[ That will give Charles time to clean up from his journey into the quadrants. He is tired and sad, and Logan is kind enough to give him space given his grief, but he would typically like to lick his wounds in private. And yet Erik is the only one who would understand and be grieving in his own way. Neither of them will get the closure they might have wanted. Perhaps there is an element of fear in Charles too, that a loss has hit him and it's made him more aware of other risks. After Erik's close call with the mannequin, he's unlikely to leave him alone for long.
He managed to find some clothes in the temporary mall that suited him, and it appears the 90s wasn't horribly different in his stiff style. He managed to find a button-up shirt and some comfortable slacks, although he left the coat behind given that it is damned warm out. A few buttons are undone for that reason. He feels more himself at the moment, even if that comes with a dose of pain for how himself Raven makes him feel, with or without her.
He knocks on Erik's door and gathers himself. He seems fairly put together but the grief is there in the details someone observant would see. The redness in his eyes, the slight bags in them, the heaviness of his shoulders.]
[ Quite frankly, the thing that bothers Erik the most is not knowing with absolute certainty that she's gone back to her own world and time. He hopes it, and tries to believe it, but the fact is that they don't really have definite proof of that. But that's a concern he keeps to himself, when he knows Charles is already struggling without having to face a worse scenario.
Before his trip to the mall with Wanda turned to absolute shit, Erik also managed to get a few things, including some clothes that suit him far better than poolside shirts. He opens the door in a plain blue sweater and dark jeans, having at least taken the time to shave for once. His hair is still something of a mess but he hasn't bothered trimming it yet, so it's curling around the back and just overall looking mussed up. Otherwise he looks far better than he did when he was stuck with that mannequin, having had a few decent nights of sleep, though he looks no happier when he opens the door for Charles.
Wordlessly, he steps aside so Charles can come in. His room's still mostly sparse, but there are a couple of new shoes near the door, a couple of basic items on top of the dresser, and a journal with a pencil case on his nightstand. The place is generally well-kept, probably unsurprisingly. He's set up a makeshift kitchen of sorts near the window, with a portable stove, a couple of pots, a kettle and other basic utensils. It's not perfect but at least it allows him to cook some more basic meals. ]
I got something for dinner, if you like.
[ He can only imagine that Charles hasn't really worried about that. ]
[ Charles at this point has accepted that either she's gone or there is no way to find her. He's driven in every direction for hours and used his gifts as far as he can reach to no avail. She wouldn't ignore his messages and calls like this. He knows that it's said this happens, so it's what he'll have to come to terms with. If he had a hope that she was still here, he would never stop looking until he went mad.
The last time Charles saw him in person he was still partly mannequin so it's a relief to see him back to himself again. That was a deeply troubling experience for him, and it wasn't even happening to him, just someone that he loves. He knows that Erik is a very tough individual with a steel spine but he broke apart in that experience, as anyone would. ]
I probably should, I haven't eaten today.
[Charles isn't positive he ate yesterday either. He's been on the move. He tries to remember to care for himself but when emotionally fragile, he can get caught up in his worries and less on his needs. He notes all the small differences in Erik's room and it's unsurprising it's neat, Erik is no slob. Charles could probably use a shave, it's a little less tidy than he tries to keep on top of, but he's not on top of anything today. Being without her again is going to take a toll on him. ]
[ Charles's state doesn't really surprise him much, knowing how affected he is by Raven's disappearance. Self-care is often the first thing to go when one's unwell mentally, and all the worse when on top of that he's going through what's essentially a process of grief. Even if she's fine elsewhere, she's not here now. Erik doubts she will reappear, too.
Food is a good start. He didn't really prepare in advance for a decent meal, but he has some canned foods and pasta's easy enough to manage, so he starts getting everything together while they talk. ]
I'm alright. [ It would be dismissive coming from anyone else, but Charles knows Erik's past better than anyone, so he knows that, however horrible an experience that was, it was far from the worst that he's been through. Losing his memories little by little was what scared him the most, really. ] The shields you put up didn't really do much, though I don't know if that thing reached into my mind the same way.
[ Still, it's a worry to keep in mind. Erik has a feeling that won't be the last time this place toys with them. ]
You went out there looking for her, didn't you? [ Outside of Panorama, he means. It's a rhetoric question, he knows that Charles went. ] Did you go on your own?
[ Because that sounds like just a really very bad idea. And this is coming from Erik Lehnsherr of all people. ]
It's protected from outside psychics, but this was not so simple. However they worked, it wasn't telepathy in the traditional sense.
[ Charles may be a little defensive given that he promised to protect Erik's mind, and he has to the best of his ability, or perhaps it's more about guilt. Guilt for not doing enough, for not checking on him sooner, for Erik to have degraded so much he forgot who he was.
They solved it in the end, but that won't stop Charles from feeling responsible. Or that it wasn't deeply painful to watch Erik suffering so much, to see him in tears and struggling. In all the times Charles was angry at his friend, he never wanted him to be that low, he wouldn't wish that pain on anyone. And then Raven was gone and at the moment, Charles feels like he can do nothing right. Typical.
He breaks out of his wallowing to a different kind and he reluctantly nods.]
Yes, I didn't want company. I know it wasn't the safest but ... I just didn't.
[ Charles is terrible at sharing his pain. He is there for everyone else but has a hard time letting anyone be there for him. It is going to be a consistent problem but he's here with Erik, isn't he? He's trying to let him in, as the only other person who can understand his grief. But Charles was too focused on his goal, too frantic. And it led nowhere but to pain.
He rubs a hand through his hair and then over his face, sighing.]
I know. [ He looks at Charles, stops what he's doing to give him his full attention. ] I'm not blaming you for what happened. I'm only pointing out that this place, and the things we might cross paths with, living or otherwise, might be impervious to our abilities. It's only smart that we should be more careful.
[ In here, and especially out there, on the road and in the diffusion zones. Erik has already felt some instability in his own powers, not quite gone but just not working as they should. He couldn't sense how that assimilation worked, not the way that Charles would have been able to, but he trusts Charles's abilities. He knows that if that mannequin managed to gain access to his mind, it was not because of a flaw on Charles's part. ]
I wish you'd told me. [ He pauses what he's doing, so he can turn and turn his focus entirely on Charles. ] I understand why you didn't, but safety is paramount in our current situation. At the very least you wouldn't have been on your own out there.
