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Felix and Nolan - Hamptons Party
Felix does just as well as Nolan had hoped at his party.
Soirees, it seemed, were soirees. No matter what the land called itself, whether the people styled themselves as nobility or simply filthy rich, whether they carried wands or cell phones, gatherings of noxious people trying to impress one another were fundamentally the same. Felix -- who had lived most of his life in this world just slightly set apart, slightly different -- melted into the party at Nolan's Hamptons mansion like he had been born to do this very thing.
Not born, though. Trained, certainly.
He certainly did not blend in. His bright cascade of red curls set off almost jarringly against the raspberry and green sweater worn with strawberry plaid trousers that he had selected for the event. When Felix drew a startled stare or three from the older generation at the party, he knew he had chosen well.
Within an hour, Felix had spun a magnificently unsubstantiated rumor that he was some sort of distant nobility, "of the Glasgow Harrowgates" as he said. After two hours, a slightly younger boy with a blond crew cut and a polo player embroidered on his shirt was trailing a few yards behind Felix wherever he went, never quite finding a reason to actually speak to him -- nor understanding why he wanted to. Though Felix was very aware of his presence, he swanned past the boy and toward his host, with a smile as bright and pleased as if he were a cat bringing a dead mouse to someone he liked.
"There you are. Your friends are... really something," he declared when he reached Nolan's side.
Nolan had, of course, dressed the part. It was too much of a personal pleasure to dress according to these people's codes, while subverting them just enough to make them slightly uncomfortable. White slacks, of course, with a striking blue paisley shirt with white cuffs and collar - the latter of which he had of course popped, leaving a couple of shirt buttons open. He wore a blue blazer over it, and his hair was as perfectly styled as ever. This, of course, wasn't surprising.
What might have been surprising, to anyone who had only seen him at high school parties, was how much he was at the heart of this one, instead of standing on the sidelines. Nolan talked to everyone, from fellow Hamptons teenager to much older residents, seemingly perfectly at ease in the one social class he had learned to navigate. That was not to say that every conversation was devoid of tension, but it was the socially acceptable sort, at this kind of party. Veiled barbs he answered with his usual soft snark, made sharper for the occasion. He otherwise fleeted from group to group, very much behaving as a host should, checking in on people and making sure to keep them entertained.
He had just checked in with the caterers about opening another case of champagne (as many as are required, was, of course, his answer) when he saw Felix heading his way, trailing his admirer in tow. It was difficult not to laugh at the look on the helpless teen's face, but Nolan managed, by focusing on Felix - and then frowning with amusement at his turn of phrase. "My friends? They are." Something about the way he answered suggested that he wasn't talking about the same people Felix was, or saying quite the same thing about them.
Felix's suppressed smile glittered in his eyes -- was that a natural ability, or did he do that with magic? -- as he tipped his head just slightly to show he understood. If he noticed the blond boy wandering between two or three points, trying to step into Felix's gaze, he gave no notice of it. He had a drink of his own that he was steadily draining, but for now it served better as a sparkling prop to gesture with. "You're almost like a different person here, Nolan," Felix observed frankly, studying Nolan's face, his eyes, with intent curiosity. "One might think you were in your element, but I'd venture that the fraction of people you actually like in this room is infinitesimal."
"You'd be surprised," Nolan remarked with a hint of a smile. "I genuinely like quite a few of the people here tonight." Quite a few, of course, but he did not only mean the mutant teenagers in attendance. Not at all Hamptonites were the Graysons, dying for their approval, or their rivals, but just as bad. That did not leave many, of course, but most of the ones Nolan knew had shown up tonight. Between that and the mutants, that fraction was far from infinitesimal, and that was a very, very welcome change. "Have you met anyone interesting?"
"I've only made a first pass," Felix said, turning his head a little to glance out over the room. "I haven't decided where I'm going back for second helpings. It's nearly time to notice my shadow, though." Felix still hadn't looked at him or given any indication he'd noticed, but of course he noticed. He always noticed attention. "Does he happen to have a protective mother or elder brother, do you know?"
