This place looks like it's about to fall apart, Erik thought as he followed Xavier into the building that housed a soup kitchen. There were a few people inside already, setting up dishes and cleaning the tables. They all wore aprons and the women wore their hair up. He motioned for Alex and Scott to take a look around while he stayed with Xavier.

"Charles, you came!" One of the women called and walked over.

Xavier moved to meet her, smiling. "Of course I came, Moira. How could I not?" They hugged and he kissed her cheek. Erik cleared his throat, making Xavier turn in surprise. "Oh, of course. Erik, this is Moira MacTaggert, a dear friend of mine. Moira, this is Agent Erik Lensherr, one of the three agents assigned to me." He leaned over and whispered loudly, "He's a rather grumpy person."

Moira giggled but held out a hand to shake. "It's nice to meet you, Agent Lensherr. Good to see that someone's finally taken notice of what's going on."

He studied her as he replied, "The safety of a potential future president is of extreme importance to the Secret Service." Light brown hair cropped short, light grey eyes, tanned complexion wearing jeans and a dirty t-shirt, Moira looked very down-to-earth. A firm grip, too. He liked that in a person. A no-nonsense type of person. Quite the opposite of Xavier, surprisingly.

"Secret Service. Oooh, aren't we special?" Moira teased, bumping Xavier with her elbow.

He flushed and changed the subject. "Did Sean come with you?"

Moira nodded. "In the back with Darwin. He thinks he's come up with a way to make the soup taste better, but between you and me? I'm hoping Darwin vetoes it, immediately."

Xavier chuckled. "Yes, Sean isn't exactly the culinary type, is he?"

"Not at all. Go on back; I'm sure they'll both want to say hi. Maybe you can take Sean's spot in the kitchen."

"I'll do my best, but you know the decision is Darwin's," Xavier replied, then motioned for Erik to follow as they began to thread their way through the tables to the double doors along the back. "The four of us have been working here ever since we met in one of our undergrad classes. It was one of those courses that all freshmen take, demanding a certain amount of volunteer work off campus. We came to really enjoy it and then Darwin took over a couple years ago."

Erik appreciated the background, but not the extra names to check. "How often do you come here?" he asked instead.

"I try to come once a week. Wednesdays are usually best; Emma tries not to schedule anything campaign-like then. She says it's good for the people to see me here; I don't really care about that. I enjoy helping people; I'm not doing it to boost my career or anything, I hope you realize." Xavier shoved open the door and called out, "Sean, Darwin, you back here?"

The conundrum that was Xavier was starting to get a little clearer. He was a good person…but whether that translated to being able to run a country was still up in the air. Or perhaps he was just naïve. The ever present optimism was starting to wear on him, and it had only been a couple days. Erik also still needed to meet Emma and get a schedule…if that was even possible with the man.

"Charles!" A pale redheaded young man bounded over. Erik had moved in front of Xavier before it had really registered what he was doing. The other man skidded to a stop and held both hands up. "Whoa, man. Chill. Jeez, Charles, what's with the suit?"

Xavier put a hand on his arm and said quietly, "It's all right, Erik," before stepping up next to him. "Hello, Sean. Erik, Sean Cassidy; Sean, Erik Lensherr, Secret Service. Do I dare ask what that smell is or should I just try not to breathe too deeply?"

Sean grinned widely. "New recipe. Found it in a library book the other day and I've been meaning to try it out. Moira won't let me cook at home—"

"So you thought you'd try it out here?" Xavier concluded with a sigh, finally pulling his hand off Erik's arm to pinch the bridge of his nose. "Please tell me Darwin is nearby."

"Course he is." Sean twisted his head and shouted, "YO, DAR! Get out here!"

Erik heard a voice from the back shout back, "What'd you screw up this time, Sean?" If that was the automatic reaction, Erik wasn't so sure he wanted to be around Cassidy.

Cassidy and Xavier exchanged grins and Xavier shouted back, "Your soup's burning!"

