Jaws, Charles/Erik
Title: Jaws | On AO3
Author: qikiqtarjuaq
Pairing: Charles/Erik
Rating: PG-13
Words: 3048
Summary: Written for the kinkmeme prompt for shark!Erik and dolphin!Charles, answering the question on every X-Men fan's mind: What would the XMFC movie be like if Charles and Erik were marine animals?
Moira MacTaggert knelt down at the edge of the water and dipped her hand in, making light splashes.
"Dinner time, Charles!" she called out. As if on cue, a shadow began to swim towards her underneath the water's surface. It had been an exhausting day of shows for Moira, ending on a particularly sour note as she had yet another argument with Sebastian Shaw, the man who in charge of the Westchester Research Aquarium.
"Great Whites just can't survive in captivity, Dr. Shaw. Do I even need to list off all the aquariums that have tried this and failed? We'll get nothing but bad press from this."
"Dr. MacTaggert, I have the best PR team in the country to worry about what the rest of the world thinks. You should focus on your research and training instead. How is that mutant dolphin of yours doing?"
"Charles is doing very well. He's been training several of our new arrivals, and I'm almost certain that he's capable of cross-species communication. It's quite impressive."
"That's good. I may put him in the same tank as Erik when he arrives, then."
"I'm sorry, Dr. Shaw, you're not thinking of putting Charles together with a Great White?"
"It worked out well enough with Alex."
"Alex was young. And confused. He was never hostile."
"Go feed your fish, Dr. MacTaggert. And see to it that Charles will be ready when Erik arrives."
"They're not fish, sir."
Playing with Charles at the end of the day had always been a fool-proof way to cheer her up. The dolphin liked to splash water on her, nuzzle her with his nose, and do all sorts of tricks for a chance to steal the entire bucket of fish at her side. It would be embarrassing how many times the dolphin got the better of her if he weren't so utterly endearing. Charles had an easy, playful charm about him that made him extremely popular with the children and the adults who visit him. Beyond that, he also got along exceptionally well with the other dolphins and animals at their Aquarium, and was even capable of helping train them for their shows. Alex, a recently-acquired killer whale had managed to hurt multiple trainers before Shaw put Charles in the same pool and had a rookie trainer named Hank oversee their training together. The young killer whale had taken a shine to Charles immediately, while Charles helped him learn to control his massive body without hurting the people around him.
A Great White isn't a creature that will be easily kept in captivity, thought Moira, biting at her lip. And what if Charles gets hurt? She was so distracted that when Charles knocked the bucket into the water, she barely blinked. Charles poked his head out of the water, making noises suspiciously similar to laughter. When she reacted only with a cursory pat on his snout, he stopped to nuzzle her instead. If Moira didn't know any better, she'd swear that Charles was psychic sometimes, picking up on even human emotions with an ease that eluded most of the people she knew.
"I hope you like sharks, Charles. You'll be meeting one tomorrow," she murmured, wrapping her arms around the dolphin. Charles was fast, and smart. He would be all right.
***
"Stop this! You're hurting yourself!" Charles had been dropped rather unceremoniously into the fish tank early the next morning, and he wasted no time swimming towards the shark who was thrashing against the walls as though it offered an escape.
"Who are you?" came the shark's suspicious reply.
"I am a friend. You must calm yourself," insisted Charles. "The glass will not break, and even if it does, you would die outside of this place."
Sensing the truth in Charles' words, the shark stopped struggling and instead circled curiously around the dolphin. "I am Erik."
"Charles. Charles Xavier."
Erik opened his mouth, baring all his teeth, and for a moment, Charles braced himself for an attack. The attack never came, and soon Charles realized that Erik was... laughing?
"I have never heard of a dolphin with a last name before."
"Xavier was the name of the man who donated me to this aquarium." Charles did a quick turn around Erik and splashed his tail towards his nose. Erik lunged forward and snapped his jaws at the water in front of him, but Charles was quick to evade.
