Date: Tue, 10 Oct 2006 22:25:32 -0400 From: Dusty Hansen Subject: newest ultimate x man part 11 Obligatory warnings and disclaimers: 1) If reading this is in any way illegal where you are or at your age, or you don't want to read about male/male relationships, go away. You shouldn't be here. 2) The X-Men and any related characters are property of Marvel Comics, trademarked and registered and copyrighted and all that. I'm using them without permission. For those who read the comics and worry about such things, this story takes place in the (much simpler and easier to follow) Ultimate X-Men universe, and starts right around issue 54. If you don't want to dig out your copy, the team at that time is Jean Grey, Cyclops, Iceman, Kitty Pryde, Nightcrawler, Colossus, Angel, and Dazzler. Comments can be sent to "dustyh75@hotmail.com" Thanks. *** "So Longshot turned out to actually be a murderer, and you guys let him go?" Seth asked, reaching for the popcorn. "Technically I was unconscious when Ali and Kurt decided to let him go, but yeah," Warren answered, shrugging and then wincing. His wings hurt every time he moved them, and he couldn't help moving them almost every time he moved anything. The Professor and Jean had wrapped them tightly in gauze and bandages, and Warren had never been so uncomfortable in his life. "They rescued him, he rescued me, and then they let him go on Mojo's yacht. He could be anywhere by now." "Well, anywhere in yachting distance, anyway," Seth said, trying to make Warren feel better. "I guess you could have argued that it wasn't your fault. It's not like you got to offer an opinion, what with the unconsciousness and all." "Yeah, but I kind of wanted the Professor to think it actually was my fault," Warren said, shifting on the couch again as he tried to get comfortable. Seth sat next to him, a large bowl of popcorn sitting between them. "I heard he was pissed," Seth said carefully. He'd actually heard a lot worse from Kitty, although how she knew what had gone on behind the closed door of the Professor's office that afternoon was anyone's guess. "Pissed doesn't even begin to describe it," Warren sighed. "I'm completely grounded. The way he was looking at me when he bitched us out in his office, I thought he was going to melt my brain right there. And it was that creepy pissed off that he has, where he gets all frosty and polite but you can tell he's really mad. You know what I mean?" "Yeah," Seth answered, nodding. "He did it to me last night while you guys were all gone. I mean, I yelled at him a little, and bang! He threw me in this mental detention thing. I thought he was going to leave me there all night." Warren turned, smirking. "I can't believe you yelled at him," Warren said, shaking his head. "I mean, when Kitty told me-" "How the hell does Kitty know this stuff?" Seth asked, throwing up his hands. Warren noticed earlier, when he'd knocked on Seth's door to invite him down, that Seth wasn't wearing his gloves, and he'd been pretty surprised when Seth came downstairs without putting them on. He'd filed it away for future reference, planning to ask whenever the right time came up, but so far it hadn't seemed like the right time. Seth had been stretched out on his bed, barefoot in jeans and a t-shirt, when Warren tapped at his door. It was partially opened, and fell all the way open when Warren knocked, so that Seth looked up and saw him, typically shirtless and incredibly hot, backlit from the hallway. Seth sighed, thinking on the one hand about how tragic it was that Warren continued to be straight and thinking on the other hand that he had enough man trouble already here at the mansion, and it was nice just to have a friend. When Warren invited him down to watch a movie in the rec room, Seth immediately took him up on it. Anything was better than staring at the walls, trying to read, and trying not to think. "Kitty knows everything about everyone in the house," Warren answered, laughing. "It's better not to even ask how." Seth blinked at Warren, raising an eyebrow, and Warren just shrugged. They both burst out laughing, the flickering light from the television reflecting off of their smiles. "Where is Kitty, anyway?" Seth asked, looking around for a second. He hadn't seen anyone when he and Warren had stopped in the kitchen to get snacks, and no one had come past the rec room all night. "Actually, where is everyone? I haven't seen anyone since dinner." To say dinner had been a rather strained affair was an understatement. Scott was still taking great pains not to even glance Seth's way, his body rigid and tense, casting a dark cloud over the far end of the table even though Jean was sitting next to him, all smiles and friendliness like she usually was. Seth wondered how it could even be possible that she wasn't picking up