A young African-American man came running out only to slide to a stop as they burst into laughter. "Damn it, Sean…Charles." He came up and pulled Xavier into a hug. "Didn't think you'd be able to make it, what with everything that's been going on." He eyed Erik as they pulled apart and Erik returned the gesture.

Xavier's eyes flicked between them. "Darwin, this is Erik. He's here to keep me safe. Erik, Armando Muñoz but everyone calls him Darwin."

"Pleasure," Erik said, noting that Xavier introduced him differently to all three of them and wondered if there was a reason for it.

Xavier clapped his hands. "Now, where do you want me, Darwin?"

Darwin glanced around, wrinkled his nose and said, "Ugh, good god, Sean, what did you put in here?" He went over to inspect the pot. "Um, would you mind serving out front, Charles? I'm a bit short on volunteers today."

"No problem," Xavier said cheerfully. "Just hand me an apron and I'm good to go."

"Thanks." Darwin seemed a bit frantic as he tossed an apron over while simultaneously stirring the contents of the pot that was now starting to smell a bit foul. "You better hope those vets come today, Sean, or no one else is going to eat this. I'm going to have to start a new pot…"

Xavier caught Erik's eye, tilted his head towards the door and they left Sean arguing with Darwin in the kitchen. Erik said quietly, "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"It's a brilliant idea, and who are you, handsome?"

Erik's head snapped up and his hand flew to his holster at the interruption. A blonde bombshell stood in front of the table Xavier had stopped at, smirking as her gaze traveled appreciatively down his body. His eyes narrowed, studying her in turn. Shoulder-length bottle blonde hair, icy blue eyes, pale complexion with heavy makeup and wearing a white suit that was surely better suited to a club than a soup kitchen, the woman currently had her arms crossed over her impressive chest and a hip cocked, mouth tilted upwards in an appreciative smirk. A large white bag dangled from one of her shoulders.

Xavier worked on getting his apron tied as he introduced them. "Ah, you did it make it. Emma, love, this is Agent Lensherr of the Secret Service. He's the head of my security detail. Erik, this is Emma Frost, my campaign manager and timekeeper." With a frustrated noise, he turned to Erik and asked, "Would you mind tying this? I can't quite reach."

Erik stepped up behind him, took the strings in hand—fingers lightly brushing against Xavier's—and quickly and effortlessly tied a double knot, all while keeping his eyes on Miss Frost.

"Nice to meet you, sugar," Frost purred, her gaze dropping.

He realized what he was doing and stepped back, silently berating himself while keeping his face expressionless. Damn it, he wasn't supposed to like the guy! Keep the man alive; that was it. Erik muttered into the earwig, "Alex, get over here and watch Xavier while I chat with Frost." Movement from the left alerted him to Alex's approach, coming right up next to Xavier at the table and initiating a conversation. Erik scowled. None of them were supposed to get friendly; it was an assignment, nothing more. Turning away, he walked over to Frost and said, "We need to talk."

"Certainly." She followed as he headed off to the side. "You cut a nice picture in that suit. What do you say to a business dinner?"

"Don't swing that way."

"Shame." She didn't sound too disappointed, though.

Erik gritted his teeth. Was everyone involved with Xavier going to grate on his nerves? "We need to talk about Xavier's campaign schedule."

"Xavier? Oh. You mean Charles. And you…Erik, wasn't it? When did you arrive?"

Erik felt his eyes narrow slightly. "Monday. I want a schedule of all of his events for the next two months."

Frost's eyes widened now. "Two months? Oh, honey, I don't schedule that far in advance."

"How far do you schedule?"

She shrugged. "Couple weeks? Charles' availability changes a lot because of his teaching. God knows I've tried to get him to quit but he refuses to give it up on the off chance he'll lose." Another smirk. "But that's not going to happen. Not with me in charge. He's already up in the polls since the threats started; people love an underdog."

Scott's voice buzzed faintly in his ear. "We need her on our side, Erik. Get your temper under control."

And that was exactly why he worked well with Scott; they complemented each other. Scott had some sort of sixth sense about when Erik needed to take a step back, both mentally and physically. He took a steadying breath then informed her, "Miss Frost, I really don't care whether he's winning or not. All I care about is keeping him alive to campaign. Now, in order to do that, I need to be able to check out the venues he'll be appearing at. So we'll need to keep in touch." He tried for calm but there was still a slight edge to his voice.

