Archive of Our Own

Kitty was at school, talking to Kurt as they walked down the halls towards their next class. When she saw Lance, standing in the hallway alone, leaning against the wall, she automatically said goodbye to Kurt and went over to him.

"Lance, hi," Kitty said, smiling as she approached her almost-boyfriend. He looked at her and smiled slightly, almost surprised.

"Kitty, good to see you," Lance said, keeping a respectable distance from her. He looked around, as if searching for something, and his eyes fell on a fixed point. "I have to go, I'll talk to you later."

Before Kitty could even say anything, Lance was already leaving. Maybe he was waiting for another girl, Kitty thought but quickly dismissed that thought. There was no point in her tormenting herself over something that probably wasn't true.

Even if they didn't have anything official, Lance wouldn't do that to her, right? He would have the decency to break up with her before he started seeing another girl.

Kitty turned to where Lance was going and saw him heading towards Pietro. For a moment, Kitty wasn't sure how to react. She was surprised, of course, but also worried and confused.

Why would he prefer to spend time with Pietro instead of Kitty? Maybe it had to do with the Brotherhood, maybe Magneto was planning something, and since Pietro was Magneto's son…

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard Lance laughing at something Pietro said. Kitty's eyes widened as she noticed Pietro smiling at him, looking strangely excited.

Soon the bell rang and Kitty turned and headed in the opposite direction, heading to her classroom. Maybe it was nothing, maybe Lance just wanted to spend time with a friend…

But it continued like that the whole week.

Kitty was worried. She didn't trust Pietro, she knew he wasn't a good person and she was afraid of what he would do to Lance. They lived together, there wasn't much Kitty could do about it, but she could confront Pietro.

Kitty told Jean and Rogue that maybe Magneto was up to something and that Pietro was involving Lance in it. Rogue said that it was her paranoia because Lance was pulling away from her, and Jean said that she didn't want to read Pietro and Lance's minds to find out, but that she could do it if Kitty was sure of that.

Everyone knew that Jean didn't like reading people's minds, and Kitty didn't want to force her to do it, so she would find out on her own.

On Monday, as soon as gym class was over, Kitty was determined to find out what Pietro was doing with Lance and why whenever she approached him, Lance would either shy away or make up an excuse.

It was wrong, she knew, but Kitty walked into the boys' locker room anyway, passing through the walls. She was lucky not to find anyone there other than Kurt, who was startled to see Kitty in the boys' bathroom.

"Oh my God, Kitty!" Kurt exclaimed, his accent getting thicker. "What are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to Pietro, do you know if he's still here?" Kitty asked and Kurt nodded, pointing to the shower area.

"He's in there, I think he is with Lance." Kurt mumbled, looking worried and confused at Kitty. "Are you sure this is a good idea? I'll go with you, I'm not leaving you alone in the men's room..."

Kitty smiled at Kurt's concern and walked over to him, shaking her head and placing her hand on his shoulder. "I can handle myself, if someone tries to do something to me, something even worse will happen to them."

Kurt smiled, but still looked worried. Kitty followed him into the bathroom and saw Lance come out the door. She quickly hid, hoping he hadn't seen her.

When Lance left, Kitty waited for Pietro to come out, standing next to the door. It took about five minutes until Pietro came out, just a towel wrapped around his waist.

She grabbed his arm and pulled him into a hallway with lockers. Pietro looked at her, surprised and pulled his arm away, his brow furrowing.

"What do you want? What are you doing here?" Pietro asked indignantly, looking around and then looking at Kitty when he realized there was no one there.

"I want to talk to you," Kitty replied, her brow furrowed as Pietro sighed and opened a cabinet that she assumed was his.

"You could have called me to talk later, like any decent person would do, instead of barging into the men's locker room while I'm practically naked." Pietro said as he grabbed clean clothes from the closet.

For a moment, Kitty didn't know whether to look away or not, but Pietro didn't take off his towel or start getting dressed, he just sat on the bench with his legs together. Kitty thought about thanking him for that, but she didn't, she just took a deep breath and started talking.

