Cosmic Kiss

Erik paced the floor of his private chambers. As admiral he had an even larger and more luxurious cabin than the captain of the ship, but his room still felt stiflingly small. Quite a feat considering he’d set his main wall to clear so he could look out into the vastness of space.

He looked over his sparsely decorated but spacious living quarters and wondered what Charles would think of it.

His door chimed ~Azazel to see you~

“Let him in,” he instructed the ships AI with a slight grimace. He hated asking the other man for favors or advice yet here he was again.

Azazel stepped into the room with a smirk, his long tail flicking behind him like it was impatient to hear about Erik’s trip planet side.

“So, how is your protectorate?” he continued without waiting for an answer. “The science division is at odds with the medical corp. apparently they don’t want to share samples.” He smirked as Erik narrowed his eyes in irritation.

“So what else is new? I made sure to request plenty of samples to go around. Hank checked them in himself. They’re just being greedy as usual.” He dismissed their concern with a wave of his hand.

“As you say Admiral,” he nodded his agreement, waiting for Erik to get to the point of their meeting.

“I caused a small seismic shift,” he admitted sullenly after a long pause.

“We know. We went on full alert but when you didn’t notify us of a problem we stood down.”

“Good man. They wanted to send a security detail with us and Dr. Xavier clearly didn’t want one. I simply proved that we didn’t need one.”

“By showing off.” Azazel said flatly.

Erik frowned. Had he been showing off? At the time he’d simply thought he was eager to be on their way, but there was no denying the fact that he’d felt a swell of pride when Charles gazed at him in wide wonder.

Azazel caught his attention once more with a concerned frown, “Was it a problem for him? Was he frightened? Did you explain yourself?”

“No, he seemed very excited by it. He was more intrigued than anything. The rest of the humans were terrified but what can you expect?” Erik dismissed their concerns out of hand.

“Yes, they had a meeting about you once you’d left. They’re even more demoralized after you little show of power, though some factions are still not ready to accept the surrender.”

“Keep me posted on that,” Erik made a note of it on his tablet while it was fresh in his mind.

“Of course. Now answer me since you wouldn’t let anyone listen in to your little liaison. Did you explain yourself to him?”

Erik sank into one of the lounges by his viewing wall, simply shaking his head. “He didn’t ask. I could tell he was bursting to, but I didn’t want to bring it up. He felt awkward enough learning that I’m one of four admirals.”

“You don’t want to scare him away,” Azazel nodded sagely.

“That shouldn't be an issue. He’s bold and curious.” Erik hid a fond smile by turning to gaze out the window.

“Then what’s wrong?” Azazel pressed, not getting the problem.

“He asked why we chose to induct Earth rather than just leaving them to their own devices.”

Azazel grimaced and rose from his seat to pour them each a glass of Erik’s prized Verulean wine. “That’s awkward. What did you say?”

“Nothing. He let it go this time but he wants an answer.” He took his glass from Azazel and took a deep drink as the other man settled into his seat once more.

“Oh, he’ll want answers, and if you ask me the sooner he gets them the better.” He said firmly. Erik thought back to his own parents’ often strained relationship and shuddered at the thought of reliving his fathers’ mistakes.

“Then maybe you can help me, you’ve done this before.”

Azazel took a sip of the fine wine with a satisfied sigh. “You’ve come to learn at the feet of the master?” he laughed at his own bizarre turn of phrase.

Erik gave him a blank stare, “What?”

“Look into the way your humans use words. They’re very eloquent,” Azazel shrugged.

“This is why I hate asking you for things,” he said dryly.

“I know. And still I’ll help you,” he said magnanimously. “I have a plan.”

~~

“So how was it?” Sean whispered eagerly, glancing across the room to where Moira and Armando were in deep conversation.

“You heard my brief, Sean. There’s nothing to add,” Charles replied just as softly.

“Oh come on, Charles. You came back all blushing and nervous without any details on how he caused an earthquake. Did he threaten you?” he frowned as the question occurred to him.

“No! I just…it didn’t come up,” he evaded lightly.

“For you? Mr. Curious?”

“I haven’t heard that one before,” Charles chuckled. “Seriously Sean, it was a nice time. Not a date. But he agreed to more outings with me.” He said with a blush, not mentioning that the Admiral had asked to stay in a hotel with him. Lord knew what the team would make of that.

