Of Mutants and Men

[18]

          "How are you feeling?"

Angelika was so deeply immersed in her own thoughts that she didn't hear Charles coming in. It didn't help that his chair barely made any noise.

"I come bearing gifts," he said as he shook the expensive looking amber liquor, two crystal cups nestled in his lap.

"I'm allowed to drink? Hank won't even let me have coffee."

"Well, I'm sure one drink won't hurt." Charles joined her by the coffee table and laid down everything on it, serving her a glass before filling his up. "Hank can be quite the mother hen sometimes."

Mumbling a quiet 'thank you', Angelika took a timid gulp. It stung her throat as it went down and she welcomed the feeling, hoping she'd feel the buzz soon. Alcohol was exactly what she needed after talking to Erik last night. He left when she continued to refuse to give him an answer on the spot, promising to return in two days time.

She noticed that Charles' aura had changed since the first time they met. It was calm and soothing, just like the Charles she had met in the future. The serene smile he wore kept her mind at ease.

"When you were in my mind the other day, how much did you see?"

"Only what you showed me."

Charles didn't tell her he couldn't see anything else because her mind was nearly gone, and had they intervened any later, she might not have made it.

"But, I did accidentally overhear your conversation with Erik." At that, Angelika's face reddened and she downed the rest of her drink. "Have you come to a conclusion?"

"Yes and no."

The telepath cocked an eyebrow at her ambiguous answer. "Meaning?"

"A part of me would give anything to have him back in my life but a bigger part of me is afraid. Afraid that he'll leave again."

"I don't blame you." Charles took a long sip. "This is Erik we are talking about."

Angelika hummed in agreement.

"If I may," Charles began, putting his glass down, "I want to share a few things I learned from Erik. I know you feel uncertain about how much you mean to him. Why would you not? After all he has done to you, to everyone. But I want you to know that the Erik you used to know and the Erik I first met were two very different people. For so long, he relied on vengeance to guide him and he hurts people when he is in pain. But from what I heard, I believe he's willing to change for you."

"Why now? Why not before? You told me you two recruited mutants to form a team to fight against Schmidt. Why didn't he ask you to find me then? If I mean so much to him like you say."

"He wanted to keep his promise. Regardless of your disapproval on that matter, he believed that you would never be truly safe with Sebastian Shaw lurking in the shadows. That is why he didn't reach out to you then."

"That's fucking stupid."

Covering her face, she sighed loudly. That was one promise that she didn't give a damn about. She would have preferred to fight by his side more than anything.

"May I ask a question," Charles asked and continued when she nodded, "Why didn't you reach out to him? I'm sure Caliban could have found him if you wanted him to."

"When he left, he told me we, Caliban and I, were weighing him down. I knew he was just being hurtful to make the whole process of leaving easier but I always thought of myself as a parasite to Erik. When we were..." Angelika swallowed thickly as she thought about the past. "When we were in the camp, I tried to kill myself and failed miserably. So Schmidt kept me in solitary and had me killing my own people as punishment. I was in hell with no way out. But Erik... He found me and saved me. He always did whenever I did something stupid, whether it put him in danger or not."