Chapter Text
~ Soul-Marks and Star-Charts ~
It was after midnight according to Earth Standard Time (E.S.T.).
Erik had ruined his notes in favour of dozens of drawings depicting the slow, agonizing death of the privileged prat who lived down the hallway. Erik had tests to study for but, evidently he was the only one who cared.
The thudding bass of the music had wound its way into Erik’s thoughts. He was particularly proud of the sketch involving old-fashioned stereo wires strangling the life out of his neighbour.
Erik wished that they’d not revoked his library access earlier that week. Low on options, he threw his notes down on the desk and pulled on a pair of grey sweatpants. He firmly refused to pass by the source of the music so he jogged in the other direction.
The Xavier Academy for Space Exploration and Technological Advancement was an elite programme with no more than two hundred students each year. The small number was partly due to the fact that the students had to live on a space station for an entire year and it was also because the academy only wanted the most promising and talented students. Erik had fought tooth and nail for his place because it was his best shot for the life he wanted.
Erik knew if his test scores hadn’t proven to be so high he wouldn’t have been accepted. Most of the students looked down on him as they were from the upper class, and the rest were just as unwilling to make friends with a poor guy who had the annoying habit of beating the curve of test scores. Erik was honestly surprised that he had any friends at all.
After two weeks of ignoring and being ignored by his fellow classmates Erik had literally bumped into a glittering diamond woman during his morning jog around the station. Erik had apologised once because his mother had raised him right but the diamond woman had ignored him and protested loudly about nearly being run down in the corridor. Instead of apologising again, when he’d barely meant it the first time, Erik had shrugged and carried on jogging. Emma had eaten lunch with him every day since that moment.
Emma’s presence meant that other people followed in her wake. Azazel would swap between English and Russian with no warning and Erik merely replied back in Hebrew or German. Neither of them knew what the other was saying but the reactions from other people were always amusing. Azazel’s boyfriend, Janos never really spoke but he fought with grace and speed that was impressive during physical training. Angel spoke fluent Spanish but she mostly talked to them in English unless she was annoyed. When they weren't getting on his last nerve, Erik found that he quite liked having friends.
Erik ran steadily until he reached the control deck and he slowed down to a walk. Being so far away from the dorms in the middle of the night wasn’t strictly forbidden but it was frowned upon. Erik figured that his reputation could handle any potential fallout so he wandered slowly through the corridors for a moment. The soft humming of the metal soothed Erik’s mind. Back in his room the music had been too loud for Erik to focus on the metallic sensation at the edge of his thoughts.
He made his way slowly back to his room and he was pleased to find that the music had died and the dorm was finally quiet. Flopping face down onto the narrow bed, Erik was determined to salvage the rest of the culturally imposed night in the dark void of space and sleep seemed the best way to achieve his goal.
He woke up five hours later when somebody knocked rapidly on the door. Erik growled, “Fuck off.”
Emma called out, “Get up asshole.”
He pushed himself up slowly and opened the door. Emma stepped inside and smirked at him, “Late night?”
Erik growled and pulled out the first thing he came to in his wardrobe. Once he was dressed in a soft dark green turtleneck sweater and black cargo pants, he grabbed his computer tablet off his desk and gestured for Emma to start walking.
They walked to the mess hall together and Erik ignored the usual staring from the other students. Erik sat and Emma stayed quiet until he’d finished his first cup of coffee. She talked about the upcoming pilot evaluations while Erik nodded at the right places. Erik twisted to grab some sugar and when he turned back Emma was cringing.
Erik frowned, “What?”
Emma huffed, “Can you stop that?”
“Stop what?”
Emma closed her eyes, “According to the person thinking very loudly he wants to ‘peel you out of that jumper and lick you all over’.”
Erik looked horrified, “What?”
Emma changed into her diamond form, “That’s better. His mind is strong but his shields are laughably weak.”
Erik shook his head, “Nobody was thinking that about me.”
Emma rolled her eyes, “If I was lying to you I’d make up something better than that. Some people have no taste.”
Erik glared, “People are staring.”
Emma smirked, “Because I’m fantastic, darling. Finish your breakfast so that we can meet Azazel and Janos in the training room.”
The rest of the week was quiet and uneventful which was exactly the way that Erik liked it. He aced his battle statistics test despite the interruption to his studying early in the week and he didn’t bother to hide his smug pleasure which made Emma roll her eyes. Erik spent his free afternoon on Friday in the engineering department with Head Engineer Tony Stark.
Tony was a certified genius with an incredible amount of qualifications and money which he mostly ignored in favour of working on the space station he’d designed and partially built. Erik was unwillingly fond of the crazy billionaire, mostly because he taught Erik as much as he could. At first Tony had hated Erik following him around and then Erik had proved that he knew what he was doing. A week later Erik had unwittingly revealed that he could control metal when he shifted a heavy piece of pipe that had almost fallen on Tony without being near enough to physically touch anything. After that, Tony had given Erik complete access to his workshop and the engineering department.
Mutant history was long and complicated but they had more rights than ever before and most humans were used to seeing strange and amazing mutations on a daily basis. Erik didn’t go out of his way to hide his but as it was an invisible mutation nobody knew about it unless he decided to display his abilities. Tony was understandably fascinated by Erik’s control over metal and he’d spoken at length about how unique Erik was in terms of his mutation. No history book had a record of someone with the same power. Erik had already known so he’d half-listened to Tony ramble while he made some space for himself amongst Tony’s equipment.
Currently, Erik was just sitting at a table while Tony tinkered with one of his tiny cleaning robots. Erik was lazily rolling nuts and bolts in mid-air. It was one of the first tricks he’d learned and his mother had encouraged him to use the trick whenever he was stressed to help calm his mind. Erik had reached an impasse with himself over the couple of points he’d dropped on the particle physics test and concluded that he couldn’t win everything. He’d moved on to wondering about who’d been thinking so loudly that Emma had changed into her diamond form just to shut them out.
