A Chat with Mom

[Josh Dalton Worthington]

(This happens sometime in the middle of the ball. After our last combined post, anyone is free to post in it normally. I'll let you know when that is.)

Josh and Warren are taking advantage of a run of slow songs, Josh's head leaning on Warren's shoulder as the two of them rotate slowly. "They're talking about us…" Josh murmurs quietly. Warren, who has been having his usual lack of success at avoiding eavesdropping on conversations that interest him, grins and lightly tousles Josh's hair in response. "Oh, I know. Want to know what they're saying?"

"Why not? It seems more ethical for you to eavesdrop than for me to." Josh blinks innocently up at Warren. It was true; while he often had to consciously make an effort to tap into someone’s thoughts, Warren usually had to strive to not overhear whispers.

Warren chuckles at that. "Well, I don't mean to disappoint here, but one thing you learn quickly as a mutant super-eavesdropper is that usually what people have to say in private isn't all that interesting." He concentrates on his fragmentary recollections of the conversation between Molly, Drake, and Collins, bringing them up into his surface awareness where Josh can lift them out of his mind easily. "Incidentally, don't look now, but I think Molly's interested in Drake... " he adds, with a slightly teasing tone.

"Yeah... she is. " Josh sounds slightly annoyed. "I told her to stop hitting on my friends. " Warren chuckles, amused. "Why? I mean, I doubt it will come to anything, but would it be a problem if it did?"

"She just seems so much younger than the rest of us. I guess it's unfair - if she was a mutant she'd probably have been in as many situations as we have. " He stops and thinks for a minute. "If Molly can make Bobby happy, I'm okay with that... as long as I don't hear about it. He's had a bad semester. But if he breaks her heart I'll have to kill him, best man or not. "

Warren shrugs. "If his history is anything to go by, it'll be the other way around."

Josh raises an eyebrow. "I'm used to being so protective of her - it's hard to step back. You're right, Bobby's probably the more vulnerable one at this point. "

"Well, you know them both better than I do, but yes, that's my thinking. Some people seem to go out of their way to get hurt... Drake seems to be one of them. Though I have to admit, he's getting better. "

Warren has continued to pipe the eavesdropped conversation mentally to Josh, and is startled by his sudden reaction. "We are not wrapped up! " Josh tries to look down at the two of them, but his close proximity to Warren makes it difficult. "Mmm... she's just not used to me being this serious with another person. She's gonna be floored when we tell her. "

Warren nods, trying his best not to laugh at Josh's objection. "Yeah, she probably will be," he replies, pausing as the song changes before continuing to dance with his arms around Josh's waist. Not that it's a slow song, really, but he doesn't really care; he enjoys dancing this way. After a brief period of companionable silence he adds. "Speaking of which... any idea when you want to do that? "

"I should talk to Mom first... tonight. The wedding's getting closer. Have you made any progress with the license? " Josh adjusts his arms, which are looped around Warren's back.

Warren nods. "Yup. It's a bit of a fakeout, but it should work... the family keeps an apartment in Cambridge for when we have to stay overnight there on business. Technically that doesn't count as a residence because we register it as a business expense on our taxes, but I doubt the City Clerk's office is going to bother to check, or care. So I used that address on the application... I should hear back in a week or so. "

Josh looks relieved. "Good. I was worried... we're higher profile than most, and I could see that causing even more problems. Speaking of problems... I need to go down to the rental place and straighten some stuff out tomorrow morning. "

"Mm? What's wrong with the rental? "

"They called this morning and confirmed the wrong number of tuxes for the wedding party. I thought I'd better go and make sure they have the right sizes. The last thing we need is for them to have screwed up someone’s measurements so badly they can’t even wear the rental. " Josh rolls his eyes. "Why do I have the feeling this is only the beginning?"

Warren laughs loudly. "Oh, that's priceless. Well, if they end up delivering a wedding dress instead, who do we get to wear it? "

"Hank? "

Warren laughs even louder. "He would, too. Do they even make wedding dresses in his size?"

