-a bit of inspiration for a once thought long done story…..thank you for all my reviews on this…I think it's the most loved of all my fics and holds a special place in my heart.

Some Time Later:

Aries closed her red eyes to the sun. It was hot and the pool was nice. She was floating along the side of the pool. She glanced back down in the water and smiled to herself as Toad swam by furiously, beneath the waters surface.

He was showing off.

He swam down one end and back again barely coming up for air. This was his element. Aries smiled to herself before looking back up to the sky and basking in its rays. She enjoyed the heat and power of the sun even more so now that her mutation was stronger.

A splash beside her brought her out of her trance. Toad's big green eyed and gummy smile'd head had popped out of the water beside her and kissed her cheek playfully before backwards diving into the water again, to flip and swirl around her legs. She laughed and made her way out of the pool, grabbing her towel where she had left it before.

Toad came up on the pool steps and squatted on them, in a very toad-like way, looking at her quizzically.

"I'm going in to make a drink…" she said to him, he smiled and nodded before bounding back in. "Anyone want anything?" she asked the rest of the gathered mutants. Mystique barely grunted a reply over her magazine and Pyro who had been laying on a nearby lounge, playing with his lighter, didn't acknowledge she had spoken.

"Fine." Aries stepped back into the large manor home the Brother hood had been using as their base recently and shivered as the cooler air hit her wet form. She made her way to the kitchen, searching the fridge for a few pieces of fruit and grabbed some ice out of the freezer. Soon, she had all the makings of a really interesting blended fruit drink in front of her. Chopping the fruit with a knife she managed to find in a nearby drawer, she failed to hear someone enter the room until he was right behind her.

"Alone at last." said a whisper near her ear. It was Pyro, and he was close. Aries spun around to find his arms around her, resting on both sides of the counter around her. He was younger than her yet taller and his intense, cocky gaze bore into her as he grinned-moving in closer.

He had joined the brotherhood not long after she had escaped from the X-men, and she knew she wouldn't have escaped if Pyro hadn't helped her. She hated to admit it but she owed him.

"Pyro," Aries said, angry at being snuck up on and cornered. Fully aware she was still holding the knife in her hand, she tried to step out of his grasp, but he wasn't moving. "We've been over this. Toad and I are…"

"I don't want to hear about your boyfriend." Pyro's eyes moved down to her lips.

"He's my fiancé." Aries corrected, waving the ring Toad had given her in front of Pyro's face.

"He's a joke…" Pyro smirked, ignoring her hand. "He's not right for you."

"Then, who is? You?" Aries asked.

"Yea," he said barely above a whisper and moved closer. Aries brought the knife up to his throat. The blade pushed against his skin but he didn't back away. He reached over to the nearby stove and took the fire from the range's pilot-light. He harnessed the fire in his hand and held it up to Aries's face.

She felt the blaze's warmth on her skin. It was so close, it was beginning to be threatening, but then he pulled it back slightly. Allowing it to dance in the air, his other hand found her waist.

"We're alike, Aries." he said as he played with the fire in his hands. "Together, we make sense. There can't be war without fire. " The flames flashed hotter as his legs stepped in with hers, their lower bodies making contact. She still had the knife at his throat but he was leaning in and she wasn't fending him off. Their lips were close-one slight movement and….

"Hope I'm not interrupting?" came Magneto's lofty voice from the doorway. He took in the sight of the two of his most powerful mutants and tried to make a distinction in what he saw. Though Aries held a knife to Pyro's throat, and he was holding a bright blaze very near Aries's head, they seemed to be embracing as lovers.

"Not at all." Pyro said, his eyes not leaving hers. The fire in his hand disappeared and he smirked at her, before turning his back and leaving the kitchen. He was pleased with himself at how close he had just been to kissing her, and knowing that with just a little more effort he would get what he wanted.

After Pyro left, Magneto turned his gaze on Aries.

"From the looks of things, I suppose I don't have to warn you that you're playing with fire." he said, eyebrow raised.

She shook her head no and tried refocusing her attention on the task she had been doing prior to Pyro's interruption, but she found she was no longer thirsty.

"We all have choices to make, Aries." Magneto said, then he added more to himself. "…some harder than others."

"I've made my choices and I stick by them." Aries turned to Magneto. Her voice had more of an edge to it than she would've liked.

Magneto nodded and left. Aries looked at the ring on her finger.

--

Mortimer's eyes opened in the night. Aries laid beside him, under his arm, sleeping. A smile crossed his face as he kissed the top of her head. He liked it here. The Brotherhood had been using the manor house as a base of operations ever since their last hideout had been discovered by the government. It was best to stay on the move, and Mortimer knew they would have to leave this place soon, just as they had the others. He still couldn't help enjoying it while it lasted.

He closed his eyes and allowed himself to pretend this was his life, that he could some day give this kind of life to her, his girl.

Aries grip tightened on Toad's arm. His large green eyes popped open, concern for her replacing his previous thoughts.

"Mort…Mort -its coming." she managed to get out in a small frightened voice before her head popped back and her eyes glowed in the dark room.

"I got you, luv." he said firmly. He held her tightly as her body began thrashing under him. "It's alright."

Her body raged and the bed shook as she cried out into the still night. The sound that came forth didn't seem to come from her at all. It seemed to come from something inside her and it sent shivers down Toad's spine.

Her red glowing eyes met his and she looked at him as though she had never seen him before. A wicked smile played on her lips-which then turned into a scowl.

The fire in her eyes faded and her body went limp in his embrace.

"Aries? Aries?" Toad asked as he tapped her cheek. She didn't respond. "…Rach?"

Her red eyes fluttered open.

"Its ok, Mort. It's stopped." she said, she wiped the cold sweat from her face.

"They're getting worse." Toad's brow was furrowed and his eyes still showed nothing but concern.

"I'm just getting stronger." she pushed herself off to the side of the bed, turning away from him, to avoid his gaze. "You know as well as I do, that I get stronger after these little episodes. It's just me growing into what I'm supposed to become."

"Don't pretend like they don't scare you." Toad said.

"Do they scare you?" Aries turned on him.

"Terribly." Toad replied and pursed his lips.

"Then, do I scare you?" Her eyes were cold, but the slight quiver from her lips broke his heart.

"No." he said firmly. "I love you." She didn't reply. She looked down at her feet, wishing that he truly wasn't scared of her, but she doubted it. She was frightened of herself.

"Let's go back to sleep, ya?" he asked. She nodded, and crawled back under the covers, back into his arms and closed her eyes.

please reveiw. THANK YOU...there should be more soonish