Disclaimer: Of course they're mine. What were you thinking? That they
actually belonged to Marvel and the WB? Nooooooo....that's just an
illusion people. Don't believe it. I, an 18 year old college freshman, am
the rightful owner of characters that originated in1963. That's right.
*shakes head* Not really. But I had you going there for a minute didn't
I?
A/N: Once again, taking forever with the update...I know...sorry! Thanks for the reviews everyone, they're great! Anyway as you can see this story has pretty much hit a wall and I'm trying to break through it but I'm not being as successful as I'd like. Darn characters. They need to start talking more again...but, oooh! You can possibly help me out with that! Want to know how? Don't forget to hit the nifty review button at the bottom of the screen before you go! -wink- It'll be inspiring for them, I'm sure!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Pietro looked up as Rogue walked into the room. She walked over to him and sat down, not saying anything. After awhile, he looked over at her. "What is it?" he asked. She turned to him and raised an eyebrow.
"Nothing. I'm just waiting for that moment that you dash out of the room the second I walk into it. Isn't that what you've been doing the past few weeks?" she replied. He glanced away and stared at the wall. He shifted in his seat a bit, wanting to run, get away...avoid her the way he had been doing for the past few weeks. He wasn't sure that he was ready to deal with what he had discovered...about himself and about her. At least, not ready to deal with it while talking to her.
Still...she didn't need to know that, did she?
"I don't know what you're talking about." he said, smirking and leaning back and crossing his arms, legs stretched out. He began to tap his foot just a bit impatiently when she didn't answer fast enough for him. Rogue raised an eyebrow at him.
"Don't you?" she asked. When he only gave her one of his looks that clearly asked how she could even question him, she shook her head. "Well, I think that you do. And you know what else I think?"
"Please. Enlighten me." Pietro said, instinctively getting ready for a fight. Rogue crossed her own arms.
"I think you're a coward." Pietro's eyes widened and he shot straight up, turning towards her and narrowing his eyes.
"What did you just call me?" Rogue raised an eyebrow, not backing down.
"You heard me, Silver. You. Are. A. Coward." she told him, saying each word as if it were a separate sentence. When Pietro narrowed his eyes further she continued to stare at him. "Obviously, something is bothering you. What it is, I don't know. But I bet that it has something to do with me and you seem to be too scared to talk to be about it. And that makes you a coward."
Pietro stared at her in disbelief. She had just called him a coward. He'd even given her a chance to take it back, and had she? Nooo...of course not. That'd be too simple. Did Rogue ever do things the simple way? No, why should she? That wouldn't make sense. Not that he wanted it to be simple.
Where would the challenge be in that?
He slowly smirked as he made his decision and that familiar glint appeared in his eyes. "You want to talk?" he asked. When she raised both her eyebrows a bit and nodded, he slowly nodded in reply. "Okay then, we'll talk."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Lance smiled as Kitty slid into the seat across him and she gave him a smile in return.
"So, what did you tell them this time?" he asked, wondering how she had managed to get out of the house again, the way she did every week. Kitty shrugged.
"They like think I'm at a weekly study group." she replied, motioning down to the backpack that she had brought with her. Lance's smile turned into a wry one.
"So, I'm a study group, huh?" He smirked. "Never thought I'd hear that one." Kitty ducked her head.
"Yeah, well...Scott would like totally flip if he knew that the two of us have been meeting once a week since like Pietro and Wanda moved in with us." she said, ducking her head a bit. Lance nodded in understanding. The last thing he really needed was Summers trying to get on his back just because he had a bee up his butt or something.
"Don't worry about it, Kitty. Summers won't ever find out about these meetings." He paused and then got around to the reason he and Kitty were even here. "So, how are they?" Kitty looked back up at him and shrugged a bit.
"Well, I think that Kurt and Wanda totally like each other and so does like everyone else. Now if they would just admit it. They seem to be the only two who like don't see it."
"Yeah, even I could tell. And Toad seemed pretty depressed about it for a while. He may still be, I don't know. If he is, he hides it pretty well. I just don't know what to do about it. I'm not all that great at that stuff, you know?"
