"Okay," Evan said, and kissed Pietro's cheek. "I'm down with talking for a while, if that's what you want."

Pietro looked at him with a smile. "Well, I don't think I'm gonna be able to concentrate while you're sitting here practically naked. Could you please put some clothes on? You're distracting the hell out of me."

"Ooh. Sorry." Evan grinned and got up to walk to a set of dressers and began taking out clothes. "Today's training was harder than it's ever been." Evan took out a shirt, frowned at it and put it back, then grabbed another. "And it's gonna be even tougher tomorrow. Wolverine's really putting us through it. My spikes hurt just thinking about it."

"Hmmm." Pietro was barely listening and trying hard not to stare at Evan's ass as he bent over the bottom drawer. "Why so much torture, um, I mean, training? Isn't it kind of overkill? We'll do so much fake fighting that by the time we get to the real thing, we'll be too tired to do anything."

"Nah. We'll be all right." Evan put on an oversize t-shirt and a pair of baggy black shorts. "Magneto's tough, man, you know that. We've got to be ready for whatever he and his band of losers throw at us. Remember what happened on the asteroid that time?"

"No. I was knocked out for most of that, remember?" Pietro replied. He gave Evan an approving look. Even in a ratty Knicks t-shirt and old shorts, the blonde-haired boy looked irresistible.

"Yeah, I remember. I'm the one who saved you when the thing started cracking up." Evan returned to sit next to Pietro. "That was fun."

"What was? The asteroid cracking up or saving me?"

"Both. But especially the second part." Evan placed his arm around Pietro's shoulders. "Big, bad Quicksilver knocked out cold and helpless. I thought I'd never see the day."

"Wasn't my fault! I had no idea what you were doing with those damn spikes, and then Rogue came and dropped me. It wasn't fair," Pietro said with a pout. He tried not to smile when Evan kissed him on the cheek again. "Not that I'm ungrateful or anything, but do you know how much abuse I took after that? Rescued by an X-Geek. Todd, Fred and Lance never let me hear the end of it. And not just any X-Geek, but by Evan Daniels, my bitterest rival." Pietro rolled his eyes when he said "rival." If the others only knew . . .


"Well, I wasn't about to leave you there.” Evan snuggled closer and ducked his face into the warmth of Pietro's neck. "And you would've done the same thing for me, right?"

"Mmm. . . what would’ve been in it for me?" Pietro zipped out of the way of a playful punch. "Too slow, Daniels! Geez . . . and here I thought I was having an effect on your motor skills . . .” He returned to his side with a grin.

"You are." Evan murmured, grabbing him by his uniform and pulling him close, brushing a gentle kiss against Pietro's waiting lips. They lay back down on the bed, side by side once again. "You know, I don't think I'll ever get tired of kissing you, Pie." Evan said, staring into the blue eyes of the fast-moving mutant. "You've got the best lips."

"Yours are pretty great, too." Pietro whispered, tracing Evan's full lips with a fingertip. Pietro's eyes closed as he touched the smooth flesh, fantasizing about Evan's lips caressing other parts of his body. He could imagine it clearly in his mind: Evan on his knees in front of him, running his beautiful lips up and down his throbbing shaft, licking and sucking him into a frenzy. The picture in his mind was so vivid that the speed demon moaned, and his hips twitched as his mental image changed: Now he was on his back and Evan was on top of him, kissing his way down his body and to his throbbing cock, taking into his mouth slowly, inch by inch, driving him insane . . .

Pietro began to shake as he forced the sexy images out of his head. He kept his eyes shut, knowing that if he looked at Evan, he would lose it. The sweet, agonizing throbbing sensation in his groin was almost too much to bear, and Pietro knew that he was dangerously close to the edge. His head whirled, his body was hot all over and he really thought he was going to pass out. Got to stop. He thought frantically. Can't do this. Have to get a grip. Xavier might be watching. Can't do this . . . can't do this.

But then he felt Evan draw closer and begin kissing his neck, sending tendrils of pleasure shooting through the white-haired boy's body. Pietro's brain went into meltdown and he stepped even closer to the edge.

He had one last chance. He had to appeal to Evan's sense of reason. "Evan," he whispered shakily and frantically. "Stop. Not here. Not with so many people walking around. You'vegottastopnow. Please!"

