Tears behind the smile [Bobby]

[Chain]

It was dark out, but it was only about eight o'clock at night. But the wheelchair bound blond needed to get out of the school for a bit. She'd been smiling and bubbly all day and it was wearing thin. She never thought she was that good of an actress, so if one more person gave her that look, she was gonna flip. That half pitying, half proud look that she was being so strong. She wasn't strong damn it, she was frustrated, hurt and pissed beyond belief. It wasn't enough that her world got turned upside down because she was a mutant, not everything she prided herself on was gone. No longer able to dance or cheer. The dancing she missed the most, it was how she met Bobby.

Once she found a nice little secluded spot where no one, should find her. Then she started to cry. Everything's been all wrong, the only good thing to happen to her was Bobby, but could she really saddle him with a girlfriend who was stuck in a chair? The thought of losing him broke her heart more than anything. Her parents were just so happy she was alive, they bought her a car she could drive.

Kelly was known to be the peppy one, so she couldn't just go around moping. She spent her time pretending to be happy to be alive when all she really wanted to do was curl up with Bobby and cry. But she couldn't really do that because Bobby, somehow, blames himself for what happened to her. She doesn't understand it and she never will. So, she found herself outside with a blanket around her legs bawling like a baby.

[Iceman]

Bobby had no idea what he could do about anything anymore. It was like walking on eggshells lately. Things were somewhat tense since fighting the brotherhood. Not just in the fact that their former mentor turned on them and unleashed his army of super-powered bastards. It was infuriating. And to think Bobby had even thought his reasons for leaving were valid and even considered supporting him. It left Bobby feeling a deep betrayal. Also the condition of the girl that managed to snap him out of his frosted funk. He was worried about her in spite of his pool of his self loathing in the fact that he wasn’t there to protect her. He knew she had taken this hard and he knew it had to hurt more than she let on. He knew that feeling. He felt himself slowly turn to ice and he felt himself go numb all over.

He was feeling helpless all over again as he knew there was nothing he could do to really fix this. So, Bobby did the only thing that kept himself calm other than the comedic torment of his classmates. He skated around the grounds; taking his ice slide higher than he usually did. He needed to make sure he didn’t see the school below. He didn’t want to see anything but the sky as he tested the altitudes that his slides could handle. He needed to do something that disassociated him with everything down there. When the sun’s blare finally faded to descend down the horizon, his day of cutting class was over.

Like the actions of dusk, he too slid to the earth below until the school was in site again. He skated to a slow stop and looked around. It had gotten dark and Bobby couldn’t help but look at the school with a bit of resentment. He should have just let that mob take him out. It would have saved everyone a lot of trouble, maybe. The selfish thought pushed itself away as he remembered that there were good things about his life. Kelly… he thought to himself as he slowly skated around the grounds; trying to get the courage to pull Kelly and him through this. They would, damn it. In every way he knew they would. He slowly meandered until he found a familiar figure crying and his heart nearly broke at the sight. “Kelly?”

[Chain]

Seriously, she had to suck it up. She was stronger than this, and it's not like she was dead. That thought really didn't help her any, the only real reason she wasn't even wishing she were dead, was Bobby. As active of a person a she was, and as much as she loved to move and to dance, she couldn't. Her life felt like it had been stripped away. She was useless before hand, now even more so. At least she could be perky. But then everyone thought she still was, she really should have been an actress.

Kelly wondered if she had Bobby fooled. She really didn't want him to know how bad off she really was. He was blaming himself and if he saw her like this, well she didn't want him to feel worse. The rubbed the back of her neck, she got a funny feeling there like something was closing in on her. She shrugged it off, considering it a bit of paranoia. The blond would have been curled up in the chair if she had the energy to pull her legs up. But instead she just sat there with her face in her hands.

The blond head snapped up at the sound of her name, in a familiar voice. The smile was quick, the same one she'd been wearing since she got out of the infirmary. "Hey, Bobby." Her voice was bright, if slightly forced and clogged. The effect was ruined by her tear stained face, red nose and eyes. But she did it anyway. He'd never left her side, from what she could tell, while she was in that damn bed, and that meant a lot to her. She didn't want him to see her as weak since she had been such a bulldozer where he was concerned. She scrubbed a hand over her face as she tried to clean up a bit. "Damn allergies."

