Please watch your step as you enter Pangea's Roller Coaster of Doom, thank you, strap in, sit back. Keep those hands and feet and arms and legs and faces tucked in, man.
Also, there will be 16 chapters. Jesus Christ.
Also, oh my god.
More beautiful things that I am entirely unworthy of, jeez you guys are going to wreck me:
The hilariously-brilliant maimo (4xontuesdays) has drawn Erik's worst nightmare here, along with poor Charles covered in slime here!
i. imgur .com / TvDCA .png
i. imgur .com/ YV9bX .png
And the mega-talented zimothy has further detailed all of the horrible things I do to Charles here!
i42. tinypic .com/ 112e4qd .png
Thank you again so much! All of these have made me laugh harder than Wade at his craziest. Once again guys, just remove the spaces and let me know if the links don't work!
Chapter XIV.
As you were, gentlemen
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Charles hits the deck with a grunt, all of the air rushing out of his lungs, but this is probably a good thing because at the same time a plasma ray decimates the wall exactly where his head had been a split second prior.
"Shit!" Wade shrieks, and then Charles momentarily loses track of the bounty hunter as he lies breathless and stunned on the ground as another explosion rocks the ship.
Charles tries picking himself up, and while his good leg cooperates just fine, his other leg quivers for a moment before giving out again. Alright, so, none of that. Obviously his leg has suffered enough abuse and probably needs medical attention. Only that's just the thing, isn't it.
"I AM DEADPOOL!"
The bounty hunter's battle cry has Charles looking up sharply, searching for his ally. Wade is standing in the middle of the hallway panting, holding his swords out in front of him in some kind of ridiculously dramatic pose. This is further enhanced by the fact that he is literally surrounded by fallen Nyrulians that are all bleeding out from various sword wounds, and with his crazy eyes and blood-covered blades, Wade looks terrifying.
And then he looks back over at Charles. Jesus.
"Shit, man, you've gotta get up!" He wipes his swords off on one of the Nyrulians and jogs over, slipping his the blades back over his shoulders into their respective sheaths.
"I can't." Charles confesses. "My leg is done." He pauses, swallowing painfully. "Listen, Wade, it's been great, but if you can get out of here, you really—"
Wade picks up one of the Nyrulians' plasma guns and shoves it into Charles' hands. "Hold this, okay? Because you are fucking ace with these things, bro."
Charles blinks, utterly thrown. "What—" He breaks off with a yelp when Wade suddenly lifts him up, slinging Charles over his shoulder. "What are you doing?"
"Still got that gun?" Wade asks over his shoulder.
"Yes," Charles sputters, "but I—"
"Then let's go, dude!" Wade whoops, and then takes off running with Charles dangling over his shoulder like some sort of vegetable sack.
Charles feels like he's going to be sick at this rate, with everything bouncing crazily as Wade practically sprints up the hall. This is utterly undignified in every possible—
"Drop shaft!" Wade shouts, and then suddenly they're in midair.
"Aaaahhhh!" Charles can't help the automatic shriek that comes along with the sensation of his stomach relocating from his gut to his mouth, flailing a little in Wade's grasp as they fall. Wade is laughing like a lunatic, the sound probably echoing throughout the entire goddamn ship.
"Fifth deck!" Wade manages to get out between laughs, and suddenly they come to a halt so abrupt that Charles nearly pukes when Wade's shoulder digs into his stomach—which has apparently decided that it likes its old home anyway.
Wade steps back onto solid ground—thank god—and then stops, because six Nyrulians are staring at them, blinking.
Wade cackles. The hair on the back of Charles' neck stands on end. "It's all you, Your Majesty!" Then he shoves through the nearest two and is off running again, the Nyrulians hot in pursuit.
"Jesus," Charles says, and it may or may not come out a little desperately as he watches the Nyrulians gaining on them. For all the speed Wade has, the Nyrulians have pretty long legs.
Then he remembers the plasma gun he's still clutching on to for dear life.
Oh.
Right.
Charles grits his teeth and raises the weapon, trying his best to aim, but it's pretty bloody difficult while he's being carried off by a madman, so he gives up on that and just starts shooting.
"WOOHOO!" Wade shouts as soon as he hears the blasts, throwing his head back to laugh some more as Charles takes down the Nyrulians giving chase one by one.
"Aaaahhhh!" Charles shouts, mostly because it seems like the proper thing to do. Every time he shoots the kick of the gun nearly launches him off of Wade's shoulder, but he still somehow manages to hit all of the Nyrulians, but only on the account that he's practically waving the gun back and forth as he shoots.
"DEADPOOOOOL!" Wade lets loose his battle cry as they come to a sliding halt, entering the hangar at last.
