It was likely that Raven was the only one who noticed that Charles' eyes usually darted to Erik far more than any other person whenever he addressed the group. It was somewhat less likely, but still possible, that Raven was the only one who had caught Erik staring at Charles' ass with a rather lascivious expression on his face. However, when the two of them were speaking in almost sultry tones and having what could only be described as eye sex right in front of everyone, it seemed nearly impossible that only Raven had figured out what was going on.

She kept a close watch on them for a while, seeing if she could catch them kissing in a deserted corner or sneaking off to a bedroom together. But it seemed that neither Charles or Erik had figured out how the other man felt. They would often smile at each other more than was natural and touch each other's arms or shoulders far more than was necessary, but neither one made a move to take things further.

It was not unusual for them to part ways with obvious reluctance, with Erik's eyes steadily locked on Charles even after he had turned away, and Charles wearing a look of intense concentration. Raven guessed that Charles' expression was the result of his struggle to not give in to a desire to read Erik's mind. She wished he would. It would make things so much simpler. As it was, it looked like it was up to her to get things moving.

It was late evening when Raven decided it was time to put her matchmaking plan into action. Of course she had thought of doing something simple like leaving them both fake love notes from each other, but where would the fun be in that? They were both being incredibly dense about the whole thing, so Raven wasn't going to make it easy on them. She was going to play a little dirty.

Charles was reading in the study. Raven was familiar enough with his habits to know that it wouldn't be more than an hour before he retired. When she was a safe distance away, she shifted to take on his form. She passed several of the others while she was looking for Erik, and all of them accepted her as Charles with no suspicion. She turned a corner into a hallway and saw him walking in the direction of the study.

"Erik," she called in Charles' soft, melodious voice.

Erik turned, looking pleasantly surprised.

"I was just going to find you," said Erik as they approached each other.

Raven gave him Charles' most winning smile. "I know."

She ran a hand through the dark hair, tousling it in what she knew was an attractive manner.

"I've been thinking, Erik," she said, slowly coming closer, her eyes fixed on him and giving the impression of a cat stalking its prey. "I really think it's time we dropped the act. You know what I mean."

"Maybe," said Erik cautiously.

"Come on, Erik," said Raven, coming closer still. She ran her hand up from his stomach to his chest and tilted her head up so that her mouth-Charles' mouth, really-was almost touching his ear. "I know you want me," she breathed. "I want you too. I can't stop thinking about what it would be like to have you inside me. I need it. I need you to fuck me, Erik."

Erik was breathing harder now, and Raven could feel that his heartbeat had sped up. She couldn't blame him. It had come out of her own mouth, but through the sensuousness of Charles' voice she had managed to even turn on herself. She took a step back. Erik was staring at her, speechless. His expression showed both shock and lust. Raven gave a satisfied smile.

"Meet me in my room in an hour," she commanded, then turned and walked away, leaving Erik gaping after her.

About an hour later, Charles was getting ready for bed. He was almost dressed when there was a knock at his door. He pulled a shirt over his head and went to open the door. Erik stood before him with a smirk on his face that Charles couldn't account for.

"Erik," he said, "what a pleasant...surprise. Do come in, won't you?"

The last part was said sarcastically, as Erik had already strode right past Charles into his bedroom.

"Don't be coy now, Charles," said Erik. "Your forwardness was much more attractive."

There was a pause.

"I'm sorry, my what?"

Erik rolled his eyes and used the metal on the door to push it shut. Charles looked at it curiously, then peered back at Erik.

"Is everything all right?" Charles asked.

Erik came close to Charles, hovering over the shorter man, their faces inches apart.

"Back to playing hard to get, huh?"

"I...I uh..." stammered Charles nervously.

If he had been thinking clearly, Erik might have been suspicious by now. Unfortunately, the burning desire he felt was clouding his judgment.

"You know I haven't been able to think about anything else for the last hour," said Erik, his eyes fixed on Charles' wide blue gaze. He raised his hand to the back of Charles' neck, lacing his fingers through his hair. He started to bend his head. "I want "

"Raven!" interjected Charles.

Erik stopped cold, his eyes suddenly wide with horror. He dropped his hand and jumped back as if he'd been burned.

"Oh God," he said. "Charles-"

Charles had been seething, but when he looked at Erik his expression softened.

"She came to you as me," said Charles. "I'm sorry for looking into your mind, my friend, but some of the things you said didn't add up."

"That little-" began Erik angrily, but Charles stayed him with a hand on his shoulder.

"It's all right, Erik. Don't repeat this to Raven, but I think she did us a favor."

"I made a fool of myself," said Erik.

"No," said Charles with a smile. "You really didn't."

Erik barely had time to look confused before Charles was kissing him. After a few glorious moments, they separated.

"I've been wanting to do that for some time now," said Charles.

Erik hesitated, then asked, "Did you happen to see exactly what Raven said to me?"

Charles grinned, then lowered his voice seductively. "I did indeed. Something about how I want to feel you inside me...how I need you to fuck me."

Erik swallowed. "Yeah, that part."

"It's like she read my mind."

The two men considered each other for a moment, then Erik pulled Charles into a devouring kiss.

The next morning, Charles found Raven looking incredibly smug. He looked around to check that they were alone, and said in as severe a tone as he could muster, "Don't you ever pull a stunt like that ever again. You have no right to mess with other people's lives that way."

She grinned at him. "Uh huh. Just be sure to thank me at the wedding."