Shadowside Chapter 1, a x-men: the movie fanfic

TITLE: Shadowside
AUTHORs: Macx and elfin
SERIES: Shadowside
DISCLAIMER: None of the characters belong to us, sadly. They are owned by people with a lot more money :)
FEEDBACK: Loved

Authors' notes: Shadowside is set in the parallel reality described in Macx's Surrender to Hope. You should read that to understand at least the basics. Basically the movie happened, but while Charles was shot at the beach, he wasn't paralyzed. It was the moment the realities differed and this alternate/parallel world came into existence.

Dr. Cecilia Reyes is not an OC. She is a canon Marvel character used in X-Men. She has no codename.

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It was a dump. Well, not completely, but he had been in smaller towns that had been more inviting than this one. No one had laid hand on any of the main street buildings for a long time. It showed in peeling plaster and old brick. With a little bit of paint and sweat this would probably look like some cozy mid-west town, but now it was nothing but a dusty place Charles had insisted they make a stop-over.

Erik got out of the car, stretching. His muscles felt knotted from driving for such a long time and he was actually glad to get some rest, but here?

"Really?" he said, raising his brows at his companion.

Charles shrugged. "It's better than the last one."

Which, sadly, was true. The last town had consisted of five houses, an ancient church, a graveyard that looked like no one had dared die here for a very long time, and an abandoned gas station.

Charles looked around, then nodded at the lonely diner. He was dressed in a woolen suit jacket, a grayish-blue kind of thing, over jeans and a light blue shirt. The top buttons were undone. He looked like a professor on a roadtrip; which was actually true. Erik had opted for casual black pants, a black shirt, and his well-worn leather jacket.

They had coffee in the diner and from the look of things, not many people came through.

"Not since they built the new highway," the waitress answered their question. "Not like there's a lot to see. And with the whole ghost stories…"

She shrugged.

Charles perked up. "Ghosts?"

She laughed, a dry, humorless laugh. "You know. Abandoned house, ghostly sightings, noises at night. No wonder people leave. It's not like it was before. Soon this place will look like Happy Bay, a few miles back. You passed through it."

Charles nodded, clearly interested in the ghost stuff. Erik rolled his eyes and dug into his food, which was surprisingly good. Then again, he had never been someone to turn down food of any kind; to survive you ate what you had to. He had never developed a taste for finer things.

"Not every urban legend is a mutant, Charles," he told his partner when they were on their way again two hours later, tank full of gas, stomachs full of food, and Erik feeling more awake.

"But some are," the telepath argued.

"We're not even close to the coordinates."

Charles fell silent, gazing at the monotonous landscape passing by outside. The plan had been to fly from New York, but things hadn't worked out that way. Sure, they had flown, but the plane had had to make a detour because of the weather and land two hundred miles from their designated airport. Apologies had been uttered and Charles had managed to procure them a car. Paid by the airline.

Erik had grinned like a madman, despite his lover's reassurances that he hadn't influenced the airline representative in any way.

Now they were in the middle of nowhere, heading for 'end of the world'. Normally he went out with his team to check matters, but Charles had insisted to come along this time. And who was he deny his lover that? Part of him was happy to have the other man along, liked the closeness, the warmth of just being with Charles. It was a reminder of their first recruitment trip, a time when he had yet to figure out that this man meant more to him than revenge and hatred and Sebastian Shaw.

Blue eyes looked at him and Charles smiled. Damn the man for being so receptive! And damn himself for broadcasting!

"You're not," Charles said quietly.

"But you're peeking."

"Not really, no."

Erik sighed and just about caught the sign that told him to take the next road to their left, heading for the mountain road. In about three hours they should be close to the Canadian border where Charles had said he had found another mutant he wanted to talk to. A strong signal, he argued.

In the middle of nowhere, take a right at the last sign, drop off the planet.

Erik felt something move away from him, like sliding out of his immediate reach, and he quickly grabbed Charles' left wrist with his right hand, squeezing.

::No:: he sent strongly.

It got him a confused look.

"I didn't say I mind," he clarified. ::You being close::

The telepath brightened a little, but there was still a guarded expression Erik didn't like. He stopped the car and turned to look at the other man.

"I don't mind, Charles," he reiterated slowly. "It's actually… nice."

He grimaced at the word. Nice wasn't the one he had been looking for. It was so much more than nice. Having Charles, being his anchor, it was the most trust anyone had ever placed in him. Xavier trusted him with his sanity, not just his life.

::I understand:: Charles replied quietly, a warm weight upon his mind, embracing him.

Did he?

::I do::

Erik briefly closed his eyes, fighting to stay calm, opening himself. The warmth increased, made his stomach flutter, and when he looked at Charles again, the telepath gazed back he couldn't but lean forward and catch his lips.

Reluctantly he finally let go to get them back onto the road. Charles smiled; that knowing, loving smile.

Erik forcefully ignored it, but the touch was still there. Grounding, calming, there.
And he didn't mind at all.

