Charles learned pretty early into his relationship with Erik that he was prone to dramatics. He was a man who unironically drove around in a magenta car and had a similarly colored motorcycle. He wore outrageously long coats because he found them stylish and would wear a cape if Charles let him. He thought walking around in his bike helmet and shades no matter the weather was still cool in the 21st century. He used his job as a structural engineer and architect to make buildings that weren't just buildings, but statements, as seen with his x-shaped masterpiece which would become the premier resource center for mutants in New York. Oft times, Charles enjoyed the contradiction of Erik being an emotional minimalist yet also ridiculously theatrical.
Along with the dramatics, he tended to exaggerate, so Charles wasn't sure why he didn't pick up on the fact that his moaning about his family might not have been exactly what it said on the tin.
Charles was no stranger to family drama. His father's suicide alone would be enough to scar any child but add to that his mother's alcoholism and neglect, Cain's bullying and Kurt's abuse and the first half of his life might as well be a write-off. He came out of it on the other side no worse for wear because he had to. He loved his father, heaven and earth knew it, but he didn't want to end up like him. He didn't want his smiles to hide the emptiness inside until a bullet to the head seemed more appealing than life. Dwelling in all the sadness and pain of his childhood would surely put him in an early grave beside Brian or as deep in a bottle as Sharon, so he did everything he could to genuinely move forward. Even the car crash that took his ability to walk didn't stop him from building a life that was worth living. He found a purpose in helping young mutants in his lab and mentoring them in his spare time. He found a passion in teaching. He had Raven. He had friends who were all but family. He had Erik.
Still, his experiences colored how he approached the idea of family. He knew his wasn't normal in more ways than one, but it made him overly cautious about what could be going on behind closed doors, with his students and his romantic partners. His telepathy did help to mitigate some of his fears but as pro-mutant as Erik was, there were parts of himself that he kept close to the vest away from Charles' ability. Erik's family was one of those no-fly zones.
Charles could not help but to be curious. The longer he got to know Erik, the more he wanted to meet the family who produced a man so unapologetically misanthropic and pessimistic. When he first met Erik, he insulted most people and continued to do so even if they were friends. He was stubbornly unwilling to change his mind and when he did, it took moving heaven and earth to do it. He was independent to the point where he refused help even when he clearly needed it. He had softened a lot since Charles knew him (though his friends would say that was only with him) but the way he was when they first met still affected how Charles viewed him.
He was aware Erik was in foster care for a while as a teenager. The state saw fit to take him from his human family and place him with a mutant foster father. He caught enough nightmares about the abuse his lover endured to know that Sebastian Shaw was no caring mentor and would forever be a dark specter in his life. Despite the mistreatment, the man's philosophies informed many of Erik's views on mutant politics. His speech oft times stopped just shy of declaring mutant supremacy. He could be quite uncharitable and unwilling to try to see things from a different perspective to find a peaceful resolution. He could speak in very general terms about humans and mutants, missing any nuance in the issues at hand. Charles could attribute a lot of that to Shaw, but he had to wonder just what sort of people the Lehnsherrs were to make Erik the way he was. Perhaps they were the kind of humans who hated the fact that they had a mutant son and never let Erik forget it.
When he had suggested that they might have been abusive to him, Erik shut that down immediately, but he still went on tirades about how his mother was horrible, his father was no better and his sister was the absolute worst. Even so, in the three years they'd dated, he never missed a Passover seder, Hannukah, Purim, Sukkot or any other Jewish holiday with his family. He would bring his mother flowers for her birthday and craft metalworks for his father's. All that considered, Charles was confused about where they stood, especially with Erik finding every excuse in the book for why he couldn't meet his family, even after he already met Charles' relatives.
He talked the most derisively about his sister, calling her all kinds of unflattering names. Charles had come home to insult-laden spars between the siblings over the phone, but Ruth was also able to elicit that ever-elusive grin of Erik's quite easily, the bright unabashed one that Hank said made him look like a shark and that Moira likened to a snake about to unhinge its jaw.
Charles didn't meet Ruth until a year and a half into their relationship, six months after their dinner at Westchester. There was no lead up to it, Erik had simply thrown it on the table.
"So, you want to meet my sister or what?"
"What?"
"What it is then. I'll tell her we can't do it."
"Wait, no. What are you talking about?"
"The little shit has an art gallery only a few blocks from here. I don't really have an excuse not to show up given its proximity, so if you want to come, you can."
"I want to."
