A big thank you to everyone who is reading this story. As well as a thank you to those who have added it to their follow/favourite list.

I am glad so many of you enjoyed that last chapter. One can never guess what the responses will be, but I am so happy you all liked it!

WhereWasLokiInEndGame & Guest: Thank you both so much for giving feedback on the usage of German in the last chapter. It is always a tricky thing to do when it's not your first language, so I am incredibly glad you both took the time to leave a review about it.

Isanxd, NetteBS, Mary-Ann, Intothevoid, guest, D. Xin and Hali, Thank you all so much as well for taking the time to leave a message on the last chapter. It warms my heart.

Hope you will all enjoy this new chapter!

Chapter 10 - Fast food on a slow day

Raven was convinced that today was going to be lonely and incredibly tedious. Charles and Erik were getting ready to leave the facility and recruit a couple of new mutants which Charles had found thanks to Hank's Cerebro machine. Of course, Raven wasn't allowed to join them on this long outing. Though she was convinced she would do a better job at persuading those other mutants to join them. After all, who would listen to a pair of intimidating looking men, when she could basically turn herself into something more charming? Well, perhaps only one of them had the ability to frighten new mutants. Charles certainly was anything but intimidating in her opinion.

Unfortunately that plan was off the table for Raven. The other idea was to go and hang around with Hank, but even that wasn't possible as he was busy working on something important and Raven had already noticed that he was too occupied with this new project than to focus on her. Therefore hanging around the lab at this very moment was probably not a good idea. Though she'd most certainly try it at some point later today should the boredom really get to her.

Besides, she'd helped him out before and so far she got the impression that Hank didn't mind her presence most of time. Raven knew that she most certainly didn't mind being around him. He was different, like her. Hank wasn't like Charles or Ann and Erik. His mutation was also visible on the outside. At least he understood her better in that regard than the others possibly ever could.

Raven let out a deep sigh, though it sounded more like a frustrated groan. She turned her head and settled her eyes on a bright red coat and a tartan scarf draped over one of the chairs at the table. She knew who they belonged to, but she found it odd seeing Ann's belongings there Hadn't she already left the base with Agent Frank a while ago? She couldn't imagine someone like Ann forgetting about something like that.

It didn't really matter to Raven. Everybody was doing something important today. Except for her. No, she was stuck there at the facility, doing nothing else but listen to some music, read magazines or explore the area. Raven threw her head back as she lowered herself on the couch. At the same time the two large doors on the other side of the room suddenly flung open and a rather dishevelled looking Charles Xavier entered. He was busy trying get his tie to sit just right, when he noticed his sister sitting there.

"There you are, Raven. Erik and I are just about ready to leave. You sure you'll be alright on your own?" He asked. Most likely he already knew the answer to his question, but he felt the need to ask her anyway.

"If I say no, will you bring me along?" Raven asked, throwing him her sweetest smile.

His answer was short. "No."

"In that case, I'm sure I'll manage." The young woman replied.

"Splendid. Now Erik and I'll will probably be back by dinner. Or so I hope. If it takes longer, don't wait up for me."

"Don't worry, I won't." Raven then turned sideways and nodded at the table. "Any idea when Ann will be coming back?"

Charles followed Raven's line of sight until he noticed the bright red coat. He arched an eyebrow and finally let go of his necktie. "Didn't she leave already?"

Raven shrugged as she wasn't entirely sure. "I thought she did. However it's been here since I arrived, which was over an hour ago."

"Odd. Doesn't seem like her to forget something." Charles muttered under his breath.

He hadn't seen Ann at all since their little tiff yesterday. At least, that's what he called it. Charles was convinced Ann would most likely call it something way worse than it actual was. She'd probably have a word or two reserved for him as well. A small smile appeared on his face but he quickly cleared his throat when he caught Raven frowning at him.

"I'm sure she'll be back before you know it. She's helping Moira out today with something important. I doubt it'll take as long compared to what Erik and I are undertaking."

"You really plan on meeting as many mutants as possible in one day?" Raven asked with surprise.

But Charles shook his head. "No. Traveling will take up most of the time. I can only hope everyone we encounter will say yes."

