Hiding
Title: Hiding
Fandom: xmfc
Pairing: Cherik (light)
Fic-Type: mini-fill/drabble
PROMPT: I want to see Erik trying to run away from an
abusive and powerful Shaw and the first place he ducks into is a
bar/coffee shop run by Charles. Anons, I want to see Erik ducking behind
the bar and basically hiding at Charles feet. Reasons behind this are
up to you, but please, give me Erik hiding from Shaw like this? I don’t
even care if it’s a successful ruse or not, but would love it if it was.
-
Charles was in the midst of fiddling with the espresso
machine when he heard the cafe’s door chime with the entrance of a new
customer. Plastering a smile on his face before he’d even turned,
Charles looked away from the espresso machine to greet the empty cafe.
Startled, he glanced around.
“Uh. Hello?” The man ventured, glancing back at the espresso machine
to see that it had apparently fixed itself. Huffing a sigh (because this
wasn’t the first time it had broken and fixed itself for no reason)
Charles licked a drop of espresso from the edge of his finger and fully
turned to face the store. He froze, however, upon seeing a scruffy and
disheveled teenage boy huddled on the ground by the register.
“Uhm… hello?” Charles squeaked, “I’m sorry, but you can’t be he-“
“Please…” The boy pleaded, his voice cracking. Charles hesitated,
taking in the split lip and bruised face, as well as the scrapes all
over his arms and the way the teenager seemed to be struggling for
breath. Charles worried his lower lip between his teeth, glancing around
the store and then back down. Really, it looked like the kid wasn’t
much younger than Charles, maybe four or five years, and Charles had hid
from his share of bullies at that age.
“Just.. just for a bit.” Charles amended, wagging a finger at the
younger male. The kid’s shoulders sagged in sheer relief, his bloodied
lips pulling into a grateful, albeit tiny, grin.
“Thank you.” He breathed as the door chimed with another customer.
The teen tensed immediately, head ducking between his arms to bury
themselves into his knees. Charles forced his eyes away to smile at the
newcomers, nodding in greeting.
“Good afternoon! How can I help you?” He chirruped, reaching for a
damp rag to swipe it over the countertop in order to look busy (mostly
as a precaution in case Moira was monitoring the cameras again). The
older of the two men lowered his sunglasses to peer around the shop.
“I’m looking for a boy, actually.” He paused, peering at Charles.
“Seventeen, your age - I’m assuming.” At this, Charles bristled the
tiniest bit and nearly jumped out of his skin when thin arms wrapped
around his leg and clutched to it.
“I’m twenty two, sir.” He pointed out. “What does the boy look like?”
The hands around his leg dug in deeper, followed by a face pressing
against the side of his knee - pants dampening with the hot, nervous
breaths that puffed against it.
The taller man stepped around the store, and Charles resisted the
urge to inform the man that he should invest in some type of sunblock.
Instead, he diverted his attention to the older man, who was looking at
Charles thoughtfully.
Charles started wiping the counter again, though it was infinently harder when there was a young man clinging to his leg.
“His name is Erik. He’s taller than you, thin, dark blond hair. Got
in a fight with some kids at school so he’s pretty scuffed up. I’m his
father, you see -” At this, the teen shook his head violently against
Charles’ knee and Charles shrugged limply at the man, interrupting his
rant about unruly sons and acting out in teenage rebellion.
“My apologies, sir. He may have walked past the store, but I was just
having trouble with the espresso machine until a moment ago. If he did
happen to come by here, I must not have seen him. Is there a number I
could call should I see him, though?” Charles asked softly, giving the
man his brightest smile possible.
He was given a suspicious stare in return, and then a business card
reading ‘Dr. Sebastian Shaw’ in needlessly fancy typeface. Charles
tucked it into his apron pocket with a nod.
“I’ll be sure to phone you if I see him.” He said, offering another
grin. Dr. Shaw grunted under his breath, motioning to his sun-scorched
associate before they turned and left the cafe.
The arms around his leg finally released their vice grip and Charles
glanced down. “I do believe its safe now, Erik.” He said quietly. The
boy glanced up, shuffling back from Charles and giving him a smile so
wide that it startled the older man.
“Thank you.” Erik said hoarsely, though he didn’t look like he
planned on getting up any time soon. The more he sat there, the more
Charles didn’t want him to leave - until he suddenly found himself
opening the glass display cabinet and searching for the freshest panini
they had.
“Are you hungry, Erik?” Charles asked, glancing over his shoulder at
the teenager. Erik’s head snapped up from where he’d been staring at the
scrapes on his palms to nod furiously. Charles held back a laugh,
gesturing to the back room.
“There’s an employee bathroom in the back. How about you wash up and
I’ll bring you something to eat once I heat this up?” Charles knew Raven
would be coming in for her shift in less than an hour, so hopefully he
could pry some information out of Erik by then.
Erik seemed to contemplate Charles’ words before pushing himself to
his hands and knees and crawling for the door to the back. Once
concealed behind it, Charles saw Erik’s head pop up in the small window
and wander back through the store. It was against every protocol Charles
could think of, but he didn’t really care - he had a feeling that Erik
wasn’t going to be leaving any time soon.