A/N: See1like, rEdRoSeSiNaUgUsT, Kyoko, Cassy27, vampireluvr15, nonoreader, Kittendragon, nekoshuichi69, GeorginoschkaVincen, sarahbluerose13, Lunetta the Wind Goddess (x2), sami1010220, dracowillbeloved, and Haylia Jones, thank you! Your continued encouragement has been spurring me on to work hard on this and add more plot to make this story last longer. Still a ways to go yet!
The Party
Erik pulled into the parking lot of Indigo Hotel and Suites, surrounded by shopping bags, Charles's mind reaching out from the seat beside him, and a feeling of accomplishment. When he and Charles got out of the car, a bellhop volunteered to take their purchases up to the top floor, and the valet parked their car.
The car wasn't the one they had this morning. No, he had switched it out for a rented bright red Jaguar E-type convertible, shiny and new, its main attractive feature for Erik being that it had no back seat. Charles had assured him that showing off his wealth would go a long way to buying favor at the party tonight, so he spared no expense on the car or his shopping trip, buying a fancy suit, watch, and shoes, and other accessories. He also bought Charles clothes and basic necessities for him to keep, along with a suitcase to hold all of his new possessions.
Charles followed him back to their room, chain free. Amy had assured him that he did not need to be chained unless Erik wished it or the property owner demanded it, so he'd left them in the hotel room. Without those horrible restraints, it had been easy to forget their legal relationship. Charles's giddy excitement at being out and about, physically free, getting his own things had been quite contagious, once again transforming a mundane annoyance, like shopping, into a playful, fun experience he had no desire to rush.
As a result, they did not have enough time to go to the doctor's, as Erik had intended, so caught up were they in the novelty of their time together, free of the chains, equals at least in their own minds. But they did still have a bit of time before Amy was due to arrive. Erik, remembering the look of longing on Charles's face the day before when he looked out to the ocean, turned to him. "We have some time. How about we go down to the beach?"
Charles eyes lit up, agreeing. They changed into their swim trunks, giving each other appreciative glances along the way. Before they went down, Erik insisted on thoroughly lathering Charles with sunscreen. His naturally pale complexion, that was even further paled by his lack of exposure to sun for so long, made him highly vulnerable to sunburn. The fact Erik enjoyed the excuse to rub his hands all over him was an added bonus. That Charles loved it too became obvious as his trunks tented, giving Erik a savory smile.
When Erik ran out of places to rub sunscreen on him, Charles returned the favor. Erik stood still for a few blissful minutes, getting rather excited himself as Charles stroked him everywhere with the lotion, touching him thoroughly in a way he had never before. Finally his resolve cracked. "I think I missed a spot," he said, pointing to Charles's lower back, swiping the bottle from his hand, nailing his target with its contents, rubbing firmly and dipping his hand underneath his trunks. Charles stole it back from him with an impish smile, squirting a large glob on Erik's lower stomach and smearing it, venturing south in much the same way. Thus started a lotion war, stealing the bottle from each other, squirting and rubbing more and more provocative places, up their legs, on their nipples, Charles even rubbing some on Erik's ass underneath his swim trunks, just in case.
Their playful groping of each other nearly caused them to get sidetracked, but the lure of the outdoors, especially the ocean, called to Charles strongly, and when he realized the time, he told Erik they needed to get going. So they did manage to get out there before too long. Charles reluctantly eased their excitement with a telepathic command that Erik consented to, curious about the ability.
Erik laid himself out on a towel, admiring the view of Charles in his brand new, blue swim trunks, which brought out the blue in those infernal eyes of his. The young man splashed in the surf joyously, seemingly caught up in a memory, presumably of Raven. After a few awkward attempts at swimming, he finally managed a slow doggie paddle. Several minutes later, Charles came back, dripping, and settled on his own beach towel beside Erik. He started making shapes in the sand absently, his eyes far away in a world of his own. Erik thought about Charles's stolen childhood, feeling fond of Charles's attempt to recapture it with a sandcastle.
When Charles grew bored with the sand, he returned to the ocean, Erik following close behind him. Erik swam around with large, confident strokes, never venturing far, calling out suggestions to Charles on how to improve his swimming, which he was a clearly rusty at. Erik, after thinking it over, decided that it was rather urgent that Charles learn to swim, since they might have to swim for it after he shot Shaw, so he ended up telling him to take it from his mind to be sure he got it.
Swiping his wet bangs away from his eyes, Charles entered Erik's mind slowly, hesitantly, trying to feel what Erik felt, know what Erik knew. After a minute, Erik felt his head start to throb with pain, but he breathed evenly, trying to relax and soothe it somehow. Charles however, realized soon enough that his efforts to feel what Erik felt caused him pain, so he withdrew.
