[B]Alfredo and Armonía [/b]

"Oh, hello.”Art turned around to face Nia with a smile on her face. Indeed there was food but she hadn't planned to offer any of her meal to the students. Still, she couldn't just leave the door open and feed Flavie only to deny other wandering and hungry students who hadn't managed to find any of the other three kitchens. With a polite nod, Armonía fixed a plate for Mila and set it on the counter. “I'd direct you to the dining room but you'd probably end up trampled on the way there. Please, take a seat.” She motioned towards another bar stool. As she was just about to turn, she caught sight of a blonde pixie cut and her smile widened. And then Freddie came in. Her heart thumped in her chest and she quickly drew a deep and sharp breath. “Hey, guys.” Her voice was just barely a whisper. It was an awkward moment and she turned to Marlowe, nodding gently. “Watch the food, eh?” She gave both he and Daisy a hug, hurriedly moving towards Freddie and tugging him by the arm to the elevator and eventually to her room. “I am so sorry. For everything.” There was pain in her eyes as she spoke, recoiling from him as though she felt unworthy. She had loved him and he had loved her for many of their high school years at Xavier's. And then she left. She didn't say goodbye or reach out to him while she was gone. She simply left.

"Hey..." Before Freddie could get another word out, he was pulled by the arm into the elevator. "Nia what the hell?" She didn't answer and pulled him further, this time into her own private room. There it was. The apology he had waited so long to hear but it didn't satisfy him in the slightest and that was for a simple reason, he had already let it go. "Nia...you broke my heart. I loved you since the day I first saw you pouncing on Hugo Pardue after he slapped your ass" The Italian let out a soft chuckle. "Then you left me. You left us and I had a lot of anger about that, so much anger Nia. I carried it for a long time, a long time. Then something happened..." Taking her hand into his, he pressed it against his chest. "...My heart is flawed. I was diagnosed with HCM and I was told that basketball was no longer an option for me. I realised that at any moment, this heart could stop and I would die with hate inside of it. Hate inside for you. No, I didn't want to die with the knowledge that the only person whom I ever loved was now the source of my pain. So I let it go. I never understood you when we were together and I never understood you when we were apart. But now, that doesn't matter because I forgive you."

She couldn't stop the tears from forming in her eyes as he spoke. She hadn't expected it to escalate so quickly to such a point but it did. Her lip was quivering as she let her fingers curl in his hand against his chest, lowering her head. “I guess we all got some shit after Charlie died...” She wanted to move closer, to rest against him and comfort both of them. But she couldn't. She slowly moved her gaze to meet his, her brow pinching in confusion. “You knew. Back in the day, you knew that I was a serial killer. When Charles died... I remembered. I was awful. You knew I killed people every day and every night and you still loved me.” It had been a great source of confusion for her. Not just finding out about her past, but that her two best friends knew the whole time and kept loving her. She didn't mind that they kept it a secret; Charles Xavier told you to do something and you did it. But she couldn't see how they cared about her when she had been so distant from everyone and so mean and just so.... Depressing. “Fuck, mi amor.” She sighed and pulled her hand away. This was the most awkward conversation she'd ever had. And she had a conversation with Logan and Scott once about protection during sex. Logan was one to talk – He was such a whore. “I missed you... I thought about you every day. I knew... Kitty told me about your heart and I wanted to be there. Really, I did. But After finding out everything, how fucked up I am. I didn't want to stress you out trying to figure myself out. I'm no good for you, Alfredo.” Her voice died down to a whisper at the end as she spoke with little conviction in her voice, clearly displeased with having to say what she said.

She was the only one besides the brother he hadn't seen in three years whom ever called him Alfredo. "No good for me? No good. Let me take you back, Nia. Just before our senior year, not too long after our first meeting with the Brotherhood. You, me, Daisy and a couple of others snuck out. We wanted to unwind after all we'd been through so we got out our fake ID's and we headed to that little country bar, you remember? You remember what happened that night? I got drunk and I got pissed off and my telekinetic pressure got so intense that it brought down that entire building. Scott came to our rescue but by that point, I was out of control I couldn't stop. The ground began to feel the pressure, nobody could move because I was keeping them in place. Then out of the dark, your light shined and you fought through my ability. You walked over and you kissed me. The world slipped away, it was just us. You saved me and lot of others that day, so the next time you say you're no good you remember that. It was only you, Nia that could ever save me from that ugly thing that eats away inside of me."

She did remember that night but she only shook her head. "I don't even know if that girl exists anymore. I smile and pretend I'm okay. I'm an actress, it's not hard. But I don't know who I am anymore. I've never known."

"I know who you are" Freddie took a step forward. "You're Nía Torres. Teacher. X-Man. Badass. Love of my life." That last part was unexpected, he didn't plan on saying that, just like he didn't plan on putting his hands against her soft cheeks. "I forgive you, Nia. Forgive yourself."

"Oh, amore mio. Che casino che abbiamo trovato noi stessi dentro." She let herself finally move against him, burying her face against his shoulder, her arms wrapping around him. "Zeus, aiutami," she whispered to none but herself.

Freddie held her in his arms for what felt like an eternity but could really have only been a few minutes. They just stood their in silence, he pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head. "Come on, Nia. Let's go back downstairs. I wouldn't want to leave anyone in charge of your cooking for any longer than necessary" He chuckled lightly before pulling away. "Coming?"

She nodded with tears still in her eyes, though a smile on her face as she held his hand tightly, the two heading back to the first floor kitchen. "Zeus, I've missed this place."