Chapter Text
Erik groaned and dropped his head into his hands, running his fingers through his hair over and over. He couldn’t believe this was happening. How was he supposed to deal with two somehow always sugar crazed mutant children all day. There was no way.
He loved his children dearly, of course. Pietro and Wanda brought him an insane amount of joy and he doesn’t know what he would do without them. But they are just so much to handle along with balancing his company. Why Erik ever thought opening his own engineering firm was a good idea is beyond him. Fortunately for him, his business was flourishing and he and his children were well off.
Erik worked from home to cover all the hours the daycare hadn’t covered. Magda hadn’t reacted well when she found out that she was going to have twins, right before they were going to buy a house together, of all times.
“If you want these kids so bad Erik, you are raising them all by yourself. Them or me” she had said.
He had chosen the children. And through all of the colicky nights and trying to figure out how to hold two teething infants, he sometimes wish he had put more thought into that decision. But when Wanda’s first words were ‘papa’ and Pietro walked on wobbly legs into his arms, it was all worth it and he didn’t regret a second.
Here they are, four years later. He had two beautiful children than he loved more had thought he was capable of. People always told him he was rather distant. That he couldn’t show emotion unless it was accompanied by his shark like smile. He doted on the twins more than he probably should, for all he complained to his business partner Azazel about them being spoiled.
As soon as he realized that at 2, Wanda had the power to manipulate probability, by having the sudden urge to give her the rest of the cookies even against the slim odds that he would, and that Pietro had a keen interest for speed, he knew that he wouldn’t be able to do it alone. He had at a time considered making them wear some sort of metal at all times and keep them levitated above his head while he worked, it didn’t seem realistic.
So Erik found himself scouring the internet for hours trying to find a suitable daycare for his children, and that would also cater to their abilities. Just as he was about to give in to his previous ideas, he found it.
The Xavier Daycare for Gifted Youngsters.
It was run by one Charles Xavier, who himself was a telepath. Erik could see how that would come in handy when dealing with small children.
After doing intensive background checks, no one could ever accuse him of not caring for his children’s safety, he signed them up to start the following Monday.
While Erik had never personally met Mr. Xavier, Wanda and Pietro had absolutely loved ‘Mr. X’, as all the children at the daycare called him. At dinner they would tell story after story of their adventures, and proudly showed their Papa what they had learned that day.
Except for today that is.
Usually Erik waited patiently outside the building for the twins to appear. The daycare building was close enough to walk to and gave him a break from his home office. But today a shorter man with neatly combed dark hair and the bluest eyes that Erik had ever seen popped his head through the door.
“Mr. Lehnsherr? I’m Charles Xavier, the teacher? If you have a minute, I have some things to discuss with you”. The cardigan wearing man had a distinct British accent, which was more attractive to Erik than it should be.
He internally groaned, thinking of all the possible things his children could have gotten into.
At least he thought it was internal until Charles laughed. He must have looked confused because Charles was ready with an apology.
“I’m terribly sorry, friend” he tapped a finger to his temple, “It’s hard to keep everything out now and then, especially after a log day. I will try my best to stay out of your head. Though I assure you, your children are absolute angels”
Erik snorted, “Obviously you haven’t tried to get them into bed”
Charles laughed. Erik felt the urge to make this man laugh his personal duty. And where did that come from? Remembering that Charles was a telepath, Erik quickly reigned in his thoughts.
“The children aside, well this does pertain to them I suppose, mind stepping in for a quick chat?”
Charles led him through a short hallway that was covered floor to ceiling with various paintings and drawing that the student had made. Some of them had cheery messages written in shaky capital letters, all addressed to none other than Charles Xavier.
“The children seem to love you. Not just mine, either” Erik remarked when they finally sat in what Erik presumed was Charles’ office. He could hear his kids and some others playing in the adjoining room.
“Don’t worry, my assistant Hank is watching them. And, yes, it seems that way. Which is why this is so sad” and he did seem genuinely upset. Someone as great as Charles should never be upset.
“Ok what the hell Lehnsherr? You’ve just met the man. Stop thinking about his eyes, and that stupid cardigan, and his laugh and oh, get it together” Erik thought to himself.
“You see, not everyone is kind to mutants, as you know. I think Pietro mentioned you can manipulate metal?” Charles asked, leaning forward and eyes glimmering with curiosity.
Suddenly the pen that had been lying on the desk picked itself up and wrote ‘yes’ on a spare piece of paper, quite neatly, Erik thought smugly.
And there was that laugh again, this time colored with astonishment.
“Such fine control too! That is amazing Mr. Lehnsherr”
Erik held up a hand, “Just Erik please”
Charles offered him a small smile, “Alright then Erik. Then you should call me Charles. But back to the matter at hand. The mutant community isn’t always treated with respect. And as such, the local government has been trying to get me shut down for years.
“Somehow, they managed to catch me with tax fraud. In all reality, I assure you, they had just managed to convince the IRS that my fours look like nines and I was trying to pay less taxes. So they finally have the excuse they have been looking for”
Erik felt his jaw drop. This daycare had prevented him from going insane these past two years. Having the twins running around at night was enough to drive him up the wall. And here he was, head in his hands.
Charles stood up, walked around the desk, and knelt by his chair. A hand covered his own and gave it a comforting squeeze, causing his head to snap up and stare into those gorgeous eyes.
“I understand that this is hard for you, especially since I have gathered that the mother isn’t around. Your children love you, and you love them. Try not to throttle them” he lightly joked.
“Clearly I love them. Your school came with quite the price tag, Charles”
“To which I apologize. Some things we can just not get around. If there is anything I can do for you, Erik, please let me know” and by god, Erik believed that he meant it.
“Unless you are also a nanny service, there isn’t much you can do”
He had meant for it to be a joke, even if a tiny part of him was dead serious. But apparently desperation was clear on his face.
“I could do that. I am in need of a job now”