A sharp rapping of knuckles on Charles' door startled him awake with a jolt. "Professor!" a voice said from the other side of his door. "Raven ordered me to wake you up."
Charles groaned and rolled over, tugging a pillow on top of his head. It was far too early for this. "Go away, Alex. And tell Raven to mind her own business."
"She said you'd probably have forgotten what today is," another voice chimed in. Sean, sounding far too awake for whatever plan Raven was scheming.
Forgotten what today is? Well of course, it was barely past eight in the morning. Charles was shocked he could properly identify the teenaged voices from outside his bedroom at this hour.
"It's the fourth of April, if you were wondering, professor." And that was undoubtedly Hank's voice. What on earth did Raven have in mind that required all of the boys to be pulled together for— Oh. April fourth. It was Charles' 24th birthday. He had forgotten.
"Um, just go and tell Raven I'm on my way down, alright boys?" Charles said, sitting up and yawning.
"Sure thing, professor," Sean said. Charles listened to the three teen boys thunder down the stairs before getting out of bed and preparing for the day that Raven had in mind for him.
With everything going on in the CIA and with Shaw, Charles had just let his own birthday slip past him. Usually he wouldn't like to make a big deal out of it regardless, but since Raven didn't know her own birthday, she would often dovetail her own personal celebrations with Charles'. Charles got dressed hurriedly and rushed down the stairs and into the kitchen, calling after his sister.
"Raven, don't you think we have other things to worry about instead of—" But of course it wasn't Raven who greeted him in the kitchen. Bob Dylan's folksy drawl was coming from the record player and unless Raven was playing tricks, Erik was making breakfast and muttering lyrics under his breath. "Oh the times, they are a-changin'." He looked up when Charles walked in and his mouth briefly twitched into a slight smile.
"Good morning, Charles," said Erik. He was wearing his track suit and buttering a piece of toast, the wetness of his hair making it clear that he had been awake hours before Charles and gone for a run. "I hear today is special for you."
Charles shook his head. "It really isn't a big deal. Raven is just… being Raven."
Erik chuckled, low and rumbling. "I could tell. She's got quite a few things planned for tonight from what I've been hearing."
"Oh no," Charles brought a hand in front of his face. "Everything is always blown out of proportion when it comes to her."
Erik shrugged and walked past Charles towards the kitchen's exit. "I don't know about that. She seems to think that a small party will be good for everyone." He turned around and faced Charles. "Though no matter what she says, I am not going shopping with her for anything at all. Sorry, old friend."
Charles laughed out loud. "That's a shame. Maybe then you could help stop some of the madness that I know she's planning." Erik laughed too, but it was his usual, restrained chuckle again. Charles liked it when Erik laughed like that, it made him feel warmer.
"You're on your own tonight, Charles," he said with a nod. "I'm off to take my shower."
Charles nodded back at him and watched Erik leave, not realizing that his cheeks were red until Raven actually walked in and Charles had to act flustered for some other reason. "Raven!" he burst out, hoping that being angry at her was a sufficient cover. He needed to yell at her a little bit anyway. "What was the meaning of having the boys wake me up?"
"Oh lighten up, brother dear," Raven said. "It's your birthday."
"The world is steps away from being destroyed and you're concerned with throwing me a party?" Charles asked, grimacing.
Raven nodded. "Exactly." She walked over and put her hands on Charles' shoulders, forcing him onto a stool. "Today you get to relax until the party tonight when we all get to celebrate. Here, I even put together your favorite breakfast for you." Raven reached into the fridge and pulled out a plate of assorted fruits and two fluffy pancakes.
Charles sighed, pancakes had always made him weak. "Fine, we'll have it your way." Raven smirked in triumph and handed over the fork. Charles snatched it from her, but pointed the tines in her direction. "But it's going to be small. And quiet." Raven opened her mouth to say something, but Charles didn't let her. "And no alcohol! The boys can't drink yet, you know that. I am responsible for three teenagers and I am not going to be the reason that they all get drunk."
