Charlotte Xavier - A Thousand Years

Family Bonding

"To the right, to the left
We will fight to the death
To the Edge of the Earth."

~ "This is War," 30 Seconds to Mars

... ...

After Emma had drawn the location of Stryker's base from Kurt Wagner's willing mind, they settled in for the night. Most of them, anyways.

Erik was instead on the X-Men's jet, tinkering and fixing the damage from the missile. Jean Grey had briefly checked on him, asking if he needed any assistance, but left once he declined her offer. Mystique had left in favor of talking with her long-abandoned son. Neither of them had been very good parents, he would admit openly, but at least he hadn't left the twins to be raised in a circus.

Shortly thereafter, Emma Frost decided to bother Erik as he worked. For a moment, she only observed him silently before laughing to herself.

"If you're going to be here while I work, either tell me what you want or leave." Erik growled.

Emma smirked widely. "You've changed, Magneto." She idly observed.

Erik snorted. "I've gotten old." He replied shortly. "You, on the other hand, seem unchanged completely."

"Is that a compliment, Mags?" Emma laughed with a smirk. "From you, I think that is."

"Take it however you wish as long as it gets you to leave." Erik replied.

"Oh, don't be like that." Emma tutted and smiled at him with a very particular smile. "We're not enemies, after all. There was a time we were very close, if you remember. It was a good time."

Erik glared at Emma, glad again for his helmet. "We were never that close, Frost." He replied shortly. "Not as close as you and Shaw were, once upon a time."

Emma sighed. "Is that it? You think I'm only Shaw's sloppy seconds?"

"I'm not interested." Erik replied crossly. "You should stop insinuating and offering."

"You weren't interested. Ever. That's a blow to a woman's vanity." Emma mused, then grinned widely. "You're still hung up about the dear Professor, then?" Erik said nothing. "That's a yes, then. I had wondered, you know. I thought you might be doing this purely because of your concerns for mutantkind, but I should have known your interests in this were more...selfish."

"You enjoy the sound of your own voice, don't you, Emma?" Erik asked in irritation. "I don't think my motivation is any of your business. Nor is my relationship with Charlotte."

"Charlotte?" Emma repeated with a smile. "Hm. Still in love with her, aren't you? Oh, come on. Who am I going to tell? I kept your secrets when I was with the Brotherhood; I still keep them."

Erik sighed. "If I answer you, will you leave me to my thoughts in peace?"

"Yes. So, are you still in love with her?" Emma questioned.

Erik glared for a long moment before replying. "Yes, I am." He replied softly.

Emma smirked. "Not so difficult, now was it, Mags? I'm leaving, don't bother getting all fussy. Your children want a word with you." She turned and left the jet. A moment later, the twins came, fidgeting awkwardly, on board.

"Eavesdropping again?" Erik asked lightly and shook his head with an amused smile before growing serious. "How are you holding up?"

They shrugged. "Mum's in the hands of a crazy scientist with a fondness for experimentation." Pietro said angrily though the anger, Erik was glad to see, was for once not directed at him. "Not too happy, but coping."

"We're alright." Wanda surmised. "Stryker isn't going to be."

Erik smiled darkly. "No. No he isn't." He agreed. "I promise you that."

The silence that followed was a moment of rare familial agreement—united in the face of Charlotte's endangerment. It had been a long time since Erik'd had such a thing with his children.

Erik sighed and changed topics. "How have you been in the past couple years?" He asked. "I haven't really spoken with you since Azazel was killed."

Wanda gave him a look of sympathy at the mention of Azazel. Despite herself, she had been fond of the teleporter who so readily assisted her parents' continued correspondence and so loyally kept it secret. She also knew that her estranged aunt had been very close with him. The degree of their relationship was never noticed or known by any of the X-Men, except Charlotte. But then again, Charlotte was the exception to a good deal of rules.

"Pietro's teaching all of the phys ed classes now." Wanda replied. "Logan's been helping when he's around."

Pietro rolled his eyes at that but told his father. "And Wanda's finished her degree."

"Oh? Congratulations," Erik replied with a smile. The last he'd heard of it, Wanda had only just started working on a master's degree in British literature.

Wanda smiled brightly. "I'm going to start on my doctorate once things...settle."

Erik chuckled. "That may take an unfortunate while." He replied. Pietro cracked a grin too.

Wanda smiled before hesitating. "You and Miss Frost have an...interesting relationship." She observed.

"She was in the Brotherhood for some years before her sister was found, captured for experimentation by Stryker." Erik explained. "At that point, they went to your mother's school. It was several months before you were born. They only remained for a few years, I think. Emma Frost had worked with the man who killed my mother before she joined me. She's a very...amorous woman. I was never interested and that always nettled her."

Wanda gave him a long look, far too similar to her mother's for Erik's comfort. "Because of Mum."

Erik sighed. "I've never been unfaithful to your mother, even though our relationship is...unusual. If that was what you were asking."

"You still love her." Pietro states.

Erik looked to his son, leaning against the far wall, avoiding his gaze. "Yes, I've always loved her." He said, though his voice then turned bitter. "No matter what she or you or anyone else thinks."

Wanda was far more perceptive than Erik remembered. "She doubts it?" Wanda queried uncertainly before reaching her own conclusions. "You argued, didn't you?"

"We said many things in anger." Erik said quietly. "Things I fear I may not have the chance to take back.

"After I informed her that Stryker had gotten the information out of me. I had no choice in that; he had drugs—powerful drugs that I suspect came from one of his mutational experiments. I had no choice. Charlotte was furious at my betrayal, however unwilling it may have been." Erik added bitterly. "People think your mother is a forgiving saint, you know. She's not. I'm not blind to her faults, nor is she to mine. She has too much faith."

Pietro shifted curiously. "Too much faith in general or too much faith in you?"

For a moment, Erik could almost smell Cuba again—the salty air, the sharp gunpowder, the metallic blood. "Both. But mainly in me." The words tasted of regret on his lips.

Wanda reached over and grasped Erik's hand, squeezing it comfortingly.

"We're going to get her back." Pietro said to him. Determination glinted like steel in his eyes. "We are."

Erik nodded. "We must."

Erik wouldn't be able to live with himself if Charlotte died because of him and the last words he'd said to her were in anger. He wouldn't be able to live with that. He wouldn't be able to live without her at all.