[Fic] Half SHame, Half Glory - Parts 9-11
(Part VIII)
Only For Tonight
Fortunately for the both of them, James had the forethought to have extra bills in his wallet, so Charles and Eric spent the funds on a hotel room not too far from where the movie was being filmed. Or, at least, from where Eric could scrounge up from Michael's memories that were sort-of-not-quite his memories now. Which made for one of them, because Charles had none of James' recollections.
It was all very, very confusing.
And yes, there was gratuitous groping and making-out before they sat down like adults to discuss their improbable situation.
"We can't just leave, Erik." Charles was massaging his temples in an attempt to ward off an impending headache. "James and Michael had lives they lead, loved ones and friends, responsibilities..."
"Which are not of our concern." Erik places a hand on Charles' shoulder, gripping firmly but not unkindly. "We are not them, you can't expect us to go on in their lives pretending we're someone we're not."
"That's not what I'm trying to say." Charles pulled away and got off the cheap mattress, pacing around the room. "We owe them, Erik. We took over their bodies, their lives. We got a second start, one free of mutant conflict." He stared imploringly into his good friend's eyes. "We owe them everything."
Erik grit his teeth, but eventually conceded. No one would call him a softie, but he was hardly heartless either. "What do you propose, then? From what I understand we have rather well-known faces here, so simply erasing a few memories is out of the question."
"Yes, I agree with you there, not to mention that James and Michael are actors. Films and photos everywhere." Charles sat back down on the bed with a huff, leaning into Erik's chest. "I have no idea, Erik." Warm, strong arms wrapped around him.
"Let's deal with it in the morning then." Charles relaxed into the embrace, sending warm gratitude into the gunmetal mind. "For now, it's just the two of us."
Erik found out that Charles could do spectacularly wicked things with his mouth.
Faces On Parade
They agree to finish the film. It is, after all, their story, so who could possibly tell it better?
It's an exquisite game of hide and seek they play, and Charles knows they don't manage to fool everyone convincingly enough for his taste. Mike is thrilled with their parts and the little details they feed him. It would be cathartic, Charles thinks, if it didn't all hurt so bloody much.
Erik surprises him by wearing Michael's shade off set as easily as the man had worn his on set. He still gets most of the inside jokes on his own while Charles has to rely on being more invasive with his powers than he had dared to be in his entire life just to scrape by.
"At least you don't have a wife and child to concern yourself with, Michael," he spits at Erik one evening when the two of them are alone in Fassbender's trailer getting spectacularly drunk while everyone else is out celebrating the last week of filming. Anne-Marie had been weighing heavily on his mind ever since she'd called him on his cell to ask when she would expect him home.
"Charles..."
"Don't you bloody well Charles me, Erik. There is a woman out there who's expecting her husband to return home to her, but really it's going to be her husband's murderer wearing his face."
"You could always fake your death." The suggestion went unheard of as a drunken Charles placed a sloppy kiss on Erik's face before muttering something about not everyone being James Bond before passing out, filling Erik's dreams that night with rather lewdly exaggerated memories of him in a wet suit making out with Charles in a rather provocative and revealing dress.
Later, when they had to fake an interview and he is compared to a mutant James Bond, he takes no amount of small pleasure at how red Charles' face goes when he then insists that Charles must therefore be his Bond Girl.
I Knew You
They manage to fake a car crash.
Charles had managed to reason with himself that it was best to leave James' wife with her memories of her husband unspoiled. With a bag of personal possessions and some money each, they manage to 'drive' the car they drove off of into a large body of water as they were startled by a pedestrian, whom Charles ensured would not be blaming their 'deaths' on themselves for the rest of their life.
It took a bit of sneaking around and tampering to convince forensics that two bodies Erik had pilfered from the morgue were actually Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy, but it was done, and in no time the tabloids and the news were rife with the tragic deaths of two young and promising actors.
They were long gone by the time their funerals were over.
Erik knew of a nice place in Argentina...
fin
Yes, I realize that this is short and rather angsty, but I couldn't think of any other way to end this. I'm not good with epics, and I wanted this over with. But at least Erik and Charles can live happily ever after now.
Sorry guys :I