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There was something soothing about feeling the wind against his face as the car drove through the empty highway, the radio playing some random cheery country love song that no one in the car was paying attention, not even Erik since he hadn't changed the station yet, the kids talking between themselves in the back, and the constant feeling of his boyfriend's and both their children's minds against his. He almost felt peaceful, considering he had been nothing but stressed since the idea of going on a trip together was suggested.
It was Charles' idea that they enjoyed the end of the summer on a camping trip together, but that didn't mean he thought it was the best idea.
"It's a way so your kids can get used to me," Charles had argued, watching Erik doing the dishes from their dinner together from the kitchen door. David was away that night at Raven's, and Erik's kids were with their mother — a rare occasion where both of them could enjoy a whole day together. "And so David can get used to you and your children as well…"
"But why camping?" Erik had questioned, giving Charles a quick glance before his focus was on the dishes again.
"It's better, don't you think? An open space where they can use their powers without trouble, a lot more silent, too."
Erik had grinned, looking at Charles with an amused expression that made Charles raise his eyebrows.
"You say that," Erik had chuckled out, drying his hands to turn around and look directly at Charles. He looked beautiful there, leaning against the counter, all sharp edged and lean bodied. "But you'll regret your decision once Pietro decides to run through the trees and get lost, or when Wanda turns the woods into some kind of fae world just for the sake of it."
Charles had laughed then, shrugging right before saying, "Unless David does that first."
Now, there they were, in a rented minivan (Charles had tried to convince Erik to go with both cars, but Erik had argued they should go together so the kids would be forced to socialize, even at the cost of driving a minivan) with five kids on the backseat and camping equipment in the trunk.
At least hell hadn't broken loose yet, and Erik's four kids were comfortable enough around Charles now to be okay with his presence, even if they were still trying to figure out David, the boy in question seemingly getting along with Pietro nicely, even with their age difference — David being eleven and Pietro being thirteen, just starting his adolescence. They seemed to rant about something Charles didn't understand, and the loud happiness in his son's mind at finding someone who allowed him to ramble about his things made Charles smile a little to himself.
Anya seemed to be asleep with her headphones playing a completely different song from the one playing on the radio, Lorna resting her head against her sister's arm as she slept as well, and Wanda seemed focused on the road, her toy robot carefully being held by her arms.
"It used to be a teddy bear," Erik had explained once when Charles was over at his house, arriving early and finding Erik cleaning the mess left by the kids. "Magda bought it for her and she wouldn't let go of it, so it got dirty and at some point not even sewing it made it look good again. When her powers manifested, she made it look like it looked when we first gave it to her, and then one day she decided she was tired of a teddy bear."
"So she turned it into a robot?"
"No," Erik chuckled, putting the robot on the couch carefully, picking the rest of the toys and putting it inside a basket. "She turned it into a penguin, then a snake, then a shark, then a robot when she saw Pietro playing with one. She's stopping playing with toys, but won't let this one go."
"We're almost there," Erik said by his side now, turning his eyes from the road for a second to look at Charles before looking forward again. "You said it's a cabin in the woods?"
"Mhm," Charles confirmed, moving a little on his seat to avoid pressure sores before looking at Erik. He had to pause for a moment to admire Erik with the sunglasses. "It's small, but I figured it was better. David will be more comfortable, and you told me Pietro has trouble with new things too, so I thought a bed would beat the ground."
"Me and Magda already talked about it with him in advance," Erik nodded, smiling a little. "I'm sure you did the same with David?"
"Had to make a deal with him," Charles chuckled, looking at his son through the rearview mirror, seeing him still deep in conversation with Pietro. "Said we'll only stay there for a week and a week only. He'll be counting the days to go back, but don't take it as him not enjoying it…"
"I know," Erik nodded again, eyes going to Charles again with a reassuring smile on his face now. "His mind will be focusing on that. Pietro does that sometimes."
"Good," Charles hummed, hand patting Erik's thigh for a moment. "And the others?"
"Anya is just glad there's Wi-Fi there," Erik sighed, making Charles snort. "Lorna is three, so she's expecting a big adventure; Wanda is… cool with it, I think. She seemed excited."
"Do you think it was a good idea?"
Erik frowned at the question, turning to look at Charles fully now. If it was any other person, if Erik had any other mutation, Charles would've been worried, but he could feel the grip Erik's power had on the car, the metal parts of it obeying Erik's powers and making it stay in its lane (let alone the way Erik could sense the other cars around them). He seemed to see the uncertainty in Charles' eyes, a quiet smile on his lips now before he reached for Charles' hand, his touch warm and comforting.
