This story is mine. Really, all mine. Well, all the characters belong to Marvel, and I got part of the idea from a story by Mel (thanks, Mel!), but please don't sue me, it wouldn't be worth it. Thanks to Luba, too for the beta read and encouragement!
This story takes place not long after the High Evolutionary de-mutantized everyone, but Hank and Bobby (obviously) are not in Genosha. I don't KNOW that Bobby and Kitty have never met, but I'm assuming they haven't, or that, if they have, it was either in the middle of a battle or at Scott and Jean's wedding and they didn't really notice.
Just a Couple of Kids, after all… Chapter 1Bobby Drake drove up the long driveway to the X-Mansion in the beat-up old Pinto he'd bought when he first started college. The car Warren had bought him as a graduation present had long since been blown up by some supervillain or another; the one he'd bought himself to replace it had met a similar fate. "So, we're back together again," he chuckled, stroking the steering wheel. "That's ok, you work as well – or as badly – as you did six years ago." The car obligingly backfired in protest, and he laughed. Then he saw what remained of the school, winced, and thought, "Well, I guess you can never really go home again, huh?
The mansion was a mess. No, that was putting it too gently, he decided. It was a disaster. The windows were smashed, the roof caved in over what had been Ororo's attic. The grounds looked as if they'd come off the worse from an encounter with the Juggernaut. Even the front door didn't look as if it was hanging quite right.
Bobby sighed. He felt a bit guilty about not being there for the rest of the team when the recent attack by the Friends of Humanity had occurred. They'd put the mansion to the torch, declaring that they'd get rid of those mutants once and for all. "Morons," thought Bobby. "Didn't even realize there ARE no more mutants." Hank had called him after someone – he forgot who – had scared off the FOH losers with a holographic fire breathing dragon who had caused, in Hank's words, "a plethora of the ignorant marauders to suffer severe episodes of incontinence." "I'd have like to have seen that," Bobby thought, grinning. Perhaps he had a fellow prankster on the premises. "But still…
He knew he'd made the right choice when he left. He'd had to decide between his families – whether to stay with the X-Men, who were doing ok at the time, or to help his mom take care of his dad. "Tough choice," he mumbled. While he and his father had never been close, his dad did make a stand for him when things got tough.
But now his father was doing better – not fine, he'd probably never be "fine" again, but out of the hospital and back to puttering around the house. The accounting customers he'd acquired while leading a "real" life were on maintenance basis – no major issues to deal with, just ongoing support. And of course, the loss of his powers left him missing his friends all the more, and feeling guiltier about not being there when "they'd" needed him.
"Time to visit with Hank, drop twinkie wrappers on Jean's carpet, play a few tricks on Rogue just to prove I still have what it takes," he thought mischievously. "Lend a hand with the repairs, too," he added as he parked the car far enough away from the mansion itself that it would be safe from potentially falling debris. "Then again, maybe I should park closer and HOPE for falling debris – nah, check on the insurance first, Bobster. If the mansion's in this bad of shape, the insurance may have lapsed. Or more likely been cancelled."
He got out of the car, and wandered up towards the door, noting as he did that all Ororo's ornamental grass had been ripped out or scorched by the battle. He grinned. "No allergy attacks this time!" No great loss without some small gain, after all. He'd heard Ororo was off at some camp with Sarah when the attack occurred; no doubt she'd have had everything replanted otherwise.
As he put his hand on the doorknob, it swung open abruptly, knocking him off the porch.
"Hey!" he yelled, as he inventoried himself for broken bones and ripped pants. "Where's the fire? I would have thought inside, not out…" he trailed off as he saw a gorgeous face surrounded by flowing brown hair peering at him with a confused look. "Umm, hi, have we met?" he stammered.
"I'm sooo sorry – I was, that is, I just thought I heard…who
are you?" she asked curiously as she reached down to help him to his feet.
"Nope, sorry, just me, your friendly neighborhood former Iceman. Bobby Drake at your service, milady," he said with a small bow. "And you're…"
"Kitty – I mean, Shadowcat – well, no I guess now it's just Kitty again," she said somewhat distractedly, glancing past him down the road.
"Hey cool! You know, I think you're the only X-type I never met – umm, am I holding you up? I mean," he said, trying to catch her eye, "if you were waiting for someone…"
"Oh, no – I mean, I was waiting for the mail, but it's really too early anyway. I'm sorry," she added, really looking at him for the first time. "I didn't mean to be rude. I'm waiting for a package, and the mailman keeps thinking this place is deserted, so he sends it back, and then they re-send it, and…"
'Say something witty,' he thought to himself. "Gotta make a good impression – my God, is she gorgeous!"
"Gotta love the postal service, hey? My parents have lived in their house for thirty years, but the mailman still manages to misdeliver the mail. Drops it off next door, in fact. Try UPS next time if you've got the choice – they seem to have better maps."
She grinned at him then, and said, "I'll try that next time. But, you know, at least it's better than the British postal service. They never COULD figure out how to deliver the mail to Excalibur's lighthouse when we lived there. Meggan or Rachel would have to fly over to the mainland to pick it up every few days, and Meggan always got distracted flying back, so half the mail would end up in the Channel. I remember one time –"
"Robert, my dear friend, I trust you had no difficulty finding out someone dilapidated but nonetheless reasonably comfortable abode?" Hank interrupted.
"No, I got here just fine – I was just knocked off my feet when I arrived," Bobby replied, grinning at Kitty, who ducked her head a little self-consciously.
"Ah yes, the mansion has had better days," Hank replied, shaking his head. "With the Professor in absentia, we're having difficulty accessing his accounts to pay the local tradesmen, and for some incomprehensible reason they're demanding recompense in advance. But still, Robert, it's not as if you've never seen anything like this before…"
"Nope, nothing like this before," Bobby said absently, still looking at Kitty and smiling. "But I like the view."