11A/N: This was written for the prompt "Leaves" from a prompt table at the Kyro LJ community of phasefire. Hope you enjoy! Sorry if it's a little too fluffy or something :)
Trust Me
It was a blustery autumn evening in New York City. Beautiful gold, crimson and sepia coloured leaves scattered along the sidewalks, often clustering together beside apartment doors, under park benches and in every nook and cranny they could find. They're a downright nuisance, John Allerdyce thought, kicking them with the toe of his boot as he walked towards the bus stop that would take him back to Xavier's School. He had been part of a group of many other mutants (including those in his History class) to a museum, and oh how disastrous it had been. That prick got what he deserved. John knew what he did was wrong, but he couldn't ignore that feeling in the back of his mind. It had given him such a thrill to have so much control over someone. The second those flames caught on the young man's jacket, John hadn't felt so powerfulbefore in all his life, and the very thought startled him.
After leaving the museum the group had been allowed to shop in the mega-complex next door, and were given the specific warning not to use their powers under any circumstance. Storm had eyed John at this comment, and he knew she would have the Professor on his back for the next few hours. Having wandered off towards a music store by himself, John lost track of time and ended up leaving the store an hour later than the curfew of 4.30pm. He wondered why nobody had come to find him. In fact, he felt rather disappointed nobody had come to find him. Not even Bobby, who was supposed to be his best friend.
It was growing dark as John neared the bus stop. It appeared nobody was there when he arrived – or, was there? He could hear a muffled sound, and suspected it was somebody crying. Usually John would have ignored this but his curiosity was sky-high this night, and so he walked around to the bus shelter and who should he see sitting on the bench but Kitty Pryde! Tears were streaming down her slightly flushed cheeks which were illuminated by a nearby streetlight, and she kept wiping her eyes with her now dampened sleeve. The sight was rather pitiful, John thought, but he kept his mouth shut. Anything could set a woman off these days. So fucking moody! Rogue would have accused John of being insensitive, but John just couldn't understand why they would get upset over the most trivial things.
It was at this moment that Kitty looked up and spotted John staring down at her. She almost phased through the bench and blushed a little more, quickly wiping her eyes. I probably look ridiculous, she mused.
"Hey, John," she croaked. He raised his eyebrows at her and said nothing. "You don't happen to have a tissue, by any chance?"
John nearly smiled. Nearly. He delved into the pocket of his jacket and produced a few crumpled up pieces of tissue paper. He handed them to her and looked away as Kitty deposited all the filth that had accumulated in her nose. She sniffed once, and on finding she could breathe, got up and chucked the tissues in a trash can next to the shelter. She turned around and said awkwardly, "Thanks."
"Don't mention it," John replied, taking his Zippo lighter out of his pocket and beginning to flick open the lid and close it again. Fwick, snick. "So," he began, not liking the silence as he sat down on the bench, "how come you're not with the others?"
Nice going, Pyro. Kitty's eyes started brimming with tears again at this question, but she managed to compose herself and kept her voice level when she answered him. "I missed the curfew. Rogue didn't even warn me about it." She sat down on the bench next to him but still keeping a fair distance between them. To be honest she didn't know him all that well. In fact, she'd be amazed if anybody had been able to get close to him.
"We're on the same wavelength then, I guess," John admitted.
"Don't tell me Bobby didn't remind you, either?" Kitty looked at him in surprise.
John shook his head. Fwick, snick. "Nope. I guess he was too preoccupied with Rogue or something… if they can even get preoccupied, if you know what I mean." He smirked at the thought the couple couldn't even hold hands without Rogue eventually sucking the life out of her boyfriend.
Kitty shook her head in disbelief, but she agreed with him. "It's probably true." A stray tear fell down her cheek and she brushed it away absentmindedly, breathing in deeply but as she exhaled it came out as a choked sob. "It's rather silly, really," she stated, indicating her tear-stained eyes and cheeks. "Why I'm upset, I mean. But it really did hurt to be left alone in that store. I thought Rogue or Jubilee might have had the decency to come back and find me. After all, it's an hour until the next bus arrives here! Doesn't she know how unsafe it is for a teenage girl to be wandering the streets of New York City after dark? Yeah, sure I could always phase if somebody tried to grab me but Storm did say that-"
"You're rambling, Kitten," John interrupted, grinning as she shut her half-open mouth and flushed pink. The streetlight seemed to glare mockingly down at her.
"Sorry…" she mumbled, embarrassed. "I feel like such an-"
"Idiot?" John offered. Fwick, snick. To his astonishment Kitty nodded.
"Yeah, an idiot." She frowned and John almost felt guilty, but right at that moment a bus trundled up to the stop and John sprung to his feet, stuffing his lighter into his pocket.
"C'mon Kitty-cat, this is the one." He expected her to get up from the seat, too, but she just stared blankly at him, her usual bright blue eyes an intense grey from all the crying.
"John, are you sure?" she asked, eyeing him warily. "I swear it was something else. I don't think this is the right one."
"It is the right one, trust me," John said impatiently. "Now if we don't hurry up we'll miss it!" There was nobody else getting on.
The bus driver stared down at them and furrowed his brows. "Are you just gonna make me sit here all night while you dilly-dally over whether this is the right bus or not? Make up your minds for God's sake!"
"Just trust me, Kitty; it's all you have to do." John held out his hand for her to take, and after glancing at it hesitantly for a second, she took it and let him lead her onto the bus. She couldn't help but notice how warm his hand was and how nice it felt holding onto her small palm. The pair found a seat towards the back and even when they sat down John still hadn't let go of her hand.
"Uh, John?" Kitty whispered.
"What?"
"You're, um… could you… er-" She looked down at their clasped hands and John did the same.
"Oh, um… sorry!" He said a little too quickly, his cheeks going pink slightly as he let go and took to staring out of the window for the remainder of the ride home.
Halfway through the trip Kitty could feel her eyelids drooping, and her head was getting too heavy upon her shoulders. She rested her head on the nearest, softest thing she could find, which happened to be John's shoulder. He looked over at her and was about to ask her to move when she said quietly, "I trust you, John."
His hazel eyes softened all of a sudden and he felt an overwhelming sense of contentment at her words. Nobody had ever really trusted John before, they just assumed he might set fire to everything, and now Kitty trusted him to get her back to Xavier's safely. It made him feel like he was worth something, and so instead of pushing her away, he snaked an arm around her waist, holding her to him whilst she leant against his side and slept.
END.