[Iceman]

If Bobby thought this all had kind of hurt before… seeing her like this? Someone may as well have taken a hammer to his icy form to break him into pieces. Kelly had been strong enough for the both of them since they’d met, even when he’d tried his best to push her away. It hadn’t worked then and now? Like hell Bobby Drake was going to take off. He loved liked her too much. His lips were folded into a translucent frown and he couldn’t help but feel like he couldn’t do anything to help her. They were, relatively, in a similar boat and Bobby had been in it for a longer period of time.

And now, when he could pass on some sympathy, he didn’t know what to do and all he could really do was feel kind of numb with the pain of seeing her like this. The lie that spread across her lips seemed all too familiar as he heard her. He crouched a bit next to the chair so he could be face to face with her. This really had been harder than he thought it would be. At least Kelly was afforded the luxury of crying, though. That was something Bobby never got to do. He masked it with sarcasm and practical jokes that kept everyone at arm’s length. He was sure what they were going through, while similar, was still incredibly different. His expression looked somewhat pained but he suppressed it.

“Yeah, never know when they’ll start acting up… well I don’t… because, you know… the whole body-made-of-ice-thing. But yeah.” He nodded as concern glinted in his frosted gaze. He wanted to bring a hand to her cheek. Kiss her. Something. But he was ice. There was no way that was comforting. So, he kept his hands to himself and looked down at the grass before looking back up at Kelly. “It’s going to be okay, Kel. No matter what happens…”

Ugh, why couldn’t he really believe that?

[Chain]

All she wanted was for him to hold her and he couldn't even touch her. Her head bowed as she stared down at her hands. This sucked so bad. She let out a small sniffle and then a slow breath. She was not going to cry in front of him, she refused to. Although she couldn't guarantee that if he did end up holding her. So maybe it was a good thing that he couldn't bring himself to touch her. Of course her mind is working on the reasons why he doesn't. Most of them centering around the fact that he didn't want her if she was stuck in the chair. Deep down she knew that wasn't true but she had never been this vulnerable in her life. She was starting to understand what he was going through, even if not exactly.

"Always at the worst times." She nodded her blond head, even though she didn't actually have allergies, and knew nothing about them. "I keep trying to tell myself that. But... you can't even bring yourself to touch me. How's it going to be alright?" Her voice thickened at the end as the tears started gathering in her eyes again. She'd understand if he wanted to end it. At least he wasn't a burden in his ice form. She needs help getting into the damn shower. Sure there's a chair for her to sit on to clean up. She misses bubble baths but it's too much work. She hadn't built up her upper body strength that much yet.

Kelly cleared her throat and looked down at her hands. "I'll understand, if you don't want to stay with me. I mean, there's so much I can't do anymore. I don't want you to find someone else, so don't think that. But... I'll understand if you do." A few tears fell down her cheek onto her lap. God she hated being this weak. She tried to find that girl that was the bulldozer, but the bitch was stubbornly hiding in a corner, licking her wounds.

[Iceman]

Bobby’s gaze dropped as he’d been called out. It wasn’t like she’d pulled it out of thin air. He couldn’t do it. For some reason, trying to comfort someone while made of ice just didn’t seem like it would do anyone any good. He wanted to cry with her. He wanted her to know that he felt something despite his frozen form. He did. He could even, in a way, feel that shallow pull in his glacial lungs that shortened his breath the way it happened when he was sobbing. He may as well have been behind that icy mask of his face. He didn’t feel the cold but exhaled a breath so frozen that the condensation of the air came out it a slight breath of smoky vapor.

