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Erik was tracking down Charles to consult with him about a few last-minute additions to their mission. He was almost done with all the preparations, having booked plane tickets and hotel rooms where necessary in the towns where the mutants were. After using Cerebro the day before, Charles had identified a handful of mutants that they were going to track down to recruit them to work with them at the CIA.
Originally, the CIA had wanted to go themselves, but as he had told Charles, it was better if the new species of humans was discovered by their own people, it was what they were owed at least. He had been pleasantly surprised that Charles had agreed with him. As soon as he said it, Charles had gone into his mind for a quick private conversation so that the agent wouldn’t hear. It didn’t take much after that for Charles to not only agree with Erik but to use his abilities as a bargaining chip, since he was the only one who could use Cerebro, he had the advantage to the conversation. It was an odd yet welcoming feeling, having someone on his side.
Anyway, he wanted to ask Charles his opinion on which mutant they were going to find first, he didn’t know much about them except for what Charles had told him in Cerebro. He said he could figure out if they were mutants almost immediately, it was instinct, just feeling their brains was enough to know , but when it came to what their abilities were, things became hazier. There were a few mutants in the same city they were in but for others they would have to travel, so he wanted to ask him if they were going to find the nearest ones first or last.
He eventually found Charles in one of the many empty meeting rooms in the building. It was weird for Erik, being in a government facility all this time, he had rarely stayed in one place more than a few days, especially in a place with so many people that weren't so pleased to see him. He usually stayed in his own rooms or outdoors, wherever the least amount of people were. Charles however, seemed to like spending time with all these agents, it baffled Erik, not that he would admit it.
He knocked on the open door and stood in the doorframe until Charles spotted him. He was wearing dark, tinted sunglasses and his head was resting on his hand, absentmindedly reading a paper. He only noticed Erik come in after he knocked, Erik frowned, usually the other man would sense his mind when he was near.
Once he saw Erik his tiredness seemed to disappear and were replaced by genuine happiness. “Erik!” He greeted with a grin and motioned him to come in. “What can I help you with?”
“I wanted to ask for your input on a few details for the mission.” he raised his hand, holding a folder. Charles was looking straight at him, but the apparition of the sunglasses made him feel off, he had gotten used to seeing his very blue and beautiful eyes whenever he spoke with him. Previous question forgotten, he decided to ask about it. “What’s up with the glasses, you know it's not good manners to wear shades inside.” He said light-heartedly, successfully hiding the uneasiness he felt.
Charles' smile grew, turning from genuine to a placating and fake one. “Oh, it’s nothing, don't worry about it.” he paused. “Cerebro took a bit more energy than I expected, I’ve been getting a killer headache all day today, possibly even a migraine, the sunglasses are so the lights don't bother me as much.”
Erik frowned and walked closer. “Cerebro? Did something go wrong? Have you talked to Hank? Maybe it's not ready to use yet. Charles, I told you it was best if you didn't try it yet.”
“It's fine, Cerebro didn't cause me any major inconveniences. This used to happen as a child when I was still learning to use my ability, using it for too long would cause a strain for a day or two, nothing to worry about.” He explained softly with a smile that Erik didn't like, there was something off about it, probably because he wasn't feeling good, Erik's mind supplied.
“In that case you shouldn't be working. We do not leave until late in the afternoon so you should be able to catch a few hours of rest before we go.”
“I’m fine.” Charles said again but there was something about the pointed look that Erik threw him that he relented. “Fine, I’ll go rest for a while, but I promise I'm fine.” He stood up and made his way to the door as he talked. “I guess I’ll see you later then, Erik.” He smiled softly and left the room.
It was only after Charles left that he realised he never answered his question. Well, he wasn't feeling well so he would choose for the both of them. They would visit the mutants further away first.
He was glad that Charles would be taking it easy for the rest of the day but there was something that was nagging him. Maybe it was how quickly he had cut off the conversation or how quickly he agreed with Erik that he needed to rest. From what he knew from the man, and from what Raven had told him, Charles was a very stubborn man, so this was odd… he shook those thoughts away, this probably was all due to his headache.
He left the room and was walking through the hallways, lost in thought that he didn't see Moira until he had crashed into her, papers falling to the floor.
“I’m sorry, I should have seen where I was going.” Moira immediately said, kneeling down to pick up the papers.
Erik followed shortly after, helping her pick up what had fallen. Normally, he would be utterly annoyed with whoever had bumped into him, as they should know where to walk. However, he knew this time it was his fault, and he would apologise accordingly. “I should have seen where I was going, there’s nothing to apologise for.” He said curtly, passing her the papers and keeping the folder with his own.
