Finally, today Erik had decided to confess.
Although, more than having decided of his own accord and will, Logan had given him a little push, threatening to tell Charles that he had been in love with him for a long, long time if he didn't do it himself.
He couldn't believe he had let himself be blackmailed by that savage who called himself his best friend.
“I can't show up empty-handed!” he exclaimed nervously, tugging at his auburn hair as he paced back and forth across the room.
James rolled his eyes, exasperated.
“Is that another excuse? Because Raven already knows, and if by tomorrow Charles hasn’t told her ‘radiant of happiness’ that you confessed, she will tell him everything.”
Erik stopped for a moment upon hearing that last part, annoyed that Logan was spreading his secrets left and right.
“It was supposed to be just between you and me!” Oh, dear lord, what would Charles say when he found out?
The brunette laughed as if he had just heard the best joke of his life. Few things unsettled the perfect and cold Erik Lehnsherr, and Charles Xavier was one of them.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” he consoled in a reassuring tone, “everyone knows. No one will find it surprising.”
If Erik had been a cat, he would have definitely bristled like one. Right now, he looked like one of those wet cats in YouTube compilations.
Knowing he wouldn’t get anywhere arguing with Logan, he continued his small ramblings.
“What do you give someone like him? He could buy me with the loose change in his pocket.”
Taking pity on his love-stricken friend, Logan offered a suggestion.
“I assure you, Charles will appreciate anything you give him. Expensive or not.”
Erik looked at him, expecting something more, and when there was no ‘something more,’ he gave him a distressed look.
Sighing, Logan continued, already anticipating a week of paying for Erik’s dinners.
“There’s a genetics book he’s wanted for a while. It’s huge and blue.” The auburn-haired man opened his mouth to say something, but Logan cut him off. “No. Don’t bring him flowers, he doesn’t like them.”
He watched his friend put on his jacket and rush out… only to come back immediately for his wallet without even saying goodbye.
“Oh, thank you so much for helping me, Logan! You’re amazing, and I owe you forever,” he said to himself, mimicking Erik’s accent. “No problem, just don’t kill me when you find out I’m sleeping with your nephew.”
Erik returned half an hour later with the fated gift and spent another half hour trying to wrap it decently.
Erik couldn’t even sleep; the knot in his stomach and the dozens of possible scenarios kept him awake until the next morning. James could swear that at any moment, he would murder the German. This torture would soon be over. As soon as he spotted the adorable brunette in one of the university hallways, he would throw Erik into his arms so he could confess.
The next step would be planning the wedding with Raven.
“Do you think he’ll like it?” he asked for the fifth time that day.
“For the last time: yes.”
“Do you think he’ll like me?”
“Oh, look, there he is!”
He had an arm around Erik’s shoulders, and yet he still found a way to hide behind his back. Like the coward Erik Lehnsherr had never been… and wouldn’t be, not today. Logan burst into laughter, mocking him as Erik huffed, sending him an ‘intimidating’ cold glare.
“You know what Charles likes? Surprises. Be original...”
Erik saw the soft brown curls peeking from around the hallway corner and stopped listening to Logan. He tried to relax, take a deep breath, and not get even more nervous.
Xavier was walking alongside Hank, animatedly discussing something that Erik was sure he wouldn’t understand. He laughed at something the other had said before their eyes met.
Erik’s heart skipped a beat when their gazes locked, and Charles smiled sweetly at him.
“Erik,” he called, approaching.
He melted at how good his name sounded coming from the blue-eyed man’s lovely lips.
“H-hello. Charles, right?”
Of course it’s Charles, idiot. You’ve known each other for five years. He blushed at his stutter and the stupid question.
Xavier raised an amused eyebrow.
“Yes. Are you okay? You look a little overheated.”
Hank had stepped aside with Logan to watch the strange confession attempt. Both of them facepalmed.
The German cleared his throat, searching for some trace of his usual confidence to cling to.
“I’m fine. I just wanted to tell you… well, I…”
“You?” Charles asked, hopeful.
Those bright blue eyes—ones he could only compare to the ocean trapped in crystal marbles—traveled over Erik until they landed on the package he was clutching against his chest.
“Did I forget someone’s birthday? Who’s the gift for?”
He was so nervous! There was a knot in his stomach, and he couldn’t find the words. Was he really going to do it? Was he going to tell him that he liked him? No— that he loved him!
He took a step back, almost imperceptibly, and without thinking too much…
He threw the gift at Charles and yelled a rushed confession before running away.
Logan’s jaw dropped in disbelief. He had expected anything but this. Giving Hank a side glance so he could check on the brunette, he followed after the idiot that was Erik.
A while later, he dragged the auburn-haired man to the infirmary. Both remained completely silent.
“You’re supposed to like him, not try to kill him,” Logan finally broke the silence, teasingly.
Erik groaned, hiding his face in his hands.
“Shut up.”
“Why did you throw it at him?” Logan asked between laughs.
“You told me to be surprising,” he explained, feeling miserable. “I was nervous.”
“You knocked him out. Now he has an ugly bruise on his forehead.”
Erik looked miserable.
“I have to apologize.”
“Look on the bright side: he knows you like him. Unless he passed out before realizing,” he whispered the last part.
Before Erik could decide to escape to an island and never return, Hank came out of the infirmary and led Logan away after signaling Erik to go in.
Erik entered with his gaze downcast, preparing an entire apology, but before he could do anything, Charles threw himself into his arms with the most beautiful smile Erik had seen so far.
“So, you like me, huh, Lehnsherr?” he said playfully, bringing his face closer to his.
Oh. This didn’t seem like rejection.
Erik nodded, captivated by the closeness, wrapping his arms around the younger man’s waist as Charles hugged his neck.
“Cool, I like you too,” Charles said, casually playing with the collar of Erik’s shirt.
“Really?”
He hummed in affirmation, his eyes on the German’s lips.
“So, are you going to kiss me or apologize?”
He had a bandage on his forehead, where Erik placed a gentle kiss before doing the same on his lips. Charles melted into his arms, reciprocating the long-awaited kiss he had been hoping for a long time.
He pulled away for a moment to gaze into Erik’s deep eyes.
“Charles, right?” he repeated, laughing at the end.
The auburn-haired man hid his face in Charles’s neck, embarrassed once again.
“I was nervous!”