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Erik keeps an eye on him all day. There are many reasons why he watches Charles, one of the reasons being that he just likes to see him. There’s something about the way he comes alive during meetings with the X-Men, the way he commands the room when teaching. His eyes sparkle, his face lights up, and he’s in his element. It makes him look ten years younger which really makes Erik feel his age.
Charles takes on so much, he always has. Or he has since the two of them met anyway. Erik can’t really say much about before they met.
Charles has a persona to keep up, a role in the school that, without him, the entire thing would collapse. Or that’s how it seems to Erik and he thinks Charles feels the same. He’s built this around him, his name is on the school and the papers are on his desk. It’s like he needs to feel needed and that is one thing Erik knows for certain.
It’s always a priority for him to seem invincible. Someone who can stand up (metaphorically), and take on the world single-handedly. He’s the figurehead of the school and quickly becoming one for all of mutant-kind.
The children come to him with their problems, they unload on him their past lives, and how things were before they came to the school. They complain about bullies, about the teachers, they tell him about their grades, and when they need help getting extra credit. Some of them are telepathic or precognitions who come to him and tell him what they have seen or heard. He knows about possible futures, and the worst thoughts of anyone including Erik himself.
That much information and bad is bound to have a negative effect on anyone. Especially someone as naïve and innocent as Charles. It makes Erik worry about him.
Of course, that’s a worry carefully hidden. As much of a well-kept secret as their relationship is. It was decided long ago that none of the students could know about their Professor and Magneto and the love between them. It was decided before Erik returned to the school and decided to stay for good, becoming one of their teachers as well, but they decided to keep that rule in place. Both men like their privacy and decided their relationship was for behind closed doors and the occasional date night where they sneak out one of the windows with the help of Erik’s powers.
There are times Erik wants to stand up, wants to tell the precog with another vision of how the world ends, and how Charles dies in the process where to shove their vision, but he holds back. Charles wouldn’t take well to that and the delicate balance they’ve found would be ruined.
Instead, there is one thing he knows and can do. Be there for Charles when he inevitably breaks.
He makes his way to their bedroom. It’s a little after eleven, the time that the younger students are all in bed and most of the older ones are making their way there in preparation for getting up for their early classes in the morning.
As he passes by Charles’s office, he hears talking. He pauses outside the door, but only for a moment. He doesn’t want to eavesdrop, but he does want to check how the conversation is going. Talks this late at night are hardly ever good.
Sure enough, he hears the strain in Charles’s voice as he and Jean talk back and forth. It’s a tone that he’s sure most others wouldn’t pick up on but one Erik knows too well and one he worries about every time he hears it.
Quickly, he carries on in his path to their bedroom before the two telepaths catch him lingering outside the door. He doesn’t stop again until he’s in their ensuite and turns the water on for a bath. He adds various oils that he knows Charles likes, setting the lights in the room and making sure they both have a towel and pajamas ready for after.
It doesn’t take long before Charles opens the bedroom door and Erik sticks his head out of the bathroom. He watches the Professor X persona drop as soon as the door closes behind him and he becomes Charles once again. His Charles.
Charles’s shoulders drop, he looks instantly tired and worn after the day, almost seconds from breaking. Erik knows it’s coming, but he hopes he can delay it for a little longer, at least.
“Bath is ready. Why don’t you come on in here and we can settle in for a while?” He offers, opening the door wider and letting Charles wheel himself into the bathroom.
Not for the first time, Erik is thankful for the large bathroom, certainly big enough for him and Charles with his chair. There’s a large shower with a chair for Charles as well, and then the bathtub that they can both fit into with ease. Typically, Erik hates how the entire mansion and everything about it is a huge display of money, but this bathroom is the one time he’ll allow it and enjoy it.
