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Pyro and Illyana | Backdated to January 18
Make up or break-up? For a while, it's touch and go.
Right, well, Pyro had no more project to keep himself busy now, so he might as well... reach out. He didn't want to leave it for too long, anyway. Even he could tell that was a bad idea. So what if he still had no idea what to say to the last thing she'd blurted out before teleporting away? He wasn't sure he could actually recognize love, anyway, so...
He pushed the thought aside and sat on his bed, cell phone in hand. So I guess we should talk? If she even wanted to? He wasn't even sure of that much. If you want. He hit send on the text before he could think any better on it, wincing slightly in apprehension.
Just out of the shower, Illyana was toweling her hair as she heard her phone vibrate, and rolled her eyes as she went to go see who'd texted. If it was anyone complaining she hadn't been to class that morning...
But it wasn't. Swallowing hard, Illyana sat down on the edge of her bed, wondering what he'd meant by that. If she wanted? She'd wanted to talk the day before. He hadn't exactly been in favor. Or was it one of those "I guess we should talk" things that always went along with break-ups on TV? Given how little Pyro usually wanted to talk, it was a definite possibility. I guess? Though if you're just going to tell me it's over, I'd just as soon do it by text, I think.
Pyro frowned at the way she finished her text. Wasn't that supposed to be a dick move? Even he knew that. Or thought he knew that, anyway. I don't wanna break up. He hesitated for a few long seconds, then hit send before he could change his mind.
The lead weight that had settled in the pit of her stomach while she'd waited shrunk slightly, and Illyana let out a sigh of relief. Okay, so, they weren't breaking up. That was good. I don't either, she typed back.
Good, that was good. A good start. So now... So we should talk? Well, he could do without talking, but it had become pretty fucking clear that that didn't work for her.
You don't really want to, Illyana pointed out. You made that really clear yesterday. And if he didn't want to, why bother? They were just going to end up fighting. Again.
...seriously. Pyro reached out, put himself on the line, and that was what he got for it? What the fuck ever. Fine. I give up then. He sent the text before he could think it through, then threw his cell phone across the room. It bounced off the wall and landed on a pile of dirty laundry, and he didn't bother going to see whether it was broken. Whatever. The Brotherhood all had each other; anyone who mattered could just get to him by coming to knock on his door.
What the hell? Illyana stared at her phone, her jaw setting. Right. So much for talking. They couldn't even text without him being an ass. So much for "I don't wanna break up", she typed back.
His phone buzzed from his landing spot in his laundry, proving that it wasn't broken. Pyro sighed, wiped his hands over his face, then got up with a frustrated sound to go and pick it up. The screen was cracked, but it was still working well enough. If you don't wanna bother with me, just say so, he typed back and hit send. Why would she, anyway? And here she was, refusing his offer to talk and then blaming him for wanting to break up, like she was just looking for an excuse.
When did I say that? Illyana replied. Growing increasingly frustrated, she laid back on the bed, letting her hair towel fall unheeded. I don't understand what you want. Or why you'd say we should talk when you hate talking.
Ugh, this made no sense. She wanted him to come to Disneyworld despite hating the thought, but then she wouldn't talk when he offered? Pyro really did not get any of this bullshit. So he went with the only question that mattered, becuase texting about this was even worse than talking about it. Do you wanna talk, or not?
Yeah, just give me a minute. I just got out of the shower. Illyana got up and glanced at herself in the mirror. Without makeup or having cast any kind of glamour (both of which she'd been doing a lot the last couple of weeks), it was obvious just how tired she was, but she wasn't sure she cared. She pulled a t-shirt and leggings out of her dresser and pulled them on, ran a brush through her still wet hair, and called up a stepping disk.
Pyro had been pacing, and flicking his lighter open and closed, but he came to a stop and pushed the zippo into his pocket when the stepping disk appeared brought Mage into his room. "Hey," he greeted her, frowning a little at the bags under her eyes. "You look like shit, did you sleep at all?" he asked without thinking, stepping towards her.
Illyana shrugged. "Some. You? You look pretty wiped, too." She stepped towards him, then paused, uncertain as to whether or not she should continue.
"Yeah," Pyro confirmed, closing the rest of the distance and stopping just short of reaching out. He really had no idea what to say, or do, or anything.
Tentatively, Illyana reached out and brushed her fingers against Pyro's in invitation. "So, you wanted to talk?"