"This tank is too small for you to properly maneuver yourself around." Charles was small, even for a bottlenosed dolphin, and had no trouble swimming circles around Erik, who was almost twice his size. "I'm sure that someone will be along shortly to transport you once they make sure that you don't pose a danger."
"Make sure I don't pose a danger? I intend to pose quite a danger to the man who captured me." Erik bared his teeth again, this time in a far more menacing manner.
"Violence is not the answer here, Erik." Charles gently nudged at Erik's belly with his snout, causing the shark to thrash around until Charles backed off.
"We are quite far from the ocean, and the animals who have hurt the humans have all been killed. If we cooperate with the humans, however, they feed us and let us do what we will after dark. And Moira tells me that it's all for a good cause."
"Cooperate? What do they want our cooperation for? And who's Moira?"
"Moira is my trainer. She plays with me and feeds me all the fish that I want. We work on shows during the day for the public to help fund our research. She's currently working on how we communicate, and if she can learn our languages, it would be a breakthrough in human/animal understanding."
Erik snapped his teeth towards Charles again, though he didn't put much force behind the gesture. "When I tear this man Shaw in half with my teeth, do you think that will be communication clear enough? They need to leave us alone. The ocean is ours."
"Regardless, Erik, you will not get anything accomplished if you continue to be hostile. Please, just give this a chance. I think you will like Moira."
"I doubt it," grumbled Erik, but the shark let Charles swim closer until they are side-by-side.
"When we next meet, it will be in a larger, more open space."
***
Moira arrived the next day to the sight of Hank McCoy looking exceedingly pale.
"Hank? What's wrong?"
Hank pointed towards the water, and Moira rushed forward, frowning. The buckets of fish Hank had brought as rewards for training had all been overturned, their contents floating in the water. A Great White shark swam lazy circles, occasionally swallowing a fish whenever it suited his leisure. Huddled together on the opposite were Alex and several of their show dolphins.
"I honestly thought killer whales would win in a fight with a shark," muttered Hank. "Wasn't there a youtube video showing an orca eating a shark somewhere?"
Moira gave him a sharp look. "You didn't try to pit Alex against Erik, did you? Are either of them hurt? Where's Charles?"
"Of course not! They fought for the food on their own. I don't think any of them are hurt, except maybe Alex's pride."
Moira splashed at the water cautiously, taking care not to put her hands anywhere near where Erik could bite at her. "Charles? Where are you?"
When Charles finally swam out into the open pool, Moira frowned. Was it her imagination or was Charles... shinier today? His fin almost seemed to stand up straighter as well. But that hardly made sense, did it? Scolding herself for having an overactive imagination, Moira smiled and splashed at the water again. "Come here, Charles! Give Moira a kiss!"
To her surprise, Charles swam casually past her without giving her another look. "Charles?"
Hank moved next to her, and they both stared as Charles headed directly for Erik. They bumped into each other and swam around in circles, almost playfully. Her jaw dropped in shock as Erik picked up the fattest fish in the water and held it for Charles to pick up and eat.
"I swear, that dolphin of yours is magic," said Hank.
"Charles? Remember what we said about sharing?" She almost reached in the water to pat his snout, but withdrew her hand quickly as Erik surfaced to try and take a bite. She continued to stare in disbelief as Charles pushed and nudged as Erik while making anxious noises. Was Charles scolding a shark? And was the shark actually listening? Because after a few minutes of Charles' making noises at Erik, the shark shot through the water and swam off to the side, deliberating turning his tail to Charles.
Oh Dear God. Charles and Erik just had an argument and now Erik is sulking. When did this become my life? Moira buried her face in her hands.
"Moira? What do we do now?" asked Hank.
"I guess we pick up some more fish and go through our planned training."
***
The sun had set, and Erik stayed in the pool, snapping at any of the humans who dared come close to him. Thankfully, the humans weren't completely stupid, and he was left alone.
"Erik?" He turned and saw Charles quietly observing him.
"If you think for a second that I'm going to mindlessly follow the orders of these humans, you're delusional. I'd rather die."