"I want to talk about Lance, he's... Different." Kitty noticed how Pietro seemed to pay attention to her and seemed interested in the subject. "You live together and are friends, but I also know that your father is Magneto and I'm... Worried that you or your father did something to him."

All the attention, concern and interest that Pietro seemed to be feeling was replaced by indignation, anger and probably hatred.

"Are you insinuating that my father and I... Magneto and I have an evil plan that has corrupted Lance Alvers and is making him act differently?" Pietro exclaimed, indignant, anger shining in his eyes.

Kitty noticed how angry he seemed, but she had learned not to trust Pietro, but she realized that he was probably telling the truth. Maybe it was just her impression, or maybe Lance was going through something and didn't tell anyone.

"He's just been distant, he seems to avoid me, and every time he did that, it had to do with the Brotherhood, so I'm sorry if I'm worried about him." Kitty replied, her brow furrowed as she looked at Pietro's clothes.

For a moment, she thought about grabbing his clothes and running away, she could probably hide from him, but then Pietro sighed and put his head between his hands.

"I don't think he's acting differently, and I don't know what you think is different about him, but I assure you that I didn't do anything, okay?" Pietro looked at her, his anger dissipating. "Maybe he just got tired of you. Have you ever stopped to think that maybe he just do not want you anymore?"

There was an honesty and real concern in Pietro's tone that frightened Kitty. She hadn't thought of it, but it was one of the options, and yet she was angry with Pietro for saying it.

"Okay, thanks Pietro. Sorry for barging in like this." Kitty said and turned, heading towards the bathroom door and noticed Kurt there, waiting for her.

Neither of them said anything as Kurt grabbed Kitty's arm and teleported out of the bathroom. Luckily, the hallways were empty.

"So Lance is not into you anymore?" Kurt asked, worried and curious. Kitty shrugged, not knowing what to answer.

"I don't know, I don't completely believe Pietro, but it seems simpler than believing that Pietro is manipulating him because of Magneto... Okay, actually both options are valid." Kitty murmured, noticing how Kurt was listening to her attentively.

"Maybe Magneto isn't planning anything, maybe it really is that simple, right?" Kurt said, putting his hand on her shoulder. "Come on, leave Lance alone, when he wants to, he'll talk to you or something like that.”

Kitty smiled and nodded and they walked towards their classroom. For a while, Kitty didn't care and was able to keep Lance out of her mind… Until the X Men had to face the Brotherhood again.

Before that incident, Kitty was convinced that Lance just didn't want her anymore, but now she knew there was something more. She knew Pietro had lied and she knew they were planning something.

"I told you, I knew they were planning something." Kitty stated when they were having breakfast at the Mansion. Jean sighed and nodded, looking at Kitty with a kind of pity in her eyes.

"You said it, Kitty, and that's why you should forget Lance." Rogue said, her expression serious. "I know you like him, but you two are on opposite sides."

Kitty frowned, irritated by Rogue's words, even though deep down, she was right. It would be hard to make a relationship with Lance work with them being on opposite sides.

"And what do you know about that, Rogue?" Kitty retorted, a little too rudely and almost regretted it, if she hadn't seen Rogue shrug as she sipped her coffee.

"I've spent time with them, I know Lance will do whatever Pietro asks, which are usually Magneto's orders. He will argue, but he will obey anyway." Rogue said and looked at everyone at the table, and then her eyes returned to Kitty. "I'm sorry, but it's the reality."

At that moment, Kitty didn't know how to react. It was obvious that Pietro was manipulating Lance, my God, how stupid she was to ask Pietro about that.

"Rogue is right, Lance feels an almost blind loyalty to Pietro, he would follow him anywhere." Jean said and Scott gasped in surprise. "I know it doesn't seem like it, but I read Lance's mind while we were fighting, I saw what he thought, and he basically thought that."

Everyone there was silent, surprised by Jean's revelation about Lance. Everyone there thought that Lance was a rebel who wouldn't follow anyone's orders, but no, apparently the only person he would accept taking orders from was Pietro.

"Well, at least now we know who is the leader of the Brotherhood when Magneto or Mystique isn't around." Kurt said and Evan nodded.

"Nepotism, apparently." Evan said, smiling in amusement and Kurt let out a light laugh, but soon stopped laughing when he looked at Kitty.

