Chapter Text
It's the annual mandatory Christmas party at Erik's office, and it's a full day event. Erik doesn't want to leave his bird boyfriend at home by himself for eight hours, and besides, Erik always brings Charles along every year. Even though Charles doesn't work there, he's the most popular person in the office, and his presence usually meant Erik could be the wallflower he strived to be in any social event. Frankly, Erik's a bit apprehensive about the party this year because of Charles' apparent absence, and he hopes Charles-dove can do equally well what Charles-human did.
With Charles perched inside the collar of Erik's jacket, they drive to Magneto Inc. and enter the warmly lit building in which the party was already in full swing.
"Where's Charles?" is the first thing he's asked, and Erik sighs.
"He's… terribly sick today, so he couldn't make it. But he, uh, wanted me to bring our pet dove in his place." Gently, Erik cups Charles out of his collar. Charles ruffles his feathers and gives a peep at his audience, who immediately coos and squeals over him. Even as a bird, Charles oozes charisma.
Having successfully directed the majority of the attention away from himself, Erik thinks he can finally start enjoying the party, until he realizes that, well, he didn't really think this through. There's no way Erik would let Charles be physically separated from him like he would when Charles was human, so the excess attention Charles is gaining from being fluffy and soft and extra adorable is also very in Erik's face.
Miraculously, he spots Emma Frost over the massive crowd that surrounds him, and he makes a face that hopefully conveys the horror of his situation. She nods, understanding, and drops the glass she's holding.
The crash is loud and startling enough that the crowd's attention is momentarily stolen, and Emma takes the chance to stick a hand in and pull Erik out.
"Thanks," Erik pants.
"No problem, sugar," she says, straightening her white leather jacket. "I don't see Charles anywhere, and you're not that charming to draw such a loving crowd. What's happened?"
"Oh, it's Cha - my bird," Erik says, taking Charles out of from under his jacket, where he had carefully hidden Charles while the crowd was distracted. Charles squinted up at Emma and peeped. "See?"
Emma frowns. "I'm not sure where to even start."
"What?"
"A bird. Why would you bring your pet bird to a work party? That's so… random ."
"Huh. I guess it is." Erik shrugs. He places Charles on his shoulder, suddenly not wanting to talk about this. "Whatever. Anyway, did you take a look at that report I emailed you?"
And then they easily slip into conversation. He and Emma have known each other since middle school, when they were two condescending little teenagers, too smart and scornful of the other children, twin souls with a common hatred for the shallow world.
Somewhere in the middle of the conversation Charles begins tapping his tushy against Erik's neck and pecking his earlobe.
"Do you need something?" Erik asks, slightly irritated at the interruption. Emma was just telling an amazing story about her neighbor's bratty son, who got sent to the hospital from starvation because he was too lazy to cook for himself when his parents went on vacation.
Charles simply blinks up at him with big blue eyes.
"What?"
Charles ruffles his feathers impatiently and stamps one foot. Erik shakes his head, confused, and Emma laughs.
"Erik Lehnsherr, talking to a bird ! You don't even talk to humans sometimes."
Erik glares tiredly at her. " You try living with a bird for a while."
Charles makes a little gasp.
Erik turns to him again. "What?" he says again, patience slightly thin. His repressed frustrations at not being able to have a fully understandable conversation with his boyfriend for two entire months pokes at the surface in a room full of noise and people and stress.
Charles turns away with a little huff and plops down his belly.
Not exactly wanting to look insane by going into a serious emotional lecture on a bird , Erik ignores him and turns back to Emma. "Anyway, what were you saying about the kid?"
Emma's the only one besides Charles who can hold a conversation with him without having a nervous breakdown, and as the conversation draws Erik's full attention in again, he temporarily forgets Charles' presence.
He doesn't know if Charles tried tapping at him again to get his attention and if he probably accidentally ignored it, but somewhere in the middle of a new conversation of Emma and Erik laughing and gossiping over the current dismal lives of their high school classmates, Charles suddenly flaps off of Erik's shoulder, flies over Emma, drops a small white load onto her jacket, and zooms out an open window.
Erik stares with his mouth open.
Emma looks like she can't quite believe a bird would have the audacity to commit such a crime.
"Charles!" Erik yells when he comes to his senses. A bunch of confused faces turns to him, but he couldn't really care. His poor Charles is out right now flying through the cold December weather…
He turns to grab his coat. "I'm so sorry, Emma," he apologizes and throws a packet of napkins at her. "I'm not sure what's gotten into him. He's never been this… anyway. Sorry."
