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“There’s a new student,” Scott starts, and Warren’s immediately holding a hand up.
“Joshua Foley. Sixteen. Healing mutation, right?” At the furrow of Scott’s brow, Warren grins. “Emma called ahead with the details. You know, if you’re going to pull me out of work , Scotty, it really helps for me to know exactly why. There’s no point in being so hush-hush.”
“Enough with the Scotty, Warren.”
“Warry.”
Scott grimaces. “Enough. I didn’t give you the details because, quite frankly, we were still trying to convince Josh to stay here when I called you. I’m obviously very appreciative you were able to get out here on such short notice, even without the details, but—”
“—but you called me out here not even knowing if the kid was going to stay. Do you even know now?”
“We have a lawyer here,” says Scott, as if that explains anything.
Warren shifts on his feet. “Okay? What does that have to do with this? Am I being sued?”
“No, Warren,” Scott says placatingly, like he’s talking to a student. “We know Josh is staying, because he’s not going to have anywhere else to go soon. Our lawyer is talking with his parents, their lawyer, Emma, and Dani right now, because they’re giving us — the school — custody.”
Oh.
“Oh,” Warren says out loud. “Well…shit.”
“Yeah.” Scott’s smile is small, wry. His arms cross over his chest. “Your timing’s pretty impeccable, though. We haven’t told him yet. It’ll probably help to see someone he knows he’ll be working with, give him something to look forward to.”
“You’re bribing a kid into staying by using me?”
“He got mixed up in some bad stuff,” says Scott. “He’s…confused. Upset. Doesn’t feel like he should be here. It’s not so much bribery as it is…”
“Giving him someone he can relate to,” Warren finishes for him, a bit deadpan. “Right. Well. Might as well use the sometimes-blue-and-metal-winged person. No doubt he’ll be thrilled to have me show him the ropes to healing.”
“It’ll be fine,” says Scott. “You’ll be fine. The both of you.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Warren waves a hand dismissively. When it comes to Archangel, Warren has preferred the tactic of ‘avoidance’ lately. That means it’s easy for him to just continue on, completely changing the subject: “Anyways, which lawyer even came up with this idea? Was it one the parents brought on? I can’t imagine one of ours—”
“It was theirs, but ours didn’t exactly balk at it, either.”
Warren’s own brow furrows, very much mirroring the way Scott’s was moments ago. “I’m sorry, what?”
“He’s new,” says Scott, as if that absolves this crazy new lawyer of this very crazy idea, “but it was with good intentions, believe me. There really wasn’t any better way to solve this. His parents would not have been good people to send him home with. You know the type: virulently anti-mutant, and suddenly finding out their own kid is one doesn’t do much to change that. I wouldn’t trust them with him even if they did want to take him home, especially considering the type of people they let him run around with.”
“Still — separating him from his parents? The school having custody of him? Dani being his legal guardian? Scott, that’s…”
Scott holds his hands up, empty and in defense. “Look, at this point? Out of my hands. Paperwork’s being filled out as we speak. Dani volunteered to step up, and I’m telling you, this is the best decision for him. He wouldn’t be safe at home, and he’d be even less safe out on the streets when his parents inevitably kick him out if he did go home with them. You have a problem with it? Go talk to Matt and Dani.”
“Matt,” Warren repeats, wrinkling his nose. “The hell kind of a name is ‘Matt’ for a lawyer?”
“Matthew Murdock.”
Again: oh.
Warren blinks. His brows raise high. “Matthew Murdock? Of Nelson and Murdock?” Warren is blonde, and rich, and he may act like he’s stupid sometimes (okay, a lot of the time), but he does know a few things. Being a businessman, getting tangled up in all the webs throughout New York, there are certain names that float around that nobody ever wants to mess with. Nelson and Murdock are definitely two of them. “Why is he helping us?”
“A sadistic streak, maybe? He’s working pro-bono.” Scott shrugs his shoulders, smile growing a little less wry. “Besides, he’s from Hell’s Kitchen, right? Maybe he’s got a soft spot for the underdogs, too.”