Pyro definitely took that as an invitation, and took her hand in his. "I... think we have to?" he offered. Wanting to talk and having to talk were two different things. And okay, so it wasn't an absolute having-to, but they did have to for, like, 'them'. And Pyro didn't want 'them' to stop.
"Probably." Illyana offered a brief, faint smile and brushed her thumb over the back of his hand, then took a deep breath, and exhaled. "It's been a really crappy month," she offered as a start. "That was why I asked about Disney - I just wanted to get away from everything, and Tommy didn't want to go if you weren't coming, because he thought you'd think he was hitting on me or something. But I should've just let it go. I'm sorry."
"I would've suggested we go some place else, if I'd known you wanted to get away," Pyro stated, then kinda had to ask, "Is he hitting on you?" He would never even have thought of it normally, but right now he felt insecure about every. fucking. thing, pretty much.
Illyana rolled her eyes. "No, according to Eileen he's sleeping with Fatale and Alex." She smiled faintly. "Tommy and I took a stab at dating when we first got to the school. It was a trainwreck. We do way better as friends."
Sleeping with somebody (or somebodies, as the case may be) didn't have to mean you weren't putting the moves on somebody else, but Pyro was just going to trust her on that. She'd know if he was hitting on her, he figured. "Okay." He bit his lip, trying to figure out what to say next. "You know, you can talk to me about Limbo shit. I just - I don't wanna talk about my Limbo shit too much, that's all."
"I didn't want to make things worse." She shrugged. "I'm not stupid, y'know. I know everything's not okay. And you don't want to talk, so..there's not a lot I can do other than be here so you sleep."
"You don't have to be here if you don't want to be," Pyro replied with a frown. "I can sleep. I will sleep." He just preferred to have her there, because why wouldn't he?
"Yeah well, maybe I sleep better too," Illyana admitted. "Or at least when I dream I killed you, when I wake up you're there, still breathing."
Pyro's eyes widened, and for a second he didn't know what to say. "Will you wake me up when that happens?"
Illyana shook her head and smiled, a little. "No reason we should both be awake."
"Yes reason," Pyro protested, tugging on her hand and resting his other one on her shoulder, stroking gently. "I wanna be." Awake, when she needed him.
"I wanna be there too," she said, meeting his eyes as she wrapped her free arm around him. "I just...I don't know what to do." Not for him. Not for anyone, really.
"I don't think there's much to do," Pyro replied with a grimace. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Or if there is, I have no clue what."
"That's not helpful," she pointed out, her lips quirking up in a crooked approximation of a smile. "Not that I've got any idea either, but still. Not." She stroked her hand over his back slowly, then raised it up to his neck to tilt his head lower so she could kiss him.
Pyro closed his eyes as they kissed, and kept them closed, and his forehead against hers, when the kiss broke. "This is helpful?" he offered. For what it was worth.
Illyana smiled faintly. "That's something, I guess." It didn't seem like enough, somehow. Especially seeing as she'd have been doing it anyway.
"Please, curb your enthusiasm," Pyro replied wryly, straightening up a little so he could look at her.
"Oh, stop." Illyana rolled her eyes and smiled. "I've got plenty of enthusiasm, and you know it. It's just I'd be doing that anyway."
"So what? It still helps," Pyro pointed out.
"Yeah, it does." Illyana kissed him again, slowly, then broke the kiss to lean her forehead in against his and closed her eyes. "I feel like I got what I wanted, but everyone else paid for it. Again."
"We didn't pay for it, we helped you put that asshole in the ground, where he belongs," Pyro corrected her, then made a face. "Well, some of us helped, anyway." It wasn't like he'd been much use at all.
"Everyone helped. And I'm pretty sure everyone paid for it." She peered up at him and made a face. "You did. Inu-yasha. Billy. Kitty's having nightmares again. Tommy says he's fine but he pretty much always says that. The only one I have no clue about is Wanda."
"You were making it sound like the shit that happened to us is on you, though," Pyro pointed out, not going to let himself get distracted by pointing out he hadn't done shit to help, getting possessed as he had, or by talking about Wanda.
"It is. If it weren't for me, Belasco wouldn't have pulled any of you in in the first place." She sighed and pulled back a little - not away, just enough to push her hair back from her face. "Billy's boyfriend was so kind as to point out that I use friends as footsoldiers."