Kitty didn't know how to react, she just felt angry at Pietro for lying to her. It was obvious that he was manipulating Lance, that Lance would do whatever he wanted, maybe because he didn't want to disrespect Magneto's son.

"He probably just follows Pietro's orders because he knows they're coming from Magneto." Scott said, speaking what everyone was thinking at that moment, and then he looked at Kitty. "If Lance stops avoiding you, then he probably just avoided you because they were planning something and couldn't let anyone from the X-Men find out. Just wait."

"Don't worry, Scott, I'll do just that." Kitty finished eating in silence, thinking about talking about what happened, but not talking with Lance, but with Pietro.

Once Kitty arrived at school, she waited until gym class period to end to confront Pietro again, since she was now certain that if she called him, Pietro would avoid her. She waited in front of Pietro’s locker, just ready to hide if anyone else showed up.

When she heard voices approaching, Kitty went through the door of Pietro’s locker and hid. Soon she realized it was Lance and Pietro's voices, and for a moment she feared the entire Brotherhood was there, until she remembered that Todd Tolansky probably didn't shower.

"Lance, I didn't expect the X Men to show up, okay? It had nothing to do with them, I don't even know why they got involved." Pietro said and Kitty's eyes widened, but she kept listening. "I know your girlfriend is part of the X Men and that you don't like fighting her, but I didn't intend to fight them. Forgive me, please."

Pietro asking Lance for forgiveness? Kitty was surprised, she never imagined she would hear the speedster apologize, he was always very proud, especially for attacking the X Men.

There was just silence for a few seconds until Kitty heard someone sigh, and she realized it was Lance sighing. She listened carefully, waiting for one of them to say something.

"I forgive you, you know that." Lance whispered and Kitty's eyes widened, feeling more and more surprised. "No matter how much shit you do, I'm by your side."

"I know you are." Pietro said in a whisper too, both of them seemed afraid that someone would hear them. "I'm by your side too. You're the only person I truly trust."

At that moment, Kitty realized that the relationship between Lance and Pietro was deeper than they let on. They lived together, fought side by side, spent almost all their time together, it was obvious that they trusted each other and had a kind of brotherly relationship.

A few seconds passed and they didn't say anything, only their breathing was audible and Kitty began to wonder if they knew she was there.

"I'm going, Tro, I'm going to go find Todd, I need to talk to him." Lance was walking away, Kitty noticed.

She waited a few seconds and then came out from behind, coming out of another locker, which was in another hallway. She moved away from the locker and around to the side, trying to act like she had just arrived here.

"Fuck, girl, why do you show up like that?" Pietro exclaimed, startled as he opened the closet. He was still wearing only a towel tied around his waist, but Kitty tried to ignore that.

"When I came here and talked to you last week, you were planning something, weren't you?" Kitty said, trying to feel angry but she couldn't. "That's why Lance was avoiding me."

"And what does it matter? If you want to fight, you could wait until I put on some decent clothes." Pietro said but Kitty just approached him, trying to look threatening.

"I just want to know why you keep Lance away from me." Kitty said, her brow furrowed as Pietro took a step forward, looking angry.

"I don't force him to do anything, he is away from you because he wants to. He can stay with you if he wants to, I don't care!" Kitty took a step back, startled. She had never seen Pietro so angry. "I think that's why he walked away from you, probably because he finds you insufferable."

Kitty felt the urge to hit Pietro, but she didn't, not knowing whether to believe him or not. She sighed and looked at Pietro's open locker, seeing his clothes there.

As quickly as she could, Kitty grabbed Pietro's clothes and ran out, passing through the walls of the men’s room and leaving.

She just heard Pietro yell something as he ran to his classroom and put his clothes in his backpack. It was childish of her, she knew that, but she still felt angry at Pietro for lying to her.

As classes went on, she tried not to care about what happened, and since no one from the Brotherhood came to talk to her, Kitty managed to ignore it until lunch time.

At lunchtime, Kitty was with Kurt, Jean, Scott, Evan and Rogue, eating lunch outdoors. She didn't tell any of them what she had done, of course, she knew they would scold her.

