Cooking Lessons
Shadow Knight
Chapter 6: Just a Little Date
Disclaimer: Bah. . . .Why do I even do this? Everyone knows I don't own it. . . right?
~
#Noise#
~Thoughts~
_Movie Dialogue_
@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*
"Pietro. . . how many times do Ah have to tell ya," said a girl in the lobby, her black gloved hand grasping her face in frustration.
The silver haired boy, seemed to only bounce more as his eyes danced merrily along the glass surface, smiling.
"What??? Ijustwantalittlebit!"
The girl's eyes grew narrowed as she grabbed the boy's collar and jerked him back. Turning him around, she raised a finger and scolded him as if he were a little child.
"NO MORE CANDY, PIETRO!"
His head drooping in defeat, he let his fingers slide from the glass counter, staring mournfully at it. Crocodile tears welled slightly in his metallic blue eyes. 'I'll always love you,' he silently mouthed to the plastic bags of candy.
"Pietro, get over it already! We have to get into the movie already," the girl's southern accent drawled. Flicking a silver strand from her face, she looked irritably at the boy.
Suddenly, Pietro's eyes cleared and he looked over to the girl with a grin, his eyes forming sly slits. "Whatever you want my beautiful, Rogue," he whispered.
Hearing his words, a streak of red crept along Rogue's cheeks, causing her to fluster for a moment and play with her hair. "Well," she mumbled, her face hot, "Ah. . .Ah just thought we should. . . ya know. . .go in now. . Ah guess. . .Okay Pietro?. . . Pietro?"
With no sly response from Pietro, Rogue's head jerked up, her hands leaving her hair as she looked for a sight of silver hair. She was starting to get worried that he left her behind when she suddenly heard a voice call out from behind her.
"Come on Roguey! You're gonna make us miss the movie!"
Whipping around, Rogue's face flushed in scarlet, this time in anger. Stiffly, she made her way toward the grinning boy, hands full of candies and snacks. Grabbing the popcorn bucket from him, she shoved the doors open and stalked past him, her eyes steady and forward. Pietro, left with one free hand, scratched his head, a perplexed expression on his face.
"What'd I do?"
Shrugging his shoulders in defeat, he shouldered his way past the theater's doors and into the dark folds of the theater.
~
#CRUNCH#
~Hey. . .This isn't so bad. . . ~
"So Lance, how is it?"
Hearing the soft and excited squeal, the senior shook his head of hair slightly, turning toward the source of the voice. Two blue orbs stared up at him, sparkling with anxiousness at his reply. With her head tilted slightly, and her chestnut bangs clipped around her face, Lance found himself stuttering slightly, awed by her stunning innocence.
"Uh. . .ish mot bat bad, Kitty. Ish bery. . .tashy."(Translation: it's not that bad, Kitty. It's very. . tasty.)
Through his mouthful of brownie, the young freshman eventually translated the garbled words and threw her hands up in joy. Her face grew into a grin as she hopped around in delight, prancing around the kitchen. Her victory dance was cut short though when she heard a slight choking sound from behind her.
"K. . Kitty!"
Whipping around, Kitty's eyes grew wide as she saw the quivering Lance grab at his throat, his eyes growing glassy like a china doll. Rushing over, she fretted and shook her head worriedly. Her mind reeled as she tried to remember what the maneuver was to help a choking person. Suddenly her eyes brightened from abrupt revelation.
All of the sudden, she shouted, "Heimlich!"
Quickly, she dashed behind the shaking Lance and tried her best to reach her small arms around Lance's large frame. Positioning her thumb and fist in the correct order that she learned in one of the Danger Room sessions, Kitty squeezed her eyes shut tightly and thrust her positioned fist upward into Lance's chest.
~Please let this work!~
She repeated it a few more times and then grew still, pausing to listen to Lance. When she heard nothing, she opened her eyes and let her arms slide down from his sides. Walking slowly around, she peered up at the frozen boy.
"Lance," she whispered, her voice shaking slightly, "are. . .are you okay?"
Even as she asked the boy, his head continued to be bowed down toward her, his hair causing a shadow to stretch over his face. Waiting for a few moments, a slow frown grew on her face. Placing a hand on her hip, she stared angrily at the still boy.
