Disclaimer: You mean, you thought I owned them? Okay. Sure. That's exactly right, I do own them. Keep thinking that. I own them. Sure, and then I wake up and there goes that dream. I don't really own them. It's a sad fact of my life. One I will deal with. They really belong to WB and Marvel.

A/N: Well, sorry again for taking so long to get these past couple of chapters out. I hope that these chapters make up for it. And either way, please let me know and don't forget to hit that nifty review button. And now onto the story!

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Lance stared over at Kitty, shocked into silence. He was pretty sure if he'd been drinking water he would've choked on it or spit it out. His mind went completely blank as brown eyes stared into blue. Had she really just asked what he thought she had just asked? Was he dreaming? That had to be it. He just ended up in his own world, like he did when he was in class, and now he was having delusional thoughts. That was the only explanation.

Kitty continued to stare back at Lance and when he still hadn't said anything, she shifted nervously in her seat. Oh boy. Maybe that hadn't been the best idea. Just totally blurting it out like that. Now he wasn't saying anything and just staring blankly at her as if...well she didn't know what.

Lance blinked as Kitty shifted. Okay, so maybe she really had asked. Which meant that he wasn't delusional or fantasizing or hearing things. Which meant that she was probably wondering what the hell was wrong with him since he still hadn't answered her and was just staring at her like some kind of idiot or something. So he said the first thing that came to his mind.

"Huh?"

Kitty's eyebrows drew together in confusion. "What?" she asked. Lance gave himself a mental shake. Okay, not what he had meant to say and certainly not what Kitty had wanted to hear if her expression was anything to go by. He took a deep breath.

"Sorry...you just, well, you threw me for a loop, Kitty." He smiled a bit. "I guess I just wasn't expecting you to ask me that." Kitty looked over at him and raised her eyebrows. "And you're probably wondering why I'm just talking about all this instead of answering you." Kitty gave him a 'duh' look and nodded. Lance took a deep breath. "Okay then. I have an answer for you."

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Rogue's eyes opened wide and she shoved Pietro back practically less than a second after he had touched his lips to hers. Pietro stumbled back, slightly dizzy, and he shook his head as if to clear it. He licked his lips and looked over at Rogue, who was still staring at him wide-eyed and had raised a hand to her lips. Neither one of them said anything as they continued to just stare at each other, each of their thoughts racing with super speed.

"What-were-you-thinking?" Rogue demanded. Pietro stared at her.

"What do you mean, what was I thinking? Wasn't it obvious?" he replied. Rogue raised an eyebrow and then rolled her eyes.

"Are you kidding me? Oh please, tell me you're kidding." she muttered, though not exactly to Pietro, who smirked.

"I kid you not, Roguey." he said brightly. She gave him a look before growing quiet again. Suddenly what had just happened seemed very huge to her...maybe too much so. She had to move. She had to get out of there and she had to get out of there now. Pietro frowned a bit as if realizing what she was thinking. He moved towards her. "Rogue." Rogue shook her head and took a step back from him.

"Don't. I...I can't. Not right now...and I don't know when." Having said that, Rogue turned and ran out of the room. A moment later, the sound of a door slamming was heard and Pietro sighed. He knew he could go after her, and probably catch up to her, but maybe that wasn't the best way to go. He'd just give her some time before he went to find her.

And while he did that, he could think...and maybe go bug Evan.

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Rogue ran, unaware of how fast she was going until she saw that she was on the other side of town. She came to a sudden stop and cursed. Hell, she'd forgotten that she would be able to go so fast and hadn't paid attention to where she was going. And she didn't know how long she'd have Pietro's powers since their....erm, contact...had been so short.

Oh, who the heck was she kidding? That wasn't just contact. That had been a kiss. And despite the fact that it had ended almost as soon as it had started, it'd been a damn good one. She bit her lip as she thought back to how it had felt and flushed slightly. Why was she even thinking this? It was pointless to even think of this. Despite how Pietro had kissed her, it didn't change anything. She still couldn't touch people. And what would be the point of touching someone when touching for just a second too long could knock them out or, worse, kill them? Rogue shook her head.

No. Nothing had changed. She'd better get back to the Institute...and avoid Pietro for awhile. It'd be better that way.

It had to be.

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Evan was extremely close to screaming in frustration. Pietro was worse than a three-year-old who was full of questions (the main question being 'Why?') and even worse, he was so fast that when you moved to get away from him, he'd end up standing in front of you with that idiotic smirk of his on his face.

