Chapter Text
Charles had a plan.
And it was a great plan. Really. It had no shortcomings. Mostly because he has been thinking it through for the whole last week.
When Erik slipped out that he hasn’t celebrated his birthday in years, Charles was not surprised. At first glance Erik didn’t seem like someone who cared about such mundane things as birthdays, but Charles saw deeper than that. He was well aware of how little positive experiences Erik had, and how much it actually meant to him when Charles showed that he cared. Spoiling his boyfriend on his birthday seemed like a great way to do it. Especially because Charles loved doing it. He adored the way Erik got flustered and blushful when Charles made a romantic gesture, how cute he would look and act.
Charles knew that it was probably rooted in his past, in the lack of love he suffered from. He wanted to give Erik all the love he deserved, even though he was aware he would never be able to “make up” for the worst years of Erik’s life. He could always show him how much he cares now, though.
With that in mind he planned everything to make Erik’s day special, to remind him how much he loves him.
He knew he wouldn’t be able to wake up before Erik – even if he set an alarm, it would wake Erik up instead of Charles – so doing something in the morning was not possible. That’s why the beginning of their day was normal. Charles was almost sure that Erik thought he forgot about his birthday, but he hoped that it won’t upset him too much. After all, a surprise should remain a surprise.
Though he barely stopped himself from spoiling it and had to bite his lip to stop himself from smiling for most of the time. He just couldn’t help being excited.
When the time came Charles practically jumped to his feet, throwing the book he wasn’t reading anyway to the side. Erik eyed him, surprised, as Charles stood in front of him, finally letting the smile bloom on his face.
“Did anything happen?” he asked, looking at Charles with an expression doubting his sanity.
“I have a surprise for you” he said, almost vibrating with excitement.
“So that’s why you’ve been acting like this for the whole day?”
“What do you mean “like this”?”
“You could barely sit still” he pointed out, visibly amused at Charles’ enthusiasm.
“Shh, stop ruining it” he scoffed, taking Erik’s hand and pulling him up. Erik laughed, but stood up, putting his own book away more carefully than Charles did.
“Okay. Close your eyes” he said, grinning. Erik, a bit surprised, smiled with uncertainty.
“Why?”
“Oh, just do” Charles commanded, covering Erik’s eyes with his hands. He had to climb to his toes to do so. Erik laughed, his own hand touching Charles’ and staying on his face when Charles took his away.
“Great. Now follow me”
He took Erik’s free hand and started slowly leading him towards their bedroom.
“You do know that I can still feel the metal around us? I know where we are”
As if to prove this to himself, he focused more on his power. He realized that while almost all metal he can sense is familiar, he couldn’t recognize one piece. It had to be something new someone brought into the mansion recently.
“That’s not important” Charles said dismissively. Erik just chuckled and let him continue playing his guide.
After a moment Erik heard a door open, got led a few steps forward and heard it close.
“Okay. Open your eyes”
Erik did exactly that, taking his hand away. What he saw was a few pieces of clothing neatly laid out on the bed. He looked at Charles, a bit surprised. Is that for him?
Charles, still grinning, gestured towards it.
“I’d give them to you properly packed, but I didn’t want them to be crumpled” he half-joked, both excited and a bit anxious. He really, really wanted Erik to like it. He couldn’t help being nervous.
Erik slowly let go of his hand and took a few steps towards the bed. Charles tried not to stare, but, well… he did stare. He wanted to see his reaction. But Erik was certainly taking his time, and it was only making Charles more anxious.
At first Erik was meaning to see the clothes, but he realized that the unfamiliar piece of metal he felt was also in the bedroom. He quickly located it in a small box, also placed on the bed, that blended in with the color of the covers.
He took it in his hand first, opening it to reveal a silver watch. He turned his head to Charles, unsure.
“I noticed that the strap of yours was coming apart” Charles said quietly. Erik stopped himself from glancing at it. It was old, and the strap was from fake leather; no wonders it started breaking after a few years. Erik was considering just getting rid of it and not bothering to find a new one. He noticed that it deregulated often, and he had to fix it every few days. He and Charles suspected it was because Erik’s body was slightly magnetic due to his power. “I thought a new one would be a nice gift”
Charles walked closer to him, putting his hand on Erik’s – the same one that was holding the box.
“Do you want me to put it on?” he asked. Erik nodded, so Charles took the old watch from Erik’s wrist and placed it on the bed with the box.
“Alright?” he asked, adjusting the strap. It was metal this time. Won’t break so easily.
“Yes. Thank you”
Charles grinned and brought Erik’s hand to his lips, kissing his knuckles. He couldn’t help but blushed slightly at the gesture. Charles always had that effect on him, especially when he was acting like that.
“I made sure the mechanism won’t get affected by your magnetism. You shouldn’t have any trouble with it now” he said, making Erik open his eyes a little wider (and blush harder). “And now check out the suit”
Erik chuckled, and Charles let go of his hand (which was really a downside of the situation). He finally took the soft, purple fabric between his fingers. The shirt was definitely made from silk, it’s shade dark, almost indigoid. The gift contained also a black three-piece suit. Erik stared at it (slightly in awe), not really knowing what to say.
Expensive. It all had to be expensive as hell.
“I’d love it if you tried it on” Charles said with a smile. “Especially because we’re going out soon, and it’d be wonderful if you wore it”
“We’re going out?” Erik repeated.
