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Finding out that Charles was at the headquarters of the brotherhood was a bit of a shock to Erik. It wasn’t that he was complaining, far from it. It was just that he could count the number of times that Charles showed up there on one hand. And even then, when he did show up, it was because Erik had started something that Charles deemed stupid and worthy of his time to stop.
As Erik knew, he hadn’t started anything lately though. Sure, there were things in the works but nothing that he had actively begun doing. They were all still in the planning phase and Erik alone was working on planning. With the use of his helmet, it seemed almost impossible for Charles to have found out about any of those plans.
It quickly became clear to him that the only way for Erik to get the answers he was wanting so desperately was to just press forward and confront the man about it. Which was how he found himself standing in front of Charles who was looking a little worse for wear. Dark circles around his bloodshot eyes, his skin pale and his face lined.
“Old friend,” Erik said softly in greeting. He almost felt like he would break the man if he dared speak any louder. Though he knew Charles wasn’t quite as fragile as his appearance was making him look.
“I…” Charles blinked a couple of times and seemed to realize where he was, “I’m sorry, Erik,” He said quietly, sounding almost shocked. However, Erik wasn’t sure if that was because of his words or where he found himself.
“What’s going on, Schatz? What’s wrong?” Erik asked, his hand going out to rest on Charles’s neck, then sliding up to cup his cheek.
Charles leaned into the touch before seeming to think better of it and retreating a little. “I shouldn’t have come here. I’m sorry, Erik. I don’t know why I’ve done this, I just dropped by so suddenly.”
There was something about the way he said it though that let Erik know he knew exactly why he was there. And yet, he was trying to hide it as much as possible. Erik wasn’t going to just let him by with it though.
“Come in, Charles,” He ordered in a soft voice, “You look like you could use a rest. Or a friend at the very least. And while my home may not be a mansion, we do have hot water, a shower or bath, what we’d need for a warm meal, and a comfortable bed.” And Erik was ready and willing to offer all of that to Charles if the other man would just allow it.
For a moment, he thought Charles was going to protest. He didn’t exactly move into the building quickly or speak up, only hesitating outside. But then he slowly pushed himself forward a little at a time and Erik stepped to the side to let him pass. Once he was in, Erik followed, closing the door behind him.
“Come on, Schatz,” Erik said, stepping around Charles when he came to a stop, taking the lead, “Shower first, and then you can sleep while I make some dinner.” They’d have to talk about this situation at some point, Erik had questions and he wasn’t about to let them go. But he could acknowledge that this wasn’t the time.
Charles looked up at Erik as though he was going to say something but talked himself out of it before he had the chance to say anything. He simply turned his head away and kept following behind Erik.
“What is it?” Erik asked, noticing the movement and wanting to know. “You know you can tell me anything, or ask. Anything you want or need. I love you.” It wasn’t exactly a big revelation. They both knew they loved each other, even if they were on opposite sides of the war they were in. No matter what, they could always come back to each other and find safety and comfort there.
“Will you stay with me?” Charles asked in a soft voice, “I just don’t want to be alone right now.” A small, humorless laugh left him, “I’m sorry about all of this but I just…” Charles trailed off, something between a sigh and a groan leaving him.
“If that’s what you want, you know I’ll never say no to showering with you or holding you in my arms. It sounds like a win-win situation to me,” Erik smiled a little at him, “And you have nothing to be sorry for. But I do want to talk to you about what’s going on when you feel a little better.”
Charles nodded, “Yeah, that’s fair. I do owe you an explanation for dropping in on you without a word and taking up your time like this.”
“No, no,” Erik said, coming to a stop in the bathroom, “You’re not taking up my time and you can show up here anytime you want. You’ve offered me a home at your school, and in some ways, I suppose I want to return the favor. Your school will never be my home, but you are. And that’s what I hope you feel too, that I could be your home.”
Charles nodded, seeming to fight back the tears gathering in his eyes as he bit his bottom lip. Erik leaned in, wrapping his arms around Charles, holding him close, and pressing a kiss to the corner of his lips.
“Now, let’s get you out of those clothes and we’ll shower. Then we can go to my room and nap for a while. After that, dinner. How does that sound?” Erik asked, pushing his hand gently through Charles’s hair, taking in the little details of his face. His hand dropped from his hair and instead wiped the tears from his cheeks.
