Toad surfed the web on a laptop he'd stolen a month beforehand, searching for an answer to his problem. He ignored the noise coming from upstairs. He clicked into a certain website as Lance walked into the living room, smoothing his shirt over his flat stomach. Lance looked terrible.
" Didn't ya sleep last night?" he asked, looking through the contents on the site. It was about this Japanese technique used by warriors to secure their chests. It was simply wrapping this tape around the breasts to flatten them and then fastening it back.
" No. I was thinking about Kitty,"
" Aw, she won't turn lesbo fer ya?"
" No. She won't even talk to me,"
" We always told ya she wouldn't love ya forever. Good thing ya figured it out this early," Toad teased, changing his search to that of one looking for Japanese shops in Bayville.
" Shut the fuck up, Toad. Wanda's not gay either,"
" She neva liked me ta begin with. At least now I look better,"
" Do you ever give up?"
" No,"
" You're an idiot,"
" An' ya sittin' by the phone hopin' that geek will call ya. What that make chu?" Toad smiled a wicked smile over the laptop at him. Lance threw a pillow into his face, turning a bright red. Toad stuck out his tongue and wrote down the location of a promising store.
" I DIDN'T SAY YOU COULD WEAR THAT!!!" came Wanda's voice right as Pietro zapped down the stairs in an outfit that echoed his sister's Gothic attire. She stormed down the stairs after him.
" Come on, sis. We look great together. Now let's go pick up dates," he protested, looping arms with him. She gave him a disgusted look, " Come on, we'll make it a double date. I'll be right there so you don't get nervous,"
" I'll come, baby cakes!! I'll be ya date!!" Toad exclaimed, snapping the laptop shut and hopping to his feet. Wanda looked closer to throwing up then relief.
" No! To both of you! Now take my clothes off, Pietro!!" she barked, grabbing his arm and jerking him off towards the stairs. Fred walked down them, trying to stop his chest from bouncing so much as he did.
" I'm heading to the mall," he said, leaning in the doorway. Lance tossed him the keys, but Toad's tongue wrapped around them and he caught them.
" Yo, I'm goin' too. I need ta go ta this place, so ya can drop me off on the way," he said, twirling the keys around and grinning, " See ya later, lover boy," Lance flicked them off, staring at the phone.
" No time to change now, Wanda. We're coming too! We need to go to... uh.. How about that bookstore?" Pietro smiled at his sister as she snapped that there was definitely time for him of all people to change. He ignored her and dragged her out of the house. Fred rolled his eyes but followed them out.
" Alright! I'm coming!" Lance finally said, getting to his feet and marching past Toad, snatching the keys from him, " I'm driving!! Everyone in back!" he said, climbing into the car as Toad hopped up front, " Where am I headed first?"
Fred nervously walked into a girly shop, Lance following him with a soda. A salesperson flocked over to them but stopped short when she saw their baggy pants and doubled up shirts. She just doubled back and hurried over at the nearest thing in a skirt. They rolled their eyes and started to search the sizes. Surprisingly, they weren't embarrassed to be touching, for the first time, real underwear. Lance found that pretty weird, but Fred didn't think too much about it.
" Here's my size," he said, taking down a couple of bras. Lance drifted behind him as they went to the dressing room so he could try them on.
" Pietro's gonna be jealous when he sees," Lance said, sipping his drink. Inside the changing room, Fred blushed and slipped on the bra the way Lance had told him to.
While Fred changed from one bra to the next to make sure they all fit, Lance pulled out his cell phone and checked his messages. Nothing. Sighing, he flipped his phone closed and shoved it back into his pocket.
" She's not gonna call, Lance,"
" I know,"
" Then why check yer messages?" Fred questioned, leaving the changing room and holding the bras. Lance shrugged and cast a glance down at his breasts before shrugging again, " You'll get over it,"
" We could be normal in a week or two. You never know,"
" But it could be years,"
" She'll wait,"
" Yeah right. And Toad's gonna marry Wanda and they'll have beautiful children," he joked, leading the way to the counter. He paid the outrageous price for the underwear, then looked over his shoulder at Lance.
Silent tears were rolling down his cheeks as he sipped his soda. They rolled down and fell from his chin to the cup but he didn't even seem to notice. His cheeks were flushed and he was crying, yet his face remained as blank as ever. He'd come to terms with this already. Fred patted his shoulder and pushed him out of the store. They started to walk through the mall, Fred checking the time and Lance crying silently for his lost love.
He'd worked so very hard to finally win Kitty's heart. Trial and error had eventually pushed their destinies together and she'd excepted him for who he was. They'd started going steady and they'd shared their first kiss just the other day. They were supposed to get married and live happily together forever. And then she'd just so easily turned him away because of something he couldn't control. It was as if she was turning him away because he was a mutant. It hurt the same, he supposed.
Everything he'd worked for was gone. He'd been up all night trying to talk to her about it. She won't even talk about it. She said she couldn't love him if he was a girl and then hung up, every time he called. Six hours later he broke down and just cried over the answering machine for her to pick up. She never did and he stopped calling after a while. He just punched his pillow and sobbed, wishing there was some other way for them to be together and cursing whoever had decided to play this game with his heart.
He'd cried all night and still the tears rolled down his face. He was just glad Fred hadn't said anything about it. Then he would've lost it and he really didn't want to have to make a scene.
He sipped his soda and swallowed hard, gently wiping away the tears with the back of his hand. Fred patted his shoulder again and gave it a squeeze. He smiled weakly, one last tear escaping and making it's hot run down his face.
Wanda picked up the latest vampire novel out in stores and began to flip through it. Behind her, Pietro flocked aimlessly around the pron section, checking out all his favorite titles. He opened one and gawked at the spread, not even having the decency to blush. Wanda twitched, putting the book under her arm. As her brother went to grab another one, her hand wrapped around his shirt collar and pulled him backwards.
