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[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

[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."

[balancingminds]

"I understand that urge, though I do hope we can do the same awake,"

He walks over to the bed and considers where to put himself before closing his eyes and placing himself beside Erik. It's a cheat he can only do in a dream, where the rules are rather bendable.

This is one reality, a powerful one and he feels Erik's arm pressing into his back due to how he ended up. He does hope that this is a beginning that can be continued awake where there's another layer of touch.

[markedformore]

Erik lies back, shifting his arm enough so that it's placed near to Charles' hip rather than the small of his back, breathing in sharply as though he will find some familiar smell from his childhood to remind him of this happiness, but it is forgotten. "I don't know what you do to me," he murmurs. "You've known me for only a few days and you've got me in knots."

[balancingminds]

At the shifting touch, Charles leans into it,

"I don't wish to cause knots. I've always worked to keep myself balanced and you change that, leaving me questioning and wanting."

[markedformore]

Erik's breathing has turned even, finally, and as he breathes out against the nape of Charles' neck, he finds that his words turn exhausted, as if he is going to sleep within his sleep. "Questioning what?" He doesn't think that Charles is the sort to question anything.

[balancingminds]

"What I'm trying to achieve and why. Rest, I'll be here, awake or asleep,"

He moves just enough to kiss Erik on the cheek enjoying the feel of his stubble, later there will be time for more.

[markedformore]

The kiss is both welcome and surprising. He finds that his cheeks flush and he swallows hard, but succumbs to the sleep that he's been missing for so long, resting for what may be hours or minutes, he cannot be sure. All that he knows is that he wakes in the Milliways bedroom and feels entirely rested.

There is also the edge of a seed of desire in his mind as he stares at Charles beside him and he wants.

[balancingminds]

Once he's certain that Erik won't be woken by any nightmares, Charles moves out of his mind, strengthens his shields and then sleeps.

He hadn't meant to fall so deeply asleep but the dreamwork was wearing and he shifts to hide his head in Erik's chest.

[markedformore]

The weight of Charles' head against his chest is foreign to him and yet he finds that he wishes to cradle his forehead with a waiting palm, thumb brushing the traces of hair away as he adjusts his position in the bed in order to curl Charles in closer, protecting him from whatever the world would do to him.

[balancingminds]

At the touch, Charles starts to wake up, gently opening his shields as he places where he is.

He's not fully awake as he drapes an arm over Erik's chest but getting there.

[markedformore]

Erik cannot help his smug smile at the arm over his chest, given that it means that Charles has, in a subconscious way, accepted such a claim over him. "Shh," he murmurs, barely audible as he brushes his lips over Charles' forehead. "Rest. It's your turn."

[balancingminds]

He doesn't hear the words but feels the kiss and moves his head up, "Mm, but I'm awake."

Not all the way and his eyes aren't all the way open though his shields are, so that some of his contentment is projected.

[markedformore]

Erik feels the happiness lapping at the edges of his awareness, like the ocean coming back to shore. He smiles, barely, but he relaxes enough on the bed to feel like he's actually managed to procure some rest. He reaches over, blunt fingernails scratching lightly at the space behind Charles' earlobe. "Are you, truly?"

[balancingminds]

The scratch is odd but nice and Charles makes a contented sound. Iris would probably wonder at how such a simple touch can please him so.

He know its because this is trust and wonderful and a beginning, "Slightly."

[markedformore]

Erik draws his finger away solely so that he can slide it through Charles' hair, sprawling out on the bed and relaxing until his toes are curling in the sheets. "Will the children be missing us, soon? Or does time truly stop, here?"

[balancingminds]

"Mm, no, they won't. I've seen how it stops here many times. I used it to work on my dissertation,"

He almost groans at the hand in his hair, this is what he wanted.