Meaning of Rings

Disclaimer: I don’t own Warren or Scott or any of the X-men universe. No money has been made.
This is a collaboration with LS/Sarafimm.
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Chapter 8

Scott drove south. They'd just passed the White Plains city limit sign when he began to slow. The sign for Harry's Restaurant and Bar was an old fashioned ‘A-frame’ on the side of the road pointing down a recently paved black top. Scott turned down the side road and behind a screen of tall bushes; Warren could see the roof and neon sign that declared the business within. The parking ran along two sides of the building and Scott turned into a parking spot. The lot wasn't nearly full, but it wasn't empty either as Warren spotted several vehicles, some of them work trucks. Harry's appeared to be an over-large wood cabin out in the woods with a sprinkling of shade trees throughout the parking lot and a grove behind the building.

Warren looked across at his lover and smiled as he unbuckled his seat belt. He was nervous but he wouldn't show it. He climbed out of the car. Looking up at the building, it looked quite inviting, but he was doubtful about the tolerance level there would be.

Scott walked up the entry ramp and opened the door to let Warren in. He wondered what he'd think of the place. Harry's had been in existence in one form or another since the 1800's. This latest incarnation had reopened at the beginning of summer and still had it's fresh look. Sturdy wooden furniture made the tables and chairs that filled the main restaurant area. Pictures and prints of the eras that Harry's had survived covered the wooden walls. A doorway to the left led to the bar area.

A waiter in hiking boots, black jeans, flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up and suspenders with his nametag attached greeted them. The diamond stud in his left ear marred the image of a lumberjack. He looked behind them searchingly and smiled, recognizing Scott immediately, "Hello. You want your normal table."

Scott smiled and shook his head, "A booth please."

Warren was more than happy to let Scott take the lead. He realized that this probably spoke a lot about his role in the developing relationship and he was fairly sure that the other man would like it that way. At some point they were going to have to talk about all these little things. The web sites he'd visited had left him somewhat confused about etiquette ... would Scott want their dynamic only in the bedroom? Or would he want it to extent to dates or even all the way through their lives?

The waiter grabbed two menus and led them to a booth covered with a green hunting pattern along the right wall, giving them a view of the rest of the restaurant and a peek through the bar entrance. Warren could see more tables and chairs through the doorway and a glimpse of the long wooden bar along the back wall. The waiter placed the menus on the table and asked them for their drink orders. Scott ordered a diet soda and then both men looked at Warren.

He had been too busy looking around to notice both men looking at him at first. A blush crept up his cheeks as he realized they were waiting for him. "Er, the same for me please."

The waiter nodded and headed off. Scott scooted into the half circle of the booth, placing his back to the wall. "So, what do you think of the place?" he asked.

Settling more comfortably, Warren smiled at him. "It's nice ... quaint I guess is the word."

"You should've seen it before. It was all black and chrome with spot lighting. A total 180 from the exterior," Scott said.

He laughed, imagining how it must have been like stepping through a portal. "I like this, although black and chrome has its place in the right setting." No matter how he tried to steer his mind away from the subject and the contents of the trunk of the car, he couldn't get past it. He sighed inwardly and tried to think how to approach the topic again.

Scott nodded, "Yeah, it looks 110% better as a restaurant than a club. And Harry was having enough problems as it was with the politicians coming down on the club aspect. I was with the Professor when he had lunch with Harry and advised changing the place back into a tavern." He pushed the menu towards Warren, "Their cooks are pretty good, too."

A gray haired man in faded jeans and a button down shirt came out from the kitchen area. He looked around and spotted Scott and Warren in the booth and headed over.

Warren picked up the menu and started to look it over. "Any recommendations?" He had to admit the meals all looked mouth wateringly tempting.

"Heya, Scott," the man said after he walked over. "Where's Charlie?"

"Just about anything," Scott started to tell Warren and then smiled up at the man who'd approached their table, "Hello, Harry. Warren, let me introduce you to Harry Van Stein. Harry, this is Warren Worthington. He's one of the Professor's other students." Harry held out his hand to Warren.

Warren reciprocated and shook Harry's hand. "Hi, nice to meet you."

"Always nice to meet one of Charlie’s boys," Harry said with an appreciative smile, eyeing Warren's good looks.

"Harry," Scott chided. "You know the Professor runs a school for the gifted."

