Chapter Text
Erik detests talking on the phone in general; texting even more so. Small talk is a waste of time, and emoticons are just an exercise of his patience. Not to mention that the lack of punctuation, grammatical inaccuracies, and the horrendous shorthand the lesser public indulge in manage to get on every nerve ending in his system. Irrespective of the mode or the person on the other end, his replies are always monosyllabic, utilitarian, succinct, and to the point. Even more infuriating is when he has to text or call to keep anyone updated on his whereabouts. It reminds him too much of the excels Pepper used to threaten him to fill, mapping activities against time slots for six torturous months.
The only exception to this rule, somehow, is Charles.
Which is why Erik fishes his phone from his pocket to inform Charles that he has reached his hotel. He plugs it into the bedside charging port and flops down on the bed. With network reception now available, there are two messages from Emma — almost five hours old — which he blatantly ignores. There are no calls from Charles, and the only reason for this is because he knows Charles would be exhausted from partying with Emma and the gang.
It’s probably too late. He doesn’t want to disturb Charles’s sleep by calling him. Still, he has an ultimatum to fulfil and a promise to keep. It would be best to leave him with a text and call him in the morning.
[11:37 PM]
You : Hey.
[11:37 PM]
Charles : Hey yourself mister! :@
[11:38 PM]
You : What are you doing?
[11:38 PM]
Charles : Talking to the man I got engaged to <3 <3 <3
[11:39 PM]
You : No! What are you doing up so late? Don’t you have an early class tomorrow? I thought you’d be asleep by now.
[11:40 PM]
Charles : Yes, I do. But the said fiancé was supposed to call me as soon as he landed, and that was supposed to happen five hours ago.
[11:42 PM]
You : Hey, I’m sure it’s not his fault that he landed in the middle of a defence testing facility with a 'no electrical or media devices allowed’ policy, or that he didn’t have network reception throughout the car ride back to the hotel.
[11:42 PM]
You : Wait. So, you were up all this while waiting for his call?
[11:44 PM]
Charles : Yes. But too bad I won’t talk to him even if he calls me now. I’m cross with him!
[11:44 PM]
You : Whatever did he do to deserve such cruelty?
[11:46 PM]
Charles : He proposed to me this morning over breakfast and left me alone at noon to attend some military gadget expo on the other side of the country :(
[11:48 PM]
You : You can’t blame him when you were the one who encouraged Stark to drag him out of the house unannounced in the first place. He only went because Stark is your best friend and because you told him to. I’m sure he feels victimised.
[11:48 PM]
Charles : ‘He’s not a victim. He’s an idiot! :@’
[11:49 PM]
You : ‘Well, you should have known that when you said yes to his proposal.’
[11:49 PM]
You : ‘I’m still curious. Why did you agree anyway?’
[11:52 PM]
Charles : ‘Oooh! You should see him, Erik. He’s tall, German and mysterious, like… James Bond. He’s got the biggest cock that I’ve ever seen and he even knows how to use it!’
[11:53 PM]
You : ‘So shallow Charles. So shallow.’
[11:53 PM]
Charles : ‘Part of my charm darling.’
[11:54 PM]
You : ‘Alright, I reached the hotel just now. So technically, I have been true to my word.’
[11:57 PM]
Charles : ‘Poor you. What are you doing?’
[11:58 PM]
You : ‘Ditto. Talking to the guy I got engaged to.’
[12:00 AM]
Charles : ‘Hey, isn’t he that hot Genetics professor at the Utopian University? You are in luck Erik. He’s great :D’
[12:02 AM]
You : ‘I don’t know about hot or great, but some professor he is.’
[12:02 AM]
Charles : ‘Why did you even propose to him if he isn’t hot or great? :@’
[12:03 AM]
You : ‘Because I am not shallow like you Charles.’
[12:14 AM]
Charles : ‘Hey Erik.’
[12:15 AM]
You : ‘Yes Charles.’
