Anote :Thanks "TheForce 3434", i appreciate your reviews. My writing buddy "duskkkk" asked for a chapter that involved a visit to the pet store. I was trying to write an action sequence but by golly it was harder than i thought to get the tempo just right.

Chapter 28- A day out part3

Erik squatted carefully, looking around in apprehension at the broken glass surrounding the injured teenager.

'I've got paramedics on the phone!' someone yelled from behind him, 'is he breathing?'

The redhead lying on the floor rolled his eyes in amusement although Erik could see the hidden fear in their depths.

'Hi, my name is Sean,' he introduced himself bravely. Erik respected what he was trying do and introduced himself just as calmly.

'He's breathing and lucid,' he threw over his shoulder, 'ask them if it's okay if we move this cylinder of gas off his chest.'

'Forget me!' Sean yelped in worry. 'I'm fine! There was a cage of puppies just above me and I can't hear them now. Can you see them? Are the rest of the animals alright?'

'The dogs are fine, the crowd has them safe,' the man muttered reassuringly as his eyes swept the pet store around them. Naturally all the animals were agitated by the noise and peculiar activity around them. 'There are some open enclosures with rabbits that are just too close to have escaped all this glass though, we should move them. What happened?'

'HEY buddy! The paramedics say only remove the container if he's in terrible pain. They are a few minutes away.'

'I'm fine,' Sean insisted again. 'Please help the animals…oh god, are any of them bleeding? I am so getting fired.'

'ERIK! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?' Charles screeched, 'WHAT IN GOD'S NAME IS IN THAT CYLINDER?'

'Whoa dude, tell your friend to chill out before he has an aneurism,' Sean joked feebly, 'It's empty. I was rolling it to the back of the store when I slipped and fell through the window.'

'The cylinder is empty and watch the glass,' Erik snapped irritably as the professor carefully picked his way forward. 'Didn't I tell you to stay back? We need to move these animals out of here. Any ideas?'

Immediately the Englishman began organizing a makeshift bucket brigade to transport the affected pets into the waiting arms of the children who had been herded into a tight circle in the middle of the corridor. Meanwhile, Erik began to carefully brush away the glass around Sean's head and hands looking for any hidden cuts or injuries, 'you're lucky that you are wearing long sleeves.'

'Don't move,' Charles counseled, squatting on the opposite side. 'You are going to be alright.'

'BE CAREFUL!' Erik suddenly shouted as the professors' balance wavered. Sean grabbed hold of Xavier's arm to steady him.

'Thanks,' Charles replied bemusedly as the red headed teen stared at him fixedly, 'alright there are we?' He craned his head slightly trying to get a good look into the teenager's freckled face. He was much too young to be one of his students. 'Do we know each other?'

'Please don't fire me,' Sean begged staring up into the professor's eyes, 'I know I should have waited for my boss to open the store but I didn't, and I'm sorry. Please, PLEASE!'

Erik backed off as he was nudged away by the paramedics; however Charles remained where he was trying to get the boy to calm down.

'Oh god…someone kill me now!' Sean rambled in panic.

The professor pressed down hard on the boy's hand. 'No one is getting dismissed; no one!'

'He probably thinks that because you own the mall, you were just going to fire him,' one of the parents suggested quietly to Xavier.

Erik was sure his ears failed him, 'You OWN the mall?'

'No I don't,' the small man snorted in amusement.

'Oh …well your picture is in the lobby,' the same parent offered unsurely. 'To be truthful, I never read the plaque thingee underneath it. You're Charles Xavier right?'

He glanced over at Erik and swallowed nervously as the taller man avoided his gaze. 'Well, maybe I do own the mall. Sometimes I don't keep track of everything my investors do.'

He formally shook the hand of the parent, 'Thanks for telling me. It sort of explains why everyone is staring at me as I stand here like a bloody idiot.'

Thankfully, the awkward moment was broken up as the paramedics gestured to the surrounding volunteers to lift the cylinder off of their patient. In that time, the professor inched towards Erik's side.

