Making the Best of It - A Professor X/Magneto Story

'I have to say Erik, this would be a lovely island, if it did not possess this feeling of absolute danger,' Professor Charles Xavier said to his friend and sometimes bitter enemy Erik Lensherr, known to most as Magneto.

'It had been a lovely island,' Erik said, looking around. 'Now it certainly does have that eerie feeling to it.'

'What exactly was the purpose of this island?' Charles asked, looking around the small jungle they were currently walking through. The ground was awfully uneven and Charles was still unused to walking after so long; he tripped on a root, almost falling to the ground, but Erik caught him.

'Careful, Charles,' Erik said, putting a supporting arm around Charles' waist. 'Not watching where you're going could prove hazardous to your health.'

'I'll say,' Charles chuckled, looking sideways at Erik. 'I must say, old friend, I've missed you.'

'I have missed you as well, Charles,' Erik said quietly. 'My life has been quite lonely without you in it.'

'It is a life you have chosen, Erik,' Charles reminded him.

'For the betterment of our kind's future,' Erik assured him. 'I can only hope you will one day see I am right and join me.'

'I am sorry, my friend,' Charles shook his head. 'I do not see that happening in the future, we cannot be on the same side if your goal is subjugation of the Humans.'

'My goal is to create a safe world in which we Mutants may live,' Erik reminded his old friend. 'The Humans have made it clear that they refuse to live with us as equals, therefore they will come to live with us as superiors… or not at all. It is the only way, Charles.'

'There is never only one way, Erik,' Charles protested. 'There are several ways to reach a goal, but there is generally a morally correct one.'

'Don't preach morals, Charles,' Magneto dropped his arm from around Charles. 'They have had chance after chance to change their brutal ways. They have failed every time. I swore to myself, never again. I will not-'

'If you must kill to attain your goal, it makes you no better than those men from your past,' Charles cut in. 'I realize how you feel Erik, and things may look bleak at this moment… but there is always hope for the future.'

'It is this passion of yours that I miss most, Charles,' Erik said sadly. 'It is what attracted me to you in the first place.'

'You have that passion as well,' Charles smiled slightly. 'We've simply focused that passion on opposing points of view.'

'If we were on the same side, our lives could have turned out much differently,' Erik sighed sadly.

'We could be if you took a less radical root,' Charles said pointedly.

'We cannot afford to be less than heavy-handed with these people,' Erik shook his head. 'They see anything else as weakness and will do their best to take advantage of that.'

Charles sighed. 'We could have done so much together.'

'We still could,' Erik said softly. 'As it is now, we are on the same side.'

'We are,' Charles agreed with a small smile. 'Perhaps we should make the best of it.'

'Perhaps,' Erik smirked, leaning forward. Erik never would have thought he'd be here with Charles, acting as they had when they had first met. This time however, there was an odd sense of renewal and new hope, making the experience both familiar and new. With a small smile, he closed the distance between them, pressing their lips together.

They both knew this could never last; but for the moment, they would make the best of it.



I used Professor X and Magneto in the title because I sort of want to make the distinction between the newer X-Men and the older cartoons, which this is based on, mostly, I borrowed Erik's name from the newer stuff, mostly because I hate calling him Magneto when I call Professor X Charles. And I don't much fancy Magnus, either, so Erik it is. Deal with it.

I can't seem to let up with these two. They're one of my favourite pairings of all time, and one of the longest-running, too. It's great how long these obsessions of mine last.

Cheers!