Hey, I just got a fanfiction account the other day because I've always read a lot, but I've never contributed and I thought I'd give it a try for once. This story is basically what I WISH would've happened but never did. :( And it's sad. This is my first time writing for this fandom and writing a slash, even, so I'm kinda nervous. Let's see how this goes. Hopefully I'll be motivated enough to continue.

Erik irresolutely approached the Xavier mansion. He stopped just outside of its boundaries, underneath a small cluster of trees. It was approaching nighttime, and he could feel the movement of the silverware from meters away. The household was eating dinner.

He subconsciously reached up to his head to make sure his helmet was still on. He wanted to remain undetected.

After the Cuba incident, he left Charles injured and without a definite way of getting off of the island. As much as he tried to quell his guilt for leaving his best friend behind, after Azazel had landed them all back in New York to rescue Frost (which Erik was unsure about at first, but she's on your side now, and you need her), he was unable to wonder if they all managed all right, and if Charles was okay. He took the bullet out, and tried to stop the bleeding as much as he could. It wasn't a fatal blow, so he should be fine, right? But somehow Erik couldn't shake the feeling that something had gone horribly wrong. And if it did, he was to be held full responsibility.

"She didn't do this, Erik… you did."

He waited for hours, staring at the large house and watching the lights go out one by one as the night wore on. He watched until there was only one light still streaming through a single window: one which Erik easily identified as belonging to Charles's bedroom. Back before the missile crisis, while they were all still training and everything was so much happier, Erik used to spend late nights in that room playing chess with his friend and just talking, enjoying one another's presence. Erik had always considered himself quite the insomniac; going to sleep was often futile, since his dreams would only be plagued by his mother's dead body and Shaw's menacing smile. However, Charles was a tough competitor to boot. He explained one honest and stormy night that he had trouble sleeping since he was a child, since the noises of the minds around him oftentimes kept him up until the crack of dawn. He had since given up trying and his increased brain function that his mutation gave him allowed him to survive on less hours of sleep than the average human being, so it really wasn't a problem.

Erik waited a few more minutes until he slinked up to the house without a sound. He reached the wall directly underneath the light window, albeit a few stories down. This was not a problem, however, as he was wearing various metals in his clothing, including but not limited to a metal watch and a metal belt buckle, and he used these items to levitate up to the window with ease.

Charles enjoyed the night breeze, which is why he usually left his windows open. This was a blessing for Erik, who was able to slip into the room without causing a ruckus. As he gracefully landed, he examined his surroundings; there was a king-sized mattress, much too large for Charles alone but he could afford it so it hardly mattered, which was placed on the ground. The wooden frame of the bed was gone, and it was strewn on the floor, which was different than how Erik remembered it, and he was confused by the change of décor. He also noticed that many of the other furniture pieces had been removed as well. The side tables, the couches, the rugs-all gone. All that was left was a desk in the corner and a single small table near the door with a flower bouquet on it. A small fire was glowing at the hearth, and it illuminated the empty room; Charles was also missing.

Erik furrowed his brows in confusion. Where had everything gone? Where had Charles gone?

Both of his questions were answered in a matter of seconds as he heard running water from behind a closed door, which he could only assume was a bathroom, and slowly the door opened, as Charles Xavier rolled out.

Rolled out.

Erik's jaw dropped at the sight of his friend in a wheelchair. He had expected many things, but he had not expected this. He did this? He had taken away the legs from the only person he had ever learned to care about after the death of his mother? He couldn't process it. In fact, he was so wrapped up in the sight of his newly handicapped partner that he completely forgot that he was uninvited.

"Erik!" Charles Xavier's face lit up upon the sight of his old friend, not a hint of surprise or sadness evident in his features: just pure happiness.

Erik didn't skip a beat, snapping right back into reality.

"It's Magneto now."

"Erik, Magneto, you're the same person to me," Charles smiled, completely ignoring the seriousness in Erik's tone. "I honestly prefer the name your mother gave you."

Erik tried to ignore that last comment.

"Why aren't you surprised to see me?"

"Well, I'm surprised, of course! I didn't expect you to break into my room like this, but it's a pleasant surprise! I knew you'd come back, is Raven here as well?" He sounded hopeful.

Erik grimaced, "I'm not here to stay."

Charles's face fell.

"Oh."

