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

Round 3, Charles/Erik, Heat AU

[(Anonymous)]

Based on the Al Pacino and Robert de Niro film Heat (1995)

Erik follows close on the trail of Shaw, determined to seek revenge until one day he runs into Charles Xavier and he is forced to choose between his revenge and his new-found love.


Link to Fill (Parts 1 to 10): http://xmen-firstkink.livejournal.com/3278.html?thread=4957902#t4957902

Heat - Part 11a

[(Anonymous)]

Erik wasn’t immediately sure why it was that he had woken, only that his feelings upon waking were not those of panic and fear, but of contentment and pleasure. Glancing to his side, those feelings seemed to expand inside of him with a brilliantly warm glow as he caught sight of Charles’s ruffled head peeking out of the sheets and snuggled deep into the pillow, his face tucked neatly into the space between Erik’s neck and shoulder.

‘Charles,’ Erik breathed, his breath ruffling the hair on Charles’s head, making him unconsciously nuzzle even closer into Erik’s space. Erik was breathless for a second, unable to move or think or speak just for the sheer perfection of that moment.

And then he heard his phone go off again.

It was on silent – as it always was – but Erik was a light sleeper and so the noise evinced by the vibrations was all that he needed. Usually he would have been able to pick it up from its first ring, but apparently being so near to Charles had lowered his defences. He quickly and carefully disentangled himself from Charles’s embrace and slipped over to where his trousers had been discarded, pawing efficiently at them until he managed to grasp hold of his phone from within the pocket.

‘Yes?’ he said brusquely, creeping away from the bedroom and shutting the door behind him so as to not wake Charles.

‘Long time no speak, cher,’ came the cheery voice from the other end of the phone.

‘I’ve been busy,’ Erik grunted out, relaxing minutely at the voice.

‘That no joke, Remy almost think you no longer with us, when you don’t pick up on the first ring.’

Erik let out an impatient grunt.

‘What do you have for me Remy?’

‘What, no “how you doin’?” No “nice to hear from you”? Erik, I feel hurt!’

‘Just get on with it,’ Erik growled, gritting his teeth. It was cold out here in the hallway, and it made Erik miss the warmth of Charles’s bed even more.

‘Only ‘cause it’s you, cher,’ Remy laughed before becoming more professional. ‘There’s un homme in New York. He used t’ deal with the Russians. I think you might find him … informative.’

‘Do you now?’ Erik murmured, reaching for the pen and paper on the hallway telephone stand. ‘Care to expand on that?’

He listened for a few minutes, jotting down the relevant details.

‘I’ll find him today,’ Erik said after Remy had finished. ‘No use in waiting.’

‘I’d be surprised if you did,’ Remy said wryly. ‘In fact, Remy a little surprised you ain’t running out the door right ‘bout now.’

Erik glanced back at the bedroom door wistfully.

‘Yeah,’ he said. ‘Me too.’

‘You have to slow yourself down, Erik,’ Remy said, his voice becoming serious. ‘Learn to enjoy them little things. Life can’t be all ‘bout killin’ people. Pleasure is très important too. Take it from someone who knows.’

‘After Shaw,’ Erik promised, though whether he was promising Remy or himself he did not know. ‘After I get Shaw. Then I can let go.’

‘Hmm,’ Remy said doubtfully, before huffing. ‘Well if that is all, I’ve got me une très belle redhead awaitin’ for me.’

Erik allowed himself a small smirk.

‘I don’t doubt it. Goodbye Remy. And thanks.’

‘Take care o’ yo’self Erik. Au revoir.’

Click.

Heat - Part 12a WARNING: Violence, Torture, Death

[(Anonymous)]

A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who commented! It's nice to know that there are some people reading this!

Just a note regarding the warnings: The death is that of minor character(s) and it all happens off-screen. The same goes for the torture and violence, really - it is all off-screen. What you read is more the threat/prelude to violence and torture. I hope I haven't forgotten any other warnings - please let me know if I have.

...Other than that, please enjoy! :)

-------------------------------------------------------------------



*


Colonel William Stryker was not a very likeable man. In fact, one could even go so far as to say that he was predominantly unlikeable. His only loyalty was to himself, and a more bigoted, mistrustful character would be hard to find. The only value he put on anything was that of cold hard cash, a failing of his that had resulted in his discharge from the military. It was a well-known secret that his discharge ought to have been a dishonourable one – and it would have been, were it not for the number of favours that Stryker had managed to accumulate during his time as a Colonel, as well as the government’s desire to hush up any scent of a wrong-doing from so high within their ranks. As it was, Stryker managed to get out safe and sound, his vast, illegally-made fortune still mostly intact and his future secure in his own two hands. All he needed now was a direction to move in.

Stryker was well aware of the existence of mutants. More than aware, as it happened. Which is to say that he regarded them as an abomination, one that had to be scoured from the surface of the earth as quickly and cleanly as possible. It was for this reason that he now worked for Sebastian Shaw. Stryker had met him shortly after his discharge from the military at some function or the other, and Shaw had been very gracious and attentive, listening to Stryker’s words with fascination. He had later made contact with Stryker proposing a deal between the two of them, to which Stryker had readily agreed. It helped that he was also being paid handsomely for his troubles – the very house in which he now sat was testament to the generosity of Sebastian Shaw in return for the services rendered against the mutant problem.

The house, of course, had a state of the art security system, as was befitting the house of an ex-military man with contacts such as he now possessed. Everything from security cameras to high powered lasers bordered his fences, as did a number of ex-security men that he had hired to patrol his land. It would take a veritable army to get through to him.

Therefore, it was something of an enormous shock for him when, sitting in his dressing gown and in the middle of downing a glass of excellent scotch, there was a bang and the door of his private chambers burst open, revealing a tall and rangy man with clenched fists, his eyes cold and narrowed with purpose.

The glass of scotch dropped from Stryker’s hands.

‘What is the meaning of this?’ he demanded, standing up, outraged at the intrusion.

The man’s eyes seemed to darken.

‘Sebastian Shaw,’ the man spat, causing Stryker’s eyes to widen. ‘Where is Sebastian Shaw?’

‘I haven’t the faintest idea what you are talking about,’ Stryker said coldly, slowly moving his hand toward the panic button on the wall that would summon his security team in seconds. ‘Now I demand that you leave, sir, before my own men arrive. They will not go easy on you, I promise you.’

The man let out a harsh laugh that made Stryker shiver against his will.

‘That would be assuming that you had any men left,’ he said, and then he had gestured with his hands and – Stryker’s eyes widened with fear – Stryker’s hands were suddenly bound with strips of liquid metal that had been pulled from his own furnishings.

‘Mutant!’ he swore, recovering from his shock, his eyes burning with an intense, venomous hate. ‘I should have known! You’re a filthy mutant!’

The man’s mouth quirked in a smile that showed very little amusement.

‘Yes,’ he said calmly, looking down at his front which, Stryker now realised with fear, had more than a few bloodstains upon it, none of which belonged to the man. ‘I suppose I am, rather.’

Heat - Part 13 - Blood, Gore, Dead Bodies

[(Anonymous)]

A/N: Just a short one this time, I'm afraid. More soon.

----------------------------------------------------------------------



*



Azazel’s face was grim as he teleported back to Shaw.

‘Well?’ Shaw snapped, his jaw tight.

Azazel grimaced.

‘Colonel Stryker,’ he said, his accent thick. ‘It appears that he is no longer with us.’

‘It appears?’ Shaw sneered.

Azazel gave a shrug.

‘It was hard to tell, what with all the bodies and the blood,’ he said dryly.

Shaw’s face paled. He whirled around.

‘Emma!’ he shouted. ‘Come here this instant! And bring Riptide too!’

Emma and Riptide were at his side moments later.

‘You heard?’ Shaw barked.

Emma gave a small, sharp nod in reply.

Shaw’s nostrils flared but he tamped down on his anger and made himself calm down. There was no need to panic. Erik was his creation after all.

‘Azazel,’ he commanded, voice calm. ‘Take us to the Stryker compound.’

With a quick nod, Azazel stepped forward and, with all of them linking hands, teleported them out of the room in a puff of smoke. Milliseconds later, they were at the Stryker house – or at least, what was left of it.

Emma almost gagged when she saw that her expensively leather-encased foot was inches away from the messily smashed skull of a dead soldier.