~Okay, now I'm angry.~
Stalking up toward Lance, she stuck out a finger and poked the boy roughly in the chest, her fury barely contained. Flicking her hair back, she shouted at the boy irately. "Lance what is your freaking problem?! Answer me now!"
With a sudden forceful jab, his body slumped slightly and leaned toward the right. Kitty stopped her tirade suddenly and watched as body slid off the stool he was sitting on. Slowly, he fell toward the tile floor, slumping silently on the floor.
"Lance!!!"
Watching his sudden fall, Kitty fell out of her stupor and fell on her knees toward his side. She brushed back his hair with a small and shaking hand. A gasp caught in her throat as she saw his face.
Lance's eyes were clamped shut, a strenuous look straining across his face. With his teeth clenched together, his forehead was cold and drenched with freezing perspiration. As a tiny bead streaked down his brow, Kitty felt a fearful frown growing on her face. Jumping to her feet, she ran out, running for help.
~
_You have nothing to fear my dear. . . I am here to protect you from those horrible vampires._
_Oh really, sir Count? I do thank you, I know I can trust you, Count Dracula. . . ._
~Oh give me a break! 'Let's trust good old Dracula! He's not a vampire! No, not with those large fangs! Feh. . .stupid.~
"Rogue? You okay? You like you just found out someone busted you."
Her eyes not leaving the silver movie screen, Rogue's face turned slightly toward the questioning voice. "Yeah, Ah'm fine, Pietro. It's just the movie," she replied, her eyes moving along with the flickering characters, "The intelligence of the characters are very. . .non-stimulating."
"Oh. . ," whispered Pietro slowly, turning back to movie screen, a small frown on his face.
Rogue turned abruptly when she heard the remorseful reply. Seeing a disappointed frown on the silver haired teen, Rogue smiled awkwardly and patted Pietro's arm lightly. "No. . .it's okay. Ah still like the movie. Ah just meant. . .uh. . it was different from the book's characters."
Pietro seemed a little unconvinced, but gave a crooked smile. With a slight nod, he turned back to the screen, munching on some candy. Rogue sighed with relief and looked back to the screen herself.
. . . . . . . . . . .(10 minutes later). . . . . . . . . .
_No! Not you Dracula! You can't be one of them. . .You said you'd protect me! Why?! No! Stay away!_
Hands to his mouth, Pietro was chewing on his fingernails, his eyes large as he gazed at the movie screen. His heart pounding, he watched as Dracula crept closer. . .and closer. . and closer. . and-
Then Pietro felt something warm touch his arm.
"AAGGGHH!!!!"
Screaming, Pietro leaped from his seat in terror. Fearfully, he whipped around and stared next to him. He was met with the shocked expression on Rogue's face, her pale skin illuminated by the bright light of the movie scene. Her emerald eyes regarded him warily, her hand still outreached to where she touched him.
Seeing Rogue, Pietro felt a scarlet flame ignite in his face, thankful for the cinema's darkness. Looking toward the crowd, he saw the people in front of them were staring at him, some stunned and some angry. He suddenly felt a hand grab onto his arm. Turning swiftly on his heel, Pietro's metallic blue eyes met Rogue's concerned emerald ones.
"How about we go do something else Pietro," she whispered quietly as she grabbed his arm.
Not bother to speak, Pietro's head jerked up and down quickly and he grabbed her wrist, avoiding make skin contact, and pulled her speedily down the row and up toward the theater doors. When they popped out, Pietro dumped his trash and dragged Rogue along to the outside.
"Pietro," Rogue hissed, "were out now! Ya can stop yanking my arm off!"
With sudden abruptness, Pietro stopped and looked back at the Southern teen. He dropped her hand and turned toward her, reaching a hand up to slick back his hair. "Sorry about that Rogue," he muttered, embarrassed as he ran nervous fingers through his silvery strands, "I guess that I got too caught up in the movie and when you touched me, it well. . .caused to me to freak out."
Rogue grinned and, closing her eyes, fanned her hand, "It's alright Petey. Ah forgive ya for nearly jerking my arm off. Don't start getting apologetic on me or yar gonna freak _me_ out."
Pietro's face suddenly curved as a crafty smile grew on his face. Circling the young goth, he grabbed her arms lightly from the back and rested his head on her shoulder, a husky whisper blowing her hair, "But Roguey. . .didn't you like it when you I touched you? Don't you enjoy my touch?"
