![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
Warren and Nolan - Backdated
Warren stops by to meet Shinobi's other friend in residence.
Nolan had set a random playlist on his phone, one of today's suggestions called something decidedly seasonal like Shades of Autumn or Songs of the Fall. It seemed pop-rocky enough to be good background music as he tried, not for the first time since he had arrived, to somehow, miraculously, reorder his clothes in such a way that they would all fit in the closet and drawers they were provided with. It was a silly task, but after a day spent 'at the office,' so to speak (a small room on the first floor), teleworking with the actual office (the one in New York City), Nolan was glad for something a little mindless.
Dressed in a pair of red trousers and a patterned white short-sleeved shirt, collar open to pop that of the red polo he wore underneath for accent, he was humming along to one song or another as he attempted to fit a shirt, a blazer and a pair of trousers on a single hanger without creasing any of them.
Warren actually donned a shirt for dropping in, just because he didn't know Shinobi's roommate personally yet--but very much wanted to. His usual overpriced jeans were in place, barely clinging to his hips, but he also wore an overpriced, oversoft t-shirt tailored for wing comfort. He knocked and said, "Shinobi?"
Nolan looked up from his task, looked back down at it, and sighed. Holding the hanger in one hand, he walked to the door and opened it. "I'm afraid he's... out," he finished as he recovered from being faced with the Avenging Angel in all his casual glory. At least, he assumed that the mutant had to be him, since the superhero (he cringed a little just thinking the word) had stopped his activities round about the time Professor Xavier had told Nolan he had opened his school.
And, of course, his perimeter of activity fit the Worthington heir. "Warren, right? I'm Nolan, his new roommate."
Warren held out a hand as he padded into the room on bare feet. "You're who I actually wanted to see. Was hoping for an intro--Shinobi will be sad he missed it." He grinned.
"How will he ever recover," Nolan stated with soft sarcasm as he shook Warren's hand. His eyes were riveted on Warren's wings as he walked into the room. He blinked out of it, and closed the door. Then he gestured with his free hand at the spill of clothes on his bed, a mess of patterns, solid colors and some more basic white and black items to make the rest of them pop. "Don't mind the mess, I've been trying to fit my wardrobe into what little storage space we have. It's not been going well."
"I've been thinking now fall's here and I'll have to start wearing clothes, I might need to rent a storage unit." Warren chuckled, casting an amused and impressed eye over the wardrobe in question. The guy had... personality. Warren kind of liked him already.
"I was thinking of commandeering an empty room, but we seem to be having a steady influx of new students," Nolan replied, somewhat languidly.
"Well, as long as they keep being awesome mutants, I'm okay with it. Also, is it just me or is this an incredibly good looking student body?" Warren grinned, obviously including Nolan in the list. A little flattery never hurt when making a new acquaintance.
"It's statistically mind-blowing, yes," Nolan confirmed with an amused little smile, not actually taking the remark for himself. He was too little used to comments like that including him to spot it even when he was supposed to. "If there's a scientific explanation, I'm not sure that I want to know it." Of course he would, but it would certainly take away some of the magic.
"Some things are more fun when left mysterious," Warren said by way of agreement, leaning one hip against Shinobi's desk and settling his wings tight against his back, hands in his pockets. He noted Nolan's lack of reaction to the flattery and filed it away. Good to know, even if the reason wasn't clear yet. "I've been following you in the Wall Street Journal. Amazing stuff."
"Thank you," Nolan said honestly, flashing a quick smile. "It's certainly been amazing, but please, have a seat." ...if he even could, with those wings, Nolan thought belatedly.
Warren waved him off. "Thanks, but the only way to sit on a bed comfortably is to kneel. That's kind of awkward at a first meeting." He chuckled. Always make a joke to put them at ease. "Chair backs suck for wings.
"What's your deal, though? Mutant-wise?"