[ What if he'd run into one of those mannequins, or something even worse? Charles's abilities can only help him so much— and out there, they might not even help at all. And he's not even going to point out how Charles has been the one pushing Erik to open up and let others in. The irony.
He follows the drag of Charles's fingers down his face, his own expression mostly neutral. ]
That's one thing you and I have always had in common, my friend. We hate feeling helpless.
[ Charles has always trusted in his abilities to help him, until he chose his legs over his power. And then he wasn't much of anything for many years. It's a burden, but it is his only chance to feel powerful again at the same time. But outside of his mind, he truly is not all that impressive. He's a man in a wheelchair with no fighting skills and frankly, not that many life skills either. It's become blatantly obvious to him lately, and he hates it. Erik at least is incredibly good at surviving, but even he could do nothing in the face of that mannequin. They were in trouble here. It wasn't enough they had no choice in being here.
Charles frowns at him and glances away, feeling Erik's eyes on him, because yes, logically he knows he was wrong, but he also is terribly stubborn. Feeling helpless isn't as terrible as actually being helpless. He knows it's anti what he tells Erik himself. Rules for thee and not for me.]
I won't again. I'll take someone next time.
[ He says reluctantly but truthfully. Charles doesn't make statements he doesn't mean. He also went to the mall by himself because again, stubborn. At least there he didn't run into anything other than a few harmless people, and he managed to shoo any bandits off. Charles pushes off his wheelchair to the couch instead, preferring to change locations whenever he can to avoid the discomfort. And if he plans on staying here for dinner, he may as well get comfortable.]
My volunteering at the hospital gained me some favor with the people running it. They asked me to help with administrative and financial work. It doesn't pay well, but it's enough for me to get my own room.
[ Which he is thankful for. And he has no doubt Logan is too, although he would never say as much, he respects Charles too much. But it was terribly cramped and Logan was sleeping on the floor all this time. There was no privacy between them. This will give them both more freedom, something Charles in particular needs.
It's not his ideal situation but it does actually satisfy him! He likes the hospital and he feels like he's doing good even if it's paperwork.]
Now you won't have to worry about Logan if you visit me. Not that he's a problem, per se.
I doubt that anyone likes feeling helpless, really.
[ Erik has a particular loathing for the sentiment, for obvious reasons. He has never relied on anyone else, he doesn't like to either, and it's part of his current struggle here. It's the sole reason why Charles found him in that state, after the mannequin. If he'd been more reasonable about the whole ordeal, then he would have reached out to Charles long before he got to that point.
They're both a little like a pot calling the kettle black, right now. Because Erik can also admit to the hypocrisy of telling Charles now that he should have reached out to him, or anyone else really, when Erik himself wouldn't do that. And what good did it do either of them, honestly. He doesn't want to entertain the thought of what might have happened if Rowena hadn't come upon him when she did.
Still, he takes Charles's words as reassurance, and doesn't further push on the subject. He doesn't think Charles is just saying it to shut him up, and all he wants right now is to know that Charles won't put himself in a situation of risk needlessly. They all need to drive beyond the city at one point or another, at the least they can take care not to go out there alone. ]
It would be more of a problem if it were Scott.
[ Said with just a touch of wary amusement. He hasn't crossed paths with the other mutant since their confrontation, which is probably for the best. There's no love lost between him and Logan but at least they can be civil and know how to stay out of each other's way. Still, he won't lie; knowing that there's no risk of crossing paths whenever he visits Charles is a comfort. ]
We do always have my room. [ They all look just about the same either way. Erik doesn't much care, frankly. ] But that's good. I doubt there's any job here that pays well, so one that pays at all is already an improvement.
[ It also means Charles isn't stuck in his room for the better part of his day. ]
[ They can be hypocrites together. There isn't much they have in common, but what they do is strong within them. But Charles has always been drawn to Erik for his differences. He was unlike anyone he ever knew, and Charles knows so many, given his powers as a young boy. It was like stepping too close to the sun, intense and powerful, but with the ability to warm as well as burn. He sees it now too, in just the small moments they have together. Erik will always blaze for him. It's the burn he's afraid of now, and the Icarus within him.
He laughs at the reference to Scott. It's true, his prize pupil would be more of a problem, although Scott does understand now that Charles and Erik have something between them. What it is, no one knows for certain, but it's there. He has a plan to force it a little more in the future, but it's still only early fruition in his head. Charles will figure out the safest path to get his way.]
As much as my admire my future adopted son, I don't know him that well. Logan at least has already seen me at my most pathetic. Which I hate, obviously, but it requires less work on my part to pretend.
[ Charles is getting better but he isn't perfect, and a part of him wants to be for Scott and for Rogue. It's something he's working on, finding an appropriate balance. He was not in a good place when he first arrived and Logan knowing him made it so much easier. He values the man a great deal and can see the love between them and why it happened. But it doesn't mean either of them want to share 500 feet between them eternally.]
I just needed something to do. I was going slowly insane. Much like being in that mansion for years doing nothing but hate everything.
[ Charles hasn't explained much about their years apart, outside of saying that he lost his powers intentionally. The dark spot he went through was a private embarrassment, but perhaps he's willing to talk about it, if there's interest.]
[ Their differences have never been a deterrent to Erik, either. If anything it's the thing that drew him even more to Charles, not only his mind and brilliance but the way he so often he looks at the same situation from a different perspective. Erik is stubborn, independent to a point of isolation, and far too prone to violent outbursts, but he was never as inclined to take in another's point of view until he met Charles. Because he understands perfectly where he's coming from, the principles he stands for, even if he might not always agree.
He's seen too much to believe there might be a better way. It's hard to change that now, but he's genuinely trying, and he's doing it for no reason other than Charles, to be perfectly honest. And maybe to prove to himself that he doesn't have to make himself a monster to stand up for their cause. ]
You shouldn't have to pretend either way. I doubt Scott's opinion of you would be diminished.