"Elder sister, in California," Nolan replied without missing a beat. "His mother isn't here, either, and his father rarely notices him anyway. Do you want a name?"
Felix tapped his chin thoughtfully. At least he probably wouldn't be confronted by an angry family member for 'corrupting' the young man. "No, that would be cheating," he decided. "You wouldn't want me to cheat, would you?" It was obviously a rhetorical question, and not one Felix put much stock in, because his gaze was still flitting over the partygoers.
"People are very pretty out here, but they're sort of... homogenous, aren't they? Not a blue or a violet among them."
"Most of them follow whatever trends their Queen Vee sets," Nolan replied, eyes flicking in the direction of Victoria Grayson, in a formfitting pale blue dress. She had been in white at her Memorial Day party, to kick off the season, predictably. The color of her dress now was intended to remind him, and everyone else, that this party was only subpar. "That doesn't leave much room for creativity."
Felix wrinkled his nose and turned enough to take another look at the woman in the blue dress, which was not a very flattering combination should she happen to glance his way. Not that she would. "That's so boring," Felix accused as if there were no greater crime in the world. "No wonder she pretended like she didn't see me. I don't suppose she has a cute son in attendance?"
"Not yet, anyway," Nolan replied with a bit of a pained expression. "If Daniel shows up, it'll probably be very late, and already drunk. He's a... bit of a party boy. I wouldn't recommend it." He was, for his part, glad that Victoria had not talked to Felix. She was dangerous in more than one way, Nolan suspected. Everyone in that family was. Better for Felix to start out with smaller fish before he faced his first shark, no matter how much of a natural he seemed to be at this.
"How very predictable," Felix sighed dismissively, rapidly losing interest in the idea of Victoria Grayson or her son. "I know that Simon theorizes that I'm genetically more inclined to be interested in... people from school." He managed to catch himself before saying 'other mutants' since they might have been overheard. "But we're just more interesting, don't you think?"
"I'm hardly going to argue, all things considered," Nolan agreed, and his smile seemed a little softer, a little warmer now. "There's some truly wonderful people at your school." Not, of course, that all of the Xavier's students were officially all attending the same school, as far as what they told people at this party was concerned.
Felix cocked a fine brow at Nolan's expression. "You're so besotted," he noted, not exactly fondly, but at least not accusatory. "I'm sure he's lovely as can be, but there are so many pretty ones." Now that Felix was a little more sure of himself at school, he had started to consider them.
"Simon has a theory about that, too," Nolan replied with dry amusement, although his voice had dropped a little, the better for the remark to stay between him and Felix. There was only so long they could get away with talking about an anonymous student population that way, after all.
"That we're naturally better people?" Felix asked brightly. "I thought I'd read everything Simon had informally published--" on the school journals, of course "--but I think I missed that one."
"He might have mentioned it in passing," Nolan answered. Honestly, he couldn't say. "Whatever we owe that prettiness to, I'm sure there's nothing for it but to enjoy it." At the risk of sounding very much like Shinobi.
"If more of you were single, I would," Felix assured him, without even a hint of self-consciousness.
"Everyone is hardly paired off," Nolan remarked, looking amused. He didn't take the remark for himself, more for the actual student body, despite Felix's use of 'you'.
While Felix would have happily seduced Nolan if he were available, Felix also knew when a man in love was a lost cause. Besides -- and he would never admit this in so many words, even to himself -- he needed a friend like Nolan more than he needed a conquest. "Well, if you have any recommendations, I'm listening. Which reminds me..."
Felix turned away from watching the crowd to face Nolan directly, the focus of those ethereal mis-matched eyes brightening. His drink hung in one hand, half-forgotten. "Your friend Shinobi is under the impression that you would disapprove of his flirting with me. Like I'm some innocent lost lamb that must be protected from him," he accused, not quite smothering a laugh.
