Disclaimer: I don't own X-men or any of its characters. I don't own iPod. I don't own clocks. HOWEVER! I do own Noah so there!

A Secret Revealed

Noah woke with a start. The darkness that filled the room seemed to creep up on him. A strong sense of panic washed over him as he tried to work out where he was. His eyes grew wide as he listened to the sound of someone breathing. He turned his head and saw a clock. It read 5:45 AM.

"Close enough." He mumbled to himself. He reached into the bathroom and flipped the light on so he could see before he grabbed a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. He picked up his green iPod on the night stand, before reaching back into the bathroom to flip off the lights. After pulling on his sneakers, he walked quietly toward the door, opened it and slipped out into the hallway. Once outside the room, he put his head phones on and pressed play. Techno blaring in his ears he made his way to the front entrance. He began to stretch, getting ready for a morning run. The dark haired man who had come up behind him went unnoticed.

The faint aroma of cigars wafted up to his nose from behind Noah as he stood up straight from one of his leg stretches. He pressed pause on the iPod and turned to see a tall and well built man standing there with one eye brow raised.

"What are you doing up at this hour?" He asked.

"I woke up too early so I thought I'd go for a run or something. I'm Noah," he extended his hand to the stranger. "I just got here yesterday."

He accepted the hand, "Logan. Do you even know where to go for a run?"

"Uh," Noah paused for a moment before continuing, "no. Could you, show me? Or maybe, want to join me?" His voice was laced with hesitation.

Logan contemplated for a moment before nodding.

"Thanks," he wasn't sure which of his questions the man had answered but he figured this guy didn't like to be kept waiting, so he quickly went back to stretching.

The other man leaned up against the door frame as he waited for Noah to finish and when he had he stood and turned toward the door. Logan opened it and asked. "So, where are you from?"

– – –

John woke to find himself alone in his room. The clock on his desk said 6:45 AM. He knew Noah hadn't gone to class since it was Saturday. It took a few minutes for the sleep to fully wane from his mind. Once he was fully awake, he put on his shorts and left his room. Careful not to be seen, he made his way two doors down. John knocked lightly and waited for a response. The door slowly opened to reveal Bobby in his boxers.

"What?" Bobby's whisper indicated that there was someone else in his room.

"Hey," John whispered back, "is Pitor asleep?"

"Yeah. What about Noah?"

"No, but he's gone." John said invitingly.

"Ok," Bobby rubbed his palms into his eye, "I'll be there in a minute."

"Right," John whispered as he began to creep back to his empty room.

Once inside, he let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. He quickly checked his hair in the mirror before he heard a soft knock on the door. He turned around to see Bobby, fully dressed now, step quickly into his room before closing the door. He didn't even wait for John to fully acknowledge him, before quickly closing the distance between them. Their lips met passionately as John wrapped his arms around Bobby's waist. Bobby ran his fingers up John's already bare chest, sending shivers through the fire mutant's lithe body. John tilted his head and kissed the nape of Bobby's neck, earning him a small groan. John pulled their hips together as Bobby's fingers laced into John's hair.

*Knock-Knock*

Bobby quickly pushed John away, onto his bed as the door opened. Noah walked in, staring at his iPod.

"Hey, I saw the light was on and just wante-" Noah stopped at the sight of the boys breathing heavily, John on his bed with messed hair and Bobby looking out the window. "I'm sorry if you need the roo-" He was cut off again as Bobby pushed past him into the hallway, avoiding eye contact. Noah closed the door and sat at the foot of his bed. He took a deep breath and looked up to see John sitting across from him, head in his hands.

"John," Noah had to tread carefully, "what was that?"

John spoke with his eyes fixed on the floor. "If you want a new room mate that's cool, just don't tell Rogue. I don't want Bobby to get hurt."

"Fair enough, but why would I want a new room mate?" He knew the answer, but he wanted to open the door to this conversation.

"Well I'm sure you don't want a fag sleeping across from you." There was pain in John's voice.

"So you're gay." Noah had said it more as a fact than a question.

"Yeah! Alright? I'm gay! A real fucking fag!" John was standing, angry and nervous but refused to make eye contact.

Noah stood and crossed the room to John's desk, opening the bottom drawer he pulled out a pack of cigarettes and opened the window. "Come here and sit down." he gestured to the chair as he sat up on his desk. "We should talk."

John looked up and hesitantly sat at his desk, taking the cigarette the boy offered. Retrieving the shark's mouth lighter out of his pocket he lit his own cigarette before lighting Noah's. Noah took a long drag before he continued. "John," his green eyes seemed to look right into John's soul, "I don't care that you're gay. I'm not going to tell anyone about what I saw alright?"

John relaxed some, nodding.

"And I understand you not wanting to hurt Bobby, but what about you? Are you content to just fuck around with him while he carries on a relationship with Rogue?"

John seemed taken aback by Noah's reaction. No one had ever spoken to him like this before. No one had ever really shown an interest in his feelings. He took a long drag off his cigarette as he searched for the right things to say. "I guess. It does kind of hurt to see them carrying on in public when I can only have him behind closed doors." He took another drag and shuttered as he blew the smoke out the window. "It's not like I have a choice though. For him, it's just an outlet because he can't be with her. I mean for Christ's sake, he can't even kiss her without getting hurt."

"I thought as much," Noah's voice was filled with concern for his new friend, "but does Bobby know how you feel?"

"We've never talked about it. What we're doing together." John didn't understand his willingness to bear his soul to the guy he just met, but didn't question it either. "One night, back when we were roommates, I came out to him. The next day he had Scott move him to a different room. We didn't talk for a while; I guess he was just trying to figure everything out. Then, out of nowhere, he just shows up to 'look for something he lost' and we got to talking about me. One thing led to another and we've sort of kept it quiet ever since. We never talk about it, never say a word. Just fuck and leave..."

Noah took one last drag before walking to the bathroom. "Well that doesn't seem right. I think the next time you have a chance, you should ask Bobby what he expects from you." He flushed the cigarette down the toilet and entered the room again. "If you don't like his answer, then maybe fucking around isn't a good idea."

John seemed lost in thought for moment then shrugged. "You're right." That was all he said before pulling the fire out of his cigarette and tossing the butt out the widow. He stood and walked over to the pile of clothes on the floor. Picking up what seemed to be a clean shirt and slipping it on. "Thanks Noah."

"Hey, what kind of friend would I be if I just let it go?" Noah turned to his dresser and pulled out the clothes he had decided on.

"Do you want to catch breakfast?" John asked.

"Well, I just finished working out with Logan, so I need a shower." He smiled as he turned to the bathroom.

"Logan? As in the teacher?" John asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, I woke up too early and went for a run. Thank goodness he came along because I would have gotten totally lost out there. After that he showed me the weight room and spotted me. You go ahead though; I'll meet you down there in twenty." He smiled again as he closed the door to the bathroom.

John waited for the water to turn on before he left, slowly walking down the hall. Not many people were in the kitchen this early on a Saturday. Jean, Scott, and Storm were sitting at the counter while Logan stood next to them. There were a few kids at the table eating eggs and bacon, but he didn't recognize them. John had no desire to talk with anyone in the kitchen, so he sat on the floor just outside the door and thought about what he wanted to say to Bobby while he waited for Noah.

Author Notes: Another special thanks to Spiras Stormgate for Beta reading and catching all my mistakes lol