Oops... took a bit longer than I thought. Got distracted,,, REALLY! Between overtime at work and a new toy (Got Sims game, with X-Men Evolution skins! It's FUN to watch Lance and Scott kiss oh-so-cutely holding hands :):):) I've been not quite with it. So this took a bit longer than it should have. This thing is a PWP, basically. I've made my own little universe and the characters do what I want em to do. Hee hee!

Anyway, this is set in the same 'universe' as my Brotherly Love series. Sometimes there'll be references to that set. Wanda and Pietro are still together, but (sorta) hiding it better.

Brotherly Love III
~Bayville Nights~

A Moment of Courage....

By Michiru

I am slowly going crazy, Scott sang silently, mouthing the words as

he leaned back against one of the support beams at the Bayville Galleria.

The mall looked as good as new after the fiasco of a fight between

the two warring mutant groups. Between the regular members and Scarlet

Witch, the place had been a disaster. But that had been a few months now, and

the renovation had done wonders for the place.

Scott wasn't much of a mall junkie, but it was as good a place as any

to meet up with people. And the person he was meeting was late.

He looked at his watch, frowning.

"Hey," he heard the familiar voice call.

"You're late, you realize? You really should be more responsible with

your time," Scott scolded, "and with the people you promised to meet. I was here

15 minutes early, so I've been standing around here for a half hour waiting for

you."

Lance shrugged. "Yeah, but you know me well enough by now. I'm

almost always late," he grinned.

Scott closed his eyes and shook his head.

"Ha, you should hear the news from the homefront. Wanda and

Pietro are still at it."

"How did you find that out?" Scott asked, heading down the

commons with Lance. It had been a month since Mystique had found the two

siblings out.

"I saw 'em," Lance grinned.

In that month, despite reservations and an all our stubbornness,

Scott and Lance had drawn closer to each other.

"You caught them having sex again?" Scott sounded incredulous.

Lance had known he and Kitty were quits almost since the mall

incidence. It had taken a bit longer for him to accept it, though. Scott had helped

him accept it by just becoming a friend.

"Yeah, in the basement of all places. And even worse, they were

doing it on the washing machine. I don't think it's gotten any better. They're just

as... I dunno, intrigued? with each other as they were in the beginning," Lance

grinned. "They're pretty enthusiastic about it. She almost matches his energy."

Both of them had drawn closer and closer to each other,

unbeknownst to the other X-Men and Brotherhood members, closer than Lance

had ever been to Kitty. They had found some things in common, and found that

the things they didn't have in common were enough to continue making the

relationship interesting.

And Lance found he wanted more...

He had asked Scott to the mall to talk to him. But in order to begin

their chat, he had to get the handsome boy alone. The mall wasn't likely to do

that, but he knew a spot that would.

"So, what's up?" Scott asked conversationally. "I didn't think of you

as a mall person before."

"You know your problem, Scott?" Lance asked, not answering the

other boy, "You're too damned honest."

"Huh?" Scott's brow furrowed. "What does that mean?"

"It means basically this. Because I asked you to go to the mall, you

just told everyone you were going to the mall, no questions asked, no

nervousness at all. If I'd told you where I REALLY wanted to meet you, you

might've gotten all flippy with your adults and screwed it up."

"Lance, what's going on?" Scott asked. They were now going

outside, heading towards Lance's jeep, oh-so-casually parked in a handicapped

spot.

"I want to show you something," Lance grinned at him as he hopped

into the jeep. "Are you game? Or chicken?"

"Are you inSANE?" Scott laughed.

"No," Lance shook his head. "Do you trust me, or not?"

Scott stared at him for a moment before getting into the jeep. "Ok,

he sighed. Play on my baser male instincts."

"I didn't know you HAD any," Lance sniggered.

"Do you want me to get out?" Scott gave him a deadpan look.

"Nope," Lance put the jeep into gear and flew out of the parking lot,

Scott hurriedly fastening his seatbelt.

"You drive like a maniac, Alvers!"

"Thank you!" Lance laughed, pulling out onto the street, and heading

for the city limits.

