All lines are taken directly from the film, all credits goes to screen writers and anyone else who was way too brilliant to bring the world this two-plus hours of gay-Erik/Charles(McFassy)-fest. I don't own but it's not like I need to, the canon is already gay enough.
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Post Blue Stimulant
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The last thing he grasped before he jumped off the ship was the white railing, cool and metallic.
He was falling and through the air he felt the salty breeze lapping at his clenched eyes as he waited for the impact.
The water seemed to break from his face as he dived headfirst into the cold biting sea.
Despite the freezing chill that crept in through his clothes, he was looking for someone in the darkness of an ocean (based on pure instincts and impulse.) Charles hardly needed a brain to know how idiotic this was.
His arms were outstretched, feeling, seeking, hoping, and perhaps it was fate or a twist of luck that his bare hands, frozen and numb, grabbed and grasped at the slick fabric of a wetsuit.
Blunt fingertips clinging to a stranger's chest with no thoughts.
Just a simple hope to save.
That had been the first time they touched.
000
The first time he heard his voice, it hadn't been lips to ears but rather an intrusion on the human mind.
Erik's determination had been focused on the metallic structure of the submarine, a massive silver being that contained a man he had traveled half the world for.
He knew he was teetering on the edge, with the air escaping in bubbles from his twisting lips, he could feel his limbs sinking deeper as the water seemed to go as far as to soak his bones. But his determination was mingled with frustration and it was too deeply rooted in his memories for him to let go now. His hatred towards his own inabilities ultimately overcame the burn in his lungs, the shock of the cold, the fear of death itself.
Until a smooth, almost silky, voice cut through the mangled thoughts.
You can't.
It was a warm buzzing that interrupted the anger and pain from his childhood.
You'll drown. You have to let go.
And it was this strange man's voice that allowed him to feel the cold that had long since seeped into his system.
I know what this means to you, but you're going to die.
His brain finally registered the weak awkward fingers that grasped and clung to the black of his wetsuit.
You can't. Please, Erik…
Maybe it was the death message that a stranger had finally sunk into his head or it could have been the sound of his own name, following that desperate plead.
Calm your mind.
He didn't let go immediately, he couldn't. But he could feel the magnetic pull weakening. The air ran out and he dropped the remaining control he had of that massive submarine, allowing the other to pull him to the surface.
And it was then that he had heard his voice, finally, lips to ears.
000
Breaking the surface, they gasped for breaths and as the air filled their lungs, the stranger he had found in the sea could no longer contain himself.
The words tumbled from Erik's lips and it had been the first time Charles had heard the sound of this man's voice.
"Who are you?"
They were shouting over the crash of the waves but it was still a deep-felt caress in the dark.
"My name's Charles Xavier!"
With the water up to their necks, Charles was already too disorientated. There were the mangled thoughts running through Erik's mind that intruded on his own and the inside of his mouth tasted of raw salt that was drying him from within.
Still, Charles could understand this stranger with the magnetic hold, he could also tell that he would never be content with such a simple exchange.
He needed more.
"You were in my head, How'd you do that?"
Charles didn't need to hear him twice, he didn't care for the sound of his voice. It was everything else (the little details) that left him entranced, like the faint accent that had laced his words in the midst of his panic and shock.
"You have your tricks, I have mine. I'm like you. Just calm your mind!"
Charles swallowed thickly, gulping down more seawater than air as Erik's mind slowly cleared with realization.
And it was then that he could read the single sole thought that remained.
"…I thought I was alone."
It resonated in mind and ears.
"You're not alone. Erik, you're not alone."
At this point, Charles was no longer sure whether he was speaking or thinking anymore.
You're not alone.
Like a shared thought that strung them as two.
000
He could see the glaring yellow searchlights searing across the water, pinpointing them in the dark. Staying until they were both pulled out of the cold.
And it had barely been seconds before they were both pushed into the embrace of large thick towels. The freezing water and the time he had spent submerged was finally hitting him full force, his teeth clattered, pain knocking into his nerves, his shoulders shook and the wet suit he had on clung like a layer of ice.
