"The next time you pull a stunt like that I'm cutting off your hair!"

Pietro squeaked as Kitty covered him in another barrage of punches, but couldn't help laughing. After the song Kitty had been swarmed by her new fans, being asked for encores and interrogated about the Maximoff boy she'd just kissed. Pietro had sensed that she was getting nervous, so he whisked them away to the Brotherhood house before any of their friends could join the questioning.

"Hey, it's-not-my-fault!" he shouted, grabbing one of the throw pillows and using it to block Kitty's blows. "You-dragged-me-over-and-I-had-no-idea-what-to-do!"

"So you kissed me?" Kitty shrieked, avoiding the pillow and proceeding to jab his sides.

"Ack! Yeah!" He grabbed her hands and smirked at her infuriated face. Her nose was all crinkly and her eyes were narrowed at him. It was equivalent to being glared at by a puppy. "Isn't-that-what-you-were-going-for? Make-Lancy-lot-jealous?"

Kitty's mouth opened, then she second guessed herself and frowned.

"Well you didn't have to kiss me for so long!" she decided to growl, pulling her wrists from Pietro's grasp.

The speedster laughed as she crossed her arms and slumped into the couch cushion.

"But seriously though, Avril Lavigne?" he asked, draping his arm on the back behind her. "What the Heck? That song is so predictable!"

Kitty's eyes flashed.

"It is not!" she shouted. "How can you say that?"

"Simple-Kitty."

He suddenly folded his hands in his lap and tilted his head, grinning at her.

"Hi! I'm-Kitty-and-I-feel-like-rebelling-now," he started in a squeaky falsetto voice. "So-I'm-going-to-say-'heck'-and-wear-a-frilly-skirt-and-heels-and-drag-my-love's-friend-up-to-the-stage-because-that's-what-they-do-in-the-movies!"

Kitty's jaw dropped as he came out of his act and laughed at her.

"That's. Not. Funny!" she shouted, emphasising every word with a punch to his arm or stomach. "You're. Such. A. Jerk!"

Pietro curled into a ball as she continued to hit him, laughing so hard his sides hurt more than where she was hitting him. Towards the end Kitty was laughing too and she was hitting him less. Neither of them noticed immediately that Pietro fell down so his head was in her lap until they were recovering. After that they just stared at each other, then Pietro shot up and fixed his shirt and hair.

"Well, either-way, I-admittedly-thought-you-were-rather-convincing-as-a-singer," Pietro said, turning a little so she couldn't see the flush on his face.

"Thanks, I guess," Kitty said, perfectly happy to divert the attention away from what had just happened. "I mean, like, that is what I want to do with my life."

"Yeah? Never-would-have-guessed."

Kitty rolled her eyes and blew her bangs back to the side.

"So-what-other-songs-are-we-going-to-see-you-preform?" Pietro asked.

"I don't know. I really like Avril Lavigne."

"Yeah, I-noticed. Don't-you-have-any-others-lined-up?"

"Not really," Kitty admitted. "I kinda just picked it. Me and Heather sing it all the time."

"So-you-don't-have-any-other-gigs-planned?"

"Not at the moment."

Now Pietro rolled his eyes.

"Kitty, do-you-realize-how-genius-your-idea-was?"

Kitty furrowed her brow.

"What do you mean?"

"You-captured-Lance's-attention! He-couldn't-stop-looking-at-you! Chelsey-wasn't-even-in-his-mind!"

Kitty blinked at him.

"...Seriously?"

"Doi! Jeez, how-many-times-do-I-have-to-spell-things-out-for-you-two?"

Kitty couldn't help but smile at that. Pietro winked at her, then zipped out of the room. She followed the trail of wind, then jolted when Pietro appeared beside her again.

"So, how-does-Paramore, Hey-Monday, or-P!nk-sound?" he asked, flipping through an iPod. "Assuming-you're-sticking-with-artists-similar-to-Avril-Lavigne."

"Wait, how did you get that?" Kitty asked, furrowing her brow at the device. "I thought you guys were poor."

"Gift-from-my-dad."

"How did you get all the music?"

He paused, then continued to swipe through the playlist.

"That's-need-to-know, and-you-don't-need-to-know."

