Heat of the Moment

A/N: Apologies for the delay in update, for those who've been reading. The resumption of the semester has slowed me down significantly. I've got one more after this, which I'll add in about a week, but after that, I've no idea.

Please review - as long as the review tells me something of substance.


Chapter 3: Incidents Arose From Circumstance

Bobby lay awake in his bed, futilely pursuing sleep. In his mind he kept reliving the conversation with Rogue, wondering if there might have been some way to avoid a breakup – something he’d said or not said, something he’d done (besides nearly kissing Kitty) or not done (not taking Rogue skating instead? she probably would have refused), something he could have done differently. Each line of thought, however, seemed to lead to the same conclusion, or leave him blank; and that was the most frustrating part of all.

He climbed out of bed and meandered downstairs for a midnight snack; between his teenage-male metabolism and the ice-skating, he’d worked up quite an appetite. His stomach grumbled as he entered the kitchen. A few minutes’ rummaging produced some Rold’s Gold pretzels and a Dr. Pepper. Unbidden, the memory of his first real introduction to “the Wolverine” sprung to mind: after speed-chilling Logan’s bottle of 23 flavors, the Canadian had proceeded to give him the third degree regarding him and Rogue. He remembered being scared witless, afraid that the hairy, snarly fellow might gut him as a warning to other potential suitors for the Southern belle.

Bobby plopped down onto the couch. There would be no need for Logan’s protective services now, he thought – a thought which brought the young man back to where he’d started.

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Upstairs in her room, Kitty couldn’t sleep either, not with the butterflies still rioting in her stomach from earlier that night. Despite her usual tendency to luxuriate in warm showers, tonight she’d showered quickly in cool water in an attempt to prevent herself from getting so worked up that she couldn’t sleep until she’d masturbated. No stranger to self-pleasure, Kitty nonetheless strove to keep her sessions to a minimum, performing only when absolutely necessary. The young woman tossed and turned, wholly unable to get comfortable, and she briefly entertained the thought of looking under the mattress for any peas.

Finally, after nearly half an hour, Kitty gave up on sleep for the time being, but that left the question of what she should do instead. Since practically everyone else in the mansion was asleep, she couldn’t do anything too noisy and would likely have to be alone. She settled on playing Halo downstairs with her headphones on – her alter-ego “Ariel the Sprite” hadn’t been on Xbox Live in a few weeks, and she didn’t want her blue-and-yellow Master Chief to fall too far in the rankings.

Once she was downstairs and saw Bobby sitting on the couch, however, she postponed her date with the Master Chief in favor of the Iceman.

For the sake of seeing Bobby’s reaction, Kitty phased through the back of the couch and sat down; he always seemed so weirded out by her powers that she made a point of using them around him as often as possible. This time, though, her efforts were in vain because Bobby didn’t even notice her right away. Making the most of this opportunity to study his profile up close, Kitty concluded that Bobby was only present in body at the moment. She found herself hoping that he was thinking about her, but she doubted that his mind could be occupied like this by anyone other than Rogue.

Rather than dwell on that idea, Kitty called Bobby’s name; since he had not seen her sit down, he hopped off the cushion about two inches, which jostled the half-eaten bowl of pretzels he was holding, which in turn tossed the pretzels out of the bowl and onto the couch. His arms flailed, nearly knocking over his Dr. Pepper. Kitty refrained from giggling… until she saw the look on Bobby’s face when he turned toward her. I think that was better than his reaction to my phasing, she mused, on the verge of cracking up entirely.

Bobby just shook his head, mortified that she’d spooked him like that, and his attempted ‘why-you-little’ glare couldn’t faze her. He was surprised, however, by the rare sight of Kitty without her makeup and in her pajamas – usually, once she’d showered, Kitty didn’t leave her room until the next morning, unless there was a dire emergency. Since the opportunity presented itself, he filed away into his memory that Kitty wore a ‘Hello Kitty’ ensemble – probably an inside joke he wasn’t privy to – consisting of a pink tanktop with the eponymous feline on the front and full-length bottoms festooned with representations of the feline’s bows in multiple colors.

Pulling his eyes up towards her face, the young man found himself noticing just how the lamplight glinted off Kitty’s eyes, making them sparkle – despite her likely protests to the contrary, she really didn’t need much eye shadow or eye liner. Her white teeth peeked out between her carnation lips. Her long, dark hair hung loose to frame her face and cascade down her shoulders, and Bobby wondered why she didn’t wear it down more often.

Kitty’s giggling fit subsided, and the young woman found herself under Bobby’s scrutiny. She felt the heat rise to burn like a beacon from her cheeks. For a moment she panicked – Why is he looking at me like that oh God his gaze is so intense calm down calm down Kitty get a grip! She utilized her embarrassment to note Bobby’s sleep wear – a tight, white tanktop known as a ‘wife-beater’ (neither teen particularly cared for the term) and a pair of navy blue athletic shorts. Kitty had to admit that the tanktop perfectly accentuated Bobby’s physique, highlighting his firm-looking pecs and broad shoulders. Her panic started to transform into… something else entirely.

