ax_main | Pyro and Illyana | At the Party (and after/before?)

Illyana brings Pyro to the party. Not everyone is thrilled, but they still manage to have a good time - and to turn back the clock a little to keep it going longer.

A flash of light preceded Illyana's arrival in the park, right next to the bench where she'd hung out with Pyro before. She looked around, saw a pair of munchkins gaping, and made a shooing gesture. Fortunately, the kids took off running, and Illyana plunked down on the bench to wait, hoping she hadn't arrived too early. Kids that age probably had a parent around somewhere.

Pyro hadn't dressed up for the occasion. He was in his usual jeans, shirt, and battered old brown leather jacket. It was the way he felt comfortable, and dressing up wasn't something he ever did. As long as he had his Zippo - and he'd refilled it earlier to make sure it wouldn't fail him tonight - he was good. When he walked in view of the bench, he smirked at the sight of Magik. Illyana. Whatever she wanted him to call her. The point was, she was there, and she looked good.

Not for the first time, he wondered whether he ought to have told Magneto where he was off to. He planned on coming back with intel, after all. But what if the old man had told him not to go? He hadn't wanted to risk it. He'd just surprise him with all that intel when he got back.

"Looking good," he told Magik once he was within earshot.

"Not looking bad yourself," she countered as she got to her feet, grinning. She meant it, too - okay, he hadn't dressed up, but whatever. The look worked for him. "You ready for this? Because we should probably make a quick exit - I scared some little kids on arrival."

"Bringing terror to kids' hearts everywhere," Pyro remarked, clearly approving. "Sure. Let's go." He could always ask her questions once they were there.

Illyana laughed but shook her head as she came over and wrapped an arm around his waist, figuring people were less likely to shoot on sight if they had a chance of hitting her. "I wasn't trying to scare them," she disputed as she called her stepping disk and it flared to life around them. A moment later, and they were in the wastes of Limbo - nothing but sand, scraggly trees, and a few visible demons in the distance. "They just obviously have no appreciation for magical appearances. Mustn't watch enough Disney."

"I really hope no one's mutation involves being fucking stalked by forest animals," Pyro stated, looking around, an arm casually wrapped around her shoulders. And, just because they were alone - apart from those figures in the distance - and she looked damn good, he offered, "We got a minute to make out before we hit the party?"

"What, we can't make out at the party?" Illyana teased, turning towards him and reaching up to run her hand over his shoulder. "What fun is that?"

"If we're going to make out at the party straight away," Pyro answered, shifting his other hand to her waist, "we might as well skip it altogether." He was leaning in as he said so, and he punctuated that by kissing her, unrestrained in his appreciation of her. And... okay, he wanted to get to the party for intel-related reasons, but honestly, he wouldn't kick up a fuss if she took him at his word.

Mmmmm, well, that was a thought, Illyana mused as she pressed in closer, her hand running over his shoulder and down his back. Maybe parties were overrated? And there were bound to be people who'd have issues with him being there, though honestly, she wasn't sure she really cared... She nipped lightly at his lip and then pulled back, her head tilting as she pretended to consider it.

"We could," she admitted, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Except I'd really rather make out somewhere where we don't have to worry about being attacked by demons while we're distracted.

"You can teleport us anywhere," Pyro pointed out with a smirk, fingers gently stroking bare skin above her waistband. "Or demon-killing could be pretty cool. But fine, fine. We can go to your party." But he was going to kiss her again first.

And she was okay with that, especially with warm, slightly calloused fingers running over her back, leaving trails of heat that were causing answering echoes elsewhere. Reaching up to thread her fingers through his hair, Illyana deepened the kiss, obviously in no particular hurry to leave. The party'd wait just a bit longer. Besides, the beauty of time travel? No matter what time they left, they could still be the first to arrive.

She was making a very convincing case for forgetting all about the party, especially with how much enthusiasm she was showing for this. This was another kind of heat from the fire, he thought, hands spanning her small waist, but it was just as addictive in its own right.
Finally, after an eternity that somehow seemed far too short, Illyana pulled back a little, breathless. "We should go. I really shouldn't stay here this long."