They dance in companionable silence for a while before Warren adds "You're right about the high profile, though. I've tried to keep things in the hands of professional acquaintances, mostly, but... well, I can't grease palms like I used to. It will probably end up on the news at some point. " He shrugs apologetically, frustrated by the hoops he's been having to jump through. For God's sake, all we want is to get married. It's not like I'm applying to fly a Mars mission or something.

Josh ruffles his hand through Warren's hair. "It's okay. I want to marry you, not your money. For richer and poorer, and all that. Not being able to toss money at things and make them go away just makes you have to be more creative, that’s all. " Yeah, I bet some people in office would prefer the Mars mission. Mm... Mars mission? Where did that come from?

Warren is a little surprised by the reassurance, but nods agreeably. "Oh, I know that. I just mean it's frustrating, you know? It's as if I'd broken my leg or something like that… things that used to be easy just take forever now." He shrugs, leaning his head briefly against Josh's as they dance, and adds more cheerfully "Then again, a lot of things are easier now than they used to be, too. They're just different things. Anyway, no moping about the poor little no-longer-rich boy tonight... it's supposed to be your night, right? "

"Well... maybe. The graduation ball is traditionally a chance for families and students to all get to know each other. Maybe it's appropriate that we're telling her tonight? Since it means she's getting a son-in-law, after all. " A look passes through Josh’s eyes, and he tightens his grip on Warren.

"Well, that's certainly a better story than 'Well, we only decided a little while ago and we've been nervous about telling you,' so I'd say stick with it... " he replies with a grin. " Besides, I'm beginning to think that if we don't announce it soon, Drake is going to explode from the sheer pressure of keeping the secret. "

Josh lets a breath out. "You're probably right. I should head over and break the news to her. " His eyes drift over to the group of students talking. "Hopefully Molly hasn't inherited the Dalton telepathy gene, or Bobby's already betrayed us." A small smile works it way onto his face.

Warren nods as he leads Josh off dance floor and towards the other side of the hall, where Josh's mother is deep into esoteric conversation with Hank. "Well, if she does know, she's doing a better job of hiding it than Drake is, so I wouldn't worry too much."

As Warren and Josh approach the table where Josh's mom and Hank are talking, he gives Hank an 'I need to talk to her alone' hand signal over her shoulder. Not quite as good as telepathy, but all those months of being his intern do have some advantages…

Hank catches the signal in mid-sentence and recovers smoothly. "…and of course we can't underestimate the importance of – oh, dear… I just realized I'd arranged to be assisting Ororo with the traditional guardianship of the punch bowl right now! Rachel, I hope you'll forgive my sudden departure; I'd be ecstatic at the opportunity to continue our fascinating conversation once I've concluded my obligations here. In the meantime, I leave you in your son's more than capable hands…"

Hank hops up onto the back of his chair, bows formally, and climbs along the ceiling to head towards Ororo as Josh's mom looks over to Josh and Warren. "Hi, boys! Enjoying the ball? I was just telling Hank about a paper I'm peer-reviewing about accelerated cross-linkage in Pacific sea slugs…" she stops and thinks for a moment, then shakes her head, sets her drink on the table, and continues "…which I doubt very much either of you will find nearly as fascinating as he did. So, take a seat! "

[Josh Dalton Worthington]

Warren laughs pleasantly as he accepts her invitation, brushing some blue hairs off the back of the seat before sitting down. "Yes… we could tell by the wave of his advanced bio students fleeing this end of the room for fear of being drawn into the conversation." He pulls another seat out for Josh with a wing as Rachel laughs. "Yes… Hank is a brilliant man, but sometimes I think the nuances of teaching escape him. I'm glad they don't seem to have slipped through your fingers, though. So, Warren… how have things been going with you? We haven't had a chance to talk much today. " Rachel takes a sip of her drink.

