Erik didn't go for any swims in all that time. He was always there. He talked to the others when they came from their own investigations into the attack and a picture started to form. Apparently the Brotherhood hadn't sanctioned the attack. It had been a splinter group called Marauders.

To Charles' surprise Logan suddenly dropped by. It was just a day after Charles had finally managed to Shift back to human form. Erik didn't bristle too much, though he refused to leave Charles alone with the other man in his study.

"Chill, Shark," the other man said, chewing on a cold cigar stump. "Not gonna maul the guy more than he already is. Glad you're okay, Professor," he addressed Charles. "I heard the Marauders got you."

"They weren't after me. It was a friend of mine they were targeting."

"Doesn't matter who they targeted, they hit you. And knowing those guys, they're still celebrating the blood spill."

"How do you know them?" Erik demanded.

"We had our run-ins. They tried to recruit me a long time ago. Didn't fancy the company. I work better alone." Logan grinned, showing even, white teeth. "Didn't sit well with 'em and we parted ways."

The Shark smiled coldly. He knew how to interpret those words.

"Also heard that your kids are asking around. I think one of 'em caught one of the shooters."

That was news to Charles, but from Erik's expression it was clear he knew that.

"Small fry. You'll never get the big ones. Get over it, Shark. Accept what happened. When you run into them again, payback's a bitch. Until then, keep your pretty face down and take care of the rat." He nodded at Charles. "You don't want to have enemies right now. They'll tear this place to pieces."

"We're no threat, Logan," Charles told him, voice curious about the implication that they would be.

"Everything's a threat to their mind. They don't like humans, but they also don't like their own kin. Would sell their grandmother if it got them a dime or two." He fixed Erik with a hard look. "Think with your head, Shark. Just for once. Instinct's fine and good, and it served me well, too. Right now you have more to lose than to win."

Erik's hands clenched and unclenched. Charles reached out, touching the sharp, agile mind, feeling it bite back at first before recognizing the calming touch as what it was.

::Erik, please. I can't lose you::

The startled expression was almost comical. Erik had never given the idea that he might lose his life over his revenge a thought.

"Are you going to stay around?" the telepath asked their guest.

Logan shrugged. "As long as it takes for him to get edgy around me." He smirked at Erik.

"Like right away?" the Shark asked coldly with a fake pleasant smile.

Logan chuckled. "I'm going to haunt your kitchen a little. Travel makes me hungry. See ya."

The moment he was gone, Charles wrapped an arm around Erik's waist and pulled him close, as much for his comfort as to calm the other's mind, which was in upheaval.

"We're going to be okay," he insisted.

"They nearly killed you!"

"I'm okay."

Erik trembled with anger and rage and pain. "Charles…"

"Don't. Please, don't. I don't want to imagine what could happen to you. I need you, Erik. I need you here, alive and well." ::There's so much more to you than you know, not just pain and anger. There's good in you too, and you can harness all that. Don't throw all of this away because of what happened to me::

"You are worth everything, Charles," he insisted, voice shaky. "Everything."

::Not your death. Never your death! You can't do that to me::

Erik leaned into him, kissing him gently. ::I won't. I won't…::

A hand brushed over the scars on his back that marked where the bullet had nearly done much worse. Charles shivered, pent-up need creeping up on him, flooding through his veins. His lover buried his face against his neck, kissing the warm neck. His teeth scraped over the soft skin and Charles shivered, feeling himself harden.

"Erik…" he murmured.

"I don't care if Logan is right outside that door. I want you, Charles."

Not that he would object. Not at all. Charles felt what the other Shifter was projecting and he was feeling the same.

And he could keep others from stumbling in on them.

Erik grinned widely when he caught that thought, thrilled and even more turned on by the idea, by the power of his lover. The images forming in his head – Charles on the desk or on the chair or on the rug – had the telepath lick his lips.

Charles met the heated eyes, felt the desire sweep through him. Erik was already busy removing clothes, Charles' and his own, and getting his hands on the lean form. Charles lay back, enjoying the needy touches.

Erik was extremely careful, sharp eyes on every move Charles made, listening to every sound of pleasure or pain.

::I'm okay:: the other Shifter sent. ::I'm okay, Erik. I need you. Badly. Please::

The pleas became more uncoordinated, more demanding, and Erik sank into his lover with a soft groan of barely restrained need himself. Their mouths met in hungry kisses, Erik nipping and licking at the reddened lips. His eyes glowed with a fire that told his lover more than anything.

