Work Text:
Saviors
Charles had moved to Genosha a few days ago. All had been going well so far. Erik always worried about whether or not Charles was truly comfortable, despite his frequent smiles and overall relaxed demeanor. Charles often glanced his way after Erik had been studying him, and he knew Charles knew what was on his mind.
Erik thought back to the night after Charles' first full day there. The two of them had shared a blissful day with breakfast in bed and then spending the afternoon at the beach. Charles had lit a fire in the fireplace and was now nestled on the couch with a book. Erik had walked in from checking in on the other residents and took in the sight before him.
Charles tried his best to shield Erik's thoughts from his mind, preferring to not have his ability intrude on intimate moments like this.
"What's going on in that mind of yours?" he asked, bookmarking his place in his book and closing it.
Erik gave a slight smirk. "You," he replied simply and quickly.
"Me, how?"
"I just can't believe that you're really here," Erik answered as he walked slowly towards Charles. "It's like a dream."
Charles placed his book down on the table next to him and stretch out his arms in invitation. Erik joined him on the couch as rested up against his chest. "I assure you, Erik, I never want to be apart from you again."
While Charles overall seemed to be adjusting to his new home, Erik could not help sensing that there was something troubling Charles that he was not outwardly expressing. Erik had thought about what it could possibly be. He knew a lot had happened in Charles's life recently. He had just left his home that he had built into his legacy. And on top of that, there were the recent losses of Raven and Jeanne, which Charles undoubtedly felt guilt over.
Then the idea came to him. He wanted to help Charles with that guilt. And he knew he felt most useful, most in his element, when he was helping teach and train other mutants. He fondly recalled their first private session so many years ago when he had attempted to move the satellite. It was the first time in his life he remembered truly feeling pride in himself.
Even though Charles his retired, maybe he needed to feel that sense of purpose again, something to focus on. And Erik knew how he could give that to him.
There were two houses on the island. One was smaller and where Erik lived with Charles. The other was bigger and houses all of the other residents. One of the residents, a nine year-old girl named Sophie, had been appearing to have a difficult time, and would barely come out of her bedroom. Her family had cast her out and she was found by another resident on the streets. Erik, along with some of the other residents, had made multiple attempts to reach out to her, but to no avail. He thought perhaps Charles would have better luck, as he had a gift for helping fellow mutants.
When Sophie had come out to grab food, he approached her about coming to the other house to meet Charles. She hesitantly agreed and followed Erik to the smaller house.
Erik found Charles in their bedroom reading. "Charles," he called him. "Could you come with me? There's someone I want you to meet."
Charles followed him into the spare room next door.
"Charles," Erik began the introductions. "This is Sophie." Sophie nervously brushed her long red hair aside and approached Charles to shake his hand. Charles smiled at her and Sophie returned it slightly. Then she bent her head down.
"It's alright, Sophie," Charles assured her. Erik could tell he was reading sensing her emotions and attempting to make her feel calm. "I know you have been through a lot lately. But you are safe now."
Sophie slowly lifted her head up to make eye contact with Charles.
Erik smiled warmly and looked at Sophie. "He's good, isn't he?" He gave them each a glance. "I'll leave you two to talk for a bit." He left the room and closed the door.
Sophie gazed at Charles for a few seconds. "So Sophie, would you like to tell me about yourself?" Charles asked in a way to break the ice.
"I like horses," she said right away happily. "I have one of my own. A white spotted horse named Lady. I miss her."
"What happened to her?"
"She's with my parents. They want me to stay here because my power is…dangerous. My dad works for the U.S. government and helped in giving Erik this land."
"You must be lonely. Tell me, what is your power?"
"I can burn things down with my eyes."
"Like heat vision?"
"Yes. I set off the fire alarm at school one day when a girl got me mad. That's when my parents brought me here. Because Erik and everyone else here has powers like me."
Charles came closer to Sophie. "Are you afraid to come around others because of your power?"
Sophie bowed her head again and nodded.
"What if I told you I could help you control your power so that you would no longer be a danger to others?"
Sophie brought her head back up and smiled.
Charles returned her smile. "Good. We can start tomorrow if you would like. But you have to promise me you will eat dinner with everyone tonight first. And if you feel scared, just come and find me."
"Okay. Thank you, Charles!" She went to hug him.
"You're welcome, Sophie." Charles was bathed in a familiar feeling that he had up to now realized he had suppressed because of his recent decisions.
Sophie walked out of room with a slight smile, which caused Erik to have one of his own.
The next day Sophie came out of her room again to have her first meeting with Charles. They were inside of the small house again, since Sophie verbalized that she was still too nervous to be outside amongst too many others.
"Alright, Sophie," Charles began. "When you feel more comfortable we can step outside to actually practice using your mutation. We can set something up as a sort of target that is of no loss and will not cause anything or anyone harm. For now, we can talk about what makes the mutation come to the surface."
