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charles watches the side of erik’s face intently when he mentions the difficulty of these matters.  and it reminds him so much of the erik he first met, a shining star threatening to collapse in on itself.  these matters have always been difficult for erik, and there was a time that charles knew how to push through that, how to offer erik adoration without scruples.  “ erik, ” charles begins, gentle and strong all at once, “ we intend to offer everyone a chance to leave the past behind here.  we’re offering forgiveness to even the worst among us.  can we not -- can’t we offer that to each other, too ?? ” charles takes one of erik’s hands in both of his and fixes his gaze on the couple of scars erik wears on his knuckles.  “ forget the past.  what do you see in the future ?? ”

charles decides that erik’s honesty has earned him some leeway.  in all sincerity, charles feels a sort of matching anxiety about this.  he knows what he wants to say, what he wants to ask for, but all of the sudden the words dry up in his mouth.  why is it so difficult?  “ come sit with me, ” charles requests, frustrated by the distance.  “ can i ask you what it is making you hesitate ??  i didn’t mean for this to be a conversation for you to dread, or even to worry about.  i just..feel as though we’ve been dancing around this conversation for...for a while, truly. ”

   charles, truthfully, doesn’t know what he was thinking when he suggested they talk upon erik’s homecoming.  and charles has to pause for a moment to think of how nice it is to consider this a homecoming.  the pleasant warmth that comes with the implications of that helps put charles at ease just a little.  and the knowledge that erik has been stalling is funny somehow, instead of troublesome.  charles keeps his distance from erik’s mind without explicit permission, but that doesn’t stop him from picking up on the others who have seen erik around.  “ was your trip delayed ?? ” charles asks, a picture of innocent curiosity.  “ i was expecting you a while ago. ”

there’s something so genuine about gambit that charles can’t help his answering smile, wide and unencumbered by the stress of the day.  he just lets himself appreciate that it’s good to see remy.  “ i’m not used to meetings for pleasure these days, is all, ” charles says apologetically.  “ please, make yourself comfortable, it’s good to see you.  i’ve been meaning to pick your brain a little, anyway.  metaphorically, of course. ” 

   “ jean, do you have a moment ?? ” charles asks without preamble.  the smile on his face, however, serves as a softer greeting.  as always, seeing jean fills charles with a certain hope.  few among them have endured what jean has endured and come out the other side still so full of kindness.  in that way, she offers an important perspective in the world to come.  momentarily, charles is distracted when the wheel of his chair gets slowed down by the soft and dense landscape, but the ground under him quickly responds in kind, smoothing out.  charles reaches out to krakoa with his mind to offer a gentle thanks before returning his attention to jean.  “ i was hoping to get your insight on something i’ve been planning. ”

   charles has to choose his words carefully here -- jean-phillipe is unique among the many mutants && near-mutants that charles has met in his many years.  and there’s always a level of discomfort, seeing someone who’s body you recently possessed.  at least, it’s uncomfortable now.  charles hasn’t had the experience often enough to make any generalizations.  “ i’m glad t see you’re back.  how are you feeling ?? ”

charles barely manages to keep from chuckling.  it’s not an unexpected reaction -- daken is naturally prickly.  “ perhaps i wasn’t looking for you at all, ” charles says with an unaffected shrug.  of course, charles hadn’t happened upon daken by accident, but there’s nothing terribly urgent.  there are just certain faces charles thinks he should see before any official announcements are made.  “ i know where logan is already, anyway.  i wouldn’t waste your time with something as simple as a manhunt for someone i could just as soon call. ”

   charles considers the length of time they’ve shared, in some capacity or another.  he pours a generous glass for erik and holds it out to him as he pours his own.  “ what we’ve done so far is no small victory.  what we’ve done is revolutionary. ” erik knows that, of course, but it bares mentioning regardless.  “ and, anyway, this drink is to celebrate what i think might be the longest we’ve gone without an argument. ”

    “ remy, ” charles greets, and there’s some surprise in his voice.  it’s not that it’s completely out of the ordinary for charles and remy to cross paths, but it’s less often that gambit stops by of his own volition.  “ to what do i owe the great pleasure ?? ” he asks curiously.  more and more uncommon these days, charles even goes so far as to remove cerebro and sit it down on his desk.  he maneuvers out from behind his desk and closes his office door to avoid the prying eyes of whatever children wander by.

  charles’ smile turns soft for a moment when erik concedes and removes the helmet.  he looks away after a few moments of marveling.  little concessions still surprise charles, pleasantly of course.  he has a thousand more thoughts on the matter, and it’s incredibly lucky that erik isn’t a mind-reader.  “ you’re good at intuiting things about people, though.  and you know me better than most. ”  charles rifles around in the bottom drawer of his desk, draws out two crystal tumblers and a bottle of amber liquid.  “ do you feel like a drink ?? ” 

   charles scribbles down a final note before turning his attention fully to the other.  “ bruce wayne, ” he begins, choosing each of his words carefully.  “ i need your help. ”  that’s not precisely true.  charles thinks they could probably accomplish the task without the assistance of wayne enterprises, but there would be a lot more guess work and substantial overhead.  and -- charles is networking, of course.  there’s no denying that the man is a powerful ally to have; his word carries meaning.  that kind of gravitas thrown vaguely in the direction of charles’ budding cause could change a few minds without as much careful telepathic influence.  “ you have more global reach than even my most social friends; i’d like to talk to you about a problem i’m having.  see if you can help me find a solution. ”

    “ tell me, lorna -- have you found yourself idle lately? ” charles asks, resting his chin against steepled fingers.  he knows no one is exactly idle, but this strange idea of theirs means there’s less time spent with respective teams than usual.  he imagines the more capable and powerful among them are going to grow restless.  “ scott has been leading his x-men in tracking down some group of radical scientists -- but i’m afraid that means our attention has strayed from some other unsavory groups.  i need someone to follow up on some activity with the church of humanity.  you’d be welcome to take a couple others with you, of course. ”

of course, charles has no real interest in busting through it, just feeling it’s hypothetical strength.  charles manages to curb his curiosity for now, though.  no reason to raise any alarms by being nosy.  “ the quiet is a nice reprieve.  i run a school; peace is usually a fantasy at best. ”

   charles levels a glare at the helmet, like it’s done something to personally offend him.  “ erik, that is not a bit of silence.  that’s the telepathic equivalent to driving into wall at sixty miles per hour, ” he says sourly, but a smile finds its way to his face anyway.  if it were a bit of silence, charles might not hate it so much.  -- he still would, actually, strike that.  “ wait, are you admitting there’s a talent that you don’t possess ??  how unlike you, erik. ”

        even more startling that he didn’t sense company.  there’s a chance, even, that charles has been intermittently putting out the suggestion that any park-goers find a less serene corner of the world and leave charles to his day.  ethical?  perhaps not totally.  but a man deserves a moment of quiet.  the only explanation is that this boy is unaffected by gentle suggestions.  curious.  just to check, charles prods very slightly at the young man’s mind and is surprised to find a significant amount of resistance there.  hm.  “ nice day, isn’t it ?? ” charles asks mildly, tries to hide his intrigue.  “ surprising how few people are out and about, with weather like this. ”

     charles is quiet as he removes cerebro.  incredible, though the tool is, it’s not exactly the most comfortable fashion accessory.  he doesn’t know how exactly erik’s been doing it for decades.  and with hair, too.  brave soul.  he sits the device down on his desk gingerly and squeezes the bridge of his nose.  “ am i being ridiculous, or is it exceptionally loud today ?? ”  it’s probably more to do with the process of exerting more telepathic force than he’s used to, honestly.  it’s been a strenuous week to say the least.