Erik II

Erik understood why Wanda was scared this wasn't real. He understood it really well.

Finding out you had a child you didn't know about? Yeah, that was an experience. Gaining two more almost immediately after? Oof. Finding out your partner was pregnant the day after? There were no words. If his math was correct, Erik would go from zero family to four kids in roughly two years. How had that happened? How was this… what was even happening? For the longest time he'd been convinced he'd die alone and bloody. And he had hoped to take as many bastards with him as possible. Now he stood over the grave of his deceased wife and wondered if maybe he had gotten it all wrong. Maybe it wasn't his fate to die. Maybe he'd be the one standing in all the rubble. Magda was dead. Anya was dead. His parents… so many of his people. Millions. And Banshee? Angel? Azazel? Emma? Charles paralyzed by his hand. And here he was. Surrounded by his family and alive, so alive.

It hit him then, like a tone of bricks: Magda was gone and now there was no one besides him that even remembered Anya. No one that knew what she had looked like. How she had smiled. Laughed. There were no pictures. There was only him, standing in a forest in Oregon. He was hardly listening to Mr White drone on about life, family and loss… he was too busy having a mild panic attack and hiding it from the others. Wanda, traumatized, scared Wanda was stony-faced and still too pale, hiding away in his arm. To his right, Lorna had her arms around Peter's middle, with Ida holding his hand.

Erik hadn't been much older than Peter, when he'd become a father… what a strange and disturbing thought. Granted, he had grown up quickly and brutally, but looking at Peter like that… a kid. He was a kid. His kid. And from what he had seen over the past few days, Peter had managed to preserve that youthful joy until now. That enthusiasm and spark. Wanda already looked liked life was one big disappointment.

As if she had read his mind, her eyes drifted up towards him and she gave him a sad smile. There it was again: that urge to find every person responsible. To burn that damned asylum to the ground.

You're not mad? Not even at Mom?

Hell yes, he was mad.

He had never been so mad at someone in his life. Not for leaving him. Not for keeping the twins a secret.

But the way she treated the kids? For locking Wanda away?

Erik wondered briefly, if hate was the right word for what he felt. Yes. Hate.

Magda could do to him, think about him… whatever she wanted.

But the children?!

That was unforgivable.

He was sorry Peter was grieving. Sorry Wanda felt guilty. He'd even been sorry about Magda… until he had heard the whole thing. Now… he was glad she was dead. Glad she couldn't hurt the kids anymore. Glad he didn't have to scare his kids away by marching over to DC and killing her himself.

He liked to believe he was a better man than that, but honestly? No. He wasn't.

He spared another glance for Wanda, who was looking at him with wide eyes, her irises a strange red color.

Oh dear. Was that what she looked like when using her powers?

Mr White and his people lowered Magda's coffin into the ground and Peter was the first to move forward, take the small shovel and carefully throw earth into the grave. When he stepped back, he handed the shovel to Wanda, who stared at it, as if it was venomous. Erik reached out to take it from her, but Wanda shook her head and finally stepped forward. When it was Erik's turn, he really tried to think of something nice while he said goodbye, the anger still cursing through his veins.

"Thank you.", he finally said under his breath, "For the greatest gifts of them all. Thank you for my children."

It was all he had left to say. All he had left in his heart for the woman he had once loved more than life.

The rest of the day was spent in relative silence. They congregated in the living room, spread out on the numerous couches and armchairs and just… watched TV. Stupid. Mindless. Save.

What did one normally do after a funeral? There was no one to reminisce with. No one to entertain. They were all tired and drained. Lorna was the first to go to bed that night. Most likely she'd rather read in her room. Wanda followed close after, proclaiming her need for a hot bath. Peter groaned a little at the prospect of his sister hogging the bathroom for long and Erik made a note that more bedrooms would also mean more bathrooms. The twins weren't children anymore, either. So maybe he should account for their needs, too. More space? Privacy? He'd talk to Ida about it later. Maybe they should get an actual architect. APPARENTLY money wasn't an issue. That had honestly been a bit of a curveball. And Peter's comments about him doing a good job for finding a rich woman had wrinkled. At least a little. He didn't mind this being Ida's house. Her property. Her money… but he DID feel a bit useless. What exactly did he bring to the table apart from anger issues and legal trouble?

