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Erik has felt and seen all sorts of disturbing things this morning.
When he hears the rustling of the sheets, his body can’t seem to figure out whether he should jump into action and pounce on the person who’s somehow managed to snake his or her way into his bed or to just feel strangely disturbed at the fact that his body actually has to decide because it should be automatic at this point.
He’s stunned now, well, his body is, before it finally chooses that he should feel disturbed because then his mind kindly reminds him to shut off his paranoia and try, just try to enjoy the morning with Charles. He shakes his head. It’s another thing he’ll never get used to, waking up to someone next to him. It’s surreal.
And yet, he’s truly here. He sits up and leans against the headboard. He folds his left leg
up
and lets his entire arm curl around it. His body feels warm and languid. He can thank Charles and what they did last night for that. He watches as Charles goes about his morning business.
It seems that Charles is already rushing because he’s reaching out and grabbing the nearest clothes he can find and the clothes happen to belong to Erik. Charles slides into the light brown pants easily enough and yet somehow he struggles in putting on Erik’s white shirt.
Erik stares at him in amusement. The clothes look too large for Charles, but somehow, he makes it work. Charles tucks the ends of the white shirt under the pants and then uses a brown belt to secure said light brown pants. Erik chuckles lightly. The sound is subtle enough that it finally catches Charles’ attention.
“This is only temporary,” Charles says as though that should explain everything, gesturing at Erik’s pants. “I have a meeting with someone and I’ve nearly forgotten about it until the children reminded me through a mental message —” He taps his finger against his temple for emphasis. “— and he’s already waiting outside—” He pauses and checks his watch. “Oh, I really must go!”
And he does, stumbling out of the bedroom, his bedroom in fact.
Erik stays there, still nestled in the warm sheets. He feels so damn drugged. It’s like he can’t think coherently where Charles is concerned. Some paranoid part of him wonders if Charles has been snooping around his mind like the curious person he is, somehow managing to convince himself that it’s for Erik’s good, really.
But he immediately shrugs it off because if that’s the case, then he shouldn’t be thinking about this at all. The fact that he can still question himself is a good enough defense to any telepathic tampering.
(And it really disturbs him that he’s even thinking about this, because he trusts Charles, he always has. What he doesn’t trust is the people around Charles, those who can easily influence him if he allows them.)
Erik shoves those kinds of thoughts aside and finally tears himself away from the warm comfort of the sheets, standing up and stretching out his arms, feeling the bones in his back crack and slide into position. He looks down at himself, sees that he’s obviously naked and realizes something rather important.
Charles has his clothes. He doesn’t want to wear anything from Charles’ closet because he doesn’t want to look as stuffy as Charles is. Charles can pull off that look better than he can.
Of course, it’s unlikely that he’ll find the other students wandering off in the hallways since they‘ve seen much of the mansion already. The chances are very low. Even then, he doesn’t consider himself a prudish man. So what’s the problem?
He glances back at the bed. It’s the safety he’s felt in those sheets, the warmth and the intimacy that he’s shared with Charles. It’s sacred, the times they’ve spent together and Erik going out, naked as the day he was born will only ruin it.
He lets out a sigh and shakes his head again. “Damn it, Charles.”
-o-
In the dining room, the children are staring at Charles oddly.
Well, only some of them. Angel is smirking at him. Raven is giggling. The rest—yes, those are the familiar looks of confusion that Erik has mentioned to him weeks ago.
“What—” Alex starts.
“—the hell—” Sean continues.
“… I knew it,” finishes Hank.
“We will discuss this later,” Charles says and then informs them to stay where they are and let him handle the potential impeding catastrophe that’s waiting for him at the entrance doors.
End.