Feeling his hot breath against her ear, Rogue's body froze as a heavy blush flushed over her face. Of course she enjoyed being near him, him touching her in an embrace and such. . .but she could never admit it out loud. But being in his arms was. . .oh so nice . . .
A small smile curled on Rogue's lips, unwillingly. Seeing this, Pietro grinned and leaning over her shoulder, he quickly pecked Rogue's pale cheek, using his mutant power. Immediately, he felt a small drain of energy from him. He dropped his hand away from Rogue and watched as her dreamy, blushing face suddenly melted away to a shocked one, her lips parted as she inhaled sharply.
Backing away from her, Pietro watched as she wheeled around and stared at him accusingly. Pointing a gloved finger at the snickering boy, Rogue frowned. "Darn it Pietro," she yelled, "don't ya know ya could hurt yerself one of these times?!"
"I know," Pietro said softly.
Rogue stared at him and sputtered for a moment, lost for words. Walking over to her slowly, Pietro took her arm and guided her down the path. She didn't begin to fight back as he started her down the path, and back toward her home. She simply remained quiet, a stunned expression still on her face.
~
~Wha. . . .What happened? Am I dead?~
Blearily, the boy opened his eyes, liquid swimming around as the light burned into his eyes. Vision crept its way slowly into his sight, everything seeming slightly hazy. Suddenly a face swam into his view, a murky image looking down at him. As the image began sharper, the boy's eyes narrowed in concentration.
~Is that. . . Kitty?~
The face focused now, he saw the girl's worried face litter his vision. Reaching out a hand, he wanted to comfort the girl, seeing tears threatening to spill over. But he felt. . .so tired for some reason. Licking his cracked lips, he tried to force out some words instead.
"Kitty?. . . . What's wrong? W. . .Where am I?"
This only seemed to cause the girl more grief as her body shook, sobs wracking her small frame. From behind her hands, the boy listened to her sobs.
"I'm. . hic. . .so sorry. . .hic. . .Lance! I like. . . hic. . .didn't mean. . .hic. . to hurt you like that. I should have known not to give it to you. I'm like. . . hic. . .so sorry!"
Hearing her blubbering apologies, Lance's eyes softened. So. . .that's what happened. He tried to reach up again, but found himself unable to. Instead, he opted to try and comfort her through talking again.
"Kitty. . .it's okay. I'm alright now aren't I? You know you can't bring down a guy like me!"
Kitty's face edged over the tips of her hands, staring at him slightly. Then, seeing him so weak and pale, another wave of sadness swept through Kitty. Her face flew behind her hands again. Her body was shaking so hard, that she sank into the chair next to Lance's bed.
"Lance. . I. . hic. . .I. . .gave you food poisoning! I'm not cook. Who was I kidding? Rogue knew it and she tried to tell me, but I would listen," Kitty cried from behind her pale fortress of hands, "Now look what I did. I could have killed you! Lance. . .I'm so sorry. Please forgive me for my. . .hic. . .lack of cooking skills."
At the end of her explanation, Lance's eyes grew gentle and with unknown strength, he raised his arms out to Kitty and took her into a firm embrace, pressing her against his chest. Nestling his nose into her hair, a strawberry scent wafted up to his nose. He closed his eyes and continued to hold her.
"Kitty," he mumbled from her hair, "don't you ever think you have no cooking skills. I've liked you just for how you are, not because of your skills. I don' t care how bad the stuff you make may be. . . I will always be the first person to offer to try it. You just keep trying and I know you'll get it. And I'm sure Rogue doesn't mind either. She'll help you be a fine cook."
When Lance's arms wrapped around her and took her into an embrace, Kitty's face was red as a tomato and she was about to fluster to Lance to let go, even though she didn't want him to. Yet, toward the end of his speech, Kitty's face faded to normal, a light pink spray across her cheeks. She wasn't embarrassed anymore.
Closing her eyes, she clutched onto Lance's frame more tightly, pressing her nose into his shirt and enjoying his smell. With a sigh, she whispered, "Thanks Lance."
And they remained there for a while, frozen in a warm embrace.