“Thanks, Warren,” Josh takes a seat across from his mother. Why is this so hard to do? I’ve told her important stuff before. She liked Warren, so what was his deal? He supposed it was because It affected Warren, as well. Too, he’d never told her anything on this scale of importance before…

"Things are going fairly well, actually. Ororo and I have finally gotten a teaching schedule put together that lets me fit travel plans around my classes… I won't be out and about as much next year as I have been, but I can still keep a reasonably active schedule of public appearances. And I worked out a PR deal with JetBlue so I can deadhead flights, which makes the budgeting a lot simpler. "

Warren chuckles, remembering the negotiations. "Can you imagine me doing product endorsements? I thought it was some kind of elaborate joke when they first approached me, but they figure they can milk 'Official Preferred Airline of the World's Most Famous Flying Man' into a million-dollar ad campaign. I guess it's a good sign, though… mutants becoming more mainstream?" With a deliberate mental effort he avoids going on and on about the Mutant Agenda, instead looking over at Josh with a shy grin and adding "And, other stuff is going pretty well too. Wonderfully, in fact." before turning back to Rachel. "How's everything with things with you? How's Jack doing?"

A small frown crosses Rachel's face at her husband's name. "He's doing fine. He's been out of the country on business for about a week. I argued with him before he left about trying to make it back in time for this, but I..." She seems to realize it might be better not to get into it all right there. "In any case, apparently he wasn't able to cut things short." To her credit, she keeps the annoyance in her voice to a minimum.

Warren nods sympathetically. "I know how that is... my father was the same way." It occurs to him, given his most recent interaction with Warren Sr., that this probably isn't the most reassuring thing he could have said, and he sends a vaguely apologetic thought-pulse in Josh's direction. "Anyway, you and Molly made it, which is great… we don't see you guys nearly often enough."

A smile returns to her face. "We did! And I really do always love being here. I'm from the northeast originally, so I usually just feel more comfortable in New York. Molly wouldn't miss this for the world."

This is getting silly! Just tell her! The more Josh tells himself to get over it and spit it out, the more the idea seems impossible. What if she says no? Well, she can’t say no, exactly. I’m 18. Josh shakes his head minutely. It was different than with Warren’s parents. He and his mother got along very well. And while the two of them would have each other, if his mother was sufficiently upset about this it would cut ties to their extended family even further… Stop hyperventilating! That will never happen.

A brief pause threatens to extend into an awkward silence as Warren casts about for a more cheerful topic. "So, Josh got into Columbia, huh? You must be very proud. And speaking of the nuances of teaching... I assume he's told you about his arrangements to teach here for credit while he's studying there, yes?"

Rachel nods, and her eyes meet Josh's seriously. "I am very proud of you. And your father is, even if he isn't here. Hank was mentioning you're taking over some of the science department's offerings. I'm glad you're able to keep your ties to the school here, " and her serious expression turns into a stern one as she continues, "…even if it does involve running around in that suit and risking your life."

"...and saving the lives of others," Warren can't help adding quietly. Which, he has to admit, is a little hypocritical – it's not like Warren himself was entirely on-board with the whole "mutant adventurer" thing when Ororo recruited him – but he knows how much it means to Josh. And, if he's to be honest with himself, he has mostly been won over by Josh's enthusiasm… after all, it's not like they're risking their lives for the fun of it, and their missions are doing good in the world. "Which isn't such a bad thing, really."

A slightly dismayed look flashes across Rachel’s face, but it quickly vanishes. "I suppose I'm never going to get used to this. Are the other parents of the X-Men okay with it all?"

Josh looks a little abashed. "The other students haven't been publicly revealed, so I'd guess their parents don't know the details. Sorry, Mom... right now, it’s me, Warren, and Ororo."

Warren nods. "That's true. Officially, the X-Men have no relationship to the Institute – granted, it's something of an open secret among anyone with a security clearance, but it keeps the crazies away from our front gates – so it's really up to the individual members how much they want to tell their families. Besides which, I don't think Logan, Hank, or Ororo have much in the way of active family to begin with." He shrugs. "Come to that, a lot of our students haven't even told their families about their mutations in the first place... and honestly, I can't blame them. Not every family is as accepting of such things as yours."

Rachel nods at all of this, her expression softening from stern to simply worried. "I am proud of you Josh, for all of it, even if the non-teaching part scares me half to death." She encloses Josh in a bear-hug, which he returns tightly. "It means a lot to me, Mom. I don't like the getting shot at part much either... but I feel like it's something I have to do."

"If it helps at all, Josh really is exceptionally good at stopping bullets.." He gives Josh a small private-joke smile at that, hoping to lighten the mood somewhat… this really isn't the conversation he'd intended for them to be having.

