Chapter Text
Three years and six months ago,
‘Welcome to the university, Mr. Shaw,’ Charles smiled his most charming smile, reaching forward to shake the man’s hand. ‘It truly is an honour to have you with us here today.’
The man in front of him – Sebastian Shaw, founder of the highly secretive (not to mention infamous) Shaw Foundation for Scientific Research – stepped forward, his smile even wider than the one that Charles was wearing. His eyes gleamed with an oddly exultant expression as he slid his hand across Charles’s palm.
‘Believe me,’ he said, a distinct purr in his voice as he clutched Charles’s hand intimately, ‘The pleasure, dear Professor, is all mine.’ His gaze raked over Charles as he spoke, brazenly allowing his eyes to linger in a way that he had definitely not done when greeting the rest of the waiting academics.
Charles blinked.
This, he thought blankly, was unexpected.
‘Oh – yes,’ he stammered out after an awkward moment, sneaking a glance around at the other members of the welcoming committee. They were all smiling pleasantly, either unconcerned or otherwise ignorant of Shaw’s oddly suggestive behaviour. Forcing himself to ignore the sudden uneasy feeling that trailed down his spine, Charles shook himself and continued. ‘Your generous donation came as a surprise to us all – a most welcome one, I must say – but a surprise nonetheless. May I ask what prompted you to make such a benevolent gesture, Mr. Shaw?’
‘Please,’ Shaw smiled, his shiny white teeth gleaming brightly, ‘call me Sebastian.’
Charles faltered, caught off-balance once more, but politeness dictated that he respond in kind.
‘Of course, Sebastian,’ he smiled politely. ‘And please – call me Charles.’
Shaw beamed.
‘I think I will,’ he murmured, his eyes glinting as he looked at Charles. It was only when Charles shifted uncomfortably that he pulled his eyes away. ‘And as for your question – well, the answer is that I have been following the university’s research into the human genome with a great deal of interest for quite some time now. It’s a fascinating branch of science, is it not?’
‘Absolutely,’ Charles responded eagerly, relieved to be back on even footing. ‘And we are progressing at a truly remarkable rate, knowledge-wise. We now know things that a mere two years ago would have been unthinkable.’ He could see one of the university’s chancellors nodding enthusiastically at him and making little gestures of encouragement behind Shaw’s back. Pasting on a pleasant smile to hide his grimace, Charles swallowed his pride and continued. ‘It’s the donations of generous benefactors such as yourself, Mr. Shaw-’
‘Sebastian.’
‘- Sebastian, that make such progress possible,’ Charles said as earnestly as he could manage. ‘The department’s budget is remarkably generous, I should hasten to add, but one always feels rather constrained when having to take costs into account. Science should never be restricted by so small a thing as money, I always say.’
‘I completely agree with you,’ Shaw looked almost ridiculously pleased at Charles’s words. ‘Progress should not be confined by other people’s petty little scruples,’ he said fervently. ‘Only think of what could be achieved if people put aside their financial and moral qualms and dared to think outside the box that society has confined them to!’
Charles’s brow furrowed.
‘Well, I don’t know if I would completely agree with that,’ he said dubiously, forgetting himself for a moment. ‘I mean, doing away with squabbles over funding would be one thing, but morals? No,’ he shook his head. ‘I think that having a good moral code and a strong sense of ethics is necessary in a good scientist. To not have them … well, that would be rather disastrous for everyone, I think.’
Shaw was giving Charles an evaluating look, his gaze shrewd and considering.
There was a pause as the rest of the welcoming committee muttered in the background.
Then Shaw let out a booming laugh.
‘You’re not afraid to make your opinions known, are you Charlie?’ he said happily, clapping Charles on the shoulder. ‘I like that!’
Charles grimaced. He hated the name Charlie.
‘Thank you,’ he said with a tight smile. ‘And it’s Charles.’
Shaw didn’t seem to have heard him though.
‘Come on then,’ he said, clapping his hands together. ‘I want to see what it is that my money paid for. Lead the way, Charlie!’
Charles opened him mouth to protest against the name once more, but then he caught the eye of the chancellor, who was furiously shaking his head, glaring at Charles meaningfully.
Charles closed his eyes and sighed. After a moment, he reluctantly opened them again.
Charlie it is, he thought resignedly, before stretching his mouth into a smile and walking forward.