'Erik?' he called tentatively, trying to hold his hand. The older man still wouldn't look at him and what little he could see of his face was a dull brick red; a sure indication that the older man was teetering on the edge.

'Looks like just a couple of broken ribs son,' the medical persons announced to the relief of the waiting crowd, 'we'll take good care of you.'

'Erik please…,' the professor begged quietly, looking around furtively at the numerous cameras and cell phones that were still recording, '…please don't.'

The older man was waiting for him when he turned around and he almost jumped out of his skin as Erik softly cupped the side of his face, 'I'm not going to start shouting if that's what you are thinking.'

The professor hastily averted his eyes, unable to maintain his composure at the sudden intimate caress. 'Wait for me here. It's alright baby, I just need a moment.'

Unsurprisingly, his heart was beating madly as Erik released him; the whispered endearment sparking off an explosion of pleasurable heat throughout his body. However, the blue eyed man frowned anxiously as his friend strode away to a nearby drinking fountain. While he was quite proud of Erik for keeping calm and not giving in to his anger as he tended to do, he sincerely hoped that the man wasn't about to do anything foolish.

Erik cupped one hand and filled it with water before scooping the kitten out of his pocket. As she drank, he suddenly became aware of her rapid heartbeat in his palm and he marveled at the life in his hand. Small as she was, she was perfectly formed from the tips of her delicately pointed grey ears, to her soft white paws. After she had finished, the animal settled back confidently into the crook of his arm craning her head at impossible angles to observe him and then up at the intricate ceiling of glass overhead. He then took the opportunity to splash some water to cool his face and clear his head. It was oddly relaxing to hear and feel her contented purr and somehow his earlier discordant thoughts seemed to evaporate as he stroked her back.

'Now, this is a new jacket so I will be very annoyed if you decide to sneak a quick pee,' Erik warned, wagging a pointed finger in her face to emphasis his point.

The animal raised her yellow almond shaped eyes reproachfully to his as if the idea of urinating in his pocket had never crossed her furry little mind and he was an absolute cad to even suggest such a thing!

'HA!' he muttered under his breath, 'I am immune to your female wiles…now if you had big blue eyes, that would have been a problem.'

Very carefully though, he transferred the kitten to his front pocket, watching anxiously as she wriggled around seeking a comfortable position. Finally, she seemed content to stand and hook her two front legs over the edge inorder to better survey the world around her. After gliding forth a couple of steps without anything terrible happening, Erik quickly jogged back towards Charles' side, where he promptly knocked away the hand of some unfamiliar gentleman who was trying to herd the professor away from the crowd.

The manager of the mall cowered in fear as Erik loomed over him, crushing his fingers in a fake gesture of civility. Easily a foot taller, he stared down menacingly at the stranger who had had the temerity to push against Xavier's shoulder without his consent. The hard look on Erik's face was not at all softened by the fact that a small kitten was poking its head out of his pocket.

'Steady on old chap' the Englishman interrupted in a quiet, placating voice, 'the mall manager here was offering me a cup of coffee. Thank you sir, but I think it is my place to be here until the area is properly secured.'

The manager agreed quickly and as a reward Erik released his bruised fingers from the handshake. He then hastily slunk away into the crowd not even daring to look back at his patron and his excitable 'bodyguard'.

Hesitantly, Erik glanced at the professor from the corner of his eye wondering if he was going to be chastised again for bad behaviour. He felt his heart lift as he observed the resigned smile on Charles' face.

Good!

While he didn't have any particular wish to flatten anyone while the young man was watching that didn't mean he wouldn't, especially if it was a choice between that and keeping him safe.

Side by side, they companionably leaned against the railings observing the clean up that was now in progress. Jean was taking photographs of the children with the animals even as yellow tape was being strung across the store front to limit the public's contact with the broken glass.

'Erik you DO believe me when I say, that I didn't know I owned the mall?' the small man pressed, tenaciously restarting their previous conversation.

