Dynasty
The next morning found the mutant family at the table in the kitchen for breakfast. Alex was still ignoring Erik, the two youngest children questioned the metal bender like a shiny new toy. Charles sipped at his tea as Hank explained improvements he wanted to make to the elevator.
“What’s under the school?” Erik asked, the question caused Hank to choke on the coffee he was currently drinking and Alex patted his back.
“A danger bunker,” Charles responded smoothly, “You knew that.”
“Sure, but there is something else. More metal,” Erik replied, watching the other closely. “It goes out to the coast.”
“We added more to Hanks lab and Cerebro,” Charles answered, looking unbothered as he leaned forward to wipe a crumb from the corner of Jean’s mouth.
“Pretty big for a lab,” Erik commented, his powers feeling down under the structure. Whatever it was, it was big and had different halls.
“Indeed,” Charles hummed, setting down his tea before pausing and putting a finger to his temples, “Sean is here.”
Seconds later, the familiar sounds of Sean’s sonic screen reached their ears and just outside the window they saw him land. The red head came jogging through the doors seconds later with windswept hair and a bag.
“Sean, what the bloody hell are you doing here?” Charles questioned, raising his eyebrows at his adopted son. “You have a final today.”
“I took it early. The family group chat is blowing up, no way am I gonna stick around while Child Abandoner is kicking around the house,” Sean responded, walking over to grab some toast and ruffle Scott’s hair. “Have you not checked your phone?”
Charles sighed, “Did you fly all the way here?”
“Uh…” Sean closed his arms to hide the built-in wings on his hoodie, “No?”
“Really? Your flight time has gotten longer,” Hank piped up, bringing out a notepad and scratching some numbers on it, “Did you have to land at all?”
“Nope, I attached a camelback so I don’t get dehydrated,” Sean beamed, pleased at the praise from the scientist.
“Truly? That is amazing,” Charles mused before shaking his head. “You need to be careful. You should have taken a break.”
Sean hummed, waving his hand at his father before his eyes fell on Erik, “Oh hello, Child Abandoner.”
“Sean, it’s nice to see you,” Erik greeted, ignoring the title. Sean had gotten taller since the last time he had seen him. His read hair was still shaggy and hanging loosely around his head.
“Like my documentary?” Sean asked, his eyes glinted with mischief, “Not gonna say I’m sorry for the twitter explosion afterwards.”
“It was well done. You have a real future in the film industry,” Erik answered, ignoring the quip. After everything that happened, there was really no point in hiding his relationship with Charles. They were going to tell everyone after the wedding anyway. It was only a matter of time before it came out. Now that Jean was in the picture, the urge to claim her was something fierce. To let everyone, know that Jean was his daughter, that Charles had been his.
“Thanks,” Sean responded, looking a bit uncertain how to respond before turning his attention to Jean and swinging her into his arms. “How is my fellow ginger doing?”
Erik was quiet for the rest of the meal, thinking over things. He needed to contact Raven and the brotherhood to discuss plans. He needed to talk to Charles about how to move forward. He wanted to stay and come home. Of that he was sure but he still wanted to continue his work with the brotherhood, he couldn’t just up and leave his passion. He still had to worry about the other group that had been taking the mutants. Just because other mutants were involved did not mean they were good, Shaw was proof of that. The metal bender looked over at Charles, so beautiful in his element. The relaxed posture and easy smiles towards the children, it seemed like so long that those smiles had been solely directed at him and Raven.
“Charles,” Erik projected and the telepath’s mind immediately brushed against his own in acknowledgment, “Can we talk?”
“Of course. We can talk after dinner? I’m afraid I have classes to attend to,” Charles responded, not stopping his conversation with Alex for a second. It was curious to see how easily the telepath could have so many conversations at once. At any given moment, he could be talking to someone else. It makes you think what is left unsaid to the room.
“Do you talk to the children like this often?” Erik pressed the questioned in his mind.
“Yes, we share a link. Jean prefers this way of communication. She likes projecting her memories at me,” Charles responded, projecting one of Jeans memories into Erik’s mind. It was of Jean coloring and watching Charles teach. “I think she will be a telepath.”
