[Charles hugs him a little tighter - if that's even possible by now - at that thought, remembering the face of the girl he'd never met but still wanted to thank for giving Erik a reason to survive when it seemed like all hope was lost. He doesn't know where he'd be now if Erik had died at Auschwitz, and he didn't want to think about it, really, because even with all the bad that had come along with it, he'd never regret meeting him.
Slowly, he uncurls one of his hands from the death grip it'd had on Erik's shirt and carefully rubs his back, projecting calm and security, trying to settle them both back into something that could pass for serenity.
Eventually, he feels himself starting to calm down, his breathing evening out, but he doesn't move to break their hold on each other, refusing to let go until Erik actually felt better and maybe just selfishly reluctant to move away. Both of them were terrible about asking for comfort, even when they needed it, but this was good, right now. It helped.]
[Spam]
Slowly, he uncurls one of his hands from the death grip it'd had on Erik's shirt and carefully rubs his back, projecting calm and security, trying to settle them both back into something that could pass for serenity.
Eventually, he feels himself starting to calm down, his breathing evening out, but he doesn't move to break their hold on each other, refusing to let go until Erik actually felt better and maybe just selfishly reluctant to move away. Both of them were terrible about asking for comfort, even when they needed it, but this was good, right now. It helped.]