Lovers (2)
Erik woke up with an arm full of Charles, which was about the second-best way to wake up in his opinion. Sleepily, he ran his fingers through Charles´ dark curls. The other man blinked and looked up at Erik, apparently, he had already been awake for a while.
“I can´t date you,” Charles blurted out, his blue eyes wide and worried.
“What?” Erik asked, still half asleep.
“I can´t date you,” Charles repeated earnestly. “I don´t date smokers. And I honestly wonder how Raven hasn´t known this relationship was fake just from this fact alone.”
“Are you being serious?” Erik groaned. He tried to pull Charles closer again, but the Brit kept resisting.
“Yes! This is very serious,” Charles insisted. He propped himself up on his elbows, studying Erik´s face with intent.
“How about this – we are only dating while I´m actively not smoking. The second I light myself a cigarette we both consider ourselves single and are free to flirt with everyone.” He tried hard to conceal his grin.
With delight, he watched how Charles´ mouth fell open before he playfully punched Erik´s shoulder.
“No! We are not doing that,” he protested but as soon as Erik pulled him into a hug again, it turned into a giggle. “You are the worst.”
Erik kept grinning. Whenever someone he had shared the bed with told he was the worst, it usually led to both of them losing their clothes. This time was no exception. Charles was already placing hungry kisses on his throat and shoulders, his hands reaching under Erik´s shirt.
He leaned to kiss Charles´ forehead, the only part of his body he could reach before the younger man started his journey down Erik´s chest and abdomen.
“Don´t,” he said as Charles´ tongue playfully teased a nipple. “I´m not into that.”
“Sorry,” Charles mouthed against his chest, quickly covering it with apologetic little kisses. Erik ran his fingers through Charles´ hair. After a second of consideration, he pulled it, drawing a little moan out of his lover. He filed this information away for later, since Charles seemed to be eager to reach his destination. That is, Erik´s half hard cock.
He spread his legs a little to accommodate Charles who eagerly kissed the bulge in Erik´s boxer briefs. With a groan, Erik let his head fall back into the pillow. Charles was teasing him; with his palm, he put pressure on Erik´s growing erection while he simultaneously mouthed at the balls still hidden underneath the fabric.
“Charles,” Erik said. As soon as his lover lifted his head to look at him, Erik yanked down his underwear and his cock sprung free. Charles´ eyes gleamed as he reached out to carefully touch it.
“It somehow looks even bigger in this position,” Charles commented. He circled the head with his fingertips. Erik was circumcised, of course, which caused a loss of sensation as a trade-off for being able to go for longer. Since Erik had never known any other way, he had never minded.
“You know how to compliment a man,” Erik teased, his voice a little hoarse. The sight of Charles rubbing his cheek against his cock was doing all sorts of funny things to him.
With a grin, Charles positioned himself between Erik´s legs and got to work. For a minute or two, he did nothing more than licking up and down the shaft, paying no attention to the sensitive tip. Occasionally, he rubbed the balls with the palm of his hand, but Erik barely noticed it. He was transfixed on the sight of Charles between his legs.
Finally, Charles seemed to grow tired from the little games. The tip slid inside easily but Erik wasn´t even halfway in when Charles started to gag. Erik watched how Charles bobbed up and down, licking and teasing the tip with his tongue the entire time.
It was hot, watching him like this. Charles´ lips stretched obscenely around Erik´s dick, the little glances he shot Erik from time to time, the visible strain on his face, the spit and pre-cum dribbling down his chin. Erik wanted to grab his head, hold him in position and facefuck him.
This was hardly the time for it, but the thought was enough to make him lose pre-cum. He heard Charles gag, and felt his throat constrict around the tip.
“You want me to come down your throat?” Erik asked breathily. There was no way he´d be able to last any longer.
Charles looked at him from under his long lashes, then nodded without letting the tip slip out of his mouth. Erik firmly placed one hand on the back of his head and guided his lover. Charles gagged and flinched but he didn´t stop, letting Erik push deeper and deeper into his throat.
Erik cursed. The tightness and heat were becoming too much. A moan was the only warning Charles got before he came down his throat. Charles swallowed it all, tears streaming down his face. As soon as Erik pulled out, he started to cough. Erik had to get him a glass of water before he was able to calm down.
They cuddled back under the covers, holding each other like they had last night. Erik could have gone back to sleep if Charles had not been so busy groping every part of his body.
“Don´t you have classes?” Erik asked after a while.
“Classes can wait,” Charles replied. He had spent the last ten minutes working on a love bite on Erik´s shoulder which looked dark blue by now. “I´d rather spend time with my boyfriend.”
