Travels.

Title: Travels.

Rating: NC-17

Warnings:  Anal, Angst, WIP

Characters/Pairings: Erik/Charles

Disclaimer: I do not in any way, shape or money making form own X-Men or any characters attached to that name. They belong solely to their creator and publisher. I’m only borrowing them for my own amusement.

Summary: A story of the journeys Charles and Erik shared during their travels in X-Men First Class. “He’d go anywhere with his dear friend. Sail the seven seas, explore uncharted territories. Anywhere. As long as it meant alone time with the man.

Author Notes: Yes, yes another ErikxCharles story. Really, I can’t help it. They were just so...beautiful.  This one will be a bit longer than ‘Inside’ and will be divided into a couple chapters. There aren’t any ‘implicit’ scenes in this chapter, but there will be in the next one. Hope you enjoy!

 

Charles set his luggage in the back of the Chevy Impala. He leaned his body against the frame of the car and waited for Erik to waltz down the steps and join him on another cross country trip to round up more helpless and lost mutants. “Care to drive this time?” he asked once Erik was close enough. The man slipped dark shades over his tired eyes. Erik was exhausted, Charles knew it. Lately he’s been waking in the middle of night, drenched in sweat, reeling from another horrible nightmare. Most of them were of his mother being tutored in horrendous ways and others were of Erik’s power being stripped from him in the worst of ways. It was as if the more he thought of Shaw and the closer he was to killing him, the worse his mind was becoming. The professor could sense his discomfort and anguish; it kept himself up as well some nights. How Charles longed to be at Erik’s bedside, comforting him. “Of course.” Erik’s power pulled the keys out of Xavier's hand and slid into the leather interior.

“So, where to now?” Asked Erik once the research facility was only a blur on the horizon. The trees disappeared and all that laid in front of them was a long winding road that held no promise of direction.

Charles pulled the paper out of his pocket that had their destination. “The airport.”

“And then?”

“Edinburgh.”

Erik whistled lowly as he drove with one hand on the wheel. “They really are everywhere.”

“Yes,” Charles agreed as he watched the scenery outside his window. “It’s astounding, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, I suppose. I always have wanted to see the country side.” Erik laughed, “Just didn’t expect it to be like this.”

“The world works in odd ways like that.” Charles enjoyed the long trips they’d shared. Not to mention the frequent stops they would take to eat, sleep and play the occasional game of chess. They traveled from Washington D.C all the way to the Outback. He’d sail the seven seas with him if he could. Honestly, it was some of the best times Charles had ever known. And although Erik would never say so, he felt the same. He held onto every moment they were handed. He went over every conversation they shared in his head over and over. Even the intellectual debates they shared about the future of genetic mutations and the war. Erik had so much to say, Charles found his mind such an intriguing place.  He needn’t not to even peak inside his head, Erik quiet frequently express his thoughts to him out loud. Charles felt an immediate connection with the man since that night he calmed his fury and brought him back to shore. He was attracted by his pain and darkened feelings. He understood the hardships that life dealt him. And deep down, he hoped to one day help change his outlook on life. To one day make him smile and see all the possibilities life held.





Charles sat perched in  the waiting area of the terminal and pulled a book from his bag. He read quietly as Erik went to use the facilities and get food. He felt his presence before Erik sat down. “Hope you like sub sandwiches.”

Charles dogg-eared his page gently and placed it on his lap. “I do, thank you.”

Erik pulled his leather jacket off and draped it over the chair. “What’re you reading?”

“Oh, just some old literature.”

Erik tilted his head toward him to try to read the title and Charles caught a whiff of hair products and shaving cream. “Is it any good?” the boy questioned,

Charles nodded simply. It was odd how something so simple could heighten his senses and drive him quite mad. Only Erik could make him react like so. His feelings for his friend were growing stronger.

On the plane ride Erik fell asleep. Charles flipped through two volumes of research he used for his thesis. It helped keep his mind occupied from other slightly confusing, conflicted thoughts. He ate his dinner and gazed out the window, seeing nothing but clouds and aerial views forming his surroundings down below. Everything was so breathtakingly beautiful from up here.

Erik’s head slumped on Charles’s shoulder. Once more the familiar scent of Erik filled his nostrils. His eyes were still shut tight, facial features softened, dreaming.  Charles slipped into the boy’s mind only to make sure he would have pleasant dreams this time around. If anyone deserved a good night’s rest it would be him.

They had a layover flight in Nantes, and arrived in Scotland the next day. The haggared and jet lagged boys summoned a taxi outside of the airport and requested for the driver to stop at the nearest lodging place.