"Three weeks since we've been together, Pie. There's no way I'm stopping." Evan said in a low voice and kissed Pietro's collarbone. "I know you're liking it. That suit of yours doesn't hide a damn thing."

Pietro sucked in a shocked breath when Evan put a hand on his throbbing hard-on, and squeezed it slightly before stroking it through the stretchy teal-and-silver material of Pietro's costume. The speed demon bucked helplessly against Evan's hand, and all his objections melted away. He sought to touch the other boy somewhere, anywhere. He needed to feel the softness that was Evan's skin. He needed that so badly, he could taste it. His hand slipped underneath the brown mutant's shirt, and Pietro sighed, running his fingers in frenzied circles on the smooth skin of Evan's back.

"Take this off," Evan breathed, pulling at the costume. "I want to see want to see what you look like."

"C-c-can't. T-too close," Pietro gasped, undulating beneath Evan's hand. He was shivering and he felt tingly all over. He was being carried by a tidal wave of pure pleasure. He felt Evan's hands on his cock and the boy's lips on his neck, and he knew he couldn't take any more, and he gave in, hurtling into the abyss. Moaning Evan's name over and over, he came with a violence and a suddenness that surprised even him. The release was overwhelming, delicious and complete, and every time his cock spasmed, he experienced a new level of pure ecstasy. Nearly delirious, he reached over to grab Evan's hand, and was cheered when Evan squeezed back. Pietro felt like he was floating on an endless river of clouds, just him and Evan together soaring. Weightless . . .

Not over as quick as usual. Pietro thought giddily as he leaned limply back on the bed, spent. He ignored, for the moment, his wet costume and concentrated on the lingering tingles and the fact that he'd been able to put off orgasm for a whole two minutes. I lasted longer. I actually lasted longer. Wow. It's like he took some of my speed away from me or something. Pietro frowned a little. He wasn't sure if he should be happy about that or scared.

"Pietro?"

The speedster opened his eyes to see Evan looking at him in concern. "You . . . all right?" Evan asked softly.

Something about Evan's eyes brought Pietro out of his post-orgasm stupor. He was suddenly aware of everything: He had just let Evan give him a handjob in the damned X-Mansion. The X-Mansion! Dammit. You fucking idiot. Now you've *really* done it.

"Ev," he whispered, tentatively touching his boyfriend's face. "I'm - I'm so sorry."

"Sorry?" Evan looked shocked. "Sorry about what? That was great!"

"No, Ev, it wasn't,” Pietro sighed heavily. “I mean, it was great for me. It was incredible for me, but I shouldn't have - I shouldn't have done this. We - I shouuld've waited-"

"I wanted to and you wanted to." Evan brushed the hair off Pietro's forehead. "So what's the problem?"

Pietro started to respond, but then stopped. He knew Evan was right in a way: They were in love and they weren't hurting anybody, so what was the harm? But Pietro knew some people wouldn't see it that way. Professor Xavier wouldn't, for one, and neither would any of the other X-Men. For that matter, Pietro doubted the Brotherhood would understand or accept his love of his rival mutant. Not to mention Evan's parents. It was the reason that Pietro encouraged Evan to stay closeted as long as possible before letting anyone in on his sexuality or their relationship. The speedster wanted Evan to enjoy as "normal" a life as he could as long as he could. But now Pietro feared that the secret was out. He knew Xavier was watching his every move, and now he probably was out blabbing to Mystique that Pietro was corrupting one of his students. Pietro expected to hear the shapeshifter at Evan's door at any moment.

"Ev, I didn't mean to - I mean, I did mean to, it's just, um," Pietro shifted uncomfortably in his damp suit. "I mean, I love when you touch me, it drives me insane, but I wish, um, I should have been touching you, too. It's just that I-I couldn't control myself. I was thinking about your lips - and then I started imagining - and then you started - AndThenICouldn'tControlMyself." He started breathing heavier and his words came faster. "The first time we do something like this, and I ruined it. I'mSoSorryEvanItWon'tHappenAgainIPromise."

"Pie, chill. It's okay." Evan said with a little smile. "I liked seeing you go crazy like that. It was hot as hell. I don't think I've ever heard anybody say my name as many times and as fast as you did."

Pietro blushed and tried to hide his face in a pillow. "We were supposed to be talking, you know."