Nolan frowned in genuine confusion. That was wrong on several levels, of course, starting with Shinobi's image of himself, but that much was nothing new. Now, Nolan would have expected Shinobi to be a better judge of character, but what threw Nolan off more was the possibility that Shinobi might think Nolan was the sort to be overprotective. No, it was probably just an excuse to get out of flirting, and while Nolan was curious about the real reason, he was hardly going to voice his thoughts now.
His frown dissolved into a small, dry smile. "I'll have to let him know you have fangs and claws of your own. Unless you'd rather play the lamb?"
"I'm sure I can convince him on my own," Felix promised, his chin lifting maybe just a touch, with a hint of pride. "And I'm really not interested in playing games. What I found most odd was that he seemed to think you had some measure of... oversight, when it came to me. I don't particularly care to be anyone's project, but I'm sure you realized that already."
Nolan would not of course share the conclusion he had reached - that Shinobi had wanted to back out for his own reasons, and had only used Nolan as an excuse. That would be saying too much about his friend, and Felix was welcome to figure things out on his own. "And I hope you realize oversight is the last thing I want," he only answered, keeping the conversation firmly about him and Felix, instead.
At least not in the sense Felix meant it. Surveillance was a different matter from the responsibility and control aspects of oversight. For all that Nolan was a control freak, the thought of controlling another person held absolutely no appeal. He only wanted to know about them, to be better prepared, but even that came with limits, now. He supposed that this was what growth was.
Felix graced Nolan with a smile that clearly conveyed Nolan had given the correct response, and the subject could now be considered closed. He neither needed nor wanted protection or cosseting, though he accepted Nolan's generosity easily enough. Whatever Nolan got from their friendship apparently was far less tangible. "I'd only try your patience, darling," Felix promised airily.
"Oh, I'm sure you'll find ways to do that regardless," Nolan retorted with an amused smile, as if Felix trying his patience was something to strive towards.
"I'll do my very best," Felix teased, leaning toward Nolan solicitously. Even as he did, he still clearly kept a certain space between them without touching. "But you won't have to worry about that tonight. I have the reputation of the Glasgow Harrowgates to maintain."
"Yes, I've had to field a few questions about them," Nolan confirmed with an amused smile. His tone was dry, but warm, as he added, "Well done."
It was all too brief, but at the hint of approval from Nolan, Felix lit up like the sun. “I’d thought so,” he agreed, moderating some of his pure pleasure behind his drink. “It’s all anyone ever wants to know, anyway. Who you are — which means, where are you from, who is your family, and am I richer and more famous than you.” He rolled his eyes in dramatic fashion. “As if that’s actually who anyone is.”
"The fact that I am richer and more famous than them is the main reason why most of them are here," Nolan confirmed. "And now they know that the Harrowgates are close but reclusive friends, and old nobility..." He gave Felix a thin, dry smile. "I hope you don't mind the embellishment. I couldn't help myself."
"I encourage your creativity, if it makes you happy. How those old recluses managed to birth me, I'm sure I'll never know," said Felix, amused. Pleased, too, that Nolan had decided to share in his secret little game. Nolan understood how to turn expectation on its ear, and how much fun it could be to steal the upper hand in a conversation where no one else knew that you'd won. That was one of the many reasons Felix liked him so much.
"It will be a mystery for the ages," Nolan replied dryly.
"You're too young to be so cynical," Felix pronounced, more referring to Nolan's tone than his words. He was still teasing, still glittering and enjoying himself immensely with this conversation. "Should you find your young man to administer a dose of sunshine?"
His young man. Felix had the oddest speech mannerisms, so often sounding decades older than he actually was, an impression further highlighted by his opening remark. But Nolan only smiled - predictably, at the thought of Shaun. "That is certainly my cue. Enjoy your quarry, Felix."
"Why, thank you, I intend to," Felix answered as if Nolan had wished him a pleasant walk along the beach. He lifted his glass with a light nod to Nolan before scanning the room for the best place to let the nervous blond boy 'catch' him. This was going to be fun.