Kitty nodded. "I understand. But other than that, Wanda's like fine." Lance looked up.
"And Pietro? How's he doing?" Kitty shifted a bit.
"Well..." she trailed off. Lance sighed and shook his head.
"Still disappears the second he sees Rogue?" he asked. Lance had noticed that Pietro had suddenly started avoiding Rogue at school and then Kitty had told him that it was the same at the Institute.
Kitty nodded. "Like totally. But I talked to Rogue and she said she was going to like corner Pietro sometime today and find out why he was avoiding her and all that." Lance smiled.
"You think that the Institute will survive it?" he asked. Kitty snorted before smiling back.
"Sure. I mean, it's not like it's going to turn into some big thing where they like end up killing each other." Kitty looked up at him. "I'm sure they're like talking it out right now."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Rogue and Pietro each sat, silent, as they stared in front of them, avoiding looking at each other. Pietro frowned. Weren't they supposed to be talking? They were supposed to be resolving their issues...or his issues...whatever. He shook his head. His issues. No way. He might be a little uncomfortable but he was too perfect to have something like an issue.
Rogue turned her head towards Pietro. "You know, Speedy, one of us should probably say something before the end of the school year." He glanced over at her.
"Yeah."
They turned back to looking at the wall.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Kitty licked her lips as she looked down at the table. She didn't know why she was feeling so awkward. This was Lance, after all.
And that, Kitty realized, was exactly why she felt so awkward.
This was Lance.
The boy who had first help her practice with her powers. Who had brought down their old school because she wouldn't run away with him. Who knocked her over so she wouldn't get impaled during track when Jean's powers had gone nuts. Who had tried to impress her by freaking out Principal Kelly had first come to the school. Who had agreed to go with her to the Sadies Hawkins Dance. The boy who had tried to get her to leave the mall the night they had first gone up against Wanda. Who had joined the X-Men for her. The boy who had fought with her, on the same side, against the Acolytes and the Sentinels. The boy who she called a hood not too long after that.
Kitty bit her lip and looked up at Lance who had turned his head to stare out the window. She studied him before turning to try and see what was so interesting outside.
"You think they'll work things out?" he asked suddenly. Kitty jumped a bit, startled, and turned to find Lance looking at her. She smiled a bit.
"They always do." she replied. He nodded.
"Good. It's just...from what you've told me...Rogue seems to be the best friend he's made there. And, to be honest, it's really weird not to see them together at school anymore." Lance told her. Kitty laughed a bit, nodding her head in agreement.
"You're like telling me." she replied.
Once again, another silence fell over the two and Kitty had to stop herself from sighing. She like totally hated it when these silences happened. Kitty looked down at the table and bit her lip. There was one way to break the silence. The only question was, did she have the courage to do it? Kitty looked back up and studied Lance briefly before taking a deep breath.
"Hey, Lance?" Lance looked up at her, a questioning look entering his eyes.
"Yeah?" he asked. Kitty took another deep breath.
"Do you still like me?"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Rogue watched with interest as Pietro paced restlessly in front of the window. He had finally given in to the impulse a few minutes ago and now he moved throughout the room after having sat still for so long. She smirked. It was pretty funny, actually.
But it wasn't going to get him out of talking to her. They had actually started to talk for a while before they had gone silent again and now all she was doing was watching him pace. And now he was beginning to mutter to himself.
"Pietro? What did you mean by what you said earlier?" she asked, interrupting whatever it was he was saying to himself. Pietro stopped and spun towards Rogue.
"What?"
"I said, what did you mean by what you said earlier?"
Pietro sighed. "Which part?" he asked, looking down towards her.
"The part about not expecting this." Rogue prompted. "What did you mean? What weren't you expecting?"
Pietro froze. Of course she'd ask that question first. She couldn't ask something that would be easier to answer first. Like why he decided to wear this particular shirt today. The answer to that was simple. He looked damn good in it, but then what didn't he look good in? No, not Rogue. She just cut straight to the heart of things and asked the most difficult question.
