om_main | Betsy and Warren, Thursday evening

Betsy pays Warren a visit.

Betsy seemed to be spending more time than responsible down in the boys dorms. To be fair, she'd visited Brian and Pietro and those were very platonic, sisterly visits. Stopping by Warren's room always looked a bit less respectable. She knocked, standing quietly and nervously outside the room as she waited.

Warren hadn't been expecting any visitors. The mood in the school had been less than stellar lately, and for a good reason (of course). Seeing everyone so scared and upset was difficult, and so was feeling like a useless bump on a log when he was unable to help with the situation. That meant that distractions were in order, so Warren had been spending a lot more time in the gym and up in the sky--much more than he was in his room. Betsy lucked out, as she'd caught him after a shower.

And while Warren had planned on finally getting some school work done that evening, he decidedly would much rather invite in the sudden company. Warren's hair was damp and tussled (unusual) and he wore only a pair of shorts, but he looked pleased to see her and his tone was very soft. "Hi. Want to come in?"

Better to get her in quicker before she was caught in the hallway.

Betsy nodded and stepped into the room so that he could shut the door. "Thank you." She paused once the door was shut to blink at him, getting a better look at... all of him. Despite his complete lack of shirt, Betsy moved forward and wrapped her arms around him, tucking her cheek against his chest and hugging him.

While Warren did hug her back, he could tell that Betsy was off and it made him frown over her head. After placing a gentle kiss against the top of her hair, he ran his hand up and down her back in a comforting manner. "Do you want to talk?"

"Yes." She exhaled heavily. "I think so."

Well that was a good start. Warren pulled away from her and took her by the hand so he could lead them over to his bed instead. The beds here weren't exactly the biggest things, but if he situated his wings just right they usually fit comfortably. Though 'comfortable' just about always meant snuggled right up together considering the size of the damn wings. He got down first, lying half on his back and half on his side, and opened his arms to her. "Come here then."

God, she'd made some wonderful decision when she decided to pursue Warren. Betsy climbed into his arms and settled with a sigh of relief. "We may have to swear your roommate to secrecy if he comes home."

"Yes, and then I'll throw him out," Warren joked.

His arms settled loosely around Betsy followed by a full stretch of wing, much like a blanket only lighter. And fluffier. Again, Warren pressed a kiss against her head before finally settling. "He's usually pretty good, but I'm more interested in knowing what's on your mind right now than what he'd have to say about it anyway. Are you okay?"

"I've been better," she admitted shakily. "It's been so loud all week. I've having a really hard time ignoring everything."

Warren hadn't thought about it that way, and it made him frown deeper; he couldn't begin to imagine how unpleasant that was. "Have you spoken to Xavier about it at all?"

"Very little. There's not much that can be done, other than slamming my defenses up. I was thinking since the spring semester is over that Brian and I might go back home for a couple of weeks."

Oh.

Admittedly, Warren barely heard the first part of that because the second part sort of gave him a mental whiplash. Of course, Betsy had added in the 'couple of weeks' part at the end so it wasn't that big of a deal. Of course, Warren's mind was also drifting back to that day he'd found Brian in the library looking at UK school prospects, too. Maybe he made his decision and...

Okay, no, jumping the gun here.

Still, he couldn't help but notice the way he felt as if he was missing Betsy already. It was ridiculous and now Warren was really kicking himself for not making things more official with her earlier. As if that would make some sort of difference? Argh! Shut up, brain. Betsy was having a hard enough time with listening to thoughts as it was, she didn't need to be dealing with Warren's stupidity on top of everything else! "I see. Well. You wouldn't have to worry about the headaches, at least."

Betsy tilted her head and pressed a kiss to Warren's collarbone. "I'll miss you. I think I realize now how terrible it must have been for my family when I didn't go home after my incident. I did what was best for me, but I've barely spent time with them since the abduction, and... everything."

Now Warren felt a little selfish for his initial thoughts; Betsy was very right, and going home to her folks would be good for them all. There was a lot of stuff they had to deal with still, after all, and that was kind of hard to do while in different continents. "You're right, and I think it's a great idea. You should go."

A pause. "Though I will miss you, too. More than I can say."

"Do you think..." Betsy paused and considered. "That is, maybe the second week or so... Would it be reasonable for you to come visit?"

The invitation elated him, but didn't take away from ball of nerves in his gut. Warren's voice came out quiet and soft. "Do you think it would be reasonable if I came to visit you as your boyfriend?" No more of the friend-with-perks thing.

Betsy shifted, bracing herself gently against him as she looked down at him. A small smile crossed her lips. "I think that would be incredibly reasonable. More reasonable than we can both be credited for over the past few months." She leaned and kissed him softly. "I would like that."

Suddenly all of that stupid, crushing stress that had been curling around and festering inside of him vanished and was replaced with intense relief. Of course that also made Warren feel even more ridiculous for getting so worked up about the possibility of rejection in the first place; Betsy Braddock wouldn't exactly have cracked up laughing in his face. Ugh. Bird brains.

"Then I'd love to come and visit you," Warren replied with a dopey looking grin. "And...perhaps apologize for being a little less than reasonable these past few months. I know it's not an excuse, but I have a hard time expressing myself sometimes. The way I would like to."

"I've been keeping you at a safe distance," Betsy admitted. "I thought it would be better, but in all honesty, I'm just afraid of being close to anyone. I'm worried that you'll see me when I can't hold myself together anymore... but you are already the one person, other than my brother, that I've come running to."

Warren lifted a hand and traced his finger along a lock of her hair. "I didn't want to rush you into anything. But the longer we were seeing each other the more I...I found myself falling for you. I guess I worried that maybe you didn't feel the same way."

"I started falling the minute you took me flying," she told him with a soft smile. "You trusted me. After that, there was all that sneaky charm... and good manners..." Betsy shifted so that she was laying fully on top of him, legs tangled with his. Her palm rested against Warren's chest. She leaned in and kissed him again, more fully this time.

Betsy had gotten rather good at getting Warren's blood rushing, and this time it was not just her kiss but her words. His hands settled on her hips, giving a gentle squeeze as he returned her kiss. However, one didn't stay long as it made its way up to the back of her head, sliding through her hair and wanting to keep her where she was.

Propriety be damned. Betsy was very willing to lose herself to this, focusing on nothing but Warren, hot beneath her. If she could shroud herself in his wings and thoughts without panic or fear, only full of desire, then everything would be the better for it. His roommate, the psychometrist, could handle an eye-full if he came home.