Sean looked him over skeptically, glancing back at the other agents before continuing to speak softly. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Charles. Did you see their list of demands?”

“Those were scientific requests,” he corrected firmly.

“The plants, maybe. The viruses and embryos, sure. The cancer cells and vaccines, okay. That’s all science stuff. But what about the corpses, Charles? Why do they need those?” he asked, fear sparked deep in his eyes.

“Those were bodies and organs donated to science, Sean. They want to research us and if they wanted to. If they really wanted to they could take any living human they wanted and we couldn’t stop them. I’m grateful they only wanted corpses.”

Sean looked horrified at his words, but Charles needed him to understand.” I don’t think they plan on hurting us, Sean. This can still end well,” he insisted.

“See, that’s what worries me, Charles. You’ve given up on us getting out of this. I thought you were trying to convince the Admiral to leave us alone.”

“That’s not going to happen. The Federation has accepted our surrender. I think we need to take the Admirals advice and accept that,” he said firmly. He’d thought it through a thousand times and he couldn’t see a way for them to go back to life before the invasion.

“There may be something good about this. They’ve offered an information share. That will be amazing for scientific advancement,” he added almost desperately.

“Charles,” he jumped and turned to find Armando standing just behind him with a worried look on his face.

“Yes?”

“Is that your stance? That we won’t be autonomous anymore?”

“Like I told you earlier, he’s an Alexander the Great style conqueror. We will still be allowed to keep our customs, political systems, and religions. I think it’s the best deal we’re going to get.” Charles insisted.

“I think Charles is right,” Moira cut in grimly. “There’s no point in hoping we can defeat an enemy this powerful. We can’t even track their ships. The Admiral told us there are a hundred ships orbiting our planet. It may well be ten or ten thousand for all we know. We can’t track them, we can’t sense them and we’ve see what they can do.” They all thought back to the impossible things they’d seen just two weeks prior and earlier that day in the meeting room.

Moira turned to Charles sharply, “The next time you see him try to get more information about our future and about his earth shaking abilities if you can.”

“I’ll do my best, Moira.” He promised, exhausted by the emotional day he’d had.

“I just. I feel like the other shoe is about to drop. And I’d like us to be as prepared as possible for whatever is coming next.” She sank down tiredly at one of the empty seats at the table. Charles placed his hand over hers comfortingly. Happy to have her on his side.

Armando sat down as well, looking deeply unhappy with their words.

Sean simply looked petulant. “Do you think maybe if you tried the ‘old fashioned method-‘“

“We’re not pimping Charles out and hoping for the best,” Moira cut him off sounding tired if a bit amused.

“It was just a suggestion,” he muttered sullenly.

“A terrible suggestion,” Armando chuckled before flipping open a document on his Blackberry. “Let’s plan this next day out for you two.”

Charles shifted awkwardly in his seat and braced himself for a bad reaction. “That may take some doing. I think we’ll be gone for more than just a few hours this time…”

~~

Erik was eager to put Azazel’s plan into motion. “All set here.” His bridge commander announced. They were prepared for the worst should he need to be evacuated or should the humans find a way to mount an attack.

They were scrambling for ideas, a few small factions within specific militaries in specific nations that had no idea how closely they were being watched or how far off they were in their estimates of their battle readiness. It would be amusing if it weren’t so pathetic.

“Are you sure you want to take a full month?” Hank asked, tapping away at his tablet as usual. His men were shocked by his admission that he was taking a full vacation, something he hadn’t done in all his years as admiral. He was never gone for more than a week at a time.

“Yes, I’m eager for first hand view of my new colony. I’ll still be available if you need me, but I’m sure you won’t. Call me back anytime you need me. I’ll keep my locator on at all times,” he assured his men.

“Have fun,” Azazel said with a fanged smile.

“Perfect, we’ll be set with everything we need by then,” Hank said happily as though his red friend hadn’t interjected.

“Keep in touch with the humans, if they give you any trouble you know how to handle it,” Erik said absently.

“Are we allowed planet side?” asked Captain Summers. What he was doing on Azazel’s ship first at first report was something Erik really didn’t want to know.

“Inconspicuously and in small numbers only. I don’t want to see any of you on the news,” he said dryly. “Don’t make trouble and if you find it, handle it quietly and immediately return to your post for a full evaluation.”

