#nothing against cherik

[platossoulmates]

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE drop any x-men found family fic recs- all of the major stuff is solely cherik and the first class cast which is so good BUT i want team fluff so badly 😭

[wishchip106]

i want to rewatch xmen 97 but i feel like i’m being constantly reminded of whatever the hell rogue and magneto had going on ☹️

I DONT CARE THAT IT WAS IN THE COMICS GET IT OFF MY SCREEN

charles get ur ass down here magnus is being freaky and not in a good way 😧

rogue i don’t blame you for wanting physical contact BUT GAMBIT IS RIGHT THERE HE IS OFFERING I THINK HE WANTS TO BE IN A COMA

man anyway cherik should’ve kissed in ep 10

[strawberrylovely]

not to be a cherik shipper but they are SO divorced

[lauriegraham01]

forever & always | erik lehnsherr

pairings: erik x reader, (cherik x reader if you squint)

summary: it's been years since erik abandoned you on the sands on cuba. when fate - or rather a friend from the future, logan - steps in and forces your paths to cross, what feelings will ensue?

w/c: 2,272

a/n: follows the events shown in days of future past, inspiration drawn from "forever & always" by taylor swift. been working on this one for the past week, apologies for the delay, life can be cruel but the storm only lasts one night.

The brightness of the sun was blinding as its rays bleed through the curtains of your room, shining in your eyes prompting you to wake up with a groan. Reaching out for Charles youre disappointed as you feel nothing but the cold sheets where his side of the bed laid empty. A headache settles in within your head, throbbing unforgivably. As you look over to your nightstand you read your clock.

2:47 p.m. Another day wasted away in bed.

You had gotten little sleep the night before. Scenes of sand plaguing you in your dreams echoing the trauma from all that you've lost.

You're on a beach in a Cuba. You don't know yet that it's the end of the world- the end of your world. Black spots cloud your vision. You're losing too much blood. Footsteps staggered as your breathing comes out labored- trying to make sense of what happened.

Erik.

Charles and you had been caught in the crossfire of his war against humans and now you both were paying the price for it.

"Erik?!" Your voice rings clear in his head. He exhales a shaky breath, one that he can't seem to breathe out enough. Charles laid in his arms paralyzed and betrayed. His heart broken at the pain he's caused and remorse washes over him as he sees the man in his grasp slips further away into a world of unfathomable pain. Leaving Charles within Moira's grasp he then makes his way to you. Discarding his metal helmet in the process.

"Y/N." Erik cautiously places his hands at your side. Taking in how much blood seeped through your suit.

“Erik what’s happened to Charles? Is he alright?" With eyes widened, you wait for him to bring some clarity to the chaos that happening.

“Y/N stop. You’re losing too much blood," Erik said carefully. Looking down he sees your hand pressed to your side. Carefully lifting it, he lets out a sharp gasp as he sees the tear in your suit where the bullet pierced your skin.

A choked cough escapes your lip as a bit of blood rushes through the side of your mouth. You feel your knees buckle underneath you and Erik catches you in time, placing you in his arms as you both sink to the sand.

“Erik?” Your voice rings within his head, even telepathically your voice sounds strained, hurt. “Did you do this?”

"I’m sorry, my love,'" it comes out a whisper. Even without your powers you knew exactly where his mind was at. By the solemn expression on his face and the distant look in his eyes you knew that he was leaving.

"Erik, please," you plead.

"I can't stay here. Look at all that I've caused."

"Erik, don't do this. Stay."

"I cant." He says through gritted teeth, the pain sharp on his tongue like a blade.

"You can. You have a family here, you have people who care and love you- I love you Erik."

His face was taut, twisted in a sea of emotions as he thought of the path that he was walking down- and the love that he would lose in the process.

"This is a war that I have to fight alone. I have to go down a road that you can't follow me on."

"Erik, please." You place a hand on his cheek and he closes his eyes and lets out a heavy sigh. Burning the feel of your touch for what he believes would be the last time.

"I'm sorry my love."

He takes your hand and places a kiss onto it before walking away, fading into view with your heart breaking with every step he takes.

"Charles?" You call to him like a ship lost at sea.

"I'm right here. I'm right here darling." His voice rings out softly in your head. By the labors of his breath you know that he's fighting through his pain. You shiver as you feel a coldness drape over you, slumping further into the sand as exhaustion wins its fight over you.

“I’m scared.”

"Stay with me. We'll make it through this together." Charles voice fades out as your vision fades to black.

It truly was a miracle that you even pulled through at all. Hank managing to save you within an inch of your life. An unpleasant feeling sits deep in your stomach as you try to shake off the scenes replaying in your head. Before the guilt of wasting the day away consumes you, you rise up out of bed and make way for the kitchen. The halls were quiet now, faded were the days where students once roamed freely. When the war in Vietnam began, students and teachers alike were being drafted and many never returned home. Wallowing in his grief, Charles closed the doors to the school.

So you and Hank stayed behind in the mansion. Hank tinkered away on his own plans and research and you remained by Charles side as you both tried to process and move through each others grief. When Hank created a serum that gave Charles the ability to use his legs again you had thought things would get better, but time would reveal how wrong you were. Things ultimately took a turn for the worst, as Charles became dependent on the serum and became an alcoholic, he had turned into a version of himself that you never thought possible. He was short-tempered and full of rage at any given moment. Hank got the worst of it, and at times you thought about leaving but you knew that you wouldn't- Charles knew that you couldn't.

Yet, it would be wrong to put the entire blame on Charles for the way things were. The truth was that you too had turned to your vices to quiet the voices within your own head. Falling in love with little thin white lines and drowning yourself in the bottom of bottles, you too had spiraled into your own world of self-destruction just as Charles had. Your relationship hadn't necessarily been the most stable it's been either. It seemed that you and Charles were constantly at each's others throat nowadays but it wasn't always bad days. Despite the screaming matches, both of us turning to our vices, there was still something tethering us together-whether it be love or a trauma bond was becoming unclear as time passed.

As you enter the kitchen, you note the bottles and needles still littering the kitchen table. Charles must've been up all night-again. Fancying a tea you turn the stove on as you fill a kettle with water. you feel the house rumble just a bit. Looking towards the ceiling you can make out heavy footsteps as though someone were being chased. Just then a yell can be heard following a hard crash. Following the source of the disturbance, you enter the foyer where Charles, Hank, or rather Beast, and a strange man come into view.

"Charles? What's going on here?" Making your way across to the staircase where Charles sat on.

"Nothing darling this gentlemen was just leaving," with a scotch in hand he waves to the strange man.

"Afraid I can't do that because I was sent here for you." Taking a closer look at him you note that he's rather tall. He carries himself confidently, head held high in his brown leather jacket.

"Well tell whoever it was that sent you that I'm...busy," Charles trails off.

"That's gonna be a little tricky because the person who sent me here...was you."

"What?" Charles and I let out simultaneously.

"About fifty years form now. Look I kno-I know, stay with me," he pleads with us.

"Excuse me?" Crossing your hands over your chest you look over to Charles and you both share a puzzling look before facing the stranger in front of you again.

"Fifty years from now like in the future fifty years from now ?" Charles quips.

"Yeah."

"I sent you from the future," Charles asks amused.

"Yes, Charles," he says with a roll of his eyes, growing aggravated by our refusal to believe him.

"Piss off," Charles spits bitterly.

"Charles..." you place a hand on his shoulder.

"If you had your powers you'd know I was telling the truth."

With that you use your powers to enter his mind, not expecting what was awaiting you. Hazed memories of the man you now know is Logan, consumed your senses as you traveled within his world of memories. Fear melted on your tongue as you saw the horrors of the reality that the future held, pain and genocides lurking within every corner and within the midst of it-hope. Hope that the future could be rewritten. Voices and faces so familiar yet so unknown, as though you've known them, a version of them.

Leaving his mind, you stumble as you adapt back to this reality, piecing together the meaning behind Logan's memories. Charles immediately stands up to catch you before you fall.

"y/n?" Charles calls, voice shaky as he holds you. Your breath comes out shaky as you cling to him for support. "Charles he's not CIA." Looking up at Logan he meets your gaze with understanding eyes, grateful that now someone believes him.

"y/n-" Hank calls out doubtfully.

"Hank, I know what I saw," you affirm sternly.

"Are you alright? What are you talking about?" Charles desperately searches your eyes for some kind of clarity.

"I'm fine, Charles. He's not CIA or FBI. I got in his head and I-", the words seem to die on your tongue. How do you explain what you saw without seeming mental? "I saw you...but older. From the future."

You swallow the lump within your throat. Charles furrows his eyes in confusion, not knowing what to make of your revelation.

"Erik too. I saw all of us, together preparing for what I fear may be our doom."

From then you managed to convince Charles and Hank that Logan was indeed telling the truth and that he needed our help in ensuring the survival of mutants. The four of you ventured on the plan that Charles, from the future, had set out. Which led you to where you were right now, on a plane seated next to Charles with Erik in front of you. Breaking him out of the Pentagon had been no easy task, but with the help of a new speedster friend, the lot of you succeeded with somewhat minimal damage in the process.

"y/n I-"

"Shut up," you cut Erik off.

He puffs out a defeated sigh as he looks up at you with those pleading eyes of his. You had imagined what it would be like to see Erik again. You spent the best of years waiting for him to come back, to fix what he had broken. You knew you should've given up when news got out of his attempted assassination of the president, but it was moot. A part of you still loved Erik, a part of you still saw the good in him.

"Look I want to apologize for what I did."

"For what exactly? Cause there's a long list of things left unsaid," Charles shoots back bitterly.

"Charles" you mutter and he backs down. You know how hard this is for him too, seeing Erik. Having him within arms reach yet him being worlds away from the man that you two knew and loved.

"He's right," Erik says sitting upright in his seat, "I did things and people got hurt in the process."

Your eyes look sharp and steady into the empty parts of him, heart heavy with the hatred of his own beliefs and the pain that its inflicted.

“I’m sorry Charles for what happened, I truly am. Not a day passed where I let myself forget it, I never meant to hurt you."

The anger practically radiates off Charles as his leg anxiously bounces even faster. He then climbs up from his seat before storming off passing you and Erik until he disappears from view.

"He'll come around," you mutter.

"I know," Erik sighs. "Charles has a flair for the dramatics."

Your lips betray you as they curl into a small smile. Locking eyes with him you feel the guard you had fought so hard you built to distance yourself from him, rumble threatening to drop into ash.

"I missed you everyday, y/n."

"Erik please-"

"I couldn't escape you even if i tried. You know that better than I do."