Pyro was both disappointed and not, and he simply nodded at her words. "Let's go, then."
Feeling both disappointed that Pyro hadn't argued and relieved, because honestly, they were tempting fate and she really wasn't dressed to fight demons, Illyana called up a stepping disk to take them to the spot near the party that she'd selected earlier as one unlikely to be occupied. It didn't feature a view of the school building (not that she really thought it mattered, but when she inevitably got chewed out for this, at least she could say that much), but it was close enough to the party to hear the music, which was already booming. "So, want to find out where they've got the cooler with the drinks stashed? Or go back to what we were doing?" she asked Pyro, teasingly.

Pyro smirked, his body still turned into hers, his hands on her waist. "Don't get me wrong, I like alcohol, but if I have to choose..."

"Oh!" Jeanne-Marie suddenly appeared next to Ilyana, her Jameson and ginger bottle in hand. "Ilyana, you look so pretty! And who's the new boy?" She smiled at the cutie and held out her free hand.

Illyana grinned at Pyro, then turned towards Jeanne-Marie and smiled. "You look awesome, too - I love your dress. This is Pyro. Pyro, this is Jean-Marie. She's Northstar's sister, but you probably figured that already."

"Yeah," Pyro chuckled, reaching out to shake the elf girl's hand, his other one sliding to Magik's back. It wasn't something he thought about, it just happened that he didn't want to stop touching her, apparently. "Do speedsters get all the twins?"

Jeanne-Marie was confused by the familiarity with her brother--by his code name, at that--for a moment. And then it clicked into place. The place Tommy had been held. The other mutants. The fire. Pyro. She tried to hide her frown, taking back her hand, and asked, "Are you studying here now, Pyro?"

Pyro didn't try to hide his amusement at the thought, and he chuckled. "No. Really not." Him, study? Him, leave Magneto? Yeah, no. Big no on both of those.

"He's here with me," Illyana inserted, snaking one arm around his back.

Jeanne-Marie narrowed her eyes. "I... don't think I understand." She cocked an eyebrow at Illyana. Wasn't this one of the people who'd destroyed or stolen the data Tommy wanted--at the very least? How could Illyana know he wasn't here as a spy or here to steal or hurt someone else? It wasn't that they had to be enemies, but to bring them to Xavier's...

At the very least, it wasn't very nice to Tommy.

"I...invited him?" Illyana replied, not quite sure what there was to not understand about the situation. "It's a party, right? No one said you couldn't bring anyone. It's not like he's not a mutant."

Pyro was just as confused, but hey. With the accent on this girl, maybe there was something she literally didn't understand? "I'm just here for this pretty girl," he said, and smiled at Illyana before looking back at her friend. "And a little free booze."

Jeanne-Marie fake-smiled at him, not even bothering to try and make it realistic. She took Illyana by the elbow and turned her aside, trying to pull her out of whisper hearing range. "Illyana, are you sure about this? Are you sure he's--he's all right? This is our safe place..."

Illyana's eyebrows rose and she let go of Pyro to walk a few steps away. "Our safe place? It's a school for mutants, Jean-Marie. There's no place that's going to be safe. But I invited him, he didn't try to weasel an invitation. He didn't even know about the school, and he still doesn't know where it is. What do you think he's going to do, set the woods on fire?" Her expression got sulky. "Y'know, for someone who went partying all over Quebec, I really figured you'd be more cool with this."

"Clubbing in Montreal isn't the same as bringing someone who might not wish us well to our home." Jeanne-Marie tried not to snap, but Illyana had hit a sore spot in her conscience she'd always pretended wasn't there. He shoulders went tight, her glare sharp. "I don't know if that's true--I hope it's not but--

"Now he knows there are more of us, and all he needs is google maps to find out where we are. I just hope you're sure."

Illyana's eyes hardened. "I'm sure. But if you're That worried..." She turned to Pyro. "Do you mind if I send your phone to Limbo while we're here?" she asked. "Apparently, you might have said you'd come just so you could find out where the school is. I promise, I can send it somewhere where it'll be safe."

Pyro had been playing with a thread of fire around his fingers while the girls talked, and he snuffed it out with a closed hand when Illyana addressed. He frowned at her question, doing nothing to hide it. First up, he would have liked to Google Maps this place, yeah. But mostly, handing over his phone meant he would have no way to reach his team if things went south somehow, or Fatale if Magik stranded him somewhere. Relying entirely on someone he, in the end, barely knew, went against every one of his instincts, no matter how much they'd made out.