"And you're really planning on wearing that suit?" The young woman nodded at her brother's outfit.

Charles lowered his eyes and looked at himself. He was dressed in a light grey suit and a dark tie on a white shirt. "What's wrong with it my outfit?"

"Nothing, I just don't think it's your colour."

"Surely I am able to pass your fashion judgement?" Another voice entered the room. It belonged to Erik, the taller of the two men and he was wearing a suit as well. Only his was dark of colour with a wine red tie.

Raven had no idea what possessed them to wear such fancy clothing, but then again she had no idea where they were planning on going exactly anyway. However, she couldn't deny that Erik wore the elegant attire better than Charles did. But perhaps she hardly noticed because she'd known him for over a decade. She got up from the couch and straightened her skirt.

"I can tell you two are trying everything in order to convince other mutants to join us. One word of advice though." Raven added but she directed her gaze to Charles. "Don't read their minds, okay? You might freak them out and then all will be lost. You know, like you did with Ann."

Charles grimaced. "Thank you for your opinion, Raven. I'll keep that in mind." He then turned to Erik and motioned for him to follow. "Shall we? Until tonight, Raven!"

The blonde didn't even wave goodbye to the pair of them. Instead she headed over to the jukebox and picked out a song to play. This was going to be a long day indeed.

::::::...::::::

The nice thing about working with the CIA, was that Charles had free reign on where to go in order to find and recruit fellow mutants. The downside was that agent Frank had appointed a driver to get him and Erik to those places, meaning the professor wasn't completely off the CIA radar whilst on the job. Not that he necessarily wanted to be. And even if he did, he could easily influence the chauffeur if he wanted to, but the thought hardly crossed Charles's mind. The driver was only doing his job and at least he was a quiet and kept to himself during the ride.

Speaking of silence.

They'd been on the road for about an hour now and so far Erik hadn't said a single word. Sure he had nodded or shaken his head when replying to Charles, but there really was no conversation at all going on between them. At first glance, you'd never suspect Erik being a talkative person anyway. But Charles knew this wasn't true. Therefore the silence was rather unsettling and thus the urge to read Erik's mind was high.

However, Charles had promised him to not do anything of the sort ever again. But he had to know what was going on and he doubted Erik would tell him if he were to ask. Besides, there was no way for him to detect Charles using his telepathy on him. He good simply take a quick peek and then be done with it. No harm no foul. Charles shifted slightly in his seat and he nonchalantly moved his hand and pretended to lean the side of his head against it, as if the long car ride was tiring him out.

He then proceeded to gently nudge Erik's mind and it didn't take long for him to see what the metal bender was thinking about. The image of Ann appeared before Charles. Her eyes wide and shimmering, her hands and body trembling as she was staring at Erik. But not only was she looking at him intensely, she was also touching him. Her fingers were traveling across a number sequence printed on Erik's arm.

Quickly, Charles pulled out of the man's head and felt rather confused by what he'd just seen. It seemed Erik and Ann had some kind of encounter within the last twenty-four hours. An interaction which had clearly upset the woman in some way. She'd been touching Erik's arm. She'd seen his mark, his tattoo from the concentration camp.

Charles lowered his hand from his face and covered his mouth for a second to think. This was obviously the reason why Erik had chosen to not engage any conversation with him so far. He was upset with him for not telling about Ann and the similar history the two shared. But in all honesty, Charles didn't really understand why this had caused Erik to behave like this.

It wasn't Charles's place to reveal Ann's past to Erik. Ann didn't even know that he knew about it. And how important was this piece of information really? It certainly didn't change the reason as to why any of them were there. But Erik probably didn't see it that way. He clung so much to his past that it managed to influence every choice the man had made in his life so far. Still, Charles couldn't let this slide. He had to talk Erik, but in such a manner that it wasn't going to start an argument between them. They had a long day ahead of them after all.

Charles cleared his throat loudly and Erik looked his way. "Erik, is there any reason why you've been giving me the silent treatment since this morning?"

The other man arched an eyebrow. "I wasn't aware you felt an urge to have a conversation with me?"

Well, at least he didn't deny it and his little passive aggressive response proved as much to Charles that Erik was indeed upset with him.