"Fine then. Don't complain though. I've already warned you how insufferable she is."
They showed up to the gallery early to meet Ruth seeing as how once it started, she'd be much too busy to talk to them. There was a line already forming outside of what appeared to have once been an office loft. The people in the queue didn't look pleased that he and Erik were cutting but the security guard's eyes lit with recognition.
"Hey Erik."
"Piotr, is she in there?"
"She and Kitty are putting the final touches on everything now. Your mother cooked for the event, so they're just laying it out. I gotta be honest, I'm jonesing for some of Edie's food."
"I'll save you a plate. I know your favorites from the last seder. This is Charles, by the way, my boyfriend."
"Oh, yeah? Jakob mentioned you were dating someone after a bunch of the ladies at the synagogue have been hounding him to set you up with their kid. It made them back off until he mentioned your guy isn't Jewish and they decided that was enough reason to believe they had a chance after all."
Charles bit his lip. That was a possibility he hadn't considered. What if Erik hadn't introduced them yet because his parents might have a problem with Charles not being Jewish? He wasn't sure how he'd remedy that.
"You're throwing him to Ruth though? That's bold."
"He already knows she's awful. I've made sure of that."
The large man snorted before introducing himself to Charles.
"I'm Piotr Rasputin. Erik used to babysit me and my sister when we were kids."
"It's nice to meet you."
"Go ahead in."
Charles gave him a wan smile as they were waved inside the building.
The room was sleek and modern, two stories with an open floorplan that allowed everyone to see all the walls at all times. They were adorned with various paintings, about twenty-five unique works, all priced. Charles knew artwork only in passing, enough to make polite conversation at the soirees his mother threw while he was growing up, but he knew enough to know they were good. Different emotions were aroused with each painting: a downcast man sitting in the rain alone outside a French café. A girl standing in a grassy field, leaves blowing on the wind and her hair obscuring her face. A dog running along the banks of a river. A couple walking arm in arm away from a burning building. Each painting was detailed and evoked drama. That was typical of what he knew of the Lehnsherr family, though that was a small sample size.
As Erik and Charles entered, two women appeared. One was a short brunette with a clipboard in hand. The other was immediately recognizable to him as being related to Erik. She was tall with the same shade of auburn hair and green eyes. More than that, her lips broke into that same toothy grin Erik did.
"Oh, look who it is, Kitty. Don't I feel special to be graced with your presence, bruderherz," she quipped, her accent lighter than her brother's, but still that mix of Eastern-European and American.
"Don't make a scene, schwesterherz," Erik retorted.
"I am a creator. I can't control what I'm moved to make."
Charles found himself stifling a smile at her witty comeback even as Erik glared at her.
"Klugscheißer."
"Küsst du Mama mit diesem mund? Was würde Vati sagen wenn er hören würde dass du deine arme wehrlose schwester verfluchst?"
"Du warst nie unschuldig, du kleiner schädling."
Charles watched the two go back and forth in German. Even though they were approaching each other in a combative manner, he couldn't say that there was much animosity he could glean from them. In fact, they both seemed happy to see the other. Ruth in particular was over-the-moon to have Erik at her art showing if the spike in her mood was anything to go by. It seemed like regular sibling banter.
That was not what he expected.
"They could be at it for a while. I'm Kitty, Ruth's best friend and agent."
He turned and smiled at the brunette woman, accepting her handshake.
"I'm Charles, Erik's boyfriend."
That stopped the arguing from Ruth as she abruptly turned to assess him. He wasn't sure what to make of her calculating gaze as she perused him up and down. He didn't know what she was seeing and felt himself growing uncomfortable the longer the stare lasted. He gave her a kind smile to try to break the tense silence and was met with a rather unexpected response as her face cracked and she suddenly began laughing loudly.
He felt a blush creeping up his face and that seemed to set her off even more. He did his best not to feel snubbed but that was near impossible. He gave Erik a look and he rolled his eyes in response.
"Du beleidigst ihn."
"Es tut mir leid. Ich will nicht. I'm sorry, Charles. I'm not laughing at you. Well, I am, but it's really more Erik than anything. I was wondering why he hadn't taken you to meet Mama and Vati yet and now I see why. You're downright adorable."
Charles drew back, somehow more offended by that than being laughed at.
"I don't know that I would describe myself as adorable."
"Oh no, you're a peach. I've seen some videos of your lectures out of curiosity since this one was hellbent on hiding you. I thought for sure you couldn't be as nice and cute as you seemed to be because it's impossible for me to picture Erik dating someone like that. Erik, who thinks people who smile before noon are committing crimes against humanity."
