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As a girl, things had been different. People had expected less all while they expected more in other aspects of life. Puberty had come all to quickly bringing with it a rush of unwanted changes and hormones. The worst had been the breasts and the way they hung heavily from pectoral muscles.
Even now as a twenty-six year old man Charles could remember the distress that weight had caused him and the feeling of relief when it had been removed. His hands clenched into fists at his side as he recalled his mothers reaction to the surgery. Tears had run down her face as she'd stared at Charles and called, "What have done? You've killed my beautiful Charlotte! You killed my little girl!"
Charles was broken out of his painful reverie by a warm hand trailing down his side. It smoothed out the wrinkled cardigan that Charles had dawned for this event before gently pulling away.
"Lost in thought, are you liebling?" Erik asked looking at his boyfriend.
"Sorry love, I was just thinking, I'll try to focus now." Charles replied as he looked up at the stage where Erik's boss, Sebastian Shaw, was due to appear.
"Don't bother, that man only knows how to give a boring speech and if we don't focus on it you can get the information from someone's head. Now why don't you tell me what you were thinking?" Erik demanded.
"I was remembering my mother, when she cut off all ties with me," Charles confessed looking up at Erik.
Erik's fists clenched as he thought of Charles's mother Sharon. He'd never met the woman because he'd met Charles post op and she'd already severed all ties with him, but he'd seen memories about her. He remembered with bright clarity how she'd begged Charles to stop his transition before it was to late.
"Please honey, don't change yourself, God made you just the way you're supposed to be." She had said tears in her eyes.
"I don't believe in a god," Charles had snarled, "If he were real he'd have to be extremely cruel to place me in the wrong body."
This time it was Erik who had to be pulled from his thoughts. Charles laced his fingers through Erik's beaming up at the older man and for a second Erik forgot all of their troubles and all of their pain, all he could see was Charles and his beauty.