Friday Night Movie Night

It had really all started with Raven - dinner had barely been cleared from the table before she was looking over at him, all hopeful eyes and innocent smile. "We should watch a movie," she said, and he was well aware of what she was doing even if she didn't believe it to be so. He'd planned another small training session that night; really, it was somewhat more of a lecture, but he hadn't missed the eye rolls he'd received from the children upon telling them. "I mean, we've been training all week, Charles. And it's Friday night..."

"A movie sounds good." Sean piped up over his glass, leaning back in his chair and nodding in approval.

"There is supposed to be a rather groundbreaking documentary televised tonight." Hank said, looking down at his watch. "We should be able to catch the beginning still."

"As long as Bozo doesn't pick what we're watching, I'm in." Alex said, and Charles knew that there was no fighting it. He glanced over at Erik, who shrugged and took a sip of his drink as if to say, your call.

"Please, Charles?" And Raven was giving him that look, the one she'd mastered by the time she was fourteen and already wrapping Charles around her finger. "Just for tonight?"

He really couldn't say no to that - they'd been working so hard, excelling far past his expectations, and they did deserve a night to enjoy themselves. He sighed, unsure of just when he'd become such an obvious pushover, but a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. "Fine," he said, grinning a bit wider when four beaming faces met his gaze. "But only tonight."

It hadn't taken them long to assemble in front of the television with a substantial amount of drinks and popcorn; a few long moments were wasted while Alex and Sean fought over what was apparently considered the most comfortable spot on the couch, during which Hank managed to spill nearly half a bowl of popcorn into Raven's lap and Erik did absolutely nothing to stop the impending madness other than shoot Charles an amused look over his martini and chuckle quietly. Charles considered turning off the television all together and sending them off to bed, but he'd only managed to say a handful of words before they all quieted and stared up at him like obedient school children.

He was somewhat surprised that they all managed to stay silent for such an extended period of time, seated together on couches and chairs that hadn't been put to use since his childhood with Raven, and he was sure it would have made some sort of pleasant photograph given the chance.

Sean was the first to leave - he'd yawned loudly and complained that the movie was taking far too long and cutting into valuable sleeping time before loping out of the room and shutting the door behind him. Next had been Hank, who'd dozed off near the end of the first hour and had only startled awake again after a quick nudge from Raven. Alex had followed shortly afterward simply because their film of choice hadn't contained enough action to keep his interest, and then Raven stood, stretched, and dropped a quick kiss to Charles' cheek before saying goodnight. The movie night that had been the children's idea quickly became a movie night for Charles and Erik, and even then Charles felt his eyelids grow heavy no matter how much he fought against it.

Least to say Erik wasn't surprised when the younger mutants baled; the movie was more of a drama than anything else, and since the more tragic parts were spread widely throughout the film, he expected them to lose interest sooner than later. Erik's eyes followed Raven as she departed from the living room, his gaze then landing back on Charles, who was falling in and out of consciousness.

He reached down between their bodies, lacing his fingers in with Charles' own. Over the murmur of the television, he heard the telepath grunt in approval; eyes slipping shut much to his dismay. Erik leaned over and placed a kiss to Charles temple, giving his hand a firm squeeze. "Are you getting tired, too?"

"What?" He asked, a bit delayed. It took him a moment to open his eyes and focus on Erik, who was suddenly much closer than he'd originally remembered him being. One half of his face was illuminated by the glow of the television screen; Charles could only fully see one of his eyes, the edge of his nose. The rest was cast in shadow, all gray and featureless. "...'m not tired." But his eyes were slipping shut again and he leant his head against Erik's chest, shifting slightly. "I'm watching the end of the movie, Erik."

Erik stifled a chuckle, untangling their fingers so he could loop an arm around Charles instead. "Oh, are you?" He muttered into the man's hair, then kissing the top of his head. They both have already established the fact that Charles was hardly a convincing liar, but most of the time it was best to just humor him.

Erik wasn't exactly paying much attention to the movie either. Half of his attention was focused on the man dozing on his chest, while the other half was picturing the kid's faces if they happened to walk in at that very moment.

Charles settled into the crook of Erik's arm, glancing up at him. "Yes, really." He said with a somewhat sheepish smile, turning his attention back to the television screen. The movie, however, was probably one of the very last things on his mind; between dozing off and having Erik's arm wrapped around his shoulders, there really wasn't much room for anything else.

-End-