Erik is sitting opposite of a man he’s never met before, on a plane that he had no idea was in possession, of, whoever. He’s in clothes, dark blue, a different color from the pale, cold walls of his previous confinement, but as of right now, it’s all the same to him. He feels surreal, Erik thinks, that he’s going to wake up and feel the cool floor of his plastic prison, and realize that this is all a cruel part of his mind playing tricks on him. A voice cuts him out of his thoughts.
“-Let me know.” Charles says, patting Hank’s back then exiting the cockpit. Erik stares a little too hard, and Charles desperately tries to avoid it.
Erik unsteadily moves to take the seat opposite of Charles, being cautious, because how else is he supposed to act when the man he betrayed years ago won’t even look at him?
He feels the surface under his dress shoes, some extra that Charles happened to have at the mansion, along with the clothing. Erik is 90 percent sure they’re all his. The surface rumbles, and the plane finally takes off into the sky, the cabin thick with tension. Erik decides to break it.
“Your hair. It’s long.” He almost mumbles, staring what seems like holes into Charles. Almost like Erik can’t believe what’s right in front of him.
“How perceptive.” Charles answers snarkily, not lifting his gaze from the newspaper in his hands. Silence, once again. “Who’s the one
brooding in the corner?” Erik gestures to the man with a larger-than-allowed-on-an-aircraft cigar in his mouth. Charles finally looks up.“That’s Logan. He claims he was sent from the future to stop Raven from killing a man named Trask and ending the world. We sent him, together. Apparently.” Erik doesn’t really have a good answer to that.
“Together?” Erik questions. Charles nods. Another silence.
“Why can’t I feel you? In my mind.” Erik says, with carefulness. Charles sets down his newspaper. Finally, Erik thinks. “Honest?” Erik nods. “I’m taking something Hank cooked up for me, so my legs function correctly again. And so I can sleep.” Charles almost chokes out at the end. Erik just keeps his gaze on the surreal presence of his old friend. “I miss it.” Charles looks almost offended. “Didn’t seem like it. You left. You abandoned me and took Raven. You abandoned me!” Charles shouts, getting more riled up by the word. “I lost my fair share as well, Charles.” Erik defends. What is he even defending? He knows what he did was wrong, what is he doing? “Oh, dry your eyes, Erik, that doesn’t justify what you’ve done.” Charles says , calming down. Erik knows it doesn’t justify anything he’s done. He’s done speaking though. It’s too much, too little, and he feels like crying. So he does.
He can’t stop what’s coming as he feels hot tears clog up his waterline, and fall, almost deafening compared to the silence between him and Charles. It’s embarrassing.
Erik lets the tears fall freely, and motionlessly. It almost feels nice, he thinks. Charles takes notice.
“Oh, Erik.” he says in a sympathetic voice, but still so far in Erik’s mind. All he notices is Charles shuffling a bit forward, and placing a long-forgotten hand on Erik’s forearm, and Erik almost snaps out his fit immediately. Then, the tears start falling for a different reason. “Erik, I must say, I absolutely hate seeing you like this.” Charles almost laughs, and Erik lets out a sniffly chuckle.
Erik relishes in the touch, the warm feeling of pressure that is Charles hand, and he doesn’t think he’s ever felt more sensitive in his life. That’s what 10 years of solitary confinement will do to you, he figures.
Charles motions to move his hand away after a solid few minutes, but Erik jerks his own arm and grabs onto Charles wrist. “Erik?” Charles questions. “Just, don’t. Leave it here. Please.” Erik almost begs. Charles complies. Erik falls asleep, knowing that his old friend is right there in front of him. He never wants to lose that again.
—
Logan decides that it’s a good idea to find a motel for the night, and once they all landed in Washington after a stuffy flight, nobody dejected to the idea. They find a shoddy motel off the highway, but it’s enough to please for the night. Erik just wants a bed. A shower would be nice as well.
“Alright, two rooms. Here.” Logan drops a pair of keys in Charles hands, and Erik feels the small amount of power in those little metal objects. He missed that, too.
“Me and Hank, You and Erik. See you in the morning, bub.” He says, pointing between the two. Logan and Hank walk away, and Erik notices that Hank keeps looking back, obviously suspicious of Erik. With enough reason, he supposes. Charles sighs.
“Alright, let’s go. You need a shower.” Charles mocks, and Erik is just delighted to be talking to him.
The room is not in the worst shape, there are two beds with rather ugly scarlet sheets, similar to the shirt Charles is currently wearing. A television, and a bathroom.
“Erik, you use the shower first. You’re in desperate need.” Erik laughs. “They didn’t exactly have these kind of amenities in the pentagon.” Charles chuckles. Erik feels almost uneasy.