“Your real boyfriend or is there a step between fake-boyfriend and real boyfriend that I have to complete first?” Erik teased. They looked at each other, blue and gray, sky and steel.
“There is no step in between,” Charles said earnestly. “I want us to be an actual couple. Even when you smoke.”
Erik gently kissed his forehead, smiling to himself.
“I´d love that.”
Making the transition from fake-boyfriends to ex-fake-boyfriends had been harder than the transition from ex-fake-boyfriends to real boyfriends. For the next two weeks, Charles was walking on clouds, figuratively speaking.
All of their friends were quick to congratulate them once they learned they had gotten back together. Only Moira gave Charles a knowing smile. Erik raised his brows but didn´t comment on it. It was in no one´s interest to mention their fake relationship in front of their friends.
The best thing – apart from the sex that Charles had to admit was really, really good – was the fact that Charles good just walk up to Erik, get on his tiptoes and kiss him whenever he wanted. And Charles wanted to kiss Erik often. While he was talking to someone else, while he was working on his thesis, while he was walking down the hallway, while he was fucking Charles, while they were playing chess.
The last type was quickly becoming dangerous territory. Whenever Charles was determined to kiss Erik it usually ended with them losing their clothing. Chess, however, was very serious business for Erik and he did not appreciate Charles´ seduction during the game one bit. All was fair in love and war but after some borderline hurtful remarks they decided to draw the line at chess.
Not that Charles didn´t enjoy playing chess with Erik one way or another. He still had only managed to win once in a blue moon against Erik but at least Charles got to adore his boyfriend, the epitome of concentration and strategic mastery, while they played.
Life was good for Charles Xavier, even better than he had hoped for at the beginning of his first semester. He was at Erik´s place, trying to make dinner for the two of them while Erik was working on his thesis on the couch. While cutting vegetables in the small kitchen, Charles´ eyes fell upon a piece of paper pinned onto the fridge with magnets.
It was a contract of employment for a position as a Data Analyst. Charles froze on the spot. Erik was going to move to Utah this summer. This was something they had avoided talking about for the past few weeks.
Charles glanced over his shoulder. Since his boyfriend was still entirely focused on whatever mathematical equation he was working on, Charles dared to flip the contract and check the other side. He skimmed the contract but his mind was elsewhere. From what he could comprehend, the position was alright with an above-average salary and good benefits. Erik had not yet signed it.
“Are you going through my stuff again?” Erik called him out from the couch.
Charles jumped, embarrassed about having been caught. He quickly got two plates and served dinner to them.
“Sorry, I was just.... you didn´t tell me they had sent the contract of employment over already,” he murmured.
Erik sat down next to him, helped himself to some pasta, and leaned back.
“I just got it yesterday,” he replied, avoiding Charles´ eyes.
Silence fell heavy between them. They ate sitting next to each other. Once Charles couldn´t stand the silence anymore, he leaned against Erik´s shoulder and cleared his throat.
“So, you´re moving to Utah this summer. We should travel there before, check out the best places to live and maybe start looking for a flat that´s big enough to fit a large bed in there. I refuse to sleep on the floor when I come and visit you.” He really hoped Erik couldn´t sense how heavy Charles´ heart felt when he thought about his boyfriend leaving.
“Charles,” Erik said but Charles cut him off.
“We should take turns visiting each other. Our friends want to see you as well after all.” He was rambling now, his voice trembling only the tiniest bit.
“That won´t be necessary,” Erik said sternly. “I´m not going to Utah. I will call them tomorrow and tell them I don´t want the job anymore.”
“But it´s a good job!” Charles protested. “And I plan on graduating a year from now. We could sustain a long-distance relationship for a year.”
“We could but I´m still not moving to Utah.” Charles felt Erik shifting next to him. He tried to turn his head away but Erik held his face in both hands so that they were forced to look at each other. “I won´t be moving to Utah. And I don´t want you to follow me to Utah once you have graduated. We´d probably never make it out of there ever again and this is not what I want for us.”
Charles tried not to get overly excited by Erik´s casual mention of their shared future. He cleared his throat. Since he no longer attempted to cut Erik off, the other man let go of Charles´ face and leaned back a little.
“Where do you want to go then?” Charles asked. “It´s still a year until I graduate.”
“Back to Europe, at least in the long term.” Erik slightly shook his head. “I only came to the States back then because my aunt lived here. If it weren´t for Magda, I would have gone back sooner.”
Charles hesitated. “But you are not doing this for me, right? You know you don´t have to give up anything you really want for our relationship.”