“Erik, hi. I was just on my way to look for Charles, I assume you were just with him?” She asked, judging on the direction he was coming from.
Erik nodded. “You just missed him. He wasn’t feeling well so I convinced him to get some rest.”
Moira frowned. “He wasn't feeling well?” Erik shook his head. “He has a headache, that’s why he has been sporting those sunglasses of his all day.”
“Sunglasses?” Moira asked. “I saw him this morning and he looked just fine, no sunglasses or anything.”
“How long ago did you see him?”
“Maybe two, three hours ago?” Moira shrugged. “Headaches are so unpleasant, and I imagine it would be worse for him because of his telepathy, you know? I hope he feels better soon.”
Erik made a wry face and tensed. Charles had told him he had a headache all day, because of Cerebro. If he had been just fine a few hours ago, that meant two very important things. First, he had lied to him, and secondly and most important, if he had felt the need to lie to him it was because whatever was wrong with Charles was not caused by Cerebro as he had wanted to let others believe.
“Yeah, he just needs some rest.” Erik answered absentmindedly and quickly excused himself from the conversation and made his way to Charles' room. He was going to have a few words with him and get to the bottom of it. It probably was nothing, he hoped it was nothing but in all the time Charles had met him he had not lied to him, and he seemed to believe the other man trusted him, this was so out of character that he couldn't help but worry.
Once he arrived, he knocked on the door loudly. “Charles, open up, it's Erik.” He banged the door again. He could use his powers to unlock the door but out of respect for the other man, he hadn't yet. Anyhow, he was worried so if Charles did not open the door soon, he would do it himself.
Turns out he didn't have to worry because a few moments later the door opened and Charles was at the other side, sunglasses still on, but he could see his brows furrowing.
Erik did not wait to be invited, he strolled in and turned to look at Charles. “You lied to me.” It wasn't a question but a statement. He wasn't angry, his voice was eerily calm. “Why?”
“I’m afraid I don't know what you're talking about, my friend.” Charles had the audacity to act confused.
“Your sunglasses.” He pointed at them. “You said it was because of a headache due to Cerebro, ever since you used it yesterday, didn't you say that?”
“I did.”
“So, you’ve been using them all day, I would assume.” Another nod from Charles and Erik tilted his head. “Then why did Moira tell me she talked to you a few hours ago and you seemed perfectly fine, no sunglasses in sight?”
“Oh.” Charles tensed and even with the dark glasses Erik knew he was looking away.
“Mhmm.” Now that he knew for sure, a million more questions flew through his mind, and all these gave him a reason to worry. He had an inkling of what could’ve happened, but he needed more information. “Charles,” he paused and took a step closer, keeping his voice as calm as he could. “This is not about a headache, is it?”
Charles' silence was answer enough.
Erik took another step, until he was less than a foot away from Charles, he was looking straight at him, and he was close enough that he could feel his breath. He could only think of a handful of reasons now and he hated all of them, he thought he knew but he had to be sure. He extended his arm, his hand hovering at the side of Charles’ face, his fingers ghosted on the sunglasses.
“ Erik .” The don't went unsaid. He barely whispered it— if the room hadn't been this quiet, he wouldn't have heard it— but made no move to stop him, he simply stared at him. His voice was sombre and uneasy.
Erik let his fingers touch the rim of the sunglasses and waited for a few seconds, his eyes never leaving Charles; face. When Charles did not move him away, he slowly took off the glasses, revealing what Charles was trying to hide. His left eye was completely bruised and swollen, almost shut. There were a few scabs forming, showing his skin had been torn open not too long ago.
“Who did this to you?” He whispered, yet his voice was stone cold and fuelled with anger that was tampered just enough under the surface to not lash out there and then. He could hear multiple metal objects creaking in the room. He could feel his rage making every metal in the building tweak and bend, he was too angry to reign it in fully.
The rage he was feeling was so intense, he hadn't felt this amount of fury for a few decades, he had forgotten how horrible it was to see someone he deeply cared about hurt, especially if it was someone not something that had caused them the harm.
Because he was all too familiar with inflicted injuries, he knew what a black eye looked from an accident and from a punch. Charles’ eye was no accident, the bruises were already there, and given that he was fine a few hours ago, it must have been a rather ugly punch to get bruises like that so quickly. It made him sick.
He wanted to find whoever did this and make them pay. He had the means for it now, now he wasn't as helpless as he had been as a kid, now he could make them pay. He would find whoever did this and show them that Charles was off limits, no one had the right to hurt him, for whatever reason.