"I stand by that," the older man interjected.
"But here you are. I can tell just looking at you that you're not like Erik at all. No wonder he didn't bring you home. Mama would eat you up."
"Stop scaring him."
"Oh, she'd lock you in a basement for sure."
Charles' face turned up in horror.
"Do you mean that… literally?"
Ruth, Erik and Kitty all looked at him like he had grown a second head.
"Goodness, Erik. What have you been telling him about us?"
"Only the truth. That you all are awful and I wish I didn't have to associate with you."
Ruth rolled her eyes in response.
"You would say that, arschloch. Erik is not a good gauge of the rest of the family. I'm not either to be honest. Our father is nice. He might give you the third degree about dating his precious junge, but he's a giant teddy bear. Our mother is going to adore you, for sure. That's probably why Erik hasn't brought you around. Mama might not let you leave again. She's going to see those blue eyes and that baby face and she's going to wrap you up in a blanket and smother you in maternal affection, whether you like it or not."
Charles took a moment, shifting around his previous thinking with this new information.
"I suppose I just assumed that you all might be homophobic or mutantphobic, even abusive."
"Whatever gave you that idea," Erik asked incredulously.
"You! You said your family was a trial put in your path by destiny, that you had to overcome them to be your true self."
"And I did. You have no idea how hard it was living with those people."
"Drama queen," Ruth teased.
Charles took a moment to study Erik as he raised his nose defiantly but shuffled a bit in place. He had been dating him long enough and was smart enough to figure out what was going on here.
"Wait a minute. Have you had me worrying this whole time that your family was awful to you simply because you don't like the fact that they're nice?"
"They are not nice. They're… wholesome and lovely and normal. Except Ruth. She's a pest."
Erik emphasized each word like they were the worst things possible. Charles shot him a harsh glare.
"You're sleeping on the couch tonight."
Erik let out a noise of protest as the two women laughed at his predicament.
"Now that I've gotten you in trouble, I'm even more happy that you deigned to come from on high to visit my little art showing."
"If I didn't show up, you would've complained to Mutti and I wouldn't hear the end of it."
Ruth rose an eyebrow.
"Mutti, is it? What, are you afraid to call her Mama in front of your boyfriend? Not that Mutti is better. Do you know what that means in English, Charles?"
"Mother or mom, I would assume."
"It means 'mommy' most specifically. Which is just as well, 'cause you've got yourself a mama's boy."
"Erik? A mama's boy?"
"This one trekked across three state lines in a shitty 80s Saturn to bring back a custom three-seater for Mother's Day. He strapped the thing to the roof of his car, pulled it thirty miles when he, inevitably, got a flat, and delivered it on time without a scratch on it. That is Erik. Don't let his grumbling fool you. He loves that our parents dote on him and won't accept that he's one bad week away from being a murderer."
Charles glanced up at the other man as he treated his sister with another glare.
"Did you really do that?"
Erik shrugged noncommittally. Charles gave him a bright smile in reply.
"See? I put you back in his good graces. You're welcome," Ruth commented.
"Oh, he's still sleeping on the couch. But that's adorable. What other stories have you got, Ruth?"
"Has he ever told you about the time he chained himself to a statue in high school in protest?"
"Don't you dare, Ruth."
"Did I mention he was naked?"
Erik shot him a somewhat pleading look to disregard his sister altogether, but he ignored it.
"Please, tell me everything."
Charles and Ruth both paused a moment before sharing a smile.
"I'm going to regret introducing you two," Erik grumbled as he stomped away.
Ruth proved to be decidedly not the worst as far as Charles was concerned. She knew which buttons of Erik's to push as any little sister did. The two of them could bicker for entirely too long and make a competition out of things unnecessarily, but they were clearly close and understood each other very well. Ruth was good for getting Erik out of his head. He could be too self-serious sometimes, Charles was glad someone other than him could knock him free from his own orbit and remind him he wasn't the only person in the world to ever feel the things he did or face the problems he had.
Charles liked hanging out with Ruth, would invite her out to lunches or to the apartment all the time. Erik would largely roll his eyes at their growing friendship and grumble, but Charles knew he wasn't truly upset by it. Ruth gave him the truth about her parents and the rest of their family. Nothing she said made it sound like they were bad people. He was curious about the time when Erik was in foster care. He always assumed he was taken because they neglected his mutation, but it didn't appear that was true. Ruth, like Erik, didn't mind Charles' telepathy. She was startlingly open and innocently curious, unflinchingly giving him permission to read her mind any time he wanted.
