The Difference Between Magneto and Erik
Title: The Difference Between Magneto and Erik
Verse: X-Men movieverse
Timeline: During X1 and X3
Author: AngelofSnow, KumaDaPuma
Pairing: Magneto/Mystique
Rating: T – angst (is that T or K or what?)
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters and I am not making any money off of this.
Summary: Mystique's thoughts and memories after Magneto abandons her lying on the floor of the truck in X3.
Dedication: To AngelofSnow. There is no doubt about it that without your amazing ability to write one of the best stories I've ever read I would not have been inspired to write again nor would I have the bravery to post it for all to review. I'll follow in your footsteps but it will be a challenge just to keep up.
Her fondest memory of him had been the day he went to D.C. to listen in on one of the Senate committee's many assemblies regarding the current mutant "problem." Early that day Mystique headed towards Erik's office with notice that Toad had his helicopter ready for his departure. She walked through the cavernous metallic lair approaching his office and entering to find he was not there. She assumed the only other place Erik most likely was would be in his room. Though the island was small compared to island standards it was still large enough to make a walk back to his room a lengthy one. She almost headed back in the direction she came when something draped over his silver metallic chair caught her eye. Oddly enough the sight of his black coat hanging lifeless on the chair at his desk presented Mystique a random feeling of desire she had completely not expected.
For months now Mystique had finally begun to acknowledge that her affection for Erik was increasingly shifting into a much deeper feeling than just simple friendship. Although he was at least fifteen years older than she, Mystique still felt her heart captivated by the cruelly handsome, distinguished leader. Even though the word evil had been used more than once to describe his character he was still congenial and a true gentleman. Unfortunately, his desire for mutant freedom had heightened over the past few months when the Anti-Mutant Registration Act was announced in Congress. The Act had fueled his energy and motivated him to build a machine, which had yet to be tested. Watching him focus his energy on his plans was mesmerizing. Everything he did, everything he said, every wave of his hand was thrilling. As he toiled in his lab and worked out advanced physics problems and finally began building the metallic machine, Mystique watched him intensely, intrigued by his genius. It was like watching an artist paint. He would raise his hand slightly towards the sky and whole oceans of pure metal would move at his command. Erik was truly amazing. He could build lairs on remote islands, he could change the magnetic fields of the earth, he could tumble skyscrapers with a single thought. Unbeknownst to Erik, he was even able to capture the heart of the most emotionally isolated of mutants.
Mystique had finally admitted to herself that she was falling in love with Erik but since then her life had taken a cruel turn. Because she was aware of his disapproval of anything that would hinder the Brotherhoods plans for mutant freedom she never allowed herself to act on her emotions for Erik even though her whole body ached to be touched by him. She knew full well he would see her love for him as an insidious emotional cancer that should be instantly discarded or face expulsion from the Brotherhood. He wanted nothing to obstruct his plans and love, although flattering, was more than a minor obstruction. At present Erik had too much on his mind to be bothered with love.
For now Mystique couldn't take her eyes off the coat that hung over the side of the chair. Hesitantly she made her way towards his desk, her heart's pace quickening as she approached the object she desired. Her hands grabbed the surprisingly soft material and she picked it up and held it up in front of her, surprised by the weightiness of both the coat and its representation. For a moment she looked over the auspicious coat, analyzing the details of the cotton, the crimson color of the red silk lining. She had been fighting the urge to put it on. It wasn't her coat and she had no business wearing it but her deep desire to be enveloped by the same fabric that had the luxury of enveloping the man she wanted was much too tempting. She gracefully slipped her arms into his coat and immediately felt her heart begin to beat with the exhilaration of how close this made her feel to Erik. It was obviously too big for her. It was so large that it swallowed her body in a mass of black fabric but she loved how the red silk felt cool and soft to her bare blue skin and wearing his jacket made her realize how big Erik was. She now intimately knew the lengths of his arms, the width of his waist, the broadness of his shoulders. The end of the coat touched her toes; she had no idea he was as tall as he was. Uncharacteristically, she laughed aloud at how she figured she must look ridiculous in this oversized coat but suddenly her attention swiftly focused on the undeniable surge of yearning brought on by the faint smell of his aftershave imbedded in the material. She wrapped the coat tightly around herself, the collar now covering her nose as she breathed in deeply his scent. She closed her eyes and breathed in again, allowing her senses to be flooded by the touch of cool silk and the essence of his cologne.
"I'm not so sure that is a good fit for you, my dear." His rich baritone startled her out of her dreams. She looked in the direction of the voice and saw Erik dressed in a black suit and red tie, obviously on his way to a formal event. He did not have the look of anger she thought he would have but instead beheld an amused grin at seeing her in his clothes. "If you wanted a coat of your own I would have certainly provided one for you." He added with a charismatic smile. He held out his hand, silently asking for her to take it off. His smile never faded but lingered on his lips with pure delight. She was glad for once that she had indigo skin because she was sure she would have been bright red over her severe embarrassment at having been caught. Slowly and wordlessly she slipped the jacket off her shoulders. As she did so she was aware of how the exposure of her body to him unanticipatedly felt like a sensual act. For the first time in a long time she felt naked. She handed it to him and he put it on. An odd jealousy of that coat captured her sensations. Erik then took the black fedora she hadn't noticed on his desk and placed it atop his head. His silver hair peeked out from underneath it giving him a distinguished yet charming attractiveness about him.
"How do I look?" He asked her as he held his arms out. She looked him over and smiled.
"Human." His smile faded slightly.
"Why do you feel the need to taunt me?" He checked his pockets, pulling out his leather Gucci gloves in assurance that he had not forgotten them and then slipped them back into the pocket. "I think that's everything. I'll be gone for a few days Mystique. Please don't go through my closet." He said giving his teasing smile that made her legs weak. She shook her head at his slightly mocking tone.
