The Road to Oxford

[x]

Raven cooed and preened at the praise. “No, seriously, I like the ego boost,” she teased. “Go on!”

He would flatter her for as long as he could manage if she wanted. Not only that, but he would mean every word. Raven was a truly stunning sight to behold; any man would be lucky to have her someday. Charles firmly believed that, just as he was certain that there was someone out there who would see her blue skin and find it just as beautiful as her disguise.

She dug out a pair of shoes and plopped down on the bed to fasten them on.

“Oh please,” she shot back. “Only your brain. ...and maybe your ego.”

Charles shot her a withering look that may have been impressive if he actually had any bite behind it. As it was, he couldn’t actually manage being angry with Raven. She typically meant well, and he adored her far too much to really remain angry with her.

“See? And just like that, I’m ready,” Raven said as she finished with her shoes. “You officially take longer to get dressed than a girl. Now c’mon!”

“I haven’t even started getting ready, Raven,” he replied. “I could still do it less time, comparatively.”

“You’re too handsome to hide it behind that demure look you’ve got going for you,” she continued, taking his hand and leading him back to his room. “You need to show it off!”

“Why fix what isn’t broken,” Charles squeaked, blushing horribly from the compliment. “If demure works for me, why change it?”

“It’s gonna be so fun,” Raven all but shrieked with excitement as they made it back to his room.

Charles swallowed and offered her a hum of agreement before heading over to his wardrobe. He flipped through a few of his nicer button downs before pulling out a nice blue one that he knew was comfortable.

“Would this work?”

If he was lucky, he might even be able to get away with a nice cardigan to go with it.

[Deleted]

"Hmm.." she sighed. "I guess you have a point. Demure does work for you. I swear, you could walk around in a potato sack and still make it work." She gave him a warm smile. Luckily, the moments where she felt for him something..different..than sisterly love, were becoming a little less few and far between lately. She was used to him being her brother, and that certainly helped her a little. Still though, he was the only guy who she could trust.  The only one who loved her for her, and it was slightly confusing to the young Raven. As for now though, he was her 'older' brother, and she was destined to get some girl's number for him tonight. She could be a great wing-woman if she wanted to be. 

She leaned against the wall, watching as he dug through his wardrobe and pulled out a rather nice shirt. "Huh.. I wasn't expecting you to grab something so fancy on the first try. I was half expecting it'd be like pulling teeth." She teased with a grin. "That'd look just fine. With.. maybe.. black slacks." Because slacks are what Charles owned, and well..he could pull it off so more power to him. "Guys have it easy. You've got so much less prep work needed to look good." She pursed her lips in a teasing pout. 

[x]

“Hmm,” Raven hummed in thought before sighing. “I guess you have a point. Demure does work for you. I swear, you could walk around in a potato sack and still make it work.”

Charles laughed a bit at the image her wording conjured up. “I’m not so sure about that,” he countered, “though I do appreciate the compliment!”

“Huh,” she said as she examined his choice in clothing. “I wasn’t expecting you to grab something so fancy on the first try. I was half expecting it’d be like pulling teeth.”

Charles blushed a bit at her teasing; he could look nice, right? He was clueless about fashion, but he certainly knew what looked good on him. Besides, he was raised to be an old money gentleman, and he’d always had a certain image of what that exactly entailed. While his cardigans and tweed were far more comfortable than the three piece suits he pulled out for more formal events, he certainly didn’t mind them. They even became somewhat comfortable after an hour or two.

“Surely I’m not that bad,” he insisted, more for his own pride.

“That’d look just fine,” Raven approved. “With...maybe black slacks.”

Charles nodded and immediately hunted down a pair. It was a color combination he’d always liked, even though black wasn’t actually a color—it was a shade. Still, Raven approved and that was what mattered. He wanted to go out and have a bit of fun, but...well, he wasn’t exactly the best around people. Raven was far more the social butterfly of the two of them, in his opinion. Charles needed his telepathy to be comfortable interacting with people at all. Raven was the only exception to that rule, as he knew her well enough that he didn’t need to brush up against her mind at all times to know what she was thinking.

“Guys have it easy,” she added as he sought out the desired slacks. “You’ve got so much less prep work needed to look good.”

“I can’t really argue that,” Charles acquiesced. “Though, three-piece suits and tuxedos can be a bit of a pain to get into.”

Unlike Raven, Charles didn’t have a changing screen in his room. He’d never really felt the need for one; the only person who ever entered his room without knocking was Raven. (Cain and Kurt didn’t, either, but Charles always kept track of their movements within the estate and he forced himself time and time again not to hide. Better him than Raven, right?) It really was something he should have invested in, though; he healed a good deal faster than other people (aside from Raven and, surprisingly enough, Cain), but it still took time for evidence of Kurt’s and Cain’s violence to fade. He was still sporting the remnants of a surprisingly large bruise on his lower left side from a relatively brief encounter two weeks ago. Perhaps if he was careful not to show her his left side?

Charles turned away from her, half-hidden behind his wardrobe door, as he took off his shirt and quickly replaced it with his chosen clothing item for the evening. He made quick work of his trousers as well, and tried to decide whether or not to leave the second-to-the-top button unfastened. If he fastened it, collar seemed too high; if he let it go, he felt like he was exposing a bit more than he really wanted. A nice cardigan would certainly make things easier on him.

