(no subject)

[balancingminds]

Somehow after the discussion with Erik, Charles managed to sleep though his dreams were complicated and vivid as he thought of Erik's touch.

He woke early and went to make himself a strong cup of coffee in the kitchen, his hair wet from the shower and his shirt not fully buttoned.

The past few days have been so full, he wonders what's to come next.

Comments

[markedformore]

Deeper and deeper into the mouth of the whale, Erik finds himself venturing. He regards the bar warily, but does precisely as Charles says, making his way to the stairs, whereupon he stands as straight and tall as possible and waits, realising that he does not have a change of clothing.

[balancingminds]

At the counter, Charles has a brief discussion with Bar before getting a room key.

He can feel Erik's tension and presses the key into his hand, using the touch for reassurance, "Erik, stay with me."

[markedformore]

Erik comes back to attention when Charles says his name, shaking the notion that he ought to be working during his time here. It's been the habit, thus far, and he isn't sure whether he can shake it. "Well? Are you going to take me upstairs and ravish me with the confines of sleep, Charles?"

[balancingminds]

Charles shakes his head with a small laugh, Erik keeps surprising him,

"Yes, something like that. Shall we?"

[markedformore]

Erik gives a noncommittal hum as response, following after Charles as he tries to put everything together and understand precisely what is happening, though his tired mind is already running ahead of itself. "How much do they charge for the hour?" he asks.

[balancingminds]

"The hour? I've never asked when I've used rooms before. I think its more for the night," It's also something that he's never thought about and he opens the door to a warm room.

The walls are wood, there's a bookshelf taking over one section, a chess board with metal pieces of a small table, two comfortable chairs and a large bed.

"This should do."

[markedformore]

His instant desire for the bed overwhelms any appreciation for the room that he might have. He walks towards it, long strides taking him directly to it and he shoots Charles an apologetic look, but he truly is exhausted and if Milliways is truly time, stopped, then this is even more necessary. "Sing me to sleep, dear," he mumbles, exhaustedly, as he pulls off his shirt, leaving only the white beater-tank and a loosened set of trousers.

[balancingminds]

At the apologetic look, Charles smile, they came here so he can sleep.

Once Erik's settled on the bed, Charles comes over and sits down,

"I will, lay back, open your mind to me and try to clear it as well as you can. If anything feels wrong, tell me and I'll stop."

[markedformore]

Never one to happily follow instructions, Erik still does as he is told and lies back, shooting Charles a look that implies that there will always be something that feels wrong and he will truly lack the ability to change that. Still, he folds his hands over his chest and waits.

[balancingminds]

Charles returns Erik's look with a sigh before laying his hand on Erik's face and starting by projecting a sense of calm around them.

Then he closes his eyes and commands Erik to sleep, keeping the connection open so that he can keep watch on Erik's dreams.

[markedformore]

Erik finds that the command is difficult (nigh impossible) to resist and his troubles tumble away, leaving him instead to the great depths of waiting sleep and, as usual, the nightmares that come. First, they are typical. Shaw, Schmidt, the coin, his mother. But now, they mutate and there is someone else in the room at the other end of the gun.

There is Charles, threatened.

[balancingminds]

When the nightmare starts, Charles opens his eyes within Erik's mind to find a gun facing him.

There's tension around his eyes but his fear is hidden as he says, "No, not tonight."

Then the dream begins to shift, Erik will not have a nightmare tonight. Dreams are difficult to control but he can do it and Erik won't see how they worry him though he might sense his need for more focus.

[markedformore]

Erik blinks, finding that the camp is falling away as the dream continues. Slowly, slowly, he begins to find that there is not the panic and the dark hatred that typically surrounds him and he is not sure what to make of it. Wildly, he searches for Charles in this aimless dream, hoping to find him in something of this.

"Charles?" he calls out. "Where are you?"

[balancingminds]

They're in Erik's mind and Charles doesn't wish to impose too much so he reaches out his dream hand and mind,

"Wherever you wish us to be, Erik. Show me what safety looks like to you."

[markedformore]

Erik isn't sure where that is. He truly does not know what safety looks like to him and so the landscape before him remains gray and nebulous, without shape or definition, but with a great deal of shame on the heels of such an epiphany.

[balancingminds]

Charles' concern wraps around Erik in a fog that's almost a hug as the dream resolves into a park; a deep green lawn with trees in the background.

They're standing on the grass, but otherwise the space is empty. It's home for Charles, but he keeps his own associations quiet so its as neutral as possible.

[markedformore]

Erik looks around him, the vibrant nature of the grass almost offputting to him, and for a moment he does not know what to do. He stares at the grass, then he stares at Charles, at a lack of words as he looks at this man. "Are you sleeping, too? Or is this all work and no play?"

[balancingminds]

"No, I'm not asleep. I need to be awake to have this kind of control. Should I shift this to someplace else?"

The sky overhead gets a gentle blanket of clouds to dim the green around them.

[markedformore]

"No, this will do," Erik assures, finding that his voice is already calmer. Strange, how it seems as though he can find this sort of peace in a place that he does not know. Perhaps it has more to do with the man at his side. "So, I'll wake up rested and you'll be worn. We'll need to take it in turns, then?"

[balancingminds]

"I had a full night's sleep last night, so I won't need quite as much,"

This is tiring work but Erik needs rest more than he does.

[markedformore]

"Can you still read my mind in here?" Erik wonders, for there's a rather indelicate thought that he's been shrouding in a heavy iron curtain to keep Charles from hearing that Erik's dreams (when Charles have been in them, these past few nights) aren't generally so peaceful.

[balancingminds]

"I probably could, but I'm not. I'm focusing on your dreams in the hope of getting you to rest. Though since you're sleeping, most of your mind is focused here,"

It would require more concentration and Charles doesn't see any need to do it, but it could be an interesting experiment.

[markedformore]

Erik gives a thoughtful noise, but that's when his focus turns to something else entirely -- Charles' lips and the unearthly colour of them, the way they shape when given to distraction and how Erik finds himself utterly taken by them. In effect, it's what's put him back to something he vaguely remembers.

An old bedroom, held before the war, before the ghetto, where he might've taken a high school sweetheart had he ever attended.

[balancingminds]

The dream shift is unexpected and Charles ends up resting his hand on a bureau to collect himself.

When he does, he smiles at Erik, "Do you prefer this?"

He can feel some of Erik's emotion with that tantalizing taste of desire that he wants to explore. For the scenery to be a dream in Erik's mind is unexpected.

[markedformore]

"It's an old memory," he says, sitting on the edge of the bed and sprawling out, closing his eyes as he coaxes Charles ever-closer. "I find that with you present, my thoughts gravitate to such things."