'Not at first,' he replied, 'but then I remembered that you aren't particularly good at any sort of subterfuge.'

Charles pressed his lips together in annoyance at Erik's condescending tone; as if his inability to lie convincingly was some huge pain in the ass weakness. 'Then….what was all that about, just now? Why did you have to take a time out?'

Erik exhaled heavily as he stared straight ahead. 'This is going to sound stupid, but I don't think it has ever dawned on me how rich you really are.'

The professor gaped at his profile in surprise and silently swore in his head. He had a sneaky suspicious where Erik was going with this based on how prickly the other man always became whenever the topic of money was brought up. 'My wealth is just a part of me like how my eyes are blue, my hair is brown and I will always be shorter than everyone in the room. These are characteristics about me that will never change. Well except for the hair...I suppose I will grey or… '

'Charles,' Erik hurriedly interrupted as if seized by a sudden inspirational idea, 'have you ever been with a man who wasn't in the same social circle as you are?'

The professor's protracted silence told him all that he needed to know.

'That's alright...this is not important,' Erik mumbled as he pushed off the railing. He didn't even know why he asked. The professor's love life was really none of his concern.

The young man reached out to snag his elbow and pull him back. He didn't quite know what to say to these concerns that the older man had. This unexpected vulnerability he was displaying was both terribly endearing and a blasted nuisance all at the same time. 'Erik, being able to provide financially is just one aspect in caring for someone.'

He watched worriedly as the older man crossed his arms defensively across his chest. Erik was again forcibly struck by the way the other man seemed to be so effortlessly reading his mind. 'I know it in my head,' he finally remarked in a low voice, 'but fully believing it? It's a pride thing, just be patient… don't give up on me.'

Charles threaded his arm through the other man's reassuringly, 'I am not going to give up on you.'

Tugging lightly until Erik stood facing him, the professor reached out to gently tickle underneath the kitten's neck as it stretched forward eagerly.

'I can take my private jet right now and go visit the Louvre museum or snorkel in the Great Barrier Reef or ride horses in Argentina. As cliché as this is going to sound, being able to do all of that means nothing if you don't have anyone that cares about you to share it with. He raised his eyes to look at the older man, 'trust me, I know this from first hand experience.'

Abruptly, Erik crowded him slightly to the point where Charles had to tilt his head back just so that he could continue to see into his face.

'So are you saying you are enjoying this trip to the mall more than say… a trip to the Louvre?'

'That is EXACTLY what I am saying.'

And there it was again…right there; a look of utter surprise mingled with deep longing before the expression vanished behind the wall Erik threw up. If Charles hadn't seen it happen so many times before he would have doubted that it occurred. As the older man turned his back to him, the professor pressed a shaking hand to his eyes. Anew he wondered what had happened in Erik's life to make him so afraid of what he was feeling. He sincerely hoped that these counseling sessions that Erik's parole officer had signed him up for could help.

'Is that the owner of the pet store?' Erik asked. 'I should return her.'

Confused, Charles lowered his hand.

'Her? How do you know your friend is a Her?'

Erik looked down and gently stroked the smooth head with one finger, 'It looks like a Her, don't you think?'

Laughingly, Charles held out his hands, 'Here let me see. I've had cats before.'

He looked on in amusement as the larger man tenderly shook each paw in an attempt to dislodge the minuscule yet dagger like claws. Erik then visibly began to cringe as she meowed piteously perhaps realizing that her savior was harboring evil thoughts of tearing her from her warm retreat. After a minute or so of painstaking effort he managed to get one leg free from the fabric.

'Erik leave her be. The store is a mess; we'll bring her back tomorrow when they have cleaned up.'

The professor bit his lip to prevent himself from laughing out loud at the look of utter relief that the taller man had bestowed on him. Was this really the same person who had been prepared to stomp all over the mall director a few minutes ago?

'I'll talk to the owner and you go and grab Jean so we can find some food,' the Englishman directed with a tired sigh, 'what a morning! I thought shopping was supposed to be relaxing. Perhaps, I should have taken a valium.'