It's the first week of summer in the northern hemisphere and my part of the world has decided to celebrate this fact with a freak heatwave. Thanks a lot, summer. Way to ease us into it
( Read more... )
[xmfc] charles/erik - summer term pocky_slashJune 23 2012, 04:24:37 UTC
This takes place in a college AU I spend a lot of time writing about in emails to pearl_o.
***
There's no air conditioning in the shitty dorm Erik has for the summer. It's awful. If it was just him, he thinks he would be able to manage, but sharing a space that small with two other people and three computers in the middle of July is painful. Granted, he's glad that the population of the room has temporarily increased, but he's really starting to regret not allowing Charles to book them a hotel for the week like he had wanted to.
Charles is lying on the bed in nothing but his boxers, obviously attempting to beat the heat with an afternoon nap while Erik was at his internship. Bruce is sitting at his desk and has two of the three fans in the room aimed at him. He's wearing a pair of ratty cut-offs and nothing else. Erik feels like there should be some sort of primitive, proprietary jealousy going on at seeing his boyfriend and another guy sitting in the same room wearing nearly nothing, but mostly he's just jealous that they get to be nearly naked and he's still wearing a tie.
"Hey," he says, unknotting the tie with one hand and tossing his bag on his desk chair with the other.
"Hey," Bruce says, glancing up briefly. Erik likes Bruce--he's quiet, he's smart, and he's funny when he wants to be. He doesn't pry, he doesn't get shitfaced, and he's cool with Charles dropping by every now and again. Erik thinks he likes Bruce more than he likes all the guys in Kappa combined.
"Erik?" Charles says. He pushes himself up on one elbow and squints in Erik's direction. Erik kicks off his shoes and pulls his sweaty shirt over his head, dropping it on the chair with his tie.
"Hey," Erik says. Charles' skin is flushed all over and it's a good look on him. Unless, of course, the few hours they spent walking around Harvard Square yesterday actually sunburned him. His hair is a disarray of sweaty curls that Erik wants to comb straight with his fingers. He reaches out, but Charles physically recoils.
"Oh god, don't touch me, you're hot and disgusting," he says.
Erik raises his eyebrows.
"Excuse me?" he says. Charles pouts; he takes Erik's fingers gingerly between his own and presses an apologetic kiss to them.
"I'm sorry, I love you, but you are," Charles says. "It's bloody hot, Erik."
"It's July and it's Boston," Erik says.
"Next time you're going to go far away from me to be brilliant, do it some place with central air, please," Charles says. He pushes himself up the rest of the way and kisses Erik, very careful not to touch him anymore than he has to. Erik rolls his eyes. It's hot, yes, but Charles is being a little overdramatic.
"As fun as it is to sit here and watch you two not touch each other," Bruce says, though he still has his back turned to them anyway, "I've got to let this program run for another six hours. Do you want to go to the beach or something?"
It's Wednesday evening. Erik's off from his internship tomorrow and doesn't have to be at the lab until noon. He looks at Charles and raises his eyebrows.
"That sounds lovely, Bruce, thank you," Charles says.
They pack up quickly and Erik magnanimously allows Bruce to add his fan to the two already pointed at his laptop to prevent the possibility of the machine overheating before his data is run. Bruce brings a book and Erik puts some beer in a cooler and Charles makes sure they have towels and sunblock and dry clothes and bottled water.
"You're kind of mom-ing us," Bruce remarks as Charles tucks everything into his duffel bag.
"I have a little sister," Charles says, which Erik supposes is less awkward than, 'I had to all but raise myself.'
