#the fact that erik used “us” and charles used “me” when talking about being abandoned | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

earnestly-endlessly · 4 years ago

Note

Hey! I hope I'm not bothering you, I just found your blog and I love it sm, and I saw you sometimes do cherik fic recs. Do you have any Canon divergence aus/fix it, preferably after Cuba, that are 30k or longer and have a happy ending? If not thats okay! You don't have to answer this. Have a wonderful day!

Hi anon, thank you so much. I’m happy you both like my blog and my recs. You are certainly not bothering me, and feel free to send me an ask any time. I have plenty of recommendations for you. Some of them diverge a bit from your request because I couldn’t help but recommend them as well. I will put a note on those who diverge from your request. As always, I only recommend fics I have personally read and enjoyed and I sincerely you love them too.

-Canon divergence aus/fix it, post Cuba, 30k or longer, with a happy ending cherik fic recs-

Not Half As Blinding- keire_ke

Summary: Cuban beach AU. Charles discovers that death does, in fact, solve everything.

Lay down beside me (so still and so soft) – C-Gracewood

Summary: A different take on the events of the film.

Rumor Has It – blueink3

Summary: "Did I hear the doorbell earlier?"

"Yeah, but I'd steer clear if I were you. It seemed a little tense. I don't know what's going on, but there's a kid out there who looks freakily like the prof."

Nearly six months after Cuba, Charles' life is turned upside down for the second time. Though he's slowly learning to adapt to the first, he's not sure he can handle the second. Luckily for him, there are a few people out there more than willing to help.

Forward Momentum – AsYouWish

Summary: Six months after Cuba, Charles and Erik find themselves thrown fifty years into the future, where they meet their older selves, the Avengers, and a world that's very different from their own. Faced with the pieces of their broken relationship, an unparalleled adversary, and dealing with Tony Stark on a daily basis, Charles and Erik do their best to adapt while trying to find a way back home -- and to each other.

When an Unstoppable Force Meets an Immovable Optimist – ToriTC198

Summary: "You are always trying to save me, Charles." Erik mused aloud. "Ever since you dove into the ocean and dragged me out. Did it ever occur to you that I might not be worth saving?"

A genuine smile broke out on Charles' face as he brightly answered, "No, my friend, not once. I have every confidence you are well worth saving. But, I never truly believed I could save you. You are not the sort of man who someone saves. The choice to be a better man has always been yours to make and I hold no illusions that I can make that decision for you. I simply have faith that one day you will save yourself. I only hope I am still at your side to witness it."

What if Erik and Charles had been able to find a middle ground in the end?

Take the First Option – ShowMeAHero

Summary: When Erik becomes unbalanced, Emma presents him with three options: go back to Charles for three months and learn to deal with whatever he has going have going on, lose his Brotherhood, or let Emma control his mind.

He really only has one choice.

Virtue to Which We Aspire – varlovian

Summary: Nine months after Cuba, Charles is found by Erik's Brotherhood in the smoldering ruins of an abandoned CIA base, exhausted but alive. As the only known survivor of the CIA's vendetta against mutants, recovering Charles' memory of the incident—which he admits to having forgotten—just became paramount.

But the harder they push, the closer Charles gets to breaking point. When he finally cracks, the X-Men and the Brotherhood will learn the truth, but it comes with a price...

Some doors, once opened, cannot be closed.

Some minds, once broken, will never be the same again.

The Waking of the Red King – rustingroses

Summary: When Charles' heavy injuries on the Cuban beach conspire to leave him in a coma and living in fantasy of his own making, Erik, the man who once threatened to divide the mutant cause, finds himself desperately trying to hold everything together. First of the Red King trilogy.

Wake Up and Smell the Pancakes – Ayra Sei Ethari

Summary: In one universe, Erik left Charles. In another, he stayed. So what happens when the two Eriks get switched? "At first, Erik thinks he's dreaming. Then he realizes that this is Charles. Who is not paralyzed. And kissing him.

Rage and Serenity – MagickMaker, TheFangedGoblin

Summary: After Charles is shot on the beach, he is rushed to the hospital and paralysis is prevented. Ridden with guilt, Erik finds that he cannot leave him. He helps him heal, and eventually, Charles learns to trust him again. But when they set out to rescue Emma from the CIA and accept her onto their team, tensions rise. Will love keep Erik and Charles together despite their differences?

No Yesterdays on the Road – pocky_slash

Summary: It's been two months since Cuba and things are settling down for Charles, Erik, and the beginnings of their mutant school. Right up until Charles disappears, that is. Faced with the possibility that a bitter Emma Frost has kidnapped Charles, Erik is forced to team up with Moira to hunt down the remainder of the Hellfire Club. From there, they hope to locate Frost and retrieve Charles, without killing each other along the way.

(Or: Erik and Moira Drive Across the Country and Talk About Their Feelings.)

What Can We Do Without You? – SwoopSwoop

Summary: Charles and the boys were holding onto a secret more dear to them than their own lives when Charles disappears into the night; Erik is betrayed and finds himself returning to Westchester in the hopes that the government was just trying to trick him. All the while the boys are stuck in the middle, left guarding the secret from the man they are most afraid of finding out who is weaselling his way back into their lives alarmingly easily.

Note: Includes Mpreg, but don’t let that discourage you from reading it because it’s a really great fix-it.

Survival Instinct – Lindstorm

Summary: It’s been months since Charles pulled Erik out of the ocean, and Erik is beginning to wonder how many more times he can choose Charles, and still keep his vow to kill Shaw. Cooperating with the CIA is straining Erik’s patience. When a fact-gathering mission goes wrong and Charles is kidnapped, Erik is left trying to hold their mutant band together while Raven and the rest of them fall apart. No one can foresee how the mutant Charles meets in captivity will challenge all his assumptions about his own power, and twist Charles’ telepathy out of his control. In the race to stop Shaw's nuclear ambitions from coming to fruition, Charles makes a crucial misstep. Erik’s decision between Shaw and Charles takes on unexpected ramifications when [spoiler deleted].

Needles (Series) – Skull_Bearer

Summary: AU where everyone's born Dominant or Submissive

Once a Dominant and Submissive pair is born, they are linked to each other, no matter how far apart they are. This link doesn't actually tell the Dom or the Sub each other's thoughts, but it does allow them to know how the other's doing and serves as a reassurance that there's someone meant for them out there.

Another one of the reasons that Erik hates Shaw so badly is because Shaw managed to break Erik's link to his Sub. Now Erik doesn't even know if his Sub's alive because breaking a link like that can kill a Submissive.

Meanwhile, Charles hates himself for not yet having telepathy strong enough to contact and help his Dom, especially after feeling the pain his Dom was forced to go through. He truly believes that his Dominant is dead. Hopes it, some nights when he remembers how his Dom was forced to suffer. It's better than to think of his Dom still being forced to bear that pain.

And then Charles pulls Erik from the water

Time to Grow – zarah5

Summary: In which you'll find chess dates which aren't dates (or maybe Charles is wrong about that). -- Based on First Class, this turns (slightly) AU during the beach scene.

Note: This fic is less than 30k words but it’s such a fandom classic and just a great read if you love your fix-its.

Faults for Fixing – beren

Summary: Charles sees the events of the missile crisis and subsequent weeks when he uses Cerebro to touch the mind of a mutant with the power to see the near future. When he wakes up he is determined that he will not allow them to happen and he will not lose the people he loves.

Note: A bit less than 30k words long but another great read.

It’s like one of us woke up – kaydeefalls

Summary: "You came here for me," Charles said, meeting Shaw's gaze levelly. "So let's not waste any more time."

Canon!AU in which Charles and Erik do find Shaw in Russia.

Note: XMFC fix it, but the events in Cuba don’t happen.

Afterlife – Anna (arctic_grey)

Summary: A year after Washington, Erik wakes up in excruciating pain as sudden awareness washes over him: Charles is dead. Erik has to adjust to yet another future: no extinction, just a world without Charles. But the death of his former friend leaves Erik weak and his powers drained. His quest for answers leads him back to Westchester, where Erik has to face his past with Charles and put together the puzzle pieces of what happened to the man he once cared for.

The Burdens We Long to Carry – arcapelago (arcanewinter)

Summary: When mutant-supporter and ally President Kennedy is assassinated and all pro-mutant progress is dismantled, Charles is no longer so confident that he's on the right side, and extends his hand to Erik after a year of animosity. They settle tentatively into their old partnership, but not everything is the same as it was--and not everything can be. When Hank develops a metal frame to move the lower half of Charles' body for him if he wants it, Erik offers the use of his mind and his ability in order to make it work. Both find out what they're willing to do for each other, and neither knows if it'll be enough to keep them together.

Other Futures Than These – midrashic

Summary: In which Cuba doesn't break them apart, but that doesn't mean that their futures are tied together. (Except that it does.)

A Days of Future Past AU where only one person can defeat the Sentinels and save the future: the man whose imprisonment and torture created them, and Charles Xavier's ex.

The Winter of Banked Fires – Yahtzee

Summary: Charles Xavier has returned from the dead -- but is lost within his own mind. Rogue has cast aside her own power and doesn't know where she fits in the world any longer. The production of synthetic Cure means mutantkind itself is newly at risk. And Magneto, turned human against his will, is in despair until the day he feels a familiar consciousness tugging at his own --

Set after X-3 (with much desperate fix-it applied), during XMFC, and every time in between.

#cherik #cherik fic recs #asks #earnestly answers #for some reason Tumblr refuses to post my entire answer #feel free to ask me whenever you want anon #I really love making these lists

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helpinghanikan · 5 years ago

Text

Public Enemy

X-men x Reader

Sum: Powers don’t always obey their masters. Sometimes they have their own minds, making problems and causing destruction that you’re left to deal with. When that happens, you’re going to need some help finding a sanctuary.

an: It’s not specified what Reader’s power is but I was thinking force-fields. I just think Force-field powers are neat.

Charles Xavier:

Charles’s office, specifically the couch, has been your home for some time. Although it has only been a few days, two at most, but it felt like years. Hours spent sitting specifically in the couch’s corner where anyone entering wouldn’t notice you right away. Reading and taking your place as secretary more seriously makes time move in a slower fashion.

“Would you grab that book for me?” Charles asks, slapping you out of whatever deep thought you were currently drowning in.

At first these little tasks he asks you to do seem to come randomly. As if he just remembered you were there and felt bad. In reality he’s probably been in the outer layer of your mind for longer then you’ve been in the office.

Ignoring these facts, you focused on your work. It had spread quickly through the school that you were open and able to grade anyone’s homework or papers. Like the rest of your current life, these were taken care in Charles’s office. A place you’ve been bent over for hours until a phone call held your attention.

Charles is a pretty decent liar. Between his history with authority and with children, he speaks with enough confidence that it’s not worth thinking about. Obviously he still had his tells, even if the person he was lying wasn’t in front of him, he still looked down and go quiet for a second.

“No, I’m afraid we haven’t heard from her.” When he starts his lie, his tells are typically gone. “Yes, we will absolutely contact you if she comes here. And, in the event of that happening, I ask that consider our relationship before deciding anything.”

You don’t say anything when he hangs up. Instead deciding that to grab that book before he asks you to.

Erik Lehnsherr:

Erik was nice enough not to say or ask anything at first. Your few items in a bag, and all your savings spent on bribing a boat captain to take you here. All this was written on your face, practically screaming that you don’t want to talk about it.

“Is anyone going to be coming?” was the only thing he asked.

Instead of a verbal answer you shrugged with a shake of your head. Maybe…

Erik uses the excuse of an escort to keep a hand on your back, around your shoulders. Even gently on the back of your neck to ask his question in a whisper. Although Genosha was supposedly a sanctuary to all mutants, you were still an outsider. An outsider who had, not only, caused destruction but just might bring down the anger of the world onto them.

“You came here quickly, then.” Erik says, in leadership mode. Sitting across from you, elbows on his knees, looking almost into you.

“You guys aren’t exactly hiding,” It wasn’t a good joke but still you blow air out of your nose, trying to force a tiny laugh.

“Then why come here to hide?” He asks.

When the answer you give is another shrug (I don’t know…) he sighs. Standing and returning with a hot cup of beverage. A kettle had either been set before he stepped out to greet you, or one was constantly kept a little warm. Either way it was somewhere between tea and coffee, but definitely not both.

“What did you do?” he asks.

It took some time to tell the entire story. Skipping too many details about the fear and anger that all came at you at once. Erik has heard it all before in much worse amounts. Only admitting that you were wanted, so many were hurt or completely destroyed by a lapse of control.

He doesn’t interrupt or ask any other questions. He just listens and keeps an ear out for helicopters.

Raven/ Mystique:

At some point you were taken to the hospital with the other survivors. The journey was hard to remember; being placed on a bed and tossed around in the back of an ambulance. Pretending to be just as out of it as the others, really just avoiding eye contact with the paramedics.

It’s nice to think that you had a plan for when you got to the hospital, and you kinda did. With all the people coming in at once there was the chance you’d be left in the hallway or an open area to wait for a bed. In the event of that happening you could just roll over and walk out. Just walk with confidence and make it out the door.

That you were now restrained in a bed in your own room meant that plan was out the window. Laying back and letting the nurses check you out with shaking hands. Just enough to check you over but not enough to pretend to be doing their job.

“It’s fine,” The nurse says, practically slamming the room door shut behind him. It wasn’t a thick door; you could still hear through it. “Please don’t make me go near it again.” He says to someone in the hallway, probably a doctor or some other superior.

It isn’t until their talking has mostly stopped that you bother trying to escape. Your restraints were soft but also tight, something that you couldn’t slide out of easily. Rocking the bed, trying to tip it over, would just leave you dangling off the side. Still strapped in but with bruises and staring at the floor.

While thinking of another dashing escape plan the door opens again. A nurse steps and gently closes the door behind her. This one was a woman nurse, so far you’ve only been dealing with males. It was likely because of the threat you posed that it had only been men. Specifically, the biggest nurses and orderlies that were available.

Because of this you watch the woman as she walks over. She was a small woman with brown hair in a bob cut, the white uniform and a smile she held while pulling the curtain around. You were smart enough not to say anything until she did. Or until she shifts entirely from white uniform into blue skin, immediately pulling at your restraints.

“Hey, Hi. Babe, I’m sorry…” You have a million things to say at once.

All the words fighting to be the first to be said. All ignored by your girl, who just places a gentle hand over your mouth and whispers a shhh. Going back to the restraints and whispering:

“Don’t say anything,” She says, opening the first and reaching over to get the next. “Let’s just get out of here.”

You quickly pulled the faded green scrubs over your clothes. Raven placing a surgical hat on your head and mask over your face was the best she could do. Raven quickly becoming the bobbed hair nurse again. She nods at you, as if to say, “everything will be fine.”