‘Where’s Stryker?’ Shaw asked tightly.

Azazel silently pointed the way.

Unnerved, they all trooped inside the house, trying to avoid stepping in or on anything in their path.

They approached Stryker’s rooms in silence. Then, with the tension at unbearable heights, they stepped through the door to his chambers.

Even Azazel had to look away. Only Shaw stared grimly around at the wanton destruction and bloody remains of the corpse that were left.

As Azazel, Emma and Riptide stared around the room, they each had just one question in their minds. A question that only the telepath among them could voice.

‘Sebastian,’ Emma whispered, horror and disbelief warring in her voice. ‘Who is this man?’




*

Heat - Part 14a

[(Anonymous)]

A/N: Sorry for the delay on this. Hope there is someone still reading this! x
-------------------------------------------------------------------




Erik forced himself to calm down. Although there was no real chance of him crashing – being able to control metal had its advantages, after all – it still would not do to draw notice and the way he was feeling now meant that he was paying his motoring skills very little attention.

He hadn’t meant to get so carried away. That was what he told himself. Usually he was very calm and clinical when it came to his excursions, but today he hadn’t been able to stop himself in his brutality – whether it was due to Stryker’s continued cursing against mutant-kind or as a reaction against the warm, fuzzy feelings he’d been having when with Charles, he did not know. All he knew was that the adrenaline was wearing off, he was covered in blood, and all he really wanted to do was get back to Charles and crawl into bed with him and stay there for the next week or so.

Unfortunately, that was impossible. Erik was not stupid – he knew that Stryker was an important man and that sooner or later – probably sooner, when considering the state-of-the-art security system Stryker had put in – someone would figure out what had happened and there would soon be a manhunt for his killer. And with Stryker being an ex-military man, the heat would not be off for a long time.

Erik gritted his teeth and clenched his hands over the steering wheel. The worst part was, the trip hadn’t even been worth it. Yes, it had been highly satisfying to kill one of Shaw’s henchmen, who also happened to be a mutant-hating bigot, but the result had not been worth it – the man had known nothing of Shaw’s whereabouts and only very minor details of his plans; whatever was going on, Shaw was far too intelligent to share his plans with a man such as Stryker. And now the police had the dead body of a retired colonel on their hands. It wouldn’t be safe for Erik to stay in the city for much longer.

And yet the thought of leaving sent a pang of despair into Erik’s heart. For once, this feeling was not caused by the thought of giving up the chase for Shaw. No, this time it was caused by the thought of leaving Charles.

It was odd, Erik reflected, that he should feel so strongly for a man that he had known for so short a period of time. And yet he could not help but feel that what he felt for Charles – what Charles felt for him – was more real than any relationship that he had ever had in his entire lifetime. That instant connection that seemed to blaze between them … no, Erik couldn’t lose that. He had had the barest taste of what his life might be like outside of his quest for Shaw and whatever happened, whoever came after him, he wouldn’t give that up. He couldn’t give that up.

… But did he have to? His mind flicked back to what he and Charles had said the night before. Charles was willing to come away with him, to leave everything behind and follow Erik across the world if he so asked. And yes, so Charles had probably meant for that to happen in a year or six months from now. But considering that he had promised last night … surely, if Erik asked …

He dismissed the idea. He couldn’t ask that of Charles. It would be wrong of him to ask it of him. He should just leave. Leave, or lie low, or do something that didn’t drag Charles into the mess that was his life. He should just stay the hell away from Charles and leave and not ruin and interfere with his life any more than he already had …

He should probably call Remy.

With that sudden thought, Erik pulled over onto the side of the road and crawled out of his car. Taking the phone from out of his trouser pocket, he stared at it for a moment. Then, taking a deep breath, he made the call.

Heat - Part 15, Brief Mentions of Blood and Gore

[(Anonymous)]

*




Shaw didn’t answer Emma’s question. He knew perfectly well who Erik was – he was Frankenstein’s monster, Shaw’s first and most beautiful creation. Here, in the blood and flesh on the floor of the house, here was proof of Shaw’s greatest victory … and his greatest failure. Erik had become the beautiful, unstoppable killing machine that Shaw had almost dreamt that he would become … pity, that now it was him that Erik was now hunting for.

‘Little Erik and I go a long way back,’ was all he deigned to tell the others. He then walked forward and pressed two cold fingers to the flesh of Stryker’s bloody corpse. It was still warm. ‘He hasn’t been gone long,’ Shaw announced, stepping resolutely away and wiping his hands off on a curtain. ‘He can’t have got far. Emma, start searching for him. Azazel, you will be taking Emma and I to meet Erik when she finds him. Riptide, you will deal with the scene and handle the policed when they get here. Is that understood?’

The other three nodded.

After a moment, Emma turned to Shaw and nodded.

‘Got him,’ she said.

Shaw nodded and grasped hold of her hand, even as she took Azazel’s.

‘Very well then,’ he said. ‘Let’s go and meet the prodigal son.’

With a puff of smoke, they disappeared.








*

Heat - Part 16a

[(Anonymous)]

Charles was just settling down to read the day’s newspaper when the telephone rang. He started with surprise, wondering just who could be calling at such an early hour. Frowning slightly, he folded the paper and put it away before walking over to the telephone and picking up the receiver.

‘Hello?’ he answered politely.

‘Hello?’ Charles’s spine stiffened. ‘Hello? Charles, it’s me …’

‘Erik?’ Charles immediately clutched the phone closer to him. ‘Erik, is that you? I missed you this morning, where did you go?’

‘I had an errand that needed taking care of,’ was Erik’s vague reply. Charles found himself frowning yet again at the strained tone of voice.

‘Erik, are you okay?’ he asked uncertainly. ‘Only … you sound a little off.’

‘I’m fine,’ Erik replied quickly, his voice almost back to normal. ‘Just a sore throat, nothing to worry about.’

‘Oh,’ Charles felt himself relax. ‘Oh okay then. Will I – will I see you again tonight?’

There was a pause of the other end of the phone.

Charles instinctively felt himself tense up once more.

‘Charles …’ Erik breathed into the phone. ‘Charles, something has come up.’

Charles’s fingers gripped the phone tightly.

‘Oh.’ He didn’t ask what that something was. Of course Erik had other commitments. Charles was far from stupid, far from naïve. Last night had been a one-off, a bit of fun between the two of them. That was all.

Just because Charles had felt that it was something more didn’t mean that Erik felt the same way. No matter what had been said the night before.

After all, Charles thought self-deprecatingly, it wasn’t like Erik was the only person to have ever spouted romantic declarations and made post-coital promises to one-night-stands that he never intended to see again.

‘I have to leave town, Charles.’

Charles bit back a sigh.

‘Of course you do,’ he said, his tone full of false-jollity. ‘I’m sure that magnet salesmen have very little downtime, after all.’

There was a pause, as if Erik was confused by what Charles was saying. Then Erik let out a breath.

‘Charles – Charles, no,’ he said, his voice losing its stiff edge and becoming impossibly warm and soothing. ‘Charles, what I wanted to say was – I need to leave town. But I was hoping that I wouldn’t have to do so alone.’

Silence. Then:

‘Oh,’ Charles said weakly, putting a hand to the wall and leaning against it. ‘Oh. I think I might have to sit down.’

‘Charles?’ Erik’s voice sounded anxious and not a little apprehensive. ‘Are you all right?’

‘Yes – yes, my friend,’ Charles pulled himself together. ‘Are – perhaps I misunderstood you, so forgive me if I sound particularly unintelligent at the moment, but – Erik, are you saying that you would like me to come away with you when you leave town?’

‘…Yes,’ Erik answered, his tone halfway between being soothing and defensive.

‘I-’ Charles ran his free hand through his hair and looked about him wildly. ‘Well – when are you planning to leave town?’

There was another pause.

‘Tonight?’ Erik’s tone appeared to be more of a question than a statement.

‘Tonight?’ Charles gaped. ‘I – what – Erik, I can’t possibly leave tonight! There’s no way that I-’

‘Charles, please.’ Erik’s tone was such that Charles was forced to pause. ‘Charles, I – I want you by my side.’

Charles deflated.

