𝐒𝐖𝐈𝐅𝐓 (X-Men ~ Peter Maximoff)

Reunion

After being tackled into a hug by five teenage girls, that were seemingly a lot stronger than the last time she had seen them, Jennifer was surprised that she still held the ability to breath, her ribs now warped beyond recognition. That was apparently the way to show love these days – crushing the recipient so much they saw black dots at the edge of their vision.

It was a nice feeling though, if you could ignore the immediate pain. She had been missed, and although at first she felt guilty about it, it was fairly easy to relish the fact that Peter had been right all along – she was important to people, and they cared about her more than she often believed.

Sitting at one of the metal tables near the front of the diner, Linda popped a fry in her mouth. "So," she started, a mischievous flicker in her dark eyes, "does lover boy know you're back in town?"

Sighing, Jennifer had to physically refrain herself from checking her watch, fighting her curiousness to see how long the group had made it without bringing up Peter. She had a feeling it had been twenty minutes, which, if correct, would be a new record. With all the catching up on gossip and news, including how Linda finally dumped Mark, she hadn't really had the time to think through her responses in advance, so she saw no other option but to answer honestly, after all, didn't they deserve at least some of the truth?

"Yeah, he knows," she answered, and the group were surprised to see a ghost of a smile pull on her lips. Last time they had asked about Peter she had snapped and refused to expand on the subject, and they were more than curious to figure out what they had missed.

"So...are you guys back together, or...?," Mary trailed off, trying to avoid insinuating something that wasn't true, still mentally connecting the facts she had at that moment.

Jennifer nodded in confirmation, keeping silent in hopes that they could move on to a topic other than her love life, but that was a pipeline dream as thousands of questions filled the minds of the absurdly invested teenagers.

Surprisingly, Linda froze in that moment. From the very first second Jennifer had casually mentioned Peter, the eccentric girl had been hellbent on the two getting together, and the fact that it had happened without her influence every step of the way was genuinely baffling to her. Maybe the constant teasing had worn away on her and she could be joking, Linda knew otherwise, the small grin on Jennifer's face giving it all away. "Hold up, holp up – when did you two become a thing? And why didn't I know about it?"

"Well, first of all, its none of your business. Secondly, I didn't exactly want an interrogation." Jennifer glanced around the table, hoping that her sugar coated way of telling them to back off had succeeded. Based on the expectant looks directed at her, she decided it hadn't. They were curious, maybe too much, but was there any reason not to tell them? Her mind relayed the events of that unbelievable day, the day that had single handily triumphed over every other day.

"It was a few weeks ago. We were watching tv and, and he kissed me." She dipped her head as a sheepish grin grew on her face, almost feeling the sensation of his lips on her again. "I kissed him back."

There was a silence for almost an entire second before Gale leaned over the table in preparation to asking her questions. "What was it like? The kiss, I mean."

"Was it soft?," Ellie continued Gales train of thought before Jennifer could answer, fully kitted out with her own arsenal. "How long did it last? Was it like, a quick burst of emotion, or was it filled with longing?"

"I uh..."

Rebecca injected Jennifer's attempt at deescalating the amount of privacy being breached before she could even state her case. "What happened before it? I mean, sure you were watching tv, but what was so important that he decided to choose that moment?"