Warren blushed slightly at the look Harry was giving him and looked over to Scott almost shyly.

"Yeah, yeah," Harry smiled and gave Scott a wink. "You're both pretty ... gifted." He got a serious look on his face, "I need ta talk to Charlie when he has a chance, ‘kay?"

"Is there something wrong?" Scott asked, turning serious also. He sent a quick glance to Warren who had dropped his menu and was listening to them intently.

Harry shook his head negatively, "Nothing you prep school boys can do. Its just politics, mostly. I've reopened as a restaurant, but it seems someone lost the paperwork for the bar."

"I'll tell the Professor when he returns," Scott offered. "He's at a conference in The City and won't be back for a few days."

"And you're not with him?" Harry asked.

"He took one of our other students this time. The Conference has to do with psychology and genetics and her field of study includes psychology so he took her," Scott answered.

Warren's hands fidgeted in his lap, he felt a little out of his depth. Didn't know how much Harry knew about the Professor or the school. So he thought it was probably best to leave Scott to do the talking and just smile in a friendly kind of way.

"So the mice play while the cat's away," Harry's smile included both of them. "Don't get into too much trouble." He got back to what he'd been concerned about, "I know Charlie keeps copies of all the paperwork and I hope he has the one's for the bar. I've already had problems with customers leaving because they couldn't get a drink here."

"If I talk to him before he comes back, I'll ask him about it," Scott assured him.

"Thanks," Harry replied and stood up, "Nice meeting you, Warren. Have the steak; we just got some good ones from the butcher. I'll talk to you later, Scott."

Warren smiled, "Thanks."

Scott nodded, "I hope your problem gets cleared up soon. And thanks about the info on the steaks."

"So do I, kid," Harry answered and with a smile, walked towards the entrance to the restaurant.

Their waiter approached and set down their drinks, "Ready to order?"

"Thank you," Warren lifted the glass and took a sip.

"I'll have the steak," Scott ordered.

Warren grinned and nodded, "Same for me, it came highly recommended."

The waiter nodded with a smile and turned away to tell the cooks that the order was from friends of Harry’s so they’d give the meals priority and extra care in cooking and presentation.

Scott's hand slid along the seat and rubbed against Warren's pants.

Warren shifted closer and smiled at him, cheeks slightly tinged pink.

"Harry's a great guy and I think he's the man the Professor talks about when he says he used to have a relationship with another man," Scott said.

"He seems nice. You think so? I guess it would make sense and you've seen them together so ... you'd know better than me," he smiled and covered Scott's hand with his own.

Scott turned his hand palm up and squeezed his hand, "They're really good friends. They went to school together. I believe the Professor loaned him some money to change the place back into a restaurant. That's the only reason I can think of as to why he'd have duplicates of the paperwork."

"I did wonder, thought maybe he was a silent partner or something. I bet the Professor has his finger in lots of things we don't know about." Holding Scott's hand felt good and right. The arrival of Harry had momentarily redirected his thoughts, but with his fingers being held in his lover's, it pulled him right back. He figured the questions wouldn't go away until they were dealt with, but he wasn't sure of his place in invoking such a conversation.

"I ... uh, I was wondering if you didn't mind that I opened the door for you," Scott said tentatively.

Warren looked thoughtful, playing over their entry into the restaurant, it hadn't really registered with him at the time, "No, I didn't mind in the slightest." And the more he thought about it, the more he liked that Scott had. "I quite liked it, actually," he admitted.

Scott smiled at his approval; "I just don't want you to think I'm treating you like a girl."

He almost laughed, "Never even occurred to me.”

"I was thinking about it when we first sat down. I took you shopping and now I'm taking you to lunch. A girl would call it a date."

"So would a guy I guess," Warren blushed slightly. "Are you wooing me, Scott Summers?" he chuckled.

"I don't know," Scott answered, "am I?" He pulled his hand out from under Warren's and then reached up with both arms and placed them along the back of the seat. His fingers brushed the back of Warren's neck in the process.

Warren smiled shyly as a shiver ran along his spine at the gentle brush of Scott's fingers. "Well, I would say you were. But..." he chewed on his lip self-consciously. "I have been known to read signals wrong."

Scott leaned sideways and his arm dropped from the seat back and around Warren's shoulders, "You're not reading anything wrong so far. Scoot closer."

