Chapter 4

Kitty smiled nervously at Piotr. Rogue had asked her to accompany herself and Remy to "Rosario's". Mexican wasn't a particular favorite of the phaser's, but she had it so rarely that she actually missed tasting it quite a bit. So, naturally, she agreed. Of course, she could admit – if only to herself – that a certain Russian being her date (Rogue said it was a double date) had something to do with it too.

Now, they were at the restaurant, waiting for Rogue and Remy to show up. The two told them to go on ahead, and gave directions on how to get there. Apparently, Remy's bike was having trouble, and Rogue wasn't so sure she wanted to take her own. It had rained the previous day, and she didn't want the green Harley to get dirty. Why they didn't just take her convertible was beyond Kitty, but who ever knew with those southerners?

"I wonder where they are," Kitty said thoughtfully. Piotr had been silent since they arrived, his blue gaze focused solely on the artworks around the walls. Kitty didn't quite see what was so special about them, but Piotr apparently found them captivating.

"Hm, perhaps you should call them, da?" he asked, his accent thick. He looked at her with a small smile, a pink tinge coloring his cheeks.

"Maybe…" Kitty said slowly. In all honesty, she didn't want to call them and ask them what was up. For one, she feared the answer, and for two she liked spending this time alone with Piotr. Even if he didn't talk much, the other mutant was soothing to be around.

She started to grab for her cell phone when the door to the restaurant jingled. She looked up, fully expecting to see Rogue and Remy walking towards them. If they were flushed and their hair wasn't as perfect as it usually was, she really wouldn't be surprised. However, it wasn't Rogue and Remy that entered at all. It wasn't Jean and Scott either, though they too frequented this place. Kitty felt her heart stop when she saw the couple, and ducked her head when dark brown eyes landed on her.

&&&&&&

Lance wasn't sure why Summers had a sudden burst of stupidity, but for some reason he managed to piss Grey off and she refused to go out with him. As luck would have it, he and Tabitha had just been walking down the hall at that time and caught wind of the argument. Jean, seeing them, stalked over to them and thrust two coupons into Tabitha's hand, telling her to enjoy them.

Scott followed Jean like a kicked puppy, shouting apologies at her retreating back. Tabitha and he watched them leave before looking down at the coupons for free burritos at "Rosario's". He'd never been there, but Tabitha said she loved it when she went with Rogue and Amara. So, he agreed to take her there that night, as the tickets would expire after midnight.

Now, they arrived and he felt eyes on him. He looked in the direction of whomever, and gaped when he saw Kitty smiling sweetly at the Russian guy who'd joined the institute. He felt jealousy run through his veins, and only when Tabitha spoke again did he remember he couldn't beat the other guy up. Kitty wasn't his woman anymore, Tabitha was! He refused to admit, even to himself, that he probably wouldn't be able to do much harm to Colossus anyway.

"Isn't this place the bomb!?" Tabitha said loudly, earning a few glares from the customers. She ignored them, however, and all but danced to a booth. "I can't believe our luck! Can you, baby?"

"…"

"Lance?" Tabitha looked at the brown-haired teen, and noticed his attention was elsewhere. Looking in the direction he was, she gasped when she saw innocent little Kitty cat and the muscle man Colossus sitting in another booth. They seemed to be discussing something important because they were leaning close and whispering to each other. Their expressions were anything but solemn though, which could only mean one thing. Kitty was on a date!

"Lance!" Tabitha shouted angrily. She couldn't believe her boyfriend would stare at his ex when she finally moved on.

Lance jumped at the sound of Tabitha's screeching and turned sheepishly to his girlfriend. The blonde smiled when she realized she had his full attention and pointed towards the other side of the booth. Lance slid into his seat, smiling nervously at Tabitha. Had she seen his jealous glare? Or did she merely think he was zoning?

"You looked pretty serious there for a minute, Rocky," she said slowly. "Wanna tell me what's up?"

Lance sighed in relief. Leave it to Tabitha not to notice anything. She rarely ever did when she wasn't concerned directly, for which he'd never been so thankful until now. He didn't know what she would do if she thought he was still hung up on Kitty (not that he was), and he really didn't want to find out either. Tabitha could be scarier than Mystique when she wanted to be.