Any remaining awkwardness in the face of how insensitive Nolan had just been - again - was forgotten with Warren's question. His crash course in navigating business meetings, and subsequent real life experience, were the only things that stopped him from glancing away in a telltale sign that the question had hit a chord. Instead, he smiled. A little tightly, or dryly, but that was the way most of his smiles looked. "Let's say it's not entirely foreign to NolCorp's impressive rise to the top, apparently, and leave it at that."
Warren nodded once. "Gotcha. Trade secrets and all." He was sure it was nothing of the kind, but privacy was privacy and. No point making it more awkward than he already had. "Sorry, it's just the usual first question around here. Now that we've got all the awkward false starts out of the way, tell me what you do. Not NolCorp. Just you. For fun." He had to be fun if Shinobi liked him.
"I think 'shopping' is self-evident, at this stage," Nolan stated languidly, glancing at his bed. He remained standing, so Warren and he would be on the same footing, and leaned back against his own desk, hands in the pockets of his pants. "Hacking is always fun." Although he did not do as much of it these days, for several obvious reasons. "Driving ridiculously powerful cars. And the occasional verbal spar with a Hamptonite is always welcome."
Also cooking, but he wasn't going to list it now. As Shinobi's friend, he was sure he was supposed to meet some expectations. Cooking sounded much too tame for those expectations.
"What about you? Warren."
"Also shopping, though it's been cramped a little, what with the wingspan." Warren grinned. "So has a lot of the stuff I used to do. Parties and soccer matches--though we're making good headway on parties here.
"Music. Listening, nothing requiring actual talent. Day trading, just to be a stereotype--also in case I get disinherited tomorrow. Flying. Dabbled in super heroing but I'm on a break for training."
"Yes, I - followed your adventures," Nolan confirmed, amusement curving his lips. "Everybody wondered what had happened to you. Well. To the Angel."
"Aw, it's nice to be missed," Warren said with a chuckle. "Bet you are too, though. Telecommuting?"
"Professor Xavier was kind enough to set an office aside for me," Nolan confirmed with a nod. It was very nerve-racking, having to work from such a distance, especially after what had recently happened. There was a reason he'd bugged so many of the offices before leaving. All he said on the subject, however, was, "It's an adjustment."
"More room for driving ridiculously powerful cars out here, anyhow," Warren said with a grin. "Should help de-stress, too."
"There is that," Nolan agreed with a hint of a genuine smile. He did love his latest purchase. "Let me know if you ever want to join me. I'd let you pick the music." Surely the wonderful little holographic devices the school dealt out to those in need of them would allow for that kind of outing.
"I left my little TT at home because the seats don't fit my wings," Warren said with a chuckle. "But if you've got something that'll lay back, I'm in. What's your latest?"
"A Rapide S," Nolan answered, smiling for being able to accommodate. It was a four door, and so, despite being a sports car... "It has a lot of layback room."
"You're on. That's epic, man." Warren grinned. It'd be nice to go fast on the ground again. Maybe he should consider a four door himself and learn how to drive with wings. Hmm. "I have so much good driving music but I never got to use it. Wings sprouted too soon. My only regret, heh."
"Is driving music very different from flying music?" Nolan inquired curiously. It wasn't as if he had any experience with flying - not the sort Warren did, anyway.
"I don't listen to music when I fly," Warren admitted. Funny, he'd never thought of it before, even. "It clears my head. It's like... the only time I don't want to hear anything. Except the trees and--I'm not trying to write poetry here." Warren cut himself off with a laugh that was only mildly self-conscious. That wasn't his thing really. "It's just like that. Meditative."
"It sounds... extraordinary," Nolan settled on, clearly a little in love with the way Warren spoke about it. It sounded wonderful, both thrilling and relaxing. Not unlike driving a very fast car, only all Warren needed was himself, and the open sky.
"It's the most amazing thing in the world," Warren admitted. And this was from a dude who pretty much had two dudes to make out with at any point, so yeah. He knew what he was talking about. "Like a roller coaster that chills you out. It defies explanation.
"You can come with sometime--if you don't mind being carried."