::Let go. Need you. All of you::

The Shark trembled, barely under control, wanting it all. Charles was in his mind, pushing him past that barrier, drawing him into his own primal need and want.

::Charles…:: he breathed.

Erik was afraid. Afraid to hurt, afraid to make it worse again, afraid that this would be bad. He didn't want to let go, didn't want to lose control.

Charles knew that even in the throes of passion, claiming his mate, the other Shifter was never out of control. And Charles himself wasn't defenseless. He would be able to stop this if it became too much.

::You can't hurt me::

It was like a blessing. Erik's hips slammed forward, Charles groaning loudly as pleasure exploded through him and pushing back. His hands clawed at the slick leather of the ancient couch. Part of him muttered about needing to clean this; thoroughly. Later.

It became a blur for the waterbound Shifter, a blur of lustwantneedloveCharles. He felt the echoes of pleasure, he felt the other man's mirrored emotions of love, and he sank his teeth over the claim mark without breaking the skin.

It was quicker than either had wanted it to happen, but their accumulated lust and want had spurred them on, spilling faster than expected. Like hormone-driven young ones.

Charles held him close, the sticky mess between them secondary. He chuckled as he caught Erik's thought that he hadn't really lost it like that in the past years. Ever since their first time together, which had been wild and unrestrained, but not matched by the time he had claimed the other man completely. That was still so blurry, he only recalled the basic primal emotions he had felt that moment.

"I love you," Erik whispered, brushing his lips over one temple. "So very much."

"I love you," Charles echoed the words. "And I don't want to lose you. Not to this."

This. His need for revenge. Erik gazed into the liquid blue eyes, felt his protective streak overpower his darker emotions. He knew that the chance that he might end up seriously injured or worse was there.

"They will pay," he said after a while.

One day.

Not now.

Not him actively seeking them out.

Charles ran a caress over his cheek. "They will," he agreed.

Erik nuzzled the mark, licking over it, then up the sweaty neck. Teeth scraped over sensitive skin and Charles shivered. Erik, while sated, was playful in a way that bordered on erotic. His fingers slid over sweat-slick skin, fondling his slack dick and Charles's breath caught when his lover began to stroke it lovingly.

::Are you trying to kill me?:: he whimpered.

Because he was feeling a new wave of arousal, much less than before, little twitches all that came out of it.

::Hm, maybe::

And then his partner slid down his prone body, that wicked tongue somewhere else and Charles swallowed hard when a hot mouth swallowed him.

"Erik…" he stuttered, seeing himself disappear in that hot, wet mouth.

::Hm:: It was a hum in his mind and a vibration around his dick.

Fingers circled him and he didn't fight the sensation, the caress, but his head thumped back hard when those fingers slipped inside him. Part of him was aware of the fact that Erik was looping his own emotions back at him, and the telepath was fascinated by the skill. His very basic human side said screw it and just feel good.

He felt fantastic.

With the edge taken off, letting himself fall into the teasing stimulation was wonderful. Erik's technique was wicked and when Charles tried to reach for him, two smooth lengths of metal uncurled from the unused fireplace, heavy and black and neatly encircling his wrists and gently disabling his ability to reach.

"Erik, god, please…" he whimpered, not fighting the soft restraint.

He could always call it off. He could order Erik to undo the bindings. One thought, one command, and the other Shifter would have no chance against him.

But he didn't.

The gleam in the gray eyes told him that Erik knew that. Knew that he trusted the Shark. Knew that he had the power and the means and wouldn't use them.

Charles felt the thrill loop through him at that. His trust, his assumed helplessness, the threat of so much power within one thought, it all turned Erik on even more. He was hard again and yearning for his mate, wanting it all, wanting the power and the submissiveness, knowing so very well that Charles was anything but submissive or weak.

::I love you so much::

Charles could only moan, his thoughts suddenly jumbled as Erik swallowed him, two fingers sliding to just the right spot.

Mine, Erik projected. Yours. Mineyourstogether.

Charles came again, his body tensing up and then flowing into pieces. He felt Erik's release like a faint echo, and when the Shark crawled up to lay down next to him, he was too limp to do much. Erik brushed a gentle hand over his stomach and Charles smiled lazily.

"My little adorable rat," Erik murmured, voice full of wonder and emotion.

He laughed softly. No one would think of the words as terms of endearment, but to Erik it was like saying 'I love you'.

"Sticky," Charles murmured.

It got him a grunt.