This really wasn't the type of challenge that he was looking forward to.
So, he'd just do what he did best. If not literally, then metaphorically. He'd run away from the problem.
Pietro shrugged. "No idea. Don't know what you're talking about. Isn't the weather great today? I mean, really. The sun's shining which means that it's warm outside which means that I won't have to wear bulky clothes to keep warm and deprive all the females of the sight of my perfect and wonderful body." he said, his words beginning to speed up slightly. Rogue rolled her eyes and shook her head before looking at him a bit more closely.
She knew him to well to buy that act. And Pietro was really desperate to cover up something when he decided to talk about the weather. She studied him before sighing.
"That's the biggest load of crap I've ever heard, Silver." she replied. Pietro frowned.
"Are you trying to imply that I don't have a perfect and wonderful body? I'll have you know that I do and if you really want proof you can just go and ask-"
"That's alright, Pietro, I'll take your word for it." Rogue interrupted, holding up a hand to stop him. She really didn't want to know how many girls had actually seen Pietro's body.
"Well then, why would you even question that fact? Really, Rogue..."
"Pietro!" Rogue exclaimed, cutting him off before he could get started again. Pietro stopped. Okay, so she wasn't letting this go which meant that running away from this wouldn't work. Metaphorically that is. He could always just start running right now. Rogue suddenly grabbed his arm. "Don't even think about it." she said, as if she had read his mind. He sighed a bit.
"Damn." he muttered, lowering his eyes to the ground before closing them briefly. She looked up at him expectantly.
"What is it, Pietro? What's wrong?" she asked. Pietro opened his eyes and looked up at Rogue.
"You really want to know?" he said quietly. Rogue bit her lip and nodded. She wanted to know why the heck he was avoiding her like the plague. Didn't she? He let out a breath and she knew that even if she didn't, it was too late to stop him now. Pietro glanced out the window and then back to Rogue. "I saw your drawing."
Rogue looked at him, confused. "What drawing?" she asked.
"Your drawing. The one you were doing that day that I gave you a lift back here." he told her, elaborating a bit more. Rogue suddenly knew exactly which drawing he was talking about and she let go of his arm, eyes widening.
"What?" she said softly, shock lowering her voice. He sighed and looked her in the eye.
"I saw your drawing." he repeated. She took a small step back, retreat the first thing that came to mind. Then she stopped and stared at him.
"How did you see that, Pietro? I didn't show it to anyone." At this, Pietro did look away and he shifted as if getting ready to make a break for it if he had to. When he didn't answer, Rogue narrowed her eyes a bit. "Pietro...how did you see that picture?"
Pietro looked up at Rogue and decided that it was time to face the music. Besides, he had a feeling that if she didn't get an answer soon, she'd get mad enough to take off the gloves. He didn't really feel like being unconscious for any amount of time, so it would probably be better for his health if he just told her.
"I looked at it." he told her.
"And where was it when you looked at it?" she asked.
"In the notebook." Pietro replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Rogue sighed in frustration.
"I know that, Pietro, since it's still in the notebook. What I want to know, is where was the notebook when you looked at it?" Pietro almost sighed. He knew she wouldn't fall for that, but hey, he'd had to at least try.
"Oh. That...right. It-was-in-your-bag." Pietro said, speeding his words up so that they were practically incoherent. Rogue stared at him.
"Sorry, I don't think I heard that one right. Repeat that for me."
"It-was-in-your-bag."
Rogue crossed her arms. "At a normal speed, Pietro." This time, Pietro did sigh. Damn.
"It was in your bag." he said, slowing his words down once more. Rogue stared at him and blinked in astonishment. She couldn't believe that he would actually have the nerve to go in her room when she wasn't there and then go through her things and look at her private drawings without even thinking of asking her.
As Pietro bit the inside of his cheek and tried to give her a completely innocent look, she shook her head. Yes, she could. The jerk. In his mind it had probably been just fine for some reason. What that reason was, she didn't know. But she wanted to find out.
