Work Text:
The mid-day sun was warm against Charles' face, cooled by a gentle breeze blowing across the mansion's grounds. It was August, so the school was quieter than it was during most of the year, with students whose family accepted them home visiting their loved ones. There were still students at the school, as there always were, and a few of those students were outside enjoying the sun further out on the grounds, where there was a river that ran through the property.
“Papa! Papa, look!” Lorna's screech was high-pitched and filled with an innocent, youthful excitement, pulling Charles from his thoughts and bringing him back into the present.
He smiled fondly at his daughter as she began yelling again, screeching and jumping up and down as her hands sparked with green energy. Erik pushed himself from the chair he had been lounging in, taking the hat he'd been using to cover his face from the sun off and popping it onto Charles' bare scalp with a tsk of his tongue. Charles rolled his eyes at him, watching as Erik ambled across the lawn to Lorna's excited shouting.
“Look it, I caught a butterfly!” Lorna exclaimed excitedly, voice carrying over the grass. Charles couldn't help the way his smile softened even further, remembering the journey it had taken all three of them to become the comfortable family unit that they were today.
Lorna's glowing hands raised into the air, and a metal box punctured through with small holes and a glass screen floated down until it was hovering just about her fingers. The lid was on a track that allowed it to slide on and off and the whole thing was something Erik had helped her craft during the last few evenings after dinner. As Charles watched, the box turned through the air until the glass panel was facing both himself and Erik. Inside the metal box was a butterfly, going from flapping its wings wildly to sitting still in the box in a way that showed off it’s beautiful wings.
“Excellent work, you triumphant girl!” Erik praised her, scooping down to pick her up and settle her on his hip. “Charles, do you see what our daughter's accomplished!”
Charles grinned, pressing his mind into Lorna's instead of shouting across the yard and saying, Wonderful work, darling. But don't keep it for too long, butterflies are meant to be free.
I won’t, she projected back, giggling when Erik began dancing her around the grass. Charles couldn’t stop the smile from overtaking his face or the warm, soft feeling that felt suspiciously like hope rising within his chest. After another minute of cooing over the butterfly’s wings, Lorna let the creature free, and he and Erik caught each other’s eyes and felt the same tremendous amount of freedom-mixed-pride, knowing their daughter could be just as free as the fluttering creature she’d let go.