Cosmic Kiss

They made their way quickly thought the winding, identical halls of the ship. Charles longed for distance from Erik while he worked through all he’d been told but the pounding in his head grew worse with each person they passed in the hall.

For some reason he felt immeasurably better when close to Erik. He tried to stand apart but the pain quickly grew to crippling levels as he was assaulted by a barrage of emotions and fleeting impressions of thoughts. His head felt like to split open and he was nearly blind from the agony by the time he gave in and pressed against Erik’s side. His thoughts and feelings soothed Charles’ senses and he was finally able to breathe smoothly.

By the time they made it to the med bay they were hand in hand and his headache was fading to more manageable levels with each passing moment. Erik absently gave his hand a comforting squeeze and ran his other hand gently through Charles’ hair. He leaned into the comfort for a second before pulling back.

He thought back to the terrifying look on Erik’s face when he said he’d have destroyed the planet he professed to love had Charles been injured.

Charles was ashamed to admit that he was awe struck and flattered by that level of devotion. No one had cared for him deeply since his father died and his mother turned to drink. Now he had someone who literally thought he was worth more than all the rest of humanity combined.

He was awful for being charmed by that.

“Charles,” he turned to see Moira dressed in a stark white wrap dress and flats. She was watching him warily.

“Moira,” he let go of Erik to pull her into a tight hug that she returned after a moment of hesitation. “Are you alright?” he asked softly.

“I’m-unhurt,” she hedged giving Charles a weary look. He understood the feeling.

“Sean and Armando?” he asked worriedly.

“They told me Sean is awake and ready for visitors. Armando was released hours ago, I’m waiting for him to get back so we can see Sean together.”

Charles was stunned, hadn’t Armando been gut shot? Perhaps Genoshian Medicine really was light years ahead of Earths. “How was he released so quickly?”

“The bullet didn’t penetrate,” Charles turned to see the man himself walking in, shoulder to shoulder with a relieved looking Captain Summers.

He returned Charles’ hug with gusto, earning them both frowns from their possessive mates though neither said anything. “Apparently I can adapt to wounds. I’m not clear on how it works yet but Ale- Captain Summers is pretty happy about it for some reason,” he shrugged giving Charles a concerned once over.

“That’s wonderful!  I’m so glad you’re alright!” Charles said, relieved.

“Thanks, Charles.  I was worried about you too,” he said softly. Trading careful looks with Moira.

A tall, well muscled man with fluid silver skin stepped out of one of the surrounding opaque patient quarters and looked them over. “Visitors for Sean Cassidy?”

Moira stepped forward eagerly, “Yes.”

“Please come in.”

~~

Erik was baffled. The Humans were all safely accounted for and fully healed. Some were being kept in treatment for prior illnesses before being returned to their homes. They were planning a mass return as they had taken a mass influx. Everything was going fine except the for fact that Charles was livid.

Erik could feel his rage and frustration pressing against his mind everywhere they went. He was also swamped with resentment that he needed Erik at his side to keep the ravages of his telepathy at bay. None of this would irk him so much if his mate hadn’t insisted on traveling to each ship and visiting with the humans in their med bays.

They were all painfully relieved to see him and reeked of fear and desperation. Frankly they seemed appallingly ungrateful for being rescued.

Erik was grateful to have someone else to deal with them and was more than a little impressed with how well Charles and his team handled what they called a ‘crisis situation.” Hyperbolic to say the least.

Charles had used the fleet communications system to calmly explain to their human guests that they had been wounded in a planned terrorist attack and brought aboard for healing. Their homes and their families were fine and they would be returned to them before the day was out. The message had been translated into every necessary language and some of the cowering had finally stopped.

That had been ten hours after their return. It had now been sixteen hours and they had just finished the rounds in the med bay of the final ship treating humans.

Erik had reluctantly allowed Charles’ team of agents to contact Earth with an update bulletin that had gone around the world in record time, explaining what had occurred and what the next steps were in Federation’ Earth relations.

Charles’ anger and frustration had spiked through Erik’s mind as he was explaining the new System of Governors Erik had in place. He truly had no concept of how any other Admiral would have treated such an attack. He shuddered to think what Shaw would have done had Earth been his personal protectorate.

The bulletin had included the whereabouts of the missing humans and the clarification that all but the suspected terrorists would be returned to their pickup location on Earth before 24 hour had passed.