[ For what little he knew of the man, when they were at the beginning of a friendship Erik hoped would grow solid and steady, he seemed like an honest, loyal man. Knowing now that he's that close to Charles only cements that perspective in Erik's mind. There's nothing Charles could do to change the man's feelings or opinions about him, at least he doesn't think so. But Charles is proud to a fault, he's not surprised to hear that he's trying to make himself look more put together than he really is.
His gaze lowers briefly when Charles mentions those years apart, while Erik was (for the vast majority) locked away. They haven't really spoken about that period of time. Erik isn't entirely sure that he wants to, at least not about what he himself went through, but he's willing to listen to Charles's side of things. Not just that, but he feels like that's the least he owes Charles, when he was the one who pushed him into that situation to begin with. ]
I thought you were just hating me for what I did to you.
[ Not just the injury, but the fact that he took Raven away. Not that it wasn't her choice too, but she was impressionable and they both know how charming Erik can be, when he wants to. It was easier to say that they both had their paths to walk, when in truth Erik practically forced Charles down that path when he took what was most important to him. ]
I told him a little of where I was before I came here, and that I wasn't the person he eventually knew right then. He was supportive, of course.
[ Not a surprise for either of them, having met and spent some time with Scott now. That is why Charles is confident that in time Scott will be open to Erik and accepting he's not the same villain he knew. It was difficult in the moment, yes, but space and some time changing his mind was possible. He has faith in his would-be son. Forgiveness is a major part of Charles and his point of view, he suspects he instilled that in others, the ones who would listen.
Charles has come a long way from that first week already. Time here has unraveled enough, and the presence of his students helped, that he can see his dark time passing by him. Having a job and a purpose of a kind again will help him too. It was difficult those first few days with the noise of this place, he was truly in a struggle, and only a little past the times that he was ashamed of. That Erik himself pointed out to him, when he was already low.
Charles considers what Erik says before responding. It's not as simple as that, but it's also not incorrect. He felt hate for the first time in his life, that's true.]
I was heartbroken, Erik. Hate was just an easier feeling in the start than sorrow.
[ Charles could be angry instead which never came to him easily but it consumed him, churned away inside of him. ]
I had this foolish notion that you both would come back. To check on me, if nothing else. As time went on, I hated myself too, for hoping for that.
[ Hope for a time became something he learned to despise, the longer it turned into stupidity. Charles was injured, he was paralyzed, he was left bleeding in the sand by his dearest loved ones. He thought that their love for him would lead them back to him in the smallest of ways, but it never did. He's still hurt about that. ]
I knew why you didn't, but I still wanted it.
[ No one knows Erik better than Charles. Or Raven, for that matter. Their silence toward him should have been expected, but it wasn't logic leading him much during that time, but emotion.]
[ Erik isn't surprised to hear that, no. From what little he saw of Scott, this falls in line with the kind of man he seems to be, and adding to that the fact that he's so close to his version of Charles only makes more sense. But he still understands Charles not wanting to show how much he's struggling, or needing to rely on others too much. It's just important that he knows that he can, rather than letting his pride speak louder. (Funny coming from him of all people, he knows.)
He worries that Raven's disappearance might push him back on the progress he's made so far, but on the other hand, he's not alone. He seems willing to reach out, at least in part. He's not isolating himself entirely, which is a good thing. Erik's sure both Logan and Scott will keep an eye on him, but he's also going to be sure to check in on him a little more regularly over the next few weeks, just in case.
The food only gets half his attention right now, setting the pot to boil some pasta almost on automatic, instead focused more on Charles. None of what he says surprises Erik, all similar sentiments to ones they shared during their initial meeting here, but there's a vulnerability to it, an admission on Charles's end that makes it hurt just that little more. ]
I thought about it. [ For the while he was free anyway, before getting locked up. Not much of a choice on his end then. He doesn't think he'd have reached out or gone to find Charles had he broken out either, if it hadn't been Charles himself orchestrating the whole thing. ]
I didn't think you'd want to see me, after what I did. [ There's a bitter smile there, and he pauses what he's doing to look to Charles. If they're doing admissions about those ten years, then... ] You know, when I was in that cell, I kept wondering if you'd try to reach out to me. I didn't know whether the jail itself was built in a way to keep your mind out, but...
[ He doubts it. The way they avoided metal of any kind anywhere near him said as much. Peter managed to break him out fairly easily too, so clearly there was nothing there to dampen their abilities. ]
I didn't know about Hank's serum. [ Obviously. ] I just thought that I'd burnt that bridge completely.
[ Before coming here, he didn't even think he'd see Charles again. So yes, there were a great many reasons why he didn't reach out, and why he wasn't planning to before arriving in this place. ]
I'm annoying and hitting you back right away don't @ me
[ They have covered this ground in some ways, but their first conversation was full of anger and bitterness, and now it feels like some of that has bled away. It's down to hurt now, which is its own kind of torture. He doesn't want to punch Erik anymore, quite the opposite, but this gap of time between them lingers in the back of their story. Charles had Hank and Erik had Raven, but they were missing each other. I want you by my side, Erik told him on the beach that day. Neither of them willing to bend, both wanting the same thing, but in different ways.]
I wanted to, Erik, I missed you more than I can say. You swept into my life, set it on fire, and then left like the tide. But I was angry too, I didn't feel like I should be the one to breach the gap.
[ Stubbornness, one of their common traits. It's not as if their reunion would be perfectly happy either. Charles would not have punched Erik like he did later, he was in a bad place then and wanted to hurt someone, but he would have also been upset. But glad, so glad, especially if Raven came with him. Being without her was the hardest thing about his life, and now he has to do it again. He looks at Erik and wonders how crushed he would be if he lost this too, just as he gets it back. But will that stop him?
He's quiet for a moment as he considers how much to say, but in the end, he is an honest person.]
I did think about it, early on, but what was I supposed to say to my team at that point? I want you all to risk your lives and our dangerous exposure for one man? If it was just me, if I was whole, I might have.
