Limitations

A/N: Be warned that this is not strictly a friendship fic, though it starts out as one. There be romance about halfway through the entire story because the chemistry between those two in the movie is just too damn ridiculous to ignore. I was very happy to see the explosion of Charles/Erik fics out there, and I couldn't resist putting my two cents in. I really wanted to post this as a one shot, but the sucker got too long for one. SO, this will be a five chapter story. No more and no less than that. Structure and style should be pretty self-explanatory. Please Read and Review in kind!

Disclaimer: I own nada, nothing, zilch, zip.

(1) Of body…

He was but a child when it all started, when the feelings of loneliness and being the only different person on the entire planet started to fade. He never had the courage to imagine that he wasn't alone, only because if he did let himself believe that, then the weight of disappointment would ruin him, ruin everything. He had lived in fear since the day he first discovered that he was something more. And when Raven came into his life, the joy and relief were so immense that he thought he would surely burst at the thought.

It was a natural high that Charles didn't dare let himself fall from, because he had been waiting for this his entire life, for the validation and acceptance, even if it was just from one person. Someone like him was an added bonus. He devoted his life to why and how they had ended up the way they were, convinced that there were others just like them. But the problem that had plagued him for years was that he didn't know where to start looking. Too many variables and possibilities. Too many untested theories and not enough time to sift through the entire human population.

Now…

Now the idea was sheer child's play. What started out as a handful of hopefuls turned into an entire secret race of mutants, of people just like the person he had been once. Going about their daily lives. Fearing for others and themselves about their strange and freaky gift. So many minds bleeding in fear and excitement over a common thread that ran through them all, through a new generation of humanity.

Cerebro gave Charles the power to finally see what he didn't let himself dream of. It instilled such a rush of power and insight that he vaguely thought this must be what all his experimenting colleagues had been talking about. The beauty of it entranced him, made him hunger for more as he searched his brothers and sisters out, one by one. The buoyancy in his chest was what kept him determined and on his feet, even though his fisted hands on the rails were starting to shake and buckle under the weight of his exhaustion.

"Charles-" someone started.

But he wanted more. He needed to see more. "I'm fine," he said, surprising himself with the certainty in his own voice.

Men. Women. Children. Old and young. Dying and never more alive. Across seas and continents. In Cerebro there were no nationalities. It was all a pleasant gray blur that he navigated through, searching beacons out like a wayward ship that had just regained it's mooring. So many possibilities. So many that it made him stop with a realization that it would take him years to find them all.

He heard the machine stop and some talking. The gray started to fade back into the light of the lab. The machine was shutting down, and Charles felt a twinge of momentary sadness. But that was replaced with the notion that this would not be the last time he used it. Cerebro was simply far too useful for its own good. It acted as an extension of himself, as if it were waiting all these years for him to use it. And who was he to deny innovation when it was clearly such a benefit? It was no weapon, and that was what intrigued him most of all.

Once the gray was gone and his vision returned he boldly reached up to lift the helmet off his head with both hands. Satisfied with himself, he then tried to take a step forward. But as soon as he did, the elation dropped out from under him, replacing a dizzy heat of fatigue and weakness in its wake. A different kind of gray returned and tunneled in his sight.

"Charles!" Three voices. One tone. Worry.

After some time he became aware of the fact that his eyes were closed. When he opened them, as much as he dared against the roaring pain in his head, he caught sight of his worried friends knelt down to his level and invading his personal space. He couldn't find it in him to do anything other than let loose the laughter that rose up in his chest. They didn't know. They didn't understand what he had just seen and felt. They didn't know!

"Uh, he might be a little loopy for a while," Hank said, apologetic.

"Loopy," Erik growled in question.

"He has been at it for hours-"

"What-you didn't think to stop for a break," Raven exclaimed.

Too loud. Too tired. And in pain. "I just…need to rest," Charles said, though not without effort.

"God damn right you do!" Raven. Charles cringed at the sound of her voice, rising in pitch with every passing word. "Why do you do this to yourself? I'm starting to think you like-"

For the love of God, my friend, he sent to Erik, past the point of caring how he sounded. Please, make her stop.

"Enough," Erik said. "I'll take the idiot back to his room. We're done for the day."