"Camping? Never a good idea," Erik said, making Charles grunt. "But we'll be trapped together for a whole week, kids and all, and that will be good for both of us and the kids. I'll be able to confirm you are a great man around my children, and hopefully I'll be able to bond with David too. We need that if we're going to move together at some point, won't we?"
Charles blushed a little, chuckling and nodding at Erik's words. It had been six months since they started dating, and yet Charles couldn't help but to feel joy at the thought of moving in with Erik — a big responsibility considering Erik had his four kids over every other week.
"And Magda really didn't want to come?"
"Oh, she would've loved to come and seduce you to steal you from me," Erik joked, Charles' laugh getting carried by the wind — he had met Magda once, and Charles still remembered how flirtatious the woman was. "But let's face it, she loves the kids more than anything, but this is vacation for her too."
"Then we shall let her rest."
"While we deal with five kids in the middle of the woods."
"Is that your problem with camping?"
"I have many problems with camping," Erik muttered, eyes back on the road finally, hand still holding Charles'. "But as long as they keep something metal with them and I can feel where they are all the time then hopefully that won't be one."
"Dad," David's voice called from the backseat, Charles' attention going to David immediately as he looked behind himself to see David's blue and green eyes staring back at him. "I need to pee."
"Me too," Pietro announced, raising his hand like he was in a class.
"I'd like to go as well," Wanda chimed in, staring at Charles and Erik with pleading eyes.
Next to Charles, Erik sighed, although there was a smile on his face as he slowed the car down to go to the side of the road before muttering, "I was waiting for this to happen."
The cabin was small, just two rooms, a living room, a small kitchen and only one bathroom (Charles just hoped it wouldn't be that much of a problem through the week). Even so, it had enough space for Charles to move freely and absolutely no stairs, which was always a good thing for him. Pietro convinced David to go with him to claim their room, the girls following suit to claim theirs, only Lorna staying behind and asking Charles if she could sit on his lap. Charles had agreed, and the girl's mind seemed to shine with childish happiness at being carried everywhere now.
"Are you sure you'll be okay with only the sofa bed?" Erik asked, putting their baggage on the ground and smiling at Lorna on Charles' lap. "I can make the boys sleep there so you at least have a bed."
"You, as a father of four, should know I'd give up any comfort for David," Charles argued, doing a spin with his chair as Lorna laughed. "Also, I can feel Pietro's and David's minds as they test the beds, and the mattress is very, very soft. Not good for my back, so the sofa bed will be a better option either way."
"It's not an excuse so we sleep together?"
"Why? Do you mind sleeping on the same sofa bed with me, Erik Lehnsherr?" Charles asked with a grin.
"I absolutely do not mind sharing a sofa bed, Charles Xavier."
Charles chuckled, seeing Lorna looking at him and Erik with a frown, wondering what exactly was happening there. Charles only ran a hand through the girl's green locks, watching with amusement as Anya came to the living room asking for the Wi-Fi password.
"Don't you want to go outside first?" Erik asked, eyebrows raised. "I'm sure there's animals around. Bunnies- you like bunnies. Maybe you should try finding one."
Anya blinked up at him, face blank and mind impatient, until Erik sighed and showed her where the password was. Before she left the living room, phone already connected to the internet, she stopped in her tracks and awkwardly turned around, looking at Erik and giving him a shrug.
"We could look for bunnies later," she mumbled, leaving as soon as she came. Erik's mind seemed to light up with the suggestion.
"See?" Charles said, Erik turning to look at him with a happy expression. "Told you camping was a good idea."
Charles couldn't be happier as the days went by, the trip working nicely and all the kids getting along well enough, with only a few fights here and there that soon were quickly solved. On the first day, they had dined under the stars and around a bonfire, and Charles had almost cried when Erik's kids said he was great and that they wanted Charles around all the time. As they laid down to sleep on their sofa bed, all the kids already in their rooms and getting ready to sleep too, Charles had smiled brightly at Erik, the other man placing a kiss to his lips.
"Told you they'd love you," Erik had told him, voice and mind full of so much love that Charles wanted to grab him and never let go.
