Support me and be 30 chapters ahead of webnovel:
patreon.com/Draco_
*****
A minute or two later, Mike came out with Erik.
Erik rubbed his face and chuckled foolishly, looking nothing like the usually cold and domineering Magneto.
"Still, my own face feels the best."
He muttered softly. When he noticed the youngest at home looking at him with surprise, he raised his eyebrows smugly. "Well? Don't I look more handsome now?"
Gwen circled around him and said, "It's a disguise, right? Like Clark does?"
"So smart!"
Erik reached out and patted Gwen's head.
"When you go back, I'll change it back for you," Mike reminded him, then asked, "You're staying a few days this time, right?"
"Three days," Erik replied with a smile. "At least long enough to spend your favorite Spring Festival with you before I leave."
Mike nodded, unable to suppress a smile.
"You guys planned to come back together?" he asked.
Erik pointed to Clark, who was walking into the kitchen. "Clark contacted us."
"I haven't been home in a long time. If I kept disappearing, people would start getting suspicious."
He offered a flimsy excuse and gave Mike a smile.
Charles, holding a piece of candy, was teasing Gwen, making the little one jump up and down. He turned to Mike and said, "Dad, are you touched? I, the headmaster of a whole school, came back just for you. I'm really busy, you know."
Mike flexed his wrist and gave Charles a kind yet mischievous smile. "Come on, let me warm up my hands."
Charles stuffed the candy into Gwen's mouth. Just as she bit down on it and was secretly delighted, Charles lifted her up as a human shield and said, "You should warm up with her first."
"Ah!"
Gwen looked up, confused, and saw Mike walking toward her. Thinking he wanted to snatch her candy, she puffed out her cheeks and quickly chewed a few times before swallowing it.
"Daddy, there's nothing in my mouth! Look!"
She opened her mouth wide.
Mike's face darkened. He pinched Gwen's cheek and said, "You little glutton!"
The next second, he let go of Gwen, swiftly grabbed Charles by the face, and gritted his teeth. "So, you want to be a shield, huh?"
"Dad!" Charles winced. "Have some respect—I'm a headmaster!"
Mike let out a light snort, released Charles, and walked toward the kitchen.
Charles and Gwen looked at each other, rubbing their cheeks with exaggerated grimaces.
"Haha!"
Erik couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Gwen struggled free from Charles's grasp, grabbed Erik's hand, and said, "Brother, let me take you to your room. You haven't had a chance to see it yet, right?"
Erik nodded, warmed by Gwen's touch, and ran upstairs with her.
When he reached his room and saw the familiar furnishings, a sense of comfort filled Erik's heart.
This was his home. No matter when he returned, it always made him feel at ease.
He reached out to touch the items in his room and noticed a metal cube placed by his bed. He couldn't help but fiddle with it before putting it back in place.
Mike had given him that cube. It was heavy and had been used to help Erik train his powers when he was a child.
Gwen, standing at the doorway, saw the look on Erik's face. She quietly closed the door and ran downstairs, leaping into Charles's arms.
"Brother, I know you still have candy!"
"Out of stock!"
Charles shook his head and said, "That last piece? I actually snatched it from a kid on the street."
"Liar! You'd never do something like that!"
Gwen covered her mouth and laughed, then started feeling around in Charles's pockets.
Charles dodged, pressing a hand on Gwen's head as she flailed her arms in vain. He grinned proudly. "Little brat, I'm warning you—don't push your luck! Even if I have candy, I'm not giving it to you!"
Gwen blinked and her eyes sparkled as she shouted, "Daddy! Brother! Charles just said he's warning me!"
"What?"
"What's going on?"
Mike and Clark walked out of the kitchen, one holding a cleaver and the other a spatula.
Seeing them, Charles immediately hugged Gwen tightly and smiled nervously. "Nothing, nothing! I was just playing with Gwen!"
"Oh!"
The two of them responded casually and turned back into the kitchen.
Charles let out a long sigh of relief, only to see Gwen looking up at him with shining eyes. He pinched her cheek and said, "You little rascal, you're too sneaky."
"Heehee!"
Gwen hugged Charles around the neck, then slowly slid to the ground. She rummaged through her pocket and pulled out a small box, her tone slightly disappointed. "This was supposed to be your Christmas present. But since you didn't come back, I have to give it to you now."
Charles felt a warmth in his heart. He gently rubbed Gwen's head and opened the box.
A faint scent of pine resin wafted into the air.
It was a teardrop-shaped piece of synthetic amber, no larger than half his thumb. Inside, a small white flower was sealed. At the top, there was a small hole with a red thread looped through it.
Charles picked it up. "I really like it."
Gwen let out a breath of relief. "Brother, let me put it on for you!"
Charles lowered his head slightly.
Gwen carefully fastened it around his neck and said, "I made this myself in science lab. There's only one like it in the entire world!"
Charles gave Gwen a warm hug and handed her a small bag of candy. "All yours."
"Ehehe!"
Gwen laughed happily, then quickly covered her mouth. After glancing cautiously toward the kitchen, she ran upstairs in a hurry.
Watching her back as she disappeared up the stairs, Charles looked down at the orange amber hanging from his chest. His lips curled up slightly, and he couldn't help but smile.
"What are you grinning about?"
Clark came out of the kitchen, set down the dish he was carrying, and said, "Go set the table."
Charles patted the amber on his chest proudly. "Look, Gwen gave this to me. One of a kind in the world…"
"Oh, that?"
Clark lifted his wrist, revealing a bracelet strung with over a dozen amber beads. "She made this for me too, all from her science lab."
"So many?!"
Charles's face twitched, and an uneasy feeling crept into his heart.
"What about Dad? What did he get?"
"Not this kind of thing."
"Phew!"
Charles let out a sigh of relief.
Only two of them got these? That was still pretty special.
"Gwen used her own money to buy Dad a new set of kitchenware."
At that, Clark's expression started to falter too.
The two brothers looked at each other and burst out laughing.
"What are you two chuckleheads laughing about?" Mike glanced at them and then called out to Erik.
Once Erik and Gwen came down together, the five of them sat around the table, raising their glasses of wine or juice.
"Cheers!"
They shouted joyfully, their faces lit up with bright smiles.
Clink!
With a crisp chime, the entire Mike family gathered together for the first time.
(End of Chapter)