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Incredibly, the first time Erik kissed Charles, he was taken completely by surprise. They were in Charles’s room -- or the dorm that functioned as his room at the moment -- at the CIA compound, and Erik had just walked in, holding the chess set. Charles had looked up from his book with such a look of happiness and had stood up to draw Erik in with such enthusiasm that Erik couldn’t hold back anymore. So he’d leaned in and kissed Charles firmly on the lips.
He was starting to regret his decision, however, as he registered the shock on Charles’s face.
Charles seemed to be struggling for words, so Erik took a step back, and said cautiously, “I’m sorry. I thought --”
“No!” Charles exclaimed. And then, in a more normal tone of voice, “No, it’s quite all right. I was just surprised is all.”
Erik frowned in confusion. “I thought you knew.”
“I, uh.” Charles cleared his throat. “I didn’t.”
“But you said you knew,” Erik insisted. “That second night, when I wanted to leave, and you stopped me. You said you knew everything.”
“Ah, that,” Charles said. The tips of his ears were turning slightly red. “I may have exaggerated a little.”
“Oh.” Erik felt a cold weight settle in his stomach. “I apologize, then,” he said stiffly. “Perhaps I should …” He turned toward the door.
“No, wait!” And then there was a hand on his arm, stopping him. Erik turned back.
A smile was forming on Charles’s lips.
“That doesn’t mean I’m … adverse to the idea.”
Erik raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”
“Actually,” Charles said, stepping closer and looking up at Erik through his dark eyelashes, “I think I could get quite into it.”
And then Erik could feel Charles’s smile against his own lips, and he let his eyes fall closed as he reached up to tentatively cup Charles’s face with one hand. Charles’s lips were soft and inviting, warm against Erik’s, and then there was the tip of a tongue licking his lower lip. Erik gasped, and Charles seemed to take that as an invitation to slip his tongue in, and Erik could barely hold back the moan in his throat.
“Wait,” he said as he pulled back, breathing heavily, “I need --” He looked around, dazed, and then remembered the chess set he was still holding. He let it go and floated it over to the small table they usually used to play.
“Perhaps we should sit?” Charles suggested. He quirked an eyebrow as Erik hesitated. “Or we could remain standing, if you prefer.”
“Yes,” Erik said, and then he moved forward to cradle Charles’s face in his hands as he leaned in to kiss him some more. Charles hummed happily and lifted his arms to wrap around Erik’s neck. Erik pulled back slightly. “I mean, yes, we can sit.”
Charles grinned, and then he was walking backwards and pulling Erik along. And then, with a smooth move, Charles switched their positions, and Erik’s legs hit the bed. He let himself be pushed down on it, lying flat on his back as Charles straddled his hips. His stomach felt hot and tight, but whether it was nerves or something else, he wasn’t sure.
“That’s much better,” Charles said, and leaned forward. His hair fell forward, caressing Erik’s cheeks as they kissed, and this time Erik opened his mouth immediately when Charles asked, sucking eagerly on his tongue and reveling in the sounds his friend was making.
“God, Erik,” Charles said, leaning his forehead against Erik’s. His breath felt hot and wet and Erik wanted to get back to kissing him again, but then Charles moved down, nuzzling at Erik’s jaw before moving down to his neck and biting lightly.
Erik gasped. His hands moved down to grip Charles’s thighs tightly. “Do that again,” he said, and felt the vibrations as Charles chuckled against his skin. And then Charles was biting and licking and kissing and Erik could do nothing but gasp and moan and try to hold his trembling body still. It was a surprise, then, when warm hands made their way up under his shirt, caressing his skin, nails trailing lightly against his abdomen.
He couldn’t wait anymore, he had to kiss Charles right then, so he sunk his hands into Charles’s hair and pulled him back up to claim his lips. Charles moaned appreciatively and proceeded to kiss him, slow and thorough.
It felt good. It felt great, actually, and Erik could very well spend the rest of the night lying on the bed with Charles on top of him kissing him. Charles, however seemed to have other plans.
Take this off, came the words in Erik’s head, and Charles was pushing up on his shirt, attempting to get it out of the way of his roaming hands.
