Anote: No more deadlines for a while (WooHoo!). Thanks to all the new readers who have favourited and are now following our story. I was listening to Phil Collin's song 'I wish it would rain down' when I was writing this chapter. Truly a beautiful and powerful musical narrative.

Chapter 40 – Let it rain down part1

Erik hadn't been in a bar in years. Two years and four months to be exact. It was peculiar how easily it all came back to him. It was like pulling on a warm, familiar cloak. The haze of smoke, the clink of glasses and the titter of soft conversation whirled around him in a soothing recognizable pattern of comfort. As the evening wore on, the discordant noises marching across his skull had become more manageable.

Unfortunately, the impatient bartender came back to his spot, where he sat at the counter staring meditatively into the reflective surface of the highly polished bar. He could feel the man trying to bore a hole in the top of his head.

'Sir, you're taking up valuable real estate. You have to buy another drink if you want to sit here.'

Erik silently pointed to the right where his drinking companion's empty glass resided. The barkeep shrugged his shoulders as he once again refreshed the lady's cocktail. He had already tried to engage his visibly upset patron in some conservation as per his unofficial duties as a bartender but the tall man had glared him into silence as he nursed his single drink of scotch. However, although the bartender had already moved to the other end of the long counter, he continued to ogle in perverted fascination as the beautiful woman wrapped herself sinuously around the man's leg. She wasn't having any luck getting him to talk either but it was damned exciting to watch her try!

With a sigh, Erik again reached down and removed her hand as she boldly inched up his inner thigh. You would think after multiple tries she would lose interest. He would much prefer if she started to talk again. She wasn't unintelligent and he was actually thinking that he had been lucky that someone who understood the intricacies of commodities trading had chosen to sit next to him.

'No, thank you,' he repeated politely if not a bit absently.

'We can go somewhere and talk,' she suggested in a seductive voice, apparently not being used to being brushed off by anyone she had selected for the night. 'Or we could not talk if you would prefer that.'

Erik ignored her and took a sip of his drink. He enjoyed the burn as it snaked down his throat and hit his stomach with a satisfying sizzle. He sighed again as she leaned in to brush her lips against his ear, 'I think I have competition.'

Great.

So much for a quiet drink.

He resisted the urge to turn around and investigate as she stared curiously at whoever was looking. Grimacing as she hit him in the face with her long white blonde hair, he leaned away wondering if he shouldn't just get up now and walk out. He had been telling himself for the past hour to pull his phone out of his pocket and check his calls. No doubt a few of those hundred missed calls was the professor, who most likely was worrying himself into a state at his continued absence. No expensive drink could generate the kind of heat that he was feeling now as his mind reflexively flashed to Charles' naked body. He closed his eyes and absently ran his thumb along his bottom lip, remembering the feel of the small man pressed against them.

All he really wanted was to crawl into Charles' bed and sleep for a week. No voices, no mission, no nightmares and no responsibilities.

During the humid afternoon, he had walked aimlessly through the city until the thick black clouds of heavy rain had broken, driving him to his current location to seek shelter. Now that he had been here for so many hours, he was reluctant to leave his place of refuge. Wearily, he pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes, enjoying the cool rush of the AC over his skin. He was tired, down to the bone tired. However, he knew the longer he stayed, the harder it would be to explain all of this to…well…to whomever he had to explain it to.

'I'm late,' he remarked pulling out his wallet to pay for her drinks.

'For what?'

He gave her a steely glance as he rose to his feet, 'For reality.'

He looked down as her small hand clamped down on his, trying to prevent him from leaving. For some reason now, his need to return the mansion was becoming urgent. He could almost hear Charles' voice mixed in with the soft jazz music in the bar and the rain that pounded away on the pavement outside.

Erik, along with everyone else, looked across the room as a drunken voice rose over the layer of civility that had until this moment remained unbroken. Patrons collectively raised their heads to sneer, as a large man boorishly tried to push his unwanted company onto another. Screams and surprised shouts then erupted from the crowd as Erik walked over, and casually slammed the man's head against the concrete wall.

'Can I have a word?' Erik remarked politely as his opponent slid boneless down the wall.

As if by magic, a clear circle opened up around the combatants. Enthralled and repulsed all at the same time by the primitive tableau, the flock of businessmen and women in the bar excitedly jostled for a good view. No one offered to help, not after taking one look at the crazed look on Erik's face.