Emma nods slowly, still in a state of disbelief.
Erik leaves before she can recover and bite his ear off about her jacket - Emma is very particular about her clothing - and rushes to the door, only to be stopped by his manager.
"Erik, my boy! What's the hurry? We've only just started!"
"Sorry sir, I just remembered I forgot something, I need to - "
"Nonsense! It's Christmas, whatever worries can wait. Come, enjoy the party!"
"Sir, please…"
Ten minutes later, Erik is finally able to extricate himself and get into the car. Erik is slightly panicking; Charles could be passed out, frozen, dead …
Charles is sitting in the passenger seat, head ducked into his wing, his tushy pointedly facing the driver's position.
Erik exhales.
"Charles," Erik says. "You scared me."
Charles doesn't move.
"What's gotten into you, Charles?" He reaches out to touch one of the feathers on Charles' butt.
The tushy twitches, and then Charles shuffles further away from Erik's hand.
"Charles, are you…" Erik trails off, suddenly hit by a revelation. "Are you sulking ?" When Charles doesn't answer, the irritation previously bubbling in Erik's chest evaporates to be replaced by tenderness and amusement. "Charles, I've talked about Emma at home. We've known each other for a long time. You know that we're - god, Charles, I can't believe I even have to say this - we're nothing more than friends. Come on, Charles, please."
Charles huffed.
"Charles…"
His boyfriend makes a sound suspiciously like a wet sniff, and then before Erik can react Charles spreads his wings and flies out the open window.
"Charles!" Erik yells. "Charles! Come back! It's freezing out there! You're not a wild bird! Charles! "
Panic coursing through him like a river, Erik gets out of the car to follow where Charles had flown off to. The falling snow makes it nearly impossible to distinguish a white dove from the white surroundings, and Erik thinks about marking his boyfriend with a neon felt pen next time. A glittery tag. Something. This is entirely too dangerous.
"Charles!"
There is, of course, no answer, and Erik keeps walking in the same direction, hoping Charles would come to him, hoping he might somehow spot the bird. Doves aren't exactly a wild, native species of New York.
Cars honk, choirs sing, snow falls. Hours pass. Still no sign of Charles.
Erik is on the verge of going on a rampage and flipping every building apart to find this stubborn idiot. Charles Charles Charles Charles Charles please Charles please come back Charles Charles --
*
Erik looks at his watch and sees that it is 1 am in the morning. He half believes Charles is dead, and he's aware that he's been crying from his panic. Erik realizes he's so cold he's numb; he left his jacket in the car when he went off to pursue Charles. He's also extremely exhausted, and he sits down on some concrete steps on the side. The relief of his butt and leg muscles is delicious, and the slight bit of shielding the walls on either side of the steps provide him from the wind allows him to find a wisp of body heat. He suddenly feels warm, and cozy, and he leans against a wall, eyes closing, granting himself just a couple minutes of sleep, thinking Charles …
He wakes not a few seconds later to a miniature storm of white feathers and squawks and painful beak taps on his face.
Erik blinks a few times, before he registers the situation. "Charles?"
The dove continues to squawk and swat at him, tugging on Erik's flimsy turtleneck with his beak.
"Charles… Charles… you came back. You came back. You're okay." Erik brings up his senseless fingers to cup Charles up, and then he bursts into fresh tears in Charles' fluffy warm body.
"Don't leave like that again," he whispers.
Charles peeps quietly into his neck, wings out to radiate a small bit of warmth.
***
Erik sniffs, feeling rather terrible.
After the Christmas party incident last night, they went home and Erik toppled into bed right as he entered the apartment, and fell asleep with Charles perched on his chest.
This morning, there is a fire demon in his throat and a battering ram in his head.
"Mrghhhh," he moans, and then breaks a hacking cough.
A small warm weight lands on his chest. Erik peeks a sticky eye open and sees two bright blue eyes staring worriedly at him.
"Charles," he says, and relief blooms in his eyes. "You're here."
Charles chirps impatiently, as though to say of course I'm here, you idiot .
Erik sighs and nuzzles his cheeks against Charles' little head. His limbs are too sore at the moment to make their way out of the blanket they're cocooned in. "I'm sick."
Charles headbutts into his chest. Birds can't cry but Charles looks pretty close to it. The dove lays down on his chest and looks at up at him mournfully, cooing worriedly.