“Yes Admiral. We know the drill. Now go on your tour,” Azazel said impatiently. Eager to be commanding officer of the northern fleet for a little while.

Erik took a deep breath and headed to the transporter, ready to meet with his ambassador.

~~

Charles leaned against the hood of the black SUV he’d taken to the private airstrip at the airport. He was bundled warmly against the sharp chill in the air. It was the first bite of winter, one of his favorite seasons and he took the moment to soak it in.

One good thing he could lay on the invasion was his renewed appreciation for every aspect of his life.

He was waiting outside alone, the rest of his envoy- Moira’s team and the FBI agents that had escorted them- were waiting in the surrounding non-descript black vehicles. Five of them in all. To think, just a few weeks before he was a simple college professor starting his second year teaching at Columbia and slowly making the acquaintance of his colleagues- most of whom were at least twice his age.

Now he was traveling in exalted company. He was saving the world. It was bizarre in the extreme.

“Hello Charles,” Erik’s voice startled him out of his reverie.

“Admiral!” Charles yelped in surprise. Knowing about teleportation and witnessing it were two very different things. Not that he’d actually seen anything, but that made it stranger still.

“I’m sorry to have frightened you,” he said softly, laying a slim fingered hand on Charles’ elbow to steady him.

“You didn’t,” Charles protested breathlessly. The white puffs of his breath clouding the air around them.

Erik frowned, “Your pulse increased, your pupils have dilated, your hands are trembling…those are signs of fear in humans yes?”

“Yes,” Charles admitted breathlessly. Trying not to think of what else those signs could point to. Namely infatuation.

“Is it the cold? Were you waiting out here long?” he stepped closer to Charles and pressed his hot fingers to Charles’ cheek. His lips thinned nearly to the point of invisibility and his irises darkened slightly to a pale mint green.

Charles glanced at his eyebrows-they were sky high. Apparently the Admiral was displeased. “I’m fine Erik, we just got here a moment ago and I just wanted to wait for you,” he reassured the taller man. He rapped lightly on the passenger window of the SUV he’d been leaning against. Right on cue, Moira and Sean stepped out of the back seat, holding the door open for the two men to enter.

Charles happily crawled back into the warmth of the car before leaning out and gesturing to a very confused Erik to join him. His hair flopped adorably over his forehead.

Erik glanced at the waiting plane before following Charles into the car. He thought it was odd that they hadn’t proceeded to the plane, but Charles had been disturbingly cold to the touch. He knew that humans had to carefully monitor their body temperature so maybe he needed to warm up before they left. Though plane should be heated, he wondered if Charles would need his body heat to stay warm during the flight…

“I thought you might want to see an old friend before we left, “Charles was smiling cheerily once Erik sank down beside him and one of the other humans had closed the door behind them. Another door opened and closed a moment later and Erik realized they’d been left alone inside the vehicle.

Charles unzipped a small soft carrier that was perched on one of the seats and coaxed a feisty Albert out into his arms. He mewled loudly and immediately crawled over his owner to scamper to Erik and paw at his belly and scramble up his chest.

“He throws me over for anyone warmer,” Charles said with a playful pout that had Erik’s hearts racing.

Erik caught him with nervous hands. He was many times stronger than a human and holding even touching Charles made him a bit anxious.

Feeling Albert’s tiny bones and tendons shift beneath his silky fur was even more surreal than the first time it had happened. Feeling his rapid heartbeat as he head butted Erik and lightly pawed his face before running his rough tongue over his cheekbones lovingly was strangely wonderful. Albert was excitedly meowing all the while, in fact he mewled each time Charles tried to get a word in edgewise causing the other man to laugh heartily at his little ‘drama queen.’

Erik gave him his tiny ‘human smile’ pleased to see Charles’ cheeks flushed from warmth and mirth rather than from the chill wind. He realized he’d have been happy sitting with Charles and playing with Albert for the rest of his time on Earth.

“He really likes you,” Charles scooted closer to run his hand down Albert’s spine, causing him to arch his spine into the touch.

Erik bared his teeth in a grin, “They really do that?” he mused, fascinated.

“Do what?”

“Move their spine thusly?”

“Yes?” Charles answered, confused by the question.