“Why? Isn’t she already telekinetic?”
“Secondary mutations aren’t crazy to think about, after all she is a product of one,” Charles responded, a hint of amusement flickering in Erik’s mind, “She is very receptive to telepathy and I have a feeling.”
“Your secondary mutation… how did you never get pregnant before? We never used protection.”
“They assumed it developed within that year or had laid dormant for so long.”
“Can you still…?”
“Yes, I am able to conceive another child. The paralysis is from my mid-thigh down so it still…works,” Charles answered him within his mind, unconsciously moving to touch his legs and shifting slightly in his seat. The telepath would not lie and say he didn’t miss his legs but he had accepted what happened to him. It didn’t make him any less than he was but the reminder of it was still a bit sad. Things he missed out on because of them. Charles sighed, trying to refocus on the conversation with Alex as memories flitter through his head of the early days after the accident. Charles taught his classes, leaving Jean and Erik to spend the day together. He read her stories, played dolls with her and listen to her babble about her life. There was something so easy spending time with her, she didn’t know what he had done or the wrongs he had made against her father. It was nice. Sean had tried to subtly check in on them everyone once in a while but Erik could always see him lurking.
After dinner, Charles led Erik into his private office and towards the chess board they had spent so many nights at before. The telepath felt elated to have Erik in the mansion, yes there was still things that needed to be discussed but just having him back was a step in the right direction. Once he told Erik everything then all would be well. This was the happiest he felt in awhile, the love of his life back with him and all his children together. Only if Raven would return as well.
Charles knew the boys would struggle to get used to Erik but he also knew they would forgive him with time. They were still holding on to the hurt and Charles couldn’t blame them for that. They did not have the advantage of seeing Erik inside and out, knowing his motivation for every single thing he did. Not to say Charles was not still hurting at it but he knew Erik was closer back into his heart than he let on.
“You know, I have plans for this place. I mean to turn it into a real campus. A university,” Charles said as he reset the chess board from their game last night, “I get students from all over the world and some just want to visit.”
Then
Charles had his fingers threaded through Erik’s as they walked the grounds of the mansion in New York. The telepath was silent for most of the tour, thoughts and feelings tangled up in that head of his.
“Liebling?” Erik questioned, when Charles stopped them and turned towards the house. His blue eyes scanning the place.
“I hated this place. I hated the place in England too. I hate all the houses we had, they always had such bad memories attached to them,” Charles said softly, squeezing Erik’s hand.
“Promise me, we will build the school. I know I said it earlier but promise me we will do it,” The telepath pleased, turning his sad eyes to the metal bender.
“I promise. Together, Liebling,” Erik swore, cupping the telepath’s cheek and bringing him into a kiss before resting his forehead against his own. “We will protect them all.”
Now
“You’ve done a good job,” Erik praised. “Black or white?”
“You can have white this time,” Charles answered, they played for a while, an easy conversation flowing between them. Almost as if none of the bad stuff had come.
“We need to talk.”
“Alright,” Charles responded, moving his rook to take one of Erik’s pawns.
“I won’t give up the brotherhood. I can’t just sit by and let our people be killed. I built that organization to free them,” Erik started, slipping his hands into his lap. “I want to have this with you. I want our family back but I won’t turn my back on mutantkind.”
“I wouldn’t ask you to but I cannot condone killing,” Charles responded, his eyes earnest as they peered at Erik. “I can’t have you bring violence into this space. This is meant to be a safe haven from violence.”
“Do you plan on hiding every mutant here then?” Erik questioned, his arms crossing and giving Charles an incredulous look.
“No, I am preparing them to work and flourish in society,” Charles answered, calmly.
Erik snorted at that, saying, “That sounds a lot like conforming.”
“Well we all can’t be running around killing humans willy nilly, now can we?”
“They deserved it.”
“Maybe but we are not meant to decide who lives or dies. That is a slippery slope, my friend.”
“Then we should let them get away with their crimes?”