“It doesn't matter.” Charles gulped and moved away, feeling too vulnerable at that moment. “It’ll heal.”
“It doesn't matter?” Erik repeated incredulously. “Of course, it fucking matters, Charles. Someone hurt you!” He wanted to yell, how could he said that? he had been hurt, how did he not see the problem
“It isn't so bad, it's okay, I’ve had worse.” Charles shrugged and moved away, turning his back to him and sitting on the side of his bed.
“That is not as reassuring as you think it is.” Erik hated to hear that, at some point Charles had been hurt worse than this, he wanted to find out what happened and make those people pay too, but that would have to wait. Now he had to focus on the problem at hand. “Charles, who did this to you.”
“Some meaningless agents who were bored and they decided to take it out on the “mutant scum” because they could. Wrong place, wrong time.” Charles sighed and let out a shaky breath.
Erik did not know what to say, but he wanted to be there for him. He wasn’t one for comfort, he never learned how to, or if he did it was long forgotten, so he went to help the best way he knew how. He sensed the metal in a medical kit in the bathroom and went to get it. He sat down next to Charles and carefully moved his chin with his hands, making him look at him. “Let me clean that up.” He half asked, half stated.
Charles nodded once and Erik got to work. He dabbed the small blood scabs away in order to clean it and make sure it wasn’t infected. There wasn’t much open skin that needed to get taken care of, since most of it seemed to be bruises from the punches. Once he was done, he looked him over, assessing for any other injuries because if he got such a nasty black eye, then who knows where else he was hurt. “Was It just the black eye?”
Charles was about to say something but then his shoulders sagged, and he shook his head. “They landed a kick or two when I fell after the punch, but those weren’t as bad as this, I promise.”
Erik cupped the good side of his face with his hand and stroked his thumb on his cheek. “Why didn’t you fight back, Charles? God knows you could have stopped them without breaking a sweat.”
Charles shuddered. “I didn’t lie earlier, Cerebro did take a toll on me, and I’ve been off all day. I did get a small headache due to it and when I use my powers it gets worse, so I avoided it today… I never saw the punch coming… they were being quite rude, but I never thought they would be stupid enough to try and punch me in the middle of a building full of government agents.” He blinked away the tears that were forming in his eyes. “I should have known better.”
“Oh, Charles, this is not your fault.” He pulled him into a one arm hug and rubbed his hand on his shoulder reassuringly. “They should pay for what they did, they will pay for it.” Erik let out his full concentrated rage seep through those words and couldn’t stop as the metal bed frame creaked and shrieked. He would find them and make them feel sorry for their whole existence.
“Erik, no . That will only cause more problems if you use your powers like that, they will think they’re right about us.” He said gloomily.
Erik didn’t really care; they would think them evil no matter what. He had seen this before, he lived it first-hand, they would never accept them, they never accepted him, first because he was Jewish, and queer, and now because he was a mutant. He had long learned to not care about what they think of him. He had lost enough to think about the wants of those who disrespected him. He wanted to argue with Charles, tell him that he couldn’t let this slide because it would only escalate from there, and he wanted him safe.
Yet, he didn’t say any of that because it had been a long day for Charles and Erik did not want to add to the mess of it. He clearly needed rest, and company, so he agreed. “Okay… I won’t use my powers to make them feel hell on earth, not that I support this choice, but I won’t do it.” Moved his arm so that his hand was resting on top of Charles’ head, he twirled his hair carefully. “I won’t do it as long as you promise me to rest and to tell me next time something like this happens.” He hoped this wouldn’t ever happen again, but he knew better.
“Alright then, I suppose it’s a fair deal.” Charles mumbled. “Thank you.” He said after a few minutes of comfortable silence.
“Of course, Schatz.” He could feel Charles was slumping onto the bed more, falling asleep so he maneuvered him so he was laying down and put a blanket on top of him. Charles looked exhausted, even if he hadn’t had the dispute earlier, he did say Cerebro took a toll, he definitely needed the rest.
Charles was asleep as soon as his head connected with the pillow.
Once Erik saw he was fast asleep he left the room and let him rest.
Erik made his way to the fifth floor in the third building. After talking to Raven and using her help to ask Hank to hack the security cameras, he found out exactly who had hurt Charles. A few more minutes and he had their full names and office numbers.