“It’s another part of the surprise”
Erik turned towards him and wrapped his hands around his waist, bringing him very close for a kiss.
“Okay” he said, and Charles grinned so brightly it seemed to illuminate the whole room.
Charles watched as Erik put on the shirt at first, looked at the way it fit closely to his body. He very intensively tried to divert his thoughts from the image of him ripping it from Erik. He did like it when the man dressed up in something classy. And the suit fit him perfectly.
“Did you took my measurements when I was asleep?” Erik asked jokingly, looking at himself in the mirror. It framed his wide shoulders and tightened around his waist (and Charles was not very normal about his shoulder-waist ratio), and the pants perfectly showed how goddamn long his legs were. It highlighted every good trait Erik had – well, except for the marvelous, defined muscles that got mostly hidden.
Charles really needed to stop thinking about how his lover looks under his clothes. For now.
“Hm, that’s a secret” Charles said, walking up to him. He had a tie he took god knows from where in his hand, and when he was close enough he wrapped it around Erik’s neck and pulled him down into a kiss.
“People will foam at the mouth with envy when they’ll see you” he muttered and chuckled when Erik blushed slightly. So beautiful. So gorgeous. And all his.
“Should I be afraid? Where are we going?” he asked. Charles laughed, and Erik really started wondering if he should be afraid.
“Let me just slip into something more formal and we can go” he said, pecking Erik on the lips again, not giving him any answers.
★★★★★
The surprise was going to a theatre. They went to see Macbeth. Erik has read it, but honestly he didn’t really know what to expect. His mission to hunt down Shaw didn’t really give him a lot of time and opportunities to have some cultural experiences – if he ever was in a theatre, it was when he was a child and didn’t remember anything. It only made Erik feel more nervous, but Charles kept his arm around him and constantly complimented the way he looked. It made Erik melt, the whispered (or projected telepathically) words and soft kisses pressed to his skin, full of adoration. Charles’ presence alone made everything more enjoyable.
And enjoyable it was – Erik didn’t think he’ll like watching the play so much, and how different it will feel from just reading it. It was like getting transported into another world (and since Erik couldn’t just enjoy anything like a normal person, he felt stupid because of it).
It was a bit strange, to be out doing something specifically because it’s his birthday. It was just a regular day to him for so long he was surprised he still remembered when it is. The last one he celebrated, he spent with his family. Now he was doing it with someone he loved again, and it made him feel a weird mix of nostalgia, sadness, joy and hope.
Charles did it for him. For Erik. That thought didn’t fail to make him blush, which was effectively hidden by the darkness surrounding the audience. He probably didn’t love anyone as much as he loved Charles for his whole life, and he knew it was reciprocated, even though it was unbelievable. Charles loved him, Charles cared, and he wanted to show it.
After the play Charles took him to a restaurant. One of the fancy ones that always made Erik stare either directly at his food or at Charles, because if he accidentally made eye contact with someone he would get reminded that other people can perceive him. If he didn’t remember about that, he could have fun. He could listen to Charles’ rambles (and compliments he was getting showered with, but that was the norm with Charles) and ignore everything else. He knew some people were irritated by Charles’ basically constant babbling, but he only ever found it endearing. He could listen to it for eternity.
They could not sit in that restaurant for eternity, though – and when they went back home, to their bedroom specifically, Erik’s jaw just dropped at what he saw.
The entire room was scattered with rose petals, and it smelled of them and the lit candles standing on the nightstand and desk. There was also a record playing in the background, something slow and a bit sensual.
“How did you- ?” Erik asked, turning to Charles with disbelief.
“Someone might have helped me” he admitted, closing the door behind himself. He mentally thanked Raven, who remarked that he has an awful taste in candles, whatever that meant. “I wanted to make the atmosphere romantic”
“You’re so sappy” Erik said, but the smile on his cheeks and slight blush told Charles that he achieved the what he wished to. He lifted his hand and caressed Erik’s face, every detail of it clear despite the dim light – maybe because Charles had it engraved into his memory.
Finally, after stopping himself for the past few hours, he pulled Erik into a deep kiss.
God, gorgeous, you don’t know how I dreamed about this – Charles projected. His hands were caressing Erik’s body through the material. Soon his suit’s jacket got thrown away, and all Erik could feel was the wall behind his back and Charles’ hands through silk. And, of course, his presence in his mind.
“Purple is definitely your color, beautiful” Charles muttered, his lips brushing against Erik’s. “But I think you’d look better without this on right now”
Erik chuckled and guided Charles’ hand to the first button as he kissed him. Soon Charles was undoing them, one by one, his hands venturing under the shirt. They were a bit cold, and Erik shuddered when he felt them on his bare skin.
“I love you” he gasped, then pressing his lips to Charles’ neck, slightly nibbling at it. “I love you. And thank you, schatz”
Charles chuckled, tangling his fingers in Erik’s hair.
“Anything for you, my love”
Erik felt heat spread through his body. My love. Charles knew that he had a weakness for that. Honestly, everything about Charles was his weakness. It made him feel like only Charles’ hands – one on the back of his head, the other on his waist – were holding him together; if not that, he would melt completely. Kissing wouldn’t probably be as fun if he became a puddle on the floor, though, and perhaps that was the only reason why Erik didn’t.