Ida, leaning on his chest, seemed to sense his shifting mood, turning her head to look up at him. He couldn't help but smile at her, despite his foul mood. Ida, his rock. His partner in crime. She had told him she'd be right by his side, if it ever came to it. They'd tear the world down together to protect their kids, and he believed her. He had seen her anger. Her temper. Maybe that was why they worked so well together: he didn't have to be ashamed with her. She wouldn't judge him for anything he had done, as long as he didn't hurt the children. And that he could get on board with.

"I'm not good at hiding my powers.", Peter interrupted his musings, "I know you guys are trying to blend and all that, but I don't always remember to go slow. I could dye my hair and stuff, but I can't promise anything. Maybe going to school is a stupid idea. Maybe I'm better off staying here."

"You don't have to hide your powers, Peter. No one should.", Erik sighed.

"You do."

"I'm a fugitive. I'm not exactly hiding them, just… lying low"

"I put a spell on him to make him less noticeable. But if people start to take an interest, they will definitely notice.", Ida explained.

"Lorna hides.", Peter insisted.

"Lorna is twelve and wants to fit in.", Erik explained, "It's true that I told Lorna not to use her powers outside our home too much, but… that's more about her still learning to control them. Not about her having to hide. People know now. And you should be proud of who you are."

Ida looked a little less convinced.

"You don't agree?", Erik was surprised, he'd always thought they were on the same page.

"I don't NOT agree. I just worry about the kids being bullied. That's all."

"People will bully you for any kind of reason. It doesn't matter if you are the blandest person in the world."

"I know that. I'm just a little protective, you know? People around here remember. And they talk. They know I adopted Lorna when she was four. Now you showed up. We live together. We aren't married. Now the twins are here. People will talk themselves into a frenzy. I am all for being proud of who you are. I am also trying to be realistic about what that might mean. That's all."

"Are you bothered by what they might say?", Erik hadn't really considered that before.

"Oh, I don't care. But I don't have to spend five days a week in school among the people that'll talk. And I'm also well over 700 years old."

"Excuse me?", Peter interrupted them.

"Long story.", Ida waved him off.

"Would people talk less if we got married?", Erik asked. Especially when you're pregnant? He let that part fall silent between them.

"I am not sure today is the day to discuss this, dear.", Ida sighed.

"Mpf."

"Hello? Parentals? What do you mean, you are over 700 years old?"

"I'm not human, Peter."

"Yeah. Like all of us are mutants?"

"I'm not a mutant. I'm an alien. There is nothing human about me."

Peter's mouth dropped open and stayed that way.

Had it shocked Erik to learn that when Ida had first told him? Less than it probably should.

"I came to this world ages ago. Well, we did. Fenrir and I, and… others."

"Fenrir? Fenrir is an alien?"

"Oh, yes."

"That explains so much."

"How intelligent is he?", Erik narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"Ehm… Normal, I guess. I never asked."

"What? Like us?", what a day for revelations.

"Sure."

"And he's stuck as a dog?!", Peter sounded horrified, and Erik couldn't really blame him.

"First and foremost: He's a wolf. Not a dog. And second: He's not stuck as anything. It's his natural form. He CAN shape-shift, he just doesn't like to do it."

"So he could run around here as a man? With opposable thumbs and all?"

"Yes, Peter, he could. I haven't seen him do it in decades, though. I think being this small is already annoying him enough."

"Small?!"

"Normally, he is a bit bigger, yes."

"So he really did know what he was doing when he fucking bit me.", Erik groaned. Somehow this made it all worse.

"Of course he did. He is always been very protective. His family is all he cares about.", Ida explained.

Well. They had that in common.

"But… like… if he's that smart, shouldn't he know better?", Peter asked, throwing Erik a nervous glance.

Ida shrugged.

"Better than what?", Erik asked Peter instead, "He saw me upsetting you. That made me the threat."

"Intelligence and morale are two very different things, Peter. And just because Fenrir is intelligent, it doesn't mean he shares our understanding of things. Or our ideas."

Erik honestly wasn't sure, if there even was an "our". He strongly suspected Ida's idea of justice was much closer to Fenrir's than, for example, Charles'.

