Thunderbird || X-Men

Chapter 9 ~ Another Lesson

My eyes fluttered open to reveal Erik, just inches away from me. His hands were still on me. I looked his face up and down, stopping at his lips. Then I felt his grip around my waist tighten.

"Good morning beautiful." His gravelly voice took me by surprise, making me turn red. "What?" He wondered, smirking.

He grabbed onto my chin lightly, caressing my bottom lip with his thumb, bringing me only slightly closer. A knot formed in my stomach at his touch. It was practically unbearable. He was like a spoiled puppy, begging for a treat. He looked down at my lips, then back at my eyes, as if he was asking for permission.

Then he closed the space between us, softly at first. We parted for a moment, his lips still brushing against mine. Then he returned, breathing heavier than before. We moved in unison, full of emotion, one being as needy as the other. His hand fell from my chin, down my neck to my collarbone. I was feeling a wave of emotions. Each movement was fluid like it had been previously thought about. It was like Erik craved this, and more, for a very long time. And the entire time, that knot in my stomach got bigger and bigger.

We slowly parted, our noses still touching. I wished it could go on forever. Our eyes met again, and he smirked. Then he pulled himself up, ruffling his hair. I admired him as if he were a piece of artwork. He yawned and stretched like any other person, but to me, every movement he made was beautiful. And the way he looked at me and spoke to me with a sort of softness. His mysterious outer shell fell away. Erik groaned.

"Maybe ten more minutes." He said, falling back down onto the bed, pulling himself so he was hovering over me. Then his lips crashed with mine again, holding onto the side of my neck with need.

I felt the tightness in my chest soon fade away...

I let my eyes flutter open to reveal the ceiling of my bedroom. I rubbed my eyes, but after the realization hit me, I turned to my right. All that was there was a pillow, wrinkled from being held in my loving embrace. It even had a couple wet spots of drool on the fabric.

It was a dream.

I cringed at myself in embarrassment, but then I heard a knock at the door.

"Come in!" I called, moving my pillow behind me.

"Good morning. Did you sleep well?"

It was Erik. Of course it was. I tried to calm myself and hide the redness in my face at the sight of him. The dream felt so real. I had no idea I harbored any of those... more sensual feelings. But as I looked at him, I couldn't help but think of it again.

"Kayla? Are you feeling alright to train today?"

"Yes I'm fine!" I beamed awkwardly. "I'll be out in a minute."

Erik smiled, and I felt my face get warm again.

"Alright, if you say so."

~

"I won't do it, not to you."

"Kayla, we have to practice."

"But practice means making mistakes, and I don't know how far I can go with it! What if I hurt you? What if you die?!" I told Erik. I knew I needed to work on this if I was going to eventually fight Shaw. But that would mean I would have to do it on Erik, and considering what happened with my mom, it scared me.

"You're going to do fine. Just do what we practiced. The place between ra-"

"I know what I have to do, Erik. Maybe this isn't a good idea. Maybe I can be a valuable member of the team with only one ability." I interrupted him. I was terrified. I felt my hands shake with every word.

"Listen to me." Erik began. He approached me calmly, grabbing onto my shoulders.

"Do you know what could happen if you don't learn to control it?" I didn't say anything. "Let's say we're in the battle with Shaw. You are trying to hurt him, to kill him. You focus, but it becomes unstable, and you hurt everyone involved, including Charles and I."

It wasn't something I thought about. I couldn't tell if this scenario made me feel better or worse, but I definitely felt different. Erik moved his hands to my face, seeing that the thought upset me. I froze up.

"But that's not gonna happen." He spoke to me softly. "Because we are going to practice. I can handle it." He let go of me, stepping a few feet away.

"Go ahead, try something, anything."

I looked at him, not even sure if I could do it on command. But I tried anyway, focusing on his eyes. I waited for something to happen. At first, nothing.

"That's alright, try ag-" Erik stopped suddenly, shaking his head. He looked confused for a moment. I was still gazing over at him, not breaking eye contact. I saw the exact moment when the pain started. He shut his eyes tightly, breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth. Seeing him this way hurt me, and I loosened up a bit. Erik could tell.

"No don't break it!" He yelled through gritted teeth. I started getting worried but continued. I saw his face get beet red and the veins pop out from his forehead. I covered my mouth to prevent myself from crying, but I didn't break it. Erik started to wobble and then fell to the ground. At that moment I broke it, and the tears fell. I ran over to him, checking his pulse. Thankfully he was still alive, just passed out. I slapped him a couple of times. I was relieved, but still worried. I sighed, letting my head fall into his chest, gripping his hoodie, sniffling.

After maybe thirty seconds, he woke up, rubbing his head.

"Erik oh my god, are you okay??" I yelped, grabbing onto his face. He took a couple of deep breaths, then started laughing.

"What's so funny?" I asked him.

"I'm just proud of you." He told me, picking himself up so he was sitting up straight. "It was such a weird experience, truly. My head felt so full, I didn't know where I was or what I was doing. I was only focused on you. You did really well."

Erik wiped a tear from my cheek.

"Hey... it's okay." He said, quietly.

"I just got so scared, I didn't want to hurt you. Not ever." I admitted. His smile went away. I threw myself on him for a hug. He fell backward, hugging me back tightly.

"Shhh, it's okay love, I'm alright." He cooed in my ear. Eventually, he lifted himself back up, still holding me. It forced me to get off so he could stand up again. He wiped the dirt from his back.

"Guys, come here! The President's about to make his address!" Moira called from a living room window. Erik and I looked at each other, then jogged our way into the mansion. Everyone was already sitting in the living room.

"It shall be the policy of this nation to regard any nuclear missile crossing the embargo line that surrounds Cuba as an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States requiring a full retaliatory response upon the Soviet Union." We heard the President explain.

"That's where we're going to find Shaw." Erik stated. I looked back and forth at him and the TV.

"How do you know?"

"Two superpowers facing off and he wants to start World War III. He won't leave anything to chance." Charles told us.

"So much for diplomacy. I suggest you all get a good night's sleep." Erik ran his fingers through my hair before walking into the next room.