"I thought I knew you, now I'm not so sure," you whisper barely loud enough for Erik to register.

Slumping further into his seat, the guilt settles deeper in his bones. He knows he'll never forgive himself for what he did that day on the beach. Yet, sitting here in front of you he wants nothing more than to be able to be loved by you again.

"I couldn't save you.." he croaks. Eyes glossy as tears began to pool his eyes.

"That didn't mean you had to go. Erik, we could've fought through it, together."

“I was too blind to see that I hurt the ones I love. I carry the weight of my crimes every day."

"You don't have to carry it alone." Hesitantly you reach your hand across to grab his. He's still warm to the touch just as you remembered, rubbing smooth circles over his knuckles with your thumbs, you savor the feel of him, having been deprived of it for so long.

"There's still time to make things right."

"I'd like that." Bringing your interlocked hand to his lips he places a kiss on top of your knuckles.

[andr33yy]

Cherik being soft, cuz they deserve it

After a particularly hard day of training, Charles found himself resembling a puddle on his bed. The muscles already were turning sore and his head was on the brink of a headache. As much as he loved his 'children', even when some of the recruits were almost the same age as him, the telepath had to admit - teaching was exhausting.

"Charles, you're in there?" came along with a knock on the door. Without waiting much, Erik opened the door just to see Charles melting into the mattress face down. At least he was decent enough to throw off the shoes.

With the minimal countiousness that was left in him, Charles felt the bed next to him dent in a bit. Not a moment later, a warm hand softly slid over his head. The touch was full with adoration, a wish to lift off at least a bit of the fatigue.

"Should I stay or would you prefer to be left alone?" Erik asked.

Charles was too tired to speak, so he let his body speak for him, lazily throwing a hand around Erik's waist. 'Stay' echoed in other's mind.

A soft warmth bloomed in Lehnsherr's chest. Adoration for the man, who had managed to shift his body on top of him, resting the head on his chest, drinking in the warmth. Erik's hands traveled up to Charles' head and continued to massage out his scalp, scaring away the headache.

Minutes pass and both of them are snoring, curled up against each other like nothing in the world matters no more.

[velvet4510]

A Very-Long Untangling Analysis of the Fox X-Men Continuity

Here’s my attempt at making sense of it all. All of my thoughts and ideas about continuity discrepancies and time travel piled up in one big info dump.

Please bear in mind that this interpretation is heavily biased in favor of the Days of Future Past Rogue Cut and against Apocalypse and Dark Phoenix, which hopefully won’t cause too much upset.

It also mentions Cherik as if it’s official canon because duh.

It also will cite links to various other posts I’ve made in the past which support my claims.

It also is gonna get long. Very long. Very very very very long. So proceed at your own risk.

So here’s my thesis:

The series depicts 8 separate timelines within 3 different universes.

UNIVERSE 1

Timeline 1: First Class (Charles & Erik are lovers in 1962; Moira recalls some events) ➡️ Origins: Wolverine ➡️ X-Men ➡️ X2 ➡️ The Last Stand ➡️ The Wolverine ➡️ Days of Future Past Rogue Cut dark future

Timeline 2 (divergence of Timeline 1): First Class (Charles & Erik are lovers in 1962; Moira recalls some events) ➡️ Days of Future Past Rogue Cut 1973 events ➡️ Erik remains true to himself in the aftermath ➡️ Days of Future Past new 2023 with history-teacher Logan

UNIVERSE 2

Timeline 3: Events similar to the OG trilogy ➡️ Deadpool ➡️ Deadpool 2 Original Events (Russell becomes a killer) ➡️ Logan ➡️ The New Mutants ➡️ Cable’s family dies ➡️ Laura gets pruned

Timeline 4 (divergence of Timeline 3): Deadpool ➡️ Deadpool 2 main events (Cable time-travels, Vanessa dies, Wade stops Russell and dies)

Timeline 5 (divergence of Timeline 4): Deadpool ➡️ Deadpool 2 climactic time-travel (Cable saves Wade)

Timeline 6 (divergence of Timeline 3): Deadpool ➡️ Deadpool 2 post-credits scene (Wade saves Vanessa) ➡️ Deadpool & Wolverine

UNIVERSE 3

Timeline 7: First Class (Charles & Erik remain just friends; Moira recalls nothing) ➡️ Events similar to OG trilogy ➡️ DOFP Theatrical Cut dark future

Timeline 8 (divergence of Timeline 7): First Class (Charles & Erik remain just friends; Moira recalls nothing) ➡️ DOFP Theatrical Cut 1973 events ➡️ Erik betrays his values and settles down with Magda ➡️ Apocalypse (part or all dream) ➡️ Dark Phoenix (dream)

Now I will elaborate.

TIMELINES VS UNIVERSES

First off, “timelines” and “universes” are confusing terms in Marvel. Some say they’re the same thing, others say they’re separate things. But I believe the ultimate answer to this question can be found in What If…? Season 1 Episode 4, in which the Ancient One creates a split that forms two timelines (and thus two variants of Dr. Strange) in one universe. Since this is canonically possible, I think it explains many of the X-Men series’ discrepancies.

THEY CANNOT ALL BE IN 1 UNIVERSE

Secondly, I’m sorry to Deadpool & Wolverine, but there is absolutely no way that every film in the Fox series takes place in the same universe. There are way too many inconsistencies for that to be possible. I know such a notion takes away a bit from the impact of Wade and Logan’s efforts to save that universe, and Logan replacing the anchor being, but still. It just doesn’t add up. The film’s events are direct follow-ups to DP 1 and 2, and to Logan. Wade’s universe is dying because of Logan’s death in Logan. OK, so those 4 films happen in the same universe for sure. But none of the other films do.

DIFFERENT TIME TRAVEL RULES

One major reason there are multiple universes at play here is that the series depicts two different kinds of time travel that have two different repercussions:

Kitty Pryde’s consciousness projection, which rewrites history

Cable’s device, which causes timeline branching and universe-hopping (just like MCU quantum time travel)

So Logan’s time travel in DOFP overwrote/erased his original timeline (the events of Origins, the OG trilogy, and The Wolverine) … whereas Cable’s time travel in DP 2 split his universe into multiple timelines. (This is proven by the fact that even though Wade lives in a timeline where Vanessa is alive in DP&W, the universe is still dying because of the events of Logan. So none of Cable’s time traveling in DP 2 overwrote/erased Logan.)

These are two different rules of time travel, which makes it all the more likely that they happen in different universes.

Therefore, any universe in which Logan time-traveled to stop the Sentinels is NOT the same universe as the DP/Logan universe.

OTHER CONTINUITY ISSUES

Wade is in his 30s in Origins, which is set in 1979 … and Wade is in his 30s in the DP films, which is set in the 2010s.

Warren Worthington III is 12 years old in 1996 at the beginning of The Last Stand and a young adult during the main events in the 2000s … and he is a young adult in 1983 in Apocalypse.

Colossus has an American accent in the OG trilogy and a Russian accent in the DP films.

Mutant children are seen thriving in 2023 at the end of DOFP, whereas in the world of Logan, mutants stopped being born in 2004.

Which brings me to one of my most major arguments here:

THE CONSEQUENCES OF LOGAN’S TIME TRAVEL

Logan’s time-travel in DOFP only changed history starting in 1973; everything that came before 1973 stayed exactly the same in that universe. So we cannot possibly say that DOFP caused Wade to be born decades later or Warren to be born decades earlier in its new timeline. That is impossible.

Also, the children at the end of DOFP are irrefutable proof that Logan did not wake up in a world where mutants have been dying out since 2004 and where he and Charles are destined to be killed by X-24. That is impossible.

Therefore, neither Apocalypse nor the DP films nor Logan can possibly take place in Universe 1 (the same universe as the OG trilogy or Origins).

WHAT ABOUT THE DISCREPANCIES IN FIRST CLASS?

DOFP firmly establishes that despite the continuity errors, First Class is absolutely a prequel to the OG trilogy and occurs in the same universe. In this post, I lay out in detail how the few plot holes between these films may be logically explained.

THE X-MEN’S CAMEO IN DEADPOOL 2

All I can say is this is obviously a meta joke created in Wade’s head for the audience. In no possible version of events do the ages of the X-Men in their brief cameo in this movie make any sense.

UNIVERSE 1 vs. UNIVERSE 2

Ok, so now we’ve firmly established that:

Universe 1 consists only of FC, Origins, the OG trilogy, Wolverine, and DOFP. Its history is fully rewritten starting in 1973, so in both versions of history, Wade Wilson is always born in the 1940s and thus in his 30s in 1979 … and Warren Worthington III is always born in the 1980s and thus a child in the 90s and adult in the 2000s. Colossus emigrates from Russia to the U.S. at an early age and grows up with an American accent.

Universe 2 consists only of DP 1, DP 2, Logan, and DP&W. There was no time-travel in this world, and yet no Sentinels were created. Instead, Transigen put mutation-killing poisoning in food, which drove mutants to near-extinction by 2029. This makes 14-year-old Russell in DP 2 one of the last mutants to be born before the poisoning took effect. Cable’s and Wade’s time-traveling created multiple branches, but they all coexist in this universe. Wade Wilson was born in the 1970s, and thus he’s a thirty-something in the 2010s. Colossus grew up in Russia and thus maintained a Russian accent. After escaping the Void, Laura relocated from her original timeline (Timeline 3) to Timeline 6, while staying in the same universe.

THE DIFFERENT CUTS OF DAYS OF FUTURE PAST

But wait, you may say. DOFP and Apocalypse also must exist in the same universe since Apocalypse is a direct sequel to the 1973 events of DOFP. So doesn’t Apocalypse have to happen in Universe 1, as well?

Well, here’s the explanation for that:

Consider the existence of two different cuts of DOFP: the theatrical cut and the Rogue Cut.

Also consider the alternate ending filmed for DOFP, in which Logan is pulled from the river in 1973 by the real Stryker, a perfect lead-in to him being Weapon X in Apocalypse … whereas the actual DOFP ending shows Raven rescuing him that day, which changed his fate and kept him out of Stryker’s hands.

If you go beyond the meta and think about the multiverse, it becomes extremely plausible to assume that there was more than one universe in which Logan time-traveled via Kitty to stop the Sentinels.

In one of these universes (which I’ve labeled Universe 1 out of my preference for the Rogue Cut), within the dark future, Kitty’s wounds forced Erik, Charles, and Bobby to rescue Rogue to replace her, Bobby was killed, the mansion was blown up, Rogue took over Kitty’s job, and Kitty pulled Erik through the wall back into the temple when the Sentinels attacked him. Meanwhile in the past, Raven chose to stop by the mansion, steal a moment with Hank, and break Cerebro on her way to DC. After DC, she went undercover as Stryker, rescued Logan from the river, and most likely sent him to safety at the mansion with Charles and Hank.