And then Lance walked over to her, his expression serious as he approached and in that instant, Kitty knew he was going to argue about what she had done.

"What do you want here, Alvers?" Scott asked, looking at him seriously. Lance looked at him seriously, and for a moment, it seemed like they were going to fight right there.

"I don't want anything to do with any of you, I just want to talk to Kitty." Lance said and looked at Kitty, who hesitated for a moment, but stood up.

They walked towards a corner away from everyone, Kitty knew that Scott, Jean, Rogue, Kurt and Evan were looking at her and Lance, probably worried.

When they were far enough away, and Lance seemed sure no one would hear or see them, he began to talk.

"Why did you steal Pietro's clothes?" Lance asked seriously, a glint of anger in his eyes that Kitty had never seen directed at her. "If it's because of what happened, then I'm sorry, but it's a very bad form of attack, and I doubt your dear Captain Scotty knows what you did..."

"Lance." Kitty interrupted him, approaching him and placing her hands on his, holding them. "He lied to me, I just wanted to understand why you were pulling away from me and he lied... I... I'm sorry."

"Wait, what? What do you mean?" He asked, confused and worried, pulling away from her. "What did he say to you?"

"Pietro said he didn't know why you were so far away from me and that he had nothing to do with it, but then about six days later, you guys attacked civilians." Kitty retorted, and noticed how Lance frowned. "I was worried, okay? And I was angry that he lied..."

"Did it ever occur to you that he was telling the truth? That he had nothing to do with it and that he didn't know why?" Lance replied, and Kitty fell silent, listening intently and not knowing what to say. "You could have just talked to me, you know? You didn't have to bring Pietro into this."

This option hadn't occurred to Kitty, but she figured it made sense. It would be simpler and maybe she'd get a straight answer.

"So why have you been avoiding me?" Kitty asked, crossing her arms, and Lance sighed, still looking angry.

"Give Pietro his clothes back, please." Was all Lance said. They stared at each other for almost a minute, neither of them moving or looking away, both waiting for someone to do something about it.

Soon the bell rang, but neither of them moved. They continued to stare at each other for almost a minute until Lance sighed and gave up, moving away from her, in silence.

Apparently, that was the end. Whatever they had was over, whether they wanted it or not, because of Pietro, or maybe Kitty's impulsiveness, or maybe Lance's lack of communication. Probably because of all of this mixed up.

As soon as Kitty could, she put Pietro's clothes back in the closet and then leave.

Days passed and Kitty didn't talk to Lance or Pietro. Sometimes she saw them in the hallways, usually they were together, but at no time did she speak to them or they to her.

Until there was an attack by the Brotherhood of Mutants and the X Men went to stop them, which ended with Lance injured. Kitty tried not to feel so bad, but she couldn't make it up, she still liked him.

The X-Men took Lance to the Mansion to care for him while the other Brotherhood members fled, which made Kitty question herself if Pietro really considered Lance his friend.

For three days, Beast took care of Lance, and Kitty thought about going to the Brotherhood house and telling them he would be fine for the next two days, but she didn't need to. It was late at night when Pietro appeared at the door of the X-Mansion, his features worried, dark circles under his eyes, and a strong smell of cigarette smoke.

Scott, Storm, and Logan were at the door when Pietro arrived, ready to defend themselves in case he planned to attack or something.

"Not another step, Maximoff," Scott said, his hands ready to take out his glasses. "We know Alvers is your teammate, but we don't trust you."

Pietro sighed in annoyance and took a step forward, walking unusually slowly for a speedster. Logan and Scott took a defensive stance, while Storm seemed oddly relaxed.

"I don't care if you trust me, what you think of me, or if you're going to beat me up, I just want to see Lance." Pietro stated, his face tired.

Scott opened his mouth to answer him, but Professor Xavier appeared, going to the door. Kitty stepped away from the door, but still watched everything closely.

"Let him in." The Professor ordered and Scott's eyes widened, even though Kitty couldn't see them, she could see his eyebrows raise. He was surprised, she was sure, but he didn't question the Professor's orders.

"What if Magneto sent his son to spy on us?" Logan asked as Pietro approached, slowly, which was odd considering he was a speedster.

