A/N: New chapter! Umm…hinted naughtiness of the grown-up variety in here, but I think I had the correct rating up and, if not, I'll change it. This signals the opening of the next major plot! Please enjoy and, if you loved it, or hated it, or even looked at it, please review! I thrive on your compliments, flames and neutral comments.
(o0)
"Oh…" Jubilee sighed, disconsolately. "I wanted him…"
Celeste's eyes widened and she rolled over on her bed and the room and its occupants righted themselves. She shook her head to clear the dizziness out.
"Are you stupid? It ain't like that at all, Jubs! Y' can have him, if ya think he'll be anythin' great. 'Sides, I thought you liked your guys nice…after all, Bobby is a nice guy."
"Whoa there- Jubilee you like Bobby?" Rogue intercepted, before Jubilee could change the subject. "Iceboy?"
"Awww…" Kitty cooed, predictably. "That is so sweet…I think Bobby totally likes you!"
"You think?" Jubilee said, unable to quash the hopefulness in her voice, before the other girls laughed.
Celeste looked at the younger girl fondly. She had just cut her hair rather drastically and it was in stylish disarray, gleaming with the pink-tinted gel she'd messed through it. Rogue and Kitty had dragged Celeste away from the other, curious students to interrogate her in her own room. Jubilee had, with a mixture of cajoling and threats, had bullied her way in. The young Asian girl was quite the little actress.
Rogue sat bolt upright, as her mobile rang from the pocket of her jeans and Kitty raised an eyebrow, as she hurriedly pulled it out. Celeste opened her mouth in question, but Jubilee cut her off, motioning urgently for her to keep quiet.
"Hey you…" Rogue purred into the phone, and Jubilee made false gagging movements- Rogue glared and stepped away. "Ah'm good, yah know me- nothin' keeps me down…Ah s'pose we'd be fahne for tomorrow mornin'- oh, no?"
Kitty's grin widened and she muffled what seemed to be some high-pitched sound of delight, which emerged as a muffled giggle. Jubilee clapped a hand on her mouth.
"Tonaght Gambit?" Rogue continued, from the corner of the room she'd isolated herself in. "Y'd better get me back in tahme or you know what'll happen…no, ya idiot Cajun, you'll be the one gutted…and don't you chere me! Anyone with me? Nah…'course not! …alraght, I'll get out bah then and I s'pose Ah'll bring someone for the big guy too…Ah hate yah too, Gambit…"
Rogue shut her phone, grinning. Kitty pried Jubilee's hand off her mouth then giggled again.
"I'm guessing that was so not Irene!" she crowed. "Tell me you're gonna take me tonight!"
"Yeah, Kit, Ah'll take you. You and Piotre can make eyes at each other and play the killjoys all nahght, if you really want to."
Jubilee let out a growl.
"This is not fair! You all get paired with the hot guys-"
"I'm not with Pietro!" Celeste inserted matter-of-factly.
"-and I get stuck keeping Amara and Rahne off each others throats!" Jubilee finished and, pushing herself to her feet, stormed off.
They stared after her.
"Gambit…?" Celeste said inquisitively.
"He's one of the Acolytes- Magneto's lot. Ah'm pretty sure that all the teachers know, but the rest of 'em are in the dark. We've been t'gether for a whahle now and Kitty's got her eyes on another- Colossus. Big Russian guy."
"He paints," Kitty said, as if that explained her entire attraction.
"And I thought I was bein' naughty with Pietro…" Celeste exclaimed in wonderment.
Two sets of eyes targeted her.
"Oh…so you and Pietro are-" Kitty began.
"Not together!" Celeste said firmly and pointed to the door.
Kitty and Rogue, still snickering, left to plan their escape for later that night.
(0o)
Gambit's eyes glowed like smouldering coals, as they swept over the area. Hands, clothes by gloves, with the fingers cut off, drummed impatiently on the wheel as he shook his head to the side, tossing dark hair from his face. Despite this inherent wariness, he wore a twisted grin…he loved this game and he knew that Rogue loved it too. He'd park discreetly outside the mansion, clothed in shadow, and Rogue- sometimes accompanied by her friend, Kitty- would appear. She'd scale the wall or phase through, using borrowed powers. It was fun. But the challenge had gone out of it when Rogue, having been kept up late on a 'date' with him, was reminded by Professor Xavier not to miss curfew, whether she was going out with a Harvard graduate or a card-playing, thieving mutant. So, she'd been given the all clear. Behind him, Piotre was blessedly silent, waiting for his own significant other
His eyes flickered towards the shadow of the wall again, to normal eyes, adequate to hide. For his own, glowing eyes, he easily pierced this flimsy camouflage. But Remy didn't say anything…he just watched.
There was a muffled thump, followed by a giggle and the familiar sound of Rogue's husky voice, cursing as she stood up again.
Remy grinned and Piotre opened the door of the car, only to have a giggling Shadowcat phase through it and virtually drop herself onto his lap. Each blushed and they were quick to untangle themselves. Rogue sat down with a sigh of relief and Remy immediately seized her possessively and gave her the lightest and quickest of kisses to the side of her mouth.