‘Yes, yes I know,’ he murmured, cradling the phone receiver closer. ‘But – Erik it’s not that simple. All my things are here, and my home and-’

‘We’ll buy another home,’ Erik said rashly. ‘One that isn’t so gloomy and lonely. We’ll even have a library in there, just for you.’

Charles couldn’t help but let his heart soften at the words.

‘Erik,’ he murmured, reproachfully. ‘That’s all very well, but still – all my things – my research-’

‘Send for them,’ Erik said immediately. ‘We’ll arrange for them to be sent to you. Or we can come back at some point. Take what you need with you now and get the rest later.’

Heat - Part 17

[(Anonymous)]

Erik ended the call and closed his eyes, turning his face up to the sky. Part of him wanted to laugh and crow with relief and happiness at the fact that Charles had actually agreed – that Charles was coming with him, that he felt the same as Erik, and that things were actually going to work out.

The other half, however, was filled with bitterness and self-loathing for his selfishness, for lying to Charles, and for dragging him into this whole blood-soaked, sorry business without his even realising it. He couldn’t even deceive himself that he would eventually do the right thing and leave without Charles; he knew that, come this evening, he would be back at Charles’s house, making sure that he was to board that plane right alongside Erik, conscience or no conscience.

Of all the terrible things that Erik had done in his long, terrible life, it was rather strange that this should be the one that his conscience should decide to sit up and take notice of. In the grand scheme of things, lying to Charles wasn’t even a fraction as bad as most of the things he had done.

… But if that was so, then why did he feel so wretched about it?

Erik squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his hands. He could do this. He was going to do this. All he had to do was clean himself up, calm himself down, and then drive back to Charles. Then they would go and get on a plane together, leave and never come back, free to spend the rest of their lives together.

His heart finally slowing down, his breath no longer coming in rough pants, Erik unclenched his fists and opened his eyes. Letting go of one long sigh, he smoothed down his shirt and turned around.

And froze.

Shaw smiled down at him, leaning casually against Erik’s battered car, alongside that white, mind-reading bitch and the red teleporting demon.

‘Why if it isn’t young Erik,’ Shaw purred, his feverishly-glinting eyes belying his cool manner. He licked his lips and Erik felt a pit of dread well up inside his stomach. ‘Isn’t this the most pleasant surprise?’








*

Heat - Part 18a

[(Anonymous)]

A/N: I was really very nervous (and excited!) to write this bit as we have basically come to the iconic part of the film 'Heat' wherein De Niro and Pacino meet onscreen for the first time. Some of the conversations below are based on the ones that take place in the film, and one or two lines have been lifted directly from the film.

I hope that I have done this scene justice but if it isn't up to par then please blame it on the fact that I am currently ill :(

Oh, also, it's a longer part than usual :)

-------------------------------------------------------------------







Erik stood on the gleaming floors a traditional American diner, his fists clenched, his spine rigid, and his eyes fixed unwaveringly on the man opposite him.

Shaw’s sudden appearance in front of him had stunned him, taking him by surprise. Despite being momentarily overcome, Erik had quickly shoved aside his shock and had attempted to use the metal of his car to shove a spike right through Shaw’s rotten, black heart. Unfortunately, Shaw had brought his telepath with him and at the instant that Erik had entertained the thought she had mentally reached out and, far from simply freezing him, had shoved her own mental spike at Erik, stabbing into his mind and filling him with a pain that even he had never experienced before, not even during his entire time with Shaw. The moment that thought passed through his head the pain abated slightly, as if the thought had momentarily surprised Shaw’s telepath. Then her presence had vanished altogether and Erik had been left with nothing more than a blinding headache, grey spots across his eyes and the aggravating image of Shaw’s smug, satisfied face in front of him.

The sight had greatly tempted Erik to try to lash out with his powers once more but before he could attempt to do so there was a tutting sound in his head and he was once more made aware of the telepath’s presence in his mind.

Shaw had then proceeded to prance around smirking and puffing his chest out in an excruciatingly tiresome manner that Erik had almost forgotten about in the past few years. When Shaw had finally finished his sermonising, he had turned and given a nod to the red demon standing at his side. Erik had snarled when his arm was grabbed and he had tensed his body as the abrupt tugging sensation of teleportation overwhelmed him. Gritting his teeth, he had readied himself for any number of hellish things to happen the moment that they reappeared.

He had blinked, and when he’d opened his eyes, there they were, in a diner.

Erik stared.

Shaw, apparently, was immensely pleased by Erik’s blank stare and very obvious confusion.

‘Surprised?’ he asked, delighted to no end. ‘Baffled by our chosen location? No doubt you thought I was taking you to some nefarious dungeon of torture. Aren’t you glad you were mistaken?’

Heat - Part 19a

[(Anonymous)]

A/N: Sorry for the long delay. Hope someone's still reading :)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------







It was noon by the time Erik got back to the house. He had left the diner with only one thing in mind and that was to get to Charles, to make sure that Charles was all right. Emma Frost had said that she wouldn’t tell Shaw about him, but meant nothing – the woman worked for Shaw, after all, and a little white lie like that was nothing on the morally grey scale of things that she would have had to do whilst in his employ.

Erik didn’t bother with the doorbell – he was far too much on edge for that. Besides, if there was anyone else in the house besides Charles the last thing he wanted to do was give them a head start. So he silently unlocked the door and let himself in, while simultaneously sending out his power in order to sense whether there were any intruders in the house. It took a few minutes, the mansion being so large, for him to make sure that they were alone and that Charles himself was in one of the sitting rooms in the right wing of the house. Erik immediately made his way there. He needed to check that Charles was okay and that he had not had a last minute change of heart with regards to going away with Erik that night.

He entered the room, and was glad to see that everything seemed to be as normal. The room was positioned so that the door was at the back, presumably so that the occupants were not bothered by the comings and goings of others – said others presumably being the household servants. Charles was sitting in the middle of the room on a large armchair with his eyes focused on the television at the opposite end of the room from where Erik now stood. Erik halted in the doorway for a moment, taking a minute to just look at Charles. He had almost convinced himself that his imagination had sharpened the details of this man, exaggerated them somewhat in his mind, allowing him to take on an almost superhuman quality. While this ethereal quality was somewhat diminished, the overall effect of Charles’s presence on Erik was not. Charles’s skin was still as fine, his lips as red, his movements as graceful as Erik’s memory had painted them. And Erik’s entire being still thrummed with the same need and desire and affection as they had that morning and the night before when they had made love.

No, he thought to himself, he was not making a mistake here. This was meant to be. There was no way that he was going to lose Charles. He would not let that happen. Not ever.

He stood there, watching Charles intently for a few minutes. A small part of him wondered why Charles was just sitting there and why he had not turned around to greet him with a kiss and a smile. Perhaps he had dampened his telepathy and so could not sense Erik there. Maybe he should cough, or clear his throat. Alert Charles to his presence.

It was as he was debating these things that his eyes fell on the television screen. He glanced at it idly before the screen focused for him and he saw the picture.

His blood froze.

There, on screen, on the television that Charles was watching, was a news report. And the day’s top story that the news just happened to be reporting right at that moment was the shocking and brutal massacre of the highly decorated retired military commander, William Stryker at his residence earlier that morning.

Erik’s mouth went dry.

It’s a coincidence, he tried to tell himself. Charles doesn’t know anything – he can’t know. He’s just watching the news, like he probably does every day at this time …

Heat - Part 20a

[(Anonymous)]

A/N: So glad to see that there are people still reading this! It makes me so happy! Thanks for sticking around! :D

--------------------------------------------------------------







‘Well, Emma,’ Shaw said, brushing down his suit and turning to her. ‘What did you think of our young Master Lehnsherr?’

Emma made no move to answer and merely stood there, tight-lipped and silent.

‘Of course you didn’t see him at his best there,’ Shaw said, tipping his head in acknowledgment. ‘I actually don’t think that being in a pleasant, family-filled diner agreed with him very much. It would, of course, be akin to trapping a wild panther in a nursery full of noisy children.’ Shaw sighed happily at the image.

Emma’s mouth tightened imperceptibly.

‘That being said,’ Shaw continued in a rueful tone. ‘I meant what I told him; I cannot allow him to interfere any longer. He has trespassed on my kindness for long enough, and now he is simply taking advantage of my affection for him.’

Emma barely prevented her lips from turning up in a sneer.