- - -
While Dani goes to find Josh, Warren gets called by Emma to join her and — Matthew Murdock. Josh’s parents are there, too, but Emma mentioned to him (telepathically, of course) that their lawyer had stepped out for a moment to ‘take a breather without Mr. Murdock breathing down his neck.’ This is not helping the impression of Matthew Murdock that he currently has in his head.
When he walks in, nearly everyone looks up at him.
Josh’s parents go a little pale; being visibly mutant can bring that out of some people, even with the grace of his mutation simply being a rather gorgeous pair of wings, and Warren’s plenty used to it. He simply gives them a nod and a polite smile, and they don’t return it.
At the other end of the table, Emma’s beautiful as ever, so finely put-together even when all she’s doing is wrangling a bunch of super-powered kids around a mansion. There’s something a bit more poignant about it now, knowing they’re in a room with two people so virulently anti-mutant they’re all but abandoning their son, and yet here’s this woman — rich, regal, mutant, better than them . Emma knows it. She’s making sure they do, too.
“Glad you could join us, Warren,” she says, giving him a smile just as put-together as the rest of her.
Josh’s mother glances from her to Warren. “How—?”
“I called him in,” says Emma.
“But you didn’t—” Josh’s father starts.
Emma spares a sideways glance at them and points a finger at her temple.
Josh’s parents grow paler.
“Right,” says his mother. “Okay.”
The other person in the room finally looks up, clearing his throat softly. “Mister, ah, Worthington, is it?”
Warren does his best to school his expression, even if it’s pointless, considering the cane he can see leaning up against Murdock’s chair. Pictures have done him justice, as Warren’s always thought he was rather handsome, albeit in a gritty I-haven’t-slept-in-twenty-four-hours way. In person, though? God, he’s something else, right off the bat. Maybe it’s because here, now; he’s not prepping for some insane case like protecting yet another superhero, or taking down Wilson Fisk… Which is to say, it looks like he’s gotten some sleep.
“Oh, please. You can call me by my first name, Mr. Murdock,” Warren says. The words come out before he can even stop them, all warm and coy, and he can’t fight off the grin on his lips when Murdock pauses a moment before smiling too, something small and polite.
“Warren,” Murdock amends then. “Glad you could join us. Emma’s told me — us — plenty about you.” He turns to Josh’s parents then, continuing, “This is, of course, Warren Worthington — he’s the man who will be working hands-on with your son to help him develop his abilities and learn how to safely use them. If you have any concerns, I’m sure both he and Ms. Frost would be happy to reassure you…”
Warren moves to take a seat beside Emma so they can await the return of Dani and the arrival of Josh, starting to tune out Murdock’s own assurances to his parents. There’s no point, not really; Warren’s sure it’s more to save face and save their asses lest they try any funny business further down the line. After all, they’d already signed the paperwork. They’d given up custody of their teenage son to another teenager just a few years older than him, without meeting his actual-grown-adult mentor first. It’s a sorry sort of situation, the kind that reminds Warren why he went public about being a mutant, that reminds him why this school exists.
Still, there’s a silver lining to all this. ‘Emma’s told me — us.’ Warren’s not sure if that’s a slip of the tongue that was intentional or unintentional, but either way, he’s a little happy with it.
As he’s busy letting Murdock’s words roll right over him, there’s a little probing sensation in his mind, one that’s not entirely unwelcome, since it’s their easiest way of communicating without alerting the non-mutants in the room.
Emma looks down at her nails, inspecting them (presumably) meticulously.
Are you seriously trying to flirt with our lawyer, Warren?
He grins. Are you seriously questioning if I’m trying to flirt with our lawyer, Emma?
- - -
Josh doesn’t take it well. It’s not surprising to anyone. The moment his parents say, “We signed guardianship over to the school”, he turns on his heel and storms out, swearing up and down and left and right and sounding like he’s dangerously toeing the line between crying and not crying.
