I do not own the characters. They belong to Marvel.
Erik Dreams and Charles Makes Tea
About a week and a half into what Charles refers to as "understanding and expanding one's mutant abilities" and what Raven calls "the totally cliché but somehow also kick-ass training montage in every war movie" Charles starts getting pulled into Erik's dreams.
The fact that Erik is dreaming at all is in itself unusual because, as Charles has discovered, Erik doesn't actually sleep all that much. He's already up and jogging by the time Charles rolls out of bed and stays up working hours after Charles retires in the evenings. On the handful of occasions when Charles wakes up in the middle of the night, he sees the light on in Erik's room and the kids report that when they sneak downstairs for a snack in the early hours of the morning, he's usually sitting at the kitchen table nursing a cup of coffee. If it were anyone else, Charles would be concerned but Erik has made it perfectly clear that he can take care of himself so Charles doesn't worry or wonder about what keeps him awake at night. Now he wishes he had.
At first all Charles gets are impressions. Freezing mud underfoot; curling barbed wire; snarling dogs; ashes falling like snowflakes from a gunmetal-gray sky. He can pull himself out of them rather easily and while he thinks about bringing the matter up over breakfast one morning, last night's dream (the sting of a needle inking a blue number onto a pale forearm) still fresh in his mind, he decides against it. Erik, he reasons, has survived for many years without Charles' interference and would probably take offence to the idea that he is troubled by a few dreams.
His attitude changes three nights later when he is abruptly pulled from a sound sleep into Erik's unconscious mind. This time the dream is fully realized, the scene sharp and detailed and Charles takes a moment to wonder where he is.
He is standing in a small flat with peeling paint and grimy windows. There are three cots pushed into the corner and a chest of draws up against the far wall. Along the wall nearest to Charles are six people. An older couple on the far end lean on each other. Next to them stand a middle-aged man and woman, a small girl of about six, and a lanky boy who looks to be about twelve. When he looks closer, Charles realizes that the boy is Erik; smaller and skinnier of course, but with the same challenging gaze and impudent set to his shoulders.
Charles spins around when the door opens and two uniformed, heavily armed men enter. They take up positions across from Erik and what Charles assumes are his family and raise their weapons. The rest of the family cowers; the little girl moving closer to Erik, her fingers reaching out to grasp his sleeve, but Erik does not even acknowledge the soldiers. He stares at the still open door intently like he is waiting for someone and his expression makes Charles wonder just how many times he's had this dream. After a tense moment there is a sound of shuffling footsteps and a man crosses the threshold. Charles recognizes him a split second before Erik's mind whispersFührer. He crosses the room to stand in front of the elderly couple, removes a pistol from his belt, calmly checks the chamber, and shoots the man and woman in the head. Charles is rooted to the spot with horror and disbelief as Hitler moves left, the gun cracking in quick succession as he executes Erik's mother, father, and younger sister.
When he reaches Erik he pauses. The boy stares back, unblinking as Hitler raises the pistol and squeezes the trigger. The gun clicks. Then again. After the third failed attempt, Erik helpfully remarks, "You're out of bullets."
The Führer smiles, pats Erik on the head and replies, "Do not worry child. I have more." He reaches into his overcoat and removes a second clip. He loads the gun, levels it at Erik and says, "I have enough for all of you." This time, the pistol does its job.