round 3 overflow post

[starkmodistries.livejournal.com]

Round 3 Overflow Post

This post is for Round 3 fills only. We ask that when a round hits 8500 comments, fillers begin moving their fills to this post.

Format:
SUBJECT LINE -- Round #, short description of fic (ex: "Alex/Hank, lab partners")
--- Link to the prompt
--- Text of the prompt

--- Link to the fill
OR
--- Entire text of the fill

EXAMPLE:
Prompt: http://xmen-firstkink.livejournal.com/6437.html?thread=1038472#t2038174

Charles/Erik -- Charles is a bakery owner whose most frequent customer is Erik.

Fill: http://xmen-firstkink.livejournal.com/6437.html?thread=0139482#t4502942

Charles started off the morning the same way he always did...

Comments

Heat - Part 27a

[(Anonymous)]

Erik panted roughly as he hurried away, not risking looking back. He didn’t want to see Shaw – he knew he would be following him – and he certainly didn’t want to see Charles. If he saw his face again – if he saw that look of desolation and hurt and despair – then he would lose his resolve and he would end up crawling back to Charles, desperate for a piece of him to keep, and Erik couldn’t do that. He wouldn’t do that. Not to Charles. Charles who deserved so much better than Erik. Charles who deserved to spend his life free and safe from danger. Charles who mustn’t be brought to the attention of the man who was now trailing after Erik with one sole, deadly purpose in mind.

Erik shuddered and sped up his pace.

He needed to get Shaw as far away from Charles as was possible. That was the only thought that he allowed to run through his head. It was all that mattered; his pain and his own chances of survival were secondary.

The possibility that Shaw had already noticed Charles didn’t concern Erik overmuch. Although his and Charles’s farewell had seemed to last a lifetime, in reality it had only been seconds. Erik tried not to be bitter; at least he had been able to say goodbye. That counted for something, at least. He hoped it did, at any rate. Not that he ever expected Charles to forgive him for this.

He sighed at that thought and hobbled on as quickly as he could. At least his mind could be at peace on that score. His leaving had spared Charles from being involved in things that he should never have encountered in the first place. Now Charles wouldn’t be involved in his fight against Shaw.

Now he wouldn’t have to see Erik die.

For Erik was under no illusions about why Shaw had showed up, or about his own chances of defeating Shaw. He was still banged up and sore from his altercation with Azazel and Janos – and had that really only occurred five minutes ago, it felt like five days – and he was still reeling from having been forced to abandon Charles. To sum up, he was not at all at his best and the likelihood of his surviving this confrontation was slim to none.

Still he hurried on. He knew he wouldn’t make it far but the further away he was from Charles when Shaw eventually caught up to him then the better.

It was hard going. It was dark and he was unfamiliar with his surroundings – it was perhaps the last situation that he would have chosen for his final confrontation with Shaw. Grunting, Erik sped up his shambling gait, using his powers to navigate a way in the pitch blackness.

It was only some minutes later, when finding himself outside the gates of what appeared to be a scrap-heap, that Erik realised that he had been following his powers towards the most defensible location that he could find; that is to say, towards the area with the most metal around it. Casting a grim glance over the scrapped-metal heaped in piles beyond the fence, Erik steeled his jaw and braced himself. Holding out a stiff arm, he scowled in concentration as the edges of the metal fence slowly pulled back. When he had finally made a big enough gap, he stepped through, pausing only briefly to reseal the entrance before taking off in a swift jog towards the centre of the scrap-yard. That, he couldn’t help feeling, was the best place to face what would happen next.

Panting slightly, Erik finally brought himself to a crouch between the broken fenders of two cars and braced himself against their sides, taking comfort in the feeling of metal under his fingertips. Gradually, he got his breathing back under control until he was once again calm. He was resigned now: his confrontation with Shaw was going to happen now whether he wanted it or not, regardless of his own physical condition or state of mind. But that was all unimportant. Only two things mattered now: that he was finally going to kill Shaw or die trying, as he had promised himself all those years ago, and that Charles was safe, kept far away from the poison of Erik’s past.

Heat - Part 27b

[(Anonymous)]

He didn’t regret his actions: by leaving Charles he had only done what he should have a long time ago, before he got so emotionally involved with him. Things were better this way.

Forcibly pushing all further thoughts of Charles aside, Erik pushed his powers out to reach around him. The feel of all the metal surrounding him was soothing, encouraging. Erik couldn’t help but feel stronger for it. In truth, he couldn’t have picked a better spot for meeting Shaw even if he had planned ahead. Pushing out even further, Erik extended his reach as far as possible. He sensed the edges of the scrap yard, the metal of the fence, the pile of car doors that had been dumped together, the various battered and banged-up cars that were piled one on top of the other after that, the broken-down refrigerators and washing machines further in, the scrapped-car graveyard that was surrounding him, the rounded metal shape hovering just feet away …

Erik froze.

Slowly, ever so slowly, he straightened up from his crouch and, his body almost trembling with tension, turned around.

‘Hello Erik,’ Shaw smiled, standing mere feet away, that awful helmet placed securely upon his head. ‘Am I early?’

The wind blew coldly around them as they regarded each other, its howl eerie and ominous in the dark night.

Erik swallowed and forced himself to speak.

‘No,’ he said, his shoulders relaxing and his voice strangely calm. ‘No, you are not.’ And with that, he reached out with his powers and squeezed.






*

Re: Heat - Part 27b

[renuki.livejournal.com]

I'm torn between going 'Erik will win!' or worry that he is going to die.

But, let the final boss battle began! *starts humming battle themes from games*

Re: Heat - Part 27b

[(Anonymous)]

I'm slightly worried about Erik too! :p

Thanks, I hope that the battle lives up to your expectations! xx