"If Erik can adorn me, our parents and you with metal so he can track us like a creepy creeper who creeps, why should I worry about you reading my mind? I don't have anything to hide, and it's natural for you, isn't it?"
He never went perusing on a whim. He wasn't built for that. His childhood taught him to keep his powers close to the vest and many of his relationships before Erik reinforced that. Still, it was lovely to have received the offer at all and sometimes he and Ruth did "mind meld" as she had termed it. It was a lovely experience, to use his ability freely with a mind that was so accepting and receptive. He found it hard to believe that Erik and Ruth's parents could be anything but wonderful considering the children they had raised. Charles was finding that that was somehow becoming more daunting to him than the prospect that they were horrible people.
When he finally did meet Erik's parents, it was two years into their relationship. Once again, Erik threw it out casually like Charles should expect it.
"Ruth wants to bring that little convict of hers to meet our parents."
"Erik! Be nice to Vance. You're aware of the situation he was in. You don't have to be nasty about it."
"Oh, please. You don't like that she's dating him either."
"I don't like that he's still hung up on his ex, but it's up to Ruth to decide what she does with that, not you. It's not fair of you to keep sabotaging her relationships just because you don't like her boyfriends."
"I'm protecting her."
"Your brand of protection strays dangerously close to assault and battery. The last boyfriend she had, you threatened to throw him off a balcony."
"That guy had wings. He would've been fine. Ruth is the one who put laxatives in my ex's coffee on the day we had a four-hour long test and only one bathroom break to "defend" me. I don't hear you questioning her morals."
"Either way, if she wants to introduce Vance to your parents, it's her choice."
"Well, I'm not keen on having her bring him around them without my being there so I'm going over there and you're coming too."
Charles looked at him sharply.
"What?"
"It's just so that you can see that I'm justified if I throttle him or send a ball bearing through his knee."
Charles rolled his eyes but inwardly, he was nervous. It was one thing when he believed the Lehnsherrs to be the scum of the earth who hurt the love of his life. Charles would've wheeled right into their house and given them a piece of his mind if that were the case, like Erik had done for him. It was another to meet some nice couple who, according to Ruth, thought their son hung the moon and stars and wanted only the best for him. Would they think Charles was that? Charles, who wasn't Jewish. Charles, who had his invasive telepathy and useless legs and too large nose. Charles, who was more than occasionally arrogant and projected a false charm when he was too nervous to do anything else.
"You're spiraling, liebling," Erik commented, his voice calm but he put his work down so he could give Charles his undivided attention.
"What if they don't like me?"
"They like everyone. They're going to like Ruth's little felon, so they're definitely going to like you."
Charles glanced away and bit his lip. Erik took his face by the chin and brought his gaze back.
"What's this about?"
"I don't know."
"You do. What's going on?"
"I just…" Charles let out a sigh before turning his chair to face Erik completely.
"When I thought your family was terrible people who hurt you, it was easier to think about meeting them. I grew up with that, I know what to expect with that. I have no idea how to act with an actual family. I'm going to do something stupid and mess everything up."
"You won't."
"I will! I know it. You know it too, that's why you haven't introduced us yet."
"That's not why."
"They'll look at me and they'll see that I'm damaged and clueless and so clearly not good enough to be with you."
His eyes were tearing up and he knew he was probably not thinking clearly, but everything he was holding back was flooding out now.
"I don't know that I understand what's happening right now," Erik admitted, reaching out to swipe away a tear from his face.
"You've been through things that I couldn't imagine, but you had a family. You had parents who adored you and a sister who looks up to you. Your parents actually care about you, they moved from Germany to New York for you and probably never thought to hang it over your head like there was something wrong with you. They never deliberately made you feel bad because of your mutation. They don't see fit to judge you and pick at you about every little thing to give you a complex the size of a continent. I mean, you have a sister who will poison your cheating ex-boyfriend in your honor. I don't know how to function within something like that."
"You have Raven and your friends."
"That's different. That's Raven. She grew up in the same cesspool, so she understands all my shortcomings without me having to really explain. When I fuck up, I won't have to give a spiel about my backstory. She'll know. And my friends are lovely. They are my family, but it's not the same thing."
"You were fine meeting Ruth. You two have been thick as thieves."
"Ruth's amazing. She's great. That's the problem. I'm going to screw it up at some point."