“Just a sec,” Erik rasped, and was surprised at how low his voice sounded then. Charles sat back on his haunches, allowing Erik to rid himself of his shirt. He let it fall to the side of the bed and lay back down. He squirmed a bit, a tad uncomfortable under Charles’s scrutiny.
Gorgeous, Charles sent to him, and his eyes were roaming over Erik’s body, drinking in every little detail, every scar Erik had obtained over the ages.
Come back here, Erik thought in Charles’s direction, and attempted to pull Charles back for more kissing.
“Wait,” Charles whispered. He was still looking hungrily at Erik, and then he leaned down and pressed a kiss right over Erik’s rapidly beating heart. He kept kissing, working his way down Erik’s torso, dipping his tongue into his navel. Erik felt a sudden rush of heat all over. He was glad he’d taken of his shirt. His pants felt rough and thick against his skin now, and he just wanted them off.
Still, he couldn’t help the small spike of almost-panic when Charles’s fingers dipped below his waistband.
Charles glanced up. “What’s wrong?”
Erik swallowed heavily. “Nothing.” It came out weak even to his own ears. He cleared his throat. “Nothing,” he said again, and was proud it came out much more steady. “This is just … new.”
Charles eyes widened comically. “Oh.”
Erik laughed, but he couldn’t quite meet Charles’s eyes. “Really, Charles, you’re a terrible telepath.”
“I try to only read surface thoughts,” Charles said defensively. “You never -- you don’t think about it. I mean, not even when we were at the Hellfire Club. Which, come to think of it, might have been a clue.”
Erik rolled his eyes. “It’s not a big deal. This might surprise you, but until now, it just didn’t come up.”
Charles gaped. “What, never?”
“Charles, I spend my life tracking down Nazis.”
Charles frowned, and seemed about to say something on the subject, but Erik cut him off.
“Charles, please.” I want you, he thought. It was easier than saying the words out loud.
The look on Charles’s face softened, and he leaned down to presumably get back to the kissing, but suddenly stopped.
“What?” Erik said.
This time it was Charles who looked nervous. “Can I try something?” he asked, wiggling his fingers next to his temple to indicate telepathy.
Erik nodded. Charles closed his eyes, concentrating, fingers on his temple. Erik waited a second, and then gasped. It was like a warm, soft blanket had suddenly landed on his mind, enveloping it. It was a strange feeling, but far from unpleasant. Charles reached out to touch him, fingers stroking over his ribs, and wherever he touched, a trail of heat followed, like nothing Erik had felt before. Suddenly, it became absolutely important that he be able to touch Charles everywhere.
He stayed still, though, until Charles opened his eyes, and his hand fell down to lie across Erik’s stomach.
I’ve never done this before, he said. A wry smile worked its way onto his face. I couldn’t really, before, with anyone else.
Of course, Erik thought. Charles would have had to tamp down on his mutant powers around others. Something in his chest constricted at the thought that this was a first for Charles as well.
It was strange, having a whole other presence in his head; not unpleasant, though -- far from it in fact. Having Charles in his head felt right in a way that few things in Erik’s life had done so far.
He pulled Charles down, and they were kissing again, finally. His want, his arousal was there as before, but it was now echoed by Charles’s own. Erik could feel it, right there alongside his own.
Take this off, he said, tugging at Charles’s cardigan. Charles obliged, quickly unbuttoning it and the shirt underneath, throwing them both to the side. There was so much skin now for Erik to run his hands over, to feel and taste and kiss as much as he wanted to, and everything he did to Charles seemed to be echoed like a ghost touch along his own body.
Charles moved his hands back down to Erik’s waistband, and though no clear words formed in Erik’s head, he got the impression of a question.
“Yes,” he whispered. He let his hands fall to his sides, nervously smoothing the sheets. Charles smiled brilliantly, and then he’d made quick work of the button and zipper, and he was pulling Erik’s pants down.
The spike of arousal hit Erik like lightning, and it took him a few seconds to realize it wasn’t his own. It was coming from Charles. That was what Charles felt as he looked down at Erik’s cock.
He looked up at Erik quickly, and the heat in his eyes made Erik feel warm all the way down to his toes. Then Charles took the base of Erik’s cock in his hand, licked his lips once, and then wrapped those same lips around the tip of Erik’s dick, cheeks hollowing out as he sucked.