Peter Maximoff:

So much energy coming out at once has to take it out form somewhere. What was a splitting headache a second ago became a massive weight. One that dragged you down from the standing position and towards the floor. Only to be caught by arms that were not there a second ago.

It wasn’t that Peter was “harboring a fugitive,” or was “obstructing justice” he was just helping out his girlfriend. Something that he has argued about with several people.

“I don’t believe this was done on purpose, Ser.” Professor Xavier says into the phone, staring at Peter as he did. “No, she still has yet to reach out to us. To any of us. The moment she does we will tell you.”

Peter makes a face and shrugs when the phone is hung up. “I don’t see why they need her. It’s was an accident, she said sorry, I don’t see what else there is.”

Professor Xavier doesn’t seem to bother asking where you are. Peter wouldn’t tell him, and he could easily find you with cerebro.

“Is she safe?” He asks, wanting whatever truth Peter was willing to give.

“I mean, I don’t know where she is, but she safe. I think, yeah, she’s safe.” He says. Smart enough to help you vanish but not enough to know better then to lie to a telepath.

Hank McCoy:

Like a little kid you’ve chosen the staircase banister to hide behind. Either hand holding onto a separate bar, looking out between them. Your spot was strategically placed far enough away from the door that they wouldn’t see your details through the banister. As far as they were concerned you were just a curious kid. A very big curious kid.

“They” were the people Hank was currently handling at the door. It had been only two days since the incident and it’s amazing it took them this long to reach your door. Three men in suits and a woman in a white coat knocked at your door just after lunch.

Sending the students from the hall Hank took control of the situation. Never outright telling you to leave the main hall but did make a similar “shoo” gesture that he gave the kids while telling them to make their exit.

Although the distance gave you an advantage it also kept you from hearing what was being said. The men on the other side weren’t giving enough body language to tell if they were upset or not. Only one seemed to be talking, the others were moving side to side on their feet. If Hank were to move too far to one side or the other they’d try and make their way inside.

“They don’t have a right to take you, not legally or in anyway.” Hank had reassured you hours earlier.

It started to get tense on the other side of the room. One of the men giving up on waiting for an opening and trying to make one himself.

Hank’s change can happen slow or it can happen so fast you don’t even realize it. The friendly approach of a regular human at the door was abandoned the moment they showed aggression. Blue arms and baring teeth made all three jump, reaching for their hips. The woman in white, the seeming bravest of the group, steps forward. A hand reached out, but the door is slammed in her face.

Jean Gray:

Life is confusing and everyone is screaming.

At first their screams were sympathetic; they were screams of fear and pain. But after hearing them non-stop for several minutes it’s hard to feel bad. It was almost like they were doing it on purpose. Like, if they just shut up for one second you could figure what was happening.

They didn’t, though, they wouldn’t shut up. Distracting you from the indestructible bubbles creating and growing in the walls, machines and skin. Expanding and tearing everything apart.

There’s two other voices among the screaming that stands out: the first is the loudest. It’s the purest form of anger and fear that could ever be made. It was also the most annoying, if that one person would just shut-the-fuck-up you could probably think. The other voice is the only one not screaming. It wasn’t sweet or kind like it was before, it was harsh and stern. Power behind the voice making it louder then a scream ever could be.

It was pretty obvious whose voice was yours and who’s belonged to Jean.

Jean’s voice was like that. It was powerful, it was a strict father’s and a commanding mother’s combined. If she wanted to, she could make it impossible to escape her voice. She uses this power of voice now: Where your ears can’t take any information, but your mind was burst open and unprotected.

You never understood what she was saying completely. Only that it was nice, and that it made everything go black.

Logan/ Wolverine:

More than half the population of earth is smarter than Logan. He’s more than willing to admit that, but what he did know was not to poke an already agitated bear. That’s all you were in that moment. A very pissed off bear sitting in the corner of a glass square.

It honestly wouldn’t have been that bad if Peter hadn’t compared it to the cages Magneto had been in. That was when everything seemed to become real for you.

This was only way that there wouldn’t be an absolute hunt for mutants. Your containment in exchange for a lie told by the Secretary of Defense to the entire world. That, no, there was not “mutant attack”, this was an unexplained, isolated incident. One that was now being held in the basement of a government building until your fate is decided.

“Are you allowed to smoke in here?” You ask, picking at the bottom of your white scrubs.

“I didn’t see the signs.” He says, waiting for someone to dare and yell at him about the cigar.

Instead of asking for the cigar verbally you raise a hand towards one of the small breathing holes. He slides it towards you, butt first. Only giving a little direction on how to puff the thing instead of straight up inhale it.

Smoking anything while stressed was a good way to start a bad habit. Something Logan tried to keep you from. Given the situation, he allowed the nicotine high you were gonna get from working on the thing. It was another test for this place. A test to see just how long or how many little rules he could break before someone yelled at him.

Not that he would ever use this knowledge for selfish means. It was just good to know when things would start to go south. Not that the Professor gave him permission, he just didn’t tell him not to.

Kurt Wagner:

Any pictures or footage taken of you during the incident were stolen straight from hell. That was the only aspect anyone cared about; the ones where you were wild and there was nothing in your eyes except for uncontrolled power.

No one thought about the few seconds after the incident. That instead of power there was confusion and fear. Staring at your hands and into the world looking for answers.

That scene only lasted a few seconds. Long enough for the blue devil to match your hell appear and disappear with you.

Like a child you went to bed without dinner. Although it was by choice, and this wasn’t your bed. It was a hiding place in the same building that your seekers were searching. But with a protective layer of blankets, and an extra layer of your boy sitting in front of the door, you could enjoy these last few minutes before your life goes to hell.

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knives-out21 · 5 years ago

Text

Magnetic Push - Erik Lehnsherr x Male!OC - Part 4

Fandom: X-Men: Days Of Future Past (2014)

Pairing: Karmel Rosenstein (OC) x Erik Lehnsherr

Warnings: Swearing, Gay, SELF HARM, Spoilers for X-Men: Days Of Future Past,

Notes: Welcome to Part 4! The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) references ahead. Karmel’s hair tied up looks like this, for future reference:

Karmel adjusted his tie as he walked down the plane aisle, Erik in front of him, buttoning up a blue shirt. "I always knew I left a tie at Charles' mansion" he groaned, flattening it down. Karmel pulled his suspenders up and over his shoulders, Erik reaching for a newspaper on the table in front of Logan.

Logan's claws shot out, landing on the newspaper so that Erik wouldn't read it.

Karmel instantly grew his thorny vines out, aimed at Logan.

"Karmel." Erik softly called.

Karmel groaned, reeling his vines back into his body- but slowly. He followed Erik further down the plane, the man calling "imagine if they were metal" over to Logan.

Erik sat down on a long seat that had its back against the side of the plane. He pulled Karmel down to sit beside him, draping an arm around the blond's shoulders.

Karmel leaned his head on his hand, glancing over at Logan when Erik asked him a question.

"Where did they dig you up?" Erik asked, not looking over at Logan, but clearly aiming the question over at him.

"You're gonna find this hard to believe, but, uh..." Logan started, leaning forward in his seat. "You sent me. You and Charles, from the future."

Erik looked over at Logan, clearly confused. He crossed one leg over the other.

Before Karmel could ask about his own whereabouts, the plane took off. He leaned his head on Erik's shoulder, who only pulled him closer. To Karmel, one of the best feelings in the world was having Erik's arm around him. Or both of Erik's arms. Either way made him just as content.

Erik and Karmel felt Charles' eyes on them, but took on the responsibility of not giving Charles the satisfaction of looking right back at him.

Erik leaned down, to whisper to Karmel. "You feel him, too?"

Karmel nodded slightly. "It's fuckin’ weird. Can you say something-?"

Erik nodded back. "How did you lose them?" He asked Charles, still not making eye contact.

"The treatment for my spine affects my DNA" Charles answered, Karmel being the first to look at him.

"You sacrificed your powers so you could walk?" Karmel questioned.

"I sacrificed my powers so that I could sleep."

Karmel sat up straight, reaching a hand up to hold Erik's fingers. He did so in a way where two fingers gripped Erik’s, the others holding onto the cuff of his sleeve. This way, Karmel’s wrapped-up arm wouldn’t be exposed and questioned. He didn’t wanna talk about that right now. Or ever, if possible.

"What do you two know about it?"

"We've lost my fair share" Erik admitted.

"Ha" Charles sarcastically laughed. "Dry your eyes, you two. It doesn't justify what you've done" he shook his head.

Erik shook his head in return. "You have no idea what we've done."

"I know that you've took the things that mean the most to me" Charles raised his eyebrows.

"Well maybe you should've fought harder for them."

"If you want a fight, Erik, I will give you a fight!" Charles exclaimed, Erik and him standing up in unison.

"Sit down!" Logan called.

Karmel gestured a hand at Logan, "let him come" he muttered.

Charles gripped Erik's shirt. "You abandoned me, both Karmel and you! You took her away, and you abandoned me!"

"Abandoned you?" Karmel snapped, glaring at Charles. "You TOLD me to go with Erik, remember, numb-nuts? You gave me that 'go, it's what you want' bullshit that nudged me over the edge, to Erik!"

"Angel," Erik started to list off. "Azazel. Emma." He continued, everyone on board noticing how the plane started to rock a bit.

"Erik..." Karmel softly called, gaze melting down when it landed on him.

"Banshee. Mutant brothers and sisters, all dead! Do you know how many times I almost lost K-Karmel, too?" Erik's voice rose, Charles letting go of him as the plane started to dip. "Countless others, experimented on" he added, cups and plates crashing to the ground when the plane tilted."Butchered!"

"Erik!" Hank called from the cockpit, Karmel steadily standing up.

"Where were you, Charles? We were supposed to protect them! Where were you when your own people needed you? Hiding, you and Hank! Pretending to be something you're not!" Erik went off, Karmel catching himself onto the first thing he could grab, to keep standing.

"Erik-" Karmel called, placing his hand on Erik's shoulder. "Erik, please" he pleaded, grip tightening a bit.

And that's what shut him off. Hearing Karmel's voice, feeling Karmel's touch, that's what calmed him down. "You...Abandoned us all, Karmel and myself included" he exhaled, the plane wobbling back to normal. Erik looked down, panting gently before locking eyes with Karmel.

Karmel cupped his cheeks, Erik’s entire body facing him. "Focus on me, okay? Focus on me, my eyes, my voice, okay, Erik?" He quietly instructed, looking Erik up and down. "Deep breaths, alright, honey? In...and out...In...and out, just like you told me" Karmel repeated, watching Charles retreat into the cockpit. "I'm here, Erik. I'm alive. I'm still with you" he mumbled, patting Erik's cheek.

Erik softened into the touch, taking the deep breaths Karmel told him to do.

"So you were always an asshole" Logan noted, the comment directed at Erik. ”And you were always...quirky” he added, a lost gaze caught onto Karmel.

“I wouldn’t call myself ‘quirky’, but there is definitely something wrong with me” Karmel agreed.

Erik's eyes left Karmel's and locked with Logan's. "I take it we're best buddies in the future" he scoffed, sarcasm dripping with every word.

Logan grinned, looking up at the pair. "I spent a lot of years trying to bring you down, bub."

"How does that work out for you?" Karmel egged Logan on, arms wrapping around Erik in a tight, loving hug.

"You're like me, both of you. You're survivors" Logan tilted his head, looking at the mess Erik made. "You wanna pick all that shit up?"

Erik raised his eyebrows, turning around to look at what he had done.

Karmel pulled away from Erik, balling his hands into fists. Vines shot out from his body and wrapping around every discarded piece of furniture he saw. Karmel lifted them all up and put them back where they originally were. He was desperate to ask Logan about himself, but held off from it. The idea of the future being a surprise felt fun. And normal.

***

It was night time. Charles was back where he was seated earlier, and Karmel lay across where Erik and him sat earlier.

Only this time, Karmel was fast asleep. A gin bottle was loosely gripped in his hand, thankfully closed so that it didn't spill anywhere. Erik tied up Karmel’s hair earlier, so it wouldn’t disrupt him in his sleep.

Logan hadn't moved an inch. He stared down at Karmel; so this is the esteemed Karmel J. Rosenstein, huh? Erik's one and only, Erik's ride or die, Magneto's dearest Climber.

An alcoholic, orphaned bisexual with unapologetic anger issues and daddy’s ugly ties. What a guy.

Logan listened to Karmel's soft snores, wondering what it was that Erik saw in this guy. He took in the fact that first impressions happened to be rough. Maybe later on, he'll catch a glimpse of what Erik sees.

Erik walked down the aisle, holding a chess board in his hands. He stopped in front of Charles, putting it down on the table in front of him. "Fancy a game? It's been a while."

Charles drank from his glass, looking up at Erik. "I'm not in the mood for games, thank you."

Erik poured himself a glass. "I haven't had a real sip in ten years...neither has Karmel. Coincidence you had some gin lying around, hmm?" He inquired, eyebrows raising.

Charles gulped. "I like gin."

"Certainly not enough to keep a bottle of it on a plane, yea? Unopened, at that" Erik pointed out, turning to look at Karmel.

Logan caught the smile Erik grew when his eyes landed on Karmel. It's how Logan himself looked at Jean...No, it wasn't even close to that. It was far from that. Man, Erik is whipped. Logan held back a chuckle- the Erik in his future still smiles like that when Karmel's the center of attention in any way, shape, or form.

Charles followed Erik's gaze. "I see your feelings haven't changed, hmm?"

"Haven't budged a bit" Erik nodded, turning back to Charles. He sat on the arm of the long seat Karmel slept on, slowly drinking from his glass.

“His hair’s grown.”

“Karmel having longer hair than you, that’s a sight I never thought I’d see” Erik exhaled through his nose. ”Looks quite nice though, doesn’t it?”

“Not what I’m used to...” Charles shrugged, eyes falling on Karmel’s arms. ”What happened to his arms?” He asked stiffly.

Erik set his jaw. ”That...” He started, a helpless look overtaking those beautiful eyes of his. ”I’ve had the misfortune of being asleep in our cell, while Karmel was wide awake. Left alone to his devices.”

Charles gulped, nodding.

"Karmel has secrets he doesn’t want to tell me. And I wish he would.” Erik’s tone was low, gentle. It was as if Karmel was still awake and he didn’t want Karmel to hear him.

Charles’ gaze diverged over to Karmel. He still didn’t want to get inside Karmel’s head, never again, at that.

“We didn't kill the President" Erik confessed, reaching a hand down and curling his fingers around Karmel's; like a baby, Karmel's grip on Erik's fingers automatically tightened.