He stepped closer to Magik, holding her gaze and completely ignoring her friend. "What about me? Am I gonna be safe?"

Jeanne-Marie rolled her eyes. "Calisse..." Now she trusted him even less. She knew that look. She invented that look.

And it wasn't just the phone, anyhow. He'd be here, mingling, pumping students for information. He could easily find out anything he wanted without his phone--it had just been an example! Ugh!

Ignoring whatever Jeanne-Marie was muttering, Illyana rolled her eyes and shrugged. "I'm pretty sure you can handle anything anyone can dish out," she pointed out. Which, in her opinion, was becoming a whole lot more likely than the idea that Pyro was here to start anything. She grinned a little. "But if it'll make you feel better, I'll stick close. Anyone starts any bullshit, we're out."

That didn't make Pyro feel much better. He hadn't told anyone where he was going, declining, against his better judgment, to tell Magneto about it, just in case he forbid Pyro from going. And now here he was, relinquishing his only means of communication with his team, should anything go wrong. He took another step forward, to be all the way in Illyania's space as he pulled his phone out of his pocket and handed it to her. "I'm trusting the fuck out of you." Just so that it was clear.

Still unimpressed and looking it, Jeanne-Marie said, "She's doing the same, in all our names." She hoped Ilyana was right, but experience told her the odds were... awful. And no one else had any say in it, now she was here. So it was on Ilyana.

For a moment, Illyana almost understood where Jeanne-Marie was coming from. But before this could really sink in, she was struck by the realization that this was just one more example where everyone assumed that if she made a choice, she would inevitably make the wrong one. And maybe in the past she had, she had to admit - but there hadn't been any good choices in Limbo. Even Ashake had always said as much, and with Cat it had nearly been a mantra.

There was no reason not to trust Pyro, though. And the fact that no one else seemed to believe that just made her want to extend that trust even more. She took the phone from his hand and met his eyes. "Well, that makes two of us then. I'll be right back." She took a step backwards and disappeared in a flash of light, only to reappear a split-second later, her hands apparently empty.

"Ready to go get something to drink?" she asked, ignoring Jeanne-Marie as she reached for his hand - and pressed a temporarily invisible phone into it. If he really needed it, he'd be able to see it. If not?

Well, the spell should wear off in an hour or two, anyway. And since it was just on the phone's visibility, there shouldn't be any lingering after affects. Not like that computer in the lab.

Pyro shot Jeanne-Marie an angry look when she stepped into their conversation, but Magik aswered him before he could snap at the intruder. The one that wasn't him. He only turned back to her when Magik disappeared, but she was back before he could give the girl a piece of his mind. It was probably for the best.

And then Magik gave him his phone back, by the feel of it, and he was so surprised that he looked down at his hand, could not see the phone he felt there, and then looked up at Magik, incredibly grateful but not going to show it just yet. Later. So grateful, in fact, that he even decided not to use vocal command to Google Maps this place anyway. If she trusted him, he'd respect that.

It was a pretty new feeling.

"Yeah," he agreed, putting his hand with the telephone in it on her back so nothing would seem weird to the other girl. "Drink would be good."

Illyana turned towards Jeanne-Marie and smiled sweetly - so sweetly, in fact, that anyone who knew her would recognize it as far more dangerous than a scowl. "We'll see you later then, Jeanne-Marie. Have a good time." And without further ado, started off towards where she'd been told the coolers would be, urging Pyro along.

She'd show them. She was right, this time. Or at least, she wasn't going to let herself believe anything else.

* * *

Pyro was flicking his lighter open and closed as he headed back towards the throng of the party, his arm still smarting where that D-bitch had shocked him. Sure, it was the sort of thing he'd have expected from Eileen, but Eileen owned that attitude. This one was just a pretty girl who didn't like it when everybody didn't fall on their knees to adore her.

On the heels of his conversation with Kitty, his mood had taken a turn for the worse, but he forced himself not to let it show too much when he spotted Magik headed his way. "I'll take our terrorists over your psychos in a heartbeat," he told her, pushing his lighter back in his pocket as they reached each other.

