"Oh Roguey… I missed you too. We all did." Pietro looked down at my tear sodden face, and squeezed me tightly as he gave me a reassuring smile. I should have felt better that he understood, but it only made me feel worse.

"Oh God! Pietro, I'm so sorry! I've been such a bitch! First I deserted you, and then I ignored you treated you like shit! Oh, man! I'm so absolutely sorry! God, and all I can do is cry!" I told him between sobs. He chuckled lightly and tilted my chin up so he could look me in the eyes.

"Roguey, you don't have to apologize. We weren't mad at you- we never could be. We were just mad at those X-geeks for taking you away from us… from me." He said softly, his face soft and caring. "But I knew that it was for the better, no matter what I wanted to believe. I knew you would be better off there and you'd have a bigger chance at learning to control your powers. Which I see you have finally learned to do." I looked him, realizing for the second time that I could now touch people, and live a somewhat ordinary life.

I laughed out loud in delight, and Pietro looked at me, startled at my spontaneous outburst. And then he did the most unexpected thing ever. He kissed me. And God help me, I kissed him back. His kiss was soft and tentative, almost as if he were scared to do it. When he pulled away, his eyes had changed. They showed his true feelings now; the ones beneath his cold exterior. Heh, talk about the pot calling the kettle black. He just looked so… vulnerable… and so beautiful. Staring into his passion filled eyes, I couldn't help but kiss him back. It was a quick and unsure kiss, and I think I broke it a bit too quickly, cuz he gave me a hurt look. I simple smiled at him, and gave another kiss, only this time it was longer than the last. We stayed like that, just us underneath the stars, until he pulled away slightly and picked me up in his arms.

"It seems as though this is more of an indoor activity, than an outdoors one." He said quietly, and within seconds, we were up in his room, with the door closed and locked. He set me down on my feet, and I flopped onto his bed, where I was surrounded by his sent- clear water for men and a soft hint of the forest. I buried my face in his comforter and breathed in deeply, enjoying the feel of his bed. I looked up at him, and saw that he was grinning at me with a raised eyebrow. I grinned back at him sheepishly and sat up, only to have him knock me back down with the weight of his body (which wasn't very heavy). He kissed me a bit harder than before, and it was filled with a lot more passion, but I had no complaints. He opened his mouth a bit and outlined my lips with his tongue, then softly pushed it between them, which forced me to open my mouth wider.

He assaulted my tongue with his own, and I soon began to parry back with mine, thus intensing the kiss. I put my arms around his shoulders and lightly ran my fingernails along the nape of his neck. He moaned in the back of his throat and put his hands on my hips, slowly massaging my skin with his thumbs; rubbing them in circles, which kept getting closer to my bikini area. I stiffened a bit, and Pietro broke our kiss to ask what was wrong.

"Pietro, I don't… I mean… sigh… I've never done this before. I- I don't know what to do." I confessed, feeling my bottom lip tremble and tears started to well up in my eyes. Pietro simply blinked, then buried his head in the space between my neck and shoulders with a chuckle.

"Oh Marie," he said, bringing his head up. I absolutely loved it when he used my real name. "You don't have to know what to do. Just do what your body tells you. If you don't want to do anything, that's fine. I'll do anything to make you happy. I'm not gonna force you to do anything that you're not ready to do. I can wait." He caressed my cheek and my heart yearned for him to be closer to me; to be where no one had ever been before.

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hey! Sorry it took me so long to get this up, but I went to the ren fair, and got totally sunburned! But that's okay, cuz I met a hot guy! Next chapter will be up soon. Review! Please!!