Special Mutant Friends

The morning after, Erik woke up to find Charlessnuggled so close to him that there was barely even any space to breathe. Hisface was tucked into Erik’s shoulder, his hair falling over Erik’s nose andmouth. He had an arm wrapped possessively around Erik’s chest, and he wasletting off heat like a furnace. A light sheen of sweat stuck their naked skintogether everywhere they were connected. Erik’s right arm, wedged underCharles’s body, had gone numb, and his bladder was starting to let him knowthat it needed to be emptied, quite urgently.

It was uncomfortable, but Erik was absolutelydetermined not to move. He’d fantasized about waking up with Charles in hisarms, in his bed, for the last twoyears. He was going to savor every second of this for as long as he could,discomfort be damned.

“That’s sweet.”

Erik started and turned his head, nose pressingagainst Charles’s ear. “You’re awake?”

Charles shifted around so he could look up into Erik’sface and smiled. “I’ve been awake for a while. I was just waiting for you towake up.” He ran his hand along Erik’s bare chest and smirked. “And justenjoying this, of course.”

When he touched the hickey he had sucked into Erik’scollarbone last night, Erik shivered. The idea of Charles marking him filledhim with sharp satisfaction and pleasure. The fact that he’d marked Charles upin return only deepened his satisfaction.

Brushing a hand through his shower-wet hair, Erik hoists his backpack a little higher up on his shoulder and pushes open the locker room door with a flick of his powers, stepping out into the brightly lit hallway. His legs ache from the six-mile run he’d completed on the treadmill and his arms are still burning from the rowing machine, but he feels considerably better than he had entering the gym a few hours ago. His head feels clearer and his body more alive despite the soreness. The mess of his week – the conference call turned shouting match with the other chief engineers on his project, the lost wallet, the parking ticket, the notice for increased rent in his building if he wants to sign another lease at the end of the month – all of the bad has faded away in the face of sheer muscle exhaustion.

in this futuristic dystopia, the planet Genosha (colonized long ago by Earth settlers but which has since developed its own separate identity) is ruled by a royal family and other landed nobility. mutants are collared, monitored, and treated like pets/slaves. the current fad in court is to “marry” mutant pets aka keep them around for pleasure and entertainment. 

Erik’s kept his powers hidden since they manifested at age thirteen, and his mother’s always tried to keep him safe from the Traveling Guard, a group of king’s soldiers responsible for finding new/rogue mutants and bringing them under control. but when some douchey local lord takes an interest in his mother and slaps her for rejecting him, Erik completely loses it and almost strangles the asshole with his own belt. 

of course he gets arrested and reported to the Traveling Guard, and they come and collar Erik (which severely dampens his powers) and ferry him to the auction in the nearest city. after a few terrible days languishing in cells with other captured mutants, Erik’s told he’s been selected out of a catalog and “married off” to some lord in the north. so they put him on a ship and send him on his way. 

it turns out his new owner is Lord Charles Xavier of Westchester, and Erik soon learns Xavier’s a huge fan of the “marrying” fad and has “married” ten or twelve other mutants as well. Xavier has a reputation for being a smarmy, arrogant, spoiled playboy who’s pretty much the worst of what the king’s court has to offer.