Scott and Lydia, middle of the party/morning after

[om_panax]

Lydia is amused by Scott's costume; Scott dances with Lydia; they leave early. The next morning, there's a new toothbrush on Lydia's sink.

Lydia wandered up to Scott and pulled on one of his suspenders. The party was going well, everyone seemed to be happy, but Lydia had decided she certainly wasn't going to stick around all night.

... and she had a boyfriend to smirk at. And oh, smirk she did. "Nice outfit. Had no idea you were into burlesque."

"Hey." His expression wasn't quite a smile - he didn't do that in public - but it was as close as he was willing to get. "I'm not. And I'm not sure how the hell the topic even came up."

"Right now? Because of how you're dressed." Lydia cocked an eyebrow and tugged at the suspender again. Still smirking. Naturally. "It's funny how you and Alisha sort of ended up with the same theme. Hmm."

The tension of the suspenders meant that she had tugged him down slightly towards her. It wasn't a negative, though. She was just as beautiful up close as she was from further away.

God, he was such a fucking sap.

And now he was vaguely concerned that he'd done something wrong by being on theme with Alisha. He'd had no idea, of course. He still didn't understand how wearing slacks, a tank-top, suspenders, and a hat qualified as burlesque. But it wasn't like Alisha had told that was his theme. Or hers. "Is...that a problem?"

"I have a feeling it'll be a problem for you when she realizes who your girlfriend is," Lydia said with a little snort of a laugh. But the smirk hadn't moved. Of course Alisha was trying to bag Scott, because wasn't that just the way it always worked? "She really does not like me. This is not going to help."

"Oh, she knows," Scott assured her. He wasn't one to go around broadcasting his personal life, but he wasn't ashamed of it, either. And he wasn't going to lead Alisha on - she was his friend. Usually, anyway. "What's up with you guys, anyway?"

"Just another one of those girls who randomly decided to take a dislike to me when I tried to have a normal conversation," Lydia said airily. Oh, poor clueless Scott. "If she knows, she'll try even harder to get you."

"You make it sound like I'm a trophy." It bothered him. A lot. If there was one thing that pissed Scott off quick as fuck, it was being treated like a goddamn object.

"If that was how I thought, I'd be extremely annoyed about some other girl dressing up my boyfriend in matching themed costumes with her. Obviously, I am more amused than anything else.

"I have no idea if that's really her outlook, but it's likely." Lydia let the suspenders snap back into place, well aware of his irritation. "Then again, you must know her better than me. Maybe she's not the type to think of a man as a trophy at all, and just gives off that vibe as part of her general 'fuck off' persona."

He managed not to flinch back from the suspenders as they snapped back against his chest. "I must know her better? That's a broad assumption. Maybe I've just started letting strange women dress me."

"Mmm, yes, that definitely sounds like something you'd do." She ran one finger down the suspender she'd just let go. No point getting too affectionate in front of the kids, but not as if they were a secret, and a little flustering never hurt.

Scott smirked, though he did his best not to respond otherwise. They were far enough removed that most people wouldn't notice - at least, he hoped they wouldn't. He wasn't much for PDA. "You know me so well, Red."

Lydia's smirk nearly transformed into her smile--if only because it actually reached her eyes. "Which is why I'm guessing that when I want to bail early, you won't mind keeping me company?"

He raised his eyebrows. Scott would have guessed that, of the two of them, he would be more likely to try and get the hell out early. Lydia was actually somewhat social "Not that I'm not honored by the invitation, but...why're you leaving early, exactly?"

Lydia shrugged one shoulder. "It's a little weird, as a teaching assistant. On the one hand I feel like I should be here to support school solidarity and get some face time. On the other, it's a party for the kids. I'm not one of the kids anymore; even in a position of authority occasionally."

"So your way of coping with this is to take one of your students back to your room?" Scott asked innocently, managing to keep his face serious.

Lydia flicked at her fox ears. "Mmm-hmm. I'm subversive like that."

"You're something," he agreed. He was grateful his eyes were obscured and no one could see the interested look he was giving her. "Nice costume by the way."

Oh, but Lydia knew the look was there all the same. She smirked. "Thanks. Just taking advantage of my red hair. If you've got it, flaunt it.

"Glad you like it though. Added incentive to join me upstairs." Not that she thought he needed it, but it entertained her to flirt, anyhow.

And, when it was Lydia and she was directing that attention at his, Scott didn't mind being flirted with. Hell, he actually liked it - not that he was going to admit it. He took a step in, closer to her. "So tell me, Red, do have everything I need for this upstairs party? Or should I bring toothpaste?"

She stepped nearer too; her towering heels meant she didn't have any trouble putting an arm around his neck... Well, not compared to usual. "Definitely toothpaste." Really, he stayed over often enough on weekends that he should probably just leave a toothbrush there, but before she got that out, she had a realization and barked out a sudden, almost silent laugh. "Actually I have reason to believe you might want to stay well into the morning, unless you want to get another eyeful of your roommate and his twinky little boyfriend's afterparty."

