Tense.

Everyone was so goddamn tense in the plane. Whether it be Logan and Evie who sat at the back, silently watching or Charles and Erik who were having a small chat. Yet the chat didn't seem pleasant as Charles was glaring a hole into the other's head.

Evie knew it was going to be a long ride so she pulled out her gun and placed it on the table, her hand shaking as she did so. Once it was on the table, she started to clench her fist in a way that didn't hurt. But these days, whenever she moved, it hurt.

"How did you lose them?" Erik asked Charles, his arms stretched out on the sofa. The brunette had heard from Logan that Charles didn't have his powers anymore and for some reason Evie could empathise with this.

"The treatment for my spine affects my DNA." Charles replied, his hand around the table tightening as he stared at the mutant.

Erik's head lifted to look at the man in disbelief. "You sacrificed your powers so you could walk?"

"I sacrificed my powers so I could sleep." Charles snapped back, his voice cracking at the end. Evie's heart ached but she was supposed to be mad at him, right? "What do you know about it?" The ex-telepath expressed, looking out the window.

"I've lost my fair share." Erik responded quickly.

"Dry your eyes, Erik." Charles spoke through gritted teeth. "It doesn't justify what you've done."

"You have no idea what I've done." Erik fired back, his anger growing. It was obvious because the metal drink try started to shake yet it seemed like only Evie noticed it.

"I know you took the things that meant the most to me." Charles responded in anger, his voice growing louder.

"Well maybe you should have fought harder for them." It was this that caused Charles to completely snap.

The brunet rose from his chair in rage, not thinking through what he was doing. "If you want a fight Erik, I will give you a fight!" He shouted, slamming his hands on the table.

"Sit down!" Logan instructed them both as he watched Erik rise too. Evie gulped, she hadn't seen either man like this before and she was slightly terrified because she knew she'd have to step in.

"Let him come." Erik muttered as he watched his old friend attack him.

Logan watched as Charles grabbed Erik's shirt. "They're going to kill each other."

"Or us." Evie responded, sending the man a worried look.

"You abandoned me!" She heard Charles scream at his friend, tears filling his blue eyes. "You took her away and you abandoned me!"

"Angel. Azazel. Emma. Banshee." Erik named, the whole plane starting to tilt. "Mutant brothers and sisters, all dead!" Evie and Logan gripped their tables as they tried to stop themselves from falling, Charles falling to the floor. "Countless others experimented on, butchered! Where were you, Charles?! We were supposed to protect them!"

Erik left them no time to recover as the plane was taking a swan-dive towards the ocean below them. "Where were you when your own people needed you?! Hiding! You and Hank and Evie! Pretending to be something you're not! You abandoned us all! You abandoned us all!" Erik shouted back him, his voice controlled like his powers.

Before Erik could push them to the ground any further, a gun clocking was heard behind him.

Charles looked from Erik to the figure behind him and his blue eyes widened slightly. Evie was stood with a white gun pressed to the back of Erik's head, the safety off and ready to fire. Her eyes burned with rage, small tears pricking the sides as her hand shook gently.

"Sit down." She demanded in a low tone, her emotionless expression just making it more obvious that she was beyond angry. "Sit down Erik or I will shoot you."

Erik turned his head once he realised he couldn't control it. "It's made of glass." He observed, his eyes connecting with hers. He wasn't surprised that she hadn't brought a metal one with her, she was smart.

"Sit down Erik, don't make me ask again." She repeated, stepping closer as Erik fully turned to her. The barrel of the gun was now pressed against his forehead.

From the sidelines, it looked like neither mutant was backing down. "Stop pretending to be strong Evie," Erik snapped at her, his eyes hardening. "I see you shaking."

"It's because I don't want to shoot you but I will if I have to." Evie told him honestly as she readjusted her gun in frustration. Why wouldn't he listen to her?

"Like you had to arrest me?" He fired at her which made bite her inner cheek to stop her from screaming at him. This only half-worked.

"You know, when I got called in for Kennedy's assassination, they said there was a mutant involved." Evie started talking in anger, her face morphing as she tried to stop herself from crying. "I saw one clip and when I saw the bullet change course, I knew it was you."

"Yet you waited months to arrest me." Erik murmured in a strangely soft tone.