Shadowside Creek was bigger than Erik had expected. It was actually quite large and clearly lived from the tourists coming in winter to go skiing and the hikers in summer. There was an expensive looking hotel right in the middle of town and Charles was all for getting rooms there.

"It's your money to burn," Erik only said, but he wasn't objecting.

It didn't take them more than a gentle suggestion from one road-weary telepath to have a nice, big room, as well as reservations for two more for the rest of the team. Charles would have made it three if Blu actually did sleep in a bed.

"You really need to get him house broken one day," Erik teased when they went upstairs to inspect their lodgings.

"He prefers the outdoors."

The last time Charles had heard of Reaper, Hayes and Blu they had been stuck at the airport due to the bad weather front, and from the brief forecast they had caught in the lobby of the hotel, that weather was heading their way. It would be hours, maybe even a day or two until they could join the two men.

"So, battle plans?" Charles asked when he had dumped his bag.

Erik looked around the luxurious room and cocked an eyebrow at Charles. This was the best they could get here and it was more than he had ever been treated to in a hotel. Soft, accentuated color, a carpet you could sink into, a gigantic bathroom with a separate shower and a bathtub, the bedroom set off with another set of doors, so the main room was more like a living room, and a view of the mountains. There was even an open fire place.

"You want another room?" Xavier teased, grinning.

"No," he answered slowly. "Just checking on your sanity. This will cost a fortune."

Not that Charles couldn't afford it, but Erik was pragmatic in this. The money was better spent on food and resources than on this.

"We're off season. The rates are reasonable. And we got a discount." Charles winked.

"You're scaring me, my friend. When did you decide to walk outside the law?"

"When I got to know you."

Erik laughed and wrapped an arm around his waist, pulling Charles close. He kissed him.

"You're spoiling me, professor," he murmured.

"So, plans?" Charles asked, still grinning, looking so at ease, so relaxed, Erik wanted to do nothing more than to lock the room and show this man just how much he loved him.

"The usual. Get to know the lay-out, find the mutant, talk to him or her," Erik listed and released the smaller man from his embrace. Business first. "You know the drill as well as I do."

"With the one difference that this time I have a hard time catching a blip from this mutant now that we're so close. I know he's here. It's just…" He touched one temple with two fingers, his usual way of focusing. "It's wavering in and out. One moment I get a strong enough signal, then it's lost."

Erik frowned.

Charles closed his eyes, again pushing two fingers against his right temple, scanning. He tilted his head as if listening to something, then frowned.

"Weird," he murmured. "Strong, then hiding, then strong again. It's like… the signal splits apart, regroups, then splits again."

Erik watched him like a hawk, taking in every twitch, listening to the timbre of the words. He knew his lover by now; very well, actually. He could read more than just what he heard.

"Where?" he finally asked.

"I'm not sure."

Well, that didn't help.

Charles grimaced a little. "Sorry."

Erik shrugged. "If you could pinpoint them like a bloodhound I'd be scared."

It got him a small smile. They had been on enough such trips together for Erik to know that Charles needed to walk the area the mutant was in, looking left and right with that big brain of his, and they would find the one in question. It had always worked before. And lately he hadn't had the luxury of a telepath bloodhound. They had divided their tasks on purpose and while it might take a little longer to find the mutants, he had yet to actually lose one. He could be very persistent.

Charles grabbed a handful of his black sweater and pulled him close. ::Yes, you are. And I enjoy us being here together::

Erik chuckled, getting clear images that had nothing at all to do with the search. "I knew there was a reason you insisted on coming along."

"Because I miss you."

Ah, hell, those out of the blue remarks again! Erik felt slightly off center, looking into the liquid blue eyes that held such depth, such emotions, and he felt it through the anchor link trickling into his mind.

He leaned down, kissing the other man, enjoying the soft feeling, the hands sliding around his waist, the nearness, the warmth, the completeness.

::Won't find him this way:: he thought.

::It's late::

He laughed softly against the moist lips. Yes, it was late. And there was this hideously big and soft looking bed with its equally hideously expensive linen.

Charles grinned.

"Picked up on that, hm?"

"It was hard not to."

Erik looked at the bed again, very much aware of the ornate metal singing to him with every molecule.

Charles smiled innocently, but he was clearly aware of his thoughts.

"You really want to postpone the first exploration of this town in favor of us?"

"You really want to leave?"

Erik shuddered at the image in his mind, not clear if it had come from his lover or his own depth. Maybe both. Maybe something they both wanted.

Screw 'business first'!

::Yes::

"You really think we can leave this bed if we start something now?"

Charles chuckled. "Care to find out?"

And he pushed Erik back onto the mattress, sliding on top. The other mutant grinned at his pushy lover. One snap of his fingers locked the room's door, another pulled shut the heavy drapes that hung on ornate metal rings.

Outside a first shower came down heavily onto the mountain town.

tbc...