Soirees, it seemed, were soirees. No matter what the land called itself, whether the people styled themselves as nobility or simply filthy rich, whether they carried wands or cell phones, gatherings of noxious people trying to impress one another were fundamentally the same. Felix -- who had lived most of his life in this world just slightly set apart, slightly different -- melted into the party at Nolan's Hamptons mansion like he had been born to do this very thing.
Not born, though. Trained, certainly.
He certainly did not blend in. His bright cascade of red curls set off almost jarringly against the raspberry and green sweater worn with strawberry plaid trousers that he had selected for the event. When Felix drew a startled stare or three from the older generation at the party, he knew he had chosen well.
Within an hour, Felix had spun a magnificently unsubstantiated rumor that he was some sort of distant nobility, "of the Glasgow Harrowgates" as he said. After two hours, a slightly younger boy with a blond crew cut and a polo player embroidered on his shirt was trailing a few yards behind Felix wherever he went, never quite finding a reason to actually speak to him -- nor understanding why he wanted to. Though Felix was very aware of his presence, he swanned past the boy and toward his host, with a smile as bright and pleased as if he were a cat bringing a dead mouse to someone he liked.
"There you are. Your friends are... really something," he declared when he reached Nolan's side.
Nolan had, of course, dressed the part. It was too much of a personal pleasure to dress according to these people's codes, while subverting them just enough to make them slightly uncomfortable. White slacks, of course, with a striking blue paisley shirt with white cuffs and collar - the latter of which he had of course popped, leaving a couple of shirt buttons open. He wore a blue blazer over it, and his hair was as perfectly styled as ever. This, of course, wasn't surprising.
What might have been surprising, to anyone who had only seen him at high school parties, was how much he was at the heart of this one, instead of standing on the sidelines. Nolan talked to everyone, from fellow Hamptons teenager to much older residents, seemingly perfectly at ease in the one social class he had learned to navigate. That was not to say that every conversation was devoid of tension, but it was the socially acceptable sort, at this kind of party. Veiled barbs he answered with his usual soft snark, made sharper for the occasion. He otherwise fleeted from group to group, very much behaving as a host should, checking in on people and making sure to keep them entertained.
He had just checked in with the caterers about opening another case of champagne (as many as are required, was, of course, his answer) when he saw Felix heading his way, trailing his admirer in tow. It was difficult not to laugh at the look on the helpless teen's face, but Nolan managed, by focusing on Felix - and then frowning with amusement at his turn of phrase. "My friends? They are." Something about the way he answered suggested that he wasn't talking about the same people Felix was, or saying quite the same thing about them.
Felix's suppressed smile glittered in his eyes -- was that a natural ability, or did he do that with magic? -- as he tipped his head just slightly to show he understood. If he noticed the blond boy wandering between two or three points, trying to step into Felix's gaze, he gave no notice of it. He had a drink of his own that he was steadily draining, but for now it served better as a sparkling prop to gesture with. "You're almost like a different person here, Nolan," Felix observed frankly, studying Nolan's face, his eyes, with intent curiosity. "One might think you were in your element, but I'd venture that the fraction of people you actually like in this room is infinitesimal."
"You'd be surprised," Nolan remarked with a hint of a smile. "I genuinely like quite a few of the people here tonight." Quite a few, of course, but he did not only mean the mutant teenagers in attendance. Not at all Hamptonites were the Graysons, dying for their approval, or their rivals, but just as bad. That did not leave many, of course, but most of the ones Nolan knew had shown up tonight. Between that and the mutants, that fraction was far from infinitesimal, and that was a very, very welcome change. "Have you met anyone interesting?"
"I've only made a first pass," Felix said, turning his head a little to glance out over the room. "I haven't decided where I'm going back for second helpings. It's nearly time to notice my shadow, though." Felix still hadn't looked at him or given any indication he'd noticed, but of course he noticed. He always noticed attention. "Does he happen to have a protective mother or elder brother, do you know?"
