Us Mutants Prefer the Term "Special"

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"To get you!" I retorted, rolling over to face him. "You can't expect me to let you just up and run into situations like that."

"I was doing the right thing by getting those people out."

"Well I was doing the right thing by intending to get you out—"

"Well you failed," he raised his voice. I pressed my lips together in anger, but I couldn't really be that mad because I asked for him to treat me like the others in cases like this. There was a silence and I avoided looking directly at him, but I couldn't roll over since his arm had moved to prevent me. And then suddenly in a soft, broken voice: "Do you really need me to say it?"

"What?" I asked, now looking in his brown eyes that fell to the sheets.

"I'm already growing more and more protective of you every time something draws me to the fact that someone's out to get you and Wilbur, but then what happens when I'm so protective that I hurt you...like I did today?" he inquired.

"You didn't hurt me," I denied. "I was just in the process of healing."

"And I halted it temporarily," he noted. "You don't think it sucked for me to feel what I did when you threw my hand away? It's not because I thought you didn't want to be with me anymore—I'll give you that option, but because I was the reason you were hurting longer...how am I supposed to know when I am and when I'm not harming you?"

I didn't know what to say for a second, but I did grab his face and stroke his cheek.

"You didn't hurt me," I said. "You never can. I should've told you I got a burn and that's the end of it. You didn't know so it's not your fault."

He reached up and grabbed my wrists, only to position my hands in front of his face and he lightly closed his eyes and pressed his lips to either palm. If they weren't healed before, they were definitely healed now as I felt a tingle spreading through my hands. He moved them to around his neck and then rested his forehead on mine.

"Anything I do to you—"

"Shh," I said before pulling him onto the bed. He positioned himself to the same position we were in this morning as he kicked off his shoes. But once he got there, but threw his head back on the pillow.

"I'm an idiot," he groaned. You're my idiot, though. And then suddenly, he gripped my waist and pulled me even more into him. My head fell to his chest and his chin rested on top. "I hope you don't think I ruined tonight, even though I owe you another one. I had an amazing time and I had fun seeing you dress up and all even though you didn't need to."

"Whatever," I laughed. He was too cheesy to function. He smiled genuinely.

"Do you want to come to the assembly with me and Cheshire tomorrow?" he asked me.

"Is this the boyfriend or the leader asking?"

"Both..."

"Then yes," I answered and then he moved only to kiss my forehead. It didn't take us that long to fall asleep in that position.

=XXX=

"I like your shirt," Zaine said Friday morning and we, like children, were playing a game of cards on the bed. I looked down and saw a beautiful, architectural skyline with a sunset background printed on the bright turquoise shirt and the advertising words describing the wonderful place of Milan, Italy in both English and Italian. It was something that Zaine had thrown into a bag when we came from my house and I was glad he did. "Did you go there?"

"No..." I said and then remembered how I got it.

"Tyler!" my nine year old self cheered when Tyler and his family walked through the door.