"Shower?"

"You move first."

He smiled and slid his fingers into the messy, dark hair. Erik's eyes opened a slit, the gray bright and sharp.

x x x x x x x

They made it to the shower eventually. Charles indulged Erik as he gave in to his need to touch the scarred skin on his lower back. Charles finally grabbed the lightly exploring fingers and kissed them.

::I'm fine::

Erik gazed at him, long and hard. In the depths of his eyes he saw the lingering fear and horror, the memory of the blood, the smell, the rage.

Charles leaned against him, their foreheads touching. Erik's large hand pushed against the scars and he felt the tremor as the memories pushed forward. Charles let him work it out on his own, just holding the taller man. Finally Erik pulled back, a faint smile on his face.

The telepath smiled back.

Things were going to be okay. Somehow.

x x x x x x xx x x x x x xx x x x x x xx x x x x x xx x x x x x xx x x x x x xx x x x x x xx x x x x x x

Matters settled. The school was getting back to normal, though Charles noticed a more protective streak in the mutants who lived at the manor, as well as those who visited from time to time, those who mostly lived in the now revived town of Westchester not far away. What had once been an abandoned fishing village was now turning into a second haven for the Cursed. Old clapboard houses had been renovated enough that people could use them again. Water pipes no longer burst, the roofs were water tight, the heating worked. More renovations were ongoing.

Charles had healed completely, though the scars remained. Erik was prone to running explorative fingers over them when they were in bed together, mapping them with kisses or caresses. It was oddly comforting and erotic in one.

The pain was gone. Shifting happened painlessly. Still, Erik hadn't talked about taking a dive together, or just a brief swim, and Charles felt his restlessness. He had never met another waterbound before, so Charles had no idea whether this was a shark thing or an Erik thing. Erik loved the ocean, he needed to be close to it and swim. As a landbound Charles had no such instincts. He was always on land.

Erik was denying his Shifter side what it had needed for almost two months now and it showed. He was short-tempered and irritable.

Charles caught the other man outside, near the cliffs, gazing out over the waves with their white crests. The ocean was uneasy today. A sharp wind was blowing in from the sea and it would be a rough night, with a bad day, too. Forecasts hadn't been very uplifting. Ororo, nicknamed Storm because of her weather control abilities, had told Charles she had a feeling concerning the weather front coming in. It would be another heavy front, heralding the arrival of winter.

Well, nothing new in these parts of the world. Charles remembered his childhood days only too well. He had loved to sit in one of the tower rooms, gazing out at the world outside as the sky was cast in blackness and thunder rolled so deeply over them that it reverberated in his chest. He had enjoyed the howl of the wind and the water cascading like floods over the manor.

"Go," Charles murmured as he slipped an arm around the slender waist, leaning against the dark-clad form.

Erik pulled him around against his chest, leaned down, and kissed him. "I'll be fine."

"It's calling to you."

"I'm not some primitive animal," was the sharp reply, the gray eyes flashing.

"Of course not. But you are a shark. You're a waterbound Shifter. You need your element. Not just looking at it from here but swimming, diving, hunting. Erik, go. I'll be completely okay."

He didn't make the offer to come along. Swimming in calm seas was one thing. The wild open waters scared him a little and he didn't want to risk it.

"No one will come here to shoot at me again," he added, knowing exactly what was going through his partner's mind. "And I have a whole army of bodyguards." He grinned. "Even Logan is still around."

Erik growled. He still hadn't settled down around the other rather dominant man, despite the fact that Logan wasn't interested in Charles and Charles had never given Erik a reason to doubt their relationship.

::Go:: he pushed gently.

He went.

Reluctantly.

Charles monitored the other Shifter as he stripped, clothes landing almost carelessly on the cold ground, and then he went into the water, turning into his shark form. He smiled despite the sharp wind by now tugging at his coat and hair as the happiness flooded him. He rode along in Erik's mind as the shark's streamlined body torpedoed through the dark, cold waters. Instincts kicked in, telling the Shifter everything about his element, about who was near, who was a danger, where food might be.

Charles finally pulled back, feeling too cold for comfort, and walked back toward the mansion. He was already awaited. Raven had been watching and gave him a quizzical look.

"He okay?"

"Now he is."

"Good. He was scaring the crap out of the younger ones. He can be one mean son-of-a-bitch."

"Raven," he chastised, though he knew it was true.

"Hey, it's true."