"Charles—"
"I love you, Erik."
"I love you too, liebling."
"No, I love you. I love you more than I've ever loved anyone in my entire life. I want to spend my life with you. I want to make a family with you. I want your family to be my family, but I don't know how to do that. I don't know how to be a part of something like that without fucking it up. Maybe you know that too. Maybe that's why you've kept us away from each other. Maybe you were right to. I don't want them not to like me, and I know they won't. I don't want to put you in a position where you feel like you have to choose. I just… I don't want to lose you."
Erik let out a sigh and rubbed a hand over his face. Charles looked down and away, figuring he had finally agreed to his point.
"This is my fault."
Charles snapped his head back over to him.
"I should've just sat you down and talked to you sooner. They're going to love you. They won't care that you didn't have a family growing up, they won't see you as damaged or clueless. They're only going to care that I love you and you love me."
Charles shook his head in silent denial.
"Do you know why I didn't introduce you to them earlier?"
He reluctantly shook his head again. Erik took a deep breath like he was steeling himself to say something he didn't want to. Charles braced himself pre-emptively.
"My parents love me and they are great, but they didn't always understand me. They couldn't. They weren't mutants. The powers that be didn't look kindly on a mutant child with a human family and vice versa, so my growing pains was the perfect excuse to remove me. My parents were devastated. They didn't think the state would really take me away. They were lied to, said it wouldn't take long to get me back, weeks at most. They did everything right: took every class, passed every test, went through every legal loophole they were presented. Of course, there was always one more thing, one paper that wasn't filed correctly, one more fine they had to pay, one more certification. They had my family by the leash and they knew it, used their legal bureaucracy to keep us apart because that's what they wanted. They didn't care about me controlling my abilities, they weren't in favor of family reconciliation, they just wanted to stick me with my own kind and be done with it."
Erik had a far away look on his angry face, his teeth gritted, the past still a scab on his heart.
"Weeks turned to a year. A year with Sebastian Shaw and everything that comes with that. When I got back home finally, I was sixteen and angry. I was hurt physically and emotionally. I blamed my parents for not swooping in to rescue me, even though I knew it wasn't possible. I said a lot of fucked up things to them, things I can't take back no matter how much time has passed. That experience colored a lot for our family, changed how they react. Good things in my life becomes great in their eyes and bad becomes worse. They want me to be happy, but sometimes they aren't objective about me and my relationships. If I brought you to them earlier, they would've thrown out the welcome mat for you like we were already married. They can be… a lot. Friendly but overbearing, overfamiliar. I didn't want to scare you away. That's why I didn't bring you around. That's why I let you meet Ruth first, let her prime you for them more than I can."
Erik reached out and took Charles' hands in his.
"I love you, liebling. I want a life and family with you too. I want all the people that I love the most to love each other. And you will, I know you will. I just…" Erik trailed off with a chuckle.
"I needed to mentally prepare myself for the ungodly levels of enthusiasm and positivity I'm going to be subjected to between you and my parents."
Charles cracked a small smile at that.
"Being with you has made me a better person, Charles. You've made me happy. That's what my parents will see, nothing else."
Erik lifted his hand and kissed his fingers softly before leaning over to pull him into a hug. He accepted it easily, melting into Erik's arms for comfort.
"I'll meet them. I'm not convinced it won't go horribly wrong, but I'll do it for you."
"Thank you. It'll be fine, you'll see."
The Lehnsherrs' home was a two-story brick private house in Richmond Hill. There were two blue garage doors and a quaint mailbox the same color with the star of David painted into it. What caught Charles' attention was the ramp installed next to the stairs leading to the front door. None of the other houses had that. Ruth appeared to notice the look on his face as they went up the driveway along with Erik and Vance.
"Oh yeah, Vati renovated the house so it's wheelchair accessible. You won't have to worry about anything."
Charles quirked an eyebrow in surprise.
"He certainly didn't need to do that."
Ruth shrugged.
"It didn't put him out much. He's a contractor, he just used his own guys."
"Still, it takes time to convert a house. I would know."
"He expects you'll be around a lot. Erik doesn't bring people home often and he talks about you enough that we all know this isn't a fling. Knowing my brother, he's been operating under the assumption that you two are engaged all without telling you."
Charles glanced over at the man in question who stopped glaring at Vance to meet Charles' gaze with a shrug.
"You're wearing a ring I made."
"This is not an engagement ring. We are not engaged. That is not something we are going to have a miscommunication about. When you decide to propose to me, we'll both know it. You're dramatic enough that I expect it to be a big to-do."