‘So it is that I must now lay out precautions against my little protégé,’ Shaw sighed. ‘I can’t tell you how much I despair of his stubbornness. He always was a headstrong little boy. I don’t see why he can’t just swallow his pride and do what he was always meant to and join me at my side.’ He shook his head sadly. ‘Children never do appreciate their parents.’

Emma, who knew exactly what had happened to Erik’s actual parents from her time in his head, said nothing.

‘Now here’s what I want you to do,’ Shaw said abruptly, turning and looking at Emma with a thoughtful glint in his eye. ‘I want you to leak the idea that my location has been compromised. Plant it so that the information spreads quickly but not too suspiciously. Allow it to flow through to the usual channels. Use the location of that pretty little hotel that we stayed in a few weeks ago.’ Shaw allowed himself a smile. ‘I’m sure that Erik’s little mole will cotton onto the news soon enough. And so if dear Erik chooses to ignore my warnings and to come after me - well …’

‘You will be waiting for him,’ Emma finished, sounding supremely unimpressed.

But Shaw shook his head.

‘No, my dear,’ he said. ‘I’m afraid not. I think Azazel and Janos will be able to take care of it for me.’

‘No doubt because you don’t want to raise a hand against your precious former protégé,’ Emma said snidely.

Shaw raised an eyebrow at her.

‘Nonsense, my dear,’ he said coolly. ‘It will be because you and I will have better things to do with our time.’

But Emma shook her head.

‘Maybe you will,’ she said grimly. ‘But I won’t.’

Heat - Part 21a

[(Anonymous)]

A/N: On to the final stretch. Not long now, just a few more parts to go!

------------------------------------------------





Erik’s breath left him in a gust as he finally leaned back in his chair, his story now finished. The ball was in Charles’s court now. There was nothing more that Erik could do, except perhaps apologise some more. Everything now rested on Charles’s response.

Steeling himself, Erik pulled his eyes away from the wall and glanced over to Charles in order to gauge his reaction.

Charles was in the same position that he had been when Erik had first started his story: sitting straight-backed in his chair, his head tilted forward with his attention solely on Erik, and the tips of his fingers pressed together in his lap. As Erik looked, he saw Charles lean back slightly in his chair and then bring his right leg up and cross it over his left one. His gaze was still on Erik.

Neither of them spoke as each surveyed the other, Charles in quiet contemplation and Erik in silent agitation. Eventually Charles gave a blink and seemed to emerge from his reverie.

‘I’ve listened to everything you have said,’ he began, and Erik felt himself tense in spite of himself. ‘And while there are parts – huge parts – that disgust me and – at times – even frighten me …’ Charles paused. ‘Well, let’s just say that I have given the matter a great deal of thought and despite the countless and deplorable atrocities that you have committed– That is to say, no matter which way I look at it, I … Erik, you must know that I can’t in good conscience bring myself to fully condemn you. Not after what I now know you to have gone through. Not after everything that has gone on between us. Not – not now that I know you so completely.’

Erik felt his breath catch. It was a moment before he could speak.

‘You – you forgive me?’ he asked, hardly able to believe his ears.

Charles grimaced at that.

‘I’m not sure that “forgive” is quite the right word,’ he said slowly. ‘After all, it is not me that you have wronged and we have known each other for too short a while for me to charge you with withholding information. But … yes, if you think it necessary. Yes, I forgive you.’

Erik felt his knees buckle. He was thankful to already be sitting down or otherwise he was certain that he would have fallen to his knees.

‘Charles,’ he breathed. ‘Charles you have no idea … I am so sorry to have ever made you feel so - Charles!’ he looked up at Charles with an expression of pain and yearning.

Charles hesitated for a moment, but in the end, could not resist Erik’s look of supplication.

‘Oh Erik,’ he said softly and slowly, ever so slowly, he reached out and tentatively ran his hands through Erik’s hair. Erik closed his eyes at the touch and bent his neck so that Charles could feel him better.

They stayed in that position for a while, Erik with his head bent and Charles stroking his hair gently, until the chiming from a clock in the next room roused them. Erik’s head immediately came up and he looked agitatedly at his watch.

‘The time!’ he said, getting to his feet and accidentally dislodging Charles’s arm. ‘Charles, we-’ he swallowed. ‘I have to go soon. Unless …’ he trailed off helplessly, looking Charles in the eye. An hour ago he would not have dared to hope that this would be possible but now – now that he had been forgiven … Swallowing, he looked Charles deep in the eyes.

Heat - Part 22a

[(Anonymous)]

They had been on the road for almost half an hour before Erik decided to break the stilted silence that had pervaded the car for the entire journey.

‘Charles,’ he said, turning his head and risking a look across the steering wheel. When Charles looked up he continued. ‘Are you all right?’ he asked hesitantly. When Charles didn’t answer he felt a small flicker of fear in the pit of his stomach. His heart slowly rising in his throat, he asked, ‘You’re not having second thoughts are you?’

Charles blinked at that and looked up.

‘What? Oh no!’ he shook his head. ‘Don’t worry, my friend – I assure you than I am not.’

Erik relaxed at that, but only minutely.

‘Oh,’ he said, before hesitating. ‘Because it would be all right if you were. I mean – if you don’t actually want to come with me, then-’

Charles placed his hand over Erik’s, halting his words.

‘Erik,’ he said, a small smile playing on his lips. ‘Stop worrying, love. If I didn’t want to be here, then I wouldn’t be here.’

Erik sighed and a tiny smile of relief made its way onto his face. Charles squeezed his hand when he saw it and Erik squeezed back.

And that was when the phone rang.

Both men jumped and simply stared for a moment. Then Erik pulled his hand away and began to clutch around inside his jacket pocket urgently. He didn’t even pretend to pay any attention to the road or the cars in front of him; not for the first time, Erik had cause to be grateful for his control over metal. When his fingers finally grasped hold of the phone he pulled it out and then just sat there, staring at it.

‘Erik?’ Charles whispered. ‘Who is that?’

Erik’s eyes fell on the flashing screen. There was one name on there, a code name; the name of the only person who had the number:

Gambit.

Erik felt his heart rate pick up.

It was probably nothing, he reasoned. He was probably just calling to make sure that they were on their way, so that he could say goodbye.

But if it wasn’t …

His gaze flicked over to Charles, who was watching him with a curious yet trusting expression.

‘It’s my contact,’ he said, his eyes sliding back to the phone. He waited a beat. ‘He’s probably checking to see if everything’s on schedule.’

Charles gave him a tentative smile.

‘You had better get that, then,’ he said softly.

Erik held his eyes for a moment before bringing the phone up to his ear and pressing a button.

‘Remy?’

‘You really need to start paying more attention to your phone, mon ami,’ Remy’s voice sighed through the reciever. ‘You had me worried there. Again.’

‘Sorry Remy,’ Erik said grimly, using one hand to gently steer the car into the slow lane. ‘But there’s no need to worry. We’re on our way to the airfield now.’

There was a pause.

‘Ah,’ Remy said in a strange tone. ‘Then your petit ami is there with you as well?’

‘Yes,’ Erik answered shortly.

Remy didn’t speak for a moment. When he did, he sounded strangely hesitant.

‘Maybe Remy shouldn’t tell you this then …’

Erik frowned.

‘Tell me what?’ he asked lightly.

Remy hesitated.

‘Start talking Remy,’ Erik said, keeping his tone even so as to not alert Charles to the fact that he was suddenly feeling tense again.

‘Well,’ Remy said slowly. ‘Remy heard a rumour …’

‘Yes?’

‘And it appears-’ Remy paused before letting out a sigh of resignation. ‘It seems there is a possibility that we have a fix on the location of one Sebastian Shaw.’

Erik stilled.

Then, after a moment:

‘Say that again.’

A pause.

‘We have an address and positive I.D. on Shaw,’ Remy said and Erik had to close his eyes against the violent surge of emotion that the statement pulled up from his chest.

‘Erik?’ Remy said in a small voice.

Erik gritted his teeth, his eyes still shut. He did not turn to look at Charles – Charles and his wide trusting eyes. He couldn’t.

His mouth dry, he licked his lips.

‘Tell me,’ he whispered.

‘Erik-’

‘Tell me, Remy.’

There was a pause. Then:

‘Green Point Hotel, two miles from the airfield,’ was the short reply.