"I'm - not sure the experience would compare," Nolan admitted. He thought that he might, in fact, mind being carried in the air, even by the Avenging Angel. His own brain was providing him with enough potentially deadly situations for now without adding to them. But, since he did not want to be rude... "But I'll think about it."
"It doesn't compare," Warren replied with a grin. "But it's the closest thing. Still, good for you, not settling. Should've known you wouldn't be about that life." Genius teenage CEO and all.
"I do my best," Nolan assured him, only a touch dryly. "Did you want something to drink, by the way? I make a terrible host."
"I'm good." Warren pushed off the desk and stretched his wings slightly--careful not to knock anything off Shinobi's desk. "I wasn't trying to take up your whole evening. Just wanted to introduce myself and get on your radar. I'll pick your brain some other time. Business fanboy at you."
It boggled Nolan's mind that Warren Worthington, aka the Avenging Angel, thought that he needed to get on Nolan's radar. Perhaps he was only saying these things, but he sounded sincere.
Not that Nolan was a very good judge of sincerity, as recent experience had proved.
"Sure?" he agreed, sounding slightly perplexed at the notion of Warren fanboying at him. He recovered then, and cast the winged mutant another one of his small smiles as he straightened up. "It'll be my pleasure."
Warren arched an eyebrow and sent him a questioning look, but accepted the smile and the 'my pleasure'. "Tell Shinobi I stopped by, and he missed an epic first meeting."
"I will," Nolan assured him, sounding entirely like himself by then. "And remain purposefully vague, so he fills in the details himself. His imagination is so much more epic than mine.
"Thank you for stopping by, Warren." He only just managed not to hold his hand out for a shake. This was not a business relationship - currently, anyway.
Warren smiled and left, wings rustling behind him. Wondering what kind of guy Nolan really was. Well, he guessed he had time to find out, now they were stuck here together.
Nolan had set a random playlist on his phone, one of today's suggestions called something decidedly seasonal like Shades of Autumn or Songs of the Fall. It seemed pop-rocky enough to be good background music as he tried, not for the first time since he had arrived, to somehow, miraculously, reorder his clothes in such a way that they would all fit in the closet and drawers they were provided with. It was a silly task, but after a day spent 'at the office,' so to speak (a small room on the first floor), teleworking with the actual office (the one in New York City), Nolan was glad for something a little mindless.
Dressed in a pair of red trousers and a patterned white short-sleeved shirt, collar open to pop that of the red polo he wore underneath for accent, he was humming along to one song or another as he attempted to fit a shirt, a blazer and a pair of trousers on a single hanger without creasing any of them.
Warren actually donned a shirt for dropping in, just because he didn't know Shinobi's roommate personally yet--but very much wanted to. His usual overpriced jeans were in place, barely clinging to his hips, but he also wore an overpriced, oversoft t-shirt tailored for wing comfort. He knocked and said, "Shinobi?"
Nolan looked up from his task, looked back down at it, and sighed. Holding the hanger in one hand, he walked to the door and opened it. "I'm afraid he's... out," he finished as he recovered from being faced with the Avenging Angel in all his casual glory. At least, he assumed that the mutant had to be him, since the superhero (he cringed a little just thinking the word) had stopped his activities round about the time Professor Xavier had told Nolan he had opened his school.
And, of course, his perimeter of activity fit the Worthington heir. "Warren, right? I'm Nolan, his new roommate."
Warren held out a hand as he padded into the room on bare feet. "You're who I actually wanted to see. Was hoping for an intro--Shinobi will be sad he missed it." He grinned.
"How will he ever recover," Nolan stated with soft sarcasm as he shook Warren's hand. His eyes were riveted on Warren's wings as he walked into the room. He blinked out of it, and closed the door. Then he gestured with his free hand at the spill of clothes on his bed, a mess of patterns, solid colors and some more basic white and black items to make the rest of them pop. "Don't mind the mess, I've been trying to fit my wardrobe into what little storage space we have. It's not been going well."