"Considering why we're out here, it might be a good idea to make sure we're on the same page. Clear our minds and focus on the task ahead. However, I couldn't help but get the feeling that there might be something weighing on yours?"

Erik frowned and stared at him for good couple of seconds, then his mouth twitched and a grin formed. "You almost had me there, Charles. For a minute there you made me believe that you hadn't looked inside my mind already."

Charles pressed his lip in a tight line. There was no point in denying it. Raven was right. It was too obvious for all of them that he tended to overuse his powers too much. He leaned back in his seat and glanced out of the window.

"Alright, we don't have to talk about it. As long as it doesn't get in the way of what we're trying to do here."

That seemed to do the trick as Erik shifted in his spot and turned towards Charles, who immediately redirected his attention. There was an obvious look of annoyance adorning Erik's face, his brow furrowed and his jaw slightly clenched.

"How come you didn't tell me about her?" He asked.

"I'm afraid you're going to have a bit more specific than that, Erik. Tell what about who exactly?"

"You know who I mean."

Charles let out a deep sigh. Of course he knew who Erik was talking about. "You mean Ann..."

"Yes. Ann. And that's she's like me. How come you never mentioned that?"

"Like you?"

Erik's expression changed within a split second and he looked anything but content. "Don't pretend that you have no clue what I am talking about. That's she's a Jew."

"Did she tell you about this herself?" Charles asked calmly.

Erik slowly shook his head. "No. She didn't have too." He absentmindedly put his hand on his lower arm, covering the very spot where his tattoo was located. "I'm certain."

"I'm sorry, Erik. But I fail to see why I should have told you about Ann? You have only known her for three days."

"You don't understand,-"

"I will never claim that I do, but you have to realise that it is her past and not mine. You can't possibly validate behaving short towards me for keeping Ann's story a secret from you as it clearly is not mine to tell?"

Charles didn't regret not telling Erik about it, especially because of the way he was currently reacting. He honestly wasn't expecting Ann's past to have such an emotional effect on the other man.

Erik grimaced slightly but visually seemed to relax a little. "No, I suppose I can't. I guess I just wish I'd known sooner. Then I probably wouldn't have,-" He paused and looked at Charles.

"You do know about last night?" Erik pointed at his mind as he asked.

Charles eyed him calmly. "I don't. Do you want me to look?"

"Never mind. I'll tell you myself."

But it was obvious that he'd rather wanted to keep the story to himself. He still felt a bit ashamed about what had happened between him and Ann. Although he did wonder if he would have felt the same if it had turned out that Ann was just a regular British girl with no connection to Germany or the war whatsoever.

"I asked her to use her ability to look for Shaw. I showed her something that I have which used to belong to him. It took a couple of seconds, but she broke down right in front of me. She shouted, called me a Nazi, until I showed her my arm." Erik pulled his sleeve back to show Charles the first few digits of his tattoo.

"I probably scared the living daylights out of her. She ran out off the room and that was it. I haven't gotten a chance to talk to her yet."

Charles listened quietly to Erik, but he felt a sliver of anger bubbling up in his stomach. He had deliberately asked the man to not confront Ann about searching for Shaw and now this had happened. Suddenly it became clear to him why Ann's coat and scarf had been in the sitting room of the CIA facility. She had undoubtedly left them behind last night after Erik approached her.

"I thought I'd made it quite clear to you to not ask Ann for her help with finding Shaw. You told me you wouldn't and yet you did. Goodness, Erik. Do you realize that your little stunt could have caused her to leave us? If she hasn't packed her bags in the meantime already while we're out here searching for other mutants!"

He honest to God hoped that she hadn't. Charles knew she'd left with agent Frank this morning, he'd seen them from his bedroom window. Yet a part of him now feared that she might still pack up and leave the division. He couldn't allow that to happen and he was certain that Erik didn't want to be the reason behind it either. One thing was certain, as soon as they would be back at the base, he was going to look for Ann and talk to her. Hopefully before a certain somebody else would.

"If she wants to leave then that's her decision. Though I don't think she will. Knowing her, she probably would have already if she really wanted to." Erik answered quietly.