"Why do you feel the need to taunt me?" She mimicked in his voice turning her head away from him with fake contempt. He must have been in a good mood because he laughed and came to her with an apologetic attitude.
"Forgive me, Mystique, but the sight of you in my coat has brought an amusement in the empty weeks of building that colossal machine." He brought his hands to her arms, holding her out to him like she had done to his coat earlier. She got the sense he was analyzing her just as she had done. She hoped he found as much pleasure in her as she did his coat. Briefly their eyes locked and for a moment Mystiques heart soared in what looked like a flash of desire in his gaze. But then Erik dropped his eyes to the floor and he softly cleared his throat. Sheer disappointment inundated her to the point where she just wanted to leave and chastise herself for thinking he might have wanted the same thing she did. After a hesitant departure, Mystique walked past him to leave his office but he caught her wrist while she was not looking. She turned to him in mild surprise but faced him with a questioning look.
"Mystique, take care." He said covering her hand with both of his. "You are my most loyal friend. The Brotherhood would not be the same if something were to happen to you." In a gesture of sincerity, Erik raised her hand to his lips and he kissed the inside of her wrist. The erotic sting of his lips to her skin left a burning sensation imprinted on her membranes. The fire he left on her skin traveled through her veins and boiled her blood with sexual desire. Mystique didn't know what to say to him. He slowly let her hand drop to her side. Her heart was burning for him and she ached to kiss his lips and allow the same fire to be implanted on her mouth. Instead, she recovered then nodded at him with obedience. Gathering her rational she walked away from him, still feeling the desire but not being able to put it to rest.
Lying on the hard floor of her recent prison, the memory of that day had unconsciously entered Mystique's mind. As the Cure transformed her azure scales back to the fragile, pale human skin of Raven Darkholme, Mystique cursed her fate. She wanted to be Mystique, or anyone of her shape-shifted forms, anyone other than Raven Darkholme. She hated the way her human skin chilled at the cold floor of her moving prison. She despised the way her brown hair fell in front her eyes. She missed the easy care of her ruby red mane, plated sleekly to her head; it had never blocked her vision. She cradled her naked body, shielding herself as best she could, from the unfeeling stare of the man she knew as so many things. He was her commander, her friend, the object of her unrequited affection, and currently her arbitrator.
With trepidation Mystique moved her hair out of her eyes to see the shiny black leather of his steel toed military boots only inches from her face. She raised her gaze slowly remembering how much she loved his long, lean legs. She looked higher passing his long-fingered hands on her way to his toned chest and his broad shoulders. She slowed down to study his distinguished face with thin lips that so often had praised her in moments of triumph. Gone was their warm, wry smile; it had been replaced with a hard unyielding line. She knew by heart every wrinkle on his cheeks; and loved him all the more for each of them. It hadn't been so long ago she had held one in her hand with tenderness.
His eyes, the twin sky blue orbs, above his aristocratic nose, had always been her favorite part of him. She could have spent forever staring deeply into them to see the affection he expressed wordlessly with their approving glance. What had once been surprise at both her willingness to protect him and her sudden transformation now had bleeded out to frosty, emotionless entities Mystique could not rectify with their owner. He had never been this cold to her. He had never looked so inhumanly cruel before.
He stood before her not as Erik but as Magneto, his caped glory towering over her small floor ridden frame. His cold stare was hard for her to bear but she could not look away from him. She looked intensely into his eyes, searching for that glimmer of affection he had once shed so easily for her but finding only traces of mixed emotions. This was not the Erik she was in love with looking down on her but rather the calculating Magneto whose ultimate decision would be her fate. She could tell he was having difficulty accepting her current state. His eyebrows twitched slightly in anger and frustration and she just knew he was thinking what he should do with her now that her humanity had shattered what had once been their cause but presently disincluded her from the Brotherhood. Slowly and without breaking his cold stare he shook his head with angry sorrow.
"Such a pity…you were so beautiful." He said quietly and with an air of extreme disappointment. With what seemed like every ounce of his strength Magneto turned his back on her and began to walk away. At first she lay silent in a fit of disbelief, betrayal and intense forlorn as she watched his powerful form distancing himself from her. He had once said the Brotherhood would not be the same without her. He had implied she was the Brotherhoods greatest asset. She was his best friend. Why was he leaving her?
"Erik! No! Erik, don't leave me!" Mystique called out to him. She saw his step quicken as she continued to plead his name. Magneto's cape fluttered violently as he marched towards the back of the truck but she refused to believe he would consciously abandon her like this. The further he got the more disheartening she grew until her unaccustomed inward emotions overwhelmed her and for the first time in years she began to panic. She screamed his name, her heart starting to rupture under the weight of her intense longing for him and his abrasive cruelty to her. He never looked back. He had stalked out, his minions silently turning to follow their leader. She was alone now, her naked body trembling intensely by her tragic sobs. What had happened? Everything had turned cold so suddenly. The floor beneath her lay cold, her body shook with cold, his eyes had been so cold… The only warmth provided to her was the streams of involuntary tears that flowed profusely to the floor.
Co –Author's note: The scene in X3 where Magneto leaves Mystique was contemptible and completely out of Erik's or Magneto's character. It was a hurried scene that was bereft of any true emotion and whoever wrote the scene needs to be shot. But, if this is how the scene HAS to remain then at least I can provide a little justification, albeit a small one.
Many thanks to AngelofSnow who provided most of the X3 literature. This was a blatant case of plagiarism on my part. It's a good thing our writing styles are similar because everything I added seemed to blend in with what you had started.