On the second day, Erik had sat by David's side on the table outside, the boy sitting alone with his tablet again after Pietro had left to run around. Charles could feel David wanted a time alone from the other boy — as much as he had liked Pietro, he was very energetic, and Charles knew David needed his moment of calm as well; thankfully Pietro didn't seem to mind. Once Charles had confirmed it was okay for Erik to go there, Erik had asked what David was doing, David quickly showing his drawing on the tablet, and Erik revealing he drew as well.
Charles had almost cried again as he watched Erik drawing silly things with David, the boy laughing out loud at the drawings and contributing to them. When Erik had looked up and smiled at Charles, David pulling on Erik's shirt so he paid attention to the drawings again, Charles wondered if it was too early for him to ask Erik to marry him.
On the third day, they had gone to the lake nearby, and Charles had watched from the pier as the children played in the water and laughed, Erik in the middle of them, holding Lorna and making sure none of them would drown. Anya had sat by Charles' side, wearing a long sleeved shirt and shorts, Erik's sunglasses hiding her eyes and earbuds playing something loudly on her ears. Erik had explained to him once why Anya only wore long sleeves, about the burns from the fire that destroyed their home when she was younger, and Charles could feel in her mind how they bothered her — being seventeen and at the worst of her teenage years probably didn't help.
Charles had touched his legs on the day Erik told him that, the scars still on his skin as a reminder of his accident, and it helped to understand Anya a little more.
"Won't you go in?" Charles had asked, Anya taking off one of her earbuds to listen to him, facing up now.
"I don't think so," she replied, a little awkward still around Charles, but enjoying his presence either way. "You?"
"I might force your father to help me into the water later," he shrugged, seeing her smile a little, eyes still hidden by the dark sunglasses. All of Erik's kids either looked too much like Erik or too much like Magda — Anya seemed the perfect mix between them both. "Unless you'd like me to stay here and sit in silence with you? I'm enjoying the company."
Anya laughed a little, shaking her head. "No, man, go ahead. I'm sure dad will be happy to carry you into the water. I'll be fine on my own."
"For now we can sit in silence together," Charles nodded, seeing her nod as well, offering him one of the earbuds after a few seconds. He couldn't quite enjoy the song she was listening, but the fact that she was sharing that with him was enough.
When Charles got into the water with Erik's help, Charles had smiled brightly as Anya entered the water as well, shirt still on, but looking happy for being there and playing with Pietro for a moment.
"Four days and you're already doing wonders for my family," Erik whispered next to Charles' ear as he held Charles close, Charles chuckling at it and placing a kiss on Erik's cheek.
"Do shut up, she would've gone in either way."
Now, on the fifth day, Charles and Erik watched from the front of the cabin as the kids played, Anya sitting with them and leaning against her father's side as she played something on her phone. David seemed happy as he ran after everyone, away from his tablet for once now that there were other kids and a big open space for him to run, and even Lorna was participating as Erik had told them she had to be allowed to play.
"That's right!" Lorna had said, hands on her hips, with all the authority a three year old could muster. "I will play!"
"I see she got that from you as well with your powers," Charles had commented, Anya snorting by Erik's side as Erik rolled his eyes.
Erik had a beer in hand, so did Charles; the wind blew fresh against Charles' face and the children were laughing out loud as they played some kind of variation of tag. Anya's head seemed to perk up after a moment, looking around her and making Charles and Erik stare at her as she chuckled and picked a bug from the floor, the bug walking slowly on her finger until it stopped.
"This little guy was terrified he'd get stepped on by the kids," she explained, putting the bug down again, somewhere safer, as it ran away from where the children were running. "Safe now."
That small distraction was enough to make Charles miss when David fell, hitting the ground with a loud huff as his chin and knee got scraped by a few rocks. When he cried out loud, however, Charles' head snapped back to look at David, seeing him getting up from the ground and holding his knee close.
Erik got up, Charles wheeling himself towards the boy as Pietro kneeled by David's side, reaching inside his pockets for something until he held a few band-aids towards David with an awkward smile.
"Are you alright?" The boy asked David, who sobbed a little, tears still rolling down his face. "It's okay, look- I got band-aids 'cause I fall a lot too. And they have emojis on them!"
"That's cringe," David replied between sobs, Pietro's mouth hanging open as Wanda laughed next to them, Charles trying to hold back his own laughter at his son's quick answers to make sure David would be fine.
In the end, David ended up accepting one of the emoji band-aids Pietro offered him, wearing one with small devil emojis on his chin while Charles cleaned the bruise on his knee.
