The Second Order Of Business

Author�s Note:� Okay� well, since my first fic, Aftermath, has been relegated by the short-sighted writers to AU, I�m forced to advise you that this is a story outside of that sphere.� Still, after this week�s ep, The Stuff of Villains, I had to write this.� Looks like you�re getting a couple of birthday presents, Psycho B!� ::sighs in exasperation with the Evo writers::

Disclaimer:� This story is angsty slash erotica, and therefore not for the eyes of anyone under the age of 18 or offended by homosexual material.� X-men:� Evolution is owned by Marvel Comics and the WB; believe me, this series would be very different if I owned it.

Recommended Musical Accompaniment:� Poison and Love Is A Loaded Gun by Alice Cooper

The Second Order Of Business
By Lady Eternal

�� Lance watched out the window, his face a hollow as Pietro used the burn barrel to destroy the suit Toad had worm around the house.� The obviously disgusted expression on Pietro�s face would have struck Lance as adorable, were it not for the soul-numbing pain searing through Lance�s body.� Pietro had come back, but not to him.� The adorable little speed demon had returned to lead them, to make them worthy of joining Magneto�s militia� he hadn�t even bothered to say he was sorry for nearly getting them all killed.� Turning from the window, Lance forced his emotions back, hating that anyone could make him feel so miserable� that after all this time he was still vulnerable to the same betrayals�

�� Glancing up from the fire, Pietro saw Lance turning from the window and felt a stab of guilt.� With Gambit hanging around, Pietro had been unable to say what he so desperately needed to say to Lance.� And then Lance had gone upstairs to clean up� and he hadn�t been down all night.� He could care less if Todd and Fred resented his presence; the threat of Magneto�s retribution for anything other than empty words against him was more than enough to keep them in line.� But Lance� After the initial moment of rage, Lance hadn�t even attempted to come near him.� It hurt more than Pietro wanted to admit.� They�d been so happy�

�� But Magneto was not a man easily denied, especially by his submissive son.� There was a dominance in him that only Wanda could match, and Pietro had been impressed many times during his youth with the consequences of staying near his sister long enough to allow her own dominant nature to be exerted over him.� His father had called him, and Pietro had complied� at the cost of whatever real trust Lance had begun to feel for him.

�� Usually fast feet were heavy as he came inside, praying to the Gods of his people that Lance would let him in.

�� Lance?�

�� Lying on his back across the bed, Lance didn�t even blink as that beautifully familiar voice echoed through the door.� Reaching out, he grasped the remote for his stereo and turned up the volume.

�� Pietro winced as the volume skyrocketed, the impact doubled by the lyrics blaring through the door.

�� One down, one to go
�� Just another bullet in the chamber
�� Sometimes love�s a loaded gun
�� Red light, stop and go
�� Whatchya gonna do when you play with danger?
�� Sometimes love�s a loaded gun
�� And it shoots to kill.

�� I tried to look the other way and fake it
�� You know you pushed me right to the limit
�� I can�t take it!

�� Hot tears formed in Pietro�s eyes before he could dash them away.� I should have known.� I knew Lance was depressed, sometimes even suicidal.� I should have left him a note� something�� I didn�t mean to hurt him like this, but I didn�t have a choice�� A moment of silence preceded the track change, and Pietro slumped miserably against the wall.� He knew this one, too� knew that Lance loved to play his guitar in accompaniment�� He hated that he�d hurt Lance so much�� Finally gathering his courage, Pietro pushed the door open, ignoring the faint protest of the old lock.� It had never worked anyway� Even though he heard the door opening, Lance never looked up from his guitar.

�� Your cruel device
�� Your skin:� like ice
�� One look could kill
�� Your pain� your thrill

�� I wanna love you but I�d better not touch
�� {Don�t touch}
�� I wanna hold you but my senses tell me to stop
�� I wanna kiss you but I want it too much
�� {Too much}
�� I wanna taste you but your lips are

�� Venomous poison
�� You�re poison runnin� through my veins
�� You�re poison
�� I don�t wanna break these chains

�� Your mouth:� so hot
�� Your web:� I�m caught
�� Your skin:� so wet
�� Black lace on sweat�

�� I hear you callin� and it�s needles and pins
�� {And pins}
�� I wanna hurt you just to hear you screamin� my name
�� Don�t wanna touch you but you�re under my skin
�� {My skin}
�� I wanna kiss you but your lips are

�� Venomous poison
�� You�re poison runnin� through my veins
�� You�re poison
�� I don�t wanna break these chains
�� Poison�

�� Desperately, Pietro fought past the arrowed words that Lance directed at him, racing to the beautiful brunette that had captured his heart.� Lance looked up as Pietro tore the electric guitar, a Christmas present from the speedster, out of those black-gloved hands, an anguished look in those azure eyes.� �What do you want?� Lance asked numbly.

�� To take care of the second order of business,� Pietro replied, his voice thick.� Settling in Lance�s lap, he wrapped himself around the rock-tumbler and kissed him.

�� The deep, open, passionate kiss went through Lance like an electric current.� It suddenly occurred to him how much he�d missed having the snowy-haired gypsy in his arms, those pale, slender lips firmly attached to his.� In that instant, he was willing to forgive everything�

�� Which is exactly what he wants.� The manipulative little brat.

