Title: "Where Are You Bound, My Kitty?"
Author: Pirate Turner
Rating: PG due to language
Summary: Pete Wisdom faces the ancient fear of a woman trying to change him.
Disclaimer: Pete Wisdom; Katheryne "Kitty" "Shadowcat" Pryde; Piotr "Colossus" Rasputian; Rahne "Wolfsbane" Sinclair; and Excalibur are © & TM Marvel comics and are used without permission. Everything else is © & TM Pirate Turner. The author makes absolutely no profit from this story.

It was Sunday afternoon. Katheryne Pryde and Rahne Sinclair had just returned home from church. Pete Wisdom was smoking a cigar which he threw on the ground and stomped out when he saw Kitty. "Where have ya been, Pryde?"

"Well, good afternoon to you, too," smirked Kitty.

"I said where have ya been, Pryde?" insisted Pete.

"Church. Why? What's your problem?" inquired Kitty.

"My problem is I saw ya and the Ruskie goin' off together this morning," snapped Pete.

"So what's that of your concern for?" growled Kitty, her brown eyes glaring angrily at Pete.

"'Cause ya might be cheating on me," answered Pete.

"PETE WISDOM, I WOULD NOT CHEAT ON YOU! I MIGHT DUMP YOU, BUT I WOULD NEVER CHEAT ON YOU!" yelled Kitty.

"Yeah, right," smirked Pete. "How do I know that for a fact?"

"YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THAT MY WORD ISN'T GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU?"

"But-"

"DON'T YOU DARE BUT ME, PETE WISDOM! I MAY BE YOUR GIRLFRIEND, BUT I SURE AIN'T YOUR SLAVE! YOU CAN'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO NOR WHAT NOT TO DO! AND YOU CAN'T STOP ME FROM DOING WHAT I WANT TO DO!" With those words, Kitty turned, marched away from Pete and into the house, and slammed the door behind her.

"Kitty, I-"

Rahne exclaimed, "PETE WISDOM, YE SHOULD BE ASHAMED O' YOURSELF! YE ARE A JERK TAE BE TREATIN' HER LIKE SHE'S YOUR SLAVE!" Rahne glared at Pete one last time and then went into the house after her friend.

Before Pete could say or do anything else, Piotr Rasputin came up to Pete and grabbed him by his shirt collar. Looking in Pete's eyes, Piotr announced, "This is your warning, your one and only warning: Treat Katya right or I will personally rip your head off your shoulders and use it for a soccerball. Understand, little man?"

"Yes," Pete managed to meekly reply.

"Good." Piotr dropped Pete and let him fall on the ground face first before going into the house.

Pete pushed himself up on his elbows. He spit out dirt in disgust. He stood up and dusted himself off. Thunder roared, and it started to rain. It was going to be a loooooong day!

Pete attempted to talk to Kitty several times that day but to no avail. She would always ignore him or walk off on him. Once, he had been almost positive that he had her to where she had no choice but to listen to him. He had her pinned to the wall and had just started talking to her. Kitty's brown eyes had bore into him, as if looking right through him, as she phased into the wall, leaving him in mid-sentence!

It was night, and Kitty was in church again. The choir was in the middle of "Amazing Grace" when the church doors swung open and Pete walked in. Kitty was surprised to see Pete but didn't stop singing. She glanced over to Rahne, who was standing at her right, and raised one eyebrow. Rahne returned the glance and shrugged. Pete looked around the church before spotting Piotr. Pete walked briskly over to the big Russian and sat down next to him.

After church, Kitty asked Pete, "What made you decide to come?"

"I figured that since it was so important to ya it had to be worth checking out," answered Pete. "Why? Aren't ya glad I came?"

"Of course I'm glad you came, Pete!" exclaimed Kitty. "But, more importantly, are you?"

"Am I glad I came?" repeated Pete. "Yes, I am. Thank you, Pryde."

"For what?"

"For making me come."

"I didn't tie your hands and drag you here! I didn't even know you were coming until I saw you standing in the doorway to the church!"

"But I wouldn't have come if it hadn't been for you!"

"Really?"

"Yes, really."

"Well, then, you're welcome. Did you learn anything from tonight's sermon?"

"Yes."

"What?"

"I learned that my life was missing something."

"What was it you were missing?"

"The Lord."

"Have you invited Him?"

"Have I invited Him where?"

"Have you invited Him to come into your heart and forgive you your sins?"

"Yes."

"Do you feel better now?"

"Yeah."

"Would you like to come with me to church Wednesday night if we're not off on a mission?"

"I'd love to."

"Great!"

"I'm sorry, Kitty."

"For what, Pete?"

"For trying to tell you what to do and where to go earlier. It was wrong of me. I shouldn't have. You're your own person not my slave. I'm sorry. Please forgive me."

"I forgive you, Pete."

Silence. Pete looked at Kitty. Kitty smiled at Pete. Pete hugged Kitty. "I love you, Pryde!"

"I love you, too, Wisdom!" Kitty kissed Pete.

Pete Wisdom bolted upright in the bed, his hands shaking, a thick layer of glistening sweat covering his body, and his legs caught in an entanglement of sheets. His heart pounded in his chest as his eyes darted wildly around his bedroom. It was just a dream, he told himself. Just a dream. That's all, Wisdom. Get over it.

His eyes fell upon the sleeping form of his beautiful Pryde as he continued to talk to himself, trying desperately to calm his rampaging fear. She's not trying to change you. She loves you just the way you are. She doesn't want you to change, rather it's becoming a Christain or donning a purple lama hat. About the only things she would change about you are your cigs and your alcohol. That's it.

She doesn't want you going to the bloody church. She understands where you stand on that, and it doesn't matter to her. She's not even a Christain; she's a Jew. Who knows what the Ruskie is? Rahne's a Christain, but who cares?

Shaking his head, Pete leaned over far enough that his hands could reach his feet and quietly unwrapped his lower half from the covers. He stifled a sigh as he looked at Kitty, who still remained sleeping peacefully. No amount of words in the world would comfort him after a dream like the one he'd just had. As he slipped silently from the bed, he knew he'd be up for the rest of the night.

The End