1
The work had been done at six after Nightcrawler (Erik prefer to call Kurt the Mutant name, it makes him cooler than his awkward lanky boyish look) hang the chandelier by himself on the hall. Everyone gathered together in the kitchen, helping each other making sandwiches, toasted eggs, salad and soup.
By himself, Erik started at the crowd and sighed at the doorway, reluctant to join them.
Then he saw the blue figure, outstanding and graceful as she is, came to stand next to him. She was grinning. “You know, people are strange. Not because they’re mutants, but typically strange.”
Erik frowned, but with amusement, he smirked. “Even stranger that came an anarchist, a thief, and a rougue who happened to travel across the world and rescued the mutants.”
Raven hit him with an elbow. “I mean the people who are engaged in all situations possible, nearly to be called a family member, but rather stay away, calling himself a distant neighbor.”
Erik rolled his eyes, “why don’t make yourself useful with the children and stop being sarcastic for a while? Or even go making out with Hank. You two are desperate enough.”
The yellow eyes glittering, her eyes are laughing at him. “I already did as you told, neither of them needs as much energy as I’m trying to be friend with you again, talking and encouraging you to do the same.”
“You mean making out with Hank? Gross.”
“Fuck off, Erik.” She punched him on the shoulder and it hurt a little.
2
The dinner was a reminder to Anya and Magda. When they sit around the fireplace, eating stew and chatting about work, Anya telling him about the day trip to the forests and her animal friends, and he listening to her lyrical sound, like a lullaby.
He went quiet almost of the time on the dinner, lost in thought. The peaceful time brought the awful memories, that was the reason why he went chaotic, disturbed, and channeled his anger to the terrible decaying world, someone deserves it-- someone needs to be punished, and destroyed bu their hatred to people of his own kind. Someone needs to--
“I think Erik needs more Salad. Jean, would you be kind to take this to him?”
The soft voice, sitting opposite to him on the other side of the table, emerged in the darkness of his own thought. The red haired girl reluctantly abided, but after exchanging glances with her teacher, she complied. The big salad bowl was floating across the table and landing in the front of him.
“I didn’t ask for,” Erik started to retort, but Raven stormed on his foot under the table, glaring with menace. So Erik sighed and took the spoonful of salad.
No one mentioned the interruption, or the awkwardness of the moment. They changed the topic into Scott’s new glasses and how they sneaked out of the school and went for shopping, and they tried to convince Kurt to get the haircut and dye hair.
And they laughed at nonsense stories, as if that could perish the hatred people have on them.
Erik could feel the tingling warmth in his head, brushing the edge of his thoughts, worried, observed and alarmed.
“Thank you for the dinner, I need to get some fresh air.” he couldn’t stand it. Erik got up and left the room. The warmth in his mind was taken away, and gone.
3
“The sofa.” Erik answered Raven asked where he was going to sleep for tonight.
“Don’t be absurd. Take a room. This place has like tons. You can sleep anywhere except on the sofa.” She look perturbed, too much perturbed. Erik noticed the exaggeration and got the bad feeling about that.
“Since when you care about how I sleep.”
“I started to do so. Now take a room.” Not only she forcibly took his belongings from the sofa, but also pushed Erik out of the living room despite his protests, and almost kicked him to the dorm side. As though she was taking the prisoner to the jail. Erik laughed at himself, now he was not the only one who didn’t get familiar with being nice to the person whom he loved.
Raven led him to the rooms and after he took the stairs to the second floor. Hank came to her and mumbled something about the TV on his room got electric problems and needed Raven to examine. Erik was left hanging on his backpack in the hall way, horrified by witnessing the worst excuse in his life time that someone could possibly came up for the sex.
Erik made up his mind to choose the farthest room from Hank’s, just to make sure he wouldn’t hear something terrible from the room.
4
Jean opened the door, staring at him, bewildered. “Yes, Erik?”
“I think all the rooms are locked. And you might happen to have a key.” He tried not to make the sentence seem so ridiculous. The rooms might belong to the students, so even Erik could unlock the door without a pause, he couldn’t invade just to any rooms as he wanted.
“Oh, uh, I-- I don’t know. Erik, I think--” Jean, one of the most intelligent and eloquent girls Erik knew was baffled and nervous, also she was blushing.
“Are you hiding something?”
“No, of course not!” Jean shrieked. “I just-- Look, I don’t have a key. Maybe you could ask Scott for a room. Good night, Erik.”
She snapped the door behind him. No secrets hidden, Erik sighed.
Scott was very terrified when he bothered at his door. Erik wondered how his dead brother would have taught him Magneto was the most wanted terrorist who killed the President of America and used to be the nightmare in every children bed time’s stories. He couldn’t even talk to him properly and Erik was the one who walked out of his room out of sympathy for the kid.
He went back to the sofa, but the furniture magically vanished and was replaced by toy boxes, abandoned textbooks, and broken computers, under the sign written as “TRASH”
Erik knew now what they were up to.
5.
The door opened and the man looked confused when saw him.
“Erik.”
“the rooms,” he murmured. He was lost at words, nothing came out of his mouth. “The rooms, you know. The rooms happen to be taken.”
“What?”
The wide blue eyes were staring at him, and his red lips opened, the red lips he used to-- Erik gulped. How long he had been this close to the man? The re-kindled warmness and fear startled him. Bad move, Erik, mission aborted. You need to leave before embarrassing yourself. No way he wants to talk to you again, nothing matters. Their friendship has been long gone. His mind was fussy and his body was petrified just in front of Charles.
Charles, the name never came out of his mouth for a long time. Even his thought, he never said the man’s name out loud.
“Charles,” his voice was hoarse, and the name that came out of his mouth made the magical spell. Charles’s eyes were in tears.
“I thought you will never say my name.”
“I meant to. It hurt me to think what I’ve done to you. You don’t deserve what the world has done to you either. Charles, I--”
Before he knew what happened, right in front of the door, Charles pulled his arms around his neck and kissed him. The kiss was not soft, but hard and firm and burning like a fire. Erik grabbed the arm of his wheelchair to balance and pushed himself for more, kissing him back.
They stayed like two long-lost lovers. Erik listened to Charles’s breath and heart bearts. None of them spoke for a while, and Erik was the one who broke the silence.
“I want it to be more romantic. But I’m getting old. By staying like this, my back aches.”
Charles burst into laughter. A genuine laugh that he threw his face back, and pulled away from Erik. He had the most beautiful laughing voice, accented, sexy, and loud.
Erik blushed, and Charles noticed. He grinned back.
“The kids have really got you,” he said. “After all those years I tried to bring you back to me, you keep pushing away. But when the kids came up with the most silly plan, I never thought you’ve fallen into the trap.”
Erik rolled his eyes, “I knew it was all set up.”
Charles chuckled, “Raven told me that even the plan succeeds, you’ll be too edgy to admit it.” Then he pecked a kiss on his cheek. “For me I don’t care for anything, as soon as you’re here.”
“I need a place to sleep.”
“I know, Erik,” Charles whispered. “I know you always do.”
Erik didn’t know to say, but when Charles offered him a hand. He had no choices but to accept it.