The Dark Room OK, by now we all pretty much know that Lance likes Kitty--I had an idea that he did before, but no idea how much :P For all you who guessed it's Lance standing in the shadows, give yourselves a gold star^^ I'm soooo sorry this chapter took so long! mwah!! :(

5. The Dark Room

Kitty and Pietro push through the crowd of partygoers through the living room into the foyer. By now the house is packed and the party is bigger, noisier, hotter. Kitty doesn't stop to think--all the upperclassmen pushing around her who seemed so cool suddenly seem threatening. A burly football player passes by her and nearly knocks her to the floor. Her eyes sting from the smoke in the air and she's having a hard time breathing--it's taking every ounce of self-control Xavier has instilled in her not to just phase out of there.

"Hey Kitty you ok?" Pietro tightens his grasp on her hand. He can see her shoulder blades tense like wings her sweater as she is overwhelmed by the crowd of people who are all taller, wider and older than she.

Kitty tries to grasp for breath and inhales a cloud of smoke instead. "Yeah," she says, trying to keep from coughing.

Pietro looks at her. "Uh, yeah. Right. Here lemme take the lead for a sec." He pulls her towards him and turns so that he is now in front of her. "C'mon." He deftly moves through the crowd with the speed and accuracy of a sharp blade, all the while keeping a firm hold on Kitty's hand. They reach the staircase and Pietro flattens his body against the wall to make way for a tipsy linebacker. They are upstairs in a dark guest room before Kitty knows it.

"You OK now, Kitty?" his voice comes through the darkness all breathy and sable.

"Uhm, yeah. *Cough* Like, thanks for getting me out of there."

"Like, no problem."

If it were any other girl Pietro would have laughed. But this is Kitty Pryde. She could take off her all her clothes and it would be completely innocent it would just be because she was hot--it would have nothing to do with him. The thought of Kitty naked is more unsettling than he expected, like a stranger paying a compliment that is too intimately sincere.

As soon as Kitty catches her breath, she immediately becomes aware of the situation and all its implications. Alone with Pietro Maximoff. In a bedroom. In the dark. Behind a closed door. At a Duncan Matthews party.

With a speed that rivals Quicksilver Kitty moves away from the bed and turns on a lamp and sits on a small couch near the window. She sees Pietro leaning there against the wall opposite her with his hands in his pocket and no expression on his face, not the slightest hint of a smirk. She hadn't seen the earring in his left ear before. She tries to remember which side means you are gay. Kitty smiles to herself and plays with a thread coming loose from her favorite pink sweater.

Time passes (exactly 1 and 3/8 of a second)...

The nice thing about superspeed is that you don't just move fast, but you think fast as well--your mind has to process information at a highly accelerated rate just to keep up with your body. It doesn't necessarily mean that Pietro Maximoff is a genius, but he has ages to come up with his response before people have even released the last word from their mouths. So he rarely looks foolish, nervous or embarassed. It comes in handy, especially when talking to an attractive member of the opposite sex.

What to say, what to say...Already asked if she was OK. How about--nice sweater ya got there Kitty? Uh, no. Howzabout where you learn to dance like that? Damn! Uh wait. No, shite. OK--I got it--

Pietro opens his mouth to shoot off his perfectly timed, perfectly witty little comment but then he sees Kitty bathed in the soft golden light of the lamp, like a statue of an angel that Pietro saw somewhere, and his body remembers hers falling into his caress, so Pietro just walks over and flops down on the cushion, rolls over and ends up with his head lying right in her lap! Whee! He cranes his neck back over her leg and flashes her an evil grin. "You got bony legs, Pryde."

"You're one to talk!" Kitty reaches out and runs her fingers over his silver-white strands. Silky... She grins in spite of herself. "My friends would like, kill me if they knew I was here," she says a little absently.

"Listen Pryde, you're the one who wanted to 'go somewhere more private.' You practically dragged me up here. If anyone's going to be nervous, it should be me. How do I know you won't take advantage of my innocence?"

