“Charles, you have to promise me you aren’t gonna let my son eat a bunch of junk food this time.”
Raven gave her brother a stern look from across the small kitchen table.
“I think it’s against his morals to make a promise he knows he won’t keep,” Erik remarked with a smirk, playfully nudging his husband as he sipped his coffee.
Charles found himself momentarily offended before he realized that Erik was right and nodded.
“I can’t make any promises.”
“At least go easy this time. You can say no to him, you know,” Raven reminded.
“No he can’t,” Erik contradicted. “He’s basically powerless.”
“Like you can talk,” Charles retorted. “You’re just as bad when I leave the room.”
“I am not!”
“Alright, while you two bicker like the old married couple you are, Hank and I are gonna get going, or we’re going to be late, which would just be an absolute shame. We’ll be back by ten if I survive.”
“It’s not going to be that bad,” Hank defended as he stood with Raven.
“Hank, it is a dinner with all of your science nerd colleagues celebrating the nerdiest science nerd colleague, who is somehow not even you. I’m going to be bored to tears.”
“... So maybe it’s going to be a bit dry. I don’t think it’ll be that bad, though.”
“If you say so.” Raven patted his cheek before coming around the front of the table and peering across the foyer into the living room to wave her son over.
“Come here, Kurt. Mommy has to leave. You can keep playing with Pietro and Wanda after you come here and give me a hug.” The adorable five-year-old came running over as Raven knelt down to hold him tightly, kiss the side of his head, and brush his hair away from his face. “You’re going to be good for Uncle Charles and Uncle Erik, right? You’re gonna play nice with your cousins?” Raven questioned softly, knowing she did not really need to.
Kurt nodded almost solemnly, his hair flopping right back into his eyes. Raven could not help but smile and decided to let it stay.
“Yes, Mommy.”
“Good. I love you.”
“I love you too.”
“Say bye to Hank now, so we can leave.”
“Okay.”
“I put your Harry Potter book in your overnight bag, so you can ask Uncle Charles or Uncle Erik to read it to you before bed if you want,” Hank told Kurt as he got down on his knee.
Kurt shook his head.
“I like it when you read it.”
“Alright,” Hank chuckled. “We’ll finish our chapter tomorrow night, then.”
“Okay!” Kurt beamed and threw his arms around Hank’s neck. “Bye, Daddy!”
With that, he dashed back to the living room to play with his cousins. Hank looked up to Raven to see that she was as shocked as he was, her eyes wide and her mouth hanging slightly open.
“Did he just--?” Raven glanced over to Charles and Erik, unsure of how to respond.
“Yeah.” Hank stood slowly, his expression nearly blank, but his mind racing. “He did.”
* * *
Charles was confused to hear a knock at the door as he and Kurt finished washing the dishes from dinner, checking the clock on the oven to see that it was only half past eight.
“Erik, could you get the door?”
“Who’s that, Uncle Charles?” Kurt asked, hopping down from his step-stool and putting it in its special spot under the sink. His face brightened as a thought occurred to him. “Is Mommy back?”
“I don’t think so. She’s not supposed to be back for a while.” Charles picked up his nephew, resting him on his hip. “Let’s go check.”
Erik was just getting to the door when Charles and Kurt entered the living room.
“It’s Hank and Raven,” Erik informed, looking out the peephole before opening the door. “Hey, what are you guys doing back so early?”
Erik asked his question before he realized that Raven was laughing hysterically, barely able to stand by herself, her hair falling in her face as she squeezed Hank’s cheeks together. Hank gave Erik a resigned look through his embarrassment.
“She found the bar while I was talking to a co-worker and never came back.”
Erik cackled, opening the door wider so the two could step inside.
“Mommy!” Kurt managed to slip away from his uncle, dashing toward his mother.
“Hi, honey!” Raven’s voice was too loud and she all but fell to the floor to hug her son too tightly and for too long. “I missed you!”
“Is Mommy okay?” Kurt had the look of a concerned parent as he peered at Hank and Erik over his mother’s shoulder, which everyone would have chuckled about, were they not so concerned with his parent.
“She’s fine, buddy,” Hank assured him as he and Erik tried to pull Raven away. “She’s just-- really tired.”