“I-I’m sorry, Kelly,” he said; pained that he didn’t have the courage to at least chance optimism. He lifted a hand, wanting to touch her. He wanted to so bad. He wanted to wipe those tears away and somehow draw the pain out of her. Hell, he’d been used to that feeling the last year or so; where everything felt so helpless, so empty, so suffocating that the only thing anyone could ever do was fall numb. That feeling had been his buddy. That feeling had been the only thing that kept him even connected to his humanity before the blond came around. Now, though, he could almost feel himself retreating back into that feeling as he knew there was nothing that Bobby Drake could do to fix this.

He had all the potential in the world but he was powerless in telling her, truthfully, that everything was going to be alright.

His brows furrowed as started crying again. No, he pleaded. “Don’t cry, Kelly… please…” he practically begged selfishly. He didn’t know why he didn’t want her to. He envied the people that actually could but for some reason, seeing her cry was enough for both of them. Seeing Kelly Wilson cry was like seeing failure. It was like seeing defeat sprayed across the courtyard of the school and it further engraved itself into Bobby’s very core that he couldn’t help but heave a choked breath as if to try (and fail) to stifle a sob. Why was this so hard? His eyes shut for a moment, unable to look at her as she said she understood if he wanted to move on and felt that additional stab. His expression tormented itself to crack into a tortured look.

“I’m not going anywhere, Kelly… you know that… and if you don’t… then you really should.” His eyelids, though translucent, slid back open and the blue tint of his gaze stayed on her. He wanted to find that common ground where he could show her that things were fine and he desperately needed to find a way to have the strength she’d had throughout the entire time up until everything went down the crapper. It was so much that it almost ached and it practically did as the palm of his hand started to slowly defrost in his clenched fist. It went unnoticed as his eyes stayed on hers.

[Chain]

"You can't? Not even if I want you to? Not even if I need you to?" The blond let out a ragged sigh. She was under the impression it was because of what happened to her. Maybe it was his unwarranted guilt, or whatever she didn't know. But he couldn't bring himself to touch her, hold her, even when she needed him to. That hurt more than she ever imagined it could. She didn't care if he was iced up, she didn't care if it didn't feel 'normal' it was the thought and actions behind it, that mattered. When he said he was sorry she just shrugged. "Nothing to be sorry for. If you can't you can't. I don't understand why, but if you aren't comfortable with it, there isn't much I can do." She was seriously contemplating just wheeling off, but she couldn't bring herself to.

"I'm trying not to. Really I am but I can't seem to stop." She had lost so much and now she thought she was going to lose him too. At his words she looked up at him. "I know, it's just... You deserve someone you can ice slide with. I can't do that anymore. Someone you can go and do things with and not have to worry about getting looks pity for being stuck with a girl in a chair. God, I was so useless before, but at least I had my gymnastics. Now... Now I'm no good to anyone." Kelly wiped furiously at her eyes as she tried to stop crying. But they were tears of her mounting frustration and her fear. She couldn't stop them, which just made her more frustrated, henceforth causing the snowball effect.

She was useless, that became apparent in the battle against Polaris. Nothing she did worked, save for the bit about throwing the card so that Polaris used the Sentinal that Sage was in to block it. But other than that, really what could she do. She looked up into his eyes and sniffled a bit. "Is it too late, or too early to tell you I might be in love with you? Only if you want me to be....." Where did that come from? She didn't know, but she said it and there was no taking it back.

[Iceman]

Robert Drake felt about two inches tall in that moment. He didn’t know why couldn’t do it. Maybe he was afraid of transferring more of his own grief to her. While he knew that she was at a low at the moment, Bobby had been one for a while and was just starting to come out of his rut only to see the person giving him a hand falling down herself. Why couldn’t he reach a hand out to her? Even if it was frozen, it hadn’t bothered her before… it wouldn’t now. The hand that thawed in its clenched fist still when unnoticed. He wished he could do this. But he was just absolutely terrified of all of this. He never thought it could hurt to see someone like this. He sank to his knees as if her words had cut him down.