"Billy's boyfriend is an asshole if he doesn't understand we all wanted to help you," Pyro retorted immediately.
"Billy's boyfriend is an asshole, but I'm pretty sure he does understand that. He just thinks I should have said no." Illyana made a face. "He's not wrong. Though he threatened me if I don't keep Billy away from Limbo in the future. Apparently he's not doing too good."
Pyro stiffened at that. "He threatened you?" He was going to fucking roast him.
Illyana waved that aside and smiled, a little. "He thought it was a threat. 'If you ever...' blah blah blah." She rolled her eyes. "He's a shapeshifter. It's not like there's anything he can actually do to me, and I pointed that out." She let her smile fade and shrugged. "Anyway, so, staying away from Billy. Which is apparently also not the right thing, but I can't figure that one out, even after Kitty tried to help. People are confusing."
"Of course it isn't the right thing," Pyro replied with a frown. Everything was very simple in his mind. "He can decide if he should stay away from you. Not anybody else." Not Mage, and certainly not his stupid fucking boyfriend who still deserved a good roasting.
"That's what Kitty said," Illyana admitted.
Pyro paused, and then pointed out, "I'm pretty sure if the two of us agree, we have to be right."
"That or it's a sign of the apocalypse." She wasn't entirely prepared to rule that out, though she mostly said it to see if it would make him smile. "Anyway, maybe he has decided that. He hasn't exactly come looking for me."
"Well, maybe you should talk to him, instead of trying to guess," Pyro answered, and ugh, was he really advocating talking about stuff? Just because it was sort of working out for them, so far? So far.
"Maybe." She looked up at Pyro and grimaced. "But how do you say 'Hi, sorry I pulled a demon out of you and left you broken - by the way, do you want me to go away now, or would you just like to keep ignoring my texts?'"
"I'm pretty sure you start with 'sorry I've been keeping my distance'," Pyro pointed out with raised eyebrows. After all, Kitty and he agreed.
"Hey, I was texting him," Illyana protested. "Right up until I promised Teddy I'd stay away from him. He was the one doing the whole, "I'm fine, busy, talk to you later" thing."
"So maybe he needed some time," Pyro shrugged. "Talk to him and figure it out." At worst she was right and he didn't want anything more to do with her, which would make him an asshole of a friend, but she'd be no worse off than now. At least she would know, and Pyro would be able to insult him to his heart's content.
"Yeah, okay." She would. Not now, but soon. She tilted her head back in against Pyro's shoulder and closed her eyes.
Pyro wrapped his arms more tightly around her. "I still wanna torch his boyfriend."
"Eh, he'd probably sulk," Illyana pointed out. She tightened her arms around him and relaxed, a little. "Kitty might too. They wouldn't have enough people for their stupid game."
"You're not making a very good case against it," Pyro warned her, stroking a hand over her back as he leaned his head against hers.
"Really not trying to," she admitted. She offered a crooked smile and shrugged. "I didn't like him before, and I like him even less now. Those are the only reasons I can really come up with. Other than that torching people is against a whole bunch of rules, but I didn't figure you'd care about that one."
"Wanda wouldn't like it if I did," Pyro stated with a grimace. He didn't wanna screw up Xavier's for the rest of the team who gave a shit. And the Danger Room was pretty sweet, fine.
"That too." Illyana reached up to brush a few stray hairs back from his forehead and smiled faintly. "You could always threaten to roast him if you wanted. Watch him pretend not to squirm." Hell, she wouldn't mind watching that herself.
Pyro made a face, then shook his head. "Doesn't seem much fun." He didn't know why, but something about threatening the guy rubbed him the wrong way. He didn't need to, anyway, because Mage could handle herself, and then some.
"It does to me. But hey, demonic," Illyana admitted, shrugging lightly. She smiled crookedly. "I've got a skewed definition of fun."
"I'm mostly all over your definition of fun," Pyro pointed out with a smirk. Just, for some reason, not in this very specific instance.
"I'll remind you of that next time I want to dance at a party," she teased.
"Hey, I'm all over watching you dance," Pyro protested. To be fair, he wouldn't mind dancing with her as much anymore, depending on the song, and the type of dancing. Just because it made her that happy.
"That I know." Because yeah, he was always very definitely into watching. "It's participating I was taking about." Still, she leaned up and brushed her lips over his, because he had at Vex's party, for a couple of slow songs, at least. And because he didn't complain when she went out and danced with her friends, instead.