Fortunately, even in that brief time he'd gathered enough to improve his swimming significantly. In fact, a few minutes later, Charles dove under and snuck up behind Erik, splashing him and pulling him underwater. Then he surfaced, a bright, impish smile on his face.
"I'm going to get you for that," Erik promised, voice deep, hair dripping water into his eyes.
Charles grinned wider. You'll have to catch me first. He took off for the shore, splashing and running like crazy.
Erik grinned and followed, though knowing he could catch him all too easily, didn't try to get him right away, making a game out of it. He grabbed him a few times, allowing Charles to twist free, grinning, and Erik laughing. They reached the shore, and Charles raced back to their towels, kicking up sand, Erik hot on his heels, making half hearted grabs at him with Charles ducking out of the way, a broad grin on his face.
Finally Erik, seeing that this exertion was beginning to tire his under exercised mutant, decided to put an end to it. He leapt forward and tackled Charles to the ground, twisting him so he was on his back, pale arms pinned beneath his hands. A sound not unlike a laugh escaped Charles, causing Erik's chest to expand in elation. They gazed at each other, smiling. Erik felt a hardness pressing at him through Charles's swim trunks.
So, Charles enjoyed being chased and caught by him. To be honest, he'd rather enjoyed it too, half hard himself. Did he even have an off switch? He'd thought the mind blowing sex they had that morning and their playful groping with the sunscreen would sate him for a good while, but it seemed that he could not get enough of Charles.
Now that you've got me, what are you going to do with me? Charles asked suggestively, eagerly, his blue eyes boring into Erik's green ones, his hair mussed around him, their mouths close and opened and panting slightly from the exertion, breaths mingling.
"I'm not letting you go, for starters," stated Erik, a small smile playing at his lips. "It's also payback time." Momentarily forgetting he was on a public beach, he ground down forcefully on Charles's hardness poking at his lower belly.
Charles barely contained a noise and bucked a little at the contact, his breathing increasing a little. Perhaps we can take this somewhere private?
Ripping his intense regard away from Charles, he glanced around at the fellow sunbathers he'd barely spared a thought to, noting the increasing stares pointed in their direction. Erik reluctantly rolled off of him. They were running out of time, anyway. They needed to go back to their room and get ready for the party. Damn it all.
He suffered from blue balls far too much around Charles.
They gathered their towels and made their way back to their room, dusting sand off themselves and each other along the way before they entered the hotel. They showered together, but, being short on time, didn't mess around beyond a few knowing, lustful looks.
Erik couldn't wait for the party to be over with already.
Maybe he just wouldn't go. Tempted, he thought over the possibilities. Maybe he could find the boat somehow tomorrow and sneak on. Charles could help him out quite a bit. But, as he continued to mull it over, there were just too many unknowns in that scenario, and Charles's ability, while good, wasn't real dependable yet. If it was just him, he would risk it, but he had Charles to consider now, and he couldn't leave him behind, especially if he had to make a quick getaway. Best to be invited and go with his eyes wide open, scoping out the situation in a safe manner, waiting for a good opportunity.
With a resigned air, Erik got spiffed up in his expensive outfit, and Charles put on his white one from the brothel. At the appointed time, Amy knocked on their door. Erik opened it with an attempt to school his features into a friendly expression rather than a wary or frustrated one.
"Ha-llo, Erik," she greeted brightly, clad in an attractive yet professional black dress.
Erik stepped out into the hall, with Charles following close behind him.
Amy and Charles's gazes met, silent for a beat too long in Erik's estimation. Before Erik could think on it, Amy spoke up again. "And what do you call him? Anything, or just 'slave'?"
"I call him Charles," Erik informed her.
"Well, Charles, you are quite adorable," she complimented him, in the way someone might say that about a kitten. She looked at Charles expectantly, but he did nothing beyond offer a small smile. "Doesn't he talk?" she asked, shifting her gaze back to Erik.
"I -" Erik searched for a response. If he expected to win a spot on Shaw's boat, he doubted any sign of weakness towards Charles would impress her or the rest of them, since they obviously supported strict slavery and suppression of mutants. So he settled for, "I don't allow him to speak."
"Interesting," said Amy. "But not unheard of." With a last curious glance at Charles, they set off for Erik's convertible.
Her eyes are the most groovy mutation, aren't they? Charles commented enthusiastically, exchanging a look with Erik behind Amy's back. I would really love to study that. Find out how that happens.