The night was darker where there were no streetlights. Lance drove

along a little bumpy road, no more than two tracks of dirt, knee high weeds

growing in the middle, the trees leaning over them on either side.

"Where are we?" Scott asked for the twentieth time in the short drive

down the bumpy stretch.

"We're here," Lance said triumphantly, turning off the engine.

"Where's here?" Scott asked. He could hear the sound of the

peepers calling to each other, the insects creaking and water slooshing nearby.

"You'll see," Lance got out, and heading to where the trees seemed

to disappear. "C'mon, slowpoke!"

Scott got out and followed, feeling reservations on top of

reservations. Plus something new. Somewhere in the pit of his stomach he felt

an anxiousness begin to build. Something was going to happen that night. He

and Lance were alone at... "It's a beach," Scott said, surprised. The sand was

red-silver in the moonlight, the water that haunting shade of silvered black.

Trees lines the edges of a grassy embankment, moving out only a few yards

before turning to the fine sand, that he knew would be white in the warm glow of

the sun. He wished he could take off the glasses and actually see the true

colours.

"Yeah, isn't it great?" Lance grinned widely, opening his arms.

"It's really nice," Scott nodded appreciatively, half looking at the

beach, half looking at Lance -- not quite sure what he was appreciating more.

Lance laughed, and started to pull his clothes off. "This place is so

awesome. It's a perfect little cove, and the way the trees are lining it, it's hard to

see from out on the bay. Making it even more private. I'm sure people know

about it. Sometimes I see footprints in the sand. But I've never met anyone out

here," Lance told him, pulling his pants off.

Scott stared at Lance's now bare butt, the moonlight warring with the

shadows to reveal or conceal it. Firm and tight...

"Are you coming?" Lance half turned, smiling rakishly at Scott.

"Uh, yeah, sure," he nodded, pulling off his shirt.

Lance tore into the water with a whoop. The water was pretty warm

from the hot day they had had earlier, and felt like heaven against his skin. He

dived under the water to get his hair wet, them came up quickly, whipping it back

behind him. He looked at the shore in time to see Scott come out into the water,

wearing only a blush.

Scott walked into the water, feeling a touch embarrassed. He knew

that Lance was watching him, and wondered how Lance would feel if he had any

idea what Scott was thinking at that time.

He slipped into the water fully, and began to swim around. "This is

definitely nice."

"Yeah, love it," Lance nodded, floating. He watched Scott swim

around, and began to slowly move towards him. Scott was one to spook easily,

and Lance did not want that. Though, if Scott know what Lance was really

thinking, he might run for the hills.

He suddenly bumped into Scott, startling him. He hadn't realized the

other boy was so close. He opened his eyes to see Scott looming over him,

smiling. "Uh, hi." He said lamely.

"You should watch where you're floating, Rock-Tumbler," Scott

chuckled.

"Yeah? Well, maybe you should stay out of my float lanes, Sumner,"

Lance joked back. He pulled himself into a standing position, and grinned at

Scott.

"Hey, you don't own the bay," Scott gave him a playful push.

"Sure I do," Lance pushed back. Scott pinwheeled a moment. Lance

gave a little more of a push, and Scott fell over, sputtering.

Scott went under, trying not to laugh. Water went up his nose. As he

started up for the top, an opportunity presented itself. He grabbed Lance's ankle,

and pulled him down.

"Ahh!" Lance cried, going down. He grabbed onto Scott, and

twisted. The both began to flail in the water, water slashing wildly as they

laughed and wrestled each other.

Lance suddenly found himself nose to nose with Scott. He felt the

mood shift instantly. Should I? Lance though. Dare I?

Lance felt Scott shift slightly, then Scott's lips were suddenly on his

own, strong arms sliding around Lance's body.

Oh, wow, Lance thought, and surrendered to the kiss.

TBC

**Disclaimer**

I do not own any of the characters within this fic (as much as I wish I did). I am poor. All I own is a lousy computer and... well... nothing good. This is just a fic, not gospel, and situations that may be within the show don't necessarily make their way here. (Even though we wish they might.) And vice versa. Boy, you can count on that one!