Anote: This story has gone off track and I was wondering if I shouldn't close it off. But if you are enjoying the Charles/Erik fluff I will carry on with this theme.

Please note that Erik is NOT trying to injure the professor in this chapter, so there is no need for alarm.

Chapter 26- A day out part1

'Erik, I think we should ask someone.'

The two men looked up and down the almost deserted mall corridor. It was still very early and most stores were now opening for the day. Attendants were busy sipping coffee and hastily donning their uniforms but a few of them turned their heads to stare at the pair. Actually, they were gawking at the professor and Erik surreptitiously glanced down at the small man at his side. Nope, his fly was zipped and all his buttons were fastened correctly.

'I don't understand. This is the closest shopping centre to the mansion. Don't you ever come here?' the older man asked curiously. He raised a puzzled eyebrow as a young lady (who according to her T-shirt worked at the CoffeeBeanery) walked straight into a dustbin, so preoccupied was she in gaping at Xavier.

'No, not really,' Charles admitted distractedly suddenly noticing the numerous, intent glances in his direction. 'I get my clothes in town. Most times Margaret makes sure I have everything I need.'

The taller man shook his head in disbelief but didn't comment. He wouldn't leave a sixty something year old woman in charge of his wardrobe but he had come to respect the deep bonds that existed between Charles and his staff. According to the professor many of the older ones had served his father, which he supposed made them more family than actual employees.

'Look!' the Englishman pointed happily and he followed his outstretched arm to a large mall direction information display.

Promptly, Erik slowed his pace to match the shorter stride of the young man at his side. It hadn't escaped his attention that Charles had stepped closer when he noticed that people were watching him.

'He thinks I will protect him,' he thought to himself with a heavy heart, 'and I will. I would do so gladly, but who will protect him from me.'

Unaware that he was currently occupying his friend's thoughts, the professor concentrated on the display in front of them trying to determine the location of the various men's stores that were available.

Charles found something promising and he checked the map's key at the side. He was not altogether surprised to observe that his shopping partner was looking at him, instead of the colourful map infront of them. He had borne this with good grace for the last couple of days but it was a bit much when added to the oddish behaviour of the mall's people.

'Erik luv, you are staring again,' he softly chided the tall man's reflection.

'Forgive me,' the other man replied automatically, but he did not look away.

Charles did not turn around but reached out one arm to find and clasp the hand of the man who was standing just behind him. Gently he pulled him a little closer.

'Are you alright? You've been a little quiet.'

He waited patiently until finally Erik lifted his head. The older man smiled ruefully when he realized that the professor had been watching his reflection all this time. There was no point in lying now.

'It is not easy for me to speak of personal things,' he muttered unhappily, squeezing Xavier's small palm.

'Just share whatever is on your mind….it doesn't even have to be in a complete sentence. Are you worried about starting your job tomorrow?'

Erik looked unseeingly at the map in front of him, before breaking their contact and walking over to the decorative rails that enclosed their floor. He let his body sag over the edge and he stared morosely at the ground floor below.

'My mind races….' he began, 'I am remembering the past, worrying about the present...'

The professor hadn't missed the way Erik's hands had unconsciously pointed in his direction when he had said the latter.

…I feel adrift. Shit! I am babbling. I do not know what is wrong.'

Charles rubbed soothing circles over the bowed back. 'Does anything help your mind to slow?'

'Being with you does,' he thought to himself. He had noticed his "depression" always got worse in the middle of the day and at night; the two times when he was most alone. At least he could text Charles during the day and get a quick fix but at night there was no recourse. Sometimes his restless feet took him to the professor's room and he would lie down next to the sleeping man and hold him for a few minutes to get some relief. Other than that he would slip out into the grounds and jog for hours until the silence in the darkness cleared his aching head.

'Running helps,' the larger man finally admitted.

'Great…add a pair of trainers to your shopping list,' the young man counseled, 'and maybe you should lay off all that coffee. I assure you my friend; a little tea would not kill you.'

Not really convinced, Erik nodded absentmindedly as he watched a harassed young mother on the first floor, scramble madly to catch up with her over active toddler.

'Many great discoveries have begun with the words 'I don't know,' the Englishman offered quietly, gently squeezing his shoulder, 'Who knows, Erik! You might be on the verge of some great personal revelation!'

The older man snorted derisively and looked around. However, the professor's eyes shone with the happy, excited fervor so typical in scientists and Erik didn't have the heart to voice the sarcastic response he had in mind. Instead, he brushed his lips over the friendly fingers that were holding on to him in a-thanks- for- listening gesture.

Panicked his eyes flew to the other man's face, 'Sorry.'

'I don't know WHY you are apologizing,' the small man sighed heavily with a pronounced roll of his blue eyes. 'I certainly have NO intention of saying I am sorry when I kiss you.'

It took him a moment to work out what the young man had just said. A small, but confused smile spread across Erik's features, 'are you planning to kiss me in the future?'

'Of course I am!' the professor responded brightly, bouncing energetically on the balls of his feet. 'There now, that is something for you to look forward to!'

The man couldn't help but laugh at Charles' outrageous audacity. 'And when is this …event likely to occur?'

He scrunched his face in seemingly serious contemplation, 'I'm not sure; maybe tomorrow, maybe in the next five seconds.'

The small man was close enough to see Erik's eyes suddenly darken and a deep flush of excitement suffused the older man's face. However, Charles nimbly skipped away when the man moved to trap him against the railings to receive his kiss.