Erik gave him a small, acknowledging smile, unable to resist Charles's enthusiasm for learning. The three of them climbed into the Jaguar, with Charles squashed in the middle. Amy gave Erik directions for the quickest way to Chumley's, shouting them over the rush of air as they sped to their destination. Erik personally thought it couldn't get any better than this: speeding in a hot car with Charles pressed tightly against his side on a warm, sunny day, his life's goal within reach.
They arrived at Chumley's and strode in. Voices chatting and laughing met his ears, smoke filled his nose, and he suppressed a cough. The moderate lighting revealed it was full of polished wooden tables, mostly full of customers already, even though it was a bit early still. Clearly, this place was popular.
Erik, having no idea what the group of men looked like, followed Amy and waited for Charles's direction and suggestions. Charles was oddly silent, however, so Erik depended on Amy to find the right people. In fact, his head had felt strangely empty and silent from the moment he'd stepped in the place. Lonely. Erik glanced back at Charles, but he was still there, though with the new addition of a puzzled frown.
Amy led them to a table in a separate room full of people, mostly men but a few women there as well. She sat herself down on the side closest to the door. Erik sat down beside her and unthinkingly pulled out a chair for Charles. Charles just smiled a little and shook his head, settling himself on the floor at Erik's feet. Erik expected some kind of mental explanation, but none came. He glanced at Charles, concern increasing, but was unable to investigate further, because Amy spoke up then, introducing him to the group. Apparently she'd already given them the lowdown on him for they accepted his presence without question.
Erik smiled, stood, and shook everyone's hands, attempting to remember all their names. No one asked about Charles, who continued to sit on the floor, utterly silent, and, to Erik's mounting dismay, a bit tense. Introductions complete, he settled back in his chair and ordered a beer when the bartender came over. He felt Charles lean onto his leg, and was alarmed to detect shaking from his small form. Pretending to drop something on the floor, he bent down and hissed into Charles's ear, "What's the matter?" Erik straightened up immediately so no one would wonder what he'd been doing. But, still no answer from Charles.
The man sitting next to him - Jerry, he thought his name was - spoke up, distracting him from his concern about Charles's refusal to communicate. He made small talk with him, not saying anything of substance until Amy took matters into her own hands.
"Erik here has really been living the good life. He's come a long way from his rough start. He's ready to let bygones be bygones and make nice with Shaw - aren't you, Erik?" she prodded with a smile.
"Yes," lied Erik with an arrogant grin. "I've done quite well these years. I truly admire the world Shaw has helped to create: a safe, prosperous place for us humans, all united under the UN. Even the greatest of us make mistakes. He admitted to making one. No lasting harm was done. I wish to make peace with him and offer my...considerable...wealth and services to advance his noble cause."
"Inspiring," said Howard, an overweight, red hair balding man with a strange habit of wearing sunglasses indoors. He peered over the table, catching sight of the top of Charles's head. "Say, is he yours?"
"Yes," said Erik without having to manufacture the pride in his voice.
"Well, let's see him then," a Native American looking man with long, silver hair - wasn't his name Paul? - requested.
Hating himself, Erik took hold of Charles by the shoulders and forced him to stand, mentally shouting his apologies. Still not even a whisper of telepathy in response. Erik fought to paste a smile on his face as the other men and women appraised Charles.
"Isn't he just adorable?" said Amy, smiling.
"Watch it Lehnsherr, or she'll snap him right up," warned a white haired man, named Donald, with a good natured smile. "She has quite the weakness for any slave who strikes her as cute. Why, she took a shine to one of mine years back, a young teenage boy with big feet. Ended up trading him for legal representation."
"She persuaded me to sell mine too some months ago," piped up Howard. "A young red head boy I had. Though to be honest, I think I got the better end of the stick on that one. We couldn't figure out how to control his mutation, short of gagging or sedating him. Kept breaking all the windows and glass when he decided to scream."
"And I don't think he ever quite got over it. He still looks like he's stoned all the time, whenever I've seen him," commented Paul. "Though I don't think Amy drugs him, do you?"
"He's just adorable. I couldn't drug him! I've eliminated the glass in my house and keep him away from the windows," Amy explained to Erik, as if she was talking about a naughty puppy. "But you needn't worry about me squirreling Charles away from you, as cute as he is. I know he isn't for sale."
Through the conversation, Erik's grip on Charles's shoulders had increased, as if he expected one of them to steal him away. Amy had apparently noticed. Charles kept his gaze lowered and expression blank, his body tense and shaking slightly. He leaned into Erik and pushed himself into his grip, as if he wanted to crawl inside Erik, if he could. Out of sight of the group, Erik rubbed the back of his shoulders with his thumbs, the only reassurance he could offer right now.
