Chapter Text
‘Pizza’s here!’ Raven announced, striding cheerfully into the room and setting two large cardboard boxes down on the table. ‘You get everything set up?’
Erik glanced up from where he had been fiddling with the TV remote and nodded.
‘Yes,’ he said, his mouth pulled upwards in a wry twist, ‘Although I still don’t know why we can’t watch anything that I want.’
Raven’s eyes glinted at that and she smirked.
‘Because we’re in my apartment,’ she said with a superior smile, ‘And because you agreed to it.’
Erik snorted. Raven was something of an expert when it came to getting him to agree to things that he didn’t actually want to do. Really, it was almost embarrassing how quickly he had capitulated to her; all she had to do was widen her eyes and mention something about how Charles had been so very fond of period dramas, and Erik had all but rolled over onto his back in ready compliance.
That was what Raven’s smug look of triumph seemed to indicate, at any rate.
Erik hadn’t been so very amenable at the beginning, though. Any and all attempts by Raven to spend more social time together had been rebuffed, sometimes politely but more often brusquely. Raven was not one to take no for an answer, however, and she’d made no secret about the fact that she strongly disapproved of Erik work-fuelled isolation. She had therefore – forcibly – instituted a rule that, at least once a week, Erik would set down whatever he was doing and go over to Raven’s apartment where they wouldn’t speak so much as a word about the Dollhouse for the entire evening. Erik had put up rather a lot of fuss at the start but his incessant snarling and grumbling had gradually decreased over time, until eventually he himself started arriving outside of Raven’s door once a week like clockwork, eliminating the need for Raven to march over and drag him out herself.
The first time Erik had turned up at her door, he hadn’t been able to wipe the smirk off of Raven’s face for days.
He smiled now at the thought and glanced over at his neighbour. Raven didn’t appear to notice his scrutiny, her eyes fixed firmly on the television screen as she slowly brought a slice of pizza up to her mouth. She was curled up on the sofa, her legs tucked beneath her, looking for all the world like a happy and contented child, safe in the knowledge that she was amongst those who cared about her; that she was amongst family.
The thought was enough to make something clench inside Erik’s chest, and for a moment he was almost overwhelmed by the surge of fear and longing that welled up inside him. He swallowed, his mouth dry. Then he turned to look again at Raven cuddling close into the sofa, her eyes wide and her mouth open as she watched the television screen, and the knot in his chest immediately relaxed and he found himself smiling slightly, abruptly calm once more.
He could get used to this, Erik thought dazedly. Having Raven there beside him. Having a friend around to just – be with. He actually wanted this, he realised. Now that he knew what it felt like – he wanted it.
Even as he was contemplating this strange feeling of warmth inside him, the phone at his hip buzzed, startling him out of his reverie. Raven glanced up at the sound, her concentration broken, and Erik sent her a grimace of apology before standing up, retrieving his phone from his pocket, and walking towards the kitchen where he answered it.
‘Lehnsherr,’ he said calmly, trying to hide his annoyance at being so unexpectedly disturbed.
The next moment, however, he jerked straight upright, his irritation from seconds before completely forgotten.
‘What?’ he demanded, tightening his grip on the phone, ‘You are sure of this?’
There was silence from the other room, the chatter from the television suddenly halted.
‘Yes,’ Erik said after a moment. ‘Yes, do that. I’ll be there in twenty minutes. Call everybody in, tell them it’s urgent.’
With that, Erik hung up. He held on to his phone for a moment, just staring at it. His mind felt blank but his heart was going a mile a minute, as if it had grasped what his brain had not. It took him almost a minute to calm himself, to get his breathing back to normal. Then, slowly, he lowered his phone down and, his motions calm and deliberate, he slid it back into his trouser pocket. When he looked up again, Raven was standing by the door, watching him.
‘So,’ she said. Her expression was closed-off and her arms were folded tight over her chest. Her eyes, however, were glinting with suppressed eagerness.
‘So,’ Erik repeated, meeting her eyes.
There was a pause.
‘Well, get on with it!’ Raven all but snapped, unable to restrain herself, and Erik could now see that her hands were shaking slightly. ‘What is it? What’s happened?’
Erik didn’t answer immediately. He considered Raven for a moment before finally nodding and taking a deep breath.
‘The station called,’ he said quietly, his eyes never leaving Raven’s. ‘It’s about the last name on the list. The one that our mysterious friend sent us.’ He paused at Raven’s sudden intake of breath before continuing. ‘The last person on there – we’ve found him. We’ve finally found Nathaniel Essex.’