“Her breath is stinky.” Kurt crinkled his nose as he wiggled away to stand by Charles. “Really stinky.”
“Erik, will you please take Kurt to get ready for bed?” Charles suggested when Hank got Raven to her feet again.
“And miss this?” Charles raised his eyebrows at his husband before Erik waved his hand dismissively. “Fine. Come on, Kurt. Let’s go get your pajamas.”
“I thought I was just supposed to stay here until Mommy and Daddy got back.”
“Well,” Erik started, taking Kurt’s hand as they left the room. “Let’s just do it anyway.”
Hank felt his breath hitch for a second when he heard that Kurt had used the same word as before. He brushed it off and led Raven over to the sofa, getting her to sit down.
“How much did she have to drink?” Charles queried. “I don’t think I’ve seen her this far gone in years and it takes a lot for for her to get this drunk.”
“I don’t know.” Hank adjusted Raven’s dress for her “I will when I get my credit card bill, though. She pick-pocketed me and used it to pay.”
Raven gasped, shocking Hank and Charles.
“Where did Kurt go?” she cried, seeming to have only realized just then that he was gone. “I want to hug him.”
“You’ve hugged him enough, honey.”
“I’ll go make her a cup of coffee,” Charles decided, swiftly making his way back to the kitchen.
“Thanks.” Hank took a seat beside Raven. “He’ll be right back with some coffee, okay?”
“But where did Kurt go?” Raven half shouted in his ear.
“He’s getting ready for bed. Do you want to go sit in the kitchen with Charles?”
“No. I want to try these on.” Raven plucked Hank’s glasses from his face, fumbling to put them on herself. She blinked rapidly and laughed. “Wow! You can’t see shit!”
Hank was shocked for a moment and tried to grab them back, but she jerked away, continuing to laugh.
“Raven, can I please--?”
“Do they look good on me?”
“What?”
“Do the glasses look good on me?”
“I’m sure they look great, but I can’t see because I don’t have my glasses on.”
“Right.”
Raven allowed Hank to take his glasses and then pulled him into a kiss.
“What--?” Hank pulled away, breathless and semi-offended by the overpowering taste of alcohol on her lips.
“I love you.” She tapped his nose and then laid her head in his lap, turning on her side and keeping him confused. “I’m tired.”
“Here’s the coffee.” Charles came bustling back into the room, momentarily confused before brushing it off. “Raven, could you please sit up?”
“No, thanks.” Charles sighed and set the coffee on the table. Raven gasped when she heard the door unlock. “Who’s that?”
She leaned over to try and see and fell to the floor with a shriek. Hank was quickly at her side, but she was laughing too hard to cooperate when he tried to pull her up. Pietro and Wanda stood by the door, taking in the scene.
“I was planning to say something snarky, but I’ve got nothing,” Pietro chuckled. “Does she know it’s not even nine o’clock yet?”
“Pietro!” Raven wobbled getting back onto her feet. “My favorite nephew!”
She threw her arms around him and he looked at Hank, then Charles, then Wanda.
“Are you seeing this?”
“Wow,” Wanda laughed as Pietro had to steady Raven.
“Do you just want Kurt to stay here tonight?” Charles suggested as Hank pulled Raven away.
“I want to stay here!” Raven exclaimed, sliding to the floor to sit. “Can I stay here, Charles?”
“It’ll probably be easier for you.” Charles shrugged, glancing over to Hank. “We have the spare bedroom.”
“Thank you!”
“Are you sure it’s okay?” Hank bit his lip, fearful of causing trouble.
“Of course. She probably won’t get back in the car anyway now that she’s decided she wants to stay here.”
“I’ll help her change into some of my pajamas.” Wanda stepped forward and helped Raven up. “Come with me.”
“I love you, Wanda,” Raven laughed, stumbling along with her niece.
Pietro looked to Hank as his sister left with Raven, clapping a hand on his shoulder. He inhaled deeply as if he was preparing to say something profound, but simply uttered the word yikes before going off to his room.
“I’ll be honest with you,” Hank began as he and Charles sat down on the sofa. “I’m really glad she doesn’t get drunk very often.”