“Sounds wonderful to me, darling,” Charles whispered, his voice a little strained and rough with the emotions that were coursing through him.
With a nod, Erik pulled back and stripped his clothes off. Then he began helping Charles do the same, taking his time with the man he loved until he was sitting bare in front of him.
Charles moved into the shower—choosing to not comment on the way it was accessible to him, that seemed like something to discuss at a later point. Once he was settled on the built-in chair, Erik moved to join him, standing in front of the water as he turned it on. No need to freeze the man with the water before it could warm up.
As soon as it did though, Erik was moving with the shower head—held with his powers—getting the soap and shampoo as he went. The other man looked ready to protest but Erik ignored that and just kept on going.
He began with his hair, running his fingers through the long strands, his fingers working against his head gently before starting to work his own shampoo in. It was slow work, not because it had been, but because Erik wanted to take his time and clean him thoroughly.
The shampoo was rinsed out of his hair, and then Erik moved on to the rest of his body. With a cloth, he washed over Charles’s face, carefully. Then he moved down his neck, and shoulders.
Erik couldn’t help but take in the look of Charles’s shoulders, arms, and chest as he cleaned him down. The strength they now had, the ways Charles had changed since they first met. Erik couldn’t help but way his eyes trailed over him, taking in every little detail that he hadn’t seen in entirely too long.
Then he was kneeling in the shower washing Charles’s stomach, less toned than it had been once but years of paralysis would do that. No matter what, Erik would always find him beautiful, just like the legs that he started to clean next. Even if he couldn’t feel them, Erik put the same level of love into every touch, washing him down with as much care as possible.
With a final few moments to clean over Charles’s unfeeling cock and then his feet, Erik finished up and stood. His knees cracked and he winced but he couldn’t bring himself to care about the bit of pain in them as he moved. He had gotten to touch Charles all over and care for him, to Erik, that beat out any amount of pain.
“Schatz, are you ready to get out?” Erik asked, using his powers to put the shower head back in place and turning the water off. When he looked back, he noticed Charles’s eyes were closed but he gave a small nod and Erik smiled.
Stepping out of the shower, Erik grabbed a could of towels, quickly drying himself before returning to dry Charles off. He made sure the chair was in the right spot for him to get back into.
“Come on, love,” Erik said softly, “You’re practically asleep already, let’s get into bed for a few hours.”
“Take me?” Charles asked, his eyes still closed and his voice little more than a mumble. Erik was starting to worry about it a little.
“Charles, do you want me to use my powers? Or pick you up and carry you?” He asked, gently cupping Charles’s cheek. He wanted to make sure he properly understood what Charles was asking for.
“Powers?” Charles asked, his eyes opening just slightly, as though he couldn’t keep his eyes open. They closed back a moment later, not seeing Erik nod. But a moment later he and his chair were lifting from the floor and moving along just in front of Erik as he directed him into Erik’s bedroom.
Charles’s chair came to rest next to the bed and Erik gently trailed a hand through Charles’s still wet hair. “Old friend, come on, into bed now and we can rest. Just another couple of seconds.”
Charles said nothing but his arms went up and Erik smiled a little, lifting him up and laid him down on the bed. The covers came up to cover him up and then Erik moved to the other side, lying down next to him. It was only seconds later that Erik was wrapping his arms around Charles—their naked bodies together from head to Charles’s toes—and pressing a kiss to his hair. Even before then, Charles was asleep.
It was about eight hours later that Charles finally woke up, Erik having slept some in that time but the rest of the time was spent just watching Charles, taking in the peaceful look on his face and how he seemed to look a little more like himself with every passing moment.
“Hello,” Charles whispered as his eyes met Erik’s. He looked a little shy and Erik couldn’t help but smile at him.
“Hey there, sleeping beauty,” Erik replied, playfully. “Feeling any better now?” His hand moved over Charles’s back, and he pressed a kiss on his forehead.
“Yes, thank you,” Charles said softly, “I’m sorry again, about all of this. I don’t know why I came here. I didn’t mean to bother you or waste your time or anything.”
“No, none of that,” Erik said, his voice firm but quite all the same, “You’re never bothering me in times like this. And you’re certainly not going to waste my time. No matter what, Charles, I love you and that does involve taking care of you. But I am curious about what’s going on.”