"Why did you look at it?" she asked. Once again, Pietro gave her a look that said it should have been obvious.
"Because you wouldn't show me." He shrugged. "So, I decided to find out why you were hiding it from me." Rogue nodded slowly as if in understanding.
"Ah. I see. And did you find out anything?"
At this question, Pietro stopped. This was it. This was where he could tell her what he was thinking, what he thought of the drawing...
"Why'd you draw me, Rogue?" he asked. He didn't want to know if she had drawn him because of his good looks-that was a given in his mind-and she seemed to understand that.
"Because...because I wanted to that's all. You're my friend." She glanced away. Pietro studied her and she shifted under his steady gaze.
"Is that all?" he asked. Rogue looked at him.
"What do you mean?"
"Are we just friends?" he clarified. Rogue didn't reply. "Because if we were just friends, then there really wouldn't have been any reason to hide that drawing from me, now would there?" Rogue licked her lips nervously.
"Pietro..." she began before she trailed off.
"And another thing." he said, cutting her off. "Earlier that day, we almost kissed. And we would've kissed if Jamie and the others hadn't shown up. You and I both know that, Rogue. I wasn't going to stop and you certainly didn't look like you were going to push me away."
"Just because-"
"No, you know what? I don't think I want to hear your excuses about why it happened. Because it wasn't some weird, insane moment. That wasn't just a one-time thing and we know it. If it was, tell me. Look me in the eye, Rogue, and tell me that you don't want to kiss me." Pietro challenged, holding her by the arm, much in the same way she had done to him before. Rogue closed her eyes for a moment. She could do this. She could tell him that she didn't want to kiss him. She could lie and say that she hadn't wondered about what it would have been like if they hadn't been interrupted. She looked up into his eyes.
"I..." she started. "I...don't..." she trailed off and then looked away, causing Pietro to smile in triumph.
"Yeah. That's what I thought." he said as if confirming it for himself. Rogue looked back at him and gave him a look that cause Pietro to raise both of his eyebrows at before giving her a smile.
"Look, Silver, just because I couldn't say it doesn't mean that-"
She was cut off once more as Pietro leaned down and kissed her.
A/N: Once again, taking forever with the update...I know...sorry! Thanks for the reviews everyone, they're great! Anyway as you can see this story has pretty much hit a wall and I'm trying to break through it but I'm not being as successful as I'd like. Darn characters. They need to start talking more again...but, oooh! You can possibly help me out with that! Want to know how? Don't forget to hit the nifty review button at the bottom of the screen before you go! -wink- It'll be inspiring for them, I'm sure!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Pietro looked up as Rogue walked into the room. She walked over to him and sat down, not saying anything. After awhile, he looked over at her. "What is it?" he asked. She turned to him and raised an eyebrow.
"Nothing. I'm just waiting for that moment that you dash out of the room the second I walk into it. Isn't that what you've been doing the past few weeks?" she replied. He glanced away and stared at the wall. He shifted in his seat a bit, wanting to run, get away...avoid her the way he had been doing for the past few weeks. He wasn't sure that he was ready to deal with what he had discovered...about himself and about her. At least, not ready to deal with it while talking to her.
Still...she didn't need to know that, did she?
"I don't know what you're talking about." he said, smirking and leaning back and crossing his arms, legs stretched out. He began to tap his foot just a bit impatiently when she didn't answer fast enough for him. Rogue raised an eyebrow at him.
"Don't you?" she asked. When he only gave her one of his looks that clearly asked how she could even question him, she shook her head. "Well, I think that you do. And you know what else I think?"
"Please. Enlighten me." Pietro said, instinctively getting ready for a fight. Rogue crossed her own arms.
"I think you're a coward." Pietro's eyes widened and he shot straight up, turning towards her and narrowing his eyes.
"What did you just call me?" Rogue raised an eyebrow, not backing down.