"I know. You even made me get dressed." Evan said with a grin. "But I think what we did was a lot more fun."

Pietro rolled over slowly and pulled himself up to a seated position. "Evan, we still need to talk. Seriously. I've been waiting for the right time, and, um, we better get to it before anything else happens."

There was silence, but Pietro could feel Evan's gaze on his back. "Wow. This sounds serious," Evan said quietly.

Pietro swallowed hard. "Yeah. It really is."

"All right. You've got my attention." Evan slid off the bed and stood up in front of his boyfriend and fixed him with a curious stare. "So . . . I'm listening."

Pietro was hesitant. Now that he had Evan's attention, he was scared. He wanted desperately to just spill it out, but it was like he'd forgotten how his mouth worked. He looked up at Evan and looked down again. The blonde-haired boy was doing that cute thing with his tongue that Pietro loved so much - trying to touch his nose with it - and Pietro fought a groan, feeling a familiar stirring below.

"Uh, you know what? We can talk later." Pietro bounced up. "It's important, but it can wait. I really, really need to um, go."

"Go where?"

"Um, out. INeedToGoOut." Pietro backed up toward the door, trying to ignore Evan's worried stare. "IreallyReallyReallyNeedToShower. I'mAllSweatyAndNowI'mStickyAndINeedToChangeClothes . . ."

Evan looked at his boyfriend for a long time without saying anything. Pietro knew what that was about: Sometimes Evan liked to try to decipher his "speed-speak." It usually took the other boy awhile, but he was getting better at it.

When Evan started smiling, Pietro knew he'd figured out what he'd said. "Oh. Yeah, I guess a shower would be a good idea," Evan said. "I was wondering why you were still suited up. You came up here straight from the session?"

The white-haired boy nodded. "Todd and Lance were using the bathrooms on the third floor, so I tried to find one down here, but I kept getting lost."

"Yeah, it's tricky. There's a lot of twists, and there's a bunch of dead ends." Evan walked over and picked up the bag Pietro had left in the middle of the floor. "C'mon, I'll show you."

"It's all right. Lance should be done by now," Pietro said. "I don't want to even go near the one Todd used. Besides, Lance's bathroom is the one with the good soap."

"Good soap?" Evan's eyes lit up and Pietro grinned a little. He knew that look. It was Evan's "I've-got-something-planned" look and it usually meant trouble: the good kind. "You want good soap, I've got just the bathroom for you."

"Evan, that sounds so weird," Pietro said as Evan pulled him out of the room and into the hall. The hall was empty: there were no obnoxious new X-Men or stray mops. Pietro breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hey, you brought up soap, man. Not me." Evan kept hold of his hand as they walked down the dark, winding hallway. Pietro was about to say something to that, but remembered other things that had been "brought up" recently, and he decided to keep his mouth shut.

"Where are you taking me?" Pietro asked, looking around curiously. They were passing the same sort of doors as before, but there were a lot less of them and the rooms were more spaced out. "Where are we?"

"You'll seeeee," Evan said in a teasing voice. They turned another rapid series of corners, and the hallway became gradually dimmer. Pietro held Evan's hand in a tight grip as he led him down the path.

"Okay, right now we're in the part of the mansion where rooms of the Institute's instructors are," Evan said, sounding a lot like a tour guide. "Logan's room is over there." He pointed to a door that looked like it was made of steel. "That's Dr. McCoy's room there." Pietro looked in surprise to see metal-looking gymnastics bars right above the door Evan had pointed out. "And this one here is the Prof's."

Pietro shuddered when they passed a normal-looking oak door. He was sure that Xavier was staring at the two of them through the wood, maybe trying to figure out the best way to erase Evan's mind so that he'd forget all about him.

"At the end of the hall is my Auntie O's room." Evan pointed at another normal-looking door. "And this," they stopped in front of a room that was sandwiched in the middle of Xavier's room and Ororo's, "is my Auntie O's bathroom."

Evan pushed Pietro in and locked the door behind him. Somehow, the light came on, and Pietro was able to look all around him. It was a pretty big bathroom, very clean and nice-smelling, with a large tub and shower, a pretty big sink with assorted bottles strewn across it, a normal looking toilet, and plants on the windowsill. Pietro looked around with wide eyes. This was a far cry from the bathroom at the Brotherhood house, with its exposed pipes and leaky faucets.

