katikat | Fic rec: X-Men: First Class

"The Fortress" by kindit | Gen | Sharing--and not sharing--grief. | ~1.300 words

It was an accident, Raven wants to say. But what would that even mean? Hank turning blue was an accident, but it happened because he tried to make a cure for being himself. Charles... that happened because Erik was angry and deflected the bullets instead of stopping them, and because Moira was angry and shot at Erik, and because the Americans and Russians were afraid and bombed the beach, and because Shaw wanted to rule the world and because years ago he hurt a little boy. Because of the number tattooed on Erik's arm. Because of Hitler. Charles got shot by history. Erik's never said anything about his past to her, but Charles told her a little. It all leads here. Raven wonders if there's such a thing as an accident, or if there are just unintended consequences.

Incredibly sad and heartbreaking. I would love to read more stories about Erik and Raven and how they dealt with what happened to Charles and with leaving him hurt and broken on the beach. I mean, Charles was Erik's only real friend and Raven's brother, after all...