"Elder sister, in California," Nolan replied without missing a beat. "His mother isn't here, either, and his father rarely notices him anyway. Do you want a name?"
Felix tapped his chin thoughtfully. At least he probably wouldn't be confronted by an angry family member for 'corrupting' the young man. "No, that would be cheating," he decided. "You wouldn't want me to cheat, would you?" It was obviously a rhetorical question, and not one Felix put much stock in, because his gaze was still flitting over the partygoers.
"People are very pretty out here, but they're sort of... homogenous, aren't they? Not a blue or a violet among them."
"Most of them follow whatever trends their Queen Vee sets," Nolan replied, eyes flicking in the direction of Victoria Grayson, in a formfitting pale blue dress. She had been in white at her Memorial Day party, to kick off the season, predictably. The color of her dress now was intended to remind him, and everyone else, that this party was only subpar. "That doesn't leave much room for creativity."
Felix wrinkled his nose and turned enough to take another look at the woman in the blue dress, which was not a very flattering combination should she happen to glance his way. Not that she would. "That's so boring," Felix accused as if there were no greater crime in the world. "No wonder she pretended like she didn't see me. I don't suppose she has a cute son in attendance?"
"Not yet, anyway," Nolan replied with a bit of a pained expression. "If Daniel shows up, it'll probably be very late, and already drunk. He's a... bit of a party boy. I wouldn't recommend it." He was, for his part, glad that Victoria had not talked to Felix. She was dangerous in more than one way, Nolan suspected. Everyone in that family was. Better for Felix to start out with smaller fish before he faced his first shark, no matter how much of a natural he seemed to be at this.
"How very predictable," Felix sighed dismissively, rapidly losing interest in the idea of Victoria Grayson or her son. "I know that Simon theorizes that I'm genetically more inclined to be interested in... people from school." He managed to catch himself before saying 'other mutants' since they might have been overheard. "But we're just more interesting, don't you think?"
"I'm hardly going to argue, all things considered," Nolan agreed, and his smile seemed a little softer, a little warmer now. "There's some truly wonderful people at your school." Not, of course, that all of the Xavier's students were officially all attending the same school, as far as what they told people at this party was concerned.
Felix cocked a fine brow at Nolan's expression. "You're so besotted," he noted, not exactly fondly, but at least not accusatory. "I'm sure he's lovely as can be, but there are so many pretty ones." Now that Felix was a little more sure of himself at school, he had started to consider them.
"Simon has a theory about that, too," Nolan replied with dry amusement, although his voice had dropped a little, the better for the remark to stay between him and Felix. There was only so long they could get away with talking about an anonymous student population that way, after all.
"That we're naturally better people?" Felix asked brightly. "I thought I'd read everything Simon had informally published--" on the school journals, of course "--but I think I missed that one."
"He might have mentioned it in passing," Nolan answered. Honestly, he couldn't say. "Whatever we owe that prettiness to, I'm sure there's nothing for it but to enjoy it." At the risk of sounding very much like Shinobi.
"If more of you were single, I would," Felix assured him, without even a hint of self-consciousness.
"Everyone is hardly paired off," Nolan remarked, looking amused. He didn't take the remark for himself, more for the actual student body, despite Felix's use of 'you'.
While Felix would have happily seduced Nolan if he were available, Felix also knew when a man in love was a lost cause. Besides -- and he would never admit this in so many words, even to himself -- he needed a friend like Nolan more than he needed a conquest. "Well, if you have any recommendations, I'm listening. Which reminds me..."
Felix turned away from watching the crowd to face Nolan directly, the focus of those ethereal mis-matched eyes brightening. His drink hung in one hand, half-forgotten. "Your friend Shinobi is under the impression that you would disapprove of his flirting with me. Like I'm some innocent lost lamb that must be protected from him," he accused, not quite smothering a laugh.
