Xaviers!

Will shook his head. "It's nice of you to say so. But if I'm ever on a mission with you again, I'd rather it be as your shifting suit than your teammate."

Will scrunched up his face at that, and moved one hand to his mouth. "Gosh darn it, I didn't mean to say that, either. It's been happening for the past two days."

Tereza gets a wicked grin. "Looking to get closer to me, are you?"

"I'd like to be closer to all of you. I'd like to be closer to everyone, in one way or another," he nodded. "But I shouldn't have said it like that."

"It amused me, Will, it's fine. Our little pack is kind of heavy on the innuendo. It's how we crack that exterior on Vivienne and make Sam blush."

"Mmm. Still, I'll try to pay closer attention to where my tongue goes in future."

Blush. Hand clamped to mouth.

"And that's the sort of thing I'd have to discuss with Sam and Vivienne," Tereza said with a laugh.

Will just nodded, hand clamped firmly in place, not trusting himself to open his mouth any more at this particular junction.

About that time, Tereza’s phones starts ringing with a ringtone that sounds like crows cawing. She grabs it out of her locker and answers it, “Hey, Sam. Where are you?”

Reception was a little more staticy than normal, even here in the Point, but she could still make out the other end of the line.

"I'm up at the rec center. I challenged Will's other half to turn into a phone. Apparently he's rubbish at it."

There were some beeps on the line, as if Sam had accidentally pressed some buttons.

They did not sound like happy beeps.

“Huh. Well, Will and I were talking about going out for some food. And... some other things.” She grins at Will.

"I'm going to need a bloody shower, but then I'm up for it."

"I still have to find Viv as well, so no rush."

"See you in a bit, then." She hangs up.

Tereza locks the phone and sets it back in her locker. "Sam's game for hunting down some food."

"Figuratively speaking, I assume.

Do you want me to meet you somewhere, or...?"

"You can meet us at our room," she says, going over to Sam's locker and starting to open it, "Just have to swipe some of Sam's shower stuff."

Will paused, as if he was fighting with whether to say something or not.

He...lost?

"Do you have enough shower stuff? I can stand in if need be..." he said

"I forgot and left my stuff in the room. I can make do with Sam's..." Then she seems to catch something in his tone, "Unless that's something you want to do. I certainly wouldn't want to force you. Been enough of that from what I understand."

"Well, I don't know how I'd compare to Sam's store-bought stuff," Will said, "but it's..."

He paused, as if he was struggling internally with saying things.

"Yes, I enjoy that kind of thing. Quite a lot, actually. I actually sometimes would sneak into Sara or Sam's basket of shower things without telling them back home, only to surprise them halfway through...or afterwards, or not at all, depending on the situation."

The crimson of a blushing Will worked with the green hair -- very Christmasy.

"Well, if it makes you happy, then let's go for it. I'm sure Sam won't be upset that I'm *not* stealing her stuff."

Will mumbled. "I don't know why I'm saying these things," but he did in fact trot after Tereza.

"A better question is why do they embarrass you? I like getting a better understanding of you, Will."

"Well, put it this way.

What if it was the OTHER guy who suddenly popped in on you halfway through the shower? Or someone random, you didn't know, who ended up as your duvet? What would your reaction be?"

"If it was the other guy? Well, it wouldn't be pretty. Another person, probably wouldn't be as bad, though still probably not pretty. What are you getting at?"

"I mean, it's weird, damn it. The things I like are strange, and uncomfortable for people. Not even Sara really got all of them. I bottle them up inside to prevent people from thinking I'm a freak.

I still don't know why I'm saying these things now.

Even if you didn't already have two girlfriends, rubbing someone over you when you're in the shower is generally a little more intimate than most people would be comfortable with. And grabbing someone to serve as your loofah because you need to take a shower now, or because you're hankering for some minty gum or need to replace a broken chair, regardless of what they were doing beforehand, is considered rude by most people.

It's abnormal. It's not within a stone's throw of normal. And people judge me for it. They do, whether they admit it or not. So, I stay in people's comfort zones and I smile and usually have a good enough time. It's just, you know, embarrassing, and once you say things, you can't unsay things."

"I'm all too aware of that last part. So, ground rules then? You offer or I ask. Either party perfectly within their rights to say no. No hard feelings in either direction."

"I tend to say no when people ask, though I really mean yes, because I have a sneaking suspicion that every question is a secret test I'm going to fail," he explained, blinking again as the words came out of his mouth.

"So I will...try....to not do that? In future?"

"Fair enough. But if I don't want to be a hypocrite, I can't come down on someone who wants to use their powers constructively. And since you're pack, I want you to be happy to. Make sense?"

"Sure, let's say I'm being constructive and not selfish. I like the sound of that one, better," he said, with an embarrassed smile.

"Those two are not necessarily mutually exclusive. You're wanting to do reasonable things with your power without crossing people's boundaries. I can respect that. I'm telling you that my boundary has more room in it than you might expect."

"You also have a different definition of 'reasonable' than most people, too, but I'll try to keep that in mind.

Let's get you cleaned up and ready for dinner."

"Sounds good to me," Tereza says.

*** Foggy shower montage ***

Tereza dries off and gets dressed, pulling some clothes out of her locker. "That was nice. You picked a good scent. Not too harsh, not too sweet. Want to help me find Viv or want to go wait in the room for Sam?"

"Mmmhmm." Will said, still a little out of it as he sat on the bench watching Tereza.

"...I'm sorry, what did you say? I zoned out."

"I said you picked a good scent. And I asked if you wanted to go wait for Sam in our room or help me find Viv. Totally up to you." She smiles at him.

"Oh! Oh, yes, right," Will blinked, embarrassed a little at his lack of concentration.

"Maybe you should go find Viv, and make sure she's calmed down before I see her...don't want to trigger another reaction when she's dealing with her new wolf. I'll go wait in the room."

"Sounds good. We'll meet up at the room and then go somewhere for food."