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Now on to the new story!
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TITLE: Cabin Fever
Shifter 'verse
AUTHOR: Macx
RATING: R-ish
DISCLAIMER: None of the characters belongs to me, sadly. They are owned by people with a lot more money :)
FEEDBACK: Loved
SUMMARY: Unable to follow his instincts and take to the water, Erik is less than civil right now. Actually, the shark in him is spoiling for a fight. Wearing him down with sex only helps so much. Enter: Logan. Charles is not amused by what comes next.
x x x x x x x
Winter had come in hard and fast. There had hardly been any autumn and by the time nature had caught up to the changing seasons, and with it the people living in Westchester, winter had overrun them with snow and storms.
Charles had spent most of the dark and cold season reading up on what he might have missed throughout summer, teaching, writing his own paper, and devising plans to open up more of the manor to those Cursed who couldn't or wouldn't stay in the village. Some just needed to get used to the fact that they could openly be who they were. Charles gave them that chance.
Erik helped his partner wherever he could and he took on two classes of his own. Charles had been surprised, but he hadn't remarked on it. He knew the waterbound Shifter spoke several languages fluently and could teach them, and he was good at unarmed combat, though Logan was a pro in that matter.
That he hardly left for a swim showed throughout that time. Charles had tried to ignore the changing moods, but after a few weeks of a grumpy Erik he was hard pressed to continue doing so. Sex only compensated so much.
"I could knock some sense into him," Logan offered throughout one of those bad storms that rattled the windows and threatened to blow the roof off. The students were in their rooms or stuck in Westchester. The house was quiet except for the sounds coming from outside.
"I doubt it would help," Charles replied, pouring his tea and spiking it with a little extra.
He wasn't as immune to the temperatures as Erik, and Logan for that matter, and he felt a little cold. Coming back in the approaching storm, wet and covered in fat snow flakes, he had yet to thaw. The landbound Shifter had taken to wearing a lot of layers, peeling off a jacket or a vest if things got too toasty.
Logan emptied a can of beer and immediately opened a new one.
"A little sparring does wonders."
Charles sipped at the hot liquid. He was quite aware of his lover's mood right now. Dark, dark clouds churning over a frustrated mind that wanted to get out of this place and be free for an hour or two. With the weather, even Erik wasn't willing to risk it in the wilds of the oceans. So he was stuck and he was fighting an instinct that was as primal as it came.
"Or you could start wearing him down with hourly sex, professor."
Charles shot the other man a dark look.
"I know you tried," Logan added with a grin. "Hard to ignore the scent on you two."
The Shifter refused to blush. He knew Logan's keen senses could pick up those close contact moments and he didn't mind, but to be reminded that one smelled of sex…? Even after a shower?
"Beating Erik up won't mellow his moods, Logan," Charles only answered. "And he doesn't have your healing factor."
"Nah, I wouldn't hurt him that badly."
"You wouldn't hurt me at all," a cold voice interrupted them.
Logan grinned widely, crushing the by now also empty beer can. "Dream on, bub."
"Erik…" Charles started.
But the Shark ignored him, walking up to Logan and glaring at him. Gray eyes, cold as the ocean he called his home, and hard as granite.
"Is this a challenge?"
"Erik…"
"You bet." Logan leaned back, still grinning.
::Erik!::
The Shark looked at him and Charles didn't back down. He didn't fear this man, never had, and while Erik was a true predator and a very dominant Shifter, his lover would never show any kind of submission. Charles might be a rat, and with it prey, but he wasn't weak.
::What are you trying to prove?:: he snapped. ::That your primal side can sulk with the best of them? I know that! And you have to work it out another way!::
Erik didn't answer, just snarled and brushed past Logan, bumping shoulders. Logan chuckled and tossed the can.
"Logan…"
"Don't worry, Prof. I won't do anything permanent. Let's see if he can work it out of his own. Doubt it, though."
Then he was gone.
Charles cursed colorfully and tried to ignore the darkness from the other side of the bond. It was harder than he thought since he now he also thought about the possibility of Logan injuring Erik. Not that he thought the other mutant would deliberately harm his lover, but both were strong alpha male Cursed. Erik was more than moody right now and Logan was inclined to let the Shifter work it out with him.