Erik ignored the pitiful sound that came out of Charles in response to his declaration. He remembered the cold darkness of his captivity, where he struggled to breathe for lack of room to move. He remembered the rough hands shoving at him while he struggled, and the moments out of water that never seemed to end. How could Charles expect him to let these creatures force him to jump for their amusement?
"The humans aren't so bad, Erik."
"How can you even stand to let them touch you? It hurts."
Charles looked at him with bright eyes. "Hurts? The humans aren't supposed to hurt us. Oh, Erik, what did they do to you?"
Erik remained silent but allowed Charles to inch closer. They swam side by side comfortably, occasionally allowing their bodies to touch. Erik wasn't sure who initiated it, but the occasional touches soon developed into more as they rubbed and swam against each other in a frenzy. Erik tentatively nipped at one of Charles' fins, his bite turning more aggressive after Charles gasped out a "Yes!"
Together, they moved through the water with their bodies pressed tightly against each other as Charles swam around and over Erik. They were so engrossed in each other that they did not notice the lights above the water come on, and the shouts of the humans who saw them in the water.
***
"I think I'm traumatized for life." Hank shook his head.
"Charles is never going to forgive me for cockblocking him. If I knew they weren't hurting each other, I wouldn't have shot Erik with that tranq gun."
"First of all, I never need to hear Charles' name in the same sentence as the word 'cock' again. And second, I can't believe you're worried about hurting a dolphin's feelings! After you caught it having sex with a shark. That is so wrong."
"I wonder if they'll be going at it again after Erik recovers."
"You're a sick woman, Moira."
Moira threw a pen at Hank. "It's for science! Did you know that there's next to no information on the mating habits of Great White sharks?"
Hank made a face. "Whatever you say."
***
"I can't believe you're just cuddling and spraying water at that woman like nothing happened," said Erik, shooting Charles a death glare.
"She didn't mean to interrupt, Erik. She apologized to me and everything."
"And where's my apology?"
"If she didn't think you would bite her fingers off, I'm sure she would apologize to you too. Erik, she is not our enemy."
"Do you not miss swimming free in the oceans?"
"I was bred in captivity, unfortunately. I wouldn't even know what to do out there or how to interact with the pods. Here, I have friends and a home. I can protect and teach the newcomers."
"Charles. You don't need a pod. I would protect you. I could hunt for both of us. No one would hurt you, ever."
"Do you truly hate it here so much, Erik? Moira said she could find us a more... private place in the future."
If sharks were physically capable of blushing, Charles was certain that Erik would be blushing at this moment.
"I'm sorry, Charles. I will not be enslaved like this."
A heavy silence fell between them before Charles spoke again. "There is one way to leave this place peacefully, if you are willing to suffer for it a little."
***
"Dr. Shaw?"
"Dr. MacTaggert. I just received a notice that Erik is intentionally starving and hurting himself. What is the meaning of this?"
"There's something wrong with Charles and Erik. Erik hasn't eaten in days, and Charles has taken to occasionally biting the poor thing." Moira sighed as she threw yet another fish at Erik, to no avail. "We've tried separating those two, but it just made things worse for both of them. You can come see for yourself if you want."
"So much for your magic dolphin."
"I don't understand any more than you what's going wrong."
"Well, let's hope these guys can be bribed then. They're coming over this afternoon, and I'm guessing you can't fix those two before then."
***
"The humans are here, Erik. Once these men see the condition you're in, they'll let you go free."
Erik knew that he should be ecstatic, but he felt a strange hollowness at the prospect of living his days without Charles. "Come with me, Charles. You can follow in my footsteps. I'll wait for you."
"Erik, I can't."
"Please, Charles. I want you by my side. We want the same things."
"No, my friend. I am sorry, but we do not."
Charles' rejection stung, and Erik felt angrier than he'd been in a long time. So when Sebastian Shaw crouched down near the edge of the water to take a closer look at the shark, Erik leapt from the water and clamped his jaws around Shaw's neck. Screams sounded everywhere as Erik dragged Shaw underwater, from humans and from his underwater brethren as well.
"Erik! No! Please, stop! Do you know what they do to animals who attack humans?"