Erik took a shuddering breath.

‘Thank you.’

‘Erik, mon cher, are you sure-’

‘Goodbye, Remy.’

‘Erik, why don’t we talk-’

Click.

Erik hung up.

Heat - Part 23a

[(Anonymous)]

...



‘I will just be a moment,’ Erik said as reassuringly as he could manage, stepping out of the car. ‘This won’t take long. Just – wait for me, okay?’

Charles sat like stone, unmoving.

Erik sighed. Grimacing, he ran his hands through his hair.

‘I’m sorry Charles,’ he said again. Charles still didn’t move. ‘I wanted this to be over so badly, for your sake – and now it will be. Do you understand? After this I’m free. After this I will be able to do absolutely anything. And I want to do it all with you. You may not yet realise this, but – me doing this now? It’s for the best. This way there’s nothing left unaccounted for.’

When Charles still didn’t respond, he hung his head.

‘I’ll – I’ll be back,’ he said quietly, and turned to leave. Just as he was moving away he was arrested by a voice behind him.

‘Erik.’

Erik’s head whipped back and he turned to see Charles pressed up close to the window of the car.

‘Yes?’ he asked almost breathlessly.

Charles had an odd expression on his face.

‘I – I don’t want you to go alone,’ he stammered, and Erik was suddenly seized with terror that Charles would take it into his head to follow him.

‘Charles, I don’t-’

But Charles spoke over him.

‘I don’t want you to go alone and yet-’ he swallowed. ‘And yet I don’t know if I can be a part of this. A part of what you do.’

Erik sighed – whether out of relief or exasperation he did not know – and leaned forward over the car.

‘It’s okay,’ he said gently, giving Charles a small smile of reassurance. ‘In truth, I’m glad. It’s better that way. I don’t want you to be a part of this, Charles. Truly – I’ve never wanted you anywhere near this ghastly business. I wouldn’t allow you to accompany me even if you wanted to. I’m more than relieved that you don’t. I want you to stay here, where you are safe.’

Charles still didn’t look in the least bit relieved or satisfied, instead frowning down at his hands, miserable.

‘If only you would give this up,’ he said unhappily. ‘Then we wouldn’t have to worry about this. I wouldn’t have to worry.’

‘There’s no need to worry,’ Erik said patiently. ‘Charles, I have done this for almost my entire life. I’ve always been alone. It was always going to be this way – there really is no need to worry. I promise you.’

‘Because you have such a great track record with promises,’ Charles said wryly but he couldn’t help but be slightly reassured. He sighed. ‘All right then, fine. I – I know that there is no way of stopping you, short of going into your head and removing everything that makes you you. I accept that. You have to do what you think is necessary and I – I’ll wait for you. We’ll – we will talk about everything else later. And if you run into trouble-’ he paused and looked Erik earnestly in the eyes. ‘I don’t care what happens, but you are to tell me. In your head. Because while I accept that I may be a distraction if I am to go with you physically, even you will not be able to deny that I will be a more than welcome asset mentally.’ He tapped his forehead.

Erik stared at him.

‘Are you sure?’ he asked after a moment, hesitant.

Charles gave a sharp nod.

‘Absolutely,’ he said, not a trace of uncertainty in his tone. ‘You may never have had backup before, but that doesn’t mean that you won’t have it now.’ He turned and looked Erik dead in the eye. ‘I meant what I said last night, Erik: You are not alone. You will never be alone, as long as I am around.’

Erik felt his heart lift at that and he struggled against himself to ignore it; now was not the time for affection and tender feelings.

‘Thank you, Charles,’ he said, and though his voice was quiet, it was infused with feeling. ‘Thank you – for everything.’

‘You’re very welcome,’ Charles said softly. He watched as Erik began to slowly pull away from the side of the car. Just as Erik’s fingers were about to leave the car door, he blurted: ‘And - Erik?’

Erik immediately turned around.

‘Yes?’

Charles swallowed.

‘Just – be safe,’ he said softly. ‘And come back to me.’

Heat - Part 24

[(Anonymous)]

A/N: So sorry for the delay! I had other commitments that needed attending to but those are mostly over now so I can get on with this. Sorry for keeping you waiting! This is only a short part but there will be more coming soon, I promise. A huge thank you to all of you who are still reading! xx

---------------------------------------------------------------------





Erik let himself in through the front entrance. There was no point hiding his presence after all, not while Shaw had a telepath on his side.

You forget, said a voice in his mind, jolting him out his reverie. Sebastian Shaw is not the only one with such friends in high places.

Can you shield our presence from her? Erik asked eagerly.

Yes, was Charles’s answer. A moment later, however, he said, That’s odd …

Erik immediately tensed.

What? he demanded.

I can’t seem to find her.

Erik paused.

Could she perhaps be hiding herself from you? he asked cautiously. Like you were planning on doing to her?

Charles’s hum on contemplation reverberated through Erik’s mind.

It’s possible, he said at last. But I must say that I doubt it very much. I am rather uniquely talented, you know. And in terms of sheer power … well, even if your Miss Frost outclasses me in talent, I do not think she does in terms of power. Besides, he added. I doubt that she is here. Maybe your information isn’t so reliable, Erik, I can’t find her or your Mister Shaw anywhere in the building.

Erik frowned for a moment before his brow smoothed.

I wouldn’t worry about that too much, he said calmly. The Frost woman is probably concealing herself from you – no, I am not saying that I doubt your word or your skills, Charles, I am merely saying that over-confidence is dangerous – and as for Shaw, he will probably be wearing that helmet of his, protecting him from your powers.

I suppose, Charles gave a mental sigh. How very rude of him. Not to mention frustrating. This would have been over a lot sooner if it weren’t for that helmet.

Can you look for anyone in the building who might be associated with Shaw? Erik asked. He felt Charles frown before answering.

I suppose, he said dubiously. But there are a lot of people in here, Erik, and, for the most part, one mind feels almost exactly like – wait! Charles’s mind suddenly became more alert. Mutants! There are other mutants in the building! One moment- There was a pause as Charles delved a bit further into the minds that he sensed. There are a handful of others spread throughout the building but they don’t seem to be any of our concern. The two on the seventh floor, however – they seem to be suspiciously adept at keeping their minds blank.

Which suggests that they’ve been trained by a telepath, Erik voiced their shared conclusion. I think that we’ve found our target. And with that, he calmly made his way over to the elevator doors. He didn’t catch the first one that arrived, but instead waited so that he was alone. Once inside he flexed his powers experimentally, causing the walls of the lift to creak ominously about him.

The doors shut and the lift started to slowly crawl up the elevator shaft. The first floor passed … then the second, the third … the fourth, the fifth … the sixth, and then finally, the seventh. With a soft ding the doors opened and Erik stepped out. All traces of the man who had held Charles’s hand mere moments before had disappeared; left in his place was the lethal, bloodthirsty creature that had slaughtered every single man in Colonel Stryker’s compound without the slightest regret.

Fifth door on the left, Charles said silently.

With one last flex of his powers, Erik stalked forward, silent as a ghost, until he was stood directly outside the room in question.

Be careful, was all the Charles said.

Erik nodded before taking a deep breath.

Then he smashed the door in.

Heat - Part 25a

[(Anonymous)]

A/N: This is an action-y bit, which I hope is exciting and fast-paced rather than dodgy and disjointed ... fingers crossed!

Warnings: Violence

------------------------------------------------------------------------





The men – mutants, rather – inside the apartment leapt to their feet, stunned. Clearly they hadn’t been expecting to have company – at least, not so soon.

‘Shaw,’ Erik growled, after having glanced around and concluded that his target was nowhere in sight. ‘Where is Sebastian Shaw?’

One of the men – Azazel, if Erik remembered correctly, the devilish-looking one that had the power of teleportation – said something unintelligible in Russian before suddenly disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Erik was ready for that, however, and he immediately pressed himself against the wall so that Azazel couldn’t get the drop on him. The moment he reappeared at Erik’s side, Erik flung a metal railing at him, having already grasped it firmly with his powers. Azazel was forced to immediately teleport again, disappearing just as the metal speared through the space where he had been before.

But Erik had no time to relax; the moment Azazel disappeared he was faced with what appeared to be a miniature tornado which, for all that it was small, did not lack for power. Glancing up sharply, Erik saw the other man – a Spaniard, perhaps, with long black hair that whipped around his head with each gust of wind – with the tail of the tornado threaded through his hands.

