Summary: A few years after First Class a new threat is impending. Charles is being threatened and calls on to his old friend Erik to join forces with the X-men and prevent disaster. Who is behind the political unrest and what their true motives are will become apparent as the two (least convincing enemies ever) work side by side once again! Expect some pleasant surprises (paying homage to Charles' miraculous ability to walk again from time to time in the Marvel comics) and a loads of slashy adventures! Inspired heavily by a little read I had in live journal about Charles and Erik's cannon slashy relationship – (erik-charles . livejournal . com / 102698 . html ) but the plot is going to be totally original and won't feature any weird 90's flying houses through space or alien queens' scenarios. Keeping it First Class' style (hoping to make the sequel when I grow up!) Thehehhe... and did I mention slashy?

Charles goes by Prof. X, Xavier and so on. Erik goes by Magneto especially in the beginning, but he'll be called Erik more often later.

Rating: T (for now)

Major pairing: Cherik, but featuring all the rest

Genre: Action/Drama/Romance/Angst (for manpain)

Chaper 1

...

"Erik…"

A voice inside his head.

Really, Charles, I can't take off that silly helmet without you trying to invade my thoughts, the metal bender mused as he examined the repulsive grey helmet that had once belonged to the very man whom he had hated for all he was worth. Now he was forced to wear that last memorial of Shaw and that day that had shattered the only friendship he had ever established to block out the telepath concerned and the one that he had converted to his side - Emma Frost.

I told you that I don't answer to that name anymore, Magneto chided in his brain with more patience than he possessed for anyone else in the world.

"Erik…"

The tall, stormy eyed man leaning on the wall behind his bed contemplated the helmet for a split second longer before slipping it back on and shutting out the telepath.

He wasn't in the mood for this.

Somewhere on roughly the other side of the globe, Charles Xavier's fingers were pressed to his temple. The telepath's brows were seized in painful distress over his arresting blue eyes.

"This is important..." Charles sighed, sensing that he had lost Erik once again.

Charles needed to talk to the man who was still his best friend despite all that had transpired on that fateful day on the Cuban beach a few years ago.

"Please…"

Magneto had his ways of staying informed and as soon as he found out a few weeks later that Professor Charles Xavier had been invited to attend a meeting in the Pentagon he became restless.

He wanted to talk to the only person he regarded and since he hated the way Charles infiltrated the sensitive space that was Magneto's head, he decided on a personal visit to the mansion, which the professor had turned into a training centre for an ever-increasing number of mutant kids.

His arrival at the Westchester grounds was more than just frowned upon.

Alex downright attacked him, making the younger newbies ran for cover and overall panic to bestow on the entire mansion. Soon everyone knew who was visiting and it was a ludicrous idea to think that he'd be able to surprise his old friend. Before Dr. Hank managed to join Alex in his attempt to kill the metal bender, who made a point of not hurting anyone while defending himself from the attack, Charles seemed to have infiltrated his protégés brains and convinced them to stop and allow Magneto in.

He knew that the telepath was expecting him - had monitored his entire progress toward his study through other mutant's eyes, most probably, Magneto assumed.

The anticipation was twirling in the metal-bender's insides, an anxiety more powerful than anything the man had felt in a while. He had not seen his old friend since that day when their friendship was crippled along with Charles' ability to walk. And the shock of seeing his old friend turning around on a wheelchair, was just as piercing as the bullet that had shattered his spine to say the least.

"Magneto," the telepath's eyes were still as blue but colder and more reserved than what the metal bender remembered. The frown of his brows had grown deeper and his expression more troubled and concentrated, burdened and serious.

Where was the carefree boyish charm, which Magneto's mind still associated to his old friend? The uninvited guest willed that frivolous thought out of his mind, even though Charles could not catch it with that helmet on.

"Charles," he answered in turn, tipping his head just slightly and subconsciously waiting for a permission to enter the other man's study.

A nod in return and Magneto strode in with wide, bold steps to settle down casually on a comfortable armchair in the lounge area of the professor's office. The electronic wheelchair (no doubt a product of Hank's genius) stopped across him and finally he and his old friend were sitting together, like old times, only the tension between them having acquired an additional, completely different tinge.

"I heard that you had dealings with the US Department of Defence," Magneto decided to go straight to the point. "I don't know what you were thinking, Charles. I thought you knew better than that."