That had been 12 hours post attack and Charles and the agents had been frantic to update the rest of humanity as soon as possible. “It’s already been too long!” Charles had snapped when Erik had hesitated to grant his permission.

He was still enraged over the attack and thought letting them stew in their uncertainly for a few days would teach them a well earned lesson in humility. In deference to his mate he’d agreed and Charles’ prickly mind had soothed just a bit.

Erik tried not to be jealous as Charles turned on the charm with human after human, shaking hands and asking where they were from and how they’d been treated. He genuinely cared for them and that made Erik care for them too. There was no doubt left in his mind that Charles was influencing his thoughts and moods-though it was clear that his mate was doing it subconsciously.

He wondered if Charles could influence others’ as well or if this power was only limited to the extent of their bond.

Erik felt the effects of Charles’ mood constantly. He couldn’t even feel properly disgusted by the humans’ overwhelming fear of their surroundings. They couldn’t all be like his brave, adventurous mate. That didn’t make them unworthy of consideration he decided magnanimously as he watched Charles sit with a woman holding a young child whose leg had been badly burned in the attack. After all, they were his people now too.

~~

Charles swayed on his feet- head hurting so badly that Erik’s teeth ached; he placed two fingers to each temple and rubbed backwards, eyes tightly closed. He sighed deeply and leaned against the nearest wall.

They were alone in an access hallway making their way back to the bridge so they could teleport back to the flagship. Erik hated to see Charles in such pain; his head must feel like it was splitting apart. He’d had aural implants installed and taken a crash course on their usage from their inventor and begun his humanitarian mission just after making his announcement and helping the team create their bulletin.

He was a quick study and well versed in hiding his pain- a fact that disturbed Erik on a personal level, but he knew better than to bring it up in mixed company.

“Charles. You’ve done enough.” More than enough he thought grudgingly and from the look Charles shot him he heard quite clearly.

Erik titled his head to one side. He didn’t care if Charles knew his thoughts. He rather thought it might help his mate understand him far better.

Charles’ eyes slid shut once more and he heaved a weary sigh. “Let’s go back to your ship. I need to make another announcement before we send everyone back home. We should also alert the governments that these people are returning.”

“Charles-“

“Erik. Now is not the time. Once this is all taken care of we can talk and you can fuss over me the way you’re clearly dying to. I have responsibilities to my people,” he cut in sharply.

Erik locked eyes with him for a long moment and a quiet thought bloomed in the back of his mind. Charles was looking pale and ill again and gave no sign of hearing. He held the thought close to turn over in his mind. “As you say.” He said softly, taking Charles by the hand and leading him down the silent corridor.

Charles felt himself relax as the buzz of hundreds of minds that his telepathy was trying to translate faded into the distance. He let himself sink into the warmth of Erik’s protective concern and relax for just a moment.

~~

“What are we going to do?” Armando asked softly. They were all huddled in Sean’s room discussing their options.

“Charles seems to have more power than we gave him credit for,” Sean admitted reluctantly.

“Thank goodness,” Moira murmured softly. “I’d hate to think of what might have happened had the Admiral fallen for someone cruel or self serving.”

Sean grimaced at the thought, “Yeah. It could have been so much worse.”

“That doesn’t answer what we’re going to do,” Armando brought the conversation back around.

“I think we need to let Charles do his job and be our ambassador,” Moira said prosaically. “Let’s make a list of necessities and have him present them to the Admiral."

“We need to get them to put the A.A.S back to its pre-attack level,” he said shortly.

“Absolutely,” Sean agreed.

“And we need to get the suspected terrorists send back to Earth for trial,” Moira added.

“I don’t see that happening. We are Genoshian citizens whether we like it or not. It’s time for us all to accept that. From what Charles said, things could have been a great deal worse had the Admiral allowed it,” Armando said.

“What are you suggesting? That we leave Earth citizens who have been accused of a crime to be dissected by aliens?!” Moira snapped.

“That’s not what I’m saying! We don’t know how they will be punished!”

“Maybe that’s the key!” Sean cut in softly.

They turned as one to look at him, “What do you mean?”

“I mean most humans are not happy with the terrorists. They nearly got us all killed, they could have gotten the planet destroyed,” he explained slowly.

“Yeah.” “True.”

“And we know exactly nothing about the Federation or how they operate,” he added.

“Yes.” “So?”

“So we can use this as a learning opportunity, show people how their legal system works. Maybe get an explanation of the rules we need to follow.”