"Where did you come from? You and Fenrir?", Peter asked, "And what exactly are you called? Like… what kind of alien?"

"Both Fenrir and I are mixed, Peter. And that's a very long story. We… we came here from different realms AND different universes. When I left the world I was born on, I travelled for a bit. Then I found Fenrir. He didn't exist in my world and I didn't exist in his, but… our fathers are variants of the same man. So we stuck together. I freed him and we stayed together."

"Variants of…", Peter started.

"Your brother. Fenrir is your brother?!", Erik felt like he might get an aneurysm, "Why did you never tell me that?!"

"You didn't ask!"

"How was I supposed to ask about that? Hello, Ida, is Fenrir your brother? Like that?"

"Hey, I told you my origins aren't exactly my favorite topic. And you said that was fine!"

"Your brother is a massive wolf!"

"You can control metal with your mind. What's your point?"

"Your BROTHER is a massive wolf!"

"Wait until you see the other ones."

"The other…"

Naturally, Fenrir chose that moment to trot into the living room, lie down between them and Peter and yawn widely at Erik.

Had his teeth gotten bigger.

"You're an asshole.", Erik told him.

Fenrir bore his teeth at him.

"I mean it."

"Both of you, stop! Or you'll sleep in the yard.", Ida interrupted their staring contest.

"He has fur. And he likes sleeping outside. That would be unfair."

"I'd give you a blanket."

"Hey Ida, can you shape-shift, too?", Peter asked, reaching out to pat Fenrir, who contentedly leaned into his touch.

"No. I don't have that power. Just my healing stuff. And the magic. But that's something I was taught, not something I was born with."

"Can I learn magic?"

"I don't think so… I'm sorry, Peter, I don't sense any magical potential. Lorna, either."

"Thank goodness.", Erik sighed in relief. Ida punched him in the chest.

"Don't be mean."

"I'm not mean. Peter is already a very powerful mutant. Teach him magic and cutting his allowance won't be enough."

"It won't, anyway. If I want something, no one can really stop me.", Peter shrugged.

"Peter…"

"You know how booooooring it is to stay in line and pay for stuff? Grrrrrrr. I have better things to do."

"Peter…"

"And, like, some of the stuff they won't even sell you anyway? Hello? That's my favorite. What do you mean, I can't have it?"

"Peter!"

"Yes?"

"No stealing in a radius of 100 miles.", Erik told him sternly.

"But…"

"100 miles is nothing to you."

"Fine."

"I mean it."

"Fine. I'll return the ice cream maker."

"You… when did you steal that?!", Ida's eyes were ridiculously wide.

"When I went to the toilette earlier. I wanted ice cream, too. So I went into town and got one. Thought I might like one tomorrow, so… I brought the thing home."

"How… how did no one notice?", Ida looked at Erik, who was just as shocked as she was.

"I was gone for like… ten minutes!"

"How would we know how long you take in the bathroom?! Have you SEEN how much you eat?!"

"Dude!"

"Return it, Peter!"

"But… the girls might like ice cream tomorrow!"

"We have a whole freezer full of ice cream!"

"It's not the same!"

"Peter, return the damn thing!"

"Fine."

And with that he was gone.

They sat in silence for a full two minutes before Erik said: "He… stole an ice cream machine."

"I would buy him a stupid ice cream machine, you know? We buried his Mom today. I'd buy him a whole ice cream truck, if it made him happy."

"I am expecting one call per day from the principal's office."

"We could all have gone for ice cream. Why didn't he bring some back?"

"Possibly two calls."


"Rise and shine, people!", Erik yelled loudly, as he stepped over Fenrir and onto the children's floor, "It's tiiiiiiime for school!"

There was a crash, then an unhappy groan and Peter's door opened first. In a stark contrast to the first time he had woken his son up, this time Peter wasn't dressed… or fully awake.

"So you ARE a normal teenager. Nice."

"Go away.", Lorna opened her door, too.

"And good morning to you, too, sunshine."

"Argh!"

"Get dressed, guys. We're having breakfast at the diner and then school for you.", Erik pointed at Lorna, "And an appointment with the Principal for the rest of us."

