Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men. I don't own anything, except shredded jeans and X-Men DVDs. Please don't sue me.

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Thanks to Spork or Foon, PomegranateQueen and DemonRogue13 for reviewing!

Rogue wouldn't have believed it when she first went to the Brotherhood house almost three weeks previously, but meeting Pietro in secret was more fun than if she'd told the other X-Men. The Professor probably wouldn't have stopped her, but everyone in the mansion would have asked questions that she didn't know how to answer and Scott would defiantly go to the Brotherhood house to give Pietro a warning. Totally embarrassing. Some of her excuses had been wearing a little thin and she'd almost been caught out a few times – the previous week Scott had been driving past the library and stopped to pick her up, but of course she hadn't been there. When he'd asked her about it, she'd told him that she needed some time away from the Institute after being possessed by so many personalities and using their powers against her friends. He'd claimed to understand and wandered off to find Jean.

            She eyed her reflection critically – jeans, shirt and the hated gloves – gave her hair a final brush and left the room. Running down the stairs, she saw the Beast on the steps outside and stopped as she exited. "Hey Mr McCoy. Getting some air?"

            "I am," replied the Beast. "Spending so much time in front of the computer and reading up on Egyptology's making me claustrophobic. I think I'll move tonight's Danger Room session outside instead. Going anywhere special?"

            "No, just hangin out at the mall."

            "Well, don't forget, training at five!"

            That's gonna cut the day short! Thought Rogue irritably as she headed for the meeting spot. She hadn't even arrived when she felt a draft next to her and there was Pietro. She couldn't help smiling at him.

            "Hey there, miss me?" Pietro grabbed her gloved hand and kissed it theatrically.

            "Urgh, in your dreams Speedy!" Rogue extracted her hand and hoped she wasn't blushing. Pietro had been getting more and more familiar every time they saw each other and she didn't know whether to be flattered or annoyed, considering that the flirting could go no further.

            "Y'know, I was thinking," said Pietro as they began walking, at normal speed, down the street. "I bet Wanda could hex you so that your powers would quit for a while."

            "Ah'm sure she'd be thrilled," replied Rogue sarcastically. "She'd have to follow me around all day or the hex'd stop working!"

            "She owes me a favour."

            "Is this another Toad and keyhole story?"

            "Oh yeah."

            "Well, thanks but no thanks. Ah don't think ah'd want a chaperone when ah'm able to touch skin."

            "Hadn't thought of that. Too weird with my sister watchin."

            "What are you talking about?"

            Pietro grinned at her. "Well, I would get first go at touching you, wouldn't I?"

            Rogue shrugged, trying to hide her embarrassment. "Since it'll never happen, sure, why not?"

            Without warning, Pietros face was close to hers, his expression deadly serious. "I'll hold you to that," he said and before she could pull away, he was back walking by her side with his usual self-satisfied look on his face.

            "So," he said, as if nothing had happened. "I thought we'd take Lances jeep, head outta Bayville for the day, whaddya say?"

            "Ah've got a training session at five." Rogue felt completely disoriented. Had she imagined that whole interlude?

            "Can't you skip it?"

            "Not unless ah wanna be grounded and wax the X-Jet for a week!"

            "Bummer." Pietro thought for a moment. "You still have to train?"

            "Yeah."

            "But you haven't used your powers in weeks!"

            "Ah know, ah hope ah never have to again!"

            "But putting you in those situations unnecessarily – isn't that dangerous?"

            "Ah'm still an X-Man!"

            "Yeah."

            Don't remind me.

            "Gonna be a tough session?"

            "Nah." Rogue kicked a can that had been dropped on the pavement. "Mr McCoy's way too distracted to do anything difficult at the moment."

            "McCoy. Let me see, is he the guy who talks like an encyclopaedia, 'bout so high, covered in blue fur?"

            Rogue laughed. "Yeah, that's him."

            "His was the only class in school that Lance wasn't failing. Course, when you're as fast as me, you don't fail anything!"

            "You cheated!"

            "True, but I wasn't caught. Hey, I always wondered – did McCoy wear an image inducer like Nightcrawlers?"

            "Nah. He used a serum on himself to stop his powers takin over and when it stopped working he changed the formula and fucked up somehow. Increased his mutation instead of keeping it in check."

            Pietro stopped dead. "McCoy repressed his powers with a serum? Why hasn't he made any for you?"

            "Ah guess he thinks ah should learn to deal with mah powers," replied Rogue with a shrug. "Besides, it stopped working, remember?"

            "But even a temporary solution's better than none at all, doncha think?"

            "Our powers are different. It probably wouldn't work on me." In spite of her pessimistic words, Rogue felt a small frission of hope. "He needed to control something in his mind. Mah power's purely physical."

            "But it might work, if it was modified somehow." Pietro grinned. "And then I can get 'purely physical' with you!"

            "PIETRO!"