Erik blocked out Charles' voice and continued to feast on Shaw. His flesh tasted all the sweeter for the days Erik spent going hungry. And then Charles was charging at Erik, and in the heat of the moment, a gunshot rang out.
Blood. Not human blood this time. Charles. Erik let go of Shaw's lifeless body and swam for Charles, who was bleeding from his tail.
"Charles, Charles, are you all right?"
And then Charles was cruelly ripped away from him by the human Moira, who was screaming in a language he did not understand. Erik suddenly felt very alone. When his vision blacked out and his mind slowed to a crawl, Erik could not find it in himself to struggle.
***
"Charles? Come here, Charles." Hank made small splashing motions at the water, imitating what Moira used to do. Charles never strayed far from the designated feeding place now that he lost function of his tail fluke, and Hank could see the dolphin floating aimlessly in the water near him. He had always accused Moira of being overly sentimental when it came to Charles, ascribing thoughts and emotions that the dolphin couldn't possibly experience. But now, as he watched Charles, it seemed to him that the dolphin looked impossibly sad and lonely.
"I have news about Erik."
At the mention of that name, Charles lifted his head up. Slowly, Hank took out the photo that Moira had sent him and put it in front of Charles.
"He's been set free. They were supposed to put him down, but someone had broken him out. Don't tell anyone, but I think that someone's name rhymed with 'Coira.'" Hank looked around to make sure that he was alone. "Anyway, she wanted me to show you this picture."
Hank yelped as Charles snatched the photo from his hand. "Hey, what are you doing?"
Charles ignored him, and navigated slowly and clumsily through the water to place the picture under a rock, the same place he had kept a collection of teeth that Erik had shed.
"You know, Charles, if I didn't know any better, I'd almost think you were a romantic, sentimental fool."
Charles didn't reply, not that Hank expected the dolphin to understand what he was saying. "I wonder if Moira always knew that he would break your heart."
At that, Charles gave a long, mournful cry. In the ocean, a Great White paused in his tracks, as though he heard a familiar voice call out his name.
THE END
Author: qikiqtarjuaq
Pairing: Charles/Erik
Rating: PG-13
Words: 3048
Summary: Written for the kinkmeme prompt for shark!Erik and dolphin!Charles, answering the question on every X-Men fan's mind: What would the XMFC movie be like if Charles and Erik were marine animals?
Moira MacTaggert knelt down at the edge of the water and dipped her hand in, making light splashes.
"Dinner time, Charles!" she called out. As if on cue, a shadow began to swim towards her underneath the water's surface. It had been an exhausting day of shows for Moira, ending on a particularly sour note as she had yet another argument with Sebastian Shaw, the man who in charge of the Westchester Research Aquarium.
"Great Whites just can't survive in captivity, Dr. Shaw. Do I even need to list off all the aquariums that have tried this and failed? We'll get nothing but bad press from this."
"Dr. MacTaggert, I have the best PR team in the country to worry about what the rest of the world thinks. You should focus on your research and training instead. How is that mutant dolphin of yours doing?"
"Charles is doing very well. He's been training several of our new arrivals, and I'm almost certain that he's capable of cross-species communication. It's quite impressive."
"That's good. I may put him in the same tank as Erik when he arrives, then."
"I'm sorry, Dr. Shaw, you're not thinking of putting Charles together with a Great White?"
"It worked out well enough with Alex."
"Alex was young. And confused. He was never hostile."
"Go feed your fish, Dr. MacTaggert. And see to it that Charles will be ready when Erik arrives."
"They're not fish, sir."
Playing with Charles at the end of the day had always been a fool-proof way to cheer her up. The dolphin liked to splash water on her, nuzzle her with his nose, and do all sorts of tricks for a chance to steal the entire bucket of fish at her side. It would be embarrassing how many times the dolphin got the better of her if he weren't so utterly endearing. Charles had an easy, playful charm about him that made him extremely popular with the children and the adults who visit him. Beyond that, he also got along exceptionally well with the other dolphins and animals at their Aquarium, and was even capable of helping train them for their shows. Alex, a recently-acquired killer whale had managed to hurt multiple trainers before Shaw put Charles in the same pool and had a rookie trainer named Hank oversee their training together. The young killer whale had taken a shine to Charles immediately, while Charles helped him learn to control his massive body without hurting the people around him.