"The bullet curved, Erik."

"Because we were trying to save him. Karmel volunteered to use his vines to grab it, but...that would've exposed us" he corrected. "They took us out before either of us could save him."

"Why would you try and save him?"

"Because he was one of us."

Charles' expression changed for a second, before he coldly scoffed, looking up.

Erik's expression didn't change. He was dead serious.

Charles shook his head, "you must think me so foolish. We've always said they would come after us."

"I never imagined they'd use Raven's DNA to do it."

"When did you last see her?"

Erik clicked his tongue, standing back up and moving to sit in front of Charles. "The day Karmel and I left for Dallas."

"How was she?"

"Strong, driven."

"How was...he?" Charles inquired, eyes trailing over to Karmel.

"Protective, actually. Karmel is tender...Karmel is beautiful. Though if I tell him, he’d say I’m such a liar. Karmel is...Karmel is a mystery- Kamel is not a nobody, though.” Erik shook his head.

"Erik. How was he?"

Erik opened his mouth, thinking. "He was...we are..." He shook his head, smiling. "I love him, Charles. I really don’t know what else you want me to say, or expect me to say. You watched me slowly fall for him, all those years ago, and I still am, to this day. You should be proud of Raven, though, Charles. She's out there fighting for our cause-"

"Your, cause" Charles cute him off. "The girl I raised, she was not capable of killing-"

"You didn't raise her, you grew up with her. She couldn't stay a little girl forever, that's why she left."

"Karmel and her left because you got inside their heads."

"Don't bring Karmel into this. You know as well as I do that his morals struck closer to mine than yours, from the moment you met him" Erik pointed a finger at Charles. "And besides, that's not my power. Karmel made a choice, she made a choice."

"But now we know where Raven’s choice leads, don't we?" Charles inquired. "She's going to murder Trask, they're going to capture her, and then they're going to wipe us out."

"Not if we get to her first" Erik claimed. "Not if we change history tomorrow..."

Charles stayed silent.

"I'm sorry, Charles...For what happened, I..." Erik looked down at the table. "I truly am." He apologized, looking up at Charles with puppy dog eyes he copied off of Karmel.

Charles threw back the rest of his drink. "It's been a while since I've played" he cleared his throat, adjusting himself in his seat.

Erik sighed silently. "I'll go easy on you. Might finally be a fair fight" he chuckled.

"You have the first move."

Erik looked down at the board, moving his first piece with his mutation. He kept his eyes on Charles, immediately standing up and turning to face Logan. Erik used his mutation to point a fork at Logan, "what do you think you're doing?" He hissed.

Logan was knelt down by Karmel, dangerously close to his arm. He raised an eyebrow and froze, looking up at Erik. "I got...instructed, by you in the future. To go see a friend of Karmel's and grab something for him."

"Grab what?" Erik pressed.

Logan gestured down to his hands. He held a brown, braided leather bracelet with a silver, metal clasp.

Erik's breathing calmed. "His bracelet...We haven't seen it in ten years."

"Or those?" Logan asked, gesturing to an old belt that lay across Karmel's waist, along with a black leather jacket he had draped over Karmel, as a makeshift blanket. "Some blue-haired kid, he's kickin' it at Karmel's place. Kept this stuff for him while you and Karmel were locked up. Future-you demanded for me to get these for him, both of these" he explained, clasping the bracelet around Karmel's left wrist. "What's with the hissy-fit, huh? They're clothing accessories."

Erik licked his lips. "I gave him that bracelet shortly after I met him, it was a gift. That belt belonged to Karmel's uncle. It's a long story, but, uh..." he rubbed the back of his neck. "Thank you for listening to me. These mean a lot to Karmel."

Logan nodded, "you can fix up Karmel's belt. Future-you would've killed me for so much as looking at him the wrong way" he joked.

Erik nodded, walking over and sliding the belt onto Karmel's pants. "Blue hair, blue hair...Grimm" he quickly connected.

"Grimm" Charles repeated from behind Erik, in an airy tone. "What a wonder."

"Hey, didn't you-" Erik turned back around once the belt was successfully on, but he quickly caught the 'don't' look that flashed across Charles' face. He nodded. "Sorry."

Charles waved his hand dismissively. "No, that's alright. It was for the best, for him."

Erik nodded, looking down at Karmel. His knuckles grazed Karmel's cheek, the blond shifting where he lay. Erik couldn't imagine breaking up with Karmel- it was unheard of.

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sareyen · 5 years ago

Text

A Machine Without Feelings: A Jane Eyre AU (Part 9/11)

Read on ao3

Chapter 9

Charles, Jean and Ororo giddily chatted to each other as they walked the short path to the new school grounds, a modest building that had once been a barn, but had been extended by a few single-storey stone rooms. Since it was such a small parish school, it was not practical to segregate the boys from the girls, so Charles, Jean and Ororo worked closely together.

The three teachers would swap in and out for different classes depending on which subjects they preferred. Jean enjoyed teaching English and history, while Ororo was in charge of the French and geography lessons. Charles, of course, taught science and mathematics.

Charles loved teaching at the school – though the children were farmer’s sons and daughters and by no means avid scholars, they were curious enough about the ways of the world and listened attentively. It was vastly different from teaching at Graymalkin, and definitely a whole different experience compared to teaching Peter, but still fulfilling.

Charles also loved teaching since it took his mind off other things, namely thoughts about Erik. When he was teaching, he focused solely on the children. When either Jean or Ororo had taken over the class, he would focus on organising the content for his next lesson, or mark work sheets under a single candlelight. When he returned home, he would try to absorb himself into Jean’s poetry readings, or get Ororo to teach him more Spanish.

A season and change passed by just like that, Charles becoming absorbed in his work and not much else. He had recovered from his weakness after being exposed to the elements on the Moors five months prior, and though his foot was still maimed, it did not bother him much at all now. He still used the chair, but found that he could at least walk a lap around the small garden at the back of Eden House with relative ease.

Still, Charles overworked himself, especially once Stryker had seemed satisfied with his competency after the first two months on the job, offering him a permanent position. But Charles had not missed the man’s subtle attempts to find out about Charles’s past. He asked Charles if he remember his education (he said he did not, but that he thought he maybe had a tutor, which he also did not), if Charles worked at another school prior (he said that he did not know), or if he remembered where the Xander family hailed from (he also said that he had no clue, much to Stryker’s frustration).

Charles still remained a bit of an enigma, and Stryker felt, in his robust gut, that the man knew more than he was revealing. He could not attack the man, though, since Charles had become rather popular in the rural parish. He was charming, young and sociable, and despite being a cripple, he managed to curry favour with his students, and more importantly, their parents. Stryker had received many letters stating that they people were immensely happy with the quality of teaching the children have been receiving at the school, particularly mentioning Mr Charles Xander. Stryker crumpled up all the letters and threw them into the fire.

Charles Xander was becoming far too popular, and far too powerful for Stryker’s liking. The only power Stryker had over the man was his wealth, so Stryker was glad that the man was at least poor. It appeased him slightly to know that he still controlled the teacher’s salary.

It was one evening in the blistering winter that Charles’s body grew weak. He had always been sensitive to the cold, and now crippled and overworked, he could not stave off the slight sickness that gripped him. He soldiered on, though, and now sat at the desk Logan had made for him, coughing a little as he scribbled down some notes in his book.

Charles now shared Logan’s bedchambers with him. Not in the same manner that he and Erik shared a room in, but more out of necessity. Sleeping on the chaise in the sitting room was alright during the warmer months, but in winter the room was freezing, and sleeping there was asking for frostbite to nip off his fingers and toes.

Logan’s bed was not large and could not fit another bed in it. It was a good thing that Charles was small, because it meant that the two men could just fit on the pre-existing bed when they lay side by side on their backs, though their arms pressed together tightly. That was not all bad, not when Logan was like a furnace and Charles’s maimed foot did not circulate blood as well as it used to.

Logan was already lying on the bed, only wearing a set of flimsy linen trousers. Charles, on the other hand, was wrapped up in his trousers, shirt, coat, two pairs of socks and was weighed down by two blankets over his shoulders. It did not help that there was a frosty draft drifting in through the gaps in the window, cold even with the warmth radiating from the fireplace on the other side of the room.

Charles coughed again, causing Logan to curse, the bed creaking as the large man sat up.

“Chuck, stop overworking yourself and rest. You’re going to waste away again,” Logan grumbled, Charles just humming as he covered his mouth to cough again, flicking to the next page in his book. Charles heard Logan click his tongue in annoyance, and let out a startled yelp when his wheelchair was suddenly jerked back, his pencil dropping onto his now abandoned book.

“Logan!” Charles began to whine, frowning when the man pressed a warm hand to his forehead, checking for a fever. Luckily, Charles was not feverish, only run down with a little niggle in his throat.

“If you don’t want that cough to get worse, go to bed now, Chuck,” Logan said, ignoring Charles’s protests as he took it upon himself to pick the younger man up, throwing him without a hint of delicacy onto their shared bed.

“You are a brute,” Charles huffed, but shivered with the loss of the two blankets he had been wearing earlier, burrowing into the one on the bed instead. The sheets had already been warmed by Logan’s body, and Charles couldn’t help but sigh in contentment, making Logan chuckle.

Logan lowered himself besides Charles, and couldn’t help the small smile that crept onto his face when Charles subconsciously snuggled closer to him, chasing his body heat. Logan hesitated for a moment, looking down at the smaller man beside him, blue-eyed and red-lipped, and a surge of desire pulsed through him, unfamiliar and consuming.

Slowly, Logan shifted his arm so it wrapped around Charles, tugging him in closer. Charles’s breath hitched, and the boy immediately froze, ocean eyes wide. Charles’s hand was pressed against Logan’s chest now, pushing a little. Logan’s heart stuttered.

“Sorry,” Logan mumbled, retracting his arm, frowning. “Did I read you wrong, Chuck? I thought, I had the feeling that, even though we’re both men…”

“No,” Charles started, before grimacing. “Yes. And no. I- I’m sorry, my friend. It is not you. You are perfect, and you are right about that. It’s not normal, or proper, I know, but… that’s how I am. If that makes you uncomfortable, I can return to the chaise. You only need to tell me.”

“I just held you, and you’re asking if I am uncomfortable with the fact that you like men?” Logan scoffed, Charles’s cheeks flushing at the bluntness of his statement. “Chuck, you know me. I don’t care about what’s proper.”

Charles laughed, a little weakly, looking up at Logan then. He did find the man attractive, and he did like him. He maybe even loved him, but not in the way he loved Erik. He loved Logan the same way he loved Jean and Ororo, Moira and Alex. Logan was a close friend, as close as a brother.

“Like I said, my friend. You are perfect,” Charles said, holding his hands to his own chest now. Logan cracked a smile, turning to face Charles a little better.

“You said something about it not being me. I’m a simple man, Chuck, but even I can read that you have some sort of past… with someone.” Charles winced at Logan’s words, mouth about to open with an excuse, or quip about having no memories, which Logan knew was utter shite. “Chuck, I know that you remember things. I think you remember everything. You’ve been living with us for half a year, I think we can read you better than most people now.”

“I can’t hide it from you, can I?” Charles sighed, Logan exhaling sharply.

“You don’t have to. You can tell me, and Jean and Ororo. You know that we would never talk. I hardly talk to anyone outside of this household, anyway,” Logan said, smiling wryly. Charles laughed again, before nursing his lower lip. Charles hadn’t told anyone about his past, but he believed that, if he would tell anyone, it would be the three people in this house, Logan most of all.

“It is a long story, my friend,” Charles said, Logan shuffling in the bed to get more comfortable, giving Charles a raised eyebrow to continue. Charles started to talk, his words stunted at first, unsure. But as he continued, the words began to flow more freely, until the flood gates opened completely. It was easy talking to Logan; the man’s face barely changed from its usual gruff indifference, though Charles knew he was listening attentively when the man would grunt every now and then, eyes never leaving Charles’s face.

Charles started from the beginning, about Westchester and Graymalkin, and then about Ironfield. Charles told Logan everything, about how he adored teaching little Peter, about his friendship with Moira and the other staff. He told the man in his bed about the master of Ironfield, the man that had loved him and broken him. He told him about how Erik had made his newborn heart jealous with Emma, and how they had loved each other desperately. How he still loved Erik desperately.

Then Charles told him about the Creeds and the marriage, about the ghost who still haunts Charles now, miles and miles away. Charles ended the story with tears in his eyes, wiping them away as he gave Logan a final, shaky smile.

“And then you found me wandering the Moors. Erik once asked me if I had a tale of woe. I believe I just told it to you,” Charles murmured quietly, Logan silent, before speaking.

“You still love him,” Logan said slowly, Charles nodding. “Then why don’t you return to him?”

“You know why, Logan.”

“He loves you too, Chuck. It’s obvious, from what you told me. A man like that does not let go of someone like you, even if you go away,” Logan said, knowing full well how hard it would be to forget someone like Chuck.

Charles let out a choked noise, fresh tears sprouting from his eyes.

“I hear his voice sometimes, you know,” Charles whispered, pressing two fingers to his temple. “In here. I can hear him calling for me. I don’t know if I am mad, or if my dreams about him linger when I am awake. But I swear, I can hear him.”

“He’s calling you back, Chuck,” Logan said simply, Charles squeezing his eyes closed.

“Is it not too late for me to go back, though? I… have a life here, now. With you, and Jean and Ororo. With the children at the school. I have a life here. Would it not be selfish for me to abandon it, just because I long for one man?”

“You are a strange and selfless fool, Chuck,” Logan said, nudging at Charles’s chin with a rough finger. “And you are tired. So go to sleep, now, and think about things properly in the morning.”

Charles let out a throaty noise, something like an ‘okay’ and a ‘thank you’, before slipping into a deep sleep wrapped up in Logan’s warmth. Logan watched him sleep, for a moment. And he thought, ‘that man, Erik. For him, I doubt that it would ever be too late, not as long as you came back to him. I’d be the same way.’

The morning after, Charles and Logan gathered Jean and Ororo, and Charles told them the story he had told Logan. He did not cry this time, even if his heart ached. Jean and Ororo had tears in their eyes instead, and both got up from their seats to hug Charles, whom they thought of as their second brother. They understood him, and promised that they would be there for him, because that was what family did.

***

Three more months passed, and winter turned into spring. Nothing much happened during that time, and life was simple yet tranquil. The school was operating well, and the occupants of Eden House could begin to afford a few more luxuries in their life with all four members having found employment. They no longer had to restrict fires to a single room, and Ororo finally got her new shoes. Meals were no longer watered-down stew, and they could afford bread and good meat, as well as wine for special occasions.

