Breaking and Entering
Erik’s day hadn’t brightened much after the dropped off Robert the little boy with a full head of blue curls. In fact he would wager to say his day had gotten worse. His mind was everywhere but planning their next raid and they had just discovered a plot to murder the first mutant president next summer. He had been quite shocked to learn that Kennedy was a mutant and not surprised at all that Johnson was wanting to oust him, over helicopters of all things. Humans were a greedy bunch by nature and they wouldn’t hesitate to rip the gold from your teeth if you gave them the right amount of power.
His day dragged on annoyingly slow and he was glad when he was finally able to retire to his quarters. Sleep remained elusive though so he had resigned himself to staring at the open pages of a book. He was reading. But the words didn’t seem to be making the journey to his brain. The only thing he could seem to think of was the blue haired child that had reminded him of Anya.
True the child had a different personality from his daughter, The fact still remained that he was a six year old child, so very close in age to his Anya. His Anya, his baby… she never got the chance to make it to her sixth birthday. He hoped that none of the missions to come involved children anytime soon. Children who only reminded Erik of all that he had lost.
His Mutti...murdered, his Vati… murdered, his daughter… murdered, his lover… paralyzed it seemed like everything he had ever touched turned into a steaming pile of shit. He wasn’t even a good person; he had left his lover paralyzed on a beach and ran off with the man's only sister. Not that he could stop Raven if he wanted to, the girl needed to sow her wild oats. He wouldn’t be surprised if the girl decided to return home after she realized this life wasn’t the silver spoon that she had with Charles.
He was shaken from his thoughts at a familiar knock on the door. It was either Raven or an emergency so he opened the door with the flick of a wrist. The blue mutant all but flounced in without much care in the world. Mystique wasn’t exactly soldier material yet. He was irritated she treated this base as if it were Charles' home too much.
“To what do I owe such a visit. You do realize it’s nearing midnight?” Erik’s voice was scathing with irritation at the rude interruption to his night. He had half a mind to send her back to her brother half the time. He just wished she would mature, the childish games grated on his already frayed nerves.
“My brother contacted me. He wants you to meet him in person he has something important to tell you” Mystique told him plopping herself down and making herself comfortable. He couldn't imagine why Charles would want to speak to him least of all in person. He had taken the man's legs from him, not even mentioning taking off with his sister in tow.
“Why would he want to meet me in person when I’m the reason he’s in that god forsaken chair” Erik spat bitterly, his voice full of self loathing. Erik would never forgive himself for being so careless that he hurt someone he loved. Bad things seemed to happen to people Erik cared for. It was part of the reason he remained so closed off. He had thought it would work with Charles the man was a mutant and they seemed to want the same things if not agreeing on the way to achieve those things. Erik had flushed that down the toilet in Cuba on a beautiful beach, he couldn’t get the image of Charles laying in the sand, tears gathering in his too blue eyes.
“I don’t know Erik, he said someone called Max Eisenhardt visited or someone wanted someone named Max Eisenhardt. I don’t really remember”. Erik froze at the name that just slipped carelessly from Ravens lips. He wanted to throttle her; she hadn’t even bothered to get the full story just a name. The metal in the room begins to shake and rattle and the lamp on his bed side table bursts.
“Did he say anything else” he spat the metal in the room bending in on itself. Whoever was using that name would be dead tonight he would make sure of it. That name was sacred; he didn’t even deserve that name. Max Eisenhardt had been loved by his mother and in turn loved his daughter. Both of those people were gone and nobody was permitted to use that name.
“No, just that it was a conversation that needed to happen in person” Mystique squeaked out, rising to get out of his room and out of his way.
Erik placed his helmet on his head and changed into his red armor, he could almost hear Charles making fun of his fashion choices and calling him dramatic. Erik longed to have the days of playful banter back, he had ruined everything.
This would not be a social call and he only hoped that Charles knew the severity of the situation. Surely he did or he wouldn’t ask to speak to Erik in person. He must know there was no way Charles, sweet ,hopeful, ever optimistic Charles; would ever want to see his face again unless absolutely necessary.
He stormed out of the compound and to the fastest car he could find it would be a long drive to the mansion and he wanted to cut that in half. He needed to find this person that was bringing up his past before they slipped away.
***
Charles was concerned, he had given the message to Raven hours ago and he still hadn’t heard anything from Erik. He had been expecting him to make a dramatic entrance an hour after he had relayed the message. He wouldn’t be surprised if Raven had forgotten to give him the message or even just delayed it.
He would try again in the morning. He owed the children that much he just couldn’t help being irritated at his sister and his former lover. What if Charles had been dying, it didn’t seem like either of them would care much. Hell they had left him to bleed out on a beach it was obvious they didn’t care. He just wished he could form his own callouses. He still woke up every morning with the hope they would come back home.
Charles pushed the dark thoughts from his brain wheeling himself to his study. He stared for forlornly at the half completed chess game. He had wanted to violently clear the board many times but hadn’t yet gotten the courage to. He knew Raven would temporarily run off, she wanted the freedom that all young people craved. He didn’t even blame her so much, she didn’t owe him anything. He had thought that he and Erik shared something more special than lust though. Apparently not, it seemed Erik had only been interested in a fling.
He reached out with his powers touching the children's minds just briefly from the top. He didn’t know if this could be considered unethical but it certainly helped. Children most of the time even after being traumatized could find joy in the simple things. He didn’t read their thoughts just that first layer of feelings. Children were a better balm for sadness than any drug Hank or the American Pharmaceutical industry could whip up. Charles didn’t know where he would be without the hope of running this school.
