AU: Because Charles and Erik need to stay friends to please the fan girls. Don't like, don't read. Erik/Charles Friendship, Slight Erik/Raven
Summary:The events on the beach turn out just differently enough for Erik to come home with the mutants. However, they soon find out that Erik wasn't Frankenstein's only monster.
Disclaimer:I own nothing, just whatever characters I might make and introduce later. And this particular plotline. Everything else belongs to someone with way more imagination than me.
"Whoever fights with monsters should see to it that he does not become a monster in the process.
And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you."~ Nietzsche
"You're cheating!" Raven exclaimed as Charles once again locked her king in a checkmate. "You're totally cheating!"
"He doesn't need to cheat to beat you," a voice from behind responded. The two looked up to see Erik standing in the doorway, watching with amusement. "You're just rubbish at chess."
Raven blushed and averted her eyes, as she always did now when Erik was in the room. Charles had noticed it more and more since they had returned from Cuba, although he refrained from commenting. His relationship with his sister, and Erik, was still strained. He had come so close to losing them both that he did not want to do or say anything to endanger the peace they had now.
"Erik's right," Charles said, cutting through the awkward silence that had descended in the room. "You are particularly bad at chess. I don't understand why you keep challenging me."
"Because one day I will beat you," Raven answered smugly, crossing her arms across her chest, "And prove that the great Charles Xavier is not perfect."
Erik laughed, "I would like to see that."
Raven looked towards the ground once more, unable to maintain eye contact with Erik. "I…umm…I'm going to go to bed. Goodnight you two." She patted Charles on the shoulder and shot a fleeting smile at Erik before turning towards walking towards the door.
Erik fell into her vacated seat without another glance at the door. "She really is awful at chess," he remarked, looking at the board.
"Erik," Charles cautioned.
"What?" His friend answered theatrically, "It's a schoolgirl crush, nothing more."
"And you encourage it," sighed Charles. "I just don't want to see her get hurt."
Erik sighed, "She's not a child anymore, Charles. She can make her own decisions"
"I'm not saying she can't," Charles answered, "I'm saying she can still get hurt. And I would like very much for that not to happen."
Erik nodded silently, and Charles had to resist scanning his mind to make sure he had gotten through to him. He did not want to ostracize his friend further by invading his privacy so completely. Their friendship was still strained, though neither wanted to admit it. The topic of what had happened in Cuba had not been brought up in the three months since the incident, neither wanting to be the first to broach the subject.
Charles had seen the intense hatred and pain raging through Erik as he killed Shaw; had felt the force of Erik's revenge when he had been linked to Shaw's mind. He had felt the man die, and had been sure that he himself was going to die as well. In that instant he had been sure that he had lost his friend, and though he would not stop fighting until his last breath, he had not known if he could persuade Erik to retain the goodness that Charles saw.
But that kindness Charles had felt in Erik, the light pushing through the darkness, was strong enough to make Erik's resolve falter. He had stopped the missiles, had turned them back on the fleet. He was ready to destroy the people who were attacking him. Then Charles had intervened, throwing himself at Erik in a last ditch attempt to save the humans and his friend. Erik had the upper hand in a physical fight against Charles, who had spent his life hiding behind his mental powers. Moira had joined the fray, distracting Erik momentarily by opening fire on him. It had been a minor annoyance, just enough to break his concentration on the missiles, but not enough to harm him. He had easily deflected the hail of bullets and had advanced on Moira, intent on ending the human. A yell stopped him in his tracks. It wasn't anger or fear, but so much more powerful. A scream of pure pain and betrayal echoed across the beach as one of the deflected bullets found a new target: Charles. Everything had faded away as Erik rushed to his friend's side; forgetting Moira, the missiles, and everyone else on the beach. The sound evoked memories of a little boy with the same heart wrenching yell who had watched his own mother be murdered by a madman. In a few short minutes, Erik had become that madman, injuring a friend and turning an arsenal of weapons on a fleet of humans. The moment he had taken the murderer's helmet, he had become that monster, the same one he had devoted his life to killing.