"Why did you pick the one with the little devils?" Charles asked, trying to distract the boy as he cleaned the blood and dirt from the wound. "There was the one with the emoji sticking its tongue out as well."
"This one's orange, and the emoji sticking its tongue out is awful."
"I like it."
The sheer judgement in David's voice as he said "Well, that's your opinion," made Charles laugh out loud. Erik had come in moments later, giving Charles the first-aid kit he had brought with him and messing with David's hair for a moment, telling the boy he was doing great for not crying while Charles cleaned the wound. David seemed proud of himself for that.
It took a while for David to sleep that night, Charles staying by his bed and calming him down as he complained about the pain, until Pietro distracted him and Charles was able to lay down. Erik held him tightly when he did, placing a kiss to Charles' hair as Charles sighed.
"He's okay, it was just a few scratches," Erik muttered quietly against Charles' hair, the telepath humming back at him and turning to kiss Erik's lips. "He'll feel a lot better tomorrow."
"I know," Charles nodded, smiling up at his boyfriend as he pushed a few strands of hair away from Erik's forehead. "I'm just always worried about him."
"He's a strong boy, like his father."
"Dad?"
Both Charles and Erik looked to the side of the sofa bed, staring at Lorna, who stood there scratching her eye. Erik pulled away from Charles a little, mind alert now, wondering if everything was alright with the girl.
"What is it, Mäuschen?"
"Can I sleep here with you and Charles? It's raining outside- what if there's thunder?"
"Lorna…"
"Pleeeease! I promise I won't kick."
Erik looked down at Charles, a silent question in his eyes if he agreed with it, as well as an apology. Charles only smiled up at him, nodding his agreement. Lorna almost immediately fitted herself between Charles and Erik, happy for being there, and sleeping in just a few seconds.
When they woke up the next morning, Erik had a few new bruises on his ribs from Lorna kicking him in her sleep.
Charles was smiling the whole time as Erik drove on the highway, all the kids asleep in the back and the radio playing some random pop song. The week had gone better than he had imagined (no kids getting lost, thankfully, both him and Erik constantly making sure where each of them were to make sure it wouldn't happen), and more than ever he felt sure he'd be asking Erik to marry him soon, happy to be part of Erik's big family if Erik accepted him and David in it.
Erik seemed happy as well, if only a little tired, like everyone else, and Charles couldn't help but stare at his boyfriend's face lit by the afternoon light with the wind making a mess of his hair. Erik gave him a quick glance, lips curving up into a smile as he saw Charles staring.
"Enjoying the view?" Erik joked, making Charles chuckle a little.
"How against camping are you now?"
"A little less," Erik conceded, shrugging. "But only because we stayed in a cabin, and not in tents. And there weren't too many mosquitoes. And Anya also didn't make the cabin be filled with insects and wild animals."
"She did that?"
"Once, when she was little and me and Magda decided to go camping with her," Erik grimaced. "I guess the phone distracted her enough from doing that. Only one bunny inside the cabin was a victory."
Charles laughed a little, seeing Erik's smile widen.
"Maybe we should go out with them soon again," Erik offered, a little nervous now, as if he was afraid Charles would disagree. "Somewhere closer and only for a day."
"I'd like that," Charles hummed, nervousness leaving Erik almost immediately at the words. "And I think David would like it too. He enjoyed this trip, and I think he'll be missing Pietro now."
"Then we should definitely do it again and hang around with them," Erik nodded, smiling a little to himself as he said, "So my kids get used to David as their new sibling and David gets used to having four siblings…"
Charles smiled brightly, feeling a warmth across his chest at the words and bringing his hand to run his fingers through the hairs at the back of Erik's head softly. Erik leaned against the touch, body seemingly relaxing with it.
"What are you trying to say, Erik Lehnsherr?" Charles asked, seeing a flush appear on Erik's face.
"That I want you in my life, Charles Xavier," Erik muttered, eyes still on the road, hidden by the sunglasses. Even if his eyes were hidden, Charles could feel the truth in his words.
"Good," Charles said, Erik's eyes sparing him a glance and seeing the smile on Charles' lips. "Because I want you in mine too."
"Dad," David called from the backseat, his voice tired from just having woken up. Charles looked back at his son, seeing him yawning before saying, "I need to pee."
By his side, Erik snorted, already slowing down the car to stop at the side of the road.