genessia | Locked to Raven

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Locked to Raven

Erik hadn't paid much attention to what the dates were since arriving here. It doesn't much matter what they are, because this place isn't home, not really, and what difference does it make what day it is? Until they'd gotten to the days that have always helped him feel connected to his parents and his past, even if certain aspects don't mean much to him anymore. Today he happens to have the day off, so he spends it in the kitchen, following his mother's recipes from memory.

When Raven comes home, she'll find a plate of food in the kitchen with her name on it, containing some braided bread and potato pancakes. Erik's not in the living room, but the light is on his bedroom, and the door's open a crack. It seems as though he's willing to be disturbed, should she be so inclined.

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There is a gentle knock at the door as Raven peeks inside. She doesn't want to disturb him if he doesn't want to be interrupted, but his door is open and so she runs with it. She's dressed casually in trousers and a button down top with a hoodie.

"Hey," she murmured as she stepped inside. "So... The place smells better than I have ever smelled before. I don't think even the mansion smelled this good," she says with a slight smile. "You... You made food." She had not eaten it yet, though she really wanted to. She didn't want to eat alone. "Did you want to tell me about it?"

He's stretched out on his made-up bed, reading a book by the light of his bedside lamp. He marks his place in the book and sets it down next to the lamp. "I made food. I enjoy it." Though he hasn't always had a chance to do it.

"You'll want to warm the latkes up, they're better that way, and the bread is kosher, if that matters."

Raven smiled and moved over to sit on the foot of his bed. Her head tilted to the side and she looked up at him, glancing briefly at the book before back at his face. "You should do it more often," she murmured softly. "Especially if you enjoy doing it. There's not much here you do that you seem to enjoy. Or... At home either."

She would be the first to admit how weird it felt living and not fighting. Her head slowly nodded and she reached out to squeeze his hand. "It... It doesn't matter to me, but like I said, it really smells good. I can't wait to try it. Would you like to come eat some of it with me?" She rubs his hand with her thumb. "It's your food from home, isn't it?"

He had enjoyed his ten years in Poland, at least once he'd had a family and not been alone. But there's no point in bringing that up now; it's not like it's an option here, for a start. "What did you enjoy at home?" They never did really catch up on the ten years since they'd last seen each other.

"I've already eaten, but I'll keep you company if you like." He's silent for a moment. He wouldn't normally talk about this, but he's already come this far, and when he made it, he figured he'd get questions about it. "It's what my mother used to make."

"It smells delicious. Your mother must have been a great cook," she said softly. Rising to her feet, she motioned for him to follow her back out into the kitchen so that she could try some. She puttered around the kitchen, smiling as she reheated the food.

Looking up at him, she shrugged her shoulders. "Charles made British food occasionally when we were growing up. That was very good. It was something I got used to." She paused. "When you were gone, I was alone a lot. I didn't go home to Charles. There was still too many mutants to help. The food. The bedding. It wasn't really good when you're trying to hide."

"She was." For most of his life she'd had to make do with what little was available, and though they might have been lacking in food, the food they did have hadn't been lacking in quality.

"Being a fugitive isn't the glamorous life." He would know. He was number one on the list for a decade. "You didn't have to hide. Even if you didn't go home, you had no need to stay hidden. You weren't the one in trouble."

Raven is quiet as she listens to him, moving around in the kitchen as she made her plate and warmed it. Finally, she nodded her head in understanding. When the food was done, she moved back over to the counter. She wasn't sure if she should eat there or go sit down.

"I wanted to hide. It wasn't the same without you, Erik. And I wasn't as in trouble as you were, but people did recognize me. We made a name for ourselves," she murmured. "It wasn't that easy to just go back to a normal life. I didn't want one."

"Normal lives aren't possible for us anyway." He'd learned that lesson the painful way. It's just too bad that he's never been able to convince Charles of that fact. It might have saved a lot of trouble all around.

"Charles would have let you go back."

"Charles would say different about normal lives..." Her voice trailed off as she took a few bites of food. Her head tilted to the side and one eyebrow raised as she gave him a pointed look. "He would say that we are doing it wrong. And here, now, this is about as normal as we ever could be."

Her head slowly shook. "Charles was a mess. I checked in on him once or twice. When he didn't know it was me. I pretended to be Hank." She sighed. "He was so broken. I felt responsible. I couldn't stay. The way he looked through me, thinking I was Hank. The pain. The serum Hank gave him. It broke my heart."

"If a normal life is so easy, then why didn't Charles have one?" Charles doesn't know everything, no matter what he thinks, and he certainly doesn't know how things work for Erik.

"Even when I pretended to be human, I couldn't have a normal life. Being a mutant catches up with us."

Raven paused. "Here?" She gave him a look. "You could argue that it's different here. We're mutants, but nobody cares. We have jobs. We have this flat. This is about as normal as things ever could be." She bit her lip, watching him. There was something she wasn't saying, but dancing around. "Look at this place, Erik? Look around. While we're stuck here, this is, well, normal."

Being a mutant was not going to catch up with them here, at least. "Charles tried. The school. Helping kids. He didn't know there would be a war..." She frowned, looking down at her plate of food.

"I don't know what's possible here. Maybe you're right." It's a big thing for him to admit, especially when he's still half convinced that one day the mutant thing will be a problem. "I meant Poland, where even when I lived as a human, it wasn't possible."

It had been, for a decade, but eventually his past had caught up with him, like it usually does.

"That's the thing about wars. They tend to sneak up on you."

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