The hangar is a boiling mess of activity, Nyrulians fleeing to their Bug Fighters as another explosion rocks the ship. Charles has a moment of dread—there's no way he'll ever be able to keep all of them at bay—but it soon becomes apparent that he and Wade aren't even worthy of notice; safely ignored as the Nyrulians stick to their escape plans.
"There she is!" Wade says happily, reverting back to what is his evidently normal speaking voice, and Charles can only assume he means Bright Morning Sun Rising Over—er, Marvin.
At least Charles hopes he does, because suddenly everything is tilting wildly to the left, and oh god, he's pretty sure that the Nyrulian ship has finally blown in half.
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Logan stares.
"What the fuck?" Scott breaks the silence once a-fucking-gain. But really, he's only voicing what Logan knows everyone is thinking. "What the fuck just happened?"
"I don't know." Logan admits slowly. He feels dread. Very real, very painful dread. He does not want to even think about turning around, because he does not want to even fucking see the expression on Erik's face right now as they watch the two halves of the Nyrulian ship slowly begin to drift apart.
The Nyrulian ship that Charles is on.
Was on.
What the hell kind of ship just explodes? There are no other ships in the vicinity save for the Heartsteel, so they sure as hell aren't under attack. Logan almost wants to fucking punch his screen through because really? They came all this way, just for Charles' sake, and now they have to watch their target break into pieces on its own fucking accord, the Prince still unaccounted for?
Logan hears movement, and he dares a glance backwards. Erik has dropped back down heavily into his seat. Logan still avoids looking at his face. The man needs some form of fucking privacy right now.
"No," Scott is saying blankly, "fuck, god damn it, no."
Logan shakes his head, unable to comprehend it himself. Charles—Charles his Prince, his Deputy Commander, his goddamn friend—is gone. This time for good.
It's unthinkable.
It's also undeniable.
Logan punches his screen.
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Wade bulldozes his way through the panicked Nyrulians, and they make it to the Marvin.
"Marvin! How's it going, man?" the bounty hunter calls cheerfully as if he hasn't just been running for his life through an exploding enemy ship. Charles nearly feels dazed. "I've missed you so much, dude!"
"I think you ought to know I'm feeling very depressed," the ship's mainframe replies, and it is genuinely the most morose-sounding AI Charles has ever heard in his entire life, Jesus.
"Don't be that way, bro!" Wade answers as he dumps Charles into a chair. "Here you are, Your Majesty!"
Charles can only sit, still clutching the plasma gun with both hands, his grip knuckle-white. "Let's go now, please."
"You heard the man, Marvin!" Wade slides down into the second chair next to Charles. The bridge is rather cozy, but Charles suspects he's a little too used to larger ships like the Heartsteel. "Seal us up and get us outta here!"
"This will all end in tears." Marvin sighs, but the engines begin to hum as the ship powers up.
Wade flips through his controls quickly with the air of practiced ease, which is slightly reassuring since by this point Charles was almost expecting the bounty hunter to announce something along the lines of sorry, old boy, but I'm rather new at this whole spaceship thing, but here goes nothing, just hold on tight, there's a chap. Charles usually doesn't like being proved wrong, but this is an exception.
"We need to get those hangar doors unsealed and opened," Charles realizes, staring across the hangar at the huge doors that lead to freedom, "shit, what are we going—"
"Locking on," Wade says, gripping his controls with manic glee, "I hope those bastards can't breathe in space! FIRE!"
The Marvin blows through the hangar doors with a single beam of bright green light, opening the hangar to empty space. There's no sound, but Charles has enough imagination to hear the giant whoosh of air as everything is sucked out into the vacuum of space—debris, smashed Bug Fighters, and Nyrulians. The Marvin's engines give a pulse, and suddenly they're shooting forward, zooming out of the doomed Nyrulian ship.
"Woohoo!" Wade crows, laughing wildly again. "Fuck yeah, we made it! I am Deadpool, son! Marvin, you saved our lives, dude!"
"I know." Marvin says. "Wretched, isn't it?"
Charles laughs weakly, slumping backwards in his seat and closing his eyes for a moment. They made it off the Nyrulian ship. Alive. He can hardly believe it. Now if they can somehow make it back to Earth Empire space—
"Fuck." Wade says suddenly.
Charles' heart begins to sink even before he opens his eyes. That doesn't sound good.
"I've calculated your chance of survival," Marvin adds, "but I don't think you'll like it."
"Thanks very much, Marv!" Charles says as he opens his eyes. He's rather on the edge of hysteria because now what?
There is a second Nyrulian ship.
