Charles sat reading his surveys while he let soft music play behind him. He had been there for two hours and if it wasn't for his stomach making itself clear on its needs he probably would not have looked at the time. After putting the rest of his papers in his bag and turning of the light he turned to walk down the hall only to stop himself abruptly from running into Erik's back. Erik turned around quickly with one raised eyebrow but his shark like smile in place.
"Hello Charles. I see you are still having trouble with watching where you're going, but at least you're improving." Erik stood with his bag over his shoulder and hands in his pockets which were the pockets of a very well fitted pair of charcoal dress slakes. Charles let out a small uneasy laugh.
"Yes, I will admit that for the last four years I've gotten used to the person using your office never actually using it. I WILL try to remember to look where I'm going. I'm very sorry for almost tackling you."
"I'm sure I could handle it." Erik let a small laugh out.
"I've no doubt my friend." Charles laughed. Charles tried not to picture himself tackling the man in front of him.
"The last person to use the office didn't use it you say?"
"Not that I ever recall. I never understood how he managed to carry on without any office hours whatsoever until he was sacked and we all learned he was just a rubbish teacher."
"Well that would explain how much dust was in there when I arrived," Erik hitched bag higher on shoulder. "Are you heading towards staff parking?"
"Oh yes. I'll walk with you." The two fell into step together down the hall.
"You've been here for four years teaching? When did you graduate?"
"A year before I took the position. I am not that young you know." Charles scrunched his face up
"I wasn't implying you were too young," Erik turned to look at Charles seriously. "I was just surprised really. I thought I was young for a professor and then I met you this morning and you don't look older than twenty four or twenty five."
"It's alright. I actually get that quite a lot so I've grown used to 'where are your parents' look when at events." Charles left out a quiet laugh.
Erik scoffed. "Too bad you are probably more brilliant than all of the people that give you that look."
Charles blushed at the compliment. "I wouldn't say brilliant, but I have my moments."
"From what I've heard of you, you have more than a few moments."
"Heard of me? Who's been slandering my name?" Charles looked at Erik with mock indignation.
Erik laughed. "Just overhearing some of my students and some of the faculty telling me about the people near my office. All good, I assure you."
"Oh well, I suppose I won't be too much of a tyrant than." Charles couldn't help but smile when Erik showed all of his teeth.
"Now that would be a sight to see."
"Indeed," Charles thought back to what Raven had said. "I heard you can be a bit of a tyrant yourself."
"Oh?"
"My sister's best friend is in one of your classes and she was a bit in awe of the way you managed to scare a good number of students before the end of the period."
Erik let a rumbling deep laugh out which Charles instantly was addicted to. "I like to weed out the students that aren't serious in the beginning. I don't want to waste my time with students that don't actually want to learn the language. I'm not a complete tyrant though."
"Some students need that. I was never able to scare students out on day one."
"I could give you lessons if you'd like, I won't charge too much."
"I'll remember that. It might come in handy, although Wolverine attempted to toughen me up and that didn't go brilliantly." Charles remembered his first year teaching. He tried to use everything Logan had told him about bringing down the hammer and not believing all the stories that students fed him but in the end he usually caved to help and he couldn't kick a student out permanently.
"Wolverine? Do I even want to know?" Erik had a confused face.
"Oh, sorry, I forgot you haven't met everyone. All the students started calling Professor Logan the Wolverine due to his temperament and frightening hair and sideburns. Honestly, I don't see the likeness but I digress. It ended with everyone just referring to him as Wolverine and he answers to it regularly now."
"I see. That's…interesting."
Charles laughed. "Yeah, it's a bit odd I Know. Besides Moira, Professor McTaggert, he's really the only other professor on campus I talk to normally."
"Really? You seem like quite the social butterfly."
Charles scoffed. "Hardly."
"Well, I won't pretend to be either."
"Now that I do have trouble believing."
"Oh?"
"Well, yes. You're tall, great looking, charming, with the best teeth I've ever seen. They have got to be false. You have a great sense of humor, and you are definitely intelligent. That seems the perfect recipe for playboy extraordinaire with ladies falling at your feet." Charles tried not to blush too hard after realizing he had said all what he said. If he could face palm without notice he would have.
Erik let out a small laugh. "Well, when you put it like that I'd say you'd have to be right."
"But?"
"But…I'm not the easiest guy to get along with and I've never been one to chase the ladies you speak of."
Charles tried not to get his hopes up that Erik meant he fancied men. "You seem easy enough to get along with and I'm sure you don't have to do the chasing by the way."
"I find it pretty easy to get along with you actually. It's weird really, but I'm not going to complain," Erik turned to smile at Charles. They made it to the lot and were approaching Charles' car. "As for the women, it is such a shame they go after me when I couldn't give them a second glance."
"Oh, are you taken? They say the best ones are always taken or gay, or at least that's what my sister always says." Charles smiled down at his feet.
"The latter actually, although I don't know if I'd fit in the 'good' category." Erik stopped with Charles at the divers door of the BMW Charles was unlocking.
Charles tried to keep the blush from his face. "Oh, well I guess she was on to something. The data is becoming measurable now. Don't sell yourself short. There has to be at least one good tyrant."
Erik gave Charles a huge smile. "Let's hope I can live up to that. Good night Charles. I'll see you tomorrow morning."
"Yes, yes, good night my friend. Drive safe."
"Of course." Erik nodded once before turning to next row of cars.
Charles sat in his car and started the engine trying to calm his breathing. So, not straight. He is charming, intelligent, and likes men. He is still completely out of your league of course but it's good to know. Raven will be crushed. Charles took another deep breath before pulling out and driving home and if Charles thought longer about what he was going to wear to work the next morning no one needed to know.
TBC