Getting up was easy when you had someone like Erik to support your dead weight. But sustaining a sudden burst of adrenaline down long hallways and up a flight of stairs taxed it quicker than he liked. Though his vision began to skew and beads of sweat rolled down the side of his face, he maintained as passive a front as he could manage. The one thing he hated more than anything in the world was undue attention. As long as he could make it to the standard room they had given him on site, he would be fine.

He would rip the fluorescent lights out of the ceiling and he would be fine. Damn the man who invented those horrid devices of optical torture, he thought.

Did he just hear Erik snicker? Damn. His thoughts were broadcasting. But that was the least of his problems. Soon he was dragging his feet and struggling to keep his eyes open.

"Damn martyr," Erik muttered.

The next thing that Charles knew, he was swept up into Erik's arms like he was a child's rag doll, as if he weighed nothing to the man.

"Erik, really-" he groaned.

"Shut up," the metal user hissed. "And don't tell me you don't have the migraine from hell because I can feel it."

"Sorry."

It was true. But what he had been projecting was only a portion of the agony he was feeling. He overtaxed himself and now he was feeling the consequences of his stupidity. And, from what it looked and sounded like, Erik wasn't going to take pity and let him off. Not that he minded at the moment. Being carried the rest of the way was an immense relief…and strangely comforting. When they reached his room Erik set him down on a couch in the small sitting room.

Charles made his movements slow but purposeful, leaning back into the comfort of the pillows and starting some breathing exercises. He could not afford to let his mask fall, not to the children and especially not to Erik. Sure, Erik suspected, but he hadn't seen. They needed a leader. They all needed someone who could be strong for them when they couldn't. It had only been yesterday that his current companion had been ready to desert them and what Charles had promised him in return for his help.

Calm was what he needed. Calm was what they both needed. And Erik sat next to him in a chair, tense and ready to burst with the tongue-lashing he knew he probably deserved.

A knock on the door disturbed their heavy silence. Erik rose to answer it and saw Raven at the door with a tray of food and some water. Wordlessly she took stock of Charles from the door, gave Erik a look that clearly said 'He deserves this,' and shoved the tray at the metal user before leaving. Charles winced at the sound of the door closing and also, more noticeably, at the sound of the tray being dropped onto the coffee table.

"How long…was I-"

"You were in there for six hours," Erik said.

"I didn't feel it…There was no time…It was all a…blur-a rush. God, I wish you could have seen it."

Erik was silent and retook his seat.

"What Raven said…about…a break-she wasn't?"

"She left, came back, and you were still in there."

Charles turned tired eyes towards the metal user and found a cold gaze meeting his. "I didn't know...And you?"

"Never left-when was the last time you ate?"

Food. The mere idea-"Oh…" he groaned, throwing an arm over his eyes. "Breakfast? No. No, last night-"

"Last night?"

Charles sighed. "...I know."

"Do you expect to defeat Shaw by sacrificing everything just to find him? Sacrifice will only get you so far. And finding him is just the start. If you're winded by the time you do, you're already dead. Whatever you felt in that machine, you're not God, Charles. If you were I'd take the liberty of killing you and saving us all the trouble because the last thing this world needs is another one."

"You mean you," Charles said with a weak smile.

Erik glared in response.

"I understand your concern, my friend…I have erred. Needless to…say, I will not endeavor…to repeat it."

"See that you don't. Now, eat." The tray scraped against the table in front of him.

The grimace on Charles' face preceded the admission of weakness he finally gave voice to. "I'm not certain I can…right now-"

"Then drink." A tall glass of water thunked down on the end table between them, close to where Charles was resting his head. "All of it."

Charles smirked. "Of all things…your bedside manner leaves much to be desired."

"As does your sense of self-preservation. Do us all a favor and find some before the end of this."

If Charles had the energy, he would have raised a serious eyebrow at that statement, coming from Erik of all people. Instead, he settled for an inquisitive glance, but Erik wouldn't look a him, staring at the far wall and thinking one thing loud and clear. You are not invincible.

Ah, so Erik was allowed to take risks, but Charles wasn't. Progress, in the least, as far as his friend was concerned. But what Erik failed to understand was that sacrifice, sometimes, was needed. A necessary evil for the greater good. Even if it meant exploiting weaknesses now and again. The only harm that ever came out of it for Charles was the reminder that he was human as well as mutant. Being invincible had never crossed his mind.