'Had enough?' Erik sneered at the pathetic excuse who miserably flopped around like a fish on dry land, clutching at his broken nose in anguish.

Erik grabbed the man's beer and poured it on his face, to which he screamed and sputtered, half crawling and half stumbling to the nearest exit. Two workers hurriedly came forward to 'assist' the man on his way.

Erik was seething as he took the now vacant seat. Raising one hand in the air, he signaled one of the passing waiters to bring two waters to the table. As he waited in tense silence the rest of the bar patrons eventually drifted away.

'I want to talk to you,' Charles began in a stern voice, 'but if you are going to start shouting, might I suggest that you take a walk around the block. I will wait here.'

Erik glared at his boyfriend from across the table, willing himself to be calm. There was no way that he was going to let Xavier out of his sight, not dressed like that! His eyes roamed the man's frame, checking for any injuries from his uncouth admirer when abruptly he became aware that the crowd was also appreciatively gawking at Charles and he transferred his disapproving stare to them all.

Thankfully, the professor seemed oblivious to all this lustful attention as he shifted his motor cycle helmet from off his lap and on to the table. Erik could see Charles' more conservative shirt and tie ensemble peeking out from the space in between his black leather jacket but he doubted that anyone else could. More than likely, they were all staring at the way the small man was attempting to push his rain drenched hair off his face; a gesture that made him look wild and dangerous; a demon lover materializing out of a long forgotten fantasy.

'Did you ride Logan's bike out here?' Erik cried out in annoyed confusion, trying to figure out why his quiet, bookish little friend, looked like he had just stepped out of a calendar for diminutive male strippers.

Charles calmly sipped at his drink.

'It was the only way I could think of to get through this Friday night traffic. You were not answering your phone and I thought you were in trouble.'

He pointed his tumbler of water at Erik's discarded 'date', 'I see that you are in trouble just not the type of trouble I expected.'

The woman waggled her fingers suggestively as the two men glanced at her.

'How did you find me? Why the fuck did you just sit here?! Jesus, were you spying on me?!'

Erik rattled out the questions like machine fire, trying desperately to keep the onset of panic from settling in. He and Charles had been together for less than a day and this had to happen! No matter how hard he tried; every good thing in his life seemed to go wrong. He wanted to insist that the professor had the wrong idea but the clichéd denial stuck in his throat. Something cold and uncomfortable began to wriggle around in his chest. Why should Charles believe him? The small man knew his dating track record was spotty at best.

Charles sighed. There would be no chance of a decent conversation with Erik on the defensive, 'Logan has GPS in all my phones. And I was sitting here wondering what to say to you. I have been calling and calling. How could you just ignore me like that?'

The older man averted his eyes. Having to care about someone on a consistent basis was a lot harder than he imagined. Was he even going to get a chance now to make amends? The memory of McCoy and Charles dancing at the wedding rose up like a specter of doom before his eyes.

The professor jumped to his feet as Erik's new lady friend approached them and the other man rolled his eyes at this ingrained gesture of civility.

'Christ, Charles! Manners aren't important at a time like this!'

'Manners are always important, dearest.'

It was like someone had suddenly pulled a giant sink stopper out of Erik's side and the tension flowed out of his body like a roaring river, leaving him feeling pleasantly numb and relaxed. Charles' unexpected use of his pet name had drowned out his fear and with great difficulty he suppressed the happy grin that was hovering about his lips. Charles wasn't mad at him. Life was beautiful.

'Charles, Emma Frost,' Erik supplied as the two turned toward him for the introduction, 'Emma, Charles Xavier.'

A mercenary light lit up her cat like eyes as she recognized the illustrious name. Hungrily, she surveyed the small man at her side.

'You're wasting your time,' Erik cut her off before she could speak, 'he's gay'

The unexpected information caused her to pause but then she shrugged looking at them excitedly, 'I don't mind.'

Charles and Erik exchanged glances, communicating silently through their long months of familiarity.

Where on earth did you find this awful woman?

Why are you looking at me for! Maybe she has rabies. Don't get too close.

'It's a pleasure to meet you Emma,' Charles replied with his habitual bow, 'Can you wait for Erik at the bar? I need him for a few minutes. He will be with you shortly.'

