The Ultimate Challenge Hey, it's finished!--this chapter at least^^ MUCH thanks to Celenna for suggesting "I Knew I Loved You" by Savage Garden as the slow song, and thanks to everyone else for sending me all their suggestions as well! You guys are the best! Chapter 5 is coming right up, so please read and review! Thanks!

4. Pas de Deux

Kitty Pryde is smiling

at him???

a secret smile. Maybe it is the weird party lighting in Duncan's living room, but her face seems alight with something like

I know something you don't know

hinting of all the wonderful things she could share with him.

Pietro stands there and lets her words sink in. Her invitation to dance

...almost sounds like a challenge. Silly girl. Tricks are for kids who know what the hell they're doing.

He grins and wordlessly joins her, but she shies away almost teasingly to the center of the room so that they're protected from outside eyes by the mass of bodies dancing in the velvety darkness.

Cher ends and a new song begins, one that neither of them has heard before. The incomprehensible lyrics give way to a deeper meaning as they start to move to the music. Pietro is a good dancer (of course) even though he hasn't had many opportunities to dance before. This talent is completely his because it is separate from his mutant powers--all the speed in the world can't make up for a sense of rhythm. Thus Pietro can join Kitty in a place where Time which has always been an unfathomable blur or an imperceptibly sloooowwww march somehow seems to

STOP

but they are freer than they have ever been from it before because they are in the Now--something that never lasts but is always happening--and feel themselves surrounded by the magic of the moment

Forget the Institute. Forget the Brotherhood. Forget authority. Forget loyalty. Forget that you are enemies. Forget the insane war you are about to fight. Let the music inside you

And suddenly they are just a boy and a girl dancing together who are both very young and beautiful and attracted to each other in spite of everything. Or maybe because of everything.

For Pietro, it is a simple thing. He is attracted to Kitty Pryde like a bee towards honey or a toddler to a shiny object. He doesn't question it because he rarely questions anything. He will forget her tomorrow or maybe even sooner. After all, a boy who experiences things ten times faster than the average man is sure to forget things faster too...right? This is not to say that Pietro Maximoff has no memory. He knows many things that few people will ever know. He just can't remember where or how he learned them...

Kitty turns and sways, and even though to Pietro she might as well be moving in slow motion she is...enchanting

Do not begin thinking why. See her in the here and now. See that she is in front of you and see that she is dancing and SEE that she is the loveliest thing you have ever seen

They dance close to one another. Now and then his hand brushes her waist. Or her fingertips press against his chest. Or their legs touch. Or their eyes meet. The language of the dance is simple

You're pretty

So are you

I like you

I like you

Who are you?

Don't hurt me

Come closer

Too close

You're pretty

Then the music stops and the spell is broken. A new song begins, one that is slow and unmistakably romantic. The ones dancing by themselves quietly retreat to the corners or to another room. The whole atmosphere changes and two are trapped back in real time.

Maybe it's intuition

Kitty is still and realizes just how vulnerable she is. The slow, undulating bodies that provided refuge before have now trapped her inside with this speed demon.

some things you just don't question

Pietro looks at her, standing there looking more alone than he has ever seen her, and for no good reason whatsoever he offers his hand and his trademark smirk. "May I have this dance?"

like in your eyes, I see my future in an instant Kitty pauses so Pietro isn't sure if she is hesitant or if he has been standing there forever. But she takes his hand and her eyes are shining though she does not smile. "Such a gentleman."

and there it goes, I think I've found my best friend

"I try," he smirks and pulls her close to him.

I know that it might sound
more than a little crazy

"Just, uhm..."

but I believe

"What? Whatisit?"

I knew I loved you before I met you
I think I dreamed you into life

"Uhm, just like watch where you put those fast hands of yours cause you know, uhm, I might not like know if you're going too fast where you, uhhm..."

I knew I loved you before I met you

Pietro scowls. "I'm not a total jerk, Pryde."

I have been waiting all my life

"Oh right, like I'll believe that when I see it," she smirks, happy now that she has scored a point.

"Yeah, sure. C'mon." Quickly but gently Pietro draws Kitty to him again and places his hands on the exact center of her back. Kitty's catches her breath at such intimate contact with one of her worst enemies. Her face is level with his collarbone and she can smell his icy cologne. Pietro looks down at her with an expression that is half-mocking, half-caressing. "Happy now?"

there's just no rhyme or reason
only the sense of completion

"Uh..mm..."

and in your eyes I see the missing pieces
I'm searching for, I think I've found my way home

Having her slender body pressed against him and inhaling the vanilla-y scent of her hair causes a happy feeling somewhere in Pietro's abdomen. They gently sway, barely even moving at all because there's very little room but this is nice he thinks. He wonders if he can...

I know that it might sound
more than a little crazy
but I believe

"Man, this song sucks." His hands drift to just above her hips.

I knew I loved you before I met you

"I like it..."

"You would."

"Like, shut up, you're the one who wanted to dance!" Her face is nestled against his shoulder but he can see that she is smiling a little.

I think I dreamed you into life

Kitty Pryde has never slow danced with a guy before. She had never been popular at her old school in Northbrook--girls like Riley had seen to that--and she has never had a boyfriend. Her ideas about boys come from books and TV and her parents and when she feels Pietro's hands moving down her body ever-so-slightly all her second-hand knowledge goes flying out the window and she panicks as a voice inside commands don't let him go any further!--even though it feels kind of nice. But his hands stop somewhere between her stomach and hips and stay there. Relieved but nervous and angry at herself for not being more sophisticated, Kitty racks her brain for something to say to this unpredictable boy...

I knew I loved you before I met you

"This must be hard for you--I mean like with your powers and all. Uhm, slow dancing, I mean..."

I have been waiting all my life

Pietro smiles. "Ah, not really. Slow dancing isn't really dancing you see, it's just an excuse for the guy to get his arms around a pretty girl."

A thousand angels dance around you

"Oh..." Kitty's heart is beating so hard she is sure Pietro can feel it. She's used to being called pretty--at least by her parents and (ugh) Lance--but when Pietro says it she feels like her face is on fire. Get a grip, girl! It's just Pietro Maximoff! Evan says he wears little rocketship underwear! Waitasec-how would Evan know that?...Kitty lets that thought go unfinished and concentrates on the feeling of Pietro's broad shoulders beneath her fingertips .

I am complete now that I found you

They dance to the chorus and then the song ends. Out of the corner of her eye Kitty sees a head of bleached blond hair, which reminds her of Evan who reminds her of teammates who remind her of what will happen if they catch her dancing with Quicksilver. "Uh, let's like go somewhere more private," she says hastily.

Pietro's blue eyes widen almost innocently and he has to pinch himself from grinning like an idiot. "OK. Sure."

Pietro lets Kitty lead him off the dance floor but swings around at the last second to shoot a triumphant smirk at Evan Daniels (who he knows has been watching them for a while now) and gives him a two-fingered salute. Then he disappears with Kitty into the crowd, leaving Evan to glare daggers at their backs.

But even Pietro's eagle eyes have missed the one other person who has seen him dancing with Kitty Pryde. That person is standing behind the stereo speakers, his clenched fists shaking with rage.

Hehe I'm having way too much fun with these cliffhangers!^-^ Can you guess who the guy standing in the shadows is?