Charles’s birthday was one such occasion. The festivities weren’t grand – Jean and Ororo had taken it upon themselves to cook a hearty roast meal, and Logan had crafted Charles a new walking stick as a gift. Charles was taken aback by the detailed and intricate design, and had kept running his fingers over the smooth surface of the object.

“It never ceases to amaze me how rough hands like yours can create such delicate art like this,” Charles had said, Ororo cackling at Charles’s insult-compliment, Jean’s lips quirking as she poured everyone wine. The household sang and danced – well, Ororo sang and danced, and Charles just sang. Charles attempted to dance, Ororo spinning him around in his chair, making him laugh wildly, immensely happy.

Charles had never thought too much about birthdays. He had rarely celebrated them in his childhood, only getting a cake from Kitty and an impersonal card and toy from his mother. At Graymalkin, birthdays did not exist, though the one birthday that he shared with Raven was a cherished memory, the girl making him a crown of daisies as a gift.

Nineteen was no major milestone, but it was now his most favourite birthday, and an important memory. Charles was not aware that it was important in a different way, one that would rock the newly built boat he had built after his last one had been overturned in a storm.

It was another month after Charles’s birthday that Jean came running in to the school building, cheeks flushed as red as her hair, the hem of her dress caked with dust and mud.

“Professor,” Jean said, still using the affectionate nickname despite knowing that it was in no way true. “I have news. Startling news.”

“What is it, Jean?” Charles asked, putting aside the writing boards and chalk he was tidying up, wheeling over to his sister and grasping her slender arm.

“I think I should sit,” Jean said, wringing her hands together, taking a seat at the edge of a long bench besides Charles’s wheelchair. Charles’s brow was furrowed with nervousness and suspense, Jean rarely getting so agitated about anything.

“I had just talked to Stryker about ordering more benches for the students, since our numbers have grown since winter. When I left, there was an unfamiliar man that went into his office; he was wearing a fine suit, and was definitely from the city. I had a feeling, you see, so I stayed around to try and listen. We have never trusted Stryker, and the whole thing smelled off,” Jean said, glancing around, checking to see if anyone was eavesdropping. Neither Charles nor Jean sensed any other presence in the room, Jean continuing in a hushed voice.

“That man, I could not catch his name, said that he was a lawyer from -shire. You said that was where your old residence, Ironfield Hall, was, so I knew it had something to do with you.”

“Has Stryker’s inquiries into my identity yielded fruit, then? Jean, this is terrible news,” Charles said, heart seizing. Jean quickly shook her head, though her tensed figure did not ease.

“Stryker did not seem to know your real name, but he does now. The lawyer said that he was looking for a Mr Charles Xavier, formerly of Westchester, Graymalkin School and Ironfield Hall. The lawyer has been looking for you, and had heard rumours of someone matching your description – it was likely because Stryker was asking about you, and the lawyer put two-and-two together.”

“Oh, God,” Charles groaned, Jean grabbing his hand, squeezing it tightly. “Did the lawyer say what he was looking for me for? Was it about Ironfield? Did… Did something happen to Erik?”

Jean shook her head.

“No, Stryker asked about the reason too, but the lawyer said that he could not disclose private information to anyone other than Mr Charles Xavier. Stryker knew that the man would not budge, and I think he wanted to send the man away, but this was an opportunity for him to discover the truth about you. Charles, I ran here the moment I heard, but the man is coming here to the school, now. I wanted to warn you, first, so you are prepared.”

“Thank you, Jean,” Charles said, just as there was the sound of crunching gravel from the path leading to the school building. Jean and Charles looked at each other, the woman touching her palm to Charles’s cheek supportively, before she stood from the bench as the lawyer entered.

“Mr Charles Xavier?” the lawyer asked, looking directly at Charles. The teacher could see the man confirming the description he had been given; blue eyes, brown hair, short stature. The lawyer had not been told that he was a cripple, however – the account had been from someone who had only seen him a year or so prior, so it was not unlikely that the information was outdated.

“Yes, I am Charles Xavier,” Charles said, clearing his scratchy throat.

“Excellent, I have journeyed far to find you, Mr Xavier. I am Jean-Paul Beaubier, a lawyer employed by the late Mr Brian Xavier,” the man said, smiling at Charles, whose mouth dropped open at the mention of his father’s name.

“My… father?” Charles asked, the lawyer nodding. “You knew my father?”

“Yes, quite well, in fact. A man of your father’s standing, he required legal counsel often, and I’d like to think that he considered me a friend. I saw you once, when you were just an infant. Your mother had been holding you when I executed your father’s will. I have just been to visit your mother in my search for you, actually. She is faring well along the seaside. It seems that being freed from her second husband did her well.”

If Charles had not been sitting in his wheelchair, he was sure he would have collapsed on the spot at the news.

“So you’re calling upon me in relation to my father? He has been dead almost nineteen years,” Charles said, the lawyer nodding, a little sad at the memory of his friend’s passing.

“Yes. You are nineteen years old now, correct?” Charles nodded, the lawyer smiling as he pulled out a document from his case, passing it to Charles. “You may read it, but I will tell you the short of it. There was another part written in your father’s will that only he, I and your mother knew about. Even though your father was not able to spend as much time with you as he wanted, he loved you dearly. He was also a smart man, who knew that his wealth would attract unsavoury characters who may take advantage of his grieving widow and his infant son. So, he stipulated that, upon your nineteenth birthday, you should two receive an inheritance of 20,000 pounds.”

Jean gasped audibly, Charles startling in his chair.

“20,000 pounds?!” Charles exclaimed, looking at Jean, who was looking back at him with her mouth on the floor.

“Yes, Mr Xavier,” the lawyer said, laughing and pleased at Charles’s reaction, no doubt expecting something of the sort. “It is hard to believe, I know, but it is all written there. Your father knew that by this age, even if circumstances were poor, you would be independent. From the journey I have taken to find you, I think that your father predicted the future aptly.”

“My… My mother never told me. You said that she was aware of this?” Charles asked, eyes rapidly drinking in the printed letters spread across the pages in his hands. They said exactly the same words that Mr Beaubier had spoken, the signatures official, the seal ironclad.

“Yes, she became known to the fact right after his death, when his will was first executed. When I saw your mother most recently, she told me that… she had not been a good mother in many aspects. Maybe in all of them. But, the one thing that she said that she did right was protect this secret. She told me to tell you that she hopes with this, you can begin to forgive her for all that she did, and did not do.”

“I…” Charles started, mouth open in silence. “Jean.”

“Y-Yes?” the woman said, jumping at being addressed. Charles turned to her, a smile beginning to grow on his mouth, hands shaking with excitement.

“Jean, I think that we are set for life.”

***

“So now you’re a pompous and rich git, Chuck,” Logan said after being momentarily shocked into silence, something that did not happen often. Ororo just stared at Charles, slack jawed, looking down at the papers in his hand, back and Charles, and then back down again.

“Professor, this is written in English, yes? Because I can’t seem to make sense of it,” Ororo said, Charles laughing.

“I assure you, Ororo, everything you read is true. We no longer have to worry about putting food on the table. We can even renovate the entire house, or by a whole new one! Or ten!” Charles said, wheeling over to lay his hand over Ororo’s.

“20,000 pounds,” Ororo mouthed. “10,000 multiplied by 2. 20,000. Professor, you are a true heir! By dickens, you’re leagues richer than even Stryker, and we thought he was overly stuffed!”

“Speaking of Stryker. He knows your real name now, Chuck. It won’t be long until he finds out about your past,” Logan said, voice dangerous. The mood in the house immediately dampened, Jean coming to sit beside Ororo, looking worried. Charles could feel Logan pacing the room behind him, heavy feet clunking on the wooden floor.

“Will he do anything about it, though? I know money is not infallible, but the reason he is so revered and feared is because of his money. I know I sound like a complete arse, but I can out-pay him more than twice-fold,” Charles said, Logan snorting.

“Yes, you sound like a bloody arse, but you also sound like an idiot. Stryker is not only powerful because of his money. He is a man that is able to use your weaknesses against you. He will incite fear amongst the people, and – you know these are not my thoughts – but when he finds out your…” Logan started, Jean clearing her throat and piping up.

“Your proclivities,” she supplied carefully, Logan rolling his eyes.

“I was going to say ‘when he finds out about your love for cock’, but that works too,” Logan said, the girls blushing while Charles spluttered. “Anyway, Stryker is not above using those despicable tactics. He will think that you are a threat because of your wealth. Chuck, this is my opinion, but you can’t stay here.”

Charles’s heart dropped in his chest, eyes wide as he twisted in his chair to look at Logan.

“Are you asking me to leave?” Charles whispered, his sisters also turning to their older brother with shocked faces, as pained as Charles.

“Logan, you must be speaking in jest,” Jean said, reaching to grab Charles’s hand, like her slender fingers could tether him to their side.

“Yes, brother! Charles is family, I can’t believe you’re talking about throwing him out! We know you love him, too!” Ororo said, Charles blushing, catching Logan’s eye. The older man just huffed, crossing his arms over his chest.

“You lot think so highly of me. I’m wounded,” Logan said sarcastically, leaning to against the back of the chaise. “I said that Chuck should leave, but I didn’t say that he would leave alone.”

Charles’s heart warmed, Logan smiling a little as Jean and Ororo let out relieved sighs, the latter hitting Logan’s arm for making them think about something as horrible as parting from Charles.

“But if we all leave, we would be abandoning the children,” Charles said, frowning at the thought. “We are the only teachers here, they’d be left with no one to guide them.”

“Stryker would be able to find new teachers eventually,” Logan said, shrugging. “He’d probably just have to empty his bloated pockets some more. Just because you’re filthy rich, you can’t forget that Stryker does have a comfortable sum too, Chuck.”

“You’re never going to let me live this down, are you?” Charles sighed, Logan whistling, shaking his head. “Very well. I don’t feel completely comfortable with leaving the children, but Stryker is a dangerous man and I don’t want to endanger you all. I’ll at least leave the school with a sum of money – the pastor is a good and honest man, he can at least use it to help sustain the children in our absence, until new teachers are found.”

“Selfless as always, Professor,” Jean said, shaking her head fondly. “Let us begin to pack, then. Stryker will get information soon, so it is best if we vanish long before then.”

***

After living a frugal life for years, Jean and Ororo found it hard to part with things, even after Charles assured them that they could buy everything anew. So, they just packed their clothes and toiletries, and things that were particularly sentimental, like family sketches, Logan and Jean’s mother’s keepsakes, some books. Their travel cases were packed full to bursting, Logan having to stomp on them so they latched closed.

They made plans to leave in two days’ time. It took couriers at least two days to get to their parish from any of the larger cities, including that of Ironfield. Charles had given the pastor a sum of 2000 pounds, telling him that it may be best to tell no other soul about it. The pastor had understood, the large amount of money likely to spark a frenzy in the small parish. The pastor had thanked Charles for the donation, telling him that they would use it wisely.

It was now the eve of their departure, and Jean and Ororo were in their room trying to sleep, but too excited to do so successfully. Charles could hear them whispering about going on their first long carriage journey, smiling at his sisters before wheeling himself to his and Logan’s room.

Logan was busy neatening up some of the things on Charles’s desk, and turned when he heard the teacher enter.

“We’re leaving tomorrow, but Chuck, do you even know where you’re going to go?” Logan asked, Charles tapping on the arm rest of his chair, biting his lower lip. Logan waited for Charles to answer, but when he didn’t, he stopped organising Charles’s books to turn to the man. “Chuck?”

“I… Logan. If I… If I said that I would go back there, would you oppose it? Would you still want to come with me?” Charles asked, Logan blinking.

“By there you mean… to Erik?” Logan’s voice was even, and Charles could not pick out his feelings on the matter based on his voice and expression.

“Yes. Apart from here, Ironfield is my only home. I know I could buy a whole house for the four of us. Gosh, I could buy us a house each, and still have plenty to spare. But…”

“You want to return to him,” Logan said simply, Charles nibbling on his lower lip again, nodding. Logan just shrugged, turning back to Charles’s desk. “I knew you would decide that. I was just asking to make sure that you knew what you wanted.”

“Logan?”

“Look, Chuck. I like you. A lot,” Logan said, Charles’s cheeks reddening. “But I know that you love that Lehnsherr man, and I know not to bet on a losing hand. You’re family, Chuck, even if I see you as more than a brother sometimes. You’re infuriating like that, you know.”

“I’m sorry, Logan,” Charles said, Logan smiling and shrugging again.

“It is what it is. Like Jean and Ororo, I just want to see you happy. God knows you deserve it, after all the shit he put you through.”

“You’re coming for my title as the most selfless git now, Logan,” Charles grinned, Logan throwing a wad of paper at the young man, who laughed.

“Sure, sure. You should go to bed, first. I’m sure that spending 2000 pounds without batting an eyelash earlier today was draining on your energy reserves,” Logan said, Charles throwing back the stack of paper at the man’s jibe, Logan letting out a husky laugh.

“Stop it, Logan. You know this money is as much yours as it is mine,” Charles huffed, Logan’s teasing smile turning gentle, the man regarding him carefully.

“I appreciate the sentiment, Chuck, but your father left that money for you. He’d want you to use it for yourself. If this is about you wanting to repay us for taking you in, you repaid that debt long ago. Not that there was a debt to begin with,” Logan said, Charles shaking his head.

“No, you don’t understand, Logan. I’m not doing this out of duty or debt. I… My father gave me this money because I am his son, his family. And like you said, you are my family. So I want to share this money with you, too. Please let me,” Charles said, looking at Logan with fierce eyes. Those eyes were ones that could make any one weak to do his bidding. Logan was no exception, and maybe even more susceptible than most.

“You’re still the most selfless fool, Charles,” Logan said, using the young man’s real name, just this once. “Now go to bed. You have a long journey tomorrow, and your foot might not fare too well in a bumpy carriage.”

Charles smiled at Logan, hoisting himself into bed with a practised hop and twist, having lived in his wheelchair for the better part of a year now.

Unlike his sisters, Charles fell asleep quickly. Before he slipped into unconsciousness, Charles felt fingers run through his hair, the touch gentle, but feeling more like a goodbye than a caress.

***

Charles found out that it had been a goodbye the next morning, when there were a series of frantic knocks on the front door. Charles had woken up to an empty bed in the morning, Logan’s side cold. Charles figured that he had gone out to make last minute departure preparations, and hadn’t thought too much of it. The man had always been an early riser, unlike Charles.

Charles was making sure that they had all of their luggage, Jean getting up from where she was retying her shoes to answer the door.

The moment she opened it, a group of policemen immediately stormed the house. The peelers were clad in long blue coats and stiff tall hats, imposing as they kept their hands on their batons. This parish was in one of the boroughs that had adopted a professional police force, and most of the parish’s families were wary of the blue coats. The parish constable walked in after the swarm of blue filled out the small foyer, Jean and Ororo standing stiff, alert.

