Okay, I’m not sure where this one came from, but I liked the way it turned out.

Yes, I know they’re probably OOC, but enjoy anyway, okay?

Yay fluff!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Lance stared at the box Kitty had given him. ‘Chamomile tea’, it said. She had said he looked too stressed and recommended him to drink it before going to bed. Lance smirked as he pocketed the little box, thinking that he wouldn’t degrade himself to drink tea like some English sissy. But still…

Kitty had said it would help him sleep better, and he had to admit he wasn’t exactly a sleeping beauty. It was one of the reasons he was constantly cranky and irritated. Maybe just this once. What would it hurt?

Curiosity had him boil some water and take out one of the little tea bags. It smelled funny but in a good way. He put it in a mug, letting the little tab hang over the edge and then poured the hot water into it. He lifted the tag that was attached to the little bag and dunked it, spreading the flavor. The water soon turned a soft brown color and Lance, as per Kitty’s recommendation, added some of sugar and a little splash of milk. The mixture turned a soft chocolate brown and he bent over and sniffed at it. Wow. That did smell nice! He lifted the cup, feeling the warmth through his gloves. He took another sniff and found the smell to be, not ‘appetizing’ per-say, but it certainly smelled nice. Maybe tea wasn’t as bad as everyone said it was.

He was about to take a sip when the cup was taken from his hand and a white blur went by, saying rapidly, “Aww,Lancemademeadrink!Thanks!” Lance grabbed for the white blur, but an instant later Pietro stood before him, empty mug in hand, grimacing as he said, “That wasn’t chocolate milk! What was that?”

“Chamomile tea.” Lance answered. He then saw that the little tag was missing from the edge of the cup and said in amused astonishment, “Please tell me you took the tea bag out before drinking it.”

The speed demon looked down into the empty cup, asking innocently, “There was a tea bag?”

Lance sighed in amusement and went into the living room and plopped down on the couch. He was about to grab the remote when he heard a loud, “MINE!” and a slim white hand grabbed the remote a millisecond before he did. Pietro was next to him a second later, channel surfing so fast it was just a blur of color on the screen. Lance groaned in annoyance, but knew that if he tried to grab the remote, he’d get a stinging slap on the wrist and Pietro would just zip away from him.

After a few seconds though, the channels were flipping slower and slower. Lance glanced over at Pietro, who was still focused on the TV. Why was he going slowly? None of the shows were interesting. He then remembered that the tea was supposed to help you sleep. What havoc was the tea wreaking on Pietro’s hyperactive system? Suddenly, Pietro yawned and asked, “What time is it?”

Lance stared at the speed demon and asked hesitantly, “About 4. Why?”

“Tired.” Pietro answered simply. He then held out the remote, saying, “Here.”

Lance stared. Was Pietro trying to GIVE him something? Fearing a trick of some sort, he asked, “What?”

Pietro then repeated again, “Here.”

Lance took the remote, now very confused. Pietro still looked wide-awake, but he wasn’t acting normally. He was acting nice and patient. Lance then asked, “You sick or something?”

Pietro shook his head, answering, “No.”

There was a suddenly whirl of movement and when Pietro settled down, Lance stared. Pietro had curled himself up on the couch; legs tucked up to his body, shoes and socks off and on the floor. He had both arms curled up loosely against his chest and to top it all off, Pietro was sucking on his right index finger!

Lance stared and then laughed softly in disbelief. He leaned over the speed demon, asking, “Pietro? You’re joking, right?” Pietro cracked open an eye and Lance could see that Pietro really was sleepy. His eyes weren’t dilated like they normally were. He could actually see a good portion of the blue iris. Then, shocking him even more, Pietro grinned at him before snuggling back up, sucking his finger like a little kid as he sighed deeply.

Lance then smiled and putting the remote on the now-off TV, went to the stairs, calling up, “Todd! Freddy! Come look at this!”

Todd hopped down first, asking, “What, yo?”

Lance pointed, motioning him to be quiet. Todd stared and then bent over, doubled up from laughter. Freddy came into the room, saying bluntly when he saw the speed demon snoozing on the couch, “Awwww… isn’t he cute?”

Before Lance could stop him, Todd went over to the couch and gently nudged Pietro’s shoulder, asking, “Quickie?”

Pietro opened an eye and glanced up at him, asking, “Hmm?”

Todd then asked with a crooked grin, “What are you doing?”

Pietro took the finger from his mouth to yawn hugely, answering as he settled back down, “Napping.”

Todd then went back over to Lance, saying in surprise, “I didn’t think he got tired, yo.”

Lance shrugged, saying, “Me neither.”

“You think he’s safe?” Freddy suddenly asked.

Lance glanced up at him while Todd jumped up and perched on Freddy’s shoulder, asking, “Safe?”

Freddy then explained, “Is he testing us or something?” Pietro wasn’t unknown to do crazy things to ‘keep his team on their toes’ as he put it.

Lance then grinned, saying, “Well, if he is, I know how to test him.”

He walked over to the couch and sat down right next to Pietro’s feet, scooting over just enough to press Pietro legs up harder against his body. If Pietro were testing them, he wouldn’t be able to keep his charade up for more than a second. He hated feeling confined. He’d zip up, yell at them for being immature and then zip outside to try and regain his lost dignity. But this time, surprising Lance, Pietro did indeed turn his speed on, but not to run away. Instead, he turned and snuggled against Lance’s side, nuzzling his head under Lance’s arm like a puppy when it wants to be patted. His arms came up and locked around Lance’s waist, and by some maneuvering, got his finger back into his mouth, sucking happily as he snuggled with Lance’s right side.