She tilted her head to the side. "Way I see it, we both have the same goal: keep Charles in the running. Yes?" When he nodded, reluctantly, she pulled out an iPad and continued, "Do you have an email address I can contact you at? I can send you updates as I make them and honestly, it's a lot faster to reach me that way. Charles has my cell number if you absolutely need it."

"I absolutely need it." He pulled out his phone, they swapped numbers and he gave her his work email address.

Emma tapped her iPad. "So, the next thing I have on the schedule is a meeting with his campaign team on Monday. Shouldn't take too long; just updating everyone. Next public event…eh, a couple minor appearances. Visiting schools, a couple speaking requests for LGBT groups. I'll send you the addresses later."

Erik acknowledged the information with a nod. The speaking requests would most likely prove the most troublesome…mainly because some people were still bigoted assholes who couldn't just accept that you should be able to love anyone you want.

"Emma, are you helping?" Xavier interrupted then, calling across the room to them as he hefted a huge pot onto the table in front of him.

Emma and Erik exchanged looks—allies of a sort—and headed back. Emma waggled her free hand in the air. "Fresh manicure, sugar! I'll just take photos, if that's all right with you."

Erik stopped at the edge of the table, frowning. "Where's Alex?"

Xavier looked around. "He was right behind me…"

Erik took a step towards the kitchen just as the young agent appeared, carrying several baskets of rolls in his arms. Erik grabbed the baskets and shoved them Xavier's direction, leveling a glare on Alex. "What exactly did you think you were doing?"

Alex glared back at him, wiping his hands on his pants. "Helping. They're shorthanded, you know."

Erik jabbed a finger at his chest. "Your job is to stick by his side and keep him safe. That does not include ferrying food!"

Xavier stepped between them. "That's my fault. I asked him to help." His eyes were ungodly blue right then.

"He should have refused." Ich hasse diese abtretung (translation: I hate this assignment).

"Alex is a grown man and can make his own decisions," Xavier replied calmly.

Alex put a hand on Xavier's shoulder and gently pushed him to the side. "You're right, Erik. Okay? But this is a good thing they're doing here and he wasn't out of my sight for more than ten seconds."

"Ten seconds in which something could have happened."

"But it didn't," Xavier interjected. He smiled reassuringly. "I'm fine." Erik closed his eyes for a moment, trying to get himself under control.

Moira was suddenly there, throwing concerned looks around. "Everything okay over here?"

Xavier nodded. "I think so. Is it time to open the doors?"

"Yeah." She looked unconvinced but Xavier gave her a gentle push and she went to open the doors.

Xavier took up his position behind the soup pot, Alex slipped off to the other side of the room and Erik took up position along the wall behind Xavier, arms crossed. The other volunteers filed into place, Moira opened the door to let the people in then joined the line and Erik noticed Frost off to his right, snapping pictures on her iPad of Xavier serving soup in his apron with a huge smile on his face.

After a couple hours, Erik begrudgingly gave the man some credit. He was good with people. Xavier was relieved from serving duty half an hour ago and was now walking around, occasionally stopping to talk. Always with a smile, a comforting touch, and somehow knew just the right words to say. The only group he seemed to falter around was the group of military veterans who sat at a table of their own. Erik noticed he avoided going over there and finally wandered over himself.

He got a cursory glance before they returned to their meals. "Go away, boy."

Erik glanced over his shoulder. Scott waved from where he'd slid into position behind Xavier so he felt it was safe enough to take a seat next to the soldiers. There were six of them, of differing ages, from mid-thirties to somewhere in their sixties. "Where'd you fight?" he asked as they ate.

"Iraq."

"Korea, 'Nam, South Pacific."

"'Nam."

"Iraq."

"Afghanistan."

"Germany, 'Nam."

Erik nodded. "Was in Kandahar, myself, for a bit."