In the other universe (which I’ve labeled Universe 3), Kitty kept Logan in the past through to the end, Bobby stayed and died in the temple, and Blink sent Erik back into the temple with a portal. Meanwhile in the past, Raven flew directly from Paris to DC and Charles used Cerebro to deduce her destination. After DC, Raven went her own way, and Stryker himself pulled Logan from the river and turned him into Weapon X.

APOCALYPSE AND DARK PHOENIX AS MERE BAD DREAMS

Now you’ll also notice I wrote the word “dream” next to Apocalypse and Dark Phoenix in my outline of Universe 3. And here’s where the bias comes in. Apocalypse and Dark Phoenix make so little sense that, as I also mentioned in this post, I declare they are no more than bad dreams in Erik’s and Charles’ heads at some point after 1973 in Universe 3.

Dark Phoenix in particular, just unfolds like a dream. None of the characters’ actions make any logical sense based on what we know about them. It all just feels like Charles’ worst nightmare of being suddenly abandoned and betrayed by everyone he loves, via either death or rejection … because IT IS.

Apocalypse is more complicated. It’s not as bad as Dark Phoenix but it’s also pretty darn stupid in many ways.

I laid out in great detail in this post why Erik’s family plotline makes zero sense for his character, Cherik or no Cherik. This is why I wrote that in Universe 1, Erik “remains true to himself in the aftermath of DOFP.” This fic and this fic and this fic (none of which are mine) are examples of in-character behavior for Erik which I imagine resemble his post-DOFP actions in that reality.

I also feel it doesn’t make any sense that Peter isn’t already a student at the school in 1983. There’s literally no reason why Charles wouldn’t have sought him out as his first student when he reopened the school in 1973, after the events of DOFP. It’s totally implausible that it would take 10 years for Peter to get involved with the X-Men again.

The abomination that is the fridging of Magda and Nina speaks for itself.

The abomination that is Peter not telling Erik they’re related at the most opportune moment also speaks for itself.

So this movie might be entirely a dream as well; I’d be fine with that.

APOCALYPSE AS PARTIALLY A DREAM

However, I included Apocalypse in Universe 3 as possibly “part dream” for a few reasons.

Despite the film’s stupidity, I expressed in this post the missed opportunity that is Nina Gurzsky. And in this post and this post, I expressed my fondness for a version of events where Nina survived and grew up thriving at the school with her siblings. Nina’s very existence stems from Erik behaving totally OOC after DOFP … and yet I can’t help but love her as her own character. If the writers were gonna make Erik behave in an OOC way for her to exist, then they should’ve gone all the way in letting her actually be a damn character.

I also expressed in this post how Erik settling down with someone who isn’t Charles makes very little sense if they got together during First Class. It could be somewhat more plausible if this is a version of events where they did NOT get together then.

I also mentioned in this post the inconsistency of Moira’s memories at the end of First Class and in Apocalypse. This could only be fixed by there being two different versions of events: one where Charles only erased some of her memories, and one where he erased all of them.

Which is why I labeled Universe 3 as containing “First Class (Charles & Erik remain just friends; Moira recalls nothing)” and “Erik betrays his values and settles down with Magda.”

It also could be that in Universe 3, the deleted scenes between Charles and Moira in First Class canonically happened, thus explaining his fixation on her in Apocalypse. In 1962, Charles & Erik remained on a river in Egypt, and Charles was with Moira. Thus in the 1970s, Erik finds himself capable of settling down with a random woman (even though my other reasons for this making no sense still stand, but for the sake of allowing for a world where Nina lives, I’ll let it go just for that).

NINA’S “DEATH”

Therefore, it’s somewhat possible that in Universe 3, the first third of Apocalypse is real, leading up to the moment Erik agrees to surrender himself to the Polish police.

From Nina’s death onward, the rest of the film is a nightmare of Erik’s, in which his mind envisions that he lost his beloved daughter that day and then was coerced by En Sabah Nur into becoming a mass murderer and hurting Charles and he never learned the truth about Peter.

If you think about it, Nina’s death scene in the film actually plays out like a nightmare would. Notice how even though she’s crying and screaming for her dad, she doesn’t move. She doesn’t struggle to pull away from her mom and run toward her dad. When her mom kneels in front of her, she doesn’t resist. No 8-year-old kid would be standing totally still in this situation, without flinching. Also Erik doesn’t make any more efforts to comfort her as she’s crying. He just silently stares at her, watching her scream, then silently stares at the attacking birds. Nor does Magda do anything effective; her words translate to “stop, Nina, stop!” No “we’ll be ok,” “he’s not gonna get hurt,” nothing that would actually calm Nina down. Then of course, the arrow hitting TWO people when the dude ISN’T EVEN LOOKING defies all logic and all reality. The whole thing only makes sense as Erik’s nightmare. We’ve all had those bad dreams where we want to move but we can’t, we’re frozen and unable to do what we want to do as something scary is coming at us. That’s exactly how Erik, Magda, and Nina all behave in this scene.

In reality, when Erik gave himself up in Universe 3, basically, the events of this fic unfolded. This isn’t my own fic, all credit belongs to its author WaxRhapsodic, but it is so unbelievably great that I declare it’s what really happened in this world.

To summarize, Nina was injured but not killed by the arrow that killed Magda, then Erik & Nina moved to the mansion, where Nina bonded closely with Charles and Peter, Wanda and Lorna joined the school, and Erik & Charles finally got together.

THE OG TRILOGY AND LOGAN

Lastly, you may notice I also put “events similar to the OG trilogy” in my outline of Universe 2. Why did I do this?

There are many hints in Logan that something similar to the OG trilogy happened in that world.

Charles references the Statue of Liberty incident from X-Men 1, which never happened in a world where Logan time-traveled.

In a deleted scene, Charles claims Logan was married to Jean before he killed her. This could be true or it could be Charles’ confusion in his dementia.

Jean’s absence from the story is glaring: considering her power level, it is quite unlikely that Charles could’ve killed her in the Westchester Incident.

Thus, in this world, the events of the OG trilogy including The Last Stand must have happened. But instead of Sentinels, humans weaponized the anti-mutant food poisoning to wipe out mutants once the cure proved to be a failure. So by the time of the Westchester Incident, Jean was already dead.

This explains Charles’ condition in Logan. His disease is not the result of mere old age. It is a result of 3 things:

The impact of the food poisoning on his mutation as well as his overall health.

His mind struggling to remain in harmony with his twin brother’s body which he inhabited in the post-credits scene of The Last Stand after the Phoenix destroyed his original body. (In Universe 1, the Sentinel apocalypse unfolded before the negative longterm side effects of his consciousness transference could take hold.)

Erik’s absence, which can only be explained by his death prior to the film’s events. In this post and this post, I theorize in more depth that his sudden death was the final straw for Charles’ mental health that triggered the Westchester Incident.

[mooniel]

Cherik hidden gems - part 2

It took me a while but here are some more nice fics with under 10k hits!

(part 1)

Closer (to God) by dsrobertson; 64k:

Political journalist and editor, Erik Lehnsherr, has just lost £150,000 in a libel case against businessman, Kurt Marko. Down on his luck and in need of money, Erik is approached by the Metropolitan Police’s Detective Inspector Charles Xavier. Well-known for his investigative journalism, Erik is asked to help in the search for a serial killer in return for £200,000 if the killer is caught.

Wrapped up in murder, religion, and sex, Erik gets more than he bargained for.

lucky, lucky you (i am fortune’s fool) by roachvibes; 17k:

Charles buys a houseplant to prove to his therapist that he can take care of something. Single father Erik sells them at the local farmer’s market every Saturday.

to put a world between us by populuxe; 25k:

Erik Lehnsherr is one of the hottest actors in Hollywood: fresh off an Academy Award nomination, he’s about to star in HBO’s most anticipated show of the year. And even though online chatter about his recent string of queer roles keeps getting louder, his personal life remains personal—just as it always has, and just as his manager and publicist continue to advise.

But when he winds up at the same wedding as his college best friend, Charles Xavier—and when they quickly fall into bed together—he’s forced to revisit the past he’s been trying to get away from for years. The pull between them has always been magnetic, but so has the weight of secrecy. Can they keep from repeating the same mistakes, or will the price of the truth be too high?

Stars Will Tumble From The Blue by Baamon5evr; 11k:

“Just one night, no fear, no shame, no blame or rage. Just serenity. Just us. Just one night to acknowledge that there is more here and then we go our separate ways and you go back to being angry and hating me.”

5 Times The Students Figured Something Out about their Professor (and one time they learned the full story) by ladanse; 14k:

Six months after Apocalypse, things are looking up. Magneto seems to be appearing more and more at the manor, and as the mutants adjust to their life at Westchester, they dig up long-concealed secrets that, honestly, Professor Charles Xavier would rather stay buried.

connecting the dots by joshriku; 7k:

 As students of both Professor Xavier and Professor Lehnsherr, the students notice they only know one thing for certain about Professor Lehnsherr: he's married. Nothing beyond that.

They take it upon themselves to find out more about him after that slip of information. Perhaps Professor Xavier knows more about his mysterious spouse?

we might just be hollywood material, baby by ikeracity, midrashic; 15k:

Ten years ago, Charles and Erik co-starred on the explosively popular animated show Greenkeep, where they first earned their big breaks — and where they fell in love. Now, at a cast reunion a decade later, they've made careful, PR-vetted plans to reveal their relationship to the fans with minimal fuss.

Of course — easier said than done.

The Wurst Case Scenario by sareyen; 12k:

If anyone asked why Charles, come rain, wind or shine, made the significant trek during his dismal lunch hour to dine at "Edie's Kosher Delicatessen", he would stubbornly say that it was because their pastrami on rye and potato knishes were absolutely to die for. He wasn't completely lying, because the deli's namesake, Edie Lehnsherr, made the best matzah ball soup Charles has ever had in his life. Still, Charles would rather shave his full head of hair off than admit that the real reason he would willingly walk through hail and fire to get to the corner deli was because of Erik, the insanely attractive man working the counter.

Sure, Erik has barely spoken two words to Charles other than "Hello, what can I get you?" or, after the third day in a row that Charles came to the deli, "Welcome back, what can I get you?", but Charles was more than happy to just ogle at the man from afar while devouring the juicy wurst Erik had put together with his (large and very capable) hands.

