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In New York, Erik sat down at his breakfast table, choosing to ignore his cellphone for as long as possible. Or at least until he'd downed another cup of coffee. Outside his penthouse apartment was the city in all it's steel and glory, as always a quiet hum to his senses.
All in all it was what Erik would consider a nice morning. At least until he opened the day's paper on his tablet and just… stared. As if summoned, his cellphone vibrated with yet another text message.
The headline read:
The two most prominent mutant rights defenders in New York are the two most eligible bachelors of the city. Lehnsherr; gay according to his own words and Xavier; obviously bisexual from his various dates of both male and female persuasion. Are they a match made in heaven? Or, as most politicians would see it, one made in hell?
The text message was from Emma and read:
Are congratulations in order? Erik, you dog, you could have told us that you were doing the horizontal mambo with Xavier. Nice catch, hon.
Erik just stared at the message in mute horror.
"Good morning, brother," Raven almost sing-songed at the other end. Far too cheery for Charles' half-awake state.
"Mmmmraven," he managed to get out, eyes sliding closed again.
Her laughter brought him closer to awake a moment later. "As you normally share gossip of your conquests with your lovely sister; me, I wanted to ask when you were going to tell me about your newest beau?"
Charles forced his eyes open, staring into the gloom under his covers. Pushing them back down he winced as sunlight peeked through the curtains. "What newest beau?" he asked curiously. After making a mental tally of who she could be talking about, coming up with ...zero.
"I'm not even going to tell you," she continued with a laugh. "Call me again when you've read the papers." With that, she hung up.
Charles pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at it, the phone telling him he had 25 text messages, 8 voice messages, 300 tweets, 150 facebook notifications and twice as many emails.
"And I haven't even had my tea yet," he lamented to himself, half-falling out of bed.
"I have to do no such thing," Erik replied. He'd gone through surprise, indignation, wonder and checking if he'd ended up in an alternate universe. All since breakfast. He checked the time; just four hours ago.
"Come on, Erik," she said with a smirk, "You're both single, favor your own gender, damned fine looking and the journalist is right; you'd have the politicians all over the country in a fit if it was the truth."
"Which it isn't," Erik all but growled. "I've only met the man a few times, and only because we've been at the same functions, the same charity events."
"Can't blame the papers for speculating, though," Emma carried on. "You were both on the top ten of most eligible bachelors in New York a few weeks ago. If I remember it right, you were actually both in the top five."
As if Erik cared about such stupid shit. If, and that was a big damned if he were to ever consider it, it would be to scar the politicians for life. That was about the only positive outcome he could imagine. If he were to consider such idiocy. Not like he had time for relationships these days.
"Are you done torturing me for now?" Erik asked, making a face when he realized his coffee had gone cold.
"For now, yes," Emma said. "I actually came to ask you if you'd finished that little speech for the fundraiser tonight."
Erik turned his head, terror flashing through his mind.
"Thought as much," she said smugly.
"Maybe I should take on a different appearance tonight," Raven suggested, her voice clear through the speakers of his cellphone.
"Yes, because deception has always solved our problems," Charles muttered. Louder he said: "Nah, it's all speculation anyway. As we've only met briefly a few times, there's no photo evidence to back up their wild fantasies."
"Remind me to introduce you to Photoshop," Raven said drily.
"Please don't," Charles said, glaring at his cellphone.
Raven's laughter rang loud and clear, made him smile. It wasn't such a bad thing all this - if he could just turn it to a public interest in mutant rights and his newest project. He was already working through various ways to do this, even contemplating contacting Lehnsherr. Of course, that way lay madness, because if they were seen together now, the rumor mill might explode.
"I'm picking you up in an hour and a half," Charles said, changing the subject. "The real, blue scaled you, not some vapid, busty model."
"I could make it a beefy, hunky model," Raven offered.
Charles snorted. "One, not my type, two, I'm taking my gorgeous sister, deal with it."
"Well, I'm willing to change fast, if you change your mind, Charles."
"Heheh, yeah, no," Charles said with a shake of the head. "Behave, wench."
"For you, darling brother, always," Raven said, sounding as innocent as she could.
Charles just rolled his eyes.
'They aren't all that bad.'
Erik tried not to show his surprise. That hadn't been-
'I do apologize, but you were rather broadcasting, Mr. Lehnsherr.'
Raising an eyebrow, Erik looked around the room, full of people, zeroing in on a figure with his back to Erik. Nice cut suit, very nicely framing-
The mental equivalent of a cough interrupted where the thought was going.
