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Charles had finally drifted off to sleep now that the voices echoing around the house had finally settled when his lamp on his bedside table began to clatter. It was barely noticeable at first, but it grew louder and more noticeable until it was impossible to ignore. He shot out a hand to force the lamp to settle. The lamp continued to tremble even as he fought to hold it down. There was only one reason for the lamp, and now all the medal in his room, to vibrate.
Erik.
Charles threw the covers back and hopped out of bed, feet touching the cool floor. He pulled a sweater from the back of a chair and threw it over his head, pulling his arms through before pulling on the bottom over his stomach. Suppressing a shiver, he stepped into his slippers at the front of his bed and slipped into the hallway.
Erik had insisted that his bedroom be at the opposite end of the hall, away from everyone else. Charles hadn’t disputed it, thinking it was best to allow Erik the space that he needed to work through things. He hadn’t wanted to impose, afraid of startling Erik back to where he came for on his obvious mission to find Shaw. It was often difficult to see the reasoning behind his actions, though Charles tried he best.
Part of him grew more apprehensive the closer he came to Erik’s room. He could practically feel the choking thoughts wafting from Erik. The pain, terror, rage, and power was enough to almost knock Charles off his feet and send him staggering into the wall behind him. He was used to Erik’s thoughts being louder than most, more unfocused and difficult to ignore. It had taken most of Charles’s concentration to avoid prying into them, instead smoothing them so that he wasn’t overwhelmed and could actually have a conversation with Erik. He had made a promise not to pry, though sometimes it was beyond challenging when Erik had as much control over his projecting thoughts as Charles had not tuning into them.
Charles frowned when he came over to Erik’s room and knocked on the door, quite expecting Erik to swing the door open before he could do so. He was faintly surprised when that didn’t happen and instead found the door unlocked.
“Erik,” Charles questioned softly before he opened the door. Invading Erik’s privacy wasn’t something Charles actively attempted to do, though there were times when it wasn’t avoidable.
Charles took the knob back in his hand and found it rattling. It took more strength than he expected to turn it and force the door open without the knob pushing back against him.
Darkness greeted Charles gaze. It was also strangely hot in the room, stiflingly so. It only took a moment of Charles to be in the room to pull at the collar of his shirt, struggling not to pant.
A sudden string of German murmuring sounded from the center of the room on the rather plain bed that only had a sheet, a comforter, and one pillow. Charles had offered to bring more pillows or other items that may make the bed a little more comfortable for Erik, but he had refused, claiming he preferred the simplicity. Charles hadn’t pushed, and suddenly wondered if perhaps he should have.
Charles allowed Erik’s fierce thoughts to peek his senses, stretching his hand outward as though rifling through them. His eyes partially closed as he heard Erik’s scream in his head from when Erik was a child. The pain was unmeasurable and even with Charles trying to keep Erik’s thoughts at a distance so not to overwhelm him. The thought became too strong and knocked Charles back, forcing him against the wall as he fought for control. His fingers pressed on his temples, gasping in agony as nails felt as though they were being hammered into his brain.
The force of Charles’s body on the wall was enough commotion to bring Erik out of his nightmare. He sprang up from the bed, covers already tossed off and closing in on the space between himself and the intruder in his room in a split second.
Charles barely registered the forceful weight on him until his arms were pinned over his head and hot breath was on his face. Now that the body was on him, it was impossible to fight through Erik’s overwhelming thoughts to find his own, let alone block them out all together. He had never had this trouble before, nor had Erik ever been so unhinged when it came to his innermost thoughts.
Something was clearly off.
“Erik,” Charles ground out through a clenched jaw, eyes squinting in the darkness.
Erik pushed harder against Charles, back practically arching and hairs on the back of his neck standing on edge. His breath caught in the back of his throat and he suddenly ducked down to cough, miraculously away from Charles despite unaware he was of the man in front of him.
Charles reached a hand down and touched Erik’s brow lightly. Heat radiated from Erik and Charles fought to keep it there, attempting to break through Erik’s clearly disjointed thoughts to show him the reality of the situation.