anything, at least reading Scott's body language if nothing else, but Jean had seemed a little distracted since they got back. A couple of times when she used her power Seth caught a flash of fire in her eyes, an orange glow that reminded him of the wings of fire she'd used to grab him the night they met, but it didn't happen every time she used her abilities, so he wasn't sure what it meant. Maybe it didn't mean anything, and Jean was just keeping to her word about not prying into people's thoughts without their consent. The other end of the table was just as bad for Seth, because Peter was sitting at that end, glaring at his plate as if it had offended him in some fatal way. While Scott wasn't looking at Seth, Peter wasn't looking at anyone, and when the others tried a few times to speak to him he gave grunting, monosyllabic answers, the words grinding out between his clenched teeth. Every time it happened, whoever had spoken to him turned to Seth with this questioning look on their face, and Seth met their eyes, unblinking, his face neutral. Peter was the one who had a problem, and if everyone else wanted to know what was going on, they could ask Peter about it. Then they could wait for Peter to grow up and stop being a sulky pouting little baby and answer them. Well, that was Seth's opinion, anyway. Peter would probably have had something similar to say if he could manage to grunt out anything at all about Seth. The rest of the group had been scattered in between. Kitty, seemingly oblivious to everything, spent most of dinner discussing some band Seth had never heard of with Kurt and, occasionally, Ali. Apparently Spider-Man had snuck Kitty into the arena somehow and the two of them had enjoyed the concert for free, if a little dishonestly. Seth was willing to bet that for all her chatter, though, Kitty was paying close attention to all the frosty glares and emotional storm clouds around the table. There had to be a way, after all, for her to know everything about everyone. Kurt, on the other hand, seemed not to notice anyone else's bad mood and peppered Kitty with questions about the band, the show, and the people. Seth wondered if maybe Kurt was living vicariously a little, since he couldn't really go out and do any of those things without people staring at him. Allison was only intermittently discussing the band with them because she spent most of dinner hanging on Warren. Every time Seth glanced over, she had a hand on his leg or his arm, and she was leaning into him when she had to use her hands to actually eat. Warren glowed under the attention, his mood seeming to alternate between only having eyes for her and wanting to scream out loud to anyone who would listen that he actually had a girlfriend now. It was kind of cute, especially when she would lean over to whisper things in his ear and he would turn bright red or shift uncomfortably in his seat. After several cracks about her plans to tarnish his halo the Professor had issued a weighty sigh and leveled a frosty glance that had Allison squirming, and she'd stopped announcing her plans for later. It hadn't stopped the giggling or the touching, though. Seth was happy for them both, but it was also a little depressing to see how happy they were and compare it to his own romantic mess. At least the Professor didn't seem mad at him any more. Since last night's outburst, and their somewhat strained conversation in the infirmary, Seth was starting to feel like the Professor might have a little bit of grudging respect for him. Either that or he'd just moved on from being mad at Seth to being mad at Warren, Ali, and Kurt for stealing the jet, aiding a fugitive, and almost creating an international incident. That kind of paled in comparison to Seth's screaming outburst in the lobby. Since he was sitting next to the Professor, he didn't have to make eye contact with him or see the creepy "What a fascinating specimen for study you're turning out to be" look the Professor so often seemed to have. That was better, though, than Bobby's "I hate you and I wish you were dead" look, a face that Seth barely noticed even though it was directly across the table from him. He wasn't sure what he'd done to piss Bobby off now, other than exist, but for Bobby that seemed to be enough. "Well, the Professor took Scott and Jean out to the opera," Warren answered, wincing again as he tried to get comfortable. More than anything he wanted to pull the bandages off his wings and just flex them and take off into the sky, but he knew he wouldn't be able to get off the ground, and that hurt, too. "Kitty went out in her uniform, which means that she must be running around with Spider-Man again. Kurt's here somewhere, but I couldn't find him to invite him down, and I don't know where Bobby is. Ali had a gig with her band