[xmfc] charles/erik - summer term - 2/4pocky_slashJune 23 2012, 04:26:20 UTC
Bruce's car is a Prius, but it's older and obviously well-loved. Bruce's ex-girlfriend also somehow finagled him a Cambridge parking permit so he could avoid the three hundred bucks it would have cost to park it at MIT for the duration of their course. Erik's car is back in Jersey for that very reason--Boston's public transit isn't as good as New York's, but it's good enough that Erik can go without his car for two months. The best thing about Bruce's car, though, is that the air conditioning works. By the time they're pulling out of Cambridge and onto the highway, Erik already feels better. He stretches out across the backseat and naps to the sound of Charles chatting happily with Bruce about some physics book they both recently read.
The beach isn't as crowded as Erik feared it would be, but it's still only just starting to empty out for the day. They find a spot for their towels, and somehow, even though they're outside in the sun instead of sitting inside with fans, Erik's cooler than he was back at the dorm. He applies sunscreen to Charles with relish, despite the fact that they're still surrounded by lingering families. The lifeguards are still on duty for another hour and the summer sun won't set for ages yet.
"Can you do mine too?" Bruce asks. "You know, maybe with less groping?"
"Where's the fun in that?" Erik says, waggling his eyebrows, but Charles snatches the sunscreen out of his hands and shoves at Erik with faux chagrin, applying the lotion to Bruce's back and shoulders himself.
It's a nice day, despite the heat and humidity. Maybe it just feels nice while he's sharing a beer with Charles and watching the waves crash against the shore. Charles is allowing physical contact again, leaning back against Erik's chest and paging through a scifi novel he stole from Erik's desk. He sighs and puts it down, turning his head to press a kiss to the corner of Erik's mouth. He's frowning when he pulls back.
"I don't want to go back home," he says, quiet enough that Bruce can't hear. "I don't know how I'm going to get through the two weeks until I see you again. Cain's home and Raven's not and Kurt will be around and I know I can't stay here forever, but even sharing a tiny dorm room with you and Bruce is better than being in that stupid house by myself."
Erik's heart twists painfully. He kisses Charles' temple and struggles for a response. It's just not fair. It's not fair that Charles' life is so fucked up. Erik used to think all the time growing up that if his family just hit some kind of windfall, if they just had more money, maybe everything would be okay. Even at the time he knew that wasn't entirely the truth--money didn't make cancer go away, for one. But if he'd ever truly believed it, even for a minute, all he has to do is look at how positively fucked up Charles' family is for a reminder that money definitely doesn't solve everything.
He doesn't have any answers for Charles, anything to offer him. Whatever stupid thing he says now, Charles will still have to go home to his asshole stepbrother and stepfather. Still, he has to say something.
[xmfc] charles/erik - summer term 3/4pocky_slashJune 23 2012, 04:27:08 UTC
"Well," Erik says, "two weeks after you leave, you come back for two weeks. And then after that, it's just a week and a half until school."
"Your last year," Charles says. "Then you'll be four hours away."
"That's a year away, Charles," Erik insists. "A whole year. And it's more like three and a half hours, anyway."
"I'll have to do a whole year on my own and maybe another semester, unless I do a class during J-term," Charles continues. "But if I do a class during J-term, that's a whole month I could be spending with you before you graduate."
"Charles," Erik says. "Seriously. A whole year. I'll visit when I can and you can visit when you can."
"It won't be the same," Charles says. This requires immediate intervention, if only because Erik needs quite a bit more privacy than a crowded beach can offer if he's going to have a real adult conversations about feelings and how much he loves Charles and how his parents already consider Charles part of the family.
"Charles," Erik says gravely, "if you don't stop being a sadsack, I'll have to employ desperate measures."
Charles frowns at him. "What?" he asks.
Erik grabs Charles around the waist and hauls him up. He determinedly starts dragging him across the sand, at which point his intention becomes clear. Charles all but shrieks with laughter and twists out of Erik's grip, but Erik's just slightly faster and manages to catch him again and use the forward momentum to launch Charles into the waves. He may be screaming and cursing, but he's grinning too, even as he grabs Erik's wrist and pulls him in as well.
It's not a real solution, but it's a stop gap for now, and at least Charles is smiling again.
