Shiro & Alex, Monday afternoon

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Air is cleared over the skateboard ramps as Shiro and Alex finally talk about what happened at prom.


Standing at the top of one of the ramps, Alex paused to take a deep breath. He'd been out here all day trying to perfect this one trick and he'd gotten close so many times. Proof he'd been out here all day was the sweat dripping from him in rivers and his abandoned t-shirt lying at the top of the opposite ramps. He considered his next move as he sucked down water from a water bottle, eyes glued to the ramp as he went over moves and scenarios in his head, not paying attention to anything else.

Heat and humidity rarely caused problems for Shiro. He'd gotten used to New York summers, and his mutation made such weather conditions actually quite comfortable. What made him uncomfortable, though, was the site that greeted him. He'd had a hunch that Alex would be outside, most likely on that blasted wheeled wooden board, but he'd not expected a wet half-naked Alex to be with said board. He sneezed and wiped his nose as he approached the ramp, announcing his presence. Couldn't very well back out now, best friend-turned lover-turned delicious ex or not.

Alex blinked in surprise at the sneeze as it brought him out of his thoughts. He looked over and frowned when he saw who it was. He thought he'd made it quite clear that he didn't really want to talk to either Lorna or Shiro, but apparently, someone didn't care. Making a point of ignoring Shiro, Alex dropped the empty bottle, paused a moment, then let his board go over the edge. He went back and forth twice, doing a 360 on the other side, but when he then tried the trick he'd been working on on the next slope, his feet tangled together instead of doing what Alex wanted. Cursing loudly, he clattered down the ramp after his board and gave a groan when he landed on his back. "Thank you for distracting me." He wheezed bitterly as he stayed where he was and caught his breath.

"I have to serve some purpose around here," Shiro replied wryly, cautiously walking up to the ramp and offering Alex a hand to get back to his feet. "Can we talk, Alex?"

Ignoring his hand, Alex turned his head away, opting instead to wipe the hair from his face. "You can talk. I might listen." He realized he was acting immature, but he couldn't help it.

"You know, I am the one who ought to be acting like a petulant child." Shiro took a step back and crossed his arms over his chest, offering the back of Alex's head a look of disdain and longing. "You kissed your ex - who ripped your heart out, if I may add - when it was supposed to be you and me."

Alex couldn't not ignore that and turned his head to look up at Shiro. "I realize that. I apologized. But that didn't give you and Lorna permission to start acting like Alpha Males. Honestly...a fist fight?" He snorted. "Please." Sighing as he sat up, he rest a hand on his chest and winced slightly at a bruise that was starting to form on his side. The pain helped him forget the shame he'd felt that night, both from kissing Lorna then being fought over like a piece of meat.

"~Not my fault you were engaged to a raging bitch~," Shiro muttered in Japanese. He turned away a little so he wouldn't have to see Alex's bare back. It made him want to stop using words and start using his mouth for other things, but that would be ultimately counter-productive. And that made his face turn redder than the shirt with the rising sun emblem that he wore. "And I thought that girls were supposed to get excited and tingly when men fight for them."

"Yeah well, I guess I missed that part when I randomly became a chick." He said bitterly as he surveyed his new bruises, added to ones from earlier in the day, not even noticing what Shiro was doing. "Because the only tingling I felt was the urge to slap both of you idiots."

Shiro scratched his nose and looked around at everything except Alex. "Well, what do you want me to do now, Alex? Three weeks, we have not spoken to one another or even been in the same room. When I was in Japan, all I could think about was that night and what happened. But I am so . . ." He paused and found himself clenching his fists so tightly that his fingertips had ignited. "Still so furious," he finished, "And how you are taking this out on me."

Feeling the sudden draw on his power, something he honestly hadn't felt in said three weeks, Alex looked up at him. "You didn't exactly come out of your way to fix things either, ya know. I thought after two weeks, that was that." His voice softened slightly as he stared out at the surrounding trees. "But me too. I keep thinking about that night, no lie. Wished I hadn't fucked up I the first place."

The dancing fire proved to be a good thing to focus on so Shiro could keep his eyes off Alex. He sniffled again before continuing. "Why her?" he asked, his tone demanding but the volume soft. That was what galled him the most, really. Why Lorna? Why the woman who had done so much to hurt him? What did she offer than Shiro didn't?