Telepaths weren’t very rare but there were many varying strengths. Emma was an Alpha level telepath but her true talents were mental shields and reading thoughts. Mutations were everywhere but Erik had never met or heard of anyone who had a talent like his own. Azazel could teleport and his devil-like appearance including bright red skin and a spiked tail was a frequent topic of gossip. Janos had a mutation better suited to being planet-side as he could create tornados with just a flick of his wrist but, Erik was quietly working on a way to make Janos’s talent more applicable to space travel. Angel had dragonfly-like wings strong enough to allow her to fly under her own power and she could spit acid.
Erik frowned, “Hey, Tony, how many telepaths are on board?”
Tony hummed thoughtfully and didn’t look up from the exposed wires he was working on, “Two Alphas, fifteen betas and nineteen omegas. Anyone else isn’t strong enough to register.”
“Two Alphas? I thought that Emma was the only one.”
Tony looked up, “No, there’s definitely two. Why are you asking?”
Erik shook his head, “It’s not important.”
Erik was undefeated in battle tactics, navigation and quantum physics. The only other student who had such a reigning streak was someone Erik had never actually met. His name was Charles Xavier and he was unbeaten in linguistics, biology, mathematics and Erik had heard that he had an abiding interest in genetics and history. Erik was sometimes interested in meeting the man but then he would remember that he was an Xavier. The Xavier’s had founded the academy that was giving Erik his big chance but their history wasn’t perfect and Erik had no interest in socialising with a family that used their money ruthlessly to open closed doors.
Erik’s library privileges were finally granted again on Saturday and he went straight there after his morning jog. He grinned widely at the receptionist, “Good morning Moira.”
The cute brunette scowled at him, “I’m kicking you out at lunchtime.”
Erik sighed, “That’s not really necessary.”
Moira scoffed, “You pinned a student to the stacks using a metal chair.”
Erik protested, “He was singing!”
Moira rolled her eyes and passed him his library pass, “You have until lunchtime Erik. Don’t cause trouble.”
Erik grinned, “Thank you.”
Moira bit back a smile as she watched him walk away. Erik loved spending time in the library and he respected the rules more than anyone else. He’d hated every minute of his ban as punishment for twisting a metal chair to trap a student against the towering physical book stacks. He’d respected the penalty and now that he was back the library was even quieter than it usually was.
Erik sat in his usual seat. He had a clear view of the entrance to the library and if he turned his head slightly to the left he could watch the endless stars on the other side of the reinforced window. He logged into the holographic interface and spread out the screens so that he could work without being restricted to one small user interface. He kept them in a slight curve at eye level so that he didn’t have to stand up when he wanted to move between screens. He only really did that when an important test was coming up. Angel had once told him that it almost looked like he was dancing when he moved through holographic pages to study and he would be given a wide berth by other students.
Nobody ever sat at Erik’s table when he was working so he was intensely surprised when he took a break and noticed the man sitting at his table for the first time. The stranger was attractive in a soft sort of way. His hair was a mess and he was wearing a bulky sweater that looked worn and almost cuddly. Erik’s thoughts stuttered to a stop and he almost laughed. If Emma had caught that thought she would’ve died laughing.
Erik shut down his terminal because he clearly needed to take a serious break and he stretched. When he relaxed he caught the stranger looking at him and the man’s blushing was almost cute. Erik plucked a couple of books off the shelf without looking at the titles. He liked to learn anything he could and he mostly did that by reading anything that he could get his hands on. He read for a short while, doing his best to ignore the stranger who was still sitting at his table, and finally he collected his things and stood.
Erik stopped at Moira’s desk, “No need to kick me out.”
“That’s a shame. I was looking forward to it.”
Erik chuckled, “Who’s the guy sitting at my table?”
Moira straightened, “Someone actually sat at your table?”
She leaned across the desk to look in a blatantly obvious manner. A slow smile appeared and soon she was grinning widely. She sat back and smirked at Erik, “You don’t know who that is? That is Charles Xavier.”
Erik was surprised, “Really? Interesting.”
Erik met Emma and the others later that evening in the common room. She scowled, “Finally. We thought that you were lost.”
Erik frowned and flopped down into an armchair, “Shut up.”
Emma leant down so that Erik couldn’t see anything except from her scowl and her cleavage. He leaned back as far as he could and Emma said, “You’re shielding.”
Erik matched her scowl, “I’m always shielding.”
Azazel muttered something in Russian and Angel sighed, “Mother and Father are fighting again.”
Erik would’ve glared at Angel but he was too busy trying to keep Emma from prying into his thoughts. She did have a moral compass when it came to other people’s thoughts but she also found it the quickest way to find out harmless information.
Erik growled, “Leave it alone Emma.”
Emma backed off slowly, “You have a headache from shielding. You can’t hold onto that.”
Erik huffed, “Fuck off.”
Emma moved to the sofa and sat down regally. Angel sat next to her so that Azazel and Janos could curl up together on the love seat. Erik was on his own like he always was and he ignored Emma’s cold staring. Angel pulled out a plastic counter from her pocket, “Heads or tails?”
Emma won and Erik stood slowly, “What should we play?”
Emma stood up as well, “Azazel, fetch the orb, please.”
Azazel disappeared and reappeared within a moment. He put the black stone on its stand in the centre of the table and went back to Janos. Emma moved to one end of the table and Erik moved to the other. Erik smirked, “I’ve never lost.”
Emma looked unconcerned, “Maybe this isn’t the real game that I’m playing.”
Erik frowned. If Emma was just waiting to root around in his mind then he was going to make her work for it. Erik gestured to the table, “Ladies first.”
The orb was a unique hard drive that turned a room into an interactive virtual reality suite. Emma’s father had given it to her as a going away gift. Erik and Emma mostly used it for battle simulations so that they could study outside of the classroom but sometimes they just wanted to play something more interesting than monopoly.