"I don't need that much time to get ready.", Peter protested.

"Tough. Now move. Wanda?", he knocked carefully at his daughter's door, "Wanda, are you awake?"

Nothing. Slowly Erik opened the door to find Wanda still laying in bed, surrounded by a halo of scarlet light.

"Oh shit.", Peter appeared next to him.

"Wanda?", Erik tried again, carefully getting closer to the bed, "Liebes?"

No reaction.

"I'm getting Ida!", Peter declared and took off, returning with a frazzled looking Ida a full two seconds later.

"I think I'm going to be sick."

"Peter, that was unnecessary. And rude.", Erik chided.

"I was in a hurry!"

"Oh Hell.", Ida promptly threw up into Wanda's trash can.

Wanda chose exactly that moment to wake up screaming.

While Erik ran forward to hold her as she sobbed, a guilty looking Peter rubbed circles on Ida's back.

Lorna meanwhile emerged from the bathroom, looking confused, "What is going on?"

Ida ran past Lorna, leaving Peter holding the trash can. Wanda was still sobbing into Erik's shirt. Fenrir came over, putting his head on her leg and Wanda reached out to pet him.

"Nightmare?", Erik asked quietly.

"Peter, ewwwwww. Take it outside!", Lorna groaned.

"But…"

"This was on you.", Erik told him sternly. And just like that Peter was gone again. Lorna threw them one last look, then vanished into her room.

"I'm okay now.", Wanda sighed, "Just… a nightmare."

"What was it about?", Erik asked, scooting away a little to give her space.

"I was… I was locked up. My head hurt and I was just… everything hurt. And I was crying. I just remember thinking where is he? He promised."

"He?", Erik feared he already knew the answer to that.

"You.", Wanda looked apologetic, "Sorry. I just kept wondering where you were and why you hadn't saved me."

"The only way I wouldn't come to save you, is if I were dead."

"I know, Dad."

Erik felt a wide, happy smile spread across his face at her words, even with their sad topic.

"Is that… is it okay to call you Dad?", Wanda sounded scared, what a strange thing, considering how happy she had just made him.

"It's more than okay, Liebes. It's the best gift you could give me.", slowly he stood up, then pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, "Come on. Let's all get dressed. We'll have breakfast in town."

"Can I have a milkshake for breakfast?"

"Sure you can."

Carefully he closed Wanda's room behind him, then walked over to knock at the bathroom door.

"Go away."

"It's just me."

"Go awaaaaaay!"

"Can I come in, please? I just want to check that you're okay."

"Erik, I'm not getting up, so no."

"I don't need you to get up. I can open the lock."

"Okay. Fine."

Erik reached out with his powers, opened the door and then closed it again behind him. Ida was sitting in front of the toilet, looking pale and sweaty.

Erik took a small towel out of the cupboard and held it under a stream of cold water, before sitting down in front of Ida and carefully wiping her face.

"I threw up. In Wanda's room. With everyone watching. Shoot me."

"The one time Peter did that to me, I almost threw up in an elevator. I honestly wanted to. Anything to make the nausea go away."

"It doesn't help."

"Is there something I can do?"

"I hear saltines might help."

"Do you want me to check if we have any?"

"No. I want chocolate."

"Then I'll get you chocolate.", Erik got back up, wincing slightly. He should have brought his stupid cane.

"No, I'll get up.", Ida sighed, then reached out her hand for him to pull her up with, "I prefer my own bathroom."

Carefully, they made their way downstairs. Him still limping and her periodically stopping to settle her upset stomach.

Peter was waiting for them in the foyer, holding a freshly cleaned trash can and looking suitably guilty.

"Sorry, Ida."

"It's okay, dear.", she patted his arm, "You were just worried."

"It won't happen again!"

"Good.", Erik told him sternly.

"I think I'm ready for the kitchen.", Ida told him.

"You sure?"

"Do we still have cherry juice? I want cherry juice and chocolate."

"I'll check!"

Woosh.

"I put it on the table!"

"Thanks, Peter."