Josh grins back at Warren, remembering their trip to Paris. Hey, if we were able to make it through our Paris date, Mom is a pushover, right? He cringes internally, unsure of the answer.

Rachel finally looks away from Josh, and gives Warren a small grin of her own, clearly cooperating in lightening the mood. "You know, my senior seminar suddenly developed a keen interest in mutant genetics after Ororo's announcement… which, given that this semester's topic was 'Marine Ecology of the Caribbean,' suggests you may have some competition, Warren…"

It takes Warren a moment to get it, then he plays along with a mock frown."Oh? Are they the ones sending the salacious fan mail that Josh won't let me look at? You know… I'm not ordinarily a jealous man, but I could be convinced to make an exception in a few cases…" Which is entirely unfair, given both that Warren gets far more salacious fan mail than Josh does and that neither of them keeps the fact secret… in fact, sharing the more interesting examples has become an enjoyable game for both of them. But it gets Rachel to laugh, which was, after all, the point.

"Well, I suppose there's nothing more I can tell you than to be careful." Rachel looks at the two of them. "You both know better than me what that entails."

Warren nods, instantly serious. "I know… we both know. And I hope it's not too presumptuous of me to say it, but I know how much your support means to Josh, and I can't begin to express how much it means to me to have been welcomed with such open arms." He takes a sip from his drink to cover his sudden overflow of emotion, then adds "And I promise you, we are as careful as we know how to be. The hot-shot types get the Rambo spirit beaten out of them early in Ororo's training simulations… we know we're not indestructible. I suppose it's a lot like being a police officer, or a fireman, or a soldier… we train as well as we can, and we avoid unnecessary risks, and we watch each others' backs. To be honest, I think it's harder for the ones who stay behind."

The three of them are quiet for a time, and Warren suspects Josh is thinking about the people the Institute has buried while he had to stay behind. He slips a hand onto Josh's shoulder and gives a supportive squeeze before attempting to lighten the mood as well as bring the conversation around to their original intended topic. "Of course, one way to avoid the dilemma is to establish relationships within the Institute… which, if I'm not mistaken, is exactly what Ororo and Jake are doing, eh?" He tilts his head in the general direction of the punch bowl.

Josh laughs a little. "Jake and Ororo have been a long time coming, I think. As far as I can tell, they've been dodging around it all year." His gaze drifts across the room, to where Ororo is towering over a student who has what appears to be a water bottle. The two of them are right in front of the punch bowl, and Jake is a few steps back, trying not to laugh.

"Well, you'd know if anyone would." Warren agrees, laughing quietly at the punch-bowl byplay. "Good Lord, why do they even try? I suppose it's become a kind of rite of passage by now, but short of someone like Smith getting involved in the game, I can't imagine Ororo ever letting anyone past her guard."

Rachel also looks on. "She could be worried about her image, I suppose. Maybe getting involved with someone will change the student's perception of her?"
Warren smiles and shrugs. "Could be. Though Ororo doesn't strike me as the sort to let professional concerns stop her from pursuing a relationship that's important to her." There, he thinks as he looks at Josh, that was almost subtle, right? "What do you think?"

Josh grins. "I've given up trying to figure Ororo out... but I don't think you're far off the mark, Warren. All I know for sure is that Jake would jump her if he had the self-confidence." Not bad, love. At least we’re on the right topic… Internally, Josh kicks himself for his hesitance.

Warren lets out a small sigh, as much because of the way this conversation is dancing around its ultimate objective as because of Jake's unnecessarily hesitant love-life… but decides to stick to the latter topic and let Josh choose his moment. "It's a pity, really. Maybe we need to arrange a blind date for them or something. Lock them in a room together for a couple of days, see what develops?"

If you do that, I suggest they never find out who arranged it, though..." Rachel smiles, but then narrows her eyes slightly. "Somehow I have the feeling you two didn't come over here to talk about Jake and Ororo. Is something up?"

Warren almost laughs at that, given his recent train of thought, but settles for a small smile and a simple "Yes," followed by a pointed glance in Josh's direction. Would you rather I told her?

I should do it. Josh's hand slides over to Warren's under the table.