They used the long common room table as the board and Emma switched on the orb. Erik looked around the room, “An ocean?”
There were no walls, just open air and an expansive view of the sea on a bright sunny day and a beach underneath their feet. Emma widened her stance and pulled on a pair of white gloves that were handed to her by Janos. Angel passed Erik his black gloves and Emma smirked, “Standard rules apply?”
Erik nodded, “Ice Queen’s choice.”
Emma scowled, she hated that nickname, and suddenly the virtual ocean started rocking violently. A sea serpent straight from Emma’s imagination appeared among the waves. Erik rolled his eyes at the dramatics and raised his hands. They controlled the movements of the creatures via the gloves and low-level telepathic impressions. Erik was focused but he was still surprisingly having fun as his own sea monster battled Emma’s serpent. He was dimly aware that they’d garnered a larger audience but Erik wasn’t put off by the low chatter in the background. Distractions were just a part of intense battle situations and Erik had learned to compartmentalise so that he could focus on what was important. Emma fought hard but Erik was ruthless and there was mild applause when he finally won. Battling in a virtual reality was as exhausting as a physical work out.
They shook hands and Emma said, “Well done Erik. That was good.”
Erik nodded, “It was close. It was a good match.”
Emma nodded, accepting the compliment for what it was. Azazel took the orb and put it away safely and Erik fell back into his armchair. Emma and the others left quickly but Erik stayed where he was. He didn’t think that she’d had the time to root around in his mind for gossip but she was right about him having a headache.
Erik didn’t notice that somebody had sat down next to him until they spoke, “Impressive monster.”
Erik snorted, “Does that line ever work?”
They both froze in shock. Finally Charles smiled widely and he reached out for a handshake which was unmet by Erik. He said brightly, “I’m Charles Xavier. It’s very nice to meet you.”
Erik blurted, “You’re my soulmate?” He scrambled to his feet, “Sorry. I just… need to go. Sorry.”
Erik literally ran out of the door and sprinted down the corridor. He ran the entire length of the station and tumbled through the doors of the engineering department. It was late and it was a rare night where Tony was missing from his workshop. Ordinarily Erik would be amused by the results of Pepper Pott’s nagging to convince Tony to sleep somewhere other than his table top.
At that moment he was too distressed to think about it. Erik pulled off his jumper and grabbed the nearest piece of metal with his powers. Within seconds he’d moulded a flat surface where the reflection was as good as a traditional mirror. He stared at his reflection silently. Charles’ words stood out in thick black lines against Erik’s skin: Impressive monster.
Unlike a large proportion of humanity, Erik had never given his soul-mark more than a passing thought despite the unusual and potentially cruel words. He’d been mostly concerned with providing for himself so that he wasn’t a burden on his family and he’d never really expected to meet his soulmate. The idea of having someone who was supposedly a perfect partner for him wasn’t a particularly comforting thought to someone as private and focused as Erik. He trailed his finger lightly across the curved words on his chest.
He sat down and focused on taking deep breaths. The metal in the room was vibrating gently in response to his distress and he needed to calm down before he accidentally ripped the station apart. That was one thing most people didn’t know about Erik but, his powers were much stronger than he willingly revealed. Erik fell into a meditative state that he’d practised time and time again with his mother and he pushed back his complicated emotions. Erik lost any sense of time in his focus.
When he came back to himself he was sitting shirtless with his legs crossed in the middle of Tony’s workshop. Tony was sitting at his desk with several projects laid out in front of him. Erik stretched and Tony asked, “You back?”
Erik sighed, “Yeah.”
Tony shook his head, “Idiot. Everyone’s talking about it.”
Erik held onto his calm state with ease, “Really?”
Tony smirked, “Smooth, Lehnsherr.”
Erik shook his head, “Fuck off Stark.”
They grinned at each other and Erik stood up. He grabbed his sweater and placed his makeshift mirror on the table next to Tony. He had no idea what the piece of metal had been before he’d changed it, “Sorry.”
Tony shrugged, “I’ll put it on the wall or give it to Pepper as a gift. I’ve probably missed an anniversary somewhere along the line.”
Erik nodded, pulled on his jumper and left without another word. He changed in his room and headed down to the mess hall. The whispers doubled when he stepped through the doors but Erik ignored them as he walked towards the counter. He was stopped when a blue woman with close-cropped red hair stepped in front of him and then slapped him sharply. Erik distantly registered that her mutation must involve increased strength and he also recognised that the room was silent in a way that had never happened before. Initially Erik was angry at being attacked but then his calm returned. Erik nodded sharply and grabbed a breakfast bar from the counter before he walked out of the room without saying a single word.
He decided that he wasn’t going to class. It wasn’t like he could hide on a space station where everyone was monitored for their own safety but he was sure that his academic average wouldn’t suffer if he played hooky once. After deciding that he didn’t want to retreat to the engineering department and listen to Tony’s smug sarcasm he went to the library instead.
Moira looked at him with an expression that could only be described as disappointment and it hurt even if Erik didn’t outwardly show it. He didn’t bother trying to talk to her as he walked towards his usual table. He was tempted to go right to the back of the library but the more rational side of himself insisted that hiding wasn’t going to help. Before he could stop himself Erik logged in and started digging into public information about soul-marks.
He learned more within those four hours than he’d ever wanted to know before. Everyone had a soul-mark. The most popular marks involved the first words your soulmate would ever say to you which was the kind Erik and Charles had. Everyone was born with a mark but not everyone had the chance to meet their soulmate within their lifetime. At least Erik was lucky in that respect because it was better than never knowing. He rubbed his tired eyes and turned his chair to look out at the expanse of space.
Erik stayed where he was with his back to the world and he pulled out his communicator so that he could call the only person who would make sense of what he was feeling, “Hey Mama.”
“Erik? What’s wrong?”
Erik was tense, “Mama, I… I met my soulmate.”
“Erik, that’s wonderful. Is he another student?”