'ERIK! BEHAVE! BEHAVE I SAY!' he laughingly yelped, as the man chased him round and round the interactive map display, muttering darkly under his breath all the while about cheeky English professors and what he would like to do to them. 'PEOPLE ARE LOOKING AT US!'

The young man darted away to a nearby bank of elevators but that proved to be an unwise choice as Erik plucked him out of mid air and sat him down precariously on the edge of the rails to face him.

Immediately, Charles threw his arms around the other man's neck to better keep his balance, desperately trying at the same time to stop laughing so that he could catch his breath.

'I will have that kiss now, little one,' the older man menaced, tilting him back ever so slightly and he winced as the professor let out an deafening screech that almost burst his ear drum.

'OYE! STOP THAT NOW!' a security guard bellowed jogging forward to them, 'GET DOWN FROM THERE!'

After repeated apologies on Erik's part (Charles, still giggling madly, could only manage to hide his red face against the other man's chest) the pair managed to gain the elevator without further incident. However, the whole episode seemed to have refreshed Erik as his eyes now sparkled with good humor and a high color warmed his face.

As they walked towards the shop Charles had found, he threw out a hand in wordless invitation and was pleased when the professor stepped under the protective shelter of his arm.

'Thank you,' he whispered in appreciation of Xavier's creative efforts to distract him from his bleaker thoughts. The small man was truly a gift to treasure. 'You are not like anyone I have ever known.'

The young man's forehead creased as he contemplated if he was being insulted or not but Erik's unusually relaxed posture reassured him.

Unfortunately, the men's store they had managed to locate was still closed but the two men occupied themselves in studying the small list that Erik had prepared.

'Now remember to make sure we get the bill,' the larger man reminded him for what was either the twelfth or fiftieth time for the morning, 'I'll pay you back as soon as I get my wages.'

'Yes Erik,' the small man replied obediently, biting his tongue to keep from protesting how ludicrous this all was. It was ironic that the one person he wished to lavish gifts on wouldn't make use of his money. Erik's parole officer had offered to outfit him for the while in some of the second hand clothes left behind from his other parolees but Charles had quickly turned down the offer. The young man then apprehensively informed Erik of what he had done, afraid that the man was going to be upset that he wasn't consulted first but he seemed just as relieved and the idea of this shopping excursion had been hatched that night. It was a bit of an unpleasant surprise when Erik stonily announced over breakfast that he had every intention of repaying him for the borrowed funds.

In the meantime, the store owner noticed his early buyers and opened the door, affably ushering them in to browse while he continued to prepare various displays and dress his window mannequins.

At Erik's request, Charles had seated himself on a high chair in the corner so that he could easily be found when he needed a second opinion. This suited the professor just fine and he let his mind wander as the older man was swallowed up by a row of dark jackets.

This depression that seemed to have abruptly come over Erik troubled him greatly. He was deeply concerned that perhaps the initial euphoria of being free was beginning to die down and now Erik's mind was prey to darker thoughts; thoughts that had perhaps lead to his brush with the law in the first place. Gerard had supplied him with a transcript of Erik's trial and Logan had prepared a dossier on his life in America but both documents remained untouched and buried in the bottom drawer of his desk. If he could be completely truthful with himself, he would admit that he didn't want to read anything that would spoil the wonderful image of Erik in his head.

The professor breathed in deeply and closed his eyes, once again weighing in his mind the benefits of knowledge to continued ignorance. There was much about his friend that he didn't know. The memory of Erik, dressed in his prison uniform, pouring so intently over a mysterious thick binder to the point where he did not even hear him approach, flashed in his mind.

'ENOUGH! This way leads to madness!' Charles told himself sternly. For better or worse they were in this together. He chuckled quietly at the marital reference that he had unconsciously used and without much effort, his mind drifted over to more pleasant imaginings.

'What do you think of this color?' the older man inquired after a few minutes of searching. The professor jumped in his chair, startled by the sudden reappearance of his companion. He had been busy daydreaming of dressing Erik in the finest Armani suit perhaps with a lovely diving watch on his wrist, silk tie still unmade and dangling around his neck.

'Did you just lick your lips at me, Xavier?' he cried out in his shock. He always thought that the Englishman was a bit on the quiet side but he was beginning to discover that on occasion, the young man could let out an almighty roar when he felt like it.

'You truly have an over active imagination,' Charles lied smoothly, focusing on the turtleneck sweater in Erik's hands. 'Dearest, please don't ask me about colors. I am hopeless.'

Having completed his morning routine, the store owner drifted over to offer his much more informative opinions and soon the professor was completely lost as the two discussed the relative merits of cotton and polyester; jackets and blazers; sage and teal. The small man was just happy that a considerable pile was now building up on the counter and he resolved to find a way around this ridiculous notion that Erik had about paying him back.

'And what about your partner?' the eager store keeper inquired, turning mercenary eyes towards the Englishman, 'perhaps a new jacket to match with the tan one you selected. The two of you will look stunning!'

The professor closed his eyes in acute embarrassment as Erik abruptly snatched the entire bundle of clothes in his arms and stalked off to the changing rooms, muttering a steady stream of obscenities under his breath.

Mortified, the owner turned to him with apologetic eyes, 'Begging your pardon Mr. Xavier; but I saw you walking arm in arm. No insult was intended to you or your friend.'

Charles smiled reassuringly, only vaguely registering that he had been identified by name. Perhaps his picture had been in the paper again. He pinched at the bridge of his nose to relieve his stress. 'Please ignore him. It is not you that he is mad at.'

TBC

*trainers- a generic term for athletic shoes.