Fic: Not Giving Up (Victorian!AU) 3/?
Title: Not Giving UpPairing: Charles/Erik
Rating: PG
Warnings: prison cells, someone getting hit over the head
Summary: In 1895, Charles is a lowly constable at the Toronto Constabulary when a surprising man is pulled in for murder that he didn't commit. Victorian AU. Chapter 1 Chapter 2
Word Count: 1,100
Author's Notes: Technically a crossover but you can get it even if you don't know Murdoch Mysteries
Disclaimer: I own none of these characters. Charles and Erik belong to the comic book world and the rest belong to Maureen Jennings
On their way down the stairs to the cells, Murdoch and Charles heard a loud clanging sound, a series of shouts, followed by a muffled cry of pain, possibly fear or surprise. They both hurried down the last few stairs just as a figure ran towards them. Murdoch leapt out and grabbed him before he could dodge away. The neat and tidy correct man was stronger than he looked. Murdoch was able to contain the runaway prisoner but Charles could see that it wouldn’t not for long. Erik, the prisoner in question, let out an almost animalistic growl as he tried to escape, knocking Murdoch into to try and loosen his grip.
Charles placed to fingers on his temple and reached into the convict’s head.
Erik. You are not helping your case by running away. Calm down. Calm your mind.
The man continued to struggle and he tore out of Murdoch’s grasp, making a desperate dash for the only exit. Charles attempted one last time with the equivalent of a mental scream.
CALM YOUR MIND.
Erik stopped right before the stairs and turned to face Charles. He was completely caught off guard by the novelty of mental communication. “You were in my head! How did you-” He muttered in a semi whisper, shocked and confused.
In an attempt to maintain the nature of his powers a secret to his co-workers, Charles continued the covert communication. Later. Now calm your mind and help me prove your innocence.
Murdoch had by now hand cuffed the convict during his lapse of comprehension. Erik hardly seemed to notice, he simply stared at Charles with icicle blue eyes as if he were some exotic animal in a zoo. Even as Murdoch led Erik back to the cells, Erik turned his head in order to keep Charles in his sight.
Arrived at the lock up, they found the metal bars of the door bent completely out of shape as if someone had pulled them apart with their bare hands. The guard on duty had been hit over the head with an iron beam that looked to have fallen from the ceiling. He appeared to be alive but there was a very large bump on his head causing Murdoch to fear that he might have suffered a concussion.
Murdoch turned to the prisoner. “How on earth did you manage to do this?”
Erik looked like he would growl, break free of his restraints and run again.
Erik. We can help your cause. I can wipe this incident from their minds if you just behave for now.
Erik turned away from Murdoch and regarded Charles intensely. The concentration of his gaze made Charles feel rather uncomfortable and he resisted the urge to squirm. Reluctantly, Erik nodded. Charles whispered “Go to sleep.” Murdoch and the one other guard obeyed, slumping gently to the floor as their eyes rolled back in their heads.
“You were in my head.” Charles nodded then turned to face Erik.
“We’re the same kind of people. You have your tricks, I have mine. I see you managed to do all of this.” Charles tried to smile amiably as he gestured toward the metal wreckage.
“I thought I was alone,” Erik said as he unlocked his handcuffs.
Charles sat down on the bench of an open cell, tired from the brief overuse of his gifts. Putting two people to sleep at the time was rather difficult. He smiled tiredly up at his new friend and shook his head. “You’re not alone. Erik, you’re not alone. But if you don’t stop fighting this you will be. I can prove you innocent, Erik. I promise.”
Erik glared at him for a moment then stepped into the prison cell adjacent to the one in which Charles had sought a place to sit. This meant that there was now a wall of bars separating the two of them on the benches that were next to each other on the wall.
“Does that mean you’ll cooperate?” Charles inquired
Erik continued to stare straight ahead without showing any indications of his thoughts. Charles sighed and put his head in his heads, trying to rub away the oncoming headache in his temples.
After ten minutes of silence, Charles risked a slight nudge into the mind of the man on the other side of the bars to his left: Erik?
The man looked back at him and Charles could detect a small ghost of pain behind his eyes. He could feel a lump in his throat and backed away quickly from Erik’s self destructive thoughts. Charles brought himself to his feet and went to stand in the door of the cell in which Erik sat. He could see him now, through the diamond shape he’d created with his mind, unobstructed by metal bars.
“Erik... Erik, I promise that I can help you.”
“That’s not the problem!” Erik seemed exasperated, gesturing angrily with his hands to emphasize his point, “I was supposed to be the one to ring his dirty neck. I was. I’d love to know who took that pleasure from me.”
Charles took a small breath in, surprised. He should have known. “We’ll find him. We’ll find who did it if you’ll just cooperate and stay out of trouble?”
Erik seemed to almost roll his eyes. “Yes. I’ll try.”
“I’m glad... Now I hope you wouldn’t mind putting this large metal door back the way it was?”
And for the first time Erik smiled ever so slightly, shaking his head in a tiny giggle. Charles was surprised at how good it made him feel to have made this stoic man laugh.
With a flick of his wrist, the metal bars creaked into place in front of Erik, separating him once again from Charles who was busy wiping the minds of the guard and Detective Murdoch. The iron support rose from the floor and reattached itself to the ceiling.
“Ready?” Charles asked.
“For what?”
“I’m going to wake them up. That means you’ll be taken for questioning and I won’t be able to speak to you frankly. We can keep in mental communication if you like?”
Erik rolled his eyes and dismissed it with a wave of his hand. “Go ahead.”
Charles shrugged and placed his fingers delicately on his temples. He was facing away from Erik so he didn’t notice the smirk that had come to his face, as if what he saw really pleased him.
Both Murdoch and the other copper blearily got to their feet before realizing where they were, shaking their heads slightly confused before dismissing the impression of having missed something as purely their own imagination. Murdoch asked the guard to open the door and handcuff the prisoner. The only surprise was when the guard found a pair of handcuffs open on the floor of the cell. He looked up confused at Erik who looked at him with an innocently confused face.
Charles almost laughed and he received a knowing smile as Erik was led to the interrogation room.