A/N: This is set about a month after the beach divorce. It will have mild slash (kissing, implied sex) but will not go further. This is my first time uploading to this site so feel free to message me with anything that looks out of place.

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Erik was sure of a lot of things. He was sure that mutants were superior to humans. He was sure that there would one day be a war between man and mutantkind. He was sure that Charles believed in a better future, a naive future of peace and understanding. He was sure that he and Charles could never stand, never fight, never live side by side.

What he wasn't so sure of was why he was currently feeling very hungover and lying completely naked in Charles's bed.

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As Charles woke up, he was instantly aware that he was lying on a firmer and less comfy mattress than his normal one. He cautiously opened one eye and found himself looking at faded green peeling wallpaper, rusty pipes, and a wooden door embedded with nails and screws. Pushing back his headache (had he been drinking last night?) Charles slowly reached out with his mind, only to sit up straight in shock when he couldn't sense any thoughts. Panicking, he closed his eyes and pushed out with his powers, he rarely used his telepathy to its full extent but he knew he could encompass whole cities with his mind if he wanted. Now, though, the only voice in his head was his own. Pushing back hard on his fear, Charles opened his eyes, only to yell in surprise as he saw that all the bits of metal in the room, the nails from the door, spare change from the desk, rusty pipes now dripping with water, and his bedframe were all arranged around him in a mismatched shield. He stood up, fascinated by the shield, and started to reach out a hand before realising that he could feel the metal, a bit like how he could feel minds. He took a deep breath and started trying to control the metal, but a knock on the door distracted him and the shield fell to the floor.

"Are you okay in there?" called a voice from behind the door. Charles knew that voice, knew who was about to step into the room, but he wasn't ready to see his sister. He needed to mentally prepare himself, otherwise he might start crying, and that's not something he wanted her to see.

"I'm fine," he replied, noting the deeper tone in his voice, "I'll be out soon." He sighed in relief as he heard her footsteps walk away from the door. Experimentally, he held out a hand and flexed his fingers, a shiny piece of metal flew into his grasp and he looked into it, only to see Erik looking back at him. Charles allowed himself another sigh, before snagging a phone out of the mess on the floor and dialling the number of his mansion.

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Recovering from his initial surprise, Erik reached out with his powers, searching for a clock. He hesitated when, for the first time in decades, he couldn't sense any metal. The mutant pushed even harder with his mind, then suddenly his head slammed back into his pillow as it was overwhelmed with voices, all screaming in his mind. He looked around, trying to see if Charles was nearby, somehow inflicting this mental torture, but he was alone. Desperate, he reached out towards these voices, like he would pieces of metal, and clamped down on them. His mind was instantly free of voices, but before he had time to think about the situation, then phone rang from the study next door. He walked towards the phone, failing to notice that he was a couple of inches closer to the ground, and picked it up.

"Hello..?" he half-asked, realising belatedly that he probably shouldn't have answered Charles's phone.

"Erik? Is that you?" Erik flinched a bit at the sound of his own voice speaking to him over the phone.

"Raven?" he asked, knowing only one mutant with the power of replicating his voice.

"No, it's Charles. So, I'm not sure what happened but we'll be able to sort it out. Just stay at the mansion and I'll be over soon."

Before Erik had the chance to reply to this cryptic message, Charles hung up. The confused mutant considered going back to bed, but a rumble from his stomach changed his mind. While he was at the mansion, he might as well take advantage of the large, well-stocked pantry. Erik turned around, drew up a mental map of the house, and made his way towards the kitchen.

A/N: What do you think? Should I continue?

How will Erik react to finally realising his situation? Did he accidentally kill the other residents of the mansion with his mind? (spoiler alert: he didn't) Will Charles tell the truth to Raven, or take advantage of being in Erik's body to talk to her without suspicion?