That got their attention. The youngest of them looked impressed. "You were there? But you don't look military, if you don't mind my sayin' so, sir."

"I'm not. Secret Service. But I was there during the fallout."

That led to the exchange of war stories, the vets opening up to him.

Charles leaned against the wall next to Emma, his eyes on Erik. He was sitting at the table with the vets, talking easily with them. Something Charles had never managed to do, in all the years he'd been coming here. Erik looked actually relaxed…and it looked good on him.

"Would that I were a fly on the wall," Emma murmured, lifting her iPad.

"Emma, no." He put a hand on her arm, forcing her to lower it. He instinctively knew that Erik wouldn't want that and was surprised to find that he didn't want that, either.

She shot him a look. "That would make a great photo op, Charles, and you know it."

He shook his head. "Not without his permission." Emma huffed but lowered the iPad just the same. "This is not, nor was it ever, a political thing, Emma," Charles reminded her, his eyes still on Erik. "This is something I enjoy doing and I do not want it spoiled."

"Fine. Just do me a favor and keep tall, dark and handsome around, hmm?" Emma grinned. "He's certainly a sight to see, despite being gay."

Charles' head whipped around to stare at her. "What?" Erik was gay? Then…what's his problem with me? Erik confused him. Yes, it had only been a couple days, but he was getting mixed signals. One moment Erik seemed to hate him, the world, the fact that he was within a hundred feet of Charles, then the next Erik seemed to soften, to let concern bleed through the mask of indifference. He'd originally assumed Erik disliked him because of his sexuality, but if his was the same, then why…?

All of that went through his mind in an instant as Emma replied, "I flirted, of course, and he said he didn't swing that way. Certainly sounded like an admission to me." She bumped his shoulder. "Go talk to him."

Charles frowned at her. "No photos, Emma. I'm serious. Don't make me ask Scott to take your iPad from you."

"You would, too, wouldn't you?" Emma sighed dramatically. "Fine. I will not take pictures of you and your extremely sexy bodyguard for the campaign."

"Emma…"

"Nor for any other reason," she grudgingly added.

After a quick breath, Charles pushed off from the wall and headed for Erik's table, grateful he'd removed the apron earlier. Footsteps behind him let him know Scott was following. It was funny how quickly he'd become used to hearing that echo of footsteps behind him. He hesitantly approached the group now laughing loudly and before he could say anything, Erik had looked up and met his gaze. Erik slid over, silently inviting him to join them. There was that mixed signal again. He bit his lip, but sat.

One of the vets leaned across the table and said in a slightly hoarse voice, "So, Bond here says you wanna be president."

Bond? Oh, right. He meant Erik. He could see that; Erik would make a wonderful James Bond. Charles nodded. "Yes, sir."

"I take it you want our vote; that why you're here?"

Charles replied, surprised, "No. Not at all."

The vet lifted an eyebrow. "You don't want our vote?"

"No, that's not…well, yes, I suppose I do want your vote, but that's not why I'm here. I don't want to force people into voting for me, that's not how I think things should go. I think you should vote for whomever you like, although, yes, I do hope that it would be me, of course."

"So what do you do when you're not lying to the world?"

Charles replied, "I don't…" He took a quick breath. "I teach. I'm a science professor at Columbia University."

The old soldier lifted an eyebrow. "Science teacher, huh? So, like, blowing things up or this bone is connected to that bone?"

"It's so much more than that. My classes run the gamut, from biology to chemistry to physics, organic chemistry, genetics…Although personally, I prefer genetics. It's just so fascinating to me to try to figure out why we are the way we are. Why a child has brown hair when almost no one in the family does, or has a mixture of different colors in their eyes—why hazel eyes exist, or why heterochromia exists. Their complexion…I'm working on this experiment now, trying to discover if our personality traits are genetic as well, if they have genetic markers like someone with auburn hair would have, a gene we call MCL1. Trying to figure out if we can learn how someone will act given their genes, their parents' genes…" Charles abruptly realized they were all staring at him and felt himself flush. He looked at the table, feeling awkward.

One of the younger men leaned in and said, "You were right, Bond. He does talk a lot."