Kitty has to laugh at that one. "Riiight. Hey, I know this is kind of a random question but I've always wondered--do you eat a lot since you move around so fast all the time?"

Pietro rests his head on her lap. It's nice. "Uh, yeah, I guess. Not like an insane amount or anything and not even close to the amount that Fred eats--but enough to keep me going. Food bills are never a problem. I just steal it if I'm hungry and have no cash on me." Take that, Duncan Matthews! "Uh, why do you ask?"

"Oh, no reason, really." Kitty cocks her head and looks down at Pietro's fair face. Evan needs sustenance for his powers too--boy must drink two gallons of milk a day. The speed demon and the spike-boy are more alike than one would imagine, so opposite that they are the same...like layering mirror images on top of each other... "I was just wondering, you know, since you're pretty skinny."

"I'm skinny?!" Pietro's eyes widen and shoulders stiffen as he shoots right up in a sitting position, staring at Kitty. Danger, danger! Pietro's ego is in imminent danger of being bruised--by an X-Geek, no less!

"No, not like, in a bad way! I mean, you know, like slim--uhm...it's better that way, I hate big muscle-y guys, Jean likes 'em tho', which is about the only reason why she likes Duncan, uhm..."

"Yeah, sure OK--my turn." Pietro grins and flips around with a totally serious expression on his face.

"Uhm, okay. Shoot."

"How come you don't phase out of your clothes?"

She hurls a pillow at him in a long, lazy arc and he lets her. Then he is on top of her and she is laughing as he tickles her under her arms, behind her legs, all those soft secret places of her with feather-light and lightning-fast (but not TOO fast) touches and then his lips are pressing against hers hard and he thrusts his tongue beyond her teeth. She tastes like

strawberries! yummy yum yumm ummmmmmmmmm

"Whoa!" she gasps and pulls away from him. "You're like moving way too fast!"

Pietro smiles a little darkly. "I'm the fastest man alive, baby."

"Yeah, well, some things are better if they're done slowly," Kitty says meaningfully, her eyes lowered and her cheeks rosey as she straightens her sweater.

He doesn't get her meaning at first (not too quick on the uptake tonight now is he?) then his skin which is the color of parchment takes on a deep, rosey underbloom to match hers (not so innocent after all is she? or is she?)

cause he's never really done it before but don't tell Lance because the two tell stories all the time and try to outdo each other but Pietro has always been scared he's afraid he might get carried away and hurt her or worse cause her to laugh at him (even though it is well known that Pietro Maximoff could seduce a Texan football player as easily as a drunken sorority chick)

It would be easy if I was with the right girl

But Pietro knows this is impossible because nobody can keep up with him no body can match his and no girl (at least not at Bayville) is good enough to catch him. No one even comes close...

Pietro stops and looks down at Kitty who is looking up at him with deep, glistening eyes filled with something that he cannot fathom.

Is she going to kiss me or burst into tears or what?

For what seems like an hour he just stays there propped up on his arms looking at her cute little heart-shaped face and her wide blue eyes that are lighter than his own and her mouth--then she smiles slowly and then he smiles too, leaning forward so that she can draw the tip of her tongue along his upper lip, soft, warm, wet and agonizinglyslow... both of their bodies still, with just the play of their lips and tongues on and inside each other

Suddenly, the room is shaking and there is a loud crash as the door flies open. Kitty's heart almost leaps through her chest and her eyes widen with fear, but Pietro just sighs and closes his eyes. He knows who it is, and he is not afraid because he never thinks more than two seconds ahead of himself. But he should be.

"Well," Lance Alvers speaks in a bored voice even as he cracks his knuckles, his tall, dark frame looming in the empty doorframe. "Ain't this cozy."

TO BE CONTINUED! It's the battle of the century--Lance Alvers vs. Pietro Maximoff, X-Men vs. Brotherhood, and Britney vs. Christina! Feedback is like manna from heaven! *bambi eyes*