He shuddered. "I don't want to know, do I?"

"Let's just say when I noticed Remy was effectively naked and painted blue, it all began to make sense." Pietro had said something about requiring the bathroom, so, yeah. Lydia was pretty sure Scott didn't want to know--though plenty of the rest of the school might. "I wouldn't normally honor any requests, but since I had planned to keep you all night anyhow..."

Scott raised an eyebrow. "You did?"

"I don't care if he is Lensherr's spawn--actually that's even better reason not to aid and abet that little shit in his debauchery--I don't do requests." Lydia smirked. "But yes, of course. Or, I meant to try and keep you all night, anyhow."

He snorted. "What, you thought I'd try and escape?"

"Mmm-hmm. And then you showed up wearing matching costumes with another girl." Lydia made a mock-appalled face, eyes wide, mouth open as if in surprise. "What's a girl to think?"

Scott's face heated up slightly. "Not on purpose," he pointed out. "Besides, I'm not leaving with her."

He was just too much fun to poke. She couldn't help herself, but she cut him a break and said, "I know. So do I get a dance?" The music had just gone into something a little slower, after all...

He glanced over at the dance floor for a second. "I'm obligated to tell you that the official party line is that Scott Summers doesn't dance."

"And Lydia Martin doesn't dance with students," she assured him.

Scott smirked. "So we're doing this, then?"

She pulled away, but grabbed his hand and tugged her with him, then shot a pleased, Hell yes, we are doing this look over her shoulder. Doing all that and more.

He shook his head a little, but let her drag her after him. Awkward as dancing in public was, of course he'd give in. What kind of jackass wouldn't dance with his girlfriend? "I'm going to look like an idiot," he warned.

Once she had him at an opportune spot, she pulled him close and put both arms around his neck, then began swaying. Gently, just a little, her body pressed to his so he could move with her, if he let himself, and not have to work too hard. And mmm, that felt nice.

Definitely leaving sooner rather than later. "No you won't." She flashed a very real smile up at him for just the briefest of moments. "You're with me."

Even Scott couldn't hep but smile back at that - though if anyone caught him he'd deny it. "Yeah, I am." His arms slipped around her waist, and he let himself sway with her. And this wasn't so bad. Hell, it was really nice.

* * *

The next morning Lydia came out of the bathroom to find Scott still wrapped up in her sheets, sleep goggles in place, looking... incredibly hot. In truth, she was going to miss him while she was gone. The thought was both warming and disturbing; she wouldn't even be gone for very long, and it was far too early in the relationship for her to be thinking that way.

But she just sighed and said, "You know, I'm just going to buy you an extra toothrbrush to leave in my bathroom."

Still somewhat fuzzy from sleep and sex, it took a moment for what she'd said to sink in. But when it did, Scott's eyebrows nearly disappeared into his hair, they shot up so far. "Really?"

She nodded decisively. "Why not? I mean, you're here at least once a weekend. Why cart your crap all the way over all the time?"

Scott wasn't sure he was awake enough for this. He pushed himself up into a sitting position, the sheet falling to drape at his waist. His ears turned red as he attempted to explain, "I don't want to...y'know...crowd you or something."

Lydia hesitated, biting at her bottom lip in a flash of uncertainty. It was early, and her make-up wasn't on, and... "Will you feel crowded?

Was she...vulnerable? He knew that she was, of course, in the sense that all people had soft spots. But he rarely saw hers. And it was even less common that he saw them in connection with him...them. Scott reached for her hand so he could tug her back over to the bed. "No."

"Okay." Lydia allowed herself to be pulled over and then tucking one leg up beneath her as she settled with him. Her expression was still uncertain. She had thought the suggestion through, but somehow that response wasn't what she'd expected from him. It wasn't necessarily bad, and she believed his 'no'. But it was still a bit... iffy, somehow. "I just thought--I know you'll be here, you know you'll be here. There's no real point in pretending otherwise. Right?"

He laced his fingers with hers. Sinking back down on the bed, he turned on to his side, his head propped up on his other hand. "I just...don't want to...assume that I'll be invited back."

"You're my boyfriend." But she said it with a smile and stretched out on her side with him. "Of course you'll be invited back. I mean, thanks to you I still have batteries, but I prefer the real thing."

A surprised laugh escaped him first. A blush was quick on its heels when he thought about exactly what she'd meant. That was an....intriguing image. Beautiful. Hot as fucking hell.

No where near as hot as actually getting to touch her, though. "Glad to hear it."

She scooted nearer and down to curl up against his chest. Again, with the height difference, but she liked the way they lined up and he could practically fold around her. "So we'll get you an extra toothbrush."

Scott dropped her hand in favor of wrapping his arm around her, holding her to him. The embrace was languid, and comfortable, and it made him warm from the inside out. "Thanks," he murmured. For that morning. For letting him have a toothbrush there. For everything.

Humming contentedly in reply, Lydia wriggled a little closer and wrapped an arm around him, too. She rubbed her cheek against him and sighed. Then let her eyes flutter shut. Just a few more minutes, maybe.