"Nah, it's nothin'," Lance reassured her with a winning smile. He glanced at Kitty, and smirked inwardly when he noticed she was watching him. Good, she could be jealous all she wanted. That's how it should be anyway.

"Hello," a voice said to his left. He looked up, startled to see a gorgeous, Spanish girl around his age – if not a couple of years younger – standing there. She had the usual waitress booklet and smiled charmingly at him. "My name is Eleanor; I'm to be your waitress this evening. What would you like?"

Lance grinned. Oh, he knew what he'd like. He didn't notice Tabitha's angry huff, or that she ordered for them both more forceful than necessary. He was too busy staring at Eleanor's large breasts.

&&&&&&

Kitty watched as the pretty waitress went to Lance's table. He quite obviously liked what he saw because he couldn't stop staring at her chest. Kitty snorted disgustedly. She couldn't believe she ever dated such a jerk! Not that she could really blame him. Eleanor was definitely well endowed, much like Rogue and Jean were. Was it any wonder men liked her so much?

She didn't know the waitress very well, only that she flirted a lot and was good friends with Rogue. That would probably explain the flirtatious attitude she generally had, Kitty thought. Rogue was a notorious flirt; it was amazing that she and Remy didn't have affairs with other people constantly, what with their past reputations. True love, she liked to think, put an end to their old habits though.

Judging by the way Eleanor leaned over, Kitty guessed she didn't mind Lance's attention in the least. She rolled her eyes and actually felt a pang of sympathy for Tabitha, whom sat glaring across from him. Then, she remembered the way her so-called friend laughed at her in front of everyone, and any sympathy she had left in an instant.

"Katya," Piotr called softly. When Kitty looked at him, he smiled concernedly. "Are you alright? You looked pretty serious."

"Oh, yeah!" Kitty smiled sheepishly. "I'm great, sorry! I just…I um…well, you see, I…"

"You are watching Lance, correct?" he stated more than asked knowingly. She blushed and hung her head.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Do not be," he told her firmly. "You were in love, and that is not easy to forget about. I know from experience."

"Really?" Kitty asked surprised. "You never told me you were in love!"

"Oh, yes," Piotr nodded. "Her name was Laynia. I loved her dearly, was willing to give up my dream of being a painter to be with her, but in the end she leave me for another man. She say that she have bigger plans than to be wife of farm boy."

He wasn't aware that his accent thickened or that his rather good English speaking had become broken. It always happened when he got emotional about something. Kitty watched him sadly; unable to believe someone would be so cruel as to say that! She placed her hand on his, a sign of comfort, and he calmed slightly.

"Anyhow, I understand, Katya. Love is a beautiful, but painful thing."

"Yeah," she sighed. "I wish I could have a love like Remy and Rogue's. I mean they can be disgusting, yeah, and I wouldn't want to be so open about my…my… (she blushed darkly) sex life, but you can just tell their in love when they look at each other. Even when they're arguing, you can see it."

Piotr nodded. It was true. Rogue and Remy were in love, and it was rather obvious whenever they shared a look.

"They are lucky," he agreed. "However, I do not fool myself into thinking it was always this way."

"What do you mean?" Kitty asked curiously. The southerners were so close that any thought of unhappiness in their lives before was unheard of.

"They were not together all their lives," Piotr pointed out. "Surely, they have been hurt before."

"Oh," Kitty mumbled softly. She honestly never thought of that. In fact, their closeness usually vanquished any thoughts that they might've had other lovers before. "I never thought of that."

"No one that loves," Piotr said quietly, wisely, "is unscathed."

"You're too smart for your own good," Kitty said with a small grin. "Now, no more of this depressing atmosphere. Hey, speaking of Rogue and Gambit, where are they anyway?"

"Perhaps you should be calling them now," Piotr suggested reluctantly. Kitty nodded and dialed the number to the mansion.