“Oh, this is nothing.” A grin crept onto Charles’s face as memories flooded his thoughts. “One time - she must’ve been twenty-one or twenty-two - she got absolutely pissed-- far beyond it, really. I can’t remember a time she was worse off. She stole this blue body paint I had from a red, white, and blue theme night we did at the club and--” Charles took a moment to laugh. “She stripped, painted her entire body blue, and tried to get everyone to call her ‘Mystique.’ I think she was going for a stripper name, but she was too drunk to actually convey that.”
Hank put a hand to his mouth, stifling a laugh of his own.
“You’re kidding.”
“I wish I was. I saw my sister naked and blue. It’s hard to come back from that.”
“I expected her to be a bar-fight drunk,” Hank admitted. “Not the kind of drunk who wants to hug everyone and paint herself blue.”
“That’s a fair assumption. I still can’t believe it took her this long to be really drunk in front of you. You two have been together for how long? Two years?
Three years?”
“Three years last month,” Hank responded with a nod. “I guess it is kind of odd. I mean, I’ve seen her drink before, but as Pietro said, yikes.”
“The good thing is that you’ll be able to tease her about this,” Charles smiled. “Just bring this up when she teases you about the time you thought the jungle juice was fruit punch.”
“Alright, where do you want it?” Pietro appeared in the living room, holding Raven - who was then clad in fuzzy pajama pants with kittens on them - bridal style, her head lolling to the side and her arm sticking out as she slept. “Wanda went to the bathroom and this one sneaked into my room, laid down on my bed, and just passed out,” Pietro explained upon seeing Charles and Hank’s stunned expressions.
“Could you please just put her in the guest room?” Charles requested.
“Sure thing.”
“On the side with the rubbish bin, please!” Charles called after him. “Just in case! I really don’t want sick stains on my carpet!”
“Yep!”
“God, I really am sorry about this, Charles,” Hank apologized.
“Oh, it’s quite alright. She’s the one who drank half of the liquor in the state, anyway.” Charles stood up and stretched, Hank following suit and taking to his feet. “It’s really not a big deal, though, honestly. It gives me an excuse to make Erik help me make breakfast in the morning if we have guests. Do you need to borrow pajamas?”
“No, that’s okay. I’ll just sleep in my undershirt and boxers.”
“Alright. I think I’m going to bed since everything’s died down. I’m feeling rather tired all of a sudden.”
“You and me both.”
Charles went off to his room and Hank left for the guest bedroom, thanking Pietro and wishing him a good night as they crossed paths. Once Hank was in his temporary sleeping quarters, he carefully pulled the covers out from under Raven and brought them over her, making sure to gently roll her onto her side in case she got sick.
“Goodnight,” he said softly with a chuckle, placing a light kiss on her forehead and brushing his thumb across her shoulder as her mouth hung open gracelessly.
“Hank?” Erik rapped on the door not long after Hank had finished readying himself for bed.
“Yeah?”
Erik opened the door to reveal Kurt at his side, his overnight bag slung over his tiny shoulder.
“He asked to have you put him to bed.”
“Alright.” Hank gave a small smile and waved Kurt into the room. “Come here, buddy. Did you say goodnight to Uncle Charles and Uncle Erik?”
“We already did the rounds,” Erik informed. “We went and said goodnight to Pietro and Wanda before we came here, didn’t we?”
Kurt nodded, giggling.
“Wanda kissed my cheek and Pietro squeezed me really tight.”
“Sounds like we’re all set then.” Hank could not help but chuckle. “Thanks for bringing him in, Erik. Kurt, give your uncle a hug before he goes to bed.”
“Okay!” Kurt ran back to Erik and hugged his legs. “Night, Uncle Erik!”
“Night, rugrat,” Erik laughed.
“Night.” Hank and Erik gave each other a slight nod before Erik closed the door behind him. “So, are you all ready for bed?”
“Yes.” Kurt nodded again. “I brushed my teeth and my jammies are on.”
“Good.” Hank ruffled his hair. “What do you say you sleep in here with Mommy and me?”
“Can I?” Kurt beamed and his eyes grew wide with excitement.
“Yeah, sure.” Hank found Kurt’s grin contagious. “Mommy’s asleep already, though.”
“That’s okay. You said she was really tired. Can we finish our chapter of Harry Potter?”