“I saw it on the reels, it’s very different to see in the flesh,” he explained as he cautiously handled the tiny cat.

Charles looked at him pleased and surprised, “you’ve been watching cat videos?”

“Yes?” he admitted shyly.

“That’s amazing! I have a whole YouTube playlist! We can watch it on the plane!” he leaned in to press his face close to Albert’s for a moment.

Albert pawed at Charles’ face for a moment before cuddling Erik’s shoulder and pressing his face into his neck with a rumbling purr.

Charles laughed again and guided Erik’s hand in gently stoking his multicolored fur, “He’s never going to forgive me for taking you away,” he said lovingly.

Erik felt a pang of tenderness at the smaller mans words, “I’ll see him again, yes?”

“If I have my way,” Charles said immediately, eyes soft in the low lighting of the car.

“You’ll always have your way,” Erik vowed. And though Charles took it lightly, he meant every word.

~~

The plane was heated. Erik was both relieved and a bit disappointed.

The pilot and co pilot had nervously but willingly answered all of his questions about the plane and aerodynamics. They were military and simply thought he was a high ranking foreign official. Erik was pleased with their level of understanding and made a note to speak to some of their astronauts when he got the chance. No doubt many of them would be eager to join the flight corps in the Federation.

Now they were settled into their seats on the luxurious private jet that could easily have seated 20 and even had a small bedchamber and lavatory on board.

The flight crew consisted of two flight attendants- one male and one female who were there to serve at their beck and call.

Charles sighed and settled in for what he hoped would be a nice trip with his new friend. He glanced at Erik who’d donned his sunglasses once more in order to deal with other humans.

“Erik, how do alcoholic drinks affect you?” he asked a playful glimmer in his eyes as the plane began to taxi on the runway.

~~

Erik was’ pleasantly buzzed’, as Charles had put it after ordering them chilled Champagne mixed with orange juice. He’d had Erik sample each individually before trying them together. He preferred Champagne alone, and Charles had laughingly called him a lush before ordering him another.

They’d leveled off high above the clouds and Erik took the time to enjoy the pleasant feeling of flying without being at the helm. It was more relaxing than he could have imagined.

As usual, alcohol loosened his tongue and lowered his defenses and he soon found himself regaling Charles with stories of other worlds he’d visited, foods he’d tried, and customs that were more bizarre than anything he’d seen on Earth.

Charles laughed along at his stories and plied him with champagne and a tart red fruit that he called strawberries. They went well together even though Charles had been visibly embarrassed when the stewardess brought them out and had muttered something about ‘Sean having a one track mind’ that Erik didn’t understand and Charles had bashfully refused to explain.

They spent the rest of their brief flight talking about their separate travels and what Erik hoped to see of Earth while they were out and about. He was mostly happy to leave it to Charles but did have a few specific requests that Charles was happy to see fulfilled.

In just over an hour they were landing at a private airstrip at LaGuardia Airport. Charles had eagerly directed Erik to look out over the massive city as they flew overhead. It was a feat of mechanical engineering that pleased Erik’s metal senses.

“There are so many things I want to show you,  I grew up just outside the city and I’ve always loved it. I could spend this whole trip in just one country and not be able to show you everything, but New York is sort of a little bit of everywhere. That’s the main reason I accepted the job at Columbia. It felt like coming home,” he said with a wide grin. “Besides, you’ve never had pizza so you have to get a proper slice before I take you anywhere else!”

Erik had basked in his enthusiasm and allowed himself to be shown around the airport which was massive and filled with more humans than Erik had ever seen at once. It was fascinating and he could have happily spent hours just watching them pass by intent on their own destinations. But Charles had other ideas.

They waded through the crowd and into another nondescript black Sedan complete with driver who was waiting for them.

“Prince Street Pizza, please!” Charles chirped brightly to the tense man sitting in the driver’s seat. He hadn’t stopped talking since they got off the plane. Erik recognized in him the bright delight of homecoming and soaked it in like a sponge.

The city sped past with Charles chattering the whole way, telling him memories about many of the places they passed. He laughed about how since Erik and his people had arrived the crowds were much lighter than usual, but he’d checked and his favorite pizza shop had never even shut its doors!

 He liked ‘pleasantly buzzed’ Charles; he was more tactile and carefree with his words.