"I saw you with Tamara." Illyana quirked a crooked smile. "Do I need to send her on a one way trip to Limbo? I thought she was just flirting with you." Which, yeah, wasn't okay, except that he didn't look like he was particularly enjoying it.

"Does she expect everyone to fall at her feet, or am I special?" Pyro asked, some of his bad mood definitely showing through. He was shit at hiding his emotions, as a rule.

"Oh, the thing where she was on TV," Illyana replied, realizing what he was talking about. "She pretty much expects everyone to oooh and aaah about that, as far as I can tell." She grinned a little and shrugged. "I mean, it was cool? But it wasn't that cool."

"It really wasn't," Pyro confirmed wryly. And his fucking arm still stung. "Anyway, she's a bitch. And Kitty Cat says if I break your heart, she'll end me. It's an awesome party."

"Kitty said that?" Illyana stared a moment, then laughed. "Oh man, she's the best. And after she wasn't thrilled about me asking you, too." She shook her head and reached up to rub his shoulder through his jacket, exerting just enough pressure to urge him closer. "Anyway, I seriously doubt Kitty'd end you, whatever happened. You're safe enough there. But we can blow the party if you want".

Magik's laughter did nothing to smooth out his mood, but he did step closer at her urging, settling his hands on her waist. "What would we be blowing it for?" he had to ask, smirking. No better way to cheer up than to get his hands (and mouth, preferably) on her, after all. He really should've been more torn about not getting more intel, but he had about had it with Mutant High.

"Pretty sure we could figure out something to do." Illyana grinned and moved in closer, leaning up to brush her lips over his. "Or, y'know, we could go take a walk, find somewhere with fewer people?" Granted, she'd wanted to dance more, but she could definitely go with some privacy, too.

"I vote for no people," Pyro replied, and took a longer kiss from her, not giving a damn about anyone watching, or PD-fucking-A. Everybody already had a problem with him anyway, and he wasn't about to give a shit about social conventions.

No people didn't sound bad, Illyana had to admit as she slipped her arm up around his neck and pressed in against him. "Maybe somewhere where we can still hear the music?" she whispered against his lips as she drew back from the kiss.

"Whatever you want," Pyro easily agreed. He pulled back, keeping an arm around her waist as they started walking. He had to smirk again at the thought, and asked, "You wanna dance for me?" He half expected to get hit for that, but hey.

"Kinda had with you in mind," Illyana pointed out, wrinkling her nose up at him and smirking back.

"I told you, I don't really dance," Pyro replied, looking back ahead as they walked. It wasn't a flat no, because he didn't feel the need to be defensive with her. Not with this whole new trust thing they were doing. "I'm way too much of a white boy."

"So? Not like I know how, I'm just faking it." She slipped her arm around his waist and weaseled her hand up under his coat to stroke his side. And grinned. "I've gotta admit, it sounds fun, though."

Pyro only just stopped his smile from stretching into a grin, glad to tug her closer to his side as they walked. "I can think of lots of way funner things to do with you, Mage."

"Mage?" Illyana's eyebrows climbed and she grinned. "What, I get my own nickname?" Actually, she kinda liked that.

"You don't seem too keen on magic, and I'm not keen on human names," Pyro replied, glad to see a smile on her face when he looked at her. "Seems like a decent compromise, if you like it."

"Yeah. Yeah, I like it," she decided, and snuggled in tighter against his side, her fingers playing lightly over his t-shirt. And wondered, a little, why she felt like she couldn't stop smiling if she tried.

"Good," he replied, and kissed her hair without stopping walking. Just... because, okay.

*************************

"So, what'd you think?" Illyana asked as she and Pyro headed away from the party, looking for a good teleportation site.

She really wasn't in any hurry to take him back. Despite all the glares and a couple of not so pleasant run-ins, she'd had a great time, and she was - not drunk, but definitely sort of fuzzy. And warm, though she didn't think that had anything to do with the alcohol. Or the weather, which was getting cooler.

Unfortunately, she figured that even if she didn't get busted for bringing him here in the first place, the Prof would definitely draw the line at taking him back to her room.

"I think I don't want the night to end," Pyro replied. There had been assholes and psychos along the way, but he had a nice buzz going, could no longer feel the burn of the electric shock (thank you, alcohol), and he had been having a good time with Mage. Excellent, even, and he would now have some very fond memories of that tree he'd pressed her up against now.

