Summery: It's the time of year that's Kitty hates, Valentines Day. But can a certain fire-manipulator change her mind? Mild language.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters.

Alphabet Soup

Kitty groaned as she brushed her hair in her room. She was getting ready for school on the most dreaded day on her calendar, Valentine's Day. She tried to fix her hair so that it gently laid over her shoulders. She carefully arranged her bangs neatly at the front of her head and tried to flatten down baby hairs that stubbornly stood up. She worked like that for about two more minutes before she groaned again and let out a huge sigh.

"What's wrong with you?" asked Rogue, her roommate, from the other side of the room.

"Forget it!" Kitty sighed frustrated as she started to pull her hair up into a pony tail.

"Kitty, what's wrong?" Rogue asked again.

Kitty turned towards her friend with an irritated look on her face. "Nothing." she said as she started to gather her books.

"Well that's very convincing." said Rogue, "But seriously, what up with you this morning?"

"Nothing is up with me this morning," began Kitty, "it's what's up with every one else in the world."

"What do you mean?"

"Well yeah. Everyone's acting like today is some special day when it's just like any other day!"

"What do you mean just like every other day? It isn't just like every other day, it's Valentine's Day."

"You mean Single's Awareness Day?"

Rogue rolled her eyes.

"What's so special about Valentine's Day anyway?" asked Kitty annoyed.

"Well," began Rogue as she began to gather her things, "it's the day to show love and appreciation to someone special in your life. You know, that one person who makes your heart beat faster with each moment he lays his eyes on you, that one person who you love to hate but hate to love, that one person who you know you can't bear to live without."

"Sounds like a big cheese ball to me." said Kitty.

Rogue smiled as she shook her head. "Kitty you don't know what you're talking about until you actually experience the true meaning of Valentine's Day."

"Well that's easy for you to say. You have Bobby practically kissing the floor you walk on."

"Yeah but just because we love each other doesn't exactly mean we could act like a normal couple." said Rogue motioning at her gloved hands.

Kitty looked down embarrassed. She suddenly felt bad for Rogue as she realized that Valentine's Day might actually mean something more to Rogue than anyone else. It was the only day where she and Bobby could actually be treated and seen like a normal couple. Although her skin was deadly, they both took the risks of being with each other. This Valentine's Day was especially going to be very important for both Bobby and Rogue. Just recently, Rogue had a breakthrough in learning to control her powers. She could now postpone the effects of her powers for a while longer than she normally could. Even though it wasn't much, Kitty knew that it meant a great deal to her friend to be able to touch or kiss her boyfriend longer than before without hurting him.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Kitty went to go open the door and was shocked to see that there was no one there. She looked down and saw a small package with a note attached to it. She picked it up and rolled her eyes as she saw who it was from.

"Rogue," she said as she walked towards Rogue with the package in her hand, "someone left this for you." She handed the package to her friend who simply smiled and read the note attached to it.

"It's from Bobby." said Rogue excitingly.

"Who would've thought." muttered Kitty under her breath.

Rogue ignored the comment and began to open the package. "He didn't want to tell me what we were going to do today, so he said he would leave me clues throughout the day." Her eyes grew wide as she saw what the package contained. In it, was a beautiful silver watch. On the sides of the watch were small little heart shaped diamonds. The back of the watch was engraved with both her and Bobby's initials and the date in which they both had their first date. Under it all was a small inscription of the words "I Love You" and under those words, a rose. Rogue smiled as she put it on her wrist.

"Look," said Rogue, "the time stopped at seven, so that must mean that he'll pick me up at seven!"

"Either that or he bought a broken watch at the dollar store." said Kitty.

Rogue rolled her eyes as she and Kitty both left the room.

'Oh God, when will this stupid day end?' thought Kitty as she sat in her desk in her English class which happened to be the last class of the day. All day, she had been sickened with the sight of lovey-dovey couples hugging and holding hands all day. She would think that everything would cool down during class. But no, it was always the same thing. Kitty thought that she had finally reached her boiling point when she saw some sixth or seventh grader delivering roses to Rogue in every class. The only thing she could do to keep from puking was turning her ipod on and drowning out the sounds of the ooh's and aww's from all the girls around her as Rogue received each flower. She would think that at least the teachers would bring an end to the stupid nonsense, but even they looked bewitched by the mere thought of Valentine's Day.