"Looks a bit peaked, doesn't he?" commented Howard.
Getting an idea, Erik swung himself and Charles around so he had his back to the group, pretending to look him over. Now that the others couldn't see him, he hissed to Charles in the barest whisper, "Pretend like you need to puke." Louder, he said, "Now that you mention it - looks like he might have food poisoning or something - oh no, excuse me!" Erik exclaimed, as Charles's face paled further and he doubled over. Erik hurriedly dragged him to the bathroom and locked the door.
Barely two seconds later, Amy knocked. "Is everything all right in there?"
Charles gave Erik a hint of a smile, turned, and puked loudly into the toilet.
"Not at the moment, but we should be okay in a few minutes," explained Erik, looking at the door, though he couldn't see her.
"Okay, I'll save your beer for you then," said Amy. Her footsteps retreated.
Erik turned back to Charles, who was washing his mouth out in the sink. "You can puke on command?" asked Erik incredulously.
Charles smiled and nodded.
Erik grinned, amusement battling with his concern, flashes of hilarious scenarios running through his mind, laughter bubbling in his stomach. "Ever done it before? Thrown up on someone's shoes or something?"
Charles gave him an impish grin, but it slid off his face quicker than Erik liked. He decided to cut to the chase, the real reason he'd diverted Charles here. "What's the matter? Why aren't you?" Erik gestured between their heads.
Charles sobered, his ever present tension here going starker. He pointed to the back of his neck a short moment.
Erik frowned. "It reactivated?"
A nod.
"They must have a PMS device then," Erik said uneasily. While he'd known, theoretically, that Charles shouldn't venture off on his own because of these kinds of dangers and more, the reality of it still caught him off guard. "Nothing I can do until we get back to our room," Erik concluded in frustration. "Will you be all right?" Charles nodded a bit unconvincingly, but Erik accepted that answer. "You do know I don't mean anything I say here?" he couldn't help but add in attempt to somehow wipe the unhappy look off of Charles's face.
Charles met his gaze, smiled softly, and nodded.
"Good. Then, let's get back out there." Charles followed Erik back to the table, where he sat back down on the floor, leaning against Erik's leg when he retook his seat.
Erik surveyed the room, nervousness growing in his stomach. He'd gotten far too used to Charles's telepathy, far too quickly. How would he proceed successfully without it? How would he spot trouble coming? To top things off, his intuition for metal had grown weaker lately, his head hurting whenever he tried to sense it, so he didn't even have that to help him search out weapons. He should have left Charles the hotel, out of danger, away from this humiliation. He would have, if he'd known his abilities would be blocked. "He's fine," he reassured everyone, when they took notice of his reappearance. "Though I might take him to the doctor soon. Know any good ones?"
Amy beat them all to the punch. "I can set you up with a good one," she said. "Though it might take a few days. He's very busy. Do you think he'll he okay until then?"
Erik nodded. "He'll survive," he said carelessly. "He's prone to this sort of thing. Bit of a weakling."
"They all are, really," said Howard, and several nodded in agreement. Erik kept a smile pasted on his face, then downed the rest of his beer.
"Your slave looks familiar, but I haven't been able to place him," said Paul. "Where did you get him? Have you had him long?"
"I got him from a brothel up north recently," Erik explained.
"That's right!" exclaimed Paul, realization dawning on his face. "I remember now. He was in a brothel south of here. I went there for a bit of entertainment one night some years ago."
Erik found Paul's ensuing grin rather unsettling, feeling sick at the thought of this slime ball anywhere near Charles. He felt Charles take a hold of his leg strong enough to cut off his circulation, but he did not have the heart to complain. He forced his lips in a conspiratorial grin. "He is good at that," Erik gritted out, feeling sick, though someone watching him would think him thinking along the same lines as Paul.
"Never made a sound. Have you broken him of that?"
"It's not an issue. I won't let him speak," Erik stated.
"Good match for you, then. I tried everything but he just wouldn't give in."
A second hand joined the first, gripping his leg just as firmly, warm, uneven breaths puffing between the crushing handholds. Underneath the table, Erik reached out a hand an rubbed Charles's hunched, tight upper back reassuringly. He had a sudden vision of petting a dog the same way. He sure hoped that Charles wasn't taking it like that. But there wasn't much else he could do for him right now, short of giving up the entire plan to get to Shaw. "He is a good match for me," Erik agreed. Then, realizing how that might sound, added, "Very obedient."
"Let's see it then," said Paul, standing up and coming over in interest.
Erik wanted to refuse, but everyone was looking at him expectantly. If he was to impress them and win favor and trust, convince them that he was one of them, he had to put on a show. "Charles, stand up," he said firmly, though his hand, out of sight, was still gentle.