A Great White isn't a creature that will be easily kept in captivity, thought Moira, biting at her lip. And what if Charles gets hurt? She was so distracted that when Charles knocked the bucket into the water, she barely blinked. Charles poked his head out of the water, making noises suspiciously similar to laughter. When she reacted only with a cursory pat on his snout, he stopped to nuzzle her instead. If Moira didn't know any better, she'd swear that Charles was psychic sometimes, picking up on even human emotions with an ease that eluded most of the people she knew.
"I hope you like sharks, Charles. You'll be meeting one tomorrow," she murmured, wrapping her arms around the dolphin. Charles was fast, and smart. He would be all right.
***
"Stop this! You're hurting yourself!" Charles had been dropped rather unceremoniously into the fish tank early the next morning, and he wasted no time swimming towards the shark who was thrashing against the walls as though it offered an escape.
"Who are you?" came the shark's suspicious reply.
"I am a friend. You must calm yourself," insisted Charles. "The glass will not break, and even if it does, you would die outside of this place."
Sensing the truth in Charles' words, the shark stopped struggling and instead circled curiously around the dolphin. "I am Erik."
"Charles. Charles Xavier."
Erik opened his mouth, baring all his teeth, and for a moment, Charles braced himself for an attack. The attack never came, and soon Charles realized that Erik was... laughing?
"I have never heard of a dolphin with a last name before."
"Xavier was the name of the man who donated me to this aquarium." Charles did a quick turn around Erik and splashed his tail towards his nose. Erik lunged forward and snapped his jaws at the water in front of him, but Charles was quick to evade.
"This tank is too small for you to properly maneuver yourself around." Charles was small, even for a bottlenosed dolphin, and had no trouble swimming circles around Erik, who was almost twice his size. "I'm sure that someone will be along shortly to transport you once they make sure that you don't pose a danger."
"Make sure I don't pose a danger? I intend to pose quite a danger to the man who captured me." Erik bared his teeth again, this time in a far more menacing manner.
"Violence is not the answer here, Erik." Charles gently nudged at Erik's belly with his snout, causing the shark to thrash around until Charles backed off.
"We are quite far from the ocean, and the animals who have hurt the humans have all been killed. If we cooperate with the humans, however, they feed us and let us do what we will after dark. And Moira tells me that it's all for a good cause."
"Cooperate? What do they want our cooperation for? And who's Moira?"
"Moira is my trainer. She plays with me and feeds me all the fish that I want. We work on shows during the day for the public to help fund our research. She's currently working on how we communicate, and if she can learn our languages, it would be a breakthrough in human/animal understanding."
Erik snapped his teeth towards Charles again, though he didn't put much force behind the gesture. "When I tear this man Shaw in half with my teeth, do you think that will be communication clear enough? They need to leave us alone. The ocean is ours."
"Regardless, Erik, you will not get anything accomplished if you continue to be hostile. Please, just give this a chance. I think you will like Moira."
"I doubt it," grumbled Erik, but the shark let Charles swim closer until they are side-by-side.
"When we next meet, it will be in a larger, more open space."
***
Moira arrived the next day to the sight of Hank McCoy looking exceedingly pale.
"Hank? What's wrong?"
Hank pointed towards the water, and Moira rushed forward, frowning. The buckets of fish Hank had brought as rewards for training had all been overturned, their contents floating in the water. A Great White shark swam lazy circles, occasionally swallowing a fish whenever it suited his leisure. Huddled together on the opposite were Alex and several of their show dolphins.
"I honestly thought killer whales would win in a fight with a shark," muttered Hank. "Wasn't there a youtube video showing an orca eating a shark somewhere?"
Moira gave him a sharp look. "You didn't try to pit Alex against Erik, did you? Are either of them hurt? Where's Charles?"