When nightfall came he didn’t even complain when Hank came to carry him to his room. He normally would give a perfunctory complaint about how Hank needed to hurry the fuck up on the lift. Keeping back the comments that Erik would have already had it done. Hank probably missed his sister almost as much as Charles missed Erik.
Charles fell into a restless sleep full of dreams of what could be. Charles would give anything to sleep, he hadn’t properly slept since the night before Cuba. If he wasn’t having phantom pain in his legs and back he had awful dreams of the life he could have.
Charles awoke to his large bedroom window being dramatically pushed open, Erik. He was irritated and tired, did the metal bending mutant not know what a front door was?
“Bloody Hell Erik, What the Fuck?” Charles groused pulling himself up with his arms into a sitting position. He let his irritation be known that he did not appreciate the man waking him at …, he glanced at the clock on the bedside table, three bloody am.
“Who gave you that name Charles? Where are they? How did they know that name? Max Eisnehardt has been dead for a long time!” Erik declared dramatically his cape ,a bloody cape? really Erik?, billowing around him. The metal in the room seemed to creak and groan with the haughty mutants ire.
“Calm the bloody hell down” Charles snapped at him. He was irritated with Erik and with his sister for not telling him at noon after he had told her.
“I don’t think you understand Charles, I cannot calm down. Whoever this is, is using my past to either get to me or get to you” Charles couldn’t help but roll his eyes at Erik’s dramatics.
“Well I can’t bloody well explain with you hovering in the air dramatically like some sort of half assed avenging Angel” Charles was beginning to lose his cool as well which wasn’t good. He took a deep calm breath pulling his pajama clad body into his wheelchair. He may have been imagining it but Erik actually seemed devastated when he noticed the wheeled contraption.
“Fine” Erik spat his feet touching down gracefully on Charles' hardwood floors.
“Please come sit you’ll want to be sitting for this, that’s why I told Raven at noon so that you wouldn’t bloody well wake me up. I was beginning to think she wasn’t going to” Charles sighed and Erik begrudgingly took a seat.
“Who came to you using that name?” Erik asked bluntly.
***
The long drive had done nothing to temper Erik’s anger; he was still seething. He only hoped whoever was bold enough to use that name was not bold enough to harm Charles. They would be dead before his feet hit the gravel of Charles driveway.
He began levitating going straight for Charles bedroom window making quick work of the metal latch. The window swung open and he hovered inside. Charles looked up at him with annoyed sleepy eyes.
“Bloody Hell Erik, What the Fuck?” Charles yelled, pulling himself up into a sitting position. Erik noticed the wheel chair beside the bed and he couldn’t help but feel that guilty sick feeling in the bottom of his stomach.
“Who gave you that name Charles? Where are they? How did they know that name? Max Eisnehardt has been dead for a long time!” Erik seethed the metal surrounding him groaning and rattling with his ire.
“Calm the bloody hell down” Charles snapped at him. Erik could tell that Charles was irritated with him, it wasn’t exactly good timing. That was Charles fault though had he told Mystique sooner Erik could have been there much earlier.
“I don’t think you understand Charles, I cannot calm down. Whoever this is, is using my past to either get to me or get to you” Charles couldn’t help but roll his eyes at Erik’s dramatics. Erik didn’t know how he would make the other man realize that this was serious. He had always felt that Charles was too trusting and had dangerous levels of optimism.
“Well I can’t bloody well explain with you hovering in the air dramatically like some sort of half assed avenging Angel” Charles was beginning to lose his cool, which was good Erik needed him to understand that whoever this was was probably trying to hurt him. The younger man took a deep breath and all but threw himself into the godawful wheelchair. It was one thing to hear about it from Azazel who had dropped off Robert yesterday but to see it with his own eyes. To see that the love of his miserable life was forever confined to a wheelchair due to his own carelessness made Erik want to throw up.
“Fine” Erik acquiesced dropping to the ground know that Charles would dig in his heels and not tell him if he didn’t comply.
“Please come sit, you'll want to be sitting for this, that’s why I told Raven at noon so that you wouldn’t bloody well wake me up. I was beginning to think she wasn’t going to” Charles sighed and Erik begrudgingly took a seat. Erik wanted to throttle the blue mutant for her lackadaisical ways. She was far too comfortable doing whatever the fuck she wanted whenever she wanted.
“Who came to you using that name?” Erik asked, getting straight to the point.
“A lovely young lady showed up on my doorstep this morning looking for her father, called Max Eisenhardt. She also had two younger siblings with her who are almost six years old.” Erik’s gut dropped to his knees and he really wanted to throw up now. His daughter had died and his wife had left him. Someone was using this girl to get to him and they would pay.
“Someone is using this girl Charles my Child died” He spat his face quickly becoming as red as the armor that he wore.
“Yes she said that you thought her to be dead Erik, she said her mother had let you think that because her mother feared mutants. I believe this girl Erik she had a locket around her neck with your photo. She said her name was Anya Eisenhardt” Charles wheeled himself closer to Erik tentatively putting a hand on his shoulder. Erik had even realized that he had begun to weep.
“I read her mind Erik, it’s her. She’s alive and she’s been looking for you.” Charles continued softly reaching up to brush the tears from Erik’s eyes. Erik didn’t want to believe it, if it were an imposter it would kill him. He couldn’t take the heartbreak twice. So he broke down in his ex-lovers arms, sobbing ugly sobs. Crying in a way he wouldn’t trust anyone but Charles to see.