Pyro leaned into the kiss, then pulled back enough to look into her eyes. "Are we okay, then?" So what if he hadn't brought up what she'd said before teleporting away. He still didn't know what to do with that, so.
"I think so?" She met Pyro's eyes. "Are we? You were mostly the one who was pissed and wanted me gone." And yeah, there was that thing she'd blurted out, wasn't there? She wasn't sure what to say about that, though, considering that he seemed to be avoiding the subject altogether.
"No, you were the one who wanted to go," Pyro assured her, with certainty.
"I didn't want to go. I wanted you to tell me you didn't want me to go," she corrected. "You didn't. You told me to just fucking go already." She was sure of that. She'd cried about it long enough.
"I don't do that stuff," Pyro told her, frowning. It felt like a mind game, and he fucking hated mind games. "If you're acting like you wanna go, I'm gonna tell you to go."
"Yeah. I know that, now." Illyana shrugged a little, but didn't say anything more. Because honestly, if he'd wanted her to stay, he would have said that, right?
"Okay," Pyro said, although nothing felt resolved. But maybe it was supposed to be and he was just an idiot overthinking stuff. It would be a first.
Illyana stayed silent a moment longer, then shook her head. "It's not okay. I actually asked if you were okay with me just going. And I know you were pissed, but...I'm still not sure I'm sure why."
Pyro wished he had been wrong, and things had been resolved. Ugh, he hated this talking thing. Did they have to rehash every single thing that had happened? "You wanted to know my former name, and I told you, but then you wanted to talk about it and I didn't, and that's when you exploded about not being able to talk about anything."
Oh. Illyana looked awkward. "I didn't want to talk about it," she explained. "Or, I mean, not your name, exactly. I just said things matter, whether you talk about them or not. I wasn't trying to poke for more. I mean, I wouldn't turn it down if you wanted to talk about it? But I know you don't."
"Well, it really felt like you wanted to talk about it, and it really felt like you wanted to leave," Pyro stated, after dropping his gaze for a second. "I'm no good at - reading between the lines, or whatever." And he felt extremely awkward admitting that, but it couldn't come as a surprise to her. He wasn't exactly smart or clever or any of those things.
"I'm sorry." Illyana squeezed his hand and gave him a faint, crooked smile. "I don't think it's you. Sometimes what I think is obvious isn't obvious to anyone else. Or, y'know, vice versa." Her smile faded and she shrugged, her eyes dropping. "I really thought you wanted me to. Leave."
"I never really want you to leave," he muttered, feeling vulnerable for saying it. But it was true.
Illyana stepped in closer and wrapped her arm around him, a hard lump forming in her throat and her eyes tingling suspiciously. "I really never want to go," she whispered back as she tilted her forehead onto his shoulder.
Pyro wrapped his arms tight around her and leaned his head against hers, swallowing against the lump in his throat. "Okay." Hopefully they were closer to an actual okay, this time? It felt like it.
"Okay," she replied, and this time, she meant it. She debated bringing up the rest of what she'd said, but he hadn't, and she wasn't sure she should. Or if it was true, though she thought it was. On the other hand, what did she know about love, anyway?
Pyro leaned back so he could nose at her head and brush her lips in a soft kiss, trying to use it to say what he couldn't, not really. "You wanna hang out a bit?" he asked when the kiss broke, and he didn't even necessarily mean sex. As long as he could curl up around her, he'd be happy.
"I might fall asleep," she warned him, but she smiled softly and nodded. "But yeah. Hanging sounds good."
"Let's take a nap," Pyro told her with a small smile, and pulled her towards the bed.
"A nap," she said, with a smile that clearly doubted his intent there, but she sat down on the edge of the bed and tugged off her shoes without any protest. Either way, it sounded pretty good to her.
"I mean it!" Pyro protested with a laugh, moving to the center of the bed to wait for her. "You know, I wouldn't turn down a little making out first, but... a nap."
Illyana laughed and climbed onto the bed, curling up half on top of Pyro with her head pillowed on his chest. "I could definitely be talked into that," she decided. And the makeout session, too, but honestly? Snuggling and a nap sounded pretty damn good.
"Which part?" Pyro had to ask, but her body language was more about snuggling up than making out, and he did nothing to change that. Instead, he just stroked his hand through her hair, and kissed the top of her head. This was just fine, really. Better than.