But, little does Charles know, Erik doesn't usually work the front counter. He only does it when he knows the cute blue-eyed man will be dining in.

just remember you are standing on a planet that’s evolving by populuxe; 17k:

 On some level, he knew he was doomed the moment Charles Xavier rolled into the first debate team meeting of the semester and gave them all a sunny grin.

Erik is so busy he barely has time for partying, let alone dating. But as he gets to know the newest member of the debate team—and as the political climate for mutants shifts significantly around them—everything starts to change.

[permanentmess]

can i request a romantic cherik x mutant! reader where her powers are about the nature like they can control plants and after a long while they finally achieve ultimate control of their power? (like transform into a dryad temporarily)

a/n: i was not sure what to do for this one at first, i won’t lie! i don’t know anything about dryads so i researched a bit for it! i know dryads are primarily female but this could be read as any gender, so lets just pretend hehe. also, sorry for the delay, college is kicking my ass; who knew senior year would be so hard???

title: a stunning transformation (cherik x mutant!reader)

word count: 1607

warnings: canon-deviant, obviously. slight worrying/anxiety. possibly, slightly ooc for erik and charles but i did try my best. reader is able-bodied, but pronouns, y/n, and other features have been omitted. use of the word “darling” and one (1) curse word. 

mostly just fluff! 

GIF NOT MINE

~~~

You only hear whispers of their conversation at first. Mutters through the closed door to his office. You’re sure that Charles can hear your thoughts, but maybe he isn’t entirely worried about you hearing. 

“...is gaining power, I can see it in…subconscious. …been tending to my grandfather's tree…” He continues on, and you know for sure it’s about you. You’re the only person around with the ability to control plants, and the only one who’s been working on Charles’ grandfather’s tree (which was nearly destroyed by Scott).

You loved Charles and knew how much the entire property meant to him. You’d even consulted Erik first to make sure it was a good idea. You hear his voice next through the door, which is unsurprising to you. The three of you are constantly in one another's presence. 

“Yes, but is that a bad thing? Transformation is…” Oh. You hadn’t even thought about that as a possibility for yourself. But, what, transform into a tree? That would be odd…

You shake your head and decide to finally reveal yourself. You knock on the door and hear a “Come in” from Charles, prompting you to open the door. The two immediately greet you with a smile which you return immediately as you close the door. 

You go to sit on Erik’s lap, leaning your head against his. “What are you guys talking about?” You play coy, but Charles immediately sees through it and smiles. 

“You, darling, and your powers.”

“Yes, Charles here was saying how he thinks you could have the potential to transform,” Erik says, finally resting his head against yours. 

Your eyebrows furrow slightly. “Transform into what exactly?” The thought of doing so but getting stuck frightens you. You were finally feeling comfortable in a routine you had formed; not just with your relationship with Erik and Charles, but with your teaching and training, your friends at the school. You don’t want that to disappear if something goes wrong. 

Charles reaches his hands over his desk and you reach to take them. “Nothing bad would happen to you, we can find a way to make sure it’s not permanent if you can’t switch back,” he pulls them back, leaning back in his chair. “To answer your question, I think the possibilities are endless. A tree, a deity, even just a flower.”

“A deity, like a dryad or a nymph or something?”

“Precisely.”

You move your head so you can look at Erik. “What about you, do you think I could do it?” 

His eyes soften as he looks at you. “Absolutely. You’re one of the strongest people I know.” You smile at that and give him a soft kiss on the cheek, before motioning for Charles to move closer so you could do the same for him. You lean back against Erik again. 

“I’ll think about it,” you say and the two men nod. “Anyway, that’s not why I came here. What’s for dinner?” They laugh at that, and you all break into conversation.

~~~

A week has passed since the conversation in Charles’ office. Although there was never any pressure from either one of them, you could see the looks they’d give you and then each other as they watched you train. They often did this, but it seemed to increase in frequency since then. 

You’re resting against the tree you’ve been nursing back to health, gently using your powers to give it some life (you’ve been trying to get it to grow taller). It doesn’t take much concentration, so you’re reading as you do so. It’s a lovely September afternoon – the wind is blowing just enough to feel nice but not too much to be annoying, the temperature and humidity aren’t too high, and the shade of the tree makes your spot feel comfortable. 

Having been so engrossed in your book, you didn’t even realize that Erik and Charles were in front of you until Erik nudged you lightly with his foot. You look up and brighten at their presence. “What are you guys doing out here? I thought you both taught around now.”

“I gave the students time off to work on their essays,” Charles said. 

Erik quickly follows with an explanation, “And Maximoff has been begging me to let him teach one of my training sessions.” 

You nod, waiting for them to say something. But they don’t, so you’re all awkwardly staring at each other. Finally, you break. “Did I do something?” 

“No.” Charles says at the same time that Erik replies “Not yet.”

You narrow your eyes at the two of them. “Is this about the transformation thing?” 

“Yes.”

You debate it in your head. It would be fun to see what happens, and it opens a lot more possibilities during missions. But you don’t even know what would happen if you couldn’t transform back…

“Would you guys still love me if I was stuck? Even if it was as a venus flytrap?” They both laugh, bemused by your worries.

“Of course, darling.”

“I don’t know, it’d be nice being able to sleep under the covers,” Erik teases and you scoff, playfully smacking his shoe. 

“Please, the real target is Charles, how do we know he isn’t taking them with his mind powers to make us cuddle him on purpose?” 

He gasps and holds his chest in fake hurt. “How dare you insinuate such a thing?” 

There’s a bout of laughter and grins before you take a deep breath. “Alright, I’ll do it. I’ll try it out here though in case something goes terribly wrong.” You stand up, readjusting your clothes and handing your book to Erik to hold. “Maybe stand back though, just in case.” 

Neither man moves very far, but you know how protective they are of you sometimes. You take a deep breath and close your eyes. You’re not sure how one could go about transforming, so you try to do what you do when you need to use your powers in a specific way. How you first trained with them, too. 

You reach inside yourself, trying to imagine the spirit of a dryad coming through you. You begin to feel warm as you imagine the nature around you, the strength of the tree. You want it to ground you, but also help you evolve and transform into this ancient being. You feel something stirring inside you, but refuse to open your eyes. 

In fact, you don’t until Charles speaks in your mind to do so. You’re terrified, but elated at seeing what has occurred, what you’ll look like. 

Looking down, you notice your body is glowing a soft green, but not changing your skin. Vines and leaves twirl their way around your skin, accenting your arms and legs. You reach and feel for your head to notice that branches have protruded, covered in leaves and flowers to create a crown for you. But not only do you look different, inside you feel different. It’s like the trees and grass and lake are filling you with energy. You feel much more attuned to everything around you, calmer even. 

You glance at the men who are simply staring; Charles with a grin filled with pride, and Erik with slight shock and wonder, but you can’t miss the joy in his eyes. 

This was a drastic improvement in your powers, but you can’t help but wonder if Charles was right. It seemed to have been building inside you for a while, and you had felt it. You had wanted to go outside more, sit in the trees, and just relax in it. The draw to the natural world had become so strong the past month, that you wonder if it was your body’s way of reacting to the strengthening of your powers. 

You decide to turn around to face the tree you’d been working incredibly hard at nursing back to life. You place a hand on the trunk and allow the energy you feel to flow through it. You watch as it slowly grows, trunks and leaves branching out from it. In your gut, you know when to stop, when to just let it continue on its natural course, and so you remove your hand. 

You see and feel your transformation leave from your body. Your legs begin to feel weak and you feel someone, or something, holding you up. In the back of your mind, you know that Charles has used his powers to stop you from falling. Erik moves forward to grab onto you and you lean your weight on him, walking you to Charles. 

You still have energy, but it feels weird being in your body again. Whatever you transformed into felt much freer, much larger even if not in a physical sense. Walking feels like a chore, your limbs feel heavy. Maybe without the energy you previously had flowing through you, you feel weaker. 

You take a moment to wrap your arms tightly around Erik, before leaning back and pressing a kiss to his lips. It’s gentle, but enough to make him reciprocate. You move to Charles next, with Erik still holding gently onto your shirt. Your kiss is just as gentle, but as you pull back you rest your forehead onto his. 

“Thank you,” you whisper before you pull back and stand up straight. You turn to Erik. “And you.” They murmur small “you’re welcome”’s before you all fall back into silence.

Like the other day in the office, there’s a moment of silence. But this time, you’re all trying to understand what happened. 

“That, was so fucking cool,” you grin as you say and they return the gesture.

[ashestxr]

being in the hermitcraft/life series fandom while also being hyperfixated on cherik is a problem, because i cant stop imagining the xmen and the brotherhood as minecraft youtubers that are normally very chill and respectful but go batshit when put on a pvp server with barely any rules 😭

like, hear me out, xmen first class as 3rd life

charles gathers as many of his youtuber friends and acquaintances as possible for a hardcore minecraft server where everyone has three lives, expecting it to be all peaceful and stuff until people are on their red life, and at first it is, when people are just getting started. erik and charles team up, of course, and so do a few others like shaw and emma or raven and hank, most people just sticking to themselves

but then shaw is an ass and breaks the "rules" by killing erik on purpose while not on his red life. this ends with erik swearing that he'll be the one to get shaw out of the series (charles is not impressed when he finds out)

things get relatively more peaceful again after that, people dying on accident here and there, but of course, that doesnt last long as shaw is the first to get to his last life. hes allowed to kill people now and its made worse by the fact that his alliance has grown stronger, azazel and janos have joined him and emma in their castle on the beach. shaw is even proudly showing off his new netherite helmet, despite the fact that helmets arent allowed on the server

moira decides to do something about that and goes to charles and erik to ask for help of aligning as many other people as possible against the four of them before they get more allies. they go off on their own to recruit the others while moira builds a secret base for their meetings. unsurprisingly, everyone agrees to join them, but they didnt know that shaw had already recruited angel before asking her. a couple more people get on their red life outside of shaw. the team has a couple of successful secret meetings, but angel rats them out and tells shaw where they are

while charles erik and moira are out scoping out shaws base, they find only emma is there and end up in a stand off. shaw and the others storm the secret base and find darwin, alex and angel there. it ends with angel being revealed as a traitor and alex and darwin killed. alex is on his last life, but darwin was already on red, so hes first out of the server. he gets made fun of by alex for that ("seriously darwin? you can adapt to survive anything but that doesnt translate to minecraft skills??"). emma is also killed shortly after and is second out

before this, everyone that was against shaw was just in a tentative alliance, nothing like what shaws team was like. they would have meetings and help each other with some things, but they were still off on their own. but now they were a team, sticking together in their new base and and helping each other grow stronger

on the final day of the server, most of the people were on red, charles being one of the few still on yellow. the plan was to swarm shaws team while they were still inside their base, but since last time they were there, it had been trapped and all hell broke loose once they stepped inside. practically everything blew up, and azazel, janos, and angel jumped them shortly afterward while they were still confused. shaw was no where to be found

erik went to look for him while everyone else fought and he found him in a secret room underground that had been untouched by the explosion. they fight and erik wins, donning the helmet that shaw was so proud of. during their fight, several other people lose their last life in the chaos, until eventually the only ones left are charles and moira, charles somehow miraculously still having two lives while moira is on her last

just as they are discussing how to end the game fairly, by having moira killing charles and then the three of them having a friendly battle to see who wins, erik comes back and sees that charles is still on his second life. he decides that charles deserves the win, or maybe they could have a joint win, and starts shooting moira from a distance, catching them off guard. moira starts to shoot back at erik, and while charles is trying to get them both to stop he gets shot in the chaos. already low on health from the battle before, and without any food to heal, he was one shot, and looses his second life and it was unfortunately eriks arrow that did it. moira, caught off guard at charles' sudden death, doesnt see erik coming closer and gets killed shortly after, leaving just erik and charles left

charles returns from his respawn and goes back to the beach with nothing on him and finds erik waiting there for him. erik asks if this means that they won. charles disagrees, saying that there has to be one winner, and all the "ghosts" left on the server agree in chat. erik begs him to reconsider, that it was charles' server, he could do whatever he wanted, they can change the rules and win together. they want the same thing. it was always their alliance above everyone else. charles disagrees.