“Do you want to?”
“Yes!”
“I don’t see why not.”
Kurt took his Finding Dory blanket out of his overnight bag along with Hank’s copy of Sorcerer’s Stone. Hank helped him onto his lap, the blanket spread over both of them underneath the snuggly comforter and the book illuminated by the lamplight. Hank read through the chapter, changing his voice a bit for each character and taking breaks to explain new words to Kurt when it was necessary. Kurt’s eyes were fluttering closed as Hank finished the last lines of the chapter, so he gingerly set the book down and reached for the pull-string on the lamp, managing to keep Kurt still in his arms.
Hank inhaled sharply when Kurt made a sleepy noise and cuddled closer to him, afraid he woke him up. He quickly relaxed and peered down at the little one. All evening he thought about how Kurt had referred to him, why he would have called him that, but in that moment, he stopped caring about why. The term felt right and Kurt had made the decision to use it, and that was all that mattered.
Contented at the thought, Hank adjusted the blankets so Kurt would not get cold and took his glasses off and closed his eyes, leaning against the headboard.
* * *
“Is Raven still sleeping?” Erik asked as he cleared the breakfast dishes.
“She’s either sleeping or getting sick,” Hank answered.
“I’m doing neither.” Raven’s groggy voice sounded through the kitchen and everyone looked to her as she rubbed her temples. “I’m right here.”
“Mommy, you missed breakfast!” Kurt ran over to hug her legs, nearly knocking her off balance.
“That’s okay, honey.” Raven tousled his hair because she knew she would fall if she attempted to bend down. “That’s okay.”
“We actually saved some for you,” Charles told her.
“Thanks.” Raven took the seat next to Hank where Kurt had previously eaten. “I am so sorry.” She leaned her head against Hank’s shoulder. “If it makes you feel any better, I don’t even remember changing my clothes.”
“I did that,” Wanda chimed in. “Your dress is in my room, by the way.”
“You passed out on my bed,” Pietro added before scooping Kurt up and making him squeal. “Let’s go play.”
“Please don’t be too loud,” Raven requested, knowing Pietro would assuredly do the opposite anyway. She groaned as Pietro carried the giggling Kurt off toward the living room and Hank kissed her cheek. “My head hurts.”
“I’m not surprised,” Hank chuckled. “Do I even want to know how much you spent?”
“I don’t want to know how much I spent.”
“You don’t remember?” A teasing smirk played on Erik’s lips.
“The last thing I remember is taking a double shot of Fireball because someone told me a joke about mitosis and they actually thought it was funny.”
“Oh, that was Gary.” Hank nodded understandingly. “He tells that joke at every get-together. I would have a double shot too.”
“Oops, sorry guys.” Wanda stood up and slung her messenger purse onto her body. “I’ve got to swoop out. I promised Viz I’d help him go clothes shopping.”
Everyone chorused a goodbye after she hugged her father and left the room.
“Here you go.” Charles set a plate with eggs, toast, and bacon in front of Raven along with a fork. “I’ll go grab you some aspirin.”
“Thank you so much.”
“I’m going to get you!” Pietro came running back into the kitchen, chasing Kurt - who was squealing excitedly - in a lap around the table, both of them gone back to the living room as quickly as they had entered.
“That was actually scarily fast given the fact that child is not over four feet tall,” Erik stated.
“He’s a quick little thing.” Raven took a second to recover from the loud noise. “Sometimes I swear he can teleport.”
“Pietro was the same way when he was little,” Erik remembered. “You could look away for half a second and he’d be at the other end of the store. Wanda liked to joke that he had super speed. She also used to throw things at people when they weren’t looking and claim she moved them with her mind like Matilda.”
“I knew I loved that girl. Is there any coffee left?”
“I think Wanda took the last cup.”
“Maybe I don’t love that girl.”
“You can have my coffee if you want,” Hank offered. “I didn’t really drink any of it.”
“You’re too good for me, Hank McCoy.” Raven kissed him as she took his coffee. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, Mystique.”
Raven spit the drink of coffee she had just taken back into the cup, choking. Hank laughed and patted her back.
“Charles did not tell you that story,” she half-wheezed.
“He told you the blue paint story?” Erik was grinning with amusement.
