Charles hugged Raven back just as tightly, reminded far too readily of the last time he had felt such concern for her. He smoothed her hair as he absorbed her presence, all of the familiar, homey essence of Raven. Her mind always comforted him even though she preferred he not enter it. She was simply good in ways that assured him always that the world was not such a dark place as it could appear, and the minor fractiousness that had grown between them lately seemed unimportant.
He released her almost reluctantly, putting his hands on her shoulders to squeeze lightly before he accepted the cupcake.
"It looks delicious, Raven, thank you. I'm sure it tastes even better." He meant it, too. Raven's cooking was always a Godsend. Charles was sure he wasn't that bad, despite allegations in the past that sometimes his cooking took on new life of its own. That just meant it was evolving. Really, he was advancing the mutation of heretofore undiscovered species.