tonight, so she probably won't be back since the Professor gets pissed if she comes home drunk. I'm not sure where Peter went. I saw him on his way out, but he didn't say anything to me. Did he maybe say anything to you?" Warren tried to ask casually, just letting the question roll out like it was completely unplanned and naturally flowing out of the conversation, but the look on his face gave it away. Seth smirked at him, rolling his eyes, and Warren just shrugged, wincing again. Seth frowned, staring at the bandages as if he could see how bad the damage was through them. According to Kitty, Mojo had stabbed through both wings, using some kind of spears or pikes to nail Warren to a wall. "How bad does it hurt?" he asked. "Enough to completely suck," Warren answered. "They itch like you wouldn't believe, and every time I move there's this pull, like someone's yanking my feathers out. Not only that, but they're just, I don't know, they're heavy. They were never like that before, but now it's like they're just hanging there, like-" "Like you have on a really heavy backpack?" Seth suggested. Warren sighed, smiling. "I've never worn a backpack, dumbass" he said, and they both giggled. "Sorry," Seth said, shaking his head. "Did the Professor say how long it would take for your wings to heal?" "A couple months, at least," Warren sighed, grabbing another handful of popcorn. "He's not really sure, since, you know, there aren't really a lot of winged mutants in the medical textbooks, so it's kind of a guess. He gave me some painkillers, which is great, or else I'd probably be passed out on the floor." "That sucks," Seth said, patting Warren's knee for a second. "I'm sorry, War." "Thanks," Warren answered, swallowing. His face looked really pensive for a second, and when he spoke again, his voice was kind of hesitant. "Seth, I, um, Kitty told us what happened, on your trip I mean, and I wanted to say-" "Don't," Seth said, holding up a hand. His voice was firm, but not harsh, and he shut his eyes for a second so that he wouldn't have to see the concern on Warren's face. Seth knew he meant well, but he didn't want to think about his parents right now. "War, I don't want to talk about it. I know you're trying to, I don't know, be a good friend or whatever, but right now I can't talk about it. When I talk about it, it hurts, and I don't want to, right now, I mean." Warren's hand on his shoulder cut him off, and Seth opened his eyes, feeling how watery they were. "Hey, you don't want to talk, we don't talk. I just wanted to tell you I'm sorry, and I'm here if you need me," Warren said simply. Seth nodded gratefully, putting his hand over Warren's for a second. They didn't need to say anything else, and Warren nodded back before he pulled his hand away. "So, do you want to talk about the movie?" "This movie sucks, War," Seth answered, shaking his head. It was true. The guys in the movie were hot, and, probably, so were the girls, but there didn't seem to really be a plot. They were at college, but never went to class, and they chased each other around but never really seemed to get anywhere. The guy from "Lost" and the guy from "Dawson's Creek" were in it with the girl from "Seventh Heaven", but none of them were really enough to save it. "I know you like it, but this is doing nothing for me." "Not even the guy with his shirt off?" Warren asked hopefully. "He's hot and stuff, right?" "Why are you looking at guys?" Seth asked, smirking. "Well, I was trying to find a movie we'd both enjoy," Warren answered, shrugging and then, of course, wincing. "I appreciate the effort," Seth said, tearing open the bag of M&M's. "I'm not sure anyone who isn't drunk could enjoy this movie, though." "So if you don't want to talk about the movie, what do we talk about?" Warren asked, scratching his abs in that annoying way that hot straight boys do without realizing that the gay guys around them can't help but watch. "I don't know," Seth answered, doing his best not to look. Was there some kind of guide somewhere that they handed out to hot straight guys when they were born that talked about popping the collar on your polo shirts and wearing those little necklaces that highlighted your shoulders? Granted, Warren didn't do either of those things, but being around him was damn distracting sometimes. Warren grinned at Seth, suddenly perking up. "We could talk about you defeating Sabretooth!" he said excitedly. "Oh my God," Seth sighed, rolling his eyes at the ceiling. "No, I'm serious!" Warren burst, nodding eagerly. "Do you realize how awesome that is?" "Contrary to whatever Kitty told you," Seth began, holding up his hands, "I did not defeat Sabretooth. I tricked him and made him run away, and then I passed out on my face in the grass." "Dude, you know how badass he is, right?" Warren