Not that he could pick it out in a line-up, what with being all too focused on her and nothing else... and its being a tree.

He focused back on the conversation. "You sure there isn't a deserted island some place you could 'port us to? We could have a swim."

"Probably. But I'm really too buzzed to scry for one," she admitted, "and without that, there's no knowing where we'd end up. I'm guessing going back to your place is as out as going back to my room, huh?" She smiled a little and leaned into him, just to let him know it wasn't a serious request. Though she had to admit, it sounded like an awfully good idea.

"Raincheck on the island," Pyro concluded, which also worked as the unnecessary answer to her question. "You gonna be okay getting me back?" Hey, if she was too buzzed for one thing, she might be too buzzed for the other, and then he'd have no choice but to call Fatale. Or sleep out here in the woods, which was not his idea of a good time, despite his recent fond memories. He was used to being homeless in a city, thank you.

"Mmm. Tempted to say no, just so you have to stay," Illyana teased, but shook her head. "But no, I've got a feel for the location now. I can find it. Worst that'll happen is we'll lose or gain some time."

"Gain, please," Pyro stated with a smirk. He liked the idea of spending two evenings in one, with her.

"Mmmmm. Well, I can try." Illyana stopped and turned towards him, grinning. "Ready to go? And did your phone go visible yet? Because I can fix it while we're in Limbo if it hasn't."

Pyro pulled his phone out of his pocket, smiling at the sight of it. "I didn't know you'd put a timer on it." He paused, and, because they hadn't talked about it,
"Thanks. For that." Not the timer bit, the giving it back bit.

Illyana shrugged. "I wouldn't have wanted to be without it, if I were you," she said. "Not with the way everyone was acting. But you handed it over anyway." And had said he trusted her. That, to her mind, was mind blowing enough to trust him back.

"We'd only just gotten here," he replied, looking to the side as he added, "I didn't want the evening to end already." He looked back at her, deflecting with humor. "I mean, there was free booze."

"Can't pass that up," Illyana agreed, then reached up and pulled his head down to kiss him. "Thank you. For trusting me with it."

Pyro's hand found the small of her back to pull her closer. The idea had been to distract them both from that moment of... something that felt way too fucking vulnerable, with a heated kiss. Except the kiss ended up reflecting that vulnerability more than anything else, so whatever. When he broke it, he kept his forehead against hers for a couple of seconds, then leaned back and gave her a half smile. "Let's go?"

"On it," Illyana confirmed. She called up a stepping disk to take them to Limbo, paused for only a moment there to fix the position of the park firmly in her mind, with a time of approximately mid-afternoon the day before, and summoned another.

They reappeared, at apparently the time she'd envisoned, in the park where she'd found him. "Check the date?" she requested, holding up her hand to show that she'd crossed her fingers.

Pyro blinked at the sudden onslaught of daylight, completely unprepared for it. He looked at his phone, and... "Holy shit, Mage!"

"What? Did I get it wrong?" Her expression was one of dismay, with a little fear thrown in. Getting things wrong, magically, had never gone well for her. But - okay, granted, she was buzzed, but she'd been so sure.

"We're this afternoon," Pyro replied, completely amazed. Well, okay, it was - had been - after midnight, so... "I mean, yesterday afternoon. Holy fuck." Seeing that a little more time had passed than they had spent in Limbo was one thing. Going back in time, a whole fucking other.

"Well, that was what you asked for," Illyana pointed out, crossing her arms over her chest. Had he been kidding? He hadn't sound like he had.

"And it is fucking amazing," he confirmed, looking up from the date on his phone with a grin. Except then he noticed the people pointing at them. "Okay, less amazing that we teleported into a park in the middle of the day. Let's take a hike."

Much as he wanted to let the whole fucking world know how awesome she was - and he was too, while he was at it - he had better plans than the inevitable punching of mutant-hating asshole that would inevitably follow. There weren't many things that would rank as better plans than that, but what he was thinking certainly did.

Illyana relaxed, tension draining from her shoulders, and she laughed. "Sounds like a plan," she agreed, and wrapped her arm around his waist.