His smile grew and he scooted to press his side against Scott's, fitting into the crook of his arm. It felt so good and he'd pretty much forgotten there was anyone else around to interrupt them.

"What toys would you like to play with first?" Scott whispered into his ear.

Warren shivered as warm breath tickled his ear and the words sunk in and went straight to his crotch. He wasn't sure, there were so many to choose from he had to admit, "I ... I dunno. Not sure what I'm going to like."

"Would you like me to tie your arms behind you?" he whispered.

He bit his lip to suppress a moan as the suggestion caused his cock to harden, "Yeah, that sounds ... good."

"Would you like me to spank you?" Scott asked quietly, his eyes watching their waiter as he assisted other patrons.

Warren blushed and his heart sped up with nerves. "I ... I don't know. Is that what you'd like to do?" he whispered back.

"I'd like to do a lot of things to you," Scott purred, "but I want to find out what you'd like me to do to you first. How about I tell you something I'd like to do and you can tell me what you like about it?"

He felt like his cheeks were on fire now, he must be blushing so much, "I ... want to try things to find out if I like them, I guess. I'm kind of scared of some of the stuff though." He rested one hand on Scott's nearest thigh, "It’ll be difficult to tell you if I don't know what they're like?"

"When we get back, we'll get everything unwrapped and wash the toys that need it before we use them," Scott said, he was tempted to turn into Warren's hand and let him feel how excited he was becoming with the images in his mind. "I'll line them up and we'll start slow. First, I'll have you strip until I can see all of your beautiful body."

Warren's eyelids fluttered at the idea of being naked with Scott again and he chewed on his lip to try and keep a lid on his arousal. He couldn't find his voice so he nodded.

"I'll grease you up and we'll try the littlest plug. If you take that easily, I'll remove it and give you the next biggest," Scott leaned forward and picked up his soda. He wished he could dump some of the ice into his lap. He needed to be able to walk when they left the restaurant.

His hand tightened on Scott's thigh. His mind running a mile a minute at what his lover was describing. "Y ..." he coughed to clear the shake from his voice. "You need to tell me the rules."

"No rules just yet," Scott answered, "This is learning what you can take. You tell me how the plugs feel to you, whether you like them or not. We'll learn what you like and don't like, as well as what I would like to do to you. No safe words, just communication. This is a preliminary to a dominant-submissive relationship.”

Warren looked at him, "I can understand that, it’s just..." He took a deep breath, "I feel like I'm floundering. I know that the way you want things to be isn't how I'm used to things in my relationships and I have no idea how to act or what you expect from me. I think my mind is already leaping ahead with all you said and the info from those sites."

"I love you, Warren," Scott opened his heart, "I don't want to force things on you. I want to know what will give you pleasure. How to give *you* the most pleasure."

His cheeks flushed at the declaration, instinct drew him to lean in and kiss Scott, pressing lips together in a gentle kiss. "I know you wouldn't force anything on me," He thought a moment, "Its weird ... I've automatically slipped into wanting to follow what you want ... perhaps this is how its meant to be, how I need it to be. I'm just uncertain how to do it right. I guess we'll figure it out together, right?"

"Yes," He smiled softly. "Rules will come soon enough and we'll make them together. The websites are guidelines and have tips and ideas of how to start. They're not set in stone. I'd prefer to find out what will be acceptable for both of us. Such as will we carry this out only in the bedrooms or only in your bedroom and not mine. When we go to a club do the rules apply? How about when we're alone, but in public like right now? Things like that."

Warren understood those questions all too well; they were the ones that had been running through his head for most of the day too. He nodded, "Yeah, my head is crammed full of those questions."

"I could direct where you go, if you dance and who with. I could order your food for you. Order your drinks. Take all responsibilities away from you in a club or public place like here, but I don't know if you'd prefer the lamb over the chicken or the beef. Arbitrary decisions like that might be too much control for you. That's something I'd need to know."

"I think it’s probably best we build up to stuff like that..." Warren trailed off. If he were honest the idea was pretty hot, but at the same time it was embarrassing and if his father would have a fit at him being gay, how would he react to his son essentially being a slave to a guy? A slave ... he would be Scott's slave if they went that far. He reached out for his drink, taking a long pull on the soda to settle the surprise rise of arousal that those thoughts had caused.

