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[ Erik has very few close friends. The man has armor thicker than steel. Charles isn't really completely sure how he managed to sneak through. Perhaps planets had aligned in the right way, the right time and the right opening-- and Charles had slipped in, probably unnoticed.

But he tried to stay there. Tried to be a good friend to him.

Though he'd not really known what to do at first.

Hence the start of this-- reading Erik's moods quietly with a look, and often finding that well-- Erik was kind of sad. Well, sad and grumpy. They were his main two moods which brought him to-- well, this odd little tradition. Leaving post-it notes on Erik's coffee mug in the Teacher's lounge, with stupid little jokes that Erik never mentioned but-- had seemed to like.

                    He was-- not anticipating Erik to walk in on him leaving one of said notes. ]

"Oh Erik--I-I thought you had a class?"

[ And of course, of course Charles' post it today says 'Why do teenager girls hang out in odd numbers?' 'Because they can't even.' ]

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[ Howard is at his desk, as Charles suspected he would be. Grading by the look of the frown set into his face. Charles is one of few men who is not put off by the slightly grumpy look on his face. Then again-- Charles had never been easily put off by a frown, it wasn't in his nature to take an expression at face value. ]

"Mmm so-- stop me if you've heard this one before." [ He's grinning down at him, half leaning against the edge of his Howard's desk. ]

"A chemist, a biologist and a physicist are walking along the beach. Suddenly the physicist says 'I just have to understand the motion of waves better.' He walks into the ocean and doesn't come back. Then the biologist says 'I just have to understand the creatures in the sea better.' He too walks into the ocean and doesn't come back. 

            --After a moment the chemist pulls out his notebook and writes 'Physicist and Biologist both water soluble.'"

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"I just want to make this very clear-- I am not chaperoning any school function not related to the Chess Club ever again.

            --And no amount of appealing to my ego is going to change that."

[ The last time he was conned into it, he overheard some things that no teacher wants to hear about their students. Including which teachers are apparently 'hotties'. ]

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[ There's a battlefield in James' mind, broken glass and sharp pieces. Debris and burned out houses. A war fought on unfair terms, wholesale destruction of self. If there's anything left it's locked in bunkers and strong holds that run deep underground, locked and padlocked and the keys are lost-- rusting forgotten who even knows where.

             But Charles is used to broken glass, used to shoving his hands into wreckage uncaring of the damage he himself takes on the way. He doesn't care if it's difficult, or if he bleeds on the way. If he can help-- he helps. 

Psychology says savior complex, and it's probably right. Charles Xavier has always been drawn to broken people.

But Captain America asked if he could help Bucky, the newly reclaimed Winter Soldier, recover memories. Who would he be to say no to Captain America? ]

"It might help if you told me what you're interested in finding. Or things we should- avoid. I want to help you-- not press on uh, tender bruises, so to speak." 

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From Across the Board

[ After the elation wore off, the headache set in, dark inky tendrils curling around his mind. A dull throb that seemed to knock against the inside of his skull.

        It was not a particularly new feeling to Charles. Though it had been a while since he'd gotten one from pushing his powers to their threshold. It had seemed something he had left behind with adolescence. When he'd been young and eager to test the boundaries of what he could do.

                       Cerebro had been much the same, like opening a window.

All the air had rushed in, like a tide of knowledge and feeling and emotion. Charles had always known they weren't alone, none of them were, but he'd never known the degree until now. Until he'd felt the living clamor of all those minds brushing against his consciousness. ]

Erik-- I didn't realize you played.

[ He'd seen the knowledge in Erik's mind, but he'd seen a lot of the other man in flashing snapshots. With Erik it was safer not to assume anything. Still seeing the other man appear, with a chess set in his hands, cautious like he isn't sure if he's welcomed or not makes Charles smile past the pain gritting his teeth. ]

Daresay I might be rusty, but sit, I could stand the company.