"I couldn't just say 'hey Erik Lehnsherr killed JFK because I saw him do something similar in Cuba'. As far as the rest of the world is concerned, I was never there." Evie dropped her gun to her side as she started shouting at him, tears leaking down her face. "The worst part is, it was me. I had to tase you and put the cuffs on you. Do you know how much it hurt?"

Erik blinked emotionlessly which only seemed to frustrate the women further. "Not only did I have to lock my friend away, I was in the meeting when Trask first told the Senator about his work. I had to look at their faces Erik! Sean, Angel!" She screamed at him, her voice breaking. "I was lucky enough to save Alex but not them. So don't ever say I abandoned our people because I didn't."

With a sniffled and a wipe of her tears, Agent Evie Dalton was back. She placed her gun in her belt and walked away from him and back to her seat. "Oh and one more thing." She spoke up again, glancing over her shoulder. "I'm shaking because my injuries from Cuba never healed properly."

And with that she sat back down again, her back facing the rest of the plane. Charles decided this was a good time to escape as well, moving to join Hank in the cockpit which left Erik all alone. Again.

"So, you were always an asshole." Logan finally spoke up, still gripping the table.

"I take it we're best buddies in the future." Erik remarked offhandedly, looking around to see Charles gone.

"I spent a lot of years trying to bring you down, bub." The time traveler answered, lighting a cigar and puffing out a cloud of smoke.

"How does that work out for you?" Erik questioned him, looking over his shoulder.

Logan shrugged, taking the cigar out of his mouth so he could speak. "You're like me. You're a survivor."

ꕥ

Evie had tried to sleep, moving from the seat she was in to the white sofa in the middle. It was comfy. Her hand was placed behind her head as her eyes fluttered. Her brows knitted together and her lips turned down into a frown.

She woke up with a gasp, gripping the leather surface, her entire body propelling itself upwards. A cold sweat ran down her spine as she leveled her breathing. It was the same dream as always, the bomb going off in Vietnam all those years ago. It still haunted her.

"Is your PTSD still keeping you up?" The familiar English voice questioned her in concern. Evie glanced upwards, seeing Charles sitting down opposite her.

"We're talking to each other? I don't know if we're quite there yet." Evie responded, rubbing her head as she turned to face him.

Charles offered her out a cup of coffee, a knowing look on his face. "You didn't answer my question." He observed as Evie took the cup thankfully.

"It's better then it used to be." The brunette told him, sipping the hot liquid gently. "Get sleep filled nights more now, but when I do get the dreams," She paused, thinking for a moment. "It's worse."

"You're a lot happier then you used to be." Charles stated as he sat back, a hint of jealousy in his eyes.

Evie noticed the look which made her chuckle lightly. "Because I had memories of someone who made me happy." She told him with a smile which made his eyebrows lift gently. He knew what she was implying, he just refused to believe it. "I'm liking the hair by the way, it suits you."

"Thanks." Charles ran his hand through his hair awkwardly. "You're not mad?"

"About you trying to wipe my memory?" Evie clarified which caused Charles to nod his head gently. "I was but then I realised you did it for the school's safety and I couldn't be mad anymore. I forgave you a long time ago Charles, but the question I want to ask you, is when are you going to forgive yourself?"

"What?" He stuttered out, he wasn't expecting the question.

"I know broken eyes when I see them." The brunette explained as she lent forward, her eyes studying his blue ones. "What do you use to keep the voices out?"

The man sighed, slumping in the chair slowly, letting his head roll back onto the seat. He should have expected these questions from her. He was honestly surprised when she had stated 'you're walking' but Evie could already tell that. She wanted to know the why.

"Hank developed it." Charles informed her, rubbing his face before looking back to her.

"When you're ready to stop being an addict," Evie muttered softly after a moment, her gaze holding a gentle smile. "I'll be with you every step of the way."

Charles suddenly knew how Evie felt that day in Hank's lab. He felt accepted unconditionally because she wasn't going to force him. She was going to wait for him and it made his heart swell. "Thank you." He stated sincerely, his voice barely above a whisper.

The two simply smiled at each other, basking in the other's presence. It had been too long and neither wanted to mess it up but being next to each other was enough for this moment. Logan had watched the entire exchange and quickly closed his eyes, a small smirk on his face.

Maybe the future could be saved.