They could worry about that L-word thing another day.
Right, well, Pyro had no more project to keep himself busy now, so he might as well... reach out. He didn't want to leave it for too long, anyway. Even he could tell that was a bad idea. So what if he still had no idea what to say to the last thing she'd blurted out before teleporting away? He wasn't sure he could actually recognize love, anyway, so...
He pushed the thought aside and sat on his bed, cell phone in hand. So I guess we should talk? If she even wanted to? He wasn't even sure of that much. If you want. He hit send on the text before he could think any better on it, wincing slightly in apprehension.
Just out of the shower, Illyana was toweling her hair as she heard her phone vibrate, and rolled her eyes as she went to go see who'd texted. If it was anyone complaining she hadn't been to class that morning...
But it wasn't. Swallowing hard, Illyana sat down on the edge of her bed, wondering what he'd meant by that. If she wanted? She'd wanted to talk the day before. He hadn't exactly been in favor. Or was it one of those "I guess we should talk" things that always went along with break-ups on TV? Given how little Pyro usually wanted to talk, it was a definite possibility. I guess? Though if you're just going to tell me it's over, I'd just as soon do it by text, I think.
Pyro frowned at the way she finished her text. Wasn't that supposed to be a dick move? Even he knew that. Or thought he knew that, anyway. I don't wanna break up. He hesitated for a few long seconds, then hit send before he could change his mind.
The lead weight that had settled in the pit of her stomach while she'd waited shrunk slightly, and Illyana let out a sigh of relief. Okay, so, they weren't breaking up. That was good. I don't either, she typed back.
Good, that was good. A good start. So now... So we should talk? Well, he could do without talking, but it had become pretty fucking clear that that didn't work for her.
You don't really want to, Illyana pointed out. You made that really clear yesterday. And if he didn't want to, why bother? They were just going to end up fighting. Again.
...seriously. Pyro reached out, put himself on the line, and that was what he got for it? What the fuck ever. Fine. I give up then. He sent the text before he could think it through, then threw his cell phone across the room. It bounced off the wall and landed on a pile of dirty laundry, and he didn't bother going to see whether it was broken. Whatever. The Brotherhood all had each other; anyone who mattered could just get to him by coming to knock on his door.
What the hell? Illyana stared at her phone, her jaw setting. Right. So much for talking. They couldn't even text without him being an ass. So much for "I don't wanna break up", she typed back.
His phone buzzed from his landing spot in his laundry, proving that it wasn't broken. Pyro sighed, wiped his hands over his face, then got up with a frustrated sound to go and pick it up. The screen was cracked, but it was still working well enough. If you don't wanna bother with me, just say so, he typed back and hit send. Why would she, anyway? And here she was, refusing his offer to talk and then blaming him for wanting to break up, like she was just looking for an excuse.
When did I say that? Illyana replied. Growing increasingly frustrated, she laid back on the bed, letting her hair towel fall unheeded. I don't understand what you want. Or why you'd say we should talk when you hate talking.
Ugh, this made no sense. She wanted him to come to Disneyworld despite hating the thought, but then she wouldn't talk when he offered? Pyro really did not get any of this bullshit. So he went with the only question that mattered, becuase texting about this was even worse than talking about it. Do you wanna talk, or not?
Yeah, just give me a minute. I just got out of the shower. Illyana got up and glanced at herself in the mirror. Without makeup or having cast any kind of glamour (both of which she'd been doing a lot the last couple of weeks), it was obvious just how tired she was, but she wasn't sure she cared. She pulled a t-shirt and leggings out of her dresser and pulled them on, ran a brush through her still wet hair, and called up a stepping disk.
Pyro had been pacing, and flicking his lighter open and closed, but he came to a stop and pushed the zippo into his pocket when the stepping disk appeared brought Mage into his room. "Hey," he greeted her, frowning a little at the bags under her eyes. "You look like shit, did you sleep at all?" he asked without thinking, stepping towards her.
Illyana shrugged. "Some. You? You look pretty wiped, too." She stepped towards him, then paused, uncertain as to whether or not she should continue.
"Yeah," Pyro confirmed, closing the rest of the distance and stopping just short of reaching out. He really had no idea what to say, or do, or anything.
Tentatively, Illyana reached out and brushed her fingers against Pyro's in invitation. "So, you wanted to talk?"