Arm around her shoulders, Pyro headed out of the park, leaning close to her so he could speak quietly enough they wouldn't be overheard. "Even better plan, I'm gonna pick some flatscan's pocket and get us a room somewhere. If you'd like?"

Illyana paused a moment, actually giving thought to the question. She knew what he was suggesting - or was almost sure she did, at least. And she had to admit, she liked the idea. A lot. She just...

Fuck thinking. Not thinking had been working just fine for her all day.

"Forget the flatscan." She smiled, just a little nervously. "I may not be able to do much magic on Earth, but I'm pretty sure I can pop a hotel room door open."

It was more fun making an asshole pay for it, but whatever. If she wanted to be the one to handle it, Pyro had no problem letting her. "You're on."

"Lead the way," she requested.

"Let's find somewhere with a minibar," Pyro stated. He was expecting to drink some more with her, fool around some more, and at some point crashing the fuck out, hopefully all tangled together. It was a great program, as far as he was concerned.

* * *

The hotel was decent enough to have a minibar, but not classy enough that there would be too much security. The room was clean, the bed was big, and Pyro was enjoying the easy way Mage was sitting beside him, with her legs draped over his lap. It meant being able to stroke her legs all he wanted, and he did love them. A lot.

There was a small pile of mini bottles of booze on the bed beside them, and given the buzz he was nursing, his next idea seemed like the best he'd had all week. "Hey. Never have I ever?"

She'd lucked out with the lock, Illyana had to admit. Magic, on Earth, was apparently even harder to do when buzzed than it was when not, but she'd gotten it on the second try, and it had definitely been worth the effort. And now, sitting on the bed with Pyro, with her boots off (which had felt really good, having her legs stroked (which felt even better)...yeah. Not thinking this over had definitely been the way to go.

Which, sadly, didn't mean that she understood Pyro's question. "Never have you ever, what?" Illyana asked, her forehead furrowing.

"Drinking game," Pyro explained. He doubted she'd have played it with demons, but what did they teach her in that school of hers if she didn't even know about it. "If I say, I don't know, never have I ever taken the plane, whoever has takes a sip."

Illyana considered that for a moment, then grinned. "Okay, got it." She reached for one of the little bottles and screwed off the top. "Never have I ever...stayed in a hotel room."

Pyro chuckled, and reached for a mini bottle of JD to take a drink. He figured tonight didn't count, if she wasn't drinking. "Never have I ever battled demons." No way he was going to be the only one drinking.

She took a drink and made a face. "Ugh. Okay. Umm...never have I ever..." She paused a moment, thinking, then grinned. "Owned a lighter."

Pyro laughed this time, both appreciative and incredulous. And, of course, he took a drink. A long drink, because, well. "Never have I ever done magic." He could totally play that game.

Illyana wrinkled her nose, grinned, and took a drink. "Okay, fine. Never have I ever seen Star Wars. But don't tell Kitty or she'll make me marathon it."

Pyro took a small drink, then explained, "I haven't seen them all." He thought for a second, then, "Never have I ever painted my nails."

"Does getting Kitty to paint them count? Because I mangle them when I try it." Illyana made a face at her nails, which were fortunately unmangled due to her roommate's intervention.

"I didn't say you had to have done it well," he pointed out with a smirk.

Damn that smirk. Illyana rolled her eyes dramatically, then gave up and grinned as she took another swig from her bottle. "Never have I ever burned down a building."

Pyro laughed appreciatively, raised the bottle in a toast to fire, or her, or both, and took another drink. "Hmm." His buzz had definitely gone up a notch, and he wondered idly if they shouldn't have mixed the liquor with something. Oh well. He was warm, relaxed, and had a pretty girl warm and relaxed with him. Pretty and cool. His free hand kept stroking her legs, because, well, they were right there. "Never have I ever... kissed someone in a hotel room." The idea wasn't for either of them to drink - it was for him to lean in, kiss her, and then for both of them to drink.

"Sounds like a serious oversight," she pointed out, and leaned in to wrap one hand around the back of his neck.

"I know, it feels so wrong," Pyro agreed, although he couldn't keep the smirk from his lips. That was, until they closed on Mage's anyway. Slow and lazy, warm and relaxed. They had all the time in the world, and this was a good moment.