"It's fine, Charles. I'll get better. Just a bit of a cold. I had it coming after last night."
But he doesn't get better. In fact, he gets a lot worse a few hours later, and he feels a little bit delirious.
"You look like a marshmallow," Erik giggles as he pokes Charles' chest.
Charles looks at him with big wide eyes, shaking, before flying out of the bedroom.
"Charles…" Erik calls weakly, before falling asleep once again.
*
The smell of burnt iron wakes him up.
Erik looks at the clock and sees that it he's slept for another ten hours.
He feels a lot better.
Cautiously, he drags himself out of the bedroom to search out Charles and the source of the smell.
"Charles," he calls out of habit by now as he pulls on a fresh pair of pants and shirt. When he doesn't get any answer, he pads out into the living room and sees smoke coming out of the kitchen.
He rushes into the kitchen, and the sight that meets him nearly gives him a heart attack.
Charles is flapping frantically and trying to drag pieces of pre-chopped chicken meat into a boiling pot of water on the stove. He's spilled some already around the pot, where the meat is beginning to singe black. A couple of feathers on Charles' butt is singed as well. A small drop of hot water splashes out from the pot and onto Charles' head, and Charles squeaks.
" Charles !" Erik jumps forth and snatches Charles out from certain death and turns off the stove.
They sit down on the kitchen flower, Erik panting and Charles heaving. Erik feels a little bit sick again from the whole ordeal.
"Charles, I do like bird meat, and I appreciate your effort, but I'm pretty sure you know I'm only partial to birds that aren't my boyfriend."
Charles titters.
***
"Charles, are you sulking again?"
Charles huffs and keeps his butt stuck out at Erik.
"Charles…"
Charles sinks his head into his feathers.
Erik sighs and lifts him, ignoring his coos of protest. "Charles, what's wrong this time?" Erik kisses him on his warm fluffy head, and that seems to mollify Charles a bit.
After a moment, Charles closes his eyes and bumps his head against Erik's chin. Erik takes him to his laptop and opens up a word document.
"I should have thought of this before. Here, talk to me this way."
Charles peeps delightedly at this new method of communication and hops from key to key.
Erik is very mesmerized by the wiggling bird butt. He reaches out to nudge it and Charles squeaks indignantly. The document is now full of gibberish. Charles looks at him and huffs angrily, as if to say look at what you've done .
Erik laughs and tries to pet him again, but Charles dodges and then nips him.
"All right! All right. I'm sorry. Carry on. I'm going to grab a drink."
When he comes back with a can of orange juice in his hand, Charles seems to start from where he was looking a little lost on the keyboard. When Erik pulls out the chair and sits down, the bird gives a small sigh and steps away to reveal what is written on the screen.
Erik , it starts. It's been three months already. It's not been easy for me, but I know it's been harder on you. I'm practically a helpless pet, and I've caused you so much trouble in this form. I can't control my bowel movements. I can't control the animalistic instincts that I normally could as a human. I've even made you so bloody sick you looked like you were near death, and I couldn't do a single thing.
What if I never turn back? What if you'll never see me again? What if you… lost interest and find someone you can actually be with? You seemed so happy and relieved at the Christmas party with Emma. Someone you could talk to. I can't be that for you. I've been such an inadequate boyfriend, if you can even call me that now.
"Charles…" Erik breathed, chest tightening.
Charles looks away and blinks sadly.
"Charles, Charles…" Erik says, gathering his sad bird butt of a boyfriend up into his arms, where he cuddles him as best he could without squashing the marshmallow body. "Charles, we'll find a way to turn you back. There has to be a way. And even if there wasn't, it doesn't matter, because you're the only one I can be with. Maybe it's been a little hard on the both of us, but I don't love you any less for that. Emma might be a good friend, but she can never replace what you give me. Charles, I love you. Please don't think that way. Please don't be so sad."
Trembling, Charles makes a soft warbling noise that sounds suspiciously like broken sobs.
Erik feels a rush of affection and cuddles him even harder. Charles is so cute . "Charles. Charles, dammit, you know I'd never leave you. I'd marry you in your form if you're like this for the rest of your life." And he meant it.
The warbles stop suddenly and Charles drops his beak in surprise.
Before Erik can ask, there's a poof ! and a crash ! and when Erik opens his eyes again, he's lying flat on the ground with decidedly naked human Charles sitting atop his chest.
Erik is aware his mouth is open.