�� A surge of anger brought Lance�s hands up to Pietro�s shoulders, and he shoved Pietro off his lap with almost vicious force.� Pietro stared up at his lover with enormous azure wounds for eyes, watching almost in dismay as Lance wiped the remnants of the kiss from his mouth with the back of one gloved hand.� �It�s not that easy, Maximoff,� the rock-tumbler snarled. ��I�m not that easy.�

�� Lance��

�� What did you think?� That you were just gonna walk back in here and everything was gonna be just like before?� That what you did was gonna be forgiven with one practiced embrace?� Forget it, kid; I�m done being played:� by Mystique, by Magneto, and especially by you.�� Alice Cooper continued to blast in the background, fueling Lance�s fury:� a soundtrack for Lance�s rage and pain.

�� In a flash, Pietro was on his feet.� A Roma never begged� not on his knees, anyway.� �Lance, please; you don�t understand.� Father promised me that you wouldn�t be hurt-�

�� Really?� So he�s gonna get my expulsion rescinded?� Or just create a new identity for me so I can transfer to another school and graduate?�

�� He can�t do that, Lance��

�� Then I got hurt, Pietro.�� Lance paced away from him.� �I can�t ever go back:� can�t finish school, can�t get into a college, can�t even start to build a life for myself� let alone anyone else I might want to share it with.�� Turning back, he couldn�t quite hide the pain.� �Not that I�ll ever be able to trust anyone that much.� Unless he can make me forget you, that is.�� A low cry of pain left Pietro.� �You think I didn�t get hurt, Pietro?� Maybe not physically.� I guess your dad must figure I�ve gotten used to the other ways I can get hurt by now.� I�m surprised I�m not, actually.�

�� Blinking back tears, Pietro stepped closer.� �Lance, it�s not like that.� I had to help him��

�� Help him ruin my life?� Start a race war?�

�� No, Lance� you don�t know what they�re capable of.� Witch hunts, Inquisitions, Holocausts� they�re nothing compared to what�s coming if mutant-kind refuses to prepare themselves.�

�� Ah.�� Lance nodded sagely, his dark eyes turning black from the pain.� �So he destroyed us and my ability to trust just to prove a point to Xavier.� Just chalk up my feelings as a casualty of war and move on, then.� I�m glad you both can live with that, because I have to.�

�� Desperately, Pietro grabbed at Lance�s arms and forced the brunette to look at him.� �Lance, stop it!� Nothing�s changed� at least not how I feel about you.�

�� Those fathomless eyes, deep and echoing with a lifetime of pain, cut holes in Pietro�s soul.� �But you�d put my life in danger if he asked it of you.� You�d abandon me� us, our life together� if he snapped his fingers.�� Lance could barely contain the tears in his voice.� �Do you have any idea what it feels like to know that I�ll always play second fiddle to your father�s agenda, Pietro?�

�� Don�t, Lance� please��

�� Lance only gazed deeper into those eyes� those beautiful, sky-blue eyes� eyes that he�d watched grow heavy-lidded and dark in the throes of passion�� Lucky me� I appear to have fallen in love with the wrong twin.�

�� Pietro�s face crumpled as another moan of pain burst past his lips.� Desperately, he reached up and kissed Lance, twining his limbs around Lance�s body.� Needing Lance to understand, he sent an endless stream of love screaming along their sex bond in a desperate attempt to bring Lance back from this pit of despair�

�� This time, Lance didn�t have the strength to push Pietro away.� Instead, he crushed the slender body closer, deepened the kiss, reflecting his wounded feelings back at Pietro along their bond� needing Pietro to understand�

�� They never made it to the bed.� Lance�s knees buckled and he simply dropped to the floor with his precious, snowy-haired attachment.� Pietro rubbed his body against Lance�s like a small cat, savoring the warmth and weight� his bed had been so empty without Lance� his very soul felt empty�� Deft fingers stripped him, touched him, drew out his passion as easily as plucking notes from the electric guitar�� Lance couldn�t wait.� Desperate for even the fa�ade of Pietro�s love, he barely had Pietro naked before his own clothes were simply shoved away and he was buried to the hilt in Pietro�s ass� Pietro cried out incoherently, his nails digging deeply into the muscles of Lance�s back, urging him on�

�� It seemed like hours� days� Lance just kept pounding into Pietro, pushing the snowy-haired brat from one orgasm to another until Pietro lost count� it felt like Lance had lost his mind� and through it all, he flung his hurt and his love and his need at Pietro across the bond, driving his point home with every hammering stroke�� Pietro writhed and screamed under the welcome assault� clawing at Lance�s back and arching to take those punishing drives even deeper�

�� Tell me you understand�

�� Yes�

�� Tell me you�re sorry�

�� Yes, I�m sorry�

�� Do you understand?

�� Yes� yes�

�� Tell me you love me, Pietro.

�� I love you, Lance�

�� Say it again�

�� I love you� I love you�

�� Don�t you ever leave me again.

�� Never� never�

�� Do you love me?

�� Yes� yes... Oh, God, YES�

�� Finally, Lance let go.� Driving Pietro into one last, devastating orgasm, Lance followed him over the edge, coming so hard that he felt tears well in his eyes.� Curling the sweaty, naked, trembling body of his beloved close, Lance brushed gentle kisses over Pietro�s cheek.� �I do love you, Pietro.�

�� I love you, too, Lance.�� Snuggling deeper into that familiar embrace, Pietro breathed in the scent of bayberry and man that he�d been too long without.� �It�s gonna be okay, Lance.� I promise.�

�� Unable to bring himself to believe it, Lance just brushed another kiss over Pietro�s face.� �I know, Pie.� I know.�

A/N:� I know, I know:� I�m a sick puppy�� I�ve been in an angsty mood lately.� ;-D