"Whatever you say," Raven agreed in an unconvincing voice. Charles would have argued, but she left the room before he could open his mouth again, so he decided that the pancakes required his immediate attention rather than his sister.
After his breakfast, Charles spent the morning as he usually would. Reading, adding to his thesis, conferring with Hank's notes on mutant technology. The house was strangely empty for a few hours, but that mystery was solved the moment Raven and the boys came bolting back into the house. "Take them to the ballroom and don't let him see," Charles heard her say before he saw Alex and Sean run past the door to his study with bags in their hands.
"Raven!" he called out.
She popped her head in, smiling. "Yes?" she asked, her voice sickly sweet.
"What did I say about small and quiet?" Charles asked her.
Raven shrugged. "I don't remember." And before Charles could berate her, she was gone again. He huffed a sigh and went back to his work. His reading was going perfectly well until he heard a record playing from the dining room. "Sugar pie, honey bunch. You know that I love you. I can't help myself, I love you and nobody else." Charles snapped his book shut and stomped into the room.
"What are you doing now? I need to—" He stopped midsentence when he realized that the formal dining room had been filled with streamers, balloons, and glittering confetti. He glared at Raven. "You're cleaning this later."
"Happy birthday!" she and the boys cheered at him. They were wearing silly party hats and holding badly wrapped gifts. Charles wanted to scold them for wasting time and money and not listening to his wishes, but the smiles on their faces were just irresistible. Being in charge of teenagers had turned Charles into a proud mother and he'd be lying if he said that he didn't enjoy it.
"Sorry Charles," Raven said, setting down her present and holding out her arms for a hug. "I couldn't help myself."
Charles shook his head, but hugged her anyway. "I know you couldn't. And I'm glad you didn't." He turned to the boys. "None of you had to get me gifts, you know," he said, genuinely worried about the money they might have spent on him.
"Don't worry, professor," Hank said. "We didn't go to any great expense for these."
"We weren't going to go to any expense at all, actually," Sean cut in. "But, um, the cake didn't exactly work out." It was then that Charles realized that Sean and Alex were almost completely covered in flour. Charles laughed and brought the boys in for a hug as well. The record slowed to a stop and Raven quickly changed it. "Why do you build me up? Build me up! Buttercup baby, just to let me down."
"Here," Alex held out his gift, making a face of embarrassment over it. "Raven told us what you would like and what you needed, so we all just… got those things."
"Thank you so much, boys," Charles said sincerely. He sat down at the table and began to open one of the gifts. "So no cake, then?"
"Oh, there's cake," a voice said. Erik walked in, carrying a box and grinning with all of his teeth. Charles gaped at him and the others cheered over the entrance of chocolate. "I said I wasn't going shopping with her. I didn't say that I wouldn't leave the house for any shopping at all."
Raven brought over two of the ridiculous party hats. "Come on, boys. You need these." She put the hats onto the reluctant men and everyone laughed together. "I need you more than anyone, darling. You know that I have from the start. So build me up. Build me up! Buttercup, don't break my heart." Everyone ate their fill of chocolate cake and Charles opened his presents. The gifts included bookmarks, stationary, warm socks, and a lovely set of pens, all things that Charles was grateful to have been given rather than anything lavish or impractical, regardless of how impersonal they may have seemed to anyone else.
The moment Charles had opened his gifts, Raven jumped to her feet and waved the boys along behind her. "Come on, quickly you guys. Not everything is ready."
Charles groaned and rolled his eyes. "Is there really more?" But the four youngest had already rushed into the ballroom to prepare for the continued celebration.
"I'm afraid there is," Erik confirmed, taking his last bites of cake by lifting his fork with his mind rather than his hand.
Charles gave a laugh. "Oh, don't show off, Erik. Isn't it enough that you're enjoying this torture she's putting me through?"