            "Hey, you promised!"

            Now Rogue knew she was blushing. "Ah didn't promise THAT!"

            Pietro grabbed her gloved hand. "If it's a temporary solution, it might be the only chance we get! I could TOUCH you!"

            "Ah didn't know you cared so much about me."

            It was Pietros turn to blush as he realised he'd revealed more of his feelings than he'd intended. "Yeah, well, uh, y'know. You're not bad looking – for a Goth." He dropped her hand and decided to return to the main topic. "Would McCoy work on a serum for you?"

            Rogue shook her head slowly. "Ah don't think so, otherwise he'd have done it by now. Ah think he'd be reluctant to test it on me too."

            Running his hand through his hair, Pietro sighed and looked at the floor. "I don't really wanna suggest it – I know how you feel about usin your powers – but you could just, y'know, take the info outta his head."

            Frowning, Rogue examined her hands – clad in gloves as usual, the symbol of her powers that usually felt more like a curse - and thought back to how scared she'd been when she couldn't control the people in her head. "Ah'd do it. Ah don't wanna be possessed again, but ah'd do it for the chance of a normal life, even if it's just for a while. Ah wanna touch people –" She hesitated for a moment. "- ah wanna touch YOU." She felt the blood rush to her face again and she continued hurriedly. "But ah can't just walk up to him and lay him out. Everyone'd know something was up and the Prof'd go batshit."

            "Didn't you say you had a training session with McCoy today?"

            "Yeah, he's having it outside today instead of in the Danger Room, 'cause he's feelin cooped up."

            "And you're SURE you don't mind touchin him to find out the serum?"

            Rogue nodded grimly. "Ah'm sure."

            Pietro grinned widely. "Then I might just be able to help you!"

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            Wanda stood on a hill some distance from the Xavier Institute, watching the figures in the spacious grounds. It was too far away to see very well, but she could easily make out the Beast – hard to mistake him for anyone else – and after a little searching, she spotted Rogue too. "I cannot believe you talked me into this."

            Sitting on the grass beside her, watching events through a pair of binoculars, Pietro shrugged. "Just my natural charm, sis. Plus, I'm keeping Toad out of your way."

            "Just keep him out of my ROOM." Wanda turned her attention to her brother. "Why exactly do you wanna do this?"

            "Secret."

            "I think it's got something to do with Rogue," said Wanda smugly.

            "As if!" replied Pietro, still trying to get used to Wanda's new attitude. It was weird to know that she regarded them as life-long allies, when he knew that they hadn't seen each other for years and when they met again, she'd hexed him at every opportunity. Her friendly demeanour was light-years from the single-minded intensity with which she'd pursued Magneto and it relieved and worried him in equal measures.

            "I think you've got a thing for Rogue. You've been actin strangely the last few weeks and now you want me to hex her? She's asked you for a favour and you're too smitten to say no!"

            "Well, I think you should stop thinking!"

            "I'm right!" Wanda began laughing. "You never could hide anything from me!"

            You have no idea, thought Pietro, feeling a familiar flush of shame and guilt over his role in Magnetos deceit of his sister. "Look, let's just get on with it, shall we?" he snapped, handing the binoculars to her.

            "My hex might not work at this distance," warned Wanda as she adjusted the focus of the binoculars to better see the mansion.

            "Of course it will Wanda," replied Pietro quietly. "It has to."

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            When the session went wrong, it did so with amazing speed.

            The Beast was hanging from a statue, his feet braced against its neck, watching the session but not really concentrating on it. His problem was on Apocalypse and the information they had found. The session was pretty basic, focusing mainly on teamwork strategies. It was a cakewalk for the more experienced X-Men, but some of the new recruits were having problems.

            "Watch where you're throwing those bombs Tabitha!" he shouted as the blonde tossed an explosive over her shoulder without looking and blowing up a laser gun.

            "Oh, lighten up Teach!" she yelled back cheerfully, running towards the statue he was perched upon. Not far behind her was Rogue, dodging the lasers with less ease than usual. She'd been distracted throughout the session and had hardly been in the mansion at all in the last few weeks. The adults had put it down to having all the residual personalities removed from her psyche. They had more important things to worry about. Like Apocalypse.

            In front of Rogue, another laser gun rose out of the ground, preparing to fire. Tabitha turned her head and saw it. "I got it!" she called to her teammate, making a couple of really large bombs in preparation…

            …And suddenly, of their own accord, the two bombs seemed to leap out of her hand and miss their intended targets. The first landed behind Rogue and immediately exploded, throwing the Goth almost in front of the statue…

            …But McCoy didn't have the chance to react as the second bomb landed at the base of the statue and promptly blew it to pieces…

            …And then he was falling.

            Nothing to grab on to! thought McCoy desperately, extending his arms to break his fall…

            …Then, just before he lost consciousness, feeling warm skin beneath his left hand as it came into contact with Rogues face.