[ Erik was jailed when Charles still had people in the school, when he could have possibly had mutants who could do the job. But their safety had to matter more to him. Alex, Hank, and Sean might have been willing. They still had ties to Erik and knew what he meant to Charles. But then it all went terribly wrong and he had nothing, not even the means to rescue any other person.
His wheelchair would hold him back in the rescue, that's what he meant by whole. His mind can do a great deal but the details of getting him out would require more mobility to finish. In the end, he just couldn't figure out the logistics, and then he was just angry in general. Erik he released into the wild and he killed the President.]
I felt like your actions were on me, you killed the President and I didn't try to stop you. My judgment will always be clouded with you.
[ It might be in part stubbornness, but Charles is right in feeling that way. Erik was the one who made his own choices, and he was left to deal with the consequences of his actions. The worst of it all was that he wasn't the only one to suffer those consequences. In his blind rage and the deep fear of seeing history repeat itself, he was the one to cause harm to Charles, even if he didn't intend it. He turned his anger on Moira, but the truth is he has no one to blame for that but himself.
He didn't really think there was a path together for them, after that. Not even that their paths might cross, unless they were standing on opposing sides. The silence from Charles, while justifiable, only made him surer that there was nothing there to reach out to. Keeping his distance seemed like the right thing to do. For once.
Things could have been different, if he had gone back. If he'd only encouraged Raven to reach out to her brother, too. There's no point in thinking about it. Erik doesn't like to live on what ifs. This, right now, is complicated, fractured and painful, but it's real, and there's a glimmer of hope that he's going to cling to, for however long Charles shines it on him. ]
I told you I didn't kill him. I wasn't lying then.
[ Maybe Charles could not tell then, as he didn't have access to his abilities, but he will now. That wasn't just him trying to manipulate the situation to his own advantage. He was a convenient scapegoat, though. Easier still that he was a mutant, and labeled a terrorist too. So much for due process. ]
I'm sorry. I know it was... unreasonable to expect that you'd reach out to me, after everything.
[ He meets Charles's gaze, too exposed for comfort, but pressing on nevertheless. Not because he feels like he owes Charles equal vulnerability, but because he wants to meet him halfway. ]
You gave me so much— I didn't know what to do with it all.
I know you weren't lying, I'm saying from my point of view, that's what I knew. How would I explain to anyone that I rescued the man who assassinated the president because I couldn't stand for him to be trapped again? And you'd probably have just left again if I did get you out.
[ And then the cycle would continue with their conflict and their struggles. He would save Erik and then he would be responsible for everything that he did. He feels responsible for what Erik did after they did rescue him, including shooting Raven. He should have been more cautious, he should have known better, but he wanted him back so damn much that he was foolish. It's clearly not a lesson he's learned, sitting here letting Erik cook for him, watching him intently. His eyes slide over his familiar form and his feelings are complicated and yet incredibly straight forward. It's never going to be easy.
He went to get Erik when Logan promised him they were working together, that is what changed his perspective. He wanted to hope. Now he still is, otherwise he wouldn't be here. He flicks his sharp gaze away from Erik, running fingers through his hair, looking around the room instead.]
I know. It was naive of me, to think I offered enough. You spent your entire tortured life with one mission, and there I was, knowing you for a shorter time, believing that you'd pick me at the end of it. It wasn't fair to expect that either.
[ But god Charles was at his most confident then too. With them all coming together, with the mansion turned into a school, with Erik and Raven by his side. Charles was glowing with love and happiness and possibility. He had a dream so clearly in his mind and he thought that they all could see it. The idea of losing the two people most beloved to him was not even a possibility in his mind.]
From what I can tell from Scott and our future there, I felt so much pain over you and Raven that you were practically a secret, I couldn't speak of it to anyone. It's so damned tragic.
[ Erik can't argue with that, nor is he trying to. He wasn't really talking about Charles getting him out of that prison, he didn't even briefly consider that possibility, hence his surprise when he came face to face with Charles himself after Peter got him out of that cell.
Charles is right, too. He probably would have just disappeared after that. As much as he longed to see Charles again, he knew he'd done too much damage, and things would never truly be the same after everything.
Yet now here they are, talking and spending time together, sharing dinner. Their dates meetings so regular at this point that Erik's gotten used to them, like it's part of his routine. So maybe things can't be the same, but that... doesn't have to be a bad thing, necessarily. ]
It's not that simple. It wasn't about you being enough, Charles. You were always enough, you were...
[ More, so much more, and maybe it terrified Erik just a little too much. But hunting down Shaw took up two decades of his life, and when he had the opportunity to take him down, he just saw nothing else in front of him.
He turns his face away for a moment, gaze out the window. He feels a knot pressing against his throat, the hurt in Charles's own words making his heart ache, and regret linger. Not something he tends to feel very often.
He looks back to Charles then, eyes locked with his. Not that Charles would need to look into them to see that Erik isn't lying. ]
[ Charles pauses. This is a topic he has thought about frequently and never planned on asking or referring to at all. And now that he's started it, a part of him wants to go back on it entirely, change the subject, not step down a road that they purposely avoided. But it has consumed him at times, the what ifs, and how they could have changed the terrible course of their lives.]
If we'd been closer, would it have made a difference?
[ What he's asking and still dancing around directly saying is if they were together. Charles has never addressed or referenced the feelings that he knew on some level were underneath their friendship. It's not as if he hid any bit of that away from Erik when he restored his memory, when all of his feelings and any variation of them were on display. He didn't have the ability to disconnect one from the other when he was just there to help him. It's not as if he's been subtle.
But that's what a part of him had wondered. If he and Erik were a couple, if he gave all of himself to Erik, would it have changed everything? Would Charles's love have been enough then, if he let it all be known? Rather than hide behind friendship and brotherhood, because he thought it was safer and wiser for both of them to focus on the mission. They'd have time, he thought, to explore the rest, and a part of him had been so looking forward to that option. But this part has haunted him. Could he have changed their fate, if he was a little less arrogant, or a little less scared of it all?
He is purposely not looking at Erik when he says that because it's complicated and they know that. It's intentionally been avoided. Charles isn't entirely sure how comfortable he is but he's done it, he brought it up, he said it. Apparently the answer matters enough for him to bring up an old wound.]