“Yes, Mama. He’s… well, he’s brilliant and popular and rich.”
“He sounds lovely.”
Erik admitted, “I’m sure that he is.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t think that I handled it very well.”
The admonishment was clear in her tone, “Erik.”
“I know, Mama, I know. I panicked. Everyone’s talking about it.”
“Oh, Erik, you can’t let that…”
“I know.”
“Don’t interrupt me.”
Erik smiled despite his best efforts, “Sorry, Mama.”
She sighed, “Oh Erik. Think about this, what did you feel when you heard those words?”
Erik thought about it seriously, “Happy. I was happy Mama, but I’m just...”
She interrupted, “I won’t listen to you saying anything bad about yourself Erik. Any boy would be lucky to have you as a soul mate.”
“Thank you Mama.”
“It’s okay to be scared Erik but alles ist gut. Now, stop wasting time and go and fix whatever it is that you did. You know, your father didn’t handle it very well either. His brother had to go and find him. He was dragged home three days later but I forgave him eventually.”
Erik chuckled, “Ich liebe dich, Mama.”
“Grovel if you have to Erik. I want to meet my son’s soul mate sooner rather than later.”
Erik laughed and they said their goodbyes. Erik always felt better after talking to his mother and he appreciated her ability to tell him what he needed to hear. Erik turned in his chair and jumped when he saw Charles sitting at his table. There was no one else around and Erik was surprised that he’d not noticed Charles metal watch or the buttons on his clothes when he’d approached.
Erik tried to look less murderous – Emma called it his ‘resting’ face – and he cleared his throat, “Good afternoon Charles.”
Erik couldn’t tell what Charles was thinking from his tense posture and unhappy frown, “I wanted to apologise for my sister’s actions this morning.”
Erik frowned briefly and then he nodded, “The beautiful blue woman? Well, it was justified really so there’s no need to apologise.”
Charles looked shocked, “But, she slapped you.”
Erik shrugged, “If I had a sister and her soulmate ran I would’ve done something much worse. I’m the one who should be apologising to you. I should’ve at least introduced myself.”
Erik reached across the table and shook hands with Charles, “I’m Erik Lehnsherr.”
Charles nodded, still not relaxed, “It’s nice to meet you Erik. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Erik nodded, “Likewise. Angel talks frequently about your linguistic talents. She says that you’re quite brilliant.”
Charles’ eyes widened slightly, “Your friend with the most beautiful flying mutation? Well, that’s very flattering.”
Erik was glad that Charles had accepted the compliment with grace and he made a mental note to buy Angel something shiny as thanks for giving him some information on Xavier before they’d met. Before they could say anything more Emma stormed into the library and Erik sighed wearily. She looked furious and it was exhausting to deal with her when she was in a mood with him.
Emma looked vaguely surprised to see Charles with him but she obviously put the issue to one side so that she could say, “Have you been sulking in here for the whole time? We were waiting for you for training.”
Erik replied smoothly, “You couldn’t work together without me for one session?”
She hit him in the head which wasn’t completely unwarranted but Erik was growing tired of women hitting him, “You ass! We lost. You’ve screwed up our curve because you were too scared that you weren’t good enough for your soul mate.”
Charles sucked in a sharp breath and Erik’s control on his temper slipped, “I can’t hold your hands for the entire year. I would’ve thought that you’d have picked up on enough by now so that you weren’t completely useless.”
“You’re supposed to be our team leader. You wanted the fucking responsibility.”
“Fuck off Emma.”
Emma turned sharply on her heels and walked out of the library. Erik fell back into his chair, frustrated that he’d snapped and annoyed that Emma had brought up his personal insecurities. There was a long, painful moment of silence before Charles said mildly, “She seemed upset.”
Erik almost laughed at the understatement, “She’s insane and hates to lose.”
“She wasn’t like that with you yesterday.”
Erik shrugged, “I don’t question it.”
Charles was looking at the spot where Emma had made her dramatic entrance and exit, “I’m sorry.”
Erik frowned, “What for? I thought that we’d established that I was the one who needed to apologise, not you.”
Charles wouldn’t look at him, “It doesn’t have to change anything. If you want to stay with your girlfriend I understand. Soul-marks…”
Erik interrupted him, “What? What girlfriend? I don’t have a girlfriend.”
Charles huffed, “Everyone knows that you and Emma are together.”
Erik couldn’t help himself. He started laughing. Charles looked progressively more annoyed but Erik couldn’t stop laughing enough to explain. When Charles stood up to leave Erik grabbed Charles’ wrist as gently as he could, “Please, wait, I’m sorry.” Charles glared at him and Erik took a few deep breaths to calm down, “Sorry, it’s just… Emma and I aren’t dating. We’ve never been dating. She sees me as a way to improve her own skills and she won’t let me eat lunch alone.” Erik let go of Charles wrist and frowned, “It’s rather annoying actually.”
Charles scowled, “You’ve been dating since the year started.”
Erik shook his head, “Gossip is not a reliable source of information. We’re friends on a good day.”
Charles sat down slowly, “Really?”
Erik scowled, “Why would I lie about that?
Charles looked uncertain, “Everyone believes that you are dating.”
Erik said thoughtfully, “I’ve always wondered why Emma thanked me for showing up and making Sebastian Shaw run away. That bitch knew the whole time. I bloody hate telepaths.” Charles looked so startled that something else fell into place for Erik. He sighed, tired of sticking his foot in his mouth, “You’re a telepath aren’t you?”
Charles nodded, uncertain and hesitant. Erik felt the gentle, familiar touch of a telepath reaching out and Charles sent the thought tentatively, None of this is what you expected.
Erik replied, No, but that is hardly your fault. Stop feeling so guilty.
Oh sorry.
I think that it’s important that we stop apologising to each other before we become stuck in a pattern. So, you’re the other Alpha level telepath that Tony mentioned?
Tony?
Tony Stark. He said that there were two on board the station.
