She touched her palm to his, and smiled. his was bigger. She was still in the process of realizing how he was a grown man (kinda) and not a kid anymore. Well, if he was right, and he was, he had never been a kid to begin with. She chuckles as she pulled her hand back. Nothing happened.

>>"Copying an inactive power was an accident. I don't sink my power wanted it, but I touched him without holding back. I didn't sink inactive powers could be copied."

"Dat's interesting" she nodded, poking at his hands again just to marvel at the fact that nothing happened "And probably good to know, right?"

Right.

>>"Turns out, zis isn't ze best power to help you practice… Before I get un-safe, is zere anysing you want to do? Dancing perhaps?"

She kinda liked him safe. Isn't that what all women want from their guys? She certainly did.
At the same time, she needed practice, and she did not drag Jude all the way out here just to...
... dance?

She giggled as he twirled her around. Turning back to face him she allowed herself to hold on for a moment.

"I like to dance" she confessed "But we really could be out here all night and not get any work done..."

... was that bad?...

Her laugh made him laugh. It was just that contagious. As she finished her twirl, he was ready to catch her. His hand slipped around her waist and that left them pressed closer than was polite, but just perfect for a slow dance. "I told you zat I wasn't much of a dancer." But slow dancing was just fine. It just required holding and some gentle stepping back and forth and sometimes slightly around. He just hoped that he didn't step on her feet.

> "I like to dance, but we really could be out here all night and not get any work done..."

She was smiling at the idea, but it made him frown. "Sorry." Svetty was right. He wasn't here to flirt. He was here to help... only... in order to help he needed a kiss. Somehow Jude found himself smiling again just fine.

He cleared his throat hoping that the falling dark would hide his amusement at the thought. "I would like to help you." He turned them both gently in their simple dance. "But I only know one way to activate a mutant power..." He never did find that other blonde.

>> "I told you zat I wasn't much of a dancer."

Well, maybe he wasn't. But he was doing just fine. Sveta smiled as they swayed and turned, not really minding that there was no music at all. They didn't need it. They danced together just fine.
They....?

>>"Sorry. I would like to help you. But I only know one way to activate a mutant power..."

Right.
They were still swaying to the rythm of the music. She looked up at him, it was obvious even in the dark that he was smiling. It was all... very...
Simple.

"I need to kiss you."

Talk about multiple meanings.

He nodded and leaned his cheek down so that it rested against the crown of her head. It was too personal a thing to ask and look her in the eye. He tried not to get his hopes up. Tried not to think of it as personal. She would do it to activate his power. Not because she liked him or anything.

"Only if you want to." He whispered because anything more than that at this distance would feel too loud. Jude would never force her or try to trick her like he had before. It had to be her choice.

He turned them around again. Just two normal people dancing alone in a park with no music well away from human kind. Yep. A normal evening.

>>"Only if you want to."

She sighed, and then was surprised at herself, and then sighed again as he leaned against her.
So, here was a dilemma.
He had no active power. He was safe.
She wanted to train. In order to do that, she would have to kiss him.
But once she kissed him, he would not be safe.

She was quiet for a few moments, turning and swaying, enjoying the warmth. Wishing it could last.
Whispering sounded right.

"I want to."

She sighed and sounded torn. Then she went and did it again. He let her think it over, though what there was left to think about, he wasn't sure. He needed to have an active power in order to keep the life that he was building for himself.

He could leave it behind, in theory. But if he stayed like this, he would never be able to do more than holding hands and swaying with the breeze. Selfish, but true. A kiss would always mean power activation no matter how many times he copied an inactive mutant.

> "I want to."

She wanted to train. He amended her statement in his head, but it was enough. At least he would have a power again.

A lava power. Crap.

"Svetty?" Jude pulled back enough to see her face, but he didn't let go of her. He wasn't quite ready to let go just yet. "I want to try to copy your power. I don't want somesing dangerous to happen withs zis one... I've never controlled it before since it's off." Of course the best way to copy a power and be sure he was getting the one he wanted was skin to skin contact and to let down his shields.

He tried to relax but knowing what was coming that seemed a little bit impossible. Jude slid a hand cooled by the night air along Svetlana's cheek until his hand cupped her face. If she activated him and he was actively trying to copy her... could they skip the lava phase?

He swallowed nervously. "Ready."

>>"Svetty? I want to try to copy your power. I don't want somesing dangerous to happen withs zis one... I've never controlled it before since it's off."

There was a voice outside and there was a voice inside. The voice outside was Jude, talking about his power and hers. The voice inside was a tiny one, the one her conscious mind had been reduced to, saying things, really sensible things. And then there was the constant drumming. Really loud.

This whole thing did not make sense at all.
It didn't need to.

>>"Ready."