"You heard me, Silver. You. Are. A. Coward." she told him, saying each word as if it were a separate sentence. When Pietro narrowed his eyes further she continued to stare at him. "Obviously, something is bothering you. What it is, I don't know. But I bet that it has something to do with me and you seem to be too scared to talk to be about it. And that makes you a coward."
Pietro stared at her in disbelief. She had just called him a coward. He'd even given her a chance to take it back, and had she? Nooo...of course not. That'd be too simple. Did Rogue ever do things the simple way? No, why should she? That wouldn't make sense. Not that he wanted it to be simple.
Where would the challenge be in that?
He slowly smirked as he made his decision and that familiar glint appeared in his eyes. "You want to talk?" he asked. When she raised both her eyebrows a bit and nodded, he slowly nodded in reply. "Okay then, we'll talk."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Lance smiled as Kitty slid into the seat across him and she gave him a smile in return.
"So, what did you tell them this time?" he asked, wondering how she had managed to get out of the house again, the way she did every week. Kitty shrugged.
"They like think I'm at a weekly study group." she replied, motioning down to the backpack that she had brought with her. Lance's smile turned into a wry one.
"So, I'm a study group, huh?" He smirked. "Never thought I'd hear that one." Kitty ducked her head.
"Yeah, well...Scott would like totally flip if he knew that the two of us have been meeting once a week since like Pietro and Wanda moved in with us." she said, ducking her head a bit. Lance nodded in understanding. The last thing he really needed was Summers trying to get on his back just because he had a bee up his butt or something.
"Don't worry about it, Kitty. Summers won't ever find out about these meetings." He paused and then got around to the reason he and Kitty were even here. "So, how are they?" Kitty looked back up at him and shrugged a bit.
"Well, I think that Kurt and Wanda totally like each other and so does like everyone else. Now if they would just admit it. They seem to be the only two who like don't see it."
"Yeah, even I could tell. And Toad seemed pretty depressed about it for a while. He may still be, I don't know. If he is, he hides it pretty well. I just don't know what to do about it. I'm not all that great at that stuff, you know?"
Kitty nodded. "I understand. But other than that, Wanda's like fine." Lance looked up.
"And Pietro? How's he doing?" Kitty shifted a bit.
"Well..." she trailed off. Lance sighed and shook his head.
"Still disappears the second he sees Rogue?" he asked. Lance had noticed that Pietro had suddenly started avoiding Rogue at school and then Kitty had told him that it was the same at the Institute.
Kitty nodded. "Like totally. But I talked to Rogue and she said she was going to like corner Pietro sometime today and find out why he was avoiding her and all that." Lance smiled.
"You think that the Institute will survive it?" he asked. Kitty snorted before smiling back.
"Sure. I mean, it's not like it's going to turn into some big thing where they like end up killing each other." Kitty looked up at him. "I'm sure they're like talking it out right now."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Rogue and Pietro each sat, silent, as they stared in front of them, avoiding looking at each other. Pietro frowned. Weren't they supposed to be talking? They were supposed to be resolving their issues...or his issues...whatever. He shook his head. His issues. No way. He might be a little uncomfortable but he was too perfect to have something like an issue.
Rogue turned her head towards Pietro. "You know, Speedy, one of us should probably say something before the end of the school year." He glanced over at her.
"Yeah."
They turned back to looking at the wall.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Kitty licked her lips as she looked down at the table. She didn't know why she was feeling so awkward. This was Lance, after all.
And that, Kitty realized, was exactly why she felt so awkward.
This was Lance.
The boy who had first help her practice with her powers. Who had brought down their old school because she wouldn't run away with him. Who knocked her over so she wouldn't get impaled during track when Jean's powers had gone nuts. Who had tried to impress her by freaking out Principal Kelly had first come to the school. Who had agreed to go with her to the Sadies Hawkins Dance. The boy who had tried to get her to leave the mall the night they had first gone up against Wanda. Who had joined the X-Men for her. The boy who had fought with her, on the same side, against the Acolytes and the Sentinels. The boy who she called a hood not too long after that.
Kitty bit her lip and looked up at Lance who had turned his head to stare out the window. She studied him before turning to try and see what was so interesting outside.