Nolan frowned in genuine confusion. That was wrong on several levels, of course, starting with Shinobi's image of himself, but that much was nothing new. Now, Nolan would have expected Shinobi to be a better judge of character, but what threw Nolan off more was the possibility that Shinobi might think Nolan was the sort to be overprotective. No, it was probably just an excuse to get out of flirting, and while Nolan was curious about the real reason, he was hardly going to voice his thoughts now.
His frown dissolved into a small, dry smile. "I'll have to let him know you have fangs and claws of your own. Unless you'd rather play the lamb?"
"I'm sure I can convince him on my own," Felix promised, his chin lifting maybe just a touch, with a hint of pride. "And I'm really not interested in playing games. What I found most odd was that he seemed to think you had some measure of... oversight, when it came to me. I don't particularly care to be anyone's project, but I'm sure you realized that already."
Nolan would not of course share the conclusion he had reached - that Shinobi had wanted to back out for his own reasons, and had only used Nolan as an excuse. That would be saying too much about his friend, and Felix was welcome to figure things out on his own. "And I hope you realize oversight is the last thing I want," he only answered, keeping the conversation firmly about him and Felix, instead.
At least not in the sense Felix meant it. Surveillance was a different matter from the responsibility and control aspects of oversight. For all that Nolan was a control freak, the thought of controlling another person held absolutely no appeal. He only wanted to know about them, to be better prepared, but even that came with limits, now. He supposed that this was what growth was.
Felix graced Nolan with a smile that clearly conveyed Nolan had given the correct response, and the subject could now be considered closed. He neither needed nor wanted protection or cosseting, though he accepted Nolan's generosity easily enough. Whatever Nolan got from their friendship apparently was far less tangible. "I'd only try your patience, darling," Felix promised airily.
"Oh, I'm sure you'll find ways to do that regardless," Nolan retorted with an amused smile, as if Felix trying his patience was something to strive towards.
"I'll do my very best," Felix teased, leaning toward Nolan solicitously. Even as he did, he still clearly kept a certain space between them without touching. "But you won't have to worry about that tonight. I have the reputation of the Glasgow Harrowgates to maintain."
"Yes, I've had to field a few questions about them," Nolan confirmed with an amused smile. His tone was dry, but warm, as he added, "Well done."
It was all too brief, but at the hint of approval from Nolan, Felix lit up like the sun. “I’d thought so,” he agreed, moderating some of his pure pleasure behind his drink. “It’s all anyone ever wants to know, anyway. Who you are — which means, where are you from, who is your family, and am I richer and more famous than you.” He rolled his eyes in dramatic fashion. “As if that’s actually who anyone is.”
"The fact that I am richer and more famous than them is the main reason why most of them are here," Nolan confirmed. "And now they know that the Harrowgates are close but reclusive friends, and old nobility..." He gave Felix a thin, dry smile. "I hope you don't mind the embellishment. I couldn't help myself."
"I encourage your creativity, if it makes you happy. How those old recluses managed to birth me, I'm sure I'll never know," said Felix, amused. Pleased, too, that Nolan had decided to share in his secret little game. Nolan understood how to turn expectation on its ear, and how much fun it could be to steal the upper hand in a conversation where no one else knew that you'd won. That was one of the many reasons Felix liked him so much.
"It will be a mystery for the ages," Nolan replied dryly.
"You're too young to be so cynical," Felix pronounced, more referring to Nolan's tone than his words. He was still teasing, still glittering and enjoying himself immensely with this conversation. "Should you find your young man to administer a dose of sunshine?"
His young man. Felix had the oddest speech mannerisms, so often sounding decades older than he actually was, an impression further highlighted by his opening remark. But Nolan only smiled - predictably, at the thought of Shaun. "That is certainly my cue. Enjoy your quarry, Felix."
"Why, thank you, I intend to," Felix answered as if Nolan had wished him a pleasant walk along the beach. He lifted his glass with a light nod to Nolan before scanning the room for the best place to let the nervous blond boy 'catch' him. This was going to be fun.
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