I looked at Peter with a flustered expression. "I'm going with you!" I said, bouncing angrily.

"No, you're not. I'm not going to be responsible for letting you get hurt," Peter said firmly, turning to walk onto the jet. "Go to my place. I'll find you once everything is taken care of."

I scoffed as I grabbed Peter's arm. "I can't stand you sometimes, you know that Peter?" I said, my voice shaky as angry tears trickled down my face. "I'm perfectly capable and yet you insist on treating me like a child."

Peter looked back at me, his face initially blank before seeing the tears leaving my eyes. He turned and looked at me uncomfortably. I didn't cry often but it had been a long day. I was tired and frustrated. I was scared for Peter. He'd told me about Magneto being his father. He'd told me about how scared he was to confront him. And Apocalypse was a whole other ball park to deal with.

"(Nick name)… hey, (your name)…" Peter sighed, pulling me into a hug.

I pulled away though, letting go of his arm. I didn't want a hug or to be told everything was going to be okay. I wanted to be there for Peter and not be told to stand on the sidelines for once. I'd sat on the sidelines as his best friend for years. I'd always supported and been there for him to talk to, but never anything more. Where he'd beaten up assholes and done things to help me feel better I'd just talked him through things. Actions spoke so much louder than words and I wanted to act on my feelings for once. I wanted to actually help for one time in my life.

"No Peter," I said angrily as I looked up at him. "This isn't something you can just tell me is going to be okay. I'm helping. I want to actually help you for once!"

Peter was taken aback as he looked at me with a surprised and confused expression. "What're you talking about? You've helped me so many times before. You've been there for me whenever I've needed someone to talk to."

"That's not enough, just listening isn't enough…" I said angrily as I looked at my feet to try to hide my tears. "You've done so much for me Peter. You've stood by me and run to my side no matter. You've let me crash on your couch when my parents kicked me out… well I guess it's your mom's couch but still… I had nobody and you did everything you could to help me…"

Peter looked at me thoughtfully. "Remember back in third grade when you beat up Randal Stover for grabbing the last copy of Batman when I wanted to buy it?"

I shook my head and rubbed my sleeve against my eyes. "That was when we were kids Peter… ever since we discovered our powers I've been too scared to do anything that may reveal my powers. But now… now I can actually fight and help you for once."

I suddenly felt a hand under my chin, lifting it up so my eyes met Peter's. I felt the anger melting away as I looked at his gentle expression. My shoulders shook as my lips began trembling. I'd held all these words back so many times before. I hadn't wanted Peter to know how much I truly hated my powers and what they'd turned me into. I hadn't wanted Peter to know how much I actually hurt over my parent's rejection. I hadn't wanted Peter to know a lot of the things I'd been feeling for the past 12 years.

My voice dropped into a shaky whisper. "I want to help you find your dad Peter… I want to help you be as happy as possible."

Peter pulled me into a tight hug, resting his chin on my head as I wrapped my arm around him and did my best to stay quiet in my crying. "It's okay (nick name)… just cry if you need to," Peter whispered. "But please know that you do make me happy. You make me so happy… happier than anyone else does."

I felt a few words threatening to leave my mouth. I'd worked so hard to hide them from Peter for so long. I'd sat through so many girlfriends and been on so many failures of dates to hide these three words. Having moved out of Peter's mom's house once I was working had made it easier. But those occasional night when Peter would visit my apartment there had been a few close calls. But now it was all threatening to come apart because of my stupid emotions all pouring out at once.

"I… I… Peter… I love you" I said, my voice barely audible. "I've loved you for a long time…"

Peter held me closer, taking a deep breath and burying his face in my hair. "I love you too…"

I pulled away from Peter slightly and looked up at him. "What?" I said, my tone disbelieving.

Peter looked into my eyes with a light smile on his face. "I love you too. I've loved you since before you moved in… I kinda figured you always knew and just never said anything because you didn't feel the saw me as a brother or something..."

I laughed, wiping my eyes with my sleeve again. "You're kidding… we've been biting our tongues for over 12 years because we assumed the other person's feelings."

"Would seem that way…" Peter laughed, quickly planting a long overdue kiss on my lips.

I blinked before melting into the kiss and, inevitably, into the ground. "Shit…" I sighed, looking down.

Peter laughed, looking as I un-melded from the ground and made my legs normal again. "Am I really that good?" Peter asked, smirking.

"Shut up…" I muttered, though a light smile rested on my face.

"Hey, lovebirds! We need to get going!"

The two of us blushed as we turned and saw Hank standing in the entrance of the jet. "Okay, yea, we'll get changed and be right on," Peter said, nodding at Hank as he grabbed two suits and handed me one. "Be careful…"

"Oh, I will," I said with a grin as I took the suit from him. "You just try to keep up with me."