My first Charles/Erik fan fiction. I've had an itch for days to write something about them, so here's what I came up with. I'd love to know what you think. If I get any good feedback, I'll continue with it. The rating might change depending on where I go with it. Happy Reading~

Hypnotic & Magnetic

Chapter 1 – The Midnight Meeting

Thunder clapped loudly outside the mansion. Erik awoke with a start and jerked up in bed, head spinning, beads of sweat on his brow. He had never liked thunder storms; they reminded him far too much of the concentration camps those many years ago, which made him think of things he put so much effort into forgetting. Though it seemed like a long time ago, Erik could recall a time when he used to enjoy thunder. He would lay awake with his mother as she lulled him off to sleep, promising that it was nothing all to be worried about.

Mother…

Erik exhaled deeply. She was the reason he was here, in more than one sense. Of course, being his mother, she had bore him into this world, but it was her death, her murder, that made Erik the man he was. That event, her murderer, made Erik a monster. A killer.

Yes, Erik had killed people to get where he was. But he felt it was worth the cause. Avenging his mother was all that he needed to do now. She had been his light, his shining ray of hope for all his life, and he watched, helplessly, as she was torn from his world in a violent display of ignorance. He could still see the triumphant look on Shaw's face, beaming at him over his half-moon specials while he manipulated the metal objects in his office. He hadn't even cared that Erik murdered two soldiers as long as it meant results and progress.

And so, pain became Erik's only company from that point on. Pain was the only thing that let him know he was still alive, that he could still get the revenge that he so rightfully deserved. Killing the killer was the only way to bring himself peace.

Exasperated about being woken up, yet unable to calm himself enough to go back to sleep just yet, Erik unburdened himself of the blankets that clung to his body and sat at the edge of the bed. He ran his hands through his tousled hair and resolved to calm his nerves in the mansion's vast library. It was late, he reasoned, and nobody would be in there at this hour. Besides, he didn't want to stay in his room in bed. A bed prompted sleep, and he didn't want to sleep. He didn't want to dream.

His dreams always took him to terrible places from his past. There were so many things in Erik's head that nobody could understand. He had been through a pain so great, and was still going through it. His world was basically a living hell, and dreaming only brought down those walls he'd put up in his head to keep the memories at bay. Yet for some reason this new telepath friend of his, whose house he now found himself in, was convinced that there was something he could do to save Erik from his torment.

Erik stood up, frustrated, and made his way into the hallway and to the library. It was dark, but he didn't need to see to know where he was going. He simply felt around, sensing the metal around him (nails in the floorboard, handles on doors, and the like). It irked him to know that this young telepath, as spoiled as he was, could simply come into his life, prod around his brain (without consent, thank you very much), and declare that his problems could be solved. Erik had always been a lone wolf, and he didn't think it needed to be any other way.

What's more, Erik found himself even more irritated at the fact that he almost didn't mind the telepath wanting to help. He had some sort of charm, some grace, to him that Erik couldn't turn away from. And to think that he had elected to stay with this stranger on his own accord… Well, he was simply bewildered at the gravity with which this man seemed to pull him in. And why? Erik had no idea. These feelings, he supposed that's what they were, were all very foreign to him…

Shaking the thoughts out of his head, Erik dismissed the confusing thoughts. Though he had only been in the mansion with the others a couple of days, Erik knew the basic layout of the place and found himself at the library doors in no time. He stopped in his tracks, however, and stared along the bottom of the door where a light was shining through.

With his head cocked to one side and his eyebrows creased in bemusement, Erik reached forward and slowly turned the metal doorknob without touching it. Somebody was already in there.

It had been raining most of the afternoon, and it couldn't have been any earlier than midnight when the thunder started. Charles, however, didn't take any notice as he sat in the library reading one of the many books that the library had to offer.

He always had a bad habit of wandering the house when he couldn't sleep, which was almost every night due to his insomnia, and he usually ended up in the library where he would sit and read the rest of the night away, occasionally falling asleep until morning. Tonight was no exception. Normally, being a telepath and all, his mind simply wouldn't let go of the worries from his day, or else it would be ringing with the thoughts of others as it drifted beyond his control. What was different about tonight, however, was what was keeping him up.

Erik…

Erik Lensherr was a very unexpected presence in Charles' life, to say the least, and the perplexity of the man intrigued Charles to no end. His mind was like a maze within a safe, which was also in a maze, wherein lay countless more safes. Charles had only scratched the surface of Erik's mind, his secrets, yet the raw emotion that he felt thus far kept him wanting more. Charles had always been one for puzzles and things of that nature, and under that context Erik was the most complex puzzle he'd ever come across.

Charles' eyes moved along the page of his book, not hesitating as he used one of his hands to pull the blanket more snuggly around himself. He smirked at the idea of thinking of Erik as an inanimate object, a puzzle to be solved. Erik was much more than that, though Charles wasn't quite sure if he knew the magnitude of what "much more" meant yet. He certainly fancied Erik for all of his complexities and his depth, but there was something else that drew Charles in.

For a moment, his mind wandered to the instance when he met Erik outside of the base in the middle of the night to stop him from leaving. Though frantic in his efforts, Charles remained calm the entire time. He had desperately wanted the man to stay with him, to accept the help he was offering, but at the same time he didn't want to force anything on him. It was always a game of balance with Erik, and a tricky game it was. It was Erik's own desperation, his drive and the similarities that the two men shared, that made Charles cling to him in the way that he did. They both had that drive, the need to be a part of something more.

Yet when Charles locked eyes with Erik that night, he sensed that there was something more between the two of them. Whether it was real or imagined, he felt that Erik wanted more than anything to stay, too. They needed each other.

Charles sighed heavily and closed the book, letting it fall into his lap. This really wasn't the time to be wondering about Erik in that sort of way, he reasoned. There was a war coming, and confused feelings would only get in the way. He blushed. And who's to say there are 'feelings' anyway? Charles asked himself, frustrated at this unfamiliar sense of not knowing. He was used to knowing what others felt, sometimes before they knew it themselves; but he promised Erik he wouldn't read his mind like that, without permission.

He had never felt like this for anybody, not to mention another man. The thought made him a little uneasy. They thought too differently. There was no way Erik could feel this way back, not after what he had been put through all his life. Charles had seen glimpses, and it didn't seem like he'd trust anybody for a long time, if ever.

"He doesn't trust you. You barely know him," Charles spat at the empty room. His shoulders were slumped and his cheeks were flushed. Not knowing what to do was beyond maddening.

Suddenly, and to Charles' great surprise and dismay, the library door opened. Who else would be up at that ungodly hour? He knew he looked flustered beyond a doubt, and he hoped with all his might that it wasn't Raven who had come calling. Or even worse… Charles reached out to the intruder with his mind and felt a strange mixture of panic and relief flood over him.

"Good evening, Erik," Charles said quietly to the burly figure in the doorway.