“Erik, it’s me. It’s your friend,” Charles choked out as Erik continued to cough. “It’s your friend.”
As quickly as it had happened, it just as quickly tamed.
Erik drew back, blinking his eyes furiously. He stumbled back almost against his bed, body aching and head cloudy. He had received a moment of clarity, but now he was just as fuzzy as it was when he awoke to find the shadowed presence of a man in the corner of his room.
Charles straightened and brushed his hair back before cautiously stepping forward. “Erik? Erik, it’s me. It’s Charles,” he began once more, one hand rested on his chest and the other outstretched toward his friend.
Erik gave his head a few more shakes before reaching over and flipping a switch by the bed to bathe the room in a soft light. After taking a moment to allow his eyes to adjust, Erik frowned at the man standing across from his hesitantly, eyes reflecting his fear.
“What are you doing in here,” Erik growled, voice an octave lower than normal.
Charles fought not to react to the sound of Erik’s voice, or the way that he shifted from foot to foot, struggling to stay upright. His gaze migrated down to Erik’s plain t-shirt that he wore instead of the sweater he was usually in. Sweat dampened the shirt, transforming it from a light gray to a dark gray, appearing as though Erik had jumped into a pool instead of the bed. This was much more than any normal person would’ve perspired while sleeping, even with a night terror.
“I got up to get a drink and I heard something coming from your room. I just wanted to check,” he replied smoothly without missing a beat. Erik didn’t have to know the real reason that Charles had come in, knowing how it would set back their already sometimes rocky relationship.
Erik pondered the answer for a moment, remaining quiet.
Charles reached down to motion to his own clothing to break the silence in the room, knowing that Erik wouldn’t be the one to do it. “You look a little warm. I could turn down the temperature in your room if you like,” he offered.
Erik was unable to suppress a shiver from shaking his frame, discretely bringing a hand up to graze a pointer finger under his nose.
“Unless you’re actually quite cold,” Charles began, taking yet another step closer. “Yet you’re sweating and you have been avoiding talking since I got in here. Erik, are you feeling alright?”
Immediately, a look of hostility sparked in Erik’s eyes. “I feel fine, Charles.”
Ordinarily this would’ve been one of the situations where Charles would drop it, leave Erik alone, and pray to any higher power that he could keep the voices from penetrating his mind. Unfortunately, he was already strapped for sleep and the idea of doing the usual dance with Erik was nearly unbearable at this time of night.
“It’s alright to admit it if you are.” Charles closed the gap between them in a flash and his hand found Erik’s brow, fingers cascading through through the tips of Erik’s sweat streaked hair.
Erik didn’t move for half a second before fiercely drawing back, hackles beginning to rise. “It’s nothing I can’t handle.”
“Ah, so you admit that there is something to handle?” Charles quickly moved on before Erik could respond. “You know, you may feel better after a shower and it might cool you down. You’re awfully warm.”
“I always run warmer.”
“Warmer, perhaps, but not this warm. I’d say that’s a fever if ever I felt one.” Charles brushed the tips of his fingers against his pants, drying the sweat from them. “I’d take it that’s why your nightmares were worse than usual.”
It was no secret in the house that Erik had devastating night terrors that left him winded and terrified. No one commented on it and Erik never spoke of them, even to Charles in their more intimate moments. Charles didn’t push unless necessary, and even then he was delicate when he did so.
Erik opened his mouth to answer only to pivot sharply to the side, finger slightly raised to duck down into the back of his wrist with a soft almost croak. It wasn’t until Erik did it a second, and then a third time that it clicked to Charles what he was doing.
“Bless you,” Charles murmured against his better judgement.
Erik didn’t immediately look up, instead gave his nose a single wipe with a curled finger. He smothered a soft cough into the crook of his arm, unwilling to openly subject Charles to his germs.
That was all the sign that Charles needed.