asked, his whole face lighting up. "You got in a fight with Sabretooth and you walked away without needing to get your intestines sewn back in. That totally counts as a defeat! He ran away from you, Seth. The guy has a necklace made out of ears, and he ran away from you!" Seth thought about it for a second, and then answered Warren's smile with one of his own. "You're right," he said finally. "I defeated Sabretooth." "I think Kitty's making you a shirt that says so," Warren said, high-fiving him. They settled back onto the couch, Warren shifting to try to get comfortable and Seth just sinking into the cushions. "I got my ass kicked by the Toad, though," he added as an afterthought. "We can totally ignore that part," Warren said, throwing more popcorn into his mouth. "Besides, you'll get another go at them, and then you can kick both their asses." "That's not going to happen for a while," Seth sighed. "I'm kind of grounded, too, at least until I'm field rated. No missions until the Professor decides, but I start training next week." "Combat training?" Warren asked. Seth nodded. "With Scott? Yeah, that's not going to be any fun." "Tell me about it," Seth sighed, shaking his head. Combat training was going to be a nightmare, and that was Seth's best case scenario. The mornings wouldn't be so bad. He had a workout regimen to follow in the gym, although he didn't think that would be too bad since he was already in pretty good shape. He'd read a speculative article somewhere that mutants, in addition to their powers, naturally had athletic physiques and more muscular builds, and the X Men seemed to bear that out. Seth hadn't ever really followed a workout schedule, but it didn't seem especially grueling when he looked it over. The homework schedule, on the other hand, was pretty brutal. The Professor designed all their coursework, and most of it was semi-independent study, but that didn't meant it was easy. Seth had two papers due next week already, and the math assignment was so far beyond him that he wondered if he should call NASA for help. As bad as that was, though, the testing and training for his powers was going to be worse. Some of it would be with the Professor, and Seth didn't look forward to actually being the Professor's guinea pig instead of just having the Professor stare at him like one. The other part of it was going to be with Jean, though, and Seth had no idea how he was going to deal with that. She was a mind reader, for God's sake. How was he going to work with her and keep himself from thinking, "I slept with your boyfriend"? As the Professor had explained it, Jean would be using her powers mostly to shield herself from Seth's, but there was still the chance that either of them would slip and that something would sneak through, and then the shit would hit the fan. By the time it happened, there might even be more shit flying around. The last part of Seth's training was the combat training Warren had groaned about, and for the first month or so, depending on how he progressed, it was going to be one on one training with Scott. Every afternoon, for an hour or two, Seth and Scott would be alone together, wrestling, fighting, sweating, getting their hands all over each other, and no one else would be around. Considering what happened every time he and Scott had been alone together so far, the idea of the two of them in the gym seemed like a recipe for disaster. Every time he thought about it, Seth got this tremendous sinking feeling in his stomach, like the floor was an elevator dropping straight down, but he also felt a tightness in his chest that sent shivers and goosebumps up and down his spine, and that made him even more worried. He was worried because that tightness wasn't fear. It was excitement. When he thought about the night that Scott had come to his room, and the things they had done, Seth felt guilty, but he also felt like doing it again, especially given the way Peter was being. For those couple of days on their trip, Seth had thought something was going to happen with Peter, that maybe the two of them could have something together, but after the discussion they'd had last night he'd more or less given up. He'd put the ball in Peter's court and Peter didn't seem to want to play. If Scott wanted to, Seth knew he should refuse as Jean's friend, but as a man, confronted by another extremely hot man, he found it pretty difficult to take the high road. "It'll be a lot more fun when you're cleared for Danger Room sessions, though," Warren continued, oblivious to Seth's moral quandary. Seth couldn't do Danger Room sessions with the team yet because there was too much risk that one of them would hurt him by accident, since he didn't know the attack patterns or even how to handle himself in a fight. "And you'll have an excuse to wear your