"I hope for your sake that she hasn't. She is one of the first mutants I've ever encountered, Erik. After everything I've tried to convince her to join us, I'd hate for all of it to be for nought."

Charles dropped himself against te backrest of the seat and averted his gaze. He rubbed the back of his neck and closed his eyes. He sensed Erik felt incredibly guilty about what happened last night and that he wanted to make things right, but Charles rather selfishly could only think about himself in this moment. This day was going to be incredibly long, but he had to keep his focus and think about Ann later.

So much for clearing the air between him and Erik.

A few hours later

"You have no idea I grateful I am. Charles would never think of this in a million years. Do you know how often we had shepard's pie for three days in a row? And the food here isn't that much better, let me tell you."

"What's wrong with shepard's pie?"

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that." Raven replied as she grabbed another french fry out of the paper bag. "Charles was always so busy with his paper that we usually ate at the pub and there wasn't really a lot to choose. Their variety of beers was more elaborate than their food menu."

A small smile formed on Ann's face. "I can imagine it can get a little repetitive after a few weeks."

"Oh, this didn't happen for just a couple of weeks. It went on for months. Charles wrote a lot of papers. Guess that's why he's a professor now."

The shapeshifting mutant reached for a circular object, wrapped neatly in a white paper folding. "England is really missing out on these." She sighed as she took the hamburger out of its packaging.

"You think so?" Ann frowned as she reached for a fry. "It's not that special. Just some potatoes and minced meat shaped like a thick pancake."

"Okay, I know you are the one who brought me the food. But any more insults and I'm not letting you have a single one of these anymore." Raven retorted as she pulled the bag of fries towards herself.

"I'm sorry, Raven." But the other woman couldn't stop a laugh from escaping her.

It was actually agent Frank who'd been the one to suggest taking some food. He didn't like the base cafeteria either and instead opted to get something from this amazing restaurant. At least, that's what he called it. Ann had a rather different opinion on what a restaurant was suppose to be. This place only served two types of hamburgers. One plain and one with cheese. One type of potato meal, cut up into long thin slices and a couple of beverage options. Though Ann had to admit, she did rather like those milk shakes they sold.

"And how has your day been, Raven? Did you spent time with Hank again today?"

Raven's cheeks coloured slightly. She had seen Hank only for a short while today. But it was enough to brighten the rest of her day. She really liked spending time with him even though she'd only met him just recently.

"A bit. Remember how I told you he took some of my blood for one of his projects? He told me that he hasn't done anything with it as of yet, he's been too caught up with working on that Cerebro thing for Charles. But he assured me that he was going to start analysing my samples as soon as the opportunity presented itself."

"You mentioned that, yes. Am I allowed to know what kind of project?"

Raven pressed her lips into a tight line. She hadn't even told Charles about it yet and he never read her mind so she was convinced the secret was safe from her end. However, she couldn't speak for Hank and his thoughts. But she was certain that after the incident between him and Charles, that her brother wasn't going to read Hank's mind anytime soon. Now Ann on the other hand was a different story. Raven didn't trust her brother's oath of not using his ability too often on others, especially when it came to Ann.

It wasn't that she wanted to keep Hank's project a secret from Charles, but she couldn't deny she was rather worried how he would feel about it. He was always telling her to embrace who she was, but then again he also always told her to hide herself from the public. it was all so contradicting. Being normal would make life a whole lot easier.

The blonde smiled and slowly shook her head. "Not yet. As soon as Hank knows if it will have the desired result, then I'll tell you."

Ann shrugged her shoulders. "Alright, but consider my interest piqued."

"Good. That'll make it all the more interesting once the project is completed." Raven grinned and took a big bite from her hamburger.

The other woman leaned back in her chair and tilted her head back slightly, her eyes landing on the clock hanging across from her on the wall. It was already eight p.m. and no sign of Charles or Erik yet. Though if she were to believe Raven, they had told her they would return around dinner time. Technically that meant they could enter the room any minute now and Ann wasn't sure if she was ready to see Erik yet.