They stay at the beach for hours, long past the time when the families pack it in for the day and the lifeguards go off duty. Even once the sun sets, the heat of the day lingers and the shirts Charles packed in the duffel bag remain untouched. The sunset over the ocean manages to be embarrassingly romantic, even with Bruce sitting four feet away, and Erik counts the day as a win overall.
"Thanks," he says to Bruce when Charles walks up the hill to take a call from Raven in private. "You didn't have to invite us."
Bruce shrugs. "I like you guys," he says. "And I was thinking...Charles has another two years of undergrad once we graduate, right?"
"A year, probably," Erik says. "He's taking about a million credits a semester. Why?"
"I thought maybe, next year, once we're starting grad school, we could get a place together," Bruce says. "Easier than trawling Craigslist for the least homicidal stranger, right?"
"That's assuming I get into MIT," Erik says, but he's already turning it over. He likes Bruce. He doesn't have many friends and most people don't like him, but he and Bruce clicked immediately. They've been living together for a month so far and they're getting along in a small space far better than Erik gets along with his frat brothers spaced out through their whole house. It's not a bad idea. Erik would even venture to say it's a good one.
"Of course you'll get in," Bruce says. "You nitpicked Tony Stark in front of a room of twenty undergrads and he actually complimented your skills. When word of that gets out, schools will be fighting to give you money. If you really want to go to MIT...."
"I do," Erik says. "And--that sounds pretty cool, actually. Charles'll probably be visiting. A lot."
"I figured you two come as a matched set," Bruce says. "Anyway, is that a yes, then?"
Erik nods. "Yeah, definitely. I mean, we'll talk more around this time next year but...I'd like that."
[xmfc] charles/erik - summer term - 4/4pocky_slashJune 23 2012, 04:27:29 UTC
They're interrupted by Charles skidding back down the sand dune. He's smiling, just a little, and when he gets close enough, he wraps his arms around Erik's middle and sighs happily.
"Raven's good, then?" Erik asks.
"Yes," Charles says. "She's lovely. Are we packing up?"
"I figure we'll stop for dinner on the way home?" Bruce suggests. "I know a place a few miles away with really good scallops. And don't try to tell me I'm being culturally insensitive--I've seen what you do to a plate of bacon after an all-nighter, Lehnsherr."
Erik holds up his hands placatingly. "I didn't say anything!" he says. "Just don't tell my mother. I'm looking at you, Charles. I know she's been calling you to chat." To keep Charles from going crazy alone in that house, more likely, and Erik is almost embarrassed by how grateful he is for that. He doesn't know what he expected when he introduced Charles to his parents, but the immediate bond between his mother and Charles was the best possible outcome.
"I would never," Charles says. "Some things are sacred."
"So, seafood then home?" Bruce asks.
"Seafood then ice cream then home," Charles corrects. "And they're both on me as a thank you for letting me staying and taking us out."
"Charles, you're like, twelve," Bruce says. Charles rolls his eyes.
"Bruce, my family owns half of Westchester County," Charles says. "I can afford to buy dinner. If you need to, think of it as a premptive apology for whatever day in the future you inevitably walk in on us having sex."
Bruce shakes his head and chuckles. "Get the stuff, let's hit the road."
Charles takes the duffel bag and Erik takes Charles' hand and they follow Bruce back towards the parking lot, just a few paces slower. It gives them the illusion of solitude, lets Erik drag this day out for as long as he can. He commits it all to memory, the feeling of Charles' hand in his, the stars coming out overhead, the sound of the water. It's going to be a long two weeks without Charles and, soon enough, a long year without him. He wants to store up the good memories while he can.
"So," Erik says, "are you glad you came?"
"Of course," Charles says. He knocks their shoulders together. "I can't believe you even have to ask that."
"Well," Erik says, "my overheated dorm room in the middle of a heatwave where there's nothing really for you to do all day or an air conditioned house?"