~
~Well, she looks like she's gotten over the shock now. . ~
Turning his head toward his companion, the boy watched the girl carefully beside him. Her eyes were still facing straight ahead, but she seemed to be back to normal now. She was walking a little bit ahead of him after he had let her arm go.
Trying his best to seem uninterested, Pietro spoke out casually. "So. . .," he started, "did you have a nice time?"
When he was met with silence, Pietro hung his head down slightly and frowned. Looking away from her, he stared down at the sidewalk. ~What did I do wrong? I thought everything was okay. . .~
"Yes. . .Yes, Ah did."
As the soft voice spoke, Pietro's head whipped up and he stopped, staring at the girl next to him. She was looking at him, a warm smile on her normally cold features. Pietro felt his tongue tumble as he tried to talk, his heart speeding even faster than normal.
"Uh. . .um. . .yes. . .it.. . was good. . right? Yeah. . .um. . .yeah. It was nice."
Rogue smiled at the flustering boy. She shook her head slightly, laughing on the inside. ~How. . .how did Ah fall for this guy? This normal jerk of a guy. . .What did he do to make me fall for him?~
Looking back up at Pietro, he seemed bothered by something, muttering something under his breath. Feeling her eyes on him, Pietro's head flipped upward. His heart pounding in his ear, he tried spitting out the words he had been practicing under his breath.
Reaching out a pale hand, he mumbled and stuttered. "Um. . .Rogue. . .would you. . would you. . .would you like to. . um. . .hold . . hold. . .hold. . -"
"Pietro. . .can I hold your hand?"
Staring with wide eyes at the girl, Pietro paused for a moment before he whispered a small, "sure."
Taking his offered hand, Rogue slipped her own gloved hand into his shaking one. Clasping hands, the new and awkward couple silently made their way home, a smile on each other's faces.
~
Awwww! Wasn't that sweet?! ^_^ Okay. . . .Too much sugar. . . Anywho, I wanted to have a lot of Rietro and Lancitty fluff in this chapter because I was in a particularly good mood today. ^_^ So, I hope you liked it and have that warm, fluffy feeling. . .^_^
Well, I can't say much more except that you would be so nice as to review.
Thanks for reading. Ciao. ^_~
Shadow Knight
Chapter 6: Just a Little Date
Disclaimer: Bah. . . .Why do I even do this? Everyone knows I don't own it. . . right?
~
#Noise#
~Thoughts~
_Movie Dialogue_
@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*
"Pietro. . . how many times do Ah have to tell ya," said a girl in the lobby, her black gloved hand grasping her face in frustration.
The silver haired boy, seemed to only bounce more as his eyes danced merrily along the glass surface, smiling.
"What??? Ijustwantalittlebit!"
The girl's eyes grew narrowed as she grabbed the boy's collar and jerked him back. Turning him around, she raised a finger and scolded him as if he were a little child.
"NO MORE CANDY, PIETRO!"
His head drooping in defeat, he let his fingers slide from the glass counter, staring mournfully at it. Crocodile tears welled slightly in his metallic blue eyes. 'I'll always love you,' he silently mouthed to the plastic bags of candy.
"Pietro, get over it already! We have to get into the movie already," the girl's southern accent drawled. Flicking a silver strand from her face, she looked irritably at the boy.
Suddenly, Pietro's eyes cleared and he looked over to the girl with a grin, his eyes forming sly slits. "Whatever you want my beautiful, Rogue," he whispered.
Hearing his words, a streak of red crept along Rogue's cheeks, causing her to fluster for a moment and play with her hair. "Well," she mumbled, her face hot, "Ah. . .Ah just thought we should. . . ya know. . .go in now. . Ah guess. . .Okay Pietro?. . . Pietro?"
With no sly response from Pietro, Rogue's head jerked up, her hands leaving her hair as she looked for a sight of silver hair. She was starting to get worried that he left her behind when she suddenly heard a voice call out from behind her.
"Come on Roguey! You're gonna make us miss the movie!"
Whipping around, Rogue's face flushed in scarlet, this time in anger. Stiffly, she made her way toward the grinning boy, hands full of candies and snacks. Grabbing the popcorn bucket from him, she shoved the doors open and stalked past him, her eyes steady and forward. Pietro, left with one free hand, scratched his head, a perplexed expression on his face.
"What'd I do?"
