Marvel owns the X-men, no profit is to be made from this work.
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Having a date with a long, hot bath just as soon as she fixed her kid brother some breakfast, Rogue wandered on out of her bedroom for the first time in a while since she'd gone and shacked up with Logan. Dressed in a favourite T-shirt of hers, one she'd been wondering just where it'd gone and gotten off to until she found it in a certain little scamps bedroom, and a pair of jogging sweats to keep her decent, she wasn't much more than a few steps into the living room when she saw a lil muchkin well on his way to making a mess of the kitchen.
"Alright, you lil monkey. Drop the toaster coasters and put yer hands where I can see 'em!" There was no way in heck she was letting Kurt have frozen waffles for breakfast, not while she was around, no siree!
"Aw, but I wanted peanut butter and 'nana wafflewiches!" cried Kurt as he held up a box of Eggo waffles for show.
Peanut butter and 'nana wafflewiches, ugh. Groaning her disapproval, she had herself a lil firecracker to thank for getting Kurt hooked on that abomination of pantry raiding kid style cooking. Strutting on into the kitchen, the bananas were peeled and sliced, the chunky style peanut butter already out, as was the chocolate sauce and marshmallow fluff to boot. "Jeez, if I'm gonna do this, I'm gonna do it right and proper from scratch. Dig out the waffle iron, I'll handle the rest."
"Really?!"
"Really."
Giving Kurt a playful boot to the bottom, there was one thing she needed first before she got down to some cooking, and that was a big ass mug of coffee. Throwing a pot on to brew, a riffle of the cabinets, cupboards, and fridge found everything she needed for some waffle batter.
"We got any strawberries hiding in the fridge?" she asked of her little helper.
Watching his wiggling lil butt waggle around, tail and all as he checked the crispers, Kurt was just too damn cute for his own good at times.
"Uh, yeah? But I don't think you want them." Holding up something that would be good for Hank to use for a biology class, Kurt winced with a flash of fangs to give his opinion of the very much beyond their best before date berries.
"Ew, could ya go and throw those in the bin for your Auntie 'Roro's compost heap? Please and thank you."
Being the big sissy meant minding her P's and Q's, as someone had to be a good influence around him. Throwing on the first of many a waffle to cook, a rummage through the fridge found a couple more science experiments hiding in the back, but as luck would have it, there was a decent pint of raspberries for her own breakfast.
"More for the bin, kiddo. Then ya can go wash your hands, and I'll have your mess of peanut butter and 'nana waffles waiting."
"Wafflewich!" grumped Kurt with a defiant pout.
"Fine, fine. Wafflewich, you just make sure ya use a knife and fork, ya hear me? Cuz ya won't be havin' Lee ta help ya clean up any messes ya go and make, not like every other time I've caught you two double fisting 'em."
Rolling her eyes right back at him, she wasn't gonna go fretting none over a lil bit of sass, nope. He was good in that, saving up the sass for family time with his big sissies. And as much as a pain in the caboose Jubilee could be, she was a good lil bit bigger sister to Kurt. Not that she'd go confessing that anytime soon, heck no!
Blowing a breath as she considered just what it was she was about to go and do, a promise was a promise. Lathering down marshmallow fluff on one waffle, and a thick smother of peanut butter on the next, the bananas were piled on with a drizzle of chocolate sauce. Cutting it on up in quarters, she garnished each with a raspberry ala an olive, right down to the toothpick. No sooner did she have it plated did Kurt come back to show off his towel dried hands for her approval.
"Okay. Here ya go, bon appetite!"
"Thank you!" cried Kurt with a huge smile as he dashed off to the kitchen nook table every family meal they ever had always hosted.
"Yeah, yeah. You're welcome. Just know ya got a lunch date with me now, so I can make sure ya eat something healthy after giving you that for breakfast." Silencing him with a stern finger, there wasn't gonna be any See Food this early in the morning. No way, no how!
Just the same, Kurt went and chewed to finish his mouthful so he could say whatever it was he was gonna say, "Don't ya want to go on a date with your boyfriend instead? Because I don't mind if ya want to."
Playing at being the kind and thoughtful kid brother he dang well was, well...most of the time anyway, Kurt was still his Momma's boy, and that Momma of theirs could be plenty manipulative herself.
"I weren't born yesterday, and you know it! Just count yerself lucky I ain't sending ya to yer Auntie 'Roro for lunch."
Folk shouldn't go calling something that it wasn't, and calling a bunch of reprocessed Tofu luncheon meat and cheese was just wrong. Seeing Kurt wrinkle his nose like she'd gone and given him something else for the compost bin was all she needed to see to know he'd behave himself. Fixing herself up some waffles with cream and berries for breakfast, that and a damned big mug of coffee she was long overdue for, Rogue went and hunkered herself on down at the table with her kid bro.