"Not when ya drivin', Cajun," Rogue admonished him, as she felt the pull of her powers.
"Ya forgive me already?" Gambit said, seriously.
"Huh?…'course I do, ya dumb Cajun- now let's go before we get seen!"
"Gambit's already been seen, chere," he smirked. "Rogue got many guys waitin' for her at night?"
At that, he flicked the headlights on, piercing the shadows to gleam on the barricade of the Institute's grounds. There was no sign of any presence, but leaves swirled, as if something had plucked them from their stupor on this windless night. Kitty stuck her head forward, deliberately putting a finely-manicured hand on Piotre's leg as her face appeared between Rogue and Remy.
"Pietro's here for someone else," she said, grinning wickedly.
(o0)
Celeste stalked around her room boredly- she happened to have lost most of her school books and, undoubtedly, they'd have been torn to pieces. She added that to the list of things that Pietro did to piss her off: the loss of her schoolwork meant that she had to find something to fill up the void. She'd been avoiding Scott and, surprisingly, Jean had helped her. It seemed quite a way to go to secure Celeste's allegiance to her. But Jean could only hold the leader up for so long, before he came, demanding his own briefing. It wasn't safe outside the sanctuary of this room. Her windows had been thrown wide open and, occasionally, she'd flit over to gulp at the fresh air, before resuming her pacing. Pietro…another thing that made her angry; he confused and puzzled her. And that was unforgivable.
Celeste sighed and sat on her window seal, straddling it. The night was cold and clear and blessedly lonely. She was tempted to fly away, but she was attempting to forge good relations with the team leaders. She had realised that, if she was to stay with the X-Men, she simply couldn't flout the rules at every opportunity, no matter the temptation.
Her eyes snapped to the door, which made a clicking sound. Why wasn't she surprised? Putting on an expression of surprise, she dropped sideways, out the window. A hand sealed around her wrist, before she'd fallen a metre, but she'd already started to fly backwards. And, so, Pietro was dragged out by the momentum. Dangling twenty feet above the ground holding onto Pietro's arm with both hands, she chuckled.
"It's the thought that counts, love," she said, wincing as Pietro's weight pulled her down, but she swung him into the room, before joining him.
"Well that was stupid," Pietro said, his voice racing as fast as Celeste's heart. "You do know that I could have let you fall."
"Really? Shame…I should have let you fall then, Pietro," Celeste teased. "But stupid is rockin' up to de house of your enemy and sneakin' into a nice gal's room."
"You are not a nice girl," Pietro said firmly, before zipping over to toss himself onto her bed.
He propped himself on his elbow to scrutinise her. Celeste scowled, placing one hand on her hip to return his inspecting gaze. Sighing heavily, when he did not look away, Celeste hopped on the bed to sit cautiously on the edge of the bed.
"Why are ya here, Pietro?" she sighed.
"A thank you and an apology…" Pietro said embarrassedly, when Celeste cocked an eyebrow. "Thanks for rescuing me from that bitch yesterday and sorry for going all crazy on you. Twice. In a day."
Celeste smiled- not a mocking one, or one of her convincing, fake smiles. Maybe Pietro wasn't such a jerk anyway.
"No problems- just don't do it again," she ordered, wagging a threatening finger at Pietro.
"Scout's honour," he said, smiling back mischievously.
Celeste snorted, as the image of a young Pietro helping an old lady across the street flashed through her mind.
"You're an idiot," she pointed out, swatting at him.
Pietro, of course, dodged, and swatted her back and, of course, was successful. Celeste couldn't resist the challenge and tried again, only to be parried back. Pietro laughed.
"Too slow, Celeste," he said mockingly, grinning.
"You rely too much on your powers," Celeste countered, a wicked smile curving over her face.
Through the open window, a gust of icy air blew, directly at Pietro, who closed his eyes and flinched automatically, raising his arms to defend himself fruitlessly. And in that moment, Celeste had dived over the bed to grab Pietro, who stumbled backwards as Celeste flew at him, and they hit the door to her room with a loud thud. Celeste arms were around Pietro's neck and she looked up at him, suddenly aware of how very close they were, as the wind died down.
"I'm catchin' up, aren't I?" she said shyly, looking up at him through lowered eyelashes.
Pietro's hand raised and he gingerly lifted her chin up, so that her face was directed to his.
"Don't stop," he murmured, and he was lowering his face and Celeste did not pull away, even as sadness filled her heart.
I got away from New Orleans, Eti…but I still need to get away from you…
Celeste returned Pietro's kiss- a hungry meeting of lips. Celeste found herself being directed backwards and Pietro's hands roamed her body and she clung to him, as if afraid to let go. She felt something solid behind her knees and fell backwards onto her bed and Pietro followed her, hands hesitantly catching at the hem of her shirt, before sliding underneath to brush his fingers against the bare skin of her sides. Those hands were possessive, and they ran up her back and, almost urgently, to her hips, as he sought to claim her. Celeste felt a twinge of alarm, of doubt, which was quickly quashed as she purred with pleasure. Not to be outdone, she turned, flipping Pietro onto his back, to straddle his hips, planting kneading hands on his chest; as she leaned down to claim his lips and mouth once more.