She was relieved by the time the school day was over. She didn't want to do her usual routine of hanging out with her friends outside when she knew that they would all be with their dates. So she went up to her room where she did all her homework and read. That kept her busy until Rogue entered their room with all her gifts.

"What time is it?" she asked as she went into the bathroom and turned on the shower.

"It's a quarter to six." said Kitty, looking up from her book towards her alarm clock.

"Shit!" muttered Rogue as she gathered her towels. "How am I supposed to figure out what to wear?"

"Did he finally tell you where you guys are going?" asked Kitty.

"No, I haven't seen him all day and it's killing me that he doesn't want to tell me."

"Did he at least give you another clue?"

"This was the last clue he gave me." said Rogue as she handed Kitty a soft, stuffed bear wearing a tuxedo. "I figured it means that he wants me to dress formal." She then practically ran towards the bathroom and shut the door.

Kitty sighed as she looked at the stuffed bear. 'What is it about things like you that makes all the girls go wild with stupidity?' she thought as she lightly threw the bear on Rogues bed.

A few minutes later, Rogue came out in her bathrobe with her hair up in a towel.

"Ok," she said, "What do you think, the black one or the black and white one?" she asked Kitty as she held up both dresses.

Kitty looked at both dresses. The plain black one had spaghetti straps and was knee length. It had a sequence of small black beads on the chest area and had a black small black rose pinned over her heart. The black and white one was strapless. It was also knee length and was slightly puffy (A.N: You know, like one of those poodle skirts but less puffy.) The trimmings were laced with white ribbon and there was a white ribbon where the waist should be with a small white bow.

"I would go with the white and black one." she said.

Rogue looked at the black and white dress, "The black one it is."

"Rogue, I don't get it. Why would you ask for my advice if your not even gonna take it?"

"Because I know that the only reason you chose it was because its safe and boring."

"What do you mean by safe and boring?"

"Compare this one to the black one." said Rogue holding up the black and white, "You see, this one has a little puff to it, while this one," she held up the black one, "is a little tight and form fitting. Remember Kitty, its Valentine's Day. Nothing should be safe."

Kitty just rolled her eyes as she continued to read her book. A few minutes later, it was ten till seven and Rogue was applying the finishing touches to her makeup. She quickly put on her black satin gloves and cute black sweater. Once she was finished putting on her sweater, there was a knock on the door. Rogue excitingly went to open it. She smiled as she saw Bobby standing in the doorway wearing a black suit with a white tie. In his hand was a red rose with a satin black ribbon tied around it.

"Hi." he said as he gave her the rose.

She smiled as she took the rose from him and smelled it.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked her.

She quickly went to put the rose with the other ones and grabbed her purse.

"Don't wait up." she told Kitty as she and Bobby left the room.

Kitty sighed with relief when they finally left.

'I thought they would never leave.' she thought as she continued to read.

She read for about another hour when she decided that she was hungry. So, she headed down towards the kitchen. She figured there would be no one else in there since she was the only one not on a date. Or at least, that's what she thought.

She walked into the kitchen and who else would she see but a certain fire manipulator eating on the island in the middle of the kitchen. He looked up at her when he saw her enter the kitchen. She felt her face blush as she wondered what he might be thinking about her being dressed in grey sweat pants, a black tank top, and a messy bun.

"Hey." she finally managed to say.

"Hey yourself." he said as he continued eating.

"What's there to eat?" she asked as she walked towards the fridge.

"There's soup on the stove." he said pointing towards the stove with his spoon.

"Is that what you're eating?"

He slowly nodded his head as he took another bite.

Kitty got a bowl from the cupboard and poured herself some soup. She then sat down across from John and looked down at her soup. It was the first time she noticed what it was.

"Alphabet soup?" she asked.

"What's wrong with that?" asked John.

"Well nothing," she said nervously, "it's just that I haven't had alphabet soup in a long time."

