Cherik
Erik Lehnsherr/Charles Xavier
Magneto and Professor X are ideological opposites who genuinely love each other across every X-Men timeline. X-Men: First Class made the subtext nearly text — chess games, shared dreams for mutantkind, and a beach divorce that broke a generation of fans.
What is Cherik?
Cherik is the fan-given name for the romantic pairing of Erik Lehnsherr and Charles Xavier from Marvel Cinematic Universe. With over 26,000 works on Archive of Our Own, it's one of the most popular ships in the fandom.
Why fans love Cherik
Few ships offer this much tragedy: decades of devotion between two men who agree on everything except the one thing that keeps them apart.
Most Popular Cherik Fanfics
The highest-rated Cherik stories on AO3, ranked by kudos.
Order Up
Completeby ikeracity
Charles has a terrible habit of multitasking, and that is probably why he absentmindedly tells the pizza man that he loves him when hanging up. Then the pizza man says it back. And Charles is pretty much smitten from there.
Not So Much the Teacup
Completeby thehoyden
“Charles is basically the bride whisperer. It’s like he can read their minds.” (wedding planner AU)
Paper Monsters
Completeby Clocks
Fill for this prompt: Charles meets Erik Lehnsherr, his favorite novelist of all time at a coffee shop, but doesn't know it's him, and Erik just criticizes his own writing in front of his biggest fan.
Rumor Mill
Completeby ikeracity
Erik is the grumpiest, most foul tempered worker at Stark industries. His grumpiness is the stuff of legends.So it's obviously the talk of the office when Erik is being made to go to the company party and he's bringing his husband. There's rumors flying round about how much of a masochist or equally
What Not To Expect When You're Not Expecting It
Completeby thehoyden
“I wasn’t hiding it from you. Honestly, I didn’t know for certain until yesterday, which I think we can agree was bad timing and not the sort of thing one springs before the heat of battle,” Charles says earnestly.
The Line in the Sand
Completeby ikeracity
The CIA agents on the base are bullying the children, mocking them for their mutations. Charles will not tolerate it. Or: Charles has a line, and the agents cross it. Several times. And Erik discovers that perhaps Charles is not so much of a pacifistic pushover as he appears.
From Westminster With Love
Completeby thehoyden
NATO intelligence says there’s an omega-class telepath who sleeps under Westminster. Major Erik Lehnsherr is about to find out the truth for himself.
Veiled Truths
Completeby ikeracity
Erik has dreams of a dark room, of being pushed down into the floor and violated in a way that makes him scream until his throat is raw. But Shaw never, ever touched him like that, so Erik wonders if he somehow repressed memories of Shaw's torture. Either way, he hides the dreams from Charles, inten
Is it Erik with a C or a K?
Completeby ikeracity
When Charles sexts his boss instead of his latest squeeze during one late night of report writing, the first thing he expects is a sexual harassment law suit and the last thing is Mr. Lehnsherr actually fucking him hard into his desk.(Or the one where the moral of this story is don't check who you s
An Act Too Often Neglected
Completeby thehoyden
Logan didn’t much like Erik Lehnsherr when he first met him in a bar about a year ago. Logan likes him a lot less after he dumps Logan’s tranquilized carcass on Charles Xavier’s doorstep like a dog presenting its owner with a stunned rabbit.
In The Punch Line
Completeby zamwessell
From the kinkmeme!Basically, Charles Xavier needs a date to his tenth high school reunion. Enter Erik Lehnsherr, Raven’s best friend, who happens to be a model and the new face of Calvin Klein.
irreconcilable differences (make for surprisingly good bedfellows)
Completeby pocky_slash
Tonight on The Evening Report with Malcolm Stevens, noted geneticist and mutant equality proponent Dr. Charles Xavier faces off with the infamous mutant rights activist Magneto in a live televised debate over the Genetic Nondiscrimination Act. (At least, if they can stop flirting long enough to stay
Took Me By Surprise and Then
Completeby thehoyden
After the second surgery in New York, Charles doesn’t anticipate anyone keeping vigil by his bedside — and certainly not Tony Stark.
Accidentally Welcome to the Rest of Your Lives
Completeby kianspo
Non-powered college AU. Erik and Charles have nothing in common until they end up having sex at someone's party. They don't have much in common after that, either, but find each other a hard habit to quit.
For The Record
Completeby endingthemes
As prominent figures in the mutant rights movement, activists Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr are pretty much household names. When a romance scandal between them breaks, their celebrity reaches new heights, and though the increased exposure is great, there’s a big problem -- the two of them are j
hold your hope against the wall
Completeby acetamide
Soulmate!AU in which the first words that your soulmate says to you are written on your skin.Erik's words appear two days after his powers manifest.
The Masked Man (Who Has Everything)
Completeby Traincat
The one where Erik is Batman, and Charles is kidnapped roughly once a week.
Idiot Control Now
Completeby cygnaut
Hank screws something up in the lab and everyone's powers increase tenfold. Not knowing how to control them like this, they all try to cope and not kill each other by mistake while Hank tries to find a way to reverse the effects. Charles has a particularly hard time of it.
Family is What You Make It
Completeby GoringWriting
When Tony is left in that Siberian bunker it's not Pepper or Rhodey, or even Vision that find him. It's a Hydra team. Tony resigns himself to being their science experiment when he's rescued by an unlikely team and he finds out that family is what you make it and along the way he manages to gain som
Marrying a Mob
Completeby Ook
Charles is a teacher at a very exclusive school. When armed men burst in on the trail of two children, of course he stands up to them and gets hurt. The children are Erik Lehnsherr's children (of course); a "prominent businessman" or, less politely, "mobster". Erik is grateful to Charles for saving
Best Cherik Fanfic Rec Lists
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Frequently Asked Questions
What does Cherik mean?
Cherik is the ship name (portmanteau or nickname) for the pairing of Erik Lehnsherr and Charles Xavier. It's used by fans to tag and search for fanfiction featuring this relationship.
How many Cherik fics are on AO3?
There are over 26,000 Cherik fanfiction works on Archive of Our Own.
How can I read Cherik fanfiction on my phone?
Download Fanfict Reader for iOS to browse and read Cherik fanfiction with a beautiful mobile interface, offline reading, and custom themes.
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