In the end they scrapped the Diner idea, instead returning to the old classic of pancakes and hot cocoa. They let Peter drive, so he wouldn't feel cooped in, with a still nauseated Ida taking the passenger seat. Leaving Erik and his long legs to suffer in the backseat with the girls. Did he enjoy it? No. Would he do it again to make his family happy? Absolutely.

Erik opened his door before Peter had fully parked, undid his belt with his powers and almost fell out of the car.

"Dad!", Lorna laughed, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. It's all fine."

Elegant, Lehnsherr, very elegant.

"Once we are done here, I vote new car.", he sighed, as the others finally followed him.

"Gertie! Susan!", Lorna waved towards her friends, as the two other girls rounded the corner, "Bye, guys!"

Aaaaaaand she was off.

"Huh. So that's what that feels like.", Peter shrugged and (very responsibly) locked their car.

"Lorna was right, this place is pretty tiny.", Wanda looked around.

"It's still the only school around. Everyone comes here. And it's a good school, don't worry.", Ida tried to reassure her, nibbling on her chocolate bar.

"I don't care that much. I'm just here for the gossip. Lorna told me that's what it's all about."

"Oh, Lorna.", Ida shook her head.

When they walked towards the Principal's office, people were making space for them, obviously excited by the prospect of new students. And some, Erik suspected, knew who he and Ida were.

"Heya, Lorna's parents!", one of Gertie's older brothers waved at them.

"Hey, Beau, how are you?", Ida smiled.

"Very well, thanks Mrs Northman!"

Smooth, Erik thought, very smooth. He had never really given anyone a last name here. And since most people were now too awkward to ask, people just referred to him as "Lorna's Dad".

"The moment the bell rings, the whole school will know.", Ida whispered into his ear and slipped her arm into his, "Beau will be THE most popular kid at lunch."

"Perfect."

"Oh, come on. Look a little less gloomy. These kids are Lorna's friends. And they might become the twins'. Try not to scare them away."

"I'm not trying to scare anyone away."

"And you are doing a great job there.", Peter grinned widely.

Principal Miller (who was apparently a distant cousin of Gertie's father) was waiting for them at his door and waved them right through.

"The Northmans! Do come in, please!"

"Gordon! Thank you for making time for us so quickly!", Ida smiled brightly, shaking the man's hand.

Gordon? How… how did she do this? How did she know all these people? He could hardly remember the names of their neighbors.

"Gordon, I'm sure you remember Erik?", Ida.

"Of course! We met at this year's Spring fair. How are you, Erik?"

"Very well, thank you. This is Wanda and Peter, my eldest."

Principal Miller looked somewhat surprised by that revelation, but caught himself quickly, ushering them all towards chairs that had obviously already been brought in for them, before sitting down behind his desk.

"Peter. Wanda. Welcome to Ulvheim High School. I hear you want to join our senior classes?",

"Yes, Sir.", Wanda sounded hopeful… Peter chewed gum.

When had he even started that? Erik felt the sudden urge to wrangle it out of his mouth.

"We only started last week, so you didn't miss much. Did you bring your transcripts?"

"We don't have transcripts.", Erik sighed, ready to efficiently present the… uh… version they had agreed upon, "Sadly the twins haven't been in school for a while. I am sure they'd be prepared to do some tests, if you need to place them…"

"Haven't been in school?", Miller looked confused and Erik didn't even blame him.

"Their mother and I had greatly different ideas."

"She died last week.", Peter suddenly said briskly, "So we've moved in with Dad and Ma. And would like to go back to school."

"My condolences.", Miller caught himself.

"Thank you.", Wanda smiled sadly. She was a pretty could actress, Erik thought, but it was obvious to him that she was just trying to very quickly get away from the subject.

"You can fill out the paperwork and we'll do some placement testing. If all goes well, you can enter regular classes on Monday."

"That sounds great. Thank you, Gordon."

And just like that Wanda and Peter Northman became students at Ulvheim High. And Wanda and Peter Maximoff effectively vanished from the face of the Earth.

A fact that they celebrated over milkshakes at Noel's Diner.


"Now, who is your best friend?"

"The clutch.", Wanda dutifully replied.

"Perfect. Slowly… slowly… exactly like that. Now a little bit of gas… perfect."

