day four - on a date
More Daycare Verse. This was going to be longer, but it's ten-thirty and I'm tired. I have all this meta in my head about the way the mutant social service system works in this verse and most of it is cribbed from the particular social service system that I work with IRL. There was going to be a whole second part where Charles works to deescalate a mutant kid in crisis as a sort of mutant peer worker? And I might add it before I clean this up and post it on AO3. For now, instead of world-building, here is Charles ruining a date, maybe three or four months into his relationship with Erik.
***
on a date (~1100 words)
***
Charles knows Erik is going to call him about thirty seconds before the phone actually rings. He tends to linger in Erik's head, not invasively or actively reading his mind, but close enough to feel his moods and temperament. There's a spike of the very particular affection and nerves that Erik always feels when he thinks about Charles, laced with intent. Charles puts down his scissors and pulls his phone out of his pocket, laying it on the table and waiting until the first buzz moments later. He accepts the call and puts it on speaker before picking up his scissors and going back to cutting out paper stars.
"Hello, darling," he says.
"Hi," Erik says. There's shuffling sound on Erik's end of the line. "What's up?"
"I'm cutting out paper stars for a project tomorrow," Charles says. "You called me. What's up with you?"
Erik sighs as if he's immensely put-upon.
"I won an award," he says, which is not entirely what Charles is expecting after that level of reluctance.
"That's wonderful!" Charles says. "Congratulations!"
"They're having a thing and they're making me go so they can give me a thing for it," Erik continues.
Thankfully, years of teaching preschoolers has given Charles an uncanny ability to parse nonspecific sentences.
"Are they?" Charles asks. He knows what's next, even without peeking past the surface of Erik's mind.
"I thought...maybe you'd want to come," Erik says. "It's a benefit thing. Formal. It starts at seven. And if they're making me go, I thought maybe at least I could get something out of it."
"Something being showing off your rich, attractive, younger boyfriend?" Charles asks.
"Something being spending an evening looking at you in formalwear," Erik says. A beat. "And your thing too, maybe."
Charles cuts out the last of his stars, grinning.
"Pick me up at six-thirty," he says. "I promise I'll wear something worth showing off."
"Six," Erik says. "It's at the Ritz-Carlton and if you're going to be meeting the insipid idiots I work with, we're going to need a drink or beforehand."
The Ritz is maybe a ten minute drive from his apartment.
"An hour of drinking?" Charles asks.
"They're very insipid," Erik says. Charles laughs and leans back in his chair. "Anyway...uh. I'll call you again later tonight."
"I look forward to it," Charles says.
"Love you," Erik says, with just the slightest awkward hesitation that he's still trying to overcome.
"Love you too," Charles says. "I'll talk to you later."
He disconnects the call and smiles for a moment before shaking his head clear and pulling out another sheaf of construction paper. He has more shapes to cut out. He can grin dopily about his chance to finally meet Erik's co-workers later.
***
"Wow," Erik says when Charles opens the door. "I mean, uh."
Charles grins.
"Let me get my coat," he says, but before he can turn from the door, Erik grabs his arm and tugs him back.
"Wait," Erik murmurs, and pulls Charles close, running his hand from Charles' hip up to his waist and across the small of his back, admiring the tailoring of his suit. They kiss slowly, with a sort of familiarity that Charles relishes. "You look good," Erik says when he pulls away, his hand still pressed to the small of Charles' back. "Really good."
Charles knows he looks good. He's wearing a dark blue suit that he knows compliments his eyes and his complexion. It's well tailored, which, admittedly, is more than he can say for the rest of his wardrobe. Baggy and worn is efficient and appropriate for his day job, however, and he's in no hurry to change that any time soon.
"You're wearing a three-piece suit," Erik says. "And...cufflinks. When I said 'formal' I meant like...wear a tie." He runs his fingers down Charles' tie.
"I'll look that much better when you're called up to accept your award and I kiss you on the cheek in front of all your colleagues," Charles says, catching Erik's fingers when they linger over the buttons of Charles' waistcoat. "Let me get my coat."
It's a short drive over to the hotel and before long they're ensconced in the hotel bar sipping drinks as they wait for dinner to start. Charles is content to curl into the corner of one of the couches in the lounge with Erik leaning into his personal space, far enough away that they can avoid any of Erik's colleagues with a similar idea.
In a way, he's lucky that he was more interested in flirting outrageously with his boyfriend than pre-gaming a benefit dinner, because when his phone rings, he's still barely tipsy.
