Cassidy's P.O.V.
"Cassy, that kiss was-" Once Warren was gone, Peter finally spoke up, a grin across his face, taking my hand in his.
"No, Peter" I said and wrenched my hand out of his grip "That kiss was wrong and you know it" I took a deep breath, "What happened to you? Ever since Warren came you've been a completely different person. A person that I don't want to be around anymore. Warren was never the problem, it was always you. You could never be happy for me that I finally found someone who understands me. All you care about is the fact that I didn't choose you. At this point, everything is ruined, so why don't you do us both a favor and just leave me alone!" I had no idea where that sudden burst of anger came from, but by the end of my rant, I was yelling
Peter just stood there with his mouth agape. I could tell that he was definitely not expecting that. To be quite honest, I don't know what he was expecting would happen after he tried to kiss me.
After a few minutes of us just standing there in silence, I knew that Peter wasn't going to apologize. I couldn't just waste my time standing there, regretting the fact that I had just yelled at my best friend. I needed to calm down before I did anything else to make the situation worse.
"I'm leaving," I said and headed towards the door "Please, just...don't follow me"
Without another word I slammed my bedroom door, heading nowhere in particular. The only thing going through my head in that moment was that I had managed to destroy my relationship with both Peter and Warren in only two days.
____________________________________________
After wandering the X-mansion aimlessly, I finally decided to head up to the roof. I could really use Uncle X's advice right now, but I knew that even he couldn't fix my problems. I created this mess, so now I have to deal with the consequences.
The sun had almost completely set and I was hoping to maybe watch the sky before heading back to my room. I could already tell that it was going to be another sleepless night, but that didn't mean I dreaded it any less. I managed to reach the roof right as the last bit of light was starting to fade. It was almost completely dark and the clouds were blocking the majority of the moon's light. Despite the darkness, as soon as I opened the door, I was met with what looked like a silhouette of wings flapping in the distance. I thought it was just my mind playing tricks on me until I saw the sharp gleam of metal reflect in the light.
Warren.
Part of me knew it was him. I had no idea where he was going, all I knew was that I had to get him to come back, even if he didn't want to be with me anymore...I just had to tell him I love him.
I quickly sprinted towards the edge of the roof and jumped onto the ledge.
"Warren!" I yelled in hopes that he would hear me over the wind "Warren, please come back!"
"Don't leave" I whispered as the last bit of light disappeared and I was left in complete darkness
I turned around finally accepting the fact I had lost Warren forever. I was about to step off the ledge and head back inside when a huge gust of wind blew around me, taking me by surprise.
The wind caused me to stumble back a bit. Before I could catch myself, my foot slipped off the edge and I felt myself falling backwards. I took in a deep breath and shut my eyes tightly as I braced myself for the impact with the ground. The air completely left my lungs and I couldn't even scream.
All of a sudden I felt strong arms wrap around me and pull me back onto the roof. I saw Warren's blond hair and felt the flapping of his wings, bringing us safely back to the rooftop. I couldn't believe he had saved me from falling. I would have died if it wasn't for him.
Once we were both on steady ground, he pulled me to his chest and I began to cry. I was so happy Warren was there, however, the thought of him leaving still had a tight hold on me. I buried my face in his neck and held onto him with no intention of ever letting go. His embrace was beginning to calm me down. Up until this point, I hadn't realized just how much I missed his soothing touch. Warren seemed just as tense as me, if not more. He gently ran his fingers through my hair, his voice breaking as he finally spoke.
"Don't ever do that to me again"
I managed to regain control of my breathing and everything that happened finally registered in my mind. Warren was going to leave and I just almost fell from the roof.
I panicked, pulling away from him "I-I didn't mean to...I guess I just got too close and-"
"Hey, it's OK" Warren cut me off, taking my hands in his "Take a deep breath"
I did as Warren said and breathed in some fresh air, trying to stay calm. The thought that Warren was going to leave was stuck in my head. I had to know what he was thinking.
'Warren" I whispered, my voice still shaky "You were going to leave, weren't you?"
Warren reluctantly nodded and took a step towards me, "Believe me, I didn't want to, but there was no other option"
"What do you mean?" I furrowed my brows in confusion
"After everything I did to you....I-I just couldn't stay"
"Warren" I cupped his cheek, all my worries drifting away as soon as my skin made contact with his, "I care about you so much, not even what happened during training could change that."
"But I hurt you. I promised I would never hurt you and I did" As Warren's gaze wandered down to my neck where the faint mark of his handprint could still be seen, his eyes darkened, "I did that to you"
"Please" I begged and used my hand to raise his chin, guiding Warren's gaze back to my face "I just want to forget about that"
Neither of us could say a word. We looked into each other's eyes and, every now and then, I would rub my thumb over Warren's cheek just to make sure he was comfortable. There were so many things I needed to ask him, but I couldn't find the right words to say. It was completely dark outside and it was starting to get chilly which is why I didn't want to stay up here much longer.