“I know,” Erik replied calmly. “I´m doing this for me. To get closure from my past and to take the matters of my future into my own hands.”
The two men nodded at each other before Charles nuzzled his face into Erik´s chest again.
“So, what exactly do you plan on doing once you graduate?” he asked while his boyfriend was caressing his shoulders.
“Look for a job in the area. Get a new flat. Try to find out what I want from life. Maybe write a book,” he teased, making Charles giggle. Cuddling against Erik was always so comfortable. Charles took advantage of the opportunity every time it presented itself.
“Sorry I doubted you. I know you will be alright,” Charles whispered.
“We both will,” Erik replied with a little smile.
“Of course we will be.”
The humidity outside had Erik drenched in sweat as soon as he left his dorm room. Still, he marched on to the campus. The heat made breathing difficult, even though he had reduced the amount of cigarettes he smoked in a day substantially during the last weeks.
Charles, whose hair looked like he was about to turn into a damp poodle, had insisted on attending Erik´s graduation ceremony. He beamed at his boyfriend the entire time. Erik himself on the other hand, only felt relief once he was allowed to leave again.
While the other people who graduated were greeted and congratulated by their family members, Erik received an enthusiastic kiss from Charles. A small smile appeared on his lips as he pulled his boyfriend closer.
“Good thing you talked me out of wearing a suit today,” Charles laughed. “I would have probably fainted by now.”
“But then I would have gotten the opportunity to practice mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on you,” Erik teased.
They made their way over towards the building. This late in the afternoon, most classes had ended by now and the halls were relatively empty.
“Where are we going?” Charles asked after quietly following Erik for a minute.
“It´s Friday,” Erik reminded him. “Chess Club´s on Friday.”
“You just graduated college!” Charles protested, tugging on Erik´s wrist. “We should go out and celebrate instead.”
Erik playfully rolled his eyes. “What if I want to celebrate by going to the Chess Club one last time?”
It was hard for him to describe why he insisted on coming here today. A few years ago when he first set foot on the campus he had just lost his children and his fiancee. He knew no one and felt like the loneliest person on earth. It was not only the game of chess itself that helped him through those days when nothing would make sense – it was also the quiet camaraderie of the members of the Chess Club. Charles who was a naturally social person who got along with pretty much everyone wouldn´t get it.
Liam, Cheung, and the other members of the club had already started their games by the time Charles and Erik arrived. They greeted each other with friendly nods. Like usual, Erik chose to play in the room next door where he could safely light himself a cigarette. Just one last time for good measure.
Charles sat down on the opposite side of the table, ready to play White as always. Erik opened a window but it was of little use in the humid summer heat.
“I´m proud of you,” Charles said as soon as they began their game.
“Hmm.” Erik tried to focus on the game but the uncomfortable feeling of being covered in sweat distracted him. He much preferred colder climates. “Magda sent me a postcard from Poland. Looks like she is planning to stay in the country. I send her a text reminding her that I will be moving next week so she remembers the new address.”
“We should visit her over the summer break,” Charles suggested, looking up from the chessboard. “I´d like to meet her.”
Erik chuckled. “Are you sure about that? She will scold you how idiotic it was to ask me to move in with you.”
“Then I will tell her about the one time I punched you in the face when you disrespected me,” Charles replied with a coy grin. Erik reached out to touch him, he had to, it was an instinctual need. His boyfriend immediately pressed his cheek against Erik´s hand, looking content like a well-fed cat.
“When you punched me for making inappropriate jokes about your sister I actually liked you for the first time,” Erik huffed. “You were always so pretentious and passive-aggressive before.”
Charles giggled at the memory. “I really was. Sorry about that.”
They went back to their game for a few minutes.
“Is it too early to send a Christmas card?” Erik asked, suppressing a grin.
With visible confusion, Charles looked up from the chessboard.
“It´s summertime, so yes, way too early. Why do you ask?”
“I wanted to send your family a Christmas card with me kissing you in a compromising pose. I still haven´t given up on the plan of having your step-father die from a heart attack and collecting your inheritance,” Erik teased with a grin.
Charles´ mouth opened and closed like that of a fish before he tumbled over laughing.
“You are so mean, Erik Lehnsherr!”
His hand hovered over the chessboard in a futile attempt to continue the game, then he hesitated. The cute frown that Erik would never be tired of watching appeared on Charles´ face.
“I think we ended up in a Draw.”
While his boyfriend was still contemplating how they ended up in this situation, Erik leaned over the chessboard and placed a kiss on Charles´ forehead. Just because he could.
….and they lived happily ever after~