This all happened in less than a second and to say Lance was surprised was a serious understatement. He stared down at the white-haired head resting on his thigh and then looked up at the other two mutants, who were snickering. Lance then said helplessly, “Well… don’t just stand there! Help me out!”

Todd cackled quietly while Freddy walked out, saying, “Nope. You’re on your own!”

Lance debated shouting, but gave it up and looked down at the mutant on his lap. In a distant corner of his mind, he had to admit that Pietro did look kinda cute like that. He then tried to move, but Pietro’s weight was just enough to pin him to the couch. Lance then shoved at Pietro’s shoulder, saying in annoyance, “Pietro. Get off.”

“Hmmm?” came the sleepy response.

Lance then shoved harder, saying firmly, “Off. Now!” But Pietro shifted his shoulders so Lance’s hand slid off and snuggled harder into the other mutant’s side, finger now out of his mouth so he could use both arms. Lance then tried again, saying, “Pietro!” He then grinned. He knew how to dislodge the speed demon. He stretched a hand over the floor and called the vibrations from deep inside him.

“You’re warm.”

The blunt, quiet statement made Lance freeze, and the vibrations did nothing more than rattle the glasses on the table. He stared down, asking in confusion, “What?”

Pietro hugged him tighter while his legs came up so he was literally sitting on Lance’s lap, saying softly, “Warm and snuggly. Like a plushy…”

Lance, though strangely pleased by the statement, said while trying to shove the other mutant off of him, “You’re freaking me out, man! Leggo!”

Pietro was surprisingly strong, however, and clung tightly to him, muttering, “Warm…”

After another half-hour of failed attempts to dislodge the stubborn mutant, Lance gave up and let Pietro sleep on his lap. He found himself thinking that Pietro’s body was very warm against his, and he kinda liked it. He had his hands behind him on the back of the couch, but the angle was hurting his arms. He had no choice but to bring them forwards. But then he was faced with a little dilemma. He had no place to put his hands down! He then thought that if Pietro got his way, Lance could have his. He then draped his right arm over Pietro’s back and let the other one rest on the speed demon’s shoulder. Pietro didn’t make any notion that he’d felt the movement and Lance gratefully let the full weight of his arms rest on the body in his lap.

After a time, Lance grew bored. He couldn’t reach the remote and he knew that neither Todd nor Freddy would come if he called. Lance huffed in annoyance and then grinned. He then slid his right hand down to Pietro’s hip and hiked the shirt up, revealing the smooth, pale skin of his side and stomach. Lance looked down at the sleeping mutant, saying, “Let’s see you sleep through this, pal.” and began to run his fingers on the smooth skin, barely touching it. Normally, the slight itching sensation this created drove him crazy and he’d scratch like made to make it go away.

But Pietro seemed to be full of surprises. In a flash, Lance felt his hand grabbed and tucked under Pietro’s chest, held tightly. Lance tried to get his hand back, but the speed demon clung stubbornly, muttering something about raspberries. Lance sighed in annoyance and then gasped in surprise. His thumb suddenly felt wet and warm.

He looked down and saw that Pietro had stuck his digit into his mouth and was sucking on it! Lance stared, wondering how to react. One the one hand, he had a young man, nearly twenty years old, sleeping in his lap and sucking his thumb. On the other hand, it felt kinda cool. He could feel Pietro’s tongue licking at his thumb and it was really soft and warm. Hesitantly, he moved his thumb a little and Pietro mumbled in his sleep, sucking harder. Lance tried to pull his thumb back, but Pietro kinda bit down, preventing him. It didn’t hurt, but it was plain to see he wouldn’t give up the rock-tumbler’s hand without a struggle.

Lance frowned halfheartedly, muttering, “You jerk.” His other hand, resting on the speed demon’s shoulder, came up and semi-roughly fondled Pietro’s ear, trying to wake him. But Pietro nuzzled into the caress, muttering something. It was intelligible since he was still sucking Lance’s thumb.

Lance couldn’t help but smile now. God, did Pietro look cute! He gently pinched a white bang and tugged slightly, playfully. Pietro didn’t seem to notice and Lance gently ran the bang through his fingers. Lance tried again to get up, but didn’t put a lot of effort behind it. He then grinned ruefully.

‘If you can’t beat them…’

Todd came down the stairs as it started getting dark. Lance had said that they’d eat out tonight, but the boy hadn’t shown up yet. Todd hopped down the entire flight of stairs in a single jump, snagging a fly in the process. He came to the door of the living room, saying, “Yo, Lance. When’re we eatin’?” and froze.

Lance was sitting on the couch, head leaned back, fast asleep. On his lap was Pietro, cuddled up right to the other mutant’s chest. Lance’s left hand was resting on top of Pietro’s head, a white bang held loosely in his fingers. His right hand was tucked under Pietro’s chest and upon coming closer, Todd realized that Pietro had Lance’s thumb in his mouth! He was sucking on it like a kid!

Todd withdrew and then snuck up to Pietro’s room, stealing his camera. He came back and snapped a picture of the two. The flash lit up the room and Todd cowered, thinking that they’d wake and then beat him up. But Lance just shifted his leg a little and Pietro just snuggled his head into Lance’s shirt. After hiding the camera for future blackmailing, Todd went into Lance’s room and took two twenty dollar bills, saying, “Yo, Freddy. We’re eating alone tonight.”

Freddy followed him down the stairs, asking, “Why?”

Todd pointed into the living room and Freddy chuckled, “Oh. That’s why.” Todd hopped up to perch on Freddy’s shoulder, snickering dirtily as Freddy quietly walked outside, shutting the door behind him.

Lance felt the vibrations of them leaving, but just held Pietro a little tighter to him, sighing deeply.

Pietro slept on, smiling broadly.

FIN

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Yeah, sissy and fluffy, but I liked writing it! So there!