Hey again! XDDD I've figured out a schedule for posting these. Every Friday or Thursday of every week or other week, I'll try to post another chapter. And I hope whoever reads this does enjoy it, despite the flaws. :L I promise. Cherik is more prominent later on.

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters~~

The trek to Erik's workshop in the dark was made less horrible by the light of the full rising moon. Charles glanced up at it as a shiver passed through him, a cold wind streaming over him like a river before dissipating. He supposed it was going to be one of those long cold nights, and he wasn't wrong.

He weaved his way in between the stone and wooden buildings of the city. The streets had been long-since deserted, everyone having already gone inside to be shielded from the cold air.

Charles looked up, trying to tug at his coat so it would cover more of him seeing as he couldn't put it on his arms. He saw a small chimney not far from where he stood and realized it was the blacksmith's workshop. He smiled to himself as he approached the door. Knocking on it softly before letting himself in, "Erik, I-"

"What are you doing here?" Erik cut him off, sword held to his throat as soon as he had crossed the threshold.

Charles blinked for a moment and raised his brows, looking up to notice a metallic helmet now snugly slipped over Erik's head. He stared for a moment before looking genuinely concerned and wide eyed.

Erik scoffed and took the sword back, setting it on the stand with the others, back in its place, "What? Surprised? You can't penetrate this helmet can you?" Erik smirked slightly at him, proud of himself for stumping the younger man. "I made it myself using some metal I had stored away with... Interesting properties. What do you think?" He walked in a circle before glancing back at Charles as he just started to get over the confusion, "Nevermind. Look. What do you want?"

Charles furrowed his brows, now realizing where he stood in this position. He knew for a fact Erik wouldn't kill him. He didn't need telepathy. He could see it in his eyes. The younger man gave a small smile, rising his hands to expose his wrists, light glinting off the metal, "Would you mind... Please helping me?"

Erik watched him for a moment and rolled his eyes, walking over to Charles and pulling his sleeves up. Without even touching them, Erik moved the rings away from each other and they became the bands he had worn previously. Charles smiled down at them and looked up, about to thank him but as soon as their eyes locked, Erik pushed him back out the door, shutting it quickly. Charles watched, stunned as a metal bar moved from the ground and twisted around the door handles, keeping the doors shut tight.

After a long pause, Charles shook his head, coming out of his stupor before knocking on the door. "Hey! Erik! Let me back in!"

"Go home, Charles." The reply was gruff and dull from inside. Charles would have none of it as he huffed and made his way around the side, noticing the back door was also shut firmly. He settled on glaring at him through a window before pacing back and forth, "I'd leave if I were you, Charles. Its going to be a VERY cold night."

Charles crossed him and glared at him through the window. "Erik let me in. I just want to talk to you."

"What could possibly want to talk to me about? Didn't I tell you to leave me alone?" Erik shot him a look from where he sat, eating out of a bowl of some kind of soup. Seeing this made Charles realize he was hungry and his stomach growled. He hadn't had dinner that night.

"As true as that is, I want to talk about your... Ability." He started pacing back and forth outside the door, sighing loudly.

Erik glared slightly at the wall between them, "Don't you think it might NOT be a good idea to talk about that in the open? Where everyone can hear you?"

"Oh relax, my friend. There's no one here to hear us. And those who are close are sleeping. You seem to forget I can read the minds of people around me. You have nothing to worry over." He smiled to himself slightly, glancing in the window as he walks by. After a moment he whimpers a bit, his stomach giving a painful growl.

"You ok?" The reply came almost too fast, Erik had stopped eating and sat up a little straighter to look out the window.

Charles sighed and sat down underneath the window, the light from inside caused a patch of color on the ground in front of him, "I'm just hungry. But I think I can tell what you'd say. 'That's too bad. Its your own fault.'" He mocked Erik's voice.

A slight shuffling sound could be heard from inside. After a long silence, Charles looked up to find the windows opening a creak and a small loaf of bread being thrown out before they snapped closed once again.

He stared at for a long time before he smiled to himself, leaving forward to pick the bread up and nibble on it, "Thank you, Erik... You have my gratitude."

The only response he got was a small "Eh" as Erik went back to his soup, blushing profusely to himself.