His hand was on her face, skin on skin.
He was too tall to kiss on the forehead this time.

"Ready."

If he was ready and she was ready... that really only left no excuse. He licked his bottom lip and leaned in. Jude hesitated when his nose tickled against hers. It wasn't too late to back out. His heart was trying to mamba out his throat, he could actually feel the skin jumping at the pulse point.

It was too late for him. How could he have ever pretended that a kiss wouldn't mean a thing to him?

His lips made contact with hers. They were so soft he couldn't help but lean into it.

It started soft. And once it started, there was really nothing else left to do but go with it; there was no backing out now. Once they broke contact, some power or another would activate, and that would be it for the evening.
Well.
Might as well make the kiss last.
Muse liked being kissed, in general. It was a rare thing that she had not experienced much in the past years.
Also. Jude.

Hands grabbing on to the front of his jacket, Sveta leaned into the kiss. This was good. Way too good. She could feel his heart under her hand, and he was warm... the rest of it was a blur. Drumming. Soft. Completely irrational and irresponsible. Holding on for dear life.

He kissed gently with his heart behind it. She kissed him back like she was drowning. He was already reciprocating in kind before his brain caught up with their actions. He had plenty of experience kissing, though he was rusty.

They had sunk like one or both of their knees had gone out. He had pressed himself closer, held her face captive... now that his brain was engaged he was worried that he'd gone too far. He broke the kiss first and started to apologize.

Only smoke came out of his mouth.

It was chilly, but it wasn't cold enough for his breath to turn into mist. That was definitely smoke. The bottom dropped out of his stomach. He'd forgotten to try to copy her power.

This was not the Jude that she knew. The Jude she knew was sweet and kind and even grown up he was kind of innocent.
This Jude was a grown man and the way he kissed her made her weak.

They had to come up for air. Well, damn. Opening her eyes, she looked up at him, catching her breath as if she had just run a mile.

She saw smoke.

Hell.

Stumbling back, she shoved him in the chest with both hands. For his own good, and for hers. Backing away, she leaned back against a tree.

"Jude?..."

That. Was not her power.

She shoved him hard. He stumbled back, caught his foot on his own shoe and fell backward in the process kicking off his own shoe. His skin was drying out, cracking. Horror showed on his face. He had completely forgotten. That kiss... that had been far more than was needed to simply activate a power.

No! He couldn't think about that now.

He needed to relax. He needed to feel his own power. Jude closed his eyes. The grass under him started smoking and he started shaking all over. Cracks started showing in his skin glowing a hot, angry red.

Jude's power was a lot more subtle than that.

It felt like a warm and reaching breeze. It was hard to find that when he had to reach through a hot and dry climate to do it, but he though he might... there. He sent that warm wind out and it copied the only other possible power in range.

The shaking slowed. The smoke cleared. Jude sat zen like in a scorched patch of grass and coughed as a caffeine buzz washed over him.

"Close." He coughed up ash.

Sveta watched in wide-eyed horror as Jude started burning up from the inside out. For the longest moment in her life she felt helpless and useless, and she couldn't even look away from what she thought was another person dying because she kissed him.

Then, as soon (and incredibly slow at the same time) as it started, it was over. Jude seemed to cool down, the fire went out, and he coughed up some ash. Instead of the fire going haywire as powers tended to do after a kiss, he managed to... stop it in a way that she did not quite understand.

That was way too much to handle. Sveta sank down with her back against the tree and held both hands against her mouth, but a sob still escaped, and the tears started to flow.

Jude took a moment to just breathe and assess what had happened. Another plume of smoke came out of his mouth, but this was just residue. He needed a serious drink of water. He needed a serious dose of lotion too.
 
The frenchman ran his hands along his arms dusting off a fine layer of ash. The cracks in his skin were still thereabout much more skin like in texture now. Just really, really dry skin texture. The strangest part were the glowing red lines inside the cracks. Like his body had started a transformation, but had been cut short when his boosted power had copied hers.
 
Was he… lava inside? Jude needed to visit Chase or find that creepy animal guy again. Preferably before someone cut him open and they had to test that lava theory.
 
A quiet sound had Jude's senses turning externally instead of internally. Was that…  crying? He grabbed for the flashlight and was on his feet in mere moments.
 
"Svetty…" She looked horrified. He set the flashlight down and it beamed off into the darkness. "Svetty, I'm okay." He touched her arm through her sleeve… just in case.

>>"Svetty… Svetty, I'm okay."

She couldn't really control it. She was not even sure why she was crying anymore. It was just the fear, the alone in the dark, and the idea of someone burning up from the inside.
He touched her arm. She was trembling, wrapping her arms around herself for comfort. He said he was okay. He said he was okay.

He was glowing in the dark. It was faint light, but it was definitely not okay.

"I'm... I'm sorry..."