"When it's torture as enjoyable as this, I take what I can get," Erik said. "Normally I'd want nothing to do with the inane fun those teenagers have, but even I can admit this is entertaining." He pulled out a small, rectangular box and set in on the table in front of Charles. "Here," he said. "Your present."
Charles stared at it, open mouthed. "But. I thought that the cake was," he stumbled over his words. "Erik, you didn't have to do this."
Erik shook his head. "I know I didn't. I wanted to. Just go ahead and open it."
Charles did so, not having to tear at any wrapping paper because Erik was clearly not the type to dress anything up like that. Instead he unlatched the hinges of the box to reveal that it was a small, portable chessboard. He grinned and turned to Erik. "Thank you so much. I love it."
Erik nodded. "I knew you would." His face didn't give away any emotions, but Charles knew Erik and he knew that Erik was pleased.
"Shake it up baby now! Twist and shout! Come on baby, now!" The record player was blasting sound from the ballroom and Charles huffed a sigh. He was still grinning though, so he had lost all powers to even pretend to sound exasperated. "I supposed it's party time," he said, getting up and following the music.
The ballroom was decorated in the same way that the dining room had been and Raven and the boys were all dressed up for dancing, party hats gone and drinks in their hands. "Raven, what did I say about alcohol?" Charles shouted, but Erik walked in behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't be such a downer, Charles," he said. "They're all old enough to decide for themselves whether they want to get drunk or not."
Charles held his mouth open, an angry line between his eyebrows, but looking between the smiles of the boys and the calmness of Erik defeated him. "Fine. Alright fine. Just for today because it's a special occasion. You are all going to be responsible about this, though! I don't want anyone getting sick or in danger because I've allowed you to drink tonight."
"Come on, professor," Alex said, his mouth caught between a grin and a smirk. "We promise you can trust us."
"Yeah," Sean agreed. "This is your party, we're just here to help you have a good time."
"Don't worry about a thing, Charles," Raven said. "Just dance." She took his hands and dragged him out onto the dance floor where she did the twist and Charles blushed furiously. "Have a little to drink," Raven urged. "You won't feel as embarrassed dancing once you do." The boys had joined the dance floor and were completely fine with looking ridiculous while Erik drank from his flask and enjoyed watching everyone.
The music continually changed to different upbeat tunes and as the night went on, Charles did drink a little and let loose much more. Raven danced with each of the boys and twirled around in her dress, completely loving life. It was her birthday celebration too, after all. "Shouldn't we have gotten you presents?" Charles asked her eventually.
She shook her head. "Nope, throwing this party is my present. Just enjoy it with me."
Once the Rolling Stones record started to play, the boys ran over in an attempt to get Erik to dance as well. He begrudgingly went onto the dance floor, but wasn't moving around much at all. "Oh come on, Erik," Charles drawled, clearly wobbly on his feet from being intoxicated. "Why won't you dance? It's my birthday."
Erik chuckled at Charles and held him steady. "This isn't exactly the kind of music that I know how to dance to."
"I know you can dance!" Charles burst. He pointed to Erik's forehead. "I can see it. I know you like dancing. Why won't you dance with me?" His voice was almost whiny at this point.
"I'll dance with you," Erik said. "You just needed to ask, Charles."
Raven was busy being twirled around by Hank, easily the drunkest of all of the teens. Erik flagged her down and requested a certain record to be played and Raven smirked at him, but nodded. She switched Creedence Clearwater Revival for something Erik was familiar with and put the player on a song that she knew would get him to flush pink.
"Sometimes I feel so happy. Sometimes I feel so sad. Sometimes I feel so happy, but mostly you just make me mad."
The music slowed down and the boys stumbled into chairs, laughing with each other and nodding off to sleep. Erik took Charles' hand in his left one and put his other on Charles' waist. "I'm going to teach you how to waltz," Erik muttered. Charles didn't respond, he was always a bit of a mess when he got drunk, but Erik really didn't mind. It was obvious that Charles would never remember any of this in the morning and the boys were clearly gone as well, so Erik felt more comfortable doing this than he would have in any other situation. It felt private in a way, like a secret between himself and Charles that only he would remember.