He didn’t waste a minute and headed straight over there. He paid no attention to the handful of other agents going about their day. He entered one of the men’s offices and found the two men who were to blame for Charles’ predicament. They saw him and immediately sneered. He felt nothing at the action and simply commanded the metal in the door to slam shut and lock the door. The curtains had metal rods in them, so it was easy enough to shut those two, all without moving or looking away from them.
“I was having such a nice day when you two ruined it.” Erik began conversationally, his voice was neutral, but his eyes gave away his hatred.
“What do you want, freak?” One of them asked, squaring him up.
“You should leave before you end up like that freak friend of yours.” The other man said. “You abominations don’t scare us.”
“As if they could , what could the last one even do? He was just a mind reader.” One of them said and laughed. “Oh no! He will hurt us by guessing which number we are thinking of!” He faux gasped and then laughed, the other one joined in shortly after.
Erik didn’t reveal anything from his emotions except for his eyes and a twitch of his face. Inside he was seething but he had to do this right. He waited until the men had stopped laughing and once they turned their attention back at them he raised an eyebrow. “Do you know how easy it would be for me to kill you right here, right now?” He asked rhetorically, his voice steady and calm. “I could ,” he added for good measure. “In a blink of an eye, without moving from this single spot .”
“Yeah right . You don’t even have a gun.” One of them scoffed.
“I do not need one.” He wanted nothing more than to strangle them with the metal in their ties and teach them a lesson, but he did promise Charles he wouldn’t. “Do you know what my ability is? I can control metal. Any type of metal, like that gun of yours in your holster or the hidden one you have attached to your ankle. I can stop a bullet before you even think to fire it.”
The two men stopped acting aloof and started to tense up. Good. But it wasn’t enough. “I could make it more interesting, and not even opt for the guns… those metal pins in your ties would do nicely, or your metal pin in your knee.” He looked at one of the men. “I could make you feel how it is to have that pin removed, right here, right now. It would destroy your knee, that's for sure, and you would be in unimaginable pain.” He added casually. Not once had he raised his voice or made any indication to move.
The agents had frozen from the severity of their situation, hands gripping on their holsters, ready to take out the guns.
Erik tilted his head and shook his finger at them and tooted. “Tsk, tsk, I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
That was enough to make them grip their guns but didn’t aim at him.
Erik fought the urge to smile, he had them cornered, now he started pacing around the room. “Luckily for you , I promised Charles— the same man you harmed— that I would not use my powers to cause you any problems at all. As much as I hate it, I did promise, and I am a man of my word. Well, as long as the other person is respectable, which he is.” He added and scratched his chin.
The two men, once they processed the meaning of the words, they sagged in relief. If Erik couldn’t use his powers, then it meant he was no harm.
“This was all just trying to scare us? You can’t do anything about it then.” One of the men said, with a newfound air of confidence. “that’s pathetic —”
Erik did not wait for him to finish, in less than a second, he had taken hold of them both, and without breaking a sweat, he had both men on the ground, groaning in pain and one was gasping for breath after he had punched him in the throat.
“However, fortunately for me , I was trained by one of the most deranged, dangerous and despicable men on this planet. I do not need to use my powers to kill you.” He said, looking down on the two pathetic agents. “Lay a hand on Charles again and you will not live another day, or better yet, I will make you wish you were dead.”
Erik stepped over them and made his way over to the door, he smoothed over his wrinkleless shirt and opened the door, standing straight and as composed as he first entered. He walked away, not turning back to spare a glance at the agents.
He made his way back to Charles’ room and saw the other man was awake, yet still half covered in blankets. Charles' smile lightened the room when he saw him. “You came back.”
“Of course, I did. Did you ever think I wouldn’t?” Erik couldn’t fight the soft smile from forming on his face, Charles’ smile was contagious.
“I knew you would come back; you didn’t leave for long.” He scooted and patted the side of the bed so Erik could join him, he did, sitting at the other side but not laying down as Charles was. “Where were you?”
“I had some unfinished business to attend.” He said ominously.
Charles looked up at him and even with his black eye he could give him his usual exasperated look he typically used for him.
It seemed Charles knew exactly where he went. “You promised you wouldn’t retaliate.”
“No, I promised you I wouldn’t use my powers to get back at them. I said nothing about using the good old brute force and threatening tactics.” He grinned.
Charles lightly elbowed him and sighed. “Erik Lehnsherr, you are impossible .” He sounded irritated yet there was something fond about the way he looked at him.
“What?” he bit back a grin. “I did not kill or maim them; Honestly, Charles, I do not know what else you want from me.”
He couldn’t hide his laughter when Charles hit him with a pillow right after that.