Bobby couldn’t look at her as she said this. “That’s not true.” It wasn’t fair. He didn’t deserve any of that and she damn well knew it. The entire time Bobby thought she’d deserved someone she could touch or kiss without having to bundle up for in order to do so. He thought she deserved someone that she could lay around with lazily without having to find a way to warm back up. He thought she deserved someone that wasn’t such an asshole like he’d been. To hear her say that, to truly be on the receiving end of what Bobby had told her several times over, well… ouch. His eyes stayed on the ground, looking at the frayed knees of his jeans for a moment as another quiet sob racked through him and another frosted breath exhaled. “You’re always good to me,” he said in a choked whisper that denoted that he may as well have been weeping. He wasn’t afforded that luxury since he’d shifted.

He looked up at her at her question. He, honestly didn’t know. He knew it wasn’t too late. This wasn’t over, whether Kelly liked it or not. “Kel…” he didn’t know what to say. If there was ever some kind of mixed signal he could have gotten after she may as well have broken up with him, this was probably it. He bit his bottom lip, feeling none of the slight comfort from the compression as he finally raised a hand to her cheek as he rose a bit back into the crouch he’d been in before. His eyes stayed on hers as the palm that had been changing without his knowledge touched her cheek. The fingers were still frozen, as was the back of his hand and the rest of his body. But this felt different. He hadn’t seen the change and hadn’t glared in the mirror practically pleading to turn back to normal. He’d accepted how he was, possibly, so much that he didn’t even notice when there was a difference.

He felt this, though. He felt the skin and he thought that for a moment that his brain was playing some sort of cruel joke since he hadn’t felt anything since he’d slowly become less and less human. Thinking that this was some desperate attempt at tricking himself into coping, Bobby pushed aside the fact that the first thing he’d felt in nearly two years was the damp, yet soft, flesh of her cheek. “It’s not too late,” he said as he rose a bit more to wrap his arms around her in a hug; his hand going forgotten as it iced right back up. He held her close to her as his breath tugged, again, as if he could be quietly crying. “Just… don’t you dare push me away.”

[Chain]

Even when every friend she had abandoned her, Kelly had never felt this low and alone. She wouldn't have felt this alone, if he could have brought himself to touch her. She didn't care if he was ice, metal, chocolate [that would have been cool], or flesh and bone. She just wanted him to hold her. Hell, she didn't tell him that she had to plead with her parents not to pull her from the school. She didn't want to leave the school and she sure the hell didn't want to leave Bobby. She'd fallen for him and fallen for him hard, no matter how much he had tried to convince her to give up on him. Kelly hadn't, but she was giving up on herself, and that's not something she was used to. It kind of scared her a bit that she was feeling this lost. She was the girl that could adapt to anything, including an ice-clad boyfriend. She'd never been this scared before.

”Everyone deserves someone to make them happy. Even you, so don't even say you don't.” A blue fire touched her eyes briefly as she lectured him. He deserved to be happy damn it. Although had she been thinking clearly she'd realize, inadvertently, she was giving a dose of his own medicine. But then she never thought of it that way. Bobby was just Bobby to her, always had been, always will be. ”I practically, emotionally raped you. Bulldozed my way right over you whether you wanted me to or not. I don't want to lose you. Just... Just know that, alright?” She watched him through cloudy blue eyes as she stared at the ground. Damn it, she was hurting him and didn't mean too. When did she get so bad at this?

Kelly chewed her bottom lip as she looked up at him, after he said her name. ”I love you.” The words came out in a whisper, and she looked a little terrified. Not of the fact that she loved him, but that fact that he'd take off running from her. Teeth continued to chew on her bottom lip and her hands twisted in the blanket on her lap. What if she just spooked him off? It was because she was vulnerable that she blurted the words out. But it wasn't the vulnerability that caused her want to say them. She loved him and she knew it, hell she thought it was probably love at first sight. When she was bent over and looked up at him from between her legs as she stretched. The memory caused a small smile to touch her lips. God, that seemed like it was forever ago, but it wasn't, not even half a year.

Sh nodded slowly when he said that it wasn't too late. A soft sigh escaped her lips. When his hand reached for her cheek she closed her eyes. Then they flew open when she felt warmth through between the cold. Kelly turned her head and kissed the palm of his hand. She felt the warmth and the flesh but didn't say anything. He hadn't seemed to notice, he was too worked up to, at least that was what she figured. When he wrapped her in the hug, her arms went around him and she buried her face in his neck. She was already cold from being outside for so long. ”Don't you dare let me.” She whispered the words in his ear and then kissed the side of his neck.

