#warallied

                        “funny, how they don’t respect such displays,”      sidious comments, watching the man display the force. it’s ------ interesting and more than anything new. but he can’t feel the force off the man, there’s no aura, and he assumes that implies skill.       “your power. is that the force?”      he asks, half curiosity.

                        twenty years. twenty years in one nap ------ and some people didn’t eat breakfast before noon. but here he was. charles wiggled his fingers, looking down at his hands because yes. still married. married. and the same thought that had filled him with apprehension now made his heart swell to bursting. he moved a little, sat more properly on the couch and looked towards the kitchen ------ the sound of metal, and their teapot. charles feels the smile split his lips.        ❝ does this mean i convinced you to stay? ❞       the question is curious, light.        ❝ or does this ------ ❞       he raised his fingers, wiggled it again. cobalt. he’d never been so in love with cobalt.        ❝ mean you convinced me? ❞

                     the somewhat grumpy look he’d been wearing softens and charles nod, reaching out to touch his shoulder.       ❝ don’t get discouraged. i’m sure you’ll find something, won’t you. do you want a cup of tea maybe? we could watch a movie. ❞

                         she’s been wandering around this down in a ridiculous outfit, with green hair. how no one has called lorna out on it yet, she doesn’t know. there’s a pause. --- is that? is that daddy? baron magnus, running around the streets looking younger than he has any right to and with dyed hair to boot? lorna pulls up her skirts and half dashes over to him, SMILING with her bangles and headpiece still as a church mouse where it should be clamoring in the wind.      “ daddy? ”

@warallied.

     it’d be nice to say it’s like old times but the taste is different. the kiss is half anger and he’s biting back a startled laugh for  the briefest moment before he focuses on the bite of teeth and lips. because it’s mostly lips, and mostly teeth, and charles’ hands at the sides of erik’s neck and weren’t they arguing a moment ago? about one of those fundamental differences that so often defined their relationship and charles had gotten angry, in erik’s face about it, his teeth grit and his cheeks pinking with effort and — oh. he supposes it was in the  l o o k  that erik had given him, something dark eyed and angry and the moment seemed to stretch until — kissing. he’d mistaken the glint in his eye for ‘maybe erik is about to hit me’ and yet here they were. old times but not. different but still satisfying, it takes the edge off deep hunger. charles still leans into it, still grabs for him, still wants in a way that he shouldn’t 

         ( in his mind, without the fore knowledge, they’re still lovers. illegal but willing to risk it. of all the things they are — murderers the both of them, soldiers, lost and alone and reaching for something — queer doesn’t seem so scary. )

          kitty sees him walk into the door and a familiar ache passes through her. she’s been doing that a lot.    “ you too huh? ”   kitty asks, brushing her hair back, the star pendant around her neck belies another of their similarities.    “ i’m a mutant, i phase. i’m not used to having to open doors before i walk through them. ”

                “ you’ve made that your lot, haven’t you? leaving. ”       it’s out before he can take it back, his tongue pressing into his lower lip. everything that comes to mind with erik is acerbic at best and often borders on mean. charles considers it a small victory that he manages to bite back the worst of it. it becomes more of a feat when you remember that charles has two ways of functioning —- sassy, and sad. he’s trying his hardest not to be depressive.        “ look, i didn’t actually come here to argue with you over breakfast, erik. i was grabbing a bite before i left. i have work today, ”       charles offers, taking a purposeful bite of the cereal in front of him. he’s made the implication clear enough —- let erik mull over the idea that he’s more than moved on, enough so that he’s spending nights down the hall from his ex.

                    and he is. if charles had thought that having erik here would curb the worst of his behavior he was wrong. now he’s sleeping with people just to prove he’s over not thinking about erik. —- doesn’t mean it’s working though. it’ll be a cold day in hell when a telepath can lie to himself. even when he tries to lock away the memories his thoughts always seem to dance back to erik. it’s telling enough that he’s chosen to spend the morning cream as well, despite hating what it does to his powers. ( his plans may have changed from ‘visit a diner’ to ‘eat here’ when he saw erik. )         “ however if you’re still feeling up for early morning conversation you can always ask questions about modern times, or maybe do anything that doesn’t belittle humans. ”