But it was in the bright ship lights that he finally saw the face of the man that pulled him from his own frustration.
One Charles Xavier.
His dark hair dripped, lying both matted and curling naturally against his forehead. His lips were tinting an unhealthy shade but it was the blue eyes that pulled him away from the cold and into that same warmth the first time his voice sounded out in his head.
There was a thin weary smile among the quivering lips.
The young man with the shocking blue eyes was smiling at him.
Erik couldn't understand.
(He had first hand experience with too much cruelty to begin to understand this possible act of selfless kindness.)
They were both rushed into a small living quarters located within the interiors of the ship. A young blonde woman was talking, lecturing and her eyes flashed from dark to a startling yellow gold when she finally rested her gaze on him.
Despite Charles' protests, her glare hadn't softened, instead Erik thought her stare had hardened into borderline menacing. She had a hand resting against Charles' shoulder, fingers gripping in worry and words flaring in anger.
After much coaxing on Charles' part and many cut off sentences later, they were finally alone.
Neither took to move from their stance.
It was a small room but there was enough distance between them.
Charles didn't use his telepathic powers but Erik hadn't been holding up any sort of resistance either, all was said and done when they had lifted their heads from the waves. Now, they were simply contemplating the situation like this could happen any day of the week.
Yet, he felt as though he had just broke through the surface of the deepest sea.
And it could have only been the captivating eyes or the small smiles that kept curling at those lips.
Erik was sure, he never looked away.
000
Whether it was to flush out the cold in their veins or wash the color back into their lips.
It took a while for the heat to return.
Erik's hands were a little numb but at least, they no longer shook. Charles made his way across the room, to where he was, but never once did he stop shaking, shoulders shivering even within the confines of the thick blanket.
There were no words exchanged and neither did they try to reach out to each other with a probing thought. It was silent aside from the lashes of waves against the sides of the boat.
They simple sat with the consistent rocking of the boat that lured them next to one another. They were sitting like a pair of old friends catching up with their absent days, only without the easy conversation and faint gestures of familiarity.
His lips were cracked and dry.
His tongue was slick and wet.
Erik noticed, from one simple glance, a darting of bright green pupils. While Charles only ran his tongue across his lips and noted the taste of tangy salt.
Charles shifted in his seat, their knees knocked against another, Erik pulled away.
Whether it was from the physical aspect of jumping into the ocean after someone he didn't even know or the mental aspect of intruding upon a foreign mind that was fixated upon the impossible fuelled only by pain and anger, when he finally nodded off, they should be close to shore.
The other's neck was bent at an awkward angle, Erik contemplated whether it would snap with a simple grip to the back of his head. But just as Erik leaned in to speculate the thought, Charles' dark lashes quivered and his eyes seemed to move beneath the thin eyelids. Erik pulled back, but not before he first caught the particular scent.
He (Charles, Charles Xavier) smelled of salt.
The sea seemed to trail after him but unlike the freezing cold, the lingering touches left a sort of warmth Erik couldn't just brush off. Like the easy affection, the friendly gestures, the bright smile, and those brilliant blue eyes, Erik wasn't used to any of these blatant kindness splayed before him to pick at. He didn't even know that it was possible for a stranger to bear it all for another in return.
Erik didn't understand, he was only beginning to take notice.
That much was true.
The boat rocked against the steady waves, Charles' head rolled back against the seats, neck cranked at an even stranger angle. Their knees touched again, only this time, Erik didn't pull away, instead he breathed in the scent of the salt in the sea drafting over just as Charles' head finally came to rest at his shoulder.
A perfect angle that made him leaned in closer.
XXX Kuro
My not very original but still totally fairy-tale (because its canon) beginning for the two. Initially, my summary would have been: It was the first time they had met and already he had stimulated all his senses. But that didn't seem appropriate at all (as you can easily see my McFassy-mind, Erik/Charles-heart and XXX-Men: FC-soul are all buried beneath the gutter.) DD: