Work Text:
Charles’ near-perfect memory has fond memories attached to this time of year. Not only was it when he first met Erik in a hospital, but it’s also the reason that everyone’s gathered in the backyard of his family estate.
Raven and Emma went through the trouble to organize everything, which Charles is thankful for because he has no wish to do anything else but, except admire his husband.
Even after twenty-five years, it feels strange to think of Erik as his husband, but it’s truth, plain and simple.
The tent is lit with strings and strings of white holiday lights laced around the poles of the tent and it makes the mid-afternoon sun seem inconsequential.
But none of it matters; Erik is all that matters to Charles. Erik’s hand is intertwined with one of Charles’ as they sit at a small table on a dais. Anya, Raven and Emma, along with a few other close friends, are all around them at round tables.
Every table has a small decorated cake, each one a different color. No one has started to eat, waiting for a cue for Charles or Erik. Neither he nor Erik seem to mind, as Charles feels Erik’s mind in quiet happiness.
Years have done nothing to dim their love and affection for each other, even if Erik’s hair has greyed and Charles’ has all but disappeared. They’re quiet and reserved together.
Together, as it had been and will be, Charles muses.
Stop that, Erik sends softly as he squeezes Charles’ hand.
Isn’t that what we’re meant to celebrate today?
Erik smiles before he says anything. It is, but let someone else say it. It’ll sound better, coming from someone else.
Charles nods, and unwraps his hand from Erik’s. At their table is a cake, much like the others and he gives Erik a quick image of kissing him after eating a slice.
Erik puts his powers to work, slicing up the cake and putting a piece on a plate for them to share.
The sweetness of the cake is nothing, Charles thinks, to the taste of Erik's kiss, and that alone is enough to make Charles's breathing speed up.
He has lived a life with Erik longer now than without him, and he holds onto that thought as he takes the first bite of cake.