A/N: Funny how the Christmas gift of the X-Men trilogy can be inspiring. If anyone is still reading, Merry Christmas. I hope not to disappoint.

It had been one week since Bobby had lost his mind. At least that's what he affectionately referred to the incident where he had followed his former roommate, threatened him and then most improbably of all had been out reasoned.

In the week that had passed, Bobby had been the picture perfect boyfriend. John had been right; Bobby had made his choice, or at least it had been made for him, and he needed to live with it. So he had done everything he could. Flowers, picnics, late night talking while watching the stars, Bobby had pulled out all the stops. Except for some reason his girlfriend kept throwing stop signs at him.

He had no idea what had caused her to suddenly change from being over eager to explore her returned ability to touch to shying away from contact from most people, especially her boyfriend. But it was beginning to wear a little thin. Particularly because Bobby knew his whole heart wasn't in it.

Which is how he found himself in the back garden of the mansion, sitting on a bench that only two weeks ago had been the scene for a favorite memory. Here he had sat and iced up his tennis shoes to skate with Kitty staring at the fountain where they had almost kissed. His plan to see a movie with Rogue had been firmly rejected. She claimed that she wasn't interested in seeing anything playing, despite the fact that Bobby knew she had sighed dreamily each time she had passed the movie posters downtown. If Bobby didn't know better he would have said she was avoiding him.

Bobby heard voices laughing down the steps toward the fountain and panicked. It was almost as if he was cheating on Rogue by returning to the scene where he almost had. He jumped off the bench and ran to hide himself behind on of the ornamental trees that lined the garden.

The couple came into view and Bobby was surprised to feel the branch he was holding start to ice up. Because standing just a few feet away was the girl he was trying not to think about with the guy he hoped never to see her with.

Unfortunately, it seemed like every time he saw Kitty she was with Pyro. At meals, in the hallways, in the Rec Room – they had suddenly become inseparable. Granted, Bobby hadn't seen Kitty often and hadn't talked to her at all since the incident in the elevator. It seemed like he couldn't speak to her lately without ordering her around. John had been infuriatingly right on that point as well. Kitty Pryde didn't like to be told what to do.

The threat of Logan was the only card he had and apparently that hadn't much worked either. It was beyond frustrating to watch John get close to her and know he could do nothing to stop it. Nothing without hurting Rogue that is. And after the way he had treated Kitty the last few times they had talked, Bobby wasn't even sure that she would choose him over his one-time roommate if she had a choice.

John could be charming when he wanted something and it was obvious to Bobby at least that whether or not his intentions were noble, he wanted Kitty. And Bobby doubted that nobility was a quality that described John well if at all.

Kitty had stopped by the side of the fountain, as if remembering a tender memory as well. Bobby felt equally parts joy and guilt to think that it meant that much to her when he knew it shouldn't have happened. All the same, he couldn't help being glad it had.

"Come on, Kit Kat, the pool is this way," John said, looking impatiently at her.

Bobby felt a rush of anger. That was his nickname for Kitty and one that she didn't particularly care for.

"I've told you before not to call me that," she reminded John, although with little feeling in her voice.

John's expression darkened. "Why? Because it's reserved for your precious Bobby?"

"No, because I don't like it." Kitty shrugged. "And we agreed at our first lunch, if I'm going to be your friend, you need to at least pretend to not want to kill my other um, friends."

"Fine," John conceded, moving over to take Kitty's hand and drag her away from the fountain. "Can we go now?"

Bobby was gratified to see her phase out of his grasp, but became slightly worried watching the scowl that passed over John's face. Whatever was going on here, John wasn't fooling him at least.

John seemed to recover quickly and changed tactics, making his voice soft. "What exactly is with the fountain, Kitty?"

She smiled at John, the type of shy smile that always made Bobby feel like he had done something amazing to deserve. Bobby wanted to hit John. He didn't deserve anything from Kitty.

"You know I almost got my first kiss at this fountain," she confessed, still smiling.

"Oh-ho! Now we're getting somewhere," John laughed mockingly taking a seat on the bench that Bobby had vacated only minutes before. "How do you almost get your first kiss?"

Kitty blanched, as if suddenly realizing what she had said and to whom. "Forget it. I shouldn't have said anything. You wouldn't understand."

"Right, because I'm the devil incarnate; I only look like a teenage boy." John threw up his hands. "Look, either you trust me and we're friends or you don't and I'm leaving."