[Iceman]

Bobby couldn’t have looked more hurt when she talked about people needing others to make them happy. She didn’t get it, did she? Despite the months they’d been in each other’s company and the fact that they had been sort of dating for the majority of it. Yes, Bobby Drake had actually noticed that. He wasn’t that dumb, jeeze. He’d given up on trying to set her towards someone that could touch her skin and know what that felt like. It had finally sunken in that she wanted him, despite his warning that he was just a mess, and that he wanted her too. There was no other way for him to keep from her. If there had been that real bit of doubt Bobby wouldn’t have slept in his chair beside Kelly’s hospital bed, Bobby wouldn’t have tutored her to help get her caught up in what she missed in school (despite how it could have ruined his slacker reputation), and Bobby Drake sure as fuck wouldn’t have felt like his entire world was being snatched away from him again. First his parents, then his own flesh, now her.

“You don’t get it,” he said as he shook his head, “You’ve been the only thing that’s made me happy,” he said in a helpless, coarse, whisper. “You make it seem like you somehow terrorized me, or something Kelly. I’ve been here on my own accord since day one; whether I wanted to admit it myself or not. I was an ass to you to give you an out. So you could have a chance with some normal guy that I’d hate. But if you’d be happy, so would I.” His form lost its sternness as he relaxed in a sigh. It wasn’t a good feeling, but he couldn’t very well pretend to be bitterly okay with this. Not when Bobby knew that Kelly was going to toss what they had away when he was just starting to get his sea legs. “You’ve been the best thing I’ve ever had, Kelly. Don’t make me start all over because you think it’s good for me. For once let me be good for you.”

He could have sworn he felt her lips touch his palm. He’d seen it happen and figured in the stress of all of this, his mind was starting to lose some of its footing. That was the only way to describe it. But in that embrace, the felt something that could never have been physical. It was that feeling that this was right. It was scary, it was risky. He wasn’t afraid, though. With Bobby Drake, if he were interested, he’d be there. If he wasn’t, he’d bail. He hadn’t bailed yet; even after finding Kelly there in tears. He was emotionally distant, but there was always something about the blond that made Bobby stop and give a damn. Not only give a damn, but he would downright feel things that weren’t bitter apathy. He knew he truly cared and, like with any other emotion that stirred up in regards to the blond in his arms, it scared him. What was different now, though, was that Robert Luis Drake finally didn’t fear all of this. He finally let his reservations free and hoped that they would change into the remedy that would make Kelly see that he wasn’t going anywhere. He wasn’t running anymore.

Not from her. Not from anything.

He turned his head as his pulse crunched in his ear, like the sound of someone stepping in fresh snow, and kissed her temple. The moment with his hand had passed and he wouldn’t think much of it for now. It would haunt him later when alone but the blond he’d found himself starting to love stayed his focus. “I won’t. I promise.” His found himself adjusting how he held her in order to be face to face with her so he could look in her eyes. They were something else. He’d always known that. Now, though? Now without his doubts dangling over his head, he recognized just how special she was and the fact that looking into her eyes, made him make sense. “I love you,” he said just before gently brushing his icy lips over hers.

[Chain]

Kelly wasn't telling him she wanted it to end, she was trying to give him an out if he wanted it. She was mangling the whole thing and she knew it, but she'd never been in this situation before. Her frustration was mounting at her on incompetancy at the situation. Again her hand scrubbed over her face, if she fucked this up now she'd probably just kill herself. Bobby was the main reason she stayed, but she wasn't going to force him stay with her, not now. Maybe she had just needed to hear it from him, instead of just assuming it.

