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“Here we are,” the cab driver announces, pulling up to the end of the driveway. “That’s nineteen dollars.”
In the distance, Raven can see the house, standing as regal and intimidating as ever, with a dust of snow over it. The sun is still setting over the fields, red and orange light arching across the snow-covered lawn. Raven touches the glass that separates them and wonder idly if he’ll be happy to see them again. If he still loves her.
Angel touches her shoulder, “Raven.”
Raven startles, “Huh?”
“I said get the luggage, I’ll pay the fare.”
Raven nods minutely. “I’ll get the bags.”
Angel eyes her warily but doesn’t stop her from leaving the cab, The wind is bitter outside, howling as it picks up and biting at Raven’s bare cheeks. The trunk is already open for her and she pulls their luggage out with little trouble, glad for a task to busy her. There are only two bags and they’re not very heavy.Raven morphs herself with a little more muscle mass and can easily lift both at once.
Angel steps out of the cab then, the skirts of her dress and jacket lifting with the wind. Beneath, Raven can see the translucent material of her black tights. She casts her eyes away and shuts the trunk, tapping it to give the driver the cue to leave. Once he’s gone, clouds of dust behind his wheels until he’s out of sight, Raven feels Angel’s hand on her shoulder again.
She turns to her in time for Angel’s mouth to meet her own, caught for a moment in the breathless action. Angel’s hands wrap around her shoulders, pulling her into the embrace further and Raven drops the bags to allow it. They stand there for a few minutes, rubbing their cold noses together and kissing, until the sunset has finished and the area is dark. Breathing together to warm each other up, Angel says, “Are you nervous?”
“I’m petrified.”
Angel smiles softly, “I’ll be right here. The cab is one call away. We can leave any time you want.”
Raven nods. “It’s getting dark, we should probably head inside.”
-
Any tension in Raven’s shoulders dissolves when Charles first smiles at her. They’re standing about five feet apart and it’s almost jarring to see him in his wheelchair for the first time but once he smiles, none of it matters. Almost like when they were children and she was afraid of thunderstorms. If Charles looked at her like that, she knew everything would be okay. If there was a fight between their parents or the housekeepers scolded them or anything, Charles always knew how to keep her calm.
She steps forward a few feet before her knees give out and he’s there in an instant, pulling her up roughly to hug him. Her ribs are pushing into his knees and it hurts but Charles is hugging her again so she can take it. He kisses the top her head and tells her that she shouldn’t worry. It’s all going to be okay. Even if they are on opposite sides, it does not change their relationship. For the time being, they are nothing but family.
In the doorway, Alex shakes Angel’s hand and says he doesn’t understand but while they are under their roof, he doesn’t need to. “If Charles says we can trust you, it’s good enough for me.”
Angel nods, “Thanks.”
-
After a pleasantly quiet dinner, Raven and Charles head to the study for some time to talk. Angel hesitates between heading to their room and lingering after her. Alex swoops in again, with a hand on her shoulder, “Hey, wanna see something cool?”
Angel shrugs, “Sure.”
“Let’s go find Sean.”
They catch up with Sean in the hallways near Beasts’ lab and invite them both to “go play in the snow,” as Alex puts it. Sean immediately agrees and only has to pull Hank once before he agrees, too. The snow outside isn’t as thin as Angel initially suspected. Once they’re outside, Sean knocks everyone over to make snow angels and the fall is actually cushioned.
She laughs at their poor attempts to create snow angels and then sheds her jackets and sweaters. Her shirt is backless and she lays back into the snow, carefully stretching her wings until they are buried under. She can’t even feel the cold really and when she starts flying over them, they swat at her feet, trying to pull her down while the snow between her wings flutters out all over them. “I’m a snow angel!” she exclaims.
When Alex finally gras her foot, he pulls her down. They land roughly as Sean starts pelting them with snowballs. “See how it feels,” he shoots, hitting her side with a snowball. She shrieks in laughter and Alex steps in front of her, saving her from being hit. He extends hands towards Sean who ducks behind Beast as they glow red and expel plasma at their feet, melting the snow and their premade snowballs.