“Perhaps you would be more comfortable in my room, my friend,” Charles suggested. He was almost unaware that he was speaking until the sentence had left him, suddenly realizing just how much he had assumed about his and Erik’s relationship.
Erik appeared just as surprised as the offer as Charles was. “You want me to sleep in your room?”
“No....not if you don’t want to of course. It’s just that you’ve sweat through your sheets and perhaps if I was closer I could help keep the nightmares from taking hold,” he offered apprehensively. Insinuating that Erik had a deficit at anytime with anything could be a surefire way to a biting comment and Charles suddenly wished he hadn’t said anything.
Erik blinked his eyes deliberately a few times, taking his time to ponder what Charles had just offered. Every instinct within him told him what a grasp it was, yet the answer that he came up with was not what he anticipated. “I suppose that couldn’t hurt.”
“Really?” Charles loudly cleared his throat in slight embarrassment. “Uh, I mean I’m glad to have you. You may want to change into something a little dryer first though.”
Erik pulled at the collar of his shirt, feeling the moisture that Charles was referencing. He headed over to his duffle and pulled out a change of clothes while Charles slipped down the hallway to quickly tidy up his room. It was far from being dirty or even disorganized, but he wanted Erik to have the best perception of him that he could.
While Charles attempted to make his bed as comfortable for Erik as possible, the older mutant changed and headed into Charles’s room despite the apprehension still rushing through him. Later he would blame it on the fever; right now, though, it was too late to say no.
He headed in to see that Charles was fluffing up one of the pillows for what looked like the tenth time from the way that his eyebrows were lifted and tongue sticking out from the corner of his mouth in a show of concentration.
Erik hadn’t meant to announce his presence by coughing roughly into a raised fist, but it was unavoidable when he accidentally took in a harsher breath through his mouth than he meant.
Charles jumped up and motioned to the bed in front of him. “I wasn’t sure quite how many pillows you wanted or if the blankets-“
“It’s fine, Charles,” Erik interrupted. No reason to keep Charles rambling if he didn’t have to.
Charles dipped his head. “Sorry, just wasn’t sure what you would prefer.”
Erik said nothing more as he walked toward the bed and sat down, pulling the covers back before tucking himself in. Despite the fever that Charles said he had, shivers were dancing down his arms, forcing his body to tremble despite Erik’s attempt to halt it.
Charles forced himself not to look, instead grasping a book from his nightstand and heading toward the corner of the room where he kept a loveseat for reading.
“What are you doing,” Erik questioned much harsher than he meant.
Charles stopped halfway and glanced back over his shoulder. “Just thought I’d give you some space and a little reading always relaxes my mind to let me sleep.”
“You don’t have to stay over there if you don’t want to,” Erik murmured, resting his head on a pillow with his knees brought up to his chest in a fetal position. “I wouldn’t mind sharing the bed, considering it is yours after all.”
“Are you sure?”
Erik let out a light cough. “I’m far from good company at the moment, but if you don’t mind, I wouldn’t.”
‘It would give me a better vantage point to soothe Erik’s thoughts if I need to,’ Charles thought to himself, though that would never be something he was sat directly to Erik. Luckily, reading minds wasn’t Erik’s power.
Charles crept over and turned the lamp beside the bed on before turning the overhead light off. He slipped down on top of the covers with his back to Erik, not wanting to overstep any bounds that he may or not be reading into. It was something that he had thought about often, but never talked about. It’s not like it would accomplish anything, at least not in his mind.
Charles wasn’t sure how long he had laid there almost rigid when he felt Erik begin to tremble beside him, a low cry tearing from deep in his chest.
“Erik,” Charles started, turning over and resting a hand on his back. It didn’t wake him, but Charles was relieved that Erik appeared to relax. “It’s alright.”
Erik’s body went limp as he appeared to drift back into dreamlessness.
‘I’ll stay up all night if I have to to make sure it stays that way,’ Charles thought. ‘Fever dreams are something that’s difficult to combat, but we’re going to try, and we’re going to succeed.’
The End