Ah, how did you know that I was Alpha? Even Omega telepaths can send and receive thoughts.
Erik’s thoughts were decidedly smug, I highly doubt that Fate would pair me with anyone weaker than myself.
Charles’ eyes widened almost comically and he said out loud, “Holy shit. You’re…”
Erik shrugged, “That is our little secret, Charles.”
Charles narrowed his eyes, “How does nobody know that you’re so strong?”
Erik glanced around out of habit to make sure that they were alone, “Nobody’s ever asked.”
Charles looked doubtful and thought How have never met before?
Erik felt an unwitting rush of happy/annoyed/frustrated/guilt/want/loneliness/pride/pain that made Charles clutch his hands against his head. Erik reached forward and gently gripped Charles’ shoulders, “Charles, are you okay?”
It took a terrifying moment for Charles to respond, “Yeah, yes I’m fine.”
Erik felt overwhelming shame because all he’d done was hurt his soul mate since they’d first met, “I am so sorry Charles.”
To Erik’s surprise, Charles smiled, “I thought that we agreed to stop apologising to each other.”
Erik relaxed at Charles’ weak attempt to joke but he was still concerned, “I didn’t mean for you to feel all of that.”
Charles shook his head, “No, Erik, it’s alright. Neither of us are feeling like ourselves completely right now. I take it that you never expected to meet your soul mate.”
Erik moved back slowly until he was sat in his own seat again and he answered, “No, it was never something I put much thought into.” Charles looked unsurprised but he also looked disappointed and Erik found himself sharing more than he’d ever shared with anyone else before, “I never wanted to be a burden to my mother so I focused on learning as much as I could.”
“You were talking to your mother when I walked up to you. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop.”
“It’s fine. Mama even said that she’d like to meet you one day if you’re interested.”
Charles looked gobsmacked but Erik couldn’t understand why. Eventually Charles stammered, “I’d like that very much.”
Erik nodded, “I hear that you have an interest in genetics.”
They didn’t talk for long but, before Charles left they shook hands again and he said, “I think that being your soulmate is going to prove to be very interesting Erik.”
Erik just nodded, “Agreed, have a good day Charles.”
It was all very civilised and not very personal. Most soulmates pursued a romantic relationship and often it worked but for some couples they didn’t feel the need. Erik had never believed that a supposedly soulful connection between two people was the only requirement for a lasting romantic relationship. Relationships took hard work and understanding and he’d always felt lucky to have parents who didn’t undervalue their relationship or each other. Despite that, Erik knew that he found Charles attractive and intelligent which wasn’t a bad place to start if Charles was ever interested.
Erik decided that he wasn’t going to put off the inevitable. Once Charles was gone – but Erik would never really be alone again with a powerful telepath as a soulmate and Erik was trying not to think about that – Erik headed to Emma’s quarters. Emma was sitting in a chair as if she was holding court. The Ice Queen’s followers were positioned around her and the distance between them and Erik was small but felt much bigger. Angel was sitting cross-legged on the bed and avoiding eye contact with anyone. Out of them all Angel was the least likely to enter a confrontation as she knew too much about adapting to survive. It made Erik’s heart ache as well as filling him with the need to strangle everyone who’d ever taught her that cruel lesson. Azazel and Janos were curled up together as always. Erik couldn’t tell exactly why Azazel was smiling but the expression on the devil’s face never filled him with confidence. Janos, as always, was silent and watching Erik patiently. He would wait until Emma’s judgement before he would pass his own.
Erik was willing to play until he was bored. He remained standing with the door closed behind his back and he’d wiped off any hint of emotion from his face long before he’d stepped inside. Emma’s expression was bored but Erik knew that she was loving her apparent position of power. There was a reason that Emma was one of the most respected and feared women on the station and it wasn’t because her family came from old money. It was because she was ruthless, clever and completely willing to play any situation to her advantage. Erik and Emma had never really gone toe-to-toe before and Erik hoped that the moment hadn’t arrived. He would hate to destroy such an amazing piece of mechanical engineering as the space station simply because Emma annoyed him.
His telepathic shields were locked firmly in place but he wasn’t sure if he would even feel her pushing at them if she really wanted to enter his mind. Erik let the silence drag on.
Eventually Emma stood, “You let us down today Erik.”
Erik didn’t refute the statement although he didn’t agree with it. He didn’t even move. Erik just waited.
Her next statement was more direct, “Having a soulmate changes things.”
Erik didn’t outwardly react to that statement either but inwardly he was wondering when she would finally get to the point so that he could leave. Erik didn’t mind having friends but he could tolerate losing them if they wanted to walk away. He was slightly annoyed that it would throw off his extra-credit training if he was no longer leading them as a team.
Erik wanted to hurry along the process but he couldn’t resist asking, “Are you breaking up with me?”
Emma’s expression was as hard as it could be without her turning into a diamond and Erik thought that he saw Angel smirk in the corner of his eye. Emma pointed out, “A soulmate changes your priorities.”
Once again Emma was pointing out the obvious. Erik nodded in response and replied, “Indeed, and I needed a short while to process the information. This does not mean that I am incapable of leading this team. Nor does it warrant your jealousy.”
Emma sputtered and Erik knew that he’d pushed the right button. Emma was jealous. She was jealous that Erik had found his perfect partner and that they were both so strong. She was jealous of how powerful they could be together. They had the potential to be some of the most powerful soulmates in history.
To everyone’s surprise, Janos spoke, “Congratulations Erik.”
Janos’ voice was soft but earnest and his big dark eyes looked at them all calmly as if he’d not done something completely out of the ordinary. Erik noted that Azazel did not look surprised that Janos had chosen to speak or that he’d said something that went against Emma’s purpose of their meeting. Erik recovered quickly and nodded, “Thank you Janos.”
Janos had apparently said all that he was going to and he leaned back against Azazel and closed his eyes. Angel uncurled herself and climbed off the bed. She stopped a couple of steps away from Erik, “Is he a good man?”