"Well, it first happened when the girl at school was talking to me." Sophie explained.
"Oh?" Charles inquired, brow raised in amusement.
"Yeah," Sophie continued shyly. "She was making fun of me again. She always did. I guess I was just tired of it. I didn't hurt her, but I almost did. I burned a hole in the classroom wall, though."
"Oh." Charles repeated. He did not see it taking that turn.
"I just felt so…mad. And sad. And…" Sophie stopped as her voice began to rise slightly.
"It's alright, Sophie," Charles assured her. "You didn't hurt me. Though, I would like to see your ability one day."
Sophie paused. "Can I show you now?"
Charles smiled and nodded in agreement. They went outside and found a spare log to use as a target.
"Before you show me, Sophie, we are going to work on controlling it. I know you were feeling a lot of emotions that day. But I want you to find something to focus on that is not completely bad, but not completely good either. It's important to have balance."
"The point between rage and serenity," a third voice spoke.
They both turned around to see Erik approaching them.
"Exactly," Charles said, eyes locked on Erik.
"He taught me that years ago when we first met," Erik explained to Sophie.
Charles finally turned his glance back towards Sophie. "So, like I said, we are going to practice you focusing on finding that balance first. Then you can practice on this log.
"Or you can just picture the face of your classmate at school on the log," chimed Erik. Sophie giggled.
Charles glared at Erik unamused. "I don't think that would be very helpful, Erik. We don't want to risk an accident."
"I'm just saying what worked for me when I was her age and first became familiar with my powers."
"But we need everyone here to stay safe."
"Yes. Hence the target."
"Erik, please-"
"Stop it! Yelled Sophie, her fists clenched. She looked at the log as a beam of light shot out of each eye. Charles and Erik stared at the aftermath in surprise. Sophie then ran back to her room, crying. Both men followed after her. She slammed her bedroom door before they could enter.
"Sophie!" Charles called out to her desperately. "It's okay. Everyone's safe. We're not mad at you."
"Leave me alone!" Sophie countered back. "All I do is make people fight with each other. You're just like my parents."
Erik and Charles glanced at each other, ashamed. They decided it was best to leave Sophie alone for the time being and revisit the situation later.
In their bedroom that night, Erik saw Charles parked in his wheelchair in front of their bed. He slowly inched himself further into the room and stood behind Charles.
"I understand if you want to leave," he informed him quietly.
Charles wheeled himself around to lock eyes with Erik. "What do you mean?"
Erik kept his gaze. "I just mean, if you want to leave I won't try to stop you. I'm used to any amount of happiness I've ever felt in my life slip away. And...well, I have never felt happier since you've come here, so it was only a matter of time anyway."
Charles crept himself slightly closer to the other man. "Erik, I assure you I have no intention of ever leaving you." He reached out and took his hand, sensing Erik's continued uncertainty. "Ever since we met, whatever we have faced has always been together, even when we were apart. Even when we didn't agree. Everything always comes back to you and me."
Erik paused for a moment, mouth agape. He was about to utter his thoughts out loud when there was a knock at the door.
"Come in," Charles instructed.
Sophie entered the room, head hanging slightly. "Hi" she greeted them both timidly. "I just wanted to make sure that the two of you were okay. I didn't want to come in between. The truth is, I appreciate both of your views. Charles, I appreciate how protective you are. And Erik, I appreciate how passionate you are about there being justice in the world. This refuge needs you both. Its people need you both."
Charles and Erik exchanged glances. Sophie had sensed she had said her piece, but that her mentors still had to hash some things out.
"I'll leave the two of you be to finish talking," she said as she smiled politely and made her exit.
Sophie spent less time out of her bedroom the rest of the day. That night, Charles laid on the couch in his now customary routine of reading while a fire was going. Erik came up to him and placed a kiss on his lips.
"What was that for?" Charles asked playfully as Erik gave him a smiled and joined him on the couch. "It was a thank you. For helping Sophie. I've been worried about her since she came here. "
Charles set his marker in his book and set it to the side. "Yes, she is a sweet girl. So sad how her family treated her."
"Yes, no one deserves that," Erik agreed. "I hope you didn't mind me putting you to work during your retirement."
"Not at all. It actually felt nice getting to know Sophie and reassure her she is safe here."
Erik placed a hand on his. "You've always been good at that."
Charles stretched out his arm, inviting Erik to lean in. Erik accepted the invitation and took note of his small victory.
Sophie's increased appearance did not go unnoticed by the other residents. She had apparently informed them that Charles was to thank for that, as three resident that day approached Charles wanting to speak to him in private. They had seemed unsure if it would be alright at first, but Erik reassured them. This made Erik want to expand on his idea.