She opened her mouth, but he held a finger up.

"And-you-don't-need-to-give-me-the-goodie-good-speech-about-how-downloading-music-is-wrong, and-how-you're-disappointed-that-I-even-do-it-"

"I was going to ask where you get it," Kitty interrupted, leaning forward to see the screen. "I'm not that goodie-goodie."

"Oh...uh, okay."

"You sure have a lot of different tastes. I've never seen so many genres on one iPod."

"I-like-what-I-like," Pietro said with a shrug. "Shouldn't-matter-what-'genre'-it-is."

"True," Kitty said, settling next to him as she examined the music. "How do you have the time to listen to them?"

"Uh, it's-me. I-have-plenty-of-time."

"Right. What's that like anyway? Must be pretty cool to have so much time to do everything."

"It's-more-like-trying-to-run-through-water. Or-like-trying-to-run-in-a-nightmare. Everything-is-moving-so-slow-and-no-matter-how-much-I-try-to-adjust-I-can't."

"...Oh...I'm sorry."

He shrugged one of his shoulders. Kitty could see it now, the quick shakes of his body, the slight jittering of his leg, his eyes shifting to and fro. It was like watching a child sitting on a stiff bench, told to sit even though he wanted to go and run. He actually looked...miserable.

"Do you want to do something else?" Kitty asked.

"Why?" Pietro asked, glancing over at her. "Did-I-bore-you? Being-mushy-isn't-really-my-thing."

"No, you just look like you're about to jump out of your skin."

"I'm-fine."

Kitty flicked him on the forehead and leaned forward so she could see his face better.

"Now who's pretending everything's okay?" she asked.

"I'm-not-pretending-anything, Kitty-Cat," he said, smirking at her. "You're-just-looking-too-deep."

He looked back down at the iPod, then up at her again.

"What?" he asked. She was staring at him.

Without a word Kitty leaned forward and gave him a quick peck on the lips, then pulled away and waited. A red line blossomed across Pietro's face as his eyes widened.

"Uh...w-w-what─" he stammered.

"I'm sorry, I just..." Kitty started, retracting even more. "I've just been so confused about everything you know?"

"And...kissing-m-me-made-everything-clearer?"

She shook her head and picked at her nails.

"I just wanted to be sure there wasn't any, like...sparks..." she murmured.

Pietro blinked rapidly at her, then rolled his eyes.

"Well...with-a-lousy-kiss-like-that-you'll-never-find-out."

Kitty scowled and turned to scold him, but stopped when she saw that he wasn't smirking. She flinched when his face appeared inches from her, eyes closed. He must have been trying to slow down, but he almost bumped her nose. She smiled, then, after what seemed like an eternity for Pietro, she met his lips and deepened the kiss.

They pulled apart and were silent. Pietro watched her face for any sort of change, then cleared his throat.

"...So?'' he asked.

She bit her lip, then sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

"No sparks," she said. "Won't say it wasn't good though."

"Well, I-am-a-pretty-good-kisser," Pietro bragged, a smirk on his face. "Now-you-can-tell-all-your-friends-something-amazing-happened-to-you."

"Oh ho, really?" Kitty laughed, shoving him as she stood. "I said it was good, not amazing!"

"Ehh, everybody's-a-critic," he sighed, laying down as he watched her go. "Leavin'-before-Lance-gets-back."

"Yeah, it's probably for the best. He's going to kill you."

"He'd-have-to-catch-me-first. Want-a-ride?"

"You're not taking me home, Pietro. Ever─"

She squeaked when he whisked her off her feet and zipped to the door. He set her down and twirled around her until her hair was sticking up over her head. She glared at him when he stopped and smirked at her.

"Well, I-guess-you-can-go-then," he said, patting her hair until it was a mat on her head. "Have-fun-walking."

"You're a jerk," she growled, slapping his hand away and shaking her head.

"Thanks, babe," he said with an eye roll. "We-should-totally-do-this-again-some-time."

Kitty stared at him, for a moment, then smiled.

"Yeah, we should," she said as she started for the door. "See ya, Pietro."

Pietro was a bit surprised, but hid it behind a smirk and a sarcastic salute. His face fell when she left and he scratched the back of his neck.

"Yeah...no sparks at all..."