Ruth and Vance chuckled at that, though the man stopped laughing when Erik turned a stone-faced look at him.
"Cut it out. Leave him alone," Charles chastised psionically.
"I don't like him."
"You don't know him."
"I know enough."
He rolled his eyes and moved his chair towards the ramp. It was a good angle so he didn't have to strain on the incline. Erik walked alongside him. They didn't bother knocking, Erik simply used his powers to open the door and the foursome entered, leaving their shoes by the door. Charles was very glad that he had cleaned his wheels before making the trip.
"Mama, Vati, we're here," Ruth called through the house.
"Living room," a male voice called back.
Charles took a deep breath as they continued forward, sharing a similarly nervous look with Vance. In the living room was one of the largest men he'd ever seen. He was tall, taller than Erik and Kurt. He was strapping like Cain with gray-laced auburn hair atop his head, a beard to match. He was large enough that Charles briefly wondered if he had a mutation after all. His physique seemed to be where the similarities between him and the men in Charles' family ended. When he turned and saw Erik and Ruth, a large smile stretched across his face.
"There they are! Took you long enough," he greeted boisterously, startling Charles and Vance with the volume of his voice.
He pulled the two redheads into his large arms once they were close enough to him, practically engulfing them in his large arms.
"My bärchen and my biénchen, safe and sound."
The mountain of a man punctuated his words with a kiss to both siblings' head. Erik's face was blank and stoic, but the emotions Charles could feel betrayed his contentment. Charles felt himself simultaneously relaxing and tensing up. He was glad that Erik had people who supported him and loved him so completely. He still had no clue what that would mean for him.
"Is that them," a female voice called from what Charles assumed was the kitchen.
"Ja, meine geliebte."
A woman appeared from around the corner after a moment. She was a couple inches shorter than Ruth with more gray in her hair than brunette. She smiled when she saw her children and made a beeline to greet them, kissing and hugging them. Charles felt something that he could only describe as bittersweet as he watched the four family members embrace without any reservations. The chances of him ever getting a greeting like that from his parents died with his father.
"Have you been missing meals? Are you getting enough sleep," Edie asked, looking Erik up and down with a critical eye.
"I'm fine, Mama. You don't have to worry over me."
"Of course I do. I'm your mother. Plus, you so often work so much you neglect yourself. The things you create are beautiful but you're important too, you must have better care."
Charles smiled at Edie's fussing.
"Well, that's what I have Charles for."
"And where is your Charles?"
"Hiding back there," Ruth quipped.
Charles sputtered a bit and wheeled closer.
"I'm not hiding," he grumbled, stopping before the four of them nervously.
"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Lehnsherr. It's so lovely to meet you. You have a beautiful home," he greeted, saying everything he was supposed to say.
He hoped it didn't sound too rehearsed. He didn't want to give a false impression of himself. The two smiled warmly at him.
"Jakob and Edie is just fine by us. We've heard so much about you. I almost feel like we're meeting a celebrity," Jakob chuckled with his booming voice.
Charles blushed a bit in response.
"Erik and Ruth have told me a lot about you as well."
"Oh, we heard all about that. My junge, such an active imagination," the man declared jovially, mussing Erik's hair affectionately.
"Papa, schäme mich nicht," Erik grumbled, fixing his hair.
"I said I wouldn't because I don't want to overwhelm you, but I can't help it," Edie commented before Charles shockingly found himself with his arms full of the woman. He shot Erik a surprised look before patting her back.
"Thank you so much for making my son so happy," she whispered in his ear.
Charles relaxed then, rubbing her back more naturally.
"He's made me very happy too," he replied simply.
Edie pulled back and gave him one last smile before turning her attention to Vance. Jakob approached him in lieu of her.
"I hope the ramp was the right angle."
"It was just right," Charles assured him.
"I'd love to show you around. I had some friends help me along, but I want to make sure it's right for you."
"You really didn't have to do all this, Mr. Lehn— Jakob."
"Nonsense. You're family now, mäuschen," he blew off, mussing Charles' hair the same way he did Erik's.
Ruth gave him a look at that.
"I told you they'd adore you. You've even got a nickname. You're family now, face it."
Charles met Erik's eyes as he silently watched the exchange. There was a soft look on his face and his lip quirked into the barest smile when he met Charles' gaze, which he returned.
He could do this, he decided. Maybe this could really work even if he had no clue how to operate within a family. Maybe he could learn.