Don't fall for it, Kitty, Bobby silently wished.

John was halfway up the stairs before he stopped to deliver his parting shot. "You know, I thought you were different. I thought that you actually cared."

"John! John, wait!" Kitty rushed up to take his hand in hers and lead him back to the fountain. "I do care; it's just the memory is a bit painful."

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "See, there's something about a first kiss. It's special. A girl thinks about it her whole life. It has to be just right. Don't laugh!" Kitty reprimanded. "Anyway, the setting was perfect, the build-up was perfect, the guy was . . . well, as almost perfect as he could be. Just. Not completely available? And I knew that." Kitty paused. "I shouldn't have even left my room. I don't know. I was pretty stupid to think he cared about me."

Bobby felt lower than low listening to Kitty tell John about that night. She had thought he was perfect and in two weeks he had her doubting herself so much so that she was confiding in Pyro of all people! And worse here he was like a voyeur watching the entire scene.

John responded in a soft voice that Bobby could hardly believe was coming from the rough mutant. "You're not stupid, Kitty. Drake is stupid for letting you go to be with that traitor."

"I didn't say it was Bobby!" Kitty squeaked, pulling back suddenly.

"You didn't have to. I've seen the way he looks at you," John said.

Bobby started. How did he look at Kitty? Like a friend. Like he did all his other friends. Certainly not like he looked at his girlfriend.

Kitty gulped and continued. "And you shouldn't say that about Marie. She made her own choice. I think it was rather brave, honestly."

"You would," John replied quietly. He turned to her and smiled in a way that made Bobby's skin crawl. "You know the best way to erase a bad memory, right?"

Kitty wasn't watching him, but rather staring at the fountain a wistful smile on her face. "No, how?" Kitty turned to find John was leaning in rather close to her.

"Make a new one," he whispered leaning in even closer.

Bobby would later say that he didn't consciously think about what happened next. All he knew is that he couldn't let Kitty's first kiss be with a traitorous villain. And so he reacted.

A stream of ice flew at his feet allowing him to slide like a surfer across the grass, faster than anyone could have run and knock John onto his ass, when he was less than an inch from Kitty's lips. He thought he heard Kitty scream something, but he was concentrating too much on rearranging John's face to pay much attention to anything else. John was taken by surprise, but soon landed a punch or two of his own. Bobby reached back to take one last swing, when he felt his arms being held by a pair of steel ones and he was forcibly lifted off the ground.

John was bleeding, a small cut at the corner of his mouth from Bobby's first punch and Bobby could feel that his own eye was swelling rapidly, but it didn't hurt half as much as watching Kitty literally run right through him over to where John lay.

"Are you okay?" she asked, leaning over to help him up.

John didn't even look at her, his eyes not leaving Bobby's gaze, seeming to dance at the pain he saw there. "I'll be fine."

Kitty turned on Bobby next and her eyes were blazing. He had never seen her this angry. In fact he couldn't remember ever seeing Kitty get angry at anyone. "What is your problem? Are you insane?" she lowered her voice slightly, looking at Piotr who was gentleman enough to let go of Bobby's arms and take a step back to give them some privacy. "Or is it so wrong that someone finds me attractive? You don't want me, even as a friend, but no one else can have me? What did I do that was so horrible?"

Her quiet voice affected him more than her anger ever could and Bobby instantly felt like the world's biggest jerk. "Kitty, I'm sorry," Bobby replied, sincerely. "I was just trying to prot-"

"Don't even finish that sentence, Robert Drake!" Kitty warned. "You're not in charge of protecting me. You're not in charge of anything to do with me. And until this possessive jerk goes away and my friend Bobby decides to come back? Stay away from me altogether!"

Kitty turned and ran, but not before, Bobby heard her try and choke back sobs.

"Kitty, wait!" he said moving towards her, but Kitty had phased through the stairs and into the mansion, making following her impossible.

John cast a look to make sure that Piotr was out of hearing range before leaning over to whisper in Bobby's ear. "You know what's tragic about this whole situation, of course? I'm talking Shakespearean level tragic." Without waiting for an answer, John continued. "It's that you're right. I could care less about Katherine Pryde's inner feelings; I'm just using her to get what I want. And the way I see it? There's nothing you can do about it."

Before Piotr could cross the garden, John had a bloody nose to match his bloody lip.