"I... I just know that I tend to run people over when I want something or in this case someone. If I'd wanted normal, I wouldn't have gone after you so hard. You were unique and not just because of your ice form. I'm not trying to break up with you or anything like that, but like you, I'm giving you the chance to have an out." She looked up at him when he had said she was the best thing to ever happen to him. "Really?" She hadn't been expecting him to open up this much to her, and she was kind of glad he did. Kelly'd been thinking of Bobby as her boyfriend for sometime now, and she was starting to realize he felt the same way.

Unlike Bobby, Kelly had never been afraid of what was between them. She embraced it where as Bobby tried to fight it. But now she was starting to see where he was coming from. Being 'damaged goods' did wonders on deflating any ego one might have. She was glad that he still wanted her, as that had been her main concern. Iced or not she loved his hugs and nuzzled the side of his neck again. She knew now, and she'd be damned if she was going to lose him over her own stupidity.

A small smile touched her lips when he kissed her temple. She looked into his eyes, and even though they were still shimmery, she couldn't hide how much she loved him. When he said he loved her, her breath caught in her throat. Kelly didn't hesitate in kiss him back. Her hands slid up the back his head as if she were running her hands through his hair. She rested her forehead against his and looked into his eyes. "We'll get through this." It was a promise said quietly.

[Iceman]

Bobby was not used to having to be this serious, or honest with himself. Looking in a mirror he could still lie to himself, even with a reflection staring right back at him. But now, now there was no reflection to lie to or an icy shell to hide behind. He’d tried lying about himself to Kelly. He’d tried being that jerk that pretended that nothing mattered to him and he even thought he could have succeeded eventually. That didn’t work, though. Seeing her in that hospital bed brought a lot of things into perspective when he stayed firmly glued bedside and worked to try and help keep her up to date with school. He liked her, he knew that. But it wasn’t until he actually sat beside her during her worst times that Bobby Drake knew that he loved her. He did for a long time, but this was one of those times where he knew and could admit to it.

He kept his gaze on her. It stung when he knew how much he related to this whole thing. He’d never gone after anyone with the fervor Kelly had. Personally, Bobby Drake didn’t think that was possible. But he dug himself out of the whole he’d dug himself into and had started to seal himself into. He did it for her. Anyone else and Bobby would have laughed right in their faces. “Well, I’m here aren’t I?” was his only explanation. “I told I wasn’t goin’ anywhere. You’re stuck with me whether you like it or not.”

He couldn’t help but smile when she kissed him back. He may not have felt how soft her lips were or even the warmth of holding her. But he knew it. His own breath hitched while he embraced her in the kiss. His eyes stayed on hers. “I know,” he agreed with a grin that probably looked happier than he’d even been in the last few years. He cupped her cheek for a second but didn’t feel that trick of feeling her skin and was almost disappointed in that fact. It didn’t show. He was too content at the moment. “So… this means you’re my girlfriend, right?” he asked almost sheepishly; embarrassed that he even had to ask.

[Chain]

The blond had to snap out of this. Pity-poor-me was not normally in her vocabulary. How did she come to this? Damn it. She was the one people came to when they needed a kick in the pants. Alright, so putting it that way might not have been the smartest thing, but she knew what she meant. She was hurting and she didn't mean to. Technically, it wasn't her fault and she knew it. But in the same respect it wasn't his fault and she knew that too. His pain from his guilt for not being there was fueling her guilt for him feeling guilty. Yeah, it was all sorts of fucked up, but that's basically what it all boiled down to. It sucked and she didn't know how to fix it. Kelly! The girl who had all the answers, or at least acted like she did, couldn't answer and fix this. It was frustrating beyond belief for her. How do you calm your man down when he feels guilty about something that wasn't even in his control? She had no clue, she never had a guy that she cared enough about [save Daddy] to worry about it.

Kelly found her first true smile at his words. She cupped his cheek and kissed his lips softly. ”Are you throwing my words back in face, Mr. Drake?” The girl hugged him again as tight as she could, even if he couldn't feel it. ”I'd never consider it being 'stuck'. Never have and never will. I'm with you and went after you because I want to be. You remember that.” She kissed the side of his neck and leaned back so she could look into his eyes. It was only fair she figured, since she done told him she didn't care if he stayed in ice form forever. He earned the right to turn her words on her. Now they've both been on both ends of this kind of thing. Odd, it gave them, well at least her, a better understanding at where he was coming from. More of an appreciation for it, one could say.