Grimacing, Erik threw himself out of the way even as the whirlwind seemed to charge at the spot where he had just been. He let out a grunt as his shoulder cracked against the wall, but he ignored it; he had dealt with much, much worse, after all. Quickly scrambling up, he clenched his fists and gave an almighty pull. The walls around the Spaniard instantly burst as a series of pipes and wires shoved their way through and started to coil around the mutant’s body. The man immediately let out a cry and, distracted, started to try and dodge the constricting metal, his whirlwind quickly dying down to nothing more than a mild breeze.

Somewhere off in the corridor the fire alarm started to blare and the noise swelled as dozens of people started swarming out of the doors, too eager to get out of the building to even notice what was going on in one of the rooms.

Azazel chose that moment to return and before he knew it, Erik was flung backwards into the wall, his stomach sorely bruised from the force of the kick that had sent him flying. Before he could even clamber to his feet he was picked up once again and flung against the other wall, his skull slamming against it with an agonizing crack. His head swimming, Erik groaned and tried to pull himself up. His head thrummed painfully. The blare of the fire alarm didn’t help either.

Should have worn a helmet, he found himself thinking almost nonsensically.

Erik!

Erik shook his head, trying to clear it. Through the dust caused by the shattering walls and the destruction from the tornado, Erik could see Azazel loom up in front of him, his devil-like appearance suddenly all the more fearsome.

Erik!

Struggling, Erik tried to pull himself up, only to be wracked by a sudden bolt of pain. Grimacing, he looked up at the man approaching him.

ERIK!!

Erik blinked. Then he suddenly remembered – he was not actually alone.

Charles! he mentally shouted. I need you.

That was all that it took. One moment Azazel was moving towards Erik with a chilling sense of purpose; the next he stood stock-still, frozen as if he were a statue.

Thanks, Erik nodded, coughing as he slowly drew himself up, wincing at the pain in his head and back.

No problem, Charles replied grimly. It seems that our friend here had had quite enough of throwing you through walls; his next attempt would have been to fling you off the top of the building.

Heat - Part 26a

[(Anonymous)]

The hotel corridors were mostly empty by the time that Erik started to make his way out of the hotel, casually dusting himself off to remove any remnants of the plaster and dust that had been dislodged by the imploding walls.

Your route is clear, Charles murmured into his head. And the front entrance of the hotel is as well, for the most part – don’t worry about the few that remain, I will take care of them. All the guests are huddled over around the back at the designated evacuation point, so you shouldn’t have any trouble getting back to me.

Erik allowed himself a smile at that and subtly sped up his walk, eager to get back to Charles.

Listen, Charles, he said hesitantly. About Shaw-

I know, my friend, Charles interrupted before Erik could continue. You need to go after him.

Erik’s breath caught.

Then you – then you understand? he questioned, hardly allowing himself to believe it. You understand why this must be done?

He heard Charles let out a mental sigh.

I understand why you must do this, he said carefully. And- he hesitated. And after seeing what I did within the minds of those two mutants – I must say that you are right. Erik blinked in surprise. This man – this Shaw – he is dangerous. He needs to be stopped.

Erik felt his heart swell.

Thank you, Charles, he said warmly. Thank you for understanding. This will not take long, I swear it. It will take a week at most and then after that I will return to you and we can do anything and go anywhere that you please.

We should be able to do that sooner than you expect, I should hope, Charles said crisply. After all, I plan to come with you.

Erik immediately slid to a stop.

What? he demanded, frowning.

He could almost see Charles roll his eyes.

Honestly, Erik, did you really expect me to let you go alone after seeing everything that happened today? Charles asked patiently. Erik, you were almost killed – several times. I shudder to think what would have happened had I not been there.

I would have been able to take care of myself! Erik growled, striding forward with irritation and quickly exiting through the door leading to the stairwell. As I have always done. You are not coming with me, Charles, and that is final.

You won’t be able to stop me, Charles said lightly, obviously not paying a sliver of attention to Erik’s annoyance. I’m in this now, Erik, for better or for worse. We’re a team, you and I. And I meant what I said – you are not alone, and you never will be.

Erik swallowed at that, but he shook his head stubbornly.

I won’t have you put yourself in danger for me, he said fiercely. This is not your fight.

There was a pause.

Oh my friend, Charles said softly. But don’t you see – it is. The moment you entered my life and caused me to fall for you it became my fight. Now that I have you I don’t intend to lose you quite so soon, you know.

Erik growled, frustrated.

We’ll discuss this more in person, he grumbled, coming to the end of the stairs and finally exiting into the lobby of the hotel. I want you to see how very much I dislike your plan.

Suits me fine, Charles said, sounding remarkably cheerful for someone who had just helped subdue two mutants in the midst of a violent altercation and was then planning on swanning off with his new lover of less than two days in order to take on said lover’s long-time nemesis.

You’re impossible, Erik grumbled, but couldn’t help the undercurrent on fondness that leaked through the connection between them.

Coming from you, darling, that’s quite the compliment, Charles returned smugly.

Smiling, Erik exited the hotel and tripped down the stone steps, his eyes already fixed on the car across the road where he could see Charles waiting for him inside. Charles turned as Erik came nearer, a broad, warm smile on his lips in welcome.

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 28

[(Anonymous)]

A/N: Just a short one for now. But OHMIGOD we are so close to the end! So close! *jumps up and down in excitement* I almost can't believe it! Thanks so much for sticking with me along the way! *hugs*

-----------------------------------------------





Charles shoved against the car door for what had to be the hundredth time in the past five minutes, his face red with frustration. All his exertions were for naught; however hard he tried he could not get out of the car. Erik had done far too good a job of sealing him in, it seemed.

Grimacing, Charles turned around. He had tried each of the car doors in succession, even clambering ungracefully into the back of the car, but with no success. Erik had sealed all of the car doors, effectively trapping Charles inside. Sighing, Charles ran a hand through his hair. There was only one thing for it.

Carefully pulling off his jacket, Charles then proceeded to wrap it carefully around his right arm. Then, grimacing, he shuffled over to the left of the car before bringing his right foot up.

‘Here goes nothing,’ he muttered, before angling his foot and shoving it through the glass of the window.

The sound of the smash made him cringe and he was glad that he had covered his face with his jacket-protected arm when, upon moving, he saw the slivers of glass fall from his arm to the ground. Grunting, he then reached out with the same arm and quickly proceeded to push away the remaining glass stuck in the window, clearing it away as quickly and efficiently as possible, hoping all the while that no one had heard the smash and would come to investigate. He was sure that he could handle it but right now he really didn’t care to; there were far more important things on his mind. Erik, for instance.

Having finally cleared the remaining glass from the window, he gingerly stuck his head through and then, with a great deal of wiggling and muffled cursing, passed the rest of his body through the gap. He cursed a great deal louder when he finally fell through the window, collapsing on his front and skinning his palms on the hard, dry ground. However, he was far too relieved to have finally escaped his metal prison to feel put out for too long; a moment later and he was back on his feet, dusting himself off and glancing around. Seeing nobody in the vicinity, he finally straightened up with a sigh.

Erik had taken off away from the road, turning sharply away from the main track and heading away from the lights. Charles’s jaw tightened grimly. He had seen Erik’s face and – more importantly – he had been in Erik’s mind, if only briefly, before he’d been expelled from it. He knew that Erik had been frightened – more than that, terrified, and that the vast majority of that fear was not for himself but for Charles. He had left because of Charles, gone off away from people and safety because of Charles.

Charles let out a breath. He couldn’t let Erik go after that. Not that he had actually ever planned to but Erik’s actions had made his resolve all that much firmer.

Erik had seen Shaw. That much was certain. It could be no one else. Charles was only connecting the dots now, having been too surprised and panicked to have realised it when faced with Erik’s parting words. He cursed himself now for not having looked around, for not having seen Shaw for himself, for having not done something when he had the chance. Now Erik was all alone, god knows where, probably fighting for his life against a certified maniac –

Charles clenched his fists. He took another glance around him. There was still no one there. He shut his eyes briefly and breathed in the cold night air.

Then, with a grim smile, he turned and ran, following on the footsteps of the man he loved and hoping desperately that he would still be in time.







