Like the first bird...

[Warren Worthington III]

> " Yeah, more than you know. But where did this change come from?"

Warren nods slowly… it’s a fair question. "I’m… not sure, really. I guess last night was a big part of it… I mean dinner last night, and the whole fiasco with my parents… and Harry and Artie over there… but it’s all something of a mess in my head. I guess you know that, though… I mean, you’ve been in there. And this has been hanging between us for a while, right? I know it’s been making you unhappy." He scratches idly between his shoulder blades, a nervous habit he thought he’d trained himself out of months ago.

"I think… I mean, I don’t want to be one of these guys who blames everything on his parents, but…" he grinds to a halt, not really sure what he’s trying to say, just listening to words coming out of his own mouth, and starts over.

"I read somewhere that when parents fight, kids usually blame themselves. That… irritated me, reading that. I blamed myself for my parents fighting when I was fourteen, not because of some neurotic thing kids do because they don’t know any better, but because they were fighting about me. I could hear them. Every word." He frowns, not quite sure what any of that has to do with anything, but willing to go along with it to see where it goes.

"Dad took the ‘Worthington name’ pretty seriously… he had my whole future planned out by the time I was nine, I think. I would go to the right schools, get my MBA, go work for the company, marry someone from the right family, eventually take over the company, and repeat the whole process for little Warren the Fourth. That’s pretty much how his dad had raised him, right? And when I turned out not to fit the mold he’d had built, well… he didn’t take that well.

“They had lots of fights about that. At first he didn’t know much about mutants, he thought it was just me that was ‘born wrong.’ So he blamed Mom, of course… thought she’d taken drugs while pregnant, of that he wasn’t my real dad, or… well, all kinds of things. And she pretty much did the same, and they tried to trim me to fit, and it didn’t take, and they tried harder and it kept not taking, and their fights got worse, and..." He’s aware of his wings twitching as he remembers those years, and closes his eyes to keep from crying.

"Anyway… I think… I don’t know, it doesn’t really make any sense, but even when I busted out, rejected the whole lifestyle, joined the Institute… I guess I didn’t really get away from it. I guess… I think, in my head, I was still a Worthington, and that’s what a Worthington family was, that’s what it meant to be my family. And, Lord, nobody deserves to be treated like that. So… I just… well, I’d never have a family, you know? That way, everybody’d be safe."

Closing his eyes doesn’t seem to have helped, as tears are still streaming down his cheeks, so he opens them again with a bitter laugh. "I know… pretty dumb, right? You know how it is, it sounds stupid when I put it all into words like that but that’s not how it was, it was all just a mess. And I’m not really sure what changed, to tell you the truth, but I think going back there, seeing them, and seeing you, and… well, I think it’s a little like when you go back to somewhere you haven’t been since you were a little kid, and you remember it as being really big and imposing, but now it’s small and cramped and you realize it hasn’t changed, you’re just seeing it from an adult perspective, you know? I mean, seeing you and them together. You aren’t like that. And I’m not like that, at least I haven’t been with you. It’s… it’s not the same thing. There are different kinds of families."

He laughs again, more genuinely this time. "Yeah, I know, big revelation. But I don’t think I really knew that, not where it counts. And then, talking to those two… well, their family is pretty screwed up, too, but they aren’t, you know? No more so than anybody else is." He shrugs. "So, I don’t know, exactly, but… I guess that just changed… everything."

> "And… what are you asking me, exactly?"

Somehow, despite the whole confessional monologue he’s been burbling for the last several minutes, it’s still surprisingly difficult to answer that question… the difference between knowing he has an unhealthy habit and actually breaking it. "I’m… well, I guess I’m asking you to be family. I mean, really, you are family, but… I mean, officially…?" He shakes his head and laughs, mostly at himself. "Lord Almighty, you’d never believe I negotiate contracts professionally, the way I’m mumbling around this. Let me try that again, OK?"

He takes a deep breath, slides up from his sitting position to rest on one knee, and looks Josh straight in the eyes. "Will you marry me?"

[Josh Dalton Worthington]

> … but it’s all something of a mess in my head. I guess you know that, though… I mean, you’ve been in there. And this has been hanging between us for a while, right? I know it’s been making you unhappy.

Josh nods, but lets a faint trace of amusement into his voice. “Made me unhappy… maybe a little. Maybe confused as to what the source is. But that doesn’t mean you need to commit to the next 40 years.” I don’t want to guilt you into something.