Slowly Wanda drove down their dirt road, gripping the steering wheel a little too much. But she was doing it, slow and steady and for their first lesson, Erik was more than pleased. Out here in the middle of nowhere driving was a necessity and it really made him happy that he got to teach Wanda. He had missed so, so much with all of his kids. To be able to teach Wanda how to drive… it healed a little part of his soul. Everything about them did. Every "Dad". Every hug. Every smile. And every tear that ended up in his shirts.

"Dad?"

"Yes?"

"What do we do when we reach the end?"

"Then I'll teach you to reverse and we drive right back home."

"Okay."

Erik felt the metal of the truck hurrying towards them long before it sped around the corner, using his powers to stop both cars before they could collide head on.

Both Peter and Lorna were staring at him in shock through the windshield.

"Wanda, please turn the engine off. Exactly. Handbrake, please. Thank you. I'll be back in a second.", Erik exited the car and moved towards the truck's driver door. Peter, too, had shut off the car and exited slowly, wearily looking at him.

"Peter, if I trust you with a car AND your sister's life, I don't appreciate gross negligence and reckless driving. I know when school lets out. So I know perfectly well how fast you must have been driving."

"I wasn't…", and just like that Peter bolted.

Erik had considered keeping a grip on the metal on his clothes to stop him from doing exactly that, but having witnessed how much Peter hated being restrained, he just couldn't get himself to do it. So instead Peter took off, leaving Erik and his sisters behind.

Both girls stepped out of the cars.

"What now?", Wanda asked, looking around, "I can't drive back by myself."

"I can.", Lorna shrugged, "Not the truck, though."

"You can drive?"

"Sure. Dad taught me."

"You're 12!"

"And this is private property.", Erik explained, "And I'd rather she has a way to make a quick escape. Fine. Lorna, you take the Chevy, I'll drive the truck. Wanda, I'm sorry, we'll pick this up again tomorrow."

"No problem!"

"Is Peter gonna be okay?", Lorna asked nervously, "He wasn't going that fast, you know? I kinda egged him on."

"I don't really care, Lorna. He was the driver, not you."

"But…"

"Get in the car."

"Okay.", she looked deflated, but walked past Wanda and into the Chevy. Erik meanwhile climbed into the truck's driver seat and Wanda followed him. He was a little proud to see how expertly Lorna turned the car around on the narrow road, before they all drove back to the house at a sensible speed and parked out back.

Ida opened the back door, surprised by their silent little group.

"Where's Peter?"

"Ran off.", Wanda shrugged, "He does that."

"What? What happened?"

"I'll explain later.", Erik sighed, still trying to process what exactly had happened. He hadn't yelled. Hadn't been aggressive or even really mad. More… exasperated.

He'd have to have a talk with Peter about responsibility, but… had he done something to scare the boy?

When Peter wasn't back by dinner time, Erik was gearing up a full on search party. Peter could be anywhere in the world, though. When Peter wasn't back by 10 pm, when both Wanda and Lorna turned in for the night, Erik was halfway to the phone to call Charles and ask him to use Cerebro.

He was sitting on the porch, staring off into the night and desperately hoping Peter would return. Less than a week and his son had run away. Was that some sort of record?

Ida sat down next to him, looking roughly as worried as he felt. Even Fenrir hadn't gone upstairs yet. He was still out in the yard, looking out towards the forest.

"I'm sure he'll be back, Erik."

"You don't know that."

"Erik…"

"I think he was afraid of me. I scared him enough to run away."

"From what Wanda says… that's how he copes."

"With what? Danger?"

"Oh, Darling.", she reached for his hand and Erik turned around to rest his head on her shoulder. He was crying and he couldn't even remember how many times he had done that this week alone. He hadn't cried in decades. But this week… this week was ready to break him.

"I'm sure he'll come back eventually. Now he's probably afraid he'll get into more trouble for running off."

"I don't care about any of that. I just want him home."

"I know, Darling, I know. I… I don't think he's had the best experiences with people getting mad at him."

"I wasn't going to yell at him.", Erik tried to defend himself.

"Maybe yelling wasn't what he was afraid of."

"Then what…"

Fenrir yelped. Erik didn't think he'd ever heard the wolf even make any sound at all.

And then there he was, standing in front of the porch door, looking shamefaced.