"No contest," Charles says. "You always win." He pauses at the top of the sand dune. "Although, next time I'm visiting, maybe a hotel room wouldn't be remiss if the weather is this stifling. Also, we can have sex whenever we want, regardless of where Bruce is."
"I knew there was a reason I liked you," Erik says.
Ahead of them, Erik hears Bruce starting the car. Behind them, the waves batter the shore. In the bubble surrounding them, Erik holds on to this moment and to Charles' hand.
Re: [xmfc] charles/erik - summer term - 4/4afrocurlJune 23 2012, 06:58:49 UTC
Oh these boys are so precious here. I just want to see more of this 'verse and how they do navigate that next year. (I'm guessing that they either go to Princeton or somewhere in NYC, but I couldn't tell.)
Re: [xmfc] charles/erik - summer term - 4/4sirona_gsJune 23 2012, 21:55:13 UTC
Oh. Ohhhhh. Oh my precious boys, you are so wonderful and lovely and delicious. I will never ever ever get enough of protective!Erik! :'))))))) This is so gorgeous, hon. ♥♥♥
***
There's no air conditioning in the shitty dorm Erik has for the summer. It's awful. If it was just him, he thinks he would be able to manage, but sharing a space that small with two other people and three computers in the middle of July is painful. Granted, he's glad that the population of the room has temporarily increased, but he's really starting to regret not allowing Charles to book them a hotel for the week like he had wanted to.
Charles is lying on the bed in nothing but his boxers, obviously attempting to beat the heat with an afternoon nap while Erik was at his internship. Bruce is sitting at his desk and has two of the three fans in the room aimed at him. He's wearing a pair of ratty cut-offs and nothing else. Erik feels like there should be some sort of primitive, proprietary jealousy going on at seeing his boyfriend and another guy sitting in the same room wearing nearly nothing, but mostly he's just jealous that they get to be nearly naked and he's still wearing a tie.
"Hey," he says, unknotting the tie with one hand and tossing his bag on his desk chair with the other.
"Hey," Bruce says, glancing up briefly. Erik likes Bruce--he's quiet, he's smart, and he's funny when he wants to be. He doesn't pry, he doesn't get shitfaced, and he's cool with Charles dropping by every now and again. Erik thinks he likes Bruce more than he likes all the guys in Kappa combined.
"Erik?" Charles says. He pushes himself up on one elbow and squints in Erik's direction. Erik kicks off his shoes and pulls his sweaty shirt over his head, dropping it on the chair with his tie.
"Hey," Erik says. Charles' skin is flushed all over and it's a good look on him. Unless, of course, the few hours they spent walking around Harvard Square yesterday actually sunburned him. His hair is a disarray of sweaty curls that Erik wants to comb straight with his fingers. He reaches out, but Charles physically recoils.
"Oh god, don't touch me, you're hot and disgusting," he says.
Erik raises his eyebrows.
"Excuse me?" he says. Charles pouts; he takes Erik's fingers gingerly between his own and presses an apologetic kiss to them.
"I'm sorry, I love you, but you are," Charles says. "It's bloody hot, Erik."
"It's July and it's Boston," Erik says.
"Next time you're going to go far away from me to be brilliant, do it some place with central air, please," Charles says. He pushes himself up the rest of the way and kisses Erik, very careful not to touch him anymore than he has to. Erik rolls his eyes. It's hot, yes, but Charles is being a little overdramatic.
"As fun as it is to sit here and watch you two not touch each other," Bruce says, though he still has his back turned to them anyway, "I've got to let this program run for another six hours. Do you want to go to the beach or something?"
It's Wednesday evening. Erik's off from his internship tomorrow and doesn't have to be at the lab until noon. He looks at Charles and raises his eyebrows.
"That sounds lovely, Bruce, thank you," Charles says.