*

Heat - Part 29a

[(Anonymous)]

Erik reached out with his powers and squeezed, only to jerk back with surprise when nothing happened.

He was broken out of his stupefaction by the sound of Shaw’s cold, delighted laugh rising up though the air.

‘Oh Erik,’ Shaw laughed, wiping away a tear from his eyes in apparent mirth. ‘Oh my dear boy – you didn’t think that I didn’t take more than one precaution in having this helmet created, did you?’ He laughed again and reached up to knock on his helmeted head with one hand, allowing the sound to ring out across the yard. ‘It’s metal, yes,’ he said. ‘But a special bit of metal nonetheless. Not only is it completely resistant to telepathy but it’s also immune to magnetism and magnetic fields. Fascinating, isn’t it?’

Erik merely growled in response.

‘Yes, I thought you might take it that way,’ Shaw sighed. ‘It’s nothing personal, Erik, it’s merely that a man in my position can’t take too many risks. You understand, don’t you?’ And he really did look genuinely concerned that Erik might not understand his motivations.

‘What do you care if I understand or not?’ Erik growled. Shaw’s lack of concern for his own survival irked him more than he would like to say. ‘It can’t really matter to you, not now.’

Shaw looked almost hurt at that accusation.

‘Erik, my boy,’ he chided, opening his arms in a mockery of welcome. ‘How can you say such a thing? You know how devoted I am to you. I know you, Erik; and that’s why I staged this little meeting tonight. Because I knew you well enough to know that you wouldn’t be able to resist coming after me again even after I had warned you to leave well enough alone.’

‘This was a set up,’ Erik stated flatly. He had already guessed as much, but it was nice to have his suspicions confirmed. ‘You set this up to bring me here and now you plan to kill me.’

Shaw gave Erik an innocent, wide-eyed look. It didn’t suit his features at all.

‘Kill you?’ he repeated. ‘Oh Erik – no! Well,’ he amended. ‘If I have to, then yes, but that was not my primary purpose. I lured you here to give you one more chance.’ He held out his hand towards Erik. ‘Come with me, my son. Leave this petty grudge aside and follow me. Take my hand and I shall lead you into greatness!’

Erik stared at the proffered hand blankly for a moment before raising his head.

‘Petty?’ he repeated slowly. He cleared his throat and then said it again. ‘Petty?’ His hands clenched as his rage was once again refuelled, anger and hatred leeching into his words. ‘You murdered my mother, Shaw. There is nothing petty about this!’

Shaw sighed at that and lowered his hand.

‘I take it that you are refusing me again,’ he said sadly. ‘Well, no one can say that I didn’t try.’ He sighed and then gestured at Erik. ‘Come on then. Let’s get this over and done with.’

Erik quirked an eyebrow.

‘Let’s,’ he replied calmly, before grasping hold of a large, heavy wreck of a car and flinging it towards Shaw.

To Erik’s surprise, Shaw didn’t move. He didn’t even flinch. All he did was brace himself and smile before the heavy vehicle smashed into him, dealing him what was likely a mortal blow.

Erik didn’t move for a moment. His body was still tense, still flooded with adrenaline. As the seconds passed, however, he slowly began to relax, his heart rate slowly lowering.

He was just about to bring himself to approach the wreckage when the vehicle suddenly began to move. Erik paused, staring, his body taut once more. As he watched the whole car was shoved aside sharply and there, once again, stood Sebastian Shaw, looking for all the world as if he had just stepped out of a spa. Far from being smashed into a bloody pulp he actually looked … refreshed.

‘Your power,’ Erik said, his mouth dry, everything suddenly falling into place. ‘This – your power, the reason you’re still alive even now – that’s your mutation.’

Heat - Part 30

[(Anonymous)]

Charles panted as he jogged across the grass, feeling more than a little panicked. There was no lighting about and the area around him was pitch black, the moon doing very little to cast light on the ground before him. Bracing his hands on his knees, he took a deep breath before straightening up and bringing his fingers to his temple. He had been scanning around for Erik’s mind since the moment he had started running after him but he hadn’t had any luck. Erik was too good at shielding his mind, it seemed, and Charles cursed him for it.

He ran his hands through his hair in frustration. Things were going wildly wrong. He and Erik weren’t supposed to be here – they were supposed to be on an aeroplane, travelling far away. Charles let out a shuddery breath and forced himself to calm down. It wouldn’t do to have his telepathy negatively affected by his panic. He needed to stay calm and focused. He needed to extend his reach and push past the-

There!

Charles’s head jerked up as a flash of pain echoed across his psyche, alarm flaring as he felt the residual tremors of hurt and anger inside his mind.

Gasping, Charles whirled around and gazed out at the darkness, suddenly connected again, suddenly aware of exactly where Erik was.

‘Erik!’ he whispered. Snatches of images came to him – a fence, a car, a helmet – and through it all, the pervading sense of metal, so much metal …

‘Scrap yard,’ Charles breathed. ‘He’s at a scrap yard.’

And, without a moment’s more hesitation, he took off in the direction he had sensed Erik in, only one thought running through his head.

Get to Erik.








*

Heat - Part 31a

[(Anonymous)]

Erik grunted, catching the metal freezer with his powers, groaning with the effort that it took. Gritting his teeth, he shoved it back at Shaw, who merely laughed and batted it away.

‘Come now, Erik,’ Shaw chided. ‘Surely you can do better than that?’

Erik glared at him, full of hate and anger.

‘You’ll know the answer to that when I snap your neck in two,’ he snarled. Heaving a metal bar at Shaw, he suddenly charged forward and threw himself at him, crashing into Shaw and throwing him down. Logically, Erik knew that what he had done was foolish. Shaw hadn’t been the slightest bit harmed by a car careering into him; it was highly unlikely that Erik’s fists would make much of a difference. All he was doing was putting himself in harm’s way. And yet part of him did not care and was pleased to give into his reckless anger. Even if it didn’t harm Shaw, he found punching him repeatedly in the face very satisfying.

That didn’t last for long, of course. Erik had barely managed to get two solid hits in when Shaw tensed his body and pushed, and suddenly Erik found himself flung aside once more. He couldn’t help but let out a groan of pain as he crashed into the ground and this time it was a moment before he could bring himself to move. He feebly twitched his limbs and then carefully levered himself onto his side, sure that he had heard a rib or two crack under the impact.

Shaw was watching him, an indecipherable look on his face.

‘It doesn’t have to be like this, you know,’ he said conversationally. ‘Believe it or not, I don’t want to cause you pain, Erik.’

That startled a harsh laugh out of Erik.

‘You could have fooled me,’ he wheezed, staring venomously up at Shaw, wishing he could hurt him with the sheer power of his hatred. ‘My entire childhood was nothing but pain. You ensured that, Shaw.’

‘Yes, that is true,’ Shaw admitted, not sounding in the least bit penitent. ‘But it was for your own good, Erik. You wouldn’t have learned to control your powers otherwise. Believe me, my boy, if I could have taught in you in a gentler, kinder way then I would have. Unfortunately, while others learn with the carrot, some can only learn with the stick. You, Erik, could only learn what was necessary through pain.’

‘And my mother?’ Erik gasped out, glad for Shaw’s lack of reticence if only for the time it gave him to recuperate. ‘What did killing her bring?’

‘Oh my boy!’ Shaw’s eyes were wide. ‘Erik, don’t you see? That was the best lesson I ever taught you! Before that you couldn’t so much as move a coin let alone anything else, however much we tortured you. But the moment your mother died-’ Shaw’s expression turned dreamy, as if he were reliving one of the best moments of his life. ‘Oh Erik, it was magnificent! It was more than I could have possibly hoped for! One can learn to resist physical pain, after all, but emotional pain … Oh Erik. If you had a hundred mothers I would have killed them all just in order to see you blossom like that again!’

Erik’s pain was forgotten.

With a cry of fury he tore himself up from the ground and once again hurled himself at Shaw, calling to the metal all around him for aid. Shaw laughed as the metal swarmed at him and he raised his hands to brush them away.

But this time Erik was ready. Before the metal could hit Shaw he caused it to halt and, before Shaw could realise what he was doing, caused the metal to close all around him, forming a thick metal coffin around Shaw’s body.