“Gentleman? What seems to be the matter?” Charles asked, wheeling to move between the group of policemen and his sisters, looking at them with a frown.

“Where were you three last night, around the time between three and four,” the constable asked, tapping his finger on his baton, carefully evaluating the three of them. Jean and Ororo looked at each other, confused, while Charles’s heart thumped. Something in him knew that, in some capacity, Logan was involved. Logan, who wasn’t here right now, who, likely, had not gone to bed at all last night.

Charles tried to keep calm as he spoke to the officers. They were still a new police force, and though their uniforms were crisp, they held a buzz of nervous and uncertainty. Whatever they were here about unsettled them, and Charles could only imagine what that was.

“We were asleep, in our beds,” Charles said, Jean and Ororo nodding. The way the sisters were glancing at other, they had also come to realise that Logan wasn’t among them.

“Can anyone corroborate your claim?” the constable asked, and Charles swallowed.

“No one apart from us. We do not receive guests at that hour, and definitely not while we sleep,” Charles replied, the constable narrowing his eyes at Charles’s slightly sharp words. “And may I ask why you are asking these questions, barging into our home without so much as a greeting?”

“Mr Stryker’s body was found dead in his home this morning, with three slashing knife wounds from sternum to navel,” the constable said, Jean and Ororo letting out shocked noises, Charles’s eyes widening. The constable took in all of their reactions; all three had seemed to have genuinely been shocked, making the constable’s shoulders loosen slightly.

The constable looked around the room properly then, noticing the packed bags, and how the women were wearing their travel cloaks. The house was neat because it was empty, and the furniture had been covered by white cloths with the intent to leave it vacant for a long time.

“You can’t blame me for being a little suspicious that you three seem to be fleeing the morning after a murder,” the constable said, Charles tensing imperceivably.

“Yes. You may have heard that I received news from a lawyer in recent days. There had been a withheld request in my late father’s will, and I have been called away. The others of Eden House are my family, and they sought to accompany me,” Charles said, the constable humming.

“You three are all teachers at the school. Stryker would not have let you all leave. Maybe that is why you…” the constable dragged his finger from sternum to navel, mimicking a knife being dragged down. Charles felt ill, and he shook his head, mouth a tight line.

“We would never do something like that,” Charles said. Even if Stryker was a monster, even if he deserved it. “And constable, I would like you to take a look at the three of us. My sisters are young maidens, and would not be capable of injuring Mr Stryker in such a cruel manner. And I, am, well. It is no secret that I am a cripple. There is no way I could best Stryker in this state.”

The policemen all looked at each other, mumbling ‘yes, he’s right’ and ‘of course’. The constable, too, found this to be a sound idea, but that only lead him to remember that four people lived at Eden House, and not just the three in front of him. The missing one was, by far, the most dangerous of the four.

“Mr Logan Howlett lives here too, does he not? Where is he?” the constable asked, the three family members tensing.

“Truthfully? I have not seen him since this morning,” Charles said, jerking his head towards their bedroom. “He went to bed last night as per normal. I would know.”

The constable’s eyes narrowed, peering into the bedroom, and noticing that there was only one bed.

“You two… share a bed?” the constable asked, shocked murmurs erupting from the congregation of policemen.

“It is out of necessity, officers,” Jean piped up, keeping her voice steady. “This house was not made to accommodate four inhabitants, and my brother here came to us less than a year ago. It is too cold for him to stay on the chaise like he did during spring and summer, so he was forced to share a bed with our brother. You can imagine that it would not be appropriate for him to share a bed with me or my sister, is that not true?”

Charles turned to look at Jean, head nodding minutely. Jean returned it by stepping forward, resting her hand on Charles’s left shoulder. Charles felt steadier when Ororo flanked him on the other side, her dark hand squeezing his other shoulder reassuringly.

“Yes, it is as my dear sister said. It is in that way that we seek to leave now. This house has become too confining for us, so we seek a new residence. And regarding the matter about this parish losing its teachers – I have given a weighty sum to the Father to help with the hiring of new teachers, and to support the children in the meantime,” Charles said, the constable now managing to look surprised.

“That was you?” the constable asked, staring at Charles. “The Father did hint that he had received a sizeable donation for the children. If that’s the case…”

“Yes, so you see, Mr Stryker – rest his soul – had approved of our leave since we did not leave him empty handed. We have no reason, and no means, to injure him so,” Charles said, the policemen looking at each other once more, before filing out one-by-one. It was only the constable that looked at Charles carefully, a touch sharper than the newly-instated fledgling police force. He seemed to weigh up some things in his mind, before taking a step towards Charles.

“You taught my son, and he has sung nothing but praises for you,” the constable said, mouth curling up at the corners. “And, you evidently care about the children, more so than Stryker ever did. His ‘care’ was only flaunted when it made him look good. You, though. You genuinely care for them, I can see that. So I’ll warn you – it would be best for your brother to not show his face around here any time soon.”

Charles, Jean and Ororo let out shocked noises, the constable just smiling, tapping on Charles’s hand-rest twice.

“Safe travels, Sir. Misses,” was the last thing the constable said, tipping his hat and departing from the residence.

When they were sure he was out of sight and earshot, Jean and Ororo huddled in front of Charles’s chair, babbling about ‘What in the dickens did Logan do?’ ‘That idiot!’ ‘Did he really do that to Stryker?’ ‘Where is he?’

Charles quickly turned back to the bedroom, going straight to his desk. The papers and books Logan had been sorting last night were still there, seemingly forgotten. But Charles knew that, though Logan seemed messy, he was purposeful. Charles rummaged through the papers, flicking through the books until he found a folded, slightly crinkled piece of paper wedged in the back of one of them.

Chuck,

You are probably angry, and I wish I could see it – you were always the most alive when you were angry. If you’re seeing this, it’s either because you have unpacked after you returned to that master of yours, or you’ve found out about what I did.

I know Stryker more than you, even more than Jean and Ororo. They were too young to know, but Stryker and I, we have history. Bad history. I won’t go into details, but let’s just say that I know what type of man that he is intimately. He has killed to get where he is, and Chuck, that man wasn’t nearly as powerful as you. What’s scary, is that you don’t even know the power you can have over people. I’ve seen it, and Stryker’s seen it.

Even if you leave, Stryker will seek to defame you and slander you. Even though you mean no harm to him and his empire, he will never believe that. He will try to destroy you, use your reputation about you ‘proclivities’, as Jean put it, to end you. The world is not like us, and would likely rather see you hang.

And I can’t have that, Chuck. So, I did what I had to do.

Since you’re reading this, know that I have gone far, and believe that I am safe. Ororo said that the Americas is wild and untamed. I think I’d like that. I can take care of myself, believe me. Jean and Ororo, though. They will need you, Chuck. So, if I can ask you to be selfless one last time, please look after them.

This is not good bye though, Chuck. Time is long, and I think that we could meet again, in the future.

Logan

“Idiot,” Charles whispered, as Jean and Ororo both smothered sobs as they read the letter from behind his chair. Charles rubbed his eyes, worried for this hulking idiot, who in the end, was really the most selfless of them all.

‘I’ll look after them, my friend. You can trust me on that, and one day, you can come and check to see that I’ve kept my promise in person.’

After an hour spent crying and accepting that Logan had truly gone far, Charles, Jean and Ororo took hold of their packed cases, beginning their journey. For Jean and Ororo, it was a new adventure. For Charles, it was a journey to return back home.

Charles could barely sleep the whole carriage ride, but when he drew nearer to Ironfield, he swore that he could hear that voice calling out to him in his mind.

‘Charles’.

Next chapter (10/11) →

#cherik #charles xavier #erik lehnsherr #professor x #magneto #xmen #xmen fic #marvel #jane eyre #jane eyre au #charles x erik #james mcavoy #michael fassbender #i just love cherik and jane eyre ok

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eleonorebirk · 6 years ago

Text

Marvel Bingo 2019: Historical AU

Charles resisted the urge to bounce in place, his eagerness increasing the closer the carriage got to their destination. Soon they would finally arrive in Toledo. It was a long way from his home in England and required quite some time spend travelling, sometimes in appalling conditions, but he still had not hesitated for even a second when the bishop had offered to send him, a laybrother, to Toledo to work on translating works into Latin and English. It was not completely unexpected, of course. He had learned the Catalan dialect in the hope that he might get to talk to some of the scholars from Toledo one day, perhaps even visit. Toledo was famous for their translations of all kind of works. He had not mentioned it back home but to him, the translations of works on science, both older ones from scholars of Greek Antiquity and newer ones from the Arabs, were of far more interest to him than some of the works from the early days of the Church they were hoping for back in England. That he got to personally travel there now to work there for an indefinite time at only 30 years old was an achievement he was very happy about.

The carriage finally came to a stop and Charles and the other travellers got off. He stopped short when he caught his first glimpse of his new home and had to be pushed forward to clear the doorway. The buildings looked so different from those in England or even those he’d seen in France on the way here. He had known of course that Toledo, like the surrounding area, had been under Muslim control not too long ago but he had not properly considered that it meant that there would be buildings still here, looking like they had been transported here from Baghdad or Cairo.

He finally shook himself out of it. There would be more than enough time to explore, he reminded himself. For now he needed to find out where he would be staying and working. Both had been arranged by his bishop but he wasn’t sure of the details.

The house where he would be staying and working was easily found. Everyone, it seemed, knew where it was and could tell him where to find his contact.

“Ah, yes, Charles, we were informed of your arrival as a new translator,” he was greeted. “I am Michael. You may leave your pack here for now. I would like to introduce you to your partner before showing you the room we have arranged for you.”

“My partner?” Charles asked.

“When translating text written in Arabic, those who do not know the language work in tandem,” Michael explained. “A Jew or a Mozarab, a Christian having adopted the Arabian way of life while they ruled here, will translate the text into Castilian and you will then transpose this into Latin. Some of us have learned Arabic ourselves by now but you, as someone unfamiliar with the language, you will be working with a partner, at least for now.”

Charles was curious now. He had not known that. He had had the pleasure of getting his hands on some of the translations having come from Toledo, but there had been no mention of the translations having been a joined project. Then again, perhaps he should have figured it out. Where and how should those translators from all over Europe have learned enough Arabic to translate all those texts? He remembered only too well trying to explain a text he’d found interesting to a young visiting scholar from Denmark, only to run into problems when the other didn’t know the necessary words in English or Latin since he had only recently started learning both.

Michael stopped in front of a door and pushed it open without bothering to knock. “This is Erik Lehnsherr. He will work with you.”

Another man, around his own age, was sitting at a desk in the small chamber, sheets of paper carefully arranged in front of him and illuminated by a candle. He frowned at them, probably because Michael had interrupted him during his work. Heaven knew Charles himself didn’t much like being disturbed without warning. He smiled at him and offered his hand. “Hello, I’m Charles. It’s good to meet you. I look forward to working with you.”

Erik looked briefly down at his hand, then back into his face, before turning back to his papers. “Erik.”

Charles frowned slightly and slowly lowered his hand, surprised by the frosty welcome. He shrugged internally. Perhaps he was having a bad day? They would get to know one another better as they worked together, surely.

~*~

He did get to learn some things about his partner over the next weeks. He learned that he was one of the Jews who had come to Toledo from the south of the Iberian peninsula when the Muslim rulers started persecuting his people, though his family had only moved from Magenza to the Iberian peninsula a few generations ago. He figured out that he was interested and very knowledgeable in a number of different sciences, like mathematics and but also philosophy. He had a dry sense of humour that sometimes shone through. He had no family leaving in the area, neither parents or siblings nor a wife.

But their relationship remained distant, no matter how hard he tried. Erik, it seemed, did not want to be more than colleagues. And he would dearly like to be at least friends with him. He had never felt as alive as he did when Erik forgot himself in the face of an interesting fact or argument from the current text they were working on. Charles loved his insights and the inspiration he offered. He had enough ideas that he was considering starting an annotated version of the book by Aristotle they were working on right now. He’d tried everything, asking him along for a meal or his journeys around Toledo and the surrounding area, bringing up his own past and interests to draw him out, even outright asking him about himself. Erik refused.

Which was why he was sitting alone at dinner, pushing around the rest of his meal. Erik had rejected his invitation once again, saying that they were just working together, no more.

“Well, don’t you look glum.” Antonio – “Call me Tony” – led himself drop onto the stool across from him. They were staying in the same guest house. Tony had arrived in Toledo just a few days before Charles. He was younger than him, not even 20 yet, but a bright young man. He’d made the way here from his native Italy because his father wanted him to learn about the Toledo steel. Tony had told him very frankly that he intended to take advantage of the distance between him and his father to spend as long as he could here, learning not just about the steel but everything else that caught his fancy, regardless of how useful his father considered it.

Charles managed a small smile. “Ah, Tony, I haven’t seen you for a few days.”

Tony cleared his throat. “I... ah... I might have been out testing some of the theories I read about.”

Charles tried to look stern but couldn’t quite stop his lips from twitching up in a smile. “Did you damage anything?”

“... Nothing that can’t be repaired,” he admitted after a moment. “But they still insisted that I now need a minder.” He pointed over his shoulder to were a dark skinned man was making his way towards him. Charles could not quite tell his age. He seemed older than Tony certainly. Perhaps close to his own age?

“Charles, this is Rhodey. Rhodey, Charles,” Tony introduced when he had reached the table.

Charles paused, trying to place the origin of the name. It did not sound Arabic, nor like any other language he knew.

The other man rolled his eyes. “James,” he corrected patiently. “I told you, my name is James.” He smiled at Charles and shook his hand. “Nice to meet you.”

“Everyone is called James,” Tony protested, then added as an afterthought: “Or John. Or Peter. Or all three.” He shook his head, abandoning that train of thought for now. “I’m gonna keep calling you Rhodey.”

The resigned look in James’ eyes told Charles that he had already realized the futility in trying to change Tony’s mind once he’d made it up. “Do you mind if we join you?” he asked Charles, ignoring the way Tony leaned on the table as if to make clear that he had no intention of leaving.

Charles felt his spirit life somewhat by the by-play. “Not at all. Please, sit down,” he invited. “Are you from here, that you have been charged with watching over this troublemaker?”

“Not originally. Like you, I suspect, I have been sent here to study and translate for my bishop.” Seeing the question in Charles’ eyes, he explained: “I’m from Ethiopia. My king heard about the knowledge coming from here and wished to learn more. I have been living here for five years now.”

“Ah.” Charles was too embarrassed to admit that he had forgot about the Christian Kingdom of Ethiopia, that he had simply assumed from James’ appearance that he or his family must have come to Iberia from Africa with the Muslim forces.