"Peter!", Erik jumped out of his chair.

"I'm sorry, Dad. I didn't…", but before he could finish that sentence, Erik had hobbled down the steps and pulled his son tightly into his arms.

"Mpf."

"You scared me half to death."

"I can look after myself."

"Not the point, Peter. Never the point.", Erik still refused to let go, his eyes searching Peter for any kind of injury, any harm.

"Are you alright?", Ida asked, standing in the porch light.

"Yeah, just… hungry."

"That's fine. We have leftover Shepherd's Pie. I'll warm some up for you."

"Thanks, Ida.", Peter still wouldn't really look up. Erik had to practically drag him up the steps and into the kitchen.

"I'm sorry about this afternoon. I know I was going too quickly. I didn't think anyone else would be on that road. We would have crashed, if you hadn't done anything. I'm really, really sorry."

"It's okay. No one was hurt, Peter. I admit, I wasn't happy about it. Letting you drive alone to get Lorna was a big thing for me. I'm always worried."

Peter flinched as if Erik had struck him. That hadn't been Erik's intent. At all.

"I let you down."

"No, Peter. Nothing happened."

"You said it yourself: It was a big thing for you to let me drive and I totally blew it!"

"It was a mistake, Peter. Nothing more. Mistakes happen."

"It wasn't a mistake! I was reckless and stupid!", Erik was shocked to see tears in the corner of Peter's eyes, "I was stupid. I messed up and I let you down!"

"You aren't stupid! And you never, ever let me down. That's not what I said. Or at least not what I meant. Peter. Hey! Peter, look at me.", and Erik actively reached for Peter's chin to lift up his face, "It's okay. You're not in trouble. No one is mad. No one is disappointed. We are just glad you are home, okay?"

"I just wanted to be the cool big brother."

"I know, kid, I understand. It's okay. I promise."

"It's not going to happen again."

"Okay. But even if it does: Peter, always come home. You don't need to be afraid of me, ever."

"I'm not afraid of you."

"No?"

"No. You are not that scary."

"I've been told differently."

"Okay. Maybe you are a bit scary. But not to me. Or Wanda. Or Lorna. To us, you are just Dad."

"That's all I want to be."

Ida placed a massive plate of food on the table and Peter finally sat down and started wolfing it down. Lovingly she stroked his hair, as if she just needed to make sure he was really there. Erik understood that impulse.

"When I grew up, I was basically handed from one family to another. I'd mess something up. I'd be difficult… and then it was the next family's turn within our community.", Ida sighed and took a seat next to Peter and Erik, "And the first couple of times, I was convinced it would be different. This time… this time they'd let me stay. And then something would happen and I would be greeted with disappointment. Not anger. Most were too mellow or whatever. But disappointment, that they did very well. Anger, I guess, would have been easier."

Peter looked at her with big eyes, then nodded in understanding, "I was a difficult child, too."

Erik huffed, causing both of them to look at him.

"What? Every child is difficult. That's what children are supposed to be! If you find parenting easy, you are doing it wrong."

"Well, some of us were a bit more difficult, Erik.", Ida replied.

"No. That's bullshit. You weren't too difficult. Or more difficult. Neither were you, Peter. Both of you better listen closely here: You were kids. And every person that mistreated you, called you annoying or fucking difficult was WRONG. They were fucking failures and instead of admitting it, they put it on the kids they were supposed to love. No one has the right to make you feel like that. Either of you."

"It's a bit more complicated than that, Erik."

"It's really not."

"When I lost control, the crops would die and stuff."

"That sucks. Doesn't mean it's on the kid."

"I'm a pain in the ass.", Peter mumbled into his food, "Everybody says so."

"Who? Who said that?"

"Mom. My teachers. The neighbors. Every friend I ever had. Professor Xavier."

Erik pursed his lips, his face going white in anger.

"He said that?"

"Well, yeah. About three minutes after we met. I… well, he probably wouldn't do it now that he knows you're my Dad."

"Ah yes, Charles' drugged up angry phase. You better remember what I said about people being failures and putting it on everybody else."

"Erik…", Ida chided sharply, but Peter actually chuckled and that was all Erik needed to hear.