The First Boy I Ever Kissed

As Cyclops had suggested, Peter tried to spend some time in the infirmary to see how his friends were doing. However, Rogue was still asleep, and Bobby was single-mindedly waiting for her to wake up. Peter would have spent some time trying to cheer him up or distract him, but it was obvious Bobby wanted no part of that.

Still, Cyclops's idea was sound in principle, so Peter decided to find one of his other friends. It didn't take long to find Kitty Pryde: Colossus simply walked about the grounds until he found someone with their face buried in a computer and, sure enough, it was the small, black-haired teenager.

Peter dropped into the seat across from her and looked at her from over the top of her laptop monitor. "Katya," he greeted her by the nickname only he used.

"Hmmm?" Kitty answered, barely glancing up from the screen.

"Hi," Peter greeted with a hint of amusement at the girl's distraction.

"Hi," Kitty answered, finally seeming to focus on him. "Sorry, I was just…" she gestured vaguely.

"I don't need to know which national defense network you're hacking," Peter assured her playfully. "In fact, it would probably be better if I didn't know."

Kitty smirked. "While I certainly could do what you're suggesting… it would be very irresponsible if I didn't have a good reason… or I guess if I were very bored," she mused.

"Focus, Katya," Peter mock-chided.

"What do you need, Peter?" Kitty asked, closing her laptop.

"Believe it or not, I needed cheering up," Peter admitted ruefully. "I think we've about covered that, though."

"Or maybe just ignored it," Kitty noted astutely. "Why did you need cheering up?"

Peter shrugged. "It's nothing, really…"

"Peter…" Kitty warned.

"It's stupid," Pete insisted.

"Yeah, you're right," Kitty mock-agreed. "Since we're barely through adolescence and we're being asked – you're being asked, at least – to save the world on a daily basis, we really ought to ignore things that are obviously bothering us." She crossed her arms. "You came to find me," she reminded him. "Obviously there's something on your mind."

"They're leaving me behind again," Peter admitted.

"Is that all?" Kitty asked, looking almost annoyed.

"I know I probably shouldn't be complaining to you about this," Peter agreed. "I mean, you definitely deserve to be on the team by now–"

Kitty rolled her eyes. "Oh shut up."

"I mean it!"

"Of course you do, Mr. Nice Guy," Kitty allowed. "But that doesn't make it true."

Peter sighed. "I just… I wonder if I'm ever actually going to feel like a member of the team."

Kitty patted his hand reassuringly. "Just give it some time."

"I do hope I'm not interrupting anything…" Jean-Paul greeted, leaning on the doorway. "But if I could borrow Peter for a minute…" he gestured towards the hallway.

Peter grinned and jumped out of his chair to follow him. "Katya, I'll see you later," he called over his shoulder as he left the room.

xxxx

Xavier's Mansion was fairly secluded. The surrounding woodlands were full of wildlife, so nights were generally not quiet.

The sounds tonight were considerably more agitated, as many creatures fled or merely observed the dark shape that moved through the woods. The ground actually shook as the threatening-looking figure made steady progress towards the better-lit school grounds.

xxxx

"I wanted to apologize," Jean-Paul began as he and Peter sat alone in the empty library. It was a weekend, and it was late, so it had seemed as likely a place as any for them to find privacy at this hour.

"For what?" Peter asked in obvious confusion, his cheerfulness turning to seriousness.

"Earlier, I think I misread you… I thought you were interested in me – stupid, I know – and I… well… based on your reaction, that obviously wasn't the case." Jean-Paul looked vaguely pained. "But that's okay!" he hastened to add. "I still want to be friends with you… if that doesn't make you uncomfortable."

Peter shook his head. "You didn't misread me. You're misreading me now."

Jean-Paul's crestfallen expression suddenly vanished. "Really?"

"Really," Peter assured him. "I just…" he looked down in embarrassment. "I'd never…"

"You've never kissed a boy before?" Jean-Paul was astonished as he finally grasped Peter's meaning.

Peter didn't answer with words, but his downward gaze and shy flush were answer enough.

"Well. We'll have to fix that, won't we?"

They were grinning stupidly, and once again they both eagerly leaned towards each other…

This time it wasn't Peter's personal comlink that interrupted, but rather the Mansion's alarm system. The dull klaxon was audible throughout the entire mansion and its grounds, and an eerie red light pulsed repeatedly in unison with the sound.

"What's that?" Jean-Paul asked.

"Proximity alarm," Peter answered with a discouraged sigh.

The alarm should have been Peter's immediate concern, but it was not the primary source of his discomfort. Peter had never been this close to kissing a boy in his life before meeting Jean-Paul, and now it had happened twice.

The idea of kissing someone had always felt hopelessly awkward to Peter… when it happened with Jean-Paul, he had been so focused on the moment he hadn't even been able to notice the awkwardness. Now, that golden opportunity was quickly slipping away. Who knew if they would be able to recapture that feeling? Maybe things would go back to exactly the way they had always been for Peter. All work and no play.

"Not this time," Peter muttered, almost to himself. Without further warning, he grabbed Jean-Paul and kissed him on the lips with conviction.

Peter didn't realize he had closed his eyes until he opened them. The kiss wasn't a gentle peck, but neither was it a sloppy affair of tongues. That could come later.

Still, it was definitely much more intense than a typical first kiss, and both boys needed to take a deep breath afterwards.

"Wow," Jean-Paul breathed as their lips parted but they barely moved away from each other.

"I do have to go," Peter apologized.

But Jean-Paul didn't mind. "Go," he whispered warmly, "my hero."

Peter blushed again, and was gone.