[12:22 AM]
Charles : ‘This fiancé of yours... He knows that you have a will of iron and you don’t do things for the sake of it, but he’s not so sure of it himself. He may tell you that he knows everything, but he doesn’t. Now, for example, he is on cloud nine with the proposal but he has no clue how to work a marriage. He may go about being proud and confident, but there are times when he gets too insecure of himself. He will never tell you this, but he’s stubborn and naïve and arrogant. I know him very well Erik, he’s overbearing, sentimental, clingy and needy. You may not like it later. He doesn’t understand the value of money. In his defence, I think it’s because of his upbringing, but I’m sure it will drive you up the walls. When he sees his students undergo things he went through as a child and a teenager, he becomes depressed for days together. It has reduced after you came into his life but it’s still not easy to live with him during those times. You think you can put up with all that, put up with him... for life?’
[12:22 AM]
Charles : ‘But te loves u bry muvh thoug’
[12:22 AM]
Charles : ‘Sorry. I typed that in a hurry. He loves you very much though. He loves you. A lot.’
[12:23 AM]
Charles : ‘So much so that it scares him sometimes. There are nights when he wakes up in a cold sweat just realising it. You know what the funny part is? His first instinct is to wake you up and tell you all about it.’
[12:26 AM]
You : ‘Is that it?’
[12:26 AM]
Charles : ‘Yes, I’m afraid so.’
[12:27 AM]
You : ‘You said he loves me?’
[12:27 AM]
Charles : ‘Yes! Very, very much.’
[12:28 AM]
You : ‘Then that’s enough for me to love him... for life.’
[12:31 AM]
Charles : ‘But what if just love isn’t enough?’
[12:32 AM]
You : ‘Then I’ll just increase my dosage.’
[12:38 AM]
You : ‘Charles?’
[12:44 AM]
You : ‘You still there?’
[12:47 AM]
Charles : ‘Awww! That’s the most romantic thing I have ever heard <3’
[12:48 AM]
Charles : ‘It’s a pity you know, that nobody believes him when he tells them how dreamy you are.’
[12:51 AM]
Charles : ‘He is a lucky guy, your fiancé. I am almost jealous of him. You’re great!’
[12:53 AM]
You : ‘Of course I am. Too bad I’m not there to show that to him in person.’
Just out of curiosity, he opens Emma’s messages.
[7:09 PM]
Frost : ‘God Erik! Next time before you do something as cheesy as proposing to your boyfriend, why don’t you be here to take care of the aftermath? Or at least warn us so that we can vacate town. Your boyfriend... no your fiancé is showing your picture to everyone in the club as his husband to-be and half of the club is cooing over your pic. Your pic! I can’t be seen with him anymore. Never mind that I can’t step into this club again.’
[7:12 PM]
Frost : ‘What’s worse? He’s completely sober!!’
*
[01:26 AM]
Charles : ‘Erik!’
[01:28 AM]
You : ‘What are you still doing up? Go to sleep, Charles.’
[01:30 AM]
Charles : ‘Tony tells me that he’ll be taking you to a strip club after the expo tomorrow. If you even step inside that place, Erik Magnus Lehnsherr, you’ll be sleeping on the couch for a week.’
[01:33 AM]
You : ‘I’m going to kill that bastard! First, he pulls me out of my home without warning across the country, and then he riles you up just for the fun of it.’
[01:34 AM]
Charles : ‘He’s not riling me up. You did come home last time with lipstick on your shirt. He couldn’t have forced that on you. Could he?’
[01:35 AM]
You : ‘I told you, it was an accident.’
[01:35 AM]
You : ‘Alright, I won’t go this time. Happy?’
[01:36 AM]
Charles : ‘More than.’
[01:36 AM]
You : ‘Good.’
[01:39 AM]
Charles : ‘Come home straight to me and I’ll give you a private lap dance ;)’
[01:41 AM]
You : ‘The high-end one? With just your cardigan on?’
[01:43 AM]
Charles : ‘Yes. That one. With just my cardigan on.’
[01:46 AM]
You : ‘Fuck, Charles! I can’t sleep now.’
[01:48 AM]
Charles : ‘Well, I don’t know about you — but I’m tired. I have an early class tomorrow. ;)’
[01:50 AM]
You : ‘You minx!’
[01:51 AM]
Charles : ‘Goodnight, husband-to-be <3’
[01:53 AM]
You : ‘Sleep well, Charles :)’
Maybe this texting thing is not so bad when it’s Charles on the other end.
_