They pack up quickly and Erik magnanimously allows Bruce to add his fan to the two already pointed at his laptop to prevent the possibility of the machine overheating before his data is run. Bruce brings a book and Erik puts some beer in a cooler and Charles makes sure they have towels and sunblock and dry clothes and bottled water.
"You're kind of mom-ing us," Bruce remarks as Charles tucks everything into his duffel bag.
"I have a little sister," Charles says, which Erik supposes is less awkward than, 'I had to all but raise myself.'
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The beach isn't as crowded as Erik feared it would be, but it's still only just starting to empty out for the day. They find a spot for their towels, and somehow, even though they're outside in the sun instead of sitting inside with fans, Erik's cooler than he was back at the dorm. He applies sunscreen to Charles with relish, despite the fact that they're still surrounded by lingering families. The lifeguards are still on duty for another hour and the summer sun won't set for ages yet.
"Can you do mine too?" Bruce asks. "You know, maybe with less groping?"
"Where's the fun in that?" Erik says, waggling his eyebrows, but Charles snatches the sunscreen out of his hands and shoves at Erik with faux chagrin, applying the lotion to Bruce's back and shoulders himself.
It's a nice day, despite the heat and humidity. Maybe it just feels nice while he's sharing a beer with Charles and watching the waves crash against the shore. Charles is allowing physical contact again, leaning back against Erik's chest and paging through a scifi novel he stole from Erik's desk. He sighs and puts it down, turning his head to press a kiss to the corner of Erik's mouth. He's frowning when he pulls back.
"I don't want to go back home," he says, quiet enough that Bruce can't hear. "I don't know how I'm going to get through the two weeks until I see you again. Cain's home and Raven's not and Kurt will be around and I know I can't stay here forever, but even sharing a tiny dorm room with you and Bruce is better than being in that stupid house by myself."
Erik's heart twists painfully. He kisses Charles' temple and struggles for a response. It's just not fair. It's not fair that Charles' life is so fucked up. Erik used to think all the time growing up that if his family just hit some kind of windfall, if they just had more money, maybe everything would be okay. Even at the time he knew that wasn't entirely the truth--money didn't make cancer go away, for one. But if he'd ever truly believed it, even for a minute, all he has to do is look at how positively fucked up Charles' family is for a reminder that money definitely doesn't solve everything.
He doesn't have any answers for Charles, anything to offer him. Whatever stupid thing he says now, Charles will still have to go home to his asshole stepbrother and stepfather. Still, he has to say something.
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"Your last year," Charles says. "Then you'll be four hours away."
"That's a year away, Charles," Erik insists. "A whole year. And it's more like three and a half hours, anyway."
"I'll have to do a whole year on my own and maybe another semester, unless I do a class during J-term," Charles continues. "But if I do a class during J-term, that's a whole month I could be spending with you before you graduate."
"Charles," Erik says. "Seriously. A whole year. I'll visit when I can and you can visit when you can."
"It won't be the same," Charles says. This requires immediate intervention, if only because Erik needs quite a bit more privacy than a crowded beach can offer if he's going to have a real adult conversations about feelings and how much he loves Charles and how his parents already consider Charles part of the family.
"Charles," Erik says gravely, "if you don't stop being a sadsack, I'll have to employ desperate measures."
Charles frowns at him. "What?" he asks.
Erik grabs Charles around the waist and hauls him up. He determinedly starts dragging him across the sand, at which point his intention becomes clear. Charles all but shrieks with laughter and twists out of Erik's grip, but Erik's just slightly faster and manages to catch him again and use the forward momentum to launch Charles into the waves. He may be screaming and cursing, but he's grinning too, even as he grabs Erik's wrist and pulls him in as well.
It's not a real solution, but it's a stop gap for now, and at least Charles is smiling again.
They stay at the beach for hours, long past the time when the families pack it in for the day and the lifeguards go off duty. Even once the sun sets, the heat of the day lingers and the shirts Charles packed in the duffel bag remain untouched. The sunset over the ocean manages to be embarrassingly romantic, even with Bruce sitting four feet away, and Erik counts the day as a win overall.