“Holy shit, Alex!” she exclaims, “You’re awesome at that. When did you get so good?”
Alex turns his head a little and winks at her. “Just recently, but that’s not what I came out here to show you,” he puts his arms down and stands. “Here,” he holds his hand out and pulls her to the side, “Sean, show her the thing you can do.”
Hank appears at her side and hands her jackets back. “Thanks,” she replies with a smile.
“Okay, look,” Sean calls from where he’s standing. He’s run out further in the field, surrounded by fresh snow. Raven covers her ears, expecting him to do something that will shatter her eardrum but Hank pulls her hands away. “Listen,” he says.
In the field, Sean is crouched in the snow, with his mouth pursed. Angel is confused for a moment but is distracted when she hears the sound he’s making. It’s light, airy, almost like a mockingbird whistling from the trees and Sean is not even stirring the snow. He sounds like a violin. “It’s beautiful,” she murmurs, mostly to herself.
“Look,” Alex mutters and they crouch at the edge of the snow. Sean is picking up the frequency of his pitch and ruffling the snow. When the whistling stops, there are patterns in the snow that look like waves, like an ocean.
Angel finds herself awed. “You’re incredible.”
-
When they come back inside, Raven is sitting at the fireplace with Charles, looking like she’s close to falling asleep. The boys head upstairs to change but Alex follows her into the study. Angel sits beside her and nudges her playfully to wake her up. “Hey,” she replies softly.
“Charles,” Alex says, taking the book from he has in his hands and dogearing the page before shutting it. “Let’s go to bed, it’s late.”
Charles pulls Alex by the jacket until he’s perched over the chair. He laughs a bit, “What?”
“I told Raven about us,” he says and leans up for a chaste kiss.
Angel is surprised by the action but only for a moment. When Alex turns to her expectantly, she shrugs noncommittally. He nods knowingly and says, “It’s still late and I’m still tired. Let’s go to sleep,”
Charles nods, “Till the morning,” and allows himself to be wheeled from the room.
Angel slides her jackets off and sets them to the side. Raven is still only half-awake and her eyes open a little wider when Angel slides into her lap. “Hey babe,” she murmurs into Raven’s ear. “Are you tired?”
Raven moans softly. “Why are you so cold?”
“We were outside,” she says and leads Raven’s hands low on her back. “You should warm me up,” she suggests and kisses her, softly at first, almost chaste. Until Raven is slightly more awake, sucking on Angel’s bottom lip and her hands are running up Angel’s back. “I should,” she agrees and makes her way down to Angel’s neck, biting softly until Angel is falling apart in her hands, rocking her hips down into Raven’s lap.
Angel pulls her back up to kiss her mouth and when they part says, “We need to get upstairs.”
“Do you think Charles would mind if we just had sex on his sofa instead?”
Angel’s eyes turn mischievous and she pushes Raven down until she’s lying down. Her hair falls behind her, fanning out in a blonde curtain. Angel rocks down into her as she pulls her shirt over her head, “You asked for it.”
Raven laughs and sits up, “Oh no, I was kidding. Here,” Raven hands Angel her jackets and zips the first layer up. “Let’s go upstairs, dragonfly.”
Angel laughs and stands up, pulling Raven up towards the stairs. “Did you have a good talk with Charles?”
“Yeah,” she says and pauses, “I think we should make this an annual event.”
Angel pauses in the middle of the stairs and turns to meet her eyes. “Is that a question for me?”
Raven shrugs, looking anywhere but at Angel. “I don’t know, should it be?”
“No,” Angel says, “Wherever you go, I’ll follow.”
Raven seems struck by that, almost reeling. “Really?”
“Yes,” Angel says softly, steps down a step to kiss her again. “For you, it's always yes.”
“You’re the best,” Raven says.
Angel smiles, pressing their foreheads together. “I love you, too.”
-
In the morning, Raven and Hank will prepare breakfast in the kitchen, while everyone eats from over their shoulders. Angel and Alex will be sharing an orange juice carton and Charles will come into the room with a knowing look on his face. Angel will meet his eye and he'll say, "Welcome to the family."