Charles gave a small smile, “Make me breakfast and we can talk about it?” He asked as though Erik would actually tell him no.
“Sounds like a plan to me, but I think it’s going to be dinner and not breakfast. Would you like breakfast food? I believe we have eggs and bread. I could make omelettes and toast.”
Charles’s stomach growled and he blushed a little, biting his bottom lip before nodding. “Yes, please?” He asked and Erik laughed softly, nodding as he stood up.
“Alright, come on. Do you want to borrow some clothes? Or I could go get the ones you had on yesterday when you showed up?” Erik offered, walking over to his dresser, pulling out a white t-shirt and grey joggers for himself—forgoing underwear.
“Can I borrow some? I’d rather have something more comfortable,” Charles answered, sitting up on the bed and watching Erik as he got dressed.
Erik wasn’t going to deny Charles that. For one, he did offer, but also he rather liked the look of Charles in his clothes, and he thought Charles might feel the same, the look, the smell of Erik on the clothes. Everything.
So, Erik pulled out a pair of black joggers and another white t-shirt that he passed to Charles—who started putting them on immediately. Once he moved into his chair, the two were moving into the kitchen.
“Talk while I cook?” Erik asked, getting the eggs out and breaking them into a skillet, getting some cheese, vegetables, and turkey sausage ready.
Charles sighed at the table, rubbing his hands over his face. “I think I’ve just been working too much,” He replied once his hands moved from his face. “I can’t remember the last time I slept, before today, obviously,” Charles added, “Or showered, or ate. We’ve had a lot more students enroll in the school over the last month and I’ve been working on lesson plans, grading papers, and teaching. Not to mention the government has been coming after the school recently. It’s been targeted in a lot of bills against mutant communities and groups, so I’ve been fighting those.”
“You know you still need to take care of yourself,” Erik replied, “You can’t take care of everyone else if you keep ending up the way you were when you showed up here. If you’re too tired, or sick, or hungry, you’re not going to be able to do much for everyone else. You’re just as important. To me, you’re more important.”
Charles nodded, “It’s just that every time I thought about stopping I couldn’t help but think about everything else I needed to do. There was a little voice in my head asking ‘Who said you could rest?’ After all, there’s so many out there that can’t.”
“And they’d be annoyed that someone that could be was wasting that chance. Believe me, Charles. If it was me and I found out that someone had that luxury and wasn’t using it on occasion, I would’ve been throwing some punches and forcing people to. I’ve been that guy, don’t make younger me angry at you.”
At that, Charles laughed softly, “Darling, I think younger you have been mad at me a few times,” He replied.
“Current me has been mad at you a few times too,” Erik said, not disagreeing in the slightest, “But I also love you. So I like to think it balances out.”
“I love you too,” Charles said softly, his eyes moving over Erik’s form as he worked at their dinner. “Thank you for this. Everything.”
“There’s nothing you need to thank me for,” Erik said, looking up from their almost-finished omelettes. “I…like that I’m the one you come to. I like knowing you do trust me when you need someone to look after you. I’ll always be here to do that, anytime you need me to.”
Charles smiled a little at that and nodded, “You’re the only one I trust when I need a little help. Sometimes it feels like you’re the only one who is my equal. Who doesn’t look to me as some kind of figurehead, as a teacher, a professor, or a father? You just see me as…well, me.”
“I feel the same way about you, you know?” Erik asked, plating their food and bringing it over to the table. “In case you haven’t noticed, I do find my way to your home when I really need family, love, a friend. I know I’m safe with you, no matter how much we may fight.”
“There will be a day when that isn’t the case,” Charles said, “A day where we won’t be fighting when we’ll pass down the job to another generation. I only hope I’m still your family when that happens.”
“Charles, Schatz, you’re the only family I have left. And believe me, nothing is ever going to change that. You’ll always be the one I find my way back to.”
Charles smiled and dug into his meal instead of answering with a vigor that made Erik wonder if he should’ve used more than two eggs for Charles. But instead of worrying about that, he just started eating his own. If the other man wanted more, Erik would make more. After all, he would do anything Charles asked, murder, burn the world, cook him another egg. Anything.