"I've been thinking now fall's here and I'll have to start wearing clothes, I might need to rent a storage unit." Warren chuckled, casting an amused and impressed eye over the wardrobe in question. The guy had... personality. Warren kind of liked him already.
"I was thinking of commandeering an empty room, but we seem to be having a steady influx of new students," Nolan replied, somewhat languidly.
"Well, as long as they keep being awesome mutants, I'm okay with it. Also, is it just me or is this an incredibly good looking student body?" Warren grinned, obviously including Nolan in the list. A little flattery never hurt when making a new acquaintance.
"It's statistically mind-blowing, yes," Nolan confirmed with an amused little smile, not actually taking the remark for himself. He was too little used to comments like that including him to spot it even when he was supposed to. "If there's a scientific explanation, I'm not sure that I want to know it." Of course he would, but it would certainly take away some of the magic.
"Some things are more fun when left mysterious," Warren said by way of agreement, leaning one hip against Shinobi's desk and settling his wings tight against his back, hands in his pockets. He noted Nolan's lack of reaction to the flattery and filed it away. Good to know, even if the reason wasn't clear yet. "I've been following you in the Wall Street Journal. Amazing stuff."
"Thank you," Nolan said honestly, flashing a quick smile. "It's certainly been amazing, but please, have a seat." ...if he even could, with those wings, Nolan thought belatedly.
Warren waved him off. "Thanks, but the only way to sit on a bed comfortably is to kneel. That's kind of awkward at a first meeting." He chuckled. Always make a joke to put them at ease. "Chair backs suck for wings.
"What's your deal, though? Mutant-wise?"
Any remaining awkwardness in the face of how insensitive Nolan had just been - again - was forgotten with Warren's question. His crash course in navigating business meetings, and subsequent real life experience, were the only things that stopped him from glancing away in a telltale sign that the question had hit a chord. Instead, he smiled. A little tightly, or dryly, but that was the way most of his smiles looked. "Let's say it's not entirely foreign to NolCorp's impressive rise to the top, apparently, and leave it at that."
Warren nodded once. "Gotcha. Trade secrets and all." He was sure it was nothing of the kind, but privacy was privacy and. No point making it more awkward than he already had. "Sorry, it's just the usual first question around here. Now that we've got all the awkward false starts out of the way, tell me what you do. Not NolCorp. Just you. For fun." He had to be fun if Shinobi liked him.
"I think 'shopping' is self-evident, at this stage," Nolan stated languidly, glancing at his bed. He remained standing, so Warren and he would be on the same footing, and leaned back against his own desk, hands in the pockets of his pants. "Hacking is always fun." Although he did not do as much of it these days, for several obvious reasons. "Driving ridiculously powerful cars. And the occasional verbal spar with a Hamptonite is always welcome."
Also cooking, but he wasn't going to list it now. As Shinobi's friend, he was sure he was supposed to meet some expectations. Cooking sounded much too tame for those expectations.
"What about you? Warren."
"Also shopping, though it's been cramped a little, what with the wingspan." Warren grinned. "So has a lot of the stuff I used to do. Parties and soccer matches--though we're making good headway on parties here.
"Music. Listening, nothing requiring actual talent. Day trading, just to be a stereotype--also in case I get disinherited tomorrow. Flying. Dabbled in super heroing but I'm on a break for training."
"Yes, I - followed your adventures," Nolan confirmed, amusement curving his lips. "Everybody wondered what had happened to you. Well. To the Angel."
"Aw, it's nice to be missed," Warren said with a chuckle. "Bet you are too, though. Telecommuting?"
"Professor Xavier was kind enough to set an office aside for me," Nolan confirmed with a nod. It was very nerve-racking, having to work from such a distance, especially after what had recently happened. There was a reason he'd bugged so many of the offices before leaving. All he said on the subject, however, was, "It's an adjustment."
"More room for driving ridiculously powerful cars out here, anyhow," Warren said with a grin. "Should help de-stress, too."