He gasped when it was done and fell down to his knees, exhausted. There was now at least ten inches of solid steel and iron encasing Shaw from all sides – Erik had even pushed the metal beneath Shaw so as to enclose him properly.

He took a moment to shut his eyes and calm his breathing.

Heat - Part 32

[(Anonymous)]

Charles almost didn’t see the hole in the fence at first. He had approached the fence of the scrap yard with hope rising in his chest and was so fixed upon it that the hole didn’t even register. When he did notice it, however, he recoiled slightly. Whatever had happened there had not been the work of Erik’s mutation. Instead of the wire being curled back or even pulled across, the edges of the wire were blackened and crisp, as if they had been burned or blasted away by something powerful. Charles felt slightly sickened when he realised that this powerful weapon was probably Shaw’s. Spurred on by this thought and his fear for Erik, Charles immediately screwed up his courage and pushed through the hole in the gate.

It wasn’t hard to figure out where Erik was. Not only did the sounds coming from the centre of the yard give his location away, but the sight of various metal objects hurtling through the air were also something of a major clue.

Charles didn’t so much as pause. Picking up speed, he raced over to where the commotion was coming from.

And then came to an abrupt halt at the sight that met his eyes.

Erik was hurling metal towards what looked like an upright metal coffin that seemed to be in the process of being destroyed from the inside out. It took Charles a moment to realise what was happening and he paled upon the realisation that there was someone inside the box! He couldn’t sense him, but he knew without a doubt that the person inside was none other than Sebastian Shaw. And he knew, with equal certainty, that Erik meant to kill him.

And so Charles did the only thing that he could. Reaching out with his mind, he brushed against Erik’s and shouted.

Erik!







*

Heat - Part 33a

[(Anonymous)]

A/N: Sorry for the delay - I was on holiday and I didn't manage to update before I left. Here's the next part - hopefully it flows well enough and doesn't feel disjointed or anything. Please enjoy!

[Please note that this section is also known as the Part Wherein It Is Revealed that Charles Really Doesn't Have a Plan] :D


----------------------------------------------






Erik stumbled back, his eyes wide as he whipped his head around. For a moment he just stood there and stared, as if unable to understand what his eyes were seeing. Charles – Charles couldn’t be there. Erik had locked him away, Erik had ran to leave him behind so that he would be safe, so that he wouldn’t have to-

‘Charles,’ he whispered hoarsely. ‘Charles – what are you doing here?’

Charles, who had been approaching, faltered for a moment.

‘I-’ he started before stopping. ‘I was worried,’ he finally said, his voice soft. His eyes trailed over Erik before moving almost hesitantly over to the box.

That seemed to wake Erik up and he immediately flung himself back towards the coffin, in time to see Shaw’s fist bursting through the front metal plate.

‘Erik…’ Shaw’s voice sing-songed through the gap, causing Erik’s blood to turn cold. It was nothing at all like Charles’s impassioned use of his name. ‘Erik, you’re doing so well! Don’t stop now!’

Swallowing, Erik glanced at Charles one more time before turning his back on him. He couldn’t deal with any distractions, not now that he was so close to getting what he wanted.

‘Go away, Charles,’ he said, making his voice as even as possible, his eyes fixed on the metal box in front of him. ‘I don’t want you here.’

Charles, naturally, didn’t listen.

‘Erik,’ he said, his voice urgent. ‘Erik, listen to me – this isn’t the way!’

‘If you can think of a more efficient way to kill him then be my guest,’ Erik gritted out, a line of sweat running down his brow as he pushed more metal towards the centre of the scrap yard.

‘I didn’t mean that I – Erik, killing Shaw will not bring you peace!’

That made Erik turn his face towards him. His expression was almost sad.

‘I’m sorry, Charles,’ he said, arm still stretched out in front of him. ‘But peace was never an option.’ And he pushed the metal even tighter around the body encased inside, squeezing as tightly as he possibly could.

Charles stood there, staring at him – the man he had grown to love in so short a space of time – with fear and agitation clear on his face.

‘No,’ he whispered, almost to himself, his head shaking with slowly-growing conviction. ‘No, I can’t – I’m sorry Erik, but I can’t watch you do this.’ And then he was suddenly throwing himself at Erik, knocking him down, breaking Erik’s connection to the metal.

Erik howled as the connection broke, the loss of control hitting him even harder than the impact of both Charles and the hard ground upon his already bruised ribs. Snarling, he caught Charles up by the scruff of his neck and squeezed for a dangerous moment, before suddenly coming back to himself and shoving Charles away, enraged both by Charles as well as his own actions, knowing how close he had come to nearly snapping the other man’s neck.

‘I said stay away, Charles!’ he snarled, barely glancing over at where Charles was gasping and clutching at his throat. ‘This has nothing to do with you!’

I can’t simply sit by and watch you kill someone, Erik, Charles’s voice echoed through his head, even though Charles himself was still gasping and panting on the ground next to him. I know what Shaw has done – I know how much this means to you, but there are other ways!

‘No!’ Erik’s voice was vehement. ‘No, Charles, there isn’t. You may have seen what Shaw has done but you still know nothing. You still don’t understand. And I have neither the time nor the inclination to convince you otherwise, so leave us!’

Heat - Part 34a

[(Anonymous)]

A/N: Big update today, I think. We're really coming close to the end now! It seems to be working out in a slightly different way than I envisaged but it can't be helped, I suppose! I just hope that it doesn't disappoint and that this part isn't anticlimactic. Hope you enjoy!

-----------------------------------------------




Charles watched the battle in front of him, mesmerised by the display even as his insides clenched with fear. He had never seen anything like the scene in front of him, not even in the movie theatres that he loved to frequent. But the scene before him now was much deadlier and more intense than anything that had been shown on the silver screen.

Watching them, seeing the ferocity with which they both fought, Charles could not help but cringe at his own naivety, at the complacency, that had made him think that he could do anything to stop what was happening here. Thinking on it, he realised that even before Erik had received the tip about the hotel, when he had promised Charles that he was ending this for good and letting Shaw go – even then it could never have worked. Erik needed this, he saw that now. He understood it in a way that he had not before, even when he had been inside Erik’s mind. How Erik must have despised him for trying to intervene, he thought bitterly.

He knew, deep within the very fibre of his being, that one of the two men before him would die tonight.

He could only pray that that man would not be Erik.

It wasn’t that Charles wasn’t sticking by his own principles. It was merely that he was finally beginning to realise that his principles were not for everyone. Erik had been right – Charles had been trying to force his own morality on him, under the impression, as always, that he was the one that knew best, that it was up to him to enlighten others on things that he had no business interfering with. But who knew better than Erik what it was that Sebastian Shaw deserved? He’d been the one to live it, to experience it, to feel every single painful second of their time together. He’d lived it and he had come through the other side stronger, tougher and more determined, with a mind brighter than any other that Charles had ever seen. He couldn’t say that he wouldn’t have come out infinitely more damaged himself if it had been he in Shaw’s clutches, and not Erik.

Swallowing bitterly at his own foolishness in coming here without thought or plan, Charles turned his full attention back to the men in front of him. Both men were close, little more than arm’s length away from each other, Erik hovering just out of Shaw’s reach even while pummelling Shaw with iron fists, trying once again to drive him into the steel trap waiting just behind him.

But even as Charles watched, Erik seemed to stumble over something in the loose rock of the floor of the scrap yard and, for the slightest moment, he faltered.

That was enough. Quick as a flash, Shaw darted forward and, placing his palm flat against Erik’s stomach, pushed a bolt of power out at him. There was a blast and suddenly Erik was hurtling through the air, crashing painfully into a mountain of metal sheeting. Charles let out a shout of fear and before he knew it, was on his feet and running towards Erik, fear making the blood thunder loudly in his ears. Erik had been severely injured even before Shaw’s attack; he dreaded to think of the damage done by Shaw’s blow this time.

‘Erik!’ he said urgently, clambering over the clumps of metal around him until he was at Erik’s feet. He quickly sank down to Erik’s side and pressed his fingers against his pulse. ‘Erik!’

There was a groan and then Erik turned his head, and Charles was alarmed to see the hollow expression in hiss eyes. To make matters worse, there was a jagged cut across Erik’s hairline that was bleeding profusely and it made Charles shudder to consider what might have happened if that cut was any deeper.