Unable to sleep, Erik had turned to reading through those files Wuornos had agreed to let them take away. They contained a lot of ancient articles, family trees and newspaper reports. There were no original reports from the first days of Haven, but Charles had founds a few lines from almost four hundred years ago. Any back then there had been a small arrangement of houses.

So Haven was old. And the shielding effect had been there right from the beginning. There had been some notes from one of the early settlers that this land had been given to the new-arrivals by the Mi'kmaq, who had called the shoreline Tuwiuwok – Haven for God's orphans.

Maybe it was in the ground, Erik mused. But what could influence all kinds of Curses like this? He didn't believe it was possible. Nothing chemical, no flora or fauna… no freaky geological composition or geographical position.

It had to be something else.

Something that had lasted from the very first day right up to the present…

Had the Mi'kmaq known Curses, too? Had they understood what Curses were and what the new settlers had suffered from?

No one knew. The Natives hadn't elaborated on their generous gift, their willingness to let the Cursed stay here. Some had been in town for a long, long time, helping some of the worst cases until whatever worked here shielded even them, then they had left. The whole tribe had disappeared from one day to another without a word as to where they were going.

Four hundred years later Haven was still a neutral zone with the occasional Trouble, and still no explanation for the how and why.

Erik let the file he was reading rest on his lap. Charles was still sleeping, though restlessly, and the Shark placed a warm, calming hand on the narrow shoulder. It quieted the other Shifter, but it didn't help for very long.

Damn this town.

x x x x

Charles looked like he hadn't slept at all. His mirror image only showed it to him more clearly. He already felt like crap and his head ached. Not a psychic ache; that he would have welcomed. It was the kind of headache people complained about when the weather changed, when the Highs and Lows chased each other, the ones where the ache came and went as well.

None of his past visits had had this effect on him before. He had been cut off from his abilities, but never so suddenly and so completely. It was as if something in Haven was different, amplifying the effect, and he was suddenly… normal.

Not something he wanted to be. He had never been anyone but Charles Xavier, telepath and Shifter, Omega Cursed. He had accepted his abilities, he had accepted the consequences, and he had learned to live a life where everything about himself, everything he had been since birth, was part of who he was. He couldn't be anyone else. He couldn't deny who he was.

Charles rubbed his burning eyes.

He was without an important sense. He couldn't do what he always did. It was like going blind and deaf all of a sudden, being unable to move freely. His mind was always active, the telepathy always there. He had never noticed how much he was casting about and reading and scanning until the first time he had come to Haven and found that it was like moving through cotton wool for him.

Those Cursed with a physical affliction or a mutation that ran amok with them were happy here. Those like Charles who had incorporated their psychic powers into their very lives and existence would shrivel up and die here. He had yet to meet someone whose Curse was purely psychic, which told him a lot. Wuornos hadn't mentioned anyone going insane, but there were early notes from the founding days of a psychiatric ward, back then called something else entirely, less than complimentary, and two of the early settlers had gone catatonic.

No, he couldn't stay here long. Not this time. Something was different and it was getting worse for him.

The shower hadn't helped much and looking at Erik who was watching him like a hawk told Charles the rest. His lover was angry. Furious. Close to ripping through the shields and doing something they, well Charles, would regret.

So he approached the other man and used physical contact in the hope it would calm him a little. He longed to speak to him through the anchor, but that was like a dead connection to him.

"Please, don't," he simply said.

Gray eyes flared and Charles watched the ceiling lamp deform.

"Erik, please," he repeated. "Don't. If you lose yourself to the anger… we have no idea what can happen here."

The Shark snarled. "We're leaving now."

"I have the files to return and a few questions to ask."

"Charles!"

"I can handle this, Erik." At least for now. He had to. He had to make it for a few more hours, as painful as it was.

The Shark begged to differ. But he wouldn't leave without his partner, so Erik tagged along wherever Charles went. First to see Wuornos and return the files, then to talk to the two journalists in town who ran the Haven Herald. They were a promising well of information on a lot of events of the past, and they remembered those times when the neutralization effects apparently waned enough for the Troubles to raise their heads again.

It was one of those fascinating things about Haven, that every three or so decades the Troubles seemed to surge up. Charles had found several written testimonies of those times and whatever caused them, it only happened sometimes.

x x x x

Erik would have left his partner with the two nosy reporters if Charles hadn't been so vulnerable. His protective-possessive instincts were screaming at him not to let the other man out of his sight. Without the telepathy he was like a walking wounded.

It especially showed when Charles wandered off after leaving the Haven Herald, that distant expression on his face, and very nearly colliding with a car. Erik grabbed the startled, shocked-looking Shifter and forced him to look into his eyes.