"Thanks," he says to Bruce when Charles walks up the hill to take a call from Raven in private. "You didn't have to invite us."
Bruce shrugs. "I like you guys," he says. "And I was thinking...Charles has another two years of undergrad once we graduate, right?"
"A year, probably," Erik says. "He's taking about a million credits a semester. Why?"
"I thought maybe, next year, once we're starting grad school, we could get a place together," Bruce says. "Easier than trawling Craigslist for the least homicidal stranger, right?"
"That's assuming I get into MIT," Erik says, but he's already turning it over. He likes Bruce. He doesn't have many friends and most people don't like him, but he and Bruce clicked immediately. They've been living together for a month so far and they're getting along in a small space far better than Erik gets along with his frat brothers spaced out through their whole house. It's not a bad idea. Erik would even venture to say it's a good one.
"Of course you'll get in," Bruce says. "You nitpicked Tony Stark in front of a room of twenty undergrads and he actually complimented your skills. When word of that gets out, schools will be fighting to give you money. If you really want to go to MIT...."
"I do," Erik says. "And--that sounds pretty cool, actually. Charles'll probably be visiting. A lot."
"I figured you two come as a matched set," Bruce says. "Anyway, is that a yes, then?"
Erik nods. "Yeah, definitely. I mean, we'll talk more around this time next year but...I'd like that."
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"Raven's good, then?" Erik asks.
"Yes," Charles says. "She's lovely. Are we packing up?"
"I figure we'll stop for dinner on the way home?" Bruce suggests. "I know a place a few miles away with really good scallops. And don't try to tell me I'm being culturally insensitive--I've seen what you do to a plate of bacon after an all-nighter, Lehnsherr."
Erik holds up his hands placatingly. "I didn't say anything!" he says. "Just don't tell my mother. I'm looking at you, Charles. I know she's been calling you to chat." To keep Charles from going crazy alone in that house, more likely, and Erik is almost embarrassed by how grateful he is for that. He doesn't know what he expected when he introduced Charles to his parents, but the immediate bond between his mother and Charles was the best possible outcome.
"I would never," Charles says. "Some things are sacred."
"So, seafood then home?" Bruce asks.
"Seafood then ice cream then home," Charles corrects. "And they're both on me as a thank you for letting me staying and taking us out."
"Charles, you're like, twelve," Bruce says. Charles rolls his eyes.
"Bruce, my family owns half of Westchester County," Charles says. "I can afford to buy dinner. If you need to, think of it as a premptive apology for whatever day in the future you inevitably walk in on us having sex."
Bruce shakes his head and chuckles. "Get the stuff, let's hit the road."
Charles takes the duffel bag and Erik takes Charles' hand and they follow Bruce back towards the parking lot, just a few paces slower. It gives them the illusion of solitude, lets Erik drag this day out for as long as he can. He commits it all to memory, the feeling of Charles' hand in his, the stars coming out overhead, the sound of the water. It's going to be a long two weeks without Charles and, soon enough, a long year without him. He wants to store up the good memories while he can.
"So," Erik says, "are you glad you came?"
"Of course," Charles says. He knocks their shoulders together. "I can't believe you even have to ask that."
"Well," Erik says, "my overheated dorm room in the middle of a heatwave where there's nothing really for you to do all day or an air conditioned house?"
"No contest," Charles says. "You always win." He pauses at the top of the sand dune. "Although, next time I'm visiting, maybe a hotel room wouldn't be remiss if the weather is this stifling. Also, we can have sex whenever we want, regardless of where Bruce is."
"I knew there was a reason I liked you," Erik says.
Ahead of them, Erik hears Bruce starting the car. Behind them, the waves batter the shore. In the bubble surrounding them, Erik holds on to this moment and to Charles' hand.
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