Warren nods and squeezes his hand. I think so, too. Remember: whatever happens, she loves you, and so do I. There's no down-side here.

"Mom... we did have something to tell you. I'm not really sure how to go about this, so I might as well just say it. Warren and I love each other very much. We've decided we're going to get married." Josh takes a breath in against the onslaught - except it never arrives.

Rachel quirks an eyebrow up. "Really... how are you planning on accomplishing this? I'm pretty sure that Josh isn't capable of controlling the entire Congressional branch long enough to pass an amendment through for the two of you."

Warren almost laughs at the mild response, and lets out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. Granted, it's not exactly a wild outpouring of approval, but then again it's not a vicious rejection either… she's just collecting additional information, which is more or less what Warren would be doing in her position. On the other hand, Josh seems a little shell-shocked by the reaction, so Warren steps in smoothly. "Honestly, we didn't have either undue force or a special exemption in mind, just taking advantage of the fact that the world is larger than New York and Florida, and in many cases broader-minded about such things than either."

"Massachusetts, then. But neither of you are residents there." Rachel doesn't seem upset... just skeptical. Warren picks up on that tone and his reply is calm, dry, and matter-of-fact: "Technically, no, but my family maintains a residence there, which should be enough for our purposes."

"Okay, so the legalities are covered. And you two are serious about this? Marriage isn't something to take lightly." Warren nods. "It's not, and we are."

Josh is finally able to think after his mother's response. He wasn't quite sure if it was going well or not. As emotionally accessible as his mother was, she seemed to be approaching the news in much the way she would a peer-review - picking in at the edges for any inconsistencies or weaknesses. You know, that's not reassuring at all. With any luck, she won’t find any.

The silence grows awkward and Warren finds himself wanting to make his case more strenuously, to try to convey some of what he'd realized about his life during that moment on the beach in San Francisco. But his negotiating instincts tell him that this is a moment for giving away as little as possible, that the silence is working in their favor. And, odd as it is to treat this conversation as a negotiation, he trusts them enough to keep his mouth shut.

Finally, Rachel's thoughtful frown is replaced by a huge smile. "Well... congratulations, then! I can't say I was expecting this, but – " Whatever she was about to say is cut off by a shout from across the room, where Molly is standing next to Bobby and motioning to Josh impatiently."Josh, can you come over here for a second?"

Rachel laughs and folds Josh into a hug. "Go on, looks like Molly wants something. We'll talk about this later, but for now, congratulations. I'm happy for both of you." Warren suppresses a laugh and settles for a private-joke smile at Josh. It looks like your family has private signals of their own! Either that, or you weren't joking about the telepathy gene. Either way, I think your mom wants to talk to me privately… which I'm guessing will go better than the last time we did this; she's a lot more of a class act.

Josh kisses Warren briefly on the cheek, giving him a secret smile, and begins to weave through the scattered chairs over to the assembled students. Good luck - Aunt Laura says that she used to be a hair-puller, so watch out for that.

[Josh Dalton Worthington]

Warren turns back to Rachel and decides to take the initiative. "You just made your son very happy, you know. He was pretty worried about your reaction."

Rachel follows Josh with her eyes until he's out of earshot, and then turns to regard Warren. "Josh's happiness is one of the things that is most important to me in this world. I can't say I'm without reservations about all of this, though."

Warren nods briskly. "I'm not surprised, and I appreciate your honesty. If you want to talk about your reservations, I'll do what I can to address them... I know how much your approval means to Josh, and the truth is it's coming to mean a lot to me too. But let's get one important thing out of the way quickly, if you don't mind? "

She nods, and Warren takes a deep breath, wishing he knew exactly what it was he meant to say. He's not used to improvising like this during important negotiations; ordinarily he'd know exactly who he was dealing with and what buttons to press to get what he wants. And while he knows a lot about Rachel through Josh's memories, they're a son's memories of his mother, and that's not the same thing at all.