As she glided back to her seat in a bit of a muddled daze at having been so courteously but firmly dismissed, the professor drew his chair closer so that they could speak. Erik reached under the table and placed his hand on the man's thigh and he was thrilled when Charles anchored it firmly in place by covering it with one of his own.

'Charles, before you say anything I just want to say that I appreciate you giving me the benefit of the doubt about Emma. Believe it or not, she can carry out a fairly decent conversation about mutual funds.'

The professor brushed his thanks to one side, 'I didn't like the way she was hanging on to you but I could see that you were doing your best. Erik, I don't think I have a jealous nature so you can relax. I am not going to morph into some sort of animal every time you talk to someone. But don't mistake my silence for naïveté. You fuck up what we have and I will never let you touch me again.'

The older man blinked stupidly as Charles' verbal slap in the face was as effective as if he had used a sledgehammer. He had received the message loud and clear. Unfaithful behavior would not be tolerated. When did Charles become this scary?

'Anyhow you've got bigger problems at the moment. Do you know your parole officer has been trying to find you? Gerard left me a message saying that you lost your job this evening.'

Erik nodded his head.

'Don't leave me in suspense! What happened?!'

'Too much. The short version of the story is that I was having a really bad day. I think I need a vacation.'

Charles squeezed his hand in distress, 'It's me isn't it? I am putting too much pressure on you with this whole boyfriend thing.'

Erik leaned forward to silence the man with a soft kiss. 'At this point Xavier I think that's the only good thing going on in my life. Sorry, but it's too late to change your mind now. You are going to have to pry me off with a crowbar if you want to get rid of me.'

The professor gave him a gentle, amused glance from under his eyelashes. 'Thanks. What are you going to do about Gerard?'

'What do you think I should do?'

'I think you should call and at least reassure him that you are not halfway to Cuba.'

The older man groaned and slouched in his chair, 'I am going to need something stronger than water for that.'

As Erik dialed the number, Charles also took the opportunity to make an inventory of the man next to him. Naturally, the older man reeked of cigarette smoke but his eyes looked clear and focused. When he had pulled up infront of the establishment and realized that his boyfriend was in a bar, he had expected the worse. Charles knew how to sober up someone quickly (a left over remnant of his drinking days) but he doubted that it would pass muster with someone as sharp as Erik's parole officer. He looked on sympathetically as Erik winced; obviously getting an earful from the irate official.

Suddenly, the professor sensed a heavy presence on his back and he flicked his eyes to the bar to notice that Ms. Frost was intently staring at them both. He would let Erik figure that one out but she didn't seemed like the type to take no for an answer. Charles was lying of course; he did feel jealous. Emma was beautiful! There was a desperate and dark part of his mind that wondered what would have happened if he had chosen to stay at home waiting by the telephone for Erik to call. A shudder ran through his body; Erik had trusted him enough to let him walk off with his ex-boyfriend and now he was being called on to do the same.

Erik snapped his phone closed without even saying goodbye, 'What?'

'What, what?'

'Charles, I am not in the mood. What's wrong and don't tell me nothing, I can see it in your eyes.'

'I am just thinking about stuff. Why do I always have to tell you what I am thinking?! You never tell me anything.'

Erik growled low in his throat, his hard won peace of mind slipping away by the second. 'I need the keys to the bike. I have to get to the parole house like half and hour ago.'

Charles protectively clasped the pocket that held the keys. 'I can't! It's not mine to lend.'

'I am not going to break the damn thing!'

'Erik, please don't ask me!'

The eyes of their fellow bar patron's were focused on them again as they both rose to their feet in agitation.

'I thought you came here to help,' Erik hissed angrily. 'What's your problem? It's Emma isn't it? You're upset about it and now you're screwing with me.'

The professor sat down with a disdainful snort, 'I AM here to help, but you are asking me to break confidence with a friend who trusted me with one of his most prized possessions. I expected more from you Erik.'

In his anger and humiliation Erik reached out across the table to grab the man's forearm. How dare Charles speak to him like he was a three year old?! Only later it would dawn on him that he had been casually pressuring the academic to break the trust that he himself had come to rely so heavily on.

Irritation turned quickly into surprise, when the professor suddenly twisted his arm around and pushed up his sleeve. 'Erik, what is that?'