“Do all humans have the same reaction to alcohol?” he asked, relaxed and happy as he hadn’t been in a very long time.

Charles shook his head with a slight grimace, “No, there are sad drunks, angry drunks, violent drunks, lots of types of drunks.”

“And which type are you?” Erik wondered aloud

“Well to start I’m not drunk. It takes a lot more than a bit of champagne to get me pissed.”

Erik didn’t know if he meant drunk or angry so he stayed silent and hoped that Charles would continue without his input.

“But to answer your real question I’m told I’m a happy drunk.” he concluded brightly.

Erik liked the term and decided he’d rather like to see a 'properly drunk' Charles. Hopefully he would get the chance on this trip.

Charles was still talking and was excitedly gesturing to their approaching destination and reaching for the latch of his seatbelt at the same time.

Thinking back to Azazel’s dubious advice he decided now was a good time to let Charles see a bit more of what he could do.

When they pulled to a stop outside the small pizzeria, he unbuckled their seatbelts and opened the door before the driver could get out and open it for them.

Charles stared at him, open mouthed while the driver looked frightened and confused. He was a federal agent and clearly aware of who and what Erik was, but hadn't been prepared for that.

“What? How did you?” Charles looked from the door back to Erik with sharp curiosity.

“I’ll tell you as we go?” he asked, gesturing for Charles to precede him out of the vehicle, not caring for their nosy audience of one. Erik hoped the man wasn’t a professional spy, he wasn’t even pretending not to listen.

Charles climbed out and waited for Erik to join him, about ready to burst with questions.

 “I believe you thought I could cause earthquakes?” Erik took him gently by the elbow and steered him away from the idling vehicle.

“Yes, from the tremors. They registered as a small quake,” Charles said curiously as they studiously ignored the fact that the driver was on the phone giving an immediate report on what Erik had just done.

“I can control elemental magnetism. Any ferrous metals can be bent to my every thought. As it happens, your planet has a core of molten iron. I can admit to having a bit of fun with that during our show of might.” He admitted warily.

Charles gaped at him, “You stopped the Earth’s rotation?”

“Among other things but yes, not all at once you understand. I did it slowly over the course of a few days so no one would be injured. It was difficult but very rewarding,” he said carefully, not wanting to come across as reckless or irresponsible.

Charles was stunned, that was an unbelievable godlike ability. He was standing with a being light years ahead of humans in terms of evolution. It was unreal to think that of the man he was rapidly coming to see as a friend.

 “We thought you had a machine or something that could…” he faded out, gazing up at Erik with a mixed expression that the taller man couldn’t decipher.

“No, it was me. Does that frighten you?” he asked after a short moment of watching rapid fire emotions flicker over Charles’ face.

The question surprised Charles, was Erik really so concerned of one mans opinion of him? Or was he asking if other people would be frightened?

“I’m fascinated by your abilities and I’ll probably talk your ear off about them. You’re something of a dream come true for a geneticist,” he admitted. “That’s not to say that other people won’t be afraid of what you can do,” he hurried to explain.

Erik was relieved that Charles hadn’t called off their trip or run screaming from him at this revelation; in fact he was still standing close so their conversation couldn’t be overheard by the driver who was watching them closely and filming them on his phone if Erik wasn’t mistaken.

He flicked his fingers and fried the gadget before turning back to Charles. He couldn’t care less about the reaction of others’ to his powers. “As long as you’re not afraid, I’m sure we’ll get along just fine.” He said with a tight grin that Charles returned more brightly.

He was shivering again, New York was noticeably colder than D.C had been and Erik was more than a little concerned. “Come, you can explain how you will ‘talk my ear off’ inside.” He herded Charles towards the entrance to the small café.

“Oh? Did that get lost in translation? You’ll have to tell me when I use colloquialisms you don’t understand.” He laughed and happily pushed into the warmth of the pizzeria.

It wasn’t until they were seated with steaming hot slices piled in front of them and ice cold beers on the side that Charles leaned in to shrug out of his coat.

Erik removed his as an afterthought- only having received it with the rest of his human wardrobe once they’d boarded the plane and not having needed it in the first place.

Charles had been scandalized once he noticed that the admiral had shown up dressed only in the suit he’d provided days before.

