The sun is setting, casting long shadows across the mansion grounds. Erik stands by the edge of the lawn, his gaze fixed on the horizon as if the answers to their problems might lie somewhere out there. Charles approaches him, his voice calm but firm.
“This isn’t your choice to make, Erik.”
The metal manipulator turns sharply, his face a mask of frustration. “Then who’s is it, Charles? The humans who think we’re monsters? The government that would see us eradicated?”
Charles stops just short of him, his expression unyielding. “Let me finish. It’s not your choice to make, alone. Do you truly think your path—the path of violence and fear—will keep us safe?”
“It will make them think twice before coming after us,” Erik snaps, stepping closer.
“At what cost?” Charles challenges, his tone rising just slightly. “You want to protect mutants by becoming the very thing they fear. Do you not see the irony in that?”
Erik falters, his anger giving way to something softer, something more vulnerable. “I don’t want to lose you, Charles. I don’t want to stand by and watch them take you from me.”
“And I don’t want to lose you to the hatred you carry,” Charles says quietly, his eyes searching Erik’s. “There are other, more peaceful solutions, Erik. We just need to find them.”
Erik looks away, the weight of Charles’ words sinking in. For a moment, it feels as though they might find common ground. Then it’s gone, replaced by something harder, colder. “My way is the only way.”
“Erik-”
“I want to kill Shaw, Charles.” The words are sharp, final. “And I want to keep you safe. In the end, those two things are one and the same.”
Charles blinks, the weight of the confession landing like a punch to his chest. “You think… you think you can protect me by doing this?” His voice shakes just slightly, and for the first time, he sees the depth of Erik’s desperation. “Erik, vengeance won’t protect anyone. It won’t change anything.”
But Erik isn’t listening anymore. The fury is in his bones now, driving him forward, and yet, beneath it, there’s that silent plea to Charles to understand, to see the truth Erik can’t put into words.
“I can’t let him destroy everything,” Erik growls, his voice thick with emotion. “I can’t lose you, Charles.” He takes another step forward, so close now that the air between them crackles with intensity. “I won’t let anyone take you from me.”
Charles’s heart stutters at the rawness in Erik’s voice. He knows Erik’s been broken by the world’s cruelty, but hearing it like this—hearing Erik admit it, so openly—it hits harder than anything.
“I’m not afraid of Shaw,” Charles whispers, shaking his head. “I’m afraid of losing you.”
For a moment, Erik’s eyes flicker with something close to regret, but it’s gone almost immediately, replaced by a look that’s unreadable. “Then don’t make me choose, Charles. Because I can’t. I won’t.”
The tension between them feels unbearable now, but Charles knows, deep down, that despite everything, Erik’s choices are made with love. Love, twisted and fierce, but love nonetheless. And in Erik’s mind, the only way to keep Charles safe is to destroy the things that threaten him. Even if it means destroying everything else in the process.
And that’s the tragedy of it all.