When Charles was discussing his day with Erik at dinner that night, he appeared hesitant, as though he was unsure about speaking with the others.
"It's one thing to help a little girl who is afraid to even come out of her room," he noted. "But to make it a regular habit again," I don't know about that."
"Well, I have something that may help you with that," he informed him. "Follow me."
He had lead Charles into an area of the larger house that had a few unused rooms. "What if we started up a school here?" He asked him. "You could provide council to the residents here to train them and give them a means of support."
Charles stared at him blankly, not reacting at first. As Erik was not the telepath in the relationship, he grew nervous. "I knew it," Charles said aloud to himself. He spun around to face Erik. "Did you not think I would realize what you were up to? Always telling everyone to come to me for help, and now this!" he waved a hand towards the rooms.
Erik felt a mixture of anger and shame. Had he gone too far? He looked Charles's look of pierced lips and furrowed brows confirmed he had indeed had. He needed to attempt to remedy the situation, and fast. "Remember when we first met?" he said softly. "I said I had always thought I was alone, and you assured me that I wasn't. You made me feel like I belonged for the first time since I was a child. And for the first time in my life, I felt like I could be more than a freak or a monster. If you could do that for me, I thought you could do that for others as well."
Charles scoffed as he looked up at Erik. "I did all that for you, yet how many years did we spend apart on opposite sides?"
Erik felt a sting of hurt at Charles's statement that went right through to his face. "That's not the point, Charles," he said. "We needed to go on our separate journeys before we were ready to share a mutual need of settling down in peace. You have seemed happy since you came here, but I can sense there is still something haunting you."
Charles dropped his face to avoid eye contact with him. "I thought I was the psychic one."
Erik did not let Charles's lack of eye contact or cynical mood deter him from approaching him. He knelt down in front of him and placed his hands on his face. "Let me help you."
Charles gave Erik a look he had never seen before. He stared at him coldly, eyes piercing right through him.
"Lay off it, Erik," Charles warned through gritted teeth, his voice low.
Erik let go of his face and stood up. "Fine," he said flatly, stepping aside. Charles wheeled away, Erik watching him as he did so.
Erik felt a surge of sadness and fear. This had been there first fighting since Charles had come to Genosha with him and they had decided to be in a relationship.
I should have known better than to think this would last he thought to himself. I lose everyone.
Still, even amongst his inner critic, Erik found a different voice. A voice that told him that peace could be an option after all, and that his life with Charles wasn't too good to be true. He just had to find Charles and make things right with him.
Erik had found Charles where he had expected, the bedroom that had now become a spare. The back of the wheelchair was facing against him. Charles gave no indication that he was aware of Erik's presence, though the latter knew this was not actually the case.
"Charles," he began quietly, still standing in the doorway. "I'm sorry. I only wanted to try to help you. I thought you would be good for those people. I thought you could help them, like you helped so many others."
At that, Charles turned his head slightly. "You mean like I helped Jean?"
Erik came into the room and stood in front of Charles. "I know you feel like you have failed Jean. But we all make mistakes. You teach that all we can do is move forward, and to not be too hard on ourselves."
Charles had yet to make eye contact. Erik knelt down so he was at eye level with Charles. He placed his hands on Charles's arms. "That applies to you too. It's time to practice what you preach."
Charles finally glanced over at Erik, tears forming in his eyes. He began to back away from Erik to exit the room.
Erik saw his motive and moved quickly in front of Charles. "No," he proclaimed. "Don't try to escape from this." He was now blocking Charles's path out. "You have forgiven me for everything I have done. I love you too much to not see you do the same for yourself."
Charles stared at Erik, appearing to be stunned. If Erik was honest with himself, he was too. They had yet to declare their true sentiments for each other aloud, and he had not planned on doing so in that moment. His heart began to race, fearing he had made a mistake, and his emotions had taken over and gotten the best of him yet again.
After some silence had passed between them, Erik finally spoke up, wanting to alleviate his fear. "Please don't go."
Charles eyes him more directly than he had throughout this entire discussion. "Erik, I have no intention of leaving."
Erik let out a small smile and a sigh of relief.
Charles backed up to face the middle of the room. "You know," he observed, glancing around the space, "I do believe this would make a fine office." He turned to Erik. "If it's alright with you, of course."
Erik smiled and nodded at him. "Of course." He took that a cue that the conversation was over, so he headed towards the door.
"Erik," Charles stopped him before he could reach the doorway. Erik spun around to face him and was met with a warm smile.
"I love you, too."
They both smiled slightly and glanced away from one another. Erik turned back towards Charles and moved back to his side, leaning over to embrace him and kiss him on the cheek. Charles let out a small laugh as he did this. Erik still had his arms around him when he looked at him and leaned in for a kiss, finally feeling comfortable with being the one who is saved.