He listens to Warren’s explanation silently, allowing the other to let everything out. Some of it Josh knows already, but a lot of it has never been verbalized. Oh, he’s caught snippets mentally, and some things have been alluded to, but it’s never been laid out quite like this before. It’s a good thing. Over the course of their relationship, the two of them had discovered that things were much easier to handle if shared. Josh suspected that it was true of most couples, but he figured their mental affinity factored in somehow.

> And, Lord, nobody deserves to be treated like that. So… I just… well, I’d never have a family, you know? That way, everybody’d be safe."

Oh, gosh. I never knew. I must be an awful boyfriend! “Warren…” Josh begins, until the tears begin to flow. Warren, you don’t have to… Warren continues, though, and Josh enfolds him in an embrace as well as he can while still talking.

> You aren’t like that. And I’m not like that, at least I haven’t been with you. It’s… it’s not the same thing. There are different kinds of families.

Warren’s explanation pretty much answers Josh’s questions. “Okay, I think I understand. And you’re right. You aren’t like that. If you were, I wouldn’t be attracted to you. It’s that simple, really.” Josh brushes a hand through Warren’s short hair. “Yeah, you drive me crazy physically- ” He slides a hand briefly across Warren’s rock-hard abs at this point “ -but mentally, too.” Josh touches a hand to Warren’s temple.

“Warren, you’re handsome, funny, sweet, and sincere. But you’re also a fundamentally good person, and that’s part of my attraction to you. You’re not just going to pull a 180 and turn into your father. Judging from your words, though, I think you’ve figured that out.” Josh gives him an earnest smile.

> "I’m… well, I guess I’m asking you to be family. I mean, really, you are family, but… I mean, officially. […] Let me try that again, OK?"

Josh grins at the ‘really, you are family', but suddenly has no words when Warren drops the word ‘officially’. He’s not, right? I mean… is he?

> "Will you marry me?"

His heart seems to jump into his throat and begins hammering away, and a multitude of emotions begin dancing around his head. Briefly, Josh reflects he might be the worst telepath in the world if he hadn’t figured out this was going to happen. He had to have been thinking about it all day, right? His hand shakes slightly.

Are we too young for this? I haven’t even gotten to college yet. He remembers his own thoughts from just a few minutes ago.

…only one person I can’t imagine it without.

And it’s true. He wants to share everything with Warren, the good and the bad. Somehow, suddenly, his face is wet with tears and emotion.

“Of course I will, Warren.” Josh feels like an idiot. He’s laughing and crying, somehow at the same time. It’s crazy to realize that Warren’s not going to dance away from that statement. Something good did come from our visit to California, then. It’s too bad about his family, yesterday. "I can't imagine my life without you."

With an excited breath that sounds a bit like a whimper, Josh climbs into Warren’s lap, straddling him. He pushes his fiancé’s - Wow! I like the sound of that… - torso slowly backwards so he's flat against the sand, and begins kissing him wildly. “You know...” Josh slides a hand behind Warren’s head. “... you never cease...” He nibbles lightly on Warren’s upper lip. “... to surprise me.”

After a few minutes of kissing and frenzied hands, Josh slowly pulls away, into a sitting position. “I guess we’d better keep it at that for now. I’d rather we not get arrested today.” He drums a hand on his lip. “Here’s a question. We can’t get married in New York, which is where we live, California, which is where you have residency, or Florida, where I’m a resident. So… what are we gonna do? Some kind of commitment ceremony?” He can’t quite keep disappointment out of his voice. It was silly of him, but in the heat of the moment he’d completely forgotten the recent political furor over same-sex marriage… and he kind of liked the idea of being genuinely married, to be honest.

[Warren Worthington III]

> "Of course I will"

Warren’s world falls away for a moment at that answer.

It’s like pulling out of a dive, that split-second when he feels his wings bite the air and the ground that was hurtling at him veers away and he knows for sure that he isn’t about to smear himself all over the landscape this time either. Of course, he’d never seriously doubted that Josh would say yes, but knowing something will happen and knowing it has happened aren’t the same thing at all.

He lets out a breath he hadn’t previously realized he was holding as the world returns, giving a small satisfied smile and nod. "Good," he says in a pleased, quiet voice.

He’s surprised by how subdued his response is. It’s not that he isn't feeling intense emotions, and it's not that he's unwilling to demonstrate them, it's more a sense that he simply isn’t able to demonstrate anything in proportion to the intensity of what he’s feeling... and if he were, it would likely level San Francisco down to steaming bedrock. His fiancé - Wow… I like the sound of that… - apparently doesn’t share that concern, though; and after one kiss Warren is suddenly entirely on-board with this “demonstrative” thing, losing himself entirely in his fiancé’s – No, that really doesn’t get old. - body and mind… or at least as entirely as is practical on a public beach.

