Still Holding Out For You
By Lady Trunks
Part 29

Icy Flame- Girl, you review almost as hyperly as me (which I'm still smiling after reading , and people are going to think I'm crazy). I'm so glad you like it. I have also developed a tenderness for the psyche Pietro. Of course I would be happy with just the original too, but for some reason I can't find one. Dang it!!

Nina- I'm glad you like it. And I'll try to find the time to work on that storylines, but right now I'm majorly swamped. And since all my ideas tend to be at least partially insane, I'm glad to know that those kind tend to be the best. ^^ And I'm happy it's one of your faves.

RogueBHS- One night? Well, at least I could keep you busy for a couple hours. ^^ And I'll work on the accent, though the extent of my knowledge tends to be that my=mah and I=Ah. But now at least I have inspiration to work on it. ^_~

Nightshade- Yep, almost finished. After this I think there will only be an epilogue. So, it will probably be finished tomorrow. And I'm glad you like the plot of the new fic.

snow queen- You really thought so? ^_^ Yay! Well, it might drive you insane, but what a way to go.

Lucky439- So nice of you to say so chica. And I'm working on it. But yours will come first.

Glenn Rentholen/Katina Ashton- Well, that's good to know. And I'll be sure to check your fic out. And thanks for reffering someone to it. The more the merrier and all that. ^_^

J.Dax- You know, I still love hearing that. ^^ And I myself find the thought of two Pietro's... Hmm, how best to put this. Extra yummy? I would have liked to have done more with them, but I think it's time to move the fic forward. Or end it as the case may be. ^_^

Mori- Glad you liked it. I usually force myself to do a chapter before I go to bed. If I actually put my mind to it and don't get distracted (which always happens) it doesn't actually take me that long to do a chapter.

Ellen- Oh, well than good. hehehe. I don't know why anyone would want to make Pietro out of character, since he has such a fun one. Sorry, no Wanda. In fact, she's hardly in any of my fics, which is weird because she's my second favorite (female) mutant. In fact, she kind of reminds me of Rogue. And besides Pietro and Magneto, no one knows that Magneto is his dad. It doesn't have to much to do with the story, unless I decide to do the sequel, which probably won't happen.

Roguechere- HEY!! THE PIETROS ARE MINE!! Both of them and I will fight you for them. I will graciously allow you Remy, though only part time. (And if you ask really nicely I will allow you to use one of the Pietros.) :P You actually have one? I was just thinking about a list like that yesterday. And you better finish the next chapter asap. It would just be wrong if I was to finish this whole fic before you finished a chapter!! (motivation, motivation) If you hurry and finish, I'll let you have one of the Pietros, though it will come as a great loss to me. ^^

Oracale- No fears. She is safely locked away and staying there. ^^

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Pietro lay completely still in the darkness, listening to the even breathing coming from the bed beside his. It had been almost 10 hours since he had exited Rogue's mind, and she had yet to wait up. Though his body was telling him that he needed sleep, his mind refused to slow down long enough for him to slumber.

Now that her recovery was pretty much assured, he had time to think about other things. More to the point about Rogue and himself. And for the first time in his life, Pietro was suffering from self-doubt. Despite the assurances that his other self had given him (after all, he was rather biased on the matter), he couldn't help but wonder if he might be reading too much into her feelings. Maybe she really did only like him as a friend. After all, she had never given any hint that her feelings were anything deeper, but then neither had he. And there was the whole Scott thing. Though Pietro was pretty sure she was completely over it now, he was almost positive that at one time Rogue had a crush on the senior though she would never admit it.

His mind continued to run along those lines, when a voice in the darkness broke his thoughts. "What are you thinking about Piety?" The voice was slightly hoarse from un-use, but he would of recognized it anywhere. In a flash he was out of his bed and by her side.

"Your awake?! Good. It's been awhile." Though he had been waiting for so long, now that she was actually awake he was feeling nervous, a feeling that was both unexpected and unwelcome. As a result the words came out sounding rather awkward and stiff.

"Yeah, I feel like hell." She said, gesturing to her arm and leg. He laughed at that, and dismissed his nervousness. This was Rogue after all, his best friend. There was no need to feel uncomfortable around her. "So, what has everyone been up to while I was out?"

"Nothing really. It's been an uneventful couple of weeks." He decided to keep the news about the whole homecoming scene for another time. No need to get her angry when she was still confined to her bed with no one to take it out on but him. The silence stretched between the two.

"So," She said, breaking the silence, "what were you thinking about so hard over there?"

"What makes you think I was thinking about anything? Maybe I was sleeping."

"Nope. Whenever you're thinking real hard you breathing speeds up slightly."

He blinked at that. He had never noticed that before, but she had. It made him wonder if maybe he wasn't reading to much into it after all. Besides there was really only one way to find out. "I was thinking about you, about us." He said, then paused to wait for her response.

"And?" It didn't seem like she was going to let this be easy for him.

"So… When I was in your mind, I had an interesting talk with the part of my psyche that you had absorbed. And he seemed to think that you like me."

"Well, of course I like you. We're friends." She said, trying to maintain calm.

"Oh," he said, trying but not quite keeping the disappointment from his voice. "Friends." He said the word flatly. He forced himself to continue on though. "He seemed to think that you liked me as more than just a friend. In fact he had this crazy notion that you love me." He anxiously waited to gauge her reaction to that bombshell, but to his disappointment she remained silent. "Well? Are you going to say something?"

Her eyes locked onto his, even though it was dark in the room. "What do you want me to say? That I'm hopelessly, head-over-heals in love with you? That all I can think about is you? That it's hard to me to be around you because all I can think about is how much I want to kiss you even though I know that it would put you in a coma and it would kill me to hurt you like that? How about the fact that now that I can control my powers all I want more than anything is to kiss you? Or how about whenever I'm not with you, you're all I can think about, going so far as to visit the piece of you that is in my head?"

"Well," He said, his grin obvious in his voice, "that would be a start. You did leave out how you worship the ground I walk on and think I'm the hottest guy that ever lived, but I'll forgive you this time."

"Very thoughtful of you." The coma had done nothing to alter her sarcasm. "Are you planning on telling me how you feel about me? I thought you were supposed to be fast."

"Well, I was going to tell you that your all that I think about. That I love you more than anything in the world, but since you're going to be so mean about it I'm not sure I will."

"Pietro?" Rogue said, warning in her voice.

"Yes, Roguey, dear?"

"Shut up and kiss me."

He happily complied.

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Wow, I honestly had no idea that was how I was going to get them together. But in an odd way I think it fits. Agree? Disagree? Well, I really had no idea that it would go like that, so except for the epilogue it is finished. That will give me a total of 30 chapters, not to bad, all things considered. So, last chance to tell me what you think before it's finished to give me time to respond.