Taking one breath to settle down, she decided to engage Bobby in conversation, just so he wouldn’t look at her like that any longer – or, heaven forbid, unleash that smile of his. “Why are you still up?” she began. “You don’t strike me as the ‘midnight snack’ type.”

Bobby shook his head and started gathering the scattered pretzels. “I couldn’t sleep,” he responded simply, not quite sure how much he wanted to tell Kitty at the moment.

Kitty licked her lips; her intuition screamed that something was seriously amiss. “Same here,” she agreed. “You’re not taking your turn at being upset about the Professor, are you?”

Again Bobby shook his head. “I don’t think it’s had time to really sink in yet.” With a wry smirk, he added, “Did my anti-grief measures from earlier wear off this quick?”

Now it was Kitty’s turn to shake her head, as well as to fret over how to explain her insomnia. “I think the adrenaline from skating with you earlier hasn’t worn off yet,” she half-lied.

Finished collecting pretzels, Bobby put the bowl on the coffee table beside his sweating bottle of soda. He froze, figuratively speaking; something in Kitty’s voice just then, or her word choice, seemed to bear investigating. “You got a rush,” he asked incredulously, “from such a leisurely skate?”

Terrified she’d been busted, Kitty looked down. Best be honest now, she resigned to herself. “Yeah, well… it was a lot of fun – just what I needed to cheer up.” Kitty paused to steel herself for what she was about to say. “Then there was… y’know… that moment, at the end.”

Bobby broke tradition and nodded this time. “I’m sorry about that. Totally my fault.”

Kitty swallowed; she now faced the moment of truth. “Actually, it was partly my fault too, and I’m really sorry. I know you’re with Rogue, and I was outta line for even holding your hand.” She glanced up at him, a feeling of foreboding suddenly washing over her.

Bobby reached up to the back of his head to scratch it. Kitty knew him well enough to identify that gesture as a sign of nerves, and she could tell that whatever he was nervous about now would be big news. Squaring his shoulders, Bobby elected to come right out and tell her: “Actually, Rogue and I were together – past tense. That’s why I couldn’t sleep.”

Kitty took several moments to process what Bobby told her. On one hand, she was dismayed that she’d been right earlier as to the subject of his thoughts; on the other, a glimmer of hope stirred within her because Bobby was now single, available, on the market, fair game. Further complicating matters were the hurt she could sense the young man feeling and her genuine sympathy for him – she truly didn’t like seeing him hurt, and she kicked herself for not noticing the pain in his eyes sooner. Kitty resolved not to pick Bobby up ‘on the rebound,’ but instead to simply offer a listening ear and see how things developed from there.

Her hand found its way to Bobby’s bicep, where it rested lightly, able to be removed at the slightest hint that it was unwelcome. “Oh God, I’m so sorry,” she told him – and she meant it. “What happened?”

Over the next few minutes, Bobby recapped the argument he’d had with Rogue earlier, leading up to the point where Rogue had dumped him. As he spoke, he found it tougher and tougher to continue in the face of his throat constricting and his eyes watering. Bobby internally kicked himself for showing himself such a pansy in front of Kitty, certain that after this display she’d think less of him.

Nothing could have been further from the truth, though; Kitty admired him for not being too macho to show his feelings. Further, making himself vulnerable to her like this only endeared him to her – since the Iceman rarely showed his emotions, he made her feel special by sharing them with her. She knew from her conversations with Rogue that their relationship had had nearly as many emotional barriers as physical.

A twinge of guilt shot through her: it was partly, perhaps mostly, her fault that Bobby and Rogue broke up. What if he blames me? What if he hates me now? she asked herself, starting to panic again. Kitty gritted her teeth, willing the fear away – Bobby reserved his hate for one person only, a certain fire-manipulating former friend.

Only one way to find out, she decided. “You don’t blame me, do you? If you do, I totally understand…”

“No way, Kit-Kat – I can’t blame you for Rogue’s insecurities, any more than I blame her for her powers keeping us apart,” Bobby answered firmly. Kitty’s hand resting on his arm began to generate that odd tingling sensation again. To distract himself, but not wanting to break contact, he wiped his eyes with the other hand. “Don’t you dare blame yourself, either,” he warned her, fixing her with an intense gaze to show his earnestness. “This breakup was a long time coming.”

“I’m still sorry for serving as the catalyst,” she amended, giving him a look that told him she wouldn’t blame herself. Bobby reciprocated with a heartfelt, grateful smile.

Bobby found himself flatfooted when Kitty’s hand moved up to his shoulder before tracing – accidentally, he supposed – across to the other side of his neck. Her other arm came across his chest to join the other; her chin soon rested atop his vacant shoulder. Suddenly he was struck by the sense of Kitty’s nearness – her breath brushing his neck, her hair tickling his bicep and tricep, her warm skin pressing against selective portions of his. Even after that shamefully unmanly display, he marveled, she remains – she likes you.

Acting on impulse – one he may not have followed under other circumstances – he pushed Kitty back just a bit, creating enough space for him to lean in and kiss her.