He strips down, then moves over to Charles who hasn’t moved once he got into the bathroom. Erik’s hands move over his body, pulling his cardigan off, then working on the buttons of the shirt he has on under it, then pulling the undershirt off as well. He’s never understood the number of layers Charles wears, but then, it does seem like he’s always cold.
From there, he works to get his pants off him, Charles’s arms going around his neck as Erik lifts him up to slide his pants down his legs, coming off along with his shoes and socks. Since the man doesn’t seem inclined to help, Erik picks him up and places him in the warm, bordering on hot, water. Then he slides in behind him, arms wrapping around Charles’s waist.
For a while, they sit in silence, neither feeling the need to talk. After a bit, Erik pulls back, his hands moving over Charles, neck, and shoulders, down to his back, applying pressure with his thumbs as he rubs over the tense muscles.
Charles groans, indecent sounds coming from him that bring a smile to Erik’s face. Some day he still wants to try seeing if Charles can get off from this alone, with his upper body being so sensitive. Right now isn’t the time for that though, he knows.
“Want to talk about anything?” Erik asks softly, as his hands reach the scar at the base of Charles’s back. It’s still enough to make him need a distraction, something so he’s not thinking about being the one to put it there.
“Jean’s having visions again,” Charles replies, upper body leaning back and Erik lets his hands fall away so he can lean against his chest once again. “Hank is trying to do some upgrades in the lab and found a lot of issues that need to be fixed with the equipment. Apparently one of the students made them malfunction somehow. The X-Men can’t get along, Scott’s been complaining about them arguing and not working together on tactics. Raven’s pregnant, there’s a congress meeting for some new mutant bill in three days that I’m supposed to be speaking at and I don’t even know what the bill is.” Charles sighs and it sounds suspiciously close to a cry.
Erik tightens his arms around him and places a kiss on his shoulder and that seems to be all it takes for the dam to break. Charles shakes in his arms as he sobs, his hands coming up to cover his face and Erik works to move him, turning him sideways on his lap. Immediately, Charles hides his face in Erik’s neck and cries.
He doesn’t know how long they sit there as Charles gets it out of his system, but Erik doesn’t complain. He rubs his arm and presses kisses to his hair and neck, whispering words of love and comfort to him in any language he can think of, just letting him cry. By now, he knows better than to try to get him to stop crying or to tell him not to. It’s better to get it out, he’s figured that out for himself.
Eventually, as the water turns from warm to cool, Charles’s breathing calms to shaky from struggling to get a full breath. He slowly pulls back, wiping at his face and Erik reaches for a cloth, wetting it and wiping Charles’s face off for him.
“Let’s clean up and we can move to the bed. If we stay in here much longer we’ll get cold. Sound okay?”
Charles nods and lets Erik clean him before he turns in the bath and washes Erik off as well. Erik smiles softly and lets him. Moments like these have always been his favorites and he’s too weak to deny himself the feeling of Charles washing him.
Before long, they’re both in bed, wrapped in blankets and in each other’s arms.
“Why always in the bath?” Charles whispers against Erik’s chest.
“Hmm?” Erik asks, his head tilting down against Charles’ still-damp hair.
“Anytime I’m struggling, you fix a bath and I end up crying in there,” He replies, “Why is it always the bath?”
Erik shrugs, “If you’re going to have a breakdown, make sure it’s in the bath. I think that was the most important piece of advice I’ve ever been given,” He replies, “Something about it just makes you that much more vulnerable, but you’re also safe, comfortable, warm. In the end, you can clean off, wash it down the drain and move on.”
Charles hums, “Not a bad point,” He mumbles, yawning and Erik smiles, feeling it against his chest. He slides his hand into Charles’s hair and kisses the top of his head.
“You can rest now, Liebling,” He whispers.
It’ll still be a while before he gets to sleep, Erik knows. For a while, he’s just going to be watching over Charles and making sure he’s sleeping well before relaxing enough to drift off to sleep as well. Someone has to watch over the man and Erik is glad Charles trusts him enough to let him do it.