“And now he gets to gather some practical knowledge by helping me,” Tony said. “And how have you been, Charles? You still haven’t told me what had you looking so sad.”

Charles hesitated for barely a moment. Tony already knew part of it and he needed to get it off his chest. “I’m still no closer to getting Erik to open up, to treating me like anything more than a random colleague. He keeps rejecting each and every invitation, no matter what it is.” ‘He keeps rejecting me,’ he wanted to say but couldn’t bring himself to voice it.

“Erik?” James repeated.

“His partner for translating books from Arabic into Latin,” Tony explained.

“Your partner is Erik Lehnsherr?” James asked.

“Yes. Do you know him?” Charles asked, eager to learn more about Erik.

“Not well but I know of him, enough to perhaps explain why he is so distant,” James said. “You must have noticed, I’m sure, that the Jewish and Mozarabic men helping with the translations are often not respected as highly as the ones writing down the Latin translation. In fact there is often no mention or acknowledgment of their work in the books, though fortunately that’s changing slowly, partly because King Alfonso values their knowledge very highly. But Erik’s previous partner, Sebastian Shaw, was even worse than many others of the old guard. He was a monk but, frankly, I doubt he is a true believer, since he shows not a hint of the compassion our Lord has taught us. Shaw looked down on Erik, on all the Jewish people. He claimed every honour for their work for himself, even when Erik did most of it. He had him working all day and most of the night, while he was out, doing who knows what. He was even involved in a plot to get the kings of Spain and Portugal to expulse all Jews from the Peninsula.”

Charles straightened up. “What? How?”

“When the crown prince of Portugal fell ill and the royal physicians couldn’t cure him, the more radical members of the clergy tried to convince the kings that it was a punishment from God for their friendship with their Jewish subjects. They planned an alliance through wedding between the ill crown prince and a Spanish princess, an alliance that would include the expulsion of all Jews who would not convert. Fortunately their plan was discovered and Rabbi Yehuda haKohen, the personal physician of King Alfonso of Castile, travelled to Portugal where he managed to save the crown prince’s life.” James paused to drink a few sips of the wine Tony had ordered for them. “So the plan of those clergymen had failed, thank God, but not all involved could be identified. Shaw very likely was but there was no proof and by the time the attempt became known, he had fled.”

Charles wanted to rail against the injustice, of what Erik had gone through, of Shaw taking advantage of his position to the point that Erik had a hard time trusting people. “What can I do?”

James shrugged. “You will have to be patient. Erik can come to see that you are not like him but it will take time.”

“I can be patient,” Charles declared. For Erik, he would be.

“I might have an idea,” Tony said.

~*~

Charles was thankful for their help and confidence. They had given him hope for his relationship with Erik. Having a plan also helped. Though spending time with them was also bittersweet. Seeing Tony and James grow ever closer, their mutual affection deepening, was touching but it also left him craving Erik’s presence in his life more and more.

He was relieved that Tony’s idea was coming along very well, even if it meant that he did not get as much sleep as he would have liked. But this was his chance to prove to Erik that he was not like Shaw, that he cared for him as a person, as his equal, not a resource to be used and then discarded.

He just hoped it worked.

~*~

Erik was not surprised to find a parcel on his desk in their workroom when he arrived in the morning. It wasn’t the first time Charles had left him little gifts, small trinkets, a basket of fruits. When he’d asked him about it, he’d simply reply “I thought you might like it.” or “It reminded me of you.” He didn’t know what to think about it but he had to admit, he was coming to look forward for them and to the time he spend with Charles. He was coming to believe that he really wasn’t like Shaw.

When Erik pulled away the cloth covering his latest gift, he was a bit surprised to see a book. Leafing through it briefly, he recognized it to be an annotated translation of Aristoteles’ manuscript they had been working on before they started their current project. He frowned when he recognized the writing as Charles’. What was the meaning of this?

He opened the book at the beginning, needing to see the first page.

He carefully ran his finger over the subtitle, afraid that it would vanish like a dream. ‘Translation and annotation by Erik Lehnsherr and Charles Xavier.’

It was in both their names. His name was places not as an assistant but as co-author.

Hands shaking more than he’d like to admit, he carefully turned the page. His breath caught. There, also in Charles’ writing, was a dedication in Hebrew. The letters were a bit shaky, not as smooth as Charles’ usual writing and obviously written by someone with little practice in the script but it was the content that meant the most to him.

‘To my partner, Erik Lehnsherr, who pushes and inspires me every day to be a better person, whose knowledge, insights and ideas have only made this book possible.’

“Do you… do you like it?”

Erik turned around, surprised to see that Charles had arrived without him noticing. He stood stiffly right at the door, looking like he was ready to bold at a wrong word.

Not that Erik could blame him, considering the way he had put himself out there even with how hard he had tried to push Charles away. He tried for a reassuring smile and held out a hand to Charles. “I do, very much.” The slowly growing smile on Charles’ face as he accepted his hand took his breath away.

#marvelbingo2019 #marvel bingo 2019 #cherik #rhfe #iron husbands #My writing

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pigletxpoohbear · 7 years ago

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That’s fantastic

Warnings: Angsty, mentions of abandonment, yelling, and cussing

Hank McCoy x reader

You and Hank McCoy were inseparable ever since grade school. You two were so attached because you were the only person that accepted him and his mutation. You thought it was the coolest thing out there and you didn’t really find it odd, but found it useful. Not for yourself, but for Hank. He was able to open doors when he had his hands full. Run exceptionally fast. But he tried to keep it hidden as much as possible and you kept it that way. It just helped that you were both considered geniuses and graduated school early together. Then he got offered the opportunity to work for the government, but he said he would only if you come with him and after looking at your surprising record and seeing that the two of you worked well together and both were geniuses they said yes even though they frowned upon the fact you were female, but the more the better they figured. He never said anything about his mutation and so you didn’t say anything about it either. You also never mentioned to anyone that you had a mutation in the first place, but that changed when they hired a group of mutants and brought them to you and Hank’s lab one day.

“Hank. Y/N. Come over here for a second.” You immediately followed orders and stood next to Hank were Director McCone asked you to so he could introduce the two of you. “This is Dr. Hank McCoy and his assistant Y/F/N Y/L/N. Hank, Y/N. This is Professor Charles Xavier and his associate Erik Lehnsherr.” The biggest grin appeared on Charles’ face and you knew exactly why and yelled in your mind he doesn’t know about Hank, but before he could say your name too he already had uttered the words. “I didn’t you had one of us already working with you.” Then he felt guilty and Hank almost exposed himself, but you came to save the day. “Yeah. It’s easy to hide. It’s best if we don’t talk about it it’s kinda embarrassing” Then your boss wanted a demonstration cause of course he did. When didn’t he want something new demonstrated. So you showed off what you could do some not so useful things and some very useful things. You could play radio stations from years into the future not very many seemed interesting quite honestly since they constantly played the same songs over and over again. But you also were able to alter gravity and multiply which is why things seemed to get done much faster when Hank wasn’t around because there were like five of working at once. Being that you and Hank shared an apartment you already knew he was gonna have a long conversation with you.

********

Of course the moment you got through the door Hank threw his coat on the chair in the living room along with his briefcase and immediately started the conversation. “How could you not tell me about something like this? I was so open with you about my mutation only to find out because someone almost outed me that you have a mutation too. Why wouldn’t you tell me?”

You sat there and listened to him.

You didn’t tell him cause your mutation was beyond freakish. You were so afraid that he’d leave you all alone and never come back just like your family had. Hank was able to hide his mutation not from his parents, but they just thought it was something that happened and probably had to some other child and then being told from a doctor “oh yeah this happens not very often, but it does all over the world.” But you being able to make rifts to different dimensions, years, and places. Multiplying and becoming one again. Alter gravity at will. Why WOULD you tell him something like that. You knew he was your friend, but that. All that, if it made your own parents leave you why wouldn’t someone that’s just your friend leave you too? You hadn’t even realized that while thinking all of this you had been crying. Just uncontrollable, continuous sobbing. “Cause I didn’t want you to leave me Hank.” That answer didn’t sit well with him. At all.

“Leave you? Y/N, I have ape feet do you understand that. I can hang from the ceiling using my feet cause they’re basically another set of hands. Do you understand how uncomfortable and annoying wearing shoes and or socks are? Oh yeah, you do cause I told you at least a million times over the past I don’t know what 10+ years we’ve known each other. You should’ve known I wouldn’t leave you cause I cared enough to sacrifice if I worked for the government or not for you. You should’ve known that when I’d open the door for you with my feet when we both had our hands full as kids. You should’ve known I wouldn’t leave you after I asked you to stay with me. Most of the things I do are for you Y/W/N. And I’m beyond hurt that you’d think that I’d leave over something like a mutation. Especially a mutation that’s fantastic. Because every single last thing about you is fantastic. And I’ve always thought that.”

You couldn’t remember when Hank started crying. You also couldn’t remember where he told you he was going after he walked out the door and slammed it behind him.

I need a drink. You thought to yourself, you had just remembered that in the middle of flirting with you that guy invited you to a “greeting party” as he called it, you thought his name was Alex, but the last name couldn’t come to you either way it was a party and you were invited. Why not?

********

When you got to the common room everyone was there. Including Hank, but Alex made his way to you first with a beer in one hand and wine along with a wine glass in the other. “What can I get the lovely lady?” “Both please.” “Daring we are tonight. One beer and one glass of wine coming right up.” You caught Hank look at you and roll his eyes at you and Alex’s flirtatious comments towards you. Then when almost everyone was wasted enough the lot of you started playing games. You were doing horribly since you all were horrifically drunk, but that’s what your goal was tonight. Well to get drunk enough to not think about the events that took place earlier which if you were getting graded you’d have an A+ at this point. You’d remember what happened tonight cause that’s how your mutation usually worked. You’ll also remember later that Hank is barely tipsy if drunk at all and is having the time of his life watching all of you being completely uncoordinated. Then the idea of truth or dare got thrown around and everyone was more than happy to play. Whoever was drunkest went first. Which unfortunately was you. And you were questioned by none other than Hank.

“Truth or dare Y/N.” You barely hesitated and practically yelled, “truth. I swear to tell the whole truth and nothing, but the truth your honor.” you then went into a fit of giggles. “Why didn’t you tell me about your mutation?” Then you laughed even harder which made Hank a little madder than he was earlier, but he waited and listened. “My parents abandoned me after I showed them what I could do and I couldn’t lose you too HenHen. I love you way too much to let you leave my life. I’ve loved you since high school. I couldn’t risk the only person that loved me to leave me. I loved you too much to tell you.” Hank was so focused on looking at the floor and processing what you said that he hadn’t realized that you were drunkenly swaying towards him until you plopped down on his lap and kissed him. He realized what you said earlier made sense now. He didn’t know your parents left you, but if your parents left you he understood why you thought he would too. “Y/N, why didn’t you tell me your parents left?” “If I told you they left I’d inevitably have to tell you about my powers Henry. Sorry I mean Hanky.” You bursted into a fit of giggles again and Hank took it upon himself to take you back to the apartment. When you got there Hank put your pajamas on like he would when you were too tired from working really hard and laid you on the bed and left an aspirin and a glass of water next to the bed.

********

When you woke up you just laid in bed after taking the aspirin and drinking the water next to you. It was almost 11am and you were wondering why Hank was taking time to make you breakfast when he should’ve been working. Hell you should’ve been working right now, but you’re not either so whatever. You were gonna try and grab some juice out the fridge and run out the kitchen without being noticed or be noticed at a minimum by Hank and what happened at the party last night would come to you in time, but right now your pretty sure you and Hank are not on the best of terms. You ran to the fridge and Hank noticed before you could run away he wrapped an arm around you and gave you a light kiss. “Good morning beautiful.” You were extremely confused being that the last thing you remembered from last night was Hank slamming the door behind him what could possibly have put him in such a stellar mood? You gave him a small smile before unwrapping yourself from his grasp and rushing back to your room.

What the hell was that? I thought that we wouldn’t be good for a long while?

********

After you recalled from what happened at the party you realized why he was treating you so lovingly was because you admitted to him that you loved him. You may have drunkenly confessed it, but he still accepted it and wasn’t mad at you after everything that happened yesterday. “Hey Hank, can you come here for a second.” “Sure I’ll bring breakfast with me since it’s done.” When Hank got in the room he sat down and he smiled a huge grin. “So are we gonna talk about last night?” Hank looked at you for a moment and sighed. “Y/N/N. You told me what happened with your family and everything and I understand why you didn’t tell me about your mutation and I’m sorry I got angry. I should’ve tried to be more understanding, but instead I realized I did exactly what you were afraid of without even realizing it. I found out about them, we argued about it, and then I left out of anger. I proved that what you were afraid of made complete and total sense cause either way I did it. You didn’t have to tell me about your mutation and I should’ve respected your wishes instead of getting angry like you respected mine. I asked you to keep my mutation a secret and you did it without fail for 10+ years.” You were glad that he was okay with the mutation stuff, but you were more hesitant about asking about how you told your best friend that he’s been the love of your life since high school. “Hank. I accept your apology, but that wasn’t really what I was talking about. I’m talking about how i confessed that I’ve loved you since high school. How do you feel about that?” Hank looked at his plate and chuckled a little bit. “I kiss you when you came into the kitchen because I revealed that I loved you too last night that whole ‘confession’ thing was about how I wanted to be with you for a long time. Forever hopefully. Cause everything I said I meant. I truly have always thought you were fantastic and your mutation just proves it further quite frankly. I loved normal non mutant Y/N/N and I love normal mutant Y/N/N just as much.” With that he planted a kiss on your nose and you continued to eat your breakfast together in peace.

At least until Charles makes it down the hallway with his crazy idea on how to amplify Banshee’s yell cause we want to do that for some reason.

#hank mccoy imagine #hank mccoy x reader #xmen imagine

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drbobbimorse · 6 years ago

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I'm also stupid pumped that you have an X-Men OC! There aren't very many of those either. Could you tell me more about her?

Sure! Quick backstory: my hard drive crashed last April (wow, last April is weird to say cause I’m still not used to it being 2019 yet) so I lost everything. I only managed to salvage a few fics that were saved randomly on my Google drive and on USBs. One of the many things I couldn’t save was Isabel but I’ve been rethinking her lately. Anyway!