"Got any homework ya need help with?"
"Nope," replied Kurt after another swallow of his breakfast.
Considering his fib, she went and excused herself to go pour him a tall glass of milk to wash down the mess of peanut butter that had him smacking his lips.
"Hank helping you?"
This got her a hearty nod, something she figured on from the get go. As sweet a fella as she'd ever met, Hank was Momma's on again, off again boyfriend. And that was only because Raven wasn't always around as much as she wanted to be. As faithful as they came, if there was anyone to be the step-daddy to her kid bro, she was glad it was him.
"Alright, but once he's done, how about the three of us go and use up a lil time I got saved up for some rec use in the Danger Room. We can play pirates."
"Really?!"
"Really, really. I'd go and invite a certain ornery fellow I'm a might bit friendly with myself, but I got a text sayin' he had some business to take care of." She'd been expecting as much ever since Logan had gone and sent her off last night, bless his heart.
"Aw!"
Pouting with the best of them, Kurt munched away at another mouthful of messy waffles with the kind of thoughtfulness she counted on. He was no doubt going through the list of his friends for someone to even up the odds in a game of pirates, "What about Jubes and Pete?"
"Well, if..." ...your Momma, but she caught herself before she could let the cat outta the bag, "Your Uncle Chuck and Uncle Erik git them home in time, then they're both welcome too."
"Oh."
At almost nine, Kurt didn't need no talk about how he had himself a couple of Uncles who loved each other just like his Auntie Jeannie and his Uncle Scott loved each other, nope. Heck, if there was anything they were shielding him from, it was the kind of fuss the news was making over the couple of kids who had gone and stopped a shooting last night.
Giving Kurt the kind of kick under the table that siblings were welcome to do to one another, she dared him to spout any more sass his cute caboose couldn't go and cash.
"Hurry up and clean your plate, cuz I got me some dishes to do before I can have myself a nice long soak. And you got a shower to take yourself, Mister, so you make sure to save me some hot water, ya hear?"
Earning herself another hearty nod with that, the boys in this household sure knew better than to get in the way of the girls having themselves a nice long soak. Heck, the tom boy she was, even Jubes liked herself the occasional bubble bath.
"All done, danke!" chirped Kurt as he scooted out from his chair for a quick hug.
"Ew, peanut butter breath! Make sure ya brush your teeth too, and don't you go forgetting to floss either!"
"I won't!"
"Ya won't what? Floss, or forget ta?" Teasing him with a smarmy smirk, Rogue got herself a big ol' dose of grumpy face from Kurt as he turned around to glare at her.
Blowing him a raspberry, her breakfast was finished to the sound of a shower running, right along with an electric tooth brush telling her that Kurt was being himself a good boy.
"Just like we raised him, Momma. Now hurry up and git that blue arse of yours back on home, just like ya promised me last night."
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With the cops and Homeland all over the scene like flies on a fresh turd, it was a mess that could turn into a bee hive real quick, one he wasn't about to go poking at either. Following a scent that rubbed him wrong, Logan knew he was on the right trail the moment he caught the stink of bleach at twenty yards.
"Someone's a might bit smarter than the shooters," The twice heard beep of his radio was all he needed to know that Ramsey had heard him loud and clear, "Delivery truck with a rental sticker on the back bumper, I'll get ya the plates to run."
"What me to take a peek in?" asked Kitty, though if he had to go and catch her ear, he'd be calling her Shadowcat for this op.
"Just be careful, and don't go touching nothing."
Hitting the ashphalt for a peek under the chassis, it came back clear of any trackers, or explosives for that matter. With the bleach burning his nose, he wasn't about to go taking chances that someone had left a surprise for someone nosey to find.
"Clear," whispered Kitty, peeking right through the underbody of the truck just so she could show off a lil.
"Fine, then get outta there. No sense sticking around, leave it for the Feds."
Brushing off the dirt from his look under the truck, it wouldn't do to go hanging around too long, not when a passerby might take enough of an interest in them to remember their faces. It wasn't luck that there weren't any cameras in the alley either, the driver had picked it for that reason in particular. The more he looked at it, the less it was looking like a case of anti-mutant whack jobs out to make a demonstration of shooting up a political rally, even if the gunmen might be from that camp.
"Where to next? Rental place?" asked Kitty anew, clearly looking for a chance to prove herself.
"What makes you think your boyfriend ain't already doing that?" Smirking at her scowl, it was good for their cover to look like a dad out for a stroll with his daughter, or maybe just her big brother if it were more believable.
"He's not my boyfriend!" Kitty hissed as catty as her namesake.