"Magneto knows that I would know if he sent someone to spy on us. I read Pietro's mind, and I know that he is here because he is worried about the young mutant that is in the infirmary." Xavier replied to Logan, as Pietro approached the door, without looking directly at any of the mutants.

"Thank you, sir." Pietro said shyly, which was strange to see, considering he was always proud, selfish, and confident about himself.

"You're welcome, son." Xavier said and looked at Kitty, who was standing there watching everything. And then it occurred to Kitty that the Professor knew everything that had happened between the three of them. "Kitty, accompany Pietro to the infirmary."

Kitty thought about refusing, she wanted to refuse, but she nodded as soon as she saw Pietro's face and the desolate look in his eyes. He looked lost, tired, worried, everything he didn't usually look like.

As soon as Pietro walked towards her, Kitty started walking towards the infirmary, her steps fast, she didn't want to spend too much time next to Pietro.

As they walked, everyone at the Institute looked at Pietro, who didn't seem to care, who was completely focused on walking and looking at the ground. Apparently Pietro really cared about Lance.

They entered the elevator in silence, and Pietro didn't seem to care about the advanced technology of the place, too lost in his thoughts.

As soon as they entered the infirmary, they noticed Lance sitting on the bed, Beast next to him reviewing some tests. Kitty opened her mouth to talk to Pietro, but as soon as she turned to him, he was already hugging Lance, almost lying on top of him on the bed.

"Oh my God, Lance, I was so worried.” Pietro murmured, not letting go of Lance, his voice tearful. "Are you okay? I would have come sooner, but I wasn't sure if they would let me in..."

"I'm fine, Tro, they've been taking care of me." Lance replied, pulling Pietro closer to him. "I missed you, are you okay? You weren't hurt that badly, right?"

"I'm better now that I know you're okay." Pietro began to move away from Lance and sat on the bed, taking Lance's hand and intertwining their fingers.

And then Kitty finally realized. Pietro and Lance were a couple, that was why Lance had been avoiding her, that was why they were together all the time. Now it all made sense.

Soon Beast approached them, smiling slightly in his friendly way, even though they were enemies of the X Men.

"Excuse me, but Lance has to rest, he'll probably be here for two days, maybe less, but don't worry, young man, your boyfriend will be fine." Beast stated and Pietro smiled slightly and nodded, while Lance's face turned red.

“Okay, thanks sir, for taking care of Lance.” Pietro said, smiling at the Beast, who smiled back and nodded, walking away from them and going to his computer.

"Did you hear? He said I'm your boyfriend." Lance muttered and laughed weakly. "Ridiculous, isn't it? Us, boyfriends."

Pietro smiled and leaned in, placing his hand on Lance's cheek, pulling him in for a long kiss. Kitty looked away, not sure if she should watch them kiss.

"I don't know when I'll see you again, so I'm going to say goodbye to you now..." Pietro said as soon as he stopped kissing Lance and Kitty looked back at them. Pietro placed a chaste and short kiss on Lance's forehead before standing up. "Goodbye... My boyfriend."

They stared at each other for a few seconds, smiling like idiots in love at each other. Soon Pietro walked to the door of the infirmary, where Kitty was standing, waiting. Pietro left the infirmary and Kitty followed him, wanting to talk to him about it.

“Pietro…” She called Pietro, and he looked at her, and then Kitty realized she had no idea what to say and sat on the floor, leaning against the wall and patted her side three times, waiting for Pietro to sit down.

Pietro hesitantly sat down next to her, looking tired but relieved. Now that she knew about their relationship, everything made more sense.

"Look, Kitty, I have to apologize." Pietro said and Kitty's eyes widened in surprise. "You asked me if I knew why Lance was acting differently around you, and I did, because it was around that time that we... We started… You know, to kiss and this shit, but I didn't say anything because I was waiting for him to talk about this with you, but it wasn't my business, and since we weren't actually dating, I didn't care... I tried not to care."

"He never came to talk to me about it, but you tried to tell me that he wasn't interested in me anymore..." Kitty murmured, and noticed how Pietro smiled slightly. "And then I thought you guys were planning something, and then I stole your clothes... I'm sorry about that. I'm the one who should be apologizing, you didn't do anything."