After last night's incident, Ann knew their conversation was far from over and every time she thought about it, a rather unsettling feeling erupted in the pit of her stomach. She wasn't sure if it was fear or if it was guilt for the way she had treated Erik. Calling him that which was possibly one of the worst insults she could have told someone like him. She'd jumped too a conclusion as soon as she held that coin in her hands. Memories and emotions of the past resurfaced in only a matter of seconds, though she'd spent years pushing them into the furthest corners of her mind.

If it hadn't been for Erik, that's where those memories would have stayed. But that was no longer the case. And the way he responded to her outburst, his words, his questions and the tattoo on his arm, there was no way he was going to leave her alone until she'd tell him at least something. Ann pushed her chair back and stood up.

Raven frowned and lowered her french fry. "You leaving?"

"It's been a long day."

"Oh no, please stay Ann!" The girl exclaimed. "You've only been back for half an hour and I've been alone for most of the day. Besides, don't you want to hear if Charles and Erik succeeded in finding any mutants?"

Honestly, that was the last thing on Ann's mind at the moment. The only thing plaguing her was any possible confrontation with Erik or perhaps even Charles. If Erik had told him about last night, surely he was going to want to talk to her as well. And if Erik hadn't,- Well, knowing Charles, nothing slipped past that man. Whether it was his business or not.

"I know, I am sorry, Raven. I'll make it up,-"

But Ann didn't finish her sentence as the very same men she and Raven had been talking about were already standing there in the entrance of the sitting room. Both dressed in suits, a loose hanging necktie and the top button of their shirts undone. The two of them looked rather tired and a little dishevelled.

"Good evening, ladies." Charles greeted them first. "Glad to see you're both here." His eyes suddenly moved and settled on something on the table. "Is that food?"

"Yes. Ann was kind enough to bring this with her. But I'm afraid the two of you are too late. Not that there would have been enough had you arrived earlier,-"

"What Raven means is that she is not sharing her dinner." Ann explained followed with a small chuckle.

"Mmm..." Charles frowned slightly. "Can't say I'm that disappointed. It doesn't look very appetizing."

A loud groan came from Raven. "You are all unbelievable. I'm not even going to bother to ask what Erik thinks of it."

As soon as she said that, the taller man walked over to her and picked up the small paper packaging containing half of Raven's hamburger. He raised it to his mouth and took a big bite. Raven's jaw dropped at the unexpected and incredible uncalled display of rudeness taking place in front of her.

"Erik, if you know what good for you, I suggest you put down my burger this instant." She threatened him.

"I'll take that as my cue to head to my room before anybody is seriously injured." Ann said. "It has been a rather long day, so 'll see you all again in the morning. Have a good night."

Without waiting for a reply she hurried out of the sitting area and towards her room. There was no doubt that her leaving so abruptly would be perceived as suspicious, especially towards Erik. But the second she saw him standing there, she simply knew she wasn't ready for a follow-up from last night's conversation. Not yet. And was it her imagination or was Charles looking rather odd at her as well?

Within a minutes she'd reached the safety of her sleeping accommodations and she quickly shut the door behind her. She let out a sigh of relief as she walked on over to the bed, dropping herself on it.

It had been a long day indeed. Helping Moira out for the CIA, unfortunately with no results. Spending time with Frank in a car, once again with Elvis Presley music on the radio. She was going to have all of those songs stuck in her head for days most likely. And Ann had already suspected that she wouldn't be met with a quiet evening once she'd be back at the base either. But perhaps the latter was her own fault a little.

She ran her hand through her hair and reached for a book on her nightstand when a loud knock came from the door. Swiftly, her eyes shifted towards the direction of the noise. And soon another knock followed.

"Ann? Are you there?" A familiar voice sounded from the other side.

Oh God. What was she going to do now? Obviously she couldn't stay quiet and pretend she wasn't there. Bloody hell. Ann stood up and walked away from her bed. She grabbed hold of the doorknob and turned it as her heart pounded heavily in her chest. Once the door was fully open, she looked up at the man in front of her.

"I'm sorry to bother you. But will you walk with me, please?" He asked.

Now who could this be?

Honestly I am leaving that up to you all. Let me know in a review or a pm :)

Who is asking Ann for a walk? Charles or Erik?

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Until next time and have a great day.