"I've got firepower," Wade remarks, and Charles can't remember ever hearing the bounty hunter sound so grim, "but if they decide to come after us, it's not going to be enough, bro."
Charles doesn't answer, because he can only stare. The Universe hates him. The Universe wants him dead. He might as well come to terms with this fact now, rather than later when he's being strapped down by Nyrulians to have every last bit of information he knows pried out of him.
But wait—
One side of the Nyrulian ship glimmers for a second. That's odd, but…Charles doesn't even dare to hope, staring intently at the same spot. If it really is…there. It happened again, and that only confirms it. Charles has to swallow, his heart caught in his throat.
"Hail that ship, Wade," he says thickly, unable to keep from smiling, "use an urgent code."
"Are you insane, dude?" Wade asks incredulously.
Charles laughs because god, wouldn't he like to know. "Just trust me, dude."
"Alright, man," Wade says with a shrug, "whatever you say."
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Sea urchins feed mostly on algae, his mother reads off the information plate in front of the tank, and recent research has shown that their teeth are self-sharpening and can even chew through stone. Sea urchins are sensitive to light, touch, and chemicals. Sea urchins inhabit all oceans. Due to dredging on the ocean floor and pollution in the water, the sea urchin populations are declining and thought to be threatened with extinction.
Erik can remember that day at the aquarium with his mother and father. It'd been the weekend. A special trip for just the three of them. He'd thought the sea urchins had been boring. They looked interesting, but all they did was sit there. They weren't as exciting as, say, the sharks.
Erik wishes he would've spent more time at the sea urchin tank.
Everyone is still frozen in place, watching the ruined Nyrulian ship pieces drifting slowly apart; not even Logan punching his screen garnered any sort of reaction. Erik can't even stand; sitting on the edge of his seat and watching his entire world come crashing down.
He has fallen into a black hole. His heart has been crushed by immeasurable amounts of pressure.
"We're being hailed, sir." Cassidy says suddenly, sounding bemused as he breaks the silence on the ship. "The transmission says it's urgent."
Erik doesn't even have the energy to respond.
"Probably those fucking bastards crying for help," Scott sneers, "ignore it."
"No, wait!" Cassidy jumps up from his station with a little dance, suddenly giddily excited and drawing stares from everyone on the bridge. "You're going to want to see this, sir!"
The main screen flickers as the CO patches the transmission through, and suddenly Erik is looking at Charles.
Charles.
"Charles." Erik manages to get out, staring at him. He can't quite believe his eyes. His heart nearly stopped at first, but now it feels like it could pound right out of his chest because Charles is alive.
"Hello Erik." Charles' voice is a little shaky, but he's giving a tiny smile. The Deputy looks pale, except for a massive bruise across the bottom of his face and chin, and he looks like he's completely covered in some sort of dried-out slime, but he is alive and Erik still can't quite make himself believe it.
There's a flurry of movement on the bridge, and suddenly Erik is surrounded by everyone; all of them crowded together around the chair as they all peer at Charles through the screen. Even Raven appears, flickering into view as a Keflar.
"Charles," Scott says, grinning widely, "what the fuck."
"Nearly gave me a damn heart attack, you sonovabitch," Logan growls, but he's grinning too, "and if I wasn't so goddamn happy to see you, I'd punch you in the face."
"It is good to see you, Charles." Raven says, and that starts up a clamor from the rest of the bridge crew, repeating her sentiments over and over.
Charles laughs, pure and delighted; some of the color starting to return to his face and cheeks, and it is at that point that it is possible for Erik to fully believe that this is real. Erik is suddenly glad that he's already sitting down, because he thinks his knees would have gone weak again.
"I'm glad to see you all too." Charles says, relief evident in his voice. His eyes find Erik again, blue and warm. "Permission to come aboard, Commander."
"Granted." Erik says without hesitation, holding Charles' gaze.
"We have a ship," Charles adds, "she should fit down with the Magneto just fine."
"Raven." Erik says without looking away.
"I have a lock on your location, Charles," Raven reports, "please stand by."
"We are in your very capable hands, darling." Charles assures her, and then he's looking back at Erik again, offering another small smile. "See you soon."
Erik nods, his mouth suddenly dry. "Yes."
The transmission ends, and the main screen reverts back to the view of the ruined Nyrulian ship.
"Everyone get back to your fucking stations," Scott snarls suddenly, and the crowd around Erik's chair quickly disperses, and Erik thinks he hears the TO add in a mutter, "and mind your own goddamn business."
Erik stands, unable to stay still any longer. His gaze finds Logan. "As soon as the ship is secure, get us home."
