Taming the Wild

You Show Me Yours, I'll Show You Mine

Erik looked up. His eyes were so expressive at the moment, Charles felt he could drown in them!

"You don't think I'm a freak?" Erik asked

"Of course not, Erik!" Charles smiled at him warmly, his own emotions already all over the place. "Your power, your mutation, is remarkable! I bet you can do all kinds of amazing things!"

Erik chuckled sheepishly "Well, I can do pretty much anything with metal..."

"No wonder you're such a great blacksmith!" Charles grinned "I bet you use your mutation for it. That's why you always work behind that screen, isn't it?"

Erik nodded, still a little unsure. "Yes." he said "You're, umm, the first person to react this calmly after seeing what I can do..." he frowned suspiciously. "Why?"

A little mischievous smile slowly appeared on Charles' face. His eyes were fixed on Erik's and the two were sharing an intense staring session. It was a time of confessions and Charles was ready to make his.

He was about to 'show off' his ability when he noticed sudden change in Erik's expression - a wave of pain and disappointment in the blacksmith's eyes.

"You're one of them, aren't you?" Erik asked bitterly. There was resentment in his voice, face grimacing in contempt. "One of those men who hunt down mutants to lock us away in factories and laboratories to experiment on us and exploit us!"

Charles frowned. "I would never! I didn't even know there were such people!"

"Don't lie to me, Charles!" Erik yelled, jumping back up on his feet. "I know all too well about the hunters! I've learned about them first hand! I trusted you!"

"Erik, I'm really so very sorry you went through... whatever you went through, but I assure you I am no hunter!"

Erik's entire body was tense, anger raging throughout it. His fists were clenched so tightly his knuckles went wide.

"You were not shocked, Charles! You were not scared! Every other person would freak out when they see what I can do! Only a hunter won't be surprised! Only a hunter would expect it!"

"Erik, I promise I'm not--" Charles tried to explain but he got interrupted instantly

"You were planted here, weren't you? To get closer to us again, to gain my trust, to make me... care..." there was this pain in Erik's voice again. Charles wished he could just stop him from torturing them both! "He sent you here to capture Wanda, Peter and me but I won't allow you to do that, Charles!" Erik continued firmly, his voice even but threatening. "I won't let you hurt us!"

Charles realized that Erik was already too affected to let him speak or to even hear him out properly so he decided it was time for drastic measures!

~I am no hunter, Erik! I never lied to you~ Charles spoke inside Erik's head.

Erik froze, panting. His chest was raising up and down rapidly as he was staring at Charles as if trying to understand what just happened.

Charles continued, eyes fixed on Erik's, brow furrowed in concentration, lips deliberately pursed so that Erik could clearly see that the voice was not coming from Charles' mouth but from Charles' mind. It wasn't easy to master telepathic communication and Charles was really out of practice - the last time he's done that Raven and him were teens - but there was no other way to regain control of the situation, to make Erik listen. So he continued, hoping he's not hurting Erik. ~Think about it, Erik. There can be another reason why I'm not afraid of you. Do you see it now?~ he bobbed his head ~Yes, that's me inside your mind. I was not afraid of you and your abilities because I'm like you, a mutant. I'm a telepath.~

Erik's jaw slacked as his hand searched for something to grab hold onto. Charles let him take his time again as Erik slowly dropped back to the edge of the bed, as far from the telepath as possible.

"You're a-- you're a mutant too? A telepath?" Erik said, his voice cracking "I thought..."

"I'm not one of the men who hurt you." Charles assured. "I promise. I can show you if you want. I can show you my mind..."

"No! That's not necessary." Erik said firmly and Charles nodded, respecting that decision.

A sudden wave of fear rushed through his entire body. What if Charles' mutation was scaring Erik too much? Even Raven hated it when Charles tried to talk to her in her mind; she'd warned him repeatedly to never get inside her head. Being around a telepath made people feel uneasy, they hated it. What if Erik hated it too? What if Erik got distant and started avoiding Charles now? Could Charles even live with that?

He felt more and more insecure until finally he saw a smile on Erik's face.

"Charles!" the blacksmith gasped "You're a mutant! I'm not alone!"

Charles beamed into a smile "You're definitely not alone, my friend! Definitely not alone!" he said, the emotions raging in his heart.

"You have no idea how long I've been... I..." Erik stuttered. Charles could tell his friend was overwhelmed with excitement as well.

"You can think it if you like" he joked

"You mean you can hear my thoughts? You know everything that goes in my head?" Erik asked, a little nervous now.

Charles' heart sunk. "No!" he said hurriedly "I mean, I could but I shield myself. I hardly ever use my mutation." A glimpse of relief ran through Erik's face. Charles continued "Erik, I would never violate your mind. I promise!"

Erik chuckled as if sharing a private joke with himself. Then he smiled at Charles. "Show me what else you can do!" he said "And I'll show you what I can do."

Charles grinned back, blue eyes sparkling. The two spent the rest of the day showing off their mutations to one another, laughing and joking and basically feeling happy and free. For a few moments there were no fear, no worries, no stress, no heartbreaks. For a few moments it was only the two of them being happy, being themselves.