“...I don’t suppose you’d be willing to let me take out a cardigan as well, would you? I promise it will look nice!”

[Deleted]

Charles was just all around adorable. Even though everything about him screamed 'timid' she knew that one day he'd more than likely let loose and have girls chasing him all over the place. For now though, Raven felt like it was up to her to lead him there. "No, Charles. You're not that bad." She  promised, smiling warmly. "I'm only teasing." She sighed and plopped backwards, laying on his bed and looking up at the ceiling while he went to the task of picking out a pair of slacks to go with the shirt. 

When he spoke about three piece suits, she stayed quiet for a moment, then shrugged. "I guess you've got a point. So suits are a good middle ground. ... still though, men don't constantly wear suits. Us girls -always- have to pretty ourselves up." She grinned. Once he started to move behind his wardrobe to get dressed, she hummed quietly to herself and continued to stare at his ceiling. This was her way of giving him privacy, apparently. When he spoke to her, she lifted herself up slightly, propped up on her elbows as she considered his question. "Okay, okay. You can pick out a cardigan. I'm gonna trust your judgement." She grinned teasingly once more.

That was another one of those adorable things that Charles would do. She knew why he wanted to wear one. Young Charles Xavier was far too shy for that second to last button near the collar. She'd seen him put shirts on before, and she knew the struggle he went through. To button? Or not to button? When in doubt, grab a sweater. She laid back again until he was finished.  

[x]

“No, Charles,” Raven assured. “You’re not that bad. I’m only teasing.”

He let out a small sound of relief that was covered up by Raven falling back onto his bed. Charles could tell when she was teasing, at least some of time—her face lit up in such a mischievous way that he’d be wary were she anyone else—but sometimes...well, he was well aware that he was in possession of a few issues regarding his self-confidence. For all of his intelligence, there was something to be said on the effects of rocketing through the school system at such a speed that one was a competitive graduate school applicant by age sixteen. He’d buried himself so thoroughly in academics that he’d virtually ignored any other part of his development. If it weren’t for Raven, he’d likely be an utter wreck.

“I guess you’ve got a point” she conceded when he pointed out the bit about suits. “So suits are a good middle ground. Still though, men don’t constantly wear suits. Us girls always have to pretty ourselves up.”

Which he didn’t entirely understand; he’d seen Raven without makeup many, many times, and he personally thought she looked just fine without it. There was just something utterly fake about it, and he really couldn’t see the physical appeal. Then again, perhaps his telepathy had always presented other people in such a light that no amount of makeup would change his perceptions of them. He’d come to find another’s mind far more worthy of his time and attention than their appearance.

Raven relented when he begged to take a cardigan, and Charles grinned. He immediately returned to his closet, focusing on the section where he kept his favorite cardigans, and pulled out a dark blue one. Quickly throwing it on, the boy turned to face his sister, a smile on his face.

“Well, does this suit?”

[Deleted]

Raven knew deep down how much of a wreck Charles would have been without her, but she'd never say it out loud. He was the smartest, sweetest person she'd ever met in her life, but he wasn't exactly brimming with confidence. She blamed his parents for that. He was actually rather shy, especially when it came to social gatherings. Probably something else to blame his parents for. They'd have parties at their mansion every now and then, and obviously Charles would have been stuck in his room unless they wanted to show him off to their friends for whatever reason. Likely to gloat about how intelligent he was. So in Raven's mind, it was her job to shove him in to the world, opening himself up to more than just his studies. 

She quirked a brow when he showed her the cardigan. At least he could match things well together so that was a plus. A smile formed on her lips and she nodded. "Suits you just perfectly, Charles. Definitely go with that one." She really didn't know anyone else who could pull off such a combination of clothing.. but yet there was Charles, able to wear anything and he'd probably still get flirted with by the ladies. She wondered though, if he'd even realize that he was being hit on when it happened. Oh well, that's why she'd be his wing-woman. Once he was finished putting the cardigan on, she stood up from his bed and bounced in place. "Are we ready?"

[x]

Raven smiled when she decided his chosen cardigan worked for the evening. “Suits you just perfectly, Charles,” she chimed. “Definitely go with that one.”

He smiled, appreciating the burst of confidence at his sister’s approval. Charles hoped it would be different when they left Westchester for Oxford. Without having to worry about Kurt and Cain, Charles hoped he could relax and finally give himself a chance to act a bit more like his age. He wouldn’t be able to have a proper drink without ordering a meal to go along with it, course, but that wasn’t his concern. Two years would fly by, after all.

“Are we ready,” she asked as she got off his bed.

“As ready as we’ll ever be,” Charles replied, giving himself one last once-over in the mirror. “Did you have a particular pub in mind, or are we just going to see what we find?”

There wasn’t exactly a lack of bars within a reasonable driving distance of the estate—Cain had been drinking with a fake I.D. for the past two years, and Charles had unwittingly gleaned a depressingly detailed map of every bar within Westchester County. He toyed with the merits of a larger bar versus a smaller one—more anonymity versus fewer minds to shield against if he miscalculated and drank too much—as he headed toward the door.

He grabbed his wallet and keys. “And you should probably wear a coat. It could get chilly tonight.”