theres nothing much that can be done. charles has nothing and moira took all of his things with her when she lost her last life. despite eriks insistence that they can have a fair fight, charles is already low health again and erik doesnt have enough food to get them both up to full health. charles takes the loss with dignity, and erik wins the first season

and of course, the collective fandom in their universe that has grown throughout this series freaks the fuck out over this finale 😭

like, charles and erik obviously become what desert duo is in our world (beach duo?), where people make a shit ton of art and fics about these two and also shipping them and people are still obsessed with their team-up even years after the first season has ended (their interactions in later seasons dont help)

and of course, the animatics. they are so dramatic and accidentally fool people into thinking theyre for something equally as dramatic, but when you actually watch it to see just how heart wrenching this series must be, this is what you see when you get to the big scene that everyone is obsessed over 😭

(imagine getting your fiancé into a silly block game only for him to get way more into it then you ever were)

i kinda got carried away while figuring out how to make xmfc fit into minecraft, cause despite all the detail i went into here, this au is mostly focused on these characters being minecraft youtubers rather than what they do in the game 😭

like i do have some plans for how dofp could work in the life series (and possibly making it be double life??), and the vaguest ideas for x1, but otherwise its just mostly silliness and dumb antics (like charles and erik being engaged but the fandom doesnt know or peter also being a youtuber and finding out that erik is his dad after already becoming friends with him online)

i really hope other people like this au because its been consuming my every thought lately 😭😭

[mintedwitcher]

WIP Wednesday

tagged by @perfectlysunny02

It's been a hot minute since I've participated in this lmao unfortunately the cherik brainrot has taken over my life so that's all I'm working on at the moment. Hope you all enjoy anyway!

(CW for implied child abuse)

“Stay out of my head.” It was a phrase that Charles Xavier was very familiar with. The first to say it was his mother, in one of her drunken stupors, when Charles had tried to check on her shortly after Father’s funeral. The words had come laced with venom and followed by her wine glass sailing over his head to crash against the wall. Mother was not like Father, Charles surmised. Father enjoyed his gifts, enjoyed encouraging them and honing them. Charles had a list of exercises to do each day to strengthen his powers, and he practiced them faithfully, even in Father’s absence. Mother, however, did not like Charles’s gift. She was frightened of it, of him. She told him repeatedly to stay out of her head, and after enough repetition, he did. He explored the maids’ minds, the butler’s, the gardeners’ and the cooks’, but he stayed out of Mother’s head. Mother remarried, and Kurt was nothing at all like Father. He didn’t like Charles, even without knowing of his gifts, and made it clear in every interaction. Kurt’s son, Cain, was even worse. He hated Charles, a deep, visceral loathing that felt rotten and oily in his head. Charles could use his powers with Kurt and Cain, but he had learned already to be careful, to avoid getting caught. He only grazed the surfaces of their minds, filled with hate and greed and a lust for pain that made Charles feel sick. He wondered what could have possibly turned them into such monsters. He wondered if he could fix it. After Cain, he never wondered that again.

Tagging:

@mrnovelist @niniblack @fallen-evenstar @sonics-atelier

(open tag to anyone else who wants to participate)

[weapon-xox]

may i request a cherik drabble?

en sabah nur doesn't recruit erik to his cause, he recruits charles, who is still heartbroken after the beach divorce. Charles follows en sabah nur, erik and raven find out and they're devastated + worried + want to bring charles home.

💕

Charles was his messenger.

Arguably, he was the strongest of the horsemen, but Apocalypse was using him as the fucking delivery boy. To send a message out to the people, spoken from his lips, transferred through Charles. Threats, warnings, to the people that their lives were about to become the survival of the fittest.

Let the best man win.

Magneto had been panicked, searching everywhere for Charles with Raven by his side. Thankfully, Hank had caught wind of where Charles was located, and the pair headed there immediately.

"Why would he do this, Erik? It just... It doesn't make sense. This isn't like him. Think he's brainwashed?"

He's still upset, Erik thought, but he kept that to himself.

When they'd reached Charles, Erik felt so many things. Relief, pain, anger, betrayal. Ironic, really, that after all this time Charles would be the one to turn his back on the mutants, the humans.

On him.

"Charles!" Erik cried out, thankful to see Apocalypse was seemingly no where in sight. He wouldn't have long to convince Charles to come back to him, to remind him that this isn't who he was, that he was still the same man that not long ago wanted peace and prosperity between both human and mutant alike.

Charles must've heard his thoughts, because suddenly Erik couldn't move, frozen in place, forced to plead with Charles from a distance.

"Let him go!" Raven yelled, running towards him, but Charles picked her up and threw her hard against the ground, far away from the two.

Charles focus on Raven had made him slip from Eriks mind, and he used the moment of freedom to move closer, quick and quiet, and by the time Charles noticed he stopped him again.

From this close, just feet away, Magneto could see that Charles was crying. Those brilliant eyes, red and puffy, his cheeks colored a spotty red from how hard he'd rubbed at them previously to hide the evidence of any tears. Erik wanted to hold him, soothe him, and tell him it'd all be okay.

Can you hear me, Charles? Erik thought, then added,

nod if you can hear me.

Stubbornly Charles didn't nod, but his eyes flickered away, and that was enough for Erik to keep going. He wanted to look back at Raven, make sure she was okay, but he still couldn't move.

I know you're hurt. I hurt you, I took away something very important and for that, my old friend, i am sorry. From the bottom of my broken heart. I did a lot of bad things, and I can admit that.

Charles wouldn't look at him, but Erik could feel his mental hold on him slip. Good, this was good. He kept going.

But please, my love. This isn't the way to get your revenge. If you want to kill me, then do it, if it will keep the entire world safe from you either getting them killed or killing them yourself, then please. I'm begging you. I hurt you, not the world, me. Kill me, Charles, do you undertand? Fucking kill m-

"ENOUGH!" Charles screamed with a sob, letting go of Erik with his eyes squeezed tight, gripping and clawing at his head, as if that could get Erik out of his mind.

"Charles," Raven coughed, holding an arm to her chest while limping towards the two, her blue body looking roughed up. "We love you, we miss you. Please, let us take you home... Let us help you stop this guy, is this really worth it?" Her voice was broken and rasped, and she coughed again, taking a deep breath in but finding it hard to do so.

"Everything you worked for. Everything we all fought for. What, does that mean nothing to you now? You're angry so you're going to take it out on the people weaker than you?"

Charles groaned, shaking his head rapidly, sobbing. "Get out of my head. Get out of my head!"

Raven shook her head, taking a single step, and Charles had her pinned flat to the ground with a thought.

"She's not in your head, Charles." Erik growled, growing angry, and Charles didn't stop him from stepping in front of him. He didn't stop him either, when Erik pressed a hand over his heart, and leaned in close. Charles let go of Mystique.

"Raven needs you, Charles. Your X-Men need you. The world and, if it still matters, I need you. I know I fucked up, I do, and I can never fix this. But if you come home, with me, and Raven... I will try, so hard, to get you to forgive me. And if you don't, I will leave, Charles. Forever. You won't ever have to see me again, but please. Spare everyone else."

Something switched inside of Charles. Maybe it was Eriks pathetic begging.

No.

No, it was Eriks pleading, for Charles to do the right thing. To remember who he was, what he stood for. Erik was right, he knew this, that if anyone were to be punished it should be him. For all the wrong he's done in this world, for all the people he's killed.

Despite all of Charles' begging. Pleading, for him to stop. It actually made him laugh now, and Erik looked hurt.

"Funny, isn't it? Why, I feel like I've got deja vu..." It didn't take a genius to understand what he meant.

"This is different."

"Is it? You believe that?" Charles laughed louder, throwing his head back to add to the theatrics. "Because actually, I don't think it is. Not one bit."

"I can't kill everyone with a single thought," Erik reminded him, and Charles just smiled, still so pretty despite how ugly he was acting.

"No, but if given the chance you would."

"Not everyon-"

"Ah! Silly me," Charles snorted, tapping a palm against his head in mock disbelief. "That's right, just the humans. That makes you so much better than me, darling, you're absolutley right."

"Don't-" Erik tried, but Charles brushed him off, literally, a flick of his hand had Erik flying back away from him, landing on the ground with a hard thud. Mystique crawled over to him, put a hand over his, and let out a small whimper.

"I think we lost," she whispered, and Erik closed his eyes.

"I think you're right."

[sensitivedevelopments]

Distractions (Cherik)

Tag: @tickles-tea

AO3 Link

Summary: Charles offers to help Erik with his training. Erik isn't sure what to expect.

Warnings: Tickle fic. Skip if that's not your thing.

Lee!Erik, Ler!Charles that eventually switches to the reverse.

OOC, perhaps, but fits into the First Class timeline.

Erik had been through a lot of trials in his life. None of them had been like Charles Xavier.

Perhaps it was unfair to compare someone as genuine and sweet as Charles to the other things he had been through—to Shaw and his tables with straps and his implements—but at times like these, when faced with the full force of that sincerity, he found that he had even less defenses against it than he had against Shaw. With Shaw, he knew what to expect. With Charles, he always felt lost. Off kilter.

