A/N: I was hoping to get to the nutty secretagenty plotting this chapter, but Erik and Charles are still taking a while to get used to each other again. Sorry! Next chapter we get into that stuff.

"Let's go," Charles says, looking resolutely out the wrong window. "Drive."

Erik stirs in the seat behind him but apparently thinks better of speaking up. They drive, silently. Charles notes that the girl is not a bad driver, and decides she can be added to the list of people permitted to drive the school cars in the future.

Provided the school has a future.

They've been on the road an hour when she breaks the silence. "Do you need to call ahead or something?" she asks into the rearview. "We're going to get there in the middle of the night. I hate to bust in on people who aren't expecting us…"

"It's my base; I can bust in whenever I want," Erik declares.

How like him. "Well haven't you got anybody who's going to worry that you haven't come home?" Charles asks. He swallows, makes himself say it. "What about Raven? Is she still...?"

With that helmet on Erik can't possibly be picking up on any stray bursts of hope or pain he may be leaking, but still, maybe it's there in his voice. Because Erik answers right away: "Pull off at the next exit and get me to a telephone, and she'll be waiting for us when we arrive."

They're there. At last. As they drive up through the gates Charles is plastered to the window trying to take it all in. "Borco?" He reads the sign aloud.

Erik chuckles. "We thought a big complex with an electric fence would be a bit conspicuous, so we've disguised it as a corporate headquarters," he explains. "Our fictitious enterprise is named Borco, short for Boring Company, at Mystique's insistence – after I vetoed her more… colorful suggestions."

They head up the drive and can see that she is already waiting, on the front steps. Erik hops out and greets her quickly; he doesn't want to be in the way once-...

"Charles." She breathes it. In a heartbeat all the strength and confidence have gone out of her; Erik notes that he was right to believe Charles holds her back and keeps her down. He tells himself he's right to have suggested – strongly – that she stay away from him all this time.

Charles's eyes are growing moist and his voice is unsteady. "Hello, Raven. It's good to see you."

She draws herself up suddenly, her yellow eyes flashing, and backs against Erik as though for support. "My name is Mystique now."

Erik is torn between adoring her for her loyalty, and wanting to strangle her for being such a cold-hearted bitch. Charles cared for this girl like a sister for so many years; it must kill him to hear her disavow their bond now. Maybe he should speak up.

But it seems Charles can take care of himself where Mystique is concerned – he blinks and then repeats, a bit more firmly: "Hello, Raven. It's good to see you."

She glares for a moment. Then she dives at him and throws her arms around his neck. "You're an ass, Charles. You're still an ass, you're an ass, you're a bigger ass than ever." It's hardly intelligible because her face is buried in his shoulder. She pulls away long enough to kiss his neck, and then squeezes him tight again.

Much as he didn't like the idea that they might not share a warm greeting, Erik is now discovering that he likes the idea that they are sharing a warm greeting even less. She is out-and-out blubbering and she can't let go. He wonders: if she still needs Charles this much after all this time, what kind of care has he been taking of her? How has he gone wrong?

"Hey." The girl who drove nudges him. "Let's wait for them inside."

Erik follows her and waits, restless, for the reunion to be over. When the door finally opens he discovers with some dismay that Mystique has reverted to her old disguise, the pouty blonde, and is trying to simultaneously push Charles's wheelchair and ruffle his hair. "Come on," she says, brightly even though her cheeks are still wet. "Time for the tour."

Charles is impressed. The building is considerably larger than his manor. The ground floor, which is home to what looks like meeting rooms and training rooms, is modern and functional. Fortunately there are a few touches here and there – likely courtesy of Raven – that save it from looking like a villain's spaceship. The hallway lighting is multicolored, and framed pictures of bands and cartoon characters grace some of the walls.

"This was all Mystique's doing," Erik grumbles, confirming his suspicions. "She did the second floor also – and that's got the dormitories where the kids can sleep. But the third floor is the real living quarters, and it's probably more to your taste. I'll show you. This way – we have an elevator."

The third floor is more classical, hard wood and carpets, and Charles tells him it's beautiful. Then it occurs to him to wonder: "Erik, how did you pay for all this – if you don't mind my asking?"

Erik turns cold at once. "Legally, if that's what you mean."

"It's not." Charles reaches out and snags his cape, tripping him up to make him turn around. "I just meant I always thought you were rather… well…"

"Penniless?" Erik shrugs. "I was. But it turns out I can break a casino in about four hours. I did that for a few weekends, and then I thought to clean out all of Shaw's accounts too – at least the ones his people would tell me about. I sold some of his more pointless and expensive possessions, like his four nuclear reactors… and now I've got someone managing the treasury and she tells me I'm fine for a while – even at the astronomical rate I've been spending. Here – this is your room."

They stop in front of a door which is decorated with a hammered copper panel. Erik sweeps his hand over it and molds it into a new design: a big raised X. Charles laughs. "Beautiful."

"Mine's down the hall."

"A door marked M, by any chance?"

"No." Even with the helmet blocking his view he can hear that Erik is smiling. "It's got my whole name; Mystique and I fought over the initial and finally decided nobody should have it."

Charles is still amused when the door opens. He likes the room; it's big and easy to maneuver in. And once he checks out the attached bathroom he realizes that that's no accident. He backs out and turns to face Erik. "Grab bars?" is all he says.

"Among other amenities. I hoped that one day we'd be on visiting terms with each other." Erik's voice is completely unreadable. And the helmet not only eliminates the possibility of telepathy, but also combines with the height difference to make eye contact very difficult.

Charles is flying completely blind. It's a new feeling, and he doesn't like it. "I… should probably go help Hank settle the children in." It's true, anyway.

"Of course." That he can read; Erik sounds surprised and a little affronted. "You know the way. Mi casa su casa – and Charles, if you're still as big an insomniac as you were, there's a sitting room between my suite and yours. It's got a chess board. Wake me any time."

TBC.

My theory on Erik's apparent failure to move on is that he tends to fixate and he doesn't have many friends. (I think he sees Mystique as more of a protege than a friend). Charles is therefore The One That Got Away as far as his interpersonal relationships are concerned, but give him time. He'll adjust.