There’s something almost poetic about how Warren, Dani, Emma, and Murdock all stand to follow him out of the room, but his parents — his parents, who raised him, took care of him when he was sick or hurt or crying before his mutation manifested — and their lawyer remain right where they are.
They manage to catch him before he storms out of the mansion entirely. Dani literally catches him, grabs him by the arm and pulls him away from the front door. “Josh,” she starts, voice steady, “just talk this through with us—”
“What even is there to talk about?” he snaps, yanking his arm back, and Dani lets it go with no protest. He’s not going for the door again, though; instead he just stands there, hands balled into fists, eyes glaring at the floor. “My parents just fucking—abandoned me. Left me at some stupid fucking school because I’m a mutant, and I’m supposed to just be okay with that?”
There’s silence for a few tense beats, and when nobody else speaks up to fill it, and Josh seems to be getting antsy again, Warren quickly says, “No, Josh, of course you’re not.” Josh looks up at him, face all screwed up like he’s trying very hard not to cry. (He seems like one of those jock kids; too macho to shed a tear. Warren can relate.) But he doesn’t say anything, so Warren continues then, “How could you be? They’re your parents. It’d hurt to lose them no matter what, but especially over something you have no control over. We’re not asking you to be okay with this. We’re only asking you to give us a chance. You can be okay whenever you’re ready for that; nobody’s going to rush you.”
Josh goes quiet, almost contemplatively so. Although he doesn’t look thrilled per say, at least he doesn’t look a hair trigger away from crying anymore. Finally he says, quieter, “You’re…the one who’s gonna teach me how to heal, right? Angel?”
Warren gives him a small smile. “I am, yes.”
His gaze swerves to Dani. “And you — you’re my legal guardian now?”
“Yeah,” says Dani. Her smile is small, too; hesitant, almost. “Believe me, Josh; I’m not about to parent you. I think that’d be detrimental for the both of us.”
“Agreed,” says Josh. He shifts on his feet. Now he just looks — embarrassed. “I’m still not okay with this,” he continues, “like, at all. But- but if they— if they really don’t want me…”
Dani steps forward, closing off the space between them as she wraps an arm around his shoulder. It’s a remarkably casual move; she can excuse it as ‘just wrapping an arm around his shoulder’, but everyone knows it’s a hug.
“We want you,” she says quietly. With a little squeeze to his shoulder, she starts to lead him away from the front door, and perhaps more importantly, away from Warren, Emma, and Murdock. As they walk, Warren can hear her continuing to talk to him, voice still quiet, “We’re happy to have you here, Josh. Warren’s going to teach you so much about how to use your healing, and here you’ve got your new friends, and…”
As they turn the corner, the three of them stand in silence at first. It’s just as tense as before, and Warren, for one, hates tense silences. They make his skin prickle, make his wings fluff up. So he’s the one to break the silence first, asking, “You’re going to kick his parents out now, right?”
“Once the paperwork is done, of course,” Emma answers.
Murdock clears his throat, politely including himself into the conversation. So lawyer-like of him. “Well, actually — it’s all done already. I figured you’d want them out as soon as possible, so…”
Emma raises a brow at that, but there’s a little smile on her lips, too. Emma Frost’s approval is hard to come by, but Murdock seems to be earning it with time to spare. How sweet.
That smile falls as soon as Warren says, “Oh, I like you, Mr. Murdock,” though. Then her eyes snap to him, her glare undeniably cold. Warren pays it no mind, or, rather — he calls it out directly with little care: “What? Don’t look at me like that. I’m just being friendly.”
“Well, thank you,” says Murdock, still so polite. While it seems like it’d be hard to make his cheeks flush as red as his hair, Warren does wonder if he could. This seems like a good start; there’s certainly some color there that wasn’t there a moment ago. “Everyone here has been very friendly.”