All the breath left Erik at once. He wrapped his hands tightly around the sheets to keep from thrusting up into that warm mouth. It felt incredible, better than he’d ever imagined the few times he’d let himself do so. Charles then slipped further down, swallowing even more of him, and Erik was surprised by how loud his moan was. It was answered by a similar noise from Charles, the vibrations only enhancing the sensations. Charles’s pleasure wrapped around Erik’s own in his mind, amplifying it.
Touch me.
Erik was surprised at the clarity of the words among everything else that he was feeling. He let go of the sheets slowly. He pushed Charles’s hair back from his face, running two fingers down from his temple, trailing against his cheek, and finally reaching his mouth, feeling the stretch of it around his cock.
As if in response, Charles started moving up and down, trailing his tongue on the underside of Erik’s cock, tonguing at the slit, his hand matching the movement and twisting around the base.
After a while, Erik wasn’t sure if the moans and groans were coming from himself or from Charles, but it didn’t matter. It seemed like they were connected, like Charles felt everything Erik felt, and Erik soaked up all of Charles’s feelings. His mind was an echo chamber, pleasure bouncing around the walls, growing louder and louder, magnifying until the tight coil in his lower belly suddenly exploded, pleasure flooding every cell of his body.
When it was over, when his muscles stopped trembling and he could relax back into the mattress, he opened his eyes. He didn’t even remember closing them. One hand was still stroking Charles’s hair, and Erik looked down to see Charles leaning his head against Erik’s thigh, looking completely serene.
Come here. Erik pulled Charles back up so they were lying next to each other. He pressed a chaste kiss to Charles’s lips, and then another just to taste himself on Charles.
I came. In my pants, Charles thought, wrinkling his nose in distaste. He wriggled as quickly as he could to get the offending garments of him. I’ve never done that before, he continued after he’d wormed his way under the blankets. With the telepathy, I mean. It was quite … Thank you, Erik.
His eyes were very blue and very earnest. Erik swallowed. He didn’t know what to say, but fortunately, Charles didn’t seem to need a response as he wiggled around, trying to find a comfortable position.
He stopped suddenly and turned to look Erik straight in the eye.
“You’re staying, right?”
Erik blinked. “Yes. Unless you’d rather I not?”
“No, of course not,” Charles said, going back to plumping the pillow. He lay down, back to Erik’s front.
Although I’m worried about the size of this bed. We might fall off in the night,, he fretted, but Erik merely waved his hand, and there was a squeaking sound as the bed nearest them moved close until it was right alongside their own. He could feel Charles’s smile without seeing it.
You have an amazing power, did I mention?
Erik smirked, and only wrapped his arm tighter around Charles’s waist.
*
Erik woke wrapped up around a body, his face buried in hair. He took a deep breath, reveling for a moment in the smell of Charles.
His bedmate was still asleep, it seemed, and Erik was careful as he extricated himself from the embrace. The air in the room was chilly compared to the warmth of Charles’s body.
He was already dressed when he heard a voice behind him.
“Leaving already?”
Charles looked entirely too tempting, leaning back on his elbows in bed, squinting blearily at Erik. His hair was a complete bird’s nest, and Erik wanted nothing more than to climb back in and sink his fingers in its softness. He gave himself a mental shake.
“I should go back to my room,” he said, slipping into his shoes.
Charles stretched languidly, letting the sheet fall down to pool around his waist. Erik couldn’t help but stare. Charles smirked.
“Stay,” he coaxed.
“I can’t,” Erik said, and before Charles could argue added, “I want to, but it wouldn’t be … appropriate. Considering where we are.”
“Ah, yes, of course.” Charles ran a hand through his wild hair, attempting to smooth it down. He only mildly succeeded. “Very well then.”
Erik took that as agreement, and with great force of will, turned toward the door.
“Wait,” Charles said, and Erik stopped, turning back to look. Charles lifted two fingers to his temple. After a second, he nodded. “It’s safe.”
Thank you, Erik thought as he opened the door and slipped out.
The hallway was indeed completely empty, and his steps echoed as he walked toward the kitchen. He could still feel a trace of Charles in his head, like a warm presence, radiating comfort and quiet happiness, and something else.
Hope, Erik realized, as he sipped on his coffee. For the first time in a long time, he felt hopeful.