Logan tips his chin in acknowledgement. "Yes sir." He pauses, calculating. "Permission to speak freely, sir."
Erik raises an eyebrow. "Granted."
"Erik," Logan says, "get the fuck off the bridge."
Scott snorts.
"As you were, gentlemen." Erik says dryly.
Then he turns and goes, because it's not like he needs to be told twice, let alone at all.
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"Dude, that was a fancy-ass bridge you've got going on," Wade says as soon as the transmission ends, "is that really your ship?"
Charles is half-surprised that the bounty hunter stayed so quiet throughout the whole thing. "Well, it's Erik's—I mean, the War Prince's ship. But I am the Deputy Commander."
"Nice, bro." Wade nods appreciatively. Then he looks speculative. "So. You and that War Prince."
"It's nothing." Charles says quickly, pretending to be busy watching the Heartsteel drawing closer as Raven carefully draws them in with a tractor beam. The bay doors of the hangar are already open wide to admit them in.
Wade snickers. "That wasn't nothing, man. That was a little something-something, if you know what I mean."
"Oh god, shut up." Charles says, but he smiles a little as Wade dissolves into laughter. He thought he'd been glad to see the bounty hunter back in the monster's room on the Nyrulian ship, but that pales to what Charles had felt as soon as Erik had come into view on the screen. Erik was here. Erik had come after him.
It's making him feel a little light-headed.
Or that could just be the pain in his leg. It's getting hard to differentiate.
Wade is still snorting as he powers his ship back down. "Alright, dude, whatever you say." He looks back over at Charles, his grin a little softer now. "You can let go of that now, man. I'd say we're pretty safe."
Charles realizes that he's still clutching the plasma gun, so tightly that his fingers have cramped. "Oh, right." He lets it slip from his grasp, flexing his fingers gingerly. He feels weak with relief and suddenly exhausted for it. Safe. They're safe. They're going to go home.
There's a gentle bump as the Marvin settles into place in the Heartsteel's hangar, the great bay doors shutting behind them and sealing tightly. By the time pressure and oxygen levels have been stabilized, Wade has finished toying with his controls and pushes himself up out of his seat.
"Here, dude," he says, offering a hand to Charles, "let me help you, bro."
"Thanks." Charles says gratefully, accepting Wade's hand. Together they manage to get one of Charles to his feet and one of his arms slung over Wade's shoulders, and then the bounty hunter helps him hobble carefully through the small ship and down the lowered gangway.
Erik is waiting, watching them descend with Raven standing beside him, and Charles' breath catches in his lungs for a moment, because Erik is looking at him, really looking, and Charles has spent the last few hours believing that he'd never see Erik again, but now they're here, and, and—
"This is Wade Wilson," Charles blurts out before he does something embarrassing, but he can feel his eyes, the traitors, start to water a little, "he saved my life. A lot of different times. If it weren't for him, I'd be dead by now. It's almost certain. Oh, and he likes to go by Deadpool too. On occasion."
He's babbling and it's awful and Wade is sniggering a little, but Erik doesn't even seem to notice, reaching forward to gently lift Charles out of the bounty hunter's grasp, his eyes never leaving Charles' face. Charles can't look away as his weight transfers from Wade to suddenly Erik.
"Raven, show Mr. Wilson up to the medical bay," Erik says, and he seems unable to look away either because he holds Charles' gaze unblinkingly, "and see to it that he's made comfortable. Then be so kind as to cut the live feed to the bridge that I know Scott and Logan have brought up."
"Right away, sir." Raven says calmly. She gives Charles a smile. "Welcome back, Charles. Mr. Wilson, this way, please."
"See you later, dude." Wade claps Charles on the back and tosses a two-fingered salute to Erik before following after Raven's hologram form.
The elevator door hisses shut, and suddenly they are alone.
Charles did his best, but he really can't hold back anymore. "Erik," he says, the name riding on half of a sob, "you came for me."
Erik shifts them so that they're pressed together, one of his arms snaking around Charles' back to pull him even closer. "Of course I did," he says, low and calm, but beneath that he sounds just as shaken as Charles feels, "I would never—I couldn't just—" He breaks off, unable to finish, his grip on Charles tightening at the mere thought.
Charles savors the feeling of being in Erik's arms, even though he's balancing on one leg and using Erik as a sort of support beam in order to remain upright in the first place. He rests his forehead against Erik's shoulder, breathing in Erik's scent. Erik came for him. Erik crossed all this way, deep into enemy territory, just for him.
This sends an entire new wave of emotion through him, and he suddenly recalls his promise to life, the universe, and everything, so Charles swallows, steeling himself. He draws back a little so he can look up at Erik again, drawing breath to speak.
