Prompt: Idk may be there's some mutant which allows people to communicate with dead people in said afterlife and Erik wants to see his mum and Charles is aagainst the idea. Is that sad enough?
Ever since Juliet – nicknamed Vidmor by Raven, who was flaunting her Latin for Hank – had been recruited for Xavier's School, Erik hadn't been able to sleep. At first, Charles gave him room. He thought he knew what was on Erik's mind, but he didn't read his thoughts, he didn't probe, and he didn't ask. All he did was stroke Erik's back until he himself fell asleep. And he waited for Erik to come to him on his own.
It took a few weeks, but eventually, Erik woke Charles up, gently shaking his shoulder. "Charles?" he whispered.
Charles pushed himself up to a sitting position, blinking sleep from his eyes. "Yes?"
"I want to ask Vidmor if I can use her power."
Charles nodded. "I know."
"You read my mind?"
"I didn't need to," Charles said softly. "Your mother, yes?"
Erik closed his eyes. "Yeah."
"I don't think that's a good idea." Charles wrapped his warm hands around Erik's cold one. "It's messing with nature, Erik."
"How could you say that? It's Vidmor's mutation – it's who she is – "
"Maybe so. But even if you're right…it would hurt, Erik. You don't know what you'd see, you don't know what you'd hear…you haven't spoken to your mother in twenty years."
Erik shook off Charles' hand. "You don't get it," he spat. "The last time I saw her – I didn't…I never…I didn'tknow. I didn't know she was going to die. I…I had always thought she might. Every time the Nazis dragged her away from me, every time they beat her, every time…and then I saw her again, and I had Shaw, and…I thought I had finally gotten her back. I thought…."
"Erik – "
"No! I didn't get to say goodbye, Charles. Do you know what that's like? I never got to tell her I loved her. And it was my fault she died – if I had just moved that coin – that bloody coin – I could've saved her. It's my fault she's dead."
Charles wrapped his arms around Erik, whose body began to shudder as his memories rushed back. "Calm your mind," Charles murmured. "It's okay. It wasn't your fault. It's okay."
"I want to see her again," Erik gasped into Charles' shirt.
"I know. But Erik…she's gone. Using Vidmor's power…it's not seeing her again. You don't get to have that final conversation. You never will. It's not like that. You don't know what Vidmor's power could bring up – you don't know what you might see or hear. Erik, it could destroy you."
"It's too late for that," he whispered. "I'm already destroyed, Charles. I was long ago."