The men in the wheelchair stared at him with those piercing blue eyes, which were still so bright and so beautiful and full of so much intelligence and understanding that it was intimidating.

"I attempted to speak to you about this the last time I contacted you, my friend," Charles' voice and manner of speaking was always so articulate and mindful, except when he was drunk Magneto mused with a tinge of nostalgia for the time they had truly been friends. Charles still insisted on calling him that, but since that accident had hung between them, Magneto did not allow himself to have any illusions that he could still be Charles' friend in the telepath's mind.

"I wanted to hear what you think of it," Charles continued.

Magneto's dark eyebrow arched cynically. Charles wanted his advice? After all that he had done?

"I have been contacted numerous times by the Pentagon and they insist that they need the help of my telepathic powers and the X-men in order to prevent World War III. There is increased tension between the States and Russia and certain parties from the CIA have found evidence that the Russians are preparing for a nuclear attack."

"It makes no sense," Magneto frowned deeply. It didn't sound right. Why would the Soviets try to initiate the end of the world? Nobody was stupid enough to do that, except for Shaw, and that poor excuse of a man was dead. Magneto had seen to it himself.

Charles observed the darkened stormy grey eyes of his best friend. He had missed seeing that expression, the mix between emotion and intellect – his friend's heart was always too much into it, sometimes clouding his brilliant intelligence but always providing him with the fuel to act and the strength to achieve great things.

Erik was a unique person. Through the years of their separation Charles had missed his company deeply - sometimes his depression and loneliness ran so deep that he thought he was drowning in despair until he disconnected completely from the world. Most of the time he was concentrating his entire crushing mind into the task of training the mutant kids and reaching for his dream of a world where mutants and humans could coexist peacefully. But the desperation had been soaking him through his very core, and secretly, when no one was watching he would fall apart and pick himself up again, ever colder, and ever more calculating than before as the time passed.

Indeed, Charles had changed a lot since the time when he had first met his best friend, the soul he connected to the most. But the feeling he got when he touched Erik through telepathy or just when their eyes met was still the same. There was an intrigue and chemistry that was stronger than reason and a feeling of belonging every time they stood in each other's company, putting their minds into the same problem, working together to resolve it. It made Charles feel nostalgic and wish for the unknown time that Erik had chosen to stay and help him manage the "School of the Gifted" as the telepath had chosen to name his mansion.

Even more than wanting to see and feel Erik close to him Charles wished that he could reach into his dear friend's mind, just one more time. He wanted to be inside, to feel the passion, fuel, anger, bittiness, happiness and determination that were always raging beneath the metal-bender's surface. Beneath the collected and cold exterior was a storm, which Charles loved to get lost into, and a soft, sensitive side, which no one, except for Charles himself knew about.

Charles had been so fascinated by Erik from the moment he had first touched his mind… but it wasn't the moment to dwell on how intriguing the steely-eyed, long-legged man before him was, even thought it was the first time in a long time that Charles got to feast his eyes on him.

"Indeed, the Russians do not want nuclear war. I responded to the Pentagon's request with my word on that. However they insisted on my personal visit."

"And you went," Magneto's frown deepened. "You are more naïve than I thought, my friend." The word "friend" escaped him involuntarily. He felt a bit of heat rising to his cheeks. He hadn't meant to say it.

"I had no choice. They threatened to consider me and my associates traitors and a communists if I didn't show up," Charles smirked a bit at the "communist" accusation part.

That instinctively provoked a small smile to tug at the corner of Magnetos' hard lips. The man shifted in his seat, leaning forward to look at his friend's face more closely.

"Do they know where you reside?"

"I'm afraid yes. But let me finish first. The most important part is that they have mutants," Charles paused letting it all soak. "I fear that there is another mutant leader who has been gathering followers, besides us."

Magneto's heart constricted at the news, but he also didn't miss the "us". Charles was trying to win him over. Ever trying to convert him. An absolutely hopeless case.

"Wouldn't you have known before if that was the case?"

"Apparently not. However, when I found out about the other mutants I felt compelled to go. I met with the US Department of Defence a week ago. They have developed a machine that is similar to Cerebro but more specialized and powerful. Its intention is to allow its user to infiltrated enemy lines and control armies with enhanced telepathic power."