Maybe if he punched him, he'd go away.

Shooting Pietro a sidelong glance, Evan studied him and then curved his hand into a fist, tempted to at least make Pietro think he would do it. Pietro smiled as if he knew exactly what Evan was thinking.

"Sorry Daniels, but that won't work. You're just not fast enough." he said, before laughing and moving away when Evan looked ready to try and go through with it.

"Shut up, Pietro." Evan muttered. This only caused Pietro to grin before he looked at the clock and then frowned a bit. Rogue still wasn't back and it had been awhile already. Of course, usually his version of awhile was about, oh....ten minutes at the very most. Not the point. The point was, right about now seemed like a good time to go look for Rogue like he had been planning.

"See ya later, Daniels. I've got better things do to." Pietro said, dashing out of the room. Evan sighed.

"I really don't like him."

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Kitty bit her lip and stared at Lance expectantly. Okay, so what was he like waiting for? He had an answer for her, so why wouldn't he just come out and say it already? If it was yes, then he should be telling her and they could have the big and happy moment. But...what if the answer wasn't yes? Oh Lord, what if the answer was no? What if he didn't think of her like that anymore and instead just thought of her as a phase he had gone through? She was the "I'm-going-to-date-a-silly-young-freshman-and-make- her-feel-important" stage of his life, wasn't she? This was bad. This was really bad. On the other hand, though, what if the answer really was yes? Then that would be good. Very, very good.

All these thoughts raced through Kitty's mind at a speed that would've made Pietro proud. But who cared about making Pietro proud at a moment like this? Sheesh, Kitty, important moment here. Pay attention.

Lance looked over at Kitty and took a deep breath. Here goes nothing....time to just get it out there. Not that he'd been very good at hiding it in the first place. At least that was his opinion. So how could she not know the answer? He didn't know, but since she didn't, he'd just have to tell her.

"Yes." he told her simply. Kitty stared at Lance a moment, silent, eyes wide.

"What?" she asked. Lance shifted. This was definitely not the reaction he'd been expecting. He kept his gaze on hers.

"I said yes. I still like you." he said. Kitty smiled.

"Good. Because...well, it's probably totally obvious that I like you too." she replied. Lance smiled.

"That's what I was thinking." Kitty frowned at this.

"Like, what is that supposed to mean?" she asked. As Lance realized how that sounded, his own eyes widened.

"Wait. That's not what I meant. I just meant that I had been thinking that it was probably obvious that I still like you, not that it was obvious that you like me." Lance rushed to explain. Kitty smiled once more, trying not to giggle and failing. She reached out and put a hand on his arm.

"Lance. It's okay. I like get it. No biggie." she assured him. Lance glanced down at where her hand was on his arm and nodded.

"Right." he said, picking up her hand and holding it in his own. He looked back up at her. Kitty's eyes moved towards their hands and then she smiled. She'd been like so right.

It was good. Very, very good.

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Pietro frowned as he walked into Rogue's room. It didn't occur to him to knock before doing so, not that it would have mattered. Rogue wasn't in the room. And somehow, she'd managed to find a way home that meant they wouldn't see each other while he looked for her. What was that all about? Why would she want to avoid him? That made no sense. The only person who ever really tried to avoid him was Daniels, but his taste couldn't be trusted. Look at what he wore. Pietro snorted at the thought.

He dropped down onto the bed, unmindful of how the bedspread wrinkled when he did so, and laid back.

He'd just wait for Rogue right here. He had a feeling that they were going to have to have a little talk.

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Rogue sighed as she walked into the Institute. By the time she had gotten half way back to the Institute, Pietro's powers had worn off and she hadn't been able to use it to her advantage any longer. Which meant that she had walked and done everything she could to take routes that she knew Pietro wouldn't think to look for her on.

Since she hadn't seen him, she assumed that it had worked.

Which was good, Rogue assured herself as she walked up the stairs and headed to her room. Very good. It meant that she and Pietro wouldn't have any run-ins and she wouldn't have to make up some lame excuse to leave.

Things were working out.

The wave of relief that she had begun to allow to wash over her vanished when she walked into her room. There, on her bed, was Pietro.

She didn't have a chance to even turn around before his eyes were fixed on hers and he was standing up.

"Don't even think about it." he practically ordered her, pushing her further into the room and shutting her door. He turned back to her and crossed his arms. "We need to have another talk."