Carefully he had pulled the bullet from the wound, trying to see the damage. He wanted to explain, but his tongue stuck in his throat, muting him. Instead, he did the only thing he could think of, the only act of repentance available in that instant. Fighting back tears, he pulled the helmet from his head, once again opening his mind to the telepath.
Charles had been unable to block the thoughts that bombarded him. The pain of his injury had cut through the walls he placed to keep thoughts out, leaving his mind open to everything around him. And in that moment he had seen remorse and regret stronger than anything he had ever known. The feelings overwhelmed his hatred and anger, pushing all of the dark thoughts to the background. Maybe Charles had been wrong. Maybe he hadn't completely lost his friend.
Erik still felt rage and hatred coursing through him at times. It was weaker now, but it frightened him. He knew without a doubt that without Charles, those dark feelings would have long ago overtaken him, and he was intensely grateful. And while he saw something in Raven that could one day grow into more than friendship, he knew he could not take the chance of hurting his friend's sister.
"It's been a long day," Charles said after a few minutes of silence. "I'm going to turn in."
Erik nodded again, not looking up as Charles left the room. He wondered how long it would remain this tense between them. He blamed himself for so much that had happened in Cub. He knew that Charles had been linked to Shaw when Erik had killed the man, and it had had more of an impact on the telepath than he was letting on. There was something new in the young man's eyes, a haunted look that scared Erik. Charles and the others had come very close to losing what Erik had lost as a child. Shaw had pushed them all to the brink, almost turned them on each other and brought about an animalistic rage in some of them. Had it not been for Charles, they probably would have destroyed each other along with the American and Soviet fleets. Charles was the rock that kept everyone grounded, without him they weren't strong enough to hold their rag-tag bunch of mutants together. Erik knew that he was avoiding the subject of Cuba because he was afraid that any mention of it would drive Erik away, but Erik had already decided that he would not go down that path again. He knew now what he had to lose, and the thought was too painful to bear.
xXx
Charles passed the door to his room, not wanting to resign himself to bed just yet. The night was warm, and he needed the fresh air to clear his head. Living with five mutants was tiresome at times, all of their thoughts bombarding him, trying to break through his barriers. He welcomed it though. It reminded him that they were still together. And if they could stay together, then maybe there was hope. It was a small step, but that teamwork could lead to much more widespread cooperation and maybe even toleration by humans one day.
It was bright outside. The moon was full and the sky was clear, giving plenty of light to see by. Charles walked the path from the doorway to the gardens, breathing in the cool fresh air and allowing it to wash away the thoughts of the day. If he reached out his mind just a little, he could feel Raven, Alex, Sean, Beast, and Erik all inside, four of the five sleeping. But just their presence, not their thoughts. It was the closest he could ever be to alone.
The garden was still well kept, a gardener coming out once a week to care for his parent's estate, and the pathway was pristine. It led to a bench directly in the center of the foliage, surrounded by rosebushes and ivy.
Charles sat down, letting the night air clear his mind and relax him. His mind relaxed, all of the barriers he put up to keep out unwanted thoughts coming down. All thoughts of Cuba, Erik, Raven, and Shaw dropped away, leaving a sense of peace. It had taken weeks to master the ability to just be, to let everything else go, but it was worth it. He relished the short moments he could have to himself. He began to nod off, slumping a little as the full exhaustion of the day hit him. He contemplated staying outside, sleeping in the garden, but thought better of it. If Raven or anyone stopped into his room to wake him up and he was not there, it would probably cause mass panic.
Before he could push himself off of the bench, he felt another presence, not unlike Emma Frost's. Unlike Ms. Frost's, however, this one did not block his thoughts. Instead it invaded the mind he had so carelessly left unprotected; overwhelming every part of his head until he was not sure where his mind ended and the other's began.
Don't fight it, Charles, the mind said, pushing the thought throughout his mind, it is hopeless. You can't win against me.
Charles struggled briefly, but the mind had caught him off guard, and was at least as strong as his. Within moments, he succumbed to the voice. It willed him to sleep, forcing his eyes closed and his mind into unconsciousness.
A/N: I'm a huge fan of cliffies...just fyi :P Please review so I know whether or not to continue, and I'll write faster :)
