"You came here to kill me? I'm not surprised," the man drawled.

His visitor glared at his back; he didn't even dignify her presence by turning to face her. She stared at him as he stood in silhouette before a window of the apartment he'd acquired.

She hated him, but even she could appreciate his taste for the finer things in life. As cold and indifferent as Eric was, his pride would never allow him to wallow in poverty. The wealth of his surroundings attracted attention, but this had been his hope. It had been months since he'd seen her. Life had been so dull…

Raven let the door swing shut behind her, clicked the lock into place. There was once a time when she thought that Eric was unique in that she could trust him, but she knew better now. Raven couldn't even trust Eric not to be a coward and try to run. "You left me there, what did you think would happen?" she demanded.

A subtle lift and drop of the shoulders. "Truly, I hadn't thought anything of it. You were human, what else was there to consider?"

"Me! You arrogant, cold bastard! Me, I was still there! I wasn't one of them!" the words erupted from her mouth. She'd wanted to be cold, but pretences meant little in such close company.

Finally, he turned to face her though his casual stance never wavered. Bright blue eyes absorbed her new body. Mystique, his Mystique, had been beautiful- exotic and wonderful, the most alluring of monsters. His eyes had rarely strayed from her, but this woman was not Mystique. This intruder was plain, boring, drab; she stood on the other side of the room, glaring at him. Eric felt a wave of remorse for Mystique, coupled with a roll of disgust at what she'd become.

He sneered, "Don't be so dramatic, don't you turn this into a love story, Raven. Raven. God, that ridiculous human's name, that's what they call you now, isn't it? Raven Darkholme. You traitor! I'll bet the humans in government opened their arms to you from the moment you set foot in the building, their precious little turncoat. What would they do to you if they'd seen your true form?"

"This is my true form-"

"No! Never, you were born a mutant and if I had been a stupid man, I wouldn't have thought you'd so easily forget that. You were proud, you never would have betrayed us. But no, you gave them everything. You are the reason that Maddrox was nearly recaptured. Good thing for him that his power came in useful, and he managed to get away," Eric said.

Raven shook her head. Who was the true traitor here, the true coward?

"What does it matter now? You're one of us now, Eric. You're a human just like me. No better, no worse. You're just as weak, just as pathetic as the rest of us. I'm going to kill you for what you did to me," Raven stated coldly. She removed the weapon from the back waistband of her tight jeans.

Eric kept his eyes on the woman before him, idly taking in the details of her person. If he'd passed her, below on the street, she might've caught his interest. No doubt that Raven was attractive- her body fit and firm, her face very pleasing. He could see the haunted look that clouded her eyes. Eric could see, just under the surface, that his poor Mystique was coming undone, unraveling and falling apart. It ate at him- she had come here in the hopes that they could reunite, not destroy each other. Such a pity.

Raven removed her weapon. At seeing the thing, Eric never showed fear; rather he appeared bored and irritated. He rolled his eyes and snorted at her, "A knife? The irony is astounding. Why not just beat me to death with an aluminum baseball bat, or run me down with a car, wouldn't your new friends at the Bureau get a laugh out of that?"

She couldn't believe it. "I've come here to kill you and you're just standing there making jokes!"

"What would you have me do, Raven? Cower before you and plead for my life? Why would I do that? I'm no coward. You know that. I should have died decades ago. If not in the death camp, then certainly when Anya died. If not then, Charles should have killed me, or maybe one of his prized pupils could have…it doesn't matter, damn it! I won't bother pleading for my life, because this life isn't worth living. You already know that." Finally, Eric's frustrations had overwhelmed his own cool front.

"What are you saying?"

Anger and disgust shot from his eyes, straight through her. "I'm saying that I would welcome death. I'd rather die right now, by your hand, than live as something I'm not. You, obviously, even after everything you swore to me, are perfectly happy to live a lie for the rest of your life. You think me so weak and pathetic? Take a long look in the mirror, Raven, and commit that face to memory- it's the face of a coward."

Realization dawned. "You knew I was coming."

"Yes. I haven't been trying to adjust to life among them or been hiding. I've only been waiting for you. And now here you are."

"Eric…I-"

"Not so hot and righteous now, are you? You came here to kill me, so get on with it," Eric's voice had become icy again, but Raven could detect a hint of insistence…desperation!

Raven faltered, just enough that Eric could see the fire leave her eyes. He moved to her, swiftly crossing over the rug and not stopping until they were close enough to touch. He stepped to her, invading her personal space. Raven winced as his fingers clamped over her arms. He shook her, hard. "No, Raven, do it! You won't give up now, you can't!"

The knife in Raven's hand was pressed down between them, tucked flat against Eric's chest. Physically, with Eric so close, Raven couldn't stab him. His voice echoed throughout his apartment, desperate, begging, full of sorrow and anger. Eric's eyes bore into her, demanding, commanding, willing her to end him.

Raven dropped her weapon. The blade impaled the floor. The knife stood between them.

Eric reacted quickly. He bent to retrieve the blade and with shaking fingers, he stood and forced the knife back into Raven's hand and held it to his own throat. The eyes remained steely, Eric willing his resolve to her. "Do it! You found me, you came all this way…it can't have been for nothing, Mystique, kill me!"

Mystique.

"I can't!"

Their bodies slumped as one in defeat. Raven dropped the knife again, Eric made no move to retrieve it. Her arms moved around him, his returned the action. She could feel his heartbeat and the sorrow that raged within his body. "You came here to kill me, why can't you do it…?"

Raven cared nothing for the tears coursing down her cheeks. In a way, even after everything that had happened, she felt that she had disappointed him in his last request. "Everything you've said is true…I can't kill you…coward, traitor…oh God!" she cried.

He sighed against her hair. He wished her hair was red, vibrant. "I know you can't," He kissed her forehead, and then her lips. Tender, lingering. Their first and only. "But I can-"

Raven jumped back from him, her green eyes wild with fury and pain. She looked down at the blade embedded deep into her stomach, and the dark stain spreading across her shirt.

Eric felt a thunderbolt in his heart as he watched her stagger back from him. Gasping for breath, the red stain blooming over her shirt, and Raven-, Mystique was still beautiful. Sorrow came over him fully. He'd never before used his ability to harm her, how strange that with his powers so weakened he had been able to strike her down.

Raven choked on her own blood, gagging as the red liquid copper flooded her mouth. She looked down in disbelief at the blade, and then looked at Eric. He stood mere feet away, and to her vague surprise, his expression spoke of unbearable pain. The blade in her belly was painful, but nothing compared to Logan's claws.

Tears pooled in her eyes. She reached her hands out to him. "Eric, please…"

"Mystique, I'm sorry," he came forward and brought his arms around her, just as Raven felt her knees buckle. Eric lowered her to the ground. They said nothing, words meant little towards the end.

He held her as the blood pooled around them, he held her as the life left her body. Eric kissed her forehead once more before she left him for the final time. She looked peaceful, silent and whole.

Eric then allowed the tears to come. Mystique had not died a coward, she had saved him once again.