Chapter Text
For a month, Charles had been staying in the twins' life fairly regularly. At least once a week, he would make the effort to come over, eat dinner with the three of them, or, on the occasion that Erik was working Charles would still come over and let Magda leave or pick the kids up from school.
Erik still struggled with the idea of leaving Charles alone with the children. Or, more accurately, he struggled with the idea of Charles actually showing up to pick up the kids or relieve Magda of her duties. But still, Charles was proving himself and showing up as he said he would, whether or not Erik was going to be there and supervise.
The kids, for their part, seemed to enjoy their time with Charles. Even without knowing they were spending time with their other father, it was like there was some kind of connection there and they were always excited to see him coming. And they never knew ahead of time, just because of Erik’s inability to trust Charles. It felt like the worst thing he could do would be to trust Charles, tell the kids he would be there, and then him not show up. No, a happy little surprise anytime he showed up was for the best.
So, when Erik was at work and knew Charles was supposed to show up and pick the children up from Pre-K, seeing the number of the school on his phone, calling insistently made his heart drop. Work or not, nothing was more important than his son and daughter.
“Hello?” He asked as soon as he answered the phone.
“Mr. Lehnsherr,” Came the reply, sounding a little panicked and Erik lowered himself down onto the steps he was standing on. “There was an accident on the playground, Pietro. We’ve called an ambulance.” The woman sounded as panicked as Erik felt but he was also fairly certain no one could ever be as terrified as he was. It was only then that he realized the sound in the background of the call was his son screaming and crying.
“What happened?” He managed to ask in a strained voice, trying to fight back the tears and a panic attack. But the crying was enough to get him up and moving, grabbing his keys and spreading the word around that he was leaving. For all he cared, they could fire him. Nothing was more important than Pietro.
“He was on some playground equipment and climbed onto the very top. I think he lost balance and fell, maybe he jumped, I’m not certain. He landed on his arm. He’s crying and holding it. I don't know if there’s anything else or not.”
“Okay, you’ve called an ambulance right?” He asked, getting into his car, “I’m on my way now. Just stay with him.” He ended the call without another word.
At a later point, he’ll think about this and realize that the pre-k kids weren’t even supposed to be on the big kids' playground equipment. There were a couple of smaller sets for them to be on and the teachers were supposed to be watching them but, at the moment, the only thing in his mind was that Pietro was hurt and he wasn’t with his darling boy.
As he started driving—maybe a little faster than he should have been—he called Charles, hoping against hope that he would answer in the middle of the day on a Tuesday.
“Come on, come on,” He mumbled but then ended up getting voicemail. “Charles, call me back as soon as you can. It’s Pietro, he got hurt at school. We’ll probably be at the ER.” He ended the call and kept going. Hopefully, soon enough Charles would check the message. This was one thing Erik didn’t know how to do on his own and thought Charles deserved to know about it.
From there it was a simple call to Magda, “Erik? What’s going on?” She asked and Erik hated to interrupt her on what was supposed to be her day off but sometimes things happened.
“Could you pick Wanda up from school for me?” He asked, not even thinking about explaining what had happened.
“Did Charles bail? Are you okay? Is something wrong?” The questions came from her rapidly and Erik realized he had to backtrack a little.
“Pietro got hurt at school, I don’t know much more than that other than they’re taking him to the hospital. I’ve called Charles to tell him, I don’t know what he’s going to do. I didn’t get an answer, so I left a message. I just need to make sure Wanda is picked up too and taken care of.”
“You know you can count on me, Erik,” Magda said softly, “Let me know how Pietro is as soon as you learn anything. I’ll get Wanda, don’t worry about her.”
“Thanks, you’re a lifesaver, Mags,” Erik replied and ended the call, feeling fractionally more relaxed now than he did before. He wouldn’t be fully relaxed until he was sure Pietro was okay, maybe not until they were all back home and he had both of his babies in his arms again.
He got to the school just as Pietro was being loaded into the back, sniffling and holding his arm to his chest. His face was red and tear-streaked, eyes bloodshot and squinted together. A moment later he closed his eyes, looking miserable and Erik’s heart broke the way it always did when he saw either of his kids crying in pain or sick.
“Hey, maus,” He said softly, pushing the white-blond hair back gently from his son’s head, pressing a kiss to his forehead.