"In other words, Charles, they want you to become the ultimate weapon to win this war," Erik said, his tone light but laced with the dark concern that was now heavy on his chest.

"Not that they openly discussed that with me," Charles said, a playful flicker brightening his eyes, a reminiscence of the old times when the professor had not been… in that god-damned wheelchair. Erik felt the familiar ting of guilt grip him, but he pushed it aside. It was not the time for that.

"They are stupid to think they can hide information from a telepath," Magneto commented dismissively.

"I am certain that I didn't speak with the most enlightened people for that reason precisely. In fact, the actual leaders of the CIA did not want to meet with me and were absent from the building that day. I assume they have a lot on their minds…"

Erik chuckled at that, knowing that it was supposed to be humour.

The professor bit the side of his lip as he smiled slightly as well, pleased to have cracked up the man who was supposed to be his enemy but was still very much so his best friend. It was pleasant to be together again, in the same room, talking…

"But I talked to one of the mutants, who is representing them at the CIA. His name is Leister and what's most intriguing about him is that his thoughts cannot be read. "

"I don't believe that this can be a coincidence," Erik shifted again, leaning even further forward in his seat. As if on cue Charles's wheelchair shifted a bit forward and the professor also leaned towards his companion. Two pairs of blue eyes locked, ones bright and clear, the others dark and stormy.

Magneto noted absently how his friend's eyes darted from one of his eyes to the other and then quickly lower before returning. Charles looked dashing as always, even more so from close up, not that it concerned Erik how the telepath looked. A quick glance to the man's soft pink lips and then to his collar, the first three buttons undone and a glimpse of toned torso beneath his shirt, and Magneto focused on his friend's words.

"I don't believe so either. In all fairness, I think nothing good will come out of all of this. I refused to use that machine, which is called "Seeker" by the way, for anything other than confirming that the Soviets are not planning on a nuclear attack."

"I don't think you should use that machine at all, Charles."

"That's how I see it too, however I am starting to feel somewhat concerned and … cornered."

Charles stared at him for a long moment.

"I was wondering if I have your back on this, because I think that there is a slight chance that I might need it," Charles lowered his voice to a whisper.

Magneto couldn't believe Charles was asking for his help. After what had happened! Did Charles truly still trust him? He did not deserve to be trusted. All he ever did was destroy things.

"I doubt you would need it. Just don't go there anymore, don't communicate with them. Go into…" Magneto started quickly, praying that he wouldn't have to answer to that demand.

"They already know where we are," Charles said seriously.

Magneto's eyes widened in alarm. He tried to supress the feeling but it gripped his heart with the cold edges of fear. He couldn't allow this to happen – he couldn't allow his only friend to fall into the hands of ruthless people. If anyone knew what happened in such situations, it was Magneto for he had experienced it when he had lost his mother, and he had vowed to never allow his loved ones to get hurt again! However, he had failed on numerous occasions and that's why he had decided not to care about people anymore. However, despite his best tries, he still cared for Charles Xavier, because quite frankly, who wouldn't?

"Evacuate your team and go somewhere else…"

"That is not an option. I cannot leave this place. And backing away is not an option either. Whatever is happening in the world right now, I believe that it needs the X-men to interfere. I'm not asking you for escape techniques, Erik," Charles' tone turned steely at that, making the edge of guilt dig into Magneto's stomach painfully, not missing the subtext, but thankfully the professor chose not to press the manner and make the tension between them unbearable. "I am asking you to help me face this problem. It's important to prevent World War III for it seems to be impending at the moment."

"I am quite certain that it's not the Soviet's doing," the professor continued. "I suspect an outside interference that is trying to start a war, as insane as that sounds. Perhaps another madman like Shaw is trying to bestow a mutant reign on the world by wiping out the humans."

"However, my friend, Hank ran several experiments already and there is almost certain proof that mutants can't sustain high levels of radiation either, so a nuclear winter would kill us off as well."

"You don't need to tell me that," Magneto huffed with slight indignation. "I never considered wiping out humanity with a nuclear war." That was Shaw's plan, and I despise everything about him, including his method. I considered other ways…

"In that case, it is also in your interest to help prevent this war from occurring. Not to mention that there are those new mutants to uncover, whose minds have been somehow shielded from my power. It is important for us to recover those from our kin and learn from them and have them join us."

