Title: Set Fire To The Rain
Rating: Teen-Mature
Setting: After leaving Charles and the others on the island, Erik and the others move into Shaw's villa.
A/N: Basically, this is a multi-chaptered fic/series or whatever you'd like to call it, but each chapter can be read as a one-shot. The genre flip flops as well and will range from crack to angst. If you have any requests or suggestions for a chapter (Azazel teaching Raven to fight, Erik throwing a tantrum, flashbacks to when they were training, etc), I'll do more than consider them! Be aware that the main pairing here is Erik/Raven and I won't write Erik/Charles, unless it's just bromance or friendship. Anyway, concrit is loved and appreciated!

1. Bipolar

In which Raven realizes Erik has made her both masochistic and bipolar.

She wouldn't call it love. A fascination, perhaps, but love? Definitely not. Or maybe she was just in denial. That being said, Raven did choose him over the man she had loved - the man she still loved. And sure, maybe she didn't love Charles in that way, but she did love him. He did, after all, take her in, feed her, adopt her into his family, and god, was she regretting this now? Her throat felt dry, but instead of showing her discomfort, Raven tried to distract herself by focusing her attention on something else. Sadly, it had been Azazel, whose tail seriously seemed to have a mind of it's own, who managed to capture her attention. He flickered his gaze towards her a moment later and she quickly averted her stare. He still scared her - it was his whole demon appearance coupled with the memory of him murdering all those agents in front of her very eyes that made it hard to befriend him.

Her gaze met Erik's for a split second before he made a move to stand up from the lavish chair he was sitting on (apparently Shaw lived in luxury or something, as they were now occupied in his private villa). She didn't want Erik to have any reason to suspect her of wanting to go back home. And so, instead of bitching and moaning like she really wanted to do (she was still a kid after all), Raven allowed her eyes to follow him. He didn't need the added stress of knowing that the only person he could truly trust was having second thoughts about it all.

Assuming he wouldn't have any qualms against her following him, she did just that. And she had been right. Instead of shutting the door in her face or telling her to go to her own room, Erik left the door ajar after walking in himself. Closing the door behind her, Raven leaned her back against the hard mahogany, opting to remain quiet for the time being.

The two basked in silence for a few seconds, or maybe for even longer. Raven hadn't been paying enough attention to have a good enough estimate. Erik took a seat on his (Shaw's?) bed, leaning forward until his head was nearly between his legs. Maybe he was having the same second thoughts as she was? She didn't allow herself to flirt with the idea for too long. With her head tilted to the side in mild confusion, Raven parted her lips to call out his name, to ask him what was wrong. He didn't respond, simply because the words hadn't even managed to come out of her lips. She swallowed her spit, hoping it'd coat her throat enough for words to actually flow out without sound shaky or disoriented.

She would be strong if he couldn't. But, truthfully, the idea of her having to carry them both was rather daunting. She had followed him because she trusted him, because she believed in him, and because she believed in what he believed in. And... and the Erik in front of her appeared weak, fragile, and definitely not the man who had just stopped hundreds of missiles from killing them all. It scared her, but she'd still carry him if necessary.

Despite her vocal chords not working, her legs managed to walk towards him just fine. The thick carpet cushioned her knees as she crouched down in front of him, her fingers gripping the material under her. He wasn't crying, this much she could tell from their close vicinity. She almost wanted to say he could, and in a sense, give him permission to be weak when all of his life, he had been forced to be strong. She yearned to exclaim that she'd help carry this burden, that she'd train hard and become just as strong as him, even stronger than Azazel or Riptide. That she'd become his right hand woman and would never betray him. But was that even what he wanted to hear?

As bold as Raven could be, she really wouldn't be able to stand it if he rejected her in any way. And so, she decided that it might be better to just shy away from risking anything like that. It was inevitable after all. Erik, as much as she wanted him to be, wasn't like her. They were from different worlds and despite the fact that their worlds had collided some time ago, there was an unspoken barrier between them. Perhaps Erik had formed that barrier on purpose, so that Raven couldn't get too close to him. She had already decided she would stay by his side, and wouldn't ask for anything in return. And for a girl of her age, a girl who still dreamed of having a lavish wedding ceremony and a husband who'd love her endlessly, that decision had been an extremely tough one to make. After all, devoting her life to a man who could never love her in return didn't sound like much to look forward to.

But that's what she knew she needed to do in order to stay with him. Relaying that in her head made her realize that she sounded a bit pathetic, and well, Raven wouldn't be able to handle something like that. But Mystique, the woman she'd been trying to conjure up to replace Raven, would handle it and take it in stride. She'd be strong, strong enough to disregard trivial matters such as love. Mystique would be strong enough to be by Magneto's side without him even considering to replace her (The lot had mentioned rescuing Emma Frost and truthfully, Raven wasn't very keen on the idea for that very reason). Raven was sure that Mystique would be able to do all those things and more.