[ Erik is stunned for a moment at the question. It's not that Charles's feelings are much of a secret at this point, and he doesn't think his own are either when Charles has spent as much time as he has in his head lately, so it's not that what really surprises him. It's just the fact that Charles is bringing it up, so openly and directly, no chance for misinterpretation or acting as though they're talking about them being anything other than what they are.
What they are is— complicated, maybe even more so now, since their reunion. Because love was easy, and anger was easy, but the complexity of mending something Erik himself broke takes that much more work. Patching together the tattered remains of Charles's trust in him. ]
I don't know.
[ It's his first, honest answer. He doesn't stop there. He turns off the stove, because the food can wait a little longer, and he makes his way to the couch, taking a seat next to Charles. If they're having this conversation, then he damn well will have Charles look him in the eye, not avoid even glancing his way after asking something like that. ]
If... we weren't closer then, it's also because I didn't take that step. I knew how you were changing my perspective on— everything, how in only a few weeks you made me reconsider everything I worked towards for two decades. I didn't know if taking things a step further would change my mind on my objective, so... I didn't.
[ Maybe he still would have killed Shaw, or maybe he wouldn't have. Maybe the events would have played out in a way he didn't hurt Charles, or maybe he still would have and would have hated himself all the more for it. Maybe everything that could go wrong would have still gone wrong and it would have been an even greater betrayal, and he would have found it even more necessary to leave.
Erik doesn't like to live on what ifs. ]
I made a choice. I don't know if it was a mistake, when I can't know what would have happened differently, but I regret not taking that chance anyway.
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[ It was only his memories, granted, but it felt the same. Maybe worse. ]
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[ He doubts Charles is in a mood to go out, but there's no harm in asking. ]
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[ That will give Charles time to clean up from his journey into the quadrants. He is tired and sad, and Logan is kind enough to give him space given his grief, but he would typically like to lick his wounds in private. And yet Erik is the only one who would understand and be grieving in his own way. Neither of them will get the closure they might have wanted. Perhaps there is an element of fear in Charles too, that a loss has hit him and it's made him more aware of other risks. After Erik's close call with the mannequin, he's unlikely to leave him alone for long.
He managed to find some clothes in the temporary mall that suited him, and it appears the 90s wasn't horribly different in his stiff style. He managed to find a button-up shirt and some comfortable slacks, although he left the coat behind given that it is damned warm out. A few buttons are undone for that reason. He feels more himself at the moment, even if that comes with a dose of pain for how himself Raven makes him feel, with or without her.
He knocks on Erik's door and gathers himself. He seems fairly put together but the grief is there in the details someone observant would see. The redness in his eyes, the slight bags in them, the heaviness of his shoulders.]
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Before his trip to the mall with Wanda turned to absolute shit, Erik also managed to get a few things, including some clothes that suit him far better than poolside shirts. He opens the door in a plain blue sweater and dark jeans, having at least taken the time to shave for once. His hair is still something of a mess but he hasn't bothered trimming it yet, so it's curling around the back and just overall looking mussed up. Otherwise he looks far better than he did when he was stuck with that mannequin, having had a few decent nights of sleep, though he looks no happier when he opens the door for Charles.
Wordlessly, he steps aside so Charles can come in. His room's still mostly sparse, but there are a couple of new shoes near the door, a couple of basic items on top of the dresser, and a journal with a pencil case on his nightstand. The place is generally well-kept, probably unsurprisingly. He's set up a makeshift kitchen of sorts near the window, with a portable stove, a couple of pots, a kettle and other basic utensils. It's not perfect but at least it allows him to cook some more basic meals. ]
I got something for dinner, if you like.
[ He can only imagine that Charles hasn't really worried about that. ]
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The last time Charles saw him in person he was still partly mannequin so it's a relief to see him back to himself again. That was a deeply troubling experience for him, and it wasn't even happening to him, just someone that he loves. He knows that Erik is a very tough individual with a steel spine but he broke apart in that experience, as anyone would. ]
I probably should, I haven't eaten today.
[Charles isn't positive he ate yesterday either. He's been on the move. He tries to remember to care for himself but when emotionally fragile, he can get caught up in his worries and less on his needs. He notes all the small differences in Erik's room and it's unsurprising it's neat, Erik is no slob. Charles could probably use a shave, it's a little less tidy than he tries to keep on top of, but he's not on top of anything today. Being without her again is going to take a toll on him. ]
How are you? Since your ordeal.
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Food is a good start. He didn't really prepare in advance for a decent meal, but he has some canned foods and pasta's easy enough to manage, so he starts getting everything together while they talk. ]
I'm alright. [ It would be dismissive coming from anyone else, but Charles knows Erik's past better than anyone, so he knows that, however horrible an experience that was, it was far from the worst that he's been through. Losing his memories little by little was what scared him the most, really. ] The shields you put up didn't really do much, though I don't know if that thing reached into my mind the same way.
[ Still, it's a worry to keep in mind. Erik has a feeling that won't be the last time this place toys with them. ]
You went out there looking for her, didn't you? [ Outside of Panorama, he means. It's a rhetoric question, he knows that Charles went. ] Did you go on your own?
[ Because that sounds like just a really very bad idea. And this is coming from Erik Lehnsherr of all people. ]
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[ Charles may be a little defensive given that he promised to protect Erik's mind, and he has to the best of his ability, or perhaps it's more about guilt. Guilt for not doing enough, for not checking on him sooner, for Erik to have degraded so much he forgot who he was.
They solved it in the end, but that won't stop Charles from feeling responsible. Or that it wasn't deeply painful to watch Erik suffering so much, to see him in tears and struggling. In all the times Charles was angry at his friend, he never wanted him to be that low, he wouldn't wish that pain on anyone. And then Raven was gone and at the moment, Charles feels like he can do nothing right. Typical.
He breaks out of his wallowing to a different kind and he reluctantly nods.]
Yes, I didn't want company. I know it wasn't the safest but ... I just didn't.
