The Roof of the Dorms, Saturday Afternoon

[wwiii]

Finally, that whole mess with the school board had been sorted out, and Warren was free to wander around wherever he wanted without worrying about who was getting an eyeful of wing. Okay, sure, so it meant that the last week of his high school career had been a bit of a wash, since having to run around with an image inducer turned on all the time had been something of a mood killer, but now he had a little bit of time before grad in order to just appreciate his last little bit of time here on the island.

Naturally, this was the week that spring caught up with him and he started molting.

This afternoon, Warren could be found sitting shirtless on the roof and fidgeting, the occasional feather drifting down to settle beside him.

"I hate everything."

No, he didn't really. But regrowing feathers was agonizingly itchy business.

[Open roof is open!]

Comments

[hoorayimrich.livejournal.com]

"Molting??" Why had Tony decided to take out the suit today? Oh right. Paintball.

At least he was getting better at aerial maneuvers?

[wwiii]

"Molting," Warren replied, turning a grumpy little glance down toward the small collection of large feathers that were starting to gather around him. "I have a four-foot primary feather back in my room that I could probably knock somebody out with if I felt like it."

And that was going to suck to grow back in.

[hoorayimrich.livejournal.com]

"So... I'm guessing flying is out of the question," he replied, circling around for a moment before landing on the roof with a dull thud of metal boots on cement.

[wwiii]

"Not out of the question, really," Warren sighed. "Just... impractical. I'll have to work a lot harder to get any lift, and there won't be anything like gliding happening if I want to keep it."

But it seemed so tempting. Warren wasn't afraid of a little exercise...

[hoorayimrich.livejournal.com]

"Couldn't hurt to try..." Yes it could, Tony. Don't be dumb.

[wwiii]

Warren leaned forward, looking off the edge of the roof. It wasn't that far down, really...

"It's not nice to tempt a guy with wings to fly when he's been grounded all week, you know."

It was a light accusation, though. He was already pulling himself to his feet and fanning his wings out, getting a feel for the way the wind was blowing.

[hoorayimrich.livejournal.com]

"Am I tempting? I would never tempt people!"

Lies. So many lies.

[wwiii]

"Right, I keep forgetting. Yours is the face of innocence personified," Warren replied, smirking. "If I fall and you have to catch me, I reserve the right to smack you when you're out of that tin can for any of those inevitable damsel in distress jokes."

[hoorayimrich.livejournal.com]

"I'd never make that joke!" A beat. "Ben, when I show him the footage later, on the other hand..."

[wwiii]

"Ben still owes me one after launching me through that wall that one time," Warren noted, wrinkling his nose and stepping up to the edge. "I will not hesitate to add that to the list of things to pay him back for if he does, you know."

Or to the list of things to pay Tony back for, if that footage ever did happen to circulate.

[hoorayimrich.livejournal.com]

"It had seemed like a good idea at the time..." So much of their lives had.

[wwiii]

So, so much. Forever.

"And I did get better... But still. Not fun."

And on that note, Warren was jumping and spreading his wings.

[hoorayimrich.livejournal.com]

Well, if he was going to be like that, Tony was just going to laugh and jump after him.

Fun fact? Massive suits of armor did not glide like mutants with wings. But, since Tony was a genius and all, it worked for him nonetheless.

[wwiii]

Damn you and your overstuffed brain, Tony! It made you more buoyant or something!

Warren's wings caught the air and strained a little, but the few missing flight feathers weren't quite enough to keep him grounded. Which was fortunate, because if he had to keep his feet on the ground this week of all weeks, he'd probably end up boxing somebody upside the head before his new ones grew in.

"Looks like you won't be getting that blackmail material this time after all, buddy!"

And wow, did it ever feel good to be back in the sky.

[hoorayimrich.livejournal.com]

Don't you judge him!

"And here I was hoping for a new hit video on Youtube!"

[wwiii]

"Embracing the weird fanfiction writing crowd back in your own world, are you?"

Hey, the tabloids would have a fit with that one in either of their realities.

And Warren's father would, too. It was almost tempting.

[hoorayimrich.livejournal.com]

"Have you ever read some of that stuff?" he asked, doing a lazy barrel roll over Warren. "I apparently fall in love with everyone I save. And look like Zac Efron."

[wwiii]

"Trust me, I've read some of that stuff," Warren replied, looking mildly traumatized. "The internet as a collective whole seems to have some kind of freaky kink for wings."

And ever since Deadpool had been so kind as to link Warren to a few of them, he'd never clicked on a fanfic link again.

[hoorayimrich.livejournal.com]

"...that might top the whole robot-fetish thing," Tony granted him.

[wwiii]

"Half the internet seems torn," Warren reported. "They can't decide if I'm biologically closer to a human who just happens to have angel wings, or to a duck."

WARREN DID NOT HAVE OIL GLANDS. GOD, INTERNET.

[hoorayimrich.livejournal.com]

"A duck?" EXPLAIN YOURSELF.

[wwiii]

OH GOD NO WHYYYYYY.

"A duck," Warren mumbled into one hand. "Because apparently wings means I'm part waterfowl and so I have to waterproof them or something."

It had not just been Warren's wings to get waterproofed in that one.

Nope.

[hoorayimrich.livejournal.com]

THAT EXPLAINED NOTHING, WARREN. HE WASN'T A BIOLOGIST.

"Do I want to ask?"

[wwiii]

Warren looked so, so pained, here. Tony probably didn't want to ask. Which just meant that Warren was going to share the mental image that the aforementioned fic had conjured.

"... Ducks have these glands that secrete oil. And they use it while they preen, to waterproof their feathers."

You're welcome, Tony.

[hoorayimrich.livejournal.com]

You know, the faceplate of the armor probably didn't convey the horror that the statement brought with it. But it was there, Warren.

Trust that it was there.