They looked at each other and Pietro smiled, looking so vulnerable in that moment that it scared Kitty. He took a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and a lighter, looking ready to smoke.

"I feel like an idiot for being here, all those people staring at me... Charles Xavier probably knows I'm here because I'm a lovesick idiot who wants to see if his quote-unquote boyfriend is okay." Pietro muttered, putting a cigarette in his mouth.

"You can't smoke here." Kitty said, and Pietro laughed, taking the cigarette out of his mouth. "And you're not an idiot for being here, I believe anyone who is in love would do the same in your situation…” After some seconds, Kitty said: “I didn't know you smoked…”

"I don't smoke, usually at least..." Pietro muttered, looking at the cigarette in his hand. "I guess you know Lance smokes, he always smells like cigarettes, and well, after... After what happened, I started smoking. Shit, I'm ridiculous."

For a few seconds, Kitty said nothing. She knew Lance smoked, of course, but she was still surprised to find out that Pietro started to smoke. How bad was he that he had started smoking?

Pietro also didn't say anything, he just stared at a fixed point on the wall. They just stayed there, sitting on the floor, in silence. Soon Scott, Logan, Storm and Xavier appeared there and Kitty and Pietro stood up.

"Mr. Xavier, I want to thank you for taking care of Lance, really, thank you very much." Pietro said to Xavier as he approached. "Thank you, really, I don't know how I can repay you, I don't think there is any way."

"There is no need to thank us." That was all Xavier replied and Pietro smiled, putting the cigarette in his pants pocket.

Scott seemed surprised to hear Pietro thanking Xavier in this manner, but said nothing, while Xavier smiled. Apparently Storm realized that Lance and Pietro had some sort of close relationship, as she smiled at him as well.

"It's good to see that in the Brotherhood, you care about each other." Storm said, placing her hand on Pietro's shoulder. "Lance Alvers is lucky to have you."

Pietro looked at her and smiled slightly, looking embarrassed and Scott was shocked to hear Storm call Pietro Lance's and looked at Kitty, who smiled and nodded, understanding the silent question Scott had asked.

"Pietro, if you want to spend the night here, you can stay, we can get you a room." Xavier said and Scott looked surprised, but didn't say anything.

"I appreciate it, but I can't stay, I have other things to do." Pietro replied, still smiling, however, he looked embarrassed. "Could I... come back here tomorrow?"

"Our doors are always open to mutants, and those in need." Xavier said and Pietro smiled, looking confused, but said nothing. "Kitty, accompany Pietro to the exit."

Kitty nodded and put her hand on Pietro's arm, who began to follow her. A few seconds later, Scott began to follow them, keeping a respectable distance.

None of the three said anything until they reached the elevator, an uncomfortable silence as the elevator moved. It was obvious that Scott wanted to ask Pietro something, but he respectfully said nothing.

"Summers, I know you're confused, I saw your face when the white-haired girl said Lance was lucky to have me." Pietro said, not looking at Scott. "Just ask the questions."

For a moment, Scott seemed to analyze the situation and wondered if he should say something. Kitty remained silent, she knew she shouldn't say anything.

"I was just surprised, I thought Lance was straight since he liked Kitty." Scott muttered and glanced at Kitty, then looked at Pietro. "I know I shouldn't assume that kind of thing, but anyway, it's a common mistake."

"I won't judge you for that, my God, Scott, even when you make mistakes, you're so… Clean-fingered." Pietro said, laughing lightly. Scott smiled slightly, but he looked worried.

"I'm sorry for trying to be a nice guy.” Scott said and Kitty laughed, while Pietro just let out a nasal laugh. "Does anyone besides us know about Lance and you? I mean, the Brotherhood or, I don't know, people from the school?"

Apparently Scott's question caught Pietro by surprise, as his eyes widened, but he still didn't look at Scott, he did not even look at Kitty, just staring at the elevator door.

"Todd, Freddy and Wanda know. I don't think Magneto knows... And now you guys know." Pietro said and shrugged, trying to look indifferent, but Kitty knew he wasn't indifferent, that in reality, he cared, that he was afraid that people would find out.