No, not his favorite thought.
x x x x x x x
Erik found himself working out his frustration and the cagey feeling in the gym. His human side knew it was the Shifter, that if he just could handle it he would be fine. The Shifter didn't care. The punching bag took quite a beating and when Erik stepped back from the hapless piece of gym material, he became aware of his watcher. Logan was leaning against the wall, arms crossed in front of his chest, silent eyes on him.
"What?" the Shark asked, a challenge in his voice.
"If you want to beat something up, choose someone who fights back." Logan grinned. "Or you think your little rat will stop you?"
Erik snarled. He wasn't under anyone's control; not anymore.
Logan pushed away from the wall, cracking his knuckles.
x x x x x x x
Two hours after the verbal confrontation Charles buried his head in his hands, fighting a headache. He groaned softly and finally rose. The steady thrum of emotional volleys banging against his thinning shields had him sway a little. There was also the unmistakable echo of bruises forming on his body, though it wasn't his own body. He made it through the manor without bumping into anything, but he was running so much on automatic that he didn't really register anyone else around. When he entered the training room, the sight of Erik and Logan locked in a squabble had him nearly hit the two men with a telepathic blast. Logan might be rather immune to psychic attacks, but Charles knew that with enough battering power he could make the man stagger.
Erik was another matter; he would go like a ton of bricks.
Leaning against the wall, rubbing his temples, Charles wondered how a grown man could resort to such childish displays of power. Erik was growling and snarling and attacking the more muscular man, managing to bring him down and land a few blows. Logan swiped at him with his extended bone claws and Charles had to hold back not to end it right here and now. There were already cuts in the light gray sweats, but Erik wasn't bleeding.
It was the sole reason why the telepath wasn't interfering.
And the fact that Erik was using scraps of metal from the room to keep Logan on his toes and away from him should he get too close.
"That all you got?" Logan taunted. "'Cause I haven't even broken into a sweat yet."
Charles sighed and sank down the wall, giving up on ignoring what his lover was broadcasting and simply trying to handle the fury coming through. He let it wash over him and calmed the stormy waters as they reached his mind. It was a good training for him, he mused as he watched the two men exchange blows. He could see how far he could drop his shields and still react to a sudden rise in emotions without falling flat on his face.
As it was, he could lower them a great deal, but when Erik tore a metal strap out of the wall and hurled it at Logan – who easily evaded it and sliced it apart with his claws – the sensation was almost too much. Not in a painful way, no. It was more like being Erik in that moment and the Shifter inside him felt the surge of primal instinct, felt the Shark, and he wanted to be there with his partner.
Charles didn't feel the need to run. Not at all. Erik's mind wasn't a dark and unknown place; it was home.
Logan battered the other mutant against the wall and Erik howled in anger as he was restrained, impossibly sharp claws pressing against his throat.
"Give up," Logan growled. "Don't wanna mutilate you."
Erik fought against the hold. Charles watched, tension creeping through him, then he noticed a shard of metal hovering just below Logan's head, pointing at the neck, ready to sever the spine.
::Erik:: he murmured.
He got a surge of anger back. He took it, surrounded it, calmed it, tried to smooth it out.
::Don't:: Charles only said. ::It's over::
Logan glanced over his shoulder and saw the shard. He suddenly laughed.
"Sneaky bastard. I know why I like you, Shark."
And then he was off the other man and extending a hand that no longer featured the deadly claws. Erik's gray eyes were still filled with the heat of the fight, he was already featuring bruises that would stay for a day or two. Shifters healed fast, but never immediately like Logan. He finally took the offered hand and let himself be pulled up.
Charles stayed where he was, sitting against the wall. Waiting.
Erik simply stared at Logan, then the other mutant shrugged and walked away, a self-satisfied smirk on is lips. He flipped a casual salute at Charles.
"Got him evened out a little. Your turn now, Professor."
Charles simply suppressed a sigh and watched Erik approach. There was a slight limp to his gait and he was sporting an assortment of bruises, but he did seem calmer. His mind felt calmer, too. With a wince he sank down beside Charles, wincing again when something protested more.
"Got it out of your system?" Charles asked.
tbc...