"Really." he said taking another bite.

There was an awkward silence that lingered in the room. She could feel how uncomfortable they both were as they both ate in silence. She tried to avoid eye contact, looking everywhere but at him.

"So," she said trying to make conversation, "what's a guy like you doing here?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well yea. It's just that you seem like the type of guy that would have a date on a night like this."

"Me? No." he said, "Don't get me wrong but I'm not a big fan of this whole Valentine's Day shit."

"Me either."

"Why?" he asked, "You seem like the type of girl who would drool about it all day."

"You mean like Rogue?"

"Yeah," he said chuckling, "like Rogue. I-mean you don't know how much I had to listen to Bobby talk about this whole mushy stuff. You wanna know how long he's been planning this?"

"How long?"

"Almost three weeks. He had to get reservations and he saved a shit load of money just to buy all those flowers and gifts. I-mean don't get me wrong, yea I am a little romantic but I'm not into that whole a dozen roses and expensive gifts and stuff like that."

"Me either. I think that that's so overrated. What ever happened to a card that says 'Be mine Valentine'?"

"Seriously." he said, "But I guess that some people would do anything for love."

"Love? Ha! I stopped believing in love a long time ago."

"Why's that?"

"Um, I-I don't know. I guess since my parents got divorced I kind of stopped believing in it."

"That's sad Kitty-Kat."

"Why?"

"Well because personally, I think that you can't not believe in love when you've never even been in love."

"What? I've been in love!"

"Really, with who?" he asked.

"Um, Steve Johnson."

"Steve Johnson? Was this by any chance in first grade?"

"No," she said looking down at her soup, "it was second grade."

John smirked as he shook his head.

"What's wrong with not believing in love anyway?" she asked.

"Nothing, its just it's a little bit weird coming from you."

"Why?"

"I don't know. You just seem like the type of person who would be into that whole lovey-dovey shit."

"Look," she said, "just because I'm smart, doesn't mean that I'm into going around waiting to get chocolates and flowers and stupid stuff like that."

"And just because your smart, doesn't mean you know everything."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well don't get me wrong but, you seem a little to naïve about the whole love situation."

"Me? Naïve? Ha! That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard."

"I'm serious." he said as he swallowed more soup, "You think of love as a girl getting a box of chocolates or flowers everyday from her boyfriend. Well news flash Kitty-Kat, it's about way more than that."

"Like what?"

"Well love is about caring about someone more than you care about anything else. It's about talking to someone about things you would never tell your best friend. You know, you learn to trust that person with everything, especially your heart. And I know that sometimes things like divorce could ruin a person. But that's why you got put the pieces back together, so that you could learn to love again. All you gotta do is just be careful. Love can be a strange, hateful thing, but it could also be a beautiful thing."

Kitty was speechless. She never knew that John had a nice soft side to him. 'But wait, this was just too weird.' she thought. "Is this what you tell every girl every time you want to get in her pants?" she asked.

"Is it working?" he asked smirking.

"Ugh!" Kitty exclaimed, "John, you are the most selfish person in the world!"

"Well that's ridiculous." he said, "Have you met every one in the world?"

Kitty just rolled her eyes and finished swallowing her soup.

"No but seriously," John said, "Love is a good thing to have. It's kind of depressing that you don't believe in that."

With that John got up and left the kitchen. Kitty took a deep sigh. 'Maybe he's right.' she thought. She looked across to where he once sat and rolled her eyes. 'Great,' she thought, 'he didn't pick up his plate. Now I'm gonna have to be the one to wash it for him or Storm would have a fit.' She reached for his bowl and walked towards the sink. She turned the faucet on and began washing her bowl. When she was done, she was going to begin washing John's plate but suddenly noticed something that she didn't notice before. In the bowl, spelled carefully with the alphabet soup, were the words, 'BE MINE VALENTINE, HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY KITTY.' Kitty smiled as she looked down and read the words over and over. 'John's right. Maybe I am a little bit to naïve about love. Maybe Valentine's Day isn't that bad after all.'

Hope you all liked it. Pease Review!