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay," Erik explained.

Charles looked down at his useless legs, then looked up at the ceiling, then looked towards the idly burning fire to his right. He was clearly upset.

"Well, you got your answer. Feel free to leave now."

Erik was slightly deterred by Charles's sudden change in demeanor, but he held his ground.

"Is… is this permanent?" He asked, referring to his legs.

There was a flash of anger in the telepath's eyes.

"Of course it's permanent. I was shot in the spine, and it paralyzed me. I will never be able to walk again," he spat.

Erik flinched at the other man's biting tone. It sounded so wrong to hear it from his lips.

"I-I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize to me if you're not coming back!" The fire in his eyes dimmed and he began to falter. "You've… you've already caused me enough pain leaving once. Please, make this easier for me a-and leave now before I completely lose my resolve."

The sight of Charles being so vulnerable tore Erik apart. He couldn't stand to hear his voice crack or see the tears begin to well up inside his eyes, just like that fateful day on the shores of Cuba. He felt the sudden desire to grab Charles by the arms and squeeze him tightly until all the sadness had been chased away.

"You know I can't stay, Charles," Erik pleaded, trying to buy more time with him. "But I can't leave either."

"Why?" Charles asked, regaining his composure. "You can only choose one. I won't let you play with my heart. You have to pick a side."

"Charles-"

"It's Professor X now," he retorted, mockingly.

"Right," Erik paused, but didn't correct himself. "Listen, I know we have our differences, but I still believe we can make this work…"

"What work?" Charles made a face. "Erik, the only thing you need to work out is your own feelings. If you want to destroy the human race and become the dominant life form, go ahead. But don't come back to me and ask if we can continue as we were before when you know I do not agree with your opinions."

"Don't… don't you want to still be together?" Erik asked, trying not to sound hurt.

Charles's face softened in pity.

"Oh, my friend, you know I want that more than anything else, but I can't allow it if outside this room we will continue to be enemies. Especially not now. I'm afraid I still haven't fully recovered from that incident a few weeks ago."

Erik lowered his head, "If I could take it all back…"

Charles laughed. "I'm sorry, my friend, but it can't be undone. Listen to me. Take that silly helmet off. Let me see your whole face. Stop hiding. If you've learned to trust me at all, then you would let me enter your mind without fear of me taking advantage of it."

Erik instinctively raised his hands to the helmet once more. He had honestly forgotten he was wearing it, and now that he was aware, it was like a huge weight on his head. It was true, he wasn't sure if he should trust Charles.

After a few moments pause while Erik made no move to take it off, Charles sighed.

"If you can't trust me, then I am hardly a friend to you."

Erik lowered his hands guiltily.

"But… you still trust me."

"How so?"

"No one has come bursting through the doors yet. You haven't telepathically told anyone I was here. You trust that I won't try anything. That has to mean something."

Charles nodded, impressed. "True, but even if I did, you've locked it, haven't you?"

Erik's face flushed. How had he known? It was true, upon his arrival he had promptly locked the door with a swift movement of his wrist, just in case. It would not serve useful under the power of, say, Havok, who could blast the door open in a heartbeat, but at least it would grant him some time to escape before he was able to be reached to do so.

"I know you better than you know yourself, Erik," Charles told him. "I don't need you to take off the helmet to figure you out."

Erik felt himself growing angry at that.

"Well, then you should understand why I can't stay."

Charles shook his head.

"I don't even think you understand that yourself."

"Of course I do!" Erik snapped. "It's to protect myself and my fellow mutants!"

"You're becoming exactly what Shaw wanted you to become!" Charles raised his voice, but not loud enough to wake Moira up a few rooms down. "Prove him wrong, Erik! Wasn't your mother a regular human, herself? Did she not accept you?"

"Don't you talk about my mother like you knew her!" Erik roared, successfully waking up the entire floor. "The humans can never accept us! We're a threat that must be destroyed! But we are more powerful than them, Charles! It's simply evolution!"

Suddenly, there was a banging at the door."Charles? Charles!" Moira's voice yelled through the wooden barrier. "Charles, are you okay?"

Charles looked at the door and then back at Erik, raising his eyebrow.

Erik backed himself up towards the window as Moira began to plead with Charles to respond.

"I'll be back in a few days," Erik promised, before leaping out the window and into the darkness.