Erik listened to Charles nibble at the bread, having finished his own soup long ago but not wanting to get up and leave with him just out there. But after a while, he realized Charles wasn't making noise anymore. He got up and crossed the room, slowly and quietly un-"locking" the doors before leaning out, checking to see if he had gone home. But when he looked out, he saw Charles laying on the cold, hard ground. Asleep.

After a moment, Erik sighed and looked him over before wandering back inside and digging through a closet. He found a nice soft blanket and folded it carefully over his arm before making his way back to Charles with the blanket and a pillow. He tentatively picked Charles's head up, moving the pillow beneath it before setting his head back down and tucking the blanket in around, making sure he was warm before he turned and walked back inside, shutting down for the night.

Charles woke up the next morning, a slight pain in his back from having slept all night on the ground. He did notice, however, that something was different. Upon sitting up, he realized someone had put a pillow beneath his head and had also covered him with a blanket. He smiled slightly as he figured it was Erik who had done it and looked up back to the door. He frowned when he saw it was still shut tight, held together by the entwined metal. "Erik...?" He called softly, knowing by the way the sun was just beginning to cast light over the city that it must be early.

"Yes Charles? What are you still doing here?" He could hear Erik's voice from inside the now open window and stood up, looking in at him.

"Why do you want to keep me out? What have I done to upset you so?" He asked. He put his hands just below the window and stared inside, not climbing through in hopes maybe Erik will keep it open and allow them to talk.

"Just go home, Charles." Erik shook his head slowly and got up from where he had been sitting next to the anvil. He wandered around the room, making it look as though he was doing something.

Charles stared at him sadly, mumbling under his breath but loud enough for Erik to hear, "I just want to talk..."

Erik watched him for a moment, staring at the sad-eyed look he was receiving before he sighed loudly and disappeared behind the front door. Charles waited for a moment, confused, but he instantly stepped back when the metal bar that had twisted and been shaped to lock the door came undone and fell to the ground with a loud clunk.
He stood to his feet, brushing the dust from the previous night from his robes as he stepped forward and opened the door. As Charles entered, he smiled fondly as he felt the warmth from inside spread through him and surround him like a heated fog. Erik sat on the other side of the room at a small metal table, leaning back in his matching metal chair. Charles stared at it, never really seeing much besides wooden tables and chairs. The sight fascinated him, "Thank you. I do appreciate this..."

Charles walked across the room, taking in the sight of all the tools Erik used and worked with on a daily basis. He sat carefully across from him in the other chair, gasping as he felt the cool metal beneath him through the seat of his ropes, the feeling contrasting with the heat of the room, "These are... Interesting. I don't think I've ever really seen anything like these. Did you make them your self?"

Erik watched him closes, stirring a drink lightly with a spoon before smiling and letting it go. Even though his hand had left the handle, the spoon continued to spin and stir the drink. "Of course I did. I make many things out of metal seeing as I seem to have a special... Gift for handling it."

Charles watched to spoon, mesmerized by it before smiling and turning away from it. "Like you made the helmet. How do you do it...?"

The blacksmith tapped the metal clamped around his head, smirking slightly at him, "I'm actually not sure..." As he spoke he took the spoon out of the drink and cleaned it, carefully washing the drink away with a cloth, "I just realized one day that metal could bend to my will..." He sat back down across from him and the smirk was back as he lifted a hand towards, "That's a nice earring you have..."

Charles was about to thank him but he gasped as the earring in his left ear slowly slipped out a drifted towards Erik's outstretched hand. He watched as the earring floated above Erik's hand and slowly caved in on itself, reshaping and reforming to a slender shape. After a moment, Charles realized, it was changing into a spoon and when Erik was finished, it drifted to his drink and dropped inside with a splash. Charles stared before reaching up to his ear, not believing what he had seen with his own two eyes, "That's... Incredible..."

Erik chuckled and lifted the spoon he had been using before the one he made. The spoon moved in front of Charles and caved in on itself much like the earring had, into a metal ball. After a moment, it extended and transformed into Charles's earring before dropping into Erik's hands.

Charles blinked at it for a moment before smiling and reaching out to take it. But before he could, Erik closed his hand around the metal piece and scooted closer, putting the earring back in place himself, "There."

The magic-man touched it tentatively and laughs, running his fingers lightly over it. "As I said. Simply amazing."