Charles looked at Erik, taken aback, and saw him turn pink. Charles shrugged and said faintly, "I think it's a teacher thing."

A couple of the guys chuckled then the youngest asked, "So why do you need Secret Service?"

"Ah," Charles wasn't quite sure how to explain that.

Erik took care of it for him. "Death threats." That was the first time he'd spoken since Charles had joined them.

Thankfully, before Charles could endure more questions on that, he felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to see Moira there. "Can I borrow you for a minute, Charles?" she asked, looking concerned.

"Of course." He turned back to the table and smiled. "Excuse me, gentlemen, but it appears I'm needed elsewhere." Charles got up, found Erik standing as well and put a hand on his arm to stop him. Leaning in, Charles said softly, "Stay. I'm not leaving the building."

Erik frowned. "You still need—"

"An agent with me, yes, I know," Charles completed Erik's sentence. "I'll take Scott. Stay; talk. They like you better than me, anyway." Erik's eyes flicked to the side, presumably to catch Scott's eye, then he nodded and sat back down. Charles counted it a victory as he followed Moira. "What is it, love?"

"Sean and Darwin are at it again and I can't get them to stop. I'm afraid they might actually escalate to blows this time."

Charles sighed. Of course; why they couldn't just get along, he didn't know. There seemed to be at least one fight every time he came, although usually Moira could mediate. Rarely was he asked to step in. The closer they got to the kitchen, the clearer it became that they were shouting. He shoved the door open, Moira and Scott trailing behind and took in the scene. Darwin stood by the stove, Sean opposite him by one of the prepping tables and both were yelling at each other so it was hard to figure out just what the problem was.

Charles said loudly, "What is going on here?"

They both turned to look at him, silent for the briefest of moments before they started in again. This time, though, he thought he might have caught something about Sean messing with Darwin's equipment? Possibly? He shook his head and stepped forward, heading towards Sean, intending to get at least one of them to listen when he saw Darwin grab a bowl. Instinct made him duck and it sailed over his head to smash rather loudly against the wall behind him.

"Stop behaving like children!" he snapped. All four heads whipped to him. He rarely raised his voice and his friends knew it. "Darwin, explain."

Erik heard the dish crash and bolted for the kitchen, reaching it around the same time as Alex. They shoved open the door in time to hear Xavier say, "Stop behaving like children! Darwin, explain."

Alex elbowed him and pointed out the remains of a bowl of soup on the floor. Erik hissed, "Scott!"

Scott sidled over and murmured, "Darwin threw it, aiming for Sean, but missed. Charles was ducking before I could grab him. We're good."

Erik nodded and then Xavier was talking again. "You two are on the same side, for goodness' sake! You need to come up with some sort of compromise because Moira and I are both getting tired of mediating your arguments. Darwin, you run this place flawlessly but maybe it's time to branch out a bit. Sean has been trying to learn some new recipes so perhaps you could let him try one every now and then. It certainly couldn't hurt. And, Sean, moderation. Please. No one wants to eat something that has every damn spice in it! And keep in mind that, although your attempts are made in good spirit, this is first and foremost Darwin's business and you should ask before messing with the food, yes?"

They both nodded and Erik found himself studying Xavier in a new light. He had found equal ground with them both, in a calm and even tone, and they both seemed to accept it easily enough. Interesting…perhaps there was a bit more to the professor than he'd thought.

Xavier turned around then and started. "Oh! Sorry, I didn't know you were all there." He turned to Moira and asked, "I think we're good in here, wouldn't you agree, love?"

Moira nodded. "Thanks, Charles. If you weren't here, my next step would have been to dump water on them both."

Xavier chuckled. "That would have worked, too, I'm sure." He smiled at Erik, Alex, and Scott. "We can go now, if you want. I still have some grading to do before class tomorrow."

Erik shrugged. "Was auch immer (translation: whatever)." He didn't mind this place. Erik dug out the Tahoe's keys and tossed them to Alex so he could pull the SUV around front while Xavier went to find Emma and say goodbye to everyone.

Thank you everyone for your interest in my story :D