Charles was all warm hands and gentle words, then at once a fierce insistence that Erik was worth it, that he belonged there with them. It was enough to give one whiplash, were it not for the fact that it was all so irrevocably insistent of his own goodness and worth as a person. If he could expect nothing else, he could expect whatever Charles would do to go in that direction.

That did nothing to help him right now. Days ago, Charles had asked him, so calmly, so sincerely, if he was allowed back into Erik’s head. To help him train, ostensibly, but that was only part of what had happened. He had reached into Erik’s memories like reaching into the reeds of a pond and pulled out something so precious to him that it might have been made of gold and physical between them. A memory of his mother, of celebrating with her. Being safe with her.

It rattled Erik at first. Knocked him off his pedestal of anger and hate and had him face-plant right into the soft grass of whatever this was that he had with Charles. But then he had began to realise the similarities of it to what was happening here. With Charles, he was not afraid of being betrayed. In Charles’s house, he did not fear waking up with knives in his flesh and Shaw towering over him again.

Was this safety? It was not exactly the same as that memory, but it certainly felt close to it. With Charles, he found himself able to smile. To relax. He should really known better than to do that.

Not because he was betrayed, but because Charles could be playful when he least expected it. Erik had no idea how to deal with that, no practiced defenses against it.

They were out on the grounds that day, hidden amongst the trees around the lake. Charles was watching him as he trained, levitating various bits of metal they had found around the house, forming complex shapes around himself and the rustling trees. Charles had informed him that one of those trees was his favorite, from his childhood. What a ridiculous concept. He still took a little extra care not to graze it with the odd pair of scissors flying about.

They were alone out there, in part thanks to the ridiculous comments Raven and Alex had offered the one time they were allowed in on Erik’s training (it was not juggling, damn it). Mostly, though, it was just nicer to be out in the quiet, and Charles only offered his opinions if he thought it might help. This, Erik was quite proficient at, and so the professor remained still, sitting in the grass behind him. At least until he got an idea, as Erik would soon come to learn.

The metal was forming a snake that slithered around him in the air, curled over the canopy of the nearest tree, and twitched to a stop in the air as Charles’ voice sounded behind him. Erik turned to look at him, arms still outstretched in the other direction.

“I was wondering,” Charles said, “if you wanted some help with your practice.”

Erik raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

In response, Charles raised his hand to his head, wiggling his fingers next to his temple in a familiar way.

“Test your concentration, perhaps?”

They both knew very well what kind of focus it took to use their respective powers. It was a correct angle from which to approach helping, but what exactly was he suggesting? Erik frowned as he watched Charles rise to his feet.

“Keep going,” he said, nodding his encouragement. “It’ll become clear.”

There was something in his expression that put Erik on edge. He knew that playfulness by now, but it came in so many different forms. Still, he turned back and guided the metal snake to curl around the trunk of the tree and slide back down. At the roots, he began to split it into tendrils that curled in different directions.

Then something brushed up his side, light as a feather.

He startled, convinced that something that lived in the trees or bushes had found its way into his shirt. The metal stalled, but did not fall as he reached down to smooth his sweater over the area. When he felt nothing more, he turned his attention back to the metal.

It happened again, almost immediately. This time, it was two quick swipes, up and down his ribs. He brushed at it once again, and found that this time, it didn’t help. The feeling didn’t dissipate.

Confused, he turned around, immediately spotting Charles, fingers at his temple and a smile on his face.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, impossibly innocent. “I thought you were focusing?”

Stilling the metal in the air, Erik raised an unimpressed eyebrow.

“Really, Charles?”

Charles gave a shrug, and his fingers stayed in place.

“All’s fair in love and practice.”

Erik raised the other eyebrow then, and his sudden burst of amusement was clearly felt by Charles, whose smile widened the slightest bit.

“I’ll make sure to remember that the next time you’re training,” he said.

He turned back to the metal, but not before he could see Charles open his mouth and find no retort. The sound of him trying was almost imperceptible, just an aborted breath or two, but Erik noticed. His smirk, however, did not last for long after that.

Charles was evidently done being subtle, but Erik was stubborn if he was anything. The next touch moved up both sides, and it felt more like fluttering fingers than feathers. Erik’s arms clamped immediately down to his sides, the metal made a jagged motion sideways, and he clamped his mouth shut. At his armpits, the feeling dodged up to his shoulders instead and cascaded like skittering nails down his back. It made him shiver more than anything, and he was going to have to ask Charles to do that the next time he needed help sleeping, but it did not break his concentration.

If Charles was noticing the way the metal shivered in the air, he said nothing about it.

Slowly regaining his confidence, Erik selected a smaller section of the metal—a haphazard mix of scrap parts and loose staples that wouldn’t be missed. Everything else lowered to the ground, and he brought it closer to himself, letting its parts curl around each other and melt into one uniform piece. Curling his hands in the air around it, he began to form it into a cube.

Something curled teasingly over his lower ribs and down his sides, heading with singular purpose towards his hips. He would never admit to the sound that escaped him as he realised that.

It didn’t stop, and Erik fought for his life. The feeling curled like gentle nails over his hips, and he suddenly felt less like training and more like curling up into a ball and disappearing. The compromise between that and his pride was his knees bending halfway to a crouch and his hands shaking as he struggled to hold on to the metal. He clenched his teeth, refusing to let out another sound.

Then that something--that nefarious, nebulous feeling—turned without warning to a pinching squeeze around the base of his hips.

The metal cube followed him down to the grass like an obedient dog as Erik came to the conclusion that the best solution here would be to hunker down like a crumpled hedgehog and suffer through the feeling. There was another sound, not a laugh, but some sort of whine, then a strangled “Charles”.

There was a chuckle from behind him, warm like honey and sweeter, still. The feeling didn’t let up, even as he let go of the metal to cover himself uselessly with his hands. At his first breathless laugh, as though it was the trigger of a gun, Charles let loose with it.

Hands or feathers or something else entirely—Erik was too far gone to tell—skittered and danced up his sides to his armpits, down over his thighs, rolling over his belly. Erik made a sound like a wounded animal and descended into giggles that no one but Charles would ever find out he was capable of. It felt like torture. It felt light and warm. He was unable to make any sense of the feeling.

“Chaharles,” he pleaded, his voice higher than he had ever heard it before. There was another laugh from behind him, this one louder and delighted, and Erik was not so far gone that he couldn’t appreciate being the reason for Charles to laugh like that. For a moment, the sounds mingled, like harmonizing notes. Though the result was nice, Erik felt a little bit like he was actively dying at this point.

He had never laughed at length, had never had reason to, and while Charles had tried tickling him before (likely the reason he dared to do it now), it had never been this intense. Erik found himself lying sideways in the grass, an imperfect metal cube forgotten in front of him. It watched him impartially as Charles methodically took him apart. He could do it from a distance. He could do it without lifting a finger.

He was terrifying, and Erik would be turned on about that if he wasn’t so busy giggling like a child.

“What?” Charles asked, and the laugh was clear in his voice. “I thought you wanted to practice!”

His tone lowered a bit, but he was no less amused when he added, “You look lovely like that, by the way.”

Erik realized with some difficulty that Charles was teasing him, and was that not just the cherry on top of all this? He had run from a lot of things and fought through a lot of things, but few of them were as paradoxical as this. This should be humiliating, and he should be lashing out. Instead he felt completely safe, a feat only ever possible because it was Charles doing this. Charles who had proven as much as one could that Erik could trust him. That he wanted him to feel safe and comfortable. And apparently to be tickled beyond coherency.

He knew that Charles was at least shallowly in his head now, keeping what boundaries he could while making sure that Erik wouldn’t be overwhelmed. But to hell with that, he thought. Clearly, training was over, and this was nothing if not a provocation.

His laughter had gone from a loud, boisterous thing to a breathless sort of wheezing at this point, and it was a struggle to move at all with the feeling creeping all over him like vigorous ants. Still, Erik was a stubborn man, and Charles had not been careful that day. He was still wearing metal. A watch on his left wrist. Cufflinks. A pair of slacks with a metal zipper. All enough for Erik to reach out with one swift, uncoordinated hand and yank him gracelessly through the air as Charles yelped like a startled child. The tickling feeling disappeared in an instant, and Erik had time to take one breath before Charles landed on him with all the grace of a man tumbling off a cliff. It was all Erik could do to raise one arm and try to catch him, but they still ended up in an uncoordinated roll across the grass.

“Erik!” Charles was yelling, but they had slowed to a stop and Erik was already ensuring that he ended up on top. Surely, Charles was going to say something about this being childish or their clothes getting dirty, but Erik was faster. The next sound Charles let out was a loud, startled laugh around his next words.

“This—ah—thihis is nohot part of ihihit!” He was flailing, reaching for Erik’s hands, but vengeance gives one reflexes like no other. Erik dodged him at every turn and dove inside that neat jacket with no preamble to find the soft skin of his belly. The laughter raised an octave as Charles tried to curl up like a shrimp, and Erik grinned triumphantly down at him. In the next instant, Charles’ hands had been yanked above his head and pinned to the ground by watch and cufflinks both.

“All’s fair in love and practice,” Erik parroted, smug beyond belief. He could feel the whispers of tickles over his thighs and hips, but Charles was too distracted now to make it all that effective. Erik huffed.

“Come on. You can do better than that. Show me your legendary focus, Charles.”

Charles did no such thing. Instead he curled sideways as much as he could and laughed his head off, eyes shut and cheeks red. The sight of him so loose and carefree was almost enough to distract Erik from the task at hand. Almost.

“We’ll keep at this until you can get out, you know.” He did not imagine the way Charles’ breath hitched between laughs. “Show me your escape strategy.”

The undeniable thrill in the back of his head was not his own.