Besides which, this isn't really that sort of negotiation, and Warren realizes with some surprise that he really does value her approval enough to want it uncoerced and unmanipulated. So it's rather appropriate that what comes out of his mouth is unrehearsed. "Everything else aside, my bottom line is that I love your son. And it's not that I "love him more than" this or that, or I "love him madly" or whatever other qualifiers it's traditional to put on that sort of statement… it's that I love him. I've been with a lot of people in my life -- I imagine you probably know that -- and I've even convinced myself I was in love with a few of them, in one form or another. Then I met Josh, and the truth is I've lost all taste for pretense. I can't imagine living my life without him." He takes another breath before realizing he doesn't really have anything more to say. "So... as long as that's understood... I'm happy to talk about your reservations."

Rachel looks like she was set to protest whatever Warren was going to bring up, but her words don't line up with that assumption. "You know, Warren, when you came to visit me and Molly in Florida I wasn't sure what you were going to be like. I imagined scenarios where you were using Josh for sex, at least based on your reputation at the time, and would move on when you were bored."

Warren refrains from pointing out that sex is not at all a bad use for Josh… he knows what she means, and restricts himself to an encouraging smile in response. "…and?"

"And I looked you up online... and I can't say that reassured me. That is, until I discovered all the work you've been doing for mutant rights. And I realized it wasn't right to judge you off of a couple blurry shots on the Internet... so I reserved judgment until you arrived." She gives him a small smile.

Warren nods slowly. It's not the direction he'd expected her to take, and he's still not entirely sure where she's going with it, but so far she's not saying anything he hasn't already thought himself. He nods again, acknowledging the justice of her comment, and bracing himself for whatever's about to come next. "…and?"

"And I was right to wait until I met you. Warren, you are one of the most intelligent, thoughtful young men I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. And a lot of bright students come through my lab." She gives him a proud smile. "And it overjoys me that Josh has found someone to spend the rest of his life with. It's easier to let go when I know there's someone watching his back. Thank you." Rachel reaches out to hug Warren.

Warren returns the hug instinctively, a little shell-shocked by that. Part of him is ecstatic that she seems supportive of his and Josh's plans, while part of him is waiting for the other shoe to drop. "I'm glad to hear you say that, Dr. Dalton. We all watch each other's backs around here, but, yes… Josh's is special." He lets go a few moments before she does, and leans back again, trying to appear casual and resisting the urge to add "…but?"

She mock-frowns and snaps "I've told you before, Warren... my students call me 'Dr. Dalton,' you call me 'Rachel.'" Warren nods in mock chagrin as she goes on, more seriously: "Love really is the bottom line... most of the time. Josh is a bit of an idealist, but I feel you're very much a realist..." She trails off expectantly at that, and Warren isn't entirely sure how to respond, so he settles for a noncommittal nod, which seems to satisfy her. "... so I think we can discuss a few things. I'm a little concerned that he's only 18. And you're only... 20. correct?"

Warren nods again, relieved… this is an objection he knows how to address. "That's what my birth certificate tells me, yes." She smiles politely, but it doesn't touch her eyes, and he makes a mental note to leave out the ice-breaking bad jokes.

"Yes, that's right," he repeats more seriously. "And it's something we've talked about more than once, and not just about marriage. Josh was only 17 when we first started dating; I was two years older and a lot more experienced, and he was… well, let's just say I think he was worried about some of the same scenarios that concerned you, and I don't blame either of you. I was a mess back then… and I realize it doesn't seem all that long ago to you, but for me it's like a lifetime. There are days I feel like the younger one, to be honest.

Anyway, my point is, he felt he wasn't old enough to start an, um, intimate relationship with anyone, and I respected that./color]" He takes another sip of his drink, realizing that this really isn't the direction he wants to go down, and tries another approach. "And he's concerned about his age now, too, and I can respect that as well. It's a lot younger than most couples marry, for one thing, and the statistics for successful marriages among couples our age are pretty grim."

Warren raises both palms up earnestly as he continues. "And if it meant a better life for either of us I'd be happy to wait. But the truth is, neither of us is especially representative of the samples those statistics are drawing from, and frankly I see no good reason for thinking they have any predictive reliability." Warren is startled by his own tone, more like he's trying to pitch a corporate merger than asking his lover's parents for his hand in marriage. Sure, I want to reassure her that I take her practical concerns seriously, but this is getting ridiculous!