Originally, Isabel Lopez was an ER nurse from Texas. She’s bummed because an elderly farmer that’s technically her neighbor (with a few acres between their homes) died that morning so her best friend takes her to the drive-in to cheer her up. What her bestie doesn’t know is that Isabel inadvertently killed her. Her mutation is gravitikinesis – the power to manipulate and control gravity, which has a wide range of abilities except for the fact that Isabel doesn’t use it. She’s terrified of her abilities and has never tried to explore them, instead trying to pray them away and, when that didn’t work, she isolated herself out on an abandoned farm. Because of this, her powers would build up, like a backlog, and act of their own accord. She’d wake up floating over her bed in the middle of the night, a lamp or a chair would move itself across the room (and usually break) and, sometimes, she’d release a wave of energy that would stretch out for miles around her. Like to her elders neighbors farm while he’s trying to repair a tractor and it crushes him.

He ends up at the ER and she has to work on him, while hearing his son try and explain the weird thing that happened, and watch him die while knowing she’s responsible. She feels immensely guilty so no amount of popcorn and Dean Martin on a big screen will cheer her up – she’s more of Sinatra girl anyway. But she pumps into a cute blue eyed Brit who looks beyond out of place and asking where the bathroom was so the night wasn’t a total loss. But then she gets home and hears a knock on the door. And then a voice in her head. And she panics, completely freaks and threatens to call the police which is when Erik breaks the lock on the door and busts in. It takes awhile to calm her down but, after explaining about severity of Shaw and promising to help her gain control (instead of letting her powers control her), Isabel is convinced to join Charles and Erik at the CIA.

Things happen fairly normally from there; she and Charle get close and she agrees to move to New York to work as the nurse for Charles’ school once it opens. She loves the work and finds herself falling for Charles, despite his attempts to warn her away. Things are going great until the draft comes along and the school closes. Charles stops flirting then and starts drinking more, overdoing it on the serum Hank made for them. Feeling backed into a corner, she enlists in the Army Nurse Corps and leaves Charles, hoping that he’ll change but not expecting much. She writes him while she’s overseas but he never responds, and she helps Mystique get Alex and the other mutants out of Vietnam. Eventually, I planned to have her and Charles reunite and reconcile, but I never got around to it. And I never got around to seeing the third movie so I have zero plot for that. :/

Now I’m thinking of restarting the fic and keeping everything basically the same, but I’m changing her job from ER nurse to school nurse – that way her transition to being the Xavier School nurse isn’t so weird or a downgrade, idk how to phrase it – and her overall personality. Instead of being very meek and shy and afraid of herself, she’s outgoing and energetic. Not cocky or arrogant but she knows what she knows and isn’t afraid to show that off. Very independent and opinionated. She still has a her faith but she isn’t the god fearing girl I originally envisioned. There’s a quote from Sense8 that I love that kinda sums her up, in this regard: “My love for science doesn’t preclude my faith. For me, science is another language we use to talk about the same miracles faith talks about.”

#personal #seizethedroid #my characters #thanks for the ask!#I loooooooooove talking about my ocs #isabel lopez

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thefandomships-imagines · 8 years ago

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Ship

hi. ❤️ could i get a avengers, x men and suicide squad ship? 5'9, inverted triangle body shape, brown hair with bangs, heterochromia ( blue eyes, left one’s mixed with hazel ), baby face, dimples. slytherin. isfj. bi-curious. at first, i’m shy, quiet and reserved. usually playful, dirty minded and fun around friends. a perfectionist, control freak, slight clean freak. stubborn, jealous, emotional, punctual, impulsive, selfish, socially awkward. if i’m annoyed or impatient, i can say something mean or witty which later on i may regret. i put on a mask of confidence, but i’m really not due to my body insecurities and the small gap between my front teeth. when i’m hurt, i turn petty and may complain. when i’m nervous, i talk a lot. hate crying in front of people. don’t like to be forced into stuff or being compared to somebody. i don’t like to ask people for help. i can’t fall asleep without music. dislike romance. i stress over little things, like - make a big deal out of nothing. nervous whenever i do something out of my comfort zone. hopefully, one day i’ll find my true calling, but right now i’m thinking about becoming an actress. motherly towards kids. fashion is my passion, as well as reading and role playing on tumblr. after finishing high school, i want to travel the world. overprotective over my mom and lil’ sis, knowing my mom is a single parent. daddy issues. bad at cooking. spontaneous road trips with loud music on is life. prefers tea over coffee. dress to impress. thank you so much!

Note: Gifs or characters are not mine! I just get them off of tumblr or google, if you see one that’s yours and isnt credited, please contact me and i’ll fix that :)

Hello lovely!

Avengers:

I ship you with Bruce Banner!

You strike me as a person that spends a lot of time in their ‘shell’, and isn’t very comfortably with others very quickly due to your reserved nature and said ‘ mask’ you tend to wear in front of people you don’t know very well. It takes some time in order to get comfortable with others and that’s okay, and if there’s someone that understands that it’s Bruce, the only one who could see trough the confident banter next to Wanda Maximoff. It’s one of the things that made him interested in you from the moment he met you. He is not the most extraverted person himself, not really going with playful conversation like the rest of the group tries to do. It wasn’t until you two had both stayed behin while the rest went out into town that you realised that you had more in common than you thought. You got into conversation and somehow he immediately felt comfortable around you and started opening up to you bit by bit. This encouraged you to, unawarely, do the same. He kind of dragged you out of your shell and you started hanging out together more and more, which your friend Wanda did not take long to notice. How you got together: Stupidly, Bruce had confided in his friend Tony about talking to you and about how comfortable you made him feel. Big mistake. Because if Tony smells drama, a way to draw his friend out of his comfort zone or both, he loooves to exploit it. One of the things bruce told him was that he did not understand how insecure you felt sometimes. When Tony asked why, the answer was that he found you absolutely breathtaking. You were beautiful, unique and you made him feel accepted and made him laugh. You’re honest, protective and smart. In short : he sounded like a lovesick puppy. And since Tony knew Wanda was your friend, he went to her. Turned out she shipped it too and together, the unusual duo concocted a plan…… Bruce would NEVER hurt you, or make you feel small in a bad way. He respects you immensly and understands about 9/10 of the time. You’re the only one allowed completely into his mind, and hopes you trust him excactly the same. You’re also the only one allowed to tease him. Ever.

X-men:

I ship you with Havoc!

Alex seems like a real asshole at first, and he probably was when he was younger. Tough from the moment that Charles and Erik went to fetch him out of jail, he changed completely. When you joined the group, it took time to get used to him . A LOT of time. Actually, he used to think of you as a little rude, and had trouble reading you so he didn’t usually make contact with you. This was the biggest problem in the beginning, not being able to get a read off each other causes a lot of fights and snarky comments, making the rest of the group unhappy with you seeming like enemies more than comrades. He began to feel more like understanding what you were about after spotting you in your free time. The way you were with your little sister, the bond you had reminded him of his own little brother. He saw how protective you were over her, for example when you got in trouble with a couple of jerks and you got them to fuck off. It made him want to be a better person for his own family.

When you got back, he acted completely differently than how he had seen you with your family. Your wall was back up and that was something he did understand. After all, he was the one that tore everything apart, landed in jail, all because he acted differenly, to not be vulnerable. He kept notincing more layers of yours after that. The way you spoke so indifferently and playfully to Raven and Banshee, wheres you were much more considerate of ‘Bozo’ aka Hank. The way ‘the claws’ came out when you were pissed, and the way you sat by yourself, buried in a book pretending to read while half-sulking later. He started admiring you, though you never picked up on that and just kept doing so until Hank, while annoyed wih Alex, uncharacteristically told him ‘to stop being a little bitch and do something other than swooning from afar, if he’s so tough’. So thats what he did. At first you really didnt understand why the hell he was interested in you and you actually thought it was a joke. Luckily that didn’t last very long. Alex is now the most attentive and protective guy you could wish for, though you’d never even thought of him being an option.

Suicide Squad:

I ship you with Rick Flag!

Rick, after all that happened was broken, lightly said. He didn’t know what to do with himself after the battle. Sure, he’d go home, shower, eat and sleep, but his visions of the world and of right and wrong were twisted up. Almost as if he’d lost his purpose. Good guys had turned out to be bad and a firebreathing-god gangster had sacrificed himself to save the rest, his family he had called it. So he just pretended to have moved on. The baddies went back to jail and he went back to work.

Rick and you hadn’t been on good or bad terms. You just accepted the fact that you co-existed. Sometimes you dares joke with each other. You see, Rick automatically hated criminals and didn’t hate figures associated with the law in a good way. The thing is, you were neither. Well, you didn’t have a record, though your reputation was…..interesting. Which is why you got in the team, you were granted full immunity for the future. To be honest you would have done it for free, since you kinda do live on this planet and rather not have it detroyed. You weren’t as overpowered as your late friend El Diablo or as crazy as Harley, but damnit if you weren’t a badass. Knives were your thing, and at your thing, you were the best. Granted, being about 5 times as agile and 3 times as fast as the average human also helped. And all while looking slayin’. Yeah, let’s pass the spandex. So, after the battle you simply returned to your old life as well, occasionally standing by on a A.R.G.U.S. mission, which is, after a couple of months, where you saw Rick again. When you saw him, you almost flinched. He seemed so lost. Dark bags under his eyes, abviously thinner, paler than ever and he barely opened his mouth. Mr. gruffypants certainly didn’t deserve this. When Rick saw you after a couple of months, his reaction was more the opposite of yours. He was slowly recovering from all his emotional damage, and now, he felt guilty. Very guilty as he looked at you. He was moving on but he felt wrong looking at another person, and finding that he enjoyed watching the way their outfit hugged their curves. He did not speak to you that night.

Fastforward three weeks. A group of agents were chasing an installment of the Triads. Yay, which meant you were called out of your comfy bed again since annoying you was easier that getting Boomerang, who would try to escape….. In the meanwhile, the guilt had been another factor combined in crushing Rick’s mental condition. The chase was going nowehere, well, apart from four killed and two wounded at your side, It was safe to say it was a shitty night. When your team lost track of said Triads at 3 o’clock in the moring shit hit the fan. You had to call it in to Walker, who was not amused. Ambulances and coroners where called in an you were making sure everyone that needed it got help. You were not that much of a villain. All were accounted for, except your brusque Captain. Damnit. When you finally did find him, you did not know excacty what to do. He was huddled against the wall of an abandoned building, your silly little superiour. Slowly, you approached him, sliding against the wall next to him. You didn’t say anything. Neither did he.

You awoke to a car honking. Great, you thought. Six in the moring, in an abandoned builing, half asleep with Flags’ head on my lap…. FLAGS’ HEAD ON MY LAP. Shit. He did look cute, relaxed. After about an hour he started to stir. ‘I haven’t slept this long since months.’ he smiled. ‘Great.’ you deadpanned. ‘I’m oficially functional as a plushie.’

You might be an odd couple, and you might not have been a ‘good guy’, but you were Captain Rick Flag’s salvation. And now, whichever idiot tries to mess with you hasn’t just got a knife-wielding superhuman after them, but also a very pissed of Rick Flag. The rest of the squad loved to tease you guys about it all. And that’s all fun and games until there’s another knife stuck in the wall at A.R.G.U.S. headquarters, which, lightly said, makes Walker, not amused.

Hope ya liked them all :3

WELL THAT WAS ONE HELL OF A RIDE. 1560 WORDS HELP. Extra elaborate because IM OFICCIALLY BACK *cheers*. Let’s just hope i wont have any forced hiatusus anytime soon again (@.@) Also, thanks for sending me a message and being so sweet!

I might be a lil rusty so if you find any silly errors made by me please send in something so le me can fix it :D

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that-is-vexing · 8 years ago

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did I seriously write romantic love meta using Cherik as an example holy shit

So Charles basically fell apart because “You abandoned me! You took her away and you abandoned me!”

Meaning his two main supports were Raven and Erik

Now, he obviously views Raven as some kind of sister-daughter hybrid, perhaps most obvious in his (over)protection of her (”not the girl I raised” when he did not in fact raise her at all). He misses her terribly. As a sibling, I relate to this deeply. I’d fall apart too if I thought I’d never see my sissy again. She is one of my best friends and it would hurt to have her “taken” from me.

But Erik.

Where does Erik fit in?

Maybe Charles sees him as a brother. Maybe he sees him as a dear friend. I understand that that is how some people will read into it, and that’s totally fine. I can see it too, that they might have the kind of brotherhood that Tolkien described in LotR (we’re not gonna talk about Tolkien’s racism that’s for another time). It’s like having someone so close and dear to you that you would never imagine being romantically interested in them. Because, if you think about it, romance always has that element of not really knowing. Once you know someone, know all their flaws and all their perfections, know all their mediocrities, how are you supposed to feel romantically attracted? Maybe this is just my own aromanticism showing, but once you know someone as well as or better than you know yourself (like Charles claims to know Erik), is there really anything for the romance to latch onto? No. There’s nothing to learn, nothing to figure out, no mystery. Now there is either nothing, or something deeper and stronger and more beautiful.

Maybe that’s what they feel for each other. The love beyond romance.

Okay I’m done now. Carry on.