Erik softened under Angel’s intensity and he nodded, “From what I know so far… yes.”
Angel nodded, satisfied with Erik’s preliminary assessment, “Okay. Then I am going to bed and I will see you all in the morning. I am happy for you Erik.”
Angel left without looking at the others and Erik appreciated her support more than he could ever say. He glanced at Azazel who looked down at his soulmate curled up in his arms and he nodded once at Erik. That expression told him all that he needed to know and he re-focused on Emma. Emma looked thoughtful rather than angry and Erik wasn’t sure which emotion was better. Emma sat down once more and dismissed them, “Goodnight.”
Azazel teleported, taking his boyfriend with him, and Erik went back to his own quarters. He felt unusually lethargic and he was surprised about how much the support from his other friend’s meant to him. To make up for ditching the day’s classes Erik submitted himself to three hours of studying before he climbed into bed.
The next morning was strange. He walked into the mess hall for breakfast and although the room didn’t fall silent the conversations did become hushed. He grabbed his usual from the counter and made his way over to his table. He was the first one there and what happened next was definitely out of the ordinary.
Angel walked over with her own tray of food and she was with Charles. They were chatting and when Angel laughed at something Charles said Erik had to quickly mask his stunned reaction. They both sat down at his table and Charles smiled widely, “Good morning Erik. Did you sleep well?”
Erik nodded, “I did, thank you. How are you feeling this morning Angel?”
Angel smiled, “Very well, thank you Erik. Charles was just telling me about his doctoral thesis.”
Erik was impressed and Charles blushed. He tried to play it off, “It is horribly early I know, but my tutors insisted.”
Erik didn’t ask about the fact that Charles was gaining advanced academic achievements before he’d finished school. Instead he asked, “Genetics?”
Charles was more than willing to discuss it despite his initial embarrassment. Erik had told his mother that Charles was brilliant but he’d not really comprehended until he saw Charles talking so passionately about a subject he loved. Angel was just as caught up in Charles’ enthusiasm and anyone who could make Angel smile couldn’t be a terrible person in Erik’s eyes. Charles’ excited tirade came to a halting stop when he looked past Erik. Erik had seen the shadow fall across his dinner plate but he was content not to acknowledge the presence first.
Charles’ passionate speech stopped but he was still smiling widely, “Raven, have you decided to join us?”
The blue-skinned woman sat next to Erik, “Yes.”
Charles beamed, “Brilliant. Erik, Angel, this is my sister Raven.”
Raven pursed her lips slightly, “Adopted sister.”
Charles rolled his eyes and Erik could tell that it was an old argument, “Anyway, sister, Erik and Angel were just asking about my doctoral thesis.”
Raven smirked and she took a bite of her protein bar, “Which one?”
Charles blushed more deeply, “Really, Raven, you know that I’m only focusing on genetics.”
Erik raised an eyebrow, “You’ve been offered more than one doctoral course?”
Charles nodded, “Yes, apparently everyone thinks that I don’t have a social life. Either that or they think that I have a time machine and I can do everything.”
Erik’s lips curled up, “I’m pretty sure that Tony is working on that.”
Charles chuckled, “I believe that Hank might be as well. Ah, speaking of Hank...”
Charles stood up and rushed across the room to speak to a young man with blue fur covering his body. Erik turned his attention back to his breakfast and Angel. Angel nodded approvingly and Erik bit back a smile. Even Erik could admit that he was charmed by the sides of Charles he had seen.
Erik didn’t turn to face Raven but he was obviously addressing her when he spoke, “I apologise for the way I treated the situation. I would like to do everything I can to rectify our first meeting.”
Raven huffed, “Charles loves to make friends with people. I’d say that you’re doing okay but if you leave my brother alone like that again I’ll do a hell of a lot more than just slap you.”
Erik nodded solemnly, “Understood.”
Charles re-joined them and he had the blue man in tow, “Erik, Angel, this is Dr Henry McCoy. Hank, this is Erik and Angel.”
Hank was fussing nervously with his glasses, “Umm, hello. It’s nice to meet you.”
Angel frowned, “I thought that you were a student.”
Hank blushed which was an interesting contrast against his blue skin. Charles was grinning proudly and announced, “Hank already has two doctorates. He’s a genius.”
Erik was suitably impressed, “Please, have a seat Dr McCoy.”
Hank sat down next to Charles on the opposite side of Raven, “Please, call me Hank.”
During the day, classes passed without any significance but dinner, once again, was different. Erik was the first one to sit and he was soon joined by Azazel and Janos. Azazel was telling a bawdy story that was one hundred percent not true when Charles walked up to them alone and asked slightly nervously, “May I sit here?”
Erik nodded, “Of course.”
Charles sat and Azazel continued with his story. Angel soon arrived and attempted to keep Azazel’s wild lies in check and she was followed by Raven who kept sending Charles significant looks that were mostly ignored while Charles discussed an assignment with Angel for their advanced linguistics class. Some of Charles friends also joined them. There was Logan, one of Erik’s competitor’s for the top marks in battle tactics, who called Charles ‘Professor’ and flirted outrageously with Angel. Then there was Jean and Scott. Erik didn’t know what the dynamics were but it was obvious that both Scott and Logan wanted Jean. Emma joined them eventually but she sat at the head of the table and refused to talk to anyone.
Right before they parted ways Scott said to Emma, “You have a beautiful mutation.”
Emma could never resist being praised, “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend.”
Their jaws dropped and Erik knew that moment of realisation. There was a brief moment of tension which was broken by Raven who said, “Oh, for fuck’s sake. Is there something in the water around here?”
Erik tried not to be smug but when Emma looked at him with lost and desperate eyes it was difficult to describe his reaction as anything else. Scott looked at Jean who was smiling at him with tearful eyes. She kissed him on the cheek and then she nodded at Emma and said, “Don’t screw it up Scott.”