"Of course not! They fought for the food on their own. I don't think any of them are hurt, except maybe Alex's pride."
Moira splashed at the water cautiously, taking care not to put her hands anywhere near where Erik could bite at her. "Charles? Where are you?"
When Charles finally swam out into the open pool, Moira frowned. Was it her imagination or was Charles... shinier today? His fin almost seemed to stand up straighter as well. But that hardly made sense, did it? Scolding herself for having an overactive imagination, Moira smiled and splashed at the water again. "Come here, Charles! Give Moira a kiss!"
To her surprise, Charles swam casually past her without giving her another look. "Charles?"
Hank moved next to her, and they both stared as Charles headed directly for Erik. They bumped into each other and swam around in circles, almost playfully. Her jaw dropped in shock as Erik picked up the fattest fish in the water and held it for Charles to pick up and eat.
"I swear, that dolphin of yours is magic," said Hank.
"Charles? Remember what we said about sharing?" She almost reached in the water to pat his snout, but withdrew her hand quickly as Erik surfaced to try and take a bite. She continued to stare in disbelief as Charles pushed and nudged as Erik while making anxious noises. Was Charles scolding a shark? And was the shark actually listening? Because after a few minutes of Charles' making noises at Erik, the shark shot through the water and swam off to the side, deliberating turning his tail to Charles.
Oh Dear God. Charles and Erik just had an argument and now Erik is sulking. When did this become my life? Moira buried her face in her hands.
"Moira? What do we do now?" asked Hank.
"I guess we pick up some more fish and go through our planned training."
***
The sun had set, and Erik stayed in the pool, snapping at any of the humans who dared come close to him. Thankfully, the humans weren't completely stupid, and he was left alone.
"Erik?" He turned and saw Charles quietly observing him.
"If you think for a second that I'm going to mindlessly follow the orders of these humans, you're delusional. I'd rather die."
Erik ignored the pitiful sound that came out of Charles in response to his declaration. He remembered the cold darkness of his captivity, where he struggled to breathe for lack of room to move. He remembered the rough hands shoving at him while he struggled, and the moments out of water that never seemed to end. How could Charles expect him to let these creatures force him to jump for their amusement?
"The humans aren't so bad, Erik."
"How can you even stand to let them touch you? It hurts."
Charles looked at him with bright eyes. "Hurts? The humans aren't supposed to hurt us. Oh, Erik, what did they do to you?"
Erik remained silent but allowed Charles to inch closer. They swam side by side comfortably, occasionally allowing their bodies to touch. Erik wasn't sure who initiated it, but the occasional touches soon developed into more as they rubbed and swam against each other in a frenzy. Erik tentatively nipped at one of Charles' fins, his bite turning more aggressive after Charles gasped out a "Yes!"
Together, they moved through the water with their bodies pressed tightly against each other as Charles swam around and over Erik. They were so engrossed in each other that they did not notice the lights above the water come on, and the shouts of the humans who saw them in the water.
***
"I think I'm traumatized for life." Hank shook his head.
"Charles is never going to forgive me for cockblocking him. If I knew they weren't hurting each other, I wouldn't have shot Erik with that tranq gun."
"First of all, I never need to hear Charles' name in the same sentence as the word 'cock' again. And second, I can't believe you're worried about hurting a dolphin's feelings! After you caught it having sex with a shark. That is so wrong."
"I wonder if they'll be going at it again after Erik recovers."
"You're a sick woman, Moira."
Moira threw a pen at Hank. "It's for science! Did you know that there's next to no information on the mating habits of Great White sharks?"
Hank made a face. "Whatever you say."
***
"I can't believe you're just cuddling and spraying water at that woman like nothing happened," said Erik, shooting Charles a death glare.
"She didn't mean to interrupt, Erik. She apologized to me and everything."
"And where's my apology?"
"If she didn't think you would bite her fingers off, I'm sure she would apologize to you too. Erik, she is not our enemy."
"Do you not miss swimming free in the oceans?"
