"The same way you would if I made you talk about your fantasies," Erik retorts, because he knows what Charles is like, glib and brimming with pickup lines he must have practiced in front of a mirror, at least until someone (...Erik) demands he actually state his explicit wants. Because Erik has absolutely no finesse at all, nor interest in acquiring any, he tends to just baldly say what he means; they are a work in progress, as always.

He lets Charles outline him the way he wants to anyway, though; there's no harm in it, and although Erik would be loathe to say as much it makes him feel more real himself. "And I could say the same," and now his teeth do show in his smile, the kind that aren't very nice, "but I was preoccupied. The usual pokes and prods."

Charles may interpret for himself what that means, but it's not exactly a riddle, given Erik's history as a lab rat. "We're not talking about it," he warns, although not ungently. "There are better uses for your worry."

Which means forthrightly biting Charles' fingertips again is just cheating, but Erik has never claimed to be above shameless manipulation.