"I think Auntie has the best bathroom in the house," Evan ran his hand over one of the gleaming. "She doesn't mind if other people use it, as long as it's cleaned afterward. Besides - she has the best towels and the goooood soap."

"There you go with the soap again." Pietro smiled and leaned against the counter, trying to look cool. It was hard though, because he kept thinking that the big geranium on the windowsill had a hidden camera in it. "I've got to see this soap. Show me this great soap, please."

Evan grinned and went over to the shower, removing a bottle from behind the curtain. He handed it to his boyfriend, who looked at it with a frown.

"This doesn't look like soap." He turned it over and read the label out loud. "Lily of the Valley body wash. Body wash?" He looked at Evan. "What the hell is body wash?"

"It's like liquid soap," Evan explained. "You put it on this scratchy, round thing and it makes lots of bubbles. And then you just rub the scratchy thing over you."

"Scratchy? I can't use anything scratchy on my body." Pietro pouted. "My skin is waaaaay sensitive!"

"No kidding." Evan smirked, and Pietro blushed. "You don't have to use it. I don't. You can spread this stuff around with your hands if you want. That's what I do. It's nice. Slippery." Evan smiled slyly. "That's the best part."

Pietro thought that over a minute, but then shrugged. Soap was soap to him. As long as it got the job done, he was fine. "Okay, sounds good," he shrugged. "Thanks, Ev. This shouldn't take me more than 25-30 minutes."

"Damn. For such a fast guy, you sure take awhile in the bathroom. It's cool with me, though." Evan started undressing. "Just don't make the water too hot, okay? When it gets too warm, my spikes come out. It's weird, but I don't know how to stop it."

"Um. Um, Evan-" Pietro's eyes widened as his boyfriend disrobed. Tantalizing slivers of brown skin were quickly being revealed until the boy was standing again in his boxer shorts. The latent heat in his groin intensified, and he swallowed hard. "W-what are you doing?"

Evan's hands paused at the waistband of his boxers. "What am I doing? What does it look like? I can't take a shower with my clothes on, can I?"

"Um ... shower? YouMeanWithMe?" Pietro said in a squeak. Uh-oh. He'd planned to use his time in the shower to calm down and figure out how he was going to say what it was he needed to say. "EvanWeCan't-"

"Why not? It'll save water. And besides, we'll have a chance to have this mysteeerious 'talk.'" Evan's eyebrows rose. "And I'll get to show you why this soap's so cool."

"Ev, people don't talk in the shower. They . . . oh." Pietro's jaw dropped when Evan pulled his boxer shorts down. He and Evan had never been naked together, though Pietro had constantly fantasized about his boyfriend's body. Just from their makeout sessions, Pietro could tell that Evan had an amazing physique. And now, here was living proof that it was true. The brown teen was slender and toned with nice shoulders, beautifully firm ass, legs built up by years of skateboarding and beautifully muscled arms. He was the same edible chocolate color all over, and Pietro could feel his mouth watering. The dark, good looks were set off by the bright head of hair and Evan's own shy smile. The blonde-haired boy looked like a child was presenting his mother with a hand-drawn picture in hopes that she would like it. Pietro's eyes traveled the length of his boyfriend's body and followed the trail of dark hair adorning his belly that pointed to the succulent, semi-erect specimen below. The speedster studied Evan's manhood frankly and greedily. Pietro realized that his own penis was probably a little longer, but Evan's was definitely thicker, and fullness was a good thing.

"Um." Pietro gulped, still staring at the beautiful brown boy before him. He'd always imagined that the first time he and Evan saw each other naked that it would be at some deserted area near the school or under the bleachers in the gym late at night or somewhere at least semi-romantic. It seemed wrong somehow that the big event was going to take place in a bathroom. Pietro shook his head. Can my life get any weirder?

"Pie? You're not saying anything." Evan said softly.

"I don't think I need to," Pietro replied, running his fingers down the ridges of muscle on Evan's stomach. "Ev, I - You're - wow." The speed demon couldn't stop staring and he let his hands wander a little lower, smiling when Evan jumped at his touch. "Wow. Even better than in my dreams. You'reBeautifulEvan." Pietro wished he hadn't said that so fast, but Evan had understood, judging by his smile. "Incredible."

