MCU

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.

26,000 works

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.

1

Order Up

Complete

by 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.

26,824 kudos 4,349 words ~18 min read General Audiences
Alternate Universe - Modern Setting Alternate Universe - Still Have Powers pizza place
2

Not So Much the Teacup

Complete

by thehoyden

“Charles is basically the bride whisperer. It’s like he can read their minds.” (wedding planner AU)

18,811 kudos 9,073 words ~37 min read Explicit
Alternate Universe - Modern Setting wedding planner architect
3

Paper Monsters

Complete

by 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.

17,183 kudos 39,240 words ~157 min read Explicit
Romance Rom-com Bibliophile Porn
4

Rumor Mill

Complete

by 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

16,664 kudos 7,861 words ~32 min read General Audiences
Modern AU Erik is an Engineer Stark Industries
5

What Not To Expect When You're Not Expecting It

Complete

by 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.

15,622 kudos 9,659 words ~39 min read Explicit
Mpreg Alternate Universe - Canon
6

The Line in the Sand

Complete

by 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.

14,904 kudos 8,848 words ~36 min read Teen And Up Audiences
BAMF!Charles CIA agents are bullies protective!Charles
7

From Westminster With Love

Complete

by 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.

12,456 kudos 16,152 words ~65 min read Explicit
Alternate Universe - Modern Setting Alternate Universe - With Powers Hurt/Comfort
8

Veiled Truths

Complete

by 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

11,960 kudos 8,470 words ~34 min read Mature
Dark Past Angst Hurt/Comfort
9

Is it Erik with a C or a K?

Complete

by 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

11,822 kudos 5,416 words ~22 min read Explicit
Sexting Anal Sex Office Desk Sex
10

An Act Too Often Neglected

Complete

by 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.

11,472 kudos 1,501 words ~7 min read Teen And Up Audiences
POV Outsider Alternate Universe - Canon Logan's life is hard
11

In The Punch Line

Complete

by 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.

11,061 kudos 29,533 words ~119 min read Explicit
Fake/Pretend Relationship School Reunion Alternate Universe - Modern Setting
12

irreconcilable differences (make for surprisingly good bedfellows)

Complete

by 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

10,710 kudos 10,125 words ~41 min read Teen And Up Audiences
Alternate Universe - Modern Setting Alternate Universe - Still Have Powers Politics
13

Took Me By Surprise and Then

Complete

by thehoyden

After the second surgery in New York, Charles doesn’t anticipate anyone keeping vigil by his bedside — and certainly not Tony Stark.

10,647 kudos 5,513 words ~23 min read Teen And Up Audiences
14

Accidentally Welcome to the Rest of Your Lives

Complete

by 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.

10,462 kudos 2,484 words ~10 min read Explicit
Alternate Universe Alternate Universe - Modern Setting Alternate Universe - College/University
15

For The Record

Complete

by 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

9,851 kudos 6,419 words ~26 min read Mature
Alternate Universe - Still Have Powers Mutant Rights News Media
16

hold your hope against the wall

Complete

by 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.

9,846 kudos 3,561 words ~15 min read Teen And Up Audiences
soulmate!AU
17

The Masked Man (Who Has Everything)

Complete

by Traincat

The one where Erik is Batman, and Charles is kidnapped roughly once a week.

9,664 kudos 8,106 words ~33 min read Mature
AU
18

Idiot Control Now

Complete

by 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.

9,539 kudos 3,941 words ~16 min read General Audiences
Hurt/Comfort No Beach Divorce Fluff
19

Family is What You Make It

Complete

by 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

9,270 kudos 74,455 words ~298 min read Not Rated
Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Not Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant Hurt/Comfort
20

Marrying a Mob

Complete

by 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

8,838 kudos 49,314 words ~198 min read Mature
Alternate Universe - Gangsters Merrily adding to my WIPS Because Erik the stern Mob Boss is a Legitimate Need

Cherik Fanfics by Length

Pick a reading commitment — from one-sitting one-shots to 100k+ epics:

Characters

Erik Lehnsherr
Charles Xavier

Common Cherik Tropes

Browse curated Cherik fic recs by trope:

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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Fanfict Reader is the best way to browse, search, and read AO3 fanfiction on your iPhone. Download for free and start reading your favorite Cherik fics today.

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