Charles released his leg, and Erik fought to keep from making a face as sensation returned to it. The mutant stood up slowly, a bit shakily, gaze still averted to the ground. Once Erik's leg was recovered enough, he stood too, facing Charles. He searched his mind quickly for something that might impress the others but hopefully not be too humiliating for Charles. So he settled for, "Kiss me."
Charles put trembling hands on Erik's shoulders, closed his eyes and pressed his lips to his. Erik kept his eyes open, wrapping his arms tightly around Charles, more protectively than possessively, though a perverse part of him thrilled to the heady feeling of showing that Charles was his to a room full of people. After several seconds, he decided it was enough, and gently pushed Charles away.
"Impressive," said Paul as if Charles was some kind of dog who'd done a very neat trick. "He had a real reputation for stubborn disobedience back when I met him."
"He was no better when I got him, but we reached an...understanding...in the end," said Erik. Paul only stood a few feet away now, so he had to resist the urge to pull Charles behind himself.
"You succeeded where the government failed, then. A great asset to our group," mused Paul. "What's your secret?"
Erik blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "Alcohol," he said. "Keeps him docile."
Several men chuckled. "Never thought of that," commented Howard, clearly amused. "Must be suffering from hangover, then?"
"You're probably right," agreed Erik, glad for the convenient explanation for Charles's retching.
"You wouldn't mind sharing him, would you? We could use a good bit of entertainment tonight," Donald piped in.
Charles grabbed Erik's arm in a crushing grip, and he searched his mind desperately for some excuse. Fortunately, Amy decided to intervene. "Come now, must you all really be so focused on sex? We have a job to do. We're here on business. Shaw is going to be here tomorrow and we need to be ready."
"You're such a spoilsport, Amy," another man, who Erik forgot the name of, complained. Several agreed.
"She's right, we need to talk business," defended Howard. Erik figured he must be one of the leaders, for at his insistence, the group reluctantly quieted.
"Let's start with a toast," suggested Erik, intensely relieved. "To Shaw, the man who helped pave the way to a better world, and continues to serve such an exceptional end." He raised his glass, along with everyone else, then sat back down. Charles released his arm and settled back on the floor.
Jerry began passing out letters to everyone except Erik. "Sorry, but you don't know the code," he said.
"What's all this?" asked Erik, though he thought he had a pretty good idea.
"Intel that's been gathered for Shaw all around Europe. We believe there's some kind of organized illegal activity going on in regards to the slave trade so we've been trying to track it. Now we're all going to read it, put together the puzzle pieces, and come up with a report for Shaw." A few minutes after he finished distributing, and everyone had begun to read quietly, he spoke again. "Say, do any of you have Rowle's letter by chance? I don't remember seeing it."
Erik's mind leapt to the letter, which currently resided in his suitcase at the hotel. He tried to think of a way to use it to his advantage, but considering how easily it could backfire, he decided not to. "Rowle?"
"Barber from up north. Say, you came from there recently, didn't you?" said Jerry. "Did you meet him, by chance?"
"Yes. I had my hair cut by a barber named Rowle. Must be the same one, because he told me about this meeting," Erik lied.
"Maybe it got delayed in the mail. He has terrible handwriting," someone suggested, to general sounds of assent.
After that, their conversation made no sense. Erik realized they had launched into some code he didn't recognize, most likely the same one from the letter. Amy smiled apologetically and made small talk with him occasionally so he didn't get bored as he sipped at his beer. Charles sat utterly still below him, but Erik didn't spare him much more than a few glances, despite his concern, observing the group instead. Howard did most of the talking, cutting in several times, and by the long suffering looks on their faces, it was something he did with annoying regularity.
Finally they wrapped up their meeting, with Erik none the wiser about what was said, especially with Charles's inability to help. Erik followed Amy out the door, with Charles trailing close behind him.
When they settled into the car, Amy finally spoke up about the verdict. "Congratulations. They all decided to extend an invitation for you to join them on Shaw's boat tomorrow. Whether Shaw will grant you a private audience is beyond their control, but you can at least be there for dinner, and Shaw might make an appearance then. I will come to your hotel room when he arrives and take you to where the Caspartina docks."
Erik nodded, his surge of triumph muted by the sight of Charles slumped by his side, face pale and blank, a stark change from the glowing, playful man he'd been before the party. He had succeeded, but at what cost? How would he make this up to Charles?
Too caught up with his concern, Erik did not spare any more attention to Amy for the rest of the drive back to the hotel or notice her secret smile as she observed him.