"Lost in your thoughts aren't you Charles ? Isn't it a bit paradoxical for a telepath?"

The young man looked up. Erik was standing in front of him, casually playing with his coin and checking the newspaper. It was Saturday morning and they were having a rest in a cosy hotel room of Florida. After the events of the previous day, they had reckoned a good night of sleep was necessary.

"Not exactly in my thoughts." The telepath had indeed two fingers pressed against his right temple. When he removed them they left two white marks on his skin which faded almost instantly. "I believe Wolverine was hold captive by some kind of soldiers. They didn't wear the regular military uniform though. I need to know who they're working for... If they are government officials "

"As if you didn't already know the answer."

The telepath looked up. "I don't." he paused. "Erik... For the time being, we're on their side."

The metalbender sneered : "I'm on nobody's side. And I'm certainly not CIA. I'm just going to find Shaw..." He grinned at the thought "And then I'm going to kill him." he added casually, snapping his fingers. The coin he had been playing with swiftly flew at the other end of the room and got stuck in the flowery wallpaper. They both fell silent.

Charles swallowed hard and tried to focus on the content of the conversation rather than on the slighty satisfied smile now visible on Erik's face. "Then... W-why are you staying?" As much as he was appalled by Erik's quiet statement, he couldn't help but find the metalbender's disregard for rules (and the condition of the wallpaper) utterly sexy. He was trying to sound reproving and cursed himself when he realized he was actually stuttering.

"I thought this was obvious Charles". Uttered the half whispering, half growling metalbender. The husky tone sent a shiver down the telepath's spine. Ignore it. Don't let him change the subject. To his great displeasure, Charles once again realized he couldn't bend his own mind : he should have been trying to convince Erik to let justice handle Shaw... Instead he was stupidly staring at his mouth while the the man drew closer.

The next thing he noticed was the hot sensation of Erik's lips closing on his own. Oh god. He tried to fight his arousal as his friend deepened the kiss Thisiswrongthisiswrong and began to stroke his right cheek with the tip of his fingers. Charles managed to pull back "Listen to me... Please. There will be no... turning back ... Erik!". The telepath gasped. In response to his feeble protest the metalbender had seized him firmly and made him stretch on the couch. He was almost lying on his back now, with Erik bending over him. The metalbender let out a quiet snigger.

"What's so funny?"

"You." Charles frowned slightly. He knew where this was going. "You being so naive. Would you truly be suprised by them running experiments on mutants?" Erik was speaking softly, in a bed voice rather than in an accusing tone. "Government considers us as freaks, Charles. Or worse, weapons." While slowly climbing onto the couch, he began nuzzling the telepath's neck. Charles was losing it. The young man was struggling, both with Erik and with himself, but his words automatically changed into moans since the metalbender wouldn't stop kissing his lips. They weren't really convincing neither considering his friend was probably aware of what was going on below his waistline : "We're not weapons. We're-stop- peace-keepers. Please Erik-" the metalbender had the upper hand. He held the telepath's arms backward. Their legs were twisted, and he was rubbing his thight against his friend's groin, causing tiny electric discharges to run throughout his body.

"Oh please. Why do you think the CIA wants to work with us? So they can spare some of their precious human lives and send us to the front lines!"

"You're wrong.", gasped Charles.

He had sensed mistrut in his friend since the very beginning. Knowing what the man had been through, he wasn't going to blame him.. But when it came to diplomatic relations between mankind and mutantkind, they seemed to be speaking at cross purposes.

Forget your body, focus on your thoughts. Focus! He wasn't going to let Erik lead the game- Not when lives (and the tidiness of the room, which they have to leave in less than an hour) were at stake. But first he had to keep Erik's lips away from his body. Any part of his body. Since his own mouth wasn't of any help at the moment, he decided to deal with the issue telepathically : "Erik, kissing me won't make me shut up. Telepath, remember?" . Under the circumstances; the fact that he didn't wasn't surprising. For one second his companion looked startled and paused. One second was enough. "Mindbender also." uttered Charles, managing to free himself from Erik's grip. In no time the two fingers were back on his temple.

"Freeze."

This was an order Erik couldn't fight. For a moment they both stayed motionless, the metalbender looking down at him with lust and anger. Charles tried to pull himself together. He ran his free hand in his sweaty hair and drew a deep breath.

"Listen to me. We have to trust them. Moira's been with us since we tracked down Shaw's submarine. We can't turn our backs on them before we know everything about Wolverine's backstory." Charles was enunciating carefully, but his voice was almost reduced to a whisper "They want to work with us to see if we're ready to cohabit. We only have to prove them we are not going to wipe them out." He looked directly into his friend's burning eyes. He frowned , suddenly he was seized by doubt.: "You... You don't intend to do that, do you?"

"Gmfgmf"

"What? ... Oh, right."he released the metalbender's throat and tongue.

"They won't give a damn about your peaceful theories when they find out a guy who can turn into a bomb tried to start World War III." mumbled Erik.

Charles sighed. This was a lost cause. "Fine. Then we're at a deadlock." He whispered in the other man's ear before biting it gently. He was feeling an unfamiliar pain in the chest. "Charles-" the metalbender growled dangerously. "We want the same thing.".

The telepath laughed sadly : "Oh, my friend... I'm sorry. But we do not.". It was clear Erik was here to hunt. Shaw, himself... Were merely his preys. Of different kinds of course, but preys nevertheless. He straightened up slowly, re-adjusting his shirt. "We have to vacate the room before 10 a.m. I suggest we get going.". He was heading up towards the bathroom as he let Erik go.

Once he was locked inside, he cast a glance at his reflection in the mirror.

You bloody, self righteous jerk.

He was trying to figure out what to do next when he heard the slamming of the door.