Pyro definitely took that as an invitation, and took her hand in his. "I... think we have to?" he offered. Wanting to talk and having to talk were two different things. And okay, so it wasn't an absolute having-to, but they did have to for, like, 'them'. And Pyro didn't want 'them' to stop.
"Probably." Illyana offered a brief, faint smile and brushed her thumb over the back of his hand, then took a deep breath, and exhaled. "It's been a really crappy month," she offered as a start. "That was why I asked about Disney - I just wanted to get away from everything, and Tommy didn't want to go if you weren't coming, because he thought you'd think he was hitting on me or something. But I should've just let it go. I'm sorry."
"I would've suggested we go some place else, if I'd known you wanted to get away," Pyro stated, then kinda had to ask, "Is he hitting on you?" He would never even have thought of it normally, but right now he felt insecure about every. fucking. thing, pretty much.
Illyana rolled her eyes. "No, according to Eileen he's sleeping with Fatale and Alex." She smiled faintly. "Tommy and I took a stab at dating when we first got to the school. It was a trainwreck. We do way better as friends."
Sleeping with somebody (or somebodies, as the case may be) didn't have to mean you weren't putting the moves on somebody else, but Pyro was just going to trust her on that. She'd know if he was hitting on her, he figured. "Okay." He bit his lip, trying to figure out what to say next. "You know, you can talk to me about Limbo shit. I just - I don't wanna talk about my Limbo shit too much, that's all."
"I didn't want to make things worse." She shrugged. "I'm not stupid, y'know. I know everything's not okay. And you don't want to talk, so..there's not a lot I can do other than be here so you sleep."
"You don't have to be here if you don't want to be," Pyro replied with a frown. "I can sleep. I will sleep." He just preferred to have her there, because why wouldn't he?
"Yeah well, maybe I sleep better too," Illyana admitted. "Or at least when I dream I killed you, when I wake up you're there, still breathing."
Pyro's eyes widened, and for a second he didn't know what to say. "Will you wake me up when that happens?"
Illyana shook her head and smiled, a little. "No reason we should both be awake."
"Yes reason," Pyro protested, tugging on her hand and resting his other one on her shoulder, stroking gently. "I wanna be." Awake, when she needed him.
"I wanna be there too," she said, meeting his eyes as she wrapped her free arm around him. "I just...I don't know what to do." Not for him. Not for anyone, really.
"I don't think there's much to do," Pyro replied with a grimace. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Or if there is, I have no clue what."
"That's not helpful," she pointed out, her lips quirking up in a crooked approximation of a smile. "Not that I've got any idea either, but still. Not." She stroked her hand over his back slowly, then raised it up to his neck to tilt his head lower so she could kiss him.
Pyro closed his eyes as they kissed, and kept them closed, and his forehead against hers, when the kiss broke. "This is helpful?" he offered. For what it was worth.
Illyana smiled faintly. "That's something, I guess." It didn't seem like enough, somehow. Especially seeing as she'd have been doing it anyway.
"Please, curb your enthusiasm," Pyro replied wryly, straightening up a little so he could look at her.
"Oh, stop." Illyana rolled her eyes and smiled. "I've got plenty of enthusiasm, and you know it. It's just I'd be doing that anyway."
"So what? It still helps," Pyro pointed out.
"Yeah, it does." Illyana kissed him again, slowly, then broke the kiss to lean her forehead in against his and closed her eyes. "I feel like I got what I wanted, but everyone else paid for it. Again."
"We didn't pay for it, we helped you put that asshole in the ground, where he belongs," Pyro corrected her, then made a face. "Well, some of us helped, anyway." It wasn't like he'd been much use at all.
"Everyone helped. And I'm pretty sure everyone paid for it." She peered up at him and made a face. "You did. Inu-yasha. Billy. Kitty's having nightmares again. Tommy says he's fine but he pretty much always says that. The only one I have no clue about is Wanda."
"You were making it sound like the shit that happened to us is on you, though," Pyro pointed out, not going to let himself get distracted by pointing out he hadn't done shit to help, getting possessed as he had, or by talking about Wanda.
"It is. If it weren't for me, Belasco wouldn't have pulled any of you in in the first place." She sighed and pulled back a little - not away, just enough to push her hair back from her face. "Billy's boyfriend was so kind as to point out that I use friends as footsoldiers."
"Billy's boyfriend is an asshole if he doesn't understand we all wanted to help you," Pyro retorted immediately.
