Come Home (Cherik fanfiction)

Chapter Five

Erik

He didn't want to do it. It was sneaky, deceptive, and almost disloyal. It didn't fit his style, but it had to be done.

He took her coat when she got back.

"How was your trip?" He asked her, storing the jacket in the front closet.

She shrugged, stretching her limbs. "It went alright. I found what I was looking for, and he was civil."

But she wasn't looking at him.

See, Erik knew Raven's loyalties laid with her brother. She was a team player, no doubt, but in the end, she'd lay down her life just to see Charles happy. It was, after all, him who had to finally convince her to join his side in the end. His approval meant most to her.

That was the way little siblings acted, and of course Raven was no exception to this.

This being said, Erik knew Raven would lie for Charles. It wasn't a character flaw, per se, just very inconvenient for him. He knew she wouldn't tell him what he wanted to know and the more mundane she made her little visit sound, the more he knew she was hiding from him.

Charles was, after all, never mundane.

There was silence as he led her to the balcony, and when they got there, he noticed Raven looking every which way.

So she had learned.

"Where's Emma?" She asked quietly, settling in the chair opposite of Erik's.

Her smirked. "So eager to get back to your friends?" But she continued to stare narrowly at him, so he added, "She's somewhere in the water with Janos. If I didn't know that they knew any better, I'd say they were creating hurricanes on the coast again."

The both grimaced, Raven remembering Erik's reprimand of the two, and Erik remembering the week of taking Emma around to eradicate the memories.

"Because that went so well the last time." Raven remarked bitterly, turning her narrow gaze on the horizon. She was probably still looking for Frost, but little did she know, she was looking in the wrong direction.

The sun was almost setting and, Erik thought, if it wasn't such a tension-filled, hostile environment, it would be a beautiful sight.

"So your trip then," he brought back, feeding Frost all the deer-in-headlights flashbacks he could. (Erik knew Raven had a way of keeping Telepaths at bay.) "Tell me, what exactly were you looking for?"

Raven's jaw tightened. "Nothing in particular. Charles is well, if that's what you want to know."

Erik winced, but didn't give into her jab. "I'm sure he is. I'm assuming Moira is hanging off of his arm at every given moment."

Her eyebrows furrowed. "Actually, she wasn't there. Charles didn't mention her and I didn't ask."

Erik nodded.

Silence fell again.

"Do you have to?" Raven asked suddenly, sitting up in her lounge chair and staring at him curiously.

Erik raised an eyebrow. "Do what?"

"Do you have to 'get' him? I mean, really? Is it really so important that--"

"You would do well to take note from your fellow teammates, Raven, and not question me. Just because you're Charles's sister does not mean that you are hierarchy." Erik snapped. Because, honestly, he couldn't just answer these questions.