A/N: Not much graphic slash here, really, so if you're looking for p0rn you won't find it in this story (mainly because I can't write it). Yeah but it is slashy. Some fluff and some angst. There will be two chapters, and second one will have even more angst.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, only my fantasy~

A night

Charles Xavier woke up in the middle of the night. Insomnia was a common thing for him, and then, even if lack of sleep made him all tired and nervous in the morning, he liked to just stand by the window and take care of all people dreaming in his house at the moment. Moon was shining with its cold light, and there was a peaceful silence over the grassy fields outside. This view reminded him of fairy tales, which he used to read over and over again when he was a child: about good fairies and magicians who used their spells or played music, or sometimes just watched sleeping orphans carefully – all of these to create most wonderful dreams and chase the nightmares away.

Tonight, after long afternoon of training, most of his friends didn't have any dreams at all. Only Mystique was troubled with some very twisted surrealistic love-story; Charles wanted to help her with an artificial "injection" of warm feelings, but decided it would be better to ignore her as her dream revealed very personal feelings towards two of his fellow mutants. He didn't want to be nosy, really.

And then Charles felt, that the obligatory hard moments of this night are close. Something like a shower of awful emotions, leaving him trembling and painful, like diving in water too cold and too hot at the same time. Shouts and anger; refined and rough tortures; an overwhelming desire to make someone suffer; the deepest despair Charles could imagine. And above all of it, the fear. Unmistakeable fear of losing the only important person in someone's life.

These were the nightmares of Erik Lensherr.

Charles was scared by them every night, they left him exhausted and vulnerable. He could escape it very easily, if he only avoided getting close to Erik's mind. But for some reason he wouldn't do that, on the contrary - he would go through the same pain again and again, trying to look normal at Erik in the morning, not doing anything to change the situation. The other thing that scared him was an effect, that the mere presence of Erik had on him: only extraordinary mental abilities prevented Charles from doing something really stupid – making overdramatic scenes or just, well, showing his feelings. And he had a lot of them.

This night, however, he decided that the times are changing, and not only in the world of great politics. After the nightmare reached its climax – a particulary long scene with tragically skinny people digging graves and then a hospital and a German doctor, not Shaw this time, but another doctor with young handsome face (Charles knew, that he was the infamous Angel of Death, Josef Mengele) and a gap between his front teeth and his wide grin and then fragile hands of little Erik trying to fight against metal medical tools, so much unruly metal, why Erik is so helpless – Charles did his best to focus and recalled a pleasant memory of Raven's funny tricks, when she would mimic famous actors or politicians. He remembered how the adult Erik chuckled at this display, his slender palms covering his smile.

Abruptly the dream finished. Charles realised that Erik is awaken, and immediately imagined him rubbing his eyes, flushed, breathing fast, tangled in white sheets, reaching for a glass of water with shaking hands…

"What are you doing, Charles?"

Charles blinked twice. Uh-oh. He didn't expect that Erik would feel his mental presence. Well, maybe he was too, erm, intensive with these thoughs about blushing ears, cheeks and neck, blushing… and the startled gaze of bright eyes, which…

"Charles, stop it. Don't think I can't feel it. I don't understand, what you are trying to say, but for some reason I feel really weird."

"I'm sorry" – after several deep breaths he was finally able to send a proper information – "I detected your nightmare and so I tried to help you… eh, to calm your mind."

"Yeah I realised. Did you see my dream?"

"N-no… Not clearly."

"Good… Please, don't try to help me again, okay?"

Charles was speechless for a while.

"But, why? I mean, you woke up –"

"That doesn't mean I have forgotten."

There was another moment of silence, and then a blank mental message from Erik:

"Good night, Charles. See you at breakfast."

"No! Wait! I insist, Erik, that you should come here and talk with me and –"

"I would like it more if you came to my room."

"Okay", responded Charles after quick consideration, "okay. Expect me in two minutes."

XXX

A silent walk through empty corridors helped Charles regain control over his emotions. When Erik opened the door of his room, he saw an elegant man in a light sweater and carefully ironed trousers; perfect hairstyle, faint smile on his lips: professor Xavier.

Erik himself was wearing pyjama shorts, which were rather too big for him, and a black unbuttoned shirt. Charles tried very hard to avoid blushing. He failed.

"Hello, Erik…"

"Um, hi, Charles, please– please come in" said Erik, his voice much more trembling than earlier in professor's mind. "Would you like some water?"

"Yes, thank you…" – Charles observed Erik's hands, which were shaking when he brought an additional glass from the bathroom. These appeared to be really fine hands, strong, with long fingers; yet Charles had an impression that they were powerless, as Erik moved them slowly and absent-mindedly over table's surface.

So professor grabbed Erik's hand and asked quickly, "Why don't you want me to help you, my friend?"

"I want you to help me" – Erik gently squeezed Charles' fingers – "but not with my nightmares. These memories are now a part of me."

It was hard for Charles to just listen, while Erik was standing in front of him, so tormented, so tired, so beautiful. "In a perfect world everyone would love his beauty, like I do" he thought, carefully and silently, so Erik couldn't see even a slightest change in his face expression. Well, maybe Charles' hand touch got a little warmer - but Erik spoke further and his voice was louder than before.

"I wish you would finally understand, that mutants and humans won't live in peace forever. One day, when there will be no reason to cooperate with us, their governments will spread propaganda of hate and fear. I've already seen this before and I know, how it looks like… when you're an outcast. But I am not a helpless boy anymore and I will be even stronger, ready for these hard times to come. Then you'll have to help me with your talent and intelligence, and I will protect you."

"I don't need protection" said Charles, looking sharply with his blue eyes into Erik's steely ones, their pupils extremely wide in the poor light.

"Yes, you do" whispered Erik and, closing swifly the distance between them, kissed him on the lips.

This was just too much for Charles – feeling Erik's mouth on his own, Erik's hand embracing him, the other one stroking his hair – and he leaned into the kiss, making it much more sensual than Erik intended to.

"I will never let you go" he muttered desperately as Erik stopped kissing him just to take a breath.

Erik smiled, with his heart-melting smile, and said (before Charles managed to kiss him again) "Just don't make me leave you. And I think you should stop saying this lovely words, and looking at me this way, and t-touching… because I'm so not used to such happiness… that it may actually hurt me –"

"So prepare to be killed by happiness" laughed Charles, leading Erik to his unmade bed, completely smitten by his unexpected clumsiness. He wanted to shower his friend with pleasure and love, all these feelings that would make him forget long hours of nightmares and make his dreams come true (even the weirdest – Charles blushed as he explored them in Erik's mind). "Here is my fairy tale" he thought with a bittersweet irony, maybe a little too loud, because Erik chuckled and unzipped Charles' trousers and then it was just sweetness and sweat, no bitter memories, and actually no thinking at all –