"It's Logan," he tells Erik when he pulls the phone from his pocket. His stomach sinks. Logan after five on a weekday can only be bad news.
"Who?" Erik asks.
"Oh," Charles says. "A friend of mine--he's a social worker. I consult with him occasionally on particularly tricky mutant cases." Before Erik can inquire further, Charles connects the call. "Mr. Howlett! How can I be of service this evening?"
"I'm not sure how I feel about that phrasing," Erik mutters, dipping his head down to kiss the corner of Charles' mouth.
"I have a problem, Chuck," Logan says, while Charles swats at Erik and says, "Not now, darling."
"What was that?" Logan asks.
"Nothing," Charles says. "My boyfriend's being a nuisance."
"Good," Logan says. "He can drive you to the ED. I've got a eight year old pyrotechnic who's gonna be restrained and sedated if you don't talk 'er down."
Charles sighs. Erik is watching him curiously. He feels awful, but knowing he turned his back on a child in danger would make him feel worse.
"I'll be right there," he tells Logan, and hangs up.
"I'm not sure if I should be jealous you're getting out of this or glad you won't have to be subjected it," Erik says.
"Neither," Charles says. He leans over and kisses Erik. "You're getting out of it with me. No jealousy necessary."
Erik hesitates for just a moment.
"What's--" he starts to say, then shakes his head. "Nevermind. I know better than to look a gift horse in the mouth. Let's go." He stands up and takes Charles' hand, pulling him up as well.
"There's a mutant child in the middle of a crisis," Charles says. "She needs to be deescalated before they sedate her and neutralize her."
"And that's your job how?" Erik asks, even as he shrugs on his coat.
"I'm a teacher trained specifically in mutant psychology and development," Charles says dryly. "It's exactly my job, darling. Sorry to ruin the evening."
"Ruin?" Erik says. "You just made it ten times better. Let's get out of here."
*
the rest of the days:
1. Holding hands
2. Cuddling somewhere
3. Gaming/watching a movie
4. On a date
5. Kissing
6. Wearing each others’ clothes
7. Shopping
8. Hanging out with friends
9. Making out
10. Eating icecream
11. In a different clothing style
12. During their morning ritual(s)
13. Spooning
14. Doing something together
15. In formal wear
16. Dancing
17. Cooking/baking
18. In battle, side-by-side
19. Arguing
20. Making up afterwards
21. Getting married
22. On one of their birthdays
23. Doing something ridiculous
24. Doing something sweet
25. Doing something hot
***
on a date (~1100 words)
***
Charles knows Erik is going to call him about thirty seconds before the phone actually rings. He tends to linger in Erik's head, not invasively or actively reading his mind, but close enough to feel his moods and temperament. There's a spike of the very particular affection and nerves that Erik always feels when he thinks about Charles, laced with intent. Charles puts down his scissors and pulls his phone out of his pocket, laying it on the table and waiting until the first buzz moments later. He accepts the call and puts it on speaker before picking up his scissors and going back to cutting out paper stars.
"Hello, darling," he says.
"Hi," Erik says. There's shuffling sound on Erik's end of the line. "What's up?"
"I'm cutting out paper stars for a project tomorrow," Charles says. "You called me. What's up with you?"
Erik sighs as if he's immensely put-upon.
"I won an award," he says, which is not entirely what Charles is expecting after that level of reluctance.
"That's wonderful!" Charles says. "Congratulations!"
"They're having a thing and they're making me go so they can give me a thing for it," Erik continues.
Thankfully, years of teaching preschoolers has given Charles an uncanny ability to parse nonspecific sentences.
"Are they?" Charles asks. He knows what's next, even without peeking past the surface of Erik's mind.
"I thought...maybe you'd want to come," Erik says. "It's a benefit thing. Formal. It starts at seven. And if they're making me go, I thought maybe at least I could get something out of it."
"Something being showing off your rich, attractive, younger boyfriend?" Charles asks.
"Something being spending an evening looking at you in formalwear," Erik says. A beat. "And your thing too, maybe."
Charles cuts out the last of his stars, grinning.
"Pick me up at six-thirty," he says. "I promise I'll wear something worth showing off."
"Six," Erik says. "It's at the Ritz-Carlton and if you're going to be meeting the insipid idiots I work with, we're going to need a drink or beforehand."
The Ritz is maybe a ten minute drive from his apartment.
"An hour of drinking?" Charles asks.
"They're very insipid," Erik says. Charles laughs and leans back in his chair. "Anyway...uh. I'll call you again later tonight."