[americanwh0rerstory]

The morning after [cherik]

charles xavier X erik lehnsherr

SUMMARY: after an ‘intense’ night together, charles begins to have some deep thoughts

WARNINGS: homosexuality

A/N: AUGH I LOVE THESE GAY MEN SO MUCH

NO NSFW ^_^

charles stood in the shared kitchen, shakily stirring his coffee whilst waiting for erik to wake up. it was a long night, and charles would be lying if he said he could walk straight right now.

he stirred the coffee, watching as the milk blends with the coffee beans, however it’s only when the spoon continued to spin after he let go that he was aware of his lover standing in the doorway

with lipstick smeared over his face from the previous nights and remnants over charles face and neck, erik leaned against the wooden doorframe with his hand slightly extended to control the spoon

“i’d have made coffee for you, you can go back to bed” erik says in an uncharacteristic soft tone, looking at the worn out charles

“no it’s fine, i’ll make you a cup too” charles replies as he began to pour erik’s cup of coffee, regaining control of the spoon from his partner

whilst stirring the coffee his mind wandered, thinking about him and erik. was it love? surely it was, the way they interacted sure seemed like love. or was it just platonic? did erik just want a friends with benefits situation? hopefully not, charles wouldn’t be able to handle it if erik left. yes, he was independant, but a world without erik seemed almost unbearable

he was so deep in his thoughts that he didn’t notice erik stand behind him, feeling erik’s arms encircle his waist and his head resting on charles’ shoulder

“you need to rest, darling” erik murmurs into charles’ skin. “somethings clearly bothering you so how about we lay in bed, drink out coffee, and you tell me what’s going on”

charles muttered a soft agreement and finished making the coffees, taking it into the bedroom they both shared before he began to open up. he never liked opening up, but he had to know what erik was thinking. he didn’t want to use his mutation, but would it really be bad if he did?

“do you love me? romantically, i mean. or is this just an extension on our friendship?” charles asks as he sits on his side of the bed, looking at erik over the rim of his mug

“why ask questions you already know the answer too, sweetheart?” erik asked in response, the petname rolling naturally off his tongue as though it was honey. he gulped down some of his coffee before continuing. “you’ve always been the closest person to me, why would i ever feel anything less than love for you?”

he set his mug down and pulled charles closer to him, the latter’s head resting on the former’s chest. erik’s hands weaved in charles’ hair, playing with the strands in an attempt to soothe him. “i love you, charles. even if i don’t say it, you know i do. and if you ever doubt it then there’s nothing stopping you looking in my head”

charles sighs gently with content, relaxing into erik’s touch as they laid on the bed together. “i love you more” he says in a half whisper, closing his eyes as he cuddled into erik. “even when you’re covered in lipstick”

[sunshine-for-serotonin]

I love charles dance erik wish more people would talk about him

Would you be open to doing a yandere alphabet for him, nsfw or sfw either works.

The Cherik fans have been flooding my inbox lololol. Not that I mind. But fear not, I have come with a slightly suggestive in some areas yandere alphabet! Also I’ll make the full blown nsfw one at some point-

Affection: How do they show their love and affection? How intense would it get?

Erik respects his darlings space, but at the same time he can only hold off for so long before the need for physical contact with them becomes too overwhelming. Erik usually shows his love and affection through long, drawn out, hugs. If he’s really desperate for some loving though, Erik will try to coax you into giving him kisses. The minute you start to reciprocate his actions, Erik is practically attached to your hip, all of his free time being spent with you and vice versa.

Blood: How messy are they willing to get when it comes to their darling?

Erik is not afraid to kill, even if it “throws him off a bit” (his words), but I think his ideal way of dealing with problems in the opera house is carefully planned sabotage. Whether that be messing with the backdrop and curtains, or even kidnapping you mid show.

Cruelty: How would they treat their darling once abducted? Would they mock them?

Erik is actually incredibly gentle and sweet once he has you in his lair, he would never mock or throw angry words your way, even if you did something to upset him. He gives you the best of everything he ever gets his hands on, for example, he’ll always make sure you have the finest dresses, jewelry, hair products, anything you could ever ask for! Erik will even give you his entire bedroom if he thinks the guest chambers aren’t to your liking! If you tell him you can both just share his room, Erik is over the moon, shocked and blushing underneath his mask as he shyly agrees. I hope you’re prepared for being clung to like a teddy bear the entire night.

Darling: Aside from abduction, would they do anything against their darling’s will?

The only thing Erik would do against your will is hug and kiss you. He knows he should respect your space, he knows you probably need time alone after being kidnapped, but he’s so starved of affection that it overpowers his will to let you be on occasion. There are, however, very rare instances where Erik kissing you can turn heated. An example of this might be him opening his mouth into the kiss in the hopes you’ll slip your tongue into his mouth to take charge of him, (because yes, even though this particular version of Erik is pretty vanilla, he still falls on the more submissive side), or Erik pressing himself snug against you, desperate for your touch. Of course, Erik will never force you to do anything beyond that, and as soon as he realizes he’s getting ‘excited’ down there he runs off to his room out of embarrassment and to pleasure himself, it gets really awkward sometimes because Erik is really vocal, but all you can really do is try to find a different room, but he’s VERY vocal so it usually doesn’t work. However, that doesn’t mean he won’t beg for you on occasion in the hopes that you’ll change your mind.

Exposed: How much of their heart do they bare to their darling? How vulnerable are they when it comes to their darling?

Erik sees no reason to hide his emotions from you. You’re his darling, you deserve to see every side of him. In fact, the only thing he would ever try to hide from you is his face, but if you show him nothing but love and compassion once you see it, Erik will even go out of his way to avoid putting his mask on around you.

Fight: How would they feel if their darling fought back?

Erik hates it when you fight back, it makes him feel worse about kidnapping you than he already does.

Game: Is this a game to them? How much would they enjoy watching their darling try to escape?

This isn’t a game to Erik in the slightest, he just wants you to be happy down under the opera house with him. Every time you try to escape his heart shatters. :(

Hell: What would be their darling’s worst experience with them?

Probably the worst experience you have with Erik isn’t even physical on your end, if I had to guess. I feel like the two worst experiences for you with him are when uses his tears and your own empathy against you, or when he goes out and sabotages/kills your friends in the opera house.

Ideals: What kind of future do they have in mind for/with their darling?

Erik wants to marry you above all else, but once that happens, he wants to escape with you to the surface world and live out the rest of your lives in domestic bliss. I could also see Erik wanting a child or two, either adopted or through you giving birth, it’s up to you two to talk about.

Jealousy: Do they get jealous? Do they lash out or find a way to cope?

You would be a fool to think that Erik doesn’t get jealous, and when he does, it’s not pretty in the slightest. Of course he would never take out his jealousy on you! The only thing he would do is that he would ask for you to be extra loving and praise him more than usual in bed that night, if you’re to that point. Taking out his jealousy on others, however, is something he would take pleasure in, whether that be outright killing them or just setting them up to fail.

Kisses: How do they act around or with their darling?

Erik is very loving to you, to the point that it’s sickeningly sweet. There are certain ways you can fluster him or make him shy though, like hugging or kissing him of your own volition. Since dry humor and sarcastic quips are some of Erik’s key personality traits, if he finds you laughing over something he said, you’ll notice that he tends to try and say humorous things more often.

Love letters: How would they go about courting or approaching their darling?

Erik definitely starts off with writing you letters when you first peak his interest, and after that it escalates to you hearing his voice, to you seeing his physical appearance, to you two going on little outings together, to you seeing his face, and then finally Erik’s obsessive tendencies get the better of him and you find yourself kidnapped despite Gerard’s protests.

Mask: Are their true colors drastically different from the way they act around everyone else?

Erik doesn’t really act different around you versus others per se, you just get to see more of his personality and other traits that no one has ever been worthy of seeing before.

Naughty: How would they punish their darling?

Erik doesn’t really punish you, to be honest. I think the worst he’d ever do is lock you in a room for a spell until you calmed down.

Oppression: How many rights would they take away from their darling?

Erik would only take two of your rights away, and one isn’t even on purpose. The one he would take away without necessarily meaning to is your right to privacy, being that he follows you around like a lost puppy, much like his other counterparts. The one he would knowingly take away is your ability to travel to the surface world without his accompanyment.

Patience: How patient are they with their darling?

Erik’s patience is endless, I cannot stress this enough. He never loses his temper at you, or even around you!

Quit: If their darling dies, leaves, or successfully escapes, would they ever be able to move on?

In no way, shape, or form would Erik ever be able to move on, if anything he would try to hunt you down for as long as he lives if you escaped, and if you died he’s following right behind you.

Regret: Would they ever feel guilty about abducting their darling? Would they ever let their darling go?

Erik feels guilty everyday for kidnapping you, but he absolutely refuses to let you go, and once his mind is set almost nothing can change it.

Stigma: What brought about this side of them (childhood, curiosity, etc)?

Its a combination of his childhood, being rejected for appearances beyond his control, and such a strong desperation for love that he would have ended up this way regardless of the former two.

Tears: How do they feel about seeing their darling scream, cry, and/or isolate themselves?

Erik will probably cry with you, because like I said earlier, he feels very guilty for abducting you. With the way Erik hangs off you, though, I don’t really see you getting the chance to isolate yourself.

Unique: Would they do anything different from the classic yandere?

I’m kind of drawing a blank for this one, sorry.

Vice: What weakness can their darling exploit in order to escape?

One of your best chances of escaping is to pretend to be in a consensual relationship with Erik, and then escape when his back is turned, possibly with the help of Gerard.

Wit’s end: Would they ever hurt their darling?

NEVER, Erik would rather kill himself!

Xoanon: How much would they revere or worship their darling? To what length would they go to win their darling over?

Erik regards you as an angel amongst devils, himself included, and counts himself lucky to be able to be in your presence. There is no length Erik wouldn’t go to for the chance to win you over.

Yearn: How long do they pine after their darling before they snap?

I think the longest Erik could go is a month or two before he kidnaps you. What can I say? You’re his biggest weakness and his biggest strength.

Zenith: Would they ever break their darling?

I really don’t think it’s possible for Erik to break you, if he did, it would be a complete and utter accident, and nothing would stop him from trying to fix you!

———————————————————————————

@sloppyzengarden

[thepointofme]

saw a cherik edit with silver springs by fleetwood mac yesterday and it feels like it has opened a hole inside my brain because yes!!!! time WILL cast a spell on you erik!!!! and you won't forget charles!!! i always think its hilarious how they call each other "my friend" "old friend" left and right and then proceed to have the least platonic relationship EVER but their friendship is so essential!!! like charles is the first person outside of his family that erik learns to know and care about (at least in the movies) charles was there, not just his first friend but his first MUTAN friend!!!! the amount of respect he holds for him even tho he doesn't agree with his opinions and world's views, how charles probably has a special place alongside his mom in erik's memories because he loves him so much. that scene in days of future past where erik is like "all those years fighting against each other, charles. to have a precious of them back." charles was ALWAYS there in the back of his mind, the only person he loves that's still alive, that nothing or no one could make him stop loving him even tho erik himself doesn't believe he has the ability to love or at least to love something or someone without breaking and ruining them because he thinks he's inherently bad. he's full of anger because he's full of grief and charles is this constant reminder of how he CAN, in fact, still love even after everything that happened to him, and it probably terrifies him down to his bones. idk im just having an erik brainrot thinking about how in the movies cherik has spent more time away from each other than together. how they're so silly and were always trying to force the other in their own way instead of meeting each other in the middle, because at the end of the day they're just two different (and extreme) sides of the same coin, they do want The Same Thing!!!! but are too proud and stubborn to admit the other might have a point. and in the middle of all of this, the frustration erik feels because no matter how much he tries to pull charles away, to hurt him with his words and actions, charles is STILL THERE for him. he hates the way erik does things and feels so angry and frustrated all the time they're in the same place but there's nothing erik can do that would ever question charles' love for him. its just there. unshakeable and unbreakable. timeless. and erik doesn't understand how someone so broken and flawed like himself can be loved like this. that whole thing about him having to use his helmet so he wouldn't feel the unconditional love charles has for him makes me SICK to my stomach. they love each other so much and wasted so much time fighting with each other instead of fighting together side by side for their people.

