All's Fair in Love and War

Chapter 11 Crossing Lines

Despite her friends' insistence on the matter, Evie pushed any romantic notions of Erik as firmly out of her mind as possible.

Unfortunately, with the idea broached courtesy of Raven, it was often hard not to slip and wonder about the possibilities. And there was the unsettling feeling that Raven had simply placed words, added a voice, to something that had been deep inside and unspoken within Evie. A feeling that she preferred remained buried.

Because while Erik was definitely attractive, Evie regarded his friendship of far too much value to jeopardize it over uncertain brooding. So, instead, she continued to simply train and converse with Erik as normal during the day; and despite her friends' teasing, she continued to enjoy her relaxing talks with the well-educated older man out on the lawns whenever the weather permitted it. And when it didn't, they could often be found lurking in one of Charles's libraries where Erik sometimes taught Evie physics from one of the many textbooks Charles owned.

On one pleasant afternoon outside, about a week after the girls' night, Erik was relaxing on the grass while Evie started out reading a book she'd borrowed from Charles's study. But after a while, she sat back to enjoy the sun with Erik, and though their conversation was sparse in between long stretches of silence, it was a nice and peaceful time.

Until Evie spoke up thoughtfully.

"Hey, Erik?"

"Yes?" Erik answered as he lay lazily on the grass with his head near Evie's knee as she sat perpendicularly to him.

However, Evie's next question brought Erik up short.

"Do you ever wonder what life would have been like if we weren't born mutants?"

Erik sat up and eyed Evie as thoughtfully as she was staring up at the sky, unaware just how loaded her question was for her companion.

"No." Erik answered, without missing a beat or needing to think about it, and Evie glanced at him in surprise.

"Really?" She asked, and Erik met her gaze evenly as he explained, "You've seen part of my memories, Evie – but, you don't know everything yet."

Evie cocked her head in confusion, before her eyes widened as Erik pushed up his tracksuit sleeve to reveal the line of black numbers that would be forever branded into the skin on his inner forearm.

"Oh, Erik." Evie breathed, her hand lifting unconsciously as though to touch the brand on his arm.

She stopped herself, however, letting her hand drop back down while she lifted her eyes back to Erik's.

"I'm sorry." Evie murmured.

It was nowhere near enough to what could be said, and yet it was more than enough. For in her tone and expression alone Evie conveyed her shock at his reveal, her anger for him, her repulsion at the real example of the cruelty some people were capable of, and above all her sympathy and apology for bringing up another painful subject from Erik's past.

'I didn't know.' Her eyes pleaded, not saying it aloud as it had been Erik's choice to share his past with her and she knew that he knew she hadn't known. And yet, it was an apology she felt she needed to make.

"Don't be sorry. You were not the one responsible." Erik told her, his own gaze dropping down to his arm absently as he continued to explain.

"But you see, if I hadn't been a mutant I probably would have died during the war. I was being led away from my mother at Auschwitz," Evie inhaled sharply. "Being taken to the camps while she... was being taken to the chambers," Evie shuddered involuntarily at that word. "When my powers manifested."