“Papa,” Pietro mumbled in a sad, broken little voice and Erik wanted to gather his boy up in his arms but knew that wouldn’t help. They settled into the back of the ambulance, Erik joining without a second thought. He kept one hand on his son’s and the other gently rubbing his good arm.
“It’s okay, Piet,” He said softly, “Everything’s going to be okay.” There were a couple of EMTs with them, mostly just watching now and making sure that Pietro didn’t move his arm any more than he had to.
The ride to the hospital was some of the longest minutes of Erik’s life and then he was being led into a room while Pietro was taken back for X-rays.
As he waited, his phone started ringing and he pulled it out, seeing it was Charles so he answered.
“What’s going on? Have you learned anything?” Charles asked, sounding as rushed and worried as Erik was.
“He’s getting x-rays now, we just got here,” Erik replied, “He’d stopped crying but I could tell it still hurt him.” He paused for a moment, “Are you coming here? I called Magda and she agreed to pick Wanda up.”
“I’m on my way now, love. I should be there in five minutes or so, sorry I didn’t get back to you faster. I was working and didn’t have my phone on me,” Charles replied.
“It’s okay, not much has happened yet after all. I’ll see you soon then?” Erik hated the way he sounded, as though he was the lost little boy instead of Pietro. He winced but there wasn’t anything he could do about it. He couldn’t take it back and trying to would probably just make it worse.
“Of course. Just a few minutes. Bye,” Charles said and the call ended as Erik slowly lowered his phone back to his lap, tightly wrapped in his hand.
At some point, someone came in with some papers and handed them off to Erik. Those helped to pass the time a little, giving him something to focus on and feel useful, adding his son's information to them. But even then, they were finished before he found out anything.
Apparently, the papers kept his mind busy for a few minutes at least, as Charles rolled in soon after he was finished, joining him in waiting. “Still haven't heard anything?” He asked.
Erik shook his head, “No, nothing yet.” He didn’t want to admit how afraid he was, but he knew it didn’t matter. Charles had always been able to read him with ease and Erik was sure this would be no different.
A warm hand was placed on his arm and Erik looked over at Charles. The look of care and worry on Charles’s face was enough to let Erik know his suspicions were correct.
“Darling,” Charles started softly, “He’s going to be okay. He’s strong and brave. You’ve done so well with him. I’m sure he’ll be back here soon and get a cast on his arm and everything will be okay again.”
Erik nodded a little, “He just looked so small and hurt. I always hate it when they get hurt. A small cut or scrape is bad enough. This is so much worse than that.”
“But you and Pietro have made it through scraped knees and elbows. He’ll make it through this too. You both will. Though he might be more annoyed with this than his usual scrapes and scratches.”
“Yeah, he’ll hate having a cast. I know it’s irrational, but I want to bundle him up and make sure he never gets hurt. Him and Wanda both,” Erik says softly, looking down at his hands, one of Charles’s clasped between them. He doesn’t even remember when that happened.
“It is irrational. You can’t protect them from everything. He’s a little child. They’re both going to get hurt and you’re not going to be able to stop them. I know you want to, I want to keep them safe too. But sometimes they have to get hurt in order to learn. After this, I think it’s safe to say he’ll be a little more careful at school and not repeat this.”
Erik sighed but had to admit that Charles was right. Though only to himself, he was admitting it. Charles knew a few things about children, but Erik was the one raising their kids. He didn’t want to admit that Charles had some points and maybe knew a few things about the topic.
“Come here, Erik,” Charles said softly and Erik found himself leaning in, hugging Charles for the first time in years. He hated it. The man felt just as warm and comforting as he had all those years ago the first time Erik hugged him. The first time they woke up in each other’s arms. The last time they woke up in each other’s arms and Erik had no idea of what was coming.
The last thought was the only thing stopping him from letting those three little words slip from his lips. It would be all too easy to fall back into old habits and let Charles come rolling back into his life.
The door opened and Erik leaned back. Pietro was rolled into the room and a nurse smiled at the two of them.
“Have we found the right room?” The man asked, looking at the two of them.
“Yeah, I’m his father,” Erik replied, and then seeing the nurse look from him to Charles briefly, Erik continued, “He is too.” It felt easier than getting into the whole, complicated situation.
The nurse nodded and then continued on, going to explain that Pietro’s arm was, indeed, broken and he would soon be getting a cast for it. The idea seemed to make Pietro perk up a little behind the man.
