"...lest we forget..."

I. The Study

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Small, silver droplets slowly curved rivulets in the condensation on the outside of the window. Erik's cool fingers fell from the glass, only to be caught by someone else's. Charles pulled him gently back into the old, slightly creaky, leather armchair and promptly deposited himself in the older man's lap. So they stayed for an indefinite amount of time, the silence only broken by the crackling of the fire, the ticking of a clock, the occasional rustling of clothes, and soft breathing. Curled up together, content in the other's company, they watched through the light autumn rain as a late bee of summer landed on a soft red bloom beyond the glass.

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II. Good Morning

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The house was slowly waking around them, but Erik felt almost as if they were suspended in time; encapsulated in their little bubble, conveniently hovering just outside the space-time continuum. Just far enough to ignore the rising of the world around them. In these times, it didn't matter.

'You think too loudly' Charles projected. Erik turned to the slighter body lying next to him. Charles' eyes were only half-open, and still hazy with sleep. Even in their misty state, they were still impossibly blue.

'Maybe you'd better quieten me down, then' Erik thought back. Charles obliged slowly, pushing himself up slightly, he leant over and pressed his own comfortable smile against Erik's own.

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III. Poppy Fields

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Erik gazed fondly down at the younger man almost asleep in his lap, red lips slightly stretched in a contented smile, and dark eyelashes fanned out against his pale skin; before turning his gaze to the fields around them. Millions of poppies, filling an expanse rolling for miles; standing proud, barely wavering in the breeze.

They sat, together, in the midst of the fields of blood; happy. Content. Warmed by both the sun and their love for each other. The soft, golden rays dancing over Charles' hair, his hand firmly grasping Erik's own. They would commemorate all that had been lost, but after, would celebrate what they had found.