Charles was the first one to wake the following morning. Christmas was slowly approaching them and the following day would finally be Christmas Day and Grace had gone over the top along with Darwin. Both of them had been plotting a Christmas dinner for weeks now and Charles had agreed to pay for whatever they needed.
The snow had stopped falling as he settled down at the kitchen table and began to chew on his slice of toast. He enjoyed his time alone in the morning. It provided for him to gain his own thoughts before the mutants needed training or needed guidance. Charles was more than happy to accommodate them. He enjoyed having them with him, but he needed time on his own too.
"It's definitely quiet in here."
Charles hadn't even sensed another presence, but the sound of the cold voice was enough to make him sigh in resignation. Charles didn't turn around as he continued to chew on his toast. Instead he waited for him to come to him. He slowly came into Charles's vision and settle down in the seat across from him, pulling the metal helmet from his head as he did so.
"You should have knocked," Charles simply replied.
It had been months since he had last seen Erik, but he hadn't changed. He still looked the same but the glare which focused on Charles was much more forceful than he could ever imagined. Charles resisted the urge to read his mind, but deep down he knew that he didn't have to. He knew that Erik was here for one reason.
"You would have known I was coming then," Erik replied and undid the button to the simple black coat he wore over his suit. "Besides, what is Christmas without a little visit to old friends?"
"Do you think that wise?" Charles wondered. "She is slowly recovering from what you have done to her. Do you intend-"
"-I never knew you were so concerned for her."
"She is a pupil and, more importantly, a friend," Charles answered quickly. "You could have had those if you didn't abandon us. I never wanted you to go, Erik."
"But then you would never have had a chance to worm your way into Grace's life," Erik snarled back to Charles who shook his head slowly. "Do you think that I don't keep tabs on her? I know everything that she does, but she seems to be doing a lot of things with you. Emma says your thoughts are difficult not to read. Are you growing weak because of her?"
"What Grace now does is none of your concern," Charles shook his head, his hair flopping into his eyes as he did so. "You abandoned her for your own self centred goals."
"I abandoned her because I had no choice."
"You always have a choice," Charles shot back. "You chose wrong, Erik. You just cannot admit that to yourself. You chose wrong and now you have to live with the consequences."
"It has been less than six months since she was carrying my child," Erik snapped. "Do you think that she has moved on from me? Do you think that she has fallen for you?"
"There you go again," Charles snarled. "You speak of her as though she is your possession...as though she is not allowed to move on and find someone who will care for her...she is her own woman. She is not yours."
Shaking his head, Erik folded his arms over his chest and leant back, unable to believe what he was hearing.
"I once considered you my best friend," Erik whispered, "and now you try to steal the only woman I've cared for from me."
"You pushed her away," Charles said, refusing to feel any sympathy for the metal bender. "You pushed her from you and left her."
"Charles, do you have any spare wrapping paper? I think Alex does but I don't want to..." she trailed off when she entered the room and saw the two men sat across from each other. Grace's gaze flickered between them before her orbs settled on Erik and she felt her pulse race and sweat begin to form on her brow.
He stood up and Charles did the same as she backed away to the door.
"What are you doing here?" Grace wondered from Erik.
The long black winter coat he wore fitted his form perfectly and Grace couldn't help but be entranced by the way he walked towards her with his hand stretched in front of him to cup her cheek. His hands were cold and his cheeks tinted red after being outside, but she struggled to care. A small smile played on his face as he brushed her hair behind her shoulder. She looked fuller than she had done before he left her and the black dress she wore highlighted her curves.
"I came to tell you...well..."
Charles wondered if even Erik had the nerve to tell her why he had come to her. He wondered if he could actually do it and try to wreck her again. Charles didn't put it past him, but Grace urged him.
"What?" she asked. "Do you know how long I have been without you? And now you suddenly appear...when I thought...no...I would be foolish to think that I could ever get over you."
"You seem to be doing a good job of it," Erik said with a snide tone.
Grace's brows arched as Erik turned back to look at Charles. She noted the glare between the two men and then snatched Erik's hand from her cheek. She pushed him away by his wrist and shook her head.
"Do you think I'm sleeping with Charles?" Grace checked.