"You think they'll work things out?" he asked suddenly. Kitty jumped a bit, startled, and turned to find Lance looking at her. She smiled a bit.
"They always do." she replied. He nodded.
"Good. It's just...from what you've told me...Rogue seems to be the best friend he's made there. And, to be honest, it's really weird not to see them together at school anymore." Lance told her. Kitty laughed a bit, nodding her head in agreement.
"You're like telling me." she replied.
Once again, another silence fell over the two and Kitty had to stop herself from sighing. She like totally hated it when these silences happened. Kitty looked down at the table and bit her lip. There was one way to break the silence. The only question was, did she have the courage to do it? Kitty looked back up and studied Lance briefly before taking a deep breath.
"Hey, Lance?" Lance looked up at her, a questioning look entering his eyes.
"Yeah?" he asked. Kitty took another deep breath.
"Do you still like me?"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Rogue watched with interest as Pietro paced restlessly in front of the window. He had finally given in to the impulse a few minutes ago and now he moved throughout the room after having sat still for so long. She smirked. It was pretty funny, actually.
But it wasn't going to get him out of talking to her. They had actually started to talk for a while before they had gone silent again and now all she was doing was watching him pace. And now he was beginning to mutter to himself.
"Pietro? What did you mean by what you said earlier?" she asked, interrupting whatever it was he was saying to himself. Pietro stopped and spun towards Rogue.
"What?"
"I said, what did you mean by what you said earlier?"
Pietro sighed. "Which part?" he asked, looking down towards her.
"The part about not expecting this." Rogue prompted. "What did you mean? What weren't you expecting?"
Pietro froze. Of course she'd ask that question first. She couldn't ask something that would be easier to answer first. Like why he decided to wear this particular shirt today. The answer to that was simple. He looked damn good in it, but then what didn't he look good in? No, not Rogue. She just cut straight to the heart of things and asked the most difficult question.
This really wasn't the type of challenge that he was looking forward to.
So, he'd just do what he did best. If not literally, then metaphorically. He'd run away from the problem.
Pietro shrugged. "No idea. Don't know what you're talking about. Isn't the weather great today? I mean, really. The sun's shining which means that it's warm outside which means that I won't have to wear bulky clothes to keep warm and deprive all the females of the sight of my perfect and wonderful body." he said, his words beginning to speed up slightly. Rogue rolled her eyes and shook her head before looking at him a bit more closely.
She knew him to well to buy that act. And Pietro was really desperate to cover up something when he decided to talk about the weather. She studied him before sighing.
"That's the biggest load of crap I've ever heard, Silver." she replied. Pietro frowned.
"Are you trying to imply that I don't have a perfect and wonderful body? I'll have you know that I do and if you really want proof you can just go and ask-"
"That's alright, Pietro, I'll take your word for it." Rogue interrupted, holding up a hand to stop him. She really didn't want to know how many girls had actually seen Pietro's body.
"Well then, why would you even question that fact? Really, Rogue..."
"Pietro!" Rogue exclaimed, cutting him off before he could get started again. Pietro stopped. Okay, so she wasn't letting this go which meant that running away from this wouldn't work. Metaphorically that is. He could always just start running right now. Rogue suddenly grabbed his arm. "Don't even think about it." she said, as if she had read his mind. He sighed a bit.
"Damn." he muttered, lowering his eyes to the ground before closing them briefly. She looked up at him expectantly.
"What is it, Pietro? What's wrong?" she asked. Pietro opened his eyes and looked up at Rogue.
"You really want to know?" he said quietly. Rogue bit her lip and nodded. She wanted to know why the heck he was avoiding her like the plague. Didn't she? He let out a breath and she knew that even if she didn't, it was too late to stop him now. Pietro glanced out the window and then back to Rogue. "I saw your drawing."
Rogue looked at him, confused. "What drawing?" she asked.
"Your drawing. The one you were doing that day that I gave you a lift back here." he told her, elaborating a bit more. Rogue suddenly knew exactly which drawing he was talking about and she let go of his arm, eyes widening.