Logan snorted, earning him a glare from Scott, and the group separated slowly, leaving Emma and Scott to their own devices. Erik knew that Emma would be determined to handle the situation quickly only because she wouldn’t want to react as he’d done. Erik and Charles fell comfortably into step beside each other as they walked back to their quarters.
Charles was obviously worried and when they were alone he asked, “Will Scott be alright?”
Erik considered the question carefully, “Emma’s not the easiest person to deal with. She’d headstrong and spoiled and god knows she likes getting her own way but, she’s not a terrible person. What about Scott?”
Charles hummed thoughtfully, “Scott just wants to be the best in everything he does. Even though they weren’t soul mates everyone thought that Scott and Jean were going to stay together.”
Erik took a chance, “Logan was watching Jean closely.”
Charles smiled knowingly, “Yes, they never told anybody but, Jean and Logan are soul mates. Jean swore him to secrecy because she wanted to stay with Scott.”
Erik frowned, “That doesn’t seem fair.”
Charles shrugged, “Logan is… different. He’s much older than he looks thanks to his mutation and he’s lived many lives before now. He claims that he’s been with Jean before through her many reincarnations but I don’t know how much truth there is to that. He’s patient and he must’ve known that Scott would find his soulmate eventually.”
Erik found it fascinating even if he wasn’t sure that he believed what Charles was saying, “Can’t you confirm what he is telling you?”
Charles waved vaguely towards his temple, “To a certain extent but that incredible metal which is fused to his skeleton caused some problems with his memory so it is somewhat jumbled.”
Erik was interested, “You can access memories?”
Charles nodded and they stopped in front of Erik’s quarters. Erik nodded at the room, “Would you like to come in. If you play I have a chess set we can use.”
Charles’ eyes lit up, “You play chess? I haven’t met an opponent I couldn’t beat since I was five.”
Erik smirked, “That sounds like a welcome challenge.”
They sat on Erik’s bed because he didn’t have a lot of furniture and Erik set up the board between them as he asked, “So, memories?”
Charles nodded, “Yes, but I’ve rarely been asked to use my ability in that way and I would never do it without express permission.”
Erik was impressed, “Interesting, what else can you do?”
Charles chuckled, “I’m completely willing to answer your questions Erik but perhaps we can use this opportunity to learn about each other equally.”
Erik agreed, “Of course, I apologise for that. I’ve never tested my limits because, I’m not sure it’s safe really, but I can feel the metal right now from one end of the ship to the other.”
“That’s impressive. I can…”
Charles suddenly looked uncomfortable. Erik thought tentatively, Is this better?
Charles looked relieved. Yes, thank you, I’m afraid that some of the things that I can do are rather dangerous.
So am I. You don’t have to tell me anything that you don’t want to.
I know. I appreciate that. I can send thoughts and read them but I have the potential to make you do anything I want with just a thought.
I can shape a piece of metal into anything I want.
I can block memories. Make you forget.
I can feel the iron in a person’s blood. I could potentially use it if I ever wanted to.
I could stop you. You’d be completely frozen and I would control your body.
I can fly.
That made Charles speak out loud, “Really?”
Charles looked excited at the thought. Erik nodded, “I can manipulate the magnetic poles to fly. Well, I suppose that it’s more like levitating really. I discovered it by accident when I was fifteen. I was hiding from my mother because I’d been fighting at school again, so I climbed out onto the roof. I fell, of course, and in my panic I just kind of grabbed with my powers and I levitated for a couple of seconds above the ground which was just enough for me to not to seriously injure myself. I almost gave her a heart attack but it didn’t stop me from testing my new ability as soon as I could. I threw myself off low walls and boxes for months afterwards until I realised that I didn’t have to do that and I could start with my feet on the ground.”
Charles was laughing and it was a bright, happy sound. Erik was pleased that Charles was so interested. Erik gestured to the board, “White or black?”
Charles grabbed the two queens and put them behind his back, “We’ll make it fair. Pick a hand Erik.”
Erik chuckled and gestured to the left. Charles pulled out the white and they turned the board so that the white chess pieces were on Erik’s side of the bed. Charles put his own black queen back on the board and he looked smug, “I’m still going to win.”
Erik gave him his best smile, the one that was wide and full of teeth, “We’ll see about that.”
They didn’t talk much once they started playing. It was challenging to play with someone who was obviously so good but Erik had his own talents when it came to strategy. Erik was curious, “Who taught you to play?”
Charles hummed as he considered his next move, “My father showed me once before he died. After that I mostly played online.” He winked at Erik, “On the internet nobody knows that you’re a four year-old telepath.”
Erik chuckled and watched Charles fingers move his black castle. Behind his telepathic shields Erik mentally nodded at Charles’ attack and he considered his retaliation. Out loud he said, “My mother showed me. My father never had the patience for it but he’d always play a game with me at Christmas. I don’t think that I’ve ever lost.” Erik asked tentatively, “How young where you when you’re father died?”
Charles sighed, the sound was sad but tempered by years of acceptance, “Three. Being a telepath makes memories difficult to forget but even I have trouble remembering his face sometimes. I didn’t have Raven as a sister until a couple of years after my mother remarried. Her husband was a dreadful beast but thankfully he’s not around anymore. Thank god for pre-nuptial agreements. He only wanted my mother for her money but even on her worst days she was clever about her inheritance.”
A lot of things about Charles were slotting into place for Erik. Erik waited until they were a few more moves into the game before he spoke again, “Your mother?”
Charles shook his head, “Died three years ago.”
Erik’s heart filled with sympathy and compassion for his soulmate, “I’m sorry.”
Charles nodded, knowing that there was nothing else that Erik could really say, “Thank you.”
Erik fell silent but the glances Charles gave him were thankful rather than resentful. They concentrated on the game instead and fought hard for the victory. Charles won and Erik didn’t even mind as it was the most stimulating challenge he’d had in weeks and he appreciated the challenge. Charles grinned at him, “Wonderful. That was close.”