"I look forward to it," Charles says.
"Love you," Erik says, with just the slightest awkward hesitation that he's still trying to overcome.
"Love you too," Charles says. "I'll talk to you later."
He disconnects the call and smiles for a moment before shaking his head clear and pulling out another sheaf of construction paper. He has more shapes to cut out. He can grin dopily about his chance to finally meet Erik's co-workers later.
***
"Wow," Erik says when Charles opens the door. "I mean, uh."
Charles grins.
"Let me get my coat," he says, but before he can turn from the door, Erik grabs his arm and tugs him back.
"Wait," Erik murmurs, and pulls Charles close, running his hand from Charles' hip up to his waist and across the small of his back, admiring the tailoring of his suit. They kiss slowly, with a sort of familiarity that Charles relishes. "You look good," Erik says when he pulls away, his hand still pressed to the small of Charles' back. "Really good."
Charles knows he looks good. He's wearing a dark blue suit that he knows compliments his eyes and his complexion. It's well tailored, which, admittedly, is more than he can say for the rest of his wardrobe. Baggy and worn is efficient and appropriate for his day job, however, and he's in no hurry to change that any time soon.
"You're wearing a three-piece suit," Erik says. "And...cufflinks. When I said 'formal' I meant like...wear a tie." He runs his fingers down Charles' tie.
"I'll look that much better when you're called up to accept your award and I kiss you on the cheek in front of all your colleagues," Charles says, catching Erik's fingers when they linger over the buttons of Charles' waistcoat. "Let me get my coat."
It's a short drive over to the hotel and before long they're ensconced in the hotel bar sipping drinks as they wait for dinner to start. Charles is content to curl into the corner of one of the couches in the lounge with Erik leaning into his personal space, far enough away that they can avoid any of Erik's colleagues with a similar idea.
In a way, he's lucky that he was more interested in flirting outrageously with his boyfriend than pre-gaming a benefit dinner, because when his phone rings, he's still barely tipsy.
"It's Logan," he tells Erik when he pulls the phone from his pocket. His stomach sinks. Logan after five on a weekday can only be bad news.
"Who?" Erik asks.
"Oh," Charles says. "A friend of mine--he's a social worker. I consult with him occasionally on particularly tricky mutant cases." Before Erik can inquire further, Charles connects the call. "Mr. Howlett! How can I be of service this evening?"
"I'm not sure how I feel about that phrasing," Erik mutters, dipping his head down to kiss the corner of Charles' mouth.
"I have a problem, Chuck," Logan says, while Charles swats at Erik and says, "Not now, darling."
"What was that?" Logan asks.
"Nothing," Charles says. "My boyfriend's being a nuisance."
"Good," Logan says. "He can drive you to the ED. I've got a eight year old pyrotechnic who's gonna be restrained and sedated if you don't talk 'er down."
Charles sighs. Erik is watching him curiously. He feels awful, but knowing he turned his back on a child in danger would make him feel worse.
"I'll be right there," he tells Logan, and hangs up.
"I'm not sure if I should be jealous you're getting out of this or glad you won't have to be subjected it," Erik says.
"Neither," Charles says. He leans over and kisses Erik. "You're getting out of it with me. No jealousy necessary."
Erik hesitates for just a moment.
"What's--" he starts to say, then shakes his head. "Nevermind. I know better than to look a gift horse in the mouth. Let's go." He stands up and takes Charles' hand, pulling him up as well.
"There's a mutant child in the middle of a crisis," Charles says. "She needs to be deescalated before they sedate her and neutralize her."
"And that's your job how?" Erik asks, even as he shrugs on his coat.
"I'm a teacher trained specifically in mutant psychology and development," Charles says dryly. "It's exactly my job, darling. Sorry to ruin the evening."
"Ruin?" Erik says. "You just made it ten times better. Let's get out of here."
*
the rest of the days:
1. Holding hands
2. Cuddling somewhere
3. Gaming/watching a movie
4. On a date
5. Kissing
6. Wearing each others’ clothes
7. Shopping
8. Hanging out with friends
9. Making out
10. Eating icecream
11. In a different clothing style
12. During their morning ritual(s)
13. Spooning
14. Doing something together
15. In formal wear
16. Dancing
17. Cooking/baking
18. In battle, side-by-side
19. Arguing
20. Making up afterwards
21. Getting married
22. On one of their birthdays
23. Doing something ridiculous
24. Doing something sweet
25. Doing something hot