[ Charles is terrible at sharing his pain. He is there for everyone else but has a hard time letting anyone be there for him. It is going to be a consistent problem but he's here with Erik, isn't he? He's trying to let him in, as the only other person who can understand his grief. But Charles was too focused on his goal, too frantic. And it led nowhere but to pain.
He rubs a hand through his hair and then over his face, sighing.]
I ... got a job, finally. I wanted to tell her.
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[ In here, and especially out there, on the road and in the diffusion zones. Erik has already felt some instability in his own powers, not quite gone but just not working as they should. He couldn't sense how that assimilation worked, not the way that Charles would have been able to, but he trusts Charles's abilities. He knows that if that mannequin managed to gain access to his mind, it was not because of a flaw on Charles's part. ]
I wish you'd told me. [ He pauses what he's doing, so he can turn and turn his focus entirely on Charles. ] I understand why you didn't, but safety is paramount in our current situation. At the very least you wouldn't have been on your own out there.
[ What if he'd run into one of those mannequins, or something even worse? Charles's abilities can only help him so much— and out there, they might not even help at all. And he's not even going to point out how Charles has been the one pushing Erik to open up and let others in. The irony.
He follows the drag of Charles's fingers down his face, his own expression mostly neutral. ]
What's the job?
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[ Charles has always trusted in his abilities to help him, until he chose his legs over his power. And then he wasn't much of anything for many years. It's a burden, but it is his only chance to feel powerful again at the same time. But outside of his mind, he truly is not all that impressive. He's a man in a wheelchair with no fighting skills and frankly, not that many life skills either. It's become blatantly obvious to him lately, and he hates it. Erik at least is incredibly good at surviving, but even he could do nothing in the face of that mannequin. They were in trouble here. It wasn't enough they had no choice in being here.
Charles frowns at him and glances away, feeling Erik's eyes on him, because yes, logically he knows he was wrong, but he also is terribly stubborn. Feeling helpless isn't as terrible as actually being helpless. He knows it's anti what he tells Erik himself. Rules for thee and not for me.]
I won't again. I'll take someone next time.
[ He says reluctantly but truthfully. Charles doesn't make statements he doesn't mean. He also went to the mall by himself because again, stubborn. At least there he didn't run into anything other than a few harmless people, and he managed to shoo any bandits off. Charles pushes off his wheelchair to the couch instead, preferring to change locations whenever he can to avoid the discomfort. And if he plans on staying here for dinner, he may as well get comfortable.]
My volunteering at the hospital gained me some favor with the people running it. They asked me to help with administrative and financial work. It doesn't pay well, but it's enough for me to get my own room.
[ Which he is thankful for. And he has no doubt Logan is too, although he would never say as much, he respects Charles too much. But it was terribly cramped and Logan was sleeping on the floor all this time. There was no privacy between them. This will give them both more freedom, something Charles in particular needs.
It's not his ideal situation but it does actually satisfy him! He likes the hospital and he feels like he's doing good even if it's paperwork.]
Now you won't have to worry about Logan if you visit me. Not that he's a problem, per se.
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[ Erik has a particular loathing for the sentiment, for obvious reasons. He has never relied on anyone else, he doesn't like to either, and it's part of his current struggle here. It's the sole reason why Charles found him in that state, after the mannequin. If he'd been more reasonable about the whole ordeal, then he would have reached out to Charles long before he got to that point.
They're both a little like a pot calling the kettle black, right now. Because Erik can also admit to the hypocrisy of telling Charles now that he should have reached out to him, or anyone else really, when Erik himself wouldn't do that. And what good did it do either of them, honestly. He doesn't want to entertain the thought of what might have happened if Rowena hadn't come upon him when she did.
Still, he takes Charles's words as reassurance, and doesn't further push on the subject. He doesn't think Charles is just saying it to shut him up, and all he wants right now is to know that Charles won't put himself in a situation of risk needlessly. They all need to drive beyond the city at one point or another, at the least they can take care not to go out there alone. ]
It would be more of a problem if it were Scott.
[ Said with just a touch of wary amusement. He hasn't crossed paths with the other mutant since their confrontation, which is probably for the best. There's no love lost between him and Logan but at least they can be civil and know how to stay out of each other's way. Still, he won't lie; knowing that there's no risk of crossing paths whenever he visits Charles is a comfort. ]
We do always have my room. [ They all look just about the same either way. Erik doesn't much care, frankly. ] But that's good. I doubt there's any job here that pays well, so one that pays at all is already an improvement.
[ It also means Charles isn't stuck in his room for the better part of his day. ]
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He laughs at the reference to Scott. It's true, his prize pupil would be more of a problem, although Scott does understand now that Charles and Erik have something between them. What it is, no one knows for certain, but it's there. He has a plan to force it a little more in the future, but it's still only early fruition in his head. Charles will figure out the safest path to get his way.]
As much as my admire my future adopted son, I don't know him that well. Logan at least has already seen me at my most pathetic. Which I hate, obviously, but it requires less work on my part to pretend.
[ Charles is getting better but he isn't perfect, and a part of him wants to be for Scott and for Rogue. It's something he's working on, finding an appropriate balance. He was not in a good place when he first arrived and Logan knowing him made it so much easier. He values the man a great deal and can see the love between them and why it happened. But it doesn't mean either of them want to share 500 feet between them eternally.]
I just needed something to do. I was going slowly insane. Much like being in that mansion for years doing nothing but hate everything.
[ Charles hasn't explained much about their years apart, outside of saying that he lost his powers intentionally. The dark spot he went through was a private embarrassment, but perhaps he's willing to talk about it, if there's interest.]
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He's seen too much to believe there might be a better way. It's hard to change that now, but he's genuinely trying, and he's doing it for no reason other than Charles, to be perfectly honest. And maybe to prove to himself that he doesn't have to make himself a monster to stand up for their cause. ]
You shouldn't have to pretend either way. I doubt Scott's opinion of you would be diminished.