“No but killing isn’t the answer. There are other ways,” Charles responded, there was a look on his face like he was debating on telling Erik something.
“I did what I needed to do.”
“What Shaw did you to does not justify what you’ve done,” Charles said, sitting back in his chair to give Erik a look. The chess between them forgotten and the mental debate shut down in his eyes.
“You have no idea what I’ve done,” Erik scoffed back, his grey eyes focusing on the telepath.
“I’ve been inside your head, I know quite a bit,” Charles replied, his eyes knowing as they bore into Erik’s own.
“Stay out of my head!” Erik snapped, anger shooting through his veins. A mix of guilt and anger at the seemingly violation of his privacy.
“Get in your head or stay out. Please choose one, Erik.” Charles said with a sigh, rubbing his temples, “You know I can’t control everything I see when I go into peoples head.”
“You see, this is why Raven never wanted you in there,” Erik sniped and Charles eyes flashed in anger at the metal benders words.
“If you want a fight, Erik. I will give you a fight.” Charles snapped back, his voice getting dangerously close to yelling. Erik just raises his eyebrows in challenge, leaning forward and encouraging the telepaths anger. “You abandoned me! You took her away and you abandoned me.”
“Alkali Lake, Milbury Hospital Essex House for Mutant Rehabilitation, Ice Box. Mutant brothers and sisters all dead at those facilities. Countless others experimented on, butchered. Where were you, Charles?” Erik exclaimed, the metal in the room shaking and rising in the air, “We were supposed to protect them! Where were you when your own people needed you? Hiding! You and every mutant here. Pretending to be something you’re not. You abandoned us all”
“No, I didn’t!” Charles snapped, rising to meet Erik’s anger with his own. “What exactly am I pretending to be, Erik? A father? A teacher? These are my children, our children. I built this school as a safe haven for mutants, to teach them violence isn’t the only path for them. What would you have me do? Put on a ridiculous helmet and slaughter a bunch of humans? What are we meant to do with all the mutant children brought here? Raise them as soldiers to fight against humans? I have responsibilities to my children. I am protecting them in the best way that I can!”
“And how is that? Raising them to be a bunch of pacifists? To conform to a world that hates them?” Erik snarled back. “What about the mutants left in those facilities? You leave them to suffer at the hands of the humans you hold so dear.”
“No, you don’t get to say I have abandoned the world. You don’t get to lecture me for what I have or have not done because you have no idea what I have done or currently do,” Charles shouted back, his anger and hurt rising to the surface. “You don’t know because you left!”
Whatever Erik intended to say was cut off by Logan entering the room, his eyes scanning the room quickly.
“Everything okay, Chuck?” Logan questioned, his eyes narrowed in suspicion at the metal bender. Erik was suddenly reminded of lyrics from Charles song again, as if it was being echoed in his own head.
“The scar I can't reverse
When the more it heals the worse it hurts
Gave you every piece of me, no wonder it's missing
Don't know how to be so close to someone so distant”
And all I gave you is gone
Tumbled like it was stone
Thought we built a dynasty that heaven couldn't shake”
Erik was stuck on that, everything that had wanted to build together, he had tried to crumple to the ground. Their family for one thing. The school Charles wanted to open together. Everything Charles and him had spent years building hard fallen. Charles had rebuilt them. For the second time, Erik realized he was losing Charles again, this path would only lead to their separation. The metal bender didn’t want that, he needed a new approach.
“Yes,” Charles responded telepathically, bringing his fingers to try to sooth the oncoming headache, “Yes, we were just having a discussion and it is over. Erik is leaving.”
Erik did not leave. He went to his room and planned. This was not how he wanted things to go. Alex was right, he couldn’t walk in here and expect everything to be alright. They wouldn’t get very far if all they could do was fight and bring up past hurts. Erik was not willing to give up rescuing mutants. He had no idea if this other group were good or bad, they needed to be either stopped or maybe recruited.
The metal bender sat there planning.
Step 1: Apologize to Charles and the boys.
Step 2: Find out what Charles is hiding under the school.
Step 3: Find out who the other group is.
Step 4: Win Charles back.