"Raven," his low voice came, and if his tone of voice was any inclination, she assumed that this wasn't his first time calling her name like that. Snapping out of her thoughts, she was greeted with Erik's worried face. With his brow quirked upwards a bit, Erik reached his hand to stroke her cheek. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." It came out too fast, too rushed, and she could sense that Erik agreed. His hand still lingered and after a brief moment, he began rubbing his thumb against her cobalt cheek. Staring at him, Raven unconsciously bit her bottom lip, leaning into his touch without really meaning to. She shouldn't, she knew this. But, his touch just had that effect on her whether she wanted to admit it or not. It was soothing, which was ironic, seeing as how he was a killer, and with those same hands, he had committed heinous murders. But those same hands provided her solace from all her worries - she could momentarily forgot about Charles, forget about the fact that they had left him on the island, wounded both physically and emotionally.

"Do you regret it?" he asked, his voice not wavering at all, and for some strange reason, she was disappointed by that. A part of her wanted him to worry about the prospect of her leaving him tomorrow to go back to Charles and the others. Though, maybe his voice hadn't wavered because he knew she wouldn't leave him. She wasn't sure when his confidence in her arose, but... but she was glad. A plethora of emotions ran through her head, but she needed to think about the matter at hand - his question. Did she regret it?

No, she didn't. Did she worry? Did she feel scared? The answer was an undeniable yes. Erik removed his hand from her cheek and proceeded to folding his hands on his lap, his expression darkening slightly at her lack of response. "What if I do?" she asked, her defiant nature seeping through her outer shell again, by "accident," of course. She was curious, and there was nothing wrong with being curious right? Or maybe there was. Damn, she felt like a bipolar bitch and she briefly wondered if Erik thought the same. Maybe he regretted even bringing her along with him.

"Then..." he began, pausing for a moment, obviously having never really thought about that scenario. "...I'd send you back." There was no sorrow in his voice or even a hint of apprehension. And damn it if that didn't strike a nerve. Here Raven had just left everything that she had once known for him and he'd just send her back that easily? Without even fighting for her? The reason she felt so damn bipolar was because of him! One second, he made her feel beautiful and the next, without any warning, he made her feel like a useless tool.

Raven lightly scoffed, rolling her eyes as she moved to sit on the carpet. "Would you at least kiss me good-bye?" she asked, her voice seeping with sarcasm. He looked taken aback for a second, but as quick as that waver in his expression surfaced, an unreadable expression replaced it. Sometimes, Raven wished she had Charles' abilities. Then she'd be able to read Erik without as much as a blink of an eye.

"Probably not." And that was all Raven had to hear. She wouldn't leave him, but that didn't mean she'd stay in his room and get rejected over and over again. Contrary to popular belief, Raven wasn't a masochist. Though she was completely sure that Erik was a bit of a sadist. So maybe that did make her a default masochist. Damn it.

Moving to stand up, she quickly muttered, "I'm going to my room," under her breath, annoyance and hurt evident in her voice. But before she could turn around and stalk out of Erik's room, the man grabbed her wrist and tugged hard, forcing her onto him. When she managed to whip her head up and stare at him, Raven mustered up the best glare she could. It was met with a glare of his own, one that was, sadly, much more intimidating than hers would ever be.

"I wouldn't kiss you, because it'd be too hard to let you go after that." Had his words been anything less than a love confession, Raven would have suspected he was patronizing her, yelling at her even. His tone had remained harsh, annoyed, and more than a little frustrated. Frustrated at what though? Her, or his feelings for her? And sure, Raven was more than a little overjoyed by his comment, but that didn't mean she'd melt into his arms just because of a few flowery words. Instead, she averted her gaze and attempted to get up from on top of him. But he kept her there by firmly grabbing her hips. After a short moment of silence, he spoke again. "So will I be forced to send you back tomorrow morning?" His tone finally lost it's edge and uncertainty replaced hostility. Finally.

She pursed her lips together in annoyance at herself, wondering when she had become so easy to please. She didn't bother to look him in the eyes despite fully well knowing that he was looking straight at her face. "It's... it's not like they'd take me back anyway. After abandoning them and all." That was the best he'd get and if he wanted a declaration of her undying love, adoration, and devotion, then he could go to hell. Flickering her gaze up to look at him, she was almost shocked but very much relieved to see a soft smile grace his features.

Bringing her hand to his lips, Erik pressed a chaste kiss against the palm of her hand before muttering, "You're probably right. This is where you belong." It took all of her might to refrain from kissing him.