uniform." "Oh, now there's a thrill," Seth snickered. "I get to run around in spandex with all my junk hanging out." "Your junk doesn't hang out," Warren laughed. "There's a cup built in for the guys." "I know," Seth giggled. "I saw mine, down in the Professor's office. He had it all designed already. He had a name picked out, too." "Yeah, Kitty told me," Warren said, nodding. "What kind of a codename is Touch, anyway? I mean, it broadcasts your power to everyone." Seth smacked him lightly on the arm. "Oh, yeah, like Angel is a real stealth codename," Seth snickered, and Warren laughed along with him. "If we're in a battle, and Scott yells, `Angel, take that guy out!' I'm sure all the bad guys'll look around, trying to figure out which one of us is Angel." "Whatever," Warren sighed, rolling his eyes. "You're just jealous of my cool fingerless gloves," Seth said, waving his hand in front of Warren's face. "Knock it off," Warren said, mock-exasperated. The two of them settled into the couch again, the popcorn and M&M's nestled between them, and after a minute Warren decided to go ahead and ask the question that Seth had avoided earlier. "Hey, Seth?" "Yeah?" Seth answered absently, thinking about what they could watch next. It was nice being out of his room and really feeling like he belonged here, like he was home. "What happened with you and Peter?" Warren asked, his voice low and casual. Seth turned to look at him, his face impassive. "I mean, you spent all that time together, just the two of you." "Because no one could come rescue us, since you guys took the plane," Seth interjected. He could tell that Warren was concerned, but did he really want to get into this? "Don't change the subject," Warren sighed. "You already did earlier, when I brought up Peter and you asked about my wings. I'm asking because I'm your friend, not because I want to tell Kitty. See, Ali and I were talking-" "Don't you two have anything better to talk about?" Seth asked, smirking. Warren wasn't falling for it again. "Stop doing that," he said firmly. "Ali and I were thinking that, you know, you and Peter might kind of make a nice couple, and then the two of you go away and when you come back it's like the Cold War or something. He's pissed about something, and every time he makes a grumbly noise you look pissed, too, and I figure it has to be something that happened while the two of you were gone. Did you two get in a fight? With each other, I mean?" Seth sighed. He knew that Warren was just trying to be a friend, like he said, but on the other hand he kind of felt like this was his business, not the whole team's. He'd made a giant mess out of his love life, but that didn't mean he had to make it worse by spreading it all around the mansion. Peter was pissed enough already without adding that in, too. Then again, maybe it would do Seth some good to talk about it with someone, even if he just gave Warren the stripped down version. He didn't have to tell him word for word about the scene up in Peter's room last night, or how ugly it had been. Seth had stayed in the infirmary with the Professor for a while, working out all the particulars of the coming weeks and what his staying at the mansion entailed. It went a lot better than the discussion about going to see Seth's parents had, but almost anything would have been better than the horrible angst ridden sideshow that had turned into. While Seth couldn't say that the Professor was treating him like an equal (which wasn't so bad, since the Professor didn't seem to treat any of them as an equal; Jean and Scott might have been the Professor's favorites, but even they got talked down to every once in a while), he at least seemed to be treating him with a little more respect, but it helped a lot that Seth wasn't screaming this time. It was a little odd to chat with the Professor while Vertigo just lay in the bed like another piece of furniture, but the Professor showed no signs of wanting to leave the room and Seth wasn't particularly bothered by her all but lifeless state. As far as he was concerned, she'd gotten what she deserved, and he looked forward to the day when he'd be able to hand out the same treatment to the rest of her companions. The Brotherhood was going to regret ever deciding to attack him and his family, even if it took the rest of his life to get back at them. On his way up the stairs Seth slowly imagined the things he would make them feel, the things he would show Sabertooth and the Toad and whoever else was in the Brotherhood, and he felt himself getting angry all over again. Instead of pushing it away, though, or swallowing his feelings like he'd done so many times in the past, he let them burn inside him, let them fill up his heart with rage. It was either that or grief, and he didn't want to think about grief. He