"Linger on, your pale blue eyes. Linger on, your pale blue eyes."
Erik moved Charles around the dance floor, reveling in the warm feeling that it gave him. This was a moment that Erik would freeze forever in time if he could because nothing in his life could make him happier than this. Charles leaned his head onto Erik's shoulder, their heights perfect for the action, and he smiled. "Thank you, Erik," he muttered. "I had a wonderful birthday. And dancing with you is so nice."
Erik smiled down at his friend, a genuine one. "I'm glad. We don't have much to give you, but you've given us everything. So really it's the least we can do."
Charles nodded against Erik's shoulder. He began to say something in response, but his between the alcohol that he'd had and his face pressed into Erik's sweater, the words all came out in slurred mumbles. Erik ran his hand along the back of Charles' head fondly. "Let's get you to bed before you fall over," he said.
"…only proves you're my best friend. But it's truly, truly a sin. Linger on, your pale blue eyes. Linger on, your pale blue eyes."
As Erik started leading a sleepy Charles out of the room, he raised his eyes to Raven and she nodded. "Come on guys," she said, herding the tipsy boys to their feet. "Looks like it's bedtime." They all grumbled, but joined hands and heading towards the stairs.
Erik led Charles up the stairs and to his bedroom door. "You should be good on your own from here," he said, getting a vigorous nod in return. "Alright, get some sleep. Goodnight, Charles," Erik said, putting a hand on his shoulder and leaning in to kiss the top of his head.
The next morning, Charles woke up slowly, the sun streaming in on his face and a feeling of grogginess setting in. He groaned, remembering his birthday dinner and the music and dancing and drinking, but knowing that he must have had more than his usual alcohol limit because lots of the events of the night were fuzzy. He stumbled to his feet, blaming Raven for this hangover.
Just before making it into the kitchen, Charles' senses perked up and the smell of something cooking and the sound of a Bob Dylan record spinning in the player. "A hard rain's a-gonna fall..."
"Erik?" Charles asked.
"You're awake," Erik said, turning around and motioning for Charles to sit down. "Breakfast is almost ready."
"Breakfast?" Charles asked. No matter how many times Erik proved that he was extremely capable in the kitchen, everyone in the house was always so surprised when he whipped up gourmet foods with no fuss at all.
"Only if you sit down," Erik insisted. Charles complied and then let out a full bodied laugh when he saw what Erik had made. A plate piled high with pancakes, his weakness. "I trust you had a good birthday?" Erik asked him as Charles began to happily eat the breakfast.
Charles chuckled around his mouthful of pancake. "From what I can remember, yes. But you know how I get when I've had too much to drink. I'm blaming Raven for this." Erik nodded, a small hint of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. Charles raised an eyebrow. "Why, did something happen?" he asked.
Erik's face immediately dropped. "What do you mean?" he asked, his voice low and accusatory.
"Well just…" Charles gestured around with his fork. "The nice breakfast, the singing, you being happy. Is there something in particular that I don't remember?" Erik then caught on to Charles' teasing tone and smirked at him.
"Not in the slightest," he said. His voice was dead serious, but the look in his eyes was the playful kind that Charles knew was reserved only for the two of them. Charles grinned and took it as permission to do something that he normally wouldn't without expressly being told. He reached out to Erik's mind, their eyes on one another and their conspiratory smiles barely contained. Sure enough, the image Erik was holding in his head was of a slow and sweeping dance around the Xavier's overly large ballroom and a small press of lips against Charles' temple before turning in last night.
Charles let go of his look into Erik's mind and instead look right into his eyes. He smiled and reached a hand out, thinking that spending another day like that wouldn't be bad at all.