When We Were Young

6- a pinky promise

He doesn't know how it happened, but Erik finds himself in the morning with his arms entwined with Charles's. The younger boys breath heats the space between them and Erik watches for a moment as Charles's glasses fog up with every intake of air. They rise and fall in time with Charles's breathing, making out a soft and steady rhythm.

The temptation to gently slide the glasses off of Charles's face washes over Erik and he scowls at his hands. They feel warm against Charles's, and they seem to fit like a glove between the younger boy's small hands.

The moment is broken by a clatter of their plates on the cold ground.

Erik rolls over, a blush spreading down his collar bones. He stays facing the wall until Charles gets up from the bed. He waits until he hears Charles sigh as he finds nothing on the plates.

He feels Charles look in his direction with a silent question.

"I was hoping to sleep for a little longer but if you insist on giving me those puppy eyes..."

"What eyes?"

Erik turns now, propping himself up on his elbows and glancing at Charles. The telepath has his mouth turned down at the sides in mock imitation of a frown. His eyes, amplified by his glasses, dramatize a pleading expression.

Erik can't help it as a chuckle squeezes its way past his lips. Something in Charles's expression reminded him of how he used to play with his mother.

Charles smiles and his eyes are two oceans of relief.

"Still doesn't mean we're even," Erik states as he wags a finger in Charles's direction, though Erik's tone is no longer stern, but teasing. Charles picks up on the hint.

"The battle was won yet the war is still to come." Charles puffs his chest, pressing a hand to his heart. His smile still illuminates his face and Erik finds a bit of the lightness slipping into his own demeanor.

"It's cruel isn't it?" Erik gestures to the empty plastic plates the guards had dumped on the floor. If they weren't going to get their food, the least Shaw could do was to not give them the platters at all. But leave it to Shaw to find the most creative ways to entice his prisoners.

"I guess so."

Erik had been aiming to keep their lightness in the air, he had meant to keep Charles's smile alive. But in this moment he had killed the mood and he watched as Charles's smile seemed to deflate.

Something in Charles's tone strikes Erik as alarmed. "You guess so? Has this already happened to you? Has he done this to you before?"

Charles shrugs but he doesn't deny Erik's accusation. "It's not the first time Shaw has been disappointed in me."

Erik leaps off the bed to sit on the floor across from Charles. He scoots forward, so that their knees are brushing each other. Erik looks Charles in the eyes as he says, "Tell me."

But this time Charles shakes his head and rubs his nose. "The cameras."

"The what?"

"The cameras, Erik." Charles points a bony finger at the top corner of the room. There, a blinking red dot gives the location of a tiny camera. It's concealed well, Erik hadn't been able to pick it up before. "I can hear the thoughts of the men on the other side." Charles whispers now, leaning towards Erik conspiratorially.

Erik turns back to find Charles still looking at him intently. Was it his imagination, or did he see a slight blush on Charles's face? Erik decides to forget it. The younger boy seems to hesitate for a moment.

"C-can we talk... in here?" Charles stutters slightly as he presses a finger to his head. Erik realizes that one; Charles has angled himself so that cameras won't see where he is pointing to and two; Charles wants to talk... in Erik's mind.