Erik piled out of the car while Charles paid the driver. He stretched his limbs and stared at the dusk evening. Cyan stretched across blues under the clouds.

“Ready?” Charles patted Erik’s back.

“Yes.” Erik said finally.

Charles noticed the almost serene presence in Erik now. He looked in his direction and smiled at the enchanted view in the sky. Another moment that Charles would remember. “It’s beautiful. Reminds me of an old painting I saw at a museum in my hometown.”

“I think I’ll enjoy Scotland.” Erik turned and the two headed into the small Bed and Breakfast.

The inside was not very big. The place was ran by a local family and had been passed down from generation to generation. They bought a room with two twin size beds and trudged up the wobbly stairs toward their bunk. Erik smirked at the look of disdain Charles gave the quaint room. He mustn’t be used to such a small sleeping place.

“No, I’m really not.” Charles commented as he placed his bag on the side of his bed. “It’s a few steps down from where I used to live.”

Erik bounced on the bed and the lumpy mattress groaned underneath him. He rested his head on the palm of his hand supported by a bent elbow on the mattress. “And where did you used to live?”

“England.” Charles answered.

“That’s not very far from here.” Erik mused.

“No, not at all.”

“What was it like?”

“Lonely.” Charles responded. He lay down, and placed his hands on his side. “That is until Raven came. She showed up one night in my kitchen, pretending to be my mother.”

Erik shook his head. “Quite an ambitious move for such a young girl.”

“That’s Raven. She’s never done anything halfway.” He smiled at the thought of his dear friend.

“You really care for the girl, don’t you?”

“Of course.” Charles turned to look at him, “She was all I had growing up.”

“Must have been nice.” Erik remarked. All he knew of his childhood was pain, death and destruction. To have spent time with a friend would have done him good. To have been able to spend more time with his mother...

Somewhere between their talking they dozed off. Late at night, a wail came from Erik’s side. Xavier sat upright in bed instantly. He turned on the old lamp on the bedside table and climbed out of bed quickly. Slipping into his friend’s head he saw it: the bloody office where his mother lied in a heap in one corner and Shaw towering over a young Erik Lehnsherr in the opposite. He spoke in gibberish, from what Charles could distinguished, terrorizing the poor, young boy. Charles climbed on the bed and shook his shoulders. His body was drenched in sweat. He tried to wake him, but to no avail. Trying another approach, he attempted to differ his dream by filling anything else in his head. He tried to implant the daffodils that lied outside their window and the smiling people downstairs in his mind. The image lasted for only a moment until the horrible scene snapped back in his brain. It was if the painful memory lied too deep to just alter with any old thing. Charles dug deeper in his head. Then suddenly, there were white walls and nurses walking back and forth and kids pressed with their faces against a glass wall. This must have been his first sights as a new born baby. Erik’s heart rate began to steady. It was working.  All a sudden the image changed. A firey sunrise appeared over a crowded street and a young boy helping a woman carry bags of groceries, the star of David emblem on the side of both their shirts. Two men across the street staring at them, swastikas emblem on their cloths. He didn’t mean to go this far in his memory system. Suddenly Erik’s eyes shot open. The action surprised Charles so much he instantly switched his train of thought to the two of them in a field, embraced in eachother’s arms, tightly wound together like two lovers.

Erik’s expression changed. He lifted his head and captured Charles’s lips. Quite quickly Charles wrapped his arms around him and their mouths melted together. Erik cupped his face and pulled him closer. After a moment Charles dropped the thought and Erik pulled away from him. He stared at Charles, appalled. “What are you doing?”

“I-”

“You were in my head,” he panted, trying to make sense of what just happened. “You were...you took a memory from me and...and...”

“Listen to me,” Charles tried to remain calm, “You were having a nightmare, I was only trying to help.”

“You were mind controlling me?!” Erik glared.

“Please, keep your voice dow-” Charles was sent flying down on the carpet as Erik scrabbled out of bed, shaking from head to toe. “I told you to stay the hell out of my head.” A slam form the bathroom door shook the room. Xavier sat up slowly and glanced at the light shining around the edges of the bathroom door. His heart thudded in his chest painfully fast as the taste of the boy’s lips remained on his own.

Come morning, the two packed quickly and quietly. They didn’t speak of last night. Erik ordered the taxi for them and only spoke to him about the whereabouts on the new mutant. Charles didn’t dare look in his mind, he was afraid of what he’d find. After eating breakfast, Charles threw his luggage in the trunk and they both sat in the taxi in silence.

 

By Ashton