Illyana kissed him back slowly, almost getting lost in it. When she finally pulled back, she smiled. "Guess we've both got that one covered now?"

"Well," he lifted his hand from her legs to push a strand of hair back behind her ear, "just to be sure..." And he leaned in for another slow kiss, although a slightly briefer one. "Okay, now I'm sure." He smirked at her, and took a drink.

Illyana laughed and took a drink of her own, then let her head fall in against his shoulder. "Never have I ever had this much to drink. What is this stuff, anyway?" Without looking up, she held up her bottle so he could read it.

Pyro took a drink, then peered at the label. "Spiced rhum. You wanna swap?"

"Mmmm. No, it's not half bad." She nuzzled her face against his shoulder, then reluctantly sat back up and smiled. "Okay, you're up."

"Nope, your turn," Pyro replied, shaking his head.

"It's not..." Or, well, maybe her last one didn't count - it had been pretty dumb. "Never have I ever, hmmm. Gone shopping for guys' underwear?" She thought about it for a more moment (which was getting progressively harder, then nodded. That would work.

Pyro drank, then predictably followed that up with, "Never have I ever gone shopping for girls' underwear. But now I kinda want to."

"Really not sure how it would look on you," Illyana replied, eyeing him consideringly. She grinned. "But finding out would definitely be interesting." She took a very small drink (because yeah, things were definitely getting fuzzy - considering the small size of these bottles, they packed a definite punch) and considered her next question. "Never have I ever been to Disneyworld."

"Nope," Pyro told her, not taking a drink. "Never have I ever attended high school."

"Lucky you. I think I'm still learning middle school stuff, though - does that count?" Illyana asked, shifting a little in an attempt to snuggle in closer.

"I have no idea," Pyro answered, and helped her snuggle in closer with an arm around her shoulders. "Drink if you want?"

Illyana eyed the bottle, then shrugged. "I'm gonna skip, my brain's getting fuzzy." Grateful, she snuggled in closer and tilted her head onto his shoulder. "Why no high school?" Okay, it wasn't a never did I ever, but she was curious.

"Why high school if you can get out of it?" Pyro replied, and took another sip, himself. No game reasons, just because. "Got out of the system by hitting the streets."

Frowning a little, Illyana tried to figure out what system he meant, then gave up, deciding if he wanted to explain, he would. "That doesn't sound fun either, though," she pointed out, turning her head to nuzzle his shoulder.

"Better than the alternative," he answered simply, turning his head towards hers to kiss her hair. "And then I got recruited, so. Definitely for the best."

"Mmmm. Mmhmm," Illyana agreed, more interested, for the moment, in the fact he was kissing her hair. She thought about it a bit, though, and observed, "You really like your team." Which was obvious, now that she thought about it, but she hadn't really realized how much.

"'Course I do," Pyro replied before he could think any better of it. "We got our priorities straight." Not like theirs, clearly, from his short conversation with Kitty.

"That's good." Illyana smiled and traced swirls on the leg of his jeans. "I'd ask what those are, but I'm not sure I'm supposed to. But I meant you sound like you like your team. Y'know, the people." Because at the end of the day, that meant more than what they stood for, right? It did to her, anyway.

Pyro frowned, not sure what she meant. "We got our priorities straight," he repeated. That was why he trusted them. And with trust came... yeah, liking them, or whatever.

Illyana rolled her eyes, then closed them. "That's good. I'm not sure we have priorities. Or if I do. I'm just...there. But Kitty's there, so that's okay."

Pyro rolled his eyes in his turn. "Kitty's got shitty priorities." He wouldn't have said so if he hadn't drunk so much, because criticizing the best friend of the girl you were in bed with sounded like a terrible idea, but... oops.

That was enough to pull Yana out of the doze she was falling into. She pulled back and gave Pyro a look. "What do you mean?" she asked coolly.

Yeah, he should've kept his mouth shut. Good going, Pyro. "She was giving me shit about our response when we found her bent over Q, back at the facility. Like anyone's priorities in that case shouldn't be protecting your teammate." It wasn't like they'd really harmed her. Scarlet alone could've done so much worse, and his fire hadn't even touched her.