" Stop acting like that, Pietro! We're in public and you're embarrassing me!" she growled, eyes as narrowed as they ever got. Pietro shuddered in her grasp and choked out an okay, " Take what you want, I'm going to the counter, now,"
" I just want this one,"
" Fine," she dragged him over to the counter and slammed down the two things. The man rang it up as Pietro fixed his top. Neither of the Maximoffs failed to notice him watched, " Stop staring at my sister, you pervert!"
" Ew, gross!!"
" Er... sorry," he said after Pietro had smacked him and covered his chest in the same motion. He collected their money and the two stormed out, both looking equally evil. People on the street seemed to jump out of their way.
" Where are we heading next?" Pietro happily asked, looping arms with her again. She gave him an annoyed look, " Oh, come on. We're out, no one else is with us, and we never get a chance to spend time together. We're siblings. We should,"
" Since when did you decide to care?"
" Beats me. Let's go out for lunch, my treat,"
" Where?"
" Do you like sushi?"
" I don't know,"
" Sushi it is. I know a great place. You'll love it," Pietro pulled her off in a direction she'd never been. She allowed him, although she wasn't so sure why, " And don't worry, no one should hit on us there,"
" I didn't know you liked sushi,"
" You don't know much about me, Wanda," he answered, before holding a door open for her. She walked inside a small but classy sushi place. A waiter walked over and took the two to their table. Pietro grinned over the table at her.
" I don't know what to get," she said, looking over the menu. He took hers from her and snapped them shut.
" I'll order for you, don't worry," he waved for the waiter to come over. Then he ordered two orders of the special and thanked the waiter, who left promptly, " You'll love it, don't worry. I promise. So, tell me how life's been, sis?" he looked at her intently, smiling a kind smile she normally didn't see, especially on him.
At first, she wasn't so sure she trusted this brother in front of her. It seemed so strange that he was interested in her affairs now. Then again, she figured, smiling to herself, she didn't really know anything about him. All her memories were of their father, not him. Now was a good chance to get to know him. That was definitely something she wanted to do.
Leaning forward, she began to tell him all the things she was into, including books and music. He joined right on in, laughing and smiling at this chance to finally get to know the sister that his father had stolen from him. After all these years, he was finally laughing with his sister. He'd never thought it'd feel that uplifting, yet it was. He couldn't stop smiling. Happily, neither could she.
Toad walked into the Japanese shop that he'd found online. No one came up to him, so he just started to walk around, searching for the tape he needed for his chest. He wandered around for a few minutes before stumbling across it. He grabbed a couple rolls and headed for the counter to pay with money he'd stolen out of Lance's wallet. He paid and turned around.
A boy with red hair walked into him and knocked the bag Toad had been holding onto the ground. The boy dropped down at the same time Toad did and their heads collided, sending both of them backwards. The boy moaned, laughing a little, and Toad assumed his usual crouching position, holding his head and rubbing the spot that ached.
" I'm so sorry about that," the boy said, grabbing the bag off the floor and holding it out to him. Toad took it and stood up. The boy rose up too and held out his hand, " Hi, I'm Walter Jones. My friends call me Wally,"
" Names Toad," he said, roughly shaking his hand. Wally smiled brightly, " I need to be g-"
" Wait! Um... I saw you walking around. And... I wanted... to know if you wanted to get a soda or something?" he suggested, blushing slightly. Toad stared at him as if he was crazy, " Um... maybe I should've said that differently... um.. I think you're cute?"
" C-cute?" he stuttered out, turning a perfect shade of red. No one had ever in his entire life called him that before. He couldn't help but blush and be a little bit flattered, " Ya... ya... think I'm cute?"
" Um... yes..."
" And... ya wanna get a soda? With me?"
" Y-yes..."
" Cuz chu think I'm cute?"
" Did I come on too strong?"
" Sorta," Toad said, running a hand through his hair and surprised to find it a lot longer then before. He glanced at his hair, made a mental note to wash it when he got home, and turned back to Wally. The red head smiled again, shoving his hands nervously into his jeans, " I guess a soda's okay,"
" Really! Oh, that's real sweet of you, Toad! Thank you! Where would you like to go!" he asked, reaching forward to take his arm. Toad instinctively jerked back, " Um... do you like seafood?"
" Um... not really,"
" Oh... barbeque?" he suggested, opening the door for him. Toad fought the urge to hop and walked outside the store. Wally followed him as Toad shook his head, " Chicken then?" Toad shook his head again, " Then, what do you eat?"
" Let's just get a soda and we'll talk about that later," he answered, clutching his bag to him.
" Am I making you nervous?"
" More then ya know. This is my first... d-date,"
" No. Not a pretty girl like you!" Wally exclaimed, stopping Toad in his tracks. Toad glanced to the left, then the right, and finally back at him, " You're being truthful, aren't you? But why? You're adorable,"
" You'll find out eventually, I'm sure," he said in a low tone, staring down at his sneakers. Wally waved him off, before walking him across the street to a diner. Deep down inside, Toad felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. He felt terrible. He was on basically on a date with a boy but he wasn't gay and he wasn't really a girl. He was letting this nice boy believe a lie and that was killing him. More then that, however, was the fact that this nice boy, the only person who'd ever been nice to him, was going to leave as soon as he found out the truth.
" Wait, Wally... there's somethin' I need ta tell ya," he said, grabbing his wrist. Wally gave him a big smile but Toad just stared at the ground. He knew it was better to get it over with now then wait until he fell in love with someone else. He had a bad habit of doing that.
He took a deep breath and looked up at Wally's shining blue eyes.