> " I guess we’d better keep it at that for now. I’d rather we not get arrested today."

Warren doesn’t actually squall like an infant when Josh pulls away, much as he wants to. "Fine…" he mock-huffs, "… be practical. I’ll just have to wait until we’re alone to have my way with you." He’s about to start ostentatiously looking around for places they can be alone when he realizes Josh is actually being serious.

> " We can’t get married [..] what are we gonna do? Some kind of commitment ceremony?"

Warren shakes his head, surprised by the strength of his feeling on the matter. "If we’re going to get married I want to get married… til death do us part, for richer, for poorer, " he hesitates for just a moment there, realizing how literally that particular phrase is playing out this weekend, before continuing. "…the whole package, before friends and family and God and the government. We can get a license in Massachusetts… I know some people there who can waive the residency requirement, or at least look the other way and get us a license. That is…" he pauses a moment, looking more carefully at Josh, "…unless you’d rather just --" he winces briefly at his choice of words, not wanting to dismiss the idea out of hand, for all that he really does think of it as a second-class option, "unless you’d rather do a civil union somewhere... or a commitment ceremony in New York?"

[Josh Dalton Worthington]

As he pulls himself off Warren, Josh tries to straighten his shirt, which has gotten twisted and bunched halfway up his torso. He’s breathing harder than he should be, and chalks it up to the high of the whole moment.

Somehow, the adrenaline of the proposal doesn’t seem to be draining away anytime soon. Josh finds it harder to concentrate than normal, and rests a hand on his cheek, staring over at Warren. The feeling is addictive, and he doesn’t want it to stop.

> "If we’re going to get married I want to get married… til death do us part, for richer, for poorer, "

Again, actually hearing about their plans gives him a pulse of excitement. I can barely believe it…

> "unless you’d rather do a civil union somewhere... or a commitment ceremony in New York?"

Josh shakes his head vigorously. “No. I want to be married to you, a real wedding, the whole deal.” He pauses for a second. “Everything.” It’s clear that the word has much more meaning to him than some flowers and tuxedos.

He looks hesitantly over at Warren. “You don’t think we’re too young for this, do you? I mean, I love you, and I want to be with you for the rest of my life. But you know people are going to tell us that.” Josh scoots in the sand closer to Warren, and puts his hand around the other’s back, leaning into his embrace. The sunset is amazing.

“How soon do you want to do this? I’m gonna have to call my family when I get back to New York. And we’ve got lots of planning to do!” Josh keeps his voice light. To be honest, he was a little worried about his mother’s reaction. She had a doctoral degree, and highly valued education. He suspected she wouldn’t be exactly thrilled about him getting married before finishing off his bachelor’s at least. Medical school was an entirely different story, and Josh was glad Warren would be with him through the ordeal.

[Warren Worthington III]

> " You don’t think we’re too young for this, do you? I mean, I love you, and I want to be with you for the rest of my life. But you know people are going to tell us that. "

Warren nods. "Sure. But, you know, people are going to tell us a lot of things. For example, I bet within there’s at least 20 people within the distance I can throw a rock who’ll tell us we can’t ever get married, never mind how old we are, because neither of us is female enough. And you’ve heard what my dad has to say, to pick an example. I don’t really care very much what “people” say."

> " How soon do you want to do this? I’m gonna have to call my family when I get back to New York. And we’ve got lots of planning to do!"

Warren laughs. "Yes, I suppose Storm would kill both of us if we eloped, so some organizing is inevitable… we can probably put it together in… hm… about a month, I would think. Slowest part will be actually getting the license, but I know some people who can expedite that, and…"

His train of thought is interrupted when the expression on Josh’s face makes clear that he’s more concerned about the age question than Warren had realized at first, and he shifts gears smoothly. "I guess I didn’t really answer your original question, did I? For the record: no, I don’t think we’re too young for this. Yes, we’re a few years younger than most people when they get married, and we’ve been together less than a year, which is shorter than most couples. But most people live their entire lives without going through what we’ve gone through together, either, or shouldering the kinds of responsibilities we both have. So I don’t have a problem with it. But – and this is a big ‘but’ – I don’t want you to have any reservations about this, either. If you’d rather wait until – well, until you feel comfortable, whenever that is – then we wait, no problem. Just say the word."

