Chapter Text
Raven drives Charles back to his apartment. He's silent the whole way through, pressing his forehead against the cold window, looking out at the city blocks going by. Raven's oddly quiet for once, giving him space, and that's how he knows he's well and truly fucked.
He clenches his fists the whole way back, wondering if he and Erik can go back to the way things were.
He's cogent enough to open his car door, but Raven doesn't let him fumble for his keys. Instead, she uses the spare he keeps buried in the soil of the potted day lily to the left of his door.
She nudges the door open with her shoulder and motions with her head that he can go in first.
He lets himself fall face down onto his couch, listening to whatever documentary he left running on TV. He knows Raven hates these sort of dramatics, but he thinks he deserves it tonight.
Raven's puttering about his tiny kitchen. He hears her open the fridge door, but there's not much there, since he's started to rely on Erik for all his non-take-out food. In the end, she starts boiling a pot of water, and takes out the stash of hot chocolate she always keeps here.
Charles pulls himself up and smells himself. He doesn't smell any different, he smells like he always has. Why then - Why -
Raven sets a mug of hot coca into his hands.
"Why are you smelling your armpits?" she asks.
"Raven, do I smell like an omega?"
Raven goes entirely still. "What the everloving fuck are you talking about?"
"So you didn't know right? Tell me."
Raven takes the mug out of his hands, and sits next to him, taking his hands into hers. "What did Lehnsherr tell you? Do I need to make good on my threat to kill him with my high heels?"
"What? Raven, did you seriously do that? I told you to quit giving all my boyfriends that talk!"
"I'm the nearest thing you have to family; it's my pleasure and my duty to do it. But tell me," she squeezes his hands, "what happened."
"He said I was an omega, that he could smell my cycle, that he was courting me as an omega. I thought... he was just being nice you know? And I liked getting that kind of attention, what with the food he kept bringing me -"
"Wait," she interrupts. "He was bringing you food, food he made?"
"Yes, what does that - "
Raven curses. "Listen. Erik could just be a gaping asshole, but when I met him for dinner, I got the impression he's an honest alpha. I don't think he'd joke about this, and if he was messing with you, it doesn't make sense. He gave me the fucking wine, and I thought it was cute, but he gave you food he made. That's not something -"
She takes a deep breath. "Ok. I know this is very confusing for you. I'm sure Erik is just as confused; I know I am. From what I know of Erik, he wouldn't lie about this, and he definitely acts like an alpha courting an omega."
Charles lifts up his sweater, smells it, and then tries to smell his elbows and belly. "How can I not know?" he mumbles through the sweater.
"Cycles aren't always obvious, Charles. And sex... I can't believe I'm giving you the sex talk. Charles why did I convince you to ditch sex ed for me?"
He gives a small smile at that. "Because who else would pay for your smoothies?"
Her eyes go soft, and she throws a fringe pillow at his face. "You wouldn't have gotten wet during sex, because that's what courting's all about. As for scent. Well, you know there really isn't a definitive scent for any sex, no matter what everyone likes to say."
He extricates himself from his sweater and takes a long drink of the cocoa. "But how would he know when no one else does?"
Raven lowers her eyes, and looks at the TV. "You're the science geek, you know all about Darwin and survival of the fittest and most appealing scents, right?"
He frowns. "Of course I do, and even if I wasn't a scientist, I'd know because they covered it in 8th grade science class. Which I didn't skip for you."
He did, however, skip the dinner Erik promised him - "I promise it'll be the best meal you've ever eaten," he'd said as he smiled against his neck - and Charles is hungry. He looks inside his microwave, and there's the container of leftover steak. Hitting the reheat button, he waits for it to ding.
Raven's lip is curled. "You didn't even refrigerate that, did you?"
"Nope."
"Well, then you remember from Ms. Onstein's class that some scents are less detectable, because it's supposed to mean whoever can catch the scent are extremely compatible."
And then she throws her arms over the couch and grins deviously. "You know... some people might even say you're..."
Charles rolls his eyes. "Get on with it Raven."
"...soulmates."
And Charles just won't let that stand. He grabs a dish towel and throws it at her head. Raven dodges, making it look like a careless toss of her head. She grabs a pillow, and Charles races for a blanket. He hits her with the blanket, and she hides behind the pillow.
Charles is entirely unashamed that he's having a pillow fight with her. He laughs, she squeals, and the TV remote gets knocked to the floor, which Raven steps on, changing the channel to an action film with explosions.
They end, exhausted and happy, on the floor wrapped up in opposite ends of the blankets.
"So what are you going to do?" Raven asks, turning to face him.
"I don't know."
"Even if you don't stay with Erik, you're going to have to catch up on all the things about being an omega you didn't learn."
"No, I want to stay with Erik."
Raven looks at him. "You're like my brother. I will support whatever decision you make. I think he's good for you, but if you stay with him, you're going to have to talk about what the two of you want, if you still want to be courted, or if you'd rather date."
"I think I would've liked him, even if we weren't what we are."
Raven presses a kiss to his cheek, and he's certain he's going to be rubbing Grapefuit Revolt lipstick off.
"Good. Now let's get some food in you. Food that has been refrigerated."
Charles watches Raven roll out the blanket and search his fridge again. Things might be hard, but the fact he's capable of being pregnant really isn't that life-changing. Things are different now than in his grandfather's time.
He paws around the coffee table for his phone.
Are we still good? he sends to Erik.
Raven yanks him off the floor - she doesn't get the delights of eating dinner on the floor - and they set in for a late supper. Charles helps Raven clean up, and she insists on staying the night.
"You just found out you're an omega," she says. "Since Erik can't be here to give you TLC, you'll have to settle for me."
She's stayed often enough that she has a stay-over kit holed up beneath his bathroom sink. As she brushes her teeth, Charles' phone buzzes.
We are.
Charles smiles to himself.
"Come on," Raven calls from the hall. "Wipe that grin off your face, we're heading to sleep!"
Charles trots away to make sure Raven doesn't commandeer his blankets to her futon.