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“I think it would be entirely plausible,” Hank reasons, gesturing to the TemPad in his hand. “We can control the location and time we go to, so it would be easy to commute from here to home. The only question is if we leave the TemPad on either side, or take it with us.”
“Taking it with us would likely be a safer bet, no?” Charles asks from his spot on the study floor next to Erik. Their hands are interlaced – a common sight ever since they got back from SHIELD. They still won’t tell anyone what they were doing all that time. Hank’s pretty sure Raven knows something – Cassandra too – but he’s decided it’s probably better not to pry. None of his business.
“It would, but that would also mean that Cassandra or anyone on this side wouldn’t be able to reach us if we were needed. With only one TemPad, there’s no way for us to communicate two ways. All we have is timedoors.”
“Can’t you make something?” Erik asks.
“Not that simple. This isn’t just something like engineering an overseas call – this is interdimensional. It’s a whole new concept that, frankly, I know nothing about.”
He really wishes he knew something about all this.
“Take it with you.” Cassandra says. “If there’s any problems here, it’s nothing that we can’t face. We’ve survived this long.”
“Are you sure, dear?” Charles asks, looking at his sister with a faintly worried expression.
“Absolutely.”
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To tell the truth, Erik likes their routine in the Void.
Each morning he gets up, puts on his clothes and boots and sling ring and some armor he scrounged up, kisses a half-asleep Charles on the forehead, and goes out with the morning guard. He’s made friends with some of the witches – nice folk. Their magic is quite similar to what he learned at Kamar Taj, so some of them have taken to giving him pointers or teaching him new spells, skills he uses alongside his mutation to help bring back supplies and enforce their perimeter. He’s even helped to rescue incoming survivors a few times.
After guard is over, he goes back to their room (a newly constructed one, with a bed he found and its own small bathroom set-up behind a curtain and a shelf with books Charles has scrounged up), showers, and wakes Charles properly if he hasn’t already gone off to help with tending the gardens or helping with the education program he’s set up for the Refuge. Half the children here can’t quite read – and even in a place like the Void, reading can be a useful skill. Apparently. At least, that;s what Charles argues.
Their days are long and busy, but they spend evenings with their friends, old and new, sharing a meal. And each night Erik falls asleep next to the man he loves, his husband.
They told Cassandra and Raven. Just them, for now. They were both incredibly happy – and incredibly pissed that they weren’t there for the ceremony.
“We should make up an excuse to leave for a few weeks and go on a honeymoon.” Charles suggests one night, half-joking.
Erik considers the idea of Charles shirtless on some remote beach. Then he remembers that he hates the beach (Damn Cuba). Maybe Charles could be shirtless in Paris instead.
“That sounds nice.” Erik mumbles, pressing their lips together, and Charles smiles into the kiss, a soft feeling of happiness emanating from his mental presence in Erik’s mind.
They drift off at some point, both exhausted by their long day but ready for the next.
The Void may be harsh, yes, but the Refuge is beginning to feel a bit like home.