Title: The Greatest Power
Fandom: X-Men Apocalypse
Length: 250
Rating: G
Content notes: no warnings apply
Author note: also a fill for the Metal square on my bingo card.
Summary: Charles knows the destructive force of Erik’s abilities, better than anyone alive.



Charles knows the destructive force of Erik’s abilities, better than anyone alive. He witnessed it in the ocean off Florida the night they met, when Erik nearly got himself killed in his quest for vengeance. Charles’s body bears the proof of Erik’s power to harm; whatever else has changed since they parted on the beach in Cuba, that damage can’t be undone.

With Apocalypse at his side, Erik could reach into the earth’s core and tear the world apart. Yet he turned away from destruction, risked his own life trying to protect Charles. And now he’s using his powers to create, to rebuild the school.

Of all the sights Charles has witnessed over the last two decades, this is the one that moves him the most. The Charles Xavier of twenty years ago would have let the tears fall; these days he keeps a tighter hold on his emotions, though Erik would notice that his eyes are suspiciously bright. But Erik’s not watching him: he’s focused on Jean, and on their shared task. The two of them look incongruously like father and daughter in their matching overshirts and t-shirts, and there’s a harmony between them that doesn’t need words.

Charles knows Erik won’t stay here much longer; this place can’t be enough for him. Nothing can give him back what he’s lost. Not Charles’s love, not the promise of friendship or community. But he’s here now, and that means everything. Making a shelter for their queer family. Making a home.