[ For what little he knew of the man, when they were at the beginning of a friendship Erik hoped would grow solid and steady, he seemed like an honest, loyal man. Knowing now that he's that close to Charles only cements that perspective in Erik's mind. There's nothing Charles could do to change the man's feelings or opinions about him, at least he doesn't think so. But Charles is proud to a fault, he's not surprised to hear that he's trying to make himself look more put together than he really is.
His gaze lowers briefly when Charles mentions those years apart, while Erik was (for the vast majority) locked away. They haven't really spoken about that period of time. Erik isn't entirely sure that he wants to, at least not about what he himself went through, but he's willing to listen to Charles's side of things. Not just that, but he feels like that's the least he owes Charles, when he was the one who pushed him into that situation to begin with. ]
I thought you were just hating me for what I did to you.
[ Not just the injury, but the fact that he took Raven away. Not that it wasn't her choice too, but she was impressionable and they both know how charming Erik can be, when he wants to. It was easier to say that they both had their paths to walk, when in truth Erik practically forced Charles down that path when he took what was most important to him. ]
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[ Not a surprise for either of them, having met and spent some time with Scott now. That is why Charles is confident that in time Scott will be open to Erik and accepting he's not the same villain he knew. It was difficult in the moment, yes, but space and some time changing his mind was possible. He has faith in his would-be son. Forgiveness is a major part of Charles and his point of view, he suspects he instilled that in others, the ones who would listen.
Charles has come a long way from that first week already. Time here has unraveled enough, and the presence of his students helped, that he can see his dark time passing by him. Having a job and a purpose of a kind again will help him too. It was difficult those first few days with the noise of this place, he was truly in a struggle, and only a little past the times that he was ashamed of. That Erik himself pointed out to him, when he was already low.
Charles considers what Erik says before responding. It's not as simple as that, but it's also not incorrect. He felt hate for the first time in his life, that's true.]
I was heartbroken, Erik. Hate was just an easier feeling in the start than sorrow.
[ Charles could be angry instead which never came to him easily but it consumed him, churned away inside of him. ]
I had this foolish notion that you both would come back. To check on me, if nothing else. As time went on, I hated myself too, for hoping for that.
[ Hope for a time became something he learned to despise, the longer it turned into stupidity. Charles was injured, he was paralyzed, he was left bleeding in the sand by his dearest loved ones. He thought that their love for him would lead them back to him in the smallest of ways, but it never did. He's still hurt about that. ]
I knew why you didn't, but I still wanted it.
[ No one knows Erik better than Charles. Or Raven, for that matter. Their silence toward him should have been expected, but it wasn't logic leading him much during that time, but emotion.]
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He worries that Raven's disappearance might push him back on the progress he's made so far, but on the other hand, he's not alone. He seems willing to reach out, at least in part. He's not isolating himself entirely, which is a good thing. Erik's sure both Logan and Scott will keep an eye on him, but he's also going to be sure to check in on him a little more regularly over the next few weeks, just in case.
The food only gets half his attention right now, setting the pot to boil some pasta almost on automatic, instead focused more on Charles. None of what he says surprises Erik, all similar sentiments to ones they shared during their initial meeting here, but there's a vulnerability to it, an admission on Charles's end that makes it hurt just that little more. ]
I thought about it. [ For the while he was free anyway, before getting locked up. Not much of a choice on his end then. He doesn't think he'd have reached out or gone to find Charles had he broken out either, if it hadn't been Charles himself orchestrating the whole thing. ]
I didn't think you'd want to see me, after what I did. [ There's a bitter smile there, and he pauses what he's doing to look to Charles. If they're doing admissions about those ten years, then... ] You know, when I was in that cell, I kept wondering if you'd try to reach out to me. I didn't know whether the jail itself was built in a way to keep your mind out, but...
[ He doubts it. The way they avoided metal of any kind anywhere near him said as much. Peter managed to break him out fairly easily too, so clearly there was nothing there to dampen their abilities. ]
I didn't know about Hank's serum. [ Obviously. ] I just thought that I'd burnt that bridge completely.
[ Before coming here, he didn't even think he'd see Charles again. So yes, there were a great many reasons why he didn't reach out, and why he wasn't planning to before arriving in this place. ]
I'm annoying and hitting you back right away don't @ me
I wanted to, Erik, I missed you more than I can say. You swept into my life, set it on fire, and then left like the tide. But I was angry too, I didn't feel like I should be the one to breach the gap.
[ Stubbornness, one of their common traits. It's not as if their reunion would be perfectly happy either. Charles would not have punched Erik like he did later, he was in a bad place then and wanted to hurt someone, but he would have also been upset. But glad, so glad, especially if Raven came with him. Being without her was the hardest thing about his life, and now he has to do it again. He looks at Erik and wonders how crushed he would be if he lost this too, just as he gets it back. But will that stop him?
He's quiet for a moment as he considers how much to say, but in the end, he is an honest person.]
I did think about it, early on, but what was I supposed to say to my team at that point? I want you all to risk your lives and our dangerous exposure for one man? If it was just me, if I was whole, I might have.
[ Erik was jailed when Charles still had people in the school, when he could have possibly had mutants who could do the job. But their safety had to matter more to him. Alex, Hank, and Sean might have been willing. They still had ties to Erik and knew what he meant to Charles. But then it all went terribly wrong and he had nothing, not even the means to rescue any other person.
His wheelchair would hold him back in the rescue, that's what he meant by whole. His mind can do a great deal but the details of getting him out would require more mobility to finish. In the end, he just couldn't figure out the logistics, and then he was just angry in general. Erik he released into the wild and he killed the President.]
I felt like your actions were on me, you killed the President and I didn't try to stop you. My judgment will always be clouded with you.
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[ It might be in part stubbornness, but Charles is right in feeling that way. Erik was the one who made his own choices, and he was left to deal with the consequences of his actions. The worst of it all was that he wasn't the only one to suffer those consequences. In his blind rage and the deep fear of seeing history repeat itself, he was the one to cause harm to Charles, even if he didn't intend it. He turned his anger on Moira, but the truth is he has no one to blame for that but himself.
He didn't really think there was a path together for them, after that. Not even that their paths might cross, unless they were standing on opposing sides. The silence from Charles, while justifiable, only made him surer that there was nothing there to reach out to. Keeping his distance seemed like the right thing to do. For once.