"Billy's boyfriend is an asshole, but I'm pretty sure he does understand that. He just thinks I should have said no." Illyana made a face. "He's not wrong. Though he threatened me if I don't keep Billy away from Limbo in the future. Apparently he's not doing too good."
Pyro stiffened at that. "He threatened you?" He was going to fucking roast him.
Illyana waved that aside and smiled, a little. "He thought it was a threat. 'If you ever...' blah blah blah." She rolled her eyes. "He's a shapeshifter. It's not like there's anything he can actually do to me, and I pointed that out." She let her smile fade and shrugged. "Anyway, so, staying away from Billy. Which is apparently also not the right thing, but I can't figure that one out, even after Kitty tried to help. People are confusing."
"Of course it isn't the right thing," Pyro replied with a frown. Everything was very simple in his mind. "He can decide if he should stay away from you. Not anybody else." Not Mage, and certainly not his stupid fucking boyfriend who still deserved a good roasting.
"That's what Kitty said," Illyana admitted.
Pyro paused, and then pointed out, "I'm pretty sure if the two of us agree, we have to be right."
"That or it's a sign of the apocalypse." She wasn't entirely prepared to rule that out, though she mostly said it to see if it would make him smile. "Anyway, maybe he has decided that. He hasn't exactly come looking for me."
"Well, maybe you should talk to him, instead of trying to guess," Pyro answered, and ugh, was he really advocating talking about stuff? Just because it was sort of working out for them, so far? So far.
"Maybe." She looked up at Pyro and grimaced. "But how do you say 'Hi, sorry I pulled a demon out of you and left you broken - by the way, do you want me to go away now, or would you just like to keep ignoring my texts?'"
"I'm pretty sure you start with 'sorry I've been keeping my distance'," Pyro pointed out with raised eyebrows. After all, Kitty and he agreed.
"Hey, I was texting him," Illyana protested. "Right up until I promised Teddy I'd stay away from him. He was the one doing the whole, "I'm fine, busy, talk to you later" thing."
"So maybe he needed some time," Pyro shrugged. "Talk to him and figure it out." At worst she was right and he didn't want anything more to do with her, which would make him an asshole of a friend, but she'd be no worse off than now. At least she would know, and Pyro would be able to insult him to his heart's content.
"Yeah, okay." She would. Not now, but soon. She tilted her head back in against Pyro's shoulder and closed her eyes.
Pyro wrapped his arms more tightly around her. "I still wanna torch his boyfriend."
"Eh, he'd probably sulk," Illyana pointed out. She tightened her arms around him and relaxed, a little. "Kitty might too. They wouldn't have enough people for their stupid game."
"You're not making a very good case against it," Pyro warned her, stroking a hand over her back as he leaned his head against hers.
"Really not trying to," she admitted. She offered a crooked smile and shrugged. "I didn't like him before, and I like him even less now. Those are the only reasons I can really come up with. Other than that torching people is against a whole bunch of rules, but I didn't figure you'd care about that one."
"Wanda wouldn't like it if I did," Pyro stated with a grimace. He didn't wanna screw up Xavier's for the rest of the team who gave a shit. And the Danger Room was pretty sweet, fine.
"That too." Illyana reached up to brush a few stray hairs back from his forehead and smiled faintly. "You could always threaten to roast him if you wanted. Watch him pretend not to squirm." Hell, she wouldn't mind watching that herself.
Pyro made a face, then shook his head. "Doesn't seem much fun." He didn't know why, but something about threatening the guy rubbed him the wrong way. He didn't need to, anyway, because Mage could handle herself, and then some.
"It does to me. But hey, demonic," Illyana admitted, shrugging lightly. She smiled crookedly. "I've got a skewed definition of fun."
"I'm mostly all over your definition of fun," Pyro pointed out with a smirk. Just, for some reason, not in this very specific instance.
"I'll remind you of that next time I want to dance at a party," she teased.
"Hey, I'm all over watching you dance," Pyro protested. To be fair, he wouldn't mind dancing with her as much anymore, depending on the song, and the type of dancing. Just because it made her that happy.
"That I know." Because yeah, he was always very definitely into watching. "It's participating I was taking about." Still, she leaned up and brushed her lips over his, because he had at Vex's party, for a couple of slow songs, at least. And because he didn't complain when she went out and danced with her friends, instead.