"Hey, Jean! Is Rogue there? Can I speak to her? ………Rogue! Where are you? We're wait…oh…uh huh…yeah…okay, bye."

Piotr watched Kitty closely, noting the slight blush on her cheeks as she hung up. She smiled uneasily at him, flipping down the cell phone and placing it back in her purse.

"Um…Sorry to tell you this, but they won't be making it. Apparently, they got…er…tied up. So, it's just going to be me and you. If you don't mind that is!"

Piotr also blushed when he realized just how they must be "tied up". He didn't mind of course, he liked spending time with Kitty. He thought maybe she liked spending time with him too. He certainly hoped so anyway.

"I do not mind if you do not mind."

"I don't," Kitty reassured him quickly, too quickly. He smiled slightly, and she blushed even darker. Really, they were worse than Jean and Scott!

"Hello," a thick accented voice spoke. They looked up to see Eleanor grinning at them, more specifically at Piotr. "My name is Eleanor, and I'm to be your waitress for this evening. What can I get you?"

Her voice melded into a seductive tone as she looked at Piotr. Kitty felt jealousy burn deep within her, but she held it in check and smiled instead. Piotr didn't notice anything out of the ordinary, or at least he didn't seem to, and instead ordered what they'd agreed on. Enchiladas.

Eleanor giggled and asked for drinks, but again Piotr didn't notice anything. Kitty was astounded that he could ignore such blatant flirting, for even she knew that's what Eleanor was doing. He didn't seem in the least affected though, and she found herself feeling both grateful and smug. She ordered her Diet Pepsi with a slightly cocky tone, but blushed when Eleanor only smirked at her.

The young woman turned to the kitchen to get their food ready, and Kitty and Piotr went back to talking. When she reached the kitchen, Eleanor let out the laughter she'd been holding back. That was almost too funny! Though, she could've done without that brown-haired jerk's, what had Rogue said his name was? Lawrence? Larry? Lance? Whatever, staring at her like she was a piece of meat!

Taking out her cell phone, she dialed the familiar number. She grinned when her one of her "employers" picked up.

"Scott, I think things are working out great! She saw Lance drooling over me, and the cute little Russian didn't even notice I'm a woman. This plan might just work out."

When the call ended, she flipped her phone down, stuck it in her smock pocket, and set about getting their food ready. She so loved helping out with relationships, and hopefully these two would realize they were meant for each other sooner than Scott and Jean did. She wasn't sure she had the patience to deal with that drawn out process again! But oh, to be young and in love was truly a beautiful thing.

&&&&&&

Kitty and Piotr entered the mansion quietly. It wasn't past curfew yet, but so much homework had been placed on the students lately that a majority of the mansion went to bed at hours they used to think far too early. No one was around, and Kitty smiled up at Piotr shyly.

"I had a really great time," she said softly. Her eyes lowered to the floor, missing Piotr's matching blush. He looked away as well, studying the wall instead.

"As did I, Katya. Um…we should be doing it again sometime?"

Kitty nodded enthusiastically, then blushed, and mumbled a soft, "Yeah."

Piotr smiled and leaned down, his lips brushing her cheek. He didn't think it would be too bad to do such a gesture. Kitty was a smart girl, and she knew nothing could become of them. She blushed at the action and smiled.

"Well, goodnight, Katya." Piotr said bashfully and quickly headed upstairs. Kitty stayed where she was for a moment, touching her cheek gently.

"Yeah, goodnight, Piotr," she mumbled to herself. Smiling brightly, she hummed "Some Day My Prince Will Come" all the way up to her room.

Scott and Rogue watched the two from their hiding spot. Sharing a triumphant smirk, they high fived each other.

"Told ya it would work," Scott said smugly. Rogue laughed and punched his arm playfully, making sure to keep her strength in tact.

"So ya did," she said amusedly. "Guess you do know what yo' doin' after all."

"Thanks." Scott grinned, heading for his room as Rogue walked towards hers and Remy's. He stopped in front of his door, realizing belatedly there had been a hidden insult in Rogue's words. "Hey!"

It might've been his imagination, but he could've sworn he heard two southerners laughing a few doors down.