He shakes his head before continuing. "What I mean is, there's a lot of hoops we're going to have to jump through, both separately and together, to live the kinds of lives that people like us live. A lot of them we've already dealt with; we've been through things together that most couples don't ever have to go through, at any age, and it's only brought us closer together. So… while I don't mean to dismiss your concern, well… frankly I'm just not that worried about our ages, and neither is Josh, and I don't see any practical reason you should be."

Warren can't tell from Rachel's face whether he's reaching her, so he probes a little harder for a reaction. "Or is your concern more traditional than practical here?" He's relieved when she laughs at that. "There's nothing very traditional about the two of you getting married."

Warren responds with an amused quirk of his eyebrows and a sudden grin, which she returns before growing serious again. "No, my concern was primarily practical. I'm worried that marriage is going to interfere with Josh's education. He has so much potential, and I see many students getting married and dropping out."

Warren responds without thinking, startled. "Seriously? I promise not to get him pregnant, if that helps at all..." he laughs a little, then trails off as he realizes she's perfectly serious, and it occurs to him that his own relatively informal education might be part of the trouble here. "Seriously… I assure you, I take Josh's education almost as seriously as he does; I have no intention of doing anything to interfere with it, married or otherwise. If you have specific concerns in mind I'm happy to hear about them, but… well, no offense, but I think you may be extrapolating from some outdated models here. As you say, there's nothing traditional about our relationship; this isn't the story where he suddenly has to juggle a full-time job with his studies so he can support his growing family, or anything like that. It's just me, and… well, we'll still be us with legal sanction or without it, and I honestly don't see anything about our relationship that would interfere with his studies... at least, as long as I remember he needs more sleep than I do." He waggles his eyebrows a little at that, briefly astonished at himself… Am I really trading innuendo about our sex life with his mom?

He considers bringing up the trust fund, but ultimately decides not to. The lawyers he'd talked to had been fairly clear that, even without his signatory authority, his spouse was entitled to draw tuition reimbursement from it, but he hadn't mentioned the gender issue, and he expects his parents will tie the whole thing up in courts for years. Besides, he suspects Grandmother Worthington would roll over in her grave if the fund she'd started to ensure the Worthington Wives had college educations ended up supporting a Worthington Husband instead. Not that any of that has much to do with his decision not to bring it up; mostly he's afraid it will seem too much like a bribe.

She grins back at him. "Point taken. I guess there's something to be said for that. Having a strong support structure is essential for medical school, and I know he really does want to become a doctor."
Rachel takes a sip of her drink. "The two of you have been an 'out' celebrity couple for awhile. I assume you haven't run into too many problems with that? The world is a cruel place, and I just..." She stops for a second. "I can't protect Josh from everything, but I would certainly like to."

Warren nods. "So would I. And I'm not going to lie to you... it's a problem. It will be a problem whether we're married or not, and it will be a lot more of one for a while after the marriage becomes public. I think it will die down pretty quickly after that, but I can't promise it. And while I have to deal with all of that regardless, Josh doesn't... his life would be a lot less messy if he were dating someone unknown, wingless, and female." He gives a somewhat helpless shrug and adds "And maybe it's selfish of me, but I'm glad he's not. I do what I can to help him deal with it -- believe me, I have a lot of experience -- but at the end of the day he's facing more of the world's cruelty because of me than he would otherwise have to."

He almost laughs at the expression on Rachel's face, which he could caption "But I expected you to argue with me!", and continues "But, here's the catch: in all the time I've known him I've never seen Josh back down from something that needs doing just because he's scared of the consequences to him. He'd had his sights set on being an X-Man before I ever met him; the truth is I joined more to keep an eye on him in the field than for any other reason. Going public during Storm's announcement was Josh's idea: originally I was going to be the X-Men's PR frontman and Ororo was going to be its official leader, but Josh pointed out that he was already linked to me in the press and his going public as an X-Man would avoid a lot of investigations, and he was right. Not to mention that it gives the public a fresh-faced normal-looking All-American kid to identify with us, and mutants in general… trust me, your students' interest in Josh is no surprise."