remembered the note that Peter had left on his desk, neatly centered where he would be sure to see it, telling Seth to come to his room when he was awake. The last time he had spoken to Peter had been in the car, on the way back from the train station, and he felt bad remembering that he'd basically told Peter to shut up and drive. After the things they had shared, and the way Seth was starting to feel about Peter, he didn't want them to be in a fight. Peter had been so kind to him, so careful with him at the hotel and on the bus ride home, and Seth felt like a complete heel for repaying that with a temper tantrum. Not that it was his fault, of course. Everything had been fine until Vertigo attacked them. If not for her, and her stupid Brotherhood, he and Peter wouldn't even be in a fight. He just had to patch it up now that things had settled down, and Peter obviously wanted to as well, or he wouldn't have left that note. When he got to Peter's door there was soft light spilling out from underneath, so he knocked softly and pushed it open. He probably should have waited for Peter to answer, or at least tell him to come in, but it wasn't like he hadn't already seen everything. Not that there was anything to see right now, unfortunately. Peter was sitting at his desk with his back to the door, his broad shoulders spreading beneath a t shirt and his crossed legs covered in flannel pajama pants. He was working on something, his arm moving in the circle of light from his desk lamp, and he turned slowly as Seth pushed the door open. It was hard for Seth to read his face with the weird shadows the lamp caused, the indirect partially shielded by Peter's shoulder and the rest of it falling oddly across his profile, but Seth could tell immediately that he wasn't smiling. He didn't think Peter looked angry, either, so he offered a tentative smile from the doorway, wishing he could see Peter's dark blue eyes. "Hi," Seth said softly, waiting to see if Peter would throw him out. When he didn't, Seth let out a sigh of relief. "Can I come in?" "Of course," Peter answered, his voice calm. He didn't sound mad, which was a good sign, but he didn't sound especially welcome, either. It was more tentative, as if he were waiting for something, his tone expectant somehow. "What are you doing?" Seth asked, closing the door behind him as he nodded toward the desk. "Sketching," Peter answered, still watching Seth. "I find it calming, sometimes, when I am upset." Seth decided to let that one fly without comment. After all the yelling, Peter was probably entitled to a couple passive aggressive barbs about anger management. "Can I see?" Seth asked, and walked over as Peter nodded. For a second he had an idea that it might be a picture of him, like a romantic moment from a movie, but when he glanced over Peter's shoulder he saw that it was a sketch of the books lined up across the back of Peter's desk. Granted, it was a very good, very detailed sketch, but it didn't quite set the mood Seth was hoping for. "It's very good." "Thank you," Peter said quietly, laying his pencil across the page. He continued waiting, and Seth felt a moment of resentment. Why the hell couldn't Peter make this easy on him? Standing this close to him, smelling him, feeling the heat of his skin and the aura of toughness that seemed to envelope him, Seth was still completely unsure of what was going on. Was Peter mad or what? "I, um, the Professor and I agreed that I'm going to stay," Seth blurted, sitting down on the bed. Peter stayed in the chair, turning toward Seth, his shirt stretching tight across the slabs of his chest. Any other time Seth would have looked, but now he was just watching Peter's face. "I'm going to start training, and I'm going to be one of the X Men." "I'm glad," Peter said, still in that maddeningly flat tone. Seth bit his lip, and took a deep breath. Clearly Peter was just going to drag this out until he apologized, so he might as well just do it, even though there was a giant lump in his throat. What came out wasn't quite an apology, though. "Thank you for taking me upstairs earlier," Seth said. "That, and, you know, thank you for taking care of me through all of this. I was kind of out of it before, and I didn't really say that, but thank you. You were, um, a good friend to me, and you really took care of me." "You're welcome," Peter said, shrugging. He started to turn back toward the desk and Seth felt his temper flare up. "What the hell?" Seth barked, and Peter's head snapped back around. "Why did you even tell me to come over? What the hell is this stupid half silent treatment?" "I wanted to see you," Peter snapped back, standing. His face was easily readable now, and Seth found himself staring up into Peter's furious glare as he jumped up from the bed. "I wanted to see if