Erik smirked and watched in amusement as several people were giving him sideways, mildly intimidated looks. 'Can't blame a healthy young man like me having such thoughts. After all, the media has apparently had then already.'
There was a wave of appreciation at Erik's mental reply. 'You are rather good at that,' Xavier admitted.
'You're not the first telepath I've met,' Erik replied evenly. He nodded his thank you to a passing waiter as he accepted a glass of white wine. He'd really rather have had a beer, he thought to himself as he studied Xavier's back, and the lovely blue skinned woman at his side, wearing a stunningly white floor length dress.
'I'd second the beer thought and she's my sister, if you were asking,' Xavier replied cheekily.
'That could get annoying in the long run,' Erik warned him, though with little heat. He wasn't actively trying not to broadcast. 'And thank you for the update on you date life,' he continued drily. 'Good to know when the papers question your fidelity tomorrow.'
The laughter inside his head made Erik want to squirm a little. It wasn't… a bad feeling.
He spent the next half hour working his way around the room counter clockwise, while Xavier did the same, only clockwise.
"Mr. Xavier," Erik said pleasantly when they met midways. He was more than aware of most people in the room trying not to stare.
"Mr. Lehnsherr," Xavier replied, equally pleasantly, though with a spark to his eyes that Erik had to fight hard not to smile even wider at. Wouldn't do to scare the poor kid.
'Hardly a kid, Lehnsherr,' Xavier reprimanded him. "Fancy meeting you here, Mr. Lehnsherr," he said out loud.
'As long as you're above the age of consent,' Erik shamelessly sent back, before he could stop himself. "Indeed, Mr. Xavier."
Xavier's eyes widened a little, his tongue slipping out to wet his lower lip. Erik couldn't help but stare, fighting down the urge to copy the movement.
"As the media has been setting us up all day, I feel I should know you better," Xavier finally said. 'I've been over the age of consent for nearly a decade, old man.'
'Ouch,' Erik replied, trying hard not to laugh out loud. "Well, we are here tonight to network and form alliances," he admitted.
"Alliances?" Xavier shook his head in mock sadness. "You make it sound like we're going to war. I prefer calling it - business relations." 'How do you feel about mixing business and pleasure?'
Erik was quite enjoying being hit on in the middle of a room of people of which half had probably already been imagining them in bed together. He couldn't fault them for their taste, really - Xavier was quite attractive up close.
'Not quite half of them, but you're not too far from the truth,' Xavier shared with wink.
"Do you have a specific business proposition in mind?" Erik asked lazily. He tried hard not to look at Xavier's sister, who was fighting to keep a straight face when she looked at her brother from her position behind him. At the same time keeping up a conversation with someone Erik recognized vaguely as a local politician. At Erik's question, she looked like she might finally crack and laugh out loud, but she got a grip on herself and smirked at him before turning her attention back to her conversational partner.
Xavier had obviously caught this as well, because he had much the same smirk on his face.
'And for your information,' Erik continued silently, 'I do not normally mix the two, but there's a first for everything.'
"I do indeed, Mr. Lehnsherr," Xavier said as he eyed Erik appreciatively. "I intend to open a school for young mutants who wish to learn about their gifts, and at the same time take care for their expected normal school work." He shifted a little, the move drawing Erik's eyes to his hips and back up again. "I would very much like you input on the ideas for such a school."
Erik stared at him for a moment. Best case scenario, such a school would be brilliant, something he would have loved to go to as a kid. Worst case scenario-
'Is why I wish for your input,' Xavier said, his mental voice taking on a less flirty tone, more earnest. "I have it from a reliable source that I can be a tad bit… well, I tend to believe in the best in everyone."
"More like too damned gullible for your own good," his sister muttered from where she'd just appeared at his side. "I'm going to the bar, just saw a gorgeous platinum blonde up there. Try not to do anything too scandalous while I'm gone," she said with a sigh, before disappearing into the crowd - shooting Erik an appreciative look as she went.
"I think your sister has the right idea," Erik said lightly, after a moment of thought. He really was interested in what Xavier was suggesting. All of it. Offering his arm with a smirk, he tilted his head in the direction of the bar. "Care to join me, Mr. Xavier?"
The look Xavier shot him was scorching in all the right ways as he took Erik's arm and let himself be led towards alcohol. Erik figured that they probably didn't have anything good beer wise, but at least he couldn't complain about the company.
The End