Warren takes a deep breath, sips from his glass, and shakes his head with a chuckle. "You know, I'm infamous for being unable to get through a simple conversation without giving a speech… and I guess today is no exception. It's too late to keep it down to a short one, even, but I guess my point is that Josh isn't the type to hide in the background when a fight needs fighting. He'd be out there on the front lines either way, because otherwise it all just keeps getting worse; it's one of the things I love about him."

Light reflects off a small tear in the corner of Rachel's eye. "Take care of my little boy, Warren, will you? He might seem like he's got all the confidence in the world, but I know it's something he struggles with." She stands up with a smile, and Warren stands as well, nodding wordlessly. "And welcome to the family."

Warren suspects his own facial expression is eligible for the "But I expected you to argue with me!" caption now, and finds his own eyes have grown moist. "Rachel, you and Molly have made me feel welcome in your family since the first day I met you… and there's not many people I can say that about. I can see where Josh gets it from."

"No, I can't take credit for Josh… he was a gift. Molly, too, in her own way. I'm enormously proud of both of them… and of my newest son, too. And, Warren? If you're OK with it, I'd love it if you called me 'Mom.' " Rachel reaches for a napkin and for a moment looks like she's going to cry. Instead she dries her eyes and blows her nose, then nods, suddenly businesslike. " When should I plan for us to be back in the area?"

Warren is about to give her a hug when she adopts the more serious tone, and settles for a grin and a nod. "'The area'? Of course you're always welcome to visi-- oh! Right. Well, we're holding the ceremony itself in Cambridge… we're keeping it simple and quick, but I assume the three of you will want to be there, right? We're taking the Blackbird back here afterwards for the reception and, um," to his own astonishment, he actually blushes "honeymoon... anyway, we can bring you guys along if you want. It isn't first-class seating but it's a lot faster than anything commercial. It should all be coming together in about three weeks."

Rachel shakes her head. "We can meet you in Massachusetts for the wedding and then head here… I have a feeling you'll have enough passengers on your hands as it is. In any case, let me know the date... we'll be there. I hope everything turns out with the license." She raises an eyebrow. "It's trickier than you let on, isn't it?"

Warren shrugs. "It's... bureaucracy. You get used to it. The trick is not to worry too much about the parts you can't do anything about, you know?" He's still frustrated by how much more difficult this is to do without being able to throw lots of cash at the problem, but decides not to get into that with her. "Anyway, of course we'll keep you informed. Like I said, the ceremony will be bare-bones, but we're planning a blowout reception -- um, not literally, you understand."

Rachel laughs. "I hope not. I know a little about some of the other student's mutations, and that seems like a bad idea. LIke that girl with the fireworks?" She cranes her neck around the room. "You might want to keep her away from the cake." Warren nods with an echoing laugh, adding "And the decoration, and the jet fuel, and Toni's pet snake… believe me, we know. Though to be fair, she really does have more control over her mutation than she lets on... it's just that we don't have much control over her, if you know what I mean. " At the same time, he thinks "out loud" OK… I think that's that, then. Your mom is a class act, you know that? So… you probably want to tell Molly privately before we announce it, right?

Josh's answering thought is tinged with amusement. I just did, actually. Apparently she decided we were hiding something from her and started grilling Bobby. He was able to hold out until she called me over…

He was? Given Molly, I'm impressed... clearly he's learned something about resisting interrogation since -- urm. Let's pretend I didn't just think that, OK? "If you'll excuse me, Rachel… um, I mean, mom? " The word feels awkward in his mouth, but he suspects he'll get used to it quickly. "I think we'd better make a formal announcement before Molly beats us to it."

He walks over to the microphone, waves Josh over to join him, and pauses the music. "Um... hi, everyone. Sorry to interrupt your dancing, but I've got an announcement I'd like to make... don't worry, it will be short." He puts his arm around Josh's shoulders before continuing "I know a number of you are going away for the summer, but we'll be having another party in two or three weeks for anyone who's here. A wedding reception, in fact… that is, if Josh hasn't come to his senses since agreeing to marry me?"

Josh blushes. "No, I'm still committed. We're going to ask anyone with mutant powers to check them at the door, though… I'd hate to lose all of our deposits…"

(And Fin! That’s all we wrote. I know it’s a bit ahead of the other thread at this point, but feel free to post now, or whatever floats your boat!)