Erik grunted, “Don’t gloat. It doesn’t suit you.”
Charles laughed brightly. Clearly Charles realised that Erik did have a sense of humour unlike most of the students at the school. Charles suddenly flinched and blushed, “Ah, it appears that Raven wants my attention. I should probably get some sleep.”
Erik walked him to the door even though it was no more than five steps away. Charles stepped out into the hallway and Erik said, “Thank you, for today and this evening.”
They shook hands and Charles said, “You’re very kind Erik. Thank you for today. If you like… we could play chess again sometime.”
Erik was charmed by the hopeful tone to Charles’ voice, “Of course. I still have to beat you.”
Charles laughed and started walking down the corridor towards his own room, “Good luck with that.”
Erik went to bed with good thoughts that night. The next day was more or less the same except that Scott was sitting with Emma and Jean was sitting with Logan. Nobody commented but there were more than a few looks directed at their table. After dinner in the evening Erik excused himself.
He went to the engineering department – Tony needed attention or else the genius would do something stupid like forget to eat or cause an international incident. Pepper had given Erik a pamphlet about it when he’d started unofficially working there – and he was looking forward to working with something. It had only been a couple of days but he missed working with the metal instead of being simply surrounded by it.
Tony whirled around to face him when he entered the workshop, “Magneto! Oh, wait, you forgot all about little old me to play with your boy toy. Go away.”
Erik rolled his eyes, “I see that you’ve managed not to kill yourself, although I assume that Pepper has been watching out for you.”
Tony scoffed and pointed at him with a high-tech screwdriver, “I am an adult and fully capable of looking after myself.”
Erik smirked, “And yet, you don’t. How is Pepper?”
Tony smiled, “She’s fine. She wants to meet your boy toy. Why haven’t you brought him with you?”
“I don’t want to expose him to any diseases you might have.”
“That hurts. I am one hundred percent completely disease-free thank you very much and I resent the implication that I am not. For your punishment you can take the files off the desk to Pepper and answer lots of uncomfortable questions about your new relationship.”
Erik looked uncomfortably at the towering pile of paperwork, “You’re serious aren’t you?”
Tony nodded and turned back to his workbench, “Uh huh. Chop, chop lab assistant.”
Erik grabbed the paperwork, “I’ll be back.”
Tony was already lost in his work and ignoring Erik. Erik took the files up to the administration offices. Pepper was the school administrator in between babysitting Tony and Erik had fetched and carried between the two before. Pepper was always grateful and Tony’s space was clear for projects Erik wanted to work on. It was a mutually beneficial relationship.
Erik stopped at the front desk, “I have paperwork for Miss Potts.”
The receptionist Darcy Lewis popped her gum – Erik wondered how she’d managed to smuggle gum onto a space station – and grinned widely, “Sure. She’s in her office.”
Erik knocked on the door and stepped inside. Pepper looked up and smiled warmly, “Hello Erik.”
Erik put the paperwork on her desk, “Good evening Miss Potts. Tony asked me to bring these to you.”
“I don’t see why he couldn’t do it himself but thank you Erik. How are you?”
Erik sat down in the seat she indicated to, “I’m fine, thank you.”
“How is Charles?”
“He is also fine, as far as I know.”
“Good. I heard that you missed a day of your classes.”
“Yes, I wasn’t feeling very well.”
Pepper just looked at him and Erik immediately felt bad for even trying to lie. He could never understand how the women in his life managed to do that. She said gently, “You can tell me anything Erik. I just want you to do well.”
Erik gave in with a sigh, “I’d only seen Charles once before and known who he was.”
Pepper nodded and smiled again, “I’ve always found it admirable that you don’t have an overwhelming concern for the politics and social history of the school and its affiliates. Having such spectacular talents with none of the hunger for a social status is a rare thing Erik.”
Erik was uncomfortable with the praising tone to her voice, “I’m not the only one. Why do you think that Tony hides in the engineering department all day and night?”
Pepper chuckled, “Tony has always been happiest when he’s up to his elbows in engine grease. I’ve always appreciated you looking out for him.”
Erik shrugged, “I’m just worried that he’ll blow up the station in a fit of boredom if I don’t.”
Pepper chuckled again, “Well, between us I’m glad that we’ve kept that from happening. Tony has a great deal of respect for you Erik.”
Erik nodded, “The feeling is mutual.”
Pepper nodded, “Well, I’ll let you go back to the workshop. Ah, and please tell Tony that he is not allowed to name it the Cave of Wonders.”
Erik shook his head, “You can’t be serious.”
Pepper sighed wearily, “When it comes to Tony I’m always serious. Oh, and Erik, congratulations on finding your soulmate. It’s a wonderful thing.”
Erik’s eyes dropped to the half-hidden writing on Pepper’s wrist. He knew that Tony and Pepper were soulmates but he wasn’t entirely sure of the nature of their relationship. Some days it felt like they were a married couple and on other days it felt like they were best friends and nothing more. As usual, Erik didn’t pry and he made his way out of the room.
He passed Darcy again on his way back and she called out, “I hear that you’re off the market.”
Erik asked, “Disappointed?”
Darcy grinned widely, “You couldn’t handle me Lehnsherr.”
Erik smirked, “You have a point Miss Lewis.”
Erik went back to Tony’s workshop. When he walked through the doors Tony faced him with a wide grin, “How bad was it?”
“Pepper said that you’re not allowed to call this place the Cave of Wonders.”
Tony pouted which was just wrong for a grown man, “She can’t stop me. So, Magneto, are you going to do some work or not?”
Erik slid into his seat at his designated desk and frowned at the mess of cogs and wheels that had appeared while he’d talked to Pepper. Erik waved his hand vaguely in the direction of his table top, “What am I supposed to do with this?”
Tony frowned, “Fix it.”
Erik sighed, “Tony, I don’t even know what it is.”