“He also told me about the naked part.”
“Oh my god.” Raven put her head in her hands. “I would kill him if he hadn’t given me breakfast.”
“Here’s the aspir-- what’s wrong?”
“She knows you told the Mystique story,” Erik answered, laughing and kissing his husband on the cheek as he left the room to change.
“Don’t be dramatic.” Charles set the aspirin down on Raven’s napkin. “I waited until three years into your relationship to share that story, which is more than most brothers would give.”
“Everyone does stupid stuff in their twenties anyway.” Hank shrugged. “It’s not like I’m going to hold it over your head… Often.”
“Jerk,” Raven chuckled, smacking his arm before taking the aspirin Charles had given her. “I suppose I can’t be too upset, given that you let me stay here last night.”
“It seemed easier than having Hank carry you down to the car.” Charles took a sip of his tea. “Besides, you requested to stay-- rather loudly, actually. You yelled pretty much everything.”
“We can stop discussing my embarrassing behavior, you know. It’s not a mandatory topic here. I almost wish you hadn’t given me breakfast, Charles, because I would tell Erik everything I remember about your hipster vegetarian phase you had when you were a teenager.”
Hank could not help but laugh.
“Alright, guys. No sibling rivalries over breakfast.”
“What time is it?” Raven inquired once she had finished eating.
“Eleven,” Hank responded. “We should probably get going soon.”
“Ugh.” Raven slid down in her chair. “Do we have to?”
“Erik and I were going to go to the fair a couple towns over. You could join us if you’d like,” Charles offered. “I know Pietro’s going. Wanda’s supposed to meet us out there in a couple of hours.”
“What do you say?” Hank nudged Raven’s arm. “Do you feel up to it?”
“That could be nice. My head-ache’s chilled out, so sure. Kurt would really like that. We’ll have to stop by our place on the way to change, though.”
“You have the mildest hangovers and I hate you for it,” Charles commented, taking his sister’s plate and heading towards his room. “I’ll let Erik know you’re coming with us.”
“I can go tell Kurt,” Hank suggested. “Then we can get changed.”
“Okay.” Raven gave him a peck on the lips. “I’ll grab my dress from Wanda’s room and meet you in the guest room.”
Kurt was ecstatic when Hank gave him the news and Pietro offered to get ready with the little one since they were already playing together. It was not long before Hank met Raven in their room.
“Can you zip me up?”
Hank obliged, hugging Raven from behind once the zipper was safely in place.
“Are you sure you’re good for the fair?”
“Yeah.” Raven sighed. “I’m good.”
“Is something wrong?”
“It’s nothing.” Raven moved away, folding the pajamas Wanda had loaned her. “Don’t worry about it.”
“I’m going to worry about it.” Hank stood beside her, taking her hand. “Please tell me.”
Raven inhaled deeply before she spoke.
“I just--” Her voice was quiet and almost breathy. “I feel like a terrible mother.”
“What?” Hank was baffled. “Why?”
“Yesterday, when-- when Kurt called you daddy, I thought about the fact that I’ve never told him about his biological father because of who he was. You and I got together when he was two, so you’re the only father figure he’s ever known and--” Raven’s voice broke for a second and Hank reassuringly caressed her arm, knowing that she was suppressing tears. “You’re so good with him and he loves you. You read to him and help him with reading and everything else. I just wish that you were his father. It was all I could think about at that dumb party.”
“Raven,” Hank’s tone was tender and understanding. “I don’t care that I’m not his biological father and I don’t think he does either. I was as shocked as you were to hear him call me that yesterday. It distracted me at the party, too. That’s why it took me so long to find you. It took me until last night when I was reading to him to realize that it’s because he put a word to how I felt, to how we felt-- this little five-year-old. I guess I’ve always thought of myself that way because of our situation, but I didn’t understand it until yesterday. It all seems so clear now. If he’s okay with seeing me that way, and if you’re okay with him seeing me that way, so am I.”
Raven nodded, unable to speak, and Hank pulled her into his arms.
“You should get dressed,” Raven sniffled, pulling back and reaching over to hand him his clothes. “We don’t want to keep everyone waiting.”
Hank took the clothes from her and cracked a grin.
“Thanks, Mystique.”