[cherikdogfood]

5201314

The thing is, Erik loves Charles -- he really does. He just doesn't know how to say it.

Or, Erik wants Charles to know that he truly loves him. So he enacts a plan.

In honor of 520 (which is today!) I've written a short, self indulgent Cherik (modern AU) fic. Enjoy!

***

The thing is, Erik loves Charles -- he really does. He just doesn't know how to say it.

He knows a simple "I love you" or "Ich liebe dich" will do the job. Charles understands -- he always does, even if he's a terrible telepath and struggles to say the right words himself.

But that's the thing. Charles is a telepath, and he can practically broadcast his love for Erik from anywhere, anytime.

Erik can't do that. He could, technically, project his feelings towards Charles, but it's not enough. He knows it's not enough, he wants to do more.

He wants to show Charles that he loves him, that Charles is his one and only, that there would be no happiness without Charles... Charles is his soulmate, and Erik's love for him is like a burning flame -- passionate and all consuming.

There is no peace without Charles.

He wants, no, needs Charles to know that.

You're mine, Erik often thinks, as he lays in bed with Charles after a particularly rough bout of lovemaking. Charles always falls asleep first, curled against Erik, looking so pliant and gentle and content.

I'm yours too, you know, his mind also whispers.

Charles, of course, continues dreaming, his expression serene.

When Charles wakes, he will go about his day, being his usual confident, boisterous self. But Erik knows...

He knows that underneath it all, Charles questions himself, worries he isn't good enough for Erik, thinks he hasn't done enough for people like them.

Charles hides it well, but Erik knows better.

Charles knows and understands that Erik loves him, he just has a hard time believing it.

And Erik...

Erik never, never wants Charles to doubt them. Charles has no reason to be afraid.

So Erik does his best to show it, to show Charles that he does, in fact, love him.

Because it doesn't matter if the whole world knows that Erik Loves Charles if the person in question doesn't believe it.

So Erik does what he's good at: he makes a strategy, and he executes it perfectly (or as perfectly as it can be, anyway).

***

Erik's made plans already: he's done his research, marked the calendar, made arrangements, perfected his cooking skills, and bribed roped in a few people to help.

It started on a rather peculiar date, one that Charles wasn't expecting: 25th of January. Erik had crafted a metal spoon with his powers, carving a stylish M and X that were intertwined.

He gave it to Charles, aiming to do so nonchalantly, but his excitement must've been projecting because Charles laughed and asked him what this was for.

"It's just a gift, Charles," he huffed, and Charles just laughed at him fondly.

The next one was more obvious: 14th of February. Valentine's Day: Erik made chocolates, prepared a bouquet of roses, and wrote a love letter. Traditional romantic gestures, all for Charles.

Charles was happy, of course, practically glowing, and his students were pleased to find they had less homework that week.

Erik even prepared a candlelight dinner for the two of them, although they ended up eating less and making out instead, it was perfect.

After that day, Charles thought that was it.

He was wrong -- very, very wrong.

On the 12th of March, Erik dragged Charles away from Hank and his lab and brought him to a nearby river.

"Erik, you said it's late and I should rest, so... Why did you bring me here?" Charles had asked, blue eyes filled with fatigue.

Erik wanted to do nothing more than kiss his tiredness away, but he had a plan and he needed to stick to it, so he resisted.

"Come on Charles, look what I brought," he whispered. He brought out a delicate origami boat (he had asked Raven to teach him to make one), a candle, and a lighter.

"Bloody hell, Erik, if you brought me here to commit arson in the middle of the night, I swear--"

The rest of Charles' words were cut off by Erik, who planted his lips on Charles' and was licking and nipping and kissing him senseless. Charles whimpered when Erik broke the kiss, and Erik had to remind himself what he was doing.

"I wanted us to do this," he smiled and lit the candle, placing it tentatively on the boat before setting it on the water.

"Why are we doing this, Erik?"

"Hush, Liebling, just hurry and make a wish."

Charles' eyes fluttered close, clearly concentrating on his wish, and Erik whispered, "I love you."

He knew Charles heard him because in the next second, Charles opened his eyes and pounced on him.

Erik had to use all his willpower to not fuck Charles right then and there.

The next day, Charles woke up to find all his handkerchiefs replaced, the new ones embroidered, albeit rather clumsily, with hearts.

Merely two days later, Charles opened the fridge and was greeted with an array of blinding white: white chocolate, marshmallows, mint candies, fresh milk, white mochis, vanilla ice cream, leeks, cauliflowers, coconuts and white dragon fruit.

Charles was so taken aback that he almost thought a robber had replaced all their food with... these...

Erik had to reassure him that yes, this was his doing, and no, he wasn't being blackmailed by Raven or Logan into doing this (Erik had been offended that Charles thought Logan of all people could manage to blackmail him. That guy had a metal skeleton...).

Even the flowers in their house had been replaced with white lilies, making Charles shake his head in confusion.

"The things you do, Erik... Sometimes I don't understand..."

In April, Charles wasn't too surprised when Erik took him out to dance and opened his favorite wine and brought him to watch the sunset. It was, after all, a perfect recreation of their first date, three years ago.

Now, on the 20th of May, Erik was sweating as he put on his turtleneck, the one that made Charles' eyes light up and highlighted his slim waist, and checked himself in the mirror.

Everything looked fine... Erik swallowed and calmed the heart that threatened to leap out of his chest.

Everything would be fine.

First, he stopped at the flower shop and picked up the bouquet of roses he had pre-ordered.

Then, he made his way to the address he had sent to Charles. It was a luxurious hotel, one that was far enough from Westchester so that they would not be disturbed by their students.

(Erik had had enough of students, young and old, who had, intentionally or otherwise, cock-blocked him and Charles on multiple occasions).

When he arrived in their room, he noticed the tell-tale metal of Charles' watch and smiled.

"Liebling," he smiled, kissing Charles by way of greeting.

"Erik," Charles smiled. "What's the special occasion? No white food this time?" He teases.

Erik grins. "No. I just wanted to give you this."

He takes out a piece of metal and watches as Charles touches it gently. It's a bracelet of sorts, smooth and elegant and fine edges, and when Charles turns to see the inside, his breath hitches.

520.

Erik had carved those three numbers with the utmost care.

For a moment, Charles just stares, and Erik wonders if his ideas were wrong, all this time, and maybe he should--

"Five two one," Charles says suddenly.

Erik freezes.

"Did I say that right? Or should it be five twenty-one?" Charles muses.

Erik blinks, trying to formulate words, to say something, anything...

"521," Charles repeats, and he reaches out to cup Erik's face gently.

"Erik?"

"How do you know?" Erik finally chokes out, too overwhelmed with emotion.

"What?"

"How do you know, what that means?" He asks again.

"Ah... Charles bites his lip sheepishly. "Let's just say, one of your partner-in-crime accidentally thought too loud..."

Erik grits his teeth. It was definitely Raven, or Hank, or maybe even Jubilee... He shouldn't have asked them to help...

"I saw your notes yesterday, Erik," Charles continues, chewing his bottom lip, "I'm sorry, I know this was all meant to be a surprise, but I couldn't help myself..."

"So... You know everything?" Erik asks.

"Yes, I do, well, I think that day when you gave me all that white stuff, it was White Day in Japan, right? Some sort of Valentine's day..."

Erik nods. 14th of March, exactly one month after the official Valentine's Day, is the Japanese "White Day", where men give their beloved white things to show their love.

Erik has no idea why it has to be white, but it doesn't matter. He loves Charles anyway.

"I wore a white suit that day, remember?" Erik mutters.

Charles' eyes widen and his lips curl into a smile.

"So... You were practically giving yourself to me that day?"

Erik nods and adds, "I'm always yours, you know."

Charles smiles.

"And that day when you gave me a metal spoon," Charles continues, "It was apparently some kind of Welsh Valentine's Day, I think?"

Erik nods. 25th of January, the Welsh Valentine's Day -- usually lovers would give each other hand-crafted wooden spoons, but Erik made one out of metal instead.

(This was definitely not to show off his powers in front of Charles).

"And... On the 12th of March, that day you brought me to the river..."

"The Slovenians' version of Valentine's Day, of sorts," Erik my mumbles. Apparently it was a tradition for children to light a candle in boats and watch it float down the river, and even though they weren't children, Erik thought it was still pretty romantic.

"As for today..." Charles mutters.

"It's five-twenty," Erik looks at Charles gently.

Charles read his notes, so he should understand what it means.

"Five twenty... When you say it in Chinese, it sounds like you're saying I love you, am I right?" Charles says, voice growing softer.

"Yeah."

Charles is silent, looking at Erik with indescribable emotion in his eyes. Erik uses the opportunity to snake an arm around Charles' waist and tug him closer.

"So..." Erik is the first to break the silence.

"Do you really know what 521 means?" He asks.

Charles blushes and nods, "Hm. 520 means I love you, and 521 means I do or I'm willing. Something like that?"

Erik breaks into a shark-like smile.

"That's right, Liebling."

Charles' eyes are wet with unshed tears.

"Erik, I love you," he whispers, voice choking with emotion.

Erik plants a kiss on his forehead.

"I love you too, Liebling. But let's say it properly, okay? Today is a special date after all."

Charles nuzzles closer to Erik and hums in reply.

"520, Charles," Erik says. I love you.

"521, Erik." I do too.

"Is that a promise, Charles?" Erik teases.

"You'll have to formally propose first before I actually say I do, Erik," Charles huffs exasperatedly.

"But yes," Charles gaze softens. "I'm always willing to be yours."

Erik can't stop himself from smiling. "I love you, Charles," he says, as he always does.

"I know," Charles whispers.

And this time, Erik knows he means it.

(And if there ever comes a day when Charles doubts it, then Erik will be sure to make a plan and convince Charles that yes, he truly does love him, very, very much.)

***

#made by cherikdogfood