They walked out of the elevator and followed the mansion to the exit, now there were fewer students in the hallway, but Kitty spotted Kurt there, watching everything from afar.

Quickly, they left the mansion. Kitty followed Pietro until they were far enough away from the mansion, and for some reason, Scott followed them.

"Pietro." Kitty called, and Pietro and Scott stopped walking, both looking at her. "We won't tell anyone that you and Lance are a couple."

The surprise was obvious on Pietro's face. He said nothing and looked at Scott, who nodded, agreeing with what Kitty had said.

"I didn't ask you to keep it a secret." Pietro retorted and Kitty nodded, noticing how he seemed to fear their answer, but also seemed ready to fight.

"You don't have to, Pietro." Scott said, and hesitantly, he put his hand on his shoulder. "We're not idiots, we're not going to spread it to everyone, we're decent people. And you two are mutants, you already suffer from it daily..."

"I didn't ask for your protection, I'm just here because of Lance, I don't care if you keep it a secret or spread it to the whole school that he and I are a couple." Pietro said, looking angry. Scott opened his mouth, looking irritated, ready to respond, but then Pietro took a deep breath and looked away. "But thanks anyway."

Kitty and Scott looked at each other, then looked back at Pietro and smiled empathetically. Pietro looked at them and took a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket, taking out a cigarette and a lighter.

"See you around, you can come see Lance whenever you want." Kitty said, smiling and Pietro nodded, putting the cigarette in his mouth and lighting it with the lighter.

"Thank you so much for everything you've done for Lance.” Pietro murmured as he took a drag on his cigarette, then took it out of his mouth, holding it between his fingers. "I'll see you tomorrow, probably."

There was gratitude shining in Pietro's tired eyes, which made Kitty worry, but she said nothing. Pietro turned away from them and walked away, walking slowly as he smoked.

When Pietro was far enough away, Scott and Kitty looked at each other and without saying anything, went back inside the Mansion, in a mutual agreement not to talk about this with anyone.

"Did you know Pietro smoked?" Scott asked, and Kitty shrugged. They stopped in front of the Mansion's door and Scott looked over to where Pietro had been when he arrived at the Mansion earlier.

"No, I know that Lance used to smoke, I hated that habit, but he never quit smoking.” Kitty muttered, looking at Scott. "Why do you ask?"

Now it was Scott who shrugged. "I guess I'm worried, not just about Pietro and Lance, but about the Brotherhood. I don't know where they live, or how they live, but I know Pietro is proud enough to say he wouldn't need us to take care of Lance. He must love Lance so much to put that pride aside."

Then Kitty realized that Pietro really did love Lance. It might seem like they were just making out, but they really did like each other.

"They're both very proud, I don't even want to imagine which one of them admitted they were in love first." Kitty said and Scott smiled and nodded, leaning his back against the door frame.

"You know, Kitty, I know this is a personal question, but aren't you mad at Lance or Pietro?" Scott asked, looking worried and Kitty shook her head. She leaned against the doorframe and stood face to face with Scott.

"Before I found out they were dating, I was mad, but that was because I thought Pietro was manipulating Lance." Kitty replied and Scott frowned and nodded. "I guess now that I know they're together, everything makes sense."

Scott smiled at Kitty, seeming to understand her. Kitty thought about telling Scott that she had fought with Lance, but decided against it, there was no need for that.

"I'm going to sleep, and I think you should too." Scott said and Kitty smiled and nodded. "Tomorrow we have to wait for the arrival of a certain speedster in love."

Kitty laughed and Scott smiled as they entered the Mansion. The halls were now completely empty, which was a good thing in a way. Scott started up the stairs and Kitty followed him, then she abruptly stopped.

Maybe she should talk to Lance, now that she knows the truth. It was late and Lance needed to rest, but Kitty didn't want to wait until the next day to talk to him.

Scott noticed that Kitty had stopped halfway up the stairs and he stopped too, staring at her, concern and confusion written all over his face.

"Go sleep, Scott, I'm going to talk to Lance, I don't know if I'll have patience to wait until tomorrow." Kitty started down the stairs again, not even waiting for Scott to answer.