"Erik, I—"
"Charles—" Erik starts talking at the same time, and they both break off, awkward and unsure of themselves until Charles laughs a little and Erik gives a faint smile. "Go ahead. You first."
"Are you sure?" Charles asks, because he's not trying to cop out or anything, it's just hard to think straight when Erik is looking at him like that. "Because I can just—"
"Talk, Charles." Erik is regarding him with fond amusement, and Charles is now hyperaware of how close they actually are.
"I—I thought I was dead, when I realized I was on that Nyrulian ship," Charles admits, a little shaky at first but his confidence grows with every word, "I thought that it was over, and I was terrified out of my mind, you know, but mostly I was mad at myself, because I thought I was going to die, and I never told you that I—" he falters here, but Erik is still looking at him, so Charles takes a breath and continues in a rush, "I love you, I've been in love with you for years now, god, and I—"
Erik cuts him off when he leans forward, closing what little distance is left between them, and kisses him.
Charles feels like his brain has completely disconnected from the rest of his body, because Erik is kissing him, but rest of him seems to be up to speed because it doesn't take any thought at all to tilt his head back to give Erik better access, opening his mouth as Erik's other hand comes up to rest on the back of Charles' head, Erik's fingers sliding through his slime-dried hair.
Charles' eyes flutter shut as Erik deepens the kiss, slow and languid but filled with intent as he slides their tongues together, swallowing Charles' gasp as their mouths move against one another, and somehow Charles feels himself being half-carried, half-walked backwards until his back gently presses against the wall of the hangar. Erik breaks off for a quick breath but then he's back, licking his way into Charles' mouth and Charles opens again willingly, overwhelmed with sensation and Erik and Erik's mouth on his and he's glad Erik's still practically holding him up because otherwise he thinks he would collapse, weak with relief and giddiness.
"I thought I lost you." Erik murmurs, right against Charles' lips, sounding so pained that Charles' heart gives a jolt. "I thought I lost you."
"I'm right here," Charles whispers back, a little breathless and slightly dazed, "god, Erik, I thought—"
Erik kisses him again, so carefully and gently that Charles thinks he might break, so he kisses Erik back for all he's worth because this is better than he ever could have imagined, and he is exhausted and hurting and covered in dried slime and emotionally wrung out but right now he and Erik are the center of each other's universes and none of that matters.
Charles supposes that this was always true—it just took them awhile to realize it.
"Come on," Erik says gently when they finally break apart again, his words still a breath of air across Charles' lips, "let's get you up to medical."
"Okay," Charles agrees, even though he is loath to remove himself from their current position, pressed so closely together that he can feel both of their hearts pounding madly in tandem. "I—what are you doing?"
Erik maneuvers one of Charles' arms so that it's back around his shoulders, but then he bends and scoops Charles up, slipping his arm underneath the backs of Charles' knees. "Is this good?" he asks, looking down at Charles. "Does it hurt your leg?"
"No," Charles sputters, "but it's hardly necessary, you don't have to—"
"Let me do this, please." Erik interrupts him firmly, already heading for the elevators.
Charles resists the urge to squirm, and instead settles back into Erik's strong grip. "Alright." It's nice, actually. It's only adding to the surrealism of his return to the Heartsteel. He rests his cheek against Erik's chest, feeling his entire body go limp and relaxed as all of his remaining tension drains out of him, leaving nothing but bone-deep exhaustion. A few moments later he feels Erik press his lips against the top of his head, and Charles relaxes even further, making a small sound of contentment as he closes his eyes.
He barely remembers the elevator ride or even if they run into anyone on their way down the hall, and the next thing he knows he's being lowered carefully onto one of the soft medical bay beds and both Hank and Erik are hovering over him, Hank asking all sorts of questions that Charles is having a hard time understanding because he's so bloody tired, and then he realizes that Erik is gripping his hand gently so he squeezes back, fairly certain that he catches a glimpse of Erik's smile.
"I'm going to put you under, Charles," Hank's voice comes through the hazy fog of exhaustion, "you need to rest and I need to look at your leg, so you'll be out for a few hours, alright?"
"Erik." Charles says, because that seems to be one of the few words still left in his vocabulary at this point.
"I'm right here, Charles," comes Erik's voice, quiet and calm, but also filled with warmth, "just close your eyes and sleep. You're alright."
"Just a nap," Charles assures him sleepily, and Hank must be injecting him with something because that stings and he can't even keep his eyes open anymore, "I'll see you for dinner."
He thinks he hears Erik give a small laugh. "See you for dinner, Charles."
Charles finally drops off after that, but not before he has time to think that he rather likes the sound of Erik's laugh.