"I know that Charles wants to sleep with you," Erik mumbled and Grace's mouth hung open.
"Enough, Erik," Charles demanded. "Can you not see what you are putting her through?"
But Grace had gone. She had thought about Charles in a similar sense. She knew that he was safe and kind and generous. But she had never wanted to act on it. She had always thought of Erik when that had happened.
She only managed to get so far as the entranceway when Erik had his hand around her wrist to stop her from storming away. Charles had hung back, but Grace didn't even want to see Erik at that moment in time.
"So why did you come here?" Grace wondered from him. "You came here to stop Charles...from what, exactly? Did you think that he would force himself on me? Did you think that he would hurt me, Erik?"
"No," Erik snapped back. "I came here to...to..."
"To make sure he didn't act on what he felt?" Grace guessed. "Why? You don't want me...you proved that when you left me...why can't you just let me be?"
"Because you are mine, Grace," Erik snapped, unable to control himself as he moved his hand around to the back of her neck and he wondered whether or not she would be able to control her powers around him. "You have always been mine and I have always been yours. I want you with me. I want you by my side...hell...I want to spend as much time as I can with you..."
"But you still can't say it, can you?" Grace tried to shove him away. "You still can't tell me that you love me."
Erik's eyes widened and he opened his mouth, his tongue running over his lips as she shrugged. It was then when he acted, ducking his head down so that he could capture his lips against hers. Grace did her best to fight him off, wanting nothing to do with him. But he was too strong. He continued to kiss her until he had her pressed against the wall, his hands running down her sides to her hips as his mouth continued to roam over hers.
She inhaled a sharp breath and only then did she hear footsteps enter the entranceway. Erik let go of her and he turned his head over his shoulder to see Charles rushing towards them, a look of pain and hurt on his face. He looked between them and shook his head. He had been foolish to think that Grace would ever let go of Erik. He should have known better.
"You arsehole," she grunted to him, unaware that all of the mutants were huddled around the landing above them. "He didn't deserve that."
"Come with me," Erik urged her.
"No," Grace shook her head. "I need to find Charles."
"Why?" Erik asked her. "You don't love him-"
"-But you don't love me," Grace interrupted. "There's nothing else, Erik."
Erik watched her as she ran back down the corridor and he remained leant against the wall, closing his eyes as he wondered what was going on in their relationship. Perhaps they didn't have one anymore?
"Charles!" Grace yelled out as she rushed down the corridor back to the kitchen.
She found him sat on the small patio outside in nothing but his blue shirt and trousers. She still wore her dress as she bent down to sit next to him on the small stone wall. She folded her arms over her chest and bent her head forwards as Charles looked to her.
"Why are you not with Erik?"
"You...because...how can I be with Erik?" she settled on that question. "You know who he is. I know who he is...and it was wrong for him to show up here to be cruel to you. It was mean."
"He does care for you," Charles admitted to her. "But I think it is nothing more than lust sometimes."
"And what he said about you?" Grace urged him.
Shrugging, a small dry laugh escaped Charles and he looked to the white covered sky above him. "What do you want me to say? That I have been in love with you for months now? I have tried not to, but it is so hard, Grace...and everything about you is intoxicating. I lust after you, of course. I am a man...but at the same time I see how much he has hurt you. I see how much you have been through in your life and I want to take that pain away. I want to be there for you when you're troubled, happy, angry or even sarcastic. I cannot promise you that I would never hurt you, because I do not know what will happen in the future. But I can promise you that I would never intentionally try to hurt you or cause you pain...quite the opposite, in fact."
Grace remained silent as Charles continued to stare at the sky. Could she honestly believe that Erik would have said the same to her? Could she truly believe him? Charles was sincere in everything that he said. There was raw emotion to his voice. There was a longing there and Grace didn't have the heart to turn him away. No, she didn't want to turn him away.
Kissing him on the cheek, she rested her cheek on his shoulder and wrapped her two arms around one of his, closing her eyes to remain content. Charles didn't know whether to wrap his arm around her shoulders or stay still. Instead he looked over his shoulder and noted Erik stood at the kitchen sink.
The two men stared at each other before Erik silently left and Charles wondered what he would do now.
...
A/N: Thank you so much to everyone reading and please do let me know what you think!