1963 - How could you? - Charles' cell.

[mentation]

[ He's heartbroken. For all that he's tried, for all that he's sworn to Shaw that Erik would never be his pet again, Charles finds that he's entirely wrong about Erik.

He should have known. He should have. Erik should have told him, but then, Erik thinks of him as being naive, thinks of him as being innocent and too fucking pure to have bothered him with this little bit of information. Never mind that he has no idea what's truly real, what isn't. When he confronts Erik, Erik refuses to say a word, and after screaming at one another for a while or so, Charles gives in.

He's silent as the grave until Erik leaves his cell, leaves him alone without bothering to even give him the proper truth. Charles is left in his silence, left in the torment of the drug leaving his system -- it's shorter this time, his body takes only a day to start the shakes up again, to start shuddering even in the warmer than usual cell. He has clothing, but on these days he sweats and freezes so much that nothing quite works save for a blanket around himself.

He didn't dare tell Erik about the side-effects of the drug. He tries not to let on to Shaw, hoping that with the drug wearing off his powers will return. If he can simply hold on a little longer, try to avoid from shaking so badly - when Shaw comes to his cell, he can play it off as being perfectly fine. At least, he thinks he can. Blue eyes glance up when he hears - feels footsteps, when the image in his mind is something fuzzy and something he can almost make out -- he can't read his mind, not quite, but there's a presence like radio static in his head and he craves more of it nearly as much as his body wants the drug in his veins.

Charles stares, shaking like a leaf, watching him as though he's a dying man in a desert and Shaw is holding a gallon of cold, ice water.

He refuses to beg, but he closes his eyes and rests his head against the bars, thankful for that brief reprieve from the terrible silence within his mind. ]

1963 - Where do you go? - Charles' cell.

[mentation]

[ Shaw already gave him the news. Told him every sordid little detail. Even gave him a number of casualties that had been made in Erik's name so far, acting like a giddy schoolgirl that got her wish. Charles of course shook it off at first - there was no possible way - and he knew, he would ask Erik whenever they were permitted to see one another that afternoon. The morning brings with it a dose of the serum, and Charles is calm enough as Erik is lead into the room, sitting with him.

They used to use this time to remember how the other person felt beneath their fingertips. They used to kiss, long, sweet and gentle. Charles used to slide on top of Erik, sometimes slip down to his knees, sometimes do whatever he could do to keep that physical connection considering their mental connection had all but been frayed away.

Right now, however, Charles is having difficulty looking the other man in the eye. When he finally does, it slips out. ]

What have you been doing the last few months? When you leave here, for elsewhere, where do you go? What do you do?

[ If he could read his mind he'd be able to tell exactly what the other man would do. he would be able to know that Shaw was lying (oh god he hopes he's lying) or at least know Erik wouldn't lie to him. Now, with the serum running through his veins, Charles has no way of verifying if he's right or if he's wrong. ]