“Can it be pink?” He asked and Erik felt a small smile pulling at his mouth.
“It can be whatever color you want it to be,” The nurse replied and Erik nodded in agreement.
“If you want it to be, maus,” Erik replied, “it certainly can be.”
The boy smiled a little, though he still looked tired as he settled back against the bed. As the nurse continued to talk to the boy's parents, he drifted off to sleep.
As soon as the nurse left the room, Erik looked at Pietro and then at Charles, not knowing where to start now.
“You called me his father,” Charles said softly, looking at Erik, almost in awe.
Erik gave a small, quick smile in his direction, “I didn’t know how else to explain it and, technically, I don’t think I was wrong. You were supposed to be his father, after all.”
“I’m sorry,” Charles said softly, “That I failed you and the twins. I was an idiot for ever betraying my family.”
“You were,” Erik agreed without hesitation and Charles made a face, somewhere between a wince and a smile.
“Okay, I definitely deserved that. You know, I’m still not expecting you to forgive me for that. I don’t deserve it. I don’t deserve a second chance. But I have appreciated the last month of being in your life and the kids' lives again.”
Erik nodded, his eyes settling on his son’s sleeping form again. It was easier to watch him than Charles. Plus, having Pietro back made him relax a little, knowing he was there, he was okay enough to sleep, it was reassuring.
“I…it’s been nice to have you in our lives again. But I can’t pretend I’m not still hurt about that. It’s like recently I’ve been faced with what our lives could have been and it hurts. It hurts knowing what we could’ve had. Seeing you with the kids though…I’m not going to take that away from you. I’m not going to take their father out of their lives. You’re always welcome to spend time with them. You’re welcome to spend as much time at home as you want,” Erik said softly, feeling like this might not be the best time or place but they were talking and that was…something. Right?
“Thank you, love,” Charles said softly. “But what about you? I’ve noticed you’ve not exactly moved on. The only relationship I’ve seen anything about was you and Magda and we both know that’s not a real relationship.”
“Ow,” Erik replied and glanced over at Charles, a little hurt by that.
“Okay, it’s a relationship, but you’re not dating. Are you still caught up on us?” Charles asked and Erik gave him a look of annoyance.
“Charles,” Erik said in warning and Charles gave him an innocent look.
“What? I’m merely asking a question,” Charles replied.
“What are you wanting? For me to tell you the truth? That I still love you? That I’m not over you and not sure I ever will be? But I’m not sure I can actually trust you at all. That I’m waiting for you to leave again at any second, to just dip from our lives like you did the last time. That I’m afraid of getting hurt again and terrified the children will get hurt again too in the process.” Once the words started, they just kept going from Erik.
Charles nodded a little, looking down at his hands, “I know I fucked up,” He said softly, “And I can completely understand you feeling that way. If someone did to me what I did to you I would feel the same way. I love you still too, and Erik, darling, I’ll spend the rest of my life doing everything I can to prove to you that you’re still the only one I love. I’ll spend the rest of my days trying to gain your trust back. Even if I don’t get the chance at another relationship, I’m still going to do everything I can.”
Erik looked at Charles, trying to sort through the emotions and thoughts flooding through him but one stood out above all the rest. “I promised you my life once before. And you did the same to me. That was the trust I gave you and you broke it. So excuse me if I don’t believe you saying you’ll love me and only me for the rest of your life this time.”
“I feel like I should tell you to tell me if I’m wasting my time here, but I don’t think I could ever waste my time with you. Like I said, I don’t care if we’re just doing what we have been doing the last month for as long as you’ll let me. I’ll take what I can get and cherish every minute of it,” Charles whispered and it seemed like he had tears in his eyes.
Very careful to not look directly at Charles, Erik shook his head a little, “I think we’re done talking about this,” He said softly, “It’s going to take more than a month to reach anything near forgiveness. Ask me again in a year and we can talk then. For now, our children are back in your life and if you can go a year without fucking some random person behind my back then maybe we’ll see. That’s all I can give you right now. I need more time and I need proof that I can trust you.”
“I can do that,” Charles whispered and then moved back a little to give Erik some more space.
It was only a couple of minutes later that the door opened again and someone came in to give Pietro the pink cast he had been asking for. Everything else could wait for another day. Right now, Erik was emotionally exhausted and their son was their main priority.