Charles hung up his coat, glad to be in the warm manor again. Raven slipped an arm through his, gently tugging him toward the reading room. Charles smiled when he discovered a batch of cookies – which Raven definitely hadn't made since she claimed she wasn't the baking, or cooking, kind – and hot cocoa.

"Sugar rush?" he asked mildly.

It was like back when they had been children. Raven would wheedle cookies and hot cocoa out of the cook and they would sit in the reading room, munch on the sugary treats, and Charles would read out to his sister.

"Aiming for one." She picked up a mug, filled it, and handed the treat to Charles. "Read to me?"

He laughed as he settled on the couch, Raven immediately draping herself that her head was resting against one shoulder, long legs on the couch.

"I always put you to sleep."

"So does Hank when he starts talking math or physics or chemistry. So you're not that unique."

"Not a special power then," Charles teased.

"Nope. You sciencey types are all the same."

"Thank you, sister."

"You're welcome, brother."

Charles drank from his cocoa and grabbed a cookie. Raven shoved a random book into his face, lifting it over her head for him to take it.

"That's my thesis."

"Your thesis always sends me right off."

Charles grinned and obediently started to read. True to her words Raven fell asleep halfway into the first chapter.

x x x x x x x

Erik returned after a night in the ocean, smelling of salt and the wild and the cold. He was drenched from the rain and had foregone the sweater, only pulling on his pants for decency. Not that anyone at the manor would have batted an eye. Ororo, who was up late, or early, depending interpretation, gave the lean, athletic form an appreciative eye.

Erik cocked an eyebrow at her open look.

"Lucky," she only commented with a sly smile, then was on her way.

Erik stared after her, a faint blush coloring his skin. Ororo was a very settled personality, strong and sure in herself and her abilities, and whenever she looked at him this way, like she wouldn't mind gazing at him all day, it flustered him a little.

He had been a loner. People had avoided him. No one had openly stared at him in appreciation until lately. Well, unless you counted Charles, who had been appreciative of him right from the start, though far from a clearly sexual way, which had luckily changed later.

Ignoring it all, Erik headed for the kitchen.

x x x x x x x

Charles had left Raven on the couch, sleeping, returning to his bedroom. Normally Raven could sleep anywhere and anytime. He was in the kitchen, up early, before the crack of dawn and watching the sun struggle through the storm clouds. The day would be bleary and gray.

Erik walked into the kitchen and Charles smiled at him. The sight of his half-naked lover gave him a little thrill, eyes sliding over the hard planes of his chest, nicely muscular and still so lithe, down to the narrow waist. He had caught little glimpses of his lover's easing tension, letting the shark side swim free, letting all glide off him. He had simply felt. He had simply been. Now the Shark's presence was easy, balanced, grounded.

It was such a difference to before. When he had first met Erik the other Shifter had been a tightly coiled presence, angry and off balance, trying to push others away but also yearning for human contact. It had been a yearning Erik hadn't understood. It hadn't registered with him. He had pushed at Charles and had been surprised that he hadn't pushed back; at least not in any way he was used to. Charles had let the Shark get used to him, had been persistent and just a little bit annoying sometimes. He hadn't let the other Shifter get to him.

And Erik had grown used to him.

More than that.

They had connected; slowly. Then with more force. Finally in an act of pleasure and claiming, Charles logging onto the other mind as Erik sheathed himself deep within the telepath, and it had been more than sex at the time. It had been a completion for them both.

There was no going back now and why would he want to? Erik meant everything to him. Erik was everything; he had filled a hole.

Charles held out a mug of strong, black coffee. Erik took it with a smile, then leaned closer to brush a good morning kiss over his lips. His mind wove along the line that anchored them both within the other, clearly picking up on Charles' musings.

If Erik had known what Charles was at the time, he might have simply kicked him out. Or eaten him.

Charles sent amusement at the thoughts. As if! Erik couldn't harm him any more than Charles could ever hurt his lover.

Wasn't that back then, Erik reminded him, gray eyes warm. They had been two strangers.
But still they had found a common ground.

Yes, they had. Because Erik wouldn't have tolerated anyone within his home for so long if there hadn't been something between them. He wouldn't have given Charles so much insight, so many intimate details about his Shifter side.

"You're dripping," Charles murmured, eyes bright and filled with laughter.

"It's raining."

"I noticed."

Another kiss, turning into small kiss-lick-nips. Erik pushed against him, wet patches spreading over Charles. The Shark finally pulled back and smiled down at the smaller man.

