Date: Tue, 10 Oct 2006 22:25:32 -0400
From: Dusty Hansen <dustyh75@hotmail.com>
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.