"Building up would be good," Scott agreed. "If you told me often enough to order for you, I'd probably get the hint," he smirked and then his smile turned serious. There could be dangers to a dom-sub relationship. "I wouldn't want to go overboard on a power trip. I called you my slave earlier and that's what you'd become after a while. I'm not exactly sure that's how far you'd want to take it, but ... if it made you happy to let me take so much control, I would."

"At the same time, if you want me to only take control lightly. Sort of similar to when the Professor puts me in charge of the team, I could do that, too. We'd need to find what suited us both best. I couldn't just pop into your room and immediately tell you I wanted you to suck my cock unless I had an idea that you were in a submissive mode. We'd need some sort of signal. Some way for me to know when you're not Warren Worthington, III the son and heir to Worthington Enterprises, but Scott Summer's lover and ... and boy toy."

Warren smirked inwardly at being Scott Summer's lover and boy toy. Everything Scott said made sense. He gazed at his lover with a smile playing at his lips, "I'm fairly sure that you're not the kind to go on a power trip, the Professor wouldn't have you leading the team if he thought you had the potential to get power crazy. You know, I half expected you to order for me. I guess I forgot that you're probably as unsure of your footing on all this as well. I ... I don't think I would mind if you did, but we'd need to talk things through and make sure we both understood our limits and stuff."

"Heh, yeah, the Professor's taught me that the more power I take, the more responsibility I will have. It can be pretty overwhelming. He taught me to learn what my teammates can and cannot do and create tactics that use their strengths as well as exploiting possible weaknesses when necessary."

Tracing an idle pattern on Scott's thigh with his fingertip, Warren thought how similar that ideal seemed to what they were talking about embarking on in this kind of relationship. He smiled. He knew that he could trust Scott, that his friend and now lover would take good care of him no matter what. He knew that he would demand a lot from him, but that he would be fair and understanding. Beyond that, he knew he was safe in a way he'd not felt for as long as he could remember.

"You keep that up," The brunette’s hand covered Warren's stopping the wayward finger, "and we won't get lunch." To belie his statement, the waiter appeared with their plates easily balanced on his arm.

Warren chuckled at the way the food was brought just as he would willingly have allowed himself to be dragged back to the mansion hungry. He grinned at Scott and thanked the waiter before starting in on his food, regretting that he'd had to leave the comfort of that arm tucking him close to his lover's body.

The steaks were seasoned and prepared exactingly, the potatoes well spiced, but not overly so; an excellent meal and worth more than the menu stated. Harry's had an exceptional kitchen staff and it showed. The restaurant should be doing more business than it was, but it's history and lack of a liquor license hampered its appeal. Scott and Warren finished off their meal quickly. Both thinking about what would happen when they returned to the Mansion, apprehensive yet excited to explore a new dimension to their relationship. Scott finished first, barely, and rose to pay the bill at the register too impatient to wait for the waiter to bring the tab to their table.

Warren finished up and followed Scott without protest; a glance at his lover's crotch while they were eating was enough to let him know that he wasn't the only one in a state of aroused need. So he followed, understanding perfectly what the rush was. His insides flipped nervously as they crossed the parking lot, they were going to be playing with the toys. He pushed his hands into his pockets and tried to ease the pressure on his erection.

Scott got in the car and opened the door for Warren. He had barely pulled the door shut when Scott's hand pulled him over for a deep and passionate kiss. His tongue begging for entrance as his other hand explored his lover’s body, roaming quickly from chest to crotch and back up once it confirmed Warren's anxious state.

He moaned into the hot mouth as he let the tongue in to explore, the actions had caught him by surprise. Warren couldn't remember ever being so obviously desired. He could definitely get used to this. The rapid grope dragged another moan from him but the hand was gone again all to soon. He pulled back from the kiss, eyes blazing with need.

Scott sucked in air; he needed to cool down. Not for long, but long enough to get Warren sequestered in his room with all their purchases. He hadn't thought he'd be this horny. A whisper through his brain told him it was the first signs of a crush fulfilled, puppy love. The hormones were racing through his body on waves of adrenaline and he liked it. It was a rush with a grand fulfillment and slow relaxed termination. Better than the Danger Room simulations that always ended in cold discussions of tactics. He put the car in gear and grinned at Warren, "Hold on." Speed limits were broken, cars were recklessly passed and the mustang drove into the Mansion garage in record time.