Fic: Shelter, X-Men First Class, Angel/Raven, PG

[lilacsigil]

Written for jain for Fandom Stocking. 1000 words.



The CIA women's dormitory reminded Raven of high school – fluorescent strip lighting and furniture in neat, identical rows as if that would make the girls line up and behave in neat, identical ways.

"Nice!" Angel cheered and threw herself backwards onto one of the beds.

"Doesn't that hurt your wings?"

Angel sat forward and flexed them away from her skin. She was wearing a pretty green polka-dot halter dress, even prettier now without the cardigan she'd worn on the train to DC. "Nah. They stick to my skin and they bend, anyway. So, when do you think they'll pay us? I don't have much stuff to wear."

Raven made a face. "I don't know. My brother and Erik Lehnsherr took off a few days ago and didn't share a whole lot of details."

"We should ask that guy, Hank. He looks organised. And cute."

Raven let her skin go blue to hide the blush, but she must have been too slow, because Angel pointed at her with a laugh. "You like him!"

"I don't know! It's confusing! It's just been me and Charles for so long, and suddenly there's Erik and Hank and you…"

"So what you're saying is that mutants are cute? Hey, if your brother's getting it on with that Erik guy, and you're chasing after Hank, where does that leave me?"

Raven flinched. Stupid Charles! He'd got altogether too comfortable with the manners and mores of Oxford, where things needed nothing more than a wink and a nod and maybe an occasional touch of telepathy to be safe.

Seeing the expression on Raven's face, Angel took her hand and pulled her down to sit on the bed. "Sorry, sweetie. Don't worry, I won't turn him in or anything. I don't care what people do in their private time, as long as they're not hassling me. And that Erik guy is a dreamboat!"

Giggling, Raven curled her fingers around Angel's hand. It wasn't hard to notice that Erik was handsome, but he was so serious that it seemed really weird to call him that. "Did you have a boyfriend? Before coming here, I mean."

"Nah. Guys are too much trouble. I get enough attention at the club, you know? Then I just want to go home and wash it all off."

"Yeah, I know. I used to be a waitress."

Angel frowned. "Don't you guys have, like, a million dollars or something?"

Shrugging uncomfortably, Raven tried to explain. "Charles adopted me when I was little and since then I guess I've tagged along where he goes. I finished high school in England because he was at Oxford, then he really wanted me to go to university too."

Angel made a face like she'd sucked a lemon and Raven stuck her tongue out in agreement. "Yeah, that's what I thought! So I got a job to stop him nagging me. I mean, you're right, I'd never thought about money, but it was nice to have my own cash free of Charles. And sitting around waiting for Charles to tell me what to do is pretty boring. I got to meet some great people."

"Not the customers, though."

"There were a lot of old men and they're really handsy. Charles was always worried."

"But he'll go off on a road trip with a hot foreign guy he just met?"

Raven flopped down on her back, still holding Angel's hand. "He's always been like that saying, you know, 'do as I say not as I do'. He'd drink an ale and buy me a cola."

"So while he runs off around the country with his shiny new boyfriend, he leaves you here in DC. Did he tell you to be good?"

"Yes!" Raven pouted. "And now I hear he's cruising strip clubs!"

Angel propped herself up on an elbow and leaned over Raven, her wings flexing and sparkling in the harsh fluorescent light. "You ever hear that saying, what's good for the gander is good for the goose?"

"Isn't it the other way round?"

Angel smirked. "Not today." She started to bend down when Raven slung an arm around her neck and pulled her down for an awkward but heartfelt kiss.

They made out for a while, getting past the initial clash of teeth to some serious kissing, their hands caught in each other's hair; Angel touched the tiny scales of Raven's face and Raven stroked her fingers along the edges of Angel's wings.

They lay beside each other, not really ready to go further, sated and delighted.

"Hey, Angel, if you like girls, why did you work in a strip club?"

"Honey, I like anyone who is more interested in my wings and my face than my tits and my price."

Raven kissed the hand she was still holding. "I think I like everyone, too. Well, everyone who likes me."

"Of course you do. I hope they're all worth it." Her voice was dark and serious, suddenly, though Raven didn't know why.

Raven laughed, and touched the frown line between Angel's pretty eyebrows. "You are!"

Sitting up, Angel pushed Raven's hand away, gently but firmly. "Being the same doesn't make us alike, sweetie. If I shared my heart with everyone like you do, there'd be nothing left for me. "

Raven stared at her in hurt surprise. "I thought you were enjoying yourself!"

"I am, Raven. When we get paid, come shopping with me. Get some more time away from your brother. You need it."

Angel folded her wings along her arms and walked out of the dormitory, leaving Raven lying alone on one of the identical beds. A light above had developed a tiny flicker that Raven had never noticed before. She'd have to call someone to get that fixed.