Shrugging his shoulders in defeat, he shouldered his way past the theater's doors and into the dark folds of the theater.
~
#CRUNCH#
~Hey. . .This isn't so bad. . . ~
"So Lance, how is it?"
Hearing the soft and excited squeal, the senior shook his head of hair slightly, turning toward the source of the voice. Two blue orbs stared up at him, sparkling with anxiousness at his reply. With her head tilted slightly, and her chestnut bangs clipped around her face, Lance found himself stuttering slightly, awed by her stunning innocence.
"Uh. . .ish mot bat bad, Kitty. Ish bery. . .tashy."(Translation: it's not that bad, Kitty. It's very. . tasty.)
Through his mouthful of brownie, the young freshman eventually translated the garbled words and threw her hands up in joy. Her face grew into a grin as she hopped around in delight, prancing around the kitchen. Her victory dance was cut short though when she heard a slight choking sound from behind her.
"K. . Kitty!"
Whipping around, Kitty's eyes grew wide as she saw the quivering Lance grab at his throat, his eyes growing glassy like a china doll. Rushing over, she fretted and shook her head worriedly. Her mind reeled as she tried to remember what the maneuver was to help a choking person. Suddenly her eyes brightened from abrupt revelation.
All of the sudden, she shouted, "Heimlich!"
Quickly, she dashed behind the shaking Lance and tried her best to reach her small arms around Lance's large frame. Positioning her thumb and fist in the correct order that she learned in one of the Danger Room sessions, Kitty squeezed her eyes shut tightly and thrust her positioned fist upward into Lance's chest.
~Please let this work!~
She repeated it a few more times and then grew still, pausing to listen to Lance. When she heard nothing, she opened her eyes and let her arms slide down from his sides. Walking slowly around, she peered up at the frozen boy.
"Lance," she whispered, her voice shaking slightly, "are. . .are you okay?"
Even as she asked the boy, his head continued to be bowed down toward her, his hair causing a shadow to stretch over his face. Waiting for a few moments, a slow frown grew on her face. Placing a hand on her hip, she stared angrily at the still boy.
~Okay, now I'm angry.~
Stalking up toward Lance, she stuck out a finger and poked the boy roughly in the chest, her fury barely contained. Flicking her hair back, she shouted at the boy irately. "Lance what is your freaking problem?! Answer me now!"
With a sudden forceful jab, his body slumped slightly and leaned toward the right. Kitty stopped her tirade suddenly and watched as body slid off the stool he was sitting on. Slowly, he fell toward the tile floor, slumping silently on the floor.
"Lance!!!"
Watching his sudden fall, Kitty fell out of her stupor and fell on her knees toward his side. She brushed back his hair with a small and shaking hand. A gasp caught in her throat as she saw his face.
Lance's eyes were clamped shut, a strenuous look straining across his face. With his teeth clenched together, his forehead was cold and drenched with freezing perspiration. As a tiny bead streaked down his brow, Kitty felt a fearful frown growing on her face. Jumping to her feet, she ran out, running for help.
~
_You have nothing to fear my dear. . . I am here to protect you from those horrible vampires._
_Oh really, sir Count? I do thank you, I know I can trust you, Count Dracula. . . ._
~Oh give me a break! 'Let's trust good old Dracula! He's not a vampire! No, not with those large fangs! Feh. . .stupid.~
"Rogue? You okay? You like you just found out someone busted you."
Her eyes not leaving the silver movie screen, Rogue's face turned slightly toward the questioning voice. "Yeah, Ah'm fine, Pietro. It's just the movie," she replied, her eyes moving along with the flickering characters, "The intelligence of the characters are very. . .non-stimulating."
"Oh. . ," whispered Pietro slowly, turning back to movie screen, a small frown on his face.
Rogue turned abruptly when she heard the remorseful reply. Seeing a disappointed frown on the silver haired teen, Rogue smiled awkwardly and patted Pietro's arm lightly. "No. . .it's okay. Ah still like the movie. Ah just meant. . .uh. . it was different from the book's characters."
Pietro seemed a little unconvinced, but gave a crooked smile. With a slight nod, he turned back to the screen, munching on some candy. Rogue sighed with relief and looked back to the screen herself.
. . . . . . . . . . .(10 minutes later). . . . . . . . . .