"What? Ya mean he ain't asked you to go steady yet?" Chuckling, he had to pull up short as Kitty stood her ground a few paces back.
"We haven't even been on a date, and no, anime nights don't count!" she snapped, "...besides, he's shy. And with all you guys teasing us...like, all the god damned time! Well, he probably thinks I just want to be friends with him anyway..."
"Well," mused Logan, trying his damnedest not to smirk, "Something tells me you saying all that over a hot mic just might have cleared things up."
Sure, it was a cheap trick keeping his mic open for their chat, but damn if he wasn't tired of them pussyfooting around their feelings.
"You're a dick!"
"Kid, you ain't the first to tell me that, and you sure as hell won't be the last. C'mon, I owe the both of you breakfast as it is, so why don't I give ya some privacy while I'm at it."
Laughing to himself with his cover as a dick of a meddling father figure intact, Logan didn't mind Kitty keeping the better part of half a block in between her and him for the walk back to the car. And there in the back seat, Doug sure was a might bit shy and quiet as he hacked the rental company for the records on just who had rented the truck.
Now of course names could be faked, but come the end of the day, someone still had to come and get the keys. So that meant their mug would be plastered all over the surveillance. Never did he think he'd be as glad to be living in the digital age as he was, as when a kid like Doug made all the legwork of driving around town obsolete.
"They don't match any of the shooters, he's a guy...mid-thirties I want to say? Jacket, jeans, ball cap, all of it nondescript. No logos, no teams, nothing." Mumbling off the facts as he saw them, Doug kept his eyes glued to the screen of his laptop.
"You got his approach?" Waiting out the time it took for Doug to go dig through the footage, Logan had a good and hard look at all the cars in his rearview for the time it took the light to turn green.
"He's dropped off. I got the hood, no clear shot at the make or plates, the passenger door opens with his boots as the first thing I see. Then the car merges back into traffic just beyond the camera."
"Good work kid, we'll go for a looksee after we snag a bite. There's a joint I know, best breakfast menu this side of Westchester. Don't be shy when ya order, either."
As much as LeBeau might have himself a couple of con-artists in the making with Lee and Maximoff, he had himself a couple of kids he was out to groom too. Alias Shadowcat and Cypher, Kitty and Doug had in them the stuff needed to play the spy game like a couple of pros, and he was gonna teach them the dark arts of espionage as he saw fit, all in good time.
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"...wait? Maximoff is your son? Okay, this just got a little bit awkward."
"Raven?" Erik always had that way of saying her name like he was counting to ten.
"Look, I only kissed him on the cheek. I needed to know what kind of boyfriend he was, and...actually, I don't mind saying that he's pretty cute."
Long suffering sigh, silence, and three, two, one...
"Where are you?"
How she wished she had Facetime'd this conversation instead of being so droll as to call him up on her burner. But as the French would say, C'est la vie.
"I don't ask where you keep your safe houses, now do I? And don't you dare tell me there aren't a few you've kept active for just the eventuality that you need one! I know you better than that."
Now, if this were the interrogation it felt like, Erik would be giving his name, rank, and serial number. Unfortunately for her, the Geneva conventions didn't apply to family, and that was a double edged sword that cut both ways.
"Did you want me to put Charles on? Because I have absolutely no qualms about interrupting his shower..."
"Erik...while I do adore the fact that you are madly in love with my brother, TMI, thank you very much."
Smug silence now, undoubtedly replete with that infuriating smile of his which she did so adore (so very much like Charles in that, not that either she nor he would be willing to admit that even under duress), and...
"Shall we arrange somewhere to meet, then?" asked Erik.
"Ghostbusters, he slimed me, noon. And don't be late." New York was great for that, so many meeting places hidden away in all the movies they had watched over the years.
Hanging up before Erik could prove to be the least bit obstinate, Raven broke down the burner phone to toss it into the trash. A habit of hers that had served her well over the years.
"You aren't paranoid if the world really is out to get you..."
Sighing full of the melancholy that moments like this filled her with, going home shouldn't be so hard. Checking the time with another of her phones, a hasty text was long overdue to a certain someone, especially after finding out she'd gone and kissed Erik's son, if just on the cheek!
And you didn't think to tell me he was Erik's kid, after I sent you that picture of him kissing Jubilee? You are so grounded the moment I get home...
Somewhere, Rogue would be laughing at that. Because even at sixteen, the threat of a grounding hadn't carried much weight. Not when Logan was just the right kind of a bad influence the girl needed to come out of her shell. That they had eventually started dating was entirely beside the point.
Still shaking her head at that, Raven let go of a frustrated growl fuelled from feeling stupid about facing the two teenagers she kept waiting in her future loft apartment, or so the sign out front promised.
"God, it was only on his cheek..."
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