#oh shut up Eric

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dranzerswritingworld · 5 years ago

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The Resolution - Story

The sense of loss was unexpected. After the talk with Drac, Erik had spent a lot of time thinking. In fact, he had disappeared for a period of a few weeks, meditating on what had been said, and, as much as he hated the Bat-Creature, he had had a point. There was little sense in investing in a family, only to abandon it, for fear it would abandon him. Returning, Erik had spent the rest of the time downscaling his operations. He wouldn’t leave completely, he couldn’t, the work was too important, but it wouldn’t be his life. He set up a fake base in a new area, far away from Dranzer’s house, and only when that was settled, did he commit himself to family life. That had been a few days ago. It had been a steep learning curve since then. Having visited many times before, during and after Ezra’s birth, Erik understood that Dranzer lived in a chaotic household, but seeing the creatures occasionally, was very different to living with them constantly. Drac was fine, he slept during the day and kept his own council during the night, but the ninjas and spiders were an altogether different story. They were around constantly, and they weren’t always peaceful about. He should have been used to that, not all of his followers kept their internal world inside themselves, not all of them were calm minded, in fact, some of the worst and most annoying had- Well, the ninjas would have fit right in. And then, when he had seen the spider with his daughter, Erik had been unable to hold back the fear that had taken hold. He knew, knew that they were safe. He knew they could be trusted. But in that moment, he couldn’t trust that what he knew was correct. He had acted, one simple thought and the black menace had been reduced to red gore, and then had come the screaming. The spider had made noises as it had died, but Dranzer was the one who screamed. She screamed as she grabbed Ezra off him. She had cried as she’d rushed to the hallway, and she’d been angry as she’d left. ND had tried to explain that the spiders were family, but that felt irrational. They were spiders, arachnid life forms, they couldn’t talk. They couldn’t feel, they shouldn’t even have existed. But they did, why was this such a big deal? Cleaning away the blood had been easy, and the ninjas had taken care of the rest, or had it been the other spiders? Erik hadn’t really paid attention; he just knew that it didn’t take long for the house to return to normal; all traces of the massacre removed. Was he happy though? No, not in the slightest. He told himself to give Dranzer time, that she would come back, but he couldn’t be sure. They hadn’t been connected; he didn’t want to be connected. When they were connected in that house, he heard all of it, especially the spiders. They thought so very differently to him; it was…unsettling, and so he had taken to locking himself away, protecting himself, not from her, not really. Or was it from her? They were pledged, they were married, they had a kid, but did he trust her? Completely trust her? It was a troubling thought, and it played on Erik’s mind as he made his way back to the school. The mansion was Dranzer’s home now, but Charles’ had been her home before. If she had gone anywhere, she would have gone here. ‘I knew you would come, eventually,’ Xavier called, his mind touching Erik’s even before the school had come into sight. ‘I thought we had agreed that you would stay out of my head,’ Erik replied, angrily. He didn’t want anyone to see his pain, and Xavier was smarter than most. He had no doubt felt what had been on Erik’s mind, and that didn’t sit well with him. ‘I merely wanted to check your intentions,’ Xavier admitted, smiling at his friend. ‘We are in my office, if you’d like to come and see her.’ Having also lived at the school briefly, Erik knew his way around and made his way straight for the correct window, entering that way so as not to trouble the students, or arouse the attention of one such as Wolverine. “Welcome, old friend,” Xavier turned, smiling at Erik as he joined them, closing the window behind him. “I had expected you to use the door, but so long as nothing is broken, I am sure I can allow this more unorthodox of entrances.” Nodding, though he had no words, Erik felt himself pause by the Professor, his eyes on his wife and daughter. Dranzer’s eyes were red and puffy, Ezra’s too, but for now the toddler was asleep, Xavier’s influence perhaps? “I believe you had something of a disagreement?” Xavier began, looking from one half of the couple to the other. “I have heard what happened, perhaps you’d care to enlighten Dranzer as to why it happened?” “Why?” Erik turned to his friend, glaring at him, but Xavier merely shook his head. This wasn’t an accusation, simply an invitation. Dranzer didn’t understand why the spider had been killed, did she think him callous? “It…Ezra,” Erik tried, though the words became caught in his thought. This was part of the honesty he struggled with. Just how could he open himself up, in this room, before these people? “You are among friends here, Erik, don’t be afraid.” “I…came back because I love you,” Erik managed, turning away from Charles, and crossing now to his wife and daughter, kneeling before them, trying to meet the former’s eyes.

“I…returned because…I can’t lose you, either of you. I…your Bat-Creature, he said something to me, the last time I visiting. He said that I had to choose, and I have. I have chosen you, both of you. When I saw the spider holding Ezra, looking at her, its fangs so close to her precious face. I lost it. I…I couldn’t think. There wasn’t a single rational thought in my body. I just saw…I saw her death. I saw a split second moment between her being with me, and being taken from me. And it was dead before I knew I meant to kill it.” Erik finished, falling into silent, though another phrase came to mind and. reaching out, he cupped Dranzer’s cheek, raising her head, causing her to look at him. “I’m sorry, for your loss.” The words were earnest, and they caused Dranzer to cry once more, her choking sobs heartbreaking, but as quiet as she could manage. Ezra didn’t deserve to be troubled, not like this, not by this. Silently, unable to find words, Dranzer opened her arms, angling her daughter towards Erik, offering him her as though she were an olive branch in human form. Quietly, Erik reached out, happily taking his daughter from his partner, resting her cheek against his shoulder. She remained asleep, exhausted, perhaps, by the events, and he used his free hand to stroke his wife’s knee. “Can you forgive me?” “I…” Dranzer looked up, forcefully wiping away tears, before she turned to Xavier. The Professor had explained about trust, but Dranzer already knew all that. It would take time for Erik to be completely open. She was foolish to expect his agreement to live with them signalled that change. It was selfish to expect it to happen. He had a long history of mistreatment, of pain; she couldn’t cure that in the space of a few years. “I…love you,” Dranzer managed, eventually. “I…always will.” “Then, you will come back?” the words escaped him, and Erik frowned slightly. Was that what he wanted?

It was, wasn’t it? “I will,” Dranzer managed, before she allowed all her pent up emotion to spill forth, and she lunged off the chair and into her husband’s other arm, only his use of his abilities keeping him grounded as she cried against him. She missed her spider, but more than that she’d feared what she’d nearly thrown away because of it. It had been a stupid decision, a foolish decision, and she regretted it greatly. But Erik had come back, he’d come for them. He hadn’t left. He’d had the choice, but he hadn’t left. “I’ll work on it,” Erik promised his voice little more than a whisper. “I’ll try and let you in.” “You…thank you,” Dranzer managed, a smile on her face, even as the tears continued to fall. They were together now, bonded, as one. They would get through this. This and everything else.

One thing was for certain, Dranzer was never walking about again. Her heart simply wouldn’t be able to take it.

#mywriting #angst #the early years

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earnestly-endlessly · 5 years ago

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have any recs for canon divergent fic?

(Post-movie AU.) On a beach in Cuba, Charles manages to talk Erik down from the edge. But even after the missiles have been diverted, compromise is impossible. There are two different futures to build, and Erik and Charles will always be separated by their principles. But when Charles is kidnapped and the X-Men can't find him, Erik will get him back no matter the consequences.Meanwhile, trapped alone in his mind for the first time in his life, Charles comes face to face with the truth about what and who he wants. When convictions stand in direct opposition to the heart, which will prevail?Oh yes Anon, I have plenty of canon divergent fics. Many of these are probably familiar favourites, but I tried to list a wide variety of different fics. Some of these are fix-its, but I plan to make a different list with fix-it fics.

I hope you Enjoy!

Cherik - Canon Divergent Fics

Us – Pangea

Summary: “Charles,” Erik says, and if his voice hits a pleading note then who can really blame him, “Charles, it’s me.”

It takes several longer moments before Charles musters up the strength to answer, breath stuttering horribly as he tries to breathe. He’s shaking, entire body trembling.

“Erik,” Charles says, his voice cracking, “Erik, I want to die.”

Time to Grow – zarah5

Summary: In which you’ll find chess dates which aren’t dates (or maybe Charles is wrong about that). – Based on First Class, this turns (slightly) AU during the beach scene.

Took Me By Surprise And Then – Thehoyden

Summary: After the second surgery in New York, Charles doesn’t anticipate anyone keeping vigil by his bedside — and certainly not Tony Stark.

Lucid Dreaming – Listerinezero

Summary: Magneto finds himself in 1962, on the morning they go to Cuba, in the bed of the young Charles who’d spent months letting him think they were in love before breaking his heart. But he is not the same man he was forty years earlier, and as he gets to know young Charles again, he discovers that things might not have been exactly the way he remembered them after all.

Anger, serenity, and the spaces in between - appleseed

Summary: After Cuba, things are going to change - at least if Charles has any say in the matter.

The Virtue to Which We Aspire - varlovian

Summary: Nine months after Cuba, Charles is found by Erik’s Brotherhood in the smoldering ruins of an abandoned CIA base, exhausted but alive. As the only known survivor of the CIA’s vendetta against mutants, recovering Charles’ memory of the incident—which he admits to having forgotten—just became paramount.

But the harder they push, the closer Charles gets to breaking point. When he finally cracks, the X-Men and the Brotherhood will learn the truth, but it comes with a price…

Some doors, once opened, cannot be closed.

Some minds, once broken, will never be the same again.

Lay down beside me (so still and so soft) – C-Gracewood

Summary: A different take on the events of the film

Not Half As Blinding – keire_ke

Summary: Cuban beach AU. Charles discovers that death does, in fact, solve everything.

Needles – Skull_Bearer

Summary: AU where everyone’s born Dominant or Submissive. Once a Dominant and Submissive pair is born, they are linked to each other, no matter how far apart they are. This link doesn’t actually tell the Dom or the Sub each other’s thoughts, but it does allow them to know how the other’s doing and serves as a reassurance that there’s someone meant for them out there. Another one of the reasons that Erik hates Shaw so badly is because Shaw managed to break Erik’s link to his Sub. Now Erik doesn’t even know if his Sub’s alive because breaking a link like that can kill a Submissive. Meanwhile, Charles hates himself for not yet having telepathy strong enough to contact and help his Dom, especially after feeling the pain his Dom was forced to go through. He truly believes that his Dominant is dead. Hopes it, some nights when he remembers how his Dom was forced to suffer. It’s better than to think of his Dom still being forced to bear that pain.

And then Charles pulls Erik from the water

TL;DR: Erik and Charles (respectively) are a Dominant and Submissive pair that find each other after thinking the other is dead.

The Tower and the Hurricane – dreamlittleyo

Summary: (Post-movie AU.) Five years after Shaw’s death, Erik’s predictions prove painfully accurate. Violence rages on both sides of the human/mutant conflict. In a world ravaged by war, it doesn’t really matter who’s more at fault. Charles struggles to teach his students a better way, but what choices will he make when peace really isn’t an option?

Blood and Steel and Miles Between – dreamlittleyo

Summary: (Post-movie AU.) On a beach in Cuba, Charles manages to talk Erik down from the edge. But even after the missiles have been diverted, compromise is impossible. There are two different futures to build, and Erik and Charles will always be separated by their principles. But when Charles is kidnapped and the X-Men can't find him, Erik will get him back no matter the consequences.

Meanwhile, trapped alone in his mind for the first time in his life, Charles comes face to face with the truth about what and who he wants. When convictions stand in direct opposition to the heart, which will prevail?

Burn the World to Ashes – nixajane

Summary: Movie Ending AU. Erik is merciless after Shaw is dead, taking out Moira and sending the missiles back at the ships that fired them. Charles refuses to join him and they go their separate ways, but he keeps getting in the way and Erik can’t allow him to interfere with his plans. More importantly, he can’t allow Charles to be hurt.

Forward Momentum – AsYouWish

Summary: Six months after Cuba, Charles and Erik find themselves thrown fifty years into the future, where they meet their older selves, the Avengers, and a world that’s very different from their own. Faced with the pieces of their broken relationship, an unparalleled adversary, and dealing with Tony Stark on a daily basis, Charles and Erik do their best to adapt while trying to find a way back home – and to each other.

No Yesterdays on the Road – pocky_slash

Summary: It’s been two months since Cuba and things are settling down for Charles, Erik, and the beginnings of their mutant school. Right up until Charles disappears, that is. Faced with the possibility that a bitter Emma Frost has kidnapped Charles, Erik is forced to team up with Moira to hunt down the remainder of the Hellfire Club. From there, they hope to locate Frost and retrieve Charles, without killing each other along the way.

(Or: Erik and Moira Drive Across the Country and Talk About Their Feelings.)

Divergence Day – Manic Intent

Summary: The room that Charles is held in is simple, and underground, a concrete bunker of a place hewn into a cube, with a simple white cot for a bed. There’s a small black and white television set, plugged to the wall within hand’s reach of the bed, and an ensuite bathroom attached to the chamber. They’re somewhere in the Nevada desert, as far as Charles dimly remembers, one of Erik’s many boltholes. There’s no one else in the entire facility, and Erik’s mind is closed to Charles from the helmet. The silence is both blissful and excruciating.

It’s like one of us woke up – kaydeefalls

Summary: “You came here for me,” Charles said, meeting Shaw’s gaze levelly. “So let’s not waste any more time.”

Canon!AU in which Charles and Erik do find Shaw in Russia.

It’s All Coming Back to Me – Regann

Summary: When Erik hears that Charles died on the beach where he left him, there’s only one thing left for him to do: take the world down with him as he crashes and burns in his grief. But maybe the world will get its reprieve before he goes too far.

Shared Custody – smilebackwards

Summary: “I would like to date your sister,” Azazel tells Charles after he makes a particularly fine point about Descartes’ Discourse on the Method for which Azazel has no rebuttal.”

A Hundred Visions and Revisions – kaydeefalls

Summary: In which the CIA and FBI indulge in some inter-agency snooping, Erik hates Cerebro, a new mutant is found, and Charles is very distracting.

Enigma – Yahtzee

Summary: Written for the following prompt: Erik dies, or finds a reversey-time mutant, or a magical time travelling device, and wakes up in the past. This time, though, it’s before he ever met Charles - in fact, it’s before his mother died.He can save his mother that one time (thanks to his mastery over powers carrying back), but what does Erik do after that? Does he stick around, or escape and run to find Charles again (and hope everything doesn’t go wrong)?

Five Bullet Points – Sperare

Summary: It was supposed to be Erik locked away in a prison one hundred stories below the ground.

Charles was never supposed to be there with him.

The Winter of Banked Fires – Yahtzee

Summary: Charles Xavier has returned from the dead – but is lost within his own mind. Rogue has cast aside her own power and doesn’t know where she fits in the world any longer. The production of synthetic Cure means mutantkind itself is newly at risk. And Magneto, turned human against his will, is in despair until the day he feels a familiar consciousness tugging at his own –

Set after X-3 (with much desperate fix-it applied), during XMFC, and every time in between.

When We Two Parted – nekosmuse

Summary: At the end of X3, a still depowered Erik travels back in time to meet 1962 Charles. Cue angst, desperate kissing and happy endings for all. Written for the x-men kink meme.

The Burden We Long to Carry – arcapelago (arcanewinter)

Summary: When mutant-supporter and ally President Kennedy is assassinated and all pro-mutant progress is dismantled, Charles is no longer so confident that he’s on the right side, and extends his hand to Erik after a year of animosity. They settle tentatively into their old partnership, but not everything is the same as it was–and not everything can be. When Hank develops a metal frame to move the lower half of Charles’ body for him if he wants it, Erik offers the use of his mind and his ability in order to make it work. Both find out what they’re willing to do for each other, and neither knows if it’ll be enough to keep them together.

Take the First Option – ShowMeAHero

He really only has one choice.

When an Unstoppable Force Meets an Immovable Optimist – ToriTC198

Summary: “You are always trying to save me, Charles.” Erik mused aloud. “Ever since you dove into the ocean and dragged me out. Did it ever occur to you that I might not be worth saving?”

A genuine smile broke out on Charles’ face as he brightly answered, “No, my friend, not once. I have every confidence you are well worth saving. But, I never truly believed I could save you. You are not the sort of man who someone saves. The choice to be a better man has always been yours to make and I hold no illusions that I can make that decision for you. I simply have faith that one day you will save yourself. I only hope I am still at your side to witness it.”

- What if Erik and Charles had been able to find a middle ground in the end?

#cherik #fic recs #asks #cherik fic recs

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