"We're leaving!" he snarled. "Now!"

The metal feet of a bench uncurled and dug into the pavement with a soft, crunching noise.

Charles blinked, looking at the result of the power flare. "I think we should," he said, sounding as shaky as he looked.

"Let Wuornos copy what you need. Someone can bring it to Westchester. Or someone you trust can come here."

Someone who wasn't Cursed or didn't mind feeling normal for an hour or two. Erik sneered. As if anyone in Westchester wanted that. It was why they had come to the old harbor village and not to Haven.

Charles sighed heavily. "Maybe that's the best idea."

"It's the only acceptable idea."

"I've been here before, Erik. I've dealt with this. It's just… more noticeable each time I come here."

Erik frowned, not liking it at all. "C'mon," he said gruffly. "We're leaving."

After saying good-bye to Wuornos. After working out the transfer of the copies. After warding off two nosey reporters.

Erik was close to releasing his anger again and doing something more than deform a bench or a railing.

x x x x

The Chief didn't even bat an eye when they announced they would leave early. He just accepted the decision and agreed that he would copy some files that Charles had found interesting and he would hand them to whoever Charles sent. Raven came to mind. Her Curse was physical and she wouldn't be under such immense pressure when she couldn't change her appearance for a few hours. For Charles, Haven was proving to be a challenge.

What surprised Erik was the woman at the Chief's side. Dark-haired, pale-skinned with a pleasant face and a warm smile. She introduced herself as Lucy Ripley and he had a strange feeling when he shook her hand; it had been an automatic gesture when she had smiled and offered hers. No further explanations were given and the two men were too eager to leave to ask who she was. She could be the Chief's girlfriend or lover for all Erik cared.

But looking into the rearview mirror, Erik frowned a little. She was watching them leave while Wuornos was already walking back into the station.

x x x x

Charles felt the tension flow out of him the moment they passed the limits of the invisible barrier that neutralized the Haven area. His mind seemed to open up and he reached for Erik automatically.

The Shark nearly drove the car off the road when the caress touched him. Instead he braked hard.

"Geez!" he exclaimed. "Warn a guy!"

Charles laughed, sounding so relieved and free, Erik's annoyance melted away and he reached for the closest hand, interlacing their fingers. He squeezed the hand, smiling softly at the other man.

::Okay?:: he thought.

::Perfect:: Charles replied.

The relief washed over Erik's mind; Charles' relief, mixed with his own.

The next move surprised Erik even more and he almost banged his head against the car's ceiling as he jumped in shock as a dark brown rat suddenly sat in a bundle of clothes, smirking at him from black eyes.

Yes, Charles the Rat could smirk. Very well, indeed. Before getting to know this very special man he had never believed it possible.

::Works:. Charles broadcast, so incredibly happy.

::Just be glad I'm a shark and not inclined to flop around uselessly inside a landbound vehicle::

Charles' mind laughter had Erik grin. It felt good to feel Charles like this, to see and experience his happiness, and to know that he hadn't suffered anything permanent. That he stayed in his rat form showed how badly the inability to Shift had hit him. While the telepath didn't change his shape as often and regularly as Erik, he did use his other form now and then. Where Erik enjoyed the freedom the shark gave him, craved the water because it was his element, Charles was landbound and had no imperative to follow.

x x x x

The rat bounded out of the ancient truck and whisked into the grass the moment Erik stopped and had opened the door. Smiling indulgently the Shark watched the other Shifter stretch his legs. It was a rare sight to see Charles this playful in his rat form and he laughed when the telepath jumped onto the fountain's ledge, shooting him a challenging look.

::I'm a salt water shark, love::

The term of endearment slipped out and the twitch of soft ears told him that Charles had taken notice. He cocked his head, whiskers spread wide, then he hopped off the concrete and raced toward the beach. Erik followed, jogging after his partner, and shook his head when he discovered the small bundle of chocolate brown fur slide and run and almost tumble down toward their beach.

::Eager much?::

But he felt his own instinct stir.

::I know I can Shift:: Erik told his lover.

::You want to:: Charles scrambled onto a large boulder, sitting on his haunches.

Erik reached out and stroked gentle fingers over the soft, soft fur. When the white-tipped tail flicked, he caught the lightly furred appendage, grinning at the furball. Charles was a lot bigger than a house rat, about the size of a cat, and had thick, dark brown fur. The tip was an anomaly and while normal forest rats didn't have it, this one had.