There was an urgent pounding at the door, just before it was pushed open…
(o0)
"Kit…" Rogue said, gritting her teeth in anger.
"Yeah…" Kitty said nervously, craning her neck to look to the doors to the blackened cinema.
"Y'ever get a feeling that someone paid for ya movie and popcorn, then decided t'go?"
Kitty swallowed hard.
"Yeah…"
Rogue and Kitty were bolting up the aisle within moments of this short conversation, bursting through the doors into the warm light of the foyer. Keen eyes swept the area and discerned no signs of the Acolytes, who had invited them out that night.
"Damnit, Gambit!" Rogue yelled out loud, receiving a few frightened looks.
It had been an hour and a half since they'd left the Mansion and, for the last half hour, Gambit and Piotre had been going for drinks…but they hadn't come back. Something was up.
"Oh crap," Kitty said, panic-stricken. "We are so screwed!"
Rogue's mobile vibrated in her pocket and, scowling, she opened the message.
'You forgave me already, chere…watch the movie, it's safer there tonight.'
Damn the Acolytes for caring for them.
(o0)
Pietro yelled as he felt his body being torn to pieces….millions and millions of swirling pieces. It was such an alien feeling, but it didn't hurt. The next thing he knew, he was dumped onto a bed once more, except it was in a different room.
And he was only wearing his boxers
Celeste rolled off him to retch dryly, clutching her head as the room spun around. Pietro was immediately there, grabbing her arm as she almost fell sidewards. Her body was slick with sweat and she panted for breath. She shook him off and sat heavily on the ground.
"Wait- just wait- one second…" she said, confused.
Slowly, the room ground to a halt and Pietro's concerned face came into focus. Perhaps she was slightly delirious, or she had let Pietro go further than she intended, but he seemed to be wearing nothing but his boxers. No wait…when she had desperately grabbed hold of Pietro, she had been aiming to transform his physical body, but not his clothes. And it seemed that she, although she seemed to be able to call upon her powers in a pinch, she wasn't able to adequately save her dignity. She grabbed a fluffy white towel, draped over the end of Rogue's bed (for she had taken them to Rogue and Kitty's room) to cover her own, barely-clad form.
Pietro, predictably, leered and seemed perfectly content to continue what they'd been doing in her own room. As his hands reached for her, she took a step back. Her expression was one of anguish and, almost, self-disgust. She had wanted to forget about Etienne in that moment…to forget what they had shared and toss their time together away, by attempting to fill in the lonely void that he had left…and Pietro had wanted her to- and she knew close to nothing about him. Pietro's face was also confused, and slightly hurt, when Celeste turned away from him.
"You'd better go…someone was lookin' for me…" she said quietly.
"Celeste…" Pietro breathed out, perplexed by this sudden change.
"Pietro…ya might not understand yet, but it's sometime better to take these things slow."
By the time she'd said the last word, she'd vanished and so had Pietro, the room empty and the door swinging.
(0o)
Celeste reappeared in the bathroom near her room and grabbed a towel. Flicking some water over her face, she sauntered out, only to be intercepted by Jean. She put on her best smile and stopped.
"Hello Je-"
"Celeste, we've got a mission. Magneto and his Acolytes have appeared at the Bayville Docks and I can't find Rogue or Kitty! You probably shouldn't be going yet, but we need you to get into uniform and be in the garage two minutes ago- now go!"
Celeste paused only for a moment, and then sprinted to her room. She pulled on the one-piece suit, which would remain on her body, should she need to change her form. She made a mental note not to try the same trick on a member of her own team- it would be somewhat awkward for any person to be naked on the battlefield, enemy or ally. Storm had not queried the fact that two openings had mysteriously appeared on her uniform, signifying that she had changed before the twenty-four hour period had finished. Two, tight-fitting sleaves of the same material slipped neatly onto her arms and a pair of long, stocking like leggings fitted snugly, moulded to her form. Two cuffs were attached to her wrists, joined to the middle of her back by a stretch of parachute-like material, had been guaranteed to increase her speed and stopping capabilities, when flying in battle.
And, with a flash of pride, she slipped her belt, bearing the glowing symbol of the X-Men, around her waist. She leapt out of her window and spread her arms, marvelling the feel of the air over her streamlined body and taking note to thank Storm once more. She flew over the mansion, pushing off the apex of the tall building, to drop the dizzying height to the driveway. As a column of air rose to brake her fall, the stretches of fabric between her arms and back filled and flared and she landed neatly.
Kurt appeared, in his natural form, tail lashing and pointed ears perked. Storm, too, flew down, her wide cape whipped into movement. Jean and Scott arrived, just as Wolverine ground the car to a screeching halt in front of the young X-Men.
"Are we going or not?" he growled impatiently.
(o0)
A/N: The review: Kitty and Rogue go out with Piotre and Remy and are deliberately ditched; Pietro rocks up to the mansion and Celeste receives him; nearly caught, they separate, unsure where each other stood. Celeste is called on her first mission, as Magneto and his Acolytes make an appearance on city outskirts! Please review, or at least keep reading my story…