[Josh Dalton Worthington]

> "Yes, I suppose Storm would kill both of us if we eloped, so some organizing is inevitable… we can probably put it together in… hm… about a month, I would think. Slowest part will be actually getting the license, but I know some people who can expedite that, and…"

Josh shudders slightly. “Storm knows everything. She’s probably been expecting this, to tell you the truth…” His eyes light up. “I gotta say, I didn’t, though. You sure know how to keep a boy on his toes. I’ve never planned anything on this scale before… is a month going to be enough time?” He doesn’t even consider the problems involved in getting a marriage license in a state they’re not residents of. Warren will handle it. If he needs help, he’ll ask.

“It’s odd to think that I was planning out my fall class schedule yesterday…and now we have to plan a wedding. Maybe Storm will have some ideas?” Storm epitomized style - but the kind that didn’t involve pink bows, so Josh suspected she’d be more than happy to lend her organizational skills to the task.

> But most people live their entire lives without going through what we’ve gone through together, either, or shouldering the kinds of responsibilities we both have. So I don’t have a problem with it. But – and this is a big ‘but’ – I don’t want you to have any reservations about this, either. If you’d rather wait until – well, until you feel comfortable, whenever that is – then we wait, no problem. Just say the word.

Josh relaxes into Warren’s side. “You always know the right things to say to me. I think you’re absolutely right. I don’t think I could ever feel about another person on this earth the way I do about you… and I’m not really interested in trying. I love you, Warren Worthington. And I see no reason to wait until we’re a little older, for tradition’s sake… when our marriage itself isn't exactly traditional.” He ruffles a hand through Warren’s hair.

The two of them are silent for awhile as the sun finishes setting. Josh slowly slides a hand underneath Warren’s chin and tilts his head over, placing a kiss onto his lips. His other hand, which he’d been stroking across Warren’s chest, begins to move south. Maybe we should get going?

[Warren Worthington III]

> " I’ve never planned anything on this scale before… is a month going to be enough time?"

"Well, it depends on how big you want the ceremony. I’d be happy with a private civil ceremony, limit it to close friends and immediate family – well, yours, anyway. It would have to be in Massachusetts, of course, but even in July there’ll be plenty of sites available on a couple of weeks notice. On the other hand, if you’d rather do it up big, rent Trinity or something like that, I’m OK with that, but we’d have to wait a while… I mean, unless I got very lucky with the arrangements… luckier than I already am, I mean. "

He’s ticking off items in his head, looking for potential problems. "It shouldn’t take more than a couple of weeks to get licenses and blood tests… well, ordinarily, anyway. We’ll probably have to jump through some extra hoops because we’re non-resident, but a month should be plenty. We could have the reception at the Institute the same day, use the Blackbird to ferry guests? Don’t worry, we’d find another pilot… you shouldn’t have to fly after your own wedding, after all… well, not pilot, anyway," he adds impishly, and is startled to feel his own cheeks warming at the thought of their wedding night.

"Anyway, we can worry about the details later," he adds hastily, leaning up to kiss his wow! fiancé. The important thing is that you said ‘yes’ – and that I finally got my act together enough to ask.

For all the confident words, though, Warren can’t help but worry about the details. Yesterday, he’d have had no concerns – there are no bureaucratic problems that can’t be solved by throwing enough money at them – but what would have been a minor nuisance to Warren Worthington the heir to the Worthington fortune, resolvable by making a phone call and writing a check, might prove an insuperable obstacle to Warren Worthington the part-time high-school teacher and volunteer mutant adventurer. And what about rings? And rental fees? And… The financial prospects are daunting, in large part because of their uncertainty. Warren has a reasonable idea of what such things cost, but he isn’t used to thinking in terms of a fixed income… and the truth is he has no idea what the Institute pays him, he’d only agreed to draw a salary in the first place because it made their business relationship official.

On the other hand, it’s hard for Warren to keep worrying about things like that while kissing his fiancé ! on a sunset beach, and after a minute practical concerns fade away… only to be replaced a few minutes later by a completely different and far more enjoyable set of practical concerns, like trying to remember just what exactly San Francisco’s public indecency laws are and estimating how clearly the other tourists can actually see in the rapidly-darkening twilight and trying to decide if they can afford another night in a local hotel.

> Maybe we should get going?
You read my mind, love, he thinks back, opening his mind to let Josh feel his mounting excitement. In fact, he adds as the famous San Francisco Bay fog starts to obscure his view of the Golden Gate Bridge, I think I know just the place – or, rather, the direction.

Picking Josh up off the ground and launching them both into the fog-laden night air seems to take no effort at all, and Warren is fairly sure he’s using Josh’s TK as well as his own to do it… a side-effect of their growing telepathic rapport that he’s noticed before. It’s a good thing, too, because he intends to gain as much altitude as he possibly can before his concentration is utterly destroyed, and Josh’s hands are well on their way to destroying it any second now…