"Goodbye Old Friend"
"Good luck Professor"
Erik dons his helmet now. The shiny newness of it fades with the passing of days he finds himself spending away from Charles and the school of the gifted. Time passes slowly, yet seems to go by so quick when he thinks back on it. It hits him hard; leaving him feeling more vulnerable that he has ever felt before in his life. It shakes him to the core, a kind yet treacherous thing. He holds this feeling close to him, lets it always be a reminder of what he has.
Lets it be a reminder of what he has to lose.
"Im going to fight for what I have left" Ravens shouted words echo in his subconscious. Some nights they screech in his head, giving him nightmares to shake and wake from. Other times they are light whispers that keep him up at night. He has to fight for what he has left too. Its what he is doing. Its why he goes out and stops the battles from even starting. Stop the governments and the uprisings and the hate. Before it gets out of control. Before the threats even think about turning their attentions towards the children.
Towards Charles.
He sighs more often than he used to. He is sighing now. Charles wouldn't like what he was doing. "It wasn't the right way," the man would say with his pleading eyes and his slight frown. Eyebrows knitted in frustration. The same look that will forever stab Erik right in the heart and clenches it until the man begs for forgiveness. Begs for understanding and acceptance that he knows is already there. They never seem to see eye to eye when it comes to conflict. Charles always had a way with his words, uses them like the metal Erik uses against their enemies. It was admiring how quick a battle could end once Charles worked his magic.
Yet Erik could see what it was doing to Charles. Could see the dark rings under his eyes and the way the man rubbed his head when the headaches became overwhelming to him. The sleepless nights that haunts him. The nightmares that he faces daily since the battle with Apocalypse. How many voices did Charles have in his mind in the end? How much pain had been inflicted on him?
Erik didn't want him to have those troubles anymore. He wants the man he can admit that he loves, to live happy and safe. He was outrageously protective of the singular idea that Charles was the most precious person in the world. The feeling blooms and warms him from the inside out. Drives him and keeps him steadfast when all he wants is to return to the place that he knows he will belong. Where children admire him and laugh and play. Where a certain professor would look upon him with a smirk. Where that same professor would ask him for a game of chess with a drink at the end of a long day for both of them. A welcome place with welcomed people and open arms. Something that seemed so unbelievable years ago. After everything he has done.
Erik was Frankenstein's monster.
And he was going to fight for what he has left.