“I’d hope so, considering all the help you’ve provided us today, Mr. Murdock. Some might say, however, that Warren is too friendly.” The edge in Emma’s tone is hard to miss, even if she mostly sounds conversational.
Murdock tilts his head a bit, quiet for just a beat. “That’s all right,” he says then. “Nothing wrong with that, either.” So, so damn polite.
But Warren’s wings, before he can quite stop them, give a little flutter at that. Is that his in? It feels like his in.
Murdock’s head tilts a little deeper, and he turns his head in Warren’s direction. “I could always take advantage of that friendliness, anyway.” (Oh, he’s in.) “Warren, if you don’t mind — would you accompany me back to Josh’s parents? I’d hate to keep Emma for much longer considering all she has to do around here, but…I don’t know my way around here well enough to show them the way out alone.”
If you flirt with this man, I will kill you, Emma says in Warren’s head. Cold-blooded murder, Worthington. You will not flirt with another one of our lawyers. Do you remember what happened to the last one you took on a date?
I haven’t the faintest clue who you’re even talking about , Warren replies to her, his smile nothing short of angelic. Then, to Matt, he says, “Oh, please. You don’t even have to ask. I’d love to help kick them out. Would it be easier if you took my arm?”
Don’t you dare, Emma snaps.
“That’s kind of you,” says Murdock. He holds his hand out, and Warren steps forward, elbow held out for him to take. (I swear, Warren— ) When Murdock’s hand finds his arm, he even goes the extra step, looping his arm with Warren’s. (Murder. I will kill you, and Scott will bury your body in the backyard.) “Oh, do you work out?” Murdock asks then, all too casually. (Oh, God.)
He’s so in.
- - -
Kicking out Josh’s parents and lawyer feels so, so good. Their lawyer was still getting his things together when Warren and Murdock returned, and his face got about as Murdock’s hair when Warren told them, “Classes are going to let out, soon; it’s probably best you all leave before there’s a hundred kids storming the hall.”
Mutant kids, at that. It’s probably that knowledge that gets them moving. Murdock’s not holding onto Warren’s arm as they show them out, but once that door closes?
“I hope you don’t mind,” Murdock says as he reaches for Warren’s arm again, “but this place is really big.”
“I don’t mind in the slightest,” Warren replies, and his wings fluff out a little, like he’s preening. It’s a good thing Murdock can’t see that; it’s one of those little bird things Warren tries to quell down as much as possible, but there’s always a slip-up or two. “Were you planning on leaving soon? Or, if you’re going to come by more often, maybe I could show you around, Mr. Mur—”
“Matthew,” he interrupts. “Or even Matt. I don’t mind. I actually prefer Matt.”
Warren corrects himself, then: “Matt. That tour, Matt… Are you interested?”
“Mm.” Matt purses his lips for a moment, and then he smiles. It’s a little more crooked than those polite ones he’d been giving all morning so far. “Yeah, sure. It’ll help to learn the lay of the land. Especially with such a friendly tour guide.”
They start walking. Warren doesn’t have a goal in mind on where they’ll end up. Maybe the kitchen, or the patio… “I’m friendlier over dinner, some say.”
“Do they?”
“They do. You’re from Hell’s Kitchen, right? I live in Manhattan.”
“Those two are close.”
“They are. ”
“And there’s a lot of nice places to eat in-between those two.”
“I can name a few, even. Do you like Italian?”
Matt’s quiet for a moment, his smile growing wider. “You didn’t want to give me a tour. You just wanted to ask me out for dinner.”
“No, no, I can do both. Walking gives us time for friendly, flirty banter, and it gives us time to talk about if you like Italian or not… And I can still show you around the school. We just might have to find somewhere to sit and talk once classes let out.”
“Well, that’s a shame,” says Matt, sounding the exact opposite of disappointed. “I do like Italian, though. We should get that out of the way so we can keep the banter going.”
Warren grins. “Noted.”
Emma’s going to kill him, and his body is going to be buried in the backyard in time for dinner tonight — but it’s so, so very worth it, Warren decides.