Erik is sitting on a plush chair in the corner of the room when Charles walks out of the bathroom, hair wet, and in his nightwear. Erik basks in the odd domesticity of the situation.
“Erik, mind turning off the light? I’m incredibly tired. I know you are too.” Erik complies, and shuts off the lights with his ability, and tucks into the bed next to Charles’.
“Good night, Erik.” Charles says, turning his back to the other man on the other bed. “Good night.” Erik replies dryly. He doesn’t know what to do with himself. The man that hadn’t left his mind since that day on the beach, is right there next to him. Erik almost just wants confirmation that he’s there, that this is all real.
About half an hour passes since he bid Charles good night, even though to Erik, it’s been hours. Erik jolts as he hears a whimpering noise from the other man’s bed. He slowly stands, and asks, “Charles? Are you alright?” He moves cautiously to the other bed, and Charles jolts up, panting and holding his head, as if in pain.
“Erik! The antidote!” Charles winces out, and Erik’s hands instinctively reach out to cradle the other man’s face, ignoring the extreme tingling that induced throughout Erik’s body.
“It’s alright, Charles, it’s okay, you’ll get though this, no antidote, I want you to feel.” Erik encourages, despite Charles’ pain, he knows it will pass.
He rests his forehead on Charles’ as he positions himself to be entirely on the bed. Charles breathes deep, and Erik can faintly feel it in his own mind, and he smiles.
Charles wincing slowly dies down, and so does the pain, but Erik’s touch never leaves, his forehead still resting on his and his hands still on his jawline. “There you go, mein schatz, feel me, just me. It’s okay.” Charles calms down almost completely, and opens his eyes to meet Erik’s. He sighs heavily, then slightly smiles. “I can feel you.” Erik smiles as well, then removes his forehead from the other’s. “I can feel you. You’re right here.” Charles repeats, almost as if he’s trying to convince himself.
Erik wants to kiss him, he thinks. Kiss the man that made him feel whole, made him content with who and what he was, the man that he could positively not live without.
“Do it.” Charles says quietly.
Erik has no hesitation as he surges to do the thing he’s been wanting for far too long.
He kisses Charles, and he can feel the longing on the other man’s side, the feeling of want and love, just the same as him.
“I love you, Erik, I’ve loved you ever since I first met you, I never want you gone from my life ever again. It was horrible.” Charles cries, and Erik wants to as well.
“Charles, I love you so much. Words can’t describe it.” Erik cradles his other’s face in his hands. “I never want to be apart like that again.” Charles nods in agreement, and Erik notices the tracks of tears on Charles’ now rosy cheeks. He affectionately wipes them away with his own thumb.
“Oh, how I missed your touch. Your presence.” Erik mumbles as he kisses Charles’ wrist. They’re both tearful at this point.
Minutes pass and the energy has died down little by little, but the two have not separated once. Charles rests his back on Erik’s chest, as Erik is sitting against the squeaky headboard of the motel bed. Erik’s hands have not left Charles’ and they want to keep it that way.
“I’m so sorry.” Erik speaks into the air of silence, and Charles dancing fingers on Erik’s hand halt. “For?” he questions quietly. “Everything. Everything I have ever done to hurt you. I am sorry, beyond what you will even believe.” Erik almost whispers, and he knows Charles can hear his throat choking up the words. He hopes he can read what’s on his mind, and comprehend how sorry Erik truly is, for hurting the one person he will truly ever love. “Erik,” Charles starts, and tilts his head up to pull the other in for a kiss that melts both of their minds. Charles projects his own mind onto Erik’s, to show what beyond words can display. “I could never not love you, Erik. I always will. It made me upset, some days, knowing that I could never get over the man that made my life what it is right now, the man that changed it, and could never leave my mind, nor my heart.” Erik lightly touched Charles’ temple, and smiled. Charles smiled back. “Mein schatz,” Erik started, as he pulled him in for another kiss, and Charles read his mind as Erik answered his wordless question.
“Mein schatz means ‘treasure’ in my home language.”
Charles bashfully smiled. “Treasure?” Erik nodded. “Is that okay?”
Charles just laid his head back on Erik’s chest.
They didn’t need words.
Erik rested his chin on Charles’s soft head of brunette hair, and closed his eyes shut. Erik falls asleep, praying in the back of his mind that he won’t wake up to white walls and a non existent Charles resting in his arms.
Charles shut down the other man’s thoughts before his own slumber, and replaced them with the projection of his own body weight resting against the other man’s.
Erik got the best sleep of his life that night, and he knows it just gets better from here.