you would be yourself when you woke up." "Myself?" Seth demanded. "What's that supposed to mean?" "It means," Peter began carefully, his voice lower but still full of anger, "That you were out of control. It means that the Professor had no other option than to put you in detention, because you were acting like, like-" "Like what?" Seth asked. "Like someone who was pissed off?" "Like someone I didn't recognize," Peter said finally. "The Seth that I met, the Seth that I traveled with, the Seth that I reached out to would never have willfully taken pleasure in destroying another person. What you did to that woman downstairs-" "Was what she deserved," Seth said coldly. "She attacked us. She walked up to us and tried to do God knows what to us, and I stopped her. What did you want me to do, let her?" "I didn't want you to enjoy it!" Peter thundered. Inside, Seth was fighting the urge to step back, to slide away from Peter and too apologize, but he was too pissed off. "Who the fuck do you think you are?" Seth snapped. "After what happened to me-" "I know what happened to you!" Peter yelled, just as loudly. He took a deep breath, trying to collect himself, and Seth tried to do the same. Both of them were breathing hard their hands clenched into fists and shaking at their sides. "I'm not going to be a victim, Peter," Seth said. "I'm not going to wait around for them to attack again. I'm not going to wonder every time I leave the school if this is going to be the time when they attack me, or if they're going to hurt me or someone I care about. I'm not going to lose anyone else." "Except yourself," Peter countered. "Fuck you," Seth said sharply, turning. He stomped toward the door, hearing that Peter wasn't following him, and he turned back. "I can't believe this. I thought that maybe you and I had something going, that maybe we were starting something or getting together or something, but you only care about me if I'm a victim." "Seth," Peter hissed, his hands clenched again. "No, I see it now," Seth said, opening the door. "You only care about me if you can play the white knight, if you can be big bad Peter and protect me from the Professor or my parents or whoever else is going to hurt me." "I doubt your parents can hurt you again," Peter said coldly, and he regretted it as soon as the words were out of his mouth. He hadn't intended to say it, or for any of what had just happened, but Seth somehow had a way of pushing all of his buttons and keying all his emotions from zero to sixty in about three seconds. "Seth." "Fuck you, Peter," Seth said, feeling the blood drain out of his face. "I don't need you." Seth was about ten feet away when Peter spoke again, his voice strained. "You do not need anyone as long as you have your anger," Peter said. "As long as you carry your rage inside you, it will be a shield from everyone who can hurt you, and someday, it will not be enough. Someday it will be all that you have. Do not become that person, Seth." Seth turned back to him. "This is who I am, Peter," he said, shaking his head. "This is not who you are," Peter argued. "If you remember that, I will still be here. I know who you are, even if you cannot see it right now, and I will wait for you." "Don't wait up," Seth sneered. "If you can't accept who I am, then I guess that's it. Good night, Peter." "Good night, Seth," Peter answered, slamming his door. Seth made sure his feet were extra loud, stomping down the hallway, wishing he had on boots. "Seth?" Warren asked, waiting. "Sorry," Seth said, shaking his head. "We had a huge fight last night before you guys got back." "About what?" Warren asked, leaning forward eagerly. "It's complicated," Seth answered, trying to figure out how to explain it all. Bobby, flicking on the lights, kept him from explaining anything. "Bobby!" "The hell?" Warren asked. "Is it girls' night in or what?" Bobby asked, leaning on the doorframe. "Are you going to give each other facials after the movie, or paint each other's toenails?" "What do you want, Bobby?" Warren grumbled, slowly raising himself. He winced again as his wings shifted, and Seth grabbed his arm to help him up. Bobby opened his mouth to answer, but the front gates at the end of the driveway exploded in a bright ball of orange fire, and they all turned toward the windows. *** To be continued. Sorry about the long, long delay. As I said at the end of the last chapter, there was moving, and getting settled in, and then getting back to actually writing again. Future chapters probably will not come out as fast as the first set did, but they shouldn't take this long again, either. Also many thanks to Ed, who was the first of three people to suggest the codename Touch, way back in May. I promised him a shoutout at the end of the chapter when I finally used the name, and here it is.