"What?" she said softly, shock lowering her voice. He sighed and looked her in the eye.
"I saw your drawing." he repeated. She took a small step back, retreat the first thing that came to mind. Then she stopped and stared at him.
"How did you see that, Pietro? I didn't show it to anyone." At this, Pietro did look away and he shifted as if getting ready to make a break for it if he had to. When he didn't answer, Rogue narrowed her eyes a bit. "Pietro...how did you see that picture?"
Pietro looked up at Rogue and decided that it was time to face the music. Besides, he had a feeling that if she didn't get an answer soon, she'd get mad enough to take off the gloves. He didn't really feel like being unconscious for any amount of time, so it would probably be better for his health if he just told her.
"I looked at it." he told her.
"And where was it when you looked at it?" she asked.
"In the notebook." Pietro replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Rogue sighed in frustration.
"I know that, Pietro, since it's still in the notebook. What I want to know, is where was the notebook when you looked at it?" Pietro almost sighed. He knew she wouldn't fall for that, but hey, he'd had to at least try.
"Oh. That...right. It-was-in-your-bag." Pietro said, speeding his words up so that they were practically incoherent. Rogue stared at him.
"Sorry, I don't think I heard that one right. Repeat that for me."
"It-was-in-your-bag."
Rogue crossed her arms. "At a normal speed, Pietro." This time, Pietro did sigh. Damn.
"It was in your bag." he said, slowing his words down once more. Rogue stared at him and blinked in astonishment. She couldn't believe that he would actually have the nerve to go in her room when she wasn't there and then go through her things and look at her private drawings without even thinking of asking her.
As Pietro bit the inside of his cheek and tried to give her a completely innocent look, she shook her head. Yes, she could. The jerk. In his mind it had probably been just fine for some reason. What that reason was, she didn't know. But she wanted to find out.
"Why did you look at it?" she asked. Once again, Pietro gave her a look that said it should have been obvious.
"Because you wouldn't show me." He shrugged. "So, I decided to find out why you were hiding it from me." Rogue nodded slowly as if in understanding.
"Ah. I see. And did you find out anything?"
At this question, Pietro stopped. This was it. This was where he could tell her what he was thinking, what he thought of the drawing...
"Why'd you draw me, Rogue?" he asked. He didn't want to know if she had drawn him because of his good looks-that was a given in his mind-and she seemed to understand that.
"Because...because I wanted to that's all. You're my friend." She glanced away. Pietro studied her and she shifted under his steady gaze.
"Is that all?" he asked. Rogue looked at him.
"What do you mean?"
"Are we just friends?" he clarified. Rogue didn't reply. "Because if we were just friends, then there really wouldn't have been any reason to hide that drawing from me, now would there?" Rogue licked her lips nervously.
"Pietro..." she began before she trailed off.
"And another thing." he said, cutting her off. "Earlier that day, we almost kissed. And we would've kissed if Jamie and the others hadn't shown up. You and I both know that, Rogue. I wasn't going to stop and you certainly didn't look like you were going to push me away."
"Just because-"
"No, you know what? I don't think I want to hear your excuses about why it happened. Because it wasn't some weird, insane moment. That wasn't just a one-time thing and we know it. If it was, tell me. Look me in the eye, Rogue, and tell me that you don't want to kiss me." Pietro challenged, holding her by the arm, much in the same way she had done to him before. Rogue closed her eyes for a moment. She could do this. She could tell him that she didn't want to kiss him. She could lie and say that she hadn't wondered about what it would have been like if they hadn't been interrupted. She looked up into his eyes.
"I..." she started. "I...don't..." she trailed off and then looked away, causing Pietro to smile in triumph.
"Yeah. That's what I thought." he said as if confirming it for himself. Rogue looked back at him and gave him a look that cause Pietro to raise both of his eyebrows at before giving her a smile.
"Look, Silver, just because I couldn't say it doesn't mean that-"
She was cut off once more as Pietro leaned down and kissed her.