"I was bred in captivity, unfortunately. I wouldn't even know what to do out there or how to interact with the pods. Here, I have friends and a home. I can protect and teach the newcomers."
"Charles. You don't need a pod. I would protect you. I could hunt for both of us. No one would hurt you, ever."
"Do you truly hate it here so much, Erik? Moira said she could find us a more... private place in the future."
If sharks were physically capable of blushing, Charles was certain that Erik would be blushing at this moment.
"I'm sorry, Charles. I will not be enslaved like this."
A heavy silence fell between them before Charles spoke again. "There is one way to leave this place peacefully, if you are willing to suffer for it a little."
***
"Dr. Shaw?"
"Dr. MacTaggert. I just received a notice that Erik is intentionally starving and hurting himself. What is the meaning of this?"
"There's something wrong with Charles and Erik. Erik hasn't eaten in days, and Charles has taken to occasionally biting the poor thing." Moira sighed as she threw yet another fish at Erik, to no avail. "We've tried separating those two, but it just made things worse for both of them. You can come see for yourself if you want."
"So much for your magic dolphin."
"I don't understand any more than you what's going wrong."
"Well, let's hope these guys can be bribed then. They're coming over this afternoon, and I'm guessing you can't fix those two before then."
***
"The humans are here, Erik. Once these men see the condition you're in, they'll let you go free."
Erik knew that he should be ecstatic, but he felt a strange hollowness at the prospect of living his days without Charles. "Come with me, Charles. You can follow in my footsteps. I'll wait for you."
"Erik, I can't."
"Please, Charles. I want you by my side. We want the same things."
"No, my friend. I am sorry, but we do not."
Charles' rejection stung, and Erik felt angrier than he'd been in a long time. So when Sebastian Shaw crouched down near the edge of the water to take a closer look at the shark, Erik leapt from the water and clamped his jaws around Shaw's neck. Screams sounded everywhere as Erik dragged Shaw underwater, from humans and from his underwater brethren as well.
"Erik! No! Please, stop! Do you know what they do to animals who attack humans?"
Erik blocked out Charles' voice and continued to feast on Shaw. His flesh tasted all the sweeter for the days Erik spent going hungry. And then Charles was charging at Erik, and in the heat of the moment, a gunshot rang out.
Blood. Not human blood this time. Charles. Erik let go of Shaw's lifeless body and swam for Charles, who was bleeding from his tail.
"Charles, Charles, are you all right?"
And then Charles was cruelly ripped away from him by the human Moira, who was screaming in a language he did not understand. Erik suddenly felt very alone. When his vision blacked out and his mind slowed to a crawl, Erik could not find it in himself to struggle.
***
"Charles? Come here, Charles." Hank made small splashing motions at the water, imitating what Moira used to do. Charles never strayed far from the designated feeding place now that he lost function of his tail fluke, and Hank could see the dolphin floating aimlessly in the water near him. He had always accused Moira of being overly sentimental when it came to Charles, ascribing thoughts and emotions that the dolphin couldn't possibly experience. But now, as he watched Charles, it seemed to him that the dolphin looked impossibly sad and lonely.
"I have news about Erik."
At the mention of that name, Charles lifted his head up. Slowly, Hank took out the photo that Moira had sent him and put it in front of Charles.
"He's been set free. They were supposed to put him down, but someone had broken him out. Don't tell anyone, but I think that someone's name rhymed with 'Coira.'" Hank looked around to make sure that he was alone. "Anyway, she wanted me to show you this picture."
Hank yelped as Charles snatched the photo from his hand. "Hey, what are you doing?"
Charles ignored him, and navigated slowly and clumsily through the water to place the picture under a rock, the same place he had kept a collection of teeth that Erik had shed.
"You know, Charles, if I didn't know any better, I'd almost think you were a romantic, sentimental fool."
Charles didn't reply, not that Hank expected the dolphin to understand what he was saying. "I wonder if Moira always knew that he would break your heart."
At that, Charles gave a long, mournful cry. In the ocean, a Great White paused in his tracks, as though he heard a familiar voice call out his name.
THE END