Pyro leaned into the kiss, then pulled back enough to look into her eyes. "Are we okay, then?" So what if he hadn't brought up what she'd said before teleporting away. He still didn't know what to do with that, so.
"I think so?" She met Pyro's eyes. "Are we? You were mostly the one who was pissed and wanted me gone." And yeah, there was that thing she'd blurted out, wasn't there? She wasn't sure what to say about that, though, considering that he seemed to be avoiding the subject altogether.
"No, you were the one who wanted to go," Pyro assured her, with certainty.
"I didn't want to go. I wanted you to tell me you didn't want me to go," she corrected. "You didn't. You told me to just fucking go already." She was sure of that. She'd cried about it long enough.
"I don't do that stuff," Pyro told her, frowning. It felt like a mind game, and he fucking hated mind games. "If you're acting like you wanna go, I'm gonna tell you to go."
"Yeah. I know that, now." Illyana shrugged a little, but didn't say anything more. Because honestly, if he'd wanted her to stay, he would have said that, right?
"Okay," Pyro said, although nothing felt resolved. But maybe it was supposed to be and he was just an idiot overthinking stuff. It would be a first.
Illyana stayed silent a moment longer, then shook her head. "It's not okay. I actually asked if you were okay with me just going. And I know you were pissed, but...I'm still not sure I'm sure why."
Pyro wished he had been wrong, and things had been resolved. Ugh, he hated this talking thing. Did they have to rehash every single thing that had happened? "You wanted to know my former name, and I told you, but then you wanted to talk about it and I didn't, and that's when you exploded about not being able to talk about anything."
Oh. Illyana looked awkward. "I didn't want to talk about it," she explained. "Or, I mean, not your name, exactly. I just said things matter, whether you talk about them or not. I wasn't trying to poke for more. I mean, I wouldn't turn it down if you wanted to talk about it? But I know you don't."
"Well, it really felt like you wanted to talk about it, and it really felt like you wanted to leave," Pyro stated, after dropping his gaze for a second. "I'm no good at - reading between the lines, or whatever." And he felt extremely awkward admitting that, but it couldn't come as a surprise to her. He wasn't exactly smart or clever or any of those things.
"I'm sorry." Illyana squeezed his hand and gave him a faint, crooked smile. "I don't think it's you. Sometimes what I think is obvious isn't obvious to anyone else. Or, y'know, vice versa." Her smile faded and she shrugged, her eyes dropping. "I really thought you wanted me to. Leave."
"I never really want you to leave," he muttered, feeling vulnerable for saying it. But it was true.
Illyana stepped in closer and wrapped her arm around him, a hard lump forming in her throat and her eyes tingling suspiciously. "I really never want to go," she whispered back as she tilted her forehead onto his shoulder.
Pyro wrapped his arms tight around her and leaned his head against hers, swallowing against the lump in his throat. "Okay." Hopefully they were closer to an actual okay, this time? It felt like it.
"Okay," she replied, and this time, she meant it. She debated bringing up the rest of what she'd said, but he hadn't, and she wasn't sure she should. Or if it was true, though she thought it was. On the other hand, what did she know about love, anyway?
Pyro leaned back so he could nose at her head and brush her lips in a soft kiss, trying to use it to say what he couldn't, not really. "You wanna hang out a bit?" he asked when the kiss broke, and he didn't even necessarily mean sex. As long as he could curl up around her, he'd be happy.
"I might fall asleep," she warned him, but she smiled softly and nodded. "But yeah. Hanging sounds good."
"Let's take a nap," Pyro told her with a small smile, and pulled her towards the bed.
"A nap," she said, with a smile that clearly doubted his intent there, but she sat down on the edge of the bed and tugged off her shoes without any protest. Either way, it sounded pretty good to her.
"I mean it!" Pyro protested with a laugh, moving to the center of the bed to wait for her. "You know, I wouldn't turn down a little making out first, but... a nap."
Illyana laughed and climbed onto the bed, curling up half on top of Pyro with her head pillowed on his chest. "I could definitely be talked into that," she decided. And the makeout session, too, but honestly? Snuggling and a nap sounded pretty damn good.
"Which part?" Pyro had to ask, but her body language was more about snuggling up than making out, and he did nothing to change that. Instead, he just stroked his hand through her hair, and kissed the top of her head. This was just fine, really. Better than.
They could worry about that L-word thing another day.
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