"Better?" Charles asked softly, knowing the answer.

"Perfection."

The look was intense, aimed at Charles, and the other Shifter realized where the comment had been aimed at. He brushed ineffectively against the damp spots on his clothes.

::You are perfect:: Erik murmured over the bond, cool fingers gliding over warm, soft skin. ::All of you::

Ignoring the possibility of getting even more wet, Charles looped an arm around his semi-naked lover and pulled him close again. The kiss was not meant to arouse, relaying love and acceptance and everything they were, down to their very souls. Erik shivered as he caught the strength of what was Charles, all that made the telepath so much more than what he seemed to be at first glance.

"Come with me next time," he murmured.

Swimming, diving, to the beach, to the ocean, close. An invitation to share everything with Erik, not just in his mind but also to see the endless waters, the dark depth of his element.

Charles smiled. "Next time."

Erik's happiness was almost childlike and nothing the powerful Shifter would ever confess to. He took the mug back and drank from it, radiating strength and warmth and love.

Outside it rained more.

Sounds of people waking up had Charles look at the ceiling, a smile crossing his lips. Erik was still dripping water onto the kitchen floor.

"You should go dry yourself."

"I won't catch anything."

Of course not. Water was his element and Erik was a very resilient Shifter.

"You're dripping all over the floor."

He looked at the puddle. "Looks like it."

Charles touched one temple with two fingers. ::There's a mop and bucket next to the door.:: He hadn't pushed the thought at Erik, just made a little show of it.

Erik grinned back, aware that no telepathic command had been uttered – and wouldn't be. "Thank you for telling me." And he walked out of the kitchen, still dripping.

Charles only shook his head.

x x x x x x x

The 'next time' was a week later. The ocean was icy cold and deadly to whoever was foolish enough to go in without protection. Charles was clad in his diver's suit, the very thickly insulated one. He didn't feel any cold as he let Erik dive, holding on to the special harness that allowed the rat to ride on his shark's back. He didn't feel any fear. He trusted Erik not to toss him or dive somewhere dangerous.

The waters were easy today. Slight waves, but no harbingers of a storm to come. That could change, but Ororo had told him that she felt no adverse weather for today.

Erik's mind was a sharp, alert place to be; keeping track of their surroundings, knowing where the danger was. Charles let himself drift with it, amazed by the mixture of logic and instinct as always. He knew his own wouldn't be much different, only that he wasn't a predator. He was a rat and as such far from a hunter-killer.

x x x x x x x

They surfaced, much to Charles' surprise, near Muir Island. Out here the waves were stronger and he was glad to have the harness.

::Why come here?:: he probed.

Erik didn't answer, just lazily approached the rough beach as closely as he dared. Charles caught the invitation.

::No:: he answered. ::And Moira isn't back yet. She and Azazel went to New York. I think Warren wants to fund her and give her the protection she needs::

The shark drew another circle.

::Thank you:: Charles sent, aware that if he had truly wanted to visit Moira, Erik would have suffered through it. ::I also didn't bring any clothes:: he added, adding a poke and grin.

Erik chuckled in his mind. ::I wouldn't mind::

::It's freezing cold!::

::For you maybe::

His lover turned and went back out into the deeper water, diving after a quick warning to Charles, taking them into the much calmer depths.

::Air?:: Erik asked.

Charles checked the read-out. ::Enough for four more hours::

Enough for the journey back. Slow and filled with 'sight-seeing' as Charles called it.

x x x x x x x

They surfaced in the evening, the waves rougher than Charles would have liked them to be, and it was really cold. He hurriedly slipped into his clothes, scowling at Erik's careless display. His lover was only wearing pants and didn't look even a little bit cold.

x x x x x x x

He curled up to his Shark in front of the fire place not much later, hands wrapped around his tea, enjoying the warmth. It would probably be his last swim this winter. A small rat didn't do well in rough waters and Charles the human wasn't suicidal enough to believe he would fare any better.

Erik carded his long fingers into his damp hair, turning Charles' head to kiss him.

::You can always come with me:: he murmured, deftly removing the tea cup and placing it onto the couch table. ::You can ride with me::

Charles let himself be rolled and looked up into the warm gray eyes, filled with love and want. He brushed the backs of his fingers over Erik's temple.

::I'd love that::

Their lips met, soft, gentle, loving. Erik wouldn't forget what had happened and if he ever got the chance, he would kill the ones responsible. For now the most important part in his life was Charles Xavier.

end for this fic!