_No! Not you Dracula! You can't be one of them. . .You said you'd protect me! Why?! No! Stay away!_
Hands to his mouth, Pietro was chewing on his fingernails, his eyes large as he gazed at the movie screen. His heart pounding, he watched as Dracula crept closer. . .and closer. . and closer. . and-
Then Pietro felt something warm touch his arm.
"AAGGGHH!!!!"
Screaming, Pietro leaped from his seat in terror. Fearfully, he whipped around and stared next to him. He was met with the shocked expression on Rogue's face, her pale skin illuminated by the bright light of the movie scene. Her emerald eyes regarded him warily, her hand still outreached to where she touched him.
Seeing Rogue, Pietro felt a scarlet flame ignite in his face, thankful for the cinema's darkness. Looking toward the crowd, he saw the people in front of them were staring at him, some stunned and some angry. He suddenly felt a hand grab onto his arm. Turning swiftly on his heel, Pietro's metallic blue eyes met Rogue's concerned emerald ones.
"How about we go do something else Pietro," she whispered quietly as she grabbed his arm.
Not bother to speak, Pietro's head jerked up and down quickly and he grabbed her wrist, avoiding make skin contact, and pulled her speedily down the row and up toward the theater doors. When they popped out, Pietro dumped his trash and dragged Rogue along to the outside.
"Pietro," Rogue hissed, "were out now! Ya can stop yanking my arm off!"
With sudden abruptness, Pietro stopped and looked back at the Southern teen. He dropped her hand and turned toward her, reaching a hand up to slick back his hair. "Sorry about that Rogue," he muttered, embarrassed as he ran nervous fingers through his silvery strands, "I guess that I got too caught up in the movie and when you touched me, it well. . .caused to me to freak out."
Rogue grinned and, closing her eyes, fanned her hand, "It's alright Petey. Ah forgive ya for nearly jerking my arm off. Don't start getting apologetic on me or yar gonna freak _me_ out."
Pietro's face suddenly curved as a crafty smile grew on his face. Circling the young goth, he grabbed her arms lightly from the back and rested his head on her shoulder, a husky whisper blowing her hair, "But Roguey. . .didn't you like it when you I touched you? Don't you enjoy my touch?"
Feeling his hot breath against her ear, Rogue's body froze as a heavy blush flushed over her face. Of course she enjoyed being near him, him touching her in an embrace and such. . .but she could never admit it out loud. But being in his arms was. . .oh so nice . . .
A small smile curled on Rogue's lips, unwillingly. Seeing this, Pietro grinned and leaning over her shoulder, he quickly pecked Rogue's pale cheek, using his mutant power. Immediately, he felt a small drain of energy from him. He dropped his hand away from Rogue and watched as her dreamy, blushing face suddenly melted away to a shocked one, her lips parted as she inhaled sharply.
Backing away from her, Pietro watched as she wheeled around and stared at him accusingly. Pointing a gloved finger at the snickering boy, Rogue frowned. "Darn it Pietro," she yelled, "don't ya know ya could hurt yerself one of these times?!"
"I know," Pietro said softly.
Rogue stared at him and sputtered for a moment, lost for words. Walking over to her slowly, Pietro took her arm and guided her down the path. She didn't begin to fight back as he started her down the path, and back toward her home. She simply remained quiet, a stunned expression still on her face.
~
~Wha. . . .What happened? Am I dead?~
Blearily, the boy opened his eyes, liquid swimming around as the light burned into his eyes. Vision crept its way slowly into his sight, everything seeming slightly hazy. Suddenly a face swam into his view, a murky image looking down at him. As the image began sharper, the boy's eyes narrowed in concentration.
~Is that. . . Kitty?~
The face focused now, he saw the girl's worried face litter his vision. Reaching out a hand, he wanted to comfort the girl, seeing tears threatening to spill over. But he felt. . .so tired for some reason. Licking his cracked lips, he tried to force out some words instead.
"Kitty?. . . . What's wrong? W. . .Where am I?"
This only seemed to cause the girl more grief as her body shook, sobs wracking her small frame. From behind her hands, the boy listened to her sobs.
"I'm. . hic. . .so sorry. . .hic. . .Lance! I like. . . hic. . .didn't mean. . .hic. . to hurt you like that. I should have known not to give it to you. I'm like. . . hic. . .so sorry!"