"Join you, you mean," Magneto slightly smirked at that, being more playful than anything else.

"Better me than you, my friend," Charles didn't miss the cue to give a soft laugh. That smile… Erik had missed it dearly. That shining smile which could just erase all other thoughts and concerns from the metal-bender's. Unfortunately that heart-warming display was gone as quickly as it appeared.

"This is very serious, my friend. I was counting on you. Please don't let me down," Charles said and he stared piercingly into his friend's eyes from up close.

Magneto tried to find the rage in him, to remember why he didn't agree to help people and all the reasons why he shouldn't be near Charles at all. He wanted to decline, but it was too late – he already cared for this man. The thought of Charles Xavier being imprisoned by the government to be used as some sort of a war machine, his gentle, good-natured friend being cornered and threatened, and ultimately disturbed and hurt was not something, which Magneto could allow. They were officially enemies, but only to the extent that their ideologies clashed completely. However, that didn't mean that Magneto had stopped considering this man his only and very best friend. No harm was going to come to Charles Xavier for as long as Magneto stood.

However, there was the responsibility issue, and the issue of agreeing to cooperation. These were not Magneto's strong sides and they never had been. He worked best alone, being a loner and a hunter almost all his life. He couldn't do it.

"Why are you asking this from me? Do you still trust me after everything?" Magneto said, his voice threatening to break just a little as bitterness overtook him. This couldn't be right. This was too much and he didn't deserve it.

"I have always trusted you and I have always known that you are deep down inside a good man, Erik," Charles responded looking at him in that way again.

"But I am not, Charles, I am not!" Magneto protested. "You are asking too much from me! You know I cannot promise you anything – I don't want you to rely on me!"

"I think I can take the risk, Erik," Charles. "I will worry about my trust in you. You just have to do your part in this, my friend, and I know that you are an expert at what I need you to do."

"But I am not a trustworthy person, Charles," Magneto lowered his head in defeat. He was crumbling to the telepath's will even without Charles having to use those formidable powers of him. Why did that man have such a grip over him never seized to amaze him.

"Will you help me, Erik?" those blue eyes…

"I warned you my friend. But if you still insist on requiring my help… you are going to have it," Magneto finally concluded, meeting the telepath's beautiful, mindful and soul-searching eyes. Perhaps a part of Erik liked to be considered "a good man". Perhaps a part of Magneto wanted to be that man.

That's why without much rationalization Magneto decided that he'd join forces with the X-men, a decision which was probably not going to fly too well with his followers, as it wouldn't fly well with Charles' students, for sure. However, since when did Magneto care about anyone's opinion other than Charles', and since they were on the same page about this, that was all the support Erik could ever ask for to feel that something was justified.

...

The metal bender made to leave when he stopped himself at the door. He hesitated for a long moment. Charles' chair moved to its place behind the mahogany desk and his eyes curiously eyed the tall, brown-leather-jacket clad man's figure.

"I hope it's not too late to say it, but… I apologize. For this," Magneto's eyes darted to the wheelchair for the briefest second before he lowered them to the ground, in a gesture so unlike him. Charles knew even without having access to his mind that his friend meant it, and that he had been holding the bitter, heart-felt apology for the last few years, but couldn't contain it anymore. The clipped words gave away of how much he cared, for Erik was too proud, to scared of his emotions to say something more elaborate. The fact that he had said anything at all meant that it mattered to him more than his enormous pride, which was quite amazing.

"I forgive you, my friend," Charles said slowly, carefully, meaning it. He couldn't and wouldn't even try to sound carefree and easy as he might have a long time ago. Things were different now. And some things, things like this disability… were too much to just easily forgive, even if it were Erik.

"How could you," Erik turned over his shoulder and his features contorted as he fought and failed to wash his face clean of that bitter expression. "I am not asking for your forgiveness, Charles, and I don't deserve it."

There was a bitter pause and Charles just listened as Erik swallowed the bile that had unexpectedly constricted his throat.

"I just wanted you to know that I had never meant for this to happen." Erik finally finished his sentence and tried to exit the door.

"Erik," Charles called quietly, arresting the man in his tracks, " I forgive you."

Erik stared at him hard for a few more moments before exiting the room.

Charles knew he would be back.

TBC

Tell me what you think guys!

(Yes, that means review! I'll get Charles to "persuade" you to!)