Charles' mouth is open too, and he's staring at himself in shock and wonder, wriggling his fingers and touching himself and touching himself, squeezing and pinching, and then Charles' big, blue, watery, human, familiar, beautiful eyes snap to Erik's.
"Oh -- oh Erik --" Charles's voice hitches, and he crushes Erik in a hug, his face buried in his neck, sobbing.
Erik brings his arms around his boyfriend and hugs him equally tightly, chest exploding with a cornucopia of emotions and feeling his own eyes water as well.
"I've got you. I've got you."
Erik brings Charles' wet face out of his neck with a gentle palm, and then guides it down to kiss him fiercely, pouring out all his soul.
"I love you."
***
Hank apparently knew.
"Sorry. I thought it'd be funny."
"Funny? Charles nearly got himself cooked ," Erik seethed.
Hank shrugs and points to Raven, who giggles.
Charles is decidedly unamused. "Please explain, or I shall never invite you two here again."
Their two guests pale, mirth gone.
"Fine," Raven says. "It was my idea. Hank told me about this tablet, and, well, I didn't know how real it was, but it seemed actual things have happened with it before. I thought it was a good idea to try. And it seems I was right." She eyes the rings on Charles' and Erik's fingers, rings that weren't there the last time she'd seen them.
Erik and Charles both raise an eyebrow.
Raven huffs. "Hank lied."
"What - "
"I told him to lie. He has the second half of the tablet. The tablet's for couples who can't get their shit together, and you two have been together for so long but neither of you has ever made a serious move . It was getting kind of annoying see you two live together and call each other boyfriend but still pining like the idiots you were even before you got together."
"What?" they both say dumbly.
"Marriage!" Raven cries. "Charles, you wanted Erik to ask you to marry you! You've even complained to me about it when you were drunk!"
Charles gasped. "I did not!"
"Yes you did! 'Erik doesn't talk about it. Erik doesn't even mention it. Oh whatever will I do?' " Raven does a dramatic imitation of Charles' accent while her brother sputters, blushing. "So I thought I'd take the situation into my own hands."
Hank coughs.
"Well, okay, Hank made it happen." Raven leans over to give a quick peck on Hank, who blushes. "Anyway, the second part of the tablet, which Hank has, says that once the cursed person gets what they want from their other half of their relationship, the curse gets lifted."
"Oh." Erik and Charles both stare at their rings, and blush. Charles blushes a little bit harder.
"Ye."
"Right," Charles says, clearing his throat. "Raven, you're not really the superstitious type. You call those things bogus. What… have you heard that made you believe this to try it so seriously?"
For the first time today, Raven looks sheepish. "Hank and I tried it."
"What?"
"Well, you can't actually believe I'd do this to you without making sure it's real, do you? What kind of a loving sister would I be?"
"A crazy one either way," Erik remarks.
Raven ignores him. "But we got it over quickly because Hank and I knew about the second part of the tablet. And we were pretty quick to figure ourselves out." She and Hank exchange a sly smile.
"And that was…?"
"Private," Raven says firmly.
"Anyway," Hank interjects, ears red, "you two are officially off the hook for this tablet. Well, at least Charles is immune now. He can touch it whenever he wants. I'm not sure about Erik."
Charles frowns. "What do you mean? We've already figured out what we want, haven't we?"
"Well, you did. If Erik wanted the same thing as you, then he's safe. But if he wants something different, he could still get cursed by the tablet."
The three of them look at Erik expectantly.
"What?" Erik says, uncomfortable with the sudden attention. "How should I know? I'm not sure that even Charles knew what he wanted."
A fleeting look of hurt passes Charles' face, but it's not covered up quickly enough for Erik to miss it.
"What?" Erik says again, but this time more tenderly, and specifically to Charles.
"Well…" Charles fidgets, looking down at his suddenly interesting hands. He bites his lips and his cheeks are flushed. "I… I did know I wanted us to be married. Very certainly. But you don't seem sure what you truly want. Are you uncertain about… us?"
"Charles." Erik is shocked. "Charles, haven't we gone over this already? I admit, okay, marriage is a big deal for me, but it's not necessary to keep me loving you, you see? Have some more confidence in us."
Charles smiles shyly at him. "Oh darling, but I do."
They lean forward to kiss.
"Get a room!" Raven yells and throws a cushion at them. Hank coughs.
***
*****
***
Erik sits in a pile of his now-too-large clothes. He stares up at Charles.
Charles grins very, very widely.
Erik squawks.