When he cupped her cheek she kissed the palm again. It wasn't flesh anymore but she knew she hadn't imagined it last time. That meant he was getting closer to what he needed to gain control and she was thrilled. When he asked if this made her his girlfriend she blushed a bright pink. ”About that. I uh... kind have been thinking of you as boyfriend since, that first psuedo-date after we first met. When you took me on the ice slide for the first time. So, yeah, if you want to officially be my boyfriend, I am all for it.” At least she didn't tell him about her plan to catch him. She was only mildly embarrassed at jumping the gun when it came to them being together.

[Iceman]

Bobby seriously had to get out of whatever mode this was… if he could figure himself out. It was still plaguing him. He could have sworn he’d felt her flesh, if just for a brief moment. But… but he hadn’t! That would have been impossible. He hadn’t felt another person’s skin, yet alone anything, since the accident he’d had while training. What was he supposed to think when he felt that brief warmth? It had to have been some sort of trick his mind had played on him. Thus, he left it at that. He had to focus on everything that was happening now.

His focus was quickly pulled to her. His lips reacting to hers not by feel, but by instinct to tenderly kiss her back. “Maybe,” he said cheekily as he let her stay as close as she wanted. “I know you don’t and you don’t know how much it means that you don’t get frustrated, Kel. I know how I can be.” He smiled as his eyes found hers again. His attempt at disconnecting from the world had been clearly foiled by those blue eyes and that smile. He had no intention of leaving her now. She had made him care and now his affections were going to be her problem, in a sense. Not like she hadn’t taken his dysfunction head on or anything, after all. Pft. Kelly Wilson was something that pulled Bobby Drake out of becoming numb to the entire world.

He caught her blush and couldn’t help but grin in a stupid smile. “Oh you have?” he teased as he leaned in and kissed her lips again. “Well, I guess I better catch up with the curve and be your boyfriend, then, huh?” he asked with a somewhat sly expression. His thumb gently caressed her cheek for a moment. “So, are you freezing yet? We can get you like… something warm to drink or something,” he offered in a concerned tone. God it ached to have to ask her that every so often. She was good at keeping warm when they’d made plans to hang out. But he didn’t know if moments like this were really all that predicted.

[Chain]

Kelly bit her bottom lip and looked at him. She shouldn't say anything, really she shouldn't, but she could see it in his eyes, feel it in him. ”Bobby? The palm of your hand, it wasn't ice. For a brief moment, we were truly touching.” She continued to chew on her bottom lip as she let it sink in what she was saying. For once he wasn't worried about himself, but about her and she thinks that might have a bit to do with it.

Kelly smirked a bit at his cheek reply. ”Why, I do believe you are, Mr. Drake. How does it feel to be able to do that? It won't happen often.” She tried to look stern when she gave that last bit of news, but her blue eyes were starting find a bit of their mischievous sparkle. ”It's not that hard when you really care about someone, and I really care about you. Love you even, so it was kind of easy. That and I just smack you upside the head every so often.” She smirked and kissed him again. She knew now that he wouldn't pass her up for someone better and that was a big relief to her. Her arms rested round his neck as she kissed the tip of his nose. He told her he loved her and he wasn't one to use those words lightly. Life was looking up.

”Yes I have. I kind of had this battle plan drawn up to get you to fall in love with me. At least that was my hope.” Kelly blushed again at the confession and kissed him back. ”Yeah, you have a lot of catching up to do.” She grinned and winked at him. He could always make her feel better and she loved that about him. ”Actually, some hot cocoa would be good. I've been out here for a couple of hours so, my appendages are getting numb. And no, it's not because of you, I was out here for a couple of hours before you came out. So, it's the weather making me cold. Not you. I think I'm getting used to you and it doesn't bother me so much on that level.” She didn't want him to blame himself and she wasn't lying to him either. Kelly traced her tongue along his bottom lip and then hugged him tight.