She tried to be quiet and not attract anyone's attention, which she managed to do successfully. Upon arriving at the infirmary, Kitty didn't even open the door, she just walked through and went to the bed where Lance was lying.

As Kitty approached the bed, Lance looked at her and smiled weakly. He wasn't happy, but he seemed pleased to see her.

"Let me guess, you came here to ask about me and Pietro?" Lance muttered, sitting up in bed and smiling slightly.

"No, actually, I think Pietro explained everything he needed to explain." Kitty replied and Lance frowned, looking confused and surprised, curiosity shining in his eyes.

"So… why are you here?" Lance asked, confused and Kitty felt hurt that he didn't think she would simply be worried about him.

"At first, I thought you were avoiding me because of the Brotherhood and their plans, but now I understand that it was because you were in love with Pietro." Kitty said and Lance opened his mouth, but Kitty continued. "So all I want to ask is: why didn't you talk to me? I mean, we weren't dating, but we had something, I liked you and you liked me, then suddenly you stopped talking to me, why didn't you just tell me that you were in love with someone else? Or I don't know... Just said that you didn't want to have anything with me anymore?"

For a few seconds, they just stared at each other. Lance seemed to be speechless, which Kitty found odd in a way, since he always seemed to have an answer ready on the tip of his tongue.

But this wasn't a typical conversation that could have a simple, sarcastic, and ignorant answer. Lance knew that Kitty wouldn't accept any answer other than the truth, and he knew that at that moment, there was no escape.

Kitty didn't look away for a moment, she stared deeply at Lance, waiting for an answer. Lance looked away and sighed, looking at the bed sheets that were covering his legs.

"I didn't tell you because I wasn't sure about anything at the time." Lance replied, still not looking at Kitty, who was listening intently. "All I knew was that I liked Pietro and that he liked me. It seemed simple, but it wasn't. Besides being mutants, we were two men who liked each other. I was not just afraid, I was also worried.”

Lance stopped talking for a while, looking thoughtful and continued: "I thought about talking to you, about telling you that I didn't like you anymore, but it was easier to pretend than to tell the truth. I almost had a heart attack when the rest of the Brotherhood found out, and when Pietro came here... I didn't know if I should smile or hide.”

Kitty then began to understand, and any remaining anger she had felt toward Lance for not being completely honest with her disappeared. She sat up in bed and took his hand, intertwining their fingers.

"I think in all the time I've known you, this is the first time you have really talked to me about your feelings." Kitty said, smiling slightly and Lance looked at her.

"I'm sorry I wasn't a good boyfriend, I wasn't exactly your boyfriend, but I know I wouldn't be good if I had been." Lance murmured, smiling slightly.

"Yeah, I'm not sure about that, but I also want to apologize, you know, for walking in on your boyfriend in the bathroom and stealing his clothes... and for not talking to you directly about it." Kitty smiled, noticing how pleased Lance looked. "I hope you're a good boyfriend to Pietro, and that he's a good boyfriend to you."

Lance smiled, looking embarrassed, and looked away. "You know, he's not exactly my boyfriend, just my... hookup?" It sounded more like a question than a statement, but Kitty didn't correct him, the time would do that.

"Sure, okay, of course, if you say so..." Kitty muttered and noticed that Lance rolled his eyes but smiled. "See you tomorrow, good night."

Kitty left the infirmary as quickly as possible and went to her room, relieved and even happy that she had cleared things up with Lance. Now Kitty could understand him, and that gave her some sense of satisfaction.

It was obvious in Lance's eyes that he liked Pietro, and it was obvious in Pietro's eyes that he liked Lance. They were in love, that was so clear now that Kitty began to question herself how she hadn't noticed before.

After the events of that night, would the relationship between the X-Men and the Brotherhood of Mutants be any different? Maybe it would change, maybe it would stay the same, the reality is that Kitty had no idea, and she didn't even care about that at the moment. She was just happy for Lance and Pietro.

Kitty went to her room and lay down on her bed, getting ready for bed, suddenly feeling tired. As soon as she closed her eyes, she fell asleep instantly.