“That’s not a bad idea.” Moira said thoughtfully. “They must have some sort of constitution we can study. We need to know what it means to be a protectorate and how we rank in this system. We need to know our rights and how we can defend them.”

“Alright. Once everyone is returned we take this to Charles and see what we can do,” Armando was relieved to have a plan in place.

“Aren’t we going back?” Sean asked, surprised.

“We may need to stay, Charles might need us,” Moira said with a worried frown.

“Earth certainly does,” Armando agreed. He also felt better with his team aboard than when it was just him and Charles against the Federation.

“So let’s say that’s something we need too,” Sean said decisively.

“What?”

“A team of representatives from Earth present on the fleet as long as they’re in orbit.”

He blushed deeply at Moira’s proud smile. Happy to prove his worth during this catastrophe.

“Great. We have a plan in place, now all we need is to get Charles alone.”

Armando snorted a laugh, "Easier said that done."

But Moira wasn't giving up yet, "We go through official channels and ask for a meeting as soon as possible. This is too important to leave any longer."

They went back to planning, trying to think of any other demands to put on their list before their briefing with Charles.

~~

Charles was exhausted. He was more grateful than he could say that Erik had allowed them to communicate with Earth.

He had clearly been opposed to Charles receiving aural implants before training his telepathy but he had sat at his side while they were installed and helped him practice using them before going on a goodwill tour of his own fleet.

Charles loved how Erik openly and unashamedly deferred to him when he pressed his case, even when he clearly disagreed. For the first time since realizing what it meant to be Erik’s mate, Charles felt like they might be able to build something together on a personal level.

“Charles,” he felt a wave of irritation rush over his mind, it mixed with the deep concern for his well being that Erik had been grappling with all day.

He looked up at him wearily, leaning heavily against his side as they made their way back to their quarters. Erik had sent a message to Earth to alert them of the impending return of their citizens. Just then a similar message to their guests began to play in several languages as humans were prepared for teleportation.

“Yes?” he asked softly, sinking into the gentle care Erik felt only for him as the message continued softly in Cantonese

“Your companions want to stay aboard and are requesting a meeting with you,” Erik’s lips were a thin, colorless line, and his eyes shifted from pale blue to slate grey.

He chuckled tiredly at the sight of his mate’s displeasure. “I’m about to collapse. Let them stay aboard and we’ll deal with them tomorrow,” he sighed wearily.

All he wanted was to relax and have a long soak in the tub, a stiff drink, and a nice cuddle with Albert; he felt Erik’s relief at his words and felt the other man relax his stiff posture.

“Good, they ask too much of you,” he said softly, tucking Charles beneath his arm, relishing his soft weight against his side.

Charles gave him a tiny smile; it was nice to be appreciated and he couldn’t deny that the bond he shared with the Admiral had been his saving grace over this long, tiring day. “I’m alright,” he soothed the taller man. And for the first time since the attack and the revelation of his telepathy, he felt like that might actually be true.

~~

Shaw grimaced at his tablet. Lehnsherr had refused his request for a late meeting. He’d been offered meeting the following day.

These little slights had built up over time into a deep resentment of all his Derrian brothers and their whore mothers. But he didn’t let the little things get him down when he was so close to reaching his goal.

As a child he’d been hurt by their rejection and he hadn’t understood why even his own brother had disdained his company. It wasn’t until late adolescence when he’d received official permission to visit his father in prison that he’d come to understand his true purpose.

He chuckled as he read over the curt message; here Erik was trying to put him off again. Trying to keep distance between them that his parents had set up. Well that wouldn’t fly anymore, especially since his favorite brother had gone and taken a mate.

No doubt his whore of a mother had filled his head with falsehoods about Shaw, his father, and their glorious purpose. She would pay for her lies, they all would.

He had been vindicated by the light in his father’s eyes. Sebastian was everything his father had hoped for when he’d begun his ill fated experiments.

He finally understood why the Derrians rejected him. He was a higher form of life. They thought there was something missing from him and they were right. He was pure; he was free from the imperfections that plagued his mother’s people. Simply put, he was better.

Their time had finally come and soon Erik would understand what he meant to accomplish. They would stand side by side as he completed the work his father had begun. He was living proof that nature could be bent and shaped to the will of science. And shape it he would.

He quickly typed out his agreement to the meeting time Erik had offered. He wouldn’t be kept from his destiny any longer.