"Now you." Evan swallowed hard and swayed a little when the speedster kissed his bare shoulder. "I want to see you, Pietro. All of you."

Pietro hesitated. Seeing Evan looking so vulnerable and open gave him pause, and he felt the guilt and remorse tug at his heart. It was the same guilt that he'd been carrying around for three months. He'd always remember that he'd lied to the only two people he'd gotten unconditional love from: his sister and Evan. Now that he'd told Wanda the truth about the night Magneto had her committed, it was time to come clean with Evan, too. "Ev, wait. I need to tell you -"

"Later," Evan panted. "You. Undress. Now." He created a medium-sized bone spike, sharp and pointy at the edges. "This time, I'm not taking no for an answer. You can do it, or I can cut it off you with this."

Pietro blinked and he moved back a little. "You wouldn't. Just finding the material took, like, three days. This took forever to make!"

"Yeah, a whole quarter of a second." Evan smirked and came closer with the bone fragment. "I mean it, Quicksilver. One way or the other, that comes off. Your choice, man."

"Okay, okay. You don't have to get mean." Pietro was pressed against the sink. "But first, um, first I've gotta tell you something. It's important. Really.”

"Well, okay, I guess." Evan pouted. "But you better talk fast, because I'm holding on to this bone shard."

"Okay." Pietro took a deep breath. Come on, Pietro, you can do this. He'll understand. Mistakes happen, and that's what it was - a big mistake. He'll understand that. It'll be all right. "Okay." His hands shook, and he couldn't hide his nervousness. "Maybe you should sit down. Or, um, maybe I should sit down. Or -"

"Pie, come on, stop stalling and tell me." Evan pulled him close, and Pietro sank into the brown-skinned boy's body, enjoying the warmth. Pietro was so tempted to strip naked, just so he could feel Evan's skin against his without any barriers, but he held back again. He had never been so scared in his life. He knew that what he had to say could drive Evan away forever, but he was going to tell him anyway. There was no way he was going to grow up to be a liar like his father.

"O-okay. Here goes." He coughed nervously. "Um, remember when we first started going out and I told you I always knew I was gay, but that you're the first guy I've actually, uh, dated?"

"Yeah, I remember." Evan looked up at him. "You said you were too scared to say that you were into guys - before I admitted that I liked you, too."

"Yeah. And that's true." Pietro nodded. "I was. And I still kind of am. That's why I haven't told anybody about, you know, you and me. But um, I kinda lied about the other part."

Evan frowned. "What other part?"

"Um, the part about you being the first guy . . ." Pietro sighed and stepped out of his embrace. "YouWeren'tExactlyTheFirst . . ."

"Slow down," Evan said quietly, and Pietro looked at him in dismay. Evan never asked him to slow down. This was a bad sign. "What did you say?" Evan asked.

"I said that you, um, you weren't the first guy I've been with." Pietro winced at the look of pain and confusion in Evan's face, but the other boy didn't say anything. "I was sort of involved with someone before - before I ever asked you out. I'm sorry, Evan. I never meant to lie, it just - it just sort of slipped out when you asked -"

"Pietro-"

"I'll never do it again, lie I mean," Pietro said hurriedly. "I could never lie again, not to you, Evan. I promise. PleaseDon'tHateMe. ItOnlyHappenedOnce."

"Pie-"

"IJustFreakedOut," Pietro ran on. "IDidn'tKnowHowToTellYouAboutMeAndSummers-"

"Pietro, slow down, man." Evan interrupted. "I only caught about half that. What are you -" He stopped suddenly and gave Pietro a look that made the speed demon's heart stop.

"Wait a minute," Evan said slowly. "Summers? Did you say Summers?" He looked shocked when Pietro nodded. "Scott Summers? Cyclops? Cyclops and . . . you?"

Pietro's heart broke in two when he saw the hopeful, loving expression on Evan's face fade only to be replaced with a look of horror and anger. He still couldn't believe he was doing this, but best to tell Evan before Scott had a chance to.

The brown-skinned mutant looked shaken. "Is this some kind of joke?"

"I wish it was." Pietro felt tears stinging his eyes, but he refused to let them fall. "But it's not. Me and Scott . . . were lovers."