Alex snorted softly, accompanied by a small bitter laugh. "I wish I knew." His answer was honest because he honestly didn't know.

"Me too." A brief hesitation and Shiro decided to sit on the ramp, just feet away from Alex. His hand was still on fire. "I have never felt this kind of angry before. It's . . . I cannot do anything about it, and that is so infuriating. Whenever I think about it, about what led up to it, about what could have happened had I not appeared when I did . . . I just want to see fire, and lots of it. And I know that it will not be enough."

Biting his lip, Alex looked down at his own hands, which were glowing slightly in response to Shiro's fire. "Nothing. I know I wouldn't have gone farther then a kiss." he winced slightly, realizing the Shiro's anger was caused by him being an idiot. But, he also knew what that anger felt like. "It won't. Trust me on that. But it does die down...Till it's at least bearable anyway..."

"I do not ever want to feel like that again. I have enough to concern me that I should not worry about such . . . domestic betrayal." A flowery way of putting it, but calling Alex a "mother fucking cheating whore" seemed a bit too much. Shiro sneezed again, and withdrew his tissue from his pocket with his non-flaming hand. "Damn allergies."

Now that made Alex frown. "Dude...it was a kiss." Alex took relationships seriously, he really did, despite the bad luck he had with them, but he thought domestic betrayal was a bit harsh. Though he got the point. "But I deserved that." Then after a small shrug, Alex moved over a put a hand on Shiro's shoulder so he could properly look him over. "You know, I don't remember you ever having allergies before..."

"And it still hurt." Shiro shivered from the touch, but didn't flinch or move away. If anything, he leaned into it ever so slightly. "I don't. Anou, didn't. I don't know. A doctor in Tokyo thought that I had some viral infection, but the medication has barely helped, so I suppose that I must be developing a reaction to something else external."

Frowning, Alex moved slightly closer to offer both comfort and power if Shiro wanted it. "Have you talked to Jean or Amelia?"

Even sitting, Shiro swayed a little under the sudden weight of the titanic power source next to him. "Not yet," he admitted with a slight groan, "But I have only been back since Thursday and I thought my medicine would eventually work."

"Thursday?" Alex had barely noticed Shiro was gone, which he wasn't proud of, and admittedly hadn't notice when he'd returned. "That's still too long." He stood up and carefully pulled Shiro up with him. "Come one, let's go now."

Shiro stood, but didn't otherwise move. "Wait. I don't want to just leave . . . this." He waved his flaming hand around vaguely, briefly leaving fiery designs in the air. "Us. I don't know what to do."

Alex blinked then shrugged. "I...don't know. I mean...I'm willing if you are." He wasn't as excited about as he had been the first time, but then that was probably just the three weeks apart talking. And he really had missed Shiro. Really really.

That inspired confidence. Shiro shrugged and mustered up a smile for Alex. "I heard that you found an actual room of your own, so I don't suppose that you want to return to my suite . . ." Probably not, but he figured that it was worth a shot. Maybe they just needed the proximity and the intimacy again to remind themselves of why they were together in the first place.

It was odd, for despite what he was going to say, his smile was easy. "Yeah, I share a suite with John...and I think I'm going to stay. That's not to say we can't be like we used to..." He squeezed Shiro's hand in reassurance, "But I think having our own space would be good too. And!" He leaned in close to say in a whisper, "My nightmares are gone." He was practically beaming as revealed that which he had yet to tell anyone.

"Now that is wonderful news," Shiro said, finally wearing a genuine smile. "When? How? Why?"

Alex shrugged. "I had forgotten about them in all that happened. I woke up after my first night alone in my new room and realized I hadn't had a nightmare like I usually do when I sleep alone." He was still grinning, he really couldn't help it. "Haven't had one since!"

"Well, at least there was one positive outcome. I'm happy for you. And it's really for the best, because if you woke up in the middle of the night screaming, then John might barbeque you."

"Ha Ha, very funny." Alex said with a laugh. Then he tugged on Shiro's arm. "Come on, let's get you to the docs. I think for you, a sense of humor is a bad sign." He said kiddingly, so very glad to be back like this with his best friend.