come after you."
"And through you, us," Hank pointed out.
Charles smiled.
"I was thinking more of it as hiding in plain sight," he began to outline his plan. "The government is afraid of us, they will want the country to be afraid of us so they can control us. Humanity is afraid of what it does not understand, so I intend to explain."
"But if they know what we can really do they'll be even more afraid," Sean said, looking worried for the first time.
"Which is why we lie."
That stopped all the objections in their tracks and he sat back in his chair pleased with the reaction. No one was really used to him being the one to instigate outright deceit, misdirection yes, complete falsehood no.
"Go on," Erik said, speaking for everyone it seemed.
"I've had quite a lot of time to think lately," Charles said, grinning, "and I believe we should fight misinformation with our own misinformation. I'm good at speeches and if I go on television and explain how mutants are humanity striving to survive with all the pollution governments are throwing into the atmosphere and how we're all harmless and loveable I think I can swing it. Well as long as we don't let Erik on TV as well that is."
[You will pay for that remark,] Eric told him silently and he just let his grin grow wider.
[I hope so.]
"Will you two stop flirting for one minute," Raven complained and Charles rolled his eyes at her.
"But we're not all harmless," Darwin pointed out and dragged them back on topic.
"They don't know that," he replied, feeling quite pleased with himself. "I have a whole paper planned about the natural forces that can gather around a mutant when their mutations first appear and cause strange phenomenon. It would be like blaming a bunny rabbit for a thunderstorm and no one could possibly do that."
He gave them his best big-eyed sell.
"Shit," Alex said, blinking at him, "it might actually work."
"Here and places like here," Charles continued...
"You are thinking big," Emma interrupted him.
"Will be havens; places mutants can be who they are," he just nodded at her question; "out there we encourage humanity to recognise us, to understand us and hide anything too alarming. By the time they realise there is more to us it will be too late and we will already be right where we want to be."
"But what about governments," Erik said, "they have known about people like us for years; they have experimented on us."
"Even a harmless bacteria occasionally produces a mutation which can be deadly," Charles replied, "and just like in nature these strains usually burn themselves out very quickly. Isolated incidents have been reported in the past, but with mutation becoming more widespread such evolutionary dead ends are few and far between."
He gave the whole speech as if talking to a concerned citizen and Erik actually smiled.
"You have thought of everything."
Charles inclined his head at the acknowledgement.
"It won't be easy," he admitted, because he had thought of a hundred pit falls, "but I think we can do it. We need to make humanity accept us, no matter what we look like, and then we need to spread into every walk of life. When homo superior can be found in politics, big business, medicine, the military and everywhere else; then they will have no defence against us."
"It will take decades," Angel said, sounding slightly in awe.
"Yes," Charles replied, "but our children will be free."
It was a high goal, but as he looked around the table he could see each person beginning to accept it.
"No more superhero stuff?" Sean asked and sounded somewhat disappointed.
"Oh, now that's a whole different question," Charles said and grinned again.
"Oh lord, what's he thinking now?" Raven said and put her hand to her head.
Charles just laughed.
The End