Things could have been different, if he had gone back. If he'd only encouraged Raven to reach out to her brother, too. There's no point in thinking about it. Erik doesn't like to live on what ifs. This, right now, is complicated, fractured and painful, but it's real, and there's a glimmer of hope that he's going to cling to, for however long Charles shines it on him. ]
I told you I didn't kill him. I wasn't lying then.
[ Maybe Charles could not tell then, as he didn't have access to his abilities, but he will now. That wasn't just him trying to manipulate the situation to his own advantage. He was a convenient scapegoat, though. Easier still that he was a mutant, and labeled a terrorist too. So much for due process. ]
I'm sorry. I know it was... unreasonable to expect that you'd reach out to me, after everything.
[ He meets Charles's gaze, too exposed for comfort, but pressing on nevertheless. Not because he feels like he owes Charles equal vulnerability, but because he wants to meet him halfway. ]
You gave me so much— I didn't know what to do with it all.
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[ And then the cycle would continue with their conflict and their struggles. He would save Erik and then he would be responsible for everything that he did. He feels responsible for what Erik did after they did rescue him, including shooting Raven. He should have been more cautious, he should have known better, but he wanted him back so damn much that he was foolish. It's clearly not a lesson he's learned, sitting here letting Erik cook for him, watching him intently. His eyes slide over his familiar form and his feelings are complicated and yet incredibly straight forward. It's never going to be easy.
He went to get Erik when Logan promised him they were working together, that is what changed his perspective. He wanted to hope. Now he still is, otherwise he wouldn't be here. He flicks his sharp gaze away from Erik, running fingers through his hair, looking around the room instead.]
I know. It was naive of me, to think I offered enough. You spent your entire tortured life with one mission, and there I was, knowing you for a shorter time, believing that you'd pick me at the end of it. It wasn't fair to expect that either.
[ But god Charles was at his most confident then too. With them all coming together, with the mansion turned into a school, with Erik and Raven by his side. Charles was glowing with love and happiness and possibility. He had a dream so clearly in his mind and he thought that they all could see it. The idea of losing the two people most beloved to him was not even a possibility in his mind.]
From what I can tell from Scott and our future there, I felt so much pain over you and Raven that you were practically a secret, I couldn't speak of it to anyone. It's so damned tragic.
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Charles is right, too. He probably would have just disappeared after that. As much as he longed to see Charles again, he knew he'd done too much damage, and things would never truly be the same after everything.
Yet now here they are, talking and spending time together, sharing dinner. Their
datesmeetings so regular at this point that Erik's gotten used to them, like it's part of his routine. So maybe things can't be the same, but that... doesn't have to be a bad thing, necessarily. ]It's not that simple. It wasn't about you being enough, Charles. You were always enough, you were...
[ More, so much more, and maybe it terrified Erik just a little too much. But hunting down Shaw took up two decades of his life, and when he had the opportunity to take him down, he just saw nothing else in front of him.
He turns his face away for a moment, gaze out the window. He feels a knot pressing against his throat, the hurt in Charles's own words making his heart ache, and regret linger. Not something he tends to feel very often.
He looks back to Charles then, eyes locked with his. Not that Charles would need to look into them to see that Erik isn't lying. ]
I'm not going anywhere now.
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[ Charles pauses. This is a topic he has thought about frequently and never planned on asking or referring to at all. And now that he's started it, a part of him wants to go back on it entirely, change the subject, not step down a road that they purposely avoided. But it has consumed him at times, the what ifs, and how they could have changed the terrible course of their lives.]
If we'd been closer, would it have made a difference?
[ What he's asking and still dancing around directly saying is if they were together. Charles has never addressed or referenced the feelings that he knew on some level were underneath their friendship. It's not as if he hid any bit of that away from Erik when he restored his memory, when all of his feelings and any variation of them were on display. He didn't have the ability to disconnect one from the other when he was just there to help him. It's not as if he's been subtle.
But that's what a part of him had wondered. If he and Erik were a couple, if he gave all of himself to Erik, would it have changed everything? Would Charles's love have been enough then, if he let it all be known? Rather than hide behind friendship and brotherhood, because he thought it was safer and wiser for both of them to focus on the mission. They'd have time, he thought, to explore the rest, and a part of him had been so looking forward to that option. But this part has haunted him. Could he have changed their fate, if he was a little less arrogant, or a little less scared of it all?
He is purposely not looking at Erik when he says that because it's complicated and they know that. It's intentionally been avoided. Charles isn't entirely sure how comfortable he is but he's done it, he brought it up, he said it. Apparently the answer matters enough for him to bring up an old wound.]
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What they are is— complicated, maybe even more so now, since their reunion. Because love was easy, and anger was easy, but the complexity of mending something Erik himself broke takes that much more work. Patching together the tattered remains of Charles's trust in him. ]
I don't know.
[ It's his first, honest answer. He doesn't stop there. He turns off the stove, because the food can wait a little longer, and he makes his way to the couch, taking a seat next to Charles. If they're having this conversation, then he damn well will have Charles look him in the eye, not avoid even glancing his way after asking something like that. ]
If... we weren't closer then, it's also because I didn't take that step. I knew how you were changing my perspective on— everything, how in only a few weeks you made me reconsider everything I worked towards for two decades. I didn't know if taking things a step further would change my mind on my objective, so... I didn't.
[ Maybe he still would have killed Shaw, or maybe he wouldn't have. Maybe the events would have played out in a way he didn't hurt Charles, or maybe he still would have and would have hated himself all the more for it. Maybe everything that could go wrong would have still gone wrong and it would have been an even greater betrayal, and he would have found it even more necessary to leave.
Erik doesn't like to live on what ifs. ]
I made a choice. I don't know if it was a mistake, when I can't know what would have happened differently, but I regret not taking that chance anyway.
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he's a monster erik beware
oops too bad he's in too deep already
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thanks for the patience I'm back from vacay!
welcome back!! ✨
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we can probably finally wrap on this one and do a new event one :D
nooo-- i mean yes, that sounds good!!