“Don’t worry, Charles, my body adjusts to a safe temperature for my surroundings so I don't waste energy. In temperate climes I maintain a slightly higher body temperature than the average human.” He’d explained to a concerned Charles as they were leaving the plane, but he’d still allowed himself to be buttoned into a fashionable overcoat and tucked into a scarf with leather gloves in his pocket.

“For show, we want to fit in don’t we?” Charles had asked with a worried pinch at the corners of his eyes.

Erik had simply stood still and allowed the other man to dress him warmly, basking in the closeness of hit fearless little ambassador.

~~

“Smells great, doesn’t it?” Charles asked as he waited for his pizza to cool a bit before beginning to eat.

Erik lifted a slice the way a woman two tables over was doing and took a small bite, “Hmmm.”

“Isn’t that hot?” Charles asked, incredulous. The grease was still popping on his plate.

Erik titled his head in a move Charles had come to translate as a shrug, “Not to me. This is very sweet.”

Charles chuckled at his use of the word, “I think you mean savory. Or possibly flavorful. Sweet was the Napoleons’ from the other day.”

Erik seemed unimpressed with the inefficiencies of English. “I like this, I like this,” he pulled a string of hot, melted cheese and twirled it around his finger before popping it into his mouth with another resonant hum.

“I thought you might, you really liked the cheese from the other day too.” Charles beamed. “Now try it with the beer.”

Erik did so, enjoying the chill, sour contrast with the hot pie. “This is also cheese? How many cheeses are there?” he rather thought he had a new favorite food.

“More than you can try in a lifetime,” Charles laughed at Erik’s slight frown, “Not that anything is stopping you from trying,” he assured him.

“Good,” Erik turned back to his plate happily as Charles finally started on his own meal.

They lingered until they had eaten their fill-which turned out to be a huge amount for Erik. Charles had hidden a laugh at the face the young man behind the counter made when Erik was placing his fifth order-this time for a white pizza.

Erik liked this set up better, when Charles was with him his full attention was on Erik, not on intermittent interruptions from young humans ‘who were only trying to earn a good tip.’ At least according to his empathetic ambassador.

Charles had eaten his usual amount but was pleased to sit in quiet conversation with Erik-who he suspected was trying to get him drunk.

He was succeeding.

After their leisurely meal, they’d stepped into the late afternoon sunlight and Charles had told the driver to shadow them as they walked a few blocks to clear their heads.

“I’m so excited to show you our hotel; it’s got a great view of the city.”

“And a hot tub?” Erik asked, mostly to watch a ‘definitely tipsy’ Charles attempt to stutter out an explanation.

“We’ll see what Moira managed to swing,” was all he would say, though the blush made an enjoyable comeback at his light questioning.

Charles was just drunk enough to be honest with himself that he was definitely attracted to the Admiral. To Erik, the stoic, cold eyed man he was coming to know. There was a streak of kindness he was beginning to sense ran deep in the other man, and that was the one thing that attracted Charles like nothing else.

Having been raised by a cruel man had taught him to spot it in others; the tiniest bit of cruelty turned him off like nothing else. He’d turned down more than a few dates based simply on the sharp glint hidden in the eyes of certain men.

Erik held none of that, even his mannerisms were gentle.  Charles sighed to himself as Erik tugged him towards the car at the first sign of his shivers returning. He was such a sap for gentle men.

He wondered how long he could keep his slight infatuation a secret from Erik and could only be pleased that the other man found body language so confusing. He was sure his was a dead giveaway.

 Hopefully the feelings would either fade, or he would find that Erik returned his sentiments and they could go from there together. In the meantime he feared falling for their new overlord and making a fool of himself over a man who couldn’t love him back.

Erik swung the door open and let Charles climb in first before quickly following to trap the warmth in the car. The driver was sullen, likely over the loss of his phone, but Erik cared nothing for his feelings.

“The hotel please,” Charles chattered, knowing the driver had their reservations.

Erik had claimed a seat across from Charles this time and took a risk. He leaned in and carefully removed Charles’ gloves to hold his hands between his larger, warmer ones. Giving him plenty of time to move away or stop him.

Charles sucked in a breath at his touch; Erik glanced up at the soft sound to see his pupils dilate at their contact. He smiled, so small he was sure Charles wouldn’t notice. The day couldn't have gone better if he'd orchestrated the entire thing himself. It had been perfection.