"Why?" I asked after a few minutes "Why did you push me away when all I wanted was to help you?"
"I've disappointed everyone in my life. I couldn't deal with disappointing you too. I realized that Peter was right. I'll never be good enough for you...you deserve better"
My heart dropped hearing him say that. How on earth did he believe that he wasn't good enough for me?
"Is this about your cage-fighting past?" I asked
Warren sighed, "There's a lot about me that you don't know"
"Then tell me. Let me in so I can help you" I pleaded once more
Warren put his hand over mine and led me away from the edge of the roof so the two of us could sit down. I sat directly in front of him, waiting patiently. The last thing I wanted was to rush him. I finally got him back, and I was not going to lose him again any time soon.
"Because of my mutation, my father used to do experiments on me. He saw how much I hated my wings and he wanted to make me happy by getting rid of them. But nothing he ever tried worked. I always thought that something was wrong with me, that I was being punished by having wings. Back then, I would have done anything to be like you - normal. I cut my wings off multiple times, but no matter what, they always grew back. One day my father walked in while I was in the process of plucking the feathers. He was furious and sent me away. He wanted my wings gone, but not by me hurting myself. I lived on the streets for a while before I got captured and thrown into cage fighting. In East Berlin, the only way to survive was to fight. I've killed so many people, Cassidy, and that was just with my normal wings. Now I've got these sharp metal ones. I never wanted to hurt you., but today, during training I lost control. It was like my old habits just came back to me. I would have killed you if Jean hadn't stopped me..." He trailed off before steadying his voice and collecting his thoughts, "I'm not a good person, Cassidy. I don't know what you see in me"
My heart broke at his words. How could he possibly feel that way? All that time I had been worried Warren didn't think I was good enough for him, but it was the other way around. I felt horrible at the fact he even questioned if I still cared for him. I felt tears pool in my eyes, one slowly rolled down my cheek.
When Warren noticed I was crying he cursed under his breath and then pulled me closer to him.
"How can you say that?" I began sobbing "You're the only one for me, Warren. You're the most caring, genuine guy I've ever met. I need you"
"I need you too, angel" Warren whispered, bringing his forehead to mine "You bring out what little good is left in me"
"I'm so s-sorry" I sniffed
"No, angel. None of this is your fault. If anything, I'm sorry. I made a promise to myself that night on the jet that I wouldn't let myself get close to you. There was no reason to drag you into the mess of my life. But no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't resist you. Maybe you were what I was missing all along."
"I was wrong about Peter. He was always trying to pull us apart, but I just couldn't see it. I promise I won't let anyone get between us again, that is if you still want to be with me?"
"Fuck, Cassidy, I can't live without you," Warren said as he ran a hand through his hair
Suddenly, I remembered the roses that Warren had brought into the room.
"Did you bring those roses for me?" I asked "I mean, before Peter tried to kiss me"
Warren nodded and it almost looked as if he had the slightest blush on his cheeks.
"Warren," I took his hand gently and kissed his knuckles "roses were my Mom's favorite"
"I know. Professor X told me"
"You talked to him?!" I had no idea that Uncle X and Warren had talked together. I guess during all the commotion I hadn't realized the two of them actually had a conversation. I thought for sure Warren was just being taken to his office to get kicked off the X-men, not to be given advice. I began to wonder what else Uncle X had told him.
"Did he say anything else?" I asked curiously
At that, Warren smirked, "He just talked about how much you love me"
I blushed furiously, my eyes widening.
"I mean...is it true?" Warren asked once he took in my expression
I thought about it for a second. Of course, I loved Warren with all my heart but I had never found the right way to tell him. This was definitely not the way I had pictured me finally confessing it, but I guess it was now or never. We had both almost lost each other so there was no better time than now.
I nodded and was about to open my mouth to say yes when Warren leaned forward and our lips collided. He wrapped his arms around my waist while I tangled my hands in his hair. Warren pulled me flush against him and kissed me the roughest he ever had. But at that moment, I didn't care. I gently tugged on his curls as we continued our passionate moment. When he finally pulled his lips away from mine, we were both breathing heavily, neither of us wanting to stop.
"I love you, too" He whispered, his voice low and raspy
A/N:
I hope that you guys enjoyed Chapter 23 of Archangel! I like this chapter so much more than the original and I hope that you guys do too. I have a lot of new plans for this there will be more chapters to come soon. If you like my story please feel free to vote. Have a great day : )
- edited 6/29/20 -