Hearing her blubbering apologies, Lance's eyes softened. So. . .that's what happened. He tried to reach up again, but found himself unable to. Instead, he opted to try and comfort her through talking again.
"Kitty. . .it's okay. I'm alright now aren't I? You know you can't bring down a guy like me!"
Kitty's face edged over the tips of her hands, staring at him slightly. Then, seeing him so weak and pale, another wave of sadness swept through Kitty. Her face flew behind her hands again. Her body was shaking so hard, that she sank into the chair next to Lance's bed.
"Lance. . I. . hic. . .I. . .gave you food poisoning! I'm not cook. Who was I kidding? Rogue knew it and she tried to tell me, but I would listen," Kitty cried from behind her pale fortress of hands, "Now look what I did. I could have killed you! Lance. . .I'm so sorry. Please forgive me for my. . .hic. . .lack of cooking skills."
At the end of her explanation, Lance's eyes grew gentle and with unknown strength, he raised his arms out to Kitty and took her into a firm embrace, pressing her against his chest. Nestling his nose into her hair, a strawberry scent wafted up to his nose. He closed his eyes and continued to hold her.
"Kitty," he mumbled from her hair, "don't you ever think you have no cooking skills. I've liked you just for how you are, not because of your skills. I don' t care how bad the stuff you make may be. . . I will always be the first person to offer to try it. You just keep trying and I know you'll get it. And I'm sure Rogue doesn't mind either. She'll help you be a fine cook."
When Lance's arms wrapped around her and took her into an embrace, Kitty's face was red as a tomato and she was about to fluster to Lance to let go, even though she didn't want him to. Yet, toward the end of his speech, Kitty's face faded to normal, a light pink spray across her cheeks. She wasn't embarrassed anymore.
Closing her eyes, she clutched onto Lance's frame more tightly, pressing her nose into his shirt and enjoying his smell. With a sigh, she whispered, "Thanks Lance."
And they remained there for a while, frozen in a warm embrace.
~
~Well, she looks like she's gotten over the shock now. . ~
Turning his head toward his companion, the boy watched the girl carefully beside him. Her eyes were still facing straight ahead, but she seemed to be back to normal now. She was walking a little bit ahead of him after he had let her arm go.
Trying his best to seem uninterested, Pietro spoke out casually. "So. . .," he started, "did you have a nice time?"
When he was met with silence, Pietro hung his head down slightly and frowned. Looking away from her, he stared down at the sidewalk. ~What did I do wrong? I thought everything was okay. . .~
"Yes. . .Yes, Ah did."
As the soft voice spoke, Pietro's head whipped up and he stopped, staring at the girl next to him. She was looking at him, a warm smile on her normally cold features. Pietro felt his tongue tumble as he tried to talk, his heart speeding even faster than normal.
"Uh. . .um. . .yes. . .it.. . was good. . right? Yeah. . .um. . .yeah. It was nice."
Rogue smiled at the flustering boy. She shook her head slightly, laughing on the inside. ~How. . .how did Ah fall for this guy? This normal jerk of a guy. . .What did he do to make me fall for him?~
Looking back up at Pietro, he seemed bothered by something, muttering something under his breath. Feeling her eyes on him, Pietro's head flipped upward. His heart pounding in his ear, he tried spitting out the words he had been practicing under his breath.
Reaching out a pale hand, he mumbled and stuttered. "Um. . .Rogue. . .would you. . would you. . .would you like to. . um. . .hold . . hold. . .hold. . -"
"Pietro. . .can I hold your hand?"
Staring with wide eyes at the girl, Pietro paused for a moment before he whispered a small, "sure."
Taking his offered hand, Rogue slipped her own gloved hand into his shaking one. Clasping hands, the new and awkward couple silently made their way home, a smile on each other's faces.
~
Awwww! Wasn't that sweet?! ^_^ Okay. . . .Too much sugar. . . Anywho, I wanted to have a lot of Rietro and Lancitty fluff in this chapter because I was in a particularly good mood today. ^_^ So, I hope you liked it and have that warm, fluffy feeling. . .^_^
Well, I can't say much more except that you would be so nice as to review.
Thanks for reading. Ciao. ^_~