"Pretty sure hers would've been," Illyana pointed out. "But I'm guessing she just wasn't thrilled about being thrown backwards by your telekinetic, or whatever she is. Would you have been?"

"Of course not," Pyro replied. Really, really not. But he would have been honest about that. "But I wouldn't claim anything as stupid as 'I would've asked questions first'. Not with one of my team down. So either her priorities are shitty, or she was being a hypocrite and a liar. Just sayin'."

"Kitty's not a liar." That said, Illyana's forehead furrowed. On the one hand, Kitty asked questions about everything. On the other... "Do you remember what she said exactly? Because that really doesn't sound like her."

"I don't know, that she would've asked questions first." Pyro took another drink. "Look, it doesn't matter. She hates me, whatever. She's not the first, she won't be the last. Don't ask me to pretend I feel all warm and fuzzy about her and we're good." Ugh, he should never have said anything, and he lay back on the bed, rubbing a hand over his face.

Frowning, lllyana took a drink from her own bottle, then set it down. And rubbed at her forehead, trying to figure out what she could say. What she should say, because she couldn't remember an example of how anyone dealt with their best friend and their - well, whatever Pyro was, she wasn't sure - not getting along, even though she suspected there were dozens. "I'm sorry," was pretty much the only thing she could come up with, so she said that. At least, she reassured herself, she actually did mean it.

"Whatever," Pyro repeated, and grabbed a pillow to stick under his head. That way he could keep drinking without moving.

Illyana winced. "Don't 'whatever', okay? I have enough trouble figuring this shit out without whatevers I'm supposed to understand."

"There's nothing to figure out, so whatever," Pyro insisted. "You wanna keep playing?"

Illyana chewed at her lip, her eyes shadowed, then nodded. "Yeah, I guess. Whose turn is it?"

"No clue," Pyro answered, free hand coming to rest on the small of her back. "Never have I ever..." He was so not into it anymore. "Gone skiing." Lame. Whatever.

Illyana shook her head. "Or ice skating," she countered, but honestly, she wasn't feeling it anymore. Reassured at least a little by the fact Pyro didn't seem mad (or at least, she assumed not, considering he'd put his hand back on her back) she stretched out next to him.

Pyro was pretty terrible at all things involving words. So he figured actions ought to do the trick. He turned towards her, slinging an arm over her waist, and leaned in for a kiss.

At least if she pushed him away, or worse, he would know where they stood.
Illyana returned the kiss a little distractedly, obviously still preoccupied, but snuggled in closer, trying to get back some of the happy not-thinking-ness she'd been experiencing earlier.

So it wasn't the best kiss they'd shared by a mile, but Pyro still counted it as a win, since he wasn't getting shoved away or slapped or anything like that. ...low standards, yes. Still, he could probably... try and make it better with words, no matter how much he hated the awkwardness that came with it. "Hey," he said softly, and pressed a kiss to the corner of her lips. "It's just you and me here, right?"

"Unless you invited someone else and didn't tell me." He had a point, though. It was just them, and honestly, it probably didn't matter if he didn't like Kitty. She didn't like him, either. That decided (though a little lingering doubt remained, which was pretty easy to ignore), Illyana turned towards him and kissed him slowly, gradually deepening it as she relaxed.

Was she joking or had she not understood what he meant? The latter wouldn't surprise him; he was the worst at talking about shit, seriously. But then she was kissing him, and Pyro figured she'd understood after all. He tangled one of his legs with hers, letting her take the kiss wherever she wanted and responding in kind. This was way better already.

Definitely better. Illyana's hand had gradually worked its way under his t-shirt and was stroking his back when she pulled back and smiled, her eyes half lidded. "Never have I ever spent the night with a guy in a hotel room?" There was a question implied, despite the fact it was actually mid afternoon. She was hoping he'd understand what she meant anyway.

"Well, neither have I," Pyro answered, his voice quiet and amused. Quiet, because speaking too loudly felt like it might shatter the moment. "Or with a girl," he added, dipping his head to press kisses to her neck. He hoped it didn't mean she wanted them to go to sleep right now. He was hoping he would get to try and make her feel even better than earlier in the woods.

She was going to take that as a yes, Illyana decided as she tightened her arm around Pyro, pulling him closer as she arched her neck to give him better access. Not that she was in any hurry, just now, to sleep.