Gilt
Cuba was a huge mess.
Erik took a bullet because of Moira, he was too confident in his gifts the moment Charles took the helmet, while they stared at each other, Moira took the shot. All the fight left Charles when he saw Erik go down, too much blood on the white sands.
It all happened too fast.
Charles never felt more tired, with too many emotions at once, he was angry, sad, heartbroken, and worried to his bones. The world felt wrong.
If Hank and the red teleporter weren't there Erik would be dead.
All of it is Charles's fault.
The great master of magnetism now lies in a bed, the bullet caused his brain to swell, and there's no guarantee of when he would wake up or the consequences of the brain injury.
Charles looks at his friend/lover/ ex-lover, they never truly put labels on their relationship letting each other get lost in shared moments and long embraces.
Guilty is not a strong enough word to describe all the pain he feels, after all Erik has been through, to lose his life to a piece of metal, life has a cruel sense of humor.
The hospital that Erik lies on is a CIA facility, full of security and agents. Erik would hate to be here, vulnerable in the hands of the government, the master of magnetism is too paranoid to trust anyone but in places such as this the other man trusts even less, he was let down by too many people that came from places like this. To Erik being placed in a sterile bedroom with cold lights and machines would be too much like his childhood in the hands of Shaw.
The telepath scans the minds of the doctor treating Erik looking for any signs of prejudice against mutants or curiosity about their biology, some of Erik's paranoia rubbed on Charles.
Charles will make plans with Moira to move Erik back to the mansion as soon as it's safe to move the mutant, Erik deserves to wake up in a comfortable environment away from a place that resembles his worst memories. They were so free and blissful there, just a couple of days ago, how could it all go wrong?
Now Shaw is dead, Raven is full of anger, Hank is blue, Moira can't meet his eyes, and Erik is comatose.
Charles uses all his will to not enter Erik’s mind, he doesn't know if it could affect the injuries, that is what he tells himself but truly he is afraid to see the mind that he knows so well changed.
He is holding Erik's hand when Moira enters the room, she is timid in her approach, her mind projecting her sorrow. He doesn't pay her any attention.
The telepath is too busy trying to restrain himself, not enter the mind of the other men, all his will to not enter the mind that he is so used to now, a place that he felt welcome, he doesn't know if it could affect the injuries, that is what he tells himself but truly he is afraid to see the mind that he knows so well changed to something else, to find it blank, void of the usual thought, to find any signs that Erik is closer to the land of the dead than the living.
Moira touches his shoulder with hesitance, pulling him out of the spiraling anguish thoughts for a moment. She gives a tired look at Erik and asks about the kids. Erik’s kids, who are still waiting for their father to go back, to hold them, tell the stories, play with them, to be there for them.
Charles took that from them.
The children are in a different facility for their security, Erik didn't want to leave them there afraid to leave his children in the hands of strange CIA agents but Charles was the one who convinced him of the safety and reassured that Erik was the prompt the telepath to promise that he would take away the memories of the agents of ever encountering the children.
Together they left the kids there before going to Cuba, Chares remembers how tight Erik held them when saying goodbye, placing a hundred kisses all over their tiny faces that made the children giggle with delight, his head filled with love for the twins and determination to finish their mission, to have a life unafraid of Shawn where he could raise his children.
Erik sharing his hope for the future is too hard to say in words but he would let Charles in his head whenever they would lay in bed together, sharing his daydreams of the future with Charles, those were filled with the commitment to his children to give them a better life than the one he had, to give them a future where they can thrive.
Now the twin’s father lays too still in a barren room, with machines helping him breathe. The kids are still living unaware of the events in Cuba, someone needs to tell them.
Pietro and Wanda are only four years old, and Erik is their only close living relative, Erik’s family was dead even before the kids were born, all of them were killed in the war and the children's mother is long dead, childbirth complications but she had a sister who lives in Washington.
Erik is not on speaking terms with her, too much hurt between them as the sister never approved of the relationship of her late sister and Erik. Maybe her feelings did not extend to the children but Charles is not too sure, Erik never introduced the aunt to his kids.
Now the twins had no caregiver but they didn't know that yet, living in blissful ignorance.
Charles feels years older than his age, all the actions came to this point. He doesn't want to leave Erik but he needs to tell the children, to give the information to them kindly, that is the least he could give them, to face their innocent eyes and own the result of his actions.
“I’ll be back my darling” Charles says to Erik giving his hand one last squeeze to follow Moira outside.
Time to face the music.