Charles had mused that maybe his Shifter ancestry was a little mixed up since there were rodents like him. They were called rakali, a water-rat with webbed hind legs and waterproof fur. All had white tips. Charles was a landbound Shifter, his ancestry closer to a forest rat, with bigger ears, no webbed feet and definitely no waterproof fur.

Erik had argued that maybe it was the reason why he, the waterbound Shifter, had been so intensely attracted to him, why they had bonded, why he had claimed him as a mate. Somewhere in Charles' genes was a little bit of rakali.

Well, whatever it was, it made the telepath a very adorable rat, the only Cursed Erik had ever trusted this much this quickly and who he had ever loved this intensely. Sometimes it scared him how much came to the surface when they made love.

"I want to," Erik said, chasing away those thoughts.

Going into the water would calm his own mind, it would rebalance his soul. Haven had upset him more than anything else in the past years. It was as if the town was stealing part of him, closing a door he didn't want closed.

Something or someone was responsible for it. Part of Erik wanted to know what it was; another was terrified of finding out the truth.

x x x x

He went into the water after stripping off his clothes and while Erik hadn't doubted it, the Shift still undid a knot inside him. He dove and came back up again, surprised to see his lovely rat using the rocky outcropping near-by to close in on where he was. Charles jumped surely and easily, his paws finding purchased where human feet might slip.

Erik poked his nose out of the water and Charles placed his paws on them, the hard nails tapping against the rough shark skin.

::Still got it:: Charles remarked happily.

::Still got it:: Erik agreed, pushing his nose up further. ::Come?::

::I'm not dressed for the occasion::

::I won't dive. The ocean is calm. Just for a moment::

Charles looked at him, then skillfully hopped onto the shark's back, paws clinging to the dorsal fin. Erik felt inexplicably happy, a burst of such intensely positive emotions that drowned out everything else. Charles reflected it, though he did broadcast a light apprehension.

::Nothing will happen:: Erik soothed him. ::You're safe::

::I know. Landbound instinct, I think::

True to his word he didn't go fast or deep. He just cruised through the calm waters, mentally grinning so hard it would have hurt had he been human.

Human.

A sudden thought struck him and with a brief flash of his intention toward Charles he Shifted into his human form, his arms going around the now equally human telepath. They were so close to the beach that their toes touched the ground and Erik maneuvered them even closer before kissing his partner.

::That was the plan?:: Charles teased.

::That was an idea that became a plan. You liked it, too::

A wave buoyed them even closer to the shore and Charles stumbled a little, sputtering a laugh when Erik caught him and nipped at his lower lip. They fell into the wet sand where the water still washed over their lower extremities, enjoying the unusually warm day.

"Why are you interested in Haven?" Erik asked, burying his toes into the slick sand. "It's hurting you. It actually hurts every Cursed."

"The town is a haven, Erik. I believe it was founded with the intent to give the Cursed a place to be without their abilities. Those who went there had extreme abilities or couldn't handle what they were without hurting ones they loved. Whatever makes this place so special, it can be a danger and a blessing, too."

"It hurts you," Erik repeated.

"It's disconcerting and this time was stronger than ever before. I don't know why."

Erik scowled and Charles linked their hands, squeezing Erik's.

"Who is Lucy Ripley?" the Shark asked after a moment.

"I don't know. I never met her before. Why do you ask?"

He shrugged. Vibes, he might call it. Instinct. Something about the woman was not right and Erik couldn't put his finger on it. Charles caught those thoughts and frowned a little.

The Shark shook himself and pushed back the other man, settling over the naked form and kissing the soft lips with eager need. Water sloshed around them; his element. Charles laughed, wrapped his arms around the taller form, responding to the contact.

::I'd prefer a bed, Erik:: he murmured, biting the stubbled jaw.

It sent a spark through the predator and he longed for more. He wanted Charles so badly, he didn't care they were right out in the open for everyone to see.

With another bite Charles nearly sent him over the edge of want into the abyss of mindless need. The Shifter was playing with fire and knowing it. There was a challenge there and Erik growled as he caught on to it. Charles smirked.

And then there was just the rat again and it was racing off toward the path leading up the shoreline and back to the manor. The Shark laughed and grabbed his clothes not far away, pulling on his pants for some decency. Erik was happy to see his partner Shift so freely.

tbc...

Small Author's Note: the rakali is a real animal. A reviewer called Lisane once posted: I'm in Australia at this moment and I saw this pannel about a native water rat, the rakali, with a white tipped tail, and I though : 'OMG, this is Charles !' lol. Is it a coincidence or did you use this rat as a model?

It wasn't, actually. I thought he would look cute with a white tip. After googling the rakali I decided yep, he is cute. And he might have rakali Shifter ancestors ;) There you go.