"There is that," Nolan agreed with a hint of a genuine smile. He did love his latest purchase. "Let me know if you ever want to join me. I'd let you pick the music." Surely the wonderful little holographic devices the school dealt out to those in need of them would allow for that kind of outing.
"I left my little TT at home because the seats don't fit my wings," Warren said with a chuckle. "But if you've got something that'll lay back, I'm in. What's your latest?"
"A Rapide S," Nolan answered, smiling for being able to accommodate. It was a four door, and so, despite being a sports car... "It has a lot of layback room."
"You're on. That's epic, man." Warren grinned. It'd be nice to go fast on the ground again. Maybe he should consider a four door himself and learn how to drive with wings. Hmm. "I have so much good driving music but I never got to use it. Wings sprouted too soon. My only regret, heh."
"Is driving music very different from flying music?" Nolan inquired curiously. It wasn't as if he had any experience with flying - not the sort Warren did, anyway.
"I don't listen to music when I fly," Warren admitted. Funny, he'd never thought of it before, even. "It clears my head. It's like... the only time I don't want to hear anything. Except the trees and--I'm not trying to write poetry here." Warren cut himself off with a laugh that was only mildly self-conscious. That wasn't his thing really. "It's just like that. Meditative."
"It sounds... extraordinary," Nolan settled on, clearly a little in love with the way Warren spoke about it. It sounded wonderful, both thrilling and relaxing. Not unlike driving a very fast car, only all Warren needed was himself, and the open sky.
"It's the most amazing thing in the world," Warren admitted. And this was from a dude who pretty much had two dudes to make out with at any point, so yeah. He knew what he was talking about. "Like a roller coaster that chills you out. It defies explanation.
"You can come with sometime--if you don't mind being carried."
"I'm - not sure the experience would compare," Nolan admitted. He thought that he might, in fact, mind being carried in the air, even by the Avenging Angel. His own brain was providing him with enough potentially deadly situations for now without adding to them. But, since he did not want to be rude... "But I'll think about it."
"It doesn't compare," Warren replied with a grin. "But it's the closest thing. Still, good for you, not settling. Should've known you wouldn't be about that life." Genius teenage CEO and all.
"I do my best," Nolan assured him, only a touch dryly. "Did you want something to drink, by the way? I make a terrible host."
"I'm good." Warren pushed off the desk and stretched his wings slightly--careful not to knock anything off Shinobi's desk. "I wasn't trying to take up your whole evening. Just wanted to introduce myself and get on your radar. I'll pick your brain some other time. Business fanboy at you."
It boggled Nolan's mind that Warren Worthington, aka the Avenging Angel, thought that he needed to get on Nolan's radar. Perhaps he was only saying these things, but he sounded sincere.
Not that Nolan was a very good judge of sincerity, as recent experience had proved.
"Sure?" he agreed, sounding slightly perplexed at the notion of Warren fanboying at him. He recovered then, and cast the winged mutant another one of his small smiles as he straightened up. "It'll be my pleasure."
Warren arched an eyebrow and sent him a questioning look, but accepted the smile and the 'my pleasure'. "Tell Shinobi I stopped by, and he missed an epic first meeting."
"I will," Nolan assured him, sounding entirely like himself by then. "And remain purposefully vague, so he fills in the details himself. His imagination is so much more epic than mine.
"Thank you for stopping by, Warren." He only just managed not to hold his hand out for a shake. This was not a business relationship - currently, anyway.
Warren smiled and left, wings rustling behind him. Wondering what kind of guy Nolan really was. Well, he guessed he had time to find out, now they were stuck here together.
no subject
BUT ALSO Shinobi kind of wants to shake you both and demand an end to the standoffishness. Clearly, the only thing for him to do is to get them both drunk and take them somewhere fun.
(His besties have to be besties! Don't make him sulk at you.)
no subject
He'll take a raincheck on getting drunk until he can get off those meds.
no subject
If he got Scott to like him, he can do anything, okay! :DDD
no subject
Tessa makes things so easy. >.>