"Oooof!"

Grunting in frustration, Charles splayed a hand out against the wall to steady himself, and to make a clumsy, desperate attempt to discover the light switch. Telepathic I may be, he thought, but unfortunately, inanimate objects don't have thoughts, so I can't instinctively know their location.

It felt like he was moving through a thick liquid, his arms floundering helplessly and awkwardly. Even in the complete darkness, his vision swam with spots and color. The part of his mind that was still fully himself knew he looked ridiculous, half-slouched against the wall as he was, and was slightly embarassed by it, even though he knew nobody was around to see him in this pathetic state. Try as he might, he simply couldn't find the strength to raise himself fully upright. His limbs felt too floppy and loose...

It's a wonder I haven't fallen over already.

Worst of all, his head was going to explode if the painful throbbing went on much longer. He pressed his fingers into his temple in a gesture that usually meant he was contacting other minds, except this time he was trying to shut even his own out, if such a thing were possible.

"Oh, bother..." he muttered.

I'm almost there. Can't let the kids find me passed out or anything dreadful like that. What would they think, how would they react? They would have no respect for me anymore. I'm great at giving advice, but when it comes to being a role-model, or advising myself, I'm a hopeless failure... yes, hopeless...

As he lowered his hand from his head, it brushed against some protrusion and he jumped, then nearly whooped with joy when he realized it was the very switch he'd been searching for. Flipping it bathed the room in an overwhelming glow that made his head pulse, and he threw up his arms to cover his eyes. When he finally dared open his eyes and fight the brightness, his stomach immediately sunk.

This isn't my room.

A strained glance at the bed confirmed it. Erik was lying on it, breathing gently, a hand resting lightly against his stomach. He's restrained even in sleep, Charles observed, with a touch of fondness. There's nothing sloppy about him. The stern face had slacked somewhat , but otherwise looked exactly the same as always.

"Ugh, so not groovy..."

The dilemma he was in sunk in suddenly. It rushed to his head, so that he staggered forward wildly and managed to crash into the side of the bed and keep himself from faceplanting into the floor. He grabbed at the sheets, his heart pounding at an unhealthy rate. He watched with fearful eyes as Erik's bare chest rose and fell and he murmured softly to himself, but did not awake.

He breathed a great sigh of relief, his body growing languid... He felt drowsiness welling up in him, wanted nothing more than to crawl up into the bed and share the warmth of Erik's body heat, earn a blessed respite from the one-too-many drinks he'd consumed at one of his favorite pub downtown... What was the name of it? It escaped him... it was all a blur... How many had he drank?

His head nodded forward, but he forced it back up. The training had given him restless energy, too... energy that even racing Hank at various intervals throughout the day hadn't diminished. There was just something about drinking that calmed his nerves.

He sat back on his haunches, rubbing his horribly heavy eyes. He shrugged out of his cardigan and let it plummet, then took hold of the front of his shirt, sliding it up and over his body and tossing it to the side. Using the bed as support, he stood unsteadily upright and undid the front of his trousers, letting them drop down around his ankles.

Gritting his teeth as Erik's image tilted and spun before him, he yanked off the rest of his ensemble before rolling sideways onto the bed. He lay there for a moment, panting, and fighting down the dizziness, closing his eyes. Calm your mind, he urged himself. The mantra he often repeated to Erik now sounded cheap and hollow as he applied it to his own situation. Calm...

A cool breeze on his back made him crack his eyes open and wriggle closer to Erik's delicious warmth and away from the half-open window. He was careful not to get too close, however. Erik had this thing about personal space, and he wouldn't appreciate it being invaded without warning, even in sleep.

There. It was somewhat better now. At least he was getting a little more warmth. He sighed contentedly, but then he heard a strange noise... quiet clattering. Without meaning to, he melted briefly into Erik's mind and felt clearly his discomfort. He's cold, Charles realized, just like I am. He forgot to cover himself up. He must have really been exhausted...

He moved to pull the covers up over them both, but Erik was lying full-fleged on top of them... and yanking them out from beneath his body would certainly wake him up, which definitely wasn't an option, not at this point. He could just imagine Erik's confusion... What are you doing in my bed? He could just imagine the anger and sputtering and questioning. Why are you drunk? Who were you with? Why didn't you tell anyone you were going out?, blah blah blah and so-forth...

Erik's long, lean body shuddered again and he moved restlessly in his sleep. It was this movement that stirred Charles from his hazy daydreams. He'd never be able to rest if his friend was in such discomfort... but maybe he was only sensing it so strongly because his mental barriers were somewhat diminished? He was drunk, after all... wasn't he? Either way, he needed to do something and be done with it so I can get to sleep already!

Groaning, he stuck out an arm and fumbled at the floor until he grasped fabric-his cardigan, his shirt... Perfect. With great effort, he draped the soft cardigan over Erik's exposed chest as unobtrusively as he could, tucking it as neatly